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.

[Review] Doom Du Doom – P1Harmony

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Support P1Harmony in the Best Overall Artist and Song categories of the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards by clicking here to vote and nominate today!

Another track I am finally getting around to reviewing. P1Harmony returned in July of this year with their fourth mini-album, Harmony: Zero In, and the lead single Doom Du Doom. It follows the group’s earlier comeback in January with Do It Like This and their collaboration with Pink Sweat$, Gotta Get Back. More recently, P1Harmony returned in November with their fifth mini-album and the single Back Down. I will be reviewing that in a future post, which will be coming soon. Also keep your eye out for Harmony: Zero In‘s impending album review, which I am looking to post this weekend. But for now, here is my long overdued review for Doom Du Doom.

I am of the opinion that Doom Du Doom could have gone harder and concentrated itself into a better track. It is already a great track as it is, but I find that it is missing oomph which would have really bolstered up the track and given it an even more memorable ring. Doom Du Doom had a very catchy and playful chorus, which was an expectation formed after hearing the opening refrain. I enjoyed the simple hook and monotonous delivery of the first half of the chorus (which ultimately came off as stylish to me), and the second half of the central piece of Doom Du Doom turned the song into more of a pop piece by amplifying the instrumentation and going with a heavier dose of vocals that flowed well from the first half of the chorus. I did think there was a missed opportunity for the group and their producers to really make the move from the first half to the second half of the chorus more explosive and energetic, just to give Doom Du Doom more of a wow factor. Also, the track is pretty light on when it comes to definition and intensity, which is a slight letdown given that rock tinge thanks to the electric guitar riffs and the amazing rap segments (courtesy of Intak and Jongseob) that appear in the song. An instrumental that features a bit more intensity and some sort of definition would have really aided in bulking Doom Du Doom up and just make those parts a bit more epic. But despite my extra wants and wishes of Doom Du Doom, I still found the released Doom Du Doom to be a fun and memorable track from the group.

The music video jumped on board with that playful side by showing a play on the Olympics. But instead of the Olympics, P1Harmony are participating in the OOOOOO Games and the standard sporting events have been adapted to be more urban and street in this version of the games. Taking boxing choreography, electric guitar baseball, traffic sign throw, cart racing, drone shooting and breaking window (with a grenade) as examples of events at the OOOOOO Games. Much more interesting that the Olympics. There were also opening and closing ceremonies to these games that are pretty low budget, but also make you give off a fun laugh. I definitely enjoyed this video.

The choreography for this comeback was definitely fun. I really liked the isolated moves when it came to the first half of the chorus (and the blank facial expressions made it look funny, which I think was a perfect match for the song). In the routine, Soul got his time to shine, with a dedicated solo freestyle moment in each performance during second half of the second chorus. He amazed me in the performances I have watched with his skills and his flexibility. My bones may be aching when I watch his freestyle, but it is still worth watching given his energy and abilities.

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

[Review] All About You – THE BOYZ

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THE BOYZ is nominated for Best Group Performance (Male) in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards with MAVERICK. Support THE BOYZ and your other favourite artists, songs and performances of the year by clicking here to vote today!

Last week, THE BOYZ released a new single, All About You, to celebrate their 5th anniversary since their debut in 2017. Since their debut, THE BOYZ have definitely risen in the ranks of KPOP groups and are now considered of the biggest male groups in KPOP. This is also THE BOYZ first release since WHISPER and BE AWARE from August this year.

With that piece of context, it is clear as day that All About You is a fan song, with some of the members penning the lyrics to the song for their fans. Usually, I do not say much about these types of songs, as the intention of these tracks tend to be pure and warm-hearted. And plus, I don’t want to look like a prick by saying mean stuff about such a song. All About You is a mid-tempo acoustic pop track that comes as quite pleasant and warming. The verses are melodic and soothing, with the members’ vocals opting for a lower tone. This plays nicely into the pre-choruses, which also opts for a low vocal tone. But this segment has been slightly autotuned to make it come off as monotonous and there is also a panning effect, which gives the song a bit of texture and doesn’t it make it overly smooth. We then proceed into the choruses, which features more defined vocals (relative to the opening verse) and a nice swayable melody that I enjoyed. Rapping makes a presence in the second verse. Usually, raps don’t fit into these songs as well as they do with other styles, but they stood out for me here in All About You. I enjoyed the way it has been moulded into the song and the pace was quite calming. The rest of the song falls into line with what we have heard so far, keeping a nice consistency overall.

The music video fits in nicely with the song. THE BOYZ are just acting casual in the video, as if they are college students and having fun with one another throughout the video. They already appear to be a tight-knitted group in their more ‘behind the scenes’ type of material and other works, but to see it here was quite cute and enjoyable. It is also nice to see Eric as part of the lineup again. For those who may not know, Eric has been sitting out of promotions for a while now due to his health. But he is officially back from the looks of it and it is a nice way to bring him back. Elsewhere, I enjoyed the golden hue of the video, which makes everything appear warm and inviting, which I am sure is the intention of the video, overall.

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

[Review] Hair Cut – Xdinary Heroes

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Xdinary Heroes is nominated for Best New Male Group and Best Band Performance in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support Xdinary Heroes, and your other favourite artists, songs, and performance by clicking here to vote today!

After making a comeback in July of this year with Test Me, Xdinary Heroes made a slightly speedy comeback (relative to the period between their debut and their first comeback) with their latest single Hair Cut and the mini-album Overload. Just over a year ago, Xdinary Heroes made their debut with Happy Death Day, which earned them a few accolades at the recent MAMA Awards and nominations in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Award (where fan voting is still open).

Xdinary Heroes’ Hair Cut is quite a unique track, and I liked it for the most part. I appreciate the ambition this group has, exploring different areas of rock that haven’t really been approached by KPOP bands in the past. For Hair Cut, the band delves into a punkish form of rock. What they did in the first verse and pre-chorus was quite likeable. There was potential behind these segments and their delivery of these segments (i.e. vocals), and I enjoyed how Hair Cut ramps up to the choruses. But the trouble comes next. We are met with a low groaning ‘Get a hair cut’ repetition that was quite unsettling for me. We also get some scissor or knife sound effects, which didn’t add any value to the song. This all comes before a hard-hitting second half of the chorus, which is my preferred centrepiece for the song. But unfortunately, as a whole, the chorus pretty much disappointed me. The lack of cohesion, hooks that I was comfortable with or even memorable melodies upset the overall appeal of Hair Cut for me, and stuck out like a sore thumb. The chorus is then followed up with a rap verse, which was another miss element for me. The whole rap segment stripped out everything from instrumental to momentum, leaving Hair Cut bare and empty for a moment, and the whispery delivery itself (sorry Gaon) felt soulless. O.de’s contribution was fairly more promising, but that might because he was helping ramping Hair Cut back to mor enjoyable territory from quite a low point. The pre-chorus and chorus repeats, and my thoughts on both (positive and negative) have already been noted. The bridge portion of Hair Cut was a nice return to form and sounded solid. Then we go back to the not-so-good chorus. I was hoping they switch things up at this point, to give a satisfying end. But that didn’t eventuate. We did manage to get an instrumental outro, which I thought was decent. But with the mix feelings prior to this instrumental outro, it didn’t have a huge impact and swung me into liking or disliking the song. Overall, Hair Cut‘s chorus leaves quite an impact and not in a good way.

I am not one to usually negatively comment on members’ visuals. And I understand it is their concept for this comeback and all, but Xdinary Heroes really need to take advice from their own books and get a hair cut. This era is probably one they will regret in the future for the wacky and awful hair-do the members were forced into. I can already imagine the interviews consistently pulling up pictures from their Hair Cut days and the members expressing embarrassment over them. Aside from that, I do like their edgy profile, which works well with the punkish rock sound I mentioned earlier. I also like the use of the ‘scary fun-house’ location within the theme park, which seems to be JYP Entertainment’s go to location this year. As for the outro, I want to know what that ending means, with the police report being made and being reviewed. Potentially setting up for a future comeback? Who knows.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 7/10
Overall Rating – 6.4/10

[Review] Chase – Minho (SHINee)

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Fellow SHINee members KEY and ONEW are nominated for a range of categories include Best Outfits, Best Concept and Best Album in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support KEY and ONEW by clicking here to vote today!

MINHO makes his comeback a solo artist this past week with the single and debut mini-album that shares the same title, Chase. This is his first comeback since the release of Heartbreak at the end of last year. Since then, MINHO refocused on his acting career and released new music as a solo artist in Japan earlier this year. MINHO has definitely been busy.. In a rather interesting move (though not necessarily unheard of), MINHO released Chase (both the single and mini-album) digitally last week, while the physical version of the album and the music video dropped today.

Chase, as a whole, comes off as your typical R&B track. The slowness of the track helps makes the track sensual in nature, while the instrumentals help create a moody atmosphere. All of this was pretty successful. The instrumental was a combination of a neat piano loop, trap beats and a heavy bassline. Altogether, these instrumental created an alluring background piece. Another interesting aspect of Chase was the lyrics, which expresses the emptiness that one feels after chasing someone they cannot get to. Again, it feels like a message that is suited for the R&B genre. But aside from that, there isn’t much else from within Chase that attracted me to the song, and this limited appeal is why I put Chase down as a ‘typical R&B track’. In the vocal department, MINHO sings his lines for the entirety of Chase,. And while he does a decent job, they aren’t vocals that we can rave about, not like how I did in his previous solo releases. He handles the job well, but there are other compelling vocal performances out there. You might argue that it might be a bit harsh for me to judge MINHO as a singer, when he usually takes on the role of main rapper during group performances with SHINee. But from how I see it, he (or his company) had the opportunity to put out a song that showcase a better side of him, but the decision was made for Chase to be MINHO’s best foot forward. I get the need to show a different side of an artist in their solo work, but I don’t think Chase was the best choice. It also didn’t help that Chase didn’t have much of a hook to help make the track more memorable (i.e. during the chorus), not did it have melodies that could act in place of a hook. Overall, a fair effort from MINHO for his solo comeback, but I am sure that there are other styles and songs that fits MINHO’s profile better..

I found the whole music video for Chase to be quite an interesting watch. The very start of the music video features a suspenseful montage of shots from later on in the music video that perks up your interest. We see an affectionate couple, followed by a fiery accident and finally a shot of a female whispering into MINHO’s ear. The plot of the video then starts with MINHO waking up. We see flashbacks to a time when MINHO was lying in bed with his partner, but it is apparent from his messy surroundings in his solo shots that she is no longer around and he is heartbroken. At night, he visit bars to seek out his missing partner, but it earns him a bashing and bruised face. To be fair, he was pretty much disrupting the patron’s night. After failing to find her, he sits on the streets and his mind takes him back to the fiery accident I mentioned earlier. We see that he is practically unscathed from the car crash, but it turns out his lover was not as lucky as him. She was a fatality in the accident. In the midst of the accident, Minho notices his lover standing afar. But despite chasing after her, he cannot reach her. It is later revealed that her ghost has been haunting him by staring back through the mirror and whispering messages into his ear, which is probably why he cannot get her out of his head and ends up ‘chasing’ her every night. In the end, he takes a gun and shoots the mirror to stop her. As a quick sidenote, there was a sinister scene at the start of the video which flicked by where his lover staring directly at the camera whilst on the bed (see the 0:19 mark on the video), which gave me creepy chills.

It comes as no surprise to me that the moves in this routine were of the slow and smooth nature, which is complementary to R&B tracks of this nature. But it wasn’t the slow moves that stole the show for me. The formations of the dancers at the start and end of the performance, and their small bobs in time with the piano made me go wow. I also found the routine during the bridge to be quite cool, especially when MINHO and the female dancers all did a wave to bring him back up.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.3/10

[Album Review] Empty Dream (5th Mini Album) – Kim Jae Hwan

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Support Kim Jae Hwan and your other favourite artists, songs and performances by clicking here to vote today!

Kim Jae Hwan’s fifth mini-album is the next album to receive an album review from me. Released back in September, Empty Dream features six new songs including the title track BACK THEN. It is an awesome mini-album, in my opinion. showing off the vocal talent and abilities of the soloist. His vocals come up consistently throughout the review, with his vocal performance in one particular song leaving me speechless. Consider me amazed and a fan of this release!

Empty Dream Album Cover

1. ANSWER ME (대답해줘) – Kicking off the mini-album is a lo-fi R&B track. ANSWER ME really pushes Kim Jae Hwan’s vocals outward and I love this display of vocal work from the soloist, especially when he started off the song with a nasally undertone. It definitely starts off the mini-album in such a promising light. When we get to the chorus of ANSWER ME, Kim Jae Hwan adds a heavy dose of emotional heft to the song, which just makes the song so much more passionate and riveting. It is definitely a nice song to get lost to. (9/10)

2. BACK THEN (그 시절 우리는) (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review of BACK THEN. (8/10)

3. OUT OF LINE (삐뚤어질까요) – Again, I floored by Kim Jae Hwan’s vocals, especially in this song. He just blows me away. Paired with the rock instrumentation, OUT OF LINE leaves me speechless. I don’t I need to say anything more than that. (10/10)

4. OASIS – OASIS brings forth the reggae, which it is a nice switch up from the more standard pop and rock that we keep on hearing. Kim Jae Hwan still brings the band sound to the song, which creates a really cool blend. I also feel like there is a bit of jazz that comes out during the bridge. Again, outstanding vocals from Kim Jae Hwan and I really liked the melodies in this song, which adds a playful tinge to the song. OASIS would probably make for a great performance piece (with choreography as well!). (9/10)

5. LOVE STRIKE – LOVE STRIKE is an upbeat track. It is definitely a bit of a relief from what we have heard so far, which all have been captivating pieces. LOVE STRIKE isn’t as captivating, but it is set up to be that way. It is more pleasant and fun. I quite like the touch of playfulness that Kim Jae Hwan delivers, especially through the chorus, melodies and hooks. It brings a smile to my face. While the track doesn’t feature wowing vocals from Kim Jae Hwan to the extent that of the other tracks on the album, it is still a strong effort from the soloist. (8.5/10)

6. GOODBYE MORNING – The final song on the album is GOODBYE MORNING and it takes the form of an acoustic ballad. I was expecting this to really build up, but we don’t get there. Instead, the song features is predominately guitar and vocals (with the slight addition of other instrumentation, but in minute amounts). The guitar is very profound, while Kim Jae Hwan’s vocals was quite soft throughout. I really liked how his vocals are on display through this song, bringing a different dynamic to the album. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.8/10

Empty Dream Teaser Image

[Weekly KPOP Chart] 1st Week of December 2022

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Welcome to the Weekly KPOP Chart post for the 1st Week of December 2022. As usual, today’s Weekly KPOP Chart post is going to be a quick one as I need to pre-write reviews for the holidays! Keep your eyes peeled, as I will be announcing my plans for the rest of the year next week. So here is the recap of the last week and I hope to see you soon through another review – probably going to be an album review later tonight!

Also, just as a reminder, the voting page for the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards is currently open. Since opening the voting page at the end of November, the tables have turned in many categories and those were in the lead a week ago may no longer in their leading position. So the only way you can make sure your favourite artist, songs and performances have a chance at being crowned the best of the best is to make your vote count! Click here to vote today!

Recap & New releases of the Week

No reviews were written for new releases this week. Instead, I focused on some past releases including KANG DANIEL’s How We Live and Don’t Tell, VICTON’s Virus, TREASURE’s HELLO and DRIPPIN’s The One. For the album review front, I covered ONF’s Storage of ONF and KANG DANIEL’s The Story / The Story: Retold.

Other releases from the week includes:

  • Our Christmas – Jin (ex-Lovelyz)
  • White Christmas – Lee Boram (SeeYa), Punch, Yebin (DIA)
  • Dear My Winter – george & Chuu
  • December, 24 – Yoon Jisung
  • Night Flight – Gowoon 
  • Flash – Shinhwa WDJ
  • Chase – Minho (SHINee)
  • Fallen – Seo In Guk
  • All About You – THE BOYZ
  • Reason – 2Z
  • Happy Christmas – Weeekly
  • Silence – DRIPPIN
  • Come Alive – Jackson Wang
  • Merry Merry Christmas – C9 Entertainment Artists
  • Still Life – RM (BTS) with Anderson Paak

Throwback Corner

It’s December, so cue all the Christmas music. This week’s throwback song is becoming a tradition for me, as I seek out the song each year since its release – Lovelyz’s Twinkle.

Non-Korean Release of the Week

As for this week’s non-Korean release of the week, it is JUNGKOOK’s Dreamers. It ranked in the 27th position this past week.

The Charts

Congratulations to KARA for topping the Weekly KPOP Chart for the second week in a row with WHEN I MOVE. For more of the charts, keep on reading.

1st Week of December 20224th Oct – 10th Oct 2022
Pos.SongArtistStatus
1WHEN I MOVEKARA(=)
2VirusVICTON(▲ 29)
3The OneDRIPPIN(▲ 44)
4SelfishYooA (OH MY GIRL)(▲ 42)
5Back DownP1Harmony(▲ 62)
6What If LoveUP10TION(▲ 15)
7Tap TapVERIVERY(=)
8All About YouTHE BOYZ(NEW)
9NirvanaKANG DANIEL ft. pH-1 & WDBZ(▼ 4)
10beatMill (OnlyOneOf)(▲ 50)
11PanoramaLee Chanhyuk (AKMU)(▲ 69)
12♡TiCONCSR(▲ 8)
13RememberedPark Bom(▲53)
14LoveableJo Yuri(▲ 54)
15YouthKIHYUN (MONSTA X)(▲ 18)
16Stay With MeIRRIS(▲ 64)
17The AstronautJIN (BTS)(▲ 63)
18LIMBO!NATURE(▲ 32)
19NITROPark Ji Hoon(▲ 61)
20AMAZONTFN(▲ 44)
21BirthdayRed Velvet(▼ 17)
22Boys Like YouITZY(▲ 58)
23In Your SpaceNIEL (TEEN TOP)(▲ 57)
24Draw (MY TIME)ICHILLIN’(▲ 56)
25VAGABONDTRENDZ(▼ 8)
26POPPYSTAYC(▲ 54)
27DreamersJungkook (BTS)(▲ 27)
28Wild FlowerRM (BTS) with youjeen(▼ 13)
29Forgive MeBoA(▲ 51)
30FlashShinhwa WDJ(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 starting next week:

[Album Review] The Story / The Story: Retold (1st Studio Album / 1st Studio Album Repackaged) – KANG DANIEL

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KANG DANIEL is nominated for Best Male Soloist, whilst Upside Down has been nominated for Best Solo Choreography (Male) for the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support KANG DANIEL, and your other favourite artists, songs and performance by clicking here to vote today.

After many months, I am finally writing my overdue review of The Story, KANG DANIEL’s first studio album. The album was released back in May of this year and features 10 tracks, lead by Upside Down. The album was then recently re-released as The Story: Retold in November, featuring the addition of 5 new tracks which includes the title track Nirvana. I will keep the introduction short today, in fear that if it goes for any longer, I might end up posting it five months down the track. So without further ado, here are my thoughts on KANG DANIEL’s first studio length album. (Note: in terms of track listing, I have used the repackaged album version of the tracklist.)

The Story Album Cover
The Story: Retold Album Cover

1. Parade – Click here to read the full review for Parade. (9/10)

2. Selfish – Selfish was a nice pop track to ease into. The initial few seconds of the track had me thinking this was going to be a playful and whimsical sound. But as Selfish progresses, the heaviness of the bass and the trap elements say otherwise. But there is a bit of a sway to the song and its melodies that does potentially go in that direction. I also like how inviting KANG DANIEL’s vocals were in this song. (8/10)

3. Upside Down (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for Upside Down. (7/10)

4. Loser (ft. Dbo) – Loser is a R&B pop track, which starts off with the melodic chorus. And this chorus definitely was quite promising. The rest of the track follows through consistently, which I am not troubled by. But it does make the track slightly dull, relatively to the rest of the album. Dbo brings a bouncy rap segment to the song, which does help shake up the song ever so slightly. I did like how Dbo kept his presence in Loser ongoing by echoing and providing some ad-libs. Best part of Loser comes at the end when both Dbo and KANG DANIEL approaches the song with deep vocals, which gave depth to the song. (7.5/10)

6. Don’t Tell (ft. JESSI) – Click here to read the full review for Don’t Tell. (9/10)

6. Nirvana (ft. pH-1 & WDBZ) (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for Nirvana. (9/10)

7. Ride 4 U – Out of all the songs on the albums, Ride 4 U was the one that attracted most attention from me. It is to the point where I am quite surprised and disappointed that it didn’t get the music video treatment like some of the other side-tracks. Ride 4 U opens with some ‘Oooo’ courtesy of the backing vocals, which I thought was quite iconic. The melodies, especially around the title of the song, were quite memorable and is the one thing that I really took away from the album. I quite enjoyed the simplicity of this track with the way KANG DANIEL approaches the song. As for the instrumentation, I really liked the pairing of twinkling detailing and atmospheric synths, which in my view, hits different. (10/10)

8. How We Live (ft. Sokodomo) – Click here to read the full review for How We Live. (8/10)

9. Mad (ft. Chancellor) – Mad is the first song on the album that really goes hard, in my opinion. I felt the synths were a lot rawer and came together to create something that just got straight to the point. It was also quite intense in its own right. I quite liked how the instrumental was stripped down the track to make the acoustic guitar’s presence more known. This kept Mad interesting, even though you can hear guitar in the background amongst the synths. Chancellor’s featuring and KANG DANIEL do an amazing job to give this song life. Mad’s main hook, ‘Why are you so mad’ is definitely a memorable point of the song that really stays with you, even as we move to the next song. (10/10)

10. 1000x – 1000x serves as the first ballad of the album, but it doesn’t fall into your typical boundaries of a ballad. Instead of the classical tropes of the ballads, 1000x opts for paced synths in its instrumental. It keeps the song interesting, though I feel like the synths were a bit too loud as it almost drowns out KANG DANIEL’s vocals in my opinion. Talking about vocals, KANG DANIEL’s were amazing throughout and you can feel the emotions behind his voice. The chorus, in particular, had heft to it and the melodies were quite remarkable. (8/10)

11. Ghost – Ghost is another heavy bass track. However, there is a bit more to Ghost than just bass, thanks to the atmospheric synths that make up the instrumentation of Ghost. KANG DANIEL’s vocals are shown off quite nicely in Ghost and the melodies just make the song so beautiful. We also get a taste of rapper KANG DANIEL, though I do wish the rapping portion of the song was more substantial, just to give the song an extra layer of appeal. But Ghost as it is, is a stunner. (8.5/10)

12. Moment – Moment is another ballad, and this one is more on the typical side of the balladry genre. Guitar, piano and backing vocals make up most of the instrumental of Moment, and this was another stunning arrangement on this album. Ballads tend to highlight the vocals, and Moment did an exceptional job of this. Again, you can feel the emotions behind his vocals and I really enjoyed the way his voice carries you throughout the song.  I am a sucker of ballads, and I feel it is ballads like this that prove my point to why ballads are such an underrated aspect of KPOP. (10/10)

13. The Story – It is interesting to see that The Story got bumped to the fourteenth position on the repackaged album, despite being introduced as the opening track of the original album.  Anyhow, The Story is a very cool track. The use of synths in this song really encapsulates that descriptor, which gives The Story a very appealing side. I really enjoyed how the synths were used texturally. The pop-centric chorus was definitely a highlight, especially how it shifted the song’s trajectory. KANG DANIEL’s vocals were shown off once again. Though, my favourite part of The Story has to be the pre-choruses, which added a tinge of playfulness to the song. I think The Story could have used a harder hitting rap sequence, just to give it a more powerful element to it. (8.5/10)

14. Ride 4 U (Remix) – Refer to my comments on Ride 4 U above. This track did not count towards the overall album rating below.

15. Nirvana (Solo Version) – Refer to full review for Nirvana. This track did not count towards the overall album rating below.

Overall Album Rating – 8.7/10

The Story Teaser Image
The Story: Retold Teaser Image

[Review] Don’t Tell – KANG DANIEL ft. JESSI

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KANG DANIEL is nominated for Best Male Soloist, whilst Upside Down has been nominated for Best Solo Choreography (Male) for the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. JESSI is also nominated for Best Rap Performance, Best Rap/Hip-Hop Song and Best Solo Choreography (Female). Support KANG DANIEL, JESSI, and your other favourite artists, songs and performance by clicking here to vote today.

As mentioned earlier this week, I am determined to finally get KANG DANIEL’S The Story / The Story: Retold album review out this weekend. But before I can do that, I need to post one more review for a side track from the album that also got the music video treatment when the album was released earlier this year. This song is KANG DANIEL and JESSI’s collaboration, Don’t Tell. It joins Parade and How We Live, who also go the music video treatment despite also being side tracks on the album, that is lead by Upside Down and Nirvana.

Don’t Tell is a sexy song, tapping into the 2021 trend of Latin influences. The guitar is quite upfront in the initial seconds of the song’s beginning. It is then briefly muffled and placed further into the background of the background, allowing the deep paced bass beat to really come through. The deep beat really sets the tone of the song, showing a very mature and sexy side. KANG DANIEL’s vocals definitely work in this limelight, especially when he uses his deeper tones just prior to the choruses. The guitar returns to its former presence as we enter the chorus, which ends up being a slightly more amped version of what we have heard thus far (with added percussion). The melodies were quite catchy, and propelled the song forward. It might sound like a recipe for which I would usually call ‘overly consistent’, but I think the producers do enough of a job to Don’t Tell‘s chorus to keep me from getting to that conclusion. And as the song progresses, you can tell that more is being done to keep the song from falling into that trap. JESSI begins her feature in Don’t Tell from the second verse. The songs that I know her as of late have been more dynamic and upbeat. Here, JESSI channels a mature mindset to complement the song’s tone and brings her raspy vocals to the table, which I thought was a bit unexpected. I know that JESSI can sing, but I came in with the mentality that she would be rapping in the song. I also like how she also adds ad-libs to the song. The most memorable aspect of Don’t Tell is actually JESSI, with her line following the second and final choruses. The amplification she goes with in that line stands out and really stays with me. KANG DANIEl’s “All the girls in the back… All the fellas in the back….” line in the bridge was a close second. I also quite liked the final moments of the song where it got quite upbeat. This might have been brief, but it definitely helped end Don’t Tell on a non-consistent manner to the rest of the song. Overall, Don’t Tell was a nice side track on the album that ended up leaving a positive impression on me.

The music video didn’t have much to it. Choreography scenes and solo scenes of KANG DANIEL, JESSI and both. I was glad to see JESSI in the music video, and I loved the sexiness she added to the video. You can tell she isn’t shy. As for KANG DANIEL, he takes a subtle approach with his matureness and sexy appeal. But he does enough for it to be apparent enough. He just isn’t upfront with it. I did like the luxurious hotel setting the video appears to be shot at, especially when it came to the pool choreography scene and the ‘nightlife’ scene we see at the end of the video. The coloured neon lights made it look quite cool and very flashy (pun unintended).

KANG DANIEL’s showed off a more confident and sexier side to himself in this performance as well, from what I can see. There is a fair bit of hip work to this performance – of the thrusting and waving kind. I also thought his footwork was quite good. The dancers really put their all at the end and I really liked how this captialised on the energy exuded in this section. A nicely done performance, overall.

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

[Review] The One – DRIPPIN

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DRIPPIN is nominated for Most Underrated Artist in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support DRIPPIN and your other favourite artists, songs and performances by clicking here to vote today.

DRIPPIN is back with another comeback, making it their fourth release of the year. They begun 2022 with the release of VILLAIN, the title of both their third mini-album and title track. Then the group released their Japanese debut single, So Good, before returning to Korea in June with ZERO. Fast-forward 5 months, DRIPPIN rounds out the year (I hope, these guys need a break after the busy year!) with the release of their latest title track, The One, and their first studio length album since debut, Villain: The End.

Going into this comeback, I was expecting an intense dance track that found its roots purely in the EDM genre. But I was genuinely surprised that The One ended having a much bigger rock presence than EDM. Don’t misunderstand, however. There is still EDM here and there in the song, and it was definitely used to intensify The One and give it some textural components. The instrumental for the dance break was largely EDM-based and provided an epic climax for the song. But going back to the rock aspect of The One, I found it to be quite appealing that DRIPPIN and their producers went in this direction. What really gets me is that the rock isn’t necessarily a dark and emo piece, nor is it grungy. Instead, the rock influences in The One were surprisingly upbeat and vibrant. The drumming is superb in this track, and the metal guitar was definitely intense in itself. The explosive energy (there is a lot of going on in KPOP these days) and tempo of The One kept the adrenaline pumping – this track is definitely going on my exercise playlist. Aside from the instrumental, I quite enjoyed the pop charm of the melody and hooks to The One. The ‘I’m The One, One, Only One‘ is pretty much keyed into my mind. I thought that this gave the song a more appealing flavour, and took the opportunity to really transform The One into a pop rock vibe track. I feel the vocals and rapping were solid, though I wished the verses had bolder vocal and rapping moments, just to really bring it up to par with the rest of the chorus. Something like the rapping in the bridge would have been ideal. Overall, The One is an awesome track that I should have reviewed much earlier to tell you all about it.

An action packed music video was served alongside The One, and I am all for it. Junho was the common thread between all the videos that formed part of the Villain series, and it was pretty much hinted from the start that he would have a villainous role in the end. In the Villain music video, he comes hurdling into the ground and leaves unscathed from such an arrival. In the ZERO music video, he is the last one we see and we do see a taste of his fire power as he overlooks the city. In this music video, he causes meteors to come crushing down onto Earth (similar to how he arrived), forcing everyone into hiding. Upon hearing that villain Junho had killed the good Junho, good Junho’s bandmates emerge from hiding and revived good Junho. A very tense superhero-like action fight scene ensues between the two Junhos (with the bandmates also pitching in). The fight ends with the bandmates knocked out and no Junho around. The industrial setting of the fight becomes the grassy fields (the same fields at the start of the video) and the members celebrate their victory. They later find Junho, who smiles back at them. But a quick zoom into his face allows us to see Junho bearing a red and blue pupil, suggesting one of the two Junho came out victorious and absorbed the power of the other. But it leaves a question, which Junho won and which lost. Honestly, a really cool video, and I hope we see which Junho turned out victorious in the future (maybe this sets up a repackaged album?). As a little critique, I would have liked the story to delve into the other members a bit more, just to give us more of the story. .

The choreography was great. It sure exuded a lot of powerful energy and intensity, just as you would expect when listening to a song like this one. The dance breaks were really cool, and the move associated ‘I’m The One, One, Only One‘ felt like it could have been a really catchy move had it really been pushed. I also liked how it really complemented the pop side of the song, going for a less intense move, compared to the rest of the routine.

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

[Review] Virus – VICTON

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Support VICTON and your other favourite artists, songs and performances by clicking here to vote today!

VICTON returned to the stage mid-November with their eighth mini-album, Choice, and their new single Virus. However, you might notice that the lineup for this comeback is one less compared to their last comeback from 6 months ago with Stupid O’Clock. Heo Chan voluntarily withdrew himself from the group following news that he was involved in a DUI investigation in October. IST Entertainment later confirmed Heo Chan’s departure from the group and that VICTON would continue as a six member group, though five for the time being as Ha Seung Woo is currently carrying out his military enlistment.

I found the piercing taps at the start of Virus to be quite intriguing and I wished the song followed through with that. Instead, that intriguingness was quickly lost upon a quick realisation that Virus delved into a generic verse, consisting of deep whoops whoops (is there a technical term of this?), marching drums and pretty standard vocal work. The chorus was a decent return to form, with the song fully embracing its electro R&B profile. I did wish the melodies were stronger to really pull you into Virus. However, the second half of the chorus had a nice oomph to it, thanks to the members’ vocals, that really helped deliver the chorus and give it potential. The later sections of the song, such as the bridge and the final post-post-chorus sequence (I will touch on this a bit later) were definitely the biggest highlights for me in Virus. The way VICTON glided into the bridge was really well done. I also quite enjoyed the way the bridge ramped back up in a paced manner via the use of percussion, Sejun’s high note, synths and then finishing it off with an impressive high note from Seungsik. The biggest question for Virus is Do Hanse’s rapping. While his part was definitely impressive and it shows us that he can coolly deliver a rap sequence, his overly raspy rapping voice and the intense/abrasive EDM just doesn’t fit into the bigger picture that is Virus. I am not too sure what was happening there and I find it to be quite a disappointment. Luckily, Do Hanse does recover later on in Virus by delivering (alongside Subin) that smooth sequence just after the final chorus. Overall, Virus was a decent track. I did wish the verses were more interesting and Do Hanse’s rap was more fitting for the song. But the rest of the song was done well and a nice enough listen.

The music video is one of those videos where it is just closeup shots and choreography. While there could be some sort of meaning behind the individual scenes (some were definitely intriguing enough), there really wasn’t much opportunity to really appreciate and try to understand the individual scenes. And it didn’t seem like there was much to tie everything together. I did like the dominance of a certain colour to everyone’s individual scene and I liked they didn’t use vivid colours like other KPOP videos tend to do. The producers for this music video chose pretty earthy colours for the most part. As for the colours that usually aren’t connected to the earth (i.e. the blue backing in the featured image, some of the green and Do Hanse’s black background), the producers went with accents and tones that really muted the colours, complementing the earthy tones to the video. The contrast was also a nice touch, as we can see in this post’s featured image.

I ended up quite enjoying the performance for this comeback. While nothing really stood out (nor is there much to mention from the routine), the piece definitely showcases the group’s performance potential with the sharp and clean movements and synchronisation I could see from the stage performances. I wished there was more of the performance, just so there is a more talk about

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 7.5/10
Overall Rating – 6.8/10

[Review] HELLO – TREASURE

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TREASURE is nominated for Rising Star and Best Electronic Song (for JIKJIN) in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support TREASURE and JIKJIN, and your other favourite artists, songs and performances by clicking here to vote today!

I know I promised this review a few weeks back when HELLO topped the Weekly KPOP Charts for the 3rd Week of November 2022, but it unfortunately slipped from me. Apologies for that! But now, I am finally getting around to having a deeper look at HELLO, TREASURE’s latest comeback single. It was released as part of their second mini-album, The Second Step: Chapter Two, at the start of October. It is also the first comeback to not feature Bang Ye Dam and Mashiho, who were both on hiatus at the time but subsequently withdrew from the group a month after HELLO‘s release.

I didn’t pay much attention to the track upon its release as I had a lot going on in my life at the time. But listening back now, I am disappointed I missed and didn’t pay attention to such a fun, energetic and lively track like HELLO. I find it interesting that TREASURE is releasing music as vibrant and colourful as HELLO, especially since I feel like YG Entertainment aims for a certain niche within the KPOP community. Songs like JIKJIN, which are more heavy handed and serious sounding, are what I expect from YG Entertainment’s output, though 2022 appears to be changing that up. I guess their company is trying to captialise on TREASURE’s youth and energy. Anyhow, whilst the song does fall into the dance pop category thanks to its heavy (and at times, explosive) EDM approach, there are some typical YG Entertainment tropes, namely the chanty chorus, the hip-hop tinge and the anthem approach at the end of the song. All of this pretty typical arsenal for any YG artist, but TREASURE manages to breathe fresh life into these elements and really make it feel different. And I appreciate this ‘reinvention’. I also enjoyed the rock elements to the song, which is definitely on trend in 2022. Again, still not tired of it, hence why I enjoy it a lot! HELLO is also quite catchy, with strong hooks (which is the result of the chanty delivery of the chorus), which ultimately adds to the fun and liveliness of the track. I do think the song could have used some bolder moments in terms of vocals and rapping, just to give HELLO a bit of an edgy and a more memorable front. While what we got in HELLO was pretty solid, I do think more of the instrumental, rather than the vocals or rapping, after the song is over.

With a song like HELLO, I expected a party in the music video. And we got just that! HELLO is a song about coming together to combat the loneliness and emptiness that some might feel, and we got representation of that. At the start of the video with the members being alone and in their own worlds. But as the song progresses, the song brings the members together. And then a crowd, which finishes off the video in a party like fanfare. The fireworks work really well with the instrumental and heightens the viewing experience. I also like the simplicity of the dance choreography scene inside the white studio, with the coloured lighting and the big HELLO in the background.

The choreography for this comeback was on point. I love the vibrancy and energy that the members brought to the routine, which was also quite vivid and powerful. What amazes me is that the routine doesn’t give them much opportunity to take a break, but as we hurdle towards the end of the performance for HELLO, the members are still full of smiles and energy, which ends off the performance in such a positive and satisfying manner!

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

[Review] How We Live – KANG DANIEL ft. sokodomo

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KANG DANIEL is nominated for Best Male Soloist, whilst Upside Down has been nominated for Best Solo Choreography (Male) for the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support KANG DANIEL, and your other favourite artists, songs and performance by clicking here to vote today.

This week is finally going to be the week where I finally post KANG DANIEL’s album review for The Story, which will now be expanded to also cover The Story: Retold, the repackaged version of the album that was released two weeks ago. But there are still two tracks I want to review by themselves since they received the music video treatment. One of these songs is How We Live, which features sokodomo. A music video for How We Live dropped mid-June, a month after The Story (and its title track Upside Down) was released. More recently, KANG DANIEL made his solo debut in Japan and returned to Korea with the new single Nirvana.

As a side-track, How We Live is quite a neat number. It is a simple old school hip-hop track that aims to be fun and vibrant. And I am happy to report that How We Live nails this quite well. Now, How We Live might not be the most riveting track on the entire album, nor do you find the track to be a show-stopping piece. It is also not a track that really shows off KANG DANIEL’s skill sets. Instead, How We Live keeps it simple, with a light tone that was enjoyable through Summer (the song was released on the cusp of Summer). I personally feel that this simplicity and light tone works in KANG DANIEL’s favour, as it complements the soloist’s vocals really well. In addition to that, there is honestly not much to the track, just those light old school hip-hop influences for the instrumental brought to life by fun and playful piano and some touches of brass (which is the instrumental of fun when it comes to KPOP), a simple melodical hook that is super easy on the ears and catches on quite effortlessly, and some really good rapping courtesy of sokodomo. sokodomo’s input to the song gives How We Live a bit of variety, and thus keeps the song from falling into a single constant state, which would have rendered the song boring and ineffective. All of these elements contributed and helped make How We Live quite enjoyable. And a comment that I pull out often for songs like this, but I appreciate that it is isn’t muddled or overwhelmed with synths or intensity. It is carefree and easy to get into. Hence why I quite enjoyed the likes of How We Live.

Just like that last comment about the song, this music video pretty much carries a carefree and no-nonsense vibe. All we see throughout the video is KANG DANIEL, sokodomo and the dancers enjoy a bit of unworried and casual atmosphere in the video. It is as if they rented an expensive home to escape life for the weekend and enjoy themselves in the company of some friends. Simple, straight to the point, but also exudes a bit of that fun and easy-going energy.

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

[Album Review] Storage of ONF (2nd Special Album) – ONF

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ONF’s Goosebumps is nominated for Best Music Video and Best Album in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support Goosebumps and your other favourite artists, songs and performance by clicking here to vote today.

ONF surprised fans with the announcement and subsequent release of Storage of ONF, a special album release for their fans. What made this release a surprise in particular is that 5 out of the 6 members of ONF are currently carrying out their military enlistment. And traditionally, this means that the members are on hiatus and do not release music during this time. But ONF has definitely gone the extra mile. In addition to new music and a new album, the group also prepared and filmed a music vided for the title track. This means that in an already busy last year when the members were heavily promoting Beautiful Beautiful, Ugly Dance, Popping and Goosebumps, ONF was also thinking ahead about their fans (Fuses) and making sure Fuses had their fill of songs for this usually empty period. It definitely puts a new spin on loyalty and shows their unrelentless commitment to their fans! Storage of ONF features the title track Your Song, four additional new tracks, and five remastered versions of previous title and side tracks.

Storage of ONF Album Cover

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

2. Runaway – Runaway brings me back to their early days, in particular to their Complete and We Must Love days. The vibrant tone and upbeat energy made Runaway super fun, while I liked the retro tinge that the song has in the chorus. The hooks were catchy and adds a neat punch to the song. The vocal work was solid and on point, while Wyatt’s deep rapping was well-delivered and kept up with the energy of Runaway. The addition of strings to Runaway during the bridge was quite a surprise, but it was very interesting and adds a very different dimension to the song. I think taking me back to their earlier days was enough to give it a 10/10, but everything else within Runaway proves that it is a 10/10. (10/10)

3. Traveler – Traveler tones down the energy and takes the form of a ballad. It is very nicely instrumented and quite piano dominant. As the ballad progresses, you get a very slight jazzy feel to the instrumental, which I thought was a really neat touch. I also liked the use of harmonies and backing vocals to form part of the instrumental for Traveler. The actual vocals were very dreamy and riveting. Everything in this track was a stunner. (9/10)

4. GUCCI – Whiplash is the first word that pops in my mind whilst listening to GUCCI. Following such a slow and peaceful track, GUCCI slaps you (quite forcibly, might I add, but not in a bad way) with its intensity and abrasiveness. It is quite an edgy track for ONF, but still feels like it within ONF’s repertoire. I feel like GUCCI would have been an absolutely cool track to see on stage, with high hopes for a really strong, cool and powerful dance routine to accompany the song. The hooks could have been a bit more fleshed out, but what we got was pretty memorable in itself. I also appreciate the fact that GUCCI managed to weave in quite melodic lines during its chorus. (8/10)

5. My Song – You might recognise the choruses’ melody of My Song, which comes from Your Song (this album’s title track). But aside from that similarity, the two songs have pretty much different. My Song instead is more orchestral centric with its instrumentation. And the different orchestral influences make My Song extremely alluring and captivating to listen to. I also liked how the vocals play into this, matching the orchestral sound for that part of the song. (9/10)

6. On/Off (Remastered Version) – On/Off was released back in 2017 as part of the mini-album of the same name and as the debut single for ONF. While I have not reviewed On/Off (both the mini-album and title track) before, I have decided to omit the track from the overall album score. However, you can still check out the remastered version of On/Off below.

7. If We Dream (Remastered Version) – If We Dream was released back in 2017 as part of the group’s debut mini-album On/Off. While I have not reviewed On/Off (the mini-album) or If We Dream before, I have decided to omit the track from the overall album score. However, you can still check out the remastered version of If We Dream below.

8. 86400 (Remastered Version) – 86400 was released back in 2018 as part of the group’s second mini-album, You Complete Me. I have reviewed You Complete Me before. And by extension, I have reviewed 86400 before, You can read my thoughts on 86400 through that album review. I have decided to omit this version of 86400 from the overall album score. However, you can still check out the remastered version of 86400.

9. We Must Love (Remastered Version) – We Must Love was released back in 2019 as part of the group’s third mini-album of the same name. I have previously reviewed We Must Love, which you can click here to read on my review for the single. However, I have decided to omit this version of We Must Love from the overall album score. But you can still check out the remastered version of We Must Love.

10. Complete (Remastered Version) – Complete was released back in 2018 as part of the group’s second mini-album, You Complete Me. I have previously reviewed Complete, which you can click here to read on my review for the single. However, I have decided to omit this version from the overall album score. But you can still check out the remastered version of Complete below.

Overall Album Rating – 9/10

E-Tion’s Teaser Image for Storage of ONF
Wyatt’s Teaser Image for Storage of ONF
U’s Teaser Image for Storage of ONF
MK’s Teaser Image for Storage of ONF
J-Us’ Teaser Image for Storage of ONF
Hyojin’s Teaser Image for Storage of ONF

[Weekly KPOP Chart] 5th Week of November 2022

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Welcome to a new Weekly KPOP Chart post, this time for the 5th Week of November 2022. Today’s post is going to be a quick one, as I want to put one album review before I go to bed tonight (and bed time is approach fast). So I am going to get right to it! See you in the next post!

Recap & New Releases of the Week

This week saw reviews for the new releases such as Red Velvet’s Birthday, KARA’s WHEN I MOVE, ITZY’s Cheshire and RM’s Wild Flower. In addition to those reviews, I also returned to album reviews last weekend by covering THE BOYZ’s BE AWARE and Kim Sung Kyu’s SAVIOR mini-albums.

Other releases from the week include:

  • A to Z – NIEL (TEEN TOP)
  • In Your Space – NIEL (TEEN TOP)
  • beat – Mill (OnlyOneOf)
  • Paradigm – ATEEZ
  • Back Down – P1Harmony
  • Dream land – XEED
  • Mirage – XEED
  • Bus – Yein
  • Sing Along – FNC Artists
  • Let’s Say Goodbye to My Favourite Person – ASTRO

Throwback Corner

This week’s throwback song is actually a 2022 release, so not really a “throwback” per se. But since I consider the song is not longer part of the Weekly KPOP Chart segment anymore, I thought I feature it here. The song in question is SNSD’s Forever 1. But the particular version of the song I am featuring here is the Matisse & Sadko Remix version, which is a stunning and perfect remix of the original song.

Non-Korean Release of the Week

This week’s Non-Korean Release is TEN’s Birthday. Birthday ranks in the 6th position this week. It was released towards the end of the end of October as part of the SM Station’s NCT LAB project. As this is an all English song, it will be featured in a future International Song Review segment.

The Charts

Congratulations to KARA for topping the Weekly KPOP Chart for the 5th Week of November 2022 with WHEN I MOVE – their first comeback single in 6 years that celebrates their fifteenth year anniversary. For more of the charts, keep on reading.

5th Week of November 202227th Nov – 3rd Dec 2022
Pos.SongArtistStatus
1WHEN I MOVEKARA(NEW)
2ANTIFRAGILELE SSERAFIM(▲ 29)
3Nxde(G)I-DLE(▲ 46)
4BirthdayRed Velvet(NEW)
5NirvanaKANG DANIEL ft. pH-1 & WDBZ(▲ 8)
6BirthdayTEN (NCT)(▲ 78)
7Tap TapVERIVERY(▼ 6)
8Keep Me UpB.I(▲ 76)
9CASE 143Stray Kids(▼ 7)
10Funky Glitter ChristmasNMIXX(▼ 6)
11HELLOTREASURE(▲ 15)
12CheshireITZY(NEW)
13BLOCK PARTYRAVI (VIXX)(▲ 71)
14MAGICARTBEAT(▲ 70)
15Wild FlowerRM (BTS) with youjeen(NEW)
16Uh-HeungDKZ(▲ 32)
17VAGABONDTRENDZ(▲ 67)
18DragonTEMPEST(▼ 13)
19Last SceneCHEN (EXO)(▲ 8)
20♡TiCONCSR(▲ 64)
21What If LoveUP10TION(▲ 14)
22becauseRie (OnlyOneOf)(▲ 34)
23Hair CutXdinary Heroes(▲ 48)
24Only YouGaho(▲ 52)
25ILLELLAMAMAMOO(▲ 55)
26Freeze TagTO1(▲ 58)
27Joy RideKANG DANIEL(▼ 20)
28VISIONDreamcatcher(▼ 9)
29Long Live The KingKINGDOM(▲ 3)
30Fallin’Doyoung (NCT) & Kim Mina(▲ 54)

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 starting next week:

  • Daystar – seowool
  • Sugarcoat – AB6IX
  • Still Here – ONEWE
  • 28 Reasons – Seulgi (Red Velvet)
  • HELLO – TREASURE
  • Joy Ride – Kang Daniel
  • DOKI DOKI LOVE – Rocket Punch
  • 3D Woman – JAMIE
  • Long Live The King – KINGDOM
  • NAZABABARA – Rolling Quartz
  • LIKE – Serri (DalShabet)
  • Uh-Heung – DKZ
  • Cape – Suzy
  • CASE 143 – Stray Kids
  • SOUR – THE ROSE

[Review] Wild Flower – RM (BTS) with youjeen

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For the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards, BTS is nominated for Best Stage Presence and Best Special Performance, while BTS members j-hope, SUGA and JIN are nominated in a range of other categories, including Best Rap Performance, Best New Male Soloist and Best Collaborations. Support BTS and your other favourite artists, songs and performances by clicking here to vote today.

For some, RM’s solo debut is probably the biggest release of the week. Yesterday, RM joined fellow members j-hope and JIN in solo release territory through the release of Indigo (the title of his solo debut studio-length album) and the title track Wild Flower, which features youjeen, the vocalist of Cherry Filter, a South Korean rock band. Earlier on in the year, RM confirmed that the BTS members would be focusing on solo ventures for the time being for the foreseeable future ahead of the impending military enlistment of the individual members with plans to regroup in 2025 following the completion of the group’s enlistment duties.

For those who don’t know, hip-hop and rap songs are not my go-to genres when I want to listen to music. I have just never been drawn to the style of music. But through KPOP, I have slowly grown accustomed to the genre and enjoy a few tracks from the genres. For RM, it was expected that we would heard delve into this style of music, given his role as main rapper in his group’s releases. What I did not expect was to be completely swept away by this song. Wild Flower was super captivating. To the point where I have to stop whatever I am doing (for example, writing this review). Usually, I can write a review (or do other things) whilst listening to the song in question. But with the likes of Wild Flower, it is one of those songs where the only way to appreciate is by taking it in purely and to do so without distractions. Wild Flower begins off with an atmospheric instrumental, before RM kicks it into gear by continuing the atmospheric underlay but also giving Wild Flower some momentum with the insertion of rock sounds. It creates for a powerful piece in such the opening section of the song. For the verses of Wild Flower, RM adds brings forth a more calming demeanour that effortlessly exudes passion. It is such an interesting balance that I find so interesting to listen to. The violins probably add to the calmness, and I thought that was clever. The verses are then followed by a second chorus, which features youjeen’s soaring vocals. I love the texture she brings to the song, adding to the captivation factor of Wild Flower. I quite liked how the violins and rock elements merge for the bridge and final run of the choruses of the song, combining the best of the two worlds that make up Wild Flower. Overall, I am definitely singing praises for Wild Flower, a song I didn’t expect to be the best release of the week.

The music video was stunning even without sitting down and interpreting the video. After all, Big Hit Music definitely have the budget to create such aesthetic videos. Based on SOOMPI’s article for this release, Wild Flower is about RM’s desire to live like a tranquil wild flower rather than an extravagant but quickly disappearing spark, which may be connected to RM’s desire to rediscover himself in music, which he has spoken about before. The video does a great job of depicting this, with RM present in a stunning outdoor setting that sets him up as a ‘tranquil wild flower’. Dark stormy clouds come by (which might be a representation of the stress and bad energy that RM experiences as an artist), but RM stands strong throughout, which allows him to passionately perform on stage at the end of the video. Overall, a literal but clever video.

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

[Review] Cheshire – ITZY

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ITZY is nominated for Best Female Group in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support ITZY and your other favourite artists, songs and performances by clicking here to vote today!

Also making a comeback this week (and performing their new song for the first time at the MAMA Awards) is ITZY. Their new title track is titled Cheshire and is featured on the group’s sixth mini-album of the same name. Cheshire follows the release of their fifth mini-album CHECKMATE and their July single SNEAKERS. It also follows the pre-release of Boys Like You, which is an English single also featured on the Cheshire mini-album that I will review one day in the future as part of the International Song Review segment.

Despite being for a few days now, Cheshire doesn’t give me much rhyme or reason to be grinning. To be more accurate, I find the song to be quite dull. Again, the song could potentially grow on me with even more listens. But I just don’t see it possibly climbing to the likes of their past hits from their earlier days or even the recent SNEAKERS single (which I really enjoyed). The opening verse wasn’t exciting enough to pull me into Cheshire, which isn’t an ideal start, though you can fill the momentum accumulating in the background of the song. And this momentum eventuates into a questionable chorus. I think the producers were aiming for a similar explosive effect (given the contrast between Cheshire‘s chorus and lackluster verse), similar to the contrast from the previous song I reviewed. Unfortunately, I don’t think the intention is delivered. And it comes down to the ITZY’s vocals, which were very strained. The boastfulness that comes from the strained vocals just didn’t sit well with me and it distracted me from the rest of the chorus. You can’t really focus your attention much on the dance pop instrumental (though the ping-pong effect synth does poke through) nor the melodies, as the vocals are just in the way. They do a much better in the verses. The rapping was a positive aspect of the song, with the quieter rap sequence in the second verse showing off Ryujin’s charsima in audio form. Yuna’s rap segment in the bridge follows the same concept as the vocals in the chorus, but I find Yuna do have a much better handle on it. The plentiful post-chorus ‘La La La’ was pretty catchy, but I wished there was a bit more innovation to it. Overall, Cheshire is a slip for the group. Hopefully, next time around, their title track is better executed and punchy enough to make it an ITZY standout.

Not entirely sure what the concept of this music video is, but it seems like a magical performance of some kind. The members carry out a lot of magic tricks, transformations and special effects. And towards the end, there was a Cheshire Cat influence on the video, via Yeji’s smile being the last thing I could remember from the video – the Cheshire Cat in Alice In Wonderland folklore is known for its wide grin that remains behind momentarily after the cat itself disappears. What I quite enjoyed about the video is the changing background, especially around the second chorus segment of the song, that had to be applied in post-production. It was a really cool effect that gave a dynamic profile to the video.

Aside from the combination of the small swaying movement and the hand movement that makes a smile that pairs alongside the ‘La La La‘ post-chorus hook, there isn’t much else to talk about for the performance. It was rather bland looking performance, which I think was the intention. But it just felt like they did so much of it that it just ended up being bland.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating – 6.6/10