Category: KPOP

[Review] U – KNK

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KNK made their debut at the end of February of this year with Knock. They made their first comeback in May with Back Again. Now, they are back with a new single, U.

U is a very popping and strong track. The son reminds me of their title track. The song tried to feel as intense as their debut track but fell short of that goal. The vocal work and the rapping in the song were okay. The song did feel a little bland and monotone. They didn’t deviate from that straight line analogy and it did become boring. It was as if the later parts of the song were copied and pasted over and over again. There wasn’t anything that seemed different from the first chorus and the last chorus, which is commonly using different lyrics or ad-libs are added to give the song that final peak or impact. [Relistening to the song one more time, there are ad-libs. They were just completely drowned out]. Also the instrumental sounds good but it is as if the producers could not decide on it and decided to join multiple instrumentals. Some parts were fast tempo, others were slow. It just did not flow well together. It was almost sounded as if it was jagged. I do still think the song is still worth listening to as it does share that common ground with Knock and Back Again (i.e. all their songs do remind you of KPOP a few backs and do aim / are intense to listen to).

No music video was released for this track due to poor editing and quality. That is a pretty dangerous move for a rookie group from a small company. I understand that they might not need a budget, but a music video goes a long way.

However, they did release a Performance Version, which I have included below. But that just shows the choreography. And yes, KNK was shown themselves off again with they sharp dance moves and fast footwork. Did you see the “U, U, U” part of the dance?  While I have seen it in the industry before, it still looks amazing each time.

Rating – 7/10

[Review] 11:11 – Taeyeon (SNSD)

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Taeyeon has had a busy year with the release of Rain and  Why. However, she has added another single to the list with the release of 11:11 a few weeks back. It seems like SM Entertainment is making the most of Taeyeon’s successful solos with these constant releases.

Taeyeon’s ballads have always been standouts for me. I, Rain and now 11:11 all sound spectacular. They are all different songs in their own right. In my past reviews, I have said I and Rain are both vocally charged songs. There is also a hint of emotion in Rain. In 11:11, the emotions are heard more readily and strongly. Some people may think it is a weak song due to its soft nature, but from how I hear it, the emotions are oozing out of this song. The very simple yet bold acoustics in the instrumental and her dreamy vocals make this a song enjoyable to listen to (despite her singing about a breakup). It’s slow, but not too slow. The “na na na” leaves a long lasting impression in my mind and it makes me go back for more. It is a perfect song for the Autumn/Fall months. Give Taeyeon’s ballads a try because out of the three she has released as a solo artist, there is bound to be one for everyone.

The music video shows a couple breaking up. It threw in some flashbacks when the couple used to be more happy and loving. The transitions between different settings and between flashbacks looked nice. But besides that, the video was quite boring. It didn’t captivate me like how the song captivated me. There wasn’t much appeal to it. I’ve mentioned slow-motion recently in many of the past reviews. It matches the tempo and beat of the song. But it slowed everything down here and it dragged the video out for me.

Rating – 8.5/10

 

[Review] Blah Blah – Kyuhyun (Super Junior)

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Kyuhyun has returned with a new ballad. This is his third round of promotions as a solo artist. He has released mini-albums in both 2014 and 2015, with both becoming extremely successful. His latest release has 2 title tracks: Blah Blah and Still (which I will not be reviewing).

Blah Blah is the type of ballad that gets you swaying to the music. As soon as I play it, my head just starts swaying. That is a sign of a good ballad. Hahaha… Honestly, if the verses had a little something to make it interesting, I would have dug into this song a lot sooner. But as mentioned, the verses are quite plain and that gives the song a weak opening. But as the song proceeds to the chorus, Kyuhyun starts showing off his vocals and it sounds wonderful. I love how his voice starts off literally soft and then it increases in power and volume as the song goes on. The lyrics tell a story of nervousness in front of a lover when trying to confess. The use of “Blah Blah” as the title put me off, but overall, it made sense in terms of the lyrics.

Come watch an Asian guy get a hair cut and have his beard shaved. The majority of the video is essentially that. Kyuhyun gets a hair cut in slow-motion. While it is shot in slow-motion to match the speed of the song, it is incredibly boring to watch. The other parts of the video include flashbacks to Kyuhyun wanting to confess to his friend/crush (implied from the lyrics). Finally, the video shows a car crash, where Kyuhyun’s car is flipped. The video made it look like he was on his way to confess. That makes it a sad video to watch. The hair cutting scenes filled in the start but also added to the ‘getting ready’ for the night, which does make it sadder. The video was shot nicely and overall, was also nice to watch.

Rating – 8.5/10

 

[Review] Tell Me What To Do – SHINee

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SHINee has returned with the repackaged album of their 5th album, 1 and 1. Their title track this time is Tell Me What To Do. Their previous title track, 1 of 1, was deeply rooted in the retro sound. They returned with a more modern and contemporary feel with this track.

Tell Me What To Do is a far better song that 1 of 1, in my opinion. I personally like it a lot more than their original track, which as mentioned above, is more retro. This time, the guys settled for an electro-pop song, which (if you haven’t got the message yet) sounds amazing. On top of that, their vocals here are probably one of the best in the year so far. I was blown away when I first heard the song. It has a catchy catchphrase that literally echoes in my head every time I listen to it. The track is also quite addictive to listen to as well. But while I probably am kind of referring to the song as a perfect song, it isn’t. The only segment of this song which I want to remove and erase entirely is Minho’s rap. It is by far the worst rapping sequence that I have heard of this year. There doesn’t seem to be a rhythmic base to it, which annoys me. His rapping is not horrible and we have seen that through the years. It is just that one part that has let me down. But besides that, I would personally recommend this song to anyone who wants to start listening to KPOP or SHINee.

Briefly, the video is as follows. SHINee and this girl form a group of friends. They kind of do everything together. However, Minho and Taemin both form a crush on the girl. Minho makes the move first, which makes Taemin jealous. So when Minho and the girl get into a car to have so fun (or go somewhere), Taemin rigs the car, which then bursts into flames, killing both his friends. The rest of SHINee try to save the pair, but it is too late. Taemin ended up killing his crush as well in the accident, and he takes his life. It is a really dark plot to write out and to portray. Everyone in the video acted really well in the video and I think that also made the video so much better. The closeup shots and visuals of the members were also nicely shot. Overall, the cinematography was amazing as well.

I’ve only seen one performance so far. Vocally, it is amazing. The dance doesn’t have that same effect, however. It does look anaesthetic in my point of view (in regards of the ribbons). The rest of it looks okay, but a tad weak for the song.

Rating – 8/10

[Review] Feel So Good – IMFACT

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IMFACT has returned with a brand new song. They made their debut at the start of the year with Lollipop. This is their first return since their debut.

IMFACT’s debut put them on the map for me. Feel So Good is a complete change around and it does take them off that map. They went from a completely bright and fun sound to a dark and boring feel. Usually, I listen to songs multiple times before even attempting a review (hence why my reviews are like 5 weeks behind schedule), but I have only listened to the song a total of 3 times (give or take). So what is the song? The song is a deeply infused hip-hop song that is trying to go to underground and failing miserably. The only part which I like about the song is the vocal part just prior to each chorus. The chorus itself consist of a deep and slow sounding “Feel So Good“. The chorus either feels dragged out too much OR completely empty (literally). I didn’t like the change to ballad/RnB for the bridge. Vocals were okay. Rapping was a little too try-hard. I feel completely terrible with this review. But that is what I feel about the song. Disappointed.

Someone do something about the dreadlocks. WHY??? Why are you doing this?? TThey clearly went back in time and collected their entire wardrobe from the 90s. Maybe back even further. I don’t even get why one of them is bearing a beret. I guess this is what you get for wanting to be fashionable to everything you go to. Even nightly fights. Oh, right, the plot. The video consist of slow motion running, planning and fighting. It seems like they are infiltrating a base of some kind, but you don’t really know what is going on because everything (minus the choreography scenes) is edited with slow motion slapped across it. It makes the entire video painful to watch.

Okay, I feel exceptionally mean today. But let’s move onto a part of the comeback which I think is a solid effort. The choreography. Given how the song is, the dance moves all fit the song quite well. Slow dance moves for the slow chorus. Fast dance moves for the more faster parts of the song.

Rating – 2/10 (I apologise)

[Review] Confession – Astro

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Astro is back in the season of Fall with a brand new song, Confession. This is their third mini album to date since debut, with their previous releases including Hide & Seek in Spring and Breathless in Summer.

To me, Astro’s songs keep on getting better and better. Currently, they are probably one of my few picks to be the best rookie of the year. The song boasts a very strong and defined instrumental that shows off guitars and drums (aka. a band). The vocals and rapping by the band are superb in this song. None of their parts seems to be awkwardly placed or irrelevant to the song. The combination of the song and vocals make it feel as if it is an anime opening song. More on that a little later, though, but sounds perfect for an anime. There is just one thing that disappoints me and that is the ending of the song. It is too sudden. Just by writing this review and playing the song in the background, I honestly thought that YouTube crashed or something. It’s quite disappointing since the song is quite good and is left hanging like that. As if the producers had no idea how to properly end the song and left it as it is. The song peaked (for me) at the end, so the ending pretty much ruined the upbeat and happy feels that I was getting from the song.

Now, about that anime opening. I am reading everywhere that this video reminds people of the drama W(which I believe is anime or manga as well). I haven’t watched W yet but I know enough to agree with some people who say both drama / video are similar. Not saying one copied the other, just very similar. Essentially what happens is at the start of the video, the girl confesses to a guy with her drawings but is rejected (quite harshly, may I add). She then goes around being alone. Astro is part of her drawings and follows her around. Not sure if she sees them, but they are a part of her imagination. Towards the end, when all the members are gathering around her, Eunwoo remains behind and sheds a tear. He probably realises that he is just a fragment of her imagination or an image on several pages, and that means he will never be with her. I enjoyed watching the video. The way it was shot looked really cool. The close up shots looked as if they were introducing characters in a TV show or anime as well.

The dance by the group was quite cool. This time around, the group still went with that playful vibe and added a cool vibe as well. Their movements are a lot more precise and in sync with each other.

Rating – 8/10

[Review] Paradise – Hyorin (Sistar)

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It has been 3 years since the release of Hyorin’s solo debut album, where she promoted One Way Love. After 3 years, she has returned with a brand new mini-album, It’s Me, which features the main title track, Paradise. Along with Paradise, she released 2 pre-releases: Love Like This (featuring DOK2) and One Step (featuring Jay Park). She also collaborated with Jooheon from Monsta X on another track on the album.

I find the track quite underwhelming. It isn’t terrible. It may sound stupid, but since Hyorin has amazing vocals, I am still waiting for that one track that blows us all away. This track, plus her previous solo track have not done that yet, and that disappoints me. Out of all the songs that I say the singers are holding back, this song probably will top that list. Some parts sound good with her voice, but she needed to do a little more towards the end. Capping the song with more ad-libs (but not overdoing it) could have made the track a little better. What we have here is good, but sounds limited and tame. Honestly, the song, despite being catchy, felt dull and repetitive. The Latin-inspired instrumental remained the same throughout (minus the dance break) and that dulled the song quite a bit. The producers managed to change it up quite nicely at the bridge with the beat drop (which was quite unexpected, but I like it) but they just went back to original beat straight away and that didn’t captivate me or give it that wow factor. Also the “Yeah, I’m different, Uh, huh, my temperature is different” (during the chorus) sounds forced and quite uncomfortable. Overall, disappointed with the track.

The music video was okay. There wasn’t much to it, besides Hyorin being sexy and dancing. Some of the sets look amazing. I know I have said that I dislike the projections that appear in the video in the past. But the projections here were pretty good. That sets plus a few others gave the video a very nice elegant and classy feel. Some of the other sets, like the shower one, were hideous in my eyes. And they didn’t show a classy or elegant side. I have to agree with a few comments on YouTube, but the stylist this time didn’t do a good job. As I said in the past, I have a hideous fashion sense, but even some things in the video have me going ‘huh?’.

The choreography looks boring and uninventive. There is also a very uncomfortable look that she has while performing the song. I don’t know if she is uncomfortable with singing the song, dancing to it or performing just by herself after so long, but that did affect the performance for me.

Rating – 4.5/10

 

[Review] TIAMO – T-ara

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T-ara has finally returned with a brand new mini-album. Their latest mini album titled as Remember, which features the title track, TIAMO. It is said that this song will be a ‘mid-tempo, warm and sensual’ track.

Like what was promised, the song is a lot different from their past releases. It has a softer sound, suiting the upcoming cold season in the Northern Hemisphere. I actually like the song a lot. It is something a little different than what we normally get. But T-ara has proven themselves to be a girl group that is versatile with the various music that they release. They sure know how to bring the catchiness out of their songs, even when you don’t think it will be a great song or a song that won’t be catchy. There isn’t anything about the song that disappointed me. Everything within the song was pretty good. The vocals from all the members were superb and flawless. The line distribution is usually off when it comes to T-ara but I guess the line distribution this time around can be described as fair. As I said the song fits the upcoming Winter season and this can be credited to their soft vocals and a very warm feeling from the instrumental.

The music video is pretty boring to watch. Jiyeon standing in a field with a mirror floating about. She basically looks into her reflection clutching her mobile phone, which shows her love is ringing her. We cut into a scene where she is on the other side of the mirror and I assume is looking for a way out. There are keys on the trees around her and a lock on the door. I assume she is trying to a find a way out but realises she can’t. Now, Ti Amo is Spanish for ‘I love you’, so my guess is that this video is talking about holding on. I not entirely sure if that is right, but that is my guess. It just is very dull and boring to watch. Besides that, the girls all look very pretty in this video. The sets did a pretty good job at emphasising and highlighting their prettiness. Oh and the sets look pretty good as well.

The dance was also fitting, but at the same time, bland and boring. I think I am watching their promotions this time around for their vocals and song, rather than dance.

Rating – 7.5/10

[Review] Skydive – B.A.P

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B.A.P has finally made their return with their second album to date, Noir. They came back this year with Feel So Good and That’s My Jam. Unfortunately, Bang Yong Guk, the leader of B.A.P was unable to participate in the promotions for Skydive due to health concerns. You could feel that his presence was missing during the comeback stages and I hope  that Yong Guk will get better soon to return to the stage.

Skydive is a very powerful song. There is no doubt about it. It’s instrumental is quite fierce and aggressive, especially during the chorus, when the song reaches its peaks.  I also quite like it, but I am a little disappointed at times. Let’s start off with what I like about the song. The line distribution is quite equal this time around. Daehyun, who usually gets the majority of the lines in B.A.P songs, has fewer lines than Youngjae. This is definitely a great opportunity for Youngjae to use his vocals, which he did pretty well. Jongup and Himchan also saw an increase in the amount of lines that they usually get.  The vocals are also quite amazing as well, fitting the fierceness of the song. Jongup, once again, shows a great improvement in vocals. His raspy and hoarse vocals were just one of the highlights of the song. The instrumental is really cool as well. A bit of rock, EDM and hip-hop can be heard in the instrumental. I also liked the small dance break instrumental at the bridge. Let’s move onto things that I felt was disappointing. The rapping sounds tame for me. It felt underwhelming. Also, the ending of the song sounds a little too messy for my liking. Listening to the song off the album, that isn’t the case, but every time I watch a live performance, it feels like everyone, at the end, is clashing together and that doesn’t sound good. Maybe they aren’t hitting the right notes, but it is something that stands out to me.

Another mini movie in the music videos. So many these days, I spend a lot of my time trying to decipher the story nowadays. Anyway, the cinematography  in this video is top-notch. The acting was a little awkward at times, but it wasn’t bad that is ruined the video. Let’s move onto the plot line. Hahaha.. The plot line is far too long to write here, so you can click the link at the end of the paragraph to access my interpretation or shocking retell of the video. This gives you guys a chance to watch the video and see for yourself. Of course, there are spoilers, so be sure to watch the video first. It is an excellent storyline. The entire video is awesome. The movement between the plot line and close up shots of the guys dancing and singing wasn’t that distracting and I thought they added more depth. Usually, I don’t enjoy them, but this time around, it kind of heightened the suspense for me. I do have one thing that would have improved the plot of the story into a stronger story, and you can see that at the end of the synopsis/interpretation, by clicking below.

To read about the plotline and some pointers that I point out regarding the video, CLICK HERE!!!

The dance is very strong and fits the song perfectly. I am a little confused about the start, which Himchan is furiously looking into the camera. But besides that, I think everything looked cool. From the chorus to Jongup’s solo dance break, this is a performance that everyone should see.

Rating – 9/10

[Review] I’ll Be Your Man – BTOB

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BTOB has returned with their brand new 9th mini-album. They last returned with a ballad, Remember That, at the start of the year. This is also their first comeback in 2 years with a dance track. The group become popular for their romantic ballads which they have been releasing for the past two years.

The song is pretty good. You can really tell that they took what they became known for (their vocals) and did an amazing job with combining it with the dance track. That high note where all four of the vocalists join together sounds amazing. It also allowed their rapping to shine a bit more. Their rapping in the past in the ballad songs have been pretty good as well, but this song allows them to become a lot fiercer and more powerful. That part of the bridge where the vocalists are all belting out their high note and the rappers are rapping quite furiously sounded really amazing and probably gave the song that peak it needed. The actual song was a wonderful mashup between a ballad and a dance track. Gave the song a more grand and darker feel. I loved the classical mash-up with the electronic sounds in the song. The song just did not seem to be catchy enough. There wasn’t much of a hook to it, unfortunately. That being said I will (and have) continuously relayed the song because I want to listen to that fierceness and powerfulness that the song has since I missed it so much. I did think Peniel’s rapping after the first chorus was a little weird but listening to the song a few more times made that part fit in perfectly into the song.

The music video tells an interesting story. The video matches that grand feel and epicness that the song oozes with. It seems like the guys are trying to escape some sort of regime. Within the confines of a church, the group assumes they are safe, but become under attack. Also within the church, they meet a girl, who is played by Elkie from CLC. It seems like Minhyuk falls for her. You think everything is okay until the plot twist is revealed. The girl turns out to be part of the regime that the guys are running away from and in the end, Minhyuk is caught, stripped and hanged upside down in the snow. I assume they are all killed in the end. I actually like these types of plots. They should be made into movies. They sound pretty cool and perfect for the big screen sometimes. I really thought the way they shot the video was pretty cool. Some of the camera effects occurred at the right time with the beat of the song.

While I do rave on how powerful and grand the song was, the dance felt short of that. It was quite underwhelming and looked a little off. Sure, they were tried to show off their masculine charms, because this is a song about being a woman’s man, but it seemed quite weak. I am not actualy referring to the part of the choreogrpahy where they are praying, but rather the parts where they actually directly show that they can be a man, such as the chorus. It seemed like they were trying to hard.

Rating – 8/10

[Review] Décalcomanie – Mamamoo

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Mamamoo have finally returned to the stage with their brand new mini-album, Memory. Their latest title track is Décalcomanie, which refers to a decorating technique used by the French (for engraving or transferring designs from one material to another). Their last comeback was with You’re The Best (back in March) and the group has since released singles, which are included in the tracklist of this mini album.

I love the song. The song is amazing. If you want another Mamamoo song that showcases their vocals, this is the one for you. The only difference is that there are not many harmonising or backup vocals in this one as their previous songs. To me, it is like the upgraded version of Piano Man, which they released in 2014. Quite classy and more mature sounding. The song starts off somewhat slow. And honestly, if the song remained that way, I would have been disappointed. But this is Mamamoo we are talking about and they don’t mess around. As soon as the chorus drops, the beat drops and everything sounds amazing. I would describe the verses in the song quite bland and sounded “copied and pasted”. The song itself relies heavily on two things: there (expected) amazing vocals and the chorus (which if you have not gotten the message to yet, sounds amazing). Without those two, the song would have fallen short and have not attention paid to it. Moonbyul’s raps were pretty good, but if they had more of a punch or a little more fierceness, it would have made it even better. One more thing the song lacks. Some sort of high/long note to add to that final chorus. the song itself sounded perfect, but that would have taken the song to a whole new level. But overall, amazing song.

The music video was quite a disappointment. The video became a hot topic in South Korea due to a certain scene involving Solar and the male actor, who aggressively made move on the Mamamoo member. It was taken the wrong way in South Korea (and could have been taken the wrong way by anyone in the world), hence why the video was re-edited and re-released within a few hours of initial release. I did not understand the need for the scenes where the girls meet and end up sharing a kiss with the male lead. Yes, I may be jealous there (confession much?), but they ruined the mood of the video and the flow of the song. The song choruses were fast-paced and then the video cut to the slow piano pieces. I do understand that they did add meaning to the video, but putting them in like that just didn’t work out. What did I like? I enjoyed watching the choreography scenes. I thought they looked cool.

I like the dance. It isn’t the best dance out there but what they gave us really fit the song. I really enjoyed watching the chorus. Their live performances are something on another level as well. Not once did I hear their vocals falter at the microphone whilst performing the dance at the same time.

Rating – 8/10

[Review] Don’t Believe – Berry Good

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Berry Good has returned to the stage with a new mini album, Glory, and a new member! Johyun was added to the lineup of Berry Good just prior to the comeback. They previously released Angel earlier this year, which I thought was an amazing song.

I only started listening to Berry Good this year and they wowed me with Angel. Now, they managed to ‘slay’ me with this song. Don’t Believe is not your typical KPOP or Berry Good songs. Berry Good played to their strengths with all their past releases. This time, an element of dance was more dominant than ever, with the song consisting of EDM and dance music incorporated. But that didn’t mean that the group had to forgo their amazing vocals.  The song starts off as if it was their previous songs, like a ballad. But the song progressed into EDM and dance within a few seconds, which caught me by surprise at first. The bridge of the song was spectacular to listen to. The really catchy “Mercy Mercy” really caught my attention when I heard the song (Though I thought they were saying thank you in French for a few days). I was already blown away with the change and just hearing them sing the bridge made everything sound so much better. Loved the instrumental for the dance breaks as well.

The music video was boring to watch. Once again, that bathtub really annoys me. Who thinks of these places to put bathtubs? This time, they just left a bed on the rooftop as well. Because apparently, why not? The video attempted to be anaesthetic but missed the point. Like previous reviews, the shots look random and unstructured. I assume they are trying to tell a story, but they just don’t relevant. My guess is the girls “don’t believe” their lovers anymore and it seems like they are devastated. Kind of what the lyrics are saying, but some of the shots don’t make much sense, particularly some of the scenes with a pair of girls, such as the bathtub scenes. The music video was quite the let down with the song being so good. I have no words to describe what they wore in their choreography scenes. It was like a football jersey, but the backs were cut out and the wore something underneath that I am not sure of.

The dance was okay. It was their first time actually having a routine such as this. Their previous dances have all been simple or been designed for more ballad/slower songs. It was quite weak but they made it appropriate for the EDM track (just barely). However, you can tell that they aren’t suited for this type of dancing.

Rating – 6.5/10

 

[Review] Playing With Fire – BLACKPINK

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BLACKPINK has finally returned with their very first comeback ever! They made their debut in September with Whistle and Boom Bah Yah, which per everyone’s expectations, did incredibly well for a newly debut girl group. And they are expected to continuation with their success through their double title track comeback: Playing With Fire and Stay. This review will only focus on Playing With Fire. I may review Stay at a later date (not too sure yet).

Playing With Fire is one hell of a track. It is a lot different to their debut songs. It focuses more on delivering the energy and vocals. I personally like this track more than their debut tracks. I love the EDM sounds that ran throughout the chorus and the later parts of the song. YG artists tend to be quite versatile with their song types and this just further proves it. I love the EDM, but also loved the slow hip-hop and RnB in the song. The untuned piano at the start made the introduction a whole heap interesting. I do agree with a lot of people when they say it sounds like a 2NE1 song. There are 2NE1 vibes throughout While I said the song focuses more on the vocal side for the group, I was not much of a big fan of their vocals. They should have just let loose but instead, they sounded like they held everything back. I do love the bass that the song had going. Another song of just a few with the bass up to the right level.

The music video was incredibly dull and boring. It just normally consisted of normal pace choreography scenes and slow motioned close up shots. Their facial expressions in the video looked too forced and whoever is getting them to lip sync to the music should get fired. For a song that is moderately paced, I don’t understand the need for the slow motion. It just dragged the video on for longer. To be honest, the video looks like it was slapped together within just minutes. I expected something more speedy after listening to the song. Not slow. The sets look empty and needed something to make it more eye-catching. And finally, the use of fire or “Playing With Fire” was quite limited. Okay, half of me expected something decent and the other half wanted the whole set to be on fire. Just what they released didn’t live up to those standards or expectations.

The performance was meh. The dance isn’t amazing and it didn’t impress me.

Rating – 6/10

[Review] The Closer – VIXX

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VIXX has made their return with the third part of their “Conception’ trilogy. Previously, the group released Dynamite, which was based on the Greek God of Zelos (God of Jealousy and Rivalry). Then they recently returned with Fantasy, based on the Greek God of Hades (God of the Underworld). Now, they are back with the final part, The Closer, based on the Greek God of Kratos (God of strength, might, sovereign rule, and authority in all its forms – Wikipedia, 2016).

Another amazing song from VIXX. Another fine year for the group. Dynamite was an explosion. Fantasy was unimaginable. And The Closer acts as a final chapter to VIXX’s 2016. The song infuses dance, pop and RnB. In the end, we get a very smooth song that sounds quite classy as well. Vocally, every member shined in this song. You can hear  improvements in Hyuk’s and Hongbin’s vocals. But none of the members shined throughout the song like Ken did. The focus was shifted to him in the song  (vocally) and his vocals fit the song perfectly. I also loved Ravi’s rap. It weren’t as fierce this time and had a more defined rhythm to it. That “Oh Whoa Whoa, That’s no no boy” captured my attention as soon as I heard it. I do love the individual sounds in the instrumental. The church bells, for example,  at the start gave a very eerie and mysterious feel, adding that VIXX flavour that we know quite well of. I don’t know why, but I am drawn to the sound of cymbals in the song. The lyrics are quite sensual as well, which does fit in with the overall sound of the song. The only thing that I don’t seem to like about the track is a lack of energy. Sure, it is pretty much passive but I guess I am more used to the stronger and masculine sound from VIXX.

The music video is amazing. Cinematography for this video is amazing. The effects are incredible. I saw the making of this music video and it surprised me with how they shot the video. You can simply google the making of the video, but let’s just say minimal computer effects were required from the looks of the making video. In the video every member (besides Ken) are frozen. N falling off a ledge, Hyuk’s car crashed into the wall. Everyone, regardless, is frozen. Just Ken isn’t and he moves about. I guess it ties with the lyrics of the song. Everyone is after this girl, but Ken is Kratos, so he stops everyone, just to get to the girl himself. Even lyrics in the song backs this up: “Pushing away everyone else and having you“. When no one is frozen (aka the chorus of the song) the video immediately snaps to the choreography scenes. It defines the intensity of the chorus pretty well. The editing and transitions in this video are amazing, not just the content of the video.

I thought the dance had a lot of class and matched the song quite well. At times, it looked like it was hastily put together and I think some fine tuning could have done to make it even more polished. But nonetheless, this performance is pretty grand already. Just look at N’s spin!

Rating – 9/10

 

[Review] Make It Rain – Bastarz (Block B)

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Block B launched their first subunit back in 2015 with Conduct Zero. U-Kwon, B-Bomb and P.O make up the subunit. Now, the subunit has returned with a brand new mini-album. While the subunit did release three music videos for Selfish & Beautiful Girl, Make It Rain and That’s Right, I will only be reviewing their main title track, Make It Rain due to time constraints.

Make It Rain serves as a great continuation from Conduct Zero. The songs seem to go well with each other and Make It Rain is like a nice sequel. I do find it a better than song than the predecessor. This song has a cleaner sound and quite tame compared to their previous song. I wasn’t much of a fan of their previous track, so this sounds a lot better. Like what other people are saying, the song focuses more on the vocal side. The song doesn’t pack a punch until you reach the chorus, thanks to a really nice buildup prior to the chorus. Never a big fan of rappers singing. Some of them have been great, others have been disappointing. P.O falls in between this time around. However, it was the only part which I liked about the whole song. The chorus overshadowed the verses and kind of shoved U-Kwon and B-Bomb away from the spotlight. They had good parts (i.e. their vocals were highlighted) but it failed to capture my attention. There was no hook in the song to me. The only hook in the entire song was the in the chorus and that hook was repeated over and over again. Overall, it was an alright song. Can’t really give them any more than an ‘alright’, to be honest.

I have little to no clue on what’s going on in the video. I have watched it a few times. Besides agreeing that the entire video carries elements that match the song, there really isn’t much else to the video. I have to say the way the video was shot looked really nice and amazing. It’s choppiness and roughness (can I describe it as that?) went really well with the choppy sound in the video. Gave a nice chaotic feel to it. The special effects also added to it as well. Don’t even ask me about the content of the video. I watch with wide eyes and then just go to another tab, leaving the song to play. To me, it seems like they are mobsters of some kind and enjoy gambling. I assume drugs are mixed up somewhere (I assume the stuff they see and their wobbly visions are like hallucinations). Minus the content, the outer layer of the video looked pretty good and (as I mention for the third time) matched the song a lot.

Like the music video, the performance was made to look a little chaotic. A lot of flailing arms and hands. I think the performance looks pretty good. They showed a performance with more precision and allowed the main dancer of the group U-Kwon to show more style and talent on the stage.

Rating – 6/10

[Weekly Chart] 1st Week of November 2016

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Welcome to this week’s chart. Not that late with the release of it. Only a day late. I just finished a 3 hour exam today and I am dead tired. But I am pushing through with my list of things to do and the charts for last week was probably the easiest thing to do on that list. I just like to say that I won’t be uploading any reviews until Thursday night, because of my exams. I’ll be putting up an announcement (either at the end of the week or start of next week) about the coming months. But we shall discuss that when we get there.

The 1st week of November was very intense. Either Twice or I.O.I could have won. They were the two songs that I constantly replayed and hence landed them on top. surprisingly, EXO-CBX came out third. Why is that surprising? Well, I didn’t listen to their song much. But when I reviewed their song, I listened to it so much that it bumped to third place.

Next week (the week I am currently writing this in) is going to be intense. With the continuation of I.O.I, Twice, EXO-CBX, VIXX, Bastarz etc already on the charts and the addition of Mamamoo (I literally smell a new winner), BTOB, B.A.P, Topp Dogg; it is going to be a really tiring week. Look forward to that.

Without further ado, I present to you, the charts for the 1st week of November, 2016.

A lovely reminder of the what the colours in the status column mean.
Green (↑)  – Song has gone up in ranking
Red (↓) – Song has gone down in ranking
Blue (=) – Song has remained in the same position as the previous week
Orange  (new) – Song debuts on the chart
Grey (Final Week) – Song appears on the chart for its final week.

30th Oct – 5th Nov 2016
Title Artist Status
1 Very Very Very I.O.I (↑ 1)
2 TT Twice (↑ 2)
3 Hey Mama EXO-CBX (new)
4 The Closer VIXX (new)
5 Fighter Monsta X (↑ 10)
6 Blood, Sweat & Tears BTS (=)
7 Hard Carry GOT7 (↓ 2)
8 Playing With Fire BLACKPINK (new)
9 The Rain Ladies Code (↓ 8)
10 Beside Me Davichi (↓ 7)
11 Russian Roulette Red Velvet (↑ 6) (Final Week)
12 1 of 1 SHINee (↑ 4)
13 Only One APINK (↑ 5)
14 Gorilla Pentagon (↓ 7)
15 The Eye Infinite (↓ 6)
16 Fri. Sat. Sun Dal Shabet (↓ 6)
17 Don’t Believe Berry Good (new)
18 Next Station N.CA (new)
19 Give It To Me Seven (↓ 11)
20 Better Day 100% (↓ 6)
21 Make It Rain Bastarz (Block B) (new)
22 Home Ailee (↓ 10)
23 Fanfare SF9 (↓ 1)
24 Bingo 24K (↓ 3)
25 Doo Doom Chit Crayon Pop (↓ 5)
26 Beautiful Kei (Lovelyz) & The Solutions (new)
27 Love Is Davichi (↓ 14)
28 Dancing King Yoo Jae Suk X EXO (↓ 4)
29 Stay As You Are Sanduel (B1A4) (↑ 1)
30 Love Like This Hyorin (Sistar) ft. DOK2 (new)

Some songs have been on the chart system for 9 weeks now, and starting next week will not be appearing on the charts anymore (and the Top 30). They include:

  • Mariya – Halo (Peak: 28 – appeared on Top 30 for 1 week)
  • Russian Roulette – Red Velvet (Peak: 2 – appeared on Top 30 for all 9 weeks)
  • Holup! – Bobby (iKON) (Peak: 9 – appeared on Top 30 for 3 weeks)

There are also another handful of songs that will not be included in the charts starting next week as they have failed to reach appear on the charts OR the possibility of them re-entering the Top 30 is unlikely:

  • Cosmic – Bada & Ryeowook (Super Junior) (Peak: 30)
  • Lonely – Kanto (Peak: 31)
  • Breathe – Park Hyo Shin (Peak: 31)
  • Runnin’ – Henry (Super Junior M) & Soyu (Sistar) (Peak: 29)

Return next Sunday for next’s week chart. Enjoy the rest of your week!