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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.

[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

[Review] Do It – Youngjae (GOT7)

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Youngjae made his solo comeback last week with his first studio album and title track, both of which are titled Do It. Since his last review on the blog (2022’s SUGAR), Youngjae has gone a tour with following his 2022 mini-album that Sugar is featured on, released a digital single Err Day earlier this year (which is featured on the new album), and has been active in a musical and on his radio show.

Youngjae’s Do It is a simple and melodic pop track. It is simple to the point where there isn’t too much to say about the song, which can either be a good or bad observation. Since I am a fan of Youngjae’s, I will admit I lean towards the “good”. Do It is straight forward, easy to get into and feels like an extension of Youngjae’s bubbly and ‘boy next door’ personality that I have grown to associate with the artist. The instrumental was warm and inviting, featuring a slight groove that makes the background enjoyable. Youngjae, himself, offers a lightness to Do It via his vocals and melodies that makes it a pleasant and easy-on-the-ears listen (as already mentioned). The flow of Do It is also quite good. While everything I have mention points towards Do It being a very lovely song to listen to, I do find Do It to be quite quite reserved and safe. It barely strays away from how it starts. I wish Youngjae offered something with a bit more flair, especially since I do think that Youngjae has the potential to offer something else that isn’t too straight forward and simple. But nonetheless, Do It is still an enjoyable song.

While Do It is pretty safe and simple, the music video is much more than that. In the music video for Do It, we see Youngjae develop a crush on a waitress at the diner. He follows her out of the diner when she goes out to throw out the trash, but he is met with no one outside and a truck crashes into him shortly after. From there, we see Youngjae wake up in his bed (very much alive) and the calendar flip backwards, suggesting a Groundhog Day type of scenario. Throughout the subsequent scenes, we see Youngjae pursue the waitress in what looks to be romantic scenes (e.g., the infamous Tobey McGuire Spiderman catching his crush/lunch tray of food scene; putting headphones on his crush’s head like in that one romantic movie; shooting a zombie to save his crush from being bitten etc.). But they all end horribly in some form (e.g., Youngjae fails at catching the food and causes a mess for his crush to clean up/looks uncool; rocks up to the party with headphones in hand but finds crush is embracing someone else; crush was already bitten, turned into a zombie and ends up biting Youngjae), which all result in Youngjae waking up at the start of the same day. The only way out is to successfully catch the waitress’ attention. And in the end, we don’t really know if he was successful – though the ending is open ended. Other than that, the video shows off the bubbly and fun side of Youngjae, exploring different concepts and looks that all look great on Youngjae.

Every time I watch the performance for Do It, I found myself smiling. That bubbly (recurring word of the post!) and fun nature comes through the choreography, and Youngjae’s interaction with the dancers adds to that directly. I really like the set of moves at the start of the chorus (up until and including the body wave) – this sequence pretty serves as the key dance point of the routine.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 8.4/10

[Weekly KPOP Chart] 2nd Week of November 2023

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Welcome back to the Weekly KPOP Charts, this time for the 2nd Week of November 2023. Thanks again for the patience this week after I recovered from preparing for the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards (more on that below). But as you can see from yesterday, I am back to reviewing songs. And I am hoping to have restarted on album reviews from next weekend! But until then, more reviews are coming your way as my backlog gets bigger and bigger. But firstly, the Weekly KPOP Charts for the 2nd Week of November 2023.

ICYMI – 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards

So in the case you have not been tuning into the blog the last two weeks, I have launched the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards with the ‘Coming Soon’ post posted on 1 November 2023. This was followed by the nominations across 36 categories in the Nominations Post on 5 November 2023, and finally the KPOPREVIEWED’s Choice (which is essentially my choice of winner under each category) post on 10 November 2023.

All is left is the launch of the annual fan voting period, which will be posted mid this week on the 15 November. During this period, you will be voting on who will be the official winners of each category, which I will be announcing the result of at the end of February 2024. So keep tuning in for the chance to vote!

Recap of the past week

In addition to the nominations and KPOPREVIEWED Choice for the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards as mentioned above, I have also posted reviews for the following new releases: ZEROBASEONE’s CRUSH, Stray Kids’ LALALALA and aespa’s Drama.

Joining ZEROBASEONE, Stray Kids and aespa, we also saw the following new releases this week:

  • DEEP IN LOVE – GreatGuys
  • LIME (I’m So) – Baek Ah Yeon
  • Our Story – CMDM
  • Do It – Youngjae (GOT7)
  • Effortless – A.C.E
  • JUNK FOOD – OMEGA X
  • Bad News – KISS OF LIFE
  • AGASSY – Soojin
  • BANG! – WHIB
  • Fall In Love Again – P1Harmony
  • While I’m In Love – Hwang Chi Yeul
  • Miss You – Bang Yedam
  • EVERYBODY H8S ME – Suil (LUMINOUS)

Throwback Song of the Week

While digging through the last year of releases for the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. I rediscovered BoA’s Forgive Me, which I had originally gone to nominate for an award, but the other competitors in said category nudged BoA’s Forgive Me out. And due to the amount of listens I gave Forgive Me, it was natural for me to include it as this week’s Throwback Song (even if it was released a year ago!).

Non-Korean song of the week

Jung Kook’s collaboration with Jack Harlow, 3D, is this week’s top Non-Korean song of the week. It ranks in the 4th position this week.

The Charts

Congratulations to ZEROBASEONE and their comeback single CRUSH for debuting at the top of my Weekly KPOP Charts for the 2nd Week of November 2023. For more of the charts, keep on scrolling down below.

Pos.SongArtistChange
1CRUSHZEROBASEONE(NEW)
2Feel MeGolden Child(▲ 7)
3God of MusicSEVENTEEN(▼ 1)
4LALALALAStray Kids(NEW)
5TROUBLEEVNNE(▲ 6)
6Dramaaespa(NEW)
7BaddieIVE(▲ 16)
83DJung Kook (BTS) ft. Jack Harlow(▲ 47)
9Love EffectONF(▲ 7)
10HEARTRISNiziU(▼ 7)
11MANIACVIVIZ(▲ 4)
12Chasing That FeelingTXT(▲ 9)
13Sure Thing82MAJOR(▲ 57)
14INDEPENDENT WOMANeite(▲ 29)
15Psychowithus(▲ 55)
16Fact CheckNCT 127(▼ 8)
17RINGOITZY(▲ 28)
18STRANGERSUNMI(▲ 52)
19Talk SaxyRIIZE(▲ 10)
20PUPPET SHOWXG(▲ 50)
21All My Life (Stray Kids Remix)Lil Durk & Stray Kids(▲ 49)
22Do ItYoungjae (GOT7)(NEW)
23BYOB (bring your best friend)Billlie(▲ 3)
24So I DancedDPR IAN(▼ 4)
25NEVERLANDNINE.i(▲ 45)
26X.O.XMoon Jongup(▲ 44)
27GuiltyTAEMIN (SHINee)(▼ 26)
28B.O.M.B (kaboom ver.)TREASURE(▲ 42)
29Kiss Me BabyE’LAST(▲ 3)
30Bad NewsKISS OF LIFE(NEW)

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:

  • FLIRTING – mimiirose
  • So I Danced – DPR IAN
  • Back For More – TXT with Anitta
  • Star – DAWN ft. 10CM
  • Heart – DAWN
  • Foolin’ Myself – DINDIN
  • Sensitive – Loossemble
  • Blue – V (BTS)
  • For Us – V (BTS)

[Review] Drama – aespa

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Also making their comeback yesterday was aespa, who returns for the first time since their Better Things single in August. Earlier in the year, it was their single Spicy and third Korean mini-album MY WORLD (both of which are nominated in the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards). Yesterday’s return is with the single Drama and the same-named fourth mini-album.

Drama is probably aespa’s most serious and darkest release yet. And like most other aespa songs, the Drama falls into ther usual electronic dance sound, this time around paired with hip-hop influences and what is described as “an aggressive drum sound and sophisticated synth bass”. However, parts of Drama felt like it was being held back (more on this in a second). When I first heard of the song yesterday, I was super impressed with the verses of Drama. It made for a very good opening and had me sticking around for more. The members’ rapping (Karina’s fast “Ziggy Ziggy Zag, I’m new” was an instant standout line for me) and vocals were very well done, while the clanging synths instrumental felt alluring. As for the chorus, I am a bit disappointed with how plain the producers and members took it. It just felt expressionless and I wished there was character to Drama‘s choruses to it. I also felt the “Drama-ma-ma” and “Trauma-ma-ma” hooks to be a little unimaginative and it went on for one too many rounds, but I must admit they have potential to be ear-wormy moving forward. The bridge itself shows some really good vocals from NingNing and Winter, however I wished the instrumental wasn’t as paced as it was. It really dampened Winter’s high note. I also felt like the final chorus and outro was missing some added concentration in its instrumentation and intensity to signal the end of the song and give us an unforgettable ending. The vocals were all there, but (again) the instrumental felt like it was holding everything back. I wished there was more to Drama, just to make the song more satisfying and have a more energised chorus.

What a super cool music video. Drama has a lot going on, in terms of a plotline and amazing yet simple choreography shots that just give off so much impact. The consistent red on black makes re-emphasises the seriousness of the video and song. While I am not entirely sure what exactly is going on in the video, the video opens up with four intriguing rules that give off a sense to not trust anyone, even the other members from the looks of it. There is also an epic sword fight between the members during the first chorus sequence. As already mentioned, the choreography shots where the members are dressed in black, dancing on the red platform and surrounded by dancers was a very simple yet looked so effortless. The second verse showed a really cool montage of the members dancing (with the dancers) with nothing but pitch darkness surrounding them and the lighting purely focused on them. The outdoor dance location in the carpark with the cars going around them in circle was also an amazing set of scenes.

The performance looks pretty good, as well. I did feel like it was lacking a defining move, as nothing really jumped out at me with that potential. But I did like their more sensual focus in this routine, particularly with the abundance of slower and deliberate movements.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.1/10

[Review] LALALALA – Stray Kids

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Stray Kids is officially back with a brand new single titled LALALALA, which is the lead single off their 8th mini-album, ROCK-STAR. This releases follows from an already busy 2023 for the group, which has consisted of a studio-length album (headlined by the single S-Class, which has been nominated for multiple awards in the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards), 2 Japanese comebacks (The Sound and Social Path – both of which has been nominated for an award in the 2023 KPOPREVIEWED Awards, as well), the continuation of their MANIAC world tour and their 5-STAR Dome Tour (just to name a few key event/releases).

For me, the standout moment in LALALALA is its chorus. It is definitely a continuation of the dynamic and bombastic energy that the group have continuously presented to the audience in their choruses over multiple songs. LALALALA‘s beat translates into foot-stomping energy (which goes hand-in-hand with the performance), while the chorus lines were short, snappy and hooky. The shouty delivery does mean the chorus forgo melodies, but I am not too troubled by it. But nonetheless, it is a sequence that I would gladly go back to. Similarly, the outro sequence, featuring Seungmin and Lee Know’s vocals and Bangchan’s falsetto, ends LALALALA extremely well. On the other hand, the rest of LALALALA just doesn’t feel memorable enough – this comment only comes after a lot of listens to LALALALA under the belt. Yes, the rest of LALALALA (i.e., the verses and bridge) has everything you expect when it comes to a Stray Kids title track, such as powerful rapping and the energy from these sequences never lets up. And I wish to emphasise that the verses and bridge are not bad in any way. But there just wasn’t anything new in these sequences, which made LALALALA feel plain by Stray Kids’ standards and leaves me disappointed with LALALALA. Great centrepiece, but LALALALA could have been better had the rest of the song done more.

Once again, the cinematography seen in the music video is amazing. Particularly, the drone shots at the end of the video were epic and showcases the scale that is LALALALA‘s music video when everyone from all corners of the video are performing LALALALA with the group. From what I can gather from Stray Kids’ reaction to the music video, it begins with the marching band kids (a recurring set of costumes in Stray Kids’ music video) we see throughout the video feeling four types of emotions on stage – anger, happiness, sadness and pleasure, represented by the Hanja characters (and probably all the different settings we see in the video). But as the video progresses, 3 emotions (anger, happiness and sadness) disappear, leaving only pleasure (‘rak’ as pronounced in Korean) behind, highlighting that the kids ultimately felt pleasure whilst performing on stage. Stray Kids’ themselves also theorised that the eight kids on stage are younger versions of themselves (by drawing parallels to their height), which then provides the meaning that Stray Kids feels pleasure whilst performing on stage.

Stray Kids really know how to put on a performance, and I feel that LALALALA‘s performance is testament to that. I really liked the vibration parts at the start the choreography and the foot-stomping in the chorus really channels the energy of LALALALA super well.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.5/10