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.
I am a little late today with the Weekly Chart post. Usually, I don’t post this late into the evening, as my album review will be published around now or a little later. That is still coming. Hopefully, I will have it up before midnight or a little after midnight. In the meantime, let’s look at the charts for the 1st Week of September. Yep, the end of the year is around the corner.
We seem to have some new contenders at the top of the charts, while some just won’t want to bridge from the Top 5. Sunmi’s LALALAY has risen to the top of the charts, ending both the SEVENTEEN and DAY6 reigns for the past month. Weki Meki’s Tiki Taka is this week’s second-place song. Pentagon’s comeback is one of the two songs that have been in the Top 5 for the past few weeks and Humph! comes in third. X1’s Flash is this week’s fourth-place song, while DAY6’s Time Of Our Life (yes, them again) rounds out our Top 5. For more of the charts, scroll down below.
1st Sep – 7th Sep 2019
Title
Artist
Status
1
LALALAY
Sunmi
(▲ 7)
2
Tiki Taka (99%)
Weki Meki
(▲ 11)
3
Humph!
Pentagon
(▲ 12)
4
Flash
X1
(▲ 7)
5
Time Of Our Life
DAY6
(▼ 4)
6
Don’t Make Me Laugh
Oh Ha Young (APINK)
(▲ 6)
7
Final Kiss
IZ
(▲ 31)
8
Devil
CLC
(new)
9
Bungee
Oh My Girl
(▲ 12)
10
Boom
NCT Dream
(▲ 20)
11
HIT
Seventeen
(▲ 9)
12
BIM BAM BUM
Rocket Punch
(▲ 11)
13
1 Minute 1 Second
W Project 4
(new)
14
DDD
The Boyz
(▼ 7)
15
Your Gravity
UP10TION
(▲ 2)
16
Good Bye
Wheein (Mamamoo)
(new)
17
I’m So Pretty
NATURE
(▲ 21)
18
Blurry
Kim Kook Heon & Song Yu Vin
(▼ 12)
19
Adios
EVERGLOW
(▼ 15)
20
Umpah Umpah
Red Velvet
(▼ 18)
21
Call Anytime
Jinu ft. Mino (WINNER)
(▼ 3)
22
Missing
TRCNG
(▼ 19)
23
Icy
ITZY
(▼ 13)
24
UN Village
Baekhyun (EXO)
(▲ 14)
25
Face
Woosung (The Rose)
(▼ 9)
26
Genie
VIINI
(▲ 2)
27
Run Away
IN2IT
(▲ 6)
28
Give Me More
VAV
(▲ 10)
29
RED
The Rose
(▼ 2)
30
Regulus
ONEWE
(▼ 25)
Songs leaving the chart this week are:
Blue – Ha Sung Woon (HOTSHOT)
I’m So Pretty – NATURE
UN Village – Baekhyun (EXO)
Cool Love – Hongbin (VIXX) & Hyungwon (MONSTA X)
Dream Play – LIMITLESS
Thank you once again and I will see you during the week!
So, I have been a bit busy with my week off. A lot do to for my studies, so it wasn’t really a week off. And that means I didn’t get around to posting my album review yesterday. Well, don’t fret as I will be posting it today! I have decided to push the Japanese reviews to next week onwards because of this. Today we will be leaping into X1’s first mini-album, Emergency: Quantum Leap. It seems like both the album and their title track (Flash) is a major hit with fans and listeners alike, as the group have been topping album charts and weekly music shows consistently this week! Congratulations to the group! But let’s see if the album is worth the attention.
Emergency: Quantum Leap Album Cover
1. Stand Up (Intro Track) – This introductory track opens with a bit of piano, making you think they are going with a soft approach to ease us in. But in a matter of seconds, the group changes into a harsh rock-like track. It is a great opener, full of energy to drive interest towards this new (and expectedly popular) group. We got solid vocals and rapping from the members, which I think did enough to showcase themselves. It is catchy and there was a fun vibe to it. I would have liked to hear this song extended into a full track. With a few changeups, I think this would have been a fabulous contender for the title track position. (9/10)
3. Like Always (웃을 때 제일 예뻐) – Like Always opens with someone typing. It might be random but given the song’s lyrics, it might be alluding to typing out a confession letter/email to their lover. It was also a nice lead in to the rest of the song, as the song opted for colourful and lively percussion synths. The verses were positioned in the pop genre and I thought showcased an impressive set of the vocals from the members. The chorus takes a turn to the industry trends, opting for a synth-heavy electronic dance-based instrumental. It was robust and was a nice changeup in my opinion. Some might think the two styles clash but I thought it was fine. The rapping was pretty good, but I have to admit it wasn’t nearly as exciting as the rest of the song. (8.5/10)
4. I’m Here For You (괜찮아요) – It is expected that there is a ballad on the album. I think all the Produce 101 resultant group’s first albums contained a ballad that says thanks to their fans. It is also a very different sound to the group, given that all the songs were more dance tracks on the album. I am sure fans of the group (and of the survival show’s latest season) would find the song touching. For the song, I thought the vocals sounded nice throughout the track. The ballad melody was fluid and well-paced. I thought the rapping was a nice touch. Not many individuals can tweak their rapping abilities to fit ballads, but X1’s rappers do a splendid job here. Instrumentally, the track was a little dry. But still, a nice track for fans. (8/10)
5. U GOT IT (X1 Version) – U GOT IT was first released during Produce X 101. I have previously reviewed it and you can find the review for it by clicking on this link. As it forms part of this album review, I will give it a rating based on X1’s version. (8/10)
6. Move (움직여) (X1 Version) – Move was first released during Produce X 101. I have previously reviewed it and you can find the review for it by clicking on this link. As it forms part of this album review, I will give it a rating based on X1’s version. (9/10)
One girl group that has been on a roll this year is CLC. If I can remember correctly, this is their third comeback of the year and no other group has returned this many times in the year thus far. So for those who have missed out on the powerful CLC so far (where have you been?!), they released No in January and then Me in May. Now, the group is back with Devil. While I do hope these ladies have been having breaks in between their comebacks, I am sure they (and their fans) are feeling blessed, as this has been their most active year yet!
Devil is a bright, colourful and upbeat track. But more importantly, it is something that reminds me of their earlier works. Sure, the cutesy sound isn’t there, as it is replaced by the group’s newfound fame with the mature sound. But it is still rather close. I wouldn’t think the group would change gears like this, especially since it seems like listeners are finally warming up to their powerful and dominating sound. But I guess, they have to throw in a different sound once in a while. The song also takes a retro approach with its instrumental, which feels very KPOP-like. Despite this colorful direction, I found the track to have a little bit of edginess, through the piano/keyboard at the start/during the bridge. It was subtle,. But as I was expecting something robust like their last two tracks, it managed to come off in that manner. I thought the vocals were rather strong and made the chorus stand out some more. I liked the melody but I wanted a stronger hook to the chorus. Though, I wouldn’t be surprised if I start humming the chorus in the coming days. I am also glad that they allowed Yeeun to keep her hip-hop flair. Overall, Devil was a great track and a nice change to their now- usual style.
I guess the saying ‘Never judge a book by its cover’ applies here. The music video started off like most cutesy videos. Very colourful and bright. The members were sitting around a table, with a cake on it. We then see the members live their normal lives, with another member elsewhere in the scene. And it seems like there is some sort of fight or beef going on in the video, as each member is plotting something against another. Seunghee purposely throws darts at Eunbin, Sorn is playing with fire around Seunghee, Sorn was lightly shoved off the chair by Yeeun, Elkie dropped a cactus on top of Yeeun’s head, Eunbin vacuumed Eikie’s hair, Yuijin was playing with the painful legos under Seungyeon’s bed and Seungyeon was leaving bars of soap under Yujin. I was already hooked with all of this. But then the video takes a turn, going towards the member’s dark side. The cake table turned into something more sinister with eyeballs and the chopped off heads of dolls. The colour is gone and it is all replaced by darkness. Even their outfits turned into black and leather. It is a very interesting video and definitely something worth watching a few times.
I am basing this off the music video. But I thought the way they started off the performance was very like their early works. As for the rest of the performance, I didn’t really find much worth talking about. Maybe they have kept hidden the better parts. But I can’t really make a comment about that until I see it.
Song – 8/10 Music Video – 9/10 Performance – 6/10 Overall Rating – 7.9/10
Due to the nature of the video, I have typed up the bulk of the music video section in white font. To read this section, simply highlight the text.
Mamamoo is back in the form of one member! Wheein has returned to the music scene with a solo release titled as Good Bye. Her last solo single was 25, which she released in May of this year. That release went completely unnoticed by many (including me) due to a lack of promotions in the lead-up and after the release of the single. Let’s hope that Good Bye doesn’t share the same fate! Her last solo single officially reviewed by your faithfully was Easy, which was released last year.
Good Bye takes on the ballad side of the industry. And it does so in a way that feels fitting for Wheein. We know of her impressive vocals through her works with Mamamoo and her solo stages on shows like Duet Song Festival. Her raspy vocals come through in this song, whereas they usually don’t during the group promotions. And I thought they brought some really nice warm colour to the song. The instrumental is pretty plain and ordinary for a ballad, but her vocals do a fair (as you would expect with any ballad) to make up for this pitfall. I also like how her voice builds as the song progresses, which I is something I enjoy when it comes to most ballads. Okay, it sure sounds like the Good Bye confirms to most ballads in many ways. But Wheein’s execution of Good Bye makes it stand out from the rest of the ordinary bunch.
The attention-stealing component of this comeback is the music video. IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED THE VIDEO YET, I RECCOMEND YOU DO BECAUSE I AM ABOUT TO SPOIL IT!!! We see the lead female actress adjust to a singles life for the majority of the video. At the start of the video, we see she flip a picture frame over angrily, make a meal for two when she should have just a meal for herself and removed all of the couple stuff from the house. It seems like her former lover was an artist, as she trashes the painting on the wall with fresh paint. This is the turning point of the video and if you want to read the rest of the plotline, you will need to highlight it as I have typed it out in white. So essentially, a couple arrives at the house to see it trashed. The entire time, we were lead to believe that she returned to her own place. But instead, it turns out it was her lover’s house. The guy runs out, to alert people (I assume), leaving his girlfriend in the house. It actually turns out to be her house and that she was the painter. As this girlfriend enters the room with the painting, she picks up the same picture frame from the start of the video, revealing a huge patch of orange paint over her boyfriend’s face, while her own face is uncovered. We are then shown clips of the lead actress drunk, crying over her lover and she lives the house. If you still don’t get the story, don’t worry. Essentially, the lead actress loves the girlfriend, not the boyfriend. It is another video similar to Please Don’t by K.Will. And it is a really good plot twist that I had to rewatch a couple of times. I also like the warm colours that feature in this video, fitting for the first ballad that I have reviewed on the site for the Autumn season!
Song 9/10 Music Video – 10/10 Overall Rating – 9.4/10
Today, we return to the PARs (Past Album Reviews), where I look closely at an album from the previous years. This way, I am able to revisit artists who have disbanded or inactive, rediscover old songs and introduce to you (and myself) the unsung b-side tracks on different albums. Today, the focus will be on HISTORY, who officially disbanded in 2016. HIM was their final release ever and this occurred in 2017. It is a pity to see HISTORY disband, especially since I was a fan of many of their title tracks. So it will be interesting to see what their B-sides tracks are like.
HIM Album Cover
1..Wild Boy – Wild Boy starts this mini-album on a very strong front. Wild Boy is a dance track that consists of a heavy and intense EDM instrumental. It adds to History’s style, with the next release always building on top of the previous. It is a pity that they are no longer around to continue with this vibe. The singing was quite good. But there is no doubt that the rapping was the real winner in this song. The rapping added more intensity and roughness to the song. And I like it how they didn’t hold back. All these elements together tapped into the group’s wild side, which fits the song’s direction perfectly. (9/10)
2. Queen (Title Track) – I decided to bump the original rating from 7.5 (the combination of song, video and performance) to 9 (just the song). The song has remained a favourite in my books since its release, so many of my comments in the review still stand to this day. Click here to read the full review for Queen.(9/10)
3. Baby, Hello – Diverting from the intensity that we have felt so far is Baby, Hello. It goes for an R&B style, instead. It is typical in some senses. But it is a nice break from that intense sound that I just mentioned. And while the previous two songs allowed the rappers to come to the forefront, a song of this style allows the focus to shift towards the vocals. The members sound smooth, with the rappers still doing a really good job. What makes this song kind of unique is that it extends itself using an additional dance break. Around the 2:30 mark, we get a bit of electric guitars to ‘finish’ the R&B style. But we are given an additional jazzy outro, which paired really well with the rest of the song. (8/10)
4. Whenever (그럴 때면) (Dokhyun Solo) – Continuing on with this ‘break’ from intensity is Dokhyun’s solo song. If I remember correctly, he was the member that was often hidden away. Their debut with Dreamer put Dokhyun into the limelight as a strong vocalist. But from every release from then on, I didn’t get to recognise or see him as much, which is a little disappointing. Whenever proves that he does have a really good set of vocals. I wished that History’s title track gave him a little more opportunity to flourish. It does feel like he strains his vocals towards the end. But apart from that, this R&B number was well polished and was very light in tone, suiting this ‘break’ nicely. (7.5/10)
5. LOST – I was under the impression that I had written a review for LOST, as it was a track that they promoted within Japan. It is also a return to intensity, as the song launches into a grand start through the classical instrumented driven start and probably one of the most intense EDM launches that I have ever heard. The song stabilises out once the vocals are brought into play. But not for long, as the EDM instrumental and classical lineup joins forces for the most drown-able chorus ever. I couldn’t even hear any of the vocal work during the chorus as the instrumental was too much. Apart from that, the verses were fine. Just the chorus was the biggest letdown. (6/10)
6. Liar – Liar is significant as this is the final song we ever heard from the male group. After the release of this album, the group went away and was never heard of again (until the news of their disbandment). I find this to be a nice mix between the R&B side of the group and the dance side of the track. It isn’t too much of a slow song, nor is it overly intense. Some might think this is rather typical of a KPOP track. But with History’s style, this pop style track was something different for the group (as far as I was concerned). I like how the rapping gave some roughness to the song, while the vocals evenly smooth out the song. (8/10)
Predebut and pre-release tracks are fairly common throughout the industry. But I will admit that I tend to gloss over those because I tend to focus on actual debuts and comebacks. Though the general rule I have when deciding what to review is whether a music video is available for it or not. We find ourselves in a music video available scenario with Woolim’s latest project, W Project 4. 1 Minute, 1 Second features Kim Min Seo, Lee Sung Jun, Kim Dong Yun, Hwang Yun Seong, Lee Hyeop, and Joo Chang Uk (majority of these trainees represented Woolim in Produce X 101).
While 1 Minute 1 Second is obviously a dance track, it started off slow with a quiet tone and a moody atmosphere. However, right after that short introductory part, the song picks up and puts forward a loud and bold change in direction. Sure, it isn’t anything refreshing or new. But it is a contrast that I thought was rather cool. I also like the piano in the pre-chorus segment, which added another layer of contrast to the synths in the background and that follows in the chorus. The synth dominated chorus picks the track up to a whole new level. I also liked how they maintained that momentum throughout the song and didn’t go back to that intro segment (a thing that happens a little too much in KPOP). They did opt for a tone back bridge. But that is different from a slow start. I thought their rappings and vocals were really good, showcasing the new generation of KPOP to come in the future in a very positive light. Something I think the song could have done better was developed a little more. Like in my past reviews, it stayed fairly netural throughout. Other than that, 1 Minute 1 Second is a great track to show off the new trainees of Woolim Entertainment.
The music video, to me, is fairly straight forward. It isn’t to the level of other Woolim Entertainment music videos, which I guess makes sense. It just wouldn’t make sense to pour all this money into a project group, which I assume is a way for the company to try to capitalise on the attention that garnered through Produce X 101. The video is dark and gloomy, which matches the tone of the song. Similar to how I mentioned about contrasting above, the members contrasted fairly nicely with their white tops in the dark sets. Overall, for a predebut/project single, the video turned out well.
I mentioned this countless times in the past that Woolim stands out for the choreography that is performed on stage, especially for their male groups. There is a level of finetuning that goes into each performance. And I think W Project 4 also got this finetuning treatment as well. As a result, their entire choreography looked dynamic, powerful and awesome.
Song – 8.5/10 Music Video – 8/10 Performance – 8/10 Overall Rating – 8.3/10
The next album review (and this one is on time!) is for UP10TION’s return with The Moment Of Illusion. This is the group’s first album release since Blue Rose and Laberinto in 2018. The group has been absent from the stage as two of their members was participating in Produce X 101. And as a result, the same two members are also absent from this set of promotions (i.e. Kim Woo Seok due to promotions as part of X1 and Lee Jin Hyuk due to a break). Let’s see how the group’s latest album fair with the absence of two members.
2. Sky Surfer – A part of me thinks that Sky Surfer would have been a little typical for the title track. The chorus, its drop and the synths used throughout the song weren’t exactly exciting or fresh. But the song almost could have been an alternative as a title track. I find the song having this breezy vibe coming from it, suiting the Summer season. I also like the guitar that is slightly hidden away by the electronic components in the instrumentation. It had Goblin (the South Korean drama) vibes, which I really liked. I thought the vocals and rapping was nice. Maybe if they gave it a twist, I wouldn’t have had my initial doubts about its title track potential. But it is still pretty good. (8/10)
3. Look At Me – Look At Me takes a similar typical approach to Sky Surfer. But they manage to change it up to make it slightly different from the rest of the competition. The song opens up with a sort of foreign guitar-like instrumental. It gives way to a very dynamic track in my opinion, with everything in the instrumental a level lower than what we would typically here in KPOP. The chorus drops and repeats the title, which is pretty standard. But I liked how they put the brakes on the drop, making it slower than what you had expected. Overall, I thought to Look At Me was another great track on the album. (8.5/10)
4. Skyway – I think we have another contender for the title track status. And this one doesn’t face any doubts like I had expressed under Sky Surfer. Actually, I wonder why they didn’t pick this one instead. It is strong and very energetic, which I have mentioned before ticking boxes for me, And I like it how it doesn’t stop. It just keeps going and doesn’t take an unnecessary pause. I thought the chorus had a catchy melody. The vocals and raps were amazing, especially Kun’s rap sequence at the end, channelling the song’s momentum until the very last second of the song. (9/10)
5. Restore – The album thus far has been mainly upbeat dance tracks of varying genres. Restore tones everything back, opting for an R&B track. But still, I can definitely see a choreography routine for this track with backup dancers. Melodically, I find the track to be very nice. The vocals and raps were also good, with a large focus on the vocals thanks to the slower nature of the song. I do question why they chose to push themselves for the chorus, as it almost felt like the vocals in the chorus were overpowering everything else. But for the time being, I think they manage to not step over into that domain. (7/10)
6. Lover – The album returns to and ends on another dance track. It is probably their most intense on the album, thanks to its dramatic and crunchy synths. Once again, I find the track slightly typical. The chorus felt a little plain and I had expected it to ‘add’ to the intense, rather than continue on with what we heard in the verses. The vocals were strong and I thought the rappers shined in this track, thanks to the intensity. Their rap sequences ended up having a little oomph to it. While I did make comments about its typicalness, I think the choice of Lover at the end of the album is a bold and memorable choice. (8/10)
Can you believe that August is already up and we are literally in September? How fast is the year going?! It is a little crazy. But as we move into a new month, another has wrapped up as well. And it is time to look back on the week through the Weekly Chart Segment. Currently on my week off, so I expect I will be drafting a lot of posts in preparation for the remainder of my final semester as I will be quite busy with projects and tying up the loose ends from my studies. Hahahah…
So, let’s have a little look over the charts for this week! Coming back to the top of the charts for the third time is DAY6’s Time Of Our Life. Congratulations to the band on this feat as they are the only artist to do that this year. Red Velvet’s Korean chart-topping Umpah Umpah finds themselves in a steady status, remaining in the second position. TRCNG rises into the Top 3 for the first time with their latest track, Missing. EVERGLOW’s Adios also rose into fourth place, while ONEWE’s nest single, Regulus, completes this week’s Top 5. For more of the charts, scroll down below.
25th Aug – 31st Aug 2019
Title
Artist
Status
1
Time Of Our Life
DAY6
(▲ 5)
2
Umpah Umpah
Red Velvet
(=)
3
Missing
TRCNG
(▲ 23)
4
Adios
EVERGLOW
(▲ 9)
5
Regulus
ONEWE
(new)
6
Blurry
Kim Kook Heon & Song Yu Vin
(new)
7
D.D.D
The Boyz
(▼ 3)
8
LALALAY
Sunmi
(new)
9
Spark
JBJ95
(▼ 1)
10
ICY
ITZY
(▲ 20)
11
Flash
X1
(new)
12
Don’t Make Me Laugh
Oh Ha Young (APINK)
(▲ 7)
13
Tiki Taka (99%)
Weki Meki
(▲ 16)
14
Movie Star
CIX
(▼ 9)
15
Humph!
Pentagon
(▲ 3)
16
FACE
Woosung (The Rose)
(▼ 6)
17
Your Gravity
UP10TION
(▼ 10)
18
Call Anytime
Jinu ft. Mino (WINNER)
(▲ 13)
19
Red Sun (021)
GWSN
(▲ 6)
20
HIT
Seventeen
(▼ 19)
21
Bungee
Oh My Girl
(▼ 6)
22
Tag Tag Tag
VERIVERY
(▼ 5)
23
Bim Bam Bum
Rocket Punch
(▲ 9)
24
That’s Okay
D.O (EXO)
(▼ 3)
25
Baby Come Back Home
TARGET
(▼ 9)
26
Sunset
KNK
(▼ 17)
27
Red
The Rose
(▼ 16)
28
Genie
VIINI
(▼ 14)
29
Goblin
Sulli
(▲ 8)
30
Boom
NCT Dream
(▼ 27)
Songs leaving the charts this week include:
Goblin – Sulli
Fever – Gfriend
That’s Okay – D.O (EXO)
Room Shaker – Ailee
Aurora – ATEEZ [Leaving Charts Early]
Gleam – Mamamoo [Leaving Charts Early]
Heaven – EDEN ft. Heize [Leaving Charts Early]
Thank you for reading this post and visiting the blog during the week!
I hope to be back on the normal schedule last week. But due to my studies, that was put on hold for a bit. So I am now hoping that I am able to return to that normal schedule this weekend, with this album review kicking it off. Red Velvet made their comeback 10 days ago with Umpah Umpah and their second album release in The ReVe Festival series. Per usual with any Red Velvet release, they have managed to come on top on this week’s music shows so far. But it is now time to see how the album faired.
2. Carpool (카풀) – While I was briefly listening through the album to see whether it was worth writing an album review for it, I was drawn to Carpool. It was bright and upbeat, two of the things I totally like when it comes to KPOP tracks. Sprinkle in with some funk, give the track to Red Velvet and let them own it. I really enjoyed the vocals in this song, as it was rather clear and the instrumental (to a degree) took a backseat approach, allowing the vocals to be capitalised. I also enjoyed the melodies throughout the song, making this a standout track, in my opinion. My pick for the highlight has to be the part of the chorus where they sing together. (9/10)
3. Love Is The Way (사랑은 길이다) – Love Is The Way slows down considerably but continues the bright tone that we have heard so far on the album. This time around the track opts for a retro style, which reminds me of a lot of SNSD’s Lion Heart. To be honest, some of the Red Velvet members reminded me of some of the SNSD members throughout the track. I really like the ‘Your lips say no, but your heart says yes’ line that is featured before each chorus. I think the biggest flaw of the track is that its slowness was very evident, particularly since it was following Carpool, which was a lot faster and snappier. It did cause the retro track to come off as sluggish and dry. (7.5/10)
4. Jumpin’ – We return to something a little more upbeat. Given how its tempo seems to be in between Carpool and Love Is The Way, I think this would have been a suitable song to have in between the two so that the latter song did not come off as sluggish. Despite that observation, however, with a song titled as Jumpin’, I would have expected a little more energy to come from the track. It wasn’t sluggish. But it wasn’t eventful, I could say. Their vocals were quite strong in this track, which I guess helped offset. But it felt more abstract with this approach. I would also say this track is moderately catchy and I wouldn’t mind listening to the song occasionally. (7/10)
5. Ladies Night – It is a night that I am not invited to. But Ladies Night seems to bring out the good side of Red Velvet. I really like their slight retro approach with this R&B track. It seems to match the rest of the album nicely. The brass gives it a lot of colour and character, making the instrumental stand out. I also thought their vocals, which was a lot softer than the previous tracks, were well presented. And I liked how their vocals and instrumental blended together nicely. (8/10)
6. Eyes Locked, Hands Locked (눈 맞추고, 손 맞대고) – When I was checking out the album, the final track caught my attention. Its title is rather intriguing. And I didn’t know what to really expect with a song titled Eyed Locked, Hands Locked. It ended up being a ‘love at first sight’ ballad with delicate vocals, fitting for the softer instrumentation that the ballad had opted for. Throughout this album and within this track, all the members have been singing together for the chorus, which I think works very well with Red Velvet. Other groups do this, but they tend to inefficiently or overuse this technique. It does feel a rather typical way to end the album, but I can’t deny that it is a good track to end the album on. (8/10
Making their return to the stage for the first time ever is ONEWE. For those who do not know, ONEWE is a band from RBW Entertainment (ONEUS, VROMANCE and MAMAMOO also come from the same company) and was formerly known as MAS. They made their re-debuted as ONEWE in May of this year with Reminisce About All. Since their release, the band made their Japanese debut with the Japanese version of the same title track. And now, the group has returned with Regulus and the single album, 2/4.
I have described a number of songs in the past as being in ‘neutral gear’. But I think Regulus finds its place on top of that category. For the majority of the nostalgic rock song, it was very slow-moving. The chorus only added a little momentum but it wasn’t enough for my tastes. We did get that much-needed climax through the ‘guitar dominant’ bridge section, but I wished they had built up to it in a more explicit fashion. They might have intended another Reminisce About All climax but I think they left it a little too late this time around. Minus the instrumentation, I think the song does make up for its flaw. The track manages to showcase more of the members, while Reminisce About All was skewed towards one member (from memory). Everyone sounded quite nice. We also got some rapping in this song. While I am not a fan of that crunchy autotune placed on the vocals just before the rapping, it does give the song some much-needed texture. Overall, Regulus was a fair song to add to ONEWE’s discography.
There is no doubt that this is a moody track. Regulus, for those who don’t know, is one of the brightest stars in the night sky. Hence, in that case, for us to see Regulus, it has been dark. And essentially, the members are singing about being able to see light (their lover) while in the dark. Therefore, it made total sense for the music video to be shot with a grey filter, with the day sky transforming to the night sky. I think the video would have been a little more effective if they shot it during the Winter months or when it was naturally darker. Apart from that, their presence really made the video feel more compelling. And while it was just scenes of them playing their instruments, I have to admit that it was worth watching.
Song – 8/10 Music Video – 8.5/10 Overall Rating – 8.2/10
Yesterday I reviewed X1’s Flash debut. But interestingly, they are not first set of trainees debuting from Produce X 101. The first trainees to do that was Kim Kook Heon and Song Yu Vin, who finished 21st and 15th respectively. Both trainees come from Music Works and were formerly part of MYTEEN (which has since disbanded following the completion of the show). Over the weekend (a few days ahead of X1’s debut), the two made their return to the industry with Blurry.
Blurry takes on the ballad genre, with a rather soothing and classically-driven track. The song showcases great vocals from the two. I really liked how they managed to integrated some rapping into the song, which tends to be a hit or miss for me when it comes to ballads. I also thought the piano melody was very pleasant. I also like that water drop effect that is featured throughout the song, giving the instrumental a little extra detail. The song feels perfect for a rainy day and that is also the playlist that the song will land into as soon as I finish writing this review. But while I look upon this track quite positively, I found the ballad to be of the typical nature. And this is possibly a problem for Blurry and the two singers, especially in an industry that is very big with ballads. To an extent, it felt very straight forward and one-dimensional. This may not necessarily be a bad thing, but I think a little more to the instrumental and some layering could have helped boost the song to a whole new level.
The music video for the song was quite pleasant, perfectly fitting the song’s tone. And my comment regarding how it is perfect for a rainy day partly stems from the music video, due to that rainy scene in which they are sharing an umbrella. I assume the fish and cherry that the two were held in the video that later disappeared alluded to their lovers who left them, due to their inexperience with love. Apart from that, it was a nice video to watch.
Song – 7/10 Music Video – 8/10 Overall Rating – 7.4/10
And now we move onto that big debut that I mentioned in my previous review. Back in July of this year, Produce X 101 wrapped up their season by announcing the trainees that will be going on to debut as part of X1 (i.e. the Top 10 plus the member with the most points throughout the entire season). A huge congratulations to Kim Yo Han, Kim Woo Seok, Han Seung Woo, Song Hyeong Jun, Cho Seung Youn, Son Dong Pyo, Lee Han Gyul, Nam Do Hyun, Cha Jun Ho, Kang Min Hee and Lee Eun Sang for making their debut yesterday with Flash.
I did tweet (my shameless plug to advertise I have a Twitter that you can follow to get up-to-date news about where reviews are at!) last night that Flash is quite good. And that statement does still stand to an extent. The dance track definitely has intensity and this builds throughout the song. The instrumental also felt very dynamic at certain points of the song, which goes hand-in-hand with the intensity. I thought the pre-chorus was probably the main highlight point of the song, as it was where that intensity was felt the strongest. Following closely behind would have to be the closing chorus of the song, which brought upon some impressive adlibs. But the keyword a while back was ‘…to an extent’. While we were on the topic of vocals, I have to point out that they didn’t have a backing that could have made them flourish. Instead, it resulted in them feeling quite neutral. The second disappointment of the track was the drop. While it was okay, I expected something with a little more striking, especially following that cool pre-chorus.
The music video had an artsy side, which I think appealed to me. If you know me, I really like visuals. And the sets were very aesthetically pleasing. The various sets that could be seen in this video looked amazing. My favourite had to be the big half X in the background. I also really liked the use of black, red and lights in that set. The green light set wasn’t that good looking and the streamers made it look constricting and elementary. While the music video did opt for a standard closeup and choreography combination, I thought the video turned out well for their debut.
The choreography is definitely intense. That is the only direction you could go with a song of this nature. There was a little generic atmosphere at the start. But I really enjoyed the fierceness and power that came from the final section of the choreography. I also like their ‘Flash‘ pose.
Song – 7.5/10 Music Video – 8.5/10 Performance – 8.5/10 Overall Rating – 8/10
Apologies for my absence yesterday. It was definitely poor timing on my behalf, especially with one very big debut and solo comeback all in one day yesterday. Firstly, let’s focus on the solo comeback from Sunmi. The ver popular female solo singer is back. And especially after a string of very popular songs (the most recent is Noir), Sunmi attempts to repeat her success with LALALAY. And it seems that she is already doing that, with her comeback track already topping domestic charts!
Listening to LALALAY, it makes me think of her entire list of title tracks since branching out with Gashina. It might be the music video side influence speaking, but I have found Sunmi’s title tracks to have an element of being ‘out there’. Sure, there are a number of artists who do this well as well. But not in the serious manner that Sunmi always pull off. Alongside this, I found the track to be very catchy from start to end. The instrumental starts off as quite piercing. But it is an opener that attracts your attention from the start. I really liked her verses, which was the more vocally centred sections of the track. Though, I wanted to hear more of a strong hook during the pre-chorus, as I think this could have benefited the chorus. The piercing start of the song returns as the main piece of the chorus. Once again, I thought it was cool and catchy. And it definitely added some attitude to the song. I am not a fan of the bridge, which felt like it was from another song. The transition didn’t feel right and I am disappointed with that, as this is keeping it from being another ‘perfect’ song from Sunmi. But overall, LALALAY is a song to put on repeat.
As I mentioned before, it might be the music video side that influenced my first comments about LALALAY and her familiar title tracks. And this video does have that odd factor to it, proving my point. The song is all about being yourself despite the criticisms. And she does just that in the video by sporting pretty different hairstyles. She opts for a blonde hairdo and long pigtails, which isn’t anything odd, to begin with. But the video does a good job of making it look odd, and the backup dancers seem to be following whatever she is doing (i.e. she is a trendsetter). Despite the criticisms, she will always have the supporters behind her, which is the message I am getting alongside to the lyrics. It is a nice video to watch and I think it went well with the song.
Sunmi has always developed a noticeable dance move. Gashina was the hand-gun, Heroine was the whipping arms, Siren was the mermaid pose. And now, LALALAY is the twisting hair move. It is a simple move, so I suspect many people will be following her dance, once again. Watching her live performance, I find her confidence to be very appealing. During the verses, she was playful. But once the chorus kicks in, she changes her charisma to suit the section.
Song – 8/10 Music Video – 8/10 Performance – 8.5/10 Overall Rating – 8.1/10
Apologies everyone for the delay for this album review. It was meant to be published last Sunday. But I had pushed that because I was busy. And I was very occupied over the weekend. And now, I am here to publish this review (before I hold onto it for another week)! GWSN debuted last year with a really cool title track (Puzzle Moon). I do remember that I was intrigued so much by it, so I checked out their debut mini-album. But I wasn’t satisfied with it to write an album review. Their comeback at the start of the year also shared the same fate. But third time is the charm, as today we review their 3rd mini-album, the 3rd (and final) part of their The Night In The Park trilogy.
2. All Mine (Coast of Azure) – GWSN has always stood out for their different style title tracks. So, to hear something a little more typical from the group felt nice, which is rather odd, considering my past comments on every other ‘typical’ sounding track. All Mine is a Summer track that is bright and makes you think of the beach and sun thanks to its upbeat energy. I thought the track was quite nice and thoroughly enjoyed it. There was a slight quirk in the song, with the pre-chorus sounding like a music box with a downward gradient. That stood out for me, alongside the colourful vocals and rapping. (8/10)
3. Night Aviation (밤의 비행) (The Interpretation of Dreams) – The group now takes a new direction with Night Aviation. It is a dance R&B track that also a very smooth feel to it. It is very mature, which I think is that ‘new direction’ that I mentioned. The instrumental is standard, with no impressive moments that stick out. But it is their vocals and rapping that really give this song some character. It might also be the fact that I am impressed with their performances and a song like this seems will be portrayed exceptionally well on stage by such a strong dance group. I think the only thing that I would consider a flaw in this song is that standard instrumental, but as mentioned, other elements (and expectations) make up for this. (8.5/10)
4. Total Eclipse (Black Out) – Total Eclipse returns the group to their aesthetics and dance style that their title tracks always go for. However, this track seems to be a little more ‘out-there’ and wacky, so I think it was well-played by the producers to keep this as a side-track instead. Nonetheless, I think this was very interesting and I did enjoy it. The chorus was very cool, especially with the start. The crunchy ‘Black Out’ effect was a strong highlight for me. I liked how it also contrasted with the rest of the song, as the other parts felt like a ‘normal’ track. And thanks to that highlight, there was a fun vibe to the song. (8/10)
5. Birthday Girl ~ 19 Candles – Through Birthday Girl, we get to see a different side of the group. If you are more familiar with their title tracks, you might not expect this direction. It is a more delicate style, which calls for a soft vocal approach. And the group nails this. I think this was a very nice track that brings their vocals, rather than their performances and catchy hooks, to the forefront. In a sense, the track acts as a magnifying glass, as it allowed us to hear the husky tones some of the members brought to the song. The harmonies heard in the chorus was very beautiful. (9/10)
6. Kind Of Cool – Kind Of Cool isn’t exactly the most appealing track. It is a little bland upon first glance at its tropical-like instrumentation and is kind of neutral throughout. Their vocals and rapping aren’t also their most impressive work. But despite the negativity, I must emphasise that this track isn’t terrible. It is still quite listenable. It just doesn’t ping as something to ‘put on repeat’. It is also on the weaker side of the spectrum compared to their other songs on the album. Despite that, I did like the chorus as it was somewhat catchy and I thought the flutes were a nice instrumental detail in the song. (6.5/10)
7. Black H●le – If you were to compare Kind Of Cool and Black Hole (I won’t be inserting the darkened circle while referring to the song within the review), you might think I would be repeating my comments. But I am not going to. I find Black Hole to be very appealing, mainly because we get to hear more of that delicate style from the group. Once again, it is different, and I am not really ready to hear them return to their usual sound just yet. I really like the flowy nature of this track and the acapella in the background. The rapping was also well blended into the track, which I think is always a tricky aspect to tackle in these types of tracks. (8/10)
8. Recipe ~ for Simon – Ending the album is once again, another delicate track. I cannot get enough of these tracks!! I find the harmonies in this track to be superb. I am not as impressed with the incorporation of the rapping as I was with the preceding song. It is good but not as great as Black Hole. The chorus has that flowy nature and I find them all singing to together to be a real standout element in this track. It feels wholesome, cohesive and brings the album to a close on a slower but nice note. (7/10)
Another week has passed, so it means it is time to look back at the week through the Weekly Charts segment. I am a little pushed for time today, so it is going to be another quick one.
Remaining on top of the charts this week is SEVENTEEN’s HIT. Definitely a hit in my books! Red Velvet’s comeback this week, Umpah Umpah makes its chart debut in the second position. NCT Dream’s Boom rises back into the Top 5 and sits in the third position. D.D.D by The Boyz debuts in the fourth position, while CIX’s sleek Movie Star completes this week’s Top 5.
Scroll down below for more of the charts!
18th Aug – 24th Aug 2019
Title
Artist
Status
1
HIT
Seventeen
(=)
2
Umpah Umpah
Red Velvet
(new)
3
Boom
NCT Dream
(▲ 4)
4
D.D.D.
The Boyz
(new)
5
Movie Star
CIX
(▲ 11)
6
Time Of Our Life
DAY6
(▼ 1)
7
Your Gravity
UP10TION
(new)
8
Spark
JBJ95
(▲ 12)
9
Sunset
KNK
(▲ 3)
10
Face
Woosung (The Rose)
(▲ 22)
11
RED
The Rose
(▼ 9)
12
Uh-Oh
(G)I-DLE
(▲ 15)
13
Adios
EVERGLOW
(new)
14
Genie
VIINI
(new)
15
Bungee
Oh My Girl
(▼ 7)
16
Baby Come Back Home
TARGET
(new)
17
Tag Tag Tag
VERIVERY
(▼ 3)
18
Humph!
Pentagon
(▼ 8)
19
Don’t Make Me Laugh
Oh Hayoung (APINK)
(new)
20
Blue
Ha Sung Woon (HOTSHOT)
(▲ 13)
21
That’s Okay
D.O (EXO)
(▲ 19)
22
Insomnia
Euijin (BIGFLO)
(▲ 21)
23
Cool Love
Hongbin (VIXX) & Hyungwon (Monsta X)
(▲ 1)
24
Room Shaker
Ailee
(▲ 8)
25
Red Sun (021)
GWSN
(▲ 13)
26
Missing
TRCNG
(▼ 7)
27
Questions
Zelo
(▲ 10)
28
Final Kiss
IZ
(new)
29
Tiki Taka (99%)
Weki Meki
(▼ 23)
30
ICY
ITZY
(▼ 27)
Songs leaving the charts this week are:
Snapping – Chungha
Uh-Oh – (G)i-DLE
Insomnia – Euijin (BIGFLO)
Questions – Zelo
Thank you once again and I will see you all during the week!
My final review for the night is for Hayoung’s solo debut. For those who don’t know, she is one of the members from APINK, one of the few groups still going strong since their debut in 2011. She is also the second member of the group to officially go solo, while the group is in between comebacks. Don’t Make Me Laugh is her title track for her solo debut mini-album, OH!.
While it was expected that Eunji would be the first member to go solo from the group, I would have expected Namjoo or Bomi to be the second. Instead, Hayoung comes by with this really nice track. I find the industry tends to enjoy either heavy dance tracks or slow ballad tracks. Sometimes, they enjoy tracks that find themselves in between the two styles. And Don’t Make Me Laugh is one of these tracks that deserve to be put in the spotlight. I really like the light tone the song brings, which undoubtedly compliments her vocals. Her parts in APINK tracks have never stood out for me. But this song makes me want to revisit all those parts from the past. I also enjoyed the autotune they put on her voice to give the song some texture. It didn’t go over the top with it, which tends to be the case in some songs. But not this one! The chorus had a really soothing pop melody and I like the small laughter at the start. I can see myself easily repeating the song multiple times with this track and I don’t think I would ever get tired of it.
The title of the track is very intriguing. But essentially the track is all about the moment someone falls in love. In the video, Hayoung basically falls for the barista and starts imagining all their potential dates. This makes her feel super giddy, which in turn results to her laughing in the cafe. At the end of the video, we see the guy noticing her laughing, which he finds cute and he starts to approach her. The final moments of the videos show a closeup of Hayoung’s face reacting to the unexpected movement in her direction, which I thought was rather funny. The video was well-presented. Even though it was all inside, they did a good job of replicating the outdoors and the video was very bright, fitting the Summer feel nice.
I like how the lightness of the song flowed into the choreography. Overall, It felt flowy and breezy. At the same time, there is a very nice innocent feel to it. Another thing that I would like to mention is that she sounds wonderful on stage with this track. Once again, I have never taken notice of her on stage. But watching her perform, I am wondering why I haven’t paid more attention to her!
Song – 9/10 Music Video – 9/10 Performance -9/10 Overall Rating – 9/10
KPOPREVIEWED 