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[Double Review] Beside Me + Love Is – Davichi

October 25, 2016Posted in KPOP, RewindTagged DavichiLeave a comment

The Queens of Ballads have finally graced the stage in 2016. Davichi has officially made their comeback with double title tracks. The first track is titled as Beside Me and the other one is Love Is. It’s been a while since I last reviewed them. The have also changed companies moving from MBK Entertainment to CJ E&M.

I freaking love Davichi ballads. They always have this fresh feel. Both songs managed to have that fresh feel, yet at the same time had a different element that kept the songs unique. Beside Me appeals to me because, while it is a ballad, there is an element of catchiness. Haeri sings one particular section of the song, the chorus, which caught my ears as soon as I listened to it. For a ballad, it is damn catchy. That is my favourite part of the song. That being said, the rest of the song is equally amazing. You could literally feel the emotion poured into this song. The lyrics portray the heartbreak pretty well, but their vocals just add another level of depth to it. While you think the rollercoaster of emotion is over, Love Is just decides to come along and dumping a lot of feelings. This song is much slower, but there is probably 100 times more emotion in this song. The reason why I like this song is that there is a lot of elegance when they sing the song. Especially the chorus where they emphasis that one word (or syllable): mwo (뭐). It sounds amazing. Their vocals have never been a joke and this just proves that even more. I also love how the start has a really soft instrumental and it slowly builds up into a beautiful orchestra piece. The vocals start of loud, but not too loud. As the instrumental builds up, it gave me an impression that the vocals were fading and fitted snuggly into the song. By the end, there was that amazing balance that I seek in song and ballads (especially Davichi’s ballad) portray amazingly.

Beside Me is a very mysterious video and the concept is quite matching to the song. The girls are in this foggy forest, running around, looking for their ‘lost’ love. The girls sing about how he must have forgotten about them and how they will always be there for their lover. Them running around the forest, the hallway, desperately looking for their love in their long dresses made the video quite powerful and meaningful. While not running around, the close up shots were captured the beauty of the girls really nicely. Love Is stars Lee Jong Suk has the main character. This music video is amazing for a number of reason. Lee Jong Suk is an amazing actor and his acting in the video is perfection. We see LJS arrive at this home and he seems to reminisce about the old times. That’s because in the video, he returns to his family home for either’s his father’s funeral or death anniversary. The memories get a little too much and when he faces his dad, he is overcome with emotion, crying while bowing down to his father’s portrait. Amazing video. The emphasis on those everyday sounds like picking up the mail, flipping the picture, the raining coming down etc. gave off a surreal sense of reality and added some more of that level of emotion (mainly because Davichi’s vocals and LJS’s acting isn’t enough). Both are amazing videos.

I cannot differentiate the videos and songs. They are both pieces of perfection to my ears and eyes, just in their own way.

Beside Me – 10/10
Love Is – 10/10

[Weekly Chart] 3rd Week of October 2016

October 23, 2016November 26, 2016Posted in Weekly ChartsLeave a comment

Welcome back to this week’s charts. I have an exam on Tuesday and like every other student, I am procrastinating. This week’s chart was meant to be released Tuesday night, but I don’t want to read my notes at the moment, so why not take some time and do the chart now? It’s a win-win situation for me. Hahaha

The top 3 this week includes GOT7, Ladies Code and Monsta X. Interesting mix. I kind of expected it actually. Let’s look towards next week: Twice, 24K, Bastraz and the other songs that debut this week will cause chaos on the chart next week. Anticipating it though.

A lovely reminder of the what the colours in the status column mean.
Green (↑) – Song has gone up in ranking
Red (↓) – Song has gone down in ranking
Blue (=) – Song has remained in the same position as the previous week
Orange (new) – Song debuts on the chart
Grey (Final Week) – Song appears on the chart for its final week.

	16th Oct – 22nd Oct 2016
	Title	Artist	Status
1	Hard Carry	GOT7	(=)
2	Fighter	Monsta X	(↑ 4)
3	The Rain	Ladies Code	(new)
4	Blood, Sweat & Tears	BTS	(↑ 1)
5	Beside Me	Davichi	(↑ 1)
6	Very Very Very	I.O.I	(new)
7	1 of 1	SHINee	(↓ 4)
8	Fri. Sat. Sun	Dal Shabet	(↓ 6)
9	The Eye	Infinite	(↓ 5)
10	Give It To Me	Seven	(new)
11	Secret Time	Spica	(↓ 2)
12	Home	Ailee	(=)
13	Stay As You Are	Sanduel (B1A4)	(↑ 8)
14	Doo Doom Chit	Crayon Pop	(↓ 4)
15	Love Is	Davichi	(new)
16	Gorilla	Pentagon	(↑ 15)
17	Russian Roulette	Red Velvet	(=)
18	Fanfare	SF9	(=)
19	Fall	Crush	(new)
20	Only One	APINK	(↓ 12)
21	Stand By Me	BTOB Blue	(↑ 2)
22	Lotto	EXO	(↓ 2)
23	Dancing King	Yoo Jae Suk X EXO	(↓ 9)
24	Shooting Love	Laboum	(↑ 1)
25	Better Day	100%	(new)
26	Promise (I’ll Be)	2PM	(↓ 4)
27	Chewing Gum	NCT Dream	(↓ 14)
28	New York	Mamamoo	(↓ 13)
29	Runnin’	Henry & Soyu	(new)
30	Carnival	Gain (Brown Eyed Girls)	(↓ 4)

Some songs have been on the chart system for 9 weeks now, and starting next week will not be appearing on the charts anymore (and the Top 30). They include:

Lotto – EXO (Peak: 5 – appeared in Top 30 for all 9 weeks)
If You – Ailee (Peak: 24 – appeared in Top 30 for 6 weeks)
Shooting Love – Laboum (Peak: 1 – appeared in Top 30 for all 9 weeks)
Stranger – MASC (Peak: 26 (x2) – appeared on Top 30 for 3 weeks)
Try – Park Jimin (15&) (Peak: 21 – appeared on Top 30 for 7 weeks)

Hope you all enjoy your week!

[Review] Stay As You Are – Sandeul (B1A4)

October 22, 2016Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged B1A4, Sandeul (B1A4)Leave a comment

B1A4’s main vocal has finally made his long-awaited debut with Stay As You Are. Sandeul is known for his amazing vocals, as proven by his appearances on shows like Immortal Song and Duet Song Festival. I particularly like his vocals when he is on Duet Song Festival. They always seem to blow me away. You should check out the performances. I guarantee you will be blown away.

A great ballad that brings out his vocals. The song starts off pretty slow and soft. But as you listen to the song, his vocals start to pick up (in terms of power) and the instrumental starts to become more layered and defined. In other words, the build up is quite spectacular. I am glad that there was a build up, otherwise, the song would have been too boring and easily forgettable. unfortunately, the song itself is quite forgettable. A little disappointed by that. If it was more memorable somehow, the song would have done a lot better on the charts. However, that’s just my subjective look on the song. Moving back to his vocals, you can definitely feel the emotion in the song just by listening to his voice. That is a sign of an excellent vocalist and singer. It is as if it a feather, drifting across the surface of water (just to throw in an analogy). Overall, while it is easily forgettable, the ballad does fulfil one thing. It is an excellent start to Sandeul’s solo career and compliments him quite well.

I have not yet watched the video. I do click on the video to watch it, but then get distracted the very next second before the video starts, so technically, I don’t find the video boring (as of yet). Let me retell the video for you guys. Sandeul wakes up (and like everyone else in the world) gets ready for the day with a blank and zoned out expression. We see him sitting at a cafe and just spending his day there. One day, a girl sits down at his table and starts following him around (without his permission). But as love stories usually go by, he falls for her. At the very end, he wakes up from his dream. From that alone and the lyrics, it seems like he was imagining his future lover and it seems like he was pretty disappointed by the ‘dream’ because it wasn’t real life. I personally think that is a great storyline and it matches perfectly with the lyrics. Sandeul’s acting here was amazing as well. The chemistry and emotions between him and the female lead looks pretty realistic. The overall way the video was shot was quite beautiful as well.

Rating – 9/10

[Review] Blood, Sweat & Tears – BTS

October 19, 2016Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged BTS (Bangtan Boys)Leave a comment

BTS returned for a very limited amount of time back in April with the release of the third part (and final part) of their trilogy. Now, they have returned with their second album, Wings, and the title track Blood, Sweat and Tears. This latest comeback has managed to break multiple records and it is the first comeback that I have seen where 5 million views (or possibly more – I forgot the actual number) for their music video occurred in 1 day. The power of Army is real and very strong.

This song is very good. Following the roots of their previous songs in the year, Blood Sweat and Tears features a very nice EDM (I think it is a more powerful version of chill-step. It definitely has that chill vibe, but there are other EDM components in it) instrumental. There was that chill vibe and it didn’t go over the top or feel overpowering. There was a nice balance between the instrumental and the vocal/rap. Vocally, the members sound amazing. The husky voice that Jimin had to start off the song became a launch pad into the song. The rapping felt quite limited this time. A little disappointed by that. To me, it was probably the most underwhelming part of the song. Moving along, the lyrics is an element that needs to be talked about. Loved the “wonhae manhi manhi manhi manhi”, probably the catchiest part of the song. The rest of the lyrics was quite sexy. There is probably no other word to describe the rest of the lyrics… “Baby, I don’t care if I get drunk, I’ll drink you in now
Your whiskey, deep into my throat”. Yeah. I just felt the pairing was a little off with the instrumental and lyrics. The sound of the song is a little too upbeat for those sexy (and dark) lyrics. I like the song as it is, but imagine those lyrics with a more seductive instrumental.

Music video is very interesting. I can sit down and try to give my own interpretation of the video. I have tried (I get some bits, like V becoming the Fallen Angel, who fell from the balcony and had his wings cut off), but there are some parts which make no sense whatsoever (Jin kissing the statue is one of them). So instead, I am going to try something different. I have been reading many different theories regarding the video and I am going to link a few here for you to read/watch, because I am totally lost and confused. These theories are all well written and make a lot more sense than what I would have written (or explain my theory in a much more ‘easier to understand’ way ).

Theory 1

Theory 2

Theory 3 (watch this video with captions on, the video is in Korean)

Theory 4 (read the comments to this video, there are a few more interesting theories)

From each of these theories, it seems like this video is connected to the rest of the videos released by BTS (V killing is his father in a previous video, which then turns him into a Fallen Angel). All this confusion. But nonetheless, BTS videos have always been amazing. The confusion grabs my attention and forces me to watch the video multiple times so I can understand what is going on. The acting is amazing here. The cinematography is also amazing. While I don’t truly understand the plot and reasoning behind the video, what I see and the impression it leaves on me is worthy of a 10/10.

Choreography wise, I think the dance is amazing. I don’t think I have ever been disappointed with a BTS dance. The knife-like precision and sharp movements always blow me away. They do bring a sexier side to the dance this time, while their past dances have focuses more of fierceness, strength and masculinity.

Rating – 9.5/10

[Review] Fighter – Monsta X

October 18, 2016Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged MONSTA XLeave a comment

What’s this? I am writing a review a few hours before midnight, not with less than an hour before midnight like for the 5 reviews? I am surprising myself today. Like how Monsta X surprised me with a brand new comeback, especially when it felt just like they were on stage promoting Stuck a few weeks ago… Wait… They were! Man, all these KPOP idols need rest, not comeback after comeback after comeback.

Another amazing song to add to the list. Monsta X is officially killing it this year. I have been impressed with every song they have put out this far in the year. Fighter is a very powerful and strong song that really captures your attention from the very start. The song starts off with the sound you would here from the boxing competitions in movies. Throughout the song, you get that boxing and fighting sound from the song, which kind of exerts its dominance from the very start. I love the impact coming from each of the rapping and for once in my life, I think the rapping overtook the singing. The singing is quite good as well, but it doesn’t seem as powerful as the rapping. I would have liked if the vocals were a little better, so they are on par with the rapping. They honestly do not hold back in the song. Just listening to the song gets your adrenaline pumping.

I just finished watching Stranger Things today and I totally forgot about the start of this video, until I started watching it for the review. Don’t know what is going on with the intro of this video with the title screen quite “similar” to Stranger Things. Moving away from that, I think the video is lost in its sense of direction. This is definitely a continuation of All In, but it also feels quite detached and completely disconnected. You can tell there are parts that go with All In (such as the flower), but others seem completely irrelevant and make the video look more complicated that what it should be (‘running in the hospital’ scenes). While I think the video is interesting, the components don’t really come together. That or I am just really bad at seeing things. I am not going to list everything in the video, there is just too much. Though, if you have a theory on what’s going on, please enlighten me? I like the video due to it being intriguing and I try to guess what is going on each time, but it doesn’t add up in my head. Jooheon in a doctor’s outfit is creepy and the cinematography in this video is amazing.

The dance definitely matches up with their image and the sound of the song. Powerful and very ‘alpha-male’. It also looks very complex. Moving away from the dance, Wonho in a crop top… Hmmm… I am honestly a little weirded out by it. It just doesn’t look good.

Rating – 8/10

[Review] Home – Ailee ft. Yoo Mi Rae

October 17, 2016Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged AileeLeave a comment

Ailee has recently made her solo comeback with Home. While Home is the first time we have seen her on stage for a while, she has been busy with a lot of other solo work. She has held concerts, special stages, collaborated on various projects and released a pre-release single a month ahead of her actual release of the mini album. (I have yet to review If You. It may be on my list ‘to review’). (Fun Fact) Home features Yoo Mi Rae, who Ailee had to beg to feature in this song.

Ailee has left me disappointed once again. Last time she was on stage with Mind Your Own Business, I described her song as good. Compared to her previous songs, that is quite disappointing. If You is a solid song and a greater refresher since she hasn’t released ballads of any kind of a while. Home just completely missed the target. The song is quite simple. A nice dubstep instrumental, Ailee’s amazing vocals and Yoo Mae Ri’s powerful rapping. But when I listen to them coming together, it just didn’t cut out for me. I felt the instrumental was overpowering, especially during the chorus. Her vocals didn’t seem to go that far this time around. However, when I pay attention to the instrumental separately, pay attention to her vocals separately, everything sounds fine. Odd review so far isn’t. Let’s move back to some praises to end on a much higher note. I love how she managed to infuse the RnB genre in with her EDM and dubstep. It sounds really cool and pretty refreshing. Her ad-libs in the song were amazing as well. Always can count on Ailee for amazing ad-libs.

Her visuals are stunning. I may have been disappointed with the song, but her looks in the video were spectacular. Her hair style is amazing and while I am a guy, she totally rocked everything she wore in the video. The music video gave off a nice mysterious vibe and I am a major sucker for the dark vibe. Especially when it is tied in with the idea of love. This video does that spot on. Her presence in the video is very strong and it leaves a long lasting impression on you, especially after you finish watching it, causing you to go back even more. Not too sure about the ending the video where she is casually just starts burning her home down and mashing everything. It just doesn’t go well with the lyrics, but amazingly well with the instrumental. I actually think the shaky shots fit in well with the song and the overall concept of the comeback. I personally like the video quite a bit.

The dance suits the song really well. Probably would not have imagined it any other way (besides a stage with no dance, just her singing and wowing us with that stage presence alone). That being said, the dance is quite limited. It seems like she and the backup dancers are confined into a tiny space, rather than ‘taking over the stage’.

Rating – 6/10

[Weekly Chart] 2nd week of October 2016

October 16, 2016October 16, 2016Posted in Weekly ChartsLeave a comment

Welcome back to this week’s chart! How are you all doing? I have one week off before exams, so I may be pushing out a few more reviews than usual. Depending on how fast I can get the final few notes for my first subject done. I am pushing myself to get cover some of the bigger comebacks this week, so get on top of all of that and then tackle some of the other bands. That’s my plan of the week.

This week the top 3 is claimed by GOT7, Dal Shabet and SHINee. Scroll down to find out who is on top below.

SHINee and SF9 did not appear in the Top 30 last week, made their respective debuts at #31 and #36 respectively. So for this week, I put them down as going up in rank, rather than a newly debut song on the chart.

Next week is busy (per usual). A lot of new songs have yet to debut (I pushed Davichi’s Beside Me to debut this week because the amount of times I listened to that song in the past few days is ridiculous). Davichi’s other song, Ladies Code, 100%, Henry & Soyu, Crush and others will hopefully be debuting next week.

	9th Oct – 15th Oct 2016
	Title	Artist	Status
1	Hard Carry	GOT7	(=)
2	Fri. Sat. Sun	Dal Shabet	(=)
3	1 of 1	SHINee	(↑ 28)
4	The Eye	Infinite	(↓ 1)
5	Blood, Sweat & Tears	BTS	(new)
6	Fighter	Monsta X	(new)
7	Beside Me	Davichi	(new)
8	Only One	APINK	(↓ 4)
9	Secret Time	Spica	(↑ 10)
10	Doo Doom Chit	Crayon Pop	(↑ 5)
11	Secret	Cosmic Girls	(↓ 6) (Final Week)
12	Home	Ailee	(↑ 6)
13	Chewing Gum	NCT Dream	(↑ 16)
14	Dancing King	Yoo Jae Suk X EXO	(=)
15	New York	Mamamoo	(↓ 2)
16	Bobby Doll	Song Ji Eun	(↓ 10)
17	Russian Roulette	Red Velvet	(↓ 10)
18	Fanfare	SF9	(↑ 18)
19	Fantasy	VIXX	(↓ 10) (Final Week)
20	Lotto	EXO	(↑ 6)
21	Stay As You Are	Sanduel (B1A4)	(↑ 2)
22	Promise (I’ll Be)	2PM	(↓ 12)
23	Stand By Me	BTOB Blue	(↑ 2)
24	Still 24K	24K	(↑ 11) (Final Week)
25	Shooting Love	Laboum	(↓ 1)
26	Carnival	Gain (Brown Eyed Girls)	(↓ 15)
27	On The Way Home	Sunny Hill	(↑ 3)
28	Try	Park Jimin (15&)	(↓ 7)
29	If You	Ailee	(↓ 2)
30	Mr. Potter	DIA	(↓ 8)

Some songs have been on the chart system for 9 weeks now, and starting next week will not be appearing on the charts anymore (and the Top 30). They include:

Still 24K – 24K (Peak: 18 – appeared on Top 30 for 8 weeks)
Fantasy – VIXX (Peak: 1 – appeared on Top 30 for all 9 weeks)
Secret – Cosmic Girls (Peak: 1 – appeared on Top 30 for all 9 weeks)

Hope you all enjoy your week!

[Review] 1 of 1 – SHINee

October 15, 2016Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged SHINeeLeave a comment

SHINee has finally returned with their next release. It has been over a year since they released their repackaged album, Married To The Music. Each member has embarked on their own solo work in the past year and has now regrouped to perform as SHINee once again with their newest mini-album.

I am quite torn about the song. I like it but there is a boring side to it as well. Let’s start off with what make this song pretty good. The retro sound is much more pure in this release than any of their past releases. They stayed retro here and did not include any modern sounds. Their vocal work is superb in this song. Flawless. The rapping was definitely a letdown. Sorry to Minho here, but it lacks energy and sounds more complicated than what it needed to be. The autotune was not needed. The rest of the song flowed quite nicely. The chorus made the song feel like a more emotional N Sync or Back Street Boys (and they are already quite emotional sounds). It almost sounds softer as well, compared to those boy groups. I am probably poking into the wrong era, though, but they were the bands that popped in my mind when I first listened to this song. However, the song lacks the intensity that SHINee has continuously used in all their songs. As I said the song sounds quite soft and it just does not sound right for SHINee. I expected something a little more hard-hitting and powerful. Hence why I felt the song was boring. But props to the guys for releasing a song that is purely retro (pretty hard to come by these days – or at least from what I remember).

I personally have yet to watch the video, so I will be giving my initial thoughts on the video here.

The cheesy transitions are making me laugh. But I actually like it. It actually quite funny to see the members glide across the screen.
The fashion is questionable for today’s standards. I know that most of what they are wearing were in trend in the past. It just surprises me to see what everyone was wearing back then.
Using the white background is quite smart. As soon as you see the members, you are drawn to their flashy colours and the members themselves. Really emphasises what everyone is wearing and is very minimalistic.
Quite interesting with the models in the video. I am very intrigued with what they are doing. The video shows a nice pattern and the members are just singing around them. At first, I thought they served no purpose in the video, but towards the end, everything become clearer and their presence was really cool.

Overall, I quite enjoyed the video. Might not the best video, but it still fits in well with the retro sound and concept.

I personally don’t think this is the right dance for the song. It lacks energy. It doesn’t really pick up until the end of the song, which is disappointing. I personally liked the end of the dance (the small bit where the instrumental also picks up after the final chorus) more than any other part of the dance.

Rating – 7/10

[Review] Doo Doom Chit – Crayon Pop

October 14, 2016Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Crayon PopLeave a comment

Crayon Pop has returned with their first album ever. After their number 1 hit, Bar Bar Bar put the spotlight on the girls, they have garnered a lot of attention for their somewhat odd yet cute concepts. Their catchy songs have garnered attention from a lot of people. So it’s about time that they release their first album and with it comes their next title track, Doo Doom Chit.

Another song that South Korea is probably skipping out on. This song has the ability to be the next big hit, but sadly, it hasn’t yet. This ticks off all the key characteristics that made Bar Bar Bar such a hit. It is really catchy and addictive to listen to. The song, while still keeps to the cute sound that the girls have been known for, digs deeper into the roots of EDM. It also has a hint of retro in the song’s instrumental as well. I also love the incorpartion of the saxphone in the chorus. Really gets you into the song. The rapping is surprisingly good in this song and suits it perfectly. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but still give it a try. The only thing I would change with the song is the chorus. Unfortunately, I think the chorus is a stretch for the girls. Not saying that they suck at singing, it just different people shines in different tones and volumes. While it sounds perfected (of course) in the audio version, the live version sounds off.

The music video falls onto the boring side. Essentially, in the music video, whenever the saxaphone playing cat comes around and blows into the saxaphone, the girls start dancing the choregraphy for this comeback. Similar to a snakecharming, but with humans and a cat that plays the saxaphone. I guess the video was made to look like wherever the girls go, the cat goes with them. You could tell they had an low budget compared to their last releases. It is also nice to see the girls in something a little more ‘normal’. While those helmets took South Korea by storm in Bar Bar Bar, dressing up as Christmas trees, tracksuits and like country side folks really makes these school outfits ‘normal’. Hahahaha… Also, the girls look really good. I don’t think I ever noticed their visuals before due to their eye catching outfits in the past, but they are all really quite pretty (sorry if I came off rude here).

Dance is really cool Very easy to follow. Somewhat like what we always thought ancient Egyptians danced like. Hahaha… But seriously, a lot of aspects for this comeback mirrors Bar Bar Bar song, even to the choregraphy.

Rating – 7.5/10

[Review] Fri. Sat. Sun. – Dal Shabet

October 13, 2016Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Dal ShabetLeave a comment

Dal Shabet has returned with a brand new mini-album. Their last release was in January of this year with Someone Like U.

This song is amazing. Is that too much to the point? Hahaha… I like the song a lot. Sadly, I agree with many people, but South Korea skipped out on Dal Shabet. They have had great catchy songs and this has to be one of their best to date. It would have been nice with a little more bass (not too much, just a touch more) but the song still works wonderfully. The ‘light’ party sounding, club song is quite nice. It is quite easy on the ears and really gets you into the groove for a fantastic weekend. The song starts off slow, but the song does build up and after a few listens, the song’s tempo feels just right. There is also a nice balance between the vocals and instrumental. I do think their vocal work does suit the song, but at the same time, does sound a tad weak. The chorus is amazing but it could use more of a hook. There is some catchiness to it, but it would be nice with a much stronger and defined hook to the song and chorus. Not feeling the bridge of the song, it just slows things down and does letdown the rest of the song. Obviously not the perfect track out there in my opinion, but still pretty good.

The music video was quite boring. The song has a nice club and party vibe, but the party that was featured only had four people. Not that it is wrong, you can have a party with four or even 1 person (my sad life), but I think throwing a few more people into the video would make it more vibrant and more sense. I did like how they presented the idea of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. While all the other days involve working hard, when the weekend rolls forward, the fun and games can begin. I really like the transition between each member. However, besides that, there was a sense of emptiness in the music video and left a certain impression me, that honestly shouldn’t. It was a fun sounding song, but sadly, the music video just did not reflect that.

Dance wise, I thought it was quite good. Not the best, but still fitting. It suited the style and sound of the song quite nicely. It did not go overboard with overly sexual moves. Just an extra hint of bass would have made this dance stand out with the instrumental of the song, in my opinion.

Rating – 7/10

[Review] Only One – APINK

October 11, 2016Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged APINKLeave a comment

APINK has finally returned with a brand new album. This is their second album to date, their first being L.U.V released back in 2014. They did promote Remember, last year, as a mini album as well. APINK have been busy with solo promotions, dramas and variety appearances.

I am going straight to the point. I am hugely disappointed with the song. APINK is known for their cutesy songs, which have all been catchy and easy to get into. But this move from that side of the girls to a mature sound doesn’t seem right for the girls. I do like the song to an extent, but I feel that the song wasn’t made for them. The overall vocal work and the sound gave sort of awkward vibe. The rhythm of the song is quite nice. Instrumental has a nice retro vibe to it, which makes the song soung decent. You can tell that their vocals have improved a lot in the song, but some parts just didn’t seem right (also some of the members do sing in a very monotone way, which I have noticed for the past few comebacks) . There was a great imbalance of volume in the song. The chorus was pretty loud and clear, the verses on the other hand seemed a little low (I think that was because of the higher pitch during those verses). Overall, they were quite weak and made the lead into the song quite boring. There isn’t much colour to the song, which is disappointing. Maybe pour a little more emotion into the song or push the girls a little more deliver something more different, in terms of sound.

Music video was another let down. Though, I can bear this one more than Remember. The girls did deliver with a more mature concept. No more cutesy smiles or cute dance moves. Smoke, grey filters and long dresses (those boots can go) apparently make up for a mature video. Though, throw in a few breathtaking shots of roof tops (yes, I know 2PM used the same rooftop – read somewhere that it is in some university in South Korea) and the video looks quite nice. The rest of the video looks pretty generic. They should throw away those shots where the girls are sitting around and singing in the midst of a ~~rainforest~~ room full of plants. It just makes it boring and bland.

Another disappointing component (and the final component that I discuss in each review) is the dance. There are hints of cuteness in the dance, but overall, the dance looks boring.

Rating – 4/10

[Weekly Charts] 1st Week of October 2016

October 9, 2016Posted in Weekly ChartsLeave a comment

It has been a long week for me, and once again I apologise for my lack of reviews this week. Most of my time was occupied with assignments, which I am slowly getting on top of. I did manage to churn out one though, which also happens to be this week’s number 1 (scroll down to find out).

I also managed to quickly write up something for my fifth year on this site! You can read it here. I opened up a little bit and like I wrote in that particular post a million times, Thank you so much for the last five years!

The charts was thrown off balance this week. I didn’t listen to songs as much as I wanted to. A lot of songs that were meant to debut this week (SHINee, SF9) failed to because I just did not have enough time to listen to them. They should be on the charts next week! Joining them (depending on if I listen to them or not) also will be BTS, Pentagon and maybe a few more.

A lovely reminder of the what the colours in the status column mean.
Green (↑) – Song has gone up in ranking
Pink (↔) – Song did not feature in top 20 of the previous week, but has re-entered this week’s top 20.
Red (↓) – Song has gone down in ranking
Blue (=) – Song has remained in the same position as the previous week
Orange (new) – Song debuts on the chart
Grey (Final Week) – Song appears on the chart for its final week.

	2nd Oct – 8th Oct 2016
	Title	Artist	Status
1	Hard Carry	GOT7	(↑ 1)
2	Fri. Sat. Sun	Dal Shabet	(new)
3	The Eye	Infinite	(=)
4	Only One	APINK	(↑ 1)
5	Secret	Cosmic Girls	(↑ 1)
6	Bobby Doll	Song Ji Eun (Secret)	(↓ 5)
7	Russian Roulette	Red Velvet	(=)
8	Fighter	Monsta X	(new)
9	Fantasy	VIXX	(↑ 7)
10	Promise (I’ll Be)	2PM	(↓ 6)
11	Carnival	Gain (Brown Eyed Girls)	(↓ 1)
12	Stuck	Monsta X	(↑ 3) (Final Week)
13	New York	Mamamoo	(=)
14	Dancing King	Yoo Jae Suk X EXO	(↑ 13)
15	Doom Doom Chit	Crayon Pop	(↓ 7)
16	Do Better	Y-Teen	(↑ 4) (Final Week)
17	Whistle	BlackPink	(↑ 4) (Final Week)
18	Home	Ailee	(new)
19	Secret Time	Spica	(↓ 10)
20	Boom Bah Yah	BlackPink	(↑ 9) (Final Week)
21	Try	Park Jimin (15&)	(↑ 17)
22	Mr. Potter	DIA	(↑ 1)
23	Stay As You Are	Sanduel (B1A4)	(new)
24	Shooting Love	Laboum	(↓ 12)
25	Stand By Me	BTOB Blue	(↓ 14)
26	Lotto	EXO	(↓ 1)
27	If You	Ailee	(↑ 5)
28	Love Paint	NU’EST	(↓ 14)
29	Chewing Gum	NCT Dream	(↓ 11)
30	On The Way Home	Sunny Hill	(↓ 11)

Some songs have been on the chart system for 9 weeks now, and starting next week will not be appearing on the charts anymore (and hence the Top 30). They include:

Tonight – UP10TION (Peak: 8 – appeared on Top 30 for 6 weeks)
Stuck – Monsta X (Peak: 3 – appeared on Top 30 for all 9 weeks)
Do Better – Y-Teen (Peak: 9 – appeared on Top 30 for all 9 weeks)
That’s My Jam – B.A.P (Peak: 7 – appeared on Top 30 for 8 weeks)
Whatta Man – I.O.I (Peak: 3 – appeared on Top 30 for 8 weeks)
Whistle – BlackPink (Peak: 5 – appeared on Top 30 for 8 weeks)
Boom Bah Yah – BlackPink (Peak: 9 – appeared on Top 30 for all 9 weeks)
Thinking About You – Jun.K (2PM) (Peak: 15 – appaeared on Top 30 for 3 weeks)

[Review] Hard Carry – GOT7

October 7, 2016Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged GOT7Leave a comment

Yes, I am falling behind with my reviews. I am currently in the final weeks of the semester and should technically be preparing for exams, but no student in university starts studying from exams before the end of the semester is up. So, I shall take this time and write a review for GOT7’s latest song, Hard Carry.

Not my favourite term of all time, but it is a great way to explain the song: Hard Carry is lit. I am totally loving it. It is really addictive and super catchy. I am not a major fan of dubstep and hard sounding EDM elements, but I don’t seem to mind it in this song. Maybe because that balance is thrown off in other songs. There is definitely a nice ratio of instrumental and vocals. There is also a nice ratio between the vocal parts and the rap parts. Everyone had an equal spread in the song, unlike Fly, which was quite unequal. The song is quite strong and powerful. Thinking back, I personally think the song is quite good and there really isn’t a need to change anything. Jackson’s voice does get deeper each comeback, but I think everyone noticed that as soon as they heard him start rapping. Jaebum’s vocals were by far the best part. It sounded quite smooth and classy, yet still keeping to the more modern sound of EDM. I am also going to mention this here (and don’t kill me for this) but I agree with a lot of people when they say this is GOT7’s version of Fire. Both are different tracks, but they are going along the same line.

Now, I just watched a video and it seems like GOT7, themselves, have multiple theories on the video. There are also other theories suggested by fans. Here is a few of them: the members dies in a plane crash and only Jinyoung survives, Youngjae dies and everyone else saves Jinyoung, Youngjae saves Jinyoung (that’s from the interview I watched today). My understanding is Jinyoung has imaginary friends. This is just my theory. The plane enters turbulence and Jinyoung is forced into his seat by the flight attendant, who clearly does not care about the other members. Why? Because she can’t seem them and only see Jinyoung. Everything else in the video a dream. All the members saving Jinyoung (by swimming or Youngjae smashing) is all in his mind. My theory (I believe) ties in nicely with Fly’s video. Why couldn’t Jinyoung fly? Because everyone else who could was part of his imagination! (Jinyoung flying is also in his dream). I really like how the two videos related to each other (whatever the connection is). The video looks pretty cool and fitted the song quite well.

Another amazing dance. Not sure about Jackson’s clothing, though. One sleeveless arm and one sleeved arm. The dance is definitely one to try if you want a good cardio workout. It looks so intense and their precision is on point. No one looks out of place, even those who are known to be weak dancers in GOT7 handled it all pretty well.

Rating – 9.5/10

5 years…

October 3, 2016Posted in Special, UpdatesTagged 5 Years Old, kpopreviewed, Thank YouLeave a comment

So today I decided to go onto WordPress.com and see what is going on. In the corner of the web page was an orange square, with a trophy on it. I click on it and it pops up a message. It congratulated me on the past 5 years. 5 years of KPOPreviewed. Wow, has time went by quickly or what?

Yeah, the progress is slow and the site doesn’t seem to have grown much. But I enjoy what I do. I like it when you guys follow this website. I like it when you guys comment or like my post. More importantly, I like it when you guys read my posts. Sometimes you agree with them, sometimes you don’t. In my memory, I don’t think I ever got one bad message. Given what I post, I am honestly surprised, but at the same time relieved I haven’t faced that yet.

To be honest, I am in a slump. I honestly do not know what I am doing in life at the moment. I live concerned for my future ( i.e. financial stability, social life, health). A lot of those things I am currently trying to work on (or in the near future), but it stills scares me. Having this site means a lot to me. It is a thing that I picked up 5 years ago and have continued with it. You could say a hobby or an activity that takes my mind off things. By you reading, liking, following and commenting; it puts a smile on my face. And for that, I thank you.

Thank you for the memories! I am sure some of you guys have stuck around for some time and others may have just followed this site recently. It all means a lot to me and I cannot say this enough, but thank you!

I am sorry if I came off depressed in this post. It just hit home when I saw fives years. I personally don’t know how long I will be on here. 5 more years? Maybe just 1? Who knows? Life is spontaneous this way. Just I do have a few plans for a few more things for the website, so I think I will be around for a while.

Once again, thank you for the past five years. Enjoy reading my posts and of course, KPOP. Make sure you guys like, comment and follow my site. All appreciated. I also have a Twitter, which I will try to update every now and then, especially, if I disappear for exams or an overload of work. That can be found down below (just click the Twitter bird). And sorry if you are expecting a post today :D.

[Weekly Charts] 4th Week of September 2016

October 2, 2016November 26, 2016Posted in Weekly ChartsLeave a comment

Welcome back to another week. Another busy week. I managed to find time last week to do a few reviews, but I hardly doubt I will get a few out this week. I have assignments to complete and hand in this week, notes to catch up on and a test to revise for. University stress.

This week, the competition for the top spot was extremely tight. Number 1 and number 3 differed only by 4 points. Crazy! I honestly did not know who would take out the top spot (until I calculated the scores of course), but the rest of the charts was what I expected. I expected so see some songs rise, while others drop. Dancing King saw the deepest drop this week, but I will leave to witness it (by scrolling down below).

I can already see next week being another tight competition. The current top 5 is currently the five tracks that I listen to consistently every single day (since they were released). But that doesn’t include some songs released later in the last week, namely Dal Shabet. I listened to Dal Shabet more yesterday than any other artist. So, let’s just wait and see.

	25th Sep – 1st Oct 2016
	Title	Artist	Percentage
1	Bobby Doll	Song Ji Eun (Secret)	(=)
2	Hard Carry	GOT7	(new)
3	The Eye	Infinite	(↑ 1)
4	Promise (I’ll Be)	2PM	(↓ 2)
5	Only One	APINK	(new)
6	Secret	Cosmic Girls	(↑ 2)
7	Russian Roulette	Red Velvet	(↓ 2)
8	Doom Doom Chit	Crayon Pop	(new)
9	Secret Time	Spica	(↑ 3)
10	Carnival	Gain (Brown Eyed Girls)	(↓ 7)
11	Stand By Me	BTOB Blue	(↑ 7)
12	Shooting Love	Laboum	(↓ 5)
13	New York	Mamamoo	(↑ 14)
14	Love Paint	NU’EST	(↑ 7)
15	Stuck	Monsta X	(↑ 14)
16	Fantasy	VIXX	(↓ 5)
17	That’s My Jam	B.A.P	(↑ 8)
18	Chewing Gum	NCT Dream	(↓ 9)
19	On The Way Home	Sunny Hill	(↑ 3)
20	Do Better	Y-Teen	(↓ 3)
21	Whistle	BlackPink	(↓ 1)
22	Whatta Man	I.O.I	(↓ 6)
23	Mr. Potter	DIA	(↓ 13)
24	Still 24K	24K	(=)
25	Lotto	EXO	(↓ 12)
26	Aing	Oh My Girl	(↓ 11) (Final Week)
27	Dancing King	Yoo Jae Suk X EXO	(↓ 21)
28	How’s That	Hyuna	(↑ 3) (Final Week)
29	Boom Bah Yah	BlackPink	(↓ 6)
30	Cosmic	Bada x Ryewook (Super Junior)	(new)

Some songs have been on the chart system for 9 weeks now, and starting next week will not be appearing on the charts anymore (and hence the Top 30). They include:

Aing – Oh My Girl (Peak: 1 – appeared on Top 30 for all 9 weeks)
How’s That – Hyuna (Peak: 2 – appeared on Top 30 for 7 weeks)
Alright – INX (Peak: 13 – appeared on Top 30 for 8 weeks)
Lip 2 Lip – Nine Muses A (Peak: 6 – appeared on Top 30 for 6 weeks)
Goodbye – Taemin (SHINee) (Peak: 16 – appeared on Top 30 for 3 weeks)

[Review] Bobby Doll – Song Ji Eun (Secret)

September 30, 2016September 29, 2016Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Secret, Song Ji Eun1 Comment

Song Ji Eun is another member of Secret that has been active in promotions (the other being Hyosung) since Secret’s last comeback. While this review will be for Song Ji Eun’s latest song, Bobby Doll, some sad news has emerged. Sunhwa, has unfortunately decided to leave the group and company once her contract is up. Secret is a 4-member girl group and with Sunhwa’s departure, the group will be continuing on as a 3-member girl group. And now, let’s move back to Song Ji Eun’s solo.

It is a nice song, but honestly, it was not what I was expecting. A side of me really likes the songs for a range of reasons. Another side just feels like this song lacks a bit. Let’s start with the good. Love her vocals (as I have always had). Her voice is quite smooth like what you expect a doll would sound like, but rough at the same time (that probably makes no sense), which complements the instrumental. There are slight parts where she is rapping, which I think she handled pretty well. Her vocals herself have given the song another dimension. The song was quite catchy and addictive to listen to. Though, the overall shape and sound of the song make it quite memorable for some odd reason and I quite like that. However, the instrumental feels quite dead and she feels like she is holding back. That brings the song down quite a bit and it, unfortunately, gives off a dull vibe. Her pronunciation of ‘Bobby’ still irks me. I understand it was probably to prevent the song from being banned from the music shows (since Barbie is a brand), but it sounds a lot like she is mixing up between the two. I understand in Korean, the two words sound quite similar, but it does give off a different impression of the song.

Finally, a dance centred comeback with the traditional dark vibes that I (and many fans) love Song Ji Eun for. In the video, Song Ji Eun is a doll (who is controlled – not too sure about this part – by a sadistic Joker-like guy). One night, she manages to find her way out of her doll house and enjoys the freedom she has been deprived of. I don’t understand why she didn’t run away, but the Joker will manage to get her back (against her will) anyway. I liked the plot, which made the video much more interesting than it is. The main issue is the dullness of the video. There isn’t anything else to comment in the video. And that I am quite disappointed in.

I didn’t like the how the stages were set up for her comeback week. Pink doll houses? The song is more suited for the dark concepts honestly, and something like the music video would have been ideal. Love the use of the fans though. It gave the stage a more interesting and elegant feel. Overall, it did come off a little dry.

Rating – 6/10