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.
Despite already releasing two pre-release songs, H&D officially make their debut today with Soul. For those who may be unfamiliar with their duo, H&D is made up of Lee Han Gyul and Nam Do Hyun. Both were former members of X1 (formed on the Produce X 101 survival show). But the group disbanded after making their debut due to a vote rigging controversy. Each member has gone their separate paths to their home companies, including H&D, who are under MBK Entertainment. Their pre-release songs are Toward Tomorrow (which I have yet to review) and Unfamiliar. Let’s see what the pair in store for their debut.
Soul takes a turn to a more edgy and darker sound. It is definitely different from their bright Toward Tomorrow pre-release and Unfamiliar ballad. But honestly, it is rather typical move for any male group to go down this path. Their differing sound between the tracks they have presented us so far is unique and I do hope that the group does pull off something different in their next comeback. But that is a concern for the future. Let’s refocus on Soul. What Soul does well is put some spotlight on the rapping and vocal work that the duo show in this song. It is a dance track, so both elements automatically become more dynamic and Dohyun’s deep voice still shines through. We could also see more technique in their delivery and sound, which it very exciting for a debut for obvious reasons. Based on this alone, I have the pair on my radar for future releases. The instrumental, especially the chorus, has this very subtle groove to it and I wanted to the producers build on this to make the song even more dynamic and ‘go that extra mile’. This would then make the song a lot more robust, punchy and much less consistent. The song just replayed the same instrumental parts over again and I was a little disappointed with that. I also liked the deep ‘Welcome To My Soul‘ that played throughout the post-chorus hook. Overall, it was a good debut song. But I did want more out of it. Hopefully, they will for their next release.
Shot with the same concrete staircase as the pair’s Unfamiliar music video, I thought it was a good video. There is a little bit of a story line in this video but things seems a little confusing though, so I made a stab at the interpretation (even though I most likely will be wrong). Hangyul and Dohyun are in a car accident but wake up alive. Based on my understanding of the music video, they were meant to die. But as they had given up their ‘soul’ to that statue (i.e. placed roses on the statue), they were kept alive. Each member represents a different form of love. Hangyul seems to represent present love as he has a red rose and is always surrounded by fresh red roses. Dohyun represents past love, which is shown through the dead rose and lack of roses. But as both had given up their souls by placing a rose on the statue regardless of whether or not they are still in love or not, they must remain alive. There was a lot of play on red and blue, which was cool. Their outfits and the sets reflect this using the colours a fair bit.
I like how intense their routine felt, particularly when it came to the chorus. It was reflective of the music and I am always a fan for that. The verses were a weak point, as they didn’t have much choreography to it. Other than that, there isn’t anything memorable or specific worth mentioning regarding the performance.
Song – 7.5/10 Music Video – 8/10 Performance – 7/10 Overall Rating – 7.6/10
Kicking off this week’s exciting list of comebacks is GOT7 with Not By The Moon, which is the title track off the group’s 11th mini-album, Dye. This is the group’s first comeback since their highly successful You Calling My Name, which was released in November last year. I am still in love with that comeback and am hoping to see a leveled up comeback today. Let’s see if GOT7 can deliver!
Not By The Moon is a really good dance track, something that is very expected of GOT7. But I don’t think it had that same wow factor that You Calling My Name had delivered through its very aesthetic profile. However, it does wow me in its own way (more on that later). Not By The Moon felt like that really amped up and fulfilling dance track that you expect from many groups in the KPOP industry, but many just don’t deliver. There is a very dramatic and powerful flair in this song, which gives that ‘amped up’ description credibility. The ‘fulfilling’ description is also credible, given that the song feels whole and doesn’t lack anything, in my opinion. There are a lot of elements that really captivated (and wowed) me in this song. The first were the rappers. Mark had a long rap-speak like segment, which I thought was very different from his many limited sequences in the past. Jackson took up the role of vocalist for the entirety of this track, bringing a nice deep raspy sound to the song. The chorus had a particularly strong melody and the ‘Oh, Swear not by the moon‘ was quite catchy. I also liked how the chorus made the instrumental a little punchy. It is also one of the few instrumentals that just keeps on giving. Youngjae’s high note was amazing and the rest of the vocals were good. It is missing that dynamic touch to really make it go that extra step, but I am not sure what else to add as the song will become a little overwhelming. But other than that little dilemma, this is a very solid song.
One of my many concerns with JYP Entertainment’s video have been that the producers have become a little too reliant on the use of the green screen. We saw the company move away from that style for some of its videos in 2019. But it is still used (as seen in this video) and I am not exactly sure on what to think of it. This video does show good use of the green screen, as it is used to extend the fantastic built sets. But there is a that synthetic feel to it. The song itself seems to be taking pointers from the classical play, Romeo and Juliet, where Romeo swears by the moon. Juliet tells him not, due to the unpredictable nature of the moon (i.e. it just doesn’t stay one shape). There also seems to a dying element to the music, thanks to the presence of the coffin that the masked men (are they GOT7, based on the teasers?) are surrounding (and Youngjae was lying upon). Those masked men and the collapsing building around aren’t really shines of that classic Romeo and Juliet connection, so I am not sure what their story is. But overall, it was a good video.
The choreography itself looks quite good. I really liked how they took a few steps at the start and automatically fell into formation that kick started the entire performance. I also really enjoyed how the ending came together. The powerful dance routine, Youngjae’s high note (guess who my bias is) and the ending formation made to look like the phases of the moon.
Song – 9/10 Music Video – 8.5/10 Performance – 9/10 Overall Rating – 8.9/10
It is time to dive into another album. Today’s focus will be on Ong Seong Woo’s recently mini-album release, Layers. I am super excited to be reviewing this album for not other reason other than it is more recent album. I still have one other ‘older’ album to review, but after that, it is all April albums. I also am planning on bringing back the PARs (Past Album Review) segment, though I don’t know how regular that will be. But until I make a solid decision, let’s get stuck into today’s album review, which features both Ong Seong Woo’s We Belong (released in January 2020) and Gravity (released in March 2020).
2. Café (너를 위한 카페) – Café is a nice mellow pop song to listen to. There is an easygoing and soothing vibe in this song, which makes it extremely pleasant to listen to. It is definitely a song I wouldn’t mind sipping coffee to in a nice indie coffee shop. I also found the song extremely light and soft, which really goes hand-in-hand with Ong Seong Woo’s vocals. They are breathy and often in a falsetto direction, which was very appealing. Altogether, Café ended up have a golden-like and definitely a warming touch for fans to melt away to. (8/10)
3. After Dark (또, 다시 나를 마주한 채) – After Dark is a ballad that really pushes Ong Seong Woo’s vocals into the spotlight. He also sounds very breathy in this song. But he seems to throw more technique into the song, making it a fairly dynamic ballad to listen to. The instrumental is also another strong aspect of the song. Most ballads we think of take on board a classical or piano-centric background. But After Dark takes electronic synths to create a very slow yet delicate instrumental for this ballad. This has been done before by other artists, but it stills feel fairly unique to me. (9/10)
4. Bye Bye – As we continue down the tracklist, the songs just keep on getting better. One of the things that I wasn’t sure with Ong Seong Woo is which direction he would take his solo work in. And it seems like his default genre is pop, given this title tracks and now Bye Bye. This song has some hidden surprises, and this is one of the reasons why this song is so good. We are given autotuned vocals as soon as the song started. The chorus featured a very upbeat and bright instrumental, accented with a really cool hook consisting of the song’s title and brief mini pauses. The melody that his vocals encapsulates was also very appealing. The bridge throws funky saxophone synths that give the song some groove and interesting quirk, which all helped make Bye Bye extremely enjoyable. (10/10)
5. Guess Who – Guess You is the most experimental track on the album. I say that because the chorus was pretty much unexpected. I liked the classy vibes that the whistling or flute-like (along with that higher pitch vocals) infused into the song. The rest of the instrumental predominately featured really satisfying guitar work. I already touched upon Ong Seong Woo’s vocals for this song, but I liked how clean his standard vocal work is in this song. Throw in the deep ‘I Like It’ and ‘I Love It’ we get towards the ending and you have another really good track. (9/10)
It is another Sunday, which means it is time for another Weekly KPOP Chart post. I am a bit busy with a few errands today, so I will make it quick. Other than that, I hope you are all doing okay under the new and forever changing circumstances that we find ourselves in. Other than posting reviews on here, I have been cooking more and catching up on Netflix and my many books that I have ‘collecting’ on my bookshelf. What new things have you picked up on?
Topping the charts this week is APINK’s newest release, Dumhdurum. It is bit of a title to pronounce at first, but listening to the song on repeat will definitely engrave the pronunciation of the title in your mind. MCND’s Spring rises to the second position. Last week’s top song, Oh My God by (G)I-DLE dropped down the third position. Break Up by Lim Young Min (a member of AB6IX) rose to the fourth position this week. And Kang Daniel’s 2U, which topped these charts for two weeks already, rose back into the Top 5 this week. For more of the charts, scroll down below.
12th Apr – 18th Apr 2020
Title
Artist
Status
1
Dumhdurum
APINK
(new)
2
Spring
MCND
(▲ 30)
3
Oh My Girl
(G)I-DLE
(▼ 2)
4
Break Up
Lim Young Min (AB6IX)
(▲ 36)
5
2U
Kang Daniel
(▲ 17)
6
Gravity
Ong Seong Woo
(▼ 2)
7
Lupin
DONGKIZ
(▲ 22)
8
Wannabe
ITZY
(▼ 6)
9
Home
Yezi
(▲ 15)
10
Kick It
NCT 127
(▼ 1)
11
A Song Written Easily
ONEUS
(▼ 8)
12
Let’s Love
Suho (EXO)
(▲ 19)
13
Break All The Rules
CRAVITY
(new)
14
Chocolate
Max Changmin (TVXQ)
(▼ 7)
15
Rose, Scent, Kiss
Lee Dae Hwi (AB6IX)
(▲ 2)
16
More
Kim Dong Hyun (AB6IX)
(▲ 24)
17
Color Eyes
Park Woo Jin (AB6IX)
(▼ 1)
18
Mixtape: On Track
Stray Kids
(▲ 15)
19
Queen
3YE
(▲ 16)
20
Fiesta
IZ*ONE
(▼ 15)
21
Remember
WINNER
(▼ 11)
22
Howling
VICTON
(▲ 5)
23
ASSA
cignature
(▼ 17)
24
Ice Age
MCND
(▼ 16)
25
On
BTS
(▲ 3)
26
Magnolia
TOO
(▼ 7)
27
One And Only
ASTRO
(▲ 13)
28
Q
ONEWE ft. Hwasa (Mamamoo)
(▲ 12)
29
Scream
Dream Catcher
(▼ 9)
30
Hold
WINNER
(▲ 6)
Songs leaving the charts this week are:
Call My Name – BLACK6IX
Fiesta – IZ*ONE
Scream – Dream Catcher
Dazzle Dazzle – Weki Meki
On – BTS
Queen – 3YE
More – Kim Dong Hyun (AB6IX)
Thank you once again and I hope you have another fantastic week (whilst visiting this blog, of course!).
Apologies for the lack of posts yesterday. I decided to take the night off and chill for a bit. But I will be posting the album review I had planned for yesterday, so I don’t fall behind any further. The artist in question is ITZY, who made their Wannabe comeback on the 9th of March. That means this album review is over a month late. Sorry again. But as I have saying a lot lately, better late than never. This is also my first album review for this high-achieving female group and my first impressions says I am very impressed. How so? Continue reading below!
2. Ting Ting Ting – IZTY continues the momentum that Wannabe had provided with Ting Ting Ting. And since the album’s release, I have been returning to this song (alongside Wannabe and a few others on this album) as it is so damn catchy and addictively energetic. The song features Oliver Heldens, who I am reading is a famous techno artist. I suppose he is the male voice that features during the chanting ‘La La La’ parts of the song, which was cool. I did notice a certain dull factor, when I compared this chanting section to the rest of the song. It was very minute but apparent to me. There is a bit of electronic influences in the instrumental, especially during the outro. But I am not sure if it is Oliver Heldens’ influence. The rest of the track seems to take on board a hip-hop type of profile, which I really enjoyed. (9.5/10)
3. That’s A No No – That’s A No No features an anthem-based sound, which helps drive the song to have an epic vibe. I like how the group doesn’t like they are messing around with the song. There is a very serious tone to it, despite it also being very catchy and addictive. I also thought hip-hop influences were very strong. The chorus has to be my favourite part, especially with Yeji and Lia’s lines in the chorus. With that being said, I give huge ticks to the vocal department in this song. The rapping was actually a miss for me, as I felt the trap influences in that section were too typical for my liking. But apart from that, fantastic song. (9/10)
4. Nobody Like You – Nobody Like You reminds me of the rock songs you would get from all those Disney shows in the past (back when Disney was in its prime). In addition to that nostalgia for me, the rock influences give off a head-banging vibe, which was very fun. There was a lot of other textures in the song, such as the heavy-thumping drums and some smoothness when they bring in the backing vocals to perform a choir-like backing. Both the rapping and the vocals were very pleasant, which is an odd term to describe a rock song of this nature. The members keep the song quite light and refreshing, which makes it a good song to keep returning to. (9/10)
5. You Make Me – I will be frank, I am disappointed with You Make Me. I thought the instrumental was interesting, as it hard a dirty type of hip-hop feel to it. And given it is a song with strong hip-hop roots, the rapping really shined in this song. Ryujin and Yuna really showed off their capabilities in this song. The vocals, on the other hand, was a hit and miss. The ‘You Make Me … Speechless’ is very memorable, without any doubts. The rest of the vocal work just didn’t sound good in this song. Sorry, but I had to say it. (7/10)
6. IDon’t Wanna Dance– I Don’t Wanna Dance is another pretty cool song from the group. The song, while there is decent melody and rhythm, actually isn’t a song that would automatically make you get up and dance to (relative to their other tracks on the album). It doesn’t have that appeal and the energy the song could have put on display was pretty much suppressed, which is why the song is interesting to me. But as mentioned, this doesn’t make the song terrible. The song still has the capability of having a performance and there would be an interesting chemistry in that regard. The rapping and vocal work in this song was also quite cool, which brought lightness to the song. (8/10)
7. 24HRS – We end the album with 24HRS, which is very different to the other JYP-based song titled 24 Hours. It is a fun track that brings together the some of the highlights of the album. The hip-hop vibes, the good vocal and rapping styles that I enjoyed on the album, the usage of chanting for the chorus, the addictive melodies. It had it all. It did end up being rather typical for some odd reason, as I didn’t really get much uniqueness from this song, in comparison to what else we have heard on this album. But it is still good. (8.5/10)
I take a break from the usual reviewing schedule to bring you the next album review (I know this isn’t Friday or Sunday, but it is a special album review). Over the last few weeks, AB6IX have been releasing music videos for each of their members. Each music video accompanies a solo track off the group’s latest digital mini-album, 5NALLY. I thought about how I wanted to review this as an album, or whether I thought I treat them as standalone releases. But then, I thought why not both. So I will be reviewing each solo track as I have been doing in Catch Up Reviews, combining the song, music video and performance reviews into one paragraph.
5NALLY Album Cover
Moondance (Jeon Woong Solo)
With all the members of AB6IX, I most unfamiliar with Woong as he is the new member of the group that we didn’t get to see prior to the debut of AB6IX. Moondance is a R&B track that packs a punch during the chorus. It starts out as a soft number, but quickly bring the thumping drums into the mix as the song builds to the chorus. The entire track becomes very dramatic in its sound and this allows for an amazing seductive dance sequence (more on that later). His vocals were superb in this song. Particularly, I draw your attention to the really low husky whispering tone we got for the bridge, followed a return to the chorus but with autotune to give the ending some texture. Altogether, the song definitely opens my eyes to Woong’s future as both a solo artist and as part of AB6IX. The music video is really aesthetically pleasing. I really liked the glowing moon the producers made Woong dance in front of, the furniture in the dark room with the floor covered in water and the really reflective dance floor. All these sets had a place in the video and were well utilized post-production of the video to make it extremely captivating. As hinted in an earlier sentence, Woong’s choreography for Moondance is quite seductive. I mean, Woong was grinding on the floor for like 30% of performance. When Woong wasn’t grinding on the floor, he did a damn well job on the performance, which used many smooth and fluid motions that made it look stunning. (9/10)
More (더 더) (Kim Dong Hyun Solo)
Kim Donghyun is one of the vocalists of the group and More shows off his vocals in a decent manner. I was caught off guard with Donghyun’s rap-speak section at the start of the second verse. Maybe something that could be used in some of AB6IX’s tracks? The pop song employs some synths to keep it modern and relevant to the current trends in the industry. But we aren’t talking about huge drops and heavy bass. Everything is kept relatively light and pleasant in this song, which reflect well with the sweet nature of the lyrics in the song. Come to the think of it, this is the polar opposite to what AB6IX releases, and I thought this was rather interesting. More had some good hooks that was pleasant, but none of them really grabbed my attention and this resulted into the song being easily forgotten. As for the music video, it looked very fluffy. And once again, it would be the polar opposite to any AB6IX’s music videos. Dressed in a pink suit and white turtleneck; hugging a teddy bear. I would never guess this would be a track from one of the AB6IX members. I did like ‘sets’ in the music video, namely the church and theater they performed in. They looked cool. The choreography was quite good. I liked chorus routine and how it matched up with the lyrics. Nothing that impressive but still pleasing to watch. (7.8/10)
Rose, Scent, Kiss (Lee Dae Hwi Solo)
Lee Dae Hwi is one of the more popular members of the group, given his time as part of Wanna One. One thing that Rose, Scent, Kiss highlights is the maturity behind his voice and an ability to go quite deep. Together, this made Lee Dae Hwi’s solo track stand out. The instrumental is very crunchy, which matches the texture that we get from his deep voice. The instrumental fuses trap and pop together in a rather typical way. But you can definitely hear the attitude behind it, which really helps draw further attention to this voice. I really enjoyed the Rose, Scent, Kiss whisper, which reminded me of fellow Wanna One’s member Park Ji Hoon’s 360. The music video opens up with Lee Dae Hwi’s monologue about moving between the age of 19 and 20. The rest of the music video was rather dynamic despite following the typical choreography and closeup formula. The dynamic nature of the video was thanks to Lee Dae Hwi’s captivating expressions during his closeup shots, the amazing set design, the flashing patterns in the background on the screen and the lighting throughout the video. I thought the choreography was great. I liked how Lee Dae Hwi is able to show off his own style in this performance and he isn’t afraid to show off some (what usually would be considered) feminine moves. (9.3/10)
Break Up (좋게 끝내) (Lim Young Min Solo)
Lim Young Min is the lead rapper in the group. But he also as an impressive set of vocals, which I don’t remember being used all that much in AB6IX’s tracks. Break Up takes on R&B, but it a lot more upbeat compared to R&B style that Jeon Woong opted for his solo track. Alongside his vocal work, his rapping is on point in this song. I did like the piano that made up part of the instrumental. It really help drive that emotional side of the song, which is all about breaking up. I just wish the song was a little more interesting. I wished the song didn’t stay overly consistent towards the end and I wished they added some sort of texture in addition to that high pitch synth that opened the song and appeared periodically. The brief pause at the end was going in that direction, but I wanted a bit more. The music videos seem pull elements from one another. Lim Young Min’s music video featured the water floor that Woong had in his video and brought along the cube structure from Lee Dae Hwi’s (Kim Dong Hyun’s music video featured the sofa and lampshade from Woong’s music video). But I liked how they managed to infuse some individuality to the music video, namely the phone booth, the use of the city imagery and the sports car. The choreography was good, but I wanted to see a bit more in the music video. There was a sensual side that Young Min was going for that was good, through the many body rolls. But that was all I could pick up from the stuff I saw for this track. (7.8/10)
Color Eye (Park Woo Jin Solo)
Alongside Lee Dae Hwi, Park Woo Jin is the other member that everyone knows of due to his time as part of Wanna One. Color Eye is probably your typical rapper solo song on a group album. The song delves into hip-hop and features both Woo Jin’s well known rapping style and the autotuned singing. To be honest, I found Color Eye to be a little lackluster in terms of suspense and was rather dull. There wasn’t much of a buildup to the song’s peak and it was fair too consistent for my liking. The instrumental was the more exciting bit, featuring a music box like sample, which gave off an eerie sound at first. I just wished they built upon this. The music video features that square screen that we saw in Young Min and Dae Hwi’s music videos. But this one flashes lights and patterns more aggressively. The post-production in this music video makes the video look very edgy and ‘dark concept’. I liked how they never really put Park Woo Jin into the spotlight, which does reflect well with the song. Park Woo Jin doesn’t seem to participate in the choreography, assumingly due to his injury. So I am going to forgo this part of the review for him. (6.8/10)
With no major release today, it is a great opportunity to pull another song from the ‘Coming Soon’ list to review. A lucky dip yielded Lupin by Dongkiz, which was released exactly one month ago on the 15th of March 2020. Interesting fact, I haven’t actually reviewed any songs from Dongkiz yet, even though I was planning to for their a release earlier this year. For those who may be unfamilar with Dongkiz, they are a five member male group under Dongyo Entertainment. Previous releases include Nom, Blockbuster, Fever and All I Need Is You.
From my understanding and limited exposure to Dongkiz’s past releases, the group has on delved into funky but bright sounds. Lupin follows the funky sound that the group has maintained, but gave it an edgy feel. And that funky description might be a little understatement. There is some funky guitar work in the song during the verses, along with some groovy and squeaky saxophone synths for the chorus. All coming together to create a really high energy and loaded song. The bit in between the verse and chorus was very interesting. Usually songs would buildup to the chorus, so that they can build up suspense for the drop. Lupin, does things a little differently. It still applies the same rules but this is very minor in comparison to the complete slow down that they went with. This, I found to be very unique and made the song rather cool in my books. Not only did this make the song sound memorable for me, but I thought the vocal melodies and instrumental hook were pretty addictive. I really like rough texture the rappers brought through their one-liners in the chorus. The vocals were very smooth and sounded very nice. Overall, Lupin attracts my attention to the group and I will definitely keep my eye out for them in the future.
I think the music video shows two sides of the group. The first is the more darker and badder versions of the group. They steal the jewelry in the art gallery. The second side is the investigative team that is tracking down the thieves. Moving away from the plot line, the music video actually looked good visually. I was concerned that since they were from a lesser known company, they would have a low budget style music video. But this actually had a fair amount of cool post-production work done on it. I mean the digital picture frames looked cool and the choreography shots were done in very stunning locations. The video was quite dark, so it was hard to focus on it at times. But overall, pretty decent.
The choreography was awesome. At first I thought they were actual walking canes that we would all associate with a much older generation. But they were actual magic sticks that could go back to be a simple piece of cloth. The members performed magic twice in one stage and I thought that was awesome. I also liked how they had to revert the cane back to the cloth, but incorporating it into the choreography.
Song – 9/10 Music Video – 8/10 Performance – 9/10 Overall Rating – 8.7/10
Over the last few years, Starship Entertainment has grown to be a highly successful label, with MONSTA X, Cosmic Girls (WJSN) and Jeong Sewoon each flourishing in their separate music careers. Today we observe the addition of a new group to that lineup. Cravity is a nine-member male group, consisting of Serim, Allen, Jungmo, Woobin, Wonjin, Minhee, Hyeongjun, Taeyoung and Seongmin. Some of the members may have familiar faces as four of the group members participated in Produce X 101, with Minhee and Hyeongjun going on to debuting as part of X1. However, X1’s music journey was short-lived after the recent voting scandal, which lead to the disbandment of X1 and the two Starship Entertainment members returned to their home company to rejoin their fellow trainees to debut under the name of CRAVITY.
Their debut song is titled Break All The Rules. It sadly doesn’t break any rules and plays fairly safe. It is a urban hip-hop track, one of the many subsets of the hip-hop genre, which has undeniably become the default genre of today’s KPOP music. They do manage to infuse some rock elements during some parts, gave a good rush of intensity in the song and added that funky synth to give the chorus a dynamic touch. But I wanted more. Something unique that sets this new group apart from the rest of the competition. Maybe they could have leveled up the intensity and dynamic nature of the instrumental by going with rougher synths that is loaded with impact. Like some of the songs that I have recently reviewed, I noticed that Break All The Rules had subpar hooks in this song was rather lacking. The chorus is slowly growing on me, but I don’t think it has that reach that they need to extend into the industry. What the group does well is on the vocal front. Great vocals and rapping from the group. It is a decent track. But I am not exactly sold on the group. Hopefully, their mini-album or next release can seal the deal for me.
What the song lacks is made up visually by the music video. Watching this video, it made the song feel more impactful and definitely boosted the song in terms of appeal. That is a sign of a fantastic music video. The cinematography and the lighting just blew me away. The sets, even though some were digitalised, looked amazing and very real. I also liked the minute use of colour in this video, which adds to the impact.
And what an intense performance. This group has the choreography chops down pat! It seems like it comes at the expense of their live vocals and rapping, as it was a little choppy in their debut showcase that they had today. But I don’t blame them. It is a powerful routine that I am 100% anyone would be breathless afterwards. I would have liked to some individual CRAVITY flair in the performance. But I was amazed nonetheless.
Song – 7/10 Music Video – 10/10 Performance – 8/10 Overall Rating – 8.1/10
The first major comeback comes from a group that has been around for 9 years in the industry. Given that most groups end after seven years under their belt (or much less), this is definitely a grand feat. I am talking about APINK, one of the many groups that managed to make cutesy concept work in their early days (see Mr Chu and No No No, as examples) and have more recently reinvented their sound to be more mature (see I’m So Sick and %%). Today, the group returns with Dumhdurum, which features on the group’s ninth mini-album.
The instrumental of Dumhdurum has a very strong disco vibe. We all know that a retro tune, such as a disco number, can be very addictive and unique in this current environment of EDM and other modern electronic genres. And for the most part, APINK nails the track. The instrumental wasn’t exact replica of 70s disco. But it was subdued to fit in with the mature sound that the group has managed succeed in their last two comebacks (linked above) and gave off a strong modern profile. I really liked their dance break instrumental that was inserted into the chorus, which was probably the most exciting part of the song. It also brought a lively energy to the song. I also find that rap speaking line that ends the chorus to be rather dynamic. Altogether, it helped make the chorus become memorable and appealing. My only issue with the song was how boring the vocals were during the verses and bridge. Riding the high that the chorus provided, I don’t remember much of the verses or bridge, which is hugely disappointing. They could have changed it up with some vocal textures or small vocal details along the way. Something to really grab my attention, rather than have it all in neutral gear. ‘
A similar comment can be made regarding the music video of Dumhdurum. The choreography scenes were probably the most exciting sections of the video. There were some close ups showed off the visuals of each member alongside the choreography shots. But in the end, this resulted in the video feeling like that very typical close up and choreography combination we see so often (i.e. a boring default). The video was partly set on a train and I wondered what that was all about. I am guessing there is a storyline in the video that I have missed, based on their individual sets, which all look like there is some meaning behind them. The name Marcella appeared at the start and a Google search yielded nothing that could pinpoint to a storyline. Does anyone have any theories? Let me know below.
The choreography looks good. From what I see in the music video, it definitely looks very dynamic and powerful. That dance break section looks really promising. Can’t say much else unfortunately, as we are pretty much limited to the music video for now. But I am sure the same feelings would carry over into the live performances.
Song – 7/10 Music Video – 6/10 Performance – 8/10 Overall Rating – 6.9/10
Making their comeback in the last week alongside the ones who I reviewed last week already is MCND. The group dropped their digital single, Spring, unexpectedly (well I didn’t know it was coming until I saw the actual music video release). For those who don’t remember or know of MCND (as they are a brand new rookie group), they pre-released TOP GANG earlier this year and debuted with Ice Age just last month.
In my last review for MCND (Ice Age), I mentioned that their debut single was kind of a step in the right direction as it provided some balance between the vocals and rapping. Spring seems to backtrack on this. But I am not complaining this time, as I thought Spring leverages the rapping to be one of the strong aspects in the song. It could have been toned a bit as it does feel very ‘in your face’. But as I said, I am not complaining. Alongside the rapping, there is still vocals in this song and the vocal work that we did get in Spring was rather good as well. I would have liked to hear the group in a song that is more dependent on the group, rather than the rappers, as I think that would be rather interesting version of the group. The instrumental is a very bright and quirky form of hop-hop. It gave the song a fun and colourful vibe, which really prevents the song stepping anywhere in the direction of a boring song. With all of these praises, I want to point out the song could have been upgraded with a more defined instrumental and better hooks. But what we good is pretty good already.
As mentioned in the song review part of this post, the song is rather fun and colourful. The music video is definitely a good reflection of this. The guys are shown to be having fun, while the visuals of the video were very bright and colourful. Completely different to the edgy tone they had in TOP GANG and their heavy usage of the colour white in Ice Age. The members are shown in a youthful style, through their school uniform (a rite of passage in KPOP and Korean culture) and casual outfits. I also liked their different visual details they added to the video, which adds to the modern profile of the music video.
I really like their performance style. With only five members, they are a relatively small group in the KPOP. So it is an expectation that they would keep all five members on stage at all times, like how they performed for the first chorus and onwards. But they continue to only perform in small groups for the first verse. They did a similar thing in Ice Age but I didn’t pick it up until I watched their performances a few more times. It isn’t a new thing, but I thought the group had an interesting tactic up their sleeves.
Song – 8/10 Music Video – 8/10 Performance – 8/10 Overall Rating – 8/10
Kang Daniel has topped my Weekly KPOP Charts for the past two weeks with his new song, 2U. That song is featured on the soloist’s second mini-album, Cyan, which was released two weeks ago. I know there are other album releases which I should be reviewing released earlier than this album. But I couldn’t help but dive into this album first. I will get around to those albums in the next few album reviews. But in the meantime, here is my review for Kang Daniel’s Cyan.
Cyan Album Cover
1. Adulthood – Kicking off the mini-album release is Adulthood, which was released alongside Touchin’ in November 2019. It is a dance track with some R&B mixed into it, smoothing out the use of the island or house genres of EDM. I noticed that there was some very low rumbling in the background of this song, which stood out for some reason. Also the phone notification beeping that appeared now and then was pretty cool and related back to the lyrics of becoming an adult. Kang Daniel also seems to show off some vocal chops, going from falsettos to decent ab-libs. I also like how they incorporated his voice in the background of some sections. It helped bolden and define his vocals in a smart and neat way. (8/10)
3. Jealous – I swear that I don’t try to find a 10/10 song on each album (or give the best song on the album the perfect 10/10 ranking). But Jealous just falls neatly into the 10/10 category. The entire song capitalises on Kang Daniel’s husky vocals, which I am jealous of. The instrumental of the song is a wonderful mixture of peaceful piano sequences, interesting vocal filters and an upbeat electronic piece for the chorus. Everything comes together. Everything is very appealing and addictive. I just want to dive right back into the song as soon as it is over. One of the many signs that Jealous manages to show as a perfect song. (10/10)
4. Interview – Interview is a very smooth jazzy style track. The instrumental is very satisfying and it also features some piano as the icing on the ‘detail’ cake. The song has a really pleasant melody that really makes me want to dive back into it after the song wraps up. We get more of Kang Daniel’s husky voice in this song as well, which features throughout the verses of Interview. We lose the husky touch for the chorus, but it replaced with that smooth texture that the song already identifies with. We also get some rapping from the soloist, which I wanted more of. (9/10)
Happy Easter to all that celebrate the holiday! While we are all staying at home, I hope everyone is enjoying their chocolate eggs and bunnies. I know I have. And while I was munching away and binging my latest TV show, I was also am preparing other reviews to post in the coming weeks. But as today is a Sunday, I must bring you the next Weekly KPOP Chart post before I can progress further! Let’s get going!
We have a new song in the Number 1 spot for this week. I am talking about the epic track that (G)I-DLE brought us just this week, Oh My God. Following behind them is ITZY’s Wannabe, which is a song very familiar with being in the Top 5. It switches position with ONEUS’ A Song Written Easily, which was the in the second position this week. Ong Seong Woo’s Gravity rises into the Top 4, while Fiesta by IZ*ONE completes the top 5 for this week. Scroll down further for more of the charts.
5th Apr – 11th Apr 2020
Title
Artist
Status
1
Oh My God
(G)I-DLE
(new)
2
Wannabe
ITZY
(▲ 1)
3
A Song Written Easily
ONEUS
(▼ 1)
4
Gravity
Ong Seong Woo
(▲ 14)
5
Fiesta
IZ*ONE
(▲ 14)
6
ASSA
cignature
(new)
7
Chocolate
Max Changmin (TVXQ)
(new)
8
Ice Age
MCND
(▲ 15)
9
Kick It
NCT 127
(▲ 7)
10
Remember
WINNER
(new)
11
Showtime
SPECTRUM
(▲ 21)
12
Love The Moon
VIINI ft. Lee Suhyun (AKMU)
(▲ 27)
13
Call My Name
BLACK6IX
(▲ 30)
14
Moondance
Jeon Woong (AB6IX)
(▲ 27)
15
Hands Up
Cherry Bullet
(▲ 21)
16
Color Eye
Park Woo Jin (AB6IX)
(▲ 18)
17
Rose, Scent, Kiss
Lee Dae Hwi (AB6IX)
(▲ 9)
18
Dr. BeBe
Pentagon
(▲ 4)
19
Magnolia
TOO
(▼ 14)
20
Scream
Dream Catcher
(▼ 10)
21
Dazzle Dazzle
Weki Meki
(▲ 4)
22
2U
Kang Daniel
(▼ 21)
23
Adios amor
Sunny Hill
(▲ 15)
24
Home
Yezi
(▼ 20)
25
Red Moon
KARD
(▼ 4)
26
Eclipse
Moonbyul (Mamamoo)
(▼ 2)
27
Howling
VICTON
(▼ 14)
28
On
BTS
(▼ 11)
29
Lupin
DONGKIZ
(▲ 15)
30
Lie
FAVORITE
(▲ 1)
Songs leaving the charts this week are:
Reveal – The Boyz
Hands Up – Cherry Bullet
Bouncy – Rocket Punch
Dr. BeBe – Pentagon
Red Moon – KARD
Eclipse – Moonbyul (Mamamoo)
Moondance – Jeon Woong (AB6IX)
Thank you visiting the blog again and I will see you all in the next review (that I am also preparing while consuming an unhealthy amount of chocolate eggs).
With this long weekend, I plan on tackling some of the previous comebacks that I missed over the last few months. I know I have attempted to do that previously, but unfortunately failed to continue it during the week. With some times on my hand and this ongoing isolation, why not smash out some reviews! First up is BLACK6IX’s Call My Name, which is featured on the group’s second mini album, Nice To Meet You. It was released mid-February and promotions for this comeback is still ongoing.
I find it very interesting that the song opened up with the line ‘…Pay Attention, People will die starting from tonight, I am a man of my word‘. Because a little threat from the singers to enjoy the song always help. Hahahaha… Moving away from that awful joke, Call My Name is a powerful dance track that is filled with angst and intensity. The intensity builds up in the song, as per the robust rush of energy we got in the final chorus of the song. However, while I acknowledge these aspects of the song’s overall sound, the instrumental felt rather typical and didn’t offer much uniqueness. The mixture of vocals and rapping in this was pretty good. I liked how they didn’t stick to ‘separate’ sections in the song (i.e. a dedicated rapping block’ in the song). I thought them going back and forth with the vocal and rapping lines made Call My Name a little more dynamic. Also, that high note at the climax of the song was rather impressive. Overall, a decent track, overall.
I thought the music video was pretty good. I thought the background to this video was very cool. All those lights (I am assuming the video was shot in front of a white wall, with all these lights and visual effects being projected onto it) really made the video look visually appealing. The angst could be felt in the video through the use of the shaky camera work and their outfits. The only aspect I am not too sure is in regards to the playful side of the video. It didn’t look that fitting in this video with such an intense sound and thought that the video could have forgone this side of the group for this video. But other than that, it was still a great video to watch.
There seems to be a bit of body and shoulder rolling in this performance. I find the overall choreography to be very fitting for the song. The moves just don’t have that memorable factor to it. It is definitely an intense routine and surprised that the members could pull off a live performance, as it looked very tiring, especially that final chorus.
Song – 8/10 Music Video – 9/10 Performance – 7.5/10 Overall Rating – 8.2/10
It has been a long time coming, but I finally getting around to reviewing IZ*ONE’s first studio album, BLOOM*IZ. It was released mid-February, but due to my poor time keeping, the album review is being published in April. As a result, I will be holding off on on future album reviews (excluding another one already scheduled for a later date) for album releases in February. This will allow for me to focus on March and April album reviews. Returning to our focus, IZ*ONE’s album features a number of unit tracks alongside the full group tracks. Some artists (especially those with many members) do this but it isn’t a common thing for so many tracks on one album to do this. Let’s have a deep dive into those tracks and more.
BLOOM*IZ Album Cover
1. Eyes – The opening song on any album should be captivating enough to engage the listeners. And I definitely think IZ*ONE nails this with Chaewon’s opening line. I just wished the rest of the album followed suit with this direction. For the most part it was good. But some moments really stuck out for the wrong reasons. I find the very low tone synth we hear at the start of each verse to be very odd selection for what is a very sweet song. The ‘Eyes On Me, yeah’ chant that the girls do at the start of the bridge/end of the song added an unnecessary child-like tone to the song. Even the high note just dissipated as soon it was unloaded. There were some good moments, such as the chorus and the rapping, but they just stayed in the shadows. (6/10)
3. Dreamlike– Dreamlike is performed by Yena, Sakura, Wonyoung, Hitomi, Hyewon and Eunbi. The track takes on board a synth-pop like instrumental and this reminded me of tropical house during the chorus. I have to say that the instrumental, particularly around the chorus, was not dream-compatible (like what the title suggested). But there was definitely a very refreshing and youthful tone to the song. For the verses, softness was the main theme. Their vocals fitted in very well, going for a light tone to compliment the refreshing ones I just mentioned. I also liked the smooth textures they introduced into the song. (8/10)
4. Ayayaya – Ayayaya featured the voices of Eunbi, Sakura, Hyewon, Chaeyeon, Chaewon, Minju, Nako, Yuri and Yujin. It is a catchy dance number that I really enjoyed listening to. I saw the performance of Ayayaya as part of their comeback showcase show and that made me a fan of the song. I liked the whistling and the synth-percussion, which gave the song have that upbeat feel. Their vocal work is a little lacking in this song, but it doesn’t get in the way of me enjoying the song. (9/10)
5. So Curious– In an earlier song, I mentioned how I didn’t like the child-like sounds that was incorporated. So Curious (performed by Yena, Chaeyeon, Chaewon, Minju, Nako, Hitomi, Yuri, Yujin and Wonyoung) was so full of this child-like tone that I cringed. But. Yes, somehow there is an exception to everything. So Curious ended up being so infectious and fun. The bubblegum-pop sound that the song went for was a success. I love how the song feels so tropical, fitting for the Summer season that Korea is about to enter. The marching drums in the bridge was a very nice twist to the song. (10/10)
6. Spaceship – Through Spaceship, we return to the full line-up of IZ*ONE. And the song had good rhythm and definitely a fast pace that is bound to attract some attention. Unfortunately, the lacked a strong hook to keep me around. While I understand cuteness is their main charm and the group does use it well in many songs, I find Spaceship to be a very typical application of this and doesn’t offer much in comparison to their unit tracks thus far. (7/10)
7. Destiny (우연이 아니야) – The first ballad-like song we get BLOOM*IZ is Destiny. And it is also the first full group song, apart from the title track, that I was hugely satisfied with. The song is not a slow ballad, as there is some pace in the chorus which helped make it stand out. The twinkling percussion, the drums and the violins really helped bolster the song. The electric guitar at the end was the icing on the cake for me. I also thought their vocals were very nice and sweet, which really helped sell this ballad to me. (8.5/10)
8. You & I – We are given double ballad treatment with the next ballad on the album following right off Destiny’s finish. You & I is more acoustic, featuring a simple guitar instrumental and the later incorporation of other instrumental. The song also enables for the focus to be purely on the group’s vocal work. And this was the obvious choice to show off that side of the group. My only concern is that the rapping component of You & I was unnecessary. But other than that, it was a good track. (8/10)
9. Daydream – Daydream is performed by a third of IZ*ONE, more specifically Eunbi, Chaeyeon, Minju and Yujin. And this was one of the standout songs on the album for me. There is a very sleek vibe in the song, which I thoroughly enjoyed. In addition to that, there is a subtle groove in the chorus, sticking out of this urban feel. The ending takes a bold turn, featuring textural synths, which were quite fun and different, making the song feel less ‘too consistent’. The line ‘Daydream ah!’ and ‘Don’t Wake Me Up’ for the chorus and post-chorus hook was definitely my favorite parts. (9/10)
10. Pink Blusher – Sakura, Hyewon, Nako, Hitomi and Wonyoung feature in Pink Blusher. Given the song’s title, I expected that the song would take a cutesy turn. No surprises (and spoilers) but I was right. I find that the song balanced on a very fine line between the cutesy sound and the cringy child-like sound that I already mentioned in this review. For the time being, I am happy to say that I perceive the songs falls on the cutesy sound, which in this case is totally fine. I really liked the rap speak section at the end of the song. If the song could be improved, I think strong hooks would have helped cement the song on the cutesy side of the line. (7.5/10)
11. Someday (언젠가 우리의 밤도 지나가겠죠) – Now, we are dealing with a quarter of the group (i.e. Yena, Chaewon and Yuri). This trio brings us the third ballad on the album and this is more so your expected ballad. It features that piano instrumental, which is later joined with violins and other instruments. Together, the track becomes a stunning piece of work. And the vocal line we have in this song show off their vocal capabilities, further extending that stunning impression that I just mentioned. (8/10)
12. Open Your Eyes – The final track on the album brings back all the members. It is one of those dance tracks (or songs in general) that really gives off a satisfying feel and this really helps brings the album to a decent close. The instrumental comes off as pretty dynamic and I liked the tempo at which it was at (it had that Goldilocks’ ‘just right’ feel to it). The vocals added a layer of refinement to the song. The only thing I thought they could have improved upon was, once again, a stronger set of hooks. But I was still happy with what the album closed off with. (8.5/10)
One of the biggest hurdles that male groups/artists need to face in the KPOP industry is the mandatory military enlistment phase of their careers. This is essentially a two-year period away from the public eye. Winner is one of the many KPOP groups entering that phase right now, with Jinwu enlisting in the military just last week (and thus will not be part of the promotions for the group’s third studio album). Fittingly, the group’s comeback title track is titled Remember, as Winner has confirmed that they will focusing on solo activities after promotions for Remember end. More recently, Winner pre-released Hold a few weeks back in anticipation for their comeback.
Remember is undoubtedly an emotional track. When the song first started, I thought the group was going in the direction of their Empty debut. But instead, the song took a more ballad-like feel, very much different to what the group has ever attempted before. The song opens with a simple acoustic guitar backing. As the song slowly progressed, they added a little more to the instrumental, ranging from echos to drums to add some definition to the song. What did remain consistent throughout was the guitar, which I think made the song feel so much more sentimental. The second thing that is strong about this song are the vocals. I have never really gotten why Winner was nominated for their vocal performances in the past. I know they have really good voices. But I never really thought it was nomination-worthy. This song changes the perception. The instrumental can be described as a blank canvas (my analogy is back!). And their vocals, well, they paint a very touching and stirring picture on the canvas. Each member brings something different to the song and I really like that aspect in this song, as the group sings about not forgetting about them. Overall, a solid track.
The music video I thought was definitely very well shot. The member alone looked like they were experiencing the painful breakup that they can’t bring themselves to do (as they allude in the song’s lyrics). When the four members are together, however, they bring that sentimental feeling to the video. While the song’s lyrics were very emotional and tear-inducing to some, I do like how they weren’t just all sad or pained in the music video. There were smiles and laughter, which brings a bittersweet but reflective tone to the video. I also liked how they interlaced footage from their concert and survival show, WIN: Who Is Next?.
Song – 9/10 Music Video – 10/10 Overall Rating – 9.4/10
Also making their comeback this week is CIGNATURE. For those who many have missed the group’s debut with Nun Nu Nan Na, CIGNATURE is a seven-member female group under J9 Entertainment. This rookie group made their first comeback at the start of this week with their new single, Assa. The single is part of the group’s debut package, as this was teased to be their ‘debut lead single [B]’, with Nun Nu Nan Na being their ‘debut lead single [A]’. With this release style, we may be seeing more ‘debut lead singles’ in the future. Until then, this is my review for Assa.
The one aspect of Assa that really jumps out at me was its instrumental. The use of the low guitar bass tones and thumping drums in the instrumental managed to make it unique and different from what we constantly hear in the industry. The chorus has this very detectable but mildly plated level of funkiness to it, through use of that twinkling-like synth. There is also restrained buildup in the instrumental, which complimenting the use of subtlenesss in the rest of the song’s backdrop. The bridge and the final instrumental section adds a little flair to the song that keeps it from being overly consistent. Unfortuately, while I am praising the instrumental side of Assa the vocals do fall short of expectations. I am not saying that the whole package does. I was very satisifed with certain (but limited) sections of the vocal work including the opening line to the pre-chorus and the rapping, in general. We also get a glimpse of some strong vocals in the bridge that I definitely desired while listening to the song. But the verses were extremely plain. I also felt like the producers under-delivered the potential for some strong hooks in the song, with the plain and typical singing.
I find the music video to be good. The sets and their outfits look really cool. There is a fair amount of smiling in this girl crush concept, which I think makes it seem like one of those videos that crosses the cutesy concept and the girl crush concept, a pairing that I don’t understand or think go well with one another. I feel like the video could have toned those smiles and this would have been perceived as a stronger girl crush concept. But that is just my thoughts on the video, overall. But as of now, it is definitely a good visual compliment to the song.
The choreography looks so cool. The chorus definitely had some intensity and sleekness when the girls performed their hair pullback move. Their outfits (suits and the urban hip-hop gear) looks so fitting for the choreography, either way looks very appealing. The one thing I didn’t really like about the choreography was the need to add some cutesy moves into the performance. I think that this ruins the feel of the dance.
Song – 6.5/10 Music Video – 7/10 Performance – 7.5/10 Overall Rating – 6.9/10
KPOPREVIEWED 