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.

Bad – Infinite

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Infinite is back after a year with a brand new comeback and mini album. Bad is their 5th mini album that was released with Back being their last release in July last year. Since Back (hehehe…), Infinite has been very busy with drama filming and promotions. Infinite H made their subunit comeback at the start of the year with Pretty. Sunggyu also made his solo comeback with double title tracks: The Answer and Kontrol. On top of that the boys have been releasing singles in Japan such as Dilemma which I reviewed earlier in the year. So many hyperlinks in the introduction today.

The song is described as a combination of hip hop and EDM elements. And that is something that we got. It honestly feel this is a very powerful song and it matches songs that I and probably many fans associate with Infinite. I also hear hints of classical and rock through the instrumental of the song, which adds to that powerfulness. As for the vocals, they were powerful and very strong, but remained matching to the style of song that the writers were getting at. Often we have a mismatch between vocals and instrumental, but this time around, they blended well with each other. Also, every member seemed to excelled in terms of vocals for this song. Sungyeol and Sungjong got more lines and their voices seem much steadier this time around. The rapping was kept to a minimal in this song, which I don’t fully understand why. I like Infinite’s rap in their song, but funnily not a big fan of their rap/hip hop subunit. Hmmm…

The music video is also quite interesting. The guys are tormented by this girl who they are describing as “bad”, hence the title of the song. The make use of mirrors in this video quite interestingly, being a way for the girl to get to them. I find that is an interesting concept. Hence why we see them sitting around, running away and looking around in fear due to the mirrors. And from the very first time I saw the music video, I knew it was the same guy or girl or group of people who filmed Orange Caramel and EXID music videos (and of course countless other music videos for other artists). I was amazed by the teaser for this comeback though. I believe they are the first KPOP group to actually use the 360 degree video format, which I thought was hella cool. I watched it on my phone and could spin around and looking around in the 360 view. Awesome. Just one complaint however, Dongwoo’s rap segment in the music video does not match up with the song. The lips were way off.

The dance is always awesome for Infinite. They are always in sync with each other. When I thought saw the dance, I was thinking that there was no way they would be in sync since there was a lot going on. But, the group managed to prove themselves to be one of the best dance groups ever.

This was a very powerful comeback with a really powerful song, a cool video and of course, per usual, an amazing choreography. 9/10

Party – SNSD

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SNSD has finally made their return as the Queens of KPOP with a brand new album. Party is their first title track and was released on the 7th of July. Their second title track will be Check and that has yet to be released, but will come out shortly after their promotions kick off. They previously released Catch Me If You Can back in May as a pre-release for their new album. Not much has happened since then though enough for me to say anything else here. So on with the review.

This song is very boring. Yeah, it has the summer sound to it and it is also quite fresh. But it really does not appeal to me. Neither does it make me want to go back. The song gives off the same feel as Katy Perry’s California Gurls track she released a few years back. But beside that, it is just so boring and really does not reel me in. The vocals were okay. They could have been better. I guess I am not used to the bright sound of SNSD that much. I like songs such as Mr.Mr by SNSD. This just disappoints me. The instrumental alone is pretty good, but the vocals don’t make the song outstanding or anything that I personally expected from the band.

There are two parts of the music video. One I like quite a bit and the other not so much. The part I liked was 70% of the video. And it was those lovely shots captured in Thailand. They look amazing and capture the summer feel very well. Not flak on the bikinis (hmmm…) but it seems like the girls are having fun and I liked it a lot. As for the inside scenes where they dance, wow. It looks so cheap. Let’s just hang up some balloons in a club and make it professional. Well to me, it looks like something that had no budget. And honestly, the outside scenes were very bright and then they just change to the club scene and it is dark. Kind of conflicting and doesn’t really suit each other that well.

The dance was okay. There wasn’t anything flashy about it and I don’t really have much to comment on. If this becomes the more promoted track, then I would expect a more interesting dance, but from what I have heard, Check will become the main title track.

So overall, not feeling the song. Music video was okay, though some parts looked cheap. Dance was okay. I hope Check makes up for the bad points. 4/10

My question is: Which 2015 Girl’s Generation song that has been released was your favourite? You have 4 options. Choose wisely.

 

Ring My Bell – Girl’s Day

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Girl’s Day is another girl group that has been added to the endless list of Summer comebacks for 2015. The girls have returned with their second album titled as Love and their title track is Ring My Bell. This is their first comeback since Girl’s Day released I Missed You in October(ish) last year. Minah also made her Minah’s Solo as a solo artist in March. Hyeri has been busy with drama roles, while Yura recently finished her part on We Got Married show. Sojin has been out and about and was recently on Mask Of Singers. This comeback has also faced criticisms, for some of which I will discuss below. While I do understand many girl groups get criticism, out of all, I feel like Girl’s Day is taking the mother load.

This song is a really weird song. I know from the get go that I love this song. It is catchy and addictive. But at the same time, I am just like “what is happening?”. The song open up to that cow boy/country kind of sound, but then the song loses that sound and goes straight into a pop song and I barely hear the cow boy sound anymore.  Also, while I was listening to the audio only version, something occurred to me. If you can barely say the title of your track properly, then why even bother in the first place. The live was much better, but I was thinking “Ling my bell” really does not appeal to me that much. But beside those two complaints, I am glad Yura is back rapping and also the vocals were quite strong. It is not an awful song (in reference to my weird statement) and I like it quite a bit. So much that it made it on my forever repeating playlist.

One criticism that the girls got for this comeback is wearing the swim wear during the music video. Fine. I get it. But I know people who say that the girls look slutty for wearing that swim wear, but SNSD made their comeback with Bikini’s and yet not one criticism? I don’t think it that fair. To me, swim wear = bikinis. I really don’t want to start a fan war, but this is just a clear example of why some fans shouldn’t really post anything on the Internet, because they sound really stupid. No offence to anyone. It is just the one thing I hate reading about in the comments. The video overall was quite colourful. I like how they stand out and how the music video comes together for this song. I don’t think that extra dude was necessary for the video. I liked their dance sets, especially the one with the thousand hoops. And since when was darts consider as sexy?

The dance is pretty cool. Horse riding is probably the main dance for this comeback. Sojin’s pants on the other hand for that showcase. Yeah. No comment.

Honestly, nice comeback. I really should ignore them haters. I think I am bias now. But honestly, my rant was just basically built up from other videos as well. 8/10

Hurt Locker – Nine Muses

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Nine Muses is another girl group that has returned for the Summer season. And they have done so with a bang with their latest Summer single: Hurt Locker. And it still confuses me how there are 8 members yet the group is still called Nine Muses. It confuses me. Also, I believe they were going to change the line up to Nine Muses but then decided against it. Why I think this? Well, an article was put out before the comeback saying that the line up isn’t going to change. Yeah… The group did return at the start of the year with Drama.

This is honestly a really good song. It is Summer and what other way to celebrate the hot season with an electro/dubstep style song. This is another song I am totally digging and the response from some fans have been quite positive. Not sure if this will be the best Summer jam, but it is totally up there in the list. I thought the instrumental was very powerful just on its own. It is quite sad to see only one member carry the song, while the rest gets 1 or two lines. That could be exaggerated a bit, but sometimes when I listen to the song without the music video, it does feel that well. I liked the slow and fast bits of the song. It added a little depth to the song. I know I sometimes complain about it, but I felt that it suited the song this time around. The rapping and vocal power of all the members was quite strong. The song flowed quite well as well.

The music video was quite cool. Very colourful. As for the lockers, or shipping containers, they used in the video looked awesome. The only thing I was thinking about though: What if one of the members fell into the crack while on top of all the shipping containers? Like, I felt fear while watching the music video. And that stood out quite a bit. I don’t think we have ever saw a group dance so high up before. Hahahaha… But honestly, I thought it was a great video. The way I explain things make it sound very boring doesn’t? I honestly thought during the rapping part of the song: why are they so happy and roller skating when the song was about being hurt and sad? Yeah, that confused me.

The dance was pretty cool. The chorus featured the “opening the locker” dance. I have no idea what they called it, but some people have been saying it is that. I like how they changed from fast to slow moves for the right parts of the song.

Amazing comeback. This is definitely something award-worthy. Time to get these girls some recognition. 9/10

[DOUBLE REVIEW] If You + Sober – Big Bang

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Once again, it has been a month since their last release. And now they are back at it with a more toned down comeback. But I am not going to use “comeback” anymore to describe Big Bang’s album’s promotion. Let’s call this a promotional run. They are going head to head with many big name groups this Summer with Super Junior, SNSD making their comeback in the coming weeks. Not only that, but other upcoming big name groups are making or have made their comeback: Sistar, AOA, Teen Top, Girl’s Day, A-Pink, Infinite etc. So essentially, this summer is going to be one very chaotic battlefield.

If You is a really nice song. Not one that is expected by many fans, however. When the song starts we hear T.O.P and G-Dragon sing. Normally, they raps. However his voice adds a really nice deep element to the song. As the other member move in to sing, we get a very peaceful ballad. I have to be honest though. I did say Taeyang did not have a suitable voice to be someone to take most of the lines, but in this song, his voice was delivered in a way that has me doubting myself. Even though it was a pretty long song and slowed down compared to the other Big Bang songs we have gotten, this song seemed to go quite fast for me. I have no complaints with this song.

Sober is a completely different song. It is toned down compared to their last releases, but it really isn’t a song that I again would associate with Big Bang. It’s more upbeat and I think I enjoyed it more than their other songs. It is quite addictive and catchy to my ears. It fits in quite well to their previous releases and it also has this strong Summer feel to it. Not as impressed with the vocals of this song though. I can see how some people are saying this song is quite similar to another song out there. Don’t remember the title of the other song though. And I get it. It does sound similar to me, just the style of Sober and the sound of Sober is a pretty much recurring sound in many music industries.

There is no music video for If You, which is quite disappointing. But then again, the company and band are filming quite a bit. Sober did get a music video which leans towards the crazy side. In other words, no where near what Sober’s definition is like. I personally like this video. It is quite wacky but it doesn’t overdo it like Bae Bae did. I did notice a few things. Why are there beds outside? What happens when it rains? T.O.P is not being T.O.P no more in any of the videos. Daesung looks pretty cool on the drums. Taeyang has been shirtless in 100% of the music videos that were released in 2015. I would like to now how they filmed the scenes where the members are in those spinning rooms. Not exactly sure if it spinning but it looks quite cool.

Not exactly sure if there are any dance to Sober. I can guarantee there be no dance for If You. But then again, I guess a lot of things and still manage to get things wrong.

If You – 9/10

Sober – 8/10

So what did you like more? Sober or If You?

It’s Okay – BTOB

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BTOB has returned to the stage with a Summer ballad. It’s Okay is their first release for 2015, since their Christmas special album which was released in December 2014. This new release is also their first to hit the number 1 spot on multiple music charts in South Korea. Sungjae, the youngest member of the group, has also been enjoying a large rise of popularity for his acting in many dramas in the past year.

The song is good. But I don’t feel it this time around. The ballad is very refreshing and has the summer feel to it. It is a pretty good ballad with great vocals and the rap blends in quite well into the song. The song actually reminds me of Second Confession that they released a while ago, just this song is a lot slower and not as aegyo. The song carries a lot of emotion and I think they pulled the song off quite well. But in terms of appeal, it lacks a lot. I don’t feel motivated to turn on my computer or phone to just listen to this song. I prefer songs from BTOB with the more dance beat or more a dance influenced song, if you understand what I mean. So this song is good, just I don’t think it is a song for BTOB to actively promote as their title track.

The music video is okay. The acting is quite exaggerated in this music video, but we were given the heads up to it. We see them struggle with normal lives. One of them doesn’t know how to propose to his girl, another is probably struggling with fees to study, while another is stuck doing jobs etc. So there is a lot of struggling with the characters. And I can relate to most of them with the struggles. However, Peniel’s one really takes the cake for me. He is doing his job as an ambulance officer. He gives CPR to the person, which might be weird since she is breathing. And then the main ambulance officer or Peniel’s supervisor runs over and be like “You idiot”. That I can understand. HOWEVER the main officer proceeds to wipe the blood off the girl with a freaking small cloth. If anything tells me that there is something wrong with this scene, it is most likely that. The lady was just in an accident. I’d give credit for Peniel going through CPR, but wiping blood away with just a small cloth does not do your job for you. Yeah… But it is an okay video. It fits in with the emotion of the song and matches with the Summer feel. And also that customer that ordered chicken. Great that you are angry about he lateness, but chucking the food on the floor really doesn’t do much, since you were hungry and ordered the chicken to eat. But throwing on the floor kind of means you are still hungry and probably have to wait longer for food.

As for the dance, was it needed? I feel like the group could have stood on stage and made the whole thing work quite well. I like their idea with the one microphone pole though.

Overall, it was a nice comeback, but I just don’t feel like it is a BTOB song. But oh well. 7/10.

Rewind: June 2015

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Let’s see the top songs for June, the month just went by. All the rankings below are of my personal preference. Hopefully, this can introduce you to new artists or remind you of the past month. A lot happened in the last 30 days. To check out the May Rewind post, click here. Note that BTS’s Dope is not included here as it was released in April 2015.

1. Um Ah Oh Yeah – Mamamoo

2. Shake It – Sistar

3. Love Me Right – EXO

4. We Like 2 Party – Big Bang

5. And Goodbye – Lee Seung Gi

6. Heart Attack – AOA

7. We Own The World – Justin Oh ft. Amber & Luna (F(x))

8. My House – 2PM

9. Ah-Ah – Teen Top

10. Bang Bang Bang – Big Bang

11.  Lies – Seo In Young ft. Kanto

12. Stay With Me – Kim Feel

13. Fake Illness – Rare Potato ft. Hani (EXID)

14. What U – SPEED

15. Playback – Playback

16. Gap – Ken (VIXX) ft. Hani (EXID)

17. #LoveMe – Melody Day

18. Baby Boy – High4

19. Reason – December

20. Month Of June – McKay

During June, I posted some polls with the reviews.

  • I asked which BoA song you all preferred out of Kiss My Lips and Who Are You. Unanimously, you all chose Kiss My Lips as the better song.
  • I also asked you which Big Bang song you guys preferred. Though it seems mean that I am posting the results now, I think I should leave the poll open until the July rewind post for fairness. After all I did post the poll in the last few days of June. 66% of people preferred We Like 2 Party and 33% liked Big Bang. But don’t you worry, vote below and the OFFICAL results will be posted in the next rewind

[DOUBLE REVIEW] Dope + For You – BTS

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Probably if you are hardcore followers of BTS, you probably would know that BTS made two comebacks just in the last month. What??? Am I crazy??? No. The truth if BTS finished their promotions for I Need U, which was released back in April. They recently announced that they would be following up with Dope (Sick), which was released as a part of the new album. However, BTS also made a comeback in Japan with For You. So essentially I am reviewing a Japanese and Korean song. And both songs show two different sides of the group. BTS is getting really popular, scoring a whole week full of music show wins and topping album charts with their new songs.

Both songs to me were equally amazing. As I said above, both songs managed to bring out two sides. Dope brings out the side that we know BTS best for. This song is very upbeat and sounds very grand. I don’t know how to describe it exactly, but the song is a very strong. Especially the introduction to the song made it seemed like a song that a group would debut with. The move from rapping into vocals and back was pretty good for this song. I just don’t see anything to complain with in this song. Honestly, I felt like Jin and V should have gotten more lines. And here I go again with this line distribution topic again. I don’t know. I just like Jin’s voice. Jin has a nice voice. -fan boys-

However for For You, the line distribution for this song was more equal. And this where my proof to why Jin should get more lines. He carries the chorus for end of the song and manages to chuck in some ad-libs in it as well. And he pulls it off very well. This song brings out more of a softer and mellow-er side of the group, something that is not seen whatsoever in the fun and happy Dope track. You can feel the emotion quite well in this song as well. Not only that, but the piano instrumental was pretty nice in this video. Jimin’s part in this song was pretty nice as well, even though he kind of forgotten in this song. For the instrumental, I can imagine some standing there hitting the same note repetitively for some reason.

Both music videos were okay. I preferred the Japanese music video more. If there is one thing I hated about the Dope music video was that the focus on the face made it stand out more and kind of left everything else out. I don’t know, it reminded me of cartoons a lot, but when I look elsewhere, it isn’t and I guess that disappointed me. But I totally love the concept and how it matches the lyrics. And the one shot video thing, which has died down a bit in the industry, made the video quite pleasant to watch. As For You, the acting was pretty good, but not award winning. I have a feeling like For You occurred during the weekdays, but when it came to the weekend, Dope was where the party was at.

Dope’s dance was amazing. I have no complaints whatsoever with both dances, but Dope dance has more of the style I like. Both dances managed to fit the beat and kept up to the speed of their respective songs. I did like For You’s “rewind ending”. That looked so awesome. Dope had that in-sync feeling that I assoictae with Infinite and I guess BTS is another group wanting to challenge the “in-sync” title.

Don’t make me choose between the two. Too hard for me. Both songs were equally amazing and both totally rocked in terms of everything else.

Dope – 9/10

For You – 9/10

Shake It – Sistar

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Sistar has returned. The digital queens are officially dropped their new mini album back in June with Shake Their last comeback was around a year ago with I Swear and Touch My Body.

I don’t know why some people are always having a go at Sistar when they do these Summer concepts.  Actually it is girl groups in general. And I think their perspective on the summer and sexy concept clouds their enjoyment and distract them from the song. I honestly thought this was an amazing song. The song totally feels like a summer song and does a much better job at it than what Touch My Body does. It is really addictive and super catchy. In other words, it is currently my jam and my go to song at this very moment. The lines were more evenly distributed this time around, which makes me happy. I just enjoyed the song and really did not felt that the song was lacking in any area whatsoever.

This video was creepy. Yeah, feel sorry for that Noel guy. He is popular, but does he have to play the creepy roles in all music videos. First BESTie’s Excuse Me and now this Sistar video. As for the teacher, he looks very scary. I like the little comic bubbles that pop up at certain times of the video. I thought they added a nice touch to the video and actually added to the comical feel of the video for me. I was surprised with the lack of butt close-ups. I expected a lot more, but the video only had 20% ass. I have to say, Sistar has really nice bodies. They looked very hot and sexy in this video. Which means the video did its job correctly. Finally, Soyu’s boobs. I think I covered the main bits… Yeah… That was meant to be a terrible pun, somewhat relevant to the video.

As for the dance, there is a lot of butt shaking. But yeah, the song repetitively says “Shake It”. What else can they shake? Honestly, if they were shaking their head, arms or legs, the video would receive no attention. The ass and boobs (but there wasn’t any of the latter) did their job in the video. So essentially to those attacking Sistar for their concepts, you should really start seeing what actually works in the world and what doesn’t. But I am 100% that they did not overdo it in this dance and I am personally thankful for that. That or I be replaying the music video  for quite some time.

Overall, I feel like this is one of their best comebacks in a long time. They honestly did a wonderful job. 9.5/10

Heart Attack – AOA

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Summer is also the season for many girl groups to comeback in. And this Summer, it is no exception. AOA is one of the groups that have dared to enter the battle field and is ready to shake the field up. With their forever expanding popularity after a highly successful year of promotions, Seolhyun’s acting success and Jimin’s rapping success as well, the girls are back with Heart Attack. Let’s hope they only give metaphorical heart attacks and not the real deal. Yeah, that was my highly lame joke for you all.

When I first heard the song, I thought it was an ear-sore. It was a horrible mess and I was very disappointed. Well, let me fast forward a few days later where I was playing this song on repeat. It grew so freaking much on me. But I can assure you, this would not be a song that I would recommend to someone. It left a horrible impression on me first and I doubt anyone who dislikes the group or KPOP would go back to it. Honestly, it is an addictive track. Once again, I don’t see the fascination with Jimin and her rapping. It is just so whiny. The really high pitched notes for the chorus really got to me. A part of me is like “YESSS” and another is like “Damn, you just ruined the track”. I am still going to keep my initial thoughts and say it is a mess. The song was squashed together and it felt like a group of people talking to you at once. It felt way to sudden (especially the start) and fast for me. I don’t find it an ear-sore anymore, but I honestly say, a slower pop track could have been much better in my opinion.

I sat down and watched the music video and I found it a total bore. AOA is a lacrosse team and fails terribly when they play. Some of the girls are not cut out and other times they are distracted. First of all and some of you may think I am going against equality here, but why are AOA playing against a group of guys? A) how did they get to that game? and B) why are they playing against guys? Isn’t that a bit too much for the girls? It would make more sense to have the girls play against other girls. So in the video, one girl confesses her feelings for the opposite team player and learn how to play very well. Which raises a question: did the girls even know what to do in the first match? And that is all. No more questions from the video. I honestly felt so bored watching the music video and also quite distracted by the song.

As for the dance, it really isn’t amazing. It just feels like a typical dance and I thought it matched the song. A lot of boob pointing though. Of course, I would point that out.

Hmmm… I think to summarise, the girls could have done way better. The song was okay. It was a mess of a song, but it did have its good points. The music video and dance could have been way better. 4/10 I think this is my most confusing review ever. Apologies for that.

Ah-Ah – Teen Top

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Summer is going to be one busy season with all these comebacks. Teen Top has made their comeback in the season of summer with a refreshing dance song. Not much has happened with Teen Top since their last comeback. Niel made his solo debut with Lovekiller. The group also had concerts in other countries as well. But honestly, there hasn’t been much talk regrading the group. However they have re-entered the industry with a bang, topping album sale charts with their new album. Congrats!

I have mixed feelings for this song. One part of me says it is boring and that there is nothing that is appealing to me to it. BUT the other half says the complete opposite. Does that make sense? To me, it makes no sense whatsoever. I thought the song was very polished and flowed nicely. The instrumental has this addictive beat to it which I am totally digging. In terms of the vocals, it just sounded like an upgraded version of Missing. For those who don’t remember, I did not like Missing and I still don’t. While everything else was cool and all, the vocals just lacked so much. Though to compliment the vocals, the added a smooth touch to the song. It sounded monotone to me. The rapping in the bridge reminded me a lot of the rapping in Rocking. So many memories. I did like how they approached the final chorus. It was very cool.

I preferred the dance set of the music video to the actual set of the rest of the music video. The dance set I am referring to is that rocking looking set, where the members are wearing blue. The rest of the music video was quite colourful and had a retro feel to it. That did mismatch with the song, as the song was more of a modern day song to be honest. I find it amazing how they dance anywhere. Petrol station and the diner. The latter I thought was impossible as it seemed so narrow. But guess what, they amazed me even more. But beside that, I didn’t find myself overly excited for the rest of the music video. I thought it was boring.

But I can tell you what was not boring. The dance. A more subtle version of Rocking but with more emotion like is Missing. I find the dance for this song really cool. Not going to try it out myself, since I am most likely going to fall over my own legs. Teen Top managed to wow with previous dances before and this one is really cool. Like the song, I thought the dance was polished and quite smooth.  The crotch grabs though probably the highlight for many fans. I enjoyed the complex leg moves.

Overall, I guess I will say it was a really cool comeback. Bits of me are still torn, but overall the comeback left a better impression on me than what Missing did. 7/10

Um Oh Ah Yeah – Mamamoo

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A rising girl group, Mamamoo have made their comeback with Um Oh Ah Yeah. After getting recognition as best rookie girl group last year at the Gaon Chart Awards, and their recent collaboration with e.SNa (Ahh Oop!), the girls have been rising quite highly. This release is the first comeback with the girls topping charts and essentially proving to the KPOP industry that good vocals are still in the game. I really enjoyed their debut and Piano Man and this comeback is the same. As in I totally enjoy it. Not that is the same comeback. You know what I mean. But I’ve been listening to their live stages and WOW. Them fan-chants are getting louder and you can tell that there are more people cheering them on now.

This song is really amazing. I dig all the songs that the group puts out and this song is no exception. I really enjoyed it. I was blown away with the harmonies in Piano Man, so I was a little disappointed when I heard this song, mainly because there was not much of it in the song. From the start to end, I was in awe with the vocal work and the rapping. Each member is pretty good at their thing and their voices work really well with each other. The chorus to me is hella addictive and I liked it how they changed up the song. Maybe the change up slowed down the song a little bit for me, but they girls went straight back to the song and I thought that was really amazing. I loved the end. The cheering that they do is pretty amazing. Another thing I like about Mamamoo’s songs, they can easily be modified for certain stages. And this song with the ending and the mini dialogue towards the end of the song does just that.

I have to be honest. Moonbyul makes a really good looking dude. Many people say she looks like Xiumin from EXO in the video, I think she looks a lot like Minhyuk from BTOB. Also, I love Hwasa’s pervy character and also Wheein’s characters love for food. Disappointing that Solar didn’t cross dress, but she made a very beautiful and sexy maid and air stewardess. It was a little satirical, but I really like how that dialogue part I mentioned before fitted in with the song and music video. It just linked the two so nicely. As for the ending of the video, I thought the girls were rather cute even though they were dressed up as guys, but Wheein with her pizza love. So like me.

Dance was okay. Wasn’t the best part of the comeback. To me, I felt like more could have been done with the dance for this comeback. It just didn’t match up with the song that well. Their past dances had something iconic. This one just lacked.

Overall the comeback was amazing. Though more improvement on the dance would have been nice, everything else was pretty nice. 9/10

Mirror – MBLAQ

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After two members announced that they were leaving the popular boy group, MBLAQ last year, the band faced disbandment rumours. However it is safe to say that the band is going strong as they have returned as a trio this time around. Yeah, so if you haven’t heard of it yet, Thunder (now known as Cheondung) and Lee Joon both left MBLAQ after their contracts finished at the end of the year. Before departing, they did release an album of some sort or had a concert. Now Mir, Seungho and G.O make up the MBLAQ group as a trio and still getting supporting from the former members.

We know MBLAQ for their dance associated songs, but this is the first time they were coming back with a ballad. And it is pretty boring to listen to. I listened to it once and never went back to it. It just didn’t hook me on or appeal to me to get me to continue listening. The song is predominately sung by Seungho and G.O, while Mir got a small rapping part. And he too looked kind of bored on stage while performing this song. The vocals were good, but sadly they were not as outstanding like their previous songs. I feel like MBLAQ constricted itself into one corner for this comeback and they haven’t been able to move out of that one corner. I did like G.O’s vocals though in the song. When I first heard the song, I didn’t watch the video so I didn’t know who sang what part. G.O managed to fool me into believing that there was a fourth member and somehow I missed it all. But yeah, just the three members who changed their delivery up for certain parts. But yeah, boring song.

Music video was equally boring. It was dull and lacked anything that I would want to happen in a music video. I know there have been many K-ballad music videos that have done an amazing job and compared to them, this video isn’t worth mentioning. We open them up driving, then running. But for what? For a girl? And even for a girl, those extra scenes wouldn’t help with my understanding. The dance set was extremely lazy. The concept of the doors were a nice touch to the video, but for the rest, I would have expected something more.

There is a dance and it is a ballad. Usually don’t like dances with ballads, but I guess this is what is keeping MBLAQ with their dance group image. Honestly, I felt like the dance could have been removed and nothing would happen.

Overall, it was a boring comeback. I understand that it would be hard for just three guys to dance a choreography especially to their previous single’s extent, but I am sure they could have figured out a way. Sorry if this review was harsh. These were just my honest opinions on it. 1/10

My House – 2PM

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2PM is finally back with a new song. Last year, they made their comeback with Go Crazy which was seen as a go to party song for everyone to dance to. It did that job and probably turned into one of the most popular songs for parties for last year. This time, they are back with a more fantasy world comeback. I can’t think of the word for it. Maybe mystical?

The song is a pretty solid song. Though I have to admit it was a little disappointing for me. I think the song was a solid display that the vocal work and rapping was still pretty decent. But I don’t really associate this sound with 2PM. Jun.K wrote the song and I think he did a wonderful job with a song that had a bit of a mix up in the middle in terms of the sound. I feel like Nichkhun, Chansung and Junho got overshadowed in this song but I feel like they got their parts at the same time. It is a pretty nice song that reminds of the late 90s boy bands. I really enjoyed the autotune ad-libs during the song (the Rabbit in other words). I liked the guitar at the start with the slight electro feel we get in the song. The chorus wasn’t that appealing in my point of view and it just didn’t get me into it. But I think the song did its job pretty well, but it just lacked for me.

As for the music video, I liked the concept they are going for. It is pretty original. While I am sure we have all seen 1 fairytale story in a music video somewhere, I don’t think there has ever been a combination of them together in one video. We see different fairy tales in this video mashed up into one including: Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,  Alice In Wonderland, Red Riding Hood, Beauty and The Beast, Rapunzel etc. I thought it was a very well thought concept that matched the song as well. And the animals in this music video. I kid you not, the rabbit made my day when I watched the music video. I thought the rabbit scenes were adorable and so freaking cute. The wolf matched Taecyeon very well, so I guess their Beastly Idol image remains. It is a little confusing to talk about how it all fits in but I think the music video was pretty nice to watch. It wasn’t boring because I found that I was more intrigue about who she was going to choose.

When I first saw the dance, I thought they were pulling luggage. Not joke, it just made so much sense to me. So when I found that they were holding the girls hand and leading the way back to “their house”, my mind was blown. The dance fitted the style of the song (and the lyrics)  but to me it doesn’t have that 2PM feel to it. It just seemed like a pop song’s dance.

Overall, even though I find 2PM now losing a lot of their colour and identity, this was a pretty nice comeback. 7.5/10

Love Me Right – EXO

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After promotions with Call Me Baby, EXO has returned with their newest song, Love Me Right. The song, released as the repackaged version of their Call Me Baby album has (without any doubt) been a successful release, however their promotions were only for a short period of time, due to concerts overseas (which is quite disappointing). Now EXO has been stabbed once again, with Tao rumoured to have left the group. Essentially he did one stage with the boys and got injured once again. Then the saga began, again. And for this, the only Chinese member Lay is getting a lot of hate. How do I know? Fan chants and cheers for all the members except Lay at their stages while promoting Love Me Right. I just want to put out there, even as not a Lay or EXO fan, the EXO-L’s hating on Lay are being selfish and childish. That is just my take on it though.

I did not want to start the review with that. But I can say that the rest of the review is going to be amazing. Well, let’s hope so. BUT THIS SONG HAS TO BE ONE OF THE BEST SONGS OF THE YEAR. I am giving this my seal of approval. From the very moment I first heard this song, until the end of days, this song will forever remain in my head. This song, from the vocals, rapping, instrumental, rhythm, lyrics just blows my mind. The retro funky sound that the song has just amazes me. I have been playing this song non stop since it has came out and I think out of all the songs that EXO has released, this is their best one to day. Finally a song that gives the rap a place to fit in, the vocals a place to thrive and omg. Why was this not an actual song that was promoted for a long time????

The music video was pretty cool. Minus the America football gear. Everything was fine since the song was there, but the should pads on these guys really do not fit. God, it makes them so small. The music video is a mash-up on like so many different solo shots, it confuses me and string them together and they really don’t mean anything. Actually, come to the think of it, most of EXO’s music video don’t even have a plot line. It is just dance. So I guess the solo shots have an artistic nature to them? Hmm… That would make more sense then. Cause even the scenes don’t match up with the lyrics.

The dance for this is awesome. I am full of praise. Though I am going to be honest, their lip syncing really needs improving. Like A LOT of improvement. A LOT.

Must I say more? I am not a fan of EXO but this comeback exceeded my expectations and I thought it was INCREDIBLE. I am running out of words to praise this song. 10/10

[Double Review] Bang Bang Bang + We Like To Party – Big Bang

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Big Bang is trying to kill all fans out there with their continuous comebacks for the next 3 months (5 comebacks in total). Each song they release is being promoted and I am thankful I am getting this review out now, with just days until the next two releases. Wow. After Loser and Bae Bae, Big Bang returned with songs that they believed was more their style and more like their last comeback, Fantastic Baby. And I think they are right. But that is to be discussed below. Let’s just brace ourselves for the next few months.

First song was Bang Bang Bang. I find this an awesome song, but like everyone I know and see commenting, the chorus for the song was just an ear sore. Yeah, but only the chorus. I love the club and dance instrumental song the sound goes for and I feel like the lines are more evenly spread this time around. Beside the chorus (even though it has grown on me), the rest of the song was just amazing. The vocal work and rapping for this song was amazing. I feel like this is a more modern version of Fantastic Baby, with an upgraded instrumental. The ending was superb as well. Just I want to change the chorus so badly.

As for We Like To Party, guess who just found their new favourite song. I am currently digging this song so much. It just is done so well. Did not expect for Big Bang to put out a party anthem like song, but it worked really well. The vocals and rapping per usual with the band was amazing and I was not at once disappointed with the song. I honestly feel like this should have been the more promoted song than Bang Bang Bang. And to those One Direction fans who are accusing Big Bang for copying their band’s song, these songs have been out for a long while.

The music videos were pretty amazing. I feel like both music videos, while different concepts were happening in both, were still pretty solid efforts, considering they were promoting their previous songs and had to film these as well. They did not look tired at all. I love the seriousness of the Bang Bang Bang video and the contrast between the red and black. We Like To Party was a more fun filled music video and I thought it fitted the song pretty well. They were apparently a little tipsy during the music video filming for some scenes, but I feel like it paid off very well. We see them go on a road trip and have lots of fun, which is what the song suggests. I am just glad they did not go off topic for any of the music videos.

I believe Bang Bang Bang had an actual dance to it. Beside the ending, I thought the rest of the dance was pretty boring to watch. We Like To Party had a dance as well, it seems kind of lazy, but managed to fit in with the song. But only the chorus got the dance for it… so…. And poor Seungri, everytime he tried to sing in We Like To Party, he was sabotaged by the other members.

If I was to choose out of the two, I would pick We Like To Party. Bang Bang Bang was great but the chorus… Sorry for rambling on about it. But a review is a review.

Bang Bang Bang – 8/10

We Like To Party – 10/10

What Big Bang song did you like this month? Pick out the two and the results will be up on the Rewind: June 2015 post (coming soon).