Category: KPOP

[Review] Rolly – Good Day

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Good Day made their official debut at the end of August with Rolly. Given their debut date, I should have endeavoured to release an earlier review for it, but due to certain reasons, it had to sit on the sidelines for the past two weeks, until today. Good Day is a group under C9 Entertainment, consisting of 10 members!

Like the name of their group, listening to the song will put you in a good mood, because it will make it into a Good Day. Hahaha… The song centres itself within the retro world that KPOP always gets right. It is dominated by brass and mostly anything else that you would consider retro. The song is really catchy, especially that “Rolly Rolly” repetition post chorus. My favourite parts are the rap sequence in the pre-chorus. It gave the song something extra, to prevent it from getting too repetitive. Their vocals are great, matching the retro style. The weakest moment of the song is definitely the slowed down bridge. It literally cuts the song’s strong retro and catchy melody then and there. It just didn’t feel right and after 2 weeks of listening, I can say that it still doesn’t grow on me. Overall, I think it is a great debut song.

The smart thing with this video is that it features Bae Jinyoung, who is currently promoting as part of Wanna One. It drags the attention of fans to Good Day’s music video. It is a tactic that has been used an infinite amount of times by many Korean companies. And it seemed to do the trick, I think. But besides that, the video is pretty much boring. It is your typical KPOP video and it doesn’t really set it a part from the rest of the competition.

The performance is okay. Many famous retro performances in KPOP have a key dance move. This one doesn’t really have one or I really cannot identify it. The intensity of the performance which they deliver was good, but I feel if they could find a marketable key dance move, I am sure they could have earned some recognition along the way.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 5/10
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating – 6/10

[Album Review] The War: The Power of Music (4th Repackaged Album) – EXO

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This is the second album review for today, which hopefully covers last week’s missing album review. EXO is back with their repackaged album, The War: The Power of Music. I also vote this album for ‘cheesiest album title’ of the year. Anyway, I previously reviewed The War album and that will be linked in the post below. I will only be reviewing the new songs for the repackaged album. So let’s get this show on the road!

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The War: The Power of Music Album Cover

For all other tracks on the album (tracks 1, 4-6, 8-12), CLICK HERE!!!!!!

2. Power (Title Track) – Click here for the full review of Power (9.5/10)

3. Sweet Lies – It is the odd one out for the entire album. And I am a little torn. A part of me finds the track very interesting. The RnB infused electronic style of sound isn’t something that you find often in KPOP. And it somewhat stands out. The vocals were great and the raps were just on point. But even after a few listens, the track isn’t memorable. I know I highlighted some elements that I liked about the song but that is only when I listen to the song with intent to write about it. Just listening to it with the rest of the album, on the other hand, means it gets swept under the shadows of the catchy Power and disappointing Ko Ko Bop. (7/10)

7. Boomerang – The track is more up my alley. But once again, it does fall short compared to others on the album. The synth-heavy RnB centered instrumental was standard but pretty nice. The vocals were good, bringing a rougher side out of some of the vocalists in my opinion. I am not a big fan of the ‘Hey Hey Hey‘, as they felt awkwardly placed. I don’t think there were any rap portions to the song, as Chanyeol opted for singing in the second verse and Sehun only ended up with 6 words (Tik Tak Boom). In my opinion, if the song had a stronger hook, I would have enjoyed it a little more. And think it would have complimented the other elements. (7/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8/10 (only songs reviewed in this post)

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Power Music Video Screenshot (Source: Soompi)

 

 

 

[Album Review] Blue (7th Single Album) – B.A.P

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B.A.P has returned with a brand new single album, titled as Blue. The group made their comeback last week with Honeymoon (review linked below). I will be posting another album review later tonight, alongside this one, to make up for my absence last Monday. I just had a hand full of work to knock out. But this post is all about B.A.P, so let’s get going!

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Blue Album Cover

1..Honeymoon (Title Track) – Click here for the full review of Honeymoon (9/10)

2. All The Way Up – This song has potential but it falls a little short. I love all the elements of the song. They have a bright and vibrant instrumental, which pairs well with their explosive vocals. Even the raps are amazing. But what the song needed was some bass. And that is where it falls a little short. If there was some bass, it would have made the song feel more suited for a party and even more uplifting. (8/10)

3. Rewind – Rewind takes another direction from the two songs before it (and the ongoing trends within the industry) with a jazzier and slower paced song. Its slower pace is its main charm and I loved how Zelo and Bang Yong Guk rapped to the song. The vocal work is (per usual) superb. Personally, it isn’t my preference but they did an undeniably good job with the song. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.5/10

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Blue Album and Honeymoon Teaser Image

 

[Review] I’m The One – MXM

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MXM is a brand new duo from Brand New Music to enter the music scene. The duo is made up of Im Young Min and Kim Dong Hyun. Both of them participated in the recent show Produce 101 Season 2. And while I’m The One is their official debut title track, they released Good Day and I Just Do in July this year, kicking off their careers.

I’m The One starts off pretty standard and I initially thought it was just going to be an okay song. But once we hit the chorus, the song ended up being much better. I like the direction the song went and how catchy it became especially with their ‘I’m The One’ repetition. I like the freshness of the song, fitting in nicely with the now gone Summer season. Favourite part was the bridge. The raps and the vocals were quite good. But they weren’t great. And that leads me onto the main issue with the track. It could have been kicked up a notch and make into a more epic song. But it seemed like they played it safe. It ended up being a little predictable and a little experimentation to give it some flare or make it stand out of the crowd. But I am not to trouble by it and I just can’t help but go back for some more.

Fitting in with that Summer vibe, the duo’s music video does the job perfectly. It isn’t the most interesting video out there but the brightness literally makes the video pop out. I don’t have much else to say about the video though.

The performance that accompanied this song was spectacular. And it is not only them but they were in-sync for the entirety of the video, along side their back dancers. Even though it is something that is seen commonly, the presence of a group in sync with each other looks amazing, regardless of the moves pulled off.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8/10

 

[Review] Like A Flower – BLACK6IX

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I try to keep up with the releases but sometimes I fall behind. BLACK6IX’s latest comeback was actually released on Sunday that had just passed. Like A Flower is the group’s first comeback since their debut earlier in the year with Please.

The song itself is quite good. Like A Flower is an EDM based song that sounds very standard for the most part. However, the song seems to change up a bit when it comes to the chorus. You hear strings being plucked throughout the chorus which gives it an intriguing feel.. I am not exactly sure what the exact instrument is (since Asian countries have similar instruments) but it reminds me of an Asian zither. And by using that, it made the chorus quite ear-catching. The vocals are quite good but at times, it felt like there was little to no energy behind them. I think that was the only thing in the entire song that could have been enhanced. But what stood out the most, to me, were the rappers. It was dynamic and added a level of intensity to the song. However, I do feel that a rougher and intense song could have given an even better platform for the raps to shine even brighter. While I didn’t actually sit down and review their debut song, there is clearly potential behind the group given the releases of both songs.

The music video could have been better on so many levels. The entire video was slowed down a notch and it didn’t match with the music. It was painfully obvious. Not sure if it was an editing issue but I am sure they could have done better. Some of the members couldn’t lip sync properly and it too didn’t fare well. But besides those details, the rest of the video managed to pair well with the song. The dark and tough vibes you can hear throughout the song were displayed nicely throughout the video, such as the lighting and haziness caused by the smoke.

Have they had a comeback stage yet? I tried searching for one but can’t seem to find one. From what I can see in the music video, the dance is good. There were a few moves that I liked, such as the ‘Flower’ move (seen it before but it still looks cool).  It doesn’t really feel impressive though, which made it feel less captivating.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 510
Performance –  7/10
Overall Rating – 7/10

[Review] Like This – Pentagon

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Pentagon has made their return to the stage once again this year with Like This. They previous promoted Pretty Pretty and Critical Beauty earlier this year. Currently, Pentagon is in the spotlight due to Hui, who has also produced some popular songs currently circulating the industry at the moment, such as Wanna One’s Energetic.

Like This has a more serious tone compared to any of Pentagon’s songs. And with that serious tone, there is a lot more angst within the song, which makes it an interesting aspect of the song. The instrumental has been stripped back quite. It isn’t heavy in terms of sound, which I actually like. It did have a very dull feel to it but the other aspects (i.e. vocals and raps) gave some the song that angst and character. Vocally, I think this is their best effort yet. It doesn’t really present us with anything new, but rather the vocal style fits the more serious side of the song. But to me, the best and worst part of the song was the rapping. The raps, for sure, felt perfect for this song in my opinion. When they needed a little intensity to keep the song intriguing, the raps came in at the right moments. But that rap sequence right after the first chorus was, what I would deem, as the weakest moment of the entire track. It was good but the way they connected it to the slow verse felt awkward and too sudden. But besides that, great song.

The darker concept went well with the song and I personally thought they would continue with the concept throughout the song. But that ending when they have fun and throw E-Dawn up into the air didn’t feel just doesn’t carry that same momentum. But besides that, each member’s individual scenes, where some showed angst, complimented well with the song.

The performance was quite good. It might be due to the slower music tempo, but I didn’t find it as captivating as their other performances. The moves weren’t that groundbreaking but they seemed to fit the song.

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

[Review] I Loved You – DAY6

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Today is the 6th day of the month.  So naturally, it is time for the monthly DAY6 review. Last month, they returned with What Can I Do? and now this month the song is titled I Loved You (and the continuation of last month’s video).

The song marks the band’s return to their emotional side. The rock ballad song actually sounds nice. That being said, there isn’t anything groundbreaking or new about the song. It does sound pretty standard from the start to the end of the song. But I like it that way.  The instrumental isn’t too heavy and compliments the softer vocals and emotional side of the song as well. Talking about the vocals, they sound quite nice but it isn’t amazing like so of their other works. While we know DAY6 for their versatility, the group played it safe with a very neutral song for this month.  I am not too troubled by that though but it does dampen my expectations for something different from the band. It wont be my go-to DAY6 song but it will easily satisfy my ballad craving that I habe periodically.

The music video is the continuation of the same before from last month. Here we see a lot more character development. Young K is cocky, hence why no one wanted to be around him the previous video. Dowoon is popular due to his good looks and intelligence. Jae is in love with another girl, while Sungjin makes his moves after mustering enough courage to talk to his crush. Poor Wonpil, who was left on the bus and looking at Sungjin in a heartbroken manner. The most interesting friendship from this video has to be Young K and Dowoon’s. The latter defends the other but gets bashed in the process. However Dowoon stays close by and help his new friend out by buying medication for him.  The connections between the videos make it very interesting to watch. Furthermore, the band scenes in the dash look awesome and very fitting. 

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8/10

[Review] Power – EXO

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The return of the superpowers that EXO debuted with! Per tradition, EXO has made their return with the repackaged album of The War, which has been renamed to The War: The Power of Music. This repackaged album features all the songs from The War (such as Ko Ko Bop) and it also features 3 new songs, one of which is Power.

EXO went with a totally new sound with Power. From their reggae influenced Ko Ko Bop, Power centres itself within the genre of Pop. I personally like this. It is right up my alley. Sure, it isn’t a brand new sound nor does it experiment with anything. But sometimes, you just need to return to the good old days and listen to some pure pop (like what I grew up with). What I initially thought was the song felt like your typical EXO side-track that you would find on the album, not a title track. But don’t get me wrong, this is one really good title track. The intensity from the instrumental was just right and paired well with the other elements of the song. I like the bright atmosphere, which suits the exiting Summer season which just ended in South Korea. The song itself is catchy. The “We Got The Power” line rings in my head even after the song ends, which is indicative that it is going to be one catchy song. Vocally, this is an amazing effort from the group. I felt everyone shined equally and it was definitely one of their best (in my opinion).

But I don’t think the song is the main focus of the comeback. It has to be the music video. I watched 5 minutes of what? I don’t know. No one knows. I personally thought that they despised their superpower debut. But it seemed to return in this comeback. Just it is hard to decide whether this is a recovery from that debut or if it adds to the shame that I believed they expressed in the past in regards to it. The acting was cringy. I’ll say that. And the way they posed for their individual shots. But it all adds to the humorous side of the video which I thought was an aspect of the video that was appealing. I personally felt the robot invasion theme was more suitable for an album titled as The War. Sighs. It has come to the point where I am going to say I like this video quite a bit. It is better than saying I want to roll up into a ball and cringe on their behalf.

[Updated] The performance was not what I expected for some odd reason but I like it. I am actually slightly addicted to it. My favourite part was the slow motion stepping at the end of the song. Besides Kai’s winks going viral, Power gave them room to be a little carefree and that is what I enjoyed the most about it.

Song – 10/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10 [Updated]
Overall Rating – 9.5/10 [Updated]

[Review] Honeymoon – B.A.P

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B.A.P has made their return to the stage with a brand new single album, titled as Blue. Honeymoon, the title track for their 7th single album, marks their first comeback since Wake Me Up earlier this year.

Honeymoon is one awesome song. Let me just it out there. The song starts with some intriguing whistles. It then leads into an electronic based dance song, which I thought sounded amazing. The instrumental felt very Western and it could easily have been released in America and attracted some attention for its easy going sounds and beats. It kind of builds up but it isn’t as noticeable compared to other songs. The first verse/chorus felt quite slow and underwhelming. That was probably the biggest letdown of the song. However, from Zelo’s rap onwards, the song manages to kick it up a notch and sound more energetic and impactful. Jongup’s section in the second chorus was phenomenal and everyone else contributed towards an intense ending, which makes it so much more different compared to what I felt at the start. The ending did feel abrupt but it felt right for this song and Himchan’s vocals were on point to the song. It is not a perfect song but it is going to get a lot of replays in the weeks to come.

The music video was quite aesthetic in nature. And the cinematography of the video was quite nice, which allows us to take in beautiful landscape and seascape fully. The scenes must come together somehow and tell a story. Not exactly sure what the story is and I don’t think there are any fan theories about the video. But there has to be a connection between smashing a baseball bat into a computer screen, releasing goldfish into the sea and pouring a bottle of wine down into a grassy field. And I liked watching the video. Just someone cut the mullets and remove them, please? I don’t get this trend that is going on but I thought mullets were the shameful past of the 80s, not the new decade.

[Updated] The performances waits for the chorus to kick before blowing the viewers away. Especially that first chorus, where they had the cascading effect with Jongup in front. That was fluid and amazing. They did do some standing around, which took away that amazingness but they made up in their vocals/raps each time.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10 [Updated]
Overall Rating – 9/10 [Updated]

[Review] What U Like – Lee Gikwang (HIGHLIGHT)

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Lee Gikwang, who is commonly known to be part of HIGHLIGHT (formerly Beast), was actually previously a solo artist under the stage name of AJ before he debuted with the group. However, his solo career was put on hold for the debut of Beast and has not promoted as a solo artist since his debut in 2009. Until today, where he dropped his track What U Like and 2nd mini album, One.

The track is underwhelming. It doesn’t appeal to my taste and it just doesn’t have the energy that I sought. I can see why some people would like it. It has some nice hooks and the overall sound contributes to a nice atmosphere. The track is easy on the ears and seems to separate itself from the competition for its combination of styles. The song is a mashup between that ongoing tropical style trend that KPOP has been experiencing and that minimalistic style of music. But the two doesn’t really go together. Tropical based music is meant to be energetic and the minimalistic nature just kills those vibes. And the same can be said the other way around. The vocals were great. They actually have this smoothness to them, which I thought was cool. This is just my personal opinion at the time of writing. It may or may not change with even more listens in the coming weeks and months. Gikwang’s solo return is definitely much appreciated but his song doesn’t do the job for me. (There is actually another song on the album which drew my attention: Misunderstand. Check it out here!).

The same can be said about his music video. I liked the setting (some urban place in Korea that keeps popping in music videos) and the cinematography was pretty good. The use of those coloured clouds looks amazing, as well.  But I found the video a tad boring to watch. Besides some solo shots and choreography, there isn’t anything else in the video to talk about. So I am going to poke at something that I usually don’t speak about. His outfits in the video look really good. I would never be able to pull off his style and it makes me slightly jealous.

Gikwang is known for his dancing. From his solo stages to his group work, there is a lot of expectations for his comeback in terms of choreography. There hasn’t been a full performance yet. However, from what I see in the music video, I think it looks like it is going to be a nice performance to look out for.

Song – 5/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 6/10

[Review] Just U – Jung Sewoon

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Another trainee from Produce 101 Season 2 has finally made their debut. Jung Sewoon may have just missed out on making it into Wanna One, but his solo debut has already hit the top of the charts. The solo act is signed under Starship Entertainment and made his debut in the past week with Just U.

Just U is one damn good song. Not exactly sure how to describe it but smooth RnB jumps to my mind. The song opens up with an acoustic guitar as the main instrument and it remains as the dominant instrument throughout the entire song. It gives a Latin influence to the sound of the song. The rap verse is the only part that doesn’t have the guitar but I honestly didn’t notice until I started to write this review. His rap verse was quite good. But the standout has to be his singing. That smoothness that I mentioned at the start comes from the vocals itself. They also drew my attention to the song and its combination with the guitar makes it sound so much better. The chorus itself is also quite catchy and sounds so good every single time I listen to it. This is just a debut song and he has already nailed it. I can’t wait to see what else he has in store for us in the future.

The music video is a tad dry in my opinion. It just didn’t pull my attention as the song did. I did like certain parts of the video. For example, I liked the way he interacted with the camera on the tennis court. And the transitions were pretty good. There was also a very stylish factor about the video which I thought was nice. Everything else just felt ordinary.

The performance was okay. He had a few dance moves in there but I felt the microphone stand made it feel constricting and took the appeal out of it. As the guitar, I don’t understand the purpose of it if he only used it for less than 30 seconds.

Song – 9.5/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 8.5/10

 

 

[Review] Babe – Hyuna

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Hyuna, the queen of Summer, has finally made her official comeback to the stage. This is her first promotional run as part of Triple H, he collaboration with Hui and E-Dawn of Pentagon. Babe is the lead title track on her 6th mini album, which is titled as Following.

Babe is a completely different style that Hyuna has never gone for. And that is a relief as some of her music does get a little unimaginative after a while. Right off the first second, you could tell an aesthetically pleasing song is in our midst and she delivers with just that. The song has American influence as its sounds feel like it would work in the U.S. The instrumental is interesting. It isn’t as upbeat as her previous songs but there is a nice variety of sound and synths within it. To me, Hyuna has never been a great vocalist, but she can sing. Babe seems to be her best effort yet as it focuses more on her vocal abilities rather than her raps. She could work on her pronunciation a tad bit because it took a while for me to understand what she was actually singing. And while her Babe hook seems to be catchy now, I am quite sure that repetitive listens could turn it into an annoying sound. The only thing that plays against the song is the ending. It just didn’t feel like the right ending for such a unique song. To wrap up, I like it.

Once again that pale filter is used once again and the same dull effect is brought on. It probably contributed to the appalling blue/green screen usage. However, I am glad that they left that for a while and went with something that felt more natural (i.e. no bad green/blue screens). It is definitely not her flashiest video in her career, but the sexiness she shows in the video is subtle and not in your face. And I like that quite a bit.

Her sexiness is more dominant in the performance. There is no doubt about it. But it seems to be the weakest out of all her dances that I have enjoyed, to date. But it is still nice to watch.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 8.5/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 8/10

 

[Review] DamDaDi – Golden Child

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The newest and youngest kids on the block. Golden Child, who is currently under Woolim Entertainment, the same company that brings you Infinite and Lovelyz, made their official debut yesterday with DamDaDi. The group is made up of 11 members (too many to name) and have already received attention for their knife like choreography, something that Infinite was known for when they debuted and made consecutive comebacks.

The song is surprisingly good. Given their ages, I thought they would go down the typical cutesy KPOP debut track. But instead, the group went with a more funky and energetic sound, which I thought was unique. The sounds fit the warmer seasons perfectly. Some moments felt very retro, while other moments felt modern. The hooks in the song are pretty good. It did get a little repetitive towards the end but they worked pretty well because it has me coming back for more. Their vocals and raps are good but it didn’t the wow factor that you want to hear from a new group. While I am very satisfied with the song, a part of me wants the song to go that extra length and amaze us. That way, the group can secure a more permanent spot in the industry, something that rookies don’t really get an express route to.

The music video had that hazy filter on it, which could have been removed entirely. The song calls for a bright and bold atmosphere, but the hazy filter made it feel dull. The colours seem to look vibrant but the filter just doesn’t convey it. The entire video sees the guys prepare for a  baseball competition and they have some fun on the way. It is a good video but it doesn’t leave me with much else to say.

The group is already known for their choreography skills. The performance for DamDaDi seems very good, with the entire group in sync for the entire dance. And visually, that makes it look so perfect. But I feel like they could have gone for a more energetic dance to fit the song, especially during the chorus. It is good but it isn’t as memorable as it should have been.

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

[Review] Whisper – VIXX LR

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It has been two years since the VIXX subunit made their official debut with Beautiful Liar. VIXX LR is officially back with a brand new mini-album and title track, Whisper. While it has been a while for the duo, VIXX has been busy with multiple comebacks over the past two years, with Shangri-La being their most recent one.

Whisper is an unexpected song. I originally expected that they would go down the Beautiful Liar route with a similar song. But instead, we get a completely different sound with a fresher appeal. It took a few listens for me to warm up to it and I can officially say it is a pretty dynamic song. The softness that you feel through Leo’s vocals and the roughness from Ravi’s rap blend very well with each other.  Actually, certain parts felt like VIXX LR was actually whispering the song to us, which I thought was quite nice. The summer perfect hip-hop style instrumental is quite nice and it takes the backseat for a majority of the song. They seemed to pick it up for the final chorus but it seemed a tad late then. It probably wouldn’t fit the whisper aspect that I mentioned a few lines above, but I felt the song could have done with more bass or a bolder instrumental. But what we got, in the end, was pretty awesome itself and I think I like it quite a bit now.

The music video for Whisper is what I wanted to talk about the most. There is a distinct storyline to the video, which I like. Leo and Ravi, as showed at the end of the video, are connected by a very thin line. What their relationship is, however, is up to the interpretation of the viewer. But it clear that both members seem to play opposites of each other (hence the red and blue colour profiles). Leo seems to play the more innocent and submissive side of a person, which I felt was prominent from the way he caressed the books and yarn. Ravi played a more dominant and rebellious figure, from the way he sits in the car and dresses. There also seems to be a connection between both VIXX LR videos. The imagery in some scenes was there and I thought that was pretty cool. My guess is that Whisper is the prequel and it leads to the development of the characters played by Leo and Ravi in Beautiful Lair (i.e. Ravi plays the dark angel, while Leo plays the easily persuaded person). Overall, I thought it was a pretty good video to watch.

I don’t find myself drawn to the performance of the song. The choreography was okay but VIXX LR seemed to take more a backseat this time around. I am not that troubled by that but it leaves me with little to say. That part in the music video (which doesn’t seem to be in the performance due to Leo singing at that same moment) is probably my most favourite.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 8/10

 

[Album Review] White Night (3rd Studio Album) – Taeyang (Big Bang)

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I have been dying to review this album and the time has finally come. I have to be extremely selective with the albums that I review as I don’t have time to write many reviews. But as soon as I heard this one, I just had to put it on the list. Taeyang is a chart topper with his previous songs and while his performance this time around has been underwhelming, he still manages to hit it out of the park with the awesome album (just repeating if you haven’t got that key detail).

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White Night Album Cover

1..White Night – It is such a pity that this is just an intro. I would love for an extended version of White Night. While I am not that fond of the choppy instrumental, there is something about it that manages to compliment Taeyang’s vocals. The buildup just gets you hyped and I love the “I Just Wanna… Hold… You.. Close!” line which gives so much suspense in just a matter of a second. (10/10)

2. Wake Me Up (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for Wake Me Up (9.5/10)

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

4. Ride – To me, Ride is your standard RnB track, with a more upbeat feel. It feels nostalgic for some reason with its sound and the way the song faded to silence at the end. It is not the most dynamic track on the album but it doesn’t  lack in any areas. I can picture an amazing performance for this song, which you probably bring us all down memory lane to his Wedding Dress days. (9/10)

5. Amazing – Down right the best song on the entire album. It is a song that you just want to get up and just move your body to. It is extremely catchy with the “Amazing Amazing Amazing” hook in the song. I’ll admit that it isn’t musically ground-breaking, but the song hits me in all the right place and makes me feel ‘Amazing’. (10/10)

6. Empty Road (텅빈도로) – If you want a vocally centered track, Empty Road is the way to go. To me, I love his vocals here, more than in Darling. For the majority of the track, Taeyang’s vocals pair well with the soft rock sound of the track. It initially didn’t attract my attention, but I was dealt a blow once he started increasing the intensity with his vocals towards the end of the song. The start actually felt like an Ed Sheeran song, while the ending felt like a KPOP song. (9/10)

7. Naked – Probably the most understandable song to get banned in South Korea at the moment. Just by listening to the song, it seems like Taeyang is conveying a not so subtle message. But jokes aside, the song is quite nice. I love the instrumental of track, which has an interesting mix of synths. I love the dynamic vibes of the chorus but the verse felt a little plain and sluggish for my tastes (8.5/10)

8. Tonight (오늘밤) ft. Zico – This is probably the most interesting track on the entire album. The way Taeyang sings this song gives off an interesting and compelling atmosphere. There is something with the deep brass sound and drum mix for the chorus that gives off an epic feel. Zico gives off a nice contrast with that piano instrumental and faster-paced delivery. But most importantly, the rock dominate ending was the probably an unexpected but worthwhile way to end the song. (10/10)

Overall Album Rating – 9.5/10

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White Night Teaser Image

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[Review] Can’t Stop – DIA

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DIA is also another group to make their return with a brand new song Can’t Stop (or E905). While DIA’s return is welcomed, the promotion of their comeback felt very sudden and that is an issue that I find common throughout the industry.  But nonetheless, this is DIA’s first return since their promotions of Will You Go Out With Me? earlier this year.

Can’t Stop is your traditional KPOP girl group song. There isn’t new about it, but it has a very refreshing sound that I can’t help but go back to. The vocals in the song are quite nice and the instrumental is something that I totally dig. Sure, the violins were made to fit the cute sound, but it still sounds amazing nonetheless. The chorus wasn’t exactly catchy but there was enough to make you want to go back for more. Moving to some of the things I didn’t like regarding the song. The ending was sloppy and didn’t give time for the song to actually end, in my opinion. It felt like a knife came down at that exact moment onto the song. The rap sequence for the bridge was disappointing. While I know the members had moments in the past where their rapping was quite good, the way it was edited and presented in this song felt awkward and mismatching. Overall, I think this is their best song yet, despite there being some things that don’t suit my taste.

I actually think the school-girl concept fits them quite nicely. The entire video revolves around the girls having fun during school time through sports and just hanging out in general. And while I did like all the scenes, it seems like the photo booth seemed a little dis-coordinated from the rest of the video. It didn’t match the school theme of the video. The cinematography was quite nice. The camera angles and work did feel a little too overdone, but it wasn’t too bad. While it did seem like Chaeyeon had fewer scenes this time around, her close-ups were just a subtle way of marketing her, compared to the rest of the members, who had to share scenes with each other. But overall, nice video to watch.

I actually liked their performance. Though it keeps to that traditional side of KPOP, those kicks at the end of each chorus were amazing. Not exactly fond of that ribbon that features during the verses, but everything else looked great!

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