Casual reviews of KPOP songs, music videos & dances
Author: kpopreviewed
Hi, my name is Tony and I am the man behind the site, kpopreviewed. Currently an university student who wants to introduce people to KPOP and if you are already into KPOP, different groups and bands.
The next Monday comeback that I want to review is 3YE’s YESSIR, the title track off their 1st mini-album, Triangle. For me, 3YE was basically a 2020 underrated discovery, with both their first (OOMM) and second comeback song (Queen) attracting a great deal of my attention. So when I heard they were making their comeback, I had to schedule the review to be much closer to their actual comeback date (or else this review would have been scheduled many weeks later, which wouldn’t be ideal). It is still a few days late, but it better than a month later! And before it turns into a month late review, let’s get into it.
Powerful would be the word that I would describe YESSIR. The music and aura that the trio of members gives off in this song are just so powerful, that I find it well-aligned with their previous releases that I have reviewed. The song’s instrumental consist of a marching band line and brass elements, which is a pretty solid base. I really like how the brass goes from a deep tone in the verses to more vibrant in the chorus. It keeps the song from becoming overloaded by playing with what is already there. The synths in this song go with an electro dance-pop sound and the melodies go into a strong hip-hop domain. It may sound quite messy and loaded, but that is actually how the YouTube description describes the song. And everything comes together quite well. I liked the way they came at you during the verses and that is thanks to their rapping and vocal work. The chorus was a bit of a miss for me. While I did like how the instrumental felt more defined and that it continued the momentum and energy that the members built up in the verses, it noticeably lacked a strong hook to help bring the song into the ‘memorable’ category. The melodies were fine, but they didn’t seem enough. The post-chorus instrumental (which also played at the start of the song, kicking the song off in a bold manner) was powerful, but I wanted more out the members than the shouty ‘Yessir‘ and ‘A-Ha‘ lines they keep throwing at us. But overall, it is still a powerful song that continually proves my point about their underrated status.
The song is about attracting attention once they had undergone a dramatic transformation. The lyrics question why people have become surprised at what they have become after the change and how those people feel now that they had underestimated the members. And to match that, we see guns being pointed at the members, masked people all turning their heads towards the members and the members just becoming intimidating in this music video. I liked the cinematography in this music video which really helps capture some epic and impactful moments. What also helped the epicness of the music video was the sheer amount of dancers they had in it. It felt like an army and it felt like the members had a following to intimidate us with.
Unfortunately, the stage doesn’t share that same epic feeling as the group has to downgrade to only a few dancers. But they don’t tone down their dance moves, keeping with that powerful concept that you could feel in the music and video. I also really liked their charisma in the performance, which helps to make the performance more powerful.
Song – 8/10 Music Video – 8.5/10 Performance – 8/10 Overall Rating – 8.2/10
The fourth release from Monday that I will be reviewing is Love Me Harder, which is the solo comeback by soloist WOODZ, who may be more familiar now as Cho Seung Youn. Fans started to know of Cho Seung Youn through his participation in Produce X 101, where he placed 5th and debuted as part of the now-defunct X1. But the solo artist has quite an extensive connection to the KPOP industry including being a former member of UNIQ (a South Korean and Chinese idol group), participated in Show Me The Money 5 and went on to debut as a solo artist under the name Luizy and WOODZ, with the latter being his currently used name in the industry at the moment. So with a history like that, it seems like WOODZ is an act to look out for. Let’s have a listen to his return to mainstream KPOP through his new single.
Kicking off Love Me Harder is this addictive whistling melody in the instrumental. It is short at first, but its repetition really drives it into your memory. It also adds a classy yet fun element to the song. The rest of the instrumental is made of a deep bass beat, which really drives the song along. When the two would merge together for the final chorus, you would have a very strong and exciting instrumental combination. And all these elements seem to quite trendy, which helps the song fit in neatly with the current era. WOODZ, for a sub-vocalist and main-rapper during his time in UNIQ, has a very strong and versatile set of vocals which he shows off really nicely in this song. There is a breathy nature to the vocals that adds colour to the song. I really liked the bridge of the song, where it sounds like he far away. Interesting texture there. He has a strong rap in the second verse and I would definitely like to hear more of it in the future. In addition to all of this, Love Me Harder has great rhythm, catchy hooks and appealing energy that will have me returning for many more listens. For someone who was practically unknown to me, WOODZ has proven to be worthy of my radar and I will definitely be checking in with his future releases. And you can attribute Love Me Harder to this.
We see two alter egos of WOODZ in the music video. Let’s say one of them is the Edgy one (i.e. leather jacket) and the other is the ‘Boy Next Door’ type of guy. The video starts off with WOODZ’s ‘Boy Next Door’ version getting into an argument with his girlfriend, who leaves him. Edgy WOODZ gets on top of the car that they were in and this forced ‘Boy next door’ WOODZ to get out and exit a crime scene (i.e. his car). We presume that the girlfriend is dead. Confused, ‘Boy Next Door’ WOODZ searches for Edgy WOODZ thinking that Edgy WOODZ had something to do with the crime. This leads ‘Boy Next Door’ WOODZ to a hideout full of illegitimate bills. Edgy WOODZ sends the ‘Boy Next Door’ WOODZ back to the car and we see the start play out all over again. ‘Boy Next Door’ WOODZ gets angry and has a go at Edgy WOODZ, but then it dawns on him. WOODZ’s girlfriend had shot him and stole the money that ‘Boy Next Door’ WOODZ had printed. The crime scene that he stepped out of was his own (which allowed him to leave the scene unnoticed, as he is dead) and Edgy WOODZ was basically taunting ‘Boy Next Door’ WOODZ the entire time for his naivety and stupidity. It is a bit confusing in words, but I thought this was a great music video with an awesome storyline.
Not only do the dancers help fill up the stage, but they also give WOODZ an opportunity to focus on the live element of the performance. During the verses, they do all of the choreography while WOODZ sings and rap. A prime example of this is the entire second verse when they form a circle on the floor around him. When WOODZ does participate in the choreography, those moves actually looked quite good. WOODZ puts a lot of effort in to make up for the lack of choreography on his part during the verse for those sections and I liked the hand gun action. I would like to see a version where he does more dancing, but overall a good stage.
Song – 9/10 Music Video – 10/10 Performance – 7.5/10 Overall Rating – 9/10
It is time to catch up on those Monday reviews from yesterday. The first for today (and the third from yesterday overall) is AB6IX with THE ANSWER, which is featured on the group’s second mini-album, Vivid. This is also the group’s first comeback with a four member lineup, after Lim Youngmin departed the group after a DUI incident at the end of the last month. This resulted in the postponement of the comeback, which was originally scheduled for the start of June, so that the remaining members could rework their comeback to fit the altered lineup. Let’s see how the group fairs as a quartet.
AB6IX’s previous two songs, Breathe and Blind for Love, both had a very distinctive house sound to it, which really helped form the group’s solid first steps into the industry. But it seems they step away from that and enter more trendy areas of music with THE ANSWER, which conforms to the trendy mashup of a funky style and trap. While I would have liked them to keep to their original sound in some capacity, THE ANSWER is definitely a great segue into a different area of music. The song is quite upbeat and colourful, which brings a completely different atmosphere to the group. It is definitely less moody and more lighthearted, which helps makes the song more enjoyable especially for the Summer season. There seem to be hip-hop vibes in the song, thanks to the various melodies that the group employs throughout the song. I personally don’t mind the bulk of these and thought they blended well with the new sound. The only hook that I wasn’t completely satisfied with was the pre-chorus. It should have had the strongest and punchiest hook of the song, but it ended up bringing a sluggish feel. Something a little bolder or powerful would have really helped give the song some of that much-needed impact. The same thing could have said about the backing of the Woojin’s rap sequences. His delivery was quite good, but I just wished the backbone was a little more captivating. Overall, it is a good song to reintroduce us to AB6IX. While this might be a step into other genres of music, I wish that their company will allow them to revisit their original sound in the future.
You may notice that the music video for features all five members. That is because the company decided it would be too difficult to re-shoot the music video and hence Lim Youngmin would be edited out instead, whilst the songs and album would be re-recorded. To me, I find this a bit cruel for both Lim Youngmin and his personal fans. I personally would have preferred to wait a little longer for a music video with just the remaining four members. Aside from that topic, the music video was quite colourful to match the upbeat atmosphere of the song and the Summery season. It did capture a playful and youthful side of the group. But overall, it was rather boring for me. There just wasn’t much else going on in the video aside from choreography and closeups (its that formula again).
I am unsure of the situation, though it seems like Woojin is still injured. During the more intensive sections of the performance, he would walk off stage instead of joining in. When he is present for the final chorus, his moves seem a little stiff. I am not complaining about his lack of participation, though. I am actually more impressed that they still found room for him in this performance, rather than making him sit in a chair on the side (which is the case for most injuries). I also like the playfulness of the performance, especially the human swings formed by the backup dancers and members for Daehwi and Woong.
Song – 8/10 Music Video – 6/10 Performance – 7/10 Overall Rating – 7.2/10
Welcome back to the Past Album Review segment, where I look at an album from an earlier year. Today, I will be focusing on fromis_9’s second mini-album, To. Day, which features the title track, DKDK. The album was released back in June 2018 and did not feature Jang Gyuri as she was participating in Produce 48 at the time. The reason that I chose fromis_9 for an album review this time as it has been some time since we last heard from them (their most recent single was FUN!, which was released back in Summer of last year). Hopefully, we will hear news of a fromis_9 comeback soon. But in the meanwhile, here is an album review to suffice that fromis_9 desire.
To. Day Album Cover
1. Close To You (다가가고 싶어) – The album opens up with a short track. Not short as like an introductory track like on other albums, but it might be able to pass as one. As there are lyrics (the narration), instrumentals and the song goes for a much longer period than standard introductory tracks, I will be treating it as one. The members narrate some words about falling in love over extremely light and soft instrumentation. Their narration is actually quite sweet-sounding and works well with the soft instrumentation. I did have a read through the English translations, and everything came off as innocent and wholesome, suitable for the cutesy image that the group started off with. My only problem is that the start and end made it feel like a full-fledged song, so I was a little disappointed when there weren’t those usual elements standard to a song (i.e. vocals, melodies, hooks etc.). (5/10)
2. Think Of You (너를 따라, 너에게) – While I do like the pop sound of Think Of You, I find the vocals to not fit as snuggly into the song as I had hoped. Take the first pre-chorus, as an example. They tried to infuse some rapping into the song through a rap-sing delivery. They might have done this for a cute effect, but it just felt uncomfortable in my opinion. The same thing can be said about the bridge. The vocals felt confined or very narrow-minded with that cutesy concept. I felt that they could have thrown in some good high notes then to begin the wrap-up procedures. What I did like were the melodies during the chorus, which felt very Fromis_9-like to me (see their debut track and DKDK, below). I also thought the instrumentation was quite bright and nice, which really helped make the song appealing to me. I just wish the vocals were more refined and polished. (7/10)
3. DKDK (두근두근) (Title Track) – I originally gave this song a 7/10 ranking. Upon reconsideration and the amount of time has passed, I had decided to bump the song up by one ranking. Click here to read the original review for DKDK.(8/10)
4. 22Century Girl (22세기 소녀) – 22Century Girl feels like your typical KPOP track from a female group, but it leans somewhat away from that label. Firstly, I like the Summery vibes. It is very refreshing and fun listen. The instrumental has a lot of textures going on, thanks to the various sound effects that the producers had inserted. It makes the song interesting and less mundane than other tracks. The chorus surprisingly has fewer effects in comparison to the verses (or they were a lot more subtle to notice), making it sound relatively normal. This helps makes the song feel less noisy, which could have been the descriptor I used if they maintained the use of random textures throughout the chorus. I also like how their vocals help ground the song, yet they sound very bubbly and bright. And such, it makes the song appealing to listen to. (8/10)
5. Clover – Clover puts the group’s vocals into the limelight. All the members sounded really nice in this song. In particular, I really like the raspy nature of Jisun’s voice at the start of the song. Jisun alone caught my attention (good job Jisun!) and had me listening to the rest of the song. It is a sweet song, with a nice pop instrumental. There is a bit of guitar in the instrumental, alongside the synths that form a fair portion of the instrumental. I like the melodies. While they help create the feel of your typical KPOP track, they also give off a nostalgic feel, reminding me of some songs from earlier in the 2010 decade. And because of this, I will be revisiting the song often as it is now on my playlists. (10/10)
6. First Love – It seems like the song following DKDK on this album are superior, in my point of view, then the songs preceding the title track. First Love has the same effect. It is a strong upbeat number to end the album on a much more positive note than how the album started. Like in the previous song, First Love brings out some nostalgic vibes. I personally feel that this song could have been a dynamic number from APINK. I like how the instrumental has a bit of texture to it, thanks to the guitars. I also like the energy that the group brings to the song, thanks to their vocals and melodies. The hooks were catchy and fun. (8.5/10)
The second comeback of the day belongs to Sunmi, who is make her comeback with pporappippam. This is Sunmi first comeback since the release of the LALALAY in August of last year. Earlier in the year, Sunmi released Gotta Go, which is part of the official soundtrack for XX (a Korean drama). Interestingly, this OST has a choreography version, which is rare in the world of OST releases in KPOP. I didn’t get around to reviewing it as it is an OST, but maybe I will be in the future (hint hint!).
What jumps right out at me is the retro feel that pporappippam has. More specifically, its music profile revolves around 80s disco. An upbeat retro like this one in Summer, which sounds very refined and also very Sunmi-like, feels very refreshing and appealing. The violins at the start had a very intriguing feel to them. And I like how the funky guitar peeks through the instrumental verses, before going full blast for the chorus. I also enjoyed the bass during the pre-chorus, which helped build the song towards the upbeat chorus. The bridge revisits those violins from the start and I liked the peacefulness that comes from this section. A very fun and captivating instrumental, if you asked me. As for the other elements in this song, they were also quite good. Sunmi’s vocals are pretty plain in this song but I am sure she (or the producers) intended for it this way so that the vocals do not mask the greatness of the instrumental. But while they are plain, they are also quite light and airy, which helps with the refreshing appeal of this song. The hooks are quite memorable and the melodies replay in my head even after the song had stopped playing. All signs of a great song.
While I like a good plotline in a video, I also do like it when there isn’t one. Though, they have to compensate with interesting visual elements to earn that like. And the prime examples of music videos that do just this are Sunmi’s. There is just always something captivating with Sunmi’s closeups that work so wonderfully on their own. It might be her visuals or her expressionless facial expressions she always put on, such as at the end of this video. Note that she is quite happy and all smiles throughout the music video, which shows experiencing the positive sides of being in love with her partner. I really like how the music video emphasis the colour purple, which she refers to quite often throughout the music video. Doing some research, the colour purple in dreams symbolises intimacy, affection and devotion, which is highly appropriate for her video.
I really like the dancers’ big brim hats. They add a very interesting vibe to the performance. I also like their use at the end of the performance. While her performance during the initial and second choruses was pretty good, I found the bridge and final chorus routine to be the most captivating. Final chorus because more people were present to fill out the stage and help give a strong end to the performance. The bridge because Sunmi walks on her dancers and falls into their arms. It looks glamourous when Sunmi does it.
Song – 9/10 Music Video – 9/10 Performance – 8/10 Overall Rating – 8.8/10
It is one busy Monday with a total of four releases that I intend to review as soon as possible (may need to split over a few days to get them done). First up is Hwasa’s solo comeback. Hwasa made her official solo debut at the start of the year with the hit, Twit. That, however, was only a single and actually features on her first mini-album, which shares the same name as her new title track, Maria. She is also the third member of Mamamoo to release a solo single this year, following Moonbyul and Solar, with Eclipse and Spit It Out (respectively).
If we were to judge the song based on its title, we would be expecting Maria to go full steam ahead with the Latin influence, the trend that KPOP in Summer probably will never escape. Mamamoo too also contributed to this trend with the release of Egotistic in 2018. But don’t be too quick to judge, as the Latin influence is very small. In fact, it localised just to the dance break, which gives off energy in a very fashionable sense for this song. Its presence doesn’t necessarily fit in the rest of the song, but it is definitely needed. The rest of Maria seems like a blank canvas, in terms of its instrumental. Sure, it is an upbeat and, at times, intense track. But apart from a minimal amount of synths, the instrumental is quite plain. It isn’t plain in a dull way though, as the vocals give the song some much-needed action and Hwasa’s vocals help fill in those gaps. I really like her nasally delivery during the verses and her raspy whisper that kicks off the chorus. I also a fan of her vocalisation in the latter half of the chorus, which is where the song gets a little intense and sensual. Together, it forms a decent song that plays towards Hwasa’s strength as a performer and vocalist. Maybe a more captivating instrumental would have been more appealing and made this into a winning track.
The music video reflects the lyrics well. We see Hwasa being hurt by others at the very start of the music video with all the photographers taking photos of her body at a crime scene and all those people providing a lighter for the cigarette she is holding. In the hospital, she is surrounded by all these pencils pointed towards her, as well. But what the music video also shows is that she gets up and stands up for herself. We see that during the hospital scene once again, where she escaped the pointy pencils and walks down the hall as if she never had that encounter. The start where she is serving a heart seems to be her bouncing back as it looked like she just killed the person who hurt her and serving it to other people who are going to hurt her. That is just my take on the video though, so there can be many other views out there. For the other elements in of the video, the sets and the camera work during her solo shots were nice. Some of her closeups in the choregrahpy shots were a little ‘in your face’ for me, as I wanted to see more of the choreography.
The one thing I really like about Hwasa is that she doesn’t hold back. If the performance is going to be sensual, then she will make it happen. We have seen that through her solo stages at award shows. While I am sure this performance will get some flack in Korea, it looks pretty good. There is a fair amount of hip grinding action in the chorus which seems very bold and I liked how the final chorus had a different routine to feature both genders of dancers and end the song with a more powerful vibe.
Song – 8/10 Music Video – 9/10 Performance – 8.5/10 Overall Rating – 8.4/10
Welcome all to my very special review to Road To Kingdom. I may have been very silent about the recent series. But I have been eagerly awaiting each performance to appear on YouTube after broadcasting on Thursdays to see what Golden Child, ONEUS, ONF, Pentagon, The Boyz, TOO and VERIVERY have prepared for us. In this special review series, I will be going through the actual rankings that came about from the first three rounds, short reviews of each performance and how I thought the rankings would go! This post will only cover the finale of the show. Please remember, these are my thoughts only. Feel free to comment your ones below.
Finale
Like the Queendom finale, the remaining groups released new songs a week ahead of the final episode to compete for the secured spot on the upcoming Kingdom series. With these new songs come new stages and concepts never seen before. Like usual, I will be focusing on their new songs, concept and performance to see which group had the superior performance and the title of Road To Kingdom winner.
Come Back Home – ONEUS
Come Back Home starts off with a grungy and angsty rock vibe, before settling on a subtle form of dubstep for the chorus (a bit typical, if I were to be honest). There is also a strong dance beat mixed within the song that reminds me of ONEUS’s other title tracks such as Valkryie and Twilight. The final instrumental break at the end of the song carries the same vibes as the choruses of those mentioned songs. I really liked the rapid drum beats at the end of the choruses, which offsets the paced nature of the chorus (which was a unique drawing point). I also really Leedo’s parts in this song, going from a dark and deep rapping voice to smooth vocals for the bridge. Seoho’s high note is also commendable.
The roles in which ONEUS plays in this performance, concept-wise, are protectors of the young child. The backup dancers played the evil people who rose from the dead to kill the young child. The VCR that starts off the performance adds context to the performance, but it doesn’t add much substance. Likewise, I did think the presence of the child for the performance did very little.
The actual choreography was really good. I really like the Leedo and RAVN dynamic that the performance focused on. At one point, Leedo and RAVN also played each other’s shadow. I also like their visual effects by using the big screen. The group does a few stunts in this performance, but I did wish the stage lighting was a lot better to see this more clearly. I did like the suspenseful ending when all the members disappeared.
New World kicks off with a rapid beat and dramatic flair that really captured my attention from the very first second. It is the one song leading up to the final episode that I continually replayed and enjoyed. Like ONEUS’ track, I felt New World compliments ONF’s discography. It was dynamic and captivating, all common descriptors to ONF’s songs. The chorus was very memorable with that ‘Higher‘ delivery being my favourite part of the song, which also adds a tinge of light into this otherwise intense sound. I also liked the lead into the final chorus from the bridge, as this part was very powerful and makes sure to grab your attention, just in case the earlier sections didn’t work.
The performance started off with a whole cinematic montage from their past music videos. It seems like the performance’s concept is unlocking the doors to the New World, which is shown through the emphasis of keys in the opening montage and also the presence of keys in the performance.
With such a good song, it already has that edge. And the group did an amazing job in extending this edge and making this a very captivating performance. The entire sequence of them using the keys to unlock the silver box was very captivating, though Wyatt slamming the box though made me feel uncomfortable, just based on the way the box landed on the ground. I just wished the performance reflected the change in tempo speeds, which would have made everything feel more natural.
To me, Basquait felt like another version of Dr. Bebe at times. While the other groups have performed songs that complimented their existing discography, Pentagon is the only group on this list ‘replicate’ an existing song, which doesn’t come off well. That thought aside, I did like how the song didn’t rely on EDM or electronic synths to become a dance track, instead opting for rock elements to give that angst and grungy vibe throughout the entire song. I also think the vocal and rapping work from the members are on point. The song does lack a memorable hook or moments, which doesn’t help the song gain an advantage.
I am unsure what their concept is, but Pentagon looks like they have been part of a rebellion with their ripped up outfits. They did have a VCR at the start of the performance, but it doesn’t shed much light on the concept. It does, however, look like they were running from someone but ended up being captured.
And that is where we start off the performance. I really liked how the stage theatrics really helped make their performance a lot more epic and captivating to watch. I liked their use of props and how their dance moves seemed to pack a punch, which goes hand-in-hand with the assumed concept. I do need to say that Hui nailed his high note, which sounded extra epic on stage. That alone adds a tonne of leverage to the performance, helping them boost the song’s appeal by a great amount (which was pretty much needed).
The Boyz’s Checkmate isn’t the strongest song in the bunch. But I liked how the song seems to be fixated on the idea of a fast tempo in terms of both their instrumental and some of their vocal melodies. I also liked the use of the piano in the instrumental, which gives the song a very unique vibe, in comparison to the rest of the other songs. I also enjoyed some of the vocals moments, such as that ‘Royal Royal Catch A Royal‘ and the equivalent in the second verse. I am unconvinced that this is the best track of the bunch (as suggested by the results of the finale – spoiler alert, they won), as it took a fair amount of time for me to get into.
Concept-wise, the start performance revolves around the crown that The Boyz had focused on since the first round. To have the crown feature in all their major performances where possible is quite clever and really intrigues me. But for those who are joining for the first time (where have you been), the group also has a chessboard concept.
Amazing performance. The start was epic, with the passing of the crown and Sunwoo falling from that height into the mattress. I like the one-take camera work for the first verse. Everything that happened during this first verse looked really cool, as a result. The group was also the only group to dance on the audience side of the stage (i.e. where the other groups are sitting the performance). The use of the dancers to doing that tutting like action just before the bridge was really cool and the use of that box on stage somehow blew my mind. Oh, and their dance moves were really fluid. Everything on that stage was just captivating to watch.
I commend VERIVERY for going with the most brightly energetic song out of the bunch, which does help them stand out from the competition. This is a risky move, given that the industry does prefer male groups with a dark concept than these youthful ones. Beautiful-x has a strong beat that had my foot tapping along. There is also a bit of funkiness to the song, which makes it very fun sounding. I liked the vocal melodies, particularly around ‘Nal Wihae‘ (‘For You‘) part of the chorus, but I wished that the rapping was a little dynamic, which I think would have supported the song. It, to me, felt like the most forgettable part of the song.
The group goes with that high school concept, which is pretty unoriginal. The entire montage at the start was boring and failed to excite me to keep watching the performance. The fact that they kept on confessing their love by putting items in the one locker felt cheesy.
As the performance progressed, things got a lot more interesting. It does look like your typical KPOP stage performance, as the moves looked quite typical at best. I really like the basketball routine and also the band scenes (though it did look somewhat cheesy as well). The cheesy note could also apply for the ending as well.
Road To Kingdom crowned The Boyz as the overall winners of the entire show. That was based on digital points of the new singles from its release date; the accumulated points from the first three rounds; view counts from the performances on online platforms and fan votes! Unfortuately I don’t have access to all of that information, so I will be basing my pick for overall winner based on the rankings I have given to them thus far, including the ones above.
With that being said, the group whom I think should have been crowned as the winner to Road To Kingdom is ONF, with The Boyz coming runner up. It is a bit of a reversal, as ONF were the runner up in real life. To see my version of the final rankings, they are in the table below.
Final Ranking Position
Artist
#1
ONF
#2
The Boyz
#3
Pentagon
#4
VERIVERY
#5
ONEUS
#6
TOO
#7
Golden Child
And with that, I have completed my review for Road To Kingdom. A lot of work was put into this, but it was quite fun. Now I just need to return to the usual posting schedule, which I haven’t really adhered to while working on this review series. With The Boyz confirmed for the upcoming Kingdom series, who else do you want to see on the show? For me personally, I want to see Stray Kids, SF9, ATEEZ and NCT as part of the lineup. That will definitely be very exciting! Let me know who iswill be on your version of Kingdom in the comments section below!
We have just completed the final week of the first half of 2020! It has been a wild ride and hopefully everything bad that has happened in the first half of 2020 will get better in the second half. We had a relatively quiet week in KPOP, with major comebacks from SEVENTEEN and BLACKPINK occurring this week. I think I mentioned last week that this past week was going to be busy. But I mucked up the weeks, as this coming week will be loaded with comebacks, such as from Sunmi, AB6IX, Hwasa, VERIVERY, Lee Jin Hyuk and many others. But before we get through to those reviews, we need to go through the Weekly KPOP Charts.
Rising to the top of the charts this week is Stray Kids’s God’s Menu. It is powerful and intense, so no wonder it is at the highest position this week. Following closely behind is SEVENTEEN’s Left & Right, which is their latest release. In the third position, we have NATURE’s Girls, which has proven to be quite a song. Golden Child is another group to have released a new song this week and One (Lucid Dream) comes in the fourth position this week. Completing the Top 5 this week is MONSTA X’s FANTASIA. For more of the charts, scroll down below.
21st Jun – 27th Jun 2020
Title
Artist
Status
1
God’s Menu
Stray Kids
(▲ 3)
2
Left & Right
SEVENTEEN
(new)
3
Girls
NATURE
(▲ 21)
4
One (Lucid Dream)
Golden Child
(new)
5
FANTASIA
MONSTA X
(▲ 15)
6
Oopsy
Weki Meki
(▼ 1)
7
My My
SEVENTEEN
(▼ 4)
8
Can’t You See Me
TXT
(▲ 2)
9
Puma
TXT
(▲ 31)
10
Stand By You
A.C.E
(new)
11
Secret Story of a Swan
IZ*ONE
(▼ 9)
12
How You Like That
BLACKPINK
(new)
13
Cloud 9
CRAVITY
(▲ 42)
14
More & More
TWICE
(▲ 19)
15
Punch
NCT 127
(▼ 3)
16
Wing
Park Ji Hoon
(▲ 5)
17
Candy
Baekhyun (EXO)
(▼ 2)
18
Didn’t Say Anything
Baek Z Young & Ong Seong Woo
(▲ 4)
19
Still Standing
Yesung (Super Junior) & Suran
(▲ 26)
20
Pierrot
D-CRUNCH
(▲ 18)
21
Linger On
Roy Kim
(▲ 6)
22
Mayday
VICTON
(▼ 16)
23
Tiger Eye
Ryu Su Jeong (Lovelyz)
(▼ 5)
24
Eight
IU ft. Suga (BTS)
(▲ 17)
25
Butterfly
WJSN (Cosmic Girls)
(▼ 24)
26
Oh Realy
N.Flying
(▼ 19)
27
Knock
ASTRO
(▼ 9)
28
End of Spring
ONEWE
(▲ 6)
29
Absence
Moonbyul (Mamamoo)
(▲ 15)
30
Red Moon
Kim Woo Seok (UP10TION)
(▼ 13)
Songs leaving the chart this week are:
Favorite – Kanto ft. Bumkey
Nonstop – Oh My Girl
Stay Tonight – Kim Chungha
BAZOOKA! – GWSN
Ridin’ – NCT Dream
Lucifer – Noir
Still Standing – Yesung (Super Junior) & Suran
Thank you once again for visiting the blog and I will see you in the next post!
Ha Sung Woon made his return earlier this month with Get Ready, which is the title track off his 3rd mini-album, Twilight Zone. I have already reviewed the song on the day of its release and now it is time for the album to be reviewed. As an overall summary (but not to spoil all my thoughts on the album), it is definitely a high quality sounding album with a lot of great tracks. For more detailed views on each of the song, you will need to continue reading. Let’s see how his sidetracks faired.
Twilight Zone Album Cover
1. Lazy Lovers – Opening up Twilight Zone is Lazy Lovers, which is a nice pop track that showcases Ha Sung Woon talents in an easygoing and trendy manner. The track is quite upbeat, features a strong retro rhythm and has a subtle funkiness that eases you into the next song. I also like his voice in this song. He switches between a falsetto and a standard pitch, which gives the song some texture in terms of his voice. The melodies and hooks to the song were also quite enjoyable. While they were relatively mild, there was a decent level of appeal to them, which helped make this song a good entrance piece for the album. (8/10)
3. Puzzle – Puzzle is another dance-pop track that has an appealing instrumental. It is also another enjoyable track, though I do not that it just doesn’t get past that ‘enjoyable’ label (i.e. it could have been exciting as a possible next level descriptor). The song features heavy bass during the chorus to give it that driving force and this contrasts with the lighter verse. I also like how ‘jabby’ the chorus instrumental felt, which felt fun and appealing. So were the melodies, his vocals and the ‘Fill in the blanks for me’ hooks, which ties into the song’s message quite nicely (i.e. the person he is singing to is the missing puzzle piece in his life). (8/10)
4. Lie– To me, Lie is the hidden gem on this album. It sounds like a pop-rock ballad, which is something that I really enjoy. Ha Sung Woon’s vocals bring a nice colour to the song and there is a subtle level of emotion that makes it appealing. It isn’t heavy-handed, allowing this song to be a great song to be playing in the background on a relaxing day. I really like the melodies in this song, especially when it came to the chorus. The ‘Lie’ in the chorus was pretty memorable. On a side note regarding his vocals, he sounded a lot like Kim Sung Gyu (leader and main vocalist of Infinite) in this song. It also doesn’t help that the genre is also commonly associated with Kim Sung Gyu as well. I had to do a double-take while listening to this song to ensure I didn’t actually click on a Kim Sung Gyu song. But no, it is Ha Sung Woon and I think this is a great compliment, especially since Kim Sung Gyu is one of my favourite vocalists. (10/10)
5. Curiou’s(궁금‘s) – We now return to an undeniably fun number. In comparison to the other songs on this album, it might feel a little overwhelming to some. But I don’t mind it. Once again, I really like the melodies in this song. The melodies are a lot more playful and refreshing to me, which is a really strong appealing point. I also like the energy that his voice adds to the song. The instrumental feel just right and I liked the textural components to it. To me, it easily could have been a follow-up release to Bird, as it seems to have similar energy (just this one is a lot more amped up). The only troubling issue with the song is the title and the presence of the apostrophe. I don’t think it was ever explained, nor is it referenced in the song (though the Hangul is apostrophed, though I m unsure of the significance of this). So, I am a little confused with it. But other than that, another great song. (9/10)
6. Twinkle Twinkle – The jazzy vibes to the instrumental and the way Ha Sung Woon’s vocals sound during the verses are probably its memorable moments. It is also the only song to really have my attention grabbed from the start, as it definitely puts it best foot forward first. As the song progresses, his vocals get better, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I also really like how his vocals are in the forefront of the song. They come off strong and very bold, whilst the instrumental only feels like an accompaniment. It is an odd balance, but one that pays off. It ends the album on a very positive note. (9/10)
It has been over a year since BLACKPINK made their comeback with Kill This Love and fans have been wanting more ever since. And after that gruelling long wait, BLACKPINK has finally returned with a new single, How You Like That. It is said that 2020 is going to be a big year for the group, as they are ‘confirmed’ for their album, which will be due in September 2020. Well, at least YG Entertainment claims so. We will have to wait for its actual release to actually believe it, given YG Entertainment’s track record with BLACKPINK’s past releases and the ‘promised’ solo singles for Rose, Lisa and Jisoo (these have been ‘confirmed’ for later in the year). But until then, we have How You Like That to relieve that BLACKPINK itch.
You might already know where this review is heading if I am going to say that the most enjoyable part of the song is the ending sequence. This is where the song delivers an instrumental piece that is both powerful and enjoyable for a number of reasons. The first reason was that everything before that was extremely lacklustre and boring. It failed to excite me, hype me, maintain suspense or capture my attention. The first verse was okay, but it needed a powerful drop once it got to the chorus to enforce the preceding section. Instead, the chorus opted for a dry and bland drop. It was quite emotionless, to put it frankly and this resulted in drying out the first verse as well. I know the final sequence is just an extension of the chorus (as you can hear the chorus behind the increased tempo and heavy beats), but it was something that that I was looking for because it added momentum and energy to the song. The rapping and vocal work were quite good. I liked how Lisa’s rapping really helped make up for the lost momentum of the chorus, delivering some impact. If only the instrumental was more interesting to help support that mindset. I will also give the song its How You Like That chorus hook, for the exact same reason. Another thing that I noticed as I listened to the song for the first time early tonight – I had the thought that How You Like That was a Kill This Love or Ddu Du Ddu Du version 2.0 as it basically went for the same formula. For their upcoming release, I would love to hear something that strays away from the same formula and hopefully is a lot more exciting to this than compared to this song.
It is a YG video and it expected that it will be a good music video. And I feel like they hit that mark, once again. The colours are very vivid, the lighting puts everything into focus and most importantly, the video highlights all the pretty visuals of the group. I really liked how their outfits and looks really had a wow factor to them in this video, which made it more captivating to watch. The same thing can be said about the set design. My favourite looks in this music video include Jisoo’s headwear that accompanies her red outfit, Rose’s casual outfit when she rips off the flower blindfold, Lisa’s red hair, Jennie’s look under the umbrellas, their dark angel dresses and all their outfits for the final sequence.
Dance wise, I thought it was a good routine. There is a lot of attitude in the choreography to support the chorus and this fits well with the lyrics of being better after breaking up with someone who doubted them. I also really like the strut they did as they launch right into the final sequence. Attitude and definitely boldness to kick off the best part of the song. I did think the line was a little odd. But it still worked.
Song – 5/10 Music Video – 9/10 Performance – 8/10 Overall Rating – 6.8/10
Welcome all to my very special review to Road To Kingdom. I may have been very silent about the recent series. But I have been eagerly awaiting each performance to appear on YouTube after broadcasting on Thursdays to see what Golden Child, ONEUS, ONF, Pentagon, The Boyz, TOO and VERIVERY have prepared for us. In this special review series, I will be going through the actual rankings that came about from the first three rounds, short reviews of each performance and how I thought the rankings would go! This post will only cover the second part of the third official round (i.e. Your Song). Please remember, these are my thoughts only. Feel free to comment your ones below.
Your Song
Each remaining group had the ability to choose a song that was performed in this second part of Round 3. The song chosen by one group was allocated to the group they were paired with in the first part in Round 3. The scores from this part of round 3 and the preceding part were combined to determine which group would be leaving the competition next, ahead of the finale. Like in the previous round, I will be focusing on their arrangement, concept and choreography.
Be Mine – ONEUS (Original Artist: Infinite)
What I really liked about ONEUS’ version of Be Mine is that it doesn’t mess around. The melody remains as it is. It is just modernised to be fitting for a 2020 competition. They don’t add anything that would have taken away the nostalgic factor and hence this makes their stage a really good version of the original to just listen. I love that they did use violins in this version. I always thought Infinite’s classical remixes of their songs were the best and this was very appealing to my taste on a personal level. I feel that the rapping was a weak point in this arrangement. They did feel a little foreign to the original song. But as it is ONEUS’ version, they had every right to infuse some of themselves in a way into the song. For the stage, they took on a Romeo and Juliet concept. They opened the performance with a musical sequence from the play that just about everyone knows. On stage, we see the part where Juliet is dead and Romeo discovers her body. It is followed by the actual performance of the song. Keeping true to how they approach their arrangement, the performance doesn’t have anything too crazy in terms of stunts. It was a rather clean performance and they knew when to add some oomph to the performance to make it feel strong. What was cool was how they draped that piece of fabric with the two coat of arms of the houses over the page and RAVN cut it in half with a pair of scissors and walking through it, symbolising that nothing will keep the star crossed lovers apart. The performance ends with Romeo about to drink the poison and Juliet just waking up. The way they ended it gave the performance a cliffhanger, despite us already knowing what was to come afterwards.
It’s Raining – ONF (Original Artist: Rain)
Without a doubt, ONF’s stage was the strongest of the bunch. It is the performance from this round that I continue to come back to ever since it aired. The group chose a very well-known song but managed to make it their own. The original version is very sexy and mature in many ways. ONF’s version turns it into an extremely upbeat track and infuses likeable energy into it that really grabs your attention. I liked how the song retains famous inhale and exhale sounds. I also like how they incorporate the Complete saxophone into the song. It is a fun little nod to themselves in a song that pays homage to Rain. It also helps with the funky element that they have int their song. I found their ‘Rain, Go Rain, Its Raining‘ version to be extremely catchy and it made it fun. I also like that killer line that ends to the performance. ‘It’s raining, I’m crazy‘. That was awesome. For the performance, the group incorporated a Michael Jackson concept. Their outfits do that wonderfully and that dance break mid-way into the performance had all the familiar Michael Jackson moves. I also liked how they started off their performance with a reflection of their Road To Kingdom journey and how that opening piece with Hyojin was revisited partway into the performance so that the opening sequence made sense. For the performance, I enjoyed all the dance moves. I really liked their use of curtains, which added a really cool stage element to the performance and how it hid the members/dancers, allowing to them to enter into the performance in a dynamic fashion, matching the energetic style of the song.
Follow – Pentagon (Original Artist: MONSTA X)
Pentagon intensifies MONSTA X’s Follow, an already intense song. I did not know it was possible and this just intrigues me to continue listening to their version. Interestingly, it isn’t their instrumentation that is intense, but rather their delivery of the song that had that intense charge to it. What I also love about that despite it being amped up, I don’t find the performance to be overwhelming, which is a good thing. Their arrangement started off with an exotic-sounding sequence that sets their Egyptian concept in place and also foreshadows the intensity of the performance (that just keeps on growing as the song progresses). We then tick over into what sounds like a hip-hop based verse, before settling on an EDM pop sound. I was a little confused with this change in sound. I would have liked for them to continue that hip-hop sound as it sounded quite interesting. Nonetheless, the track nails the EDM pop sound, opting for a completely different range of synths to the original song. The dance break sounded awesome. I also really enjoyed the growling sounds the members executed, which added an animal-like side to their cover that just makes it so much more intense. Hui’s growl at the end of his high note, Yuto and Wooseok’s rapping just sounded so much more powerful. I really like the set for their stage, which really help further the concept. My favourite part has to be when the sarcophagus was opened to reveal Shiwon in it. Their entire dance break after Hui’s high note was probably my favourite part of the choreography (including Hui’s part of the dance break). I also liked that ending, with Wooseok walking back to the throne and the ‘glory music’ playing in the background.
Quasi una fantasia (Shangri-La) – The Boyz (Original Artist: VIXX)
After their stages in this show so far, it is very different to hear the group to start off with something so pretty sounding like what they did here. But don’t worry, they bring their signature intensity back for this stage later on. In fact, I really liked the contrast between the start and how far they manage to develop the song once it ended. I also liked how they bridged the two sections. Following the pretty sounding first verse, they went with a classical piece, before proceeding with the chorus which is where their arrangement slowly started to build. I really liked the percussion and EDM in the instrumental that followed, which is what gave their version the intensity that I have acknowledged earlier. In a way, The Boyz managed to make VIXX’s Shangri-La into an even more captivating and dynamic song. The group went with an Oriental concept, focusing on cherry blossoms for a large portion of their performance. I really like the flower they formed with their skirts (not really sure what to call those pieces of fabrics). They definitely added a pretty element but pushed the boundaries by wearing them and using them in this performance (especially since everything is quite masculine and powerful in a ‘strong sense’ in the competition so far). I liked the idea of the screen in which Younghoon walked behind and how it was used to form a tree. I also liked how his branch had nothing on it and as it went down the line, the branch started to flourish. This performance is definitely unlike their previous ones, but it was still captivating to watch.
Hard Carry – TOO (Original Artist: GOT7)
When I heard that Hard Carry was going to be one of the performances covered in this round, I was overjoyed. Hard Carry is my favourite GOT7 track ever. It was a powerful release and it left a strong impression on me. TOO’s version of the song is questionable for me. There were some good moments and I liked how they ‘translated’ the song into a hip-hop based sound. I personally don’t mind their direction for this song and would have been great if they somehow brought the intensity of the original over. Instead, their version came off as toned down and weak, which isn’t a great thing. I would have liked more of that rock sound that followed the first chorus. It had what I was looking for and would have been a great element to continue throughout latter dance breaks in their performance. It isn’t all bad news as I enjoyed their rapping and vocal work. I also enjoyed how they all contributed to the chorus, especially the final chorus, which I believe ties their performance and concept together nicely. For their concept, the group went with a street style. This fits in with their hip-hop sound quite well. I also liked how urban the stage and visual effect on the screen looked. Their outfits are edgy in a way that also fits their youthful image. Unfortunately, there was something that I didn’t really think suited their performance. Take the ‘all smiles rock’ sequence that followed the first chorus. It just looked weird and just didn’t go well with their intense dance portions of the performance. It looked a little playful when they were doing something so edgy. I did like it when they turned the lights down and had the fluorescent colours on their outfits glow. That looked cool. The dancing, for the most part, looked quite cool.
gogobebe – VERIVERY (Original Artist: Mamamoo)
VERIVERY was assigned gogobebe, which is originally by my favourite female group. It is the only song by a female group in this round. I liked how they brought in that foreign musical flair that suits the Aladdin theme they had on stage. They combined it with some modern synths to give it that oophm and energy that made it a fun stage. Take the final moments of the chorus. They added definition by bolstering the beat, and in turn, helped that part become quite dynamic. If I were to compare the two versions, VERIVERY’s version is definitely more enjoyable as it explores more of that fun side of the song, which is obviously required to be done for an appealing stage. They had a huge dance break in the middle and I liked how they kept that musical colour to it. I would have thought they went something extreme and be considered ill-fitting to give the performance that edgy feel and/or allow the group to sneak in some crazy moments into their choreography. As mentioned, the concept was Aladdin. Their outfits were quite nice and the stage props were cool. I was quite disappointed with the rug. I wished it wasn’t just on the floor, because this just cheapens the performance in my point of view. I liked how they had the lamp, but there was no reference to the Genie. It might have been a hard idea to pull off. But since they included Jafar into the performance, I am sure they could have added the Genie in some capacity. As for the dancing, I thought the entire performance looked great. I really liked how Jafar’s cane was floating about just before the dance break. Unfortunately, the cane was also the flaw of the performance, as Hoyoung dropped it at a critical moment. It was something I waited to happen on the show, as all these performances cannot be as perfect as they seem. And they recovered well and pulled off the performance without any other hitches.
And the ranking…
For this round, I agreed with the show on how they ranked their first and last place. ONF came out on top with such a cool performance, while TOO just felt short with their rendition of Hard Carry. It is the rankings in between that I did not agree with. Actually, I ranked the middle rankings in the opposite manner to the show. To see how it turned out, you can view the table below.
Performance
Artist
Actual Ranking
My Ranking
It’s Raining
ONF
#1
#1
Quasi una fantasia
The Boyz
#2
#5
gogobebe
VERIVERY
#3
#4
Be Mine
ONEUS
#4
#2
Follow
Pentagon
#5
#3
Hard Carry
TOO
#6
#6
As mentioned earlier, Round 3 was an elimination round. By combining the scores of the Collaboration and the Your Song rounds, the show ended up eliminating TOO for the competition. And my rankings also conform to that decision. For the rest of the rankings (which are irrespective of the performances in the Song Of King and My Song round), view the table below!
Ranking
Artist
#1
ONF
#2
ONEUS
#3
Pentagon
#4
The Boyz
#5
VERIVERY
#6
TOO
And that wraps all the rounds. We are left with five groups – ONEUS, ONF, Pentagon, The Boyz and VERIVERY. And they are off the finale, where they release and perform a new song just for the Road To Kingdom viewers. Whoever is victorious in the finale will go on to participate in Kingdom, as the first prize is a confirmed spot in the next show! To know my thoughts on the finale, you gotta check back this coming Monday! Until then, here are all the links to the previous posts.
Ahead of the official release of a digital single tomorrow, A.C.E has unveiled the music video for their new release, Stand By You. We last saw the group thought their Savage promotions back in November of last year. Since then, we haven’t heard much from the group. While that is the case for the last few months, it seems like we will be seeing A.C.E more in the foreseeable future. The music video for this release ends with the title card ‘A.C.E: the beginning’, along with the member’s nametags on a window sill. What does this all mean? I guess we will know in due time. In the meanwhile, here is my review for Stand By You.
Stand By You is unlike the songs that I know A.C.E for. For those who are unfamiliar with A.C.E, they are commonly associated with powerful EDM dance tracks. I am not familiar what their side tracks are like, unfortunately, so maybe something a long the lines of Stand By You has popped up before. But for me personally, Stand By You is very different. It is a soft rock ballad that brings out the vocals of all the members. There isn’t much to the song in terms of complexity, which the group is widely known for through their title tracks. The instrumental feels like your typical soft rock track. It isn’t bad in any way. It is rather light and quite calming. It just doesn’t have a unique factor to it, if you were to compare it other soft rock ballads. But this allows their vocals to be in the forefront of the song and the song does an amazing job of showcasing the member’s vocals. The harmonies that come about in the song and the lightness of the song feels very youthful and innocent, which comes into play when I will discuss their music video in a bit. Overall, I quite liked the track. Everything comes together well, giving the song a refreshing tone. Other than the vocals and the instrumental, I don’t think there is enough to make this song memorable. As just a digital single, it could get lost in the mix of various comebacks we expect in the coming weeks. But there is enough for me to enjoy with an occasion listen or if it popped up on my playlist.
The music video is definitely the beginning (or sequel) to something a lot darker. It opens up with Jun narrating over a scene where he is kneeling in the rain, in front of a girl. He says ‘The world rejected me, so I tried to burn it down. But then I no longer had a world. When I opened my eyes, inside the prison that is my heart, I discovered a cactus reflected in a small mirror‘, whilst crying and shivering in the cold. The scene is quite dark, contrasting with the many light scenes that follow. The video then flips to the same girl in a classroom. Interestingly, she is alone and goes to the one table in the classroom. She fumbles around and opens a diary, where a photo flies out. She leans down to pick it up and we then see Jun looking up back at her (and the other members in the classroom). The photo is of all of them wearing coloured skirts and a feathered headband. They plan an outing and we get some sort of indication of the members having a crush on the girl. We don’t know for sure yet, but there seems to be some awkwardness while they plan the outing. The members turn up to school one day with a gold cart and with their female friend, they embark on their trip. The golf cart breaks down and they all set up camp under the stars. It is there they dress up in coloured skirts and a feathered headband. Not sure what this means, but it seems like this all occurred before (based on the photo). The next day, they all turn up onto the beach. While their friend takes in the sights, the members hang back. For a moment there, the members look at her fondly, as if they are all watching over her. She realizes something, turns back and the members are no longer there. She then grabs something from her pocket and becomes emotional about it. This music video definitely brings forward a lot of questions and definitely leaves me intrigued for what is to come.
Song – 8/10 Music Video – 9/10 Overall Rating – 8.4/10
Recently, Golden Child participated in Road To Kingdom but was eliminated after the first round for having the least amount of points out of all the teams. If you are interested in my thoughts of their performances in the competition, you can view Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of the special review series. But while the group did not last as long as we hoped, they announced their comeback soon after and hence why we are all here today. Golden Child returned today with their 4th mini-album, Take A Leap, which features the title track, ONE (Lucid Dream). The group pre-released the music video for this comeback 18 hours prior to the official release, but I was asleep then and was not able to review it. Instead, the group has landed on the top of my review list, so let’s get cracking.
The group has definitely gained attention with their dark sound and mature change, which contrasts greatly from their more brighter and energetic releases. In addition to that, Wannabe and Without You has become some of their best works in my opinion. But it seems like Golden Child hasn’t completely unleashed their new sound as ONE (Lucid Dream) raises the bar even higher than those other tracks can reach. The song’s instrumentation is quite unique and individualistic, something that will definitely allow the group to standout in a sea of typical and generic releases that will be due throughout Summer. The verses are made up of a very strong electronic vibrating synth and strong thumping beats. It feels quite grounded and impactful. The pre-chorus opts out of those two elements and goes for a more floating-like vibe, which really adds some smoothness to the roughened song. The chorus opts for some funky beats that adds character to the song and this fuses with some violins in the second half. The hooks just glide over and this too helps gives the song some smoothness. From where the song’s bridge should have started, ONE opted for with heavily distorted and high pitched vocals that form part of an instrumental break, before throwing us into dance break to end the song. I feel like Golden Child could have kicked it up a notch in this section to give the song a much needed climax. It just feels like a missed opportunity in my opinion. After all, they ended the song without diving into a final chorus. But it is still a very strong piece, regardless thanks to everything they had set up prior. The vocal work and rapping delivery are just on point. I liked how they kept their vocals relatively linear in comparison to the instrumental. This really helps add definition to the background and adds some contrast (that you know I like). My favourite part has to be the whispering in the first verse! Overall, a very strong effort, just a shy away from that perfect label.
So I wasn’t aware that Wannabe, Without You and ONE (Lucid Dream) were a trilogy until I scrolled through the comments to see what some viewers thoughts on the music video were. Why am I always the last one to find out that a string of comebacks are trilogies or a series of some kind? Based on those comments, Wannabe was about becoming the best version of oneself. Without You was getting lost in that idea. ONE is about realizing that best version of oneself was them originally. That is a pretty interesting interpretation of all the music videos. As for ONE by itself, the visuals for this music video was really cool. The visual effects were very strong. For the some of the individual scenes, I couldn’t tell if they were dreams or nightmares, which forced me to watch the music video a few times this morning to try to work it out. Some of them were obvious, others were a little hard to decipher. But I can agree that all of them were aesthetic.
This performance is very captivating. It, in a visual sense, looks very aesthetic as well. I really liked how they made it punchy once the song enters the first verse. I like how there was a lot of twisty formations and ‘over and under’ type of movements as they move around. The moves for the chorus has this subtle smoothness to it which matches perfectly with the music. And the dance break ends the performance on a very strong sense.
Song – 9.5/10 Music Video – 9/10 Performance – 10/10 Overall Rating – 9.5/10
Welcome all to my very special review to Road To Kingdom. I may have been very silent about the recent series. But I have been eagerly awaiting each performance to appear on YouTube after broadcasting on Thursdays to see what Golden Child, ONEUS, ONF, Pentagon, The Boyz, TOO and VERIVERY have prepared for us. In this special review series, I will be going through the actual rankings that came about from the first three rounds, short reviews of each performance and how I thought the rankings would go! This post will only cover the first part of the third official round (i.e. Collaboration). Please remember, these are my thoughts only. Feel free to comment your ones below.
Collaboration
At the end of the last round, Golden Child was eliminated, leaving 6 groups in the competition. In this round, two groups would pair up and would need to cover a song of their choice. Not all members were required for the stage. For this round, Pentagon joined up with ONF, VEIRVERY joined hands with TOO, leaving The Boyz and ONEUS to share the stage. The scores from this part of round 3 and the following part were combined to determine which group would be leaving the competition next, ahead of the finale. Like in the previous round, I will be focusing on their arrangement, concept and choreography.
Kill This Love – ONF & Pentagon (Original Artist: BLACKPINK)
I remember watching this performance for the first time after it had aired and not knowing which song was being covered at the time. I only recognised it was Kill This Love once it reached the chorus. I totally liked the intense and powerful route that this arrangement took, completely straying away from the original version. The guys made it very sensual when it came to the chorus, which I thought was memorable. Their concept took on a horror with a twisted romance and I enjoyed all the little details in the arrangement that gave it that profile and character. While the song was successful thanks to the vocals, I feel that the rappers really had the shining moments in this stage. Wooseok with his neck cutting left a deep impression on not only myself, but the rest of the competition. Wyatt’s deep voice gave the first verse some impact, while J-US’ interpretation of the ‘We must kill this love. It is sad but true‘ left me speechless. These alone were very memorable over the other performances. As for the performance itself, I thought it was fantastic. It was eerie, mysterious and had a suspenseful edge that left me wanting more. We have a female ghost, whom all the members are attracted to. Not in a romantic sense, but rather an addictive sense. The members looked insane, broken or terrifying throughout the performance because of this love. All of this makes perfect sense for the song choice, come to the think of it. The performance ends with Hyojin successfully getting back to the female ghost, but it turns out that it was all in his head (and hence the twisted side of the romantic story). The dance breaks were epic and their performance looked like they all came from one group. My favourite part has to be Hongseok being pulled from under his clothes and Wooseok’s neck cutting motion that I had already mentioned. Captivating performance, overall.
On – TOO & VERIVERY (Original Artist: BTS)
Unlike the cover of both Kill This Love (above) and Heroine (below), it was quite obvious from the get-go that TOO and VERIVERY was covering BTS’ latest track, On. This entire rearrangement of On takes on a militaristic character, which fits in neatly with the original song. You can hear parts of the original song in the background, which was the main give away at the start of the cover. I just wished with the chorus, they put a unique spin on it, instead of amplifying the original. That really would make this performance extremely strong. Take the second verse for example as they did with what I had wanted. I really liked their use of classical instrumentation and how they built on it as it progressed through that verse. It was a different direction to the original and it gave this collaboration some unique points. Without a doubt that the performance took a military based concept, which looked really cool. Some of their outfits looked a little bulky though, which I don’t think would have helped them in a performance sense. But that is only a minor concern. As for the choreography, damn it was good. They used a lot of the original choreography for the choruses, which made sense given that they used the original choruses. But their energy they gave during the choruses made the routine look really good. A military concept will definitely have the term ‘synchronisation’ associated to it. Their synchronization was truly scary during the chorus and once again, they look like one group. And while I am speaking about synchronisation, we need to talk about the dance break that follow the second chorus. They marching/turning that kicked it off and the fluid dance moves that followed made it a powerful routine that wowed me.
Heroine – ONEUS & The Boyz (Original Artist: Sunmi)
The final collaboration performance takes on Sunmi’s Heroine. As mentioned above, you don’t really know what song they are covering until after the rappers finish doing their thing at the start. The new arrangement kicks off with a ballad-like sequence, where the rappers rapped about their dream and how sorry they are to their loved ones for taking this hard path. Heroine‘s melody comes through during the first vocal sequence, but they continue the ballad-like atmosphere. We slowly get a buildup to the second verse, where the arrangement becomes more of that pop track we all know of. As the stage progresses, they infuse a club beat and drop to the performance which really captivates me, that is both powerful and memorable. For the stage’s concept, I found it very unique that they portrayed the life and journey to becoming an idol. We kick off with hopes and dreams that the rappers were rapping about, followed by training and auditioning. More training occurred afterwards until they were ready to debut. The makeup and wardrobe preparations were made and everyone got to dance on stage. This only gets us up to the end of the second verse. For the bridge, we get fans chanting each of the group’s name (including Golden Child, who were eliminated last round). All the other groups were touched by this. We see two members (sorry, I couldn’t catch their names/faces) sitting on the stage during this sequence, but only one of them rejoins the other members, while the other member walks off stage. It is said that the member who walked off stage represented all the idols who came and disappeared, which I thought was very thought evoking. At the end, we see all the team’s logos on the screen and the two groups hugging and smiling, showing us that they are all together in this journey in becoming an idol. The dance sequences were quite good and paired extremely well with the music. Hwanwoong’s solo moment really stole the show for me. But it is the concept that really makes this stage memorable and impactful.
And the ranking…
This collaborative round was really good and showcased awesome stages, some of which are probably the best in the whole competition. And it comes down to the all exciting ranking. Remember that the scores from this section of Round 3 and the next section of Round 3 were combined to eliminate another group. But that is discussion for the next post in this series. As for my ranking, I picked ONF and Pentagon to be the top stage, while TOO and VERIVERY was chosen as the weaker collaboration (but it does not mean their performance was bad!). For the actual rankings and where ONEUS and The Boyz sit on my ranking, you can see it all in the table blow.
Song
Artists
Actual Ranking
My Ranking
Kill This Love
ONF & Pentagon
#1
#1
On
TOO & VERIVERY
#2
#3
Heroine
ONEUS & The Boyz
#3
#2
And that wraps it up for the first part of the 3rd Round. The second part of the 3rd Round is dubbed ‘Your Song’, where the groups got to choose any song to perform. Check back on Thursday for that post!
Giving us directions into this week is SEVENTEEN. The 13 member male group makes their grand return comeback with their 7th mini-album, Journey of Youth or Heng:garæ, and the title track Left & Right. Alongside Left & Right, the group also pre-released My My (which I reviewed already). In the My My review, I said that Us, Again was another pre-release track for this new mini-album. But upon the album’s release, I see that this single is not part of their 7th mini-album and is just a fan single (with no formal release aside from the lyric video they dropped a few weeks back). Aside from that little note, let’s see where SEVENTEEN is going to take us with this release.
SEVENTEEN has been focusing on very mature and dark sounds over their last few releases. As it is Summer time in South Korea, the group’s new single takes on a more energetic and upbeat feel to suit the season full of bright energy and colour. Left & Right takes on a modern hip-hop sound, a different style to what SEVENTEEN has released before. This might because SVENTEEN had retained that mature sound from their previous comebacks, whilst infusing it with a brighter sound. And it is because of this that I find Left & Right is unlike their previous Summer tracks, such as Oh My or Aju Nice, which each had a teenage vibe to it. And unlike those tracks, I find the the dynamic profile of this song to be well hidden in the music. What I like already about the song is that everything comes off as easygoing. From the light instrumentation to the laid-back nature of the hooks and melodies, SEVENTEEN really makes sure we are not overwhelmed in any way, making this an ideal Summer track to kick back to. And to match with this approach, their vocals and rapping are not overly dominate in the song as well. Everything just feels well-balanced and I liked that. Sure, Left & Right doesn’t have their most impressive vocal and rapping delivery to date, but their easygoing tone really appeals to me. The song’s main appealing point has to be its casual hook. Its presence in the teaser already sold me this comeback, but to hear it in full with the rest of the song really adds that more melodic touch to it. I am thoroughly enjoying this song and I can definitely tell it will be one that I will be replaying in the weeks to come.
The song is all about doing what you believe in. And I think the video does a good job presenting that. Take the race as an example. The old man starts the race off with the gun and seems to represents all the grownups that tell you what you should and should not do. Seungkwan seems to be the only one who listens and runs off, while all the other members stayed back and danced. When Seungkwan stops running, he is faced with two signs – ‘Early bird catches the worm‘ and ‘Youth can change everything‘. They don’t spark happiness in him, as you can tell with this facial expressions. Those signs talk all about being successful and don’t really tell you much about growing up and learning from your mistakes. The members burn a book about becoming successful and a trophy to go against becoming successful and perfect. The graffiti on the wall says to ‘Do Your Best’, but the members respond with ‘But maybe not sometimes‘ to say that it is okay regardless of the outcome. The biggest moment of the music video is when the members run into the dilemma of going left or right. Joshua instead doesn’t follow the two paths that are set and redirect the arrows to go up (i.e. doing what you believe in). As S.Coups is the oldest, it is logical he would go up first. He is strapped into car pretending to be like a rocket ship, which only goes up. Lift off was okay, but the car explodes and end up going back down, signifying failure. I final scene where S.Coups get out of the car and starts dancing represents that is whatever the outcome of a choice you make is, everything will be okay.
I really like how the choreography really brought that fun aspect to the performance. It just makes the stage so much more engaging and appealing to watch. I think the chorus looks like one of those that will go onto becoming viral and everyone will be dancing along to it. I also like how the performance related to the song’s easygoing vibe and didn’t incorporate anything complex looking, which obviously wouldn’t work well. I say this because SEVENTEEN is notorious for difficult dance moves.
Song – 9/10 Music Video – 10/10 Performance – 9/10 Overall Rating – 9.3/10
Welcome all to my very special review to Road To Kingdom. I may have been very silent about the recent series. But I have been eagerly awaiting each performance to appear on YouTube after broadcasting on Thursdays to see what Golden Child, ONEUS, ONF, Pentagon, The Boyz, TOO and VERIVERY have prepared for us. In this special review series, I will be going through the actual rankings that came about from the first three rounds, short reviews of each performance and how I thought the rankings would go! This post will only cover the second official round (i.e. My Song). Please remember, these are my thoughts only. Feel free to comment your ones below.
My Song (2nd Round)
As part of the third and fourth episodes of the competition, the participating groups had to choose of their past songs and rearrange it for this round. The stakes are high in this round, as the rankings and points from the 1st and 2nd round together would determine which group would be eliminated from the competition. I will outline my thoughts on the elimination that occurred and who I thought should have been eliminated the end. Like in the previous round, I will be focusing on their arrangement, concept and choreography.
Wannabe – Golden Child
The original version of Wannabe is already quite sleek. Yet, their rearrangement somehow is more sleeker. They sampled Caprices No. 24 by Paganini, which is a stunning and well-known violin piece (just watch Joochan played it on the violin during the performance). The rearrangement of the song incorporates and emphasises the instrumental melodies with the use of orchestral instruments. And while this is very intense already, they add electric guitar riffs to top it off. With regards to the concept, it seems like their aim to reach for the white violin which is above the group while they perform, though its significance is unknown. Only the start and end of the performance seems to focus on the suspended white violin. I wished they somehow presented the significance of the white violin on this stage to give us some context (I think they tried to, but it wasn’t obvious). The rest of the performance is detached from the violin. The start is very dramatic and I really liked the ‘under and over’ moves they do. It looks complicated and well timed. As they kept the melodies of the original, the original choreography was also included neatly into the performance. I liked how intense and powerful the choreography was that accompanied Joochan’s violin solo. Actually, all the new elements in their performance can be described in the same way. This is definitely a step up from their 1st round performance.
Lit – ONEUS
What I really liked about this version of Lit is that ONEUS didn’t try to reinvent it. Instead, they kept true to the original and emphasised the folk elements of the original version. For the most part, the two version sound quite similar and that could potentially be a downfall to the stage. But instead, they made everything more defined and dynamic, giving an extra surge of energy to the original version to get to this version. And they just continued with the momentum as they progressed in the song, which makes the arrangement very appealing for me (just listen to Seoho’s rap sequence). As for the stage concept, it seems like ONEUS is playing on the ‘Kingdom’ part of the show. The folk elements lends very well to historical Korean times (when there were emperors etc.). A very recent adaption of this era in media is the Netflix Korean zombie show, Kingdom (see the pun? – I also highly recommend Kingdom, if you like zombies and horror). The peak of the performance incorporates zombies, which I thought was a genius and unique idea. And this allows them to intensify their choreography and also execute a wardrobe change, though I had a feeling it was coming based on their robes. I also thought the presence of all those traditional Korean elements on stage made it look cooler and set the overall tone of the performance. The concept alone stands out, the ending was bomb and this stage a strong contender.
The We Must Love (We Must Love & Moscow Moscow) – ONF
Intensifying the song seems to be the route everyone is taking. So far, the intensification is quite unique between performances. ONF’s rearrangement ofWe Must Love incorporates an orchestra and combines it with the electronic components of the original We Must Love. It then flows into a rock sound, before settling on an amplified version of the original. I particularly like Wyatt’s rap sequence, which is followed by MK’s vocals. That section purely thrived on intensity and ended up being the most powerful moment. The performance closes with a bit of Moscow Moscow, which I believe helps bring the story on stage to a close. Regarding the stage’s concept, Yooa (from Oh My Girl) features as the ‘puppet master’ that has kept the group under her control. I think she is has somehow casted a spell over the members (I feel that this is what that section of Moscow Moscow alludes to), as every time she leaves, the other members find themselves going back to her. This is just my take on the story and it might have missed some points, as I have kept it brief for the more important parts of this review. The choreography. While there isn’t any crazy stunts, I find the performance to be very graceful during the more ‘quiet’ moments of the stage. Take that beautifully executed start with Yooa in the middle and the members ‘waking up’. I also liked the solo sections, as there is always something going on aside from the choreography (i.e. conducting, masks, interaction with the backup dancers etc.). Wyatt’s and MK’s section mentioned above was particularly strong, along with the clock formed by the back up dancers and J-US and Yooa’s partner dance in the middle of the performance. Another strong showing from ONF.
Shine & Spring Snow – Pentagon
Pentagon departs from their particularly strong performance from the last round and brings a more fun and lighthearted feeling to this round. And there is a particular reason for this, as it allows the members to incorporate an emotional send off to Jinho, who performed with the group for the last time before enlisting in the military. I don’t understand Korean well, but I have to admit that I have tears in my eyes every time I watch this. It shows you that bond Pentagon has managed to form with one another, something that not many groups have. Essentially, that is the concept of the performance. The Western cowboy theme at the start threw me off, as I didn’t expect it to precede Shine. I liked how they bolstered the instrumental for Shine, which made this a strong performance in its own way. Shine was cut short to allow the members to say goodbye to Jinho via the big screen (and cry on the side), before the group returned with a ballad-y opening and subsequent energetic ending with Spring Snow. It seems that the members performed live (I am unaware of the rules regarding to lipsyncing on this show), but I just want take a moment to applaud Jinho for singing effortlessly while crying in Spring Snow. That is a very good talent to have. As for the choreography, they incorporated the original dance into it (tick), while also reinventing it by mixing it up with luggage (big tick). Their use of the luggage was quite fun and added a nice new element to the performance.
Reveal (Catching Fire) – The Boyz
It seems like the use of classical and rock instruments to amplify a song is the trend in this round. The Boyz choose Revealas their song choice. For me personally, I felt like was a weak song to choose, as they have other more dynamic and strong songs, such as No Air. The good news is, The Boyz proved me wrong. The arrangement starts off with a soft orchestral instrumentation, accented with deep thumps. The first verse ends with the impression of an epic drop, but instead we are treated to a fake drop. I don’t mind this as it just adds to the suspense of the performance. From the start of the second verse, we enter and gradually build to an epic drop that is the second chorus. It truly felt like we entered a war battle with this drop. But I note that this isn’t the intense form. That is withheld for the final chorus and closing segment of the performance, which features a faster pace of those deep thump and rock elements I mentioned at the start. For their performance concept, the crown they stole is stolen by another person. The entire performance seems to be preparation for battle to get the stolen crown back. And it is an epic (recurring word here!) performance. From the start, some of the members are part of a picture frame. Very peaceful but also very ominous. While they moved about when they were in focus, they remained frozen in the background of other shots (like an actual image), which eagle fans noticed. Other standout moments has to be when the two structures crash into one another (i.e. the second chorus) and the entire final chorus/closing sequence.
Magnolia – TOO
TOO is very limited with their song choices, as they just only made their debut recently. Balance is the key for this arrangement. The rappers who had the bulk of the verses added a little intensity and ‘dark energy’ through a mildly hip-hop approach. The vocalists have the cleaner sections of the song, showing off their vocal skills a bit. For the dance break, it seem like there is struggle between these two fractions in the music. J.You’s section (for reasons I will discuss later) appears heavenly sounding and very different to the two fractions. When the two fractions collaborate for the final sections of the performance, there is a much more profound sense of intensity that wasn’t apparent earlier in the performance, which helped bring a cohesive feel to the performance. It appears the concept also relied on balance. The rappers were part of the darker side, while the vocalists were part of the lighter side. J.You played the role of a God or angel, essentially bringing the two fractions together when they kneel down at the very end. J.You also holds a scale and it is balanced throughout the performance, providing further proof of this concept idea. The choreography was quite good. It becomes intense and shows off more of their capabilities after J.You’s solo part. The fighting scene was well choreographed that J.You was able to walk through with the balanced scales and had his eyes closed the entire time. I just wished the final moments of that sequence where he opened his eyes to ‘kill’ the fighters ended with him doing some urgent stomping, as his light walk felt weak for someone who just killed by opening his eyes. But the killer point of this performance is when Chan ‘kills’ Woonggi by twisting his neck. That definitely leaves a strong impression on the viewers!
Photo – VERIVERY
VERIVERY is the only group to choose a side track, rather than a title track. That is a very interesting decision, as Photo wouldn’t be well known. But it is a risk VERIVERY is willing to take. VERIVERY amplifies and intensifies their performance using rock elements, skipping the classical side of the intensification process that other groups had. The whispering moments in this arrangement was really cool and this adds a further level of intensity to the performance. They had an EDM-based dance break towards the end that allowed them to show off their dancing capabilities before returning to the intense whispering and familiar melodies of Photo. Even though they managed to amplify a weak choice, it doesn’t mean they nailed it. A lot of riding on their stage and they knew they had to make it powerful in a unique fashion. It is only this way does a choice of a weaker track is forgotten. Well, VERIVERY did just that with a horror-based concept. We start off the performance with Kangmin whispering the lyrics on a bed and the hands of two other members coming from under the bed, like a ghost reaching out for you while you are sleeping. The performance is injected with a blast of energy thanks to the introduction of those rock sounds and everything on stage looks chaotic for a moment. The performance settles down for a bit, before delivering the most frightening sequence of the entire performance. When four of the members and 7 of the dancers sit/stand on the bed, a female ghost appears in the background. You may not notice from afar (which makes it scary), but the camera zoom rights in on her, effectively scaring you regardless. Another scary part has to be just before the second chorus, where there are members twisting heads and being pulled for the bed. The group synchronises and showcases very sharp movements during the choruses and for the dance break. The ending brings back that chaotic touch, just before Kangmin wakes up from a dream. For a moment that looks like the case, but another member creepily stands behind him, telling us otherwise. I loved this concept.
And the rankings….
This was a very hard round to pick out a ranking from. Each performance was unique and I would gladly listen to these new arrangements of their tracks any day. But I have come up with an order, as promised. VERIVERY nailed their performance with the horror concept and earns the number one rank. The seventh place rank unfortunately is given to TOO. Not because their performance was weak or didn’t hit the brief, it is just I felt everyone else had a stronger performance.
Performance
Artist
Actual Ranking
My Ranking
Reveal
The Boyz
#1
#4
Lit
ONEUS
#2
#5
The We Must Love
ONF
#3
#2
Photo
VERIVERY
#4
#1
Shine + Spring Snow
Pentagon
#5
#3
Magnolia
TOO
#6
#7
Wannabe
Golden Child
#7
#6
At the end of the second round, the group with the least points when combining the first and second round points was to be eliminated. Golden Child came in last under this system and hence was eliminated from the show. This was quite harsh, especially since we were only unmasking their potential. The good news is that an early departure allows them to make a comeback sooner, and that will happen tomorrow! Unfortunately, I also said I would be choosing a group to leave the show. And that doesn’t really bring any good news to any group. While I just mentioned speak of their potential, I have some bad news to share. Based on my rankings, Golden Child would have left my version as well. The ranking after the two rounds is below.
Ranking
Artist
#1
VERIVERY
#2
The Boyz
#3
ONF
#4
Pentagon
#5
TOO
#6
ONEUS
#7
Golden Child
Sorry that I wasn’t able to bring any better news to all the Golden Child stans out there. If I had my way, no group would be eliminated. I am excited for Golden Child’s comeback tomorrow and can’t wait for their new release (the teaser/highlight medley looks and sounds promising)! Also check back tomorrow, as I will be posting the fourth part of the Road To Kingdom review series (i.e. Round 3 Part 1 -‘Collaboration’).
KPOPREVIEWED 