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[Review] WHEN I MOVE – KARA

December 3, 2022Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Kara4 Comments

KARA is one of many second and third generation groups who have made their comeback this year for the first time in while, joining the likes of BIGBANG, GOT7, SISTAR, SNSD, T-ARA and WANNA ONE, whom are nominated for the Best Comeback or Reunion in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support your favourite Comeback or Reunion of the year, and your other favourite artists, songs and performances of the year by clicking here to vote today!

KARA makes their grand return after a 6 year hiatus to celebrate their 15th anniversary! For those who may be new to the industry and KPOP, KARA was a five member female group who debuted back in 2007, and had very big hits like Mister, Lupin and Step (just to name a few). They unfortunately became inactive upon the departure of Park Gyuri, Han Seungyeon and the late Goo Hara from DSP Media (the company that established and managed KARA for 9 years) in 2016. As of the 29 November, KARA had regrouped and reunited as a five member group consisting of Park Gyuri, Han Seungyeon, Heo Youngji (who joined the group in 2014) and former KARA members Kang Jiyoung and Nicole (who both left the group in 2014). WHEN I MOVE (the title track) and Move Again (their 15th anniversary mini-album) dropped earlier this week, and the group held their first comeback performance on the same day at the 2022 MAMA Awards, held in Japan!

For me, without a doubt, KARA’s first comeback in six years was the biggest comeback of the week. In addition to their hits I have listed above, KARA has a few underrated title tracks, such as Pandora, CUPID and Damaged Lady, that I have grown to love over the years since their release. WHEN I MOVE is probably going to fall into their ‘underrated territory’, simply because I don’t think the masses would turn their attention to a group they probably do not much about (since KARA is considered to be second generation, and the masses are more focused on the fourth generation and lesser so of the third generation). WHEN I MOVE, however, is a great song. I really enjoyed the way WHEN I MOVE starts, opting for a subtle approach that just feels sleek and stylish. The minimalist nature of the instrumental at the start backs this up. I liked the way their vocals adopted the ‘subtle approach’ as well, which not only complements the approach of the instrumentation and set-up of the song, but also pulled me into an alluring captivation. The choruses of WHEN I MOVE contrasts strongly to this, with all the members joining forces together to deliver an explosive line that really takes you away from that captivation from the verses and still maintains your attention with such a chorus. The house beat that forms the basis of the choruses brought a cool and somewhat retro touch to the song, and it builds on the energy and tone that the verses had pulled together. The hooks and melodies that follow in the choruses were catchy and memorable. The raps and the trap that follows the rap/accompanies the vocals in the bridge were probably the weakest aspect of WHEN I MOVE. It just didn’t have the same flair and appeal as the rest of the song, and felt pretty basic. I wished they upped the ante for the bridge, just so it really honed into the already mentioned energy and vibe that I quite enjoyed in WHEN I MOVE. Despite that, I still think WHEN I MOVE is a great song and return for KARA. It could have been better, but I am happy to take it as it is.

The music video did exactly what I expected it to do, based on the model and catwalk-like sound that WHEN I MOVE had. The music video wasn’t necessarily a fashion parade, but it was definitely a celebration of KARA, which is the focus of this comeback/reunion. As an extension of that thought, I really liked the fact that the group and the producers of this music video paid homage to the late Goo Hara, who took her life a few years back. The addition of a sixth microphone stand at the end for Goo Hara was very touching and I am sure fans enjoy this small but meaningful gesture. Aside from that, I quite enjoyed the different colours (and schemes) they had in this video, which does give off that celebratory and stylish flair that the song calls for.

No matter which performance I watched for this comeback (at the time of writing, only the MAMA Awards and the Music Bank stages are available), it felt like KARA never went on hiatus nor any member left the group. The chemistry between the group members were there and well-developed, and their stage presence spoke volumes. Their command of the stage, their performance (even though it would not be as iconic as Mister‘s butt waves) and their solid vocals/raps are all elements that junior artists should definitely look up towards.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.2/10

[Review] Birthday – Red Velvet

November 30, 2022Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Red Velvet3 Comments

Red Velvet’s Feel My Rhythm is nominated for Best Group Performance (Female) of 2022 in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support Feel My Rhythm and your other favourite performances, songs and artists in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED by clicking the link here to vote.

Kicking off this week is Red Velvet, who returns after 8 months with their new single Birthday and the second part of their 2022 The ReVe Festival 2022 series, The ReVe Festival 2022 – Birthday. It follows Feel My Rhythm, their last Korean comeback from March of this year, and the release of their first Japanese studio length album in April of this year (which was headlined by the single Wildside).

To me, Birthday comes off as a muddled and underwhelming song. The instrumental of Birthday is what I considered to be muddled. Birthday continues the similar composition that was present in Feel My Rhythm, where a classical sample (for this track, the piece in question is George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue) is merged into a pop release. And for the purposes of Birthday, the classical sample ends up being mashed with trap elements. It ended up being a decent mix in my view, but I feel like the backing could have been more balance. Birthday places more emphasis on the trap elements, and I personally feel that this overpowers the delicate classical sample. My guess is that this is intended to make the song more riveting in the modern era. But I just feel it doesn’t do the classical element of the instrumental justice. As a result, we don’t get that same satisfaction that we got from Feel My Rhythm. As for the melodies, this is the side of the song that I thought was underwhelming. I feel the melodies and hooks were both underbaked and childish at the same time. This type of melody would have been perfect if the group was starting out. I have no issues with the group embracing a youthful side to their music, just not with an elementary and empty sound that we got in the final product. And preferably, one in which did not feel mismatched to the image they are aiming for/had created for themselves. I also feel like the melodies could have been weightier and more fleshed out. This would have helped Birthday build more character and feel more prominent. Throughout all of the song, there was only one element which I thought was interesting, and it would be cool for the group to explore this element in their releases into the future – the tinge of rock that we got in the bridge. More of it would be on trend this year and would have been great to explore now given that I am not over this rock genre trend. Overall, I think it is safe for me to say that this is not their best work ever.

The music video for Birthday begins with Red Velvet being denied from attending a party by the cartoon Gingerbread Man. In a rather petty move, the members return to the site of the party. But instead of presents like in the initial scenes, the members bring bats to infiltrate the party. They successfully do this, as per the ending scene. But after they defeat the Gingerbread Man. That is what I got out of the video, which was oddly childish in my opinion. I guess it complements the song in that regard. However, there are mature themes in the video, such as the cult-like fashion in which they summoned that balloon bear that shoots from its eyes. Aside from that, I quite enjoyed the colourful nature of the video and the fun energy the members did a great job of conveying throughout the video.

As for the choreography, I don’t see much potential in this department. I am quite surprised at this. I tend to look for the positive in all the negative, but I just thought this routine was relatively weak compared to their past routines. The only aspect that I thought might be worth flagging is that the routine was quite smooth. But aside from that, nothing really stood out..

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 5/10
Overall Rating – 6.9/10

[Album Review] SAVIOR (4th Mini Album) – Kim Sung Kyu (INFINITE)

November 27, 2022Posted in Album Reviews, KPOPTagged INFINITE, Kim Sung Kyu (Infinite)Leave a comment

Support your favourite artists, songs and performances in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards by clicking the link here to vote.

Going over my list of album and song reviews that I want to cover, I note that there are a few releases from the first half of the year that I have yet to cover. One in particular is Kim Sung Kyu’s solo comeback from April, SAVIOR, which I am quite surprised I missed. I was a very big fan of Kim Sung Kyu’s solo work in the past and I would always be game to review his solo work in depth. So forgive me that this is almost seven months late, but here is my review of the fourth mini-album from the leader of INFINITE himself.

While it was a while since we last heard from him at the time of SAVIOR‘s release, I must admit the mini-album did a good job of bridging what Kim Sung Kyu is known for from his past solo discography and the more modern elements of today’s industry. I did wish more people are interested in his work, as he has a lot to offer. I personally cannot wait for another release from Kim Sung Kyu, but at least we have five songs to tie us over for the meanwhile.

1. Intro – Kicking off the mini-album is a nice yet short band piece. It is quite nice to hear drums and guitar in a pure form, as it felt like it has been a while since I have heard something straight up like this. No vocals feature in this Intro, but it still definitely did a good job of driving excitement levels up for what is to come. And if you have been a avid fan of Kim Sung Kyu, you know that an intro like this one is something that is right up his alley.

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

3. My Love Will Be Yours – Following the title track is a ballad. My Love Will Be Yours is nice but it is on the fairly typical side of ballads. It does capture his vocals very well, and the instrumental was classically and orchestrally driven. But I found it to be lacking that captivation factor or a swayable/flowy melody that usually draws my attention to a ballad. It is still a good ballad nonetheless, just not one that I would find myself going back to often. (7.5/10)

4. I Dare You – I Dare You is SAVIOR‘s most interesting track. But it is this interesting factor that makes it good. I Dare You starts off with an atmospheric intro and first verse, which I would collectively liken to a suspenseful piece from a sci-fi movie. Here, Kim Sung Kyu concentrates his deeper tone, before soaring in the chorus alongside to some atmospheric rock. For the second verse, Kim Sung Kyu maintains the momentum from the first chorus, and captures my attention with a brief high note. The bridge is forgone for a dynamic and texturally heavy synth instrumental piece that feels like a performance could accompany this section if I Dare You were to be performed live. To me, I Dare You reminds me of his early solo days where he got to try something different from your typical ballad or dance tracks with his rock-styled tracks. Overall, a standout track that I would be revisiting often. (10/10)

5. Fog (안개) – Fog closes out this mini-album with a song that features a heavier presence of rock. I really like how intense the rock feels, despite it falling more on the softer side of the rock profile. I also enjoyed the upbeatness it gave the chorus, which was a nice change to usual softer rock sounds. For this most part, Kim Sung Kyu sounds quite good. This style is what he is known for, and it is nice nostalgic trip down the memory lane of Kim Sung Kyu’s solo work for me. However, at certain points of Fog, I did find the vocals to be quite soft and muffled. But I wonder if this was intentional to mimic how fog encapsulates one’s surrounding. It will be interesting if that is the case. (8.5/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.8/10

[Album Review] BE AWARE (7th Mini Album) – THE BOYZ

November 27, 2022November 27, 2022Posted in Album Reviews, KPOPTagged THE BOYZ2 Comments

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

It has definitely been a while since the last album review being posted towards the end of October. A month on, I am finally back with the next album review. This one is for THE BOYZ’s BE AWARE – an album review I had started to draft before I had go on my urgent break and the prioritisation of other segments upon my return. Don’t worry, I dumped that draft and have rewritten everything to be a more accurate representation of my thoughts at this current point in time, as thoughts and feelings do change over a period of time. This album was released way back in mid-August and features the title track WHISTLE, alongside Timeless (a pre-release track) and four other side tracks.

Overall, a decent mini-album. Not their strongest, but there were some good moments on there. Do you agree with my overall summary of BE AWARE, or my thoughts on the individual songs? Let me know in the comments below.

1. WHISPER (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for WHIPSER. (7/10)

2. Bump & Love – Bump & Love is a slower pop track. It has some catchy and memorable moments. The main ones that I really enjoyed were the ‘Woo~’ in the pre-choruses and the ‘La la la’ in the post-choruses. And I quite liked how the bridge double downed and really cut through the overly consistent feel that Bump & Love was tethering with. Since I already mentioned it, the likeness of the verses and choruses for Bump & Love was its biggest flaw. The lack of difference between the two sections and the returning tempo just made the song too consistent for the most part. I did wish the song picked it up a bit, especially for the choruses. This would have really given Bump & Love a bit more energy and colour, which could have potentially made the song even better. (7.5/10)

3. C.O.D.E – Probably the most standard sounding on the album is C.O.D.E. It has a pretty typical set-up of EDM instrumental, and simple and easy-going pop melodies. There isn’t anything wrong with this set-up as C.O.D.E was still enjoyable and palatable. I do think if C.O.D.E tapped more into tropical sound and had stronger set of vocals, this would have been a knock out song. My favourite bit of C.O.D.E is Sunwoo’s rap-spoken “G.E.N.I.U.S” bridge. It was a very memorable aspect of the song that I continue replay the song for. (8/10)

4. Levitating (무중력) – Levitating opts for a darker and more mature R&B profile, which I personally enjoyed. It was a textural song, but it managed to resist the abrasive textures we have heard in KPOP in the past. Instead, the song features a pounding and hefty beat to its instrumental and is accented with some metallic clanging. The latter was pretty typical, and I wished there was something more creative in place. The vocal work was quite sultry and complements the mature vibes of the song really well. The rapping had an equally passionate vibe that was flirty at times. (8/10)

5. Survive The Night – Survive The Night starts off the end of the album, which features a much softer tone to how the album started. This song features satisfying mix of electric guitar, a trap beat and some bass. Survive The Night also features a neat display of vocals from all members of the group. Emotions were also prevalent. Not as strong as other displays of emotions in songs that I have observed before. But enough to say that it helped make Survive The Night captivating, quite soothing, and the best side track from the album. (9/10)

6. Timeless (Pre-Release Single) – Click here to read the full review for Timeless. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 7.9/10

[Weekly KPOP Chart] 4th Week of November 2022

November 27, 2022November 27, 2022Posted in Weekly ChartsLeave a comment

Welcome back to another Weekly KPOP Charts post for the 4th Week of November 2022.

It has been a big week on the blog with a big continued focus on the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Firstly, I posted the KPOPREVIEWED Choice for the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards (i.e. who I personally thought were the best in each category of nominees of the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards).

And just yesterday, I opened the official voting page for the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards, where you (the readers of the blog), and only you, can decide who the official winners of the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. This is by far the most important stage of any KPOPREVIEWED Award period. There is no rush to get your vote in, as deciding which artists, songs and performances of the year are the ‘best of the best’ are very important decisions to make. The survey will remain open until the very end of 6 January 2023, so feel free to ponder for now. BUT make sure you get your vote in before 6 January 2023. I will make sure to remind you constantly on the blog, Twitter and Facebook!

But as for now, here are the Weekly KPOP Charts for the 4th Week of November 2022.

Recap & New Releases of the Week

Another new week, more reviews. However, I didn’t cover the amount of songs I would like (I have a very daunting list of albums and songs I want to review staring at me from the side whilst writing up this post). They will still come, though. Some day in the future. In the meanwhile, I had posted reviews for AB6IX’s Sugarcoat, KANG DANIEL’s Nirvana, TEMPEST’s Dragon and NMIXX’s Funky Glitter Christmas.

Here are the other new releases from the past week (some of which I will return and review some day in the future):

Dreamers – Jungkook (BTS)
Groove Back – JYP ft. Gaeko (Dynamic Duo)
Tomorrow Shinhwa WDJ
The Days We Were Us – Solji (EXID)
Under The Skin – &TEAM
Forgive Me – BoA
CELEBRATION – KANTO
Funky Glitter Christmas – NMIXX
Old School – NTX
Freeze Tag – TO1
Stay With Me – IRRIS
We’re Done – Kim Dohee
Taste The Feeling – TEMPEST

Throwback Corner

Another week, another binge. This time, it was for Stray Kids. And it was primarily when I was preparing for the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards survey set-up. I was happy to be listening and reliving some of their past promoted tracks, given that they are one of my go to artists as the moment. If I had to pick one, it would have to be their 2019 release with MIROH. An old favourite that I personally feel is quite forgotten.

Non-Korean Release of the Week

Coinciding with his return this week onto the Korean music scene, this week’s Non-Korean Release is KANG DANIEL’s Joy Ride, which ranked in the 7th position. Joy Ride also had the biggest jump of the week (72 spots!).

The Charts

Congratulations to VERIVERY for topping the Weekly KPOP Chart for the 4th Week of November 2022 with Tap Tap. This is also the first time ever that VERIVERY had topped my Weekly KPOP Charts! For that, another congratulations is in order. For more of the charts, keep on reading.

	4th Week of November 2022	20th – 26th Nov 2022
Pos.	Song	Artist	Status
1	Tap Tap	VERIVERY	(▲ 14)
2	CASE 143	Stray Kids	(=)
3	The Astronaut	JIN (BTS)	(▲ 8)
4	Funky Glitter Christmas	NMIXX	(NEW)
5	Dragon	TEMPEST	(NEW)
6	Sugarcoat	AB6IX	(▲ 42)
7	Joy Ride	KANG DANIEL	(▲ 72)
8	YOUTH	KIHYUN (MONSTA X)	(▲ 9)
9	Selfish	YooA (OH MY GIRL)	(▼ 5)
10	Drip N’ Drop	MIRAE	(=)
11	Give Me Your TMI	Stray Kids	(▲ 36)
12	Lay Low	YooA (OH MY GIRL)	(▲ 18)
13	Nirvana	KANG DANIEL ft. pH-1 & WDBZ	(NEW)
14	Hymn to Love	EPEX	(▲ 23)
15	Virus	VICTON	(▲ 63)
16	The One	DRIPPIN	(▲ 11)
17	When I Get Old	CHUNG HA & CHRISTOPHER	(▲ 34)
18	CHILL	Stray Kids	(▲ 61)
19	VISION	Dreamcatcher	(▲ 12)
20	Make The Change	ENHYPEN	(▲ 20)
21	Attitude	ATBO	(▲ 53)
22	Alone	HIGHLIGHT	(▼ 17)
23	Unknown	Jeongmin (BF)	(▲ 53)
24	SOUR	THE ROSE	(▼12)
25	It’ll Be Alright	Roy Kim	(▲ 17)
26	HELLO	TREASURE	(▼25)
27	Last Scene	CHEN (EXO)	(▼13)
28	Rum Pum Pum	VIVIZ	(▼10)
29	Higher	FIFTY FIFTY	(▲ 50)
30	3D Woman	JAMIE	(▲ 28)

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:

Magical Symphony – ADORA
Brand New – Xiumin (EXO)
PARTY ROCK – CRAVITY
Drip N’ Drop – MIRAE
FIRE – EXID
Tonight – Park Hyunkyu (VROMANCE)
Moon&Back – Park Ji Hoon
Stay For Me – HYUK (VIXX) ft. Seo In Guk

[Review] Funky Glitter Christmas – NMIXX

November 26, 2022Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged NMIXX2 Comments

NMIXX is nominated for Best New Female Group of 2022 in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support NMIXX and your other favourite artists, songs and performances in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED by clicking the link here to vote.

NMIXX is back with the first holiday-themed KPOP track of the season. There is definitely a few more confirmed holiday-themed releases coming out way, so definitely keep your eyes open for those. But the focus today is on NMIXX and their new single Funky Glitter Christmas. This comeback follows the likes of O.O (their debut single) and DICE (their first comeback single).

NMIXX definitely made a splash in the industry for their uniqueness in smashing different sounds and styles into one singular song each time. This time around, the group turns down the exact thing that drew attention to them, instead opting for a more ‘standard’ sounding track to close out the year. And I quite like it. Not only was Funky Glitter Christmas was cheerful, upbeat, wholesome and bubbly, it was also stable and enabled a focus on the group’s vocals. On the stable front, we did get a bit of familiar melodies and classical carols mashed into the song, which is similar to the approach that NMIXX and their producers have taken for their other tracks. But it isn’t exactly jarring and comes off as cohesive, hence it feels stable. As for the vocal front, we have heard potential from the members in their past promoted tracks, but Funky Glitter Christmas is my first time hear a substantial vocal piece from the group. And I am very impressed with the flair and prowess that the group brought to Funky Glitter Christmas. I was particularly impressed with the the way the song swung back from the Christmas carol slowdown of the bridge to the final chorus, especially when it came to Lily’s high note. The rapping, whilst quite good, felt like it could have been a little more naturally incorporated into the song. Also, I feel that Funky Glitter Christmas could have more funkiness. This would have really made Funky Glitter Christmas more enjoyable, stronger and stand out more. Overall, a great track for us to acclimate to the holiday season and the countdown to the new year.

The entire music video showed the members getting ready for a party, and ultimately ends with that party showing everyone having fun and enjoying their time. This music video is no serious video, just telling you (visually) to have fun and enjoy the final moments of 2022 in the best way possible. It intends to be lighthearted and send out a happy message. It works well with the song and seeing the members have fun left a smile on my face.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.3/10

[Review] DRAGON – TEMPEST

November 26, 2022Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged TEMPEST1 Comment

TEMPEST is nominated for Best New Male Group of 2022, while their last comeback single is nominated for Most Underrated Song of 2022. Support TEMPEST and your other favourite artists, songs and performances in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED by clicking the link here to vote.

TEMPEST is back after a quick turnaround from their August comeback with Can’t Stop Shining and second mini-album (not yet reviewed, but will be reviewed). This time around, the group is promoting their third mini-album release, ON and ON, and the new lead single Dragon – both of which dropped on Tuesday this week. The single Taste The Feeling, which is also featured on this new mini-album, is also being promoted with a music video release (and I will be reviewing this some time into the future, as well).

Dragon is definitely a 180° change from their more pop centric Can’t Stop Shining, which I really enjoyed (so much so that it is now nominated for Most Underrated Song of 2022 in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards – sorry about the duplication and shameless plug). While I am not too bothered by the switch-up of style, my biggest concern with Dragon is that it doesn’t offer anything new in terms of output in the KPOP scene. Described as a hybrid trap song, Dragon is a somewhat solid track. It manages to put the members on display with solid display of vocals (i.e. the pre-choruses) and rapping (i.e. the powerful rapping we get in the verses). This is one aspect of Dragon that I really enjoyed. But unfortunately, it doesn’t strike me to be a memorable song. The choruses relied on shouty-like motif that didn’t give Dragon the opportunity to really hook me in. Whilst on the topic of hooks, Dragon was lacking in this department, as well. The instrumental was probably the most riveting aspect of the chorus, but it got repetitive by the time we got to the second chorus if I am being honest. Had the song been memorable by way of a more substantial hook, a less predictable instrumental or maybe a little creativity with the delivery of the chorus, Dragon could have been much more. But unfortunately, that wasn’t the case and we are left with a song that makes me want to relive their debut and previous comeback.

With a title as cool as Dragon, I kind of wished the music video featured more of the mystical beast. The glimpse of it that we did get was definitely serves as awesome peak. But I wished they had teased out the presence of the dragon a bit more. Aside from that, the video feels like your edgy styled music video, which works well with the song. I did quite liked the blue background with the white strips of fabric hanging above. That actually looked quite cool. I found the masks scenes to be a bit scary, but it worked with the edgy style quite well.

The performance for this comeback was just as you would expect. It is intense and has a powerful oomph to it, which complements the hybrid trap that we get in the song. I did like the kicks in the pre-choruses, which worked well in hyping up the performance. But nothing really stood out from this expected routine.

Song – 6.5/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 6.8/10

[Special] 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards – Voting Opens!!

November 26, 2022January 7, 2023Posted in KPOPREVIEWED Awards, Special3 Comments

If you are having trouble seeing the embedded survey below, please click this link to open the voting page in a new tab. Voting closes at 11:59PM AEDT on 6 January 2023.

[Review] Nirvana – KANG DANIEL ft. pH-1 & WDBZ

November 24, 2022Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged KANG DANIEL, pH-1, WDBZ4 Comments

As I had mentioned yesterday, I will be covering some new releases from this week today and tomorrow. It is slightly hard with artists whom I have not yet reviewed their previous comeback yet making their return this week and I want to at least review their releases in chronological order. So those releases will be on hold until I post a review for their preceding release. But there are still some new tracks from artists whom I have already reviewed their previous comebacks. One of these artists is KANG DANIEL. While I have yet to review two b-sides that got the music video treatment from his first studio album (and thus have not reviewed the full album, The Story), it might have been a smart unintended move. Following the release of The Story and Upside Down back in May, KANG DANIEL has returned 6 months on with a repackaged album that has been retitled as The Story: Retold and the new lead single, Nirvana.

Of all the different tracks that I have heard from KANG DANIEL since his solo debut, the ones that ends up going harder are the ones that I much prefer, like Who U Are and PARANOIA. Joining that list is Nirvana. It just takes a bit of time for the track to have momentum, and I like quite like it for the fact that it doesn’t delve into a dark context. The verses of Nirvana are more atmospheric and airy. There isn’t much to it, but I do find the synths that make up the background of the verses to be appropriate for KANG DANIEL. The meatier parts of Nirvana, which ends up being in the chorus, really sells the song for me. I quite enjoyed the contrast between verses/bridge versus choruses. It makes the electronic pop chorus just feel so much more intense when compared to the verses. But it also gave purpose to the atmospheric vibe that the verses had opted for. Without such a chorus, I feel like I would have been bored with what was presented to us in the verses. What I also enjoyed about the chorus was the beat, bass and rhythm, which I thought had a sense of style and sleekness to it that oozes out charisma as KANG DANIEL sings. I liked the more refined approach that his vocals took, keeping in line with that sense of style, sleekness and charisma that I just mentioned. And the melodies and lines had a memorable ring to them. pH-1 has always been a great addition to songs, and his featuring in Nirvana helped prevent the song fall into a consistent state that would have felt ended up Nirvana potentially going into dry territory. His flow and energy fits in quite well. Overall, Nirvana is a successful and great comeback track in my books.

The music video for Nirvana features WDBZ, who performs the choreography alongside KANG DANIEL. For those who don’t know WDBZ is a dance crew that is made up of dancers who normally already perform alongside KANG DANIEL on stage. They are signed under with Konnect Entertainment (the home of KANG DANIEL himself) and participated in the recent MNET dance crew survival show, Street Man Fighter (which KANG DANIEL also was a host for). Anyhow, the music video was pretty cool. I also like how KANG DANIEL is carefree for the verses. I find the scenes throughout the video shows him as likeable and friendly, especially when he dons a wide smile that also makes his eyes smile. The choreography scenes coincides with the choruses, as the music here features that the intense momentum. And I feel like the producers of this video really captured impactful moments of the routine. I also really enjoyed the runway scenes, which also works really well with the music/chorus.

As touched on briefly, the choreography has it moments, with the start of the chorus being the most impactful move from the routine. But that might be influenced by the cuts we see in the music video. The rest of the choreography really showed off KANG DANIEL’s charisma and both KANG DANIEL and WDBZ’s performance skills.

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

[Review] Sugarcoat – AB6IX

November 23, 2022Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged AB6IX2 Comments

As previously flagged, there is a lot to cover. And the past releases keep on growing as the days go by, so let’s chipping at those releases today starting with today’s singular review. I will be looking at some newer releases tomorrow and on Friday, so don’t worry. The first review today is for AB6IX’s Sugarcoat, which was released back at the start of October. It forms part of AB6IX’s sixth mini-album, Take A Chance. This comeback follows the release of 1, 2, 3 and SAVIOR earlier this year and a number of collaborations with Reiley for Moonlight.

The more I listen to Sugarcoat, the more convinced I become with the following conclusion – this is AB6IX’s weakest song to date. And that is saying a lot, given that I don’t remember all of their tracks from the top of my head, if I am being honest. But for some reason or another, Sugarcoat manages to just scream out that it is the group’s weakest song. Let’s break down the song to see why that is the case. The start of Sugarcoat was promising, with the light fade-in of instrumentation and a groovy base to kick off the song. I quite liked Daehwi’s vocals in the pre-chorus, as his vocals were much firmer and contrasted nicely with everything around it. And in the first instance, the chorus was was smooth and velvety (which contrasted nicely once again with the synths that make up the background), which is with thanks to the nicely done falsettos. But as Sugarcoat progresses, we never get anything new from the production. The funky instrumental simply repeats, with the members and the melodies forced to do the exact same thing to complement the repeating instrumental. The falsettos, though praised in that first instance of the chorus, was done so much throughout the song that Sugarcoat pretty much became overtly light and drifty. Again, I have praised songs in the past for this. But in this instance, this pretty much dulls the song for me. I wished Sugarcoat was grounded in some way. Usually, I would look to the rapping to do this, given that rapping tends to be a heftier and a more intense portion of a song. But because the song was so light and drifty, Woojin’s raps just couldn’t really override this. I have no doubts that he did a great job. I think the song could have used something meatier. In terms of trajectory, Sugarcoat is quite linear that the song doesn’t even peak. Even the dance break doesn’t venture far that the linear, opting for the same synths, rhythm and composition to the rest of the instrumental. Sugarcoat just hasn’t aged for me whatsoever. I pretty much have the exact same impression listening to the song today as I had when it was first released in October.

As for the music video, it is one of the videos that I don’t have much to say about. Half of the members are experimenting in the kitchen and lab, trying to develop the ‘Candy of Love’, while I think the other half are searching for it. Not really a riveting story, but it checks the box. The sets were colourful and neat. Their outfits were okay. I liked the denim and suit look. Not really a fan of that casual look that they went for – it was all pretty shaggy looking, to be honest.

The choreography aspect of this comeback was pretty good. I did like the mix of faster/sharper movements, and the slower/smoother moves in the chorus. This was clever and worked well with the lines in the chorus. The start was also pretty cool, though I wished that was kept for a routine which called for a lot more sharpness and intensity.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 6.4/10

[Special] 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards – KPOPREVIEWED Choice

November 21, 2022November 21, 2022Posted in KPOPLeave a comment

Welcome back to the next post in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards series. For this post, I will be presenting to you who I think should be the winners in each category.

Just a quick reminder that this is not the official winners for the categories. Only you (the readers of the blog and avid fans who come to the site at the end of the year to vote for your biases) will be the one decide the winners of the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. A post will be published next Saturday to announce the opening of the voting page.

As for Best Song and Best Artist of 2022, both of us will be deciding the winners for that (50% split of fan votes and my determination). And when voting opens next week, you will be able nominate your Best Songs and Artists of 2022. I will do the hard work once the voting closes to work out which song and which artist is ultimately the best of 2022.

For the purposes for this post and time constraints, I will not be announcing my choice of Best Song and Artist of 2022 in this post.

Due to the number of categories, I have elected to split this post into three pages.

To view the ARTIST-RELATED categories, stay on this page and keep on scrolling.
To view the PERFORMANCES, VISUALS and CHOREOGRAPHIES RELATED categories, click here or click to the second page at the bottom of this post.
To view the SONG-RELATED categories, click here or click to the third page at the bottom of this post.

Anyhow, without anymore delaying, I present to you the KPOPREVIEWED Choice for the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards.

Artist Categories

Best New Artists Categories

Most Underrated Artist Category

Rising Star Category

Best Subunit

Best Delivery Category

Best Comeback or Reunion Category

Best Soloist Award Categories

Best Group Award Categories.

Page 1 – Artist Related Categories
Page 2 – Performances, Visuals, Comeback Related Categories
Page 3 – Song Related Categories

Pages: 1 2 3

[Weekly KPOP Chart] 3rd Week of November 2022

November 20, 2022November 20, 2022Posted in Weekly Charts1 Comment

Welcome back to another Weekly KPOP Charts post for the 3rd Week of November 2022. This time, it is on schedule! Only one thing to update you on. But I just realized (and would to also point out) that 2022 is about to wrap up in a couple of week’s time. How crazy is that!

Anyhow, the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards have been announced. Yesterday, I posted the nominations for the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. And from next Saturday, you will be able to vote for who you think should be the winners! But before we can get to that, I have to post my choice of who I think the winners are (i.e. the KPOPREVIEWED Choice) for the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards and get through more reviews. Plus, go through the Weekly KPOP Charts for the 3rd Week of November 2022 (this post). So let’s get going before I end up delaying everything!

Recap & New Releases of the Week

As mentioned last week, I would return to the blog and begin to review songs once again about a period of absence. While I have not kept many promises about reviewing, I managed to keep this one. For this week, I covered new releases like CHEN’s Last Scene, VERIVERY’s Tap Tap, YooA’s Selfish. In addition to those three new releases, I posted reviews for HIGHLIGHT’s Alone, WEi’s Spray and WONHO’s Don’t Regret.

Here are the other new releases from the past (some of which I will return and review some day in the future):

Like a dream – Kim Sung Kyu (Infinite)
Aftermath – Kim Jeong Uk
The One – DRIPPIN
Pieces of You – Kevin Oh
Polaroid – Lim Young Woong
London Boy – Lim Young Woong
Virus – VICTON
POPPY – STAYC
MAGIC – ARTBEAT
STAR – BIGONE ft. Goopy
ME= (NANEUN) – JUST B
TAP – Secret Number
Rollercoaster – woo!ah!
Fight Inside – AIMERS
♡TiCON – CSR
Ghost Light – TheFatRat & EVERGLOW
Keep Me Up – B.I
BIBI – Vengeance BIBI
Higher – FIFTY FIFTY
Pink Moon – Ryu Sujeong

Throwback Corner

I was on a binge over the last fewa days whilst trying to finalise and prepare the nomination pictures for the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Artists like 4MINUTE, GOT7, SISTAR, SECRET etc. (amongst 2022 KPOP songs) were on the playlist. If I had to pick on track, I will go with 4MINUTE’s Whatcha Doin Today?, which was released back in 2014.

Non-Korean Release of the Week

This week’s Non-Korean Release is ENHYPEN’s Make The Change, ranking in the 40th position. The Japanese single previously featured in this segment during the 3rd Week of October 2022. .

The Charts

Congratulations to TREASURE for topping the Weekly KPOP Chart for the 3rd Week of November 2022 with HELLO. I have yet to review HELLO, but will do so later this week. For more of the charts, keep on reading.

	3rd Week of November 2022	13th – 19th Nov 2022
Pos.	Song	Artist	Status
1	HELLO	TREASURE	(▲ 14)
2	CASE 143	Stray Kids	(=)
3	We Fresh	Kep1er	(▲ 76)
4	Selfish	YooA (OH MY GIRL)	(NEW)
5	Alone	HIGHLIGHT	(▲ 54)
6	Don’t Regret	WONHO	(▲ 48)
7	ILLELLA	MAMAMOO	(▲ 10)
8	Nxde	(G)I-DLE	(▲ 6)
9	Underwater	Kwon Eun Bi	(▼ 3)
10	Drip N’ Drop	MIRAE	(▲ 8)
11	The Astronaut	JIN (BTS)	(▲ 11)
12	SOUR	THE ROSE	(▲ 27)
13	Icarus	RoaD-B	(▲ 23)
14	Last Scene	CHEN (EXO)	(NEW)
15	Tap Tap	VERIVERY	(NEW)
16	Spray	WEi	(▼ 3)
17	Youth	MONSTA X	(▼ 10)
18	Rum Pum Pum	VIVIZ	(▲ 49)
19	PARTY ROCK	CRAVITY	(▼ 15)
20	SUPER BOARD	Stray Kids	(▲ 27)
21	Uh-Heung	DKZ	(▲ 37)
22	because	Rie (OnlyOneOf)	(▼ 21)
23	28 Reasons	Seulgi (Red Velvet)	(▲ 21)
24	FIRE	EXID	(▲ 7)
25	Birthday	Ten (NCT)	(▲ 30)
26	ANTIFRAGILE	LE SSERAFIM	(▼ 3)
27	The One	DRIPPIN	(NEW)
28	Remembered	Park Bom	(▲ 51)
29	Beautiful LIE	TAN	(▲ 9)
30	Lay Low	YooA (OH MY GIRL)	(▲ 49)

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:

Grey – Rocking Doll
Survive – Rocking Doll
La Senorita – MustB
DICE – NMIXX
Blah Blah Blah – ITZY
VEIL – Lay Zhang (EXO)
Icarus – RoaD-B
go UP – JAY B (GOT7)
Rush Hour – Crush ft. j-hope (BTS)
GRATATA – Lapillius
Burn With Love – Lapillius
LIMBO – Jun (SEVENTEEN)
Sugar Rush – Kep1er
Drive! – Kisu

[Special] 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards – Nominations

November 20, 2022November 26, 2022Posted in KPOP, KPOPREVIEWED Awards4 Comments

Welcome to the first (and incredibly important) stage of the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards – the announcement of nominations! 2022 has been another big year in KPOP, with massive comebacks from a huge number of KPOP groups and soloists, top notch performance, reunions of some of our beloved favourites, intense competitions between newly debuted acts, and so much more. And I have taken the mammoth task of nominating 6 entries under each category this year. I definitely do not want to burden you with that job! I did a bit of explaining how the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards will work in the Coming Soon post, so check that out if you have not read it yet!

Following this nomination post, I will be posting my KPOPREVIEWED Choice later on in the week, before opening it all up for your fan votes from the 26 November 2022!

Also remember that there are a BEST SONG and BEST ARTIST category as well, which will be decided by a mixture of your fan notes and my input! These will be equivalent to the Daesang awards you see at the Korean award ceremonies. Unfortunately, I won’t be including them in the Nomination post/pages. But keep those songs and artists in mind for when voting begins!

Due to the number of categories, I have elected to split this post into three pages.

To view the ARTIST-RELATED categories (including Best Male and Female Soloists, and Best Male and Female Group, collectively the Artists of the Year categories), stay on this page and keep on scrolling.
To view the CHOREOGRAPHIES, VISUALS and COMEBACK RELATED categories, click here or click to the second page at the bottom of this post.
To view the SONG-RELATED categories, click here or click to the third page at the bottom of this post.

Without further ado, I present to you the nominees for the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards.

Artist Related Categories

Best New Artist Categories

Most Underrated Artist Category

Rising Star Category

Best Subunit Category

Best Delivery Categories

Best Comeback or Reunion Category

Best Soloist Award Categories

Best Group Award Categories

Page 1 – Artist Related Categories
Page 2 – Choreographies, Visuals, Comeback Related Categories
Page 3 – Song Related Categories

Pages: 1 2 3

[Review] Spray – WEi

November 18, 2022Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged WEi2 Comments

Guess who finally made a Facebook account! Click here to follow the page for new posts and updates!

With my focus on debuts for majority of October, I have been unable to cover a wide range of new releases in KPOP due to time constraints. As previously specified, I will be slowly catching up on reviews as much as possible. Today’s focus is on WEi, who made their comeback a month ago with their new single Spray and their 5th mini-album, Love Pt. 2: Passion. This is the first time we are seeing WEi on stage since their Too Bad comeback and their Japanese debut with Maldives earlier this year (yet to be reviewed, but will be soon).

WEi reverts back to the edgy and tough-guy sound of KPOP with the release of Spray. I find this to be a little disappointing, given that I thought WEi was excelling with their brighter pop releases that they have more recently released (i.e. Too Bad and Bye Bye Bye). While reverting back to old sounds isn’t necessarily a bad move, I can’t help but think that Spray fails to really standout in the current crowd of KPOP releases and ultimately feels generic. Spray definitely had the foundations to be a successful track and there was opportunities for it to go big. The producers just missed the opportunities to concentrate this song into something more intense and impactful. And I feel the instrumental could have been boosted had the producers opted for (or at least experimented with) some more interesting and unique synths, rather than the standard ones we get in most dance tracks. The short dance break after the second chorus had the right idea, with a slightly different synth as a central piece. I also feel like the vocalists could have left a deeper impression in Spray, had the melodies been more developed and provide a more memorable ring to Spray. I feel like their parts were underbaked and more like a fizzle than a decent ‘spray’. But as always, I do want to point out some moments within Spray that I thought were quite good. The opening and end of Spray had this low groan-like “Love“, which I personally thought was intriguing. The chorus had a good set up with the line by line switching of vocals and rapping. The “Spray … Spray” hook ended up being quite memorable in my books. As it is a more edgy type of song, the rappers really stood out strong in Spray. They were given a more prominent role in the song, and I was impressed with the intensity they had delivered. The high note also shows promise from the vocal department (just a pity that their parts weren’t as stirring), and I really liked concentration of everything right after the final chorus and just before the final moments of Spray (this was what I was looking for when I mentioned concentrating the song earlier). Overall, I feel that Spray could have done more in some regards to not be a mix bag.

When I thought of the edgy and touch-guy sound, along with the title, I instantly thought graffiti and an underground-like premise to the video, leading to an industrial setting. And we pretty much got just that, just without as much graffiti as I had expected. There also seems to be a bit of a story to the video, with the members running at one point from a machine (and then confronting it), and some contraption of some kind was being built/installed to blow something up. I am just not too sure of the specifics of the storyline. But it did look cool. Another thing that looked cool was the instant switch between dry and wet environment during the bridge. It goes well with the title and was probably the most memorable aspect of this music video.

The key point of the choreography was the spray can action they did with their hand, which I thought was clever and highly relevant for this release. The rest of the routine was quite good and intense. They did a good job of selling that edgy and tough guy concept on stage.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 7.5/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.4/10

[Review] Selfish – YooA (OH MY GIRL)

November 17, 2022Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged YooA (Oh My Girl)1 Comment

Today’s review focuses on OM MY GIRL’s YooA, who makes her return as a solo artist with the single Selfish. She also dropped her second mini-album of the same name on Monday. This is YooA’s first comeback as a soloist and follows her debut with Bon Voyage back in 2020. As part of the promotions for this comeback, YooA also released two pre-release singles from the mini-album, Lay Low and Melody ahead of Selfish. I will return to these releases when I have time in the future. As for now, here are my thoughts on Selfish.

After listening to the song the very first time on Monday when it was released, I went away with one pretty brief thought about Selfish – that it is overwhelmingly repetitive. I like the use of repetition to help make a hook memorable and have praised its usage in many songs when others didn’t necessarily like it. And while the opening hook “I want U babe I want U” (which is repeated throughout Selfish) does get keyed into your mind, its the dull spoken and monotone delivery of this hook that pretty much makes it lackluster. And since it is repeated at the start, makes up the first half of the choruses and features as part of the second half of the choruses, this lackluster is consistently brought up and I am pretty much over it by the time we get to the second chorus. Whilst on the topic of the second half of the choruses, I am a bit shocked at how much of the monotonal approach is adopted in the song. I appreciate the shouty and chanty style of the second half of the choruses, as it brought some life and body to Selfish. But YooA’s monotone and flat delivery layered under the chant just brings the energy down. Luckily, the chant was pretty intense, otherwise that low toned line might have canceled out the energy. As for the rest of Selfish, I am okay with it. The verses decently displayed YooA’s vocals (just wished the drumming R&B instrumental was a bit more tight and had more meat to it). The repetitive (its a theme with Selfish!) “Zom” bridge was pretty interesting at first. A bit weird in the first instance and hilarious upon reflection. But listening back, I do find it somewhat charming now. It might be due to the fact that YooA gives the lines wispy ends which I find to be pretty nice (relative to everything else we got in the song). Her vocals that follow the “Zom” section were probably the best we got from her. Unfortunately, Selfish was a disappointing return riddled with elements that were intended to be memorable, but instead were dry and dull.

The lyrics of Selfish likens frustrating feelings stemming from an uncertain relationship due to an indecisive significant other to a fish inside a bathtub that is being drained (taken from SOOMPI). While we don’t necessarily see the fish in a draining bathtub (this would have equated to animal cruelty), we do see the frustration in some scenes courtesy of YooA, particularly when she is slamming her keyboard and looks somewhat angry. Other than that, the music video is bright and colourful. It pretty much felt like an OH MY GIRL’s video. I kind of wished that the producers created a different visual environment for YooA and her solo releases to help differentiate between group and solo work. But it was still a decent video.

Despite the disappointment I have expressed with regards to the song, I actually thought the performance for this comeback was very well done and recommend that you check it out. I really liked the way the dancers were utilised in this performance to add more to the performance. Take the first chorus as an example, where the male dancers were doing this on-the-spot break dance move to the side of the stage, while the YooA and the female dancers were doing the main twist move at the centre of the stage. We also see a bit of mature vibe to the performance, with the bridge showing off a somewhat sensual energy, especially when YooA and co. bend backwards on their knees.

Song – 5.5/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 6.7/10

[Review] Don’t Regret – WONHO

November 16, 2022Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged WonhoLeave a comment

Just over a month ago, WONHO made a quick comeback with the single Don’t Regret and his second single album, Bittersweet. It is WONHO’s first comeback in four months, following the release and promotion of CRAZY over Summer. And as announced yesterday, Don’t Regret will also be his last comeback for a while as he is preparing to enlist into the military in early December.

Following the number of dance tracks WONHO has given us since his solo debut, it is intriguing to hear that WONHO brings us on a slightly different direction with Don’t Regret. For this comeback, the new song steps into the trendy territory of rock that has dominated KPOP in 2022 with its many shades and forms. In the case of Don’t Regret, we get a moodier and emotional alternative heft to the rock, which does differentiate it from the rest of the rock styled songs we have heard this year. I quite enjoyed the consistency of the instrumental in this one. Yes, I didn’t find the consistent energy to be a flaw of the song (i.e. make the song boring, monotone or lackluster). Rather, it helped create a whole piece that flowed from start to end quite well and really sold the song to me. WONHO’s vocals in Don’t Regret were a solid effort. The definition in the chorus that accompanies his vocals helped make the centerpiece feel impactful and memorable. If I were to be critical about Don’t Regret, I think that certain parts of Don’t Regret would have benefited from an angstier approach from WONHO. I am on the side of being unsure whether he can pull that off, given how smooth and higher pitched his vocals are. But this would have better complemented the rock side of the song, make the song more interesting and give Don’t Regret more oomph. Despite that, what we got was really good in itself already and suffices. Overall, a strong release from WONHO that leaves me satisfied for the next while as he goes on his hiatus.

The song talks about having no regrets over a breakup, knowing that it was the right decision for both parties. Given that the song does have that emotional undertone since it touches on a breakup, the moody aesthetics and darker lighting we get in the video does a good job of capturing those emotions. I also believe we see snippets of the breakup happening midway into the video. Interestingly, the video largely stays with a similar aesthetic to the very end, so it does beg the question how does the video paint the picture that the lyrics allude to having ‘no regrets’ over the breakup. While there are some scenes where WONHO does appear to be smiling, I liked how the video at the end showed the two walking away in different forms, suggesting that no one is no longer hung up over the breakup. They are moving on and it shows that they have no regrets. Clever and works within the boundaries that were set when producing the video.

I appreciate the fact that WONHO chose no choreography for this comeback (thus, I will not be including a performance part in the final rating). It allows WONHO to focus on his live vocals and emotions that the song packs. And he does a good job of doing just that.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.7/10