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.

[Album Review] GAME PLAN (1st Mini Album) – JEON SOMI

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JEON SOMI is nominated for Best Female Soloist and her Fast Forward release is nominated for Best Solo Dance Performance (Female) in the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support JEON SOMI and Fast Forward and your other favourite artists, songs and performance, by clicking here to vote today.

JEON SOMI made her solo comeback in August of this year, her first solo release in almost two years following on from XOXO. Today, I will be reviewing her 2023 mini-album release, which is titled GAME PLAN. It features the title track Fast Forward, the follow-up single Gold Gold Gold and an additional three songs. While I am not a fan of the follow-up single, I am impressed with the rest of the mini-album – enough so that I do recommend this mini-album release to anyone who wants to get into JEON SOMI’s music or expand their horizons a bit. I liked the mixture of genre and sound profiles on this mini-album, and how well JEON SOMI executed the mini-album (with the exception of that follow-up single). Continue reading below to see my thoughts on each individual song.

GAME PLAN Album Cover

1. Gold Gold Gold (금금금) – Prior to this album review, I had intentions to review Gold Gold Gold separately as it had its own music video. But upon relistening to Gold Gold Gold for said review, I quickly scrapped those plans. I just couldn’t find anything to say about the song aside from the fact that I found it be quite cringy. It is intended to be a fun track, with an admittedly catchy chorus hook and the lyrics which depicts JEON SOMI flaunting her riches at the listeners. While JEON SOMI handled this track decently, the track felt awkward to me and I am sure that is not the vibe that Gold Gold Gold should have been going for. (6.5/10)

2. Fast Forward (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for Fast Forward. (9/10)

3. Fxxked Up (개별로) – Following the title track is the single Fxxked Up. I remember being caught off guard by the chorus when I checked out the song initially, simply because it was a lot poppier and percussive than I had anticipated coming after the verses. Not only does it created a strong centrepiece for Fxxked Up and delivered the right amount of punch as JEON SOMI drops the f-bomb, it was rather bold and striking to make it stand out on the mini-album. The percussive instrumental and whistling was quite cool throughout, and I love the glitchier approach to the ending which intensifies the energy and vibe of the song so well. JEON SOMI’s vocals and rapping were less memorable and I wished they were bolder to match the rest of the song . (10/10)

4. Pisces (자두) – Pisces features a change of pace, opting for a relatively softer sound compared to the tracks preceding it. Pisces does remain upbeat for its chorus thanks to the electronic beats and synths, however, so don’t go expecting a ballad when I say “softer sound”. I liked that the track allows JEON SOMI to show off a more delicate side to her vocals, which was nicely executed by the soloist. The R&B influenced instrumental and vocal combination also reminds me of some of her past title tracks, for some reason. However, it’s the plainer melodies that hold back Pisces for me, and I wished that was not the case. (8/10)  

5. The Way – Within a matter of two seconds, I fell in love with The Way all over again. The retro synth instrumentation was immaculate. Paired with JEON SOMI’s most powerful showcase of vocals on this mini-album, this track just hits the spot for me. The Way is also an all-English track, so international fans can tell of The Way’s emotional pull, which JEON SOMI conveys super well in the track. A very clean and clear 10/10 to end off the mini-album. (10/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.7/10

GAME PLAN Teaser Image

[Review] HOMEBOY – xikers

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xikers is nominated for Best New Male Group and their single ROCKSTAR is nominated for Best Rock Song in the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support xikers and ROCKSTAR by clicking here to vote for them and your other favourite artists, songs and performances today.

xikers returned back in August of this year with their first comeback and second mini-album, House of Tricky: How To Play. Leading the charge of this mini album was one of two title tracks from the mini-album, DO or DIE. A little more than a week on from the release of both the mini-album and DO or DIE, xikers also released the music video for their second title track, HOMEBOY, which is the focus of today’s song review.

HOMEBOY steps away from the likes of rock that has featured heavily in their title tracks thus far, going with a more lighter dance track instead. HOMEBOY also features a mildly slower change of pace, which was refreshing for the group, especially since their tracks that I can remember from them have been of a high energy manner. This allows the group to explore a sound that is more sentimental, which tends to lend well towards a showcase of vocals. While I don’t think we necessarily get that showcase in HOMEBOY, it does give us better opportunity to focus on and appreciate xikers’ vocals. That whole bridge, including the high note, was probably the closest we got to a “showcase” of vocals. It was nice and all, but I would have liked some really more profound moments. The rappers did a nice job of holding themselves back to not overwhelm and contrast too differently from the lightness of the track. Their parts definitely gave bite to HOMEBOY and also made the song interesting to listen to. That being said, the only part in which I felt could have used a do-over is Yechan’s rapping in the first verse, as I felt the autotune was a bit too thick there. His part in the second verse, along with Minjae and Sumin’s, was a lot clearer and easier on the ears. In addition to that, I would have liked stronger hooks and melodies to really remember HOMEBOY by, along with some vibrancy to the instrumentation, which would have helped make HOMEBOY feel more refreshing, offset the heftier beats and break up the instrumental a bit to make it not feel as overly consistent as HOMEBOY does at the moment. Overall, a neat change to what I am used to from xikers.

We see the members hangout and have fun in each other’s company in this music video. This works well with the song’s message of living life without any worries. There isn’t much else to the video, aside from some cool visual effects like the changing daytime/nighttime skies and the massive paper plane. I also really like the bridge scene, with all the members looking forward (see the featured imaged for this post). This part for some reason felt very stilling and profound for me, and their gazes really brought out that sentimental feeling of the tender kind.

On stage, xikers’ performance looks very fun and endearing. Despite the slower pace, I like how upbeat and cheerful the performance looked. The start was very interesting, and I liked how well timed the members running in the circle was. The airplane-like move was a nice addition and made sense as the lyrics do mention flying, although it became less airplane-like as the performance went on and become wavey-like instead.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8/10

[Weekly KPOP Chart] 4th Week of November 2023

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Welcome back to the Weekly KPOP Charts, this time for the 4th Week of November 2023. Finally back the usual posting schedule with the Weekly KPOP Charts post (i.e., Sunday), which I am hoping with continue until Christmas this year. Per usual, Sundays means chores day for me and drafting some posts for the upcoming week. So let’s get going with the Weekly KPOP Charts for the 4th Week of November 2023.

ICYMI – 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards

If you have yet to vote in the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards, click the link here to be taken to the voting page to support your favourite artists, songs and performances of 2023.

Recap of the 1st Week of November 2023

Here is a recap of what I posted:

Joining all those new releases above this week are the following songs:

  • MEGAVERSE – Stray Kids
  • Melting Point – ZEROBASEONE
  • ANTI HERO – ICU
  • A HA – Hyunseong (BF)
  • SAVIOR – PUZZLE
  • Changed Man – J.Y.Park
  • To You Who Don’t Know – Kim Dohee
  • It’s Okay – Ryeowook (Super Junior)
  • Roller Coaster – 24K+
  • Grand Prix – Kep1er
  • BEEP BEEP – Jessica
  • Playground – LUN8wave
  • ODD-VENTURE – MCND
  • Forbidden Midnight – iii
  • I – Park Bom ft. Dawn
  • Potential – FANTASY BOYS
  • BLOODY – Kim Boa (KEEMBO) ft. Microdot
  • ONLY ONE – Bang Yedam
  • ICN > YVR – BIG NAUGHTY
  • Command C+Me – Jun.K (2PM)

Throwback Song of the Week

This week’s Throwback song is truly a throwback song, released back in 2010. After School’s Because Of You is my choice, after it appeared on my timeline on X during the week. Cue me slipping into Because Of You nostalgia.

Non-Korean Song of the Week

This week’s Non-Korean song of the week for the 4th Week of 2023 is JENNIE’s (from BLACKPINK) You & Me. You & Me ranks in the second position this week, and will be reviewed in an upcoming International Song Review post.

The Charts

Congratulations to THE BOYZ and their comeback single WATCH IT for debuting at the top of the Weekly KPOP Charts for the 4th Week of November 2023. For more of the charts, keep on scrolling down below.

Pos.SongArtistChange
1WATCH ITTHE BOYZ(NEW)
2Chill KillRed Velvet(=)
3Sweet VenomENHYPEN(▲ 9)
4You & MeJENNIE (BLACKPINK)(▲ 32)
5LUCKY ROCKYROCKY(NEW)
6AmnesiaVIXX(NEW)
7HOODIE E BANBAJILee Hyori(▲ 83)
8OOTDDreamcatcher(NEW)
9Sure Thing82MAJOR(▲ 62)
10PUPPET SHOWXG(▲ 78)
11CRUSHZEROBASEONE(▼ 5)
12Good EnoughCHANYEOL (EXO)(▲ 78)
13Screen TimeEPIK HIGH ft. HOSHI (SEVENTEEN)(▲ 70)
14Fall In Love AgainP1Harmony(▲ 76)
15MANIACVIVIZ(▲ 36)
16LALALALAStray Kids(▼ 15)
17Hmm-CheatCRUSH(▲ 73)
18LovedB.I(▲ 69)
19NOBODYJeon Soyeon ((G)I-DLE), Winter (aespa), LIZ (IVE)(▲ 71)
20MACARONI CHEESEYOUNG POSSE(▲ 70)
21MEGAVERSEStray Kids(NEW)
22NEVERLANDNINE.i(▲ 43)
23Bailia ConmigoONEUS(▲ 14)
244 LettersB.I ft. James Reid(▲ 66)
25RockstarJay Chang(▲ 27)
26X.O.XMoon Jongup(▲ 64)
27Sugar-holicITZY(▲ 63)
28Do ItYoungjae (GOT7)(▼ 24)
29GuiltyTAEMIN (SHINee)(▼ 16)
30fBobby (iKON)(▲ 11)

Songs leaving the charts

The following songs have wrapped up their nine week run in the charts system, and will no longer be on the charts from next week:

[Album Review] ZONE (1st Mini Album) – JIHYO (TWICE)

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JIHYO is nominated for Best New Female Soloist, while Killin’ Me Good is nominated for Best Solo Dance Performance (Female) and ZONE is nominated for Best Album in the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support JIHYO, her releases and your other favourite artists, songs and performance by clicking here to vote today.

Today’s album review post focuses on JIHYO’s solo debut mini-album ZONE, which was released in August of this year. It features the title track Killin’ Me Good and 6 additional sides tracks. This is honestly one of the best albums released this year, in my point of view. All songs on this album were definitely of a high calibre and shows off JIHYO’s potential as a solo act outside of her group work as part of TWICE (which we all know are very high quality already). I rated 4 songs 9/10 and 2 songs 10/10, which already pushes up the overall album rating to be above 9 (which is a rare sight this year). So keep on reading to find out which songs were assigned those scores (and what I rated that remaining song).

ZONE Album Cover

1. Killin’ Me Good (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for Killin’ Me Good. (9/10)

2. Talkin’ About It (ft. 24kGoldn) – JIHYO sings well in Talkin’ About It, which is an all-English track featuring 24kGoldn. Her vocal work was very good in Talkin’ About It. The guitar that we hear in the background of the pre-chorus was really nice, and the chorus takes us down a nostalgic dance pop direction. The hooks were straightforward, but catchy and ear-wormy. 24kGoldn’s feature comes during the bridge and his part helps break up Talkin’ About It from becoming overly consistent, which I appreciated. From there the final chorus sees an intensification, which I thought was closed out the song excellently. (9/10)

3. Closer – Closer sees the combination of R&B pop and Latin influences, which makes for a hypnotic and captivating listen. The consistent beat and catchy melodies definitely calls for a great performance, which we do see get to see (as Closer was picked to be the secondary promotional single during ZONE and Killin’ Me Good’s promotional run). I like JIHYO’s sexier and breathier vocals in this song, which makes Closer so much more alluring, as well. (9/10)

4. Wishing On You – JIHYO stays in the R&B realm for Wishing On You, albeit a dreamier motif is definitely on display here. But there is still a slow groove type of vibe to the track that I quite like and complements the slow groove quite well. The choruses’ “You-ou-ou-ou” was definitely the highlight of the track and the catchiest hook you can probably find. JIHYO delivers this in a higher pitch, which is a nice showcase of her vocal abilities. (10/10)

5. Don’t Wanna Go Back (with Heize) – JIHYO starts this R&B side track in a much softer tone, but showcases a stronger tone when she tackles the chorus. But she sounds best during the song’s bridge, where we hear a bit of everything, along with falsettos and a beautiful high note. Alongside JIHYO in Don’t Wanna Go Back is Heize, a popular R&B singer, who goes even softer during the second verses. And I liked how she brings the softness to the second and final choruses as a backing to JIHYO’s vocals. The melodies and instrumental were very nice in Don’t Wanna Go Back, as well. (9/10)  

6. Room – Room is another dreamy R&B track. For the most part, I thought the track was a pleasant listen, with JIHYO vocals doing a fine job. The violins in the background were a nice touch, as well. JIHYO’s vocals intensify out of nowhere in the bridge of Room, which really pulls you back into the song. Furthermore, I really liked how the song ends with the instrumental fades out and you hear JIHYO’s vocals so clearly. (8/10)

7. Nightmare – Nightmare was previously performed at TWICE’s concerts this year and serves as the solo debut mini-album’s closing song. It is also my pick for my absolute favourite side track on the mini-album. I love the rock tinge that the song has and you can definitely hear the emotions conveyed by JIHYO so clearly. The command JIHYO has here in Nightmare is super strong and captivating, which makes Nightmare so worthwhile to listen to. A definite recommendation from me. (10/10)

Overall Album Rating – 9.1/10

ZONE Teaser Image

[Review] LUCKY ROCKY – ROCKY

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Support your other favourite artists, songs and performance in the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards by clicking here to vote today.

Former ASTRO member ROCKY has been very quiet since he left the group in February of this year following the expiration of his contract with Fantagio and his decision not to resign with the company. However, ROCKY is finally back with his solo debut single LUCKY ROCKY, which is featured on his first solo mini-album ROCKYST. In preparation for his solo debut, he had set up his own company, One Fine Day Entertainment.

LUCKY ROCKY is already quite a short song, spanning just less than 2:30 minutes. I find it quite interesting that an extensive amount of the song is dedicated towards instrumentation, leaving only a limited amount of time for ROCKY to work his magic as a singer and rapper. To me, in terms of a first impression, LUCKY ROCKY had me confused as to whether I was listening to a title track or introductory number. I wished there was time for vocals and rapping in the song, so it doesn’t feel limited and gives the soloist an opportunity to show more of his skills that we all know he has. But despite feeling limited, LUCKY ROCKY does not feel cramped. In fact, ROCKY somehow manages to squeeze in quite a fair bit into LUCKY ROCKY. In terms of his delivery, we do get some nice vocals, a decent amount of rapping and a brief high note that alludes to his skillset. In terms of the instrumentation, I found LUCKY ROCKY to be quite dynamic. I really liked the funky direction the brass elements gave the song, providing an ultimate groovy flair. But in addition to that, LUCKY ROCKY also had some time incorporate a three different styles into the instrumental break – a jazzy moment, edgy rock and some tap-dancing sounds. The hooks do feel somewhat underbaked, but I think more listens to LUCKY ROCKY can help change my impression of the hooks. Overall, an all-rounded song to begin ROCKY’s official solo career. I just wished there was more to the song in terms of length.

The music video begins with ROCKY looking down on an art gallery that is very plain and bare. This is further emphasised by the grayscale filter. It isn’t until the song kicks in almost half a minute into the video and ROCKY is dancing does colour come into play in the video and the art appears, which is a nice progression in terms of the video. From there, ROCKY sings and dance in the rest of the video both in and outside the art gallery. I did like the floating umbrella, which was a nice illusion. My only wish with the video was that the dance break did not have as bad lighting as it did. I think there was an opportunity to give some flair to the video during that part through some dynamic lighting.

Watching his performance today, you can definitely tell that ROCKY is in his natural habitat whilst on stage. ROCKY and the routine were captivating to watch, with the highlights for me being the twists incorporated into the routine, the cool tap-dancing and oomph he channeled during the rock part of his dance break. His charisma was shown off well and he looked like he had a ball on stage.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 10/10
Overall Rating – 8.4/10

[Review] OOTD – Dreamcatcher

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Dreamcatcher’s BONVOYAGE is nominated for Best Rock Song of 2023 in the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support BONVOYAGE and your other favourite artists, songs and performance, click here to vote today.

Dreamcatcher is officially back this week as well with their 9th mini-album VillainS and their latest single OOTD. This new releases follows their Apocalypse: From Us and BONVOYAGE comeback from earlier in the year.

To me, OOTD is probably Dreamcatcher’s weakest title track, to date. For the most part, OOTD‘s handles itself well. Once again, Dreamcatcher continues their signature rock sound that is synonymous with the group. OOTD differs by opting for a more electronica profile, which does have its merits. I really like how thick and grungy the rock sounds, which is a completely different vibe to the songs that Dreamcatcher have put out previously. The pre-choruses was probably the best part of the song, with the vocals bringing out a sleek and flirty vibe that I dig. The rest of the vocals and rapping in OOTD were pretty good, but there were some moments that I felt the members were too neutral, such as the rap-speak and slighter vocals that makes up the chorus. But the neutral vocals is only one of the reasons as to why I felt the chorus was a let down and left me unsure about the song. After all, the central part of the song is probably the most important part for the song to nail. It features an the anti-drop in the first half and a feeble attempt to rebuild itself after said anti-drop in the second half. I just felt the second half plays it too safe and keeps the energy to a minimum. This didn’t do the rest of OOTD justice and it held back the potential the song had to be a smashing number. The producers should have really amped up the second half of the chorus, to give it some punch and justify the anti-drop. Overall, while OOTD does continue Dreamcatcher’s sound, it is missing the spark that makes it scream “Dreamcatcher” to me.

Most of the music videos that we have seen from Dreamcatcher in the past have contained some kind of fantastical theme or element to them. This one doesn’t. Instead, Dreamcatcher are depicted as models in this video, showing off their OOTD. The members’ visual game in this video is definitely strong and their outfits and styling are stunning. In fact, their outfits where their don their hats is by far their most striking look in this entire video, especially when its comes to Siyeon’s hair. The virtual concept they had going on also looks quite cool, though I am not entirely sure what is going on. All I can say is that ending with the POV person drops down with the members just standing there and the computer screen later on just buffers was fairly creepy to watch.

The choreography for this comeback was both sharp and striking, and I really liked that. I particularly like their creative formations and how they moved about on stage. The routine itself also works well with the lyrics, giving the members to show off their looks and outfits.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 8.5/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.1/10

[Review] Amnesia – VIXX

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Support your other favourite artists, songs and performance in the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards by clicking here to vote today.

It has been a definite while since I last exclaimed this but – VIXX IS BACK! If you have been an avid reader of this blog, you probably know that I am a major VIXX fans, with their concepts being one of the best (if not, the best) in the industry. This time around, VIXX returns as a trio (LEO, KEN and HYUK) with their fifth mini-album, Continuum and the lead single Amnesia. Due to pre-existing schedules, N is sitting out of the comeback, while Hongbin and Ravi both withdrew from VIXX after separate controversaries. VIXX’s last comebacks reviewed on this blog includes Scentist (for Korea) and Reincarnation (for Japan).

Amnesia is a pretty solid song. Right from the get-go in the first verse, I could sense the familiarity from the vocals. I liked that they didn’t try to reinvent themselves to fit this new era, keeping everything pretty much on par as when VIXX was previously active. The instrumental in the verses of Amnesia has this haunting-like vibe to them, which gives off some suspense to help build up the atmosphere and song. The vocals throughout Amnesia were firm and gives the song a very serious tone, which suits the group well. Amnesia‘s choruses has some nice hooks and melodies, which keeps the central piece of the song in my mind. I also really liked the added guitar in the choruses, which helps amps up Amnesia and gives off a more intensified energy that the verses were building up towards. But while Amnesia is good as it is, I did think the song was missing at least two elements. The first is that Amnesia lacks boldness. I needed some definition in this song of some kind to help heighten the song to a new level. The second element comes to mind after comparing Amnesia to past VIXX tracks – the lack of rapping in the song. This does make sense to a degree, as any member who took on that role would be very big shoes to fill following RAVI’s usual roughness and unique rapping style which has definitely formed part of VIXX’s sound. But had the song had a rap sequence of some kind, such as some rapping on top of a rock-influenced instrumental piece to help back up the chorus, this could have also helped resolve the issue of that much needed boldness and possibly taken Amnesia further. As it is, Amnesia is, without a doubt, an appreciated comeback from one of my favourite KPOP groups of all time. But it does lack some of the familiarity that I have associated with VIXX since their debut.

Now, if there is one thing to know about VIXX, it is that they have amazingly dark concepts. And this music video is no exception, with the video featuring a concept about about past memories and how they could be haunting. But Amnesia‘s lyrics convey the meaning of pulling each other in close even within distorted memories (taken from Soompi). So in addition to the past memories, we see what the lyrics convey in two forms in this music video. Firstly, we see the members comes to terms with their own past memories, which looks to be about love or themselves. But secondly, we also them coming together and reuniting as part of the music video towards the end, which I thought was a nice yet different take on the lyrics. I also like the music video’s way of showing their memories were escaping them, with that fume/smoky-like effect coming out of them. And when the video ends and they have remembered those memories, those fume/smoky-like effects are pulled back in.

Another thing that I do remember VIXX by are their performances. While we do not see much in this music video, what we do see looks good. I am hoping stage performances are on the cards for this comeback, so we can see what else the choreography for Amnesia have to offer.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8/10

[Review] WATCH IT – THE BOYZ

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THE BOYZ has been nominated for Best Male Group, Best Male Dance Performance (Group) for ROAR and Best Music Video (for ROAR) in the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. If you want to support THE BOYZ and your other favourite artists, songs and performance, click here to vote today.

THE BOYZ kicked off this week with the second part of their PHANTASY studio album, with this instalment titled Sixth Sense. It features the title track WATCH IT and follows on from the Christmas in August instalment, which was lead by the single LIP GLOSS. While the comeback does feature all members of THE BOYZ, member Ju Hakyeon will be sitting out of promotions due to a back injury.

Now, this is one cool and sleek song. When I first checked out WATCH IT on Monday upon its release, there were two parts of the song that really stood out to me – the melody in the vocal parts of the pre-choruses and Sunwoo’s “Hi hello, My name is what you want it to” line in the second verse. I was instantly reaching for the replay button to relive those two segments. Further listens has helped me identify the bridge to be another highlight of WATCH IT, especially with Jacob’s high note that just blows me away. All of this sets the bar up quite high, and the rest of WATCH IT follows through quite well. I really like the subtle funkiness in the instrumentation, but also the rough synths and bass that is present in the background. This all puts WATCH IT into the realm of dance music, but the producers did a really great job of making it alluring and mature-sounding. The low-groan deliver of the chorus is very interesting, but works with the subtle funkiness and low bass that is going on in the background. All of the rapping brings the sleekness that I mentioned earlier, forming a very prominent feature in WATCH IT that needs to be touched on somehow. I like how the vocal segments help spreads everything apart. And as mentioned above, the vocals serves us with some of the best parts of WATCH IT. All in all, I am very impressed with the likes of WATCH IT.

I feel like the music video is probably the weakest link of this comeback. And it comes down to a pretty small detail, if I am being honest (relying on what I got out of the video that is). What we saw in terms of visuals, choreography scenes and styling was pretty much top-notch and amazing. The members looked very fine throughout the video and the choreography shots all looked very polished. But it is the plot line that I think is in the music video somewhat that left me a bit confused. We went from a shady jewelry store front to a truck explosion, and I am not entirely sure what this is all about. The cat and something in Juyeon’s blood vessels also leaves me scratching my head. And I feel like the music video was lacking a fair bit in between to really tell that story. Or, I could be missing a prequel video and that might fill in all of the gaps, or I am overthinking what could just be what is supposed to be a “cool” set of scenes. Happy for you to point me in the right direction or to comment on any theories that I should know about.

The flow of this choreography, especially with moves across the stage (such as the slow glide during Sunwoo’s “Hi Hello” line in the second verse), brings that sleekness featured in the song to the choreography. And like all THE BOYZ performances, I am in awe with their showmanship and skills that they show off in the performance on stage. I would have liked to have seen a more defining move during the chorus, but this routine is already pretty fantastic as it is.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9.5/10
Overall Rating – 8.8/10

[Weekly KPOP Chart] 3rd Week of November 2023

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Welcome back to the Weekly KPOP Charts, this time for the 3rd Week of November 2023. I was on a bit of a break over the weekend and the last two days for some personal stuff. But I am back! Firstly, the Weekly KPOP Charts for the 3rd Week of November 2023. And later tonight, some new song review posts, which I am excited about. So let’s get cracking!

ICYMI – 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards

So, in case you missed it, the official voting page for the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards went live last week and you can access it here to vote for your favourite 2023 acts that were nominated under each category. Remember, your votes will help decide the official winners under each category, so make sure you vote today have your say!

Recap of 3rd Week of November 2023

Here is a brief recap of the posts from the 3rd Week of November 2023:

In addition to Red Velvet and ENHYPEN’s releases, we also saw the following new songs released (and these songs have been entered into the Weekly KPOP Chart system, as well):

  • Hmm-cheat – Crush
  • Kiss Me Now – MIRANI
  • Starting Over – L (INFINITE)
  • Holy Grail – NTX
  • War Cry – &TEAM
  • On And On – AMPERS&ONE
  • A Very Personal Story – DAVICHI
  • I Still Believe In Santa – DeVita
  • Scratch – Giuk (ONEWE)
  • Angel – A.C.E
  • Dominance – AIDEN
  • Double Down – EASTSHINE
  • LOCO – 3YE
  • NOBODY – Jeon Soyeon ((G)I-DLE), Winter (aespa), LIZ (IVE)
  • hatemyself – Amber Liu (f(x))
  • Amigos – BIBI & Becky G
  • Why – Jay Park
  • DIE 4 YOU – DEAN
  • BLUSH – Narsha (Brown Eyed Girls) ft. Babylon

Non-Korean song of the week

ITZY’s Japanese single RINGO is this week’s top Non-Korean song of the week. It ranks in the 16th position this week.

The Charts

Congratulations to Stray Kids and their comeback single LALALALA for rising to the top of my Weekly KPOP Charts for the 3rd Week of November 2023. For more of the charts, keep on scrolling down below.

Pos.SongArtistChange
1LALALALAStray Kids(▲ 3)
2Chill KillRed Velvet(NEW)
3RUCKUSGHOST9(▲ 30)
4Do ItYoungjae (GOT7)(▲ 18)
5God of MusicSEVENTEEN(▼ 2)
6CRUSHZEROBASEONE(▼ 5)
7Dramaaespa(▼ 1)
8Love itYOUNITE(▲ 51)
9Feel MeGolden Child(▼ 7)
10TROUBLEEVNEE(▼ 5)
11Chasing That FeelingTXT(▲ 1)
12Sweet VenomENHYPEN(NEW)
13GuiltyTAEMIN (SHINee)(▲ 14)
14Break the BrakeXdinary Heroes(▲ 45)
15In The MoodWhee In (MAMAMOO)(▲ 19)
16RINGOITZY(▲ 1)
17BaddieIVE(▼ 10)
18SignalROA (Rocking Doll)(▲ 41)
19Never Try To Look BackLee Jinsol(▲ 40)
20ScratchGIUK (ONEWE)(NEW)
21Bad NewsKISS OF LIFE(▲ 9)
22DEEP IN LOVEGreatGuys(▲ 37)
23JUNK FOODOMEGA X(▲ 36)
24Talk SexyRIIZE(▼ 5)
25To My BoyfriendILY:1(▲ 34)
26STRANGERSUNMI(▼ 8)
27THIS IS LOVEQueenz Eye(▲ 32)
28Kiss Me BabyE’LAST(▲ 1)
29DALALAYUJU(▲ 30)
30Either WayKISS OF LIFE(▲ 10)

Songs leaving the charts

The following songs have wrapped up their nine week run in the charts system, and will no longer be on the charts from next week:

  • DALALA – Yuju
  • NEW TOMORROW – FANTASY BOYS
  • Win For You – Im Siwan (ZE:A) & Winter (aespa)
  • Wonder – The Rose

[Review] Break the Brake – Xdinary Heroes

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Xdinary Heroes is nominated for a range of awards this year in the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards, such as for Best Band Performance (for Break the Brake), Best Ballad (for Good Enough), Best Rock Song (for Break the Brake) and Rising Star of 2023. If you want to support Xdinary Heroes and your other favourite artists, songs and performance, click here to vote today.

I kick the week off with a review for another song that I should have reviewed when it was first released. Xdinary Heroes dropped their fourth mini-album Livelock and the lead single Break The Brake over a month ago. This latest release follows on from Xdinary Heroes’ April 2023 comeback with the mini-album Deadlock and the lead single Freakin’ Bad.

There is a reason to why I nominated Break the Brake for Best Rock Song of 2023 in the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. I just love how relentless the song gets when the rock really peaks in the chorus, which pretty much satisfies the rock craving in me. Break the Brake without doubt has a lot of head-banging potential behind it. The guitar work and drumming just feels so electrifying and energetic. The guitar shredding we get towards the end of Break the Brake was definitely very intense and cool, but I agree with the majority that the guitar solo was too brief. The synth work we get when the rock elements are stripped away adds an additional layer of cool energy and flair that makes Break the Brake unique. The groans in the background of the chorus also introduces a screamo-like vibe to the song, adding to the energy and intensity of the song. I do remember thinking the hooks were a little under baked when I first heard the song. But over a month on from its release, I find the hooks of Break the Brake (i.e., the “I’m gonna break the brake” and the “I want some more/gimme some more yeah” lines) to be super catchy. The rough vocals adds to the rock aesthetics and gives the song further texture. Break the Brake is an even more awesome song and highlights Xdinary Heroes trajectory as artists (which is also the reason why they are nominated for Rising Star of 2023).

The music video for Break the Brake sees another Groundhog Day situation, with the members again being prisoners (just this time they are being transported by train) and waking up again and again when the train goes straight into a massive dust cloud. Using the prisoner revolt as cover, the members show their determination in trying to survive the dust cloud and rescuing their instruments by ensuring the train doesn’t slow down as it approach the dust cloud (which kills them) and that they travel full speed out of the dust cloud to survive (and go to where the grass is very much greener). It is a pretty cool concept, but I must admit the CGI police car that speeds to catch up with the train was pretty bad. I also like how the video feels action-packed, which correlates well with the song.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9/10

[Album Review] [PHANTASY] Pt. 1 Christmas in August (2nd Studio Album – Part 1) – THE BOYZ

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THE BOYZ has been nominated for Best Male Group, Best Male Dance Performance (Group) for ROAR and Best Music Video (for ROAR) in the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. If you want to support THE BOYZ and your other favourite artists, songs and performance, click here to vote today.

In case you missed it, THE BOYZ announced that their 2nd studio album, which will be split into three parts throughout the second half of 2023. The second part of the album will actually be released this coming Tuesday. But before we get to hear PHANTASY Pt. 2: Sixth Sense and their new title track WATCH IT, here is my review of PHANTASY Pt. 1: Christmas in August, which was released in (you guessed it) August of this year. It features the title track LIP GLOSS and the unit track Passion Fruit (along with an additional 4 tracks).

PHANTASY Pt. 1: Christmas In July Album Cover

1. LIP GLOSS (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for LIP GLOSS. (9/10)

2. Passion Fruit – Passion Fruit features a small subset of THE BOYZ – Younghoon, Hyunjae, Juyeon, Q, Sunwoo. I like how groovy this track ended up being, despite it also being very dance centric thanks to the heftiness of the synths. Passion Fruit is also very catchy, with its simple yet effectively repetitive hooks. The autotuned groan-like sample that features in the background is also quite catchy. The hip-hop motif that Passion Fruit turns to in the second verse was also pretty cool. (8.5/10)

3. Lighthouse – Lighthouse feels very quintessential THE BOYZ to me, which is appropriate for bringing the group back together. It has that similar vibe to many of their past side tracks, and also carries a familiarity to it. The percussive instrumental was pretty cool, but I felt like it was competing with the vocals and rapping a bit too much. It doesn’t help that the vocals and rapping are pretty standard and doesn’t offer anything to get them to stand out. The only part of Lighthouse that does offer something different is the higher pitched vocals in the chorus. But that is not enough to compensate for the rest of the typical the vocals and rapping brought Lighthouse). (7/10)

4. Fantasize (줄리의 법칙) – The strong presence of bass and grooviness in Fantasize serves as a solid background to the song. From there, Fantasize ends up developing into an upbeat and lively dance track. And there is a lot to like in the track, such as the low and breathy vocals throughout the song (with the vocal processing in the bridge adding some further well-appreciated texture), the cymbals in the pre-choruses (which adds so much punch to the song) and the catchy Oooh’s in the chorus. A definitely highlight on this mini-album. (10/10)

5. Fire Eyes – The electro pop in Fire Eyes carries a very retro vibe, which I do like. This is particularly felt the most during the choruses, via the bubbly synth work in the bridge and the additional synthesizer-like sequence towards the end of the song. The upbeat energy is also very continuous, and I like how straightforward and easy on the ears the hooks of Fire Eyes were. My biggest issue with the song is how blurry the members sound throughout the song, which is thanks to the overprocessing of vocals. (7/10)

6. Fairy Tale (나만 아는 이야기) – The final song on the mini-album is titled Fairy Tale. Despite expectations for a dreamier track due to the song’s title and placement on this mini-album, Fairy Tale ends up being another dance track, falling towards the pop genre more than anything else. Fairy Tale does feel much lighter, compared to the earlier tracks. This goes extremely well with the vocals, which do feel a tad dreamy and light, as well. The rapping adds texture and intensity to the song without disrupting the lightness/dreamy motif, but I felt the rapping could have been sharper. But overall, it is a neat song to end the album on. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.3/10

PHANTASY Pt. 1: Christmas In July Teaser Image

[Album Review] HARMONY: ALL IN (6th Mini Album) – P1Harmony

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I am finally back with a new album review. Apologies for the absence of these types of posts over the last few weeks, I have been busy preparing for the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards, which is now officially in the fan-voting stage. So if you have yet to vote, please do so to help decide the winners of the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards.

Anyhow, this album review post is for P1Harmony’s HARMONY: ALL IN album, which dropped back in June of this year. It features a total of six songs, including the title track JUMP. I had originally intended to review the album much earlier on, but ended up passing over it due to some time commitments. But now that I don’t have a time pressure, I thought to revisit the mini-album before I move onto albums released during the month of August, given that I have previously reviewed some of P1Harmony’s albums in the past. Continue reading to see how HARMONY: ALL IN stacks up against some of my thoughts on past P1Harmony albums: HARMONY: SET IN, HARMONY: ZERO IN and DISHARMONY: FIND OUT,

HARMONY: ALL IN Album Cover

1. JUMP (Title Track) – Click here for the full review for JUMP. (7.5/10)

2. Love Me For Me – The second track on this mini-album takes on a much brighter and bubblier energy that contrasts well with the title track. Instantly, I am reminded for SEVENTEEN’s Snapshoot from a couple of years back. I like how self-love song suits the Summery season that the album was released in. The piano in the background just brings out a nostalgic form of fun and feel-good vibe. The members don’t really hold back and their delivery, especially in the chorus, genuinely sounds like they were having a blast. The central piece of Love Me For Me was also catchy. The rapping in the pre-chorus was a great electrifying incline towards the chorus, while Keeho’s melodic vocals in the bridge was also amazing. (8.5/10)

3. New Classic – New Classic is such a cool song. Interestingly, the electronic dance track comes off subdued, but the synths give New Classic buoyancy to offset the subdued nature. Together, I find the backing of New Classic to feel balanced and not too obnoxious (which too much of the synth detailing could easily have made New Classic slip into). It makes sense for the rapping to take over as the main delivery mechanism in the song, but the vocals in the pre-choruses and bridge we did get were nice. And with an instrumental break like the one we get in the bridge of New Classic, you can already imagine a cool dance break on stage performed by the lead dancer Soul himself. (9/10)

4. More Than Words – For me, it is the pleasant rhythm that wins me in More Than Words. And this comes about from the heavier reliance on vocals in the song and percussive instrumentation, both of which I quite enjoyed. The vocals just feel so groovy and sleek at the same time, which I think is another positive aspect of the song. More Than Words constrict the rapping to the second verse and the bridge, but I felt this consolidation makes the rapping feel super effective and cool in the song. (9/10)

5. Heartbeat Drum – Every time I hear Heartbeat Drum, the start of the song reminds me of P!NK’s So What, which itself is an iconic pop rock song. Heartbeat Drum develops more into an electronic dance track, but the chanty and beaty energy of the song makes it sound so good and catchy. The vocals and rapping are very much on par with one another, and I really like how cool and chic it gets. I also like the grandness of some of the beats in the background, as well. (9/10)  

6. I Am You – For the final song on this mini-album, I Am You takes us down more of a sensual and sultry R&B road. It is a very different sound from their P1Harmony’s usual reliance on electronic synths, such as in all of their earlier tracks on this mini-album. The rawness of the guitar in the background adds to the mature vibe of the song, while their vocals did an excellent job of adding to that sensual vibe I already mentioned. Given the group’s usual sound, I would love to see a performance for I Am You, just to see how P1Harmony would interpret this track on stage. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.5/10

HARMONY: ALL IN Teaser Image

[Review] Sweet Venom – ENHYPEN

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ENHYPEN’s Criminal Love performance at M COUNTDOWN is nominated for Best Special Performance of 2023 in the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. If you want to support ENHYPEN and your other favourite artists, songs and performance, click here to vote today.

ENHYPEN finishes off the week with their latest single Sweet Venom, and their fifth mini-album, ORANGE BLOOD. This is serves as the group’s first comeback since their DARK BLOOD mini-album, which was led by the single BITE ME. Sweet Venom also follows their second world tour and Japanese debut.

ENHYPEN taps very deeply into the retro genre with a sleek and groovy number. Sweet Venom is definitely likeable, with its catchy hooks and charismatic vocals from the members of ENHYPEN on top of the retro influences. The falesttos are definitely a nice touch and gives some variety (something the song was missing to a large degree – more on that in a second). The bass also makes the beats feel hefty, which naturally gives Sweet Venom some much needed oomph. And nothing screams retro as much as cowbells, which we definitely got in the bridge of the song. But while all of that was greatly appreciated, my initial impression of Sweet Venom was that it was a bit too consistent, and unfortunately never went anywhere. And it does bring me pain to say that, especially since the energy of Sweet Venom is just so strong and enjoyable. The song just never deviated in anyway, and so it sounded the same all throughout. I just wished there was more to Sweet Venom to offset that and give the song some more variety.

I find the music video for Sweet Venom to be quite an interesting concept. The song itself describes the desire to stop living in order to be with their lover, by relating their love to ‘sweet venom’. In the music video, we see the world stop around ENHYPEN. At first, it is whilst the group is just hanging around with the people in the background, so we don’t think much about it. But the later choreography shots show time stopped as lightning is about to strike. The video goes to the idea that time stops just as someone is about to die, as it is supposedly the final moment they could ever remember if they were about to die. In this case, ENHYPEN is about to die from the lightning strikes (as they mention in the song) and the time stoppage around them is what they would remember as their final moment. The choreography shots bring a bit of irony into play, which I like. In addition to the interesting concept, I really like the MJ homage the outfits have, which works well with the retro side of the song.

Choreography-wise, I am also quite impressed. They definitely went down the retro route with their performance, as well, which just encapsulates everything the song stands for. I really like their synchronisation and the smoothness of the choreography at certain parts. The side to side movement of their heads, in tandem with the catchy parts of Sweet Venom, will probably go down as the defining move of the routine.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 10/10
Overall Rating – 8.7/10

[Review] RUCKUS – GHOST9

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Support your other favourite artists, songs and performance in the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards by clicking here to vote today.

Another artist who has been away from the stage for a long time (i.e., 1 year and 6 months) is GHOST9. We last saw them promotions of X-Ray in April 2022. Well, that is the case if you only count releasing new music. If you consider other work more broadly, GHOST9 did appear on the survival show PEAK TIME earlier this year. At the end of October, the group returned with their 7th mini-album, Arcade: O, and the title track RUCKUS.

RUCKUS is a fair song. For the most part, the song feels pretty standard and doesn’t really offer anything new to the KPOP scene. I do like the funkiness the instrumental has to offer. The backing and vocal work of the first verse and first half of the chorus is a good example of this energy. But while it does continue to recur in RUCKUS, the producers of the song don’t really capitalise on it and opted to include some typical electronic dance elements instead that takes away from the song’s funkiness potential and made it feel pretty ordinary all over. A good example of this typicalness kicks in in the second half of the chorus and the background of the second verse. This I found to be boring and bland. I also find RUCKUS‘ hooks and melodies also contribute to the ordinary nature of the song. Similarly the vocals and rapping for the most part throughout RUCKUS required to bring it all to life has a similar effect. The only other aspect of RUCKUS that I like aside from the funky instrumentation is the anthem-like chant in the bridge. That was pretty catchy and is a nice relief from the ordinariness that RUCKUS exudes elsewhere in the song.

The music video for RUCKUS sees the members being inserted into an underground hockey game and pitted against each other, while some hooded figures watch the game. Following the game, the group are held in a room, where they fight one another. But before anything major breaks out, it looks like the room fills up with gas that knocks them out. After that, they wake up and prepare for a second competition of parkour. But it is during this competition that all 8 members make a run for it. It is later revealed that fight they had was fake and they were hatching a plan to escape. They end up facing the hooded figures in the end and fight them to win back their freedom, which they are successful in doing. While I think this is decent story line, I think it could be teased out a bit more and I wish it had not been crammed into just a 3 and half minute video.

The choreography looks good. Again, I don’t see anything that stands out as a major move. But it is still a decent routine that works well with the song. I did find it a bit odd that the members didn’t have similar hairstyles like in the music video. While I didn’t mention it above, the glow we got from their hairstyles at the end of the music video could potentially be iconic had more people seen it, and the stage performances would have been a great conduit for that.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 8.5/10
Performance – 7.5/10
Overall Rating – 7.6/10

[Special] 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards – Voting is now open!

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Welcome to the official voting post for the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards!

Over the last two weeks, I have posted the Nominations for the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards and my personal choice (i.e., KPOPREVIEWED’s Choice) of whom I think are worthy of being winners under each of the 26 categories.

BUT I don’t select the official winners. You do! For the 36 categories in which I nominated 6 songs, artists or performances for, you are the very people who gets to decide who, or which song, or performance, the winner is.

You will also have the opportunity to nominate at least one artist and song (and up to 3 of each, if you wish) that you think is worthy of being crowned the ‘Best Overall Artist of 2023’ and ‘Best Overall Song of 2023’ respectively. The criteria of these two awards are determined via 50/50 split of fan votes and KPOPREVIEWED’s Weekly KPOP Chart.

Your votes in the two categories mentioned above also determine who the Most Popular Artist and Most Popular Song of 2023 is, as well.

So without further ado, I declare the voting form to be officially open. If you want your vote to count, you must answer all mandatory questions in the form.

The voting form will close 15 January 2024 (11:59 PM AEDT).

If you are unable to see the Google Form below, using a mobile device, or have issues loading the form, please click the link to open the form in another tab to vote with ease!

[Review] Chill Kill – Red Velvet

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Red Velvet has made their return to the stage, almost a year on from their last comeback with Birthday and The ReVe Festival 2022 – Birthday. This time around, the group is back with their 3rd studio-length album Chill Kill, and the title track of the same name. Aside from a collaboration last Christmas with aespa and concerts earlier this year, it has been fairly quiet for Red Velvet. They did face contract negotiations as they are in their 7th year as a group, but the only news coming out of that is Seulgi re-signed with SM Entertainment. We haven’t heard too much about the future of Red Velvet, asides from the news of this comeback with Chill Kill.

I liked Chill Kill. It could be that being deprived of Red Velvet for so long makes the release more enticing (similar to how hunger can be a great seasoning for any meal). But I genuinely think that Chill Kill is a great song. I really liked the creepy and eerie beginning of the song and the atmosphere that it creates. The bass elements and detailing in the verses gives Chill Kill so much likeable oomph, while the vocals and rapping in the verses was very solid. The vocal and rapping combination, along with the intensification, in the pre-choruses makes the incline towards the chorus to be feel very familiar. The chorus interestingly brings a nice pop of colour, turning away from the atmosphere that Chill Kill started off with. The harmonies when the members sing together also brings forth that familiar sense that I just mentioned. I also like the splash of retro in the bridge, which was a nice change in sound. The thumping beat that accompanies the bridge was a nice touch and adds to the pop energy of the song, while the vocals were beautiful. Now the song isn’t perfect, and the high pitched flute-like synth in the chorus is a prime example of this. It is one of the unlikeable aspects of Chill Kill due to its unsettling nature. But thinking back to the roots of Chill Kill, I wonder if that was intentional. I am also not a fan of how the song suddenly fades away in the end. It feels incomplete and I wished the ending was more satisfying. Looking back at the entirety of Chill Kill, I also wish the song went deeper into the energies it exuded, by concentrating the creepy/eerie energy of the verses and the pop influences of the chorus, to really take it to the next level. Something felt missing from Chill Kill and I think it was that.

The music video for Chill Kill features the members being trapped in the basement and it looks like they were held captive by the man with no face in the picture. They try to entertain themselves to pass time, but try not to attract too much attention to themselves. One day, they hear a disturbance upstairs and Wendy (and after a while, the rest of the group) go investigate. It is unclear whether the man with no face dies during the disturbance, or whether Wendy has something to do it (given there was a short period of time in which she was alone upstairs and there is a scene where there is blood on her face). But what we do know is that the members discover the body. Determined not ruin their lives, the members hatch a plan to hide the body and crime scene. During the sequence of washing blood, cleaning the floors and rolling the body up in a rug, there are two members to look out for. Firstly, Yeri is seen detached from the group during the cleaning scenes. I think she realizes that Wendy might have something to do with the death and the members didn’t just stumble into a crime scene. If not that, I think stepping into the blood might give her some trauma and her becoming ‘detached’ by watching the TV is her way of coping with the situation. Wendy is seen breaking down a number of times, and she goes off by herself at one point (presumably to hand herself in and save the rest of the group). But Seulgi holds her back. And with the support of one another, they end up staying together. The members go out to buy gasoline to douse the body and house they are in (though, I did find it funny that the group took the bus with massive bottles of gasoline). After setting the place on fire and watching it for a bit, they run away. But they are later caught by the authorities (maybe someone noticed them on the bus =and reported it to the police). However, we do see the members stick together at the very end. Interesting music video and I love these darker concepts from Red Velvet.

The choreography that we do see in the music video looks quite good. Nothing really stands out. But knowing Red Velvet’s track record for their performances, I don’t think we need to worry about that – it would still be worth watching. The chorus routine matches up quite well with the pop sound of the choruses, and I like the smiling energy they have during this same sequence.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 10/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.9/10