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.

Young, Wild & Free – B.A.P

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B.A.P has finally returned with a brand new mini album. And they have maintained their strong and widely recognised powerful comebacks with Young, Wild & Free. This time around they went with a rock based song. I am totally liking this, since I am head banging (not literally though, just the feels) to the song all the way when I hear it. The break they had is worthwhile, cause this comeback shows off new talents. The most obvious, Jongup has a much more stable voice than compared to their previous releases and Zelo seems to have a deeper voice. The chorus to the song is pretty catchy and addictive. I am always singing along to the “We are Young~ Wild and Free” and it sounds a lot like some kind of anthem where everyone needs to be chanting. There is a whole heap of anger that is present in the song. The song reminded me of their first few singles. While it might not be as bright as those first few songs, the dark nature in which the song has and the rock/hip-hop themed songs is still present.

The music video is okay. Dark themed, checked. I am a little disappointed with the music video. I expected something action packed and it feels like this song can have some kind of rebellious music video plot. I personally hope their company can properly promote them and return the band to their old style (as in music) . I just the feel the video seems to be a last minute things in term of sets. The video to me seems empty. The sets do give off that independent and strong power that the boys are trying to sing about, but I don’t know. It just seems to need something else. I think the paint/play scene and drifting cars give off that “young, wild and free” feel the strongest out of the all. Not exactly sure about the “dead” Youngjae scene that we see, where he uncovers his body that is in a suit. It is like saying the constrained version of them are gone and now left behind is the free version of them? Tad confusing. But the ending with them as Kings seems very cool!!!

The dance fits in well with the rock performance. It isn’t really that impressive and doesn’t make me go wow. But the group manage to carry that rock performance style of the free style bouncing on the stage and all. Did I expect something else? Yeah, I expected them to make me go wow, but what we have here is fine. It fits in well and does what it is needed to keep that rock theme.

The song to me exceeds my expectations. The video and dance does not really. 7/10

OMGT – Madtown

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This is my first time I am reviewing Madtown. They have been active since October and I am finally getting around to reviewing this guys. They are a 6 member boy group consisting of: Moos, Daewon, Lee Geon, Jota, Heo Jun, Buffy and H.O. They debuted with Yolo and made their comeback with New World back in March. Now they are back with another acronym based title, OMGT. They are under J.Tune Entertainment.

OMGT is a hip hop based dance track with hints of that electronic modern style. I personally don’t mind the song. Is it the best track ever? No. But it does its job in satisfying my ears when I listen to it. I actually like this track over any of their other tracks. But it doesn’t really make me want to listen to the track or the band over and over again. The song is monotone to me and it seems to be at that same level throughout the song. The rapping is good and I like how it is infused with the vocals. The “OMG Thx” part is pretty addictive and catchy. The vocals add to that monotone issue for me, but at the same time, they do fit in well with the instrumental. It is a relaxing track, to be honest which gives that satisfying feeling. Sure if this song popped up on my playlist, I’d be happy to listen to it, but not continuously listen to it when I fall in love with a track.

The music video is cringe worthy. Their acting is not that great. Let me get that out of the way. At the start they looked like some pervy guys that are going to some club that has hot girls.  And I got it totally wrong, since they start worshipping the TV. Somehow, the lady that they all like start to make her way through the TV into their world, but her attempt is cut short as someone turned off the TV, leaving one real leg in their world. Yeah… My thoughts exactly. Removing the odd plot from the video, the rest of it is fine. Nice close-ups and the dance scenes are great.

The dance to me seems cocky. Am I the only one with that impression? Just me? I think it was for their concept to impress the girl, but it came off as a whole heap of cockiness. Body waves seem to be taking KPOP by storm this year as well. This is like the 15th dance that has a body wave in it. That being said, I like it.

Okay comeback. Okay song, music video and dance. 5.5/10

 

Lightsaber – EXO

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Lightsaber is a collaboration with  between EXO and Star Wars. And for those who don’t know, a new Star Wars film will be released soon. I personally am not a fan of the franchise, so I don’t really feel interested. At first when I saw this information, I shoved Lightsaber to the side and forgot about it. BUT after listening to it once, I am now replaying this song constantly. The line distribution in this song does trouble me to an extent. I understand the point of a main vocalist and lead and just a normal vocalist, but honestly, after 3 members leaving, I am sure those who remain who usually have the odd line can be bumped up with a little more. Mainly talking about Xiumin in this song. Poor fellow has a great voice and we can never hear it. But honestly, beside that, I think this is an amazing song. The vocals are on point and I enjoyed the fluctuating speeds in the song. Some parts are fast, others are slow. The biggest highlight in this song would have to be: Chanyeol’s rap. It is extremely husky and forcibly masculine. I got into the song through his rap and it is one of the most perfect rap sequences I have heard so far this year (hmmm…). I enjoyed the dubstep drops and the chorus is quite simple, but at the same time giving that electronic feel to the song that the Star Wars obviously has.

As for the music video, I was intrigued when I first saw that the some of the members (mainly Kai, Sehun and Baekhyun) actually featured in it. I was expecting like scenes from the movie, but instead we got a brand new music video. The video has this mysterious feel to it. We just see the said members be Jedi and get into battle. That air of mysteriousness adds a nice touch to the video. I would have liked a little more, but I think what we have so far is really well done and amazing. The dark lighting and camera-work gives that extra edginess to the video.

Overall, great song and music video. It sucks that it is only a collaboration and we’re not going to see much more of the single anymore. 9/10

Storm – MAP6

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MAP6 is a brand new boy group from Dream Tea Entertainment, which also houses Girls Day. As per usual with KPOP bands, they don’t go by the number in their name and there is actually only 5 members: Minhyuk, J.Jun, Sign, Sun and J.Vin. A little fact about the group: the group actually consist of 4 former members of the disbanded group A-Prince. They are the first boy group for Dream Tea Entertainment, debuting with their single Storm.

This is a nice track, but it is a little underwhelming. The song has this really strong vibe to it, even though the start and throughout the song, it has the really slow piano sounds. But it gives an interesting side to the song. The vocals and rapping in this song are on point, and I believe this group has a lot of potential. But there seems to be a lot missing from the song. It sounds two dimensional for the most part. There are the slow bits (consisting of the verses and chorus – while they are quite upbeat, I felt like that still had that slowness to them which made the song underwhelming) and the “negae, negae”parts, essentially two parts of the song, but I personally feel like something else could have been added to the song to give it more depth. Maybe taking the dubstep or electronic sounds to a whole new intensity would give the song a more solid sound and can redefine the whole meaning behind the “strong sound” that I have been trying to describe to you.

There really isn’t much to the video. I liked the sets. That aftermath of a storm on the set looks really awesome and quite cool to be honest.There is one minor detail that I want to question, but that glass or plastic vase that contained the flower. Somehow it managed to survive whatever happened without dying or breaking. Funny. But yeah, there really isn’t much beside the talking about the sets or how they stare into the distant.

While the song it slow, I think this is pretty cool dance. I am going to say it is missing that extra bit of power or strength. But what we have compliments the song, but I am sure that their dance skills have yet to be shown. Their intro for their debut stages looked awesome, so I can see that there is more to them, then what we see with Storm. I like the part where they lie down. It looks cool, even though it is rather simple.

Overall, it was a good comeback, but if the guys do a little more to enhance their talent and show the world more of what they got, I am sure they are able to make it. 6/10

Chained Up – VIXX

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VIXX new song is not what I expected. Usually they have a song that we can describe as dark and mysterious. However, this particular song is more upbeat and possibly “happy”, even though the lyrics do not go in that direction. I feel like the instrumental can be also be used for a less darker or more fun concept. Do you understand? It is rather odd to think that way, but it seems to be the only way I can describe it. Nonetheless, this song is pretty solid. I absolutely love the rap segments before the chorus. They build up to the chorus pretty well. The vocals are pretty solid in this song and I feel like the autotune works really well with the song. The chorus is catchy, but it did require a few listens for me to get into the groove of the song. At first I thought it wasn’t a VIXX song and that it sounded rush. But after extra listens, they managed to chain me up in their music (no pun intended – is this how puns actually work?). I feel like Hongbin and Leo got their time to shine in this song, vocally.

Visually, I think the music video is stunning. The outside scene where they are on top of building at the start looks really well shot, and the members individual scenes seems to bring the concept pretty well. They all seem like good places to hang out at, to be honest. Who doesn’t want to run through Leo’s chains and those pieces of plastic hanging about. The members also bring out a whole new level of sexy. Their costumes, even though they seem simple and easy to copy, bring out that side of masculinity in the guys that we have not seen yet. I’m kind of iffy on the topic of the chokers. Yeah, they look cool and fit the concept really well. BUT they look so damn uncomfortable. Or maybe that is just me and in reality they are cuddly as heck. In the song paragraph, I said Leo and Hongbin stood out. Visually, I think Ken looked the most awesome in this comeback. Everyone else looked fine, it is just Ken looked like he was suited for this concept.

As for the dance, I think we can agree on that it is either Leo on his own OR the whole entire group. From flying members to body waves, now hip rolls. Now what on earth is left in terms of key dance moves that the boys can attempt next? Out of all the dances by VIXX to date, I think this is the most literal dance for any of their comebacks so far. And I think I am going to say this, but it is probably one of their strongest dances to date. And finally, damn it was sexy. And this is coming from a guy’s point of view.

VIXX seems to bring out brand new dark concepts that we have never seen before and manage to impress everyone with their continuously creative and imaginative comebacks. And this is no exception. 9/10

Demonstrate – Rania

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Rania is back after 2 years and have brand new members. The group is now a 6 member girl group consisting of Di, T-ae, Xia and brand new members Alex, Seulji and Hyeme. Alex is an African American woman and has people talking since she is the first official African American to enter the KPOP industry as a girl group member. And it is great to see KPOP embrace different cultures and ethnicities.

As for the song, I am pretty  much disappointed. It is an okay song, but it does not reel me in and make me listen to it more and more. It is a song that I would expect that an American artist to release, which shows to me that they are keeping true to their roots since debut. But the song just isn’t my cup of tea. It feels disjointed and the parts don’t really go well with each other. The song sounds sassy and powerful, but the “demonstrate, demonstrate” sounds so freaking awkward in the song. Same goes for the “come on baby” and that high note towards the end. I feel like the power of the vocals matched the hip-hop influenced instrumental. The biggest stand out was the rapping. I felt that was the only part that actually suited the song, but it was so short.

There are two music videos, one without Alex and one with Alex. I believe there were some kind of visa issues at the time for the filming of the music videos, and the company quickly added her into the music video (hence the two). Well, Alex’s part in the music video did not match the rest of the video and that is quite disappointing. Though given the circumstances, I can’t really blame them. But the music videos had really bad camera work. They were meant to look cool, but it was more of a distraction for me. I am not really digging the bright costumes with many colours, but I think there girls are looking damn sexy in black. And beside that, there is really not much else to talk about.

As for the dance, is Alex a featuring member? She should have stayed on stage throughout the whole performance, not leave until her final part and joined in. To me, the dance was mainly made up of poses and squats. The poses made them look strong, but when they moved about, they lacked energy and that did not go well with the strong poses.

Overall, it was a disappointment. But I am still glad that they kept with their style and went for that American influenced concept. 2/10

Target – Romeo

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Brand new boy group is in town. Romeo is a 7 member boy group that debuted back in May 2015 with Lovesick. I was planning to review them back in May, but due to time constraints was unable to do so. But they are back with Target and have been receiving attention in the media for their comeback, so hence I am reviewing them now. The group is made up of Seunghwan, Yunsung, Milo, Minsung, Kyle, Hyunkyung and Kangmin.

The song sounds very generic. It really does not set the guys a part from their competition. But while the song is pretty generic, the chorus is pretty catchy and I guess that is what we find in all KPOP songs. I think the instrumental over powers the vocals a lot, particularly during the chorus. The instrumental is definitely way flashier than it needed to be. If it was toned down or if the vocals and rapping were a little more powerful, they would not have this problem. I think that is the main problem with the track, because to me, everything else seems to be fine. The song overall reminds me of a more dubstep centred version of Love Style by Boyfriend (released ages ago).

The music video is once again the generic KPOP music video with the flower boys and their pastel colours and aegyo (cringe worthy acting). Their acting isn’t so great in the video. It just made cringe a whole lot. The music video has this plot which I think is interesting, but their acting ruined it for me. One of the members have this either crush or instant love at first site type of thing, but misses out getting her attention. So he prays and somehow that stops time, leaving himself and his band members to search everywhere for her, while everyone perfectly still. Not really into their pastel colours and that grey like filter over the whole video to make it cool. It looks boring to me. I think if the video was more brighter, the video would compliment the song more and also add more depth to the video.

This group is obviously centred on their dancing. And boy, are they in sync or what? Their dancing is much suited for the song. Everything is in time of the beat and I think with their dancing skills plus a combination of a powerful comeback, this boy group can start becoming a threat to other popular boy bands with powerful dances and concepts. It just seems like a mish mash between the concept that they are going for and the dancing. One is like all cutesy, while the other seems to be serious business. You understand?

Overall, pretty generic comeback. I feel like the boys need a better concept and song to launch themselves into popularity. 5.5/10

D.O.A (Dead Or Alive) – HIGH4

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This has to be HIGH4’s best song to date. To me, this song represents the band really well. To me, this song is like a throwback to the Golden Ages of KPOP, but there is also a very evident modern twist to the song. The song starts off with chilling and emotional vocals, and then launching straight into the typical club beat instrumental and powerful wrapping. Then the vocals are back, but are changed to fit in with dark and dubstep-like instrumental that emerges after a while. My explanation here is not that accurate, so give the song a try. Their past songs have been very formulated, but this song have those aspect of changes that I actually think did the song pretty well. My number 1 complaint is the song is quite short, even though it is nearly 3:30 minutes long. I am totally liking this song.

The music video fit in well with the dark vibe that the song has going for. Beside that, there really is nothing to talk about. The music video is quite dark and seeing them wearing white at the end gives off a nice contrast with the video. But literally, the music video consist of dance scenes, close-ups and close-ups of the members singing and rapping. That has to be a disappointment.

Dance was not impressive. I have to be honest, the live performances were boring. I was watching them more to just listen to the song rather than watch the boys dance.

Great song, boring video and dance. 5/10

Rewind: October 2015

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Catching up on my Rewind posts. I am releasing October’s rewind in conjunction with September’s, so above under the title, there is an arrow pointing to the left that says “Rewind: September 2015”. I’ve decreased the number of the songs on both lists as I haven’t really been paying attention to loads of music, just the big name groups for the past few months.

1. Closer – Oh My Girl

2. 4Walls – F(x)

3. Like Ooh Ahh – TWICE

3. Speed Up – MelodyDay

5. I – Taeyeon (SNSD)

6. Twenty Three – IU

7. Way Back Home – BTOB

8. I’m Fine – Dongwan (Shinhwa)

9. Ah Choo – Lovelyz

10. Rhythm Ta – iKON

[PLAYLIST COMING SOON]

And with that, I have been posting loads of reviews. Here are just some of the reviews that I have made for KPOP releases in the past month (some of the songs are in the list above). Check them out below

Closer – Oh My Girl

Speed Up – MelodyDay

Like Ooh Ahh – TWICE

Mind Your Own Business – Ailee

Lonely – N.Flying

Way Back Home – BTOB

#PrayForParis

Rewind: September 2015

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This is once again overdue. But don’t you worry. I have September and October’s rewind coming out on the same day. So to check out my personal list of favourite songs for October, there should be an arrow, pointing to the right, on the top of the page under the title to this post that says “Rewind: October 2015”. Click and yeah. Very anti-climatic. BUT what were you favourite songs of the 9th month of the year? Comment down below!!

[NOTE: These lists or charts are done after I write the review. And I have a confession to make, I tend to find some songs a lot more catchier and end up liking to them AFTER I review them. So the reviews and this chart probably won’t go hand in hand! But that occurs for only some songs, not all.]

1.  Mansae – Seventeen

2. If You Do – GOT7

3. Dumb Dumb – Red Velvet

4. Cinderella – CN Blue

5. Congratulations – DAY6

5. Wow Wow Wow – Junjin (Shinhwa) ft. Eric (Shinhwa)

6. Lean On Me – Soyu (Sistar) & Kwon Jeong Yeol (10cm)

7. Blah Blah – Sunny Days

8. Girl Crush – Mamamoo

9. Mind Your Business – Ailee

10. If You Were Me – Roh Ji Hoon

[PLAYLIST COMING SOON]

Centuries ago, I asked which SNSD song you guys preferred in 2015 and Lion Heart took it out with 38% of the votes, You Think followed very closely behind with 34% and Catch Me If You Can came up with 28%. Party didn’t do so well, with no one voting for it.

And yes, I am slowly catching up with reviews. Kind of. Not really. But I did review some comebacks, songs etc. during the large gap between this and the last Rewind. (Some of which are listed above)!!! Check them out below.

Dumb Dumb – Red Velvet

Rush – Monsta X

Magic – Super Junior

PIPPI – 2EYES

If You Do – GOT7

#PrayForParis

Warm Hole – Brown Eyed Girls

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Oh dear, oh dear. I don’t think Brown Eyed Girls do subtle. I can’t say the song disguises the sexual innuendo at all because well, it is on the surface of the song, it is within the song and I am guessing when we read the lyrics together, it is also between the lines. And if you have no idea what this is about, well here is a line from the song “fire in the hole, when you touch me down there, I’m not feeling very well, so hot in down there“. When that part first hit me, I was trying my best not to laugh but it was impossible. The song has this nice funky and disco vibe to it which mirrors the music found back in the day. It has that early 70s feel to it. I have to be honest, the song is quite catchy and addictive. Miryo’s rap and the chorus combined together is a tune that I cannot get out of my own head at the moment. Once again, this is a style that I think only Brown Eyed Girls can pull off like it is nothing. This particular, while it is bit sexual, has that Brown Eyed Girl style, just not the exact type of song that we all expected.

Holes, holes and more holes. This whole music video is full of different holes and a lot of spinning things. Holes in apples, records spinning on the turntable, blenders making smoothies, those really cool tunnels that form when you put air into them. It was a very bright video that has funky and disco vibe to it, making it fit hand in hand with the song. I absolutely love how intrigued they look when it came to the holes. JeA’s part was just a little too innocent. I don’t think climbing into a washing machine is that safe and furthermore kind look over the top for me. I absolutely love their rabbit ears and tails. It all fits into the video and comes together as a great concept.

The dance was anything but sexual. I thought it was very classy. Their costumes indicate otherwise, but the dance on its own really does not scream out slutty or anything that vulgar. Their bum wiggles are cute and fit in very well.

This part of their comeback goes really well together. The only big complaint that I have is: cannot take the song 100% seriously as soon as Miryo starts doing her lines. Not saying she is bad, just the content of the lyrics. 9/10

Brand New World – Brown Eyed Girls

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Every single song that I am hearing in November is giving me chills and Brown Eyed Girl’s latest releases have been exactly that. It wasn’t something that I personally expected and thought it sounded really weird. Not the same colour that I expected for a Brown Eyed Girl’s songs, but it is growing on me. I now believe that this song has a style that probably Brown Eyed Girl’s can pull off. But anyway, yeah it is a weird song. I honestly cannot think of a way to describe it as a whole. There are elements of electronic and funk in it, but there is more to it which I cannot identified (I think I identified the more obvious genres that are mashed up into it). It also has a futuristic sound or a sound that I would have associated with the portrayal of space back in the 80’s or 90’s. I absolutely love the chorus, with JeA’s and Narsha’s fast pace singing. Miryo’s rap is kind of iffy for me, but after listening to it a lot, I think she handles it pretty well. The creepy “Hey~” that are featured in the track actually that really nice touch, even though it sounds really creepy.

The music video is one a whole new level. Yeah, those back up dancers with Gain at the start in those shorts, it took me some time to figure out that they were men. And that is what I love about Brown Eyed Girl’s music videos. They seem to always attempt to push something upon us that isn’t considered as typical. The video has a lot of sophistication in it. While it suits the futuristic sound that the band is going for, I absolutely found those bright lights on some of the dance scenes really obnoxious. It is something that has always been a part of me and every time a video has it, it just annoys me. It seems to be the girls go time travelling or something that bends light. I love the concept and thought it was very interesting. I love the special effects of the random shapes that pop up from time to time during the video. Beside those lights, I love everything about the video.

The dance, while it is something that does not scream Brown Eyed Girls, it manages to do the job and goes hand in hand with the song. To me, this dance just shows the girls ages. It really isn’t that strong compared to in the past, and reading articles about the girl’s bodies seem to just confirm my suspicions. My absolutely favourite parts? The creepy “Hey~”. How to make an entrance according to Brown Eyed Girls 101.

Overall, amazing song and video. An okay dance. 8/10

I will be reviewing Warm Hole and releasing the review tomorrow. I chose to do them separately, mainly because I want to share a laugh with you all about Warm Hole. if you don’t understand, it is time to play Warm Hole and listen carefully to some parts. I’ll tell you the rest tomorrow.

 

4 Walls – F(x)

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It has been a long wait, but the girls are back. With their unique and interesting concepts and stages, F(x) has returned with an EDM based title track and a smashing album that is something that you all should be listening to. After the withdrawal of Sulli, the girls have relaunched as a 4 member group and are currently promoting their new album.

I love this song. I am addicted to this song. Someone get me help, because the songs this month are just slaying me one by one.Everything about the song is perfection for me. Every single aspect does wondrous things in my head. Let’s start off with the instrumental. When I first heard the EDM concept, I thought it would be like a more heavier track like T-ara’s Sugar Free, but instead it had a much softer sound. A lot of EDM tracks don’t go the right way with me, but this one had a pleasant sound to it and did not hurt my ears. Thanks friends and parties. As for the vocals and rap, I thought they sounded great. They did need to make their vocals a lot softer to fit in with the track, but they managed to keep their own colour and style. The song is pretty unique and it (at the moment) is a one of a kind in the industry.

The music video is really artsy fartsy as people might say. It was very confusing to watch it but I think that was the intention. They start off in their house or apartment and they seem to start off their day as usual. I really like it how pretty down to earth they were in this video. It seems we are witnessing the members in their natural environment. Then all hell breaks loose with Amber breaking her tea cup and the other members pour excessive amounts of tea and suddenly throwing themselves onto the floor. The screens widen as we move out into the forest where the girls wonder around. It all seems like the girls act as if they are all 1 particular person OR they are each other in alternative universes. But the ending says otherwise. Anyway, they get lost but somehow make their way back into the very same apartment at the start and Victoria prevents the same events as Amber tries to break the cup again (as she passes by everyone). Yeah, still have no idea what the video is about. But the cinematography and the shaky focus goes hand in hand, adding confusion to the video. I liked it

The dance is pretty cool. It matched the sound and stlye of the song. I was really interested in what the dance would be like since the music video did not show any of the dance, but it all makes sense and I like it a lot now that I know. I just want a freaking dance version of the music video, or at least some sort of dance or performance version. It is a lot more feminine than I thought it would be and I thought Amber would have some trouble fitting in, but she manages to pull it off with ease.

Perfection. Even the whole album can be described as perfection. 10/10

Lonely – N.Flying

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My first impression for this song were not that great.But after a few listens to the song, I found it really addictive and pretty catchy. It is a rock themed ballad which I personally thought did not suit the season of Autumn (but that is just me). The start of the song (with the piano) sounds a lot like CNBLUE’s Can’t Stop. The other members started to sing. in this song, which was a surprise for me. I remember their previous song, only the main vocalist sang the entire song.  So when I heard different voices, I thought there was someone did not mention a featuring artist in the title and articles The song has me swaying along to it and I liked it. The slowness of the instrumental and the beat fits in really well with this song and the style they were going for. And the English seems to make sense for me. 

The music video was very boring. I like the idea of the transition to a new set (in a way) giving it a large scale stage performance kind of feel. Not a big fan of the sets. While they do have that “lonely” feeling to them, I just thought it was weird. I really did like that scene where they open the doors, but each door formed the 4 sides of a square. Quite interesting. But that rice field set just did not carry the same feeling. It would have been much better if they went out of their way to go there, like in FT Island’s Madly. Beside talking about the sets, there wasn’t much else to the video. There could have been a nice plot to the video, like what were they running away from?

The performances were them just playing on stage, but that main vocalist. While I think the emotions were necessary for this performance, I felt like his constant arm flailing (at least that is what I am calling it) and movement as if he was drunk really annoying and over the top. Maybe it is just me. I do agree it was required but he may have gone a little overboard.

Great song, not so great for everything else. 6/10

Twenty Three – IU

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While this comeback overall cannot be described as perfect for IU (refer to the tons of articles regarding her “scandal”), I think this is perfect. Her title track, titled as Twenty Three, talks about becoming a woman, well for IU’s case. I personally am confused regarding how this song sounds alike to Britney Spear’s song (or voice). I don’t really hear it. I feel like it is a very pop influenced song, but it has that catchy sound that IU songs tend to have. As for the lyrics, I find them somewhat different to what I expected. In her past, she is singing about shyness and all sorts of innocent things. However for this song, she sings “I want to be a moist women” and the reality of a lot of things such as “Oh right I want to be in love, No I rather make money”. Kind of different to the IU I used to know. It’s addictive and unique in a way in which I cannot describe it. There is something regarding the song that has IU written all over it and it cannot be replicated by another artist.

The music video has nice imagery, Matches the lyrics at some parts. I love the start. It made me chuckle. Kind of like me when I realize something bad is going to happen. LOL. Like finding out my grades. I love how there are innocent representations of her in the video, which she does hella well. But at the same time, she pulls of that mature look really well. Her wardrobe in this video looks really ordinary and I am disappointed about that. I love the Alice In Wonderland theme that they had subtly going on. Overall, I think I enjoyed the video.

Really disappointed that this is not promoted. Though it would not work in her favor at this very moment, this particular song deserve some sort of recognition.

Overall, amazing and perfect song and great video. 9/10

[DOUBLE REVIEW] I’m Fine + Piece – Dongwan (Shinhwa)

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Kim Dong Wan is a member of Shinhwa and has made his solo comeback with two brand new songs. Interestingly he is due to make another comeback with a brand new mini album right after he wraps up promotions for these two songs, I’m Fine and Piece. Shinhwa has had a busy year with a group comeback at the start of the year and also JunJin making his solo debut just a few months ago.

I’m Fine is a really nice song. At first, I thought it would be a very bland and dry song, but a few listens into it made me think otherwise. I think an accurate way to describe it is to say it is a soulful song. There is so much soul. I love the guitar instrumental and also how relaxing the song is overall. To me, it seems like a cheerful song, but the lyrics seem to be quite sad (in a way). His vocals suits the song, and the chorus is pretty catchy and has a nice tune to it. I enjoyed how the song just launches itself straight into the chorus as soon as the It the song that has me swaying me head to the music and I like that about the song. Piece is like a ballad and a rock song that has been mashed up. There are parts in both. While I don’t think it is as catchy as I’m Fine, it is still catchy and has the nice ring to it. If I were to describe the song, this might be the rock version of I’m Fine. The rapping sits nicely in the song and the vocals in this song for me seem to show more of his vocal talent compared to I’m Fine. Overall, I like both songs, but I’m Fine seems to be my favourite.

The music videos of both are quite nice. I’m Fine was about dealing with a break up and it matches well with him lying about in his bathtub. It seems to be an artsy video somewhat with the staggering and random scenes of boxes being the odd one out in terms of position. I really like the very neutral colours. Everything regarding the video was thought out very nicely and matched with the song. As for Piece, well, I don’t like the tattoos. As I mentioned before, ballad and rock mash up, but the rock seems be shown more and it doesn’t really fit in well with the song. The large cage and the sets looks pretty nice (though I think I can list 10 other music videos using that old warehouse set). I thought the rain in the warehouse (even though there is a fixed roof on top of them) added a nice touch and added more sad emotions to the video.

Overall, this comeback was really nice and relaxing. Now we shall sit back, listen to his songs and wait for this impending comeback.

I’m Fine – 9/10

Piece – 8/10