Category: KPOP

[Review] Hard Carry – GOT7

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Yes, I am falling behind with my reviews. I am currently in the final weeks of the semester and should technically be preparing for exams, but no student in university starts studying from exams before the end of the semester is up. So, I shall take this time and write a review for GOT7’s latest song, Hard Carry.

Not my favourite term of all time, but it is a great way to explain the song: Hard Carry is lit. I am totally loving it. It is really addictive and super catchy. I am not a major fan of dubstep and hard sounding EDM elements, but I don’t seem to mind it in this song. Maybe because that balance is thrown off in other songs. There is definitely a nice ratio of instrumental and vocals. There is also a nice ratio between the vocal parts and the rap parts. Everyone had an equal spread in the song, unlike Fly, which was quite unequal. The song is quite strong and powerful. Thinking back, I personally think the song is quite good and there really isn’t a need to change anything. Jackson’s voice does get deeper each comeback, but I think everyone noticed that as soon as they heard him start rapping. Jaebum’s vocals were by far the best part. It sounded quite smooth and classy, yet still keeping to the more modern sound of EDM. I am also going to mention this here (and don’t kill me for this) but I agree with a lot of people when they say this is GOT7’s version of Fire. Both are different tracks, but they are going along the same line.

Now, I just watched a video and it seems like GOT7, themselves, have multiple theories on the video. There are also other theories suggested by fans. Here is a few of them: the members dies in a plane crash and only Jinyoung survives, Youngjae dies and everyone else saves Jinyoung, Youngjae saves Jinyoung (that’s from the interview I watched today). My understanding is Jinyoung has imaginary friends. This is just my theory. The plane enters turbulence and Jinyoung is forced into his seat by the flight attendant, who clearly does not care about the other members. Why? Because she can’t seem them and only see Jinyoung. Everything else in the video a dream. All the members saving Jinyoung (by swimming or Youngjae smashing) is all in his mind. My theory (I believe) ties in nicely with Fly’s video. Why couldn’t Jinyoung fly? Because everyone else who could was part of his imagination! (Jinyoung flying is also in his dream). I really like how the two videos related to each other (whatever the connection is). The video looks pretty cool and fitted the song quite well.

Another amazing dance. Not sure about Jackson’s clothing, though. One sleeveless arm and one sleeved arm. The dance is definitely one to try if you want a good cardio workout. It looks so intense and their precision is on point.  No one looks out of place, even those who are known to be weak dancers in GOT7 handled it all pretty well.

Rating – 9.5/10

[Review] Bobby Doll – Song Ji Eun (Secret)

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Song Ji Eun is another member of Secret that has been active in promotions (the other being Hyosung) since Secret’s last comeback. While this review will be for Song Ji Eun’s latest song, Bobby Doll, some sad news has emerged. Sunhwa, has unfortunately decided to leave the group and company once her contract is up. Secret is a 4-member girl group and with Sunhwa’s departure, the group will be continuing on as a 3-member girl group. And now, let’s move back to Song Ji Eun’s solo.

It is a nice song, but honestly, it was not what I was expecting. A side of me really likes the songs for a range of reasons. Another side just feels like this song lacks a bit. Let’s start with the good. Love her vocals (as I have always had). Her voice is quite smooth like what you expect a doll would sound like, but rough at the same time (that probably makes no sense), which complements the instrumental. There are slight parts where she is rapping, which I think she handled pretty well. Her vocals herself have given the song another dimension. The song was quite catchy and addictive to listen to. Though, the overall shape and sound of the song make it quite memorable for some odd reason and I quite like that. However, the instrumental feels quite dead and she feels like she is holding back. That brings the song down quite a bit and it, unfortunately, gives off a dull vibe. Her pronunciation of ‘Bobby’ still irks me. I understand it was probably to prevent the song from being banned from the music shows (since Barbie is a brand), but it sounds a lot like she is mixing up between the two. I understand in Korean, the two words sound quite similar, but it does give off a different impression of the song.

Finally, a dance centred comeback with the traditional dark vibes that I (and many fans) love Song Ji Eun for. In the video, Song Ji Eun is a doll (who is controlled – not too sure about this part  – by a sadistic Joker-like guy). One night, she manages to find her way out of her doll house and enjoys the freedom she has been deprived of. I don’t understand why she didn’t run away, but the Joker will manage to get her back (against her will) anyway. I liked the plot, which made the video much more interesting than it is. The main issue is the dullness of the video. There isn’t anything else to comment in the video. And that I am quite disappointed in.

I didn’t like the how the stages were set up for her comeback week. Pink doll houses? The song is more suited for the dark concepts honestly, and something like the music video would have been ideal. Love the use of the fans though. It gave the stage a more interesting and elegant feel. Overall, it did come off a little dry.

Rating – 6/10

[Review] Stand By Me – BTOB Blue

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BTOB, for the last year and 9 months have been garnering a lot of attention for their ballads. From their latest promotions to their Immortal Song stages; Eunkwang, Sungjae, Hyunsik and Changsub have been showing their talents (in terms of vocals) for the industry and world to listen to. The 4 members have formed a subunit, releasing the song, Stand By Me.

BTOB has great songs. They don’t consistently put out good songs, but they do every now and then. This song is, unfortunately, one of the songs that are more  leaning to the not-so-good side. Not saying it is terrible, it just leans to that side because it isn’t as memorable as I want to be. BTOB is vocally talented (as seen per their latest Immortal Song stage). This one really does not showcase the same level of talent. It almost sounds like they are holding back. The song sounded very dull and didn’t consist of any parts that I would consider as “highlights”. There was a hint of catchiness to the song, though, but it wasn’t enough. To me, if the vocals were mindblowing or the song had a very strong melody to go along with the vocals, then yes, I will be going back to the song many times. All of that being said, the song is still good to listen to. The instrumental does make you sway along to the song. Maybe if I listened to the song more, I would grow to like it, but what I have explained above, is what I currently feel about the song.

Likewise, the video is incredibly dull. Emphasis on ‘incredibly’. I understand that there is a very limited amount of space to move about creativity when it comes to a song that is much slower than others. But I have reviewed numerous slow songs with such amazing videos, so this falls quite short. The video only consists of shots of the members singing. That’s about as exciting as the video gets.The video is well edited. To me, I am quite sure that the video was shot in individual sections and edited into a one-shot video, so some effort was placed. I do have two minor problems with the video, though. The dry ice / fog was not needed. It just made the video look odd. And the other thing, the lighting in the video. It just did not fit the emotion the song had. It was more of a distraction. I also imagine someone standing in the corner and turning the knob to adjust the dimness for some odd reason (I know this isn’t probably what happened). Yeah, I am odd like that.

Rating – 4.5/10

[Review] The Eye – Infinite

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Infinite has finally returned to the stage for the first time in nearly a year. Since Bad (their last comeback), they have been quite busy. Promotions were carried out in Japan for their Japanese releases, concerts, solo promotions and digital singles released are just some of the things these guys have been doing since ‘Bad‘. “Okay, Okay”, let’s get moving!

This song is very interesting (in a very good way). I totally digged this song the first time I heard it. While I have had my history with songs that mash multiple genres of different extremes, Infinite has always put out songs that do just that but still manage to amaze me. This is a prime example of another one. The song starts off with a very intriguing eletronic sound. The rest of the song moves between pure classical sounds, pure electronic sounds and the mzture of both. In the end, the song becomes very dramatic in the way they set the sounds up and the combination. The start of the song is amazing and dramatic, especially when Dongwoo starts to sing and the violins are brought into play. The vocals in the song are amazing. Interestingly enough, a rap was not part of the song. It does feel a little empty and I am quite sure a rap sequence from Hoya, Dongwoo or the both of them would have been amazing in this song. The song does throw you back to their earlier days. Yes, the sound is quite different and the compositon is not similar to any of their previous songs, but the style from back then is kept as a whole. Overall, I think it is an excellent song. It’s different, but still has that Infinite sound and powerful style that we had assicoated with them.

The music video is quite interesting points. I think the prominate theory that the members of Infinite had died in the video and are trying to prevent L from going into the light and dying with them makes the most sense. That or they all discover L is a vampire. Yeah… I think the dead theory makes sense. Browsing through the comments on the video, I came across this page with puts everything into plot into perspective quite nicely.  If you want to find out about what is going on in the video, that site explains it quite clearly. This video is probably one of the darkest videos by Infinite yet. In terms of the concept, plotline and cinematography it was quite suspenseful and interesting. The whole idea of the video would potentially be a Hollywood blockbuster. The acting by the members was superb and sets looked amazing. Overall, I thought it was a fantastic video that suprisingly stayed true to the Infinite’s roots.

Infinite is quite known for their dance (how many times have I started of the choregraphy part for Infinite with those words?) and they have proved that they still have it. Even though they mentioned that they felt their age with this comeback, everything looks refined and well polished. Everything falls into place quite nicely. Their precision is still on point. Oh and breathtaking. Their performances are always breathtaking.

Rating – 9.5/10

[Review] Mr. Potter – DIA

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DIA has made an unexpected comeback with a Harry Potter themed comeback. Where my two favourites in life merge together and become one. How do you think this turned out? DIA previously made their comeback with On The Road just a few months ago.

The song was a major disappointment. Compared with their previous track, this song barely makes it anywhere near. Supposedly Harry Potter themed, the song has the very subtle magical influence when it came to the instrumental. The soft percussion (I believe they are cow bells) was the only there that fit the promises that were made. Besides that, the song becomes the general  and bland pop song. The lyrics contained various Harry Potter spells (only like 5, three of which was towards the start of the song). And I pray the way the girls pronounced the spells were like how Koreans pronounce it. Or else if they were trying the mimic the way English speakers, they completely butchered the words. What’s missing from the song? Maybe appeal, some sort of hook or catchiness. Something that makes the song interesting. The vocals were okay, not the best. The rapping was better but it wasn’t a nice fit with the vocals. The song was just so bland and boring. As I said at the start, a major disappointment.

Not exactly sure if copyright was an issue to the makers of the video, but I would probably say that this video have very cheap and horrible references to Harry Potter. Some of them were obvious, such as the train ride – Hogwarts Express and wands. Others really had me shaking my head in disbelief. Let’s focus on that. Mr Potter = Rabbit. Ugly, grey rabbit. Why not cast a person to the video, who acts as Mr. Potter? It makes a lot more sense than a rabbit. Ouija board? To summon what? The pink sets? To make the video cutesy, when Harry Potter is more of a dark story? Unfortunately, the more I write about the video, the evident it is: this video was a train wreck before it even left the station. I wanted spells, I wanted more of a stronger Harry Potter influence that keeps the elements true to the story. Urghhh… As a Harry Potter fan, I am deeply disappointed. I had such high expectations and it all comes crumbling down.

Suspenders? Harry Potter? What??? About the actual dance, the choreographer is the same person who made Expectation’s dance for Girls Day (hence the use of suspenders and the similar movement). Do I think of it as a rip-off? Yes. Do I mind it? No, not really (I actually think it is the most decent part of the whole comeback). It would have been nice to see an original dance, but given how now I think the whole comeback was planned within 5 minutes….

Rating – 2/10 – Greatly disappointed

[Review] Promise (I’ll Be) – 2PM

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The beastly idols are back. Yes, 2PM has returned with their final album before enlistment. They were last on the stage for My House (last year). Moving away from their normal beast image, they have returned with more of a charming and romantic concept and look.

Promise is an EDM-based song. The song starts off with a very strong piano melody, but as soon as the chorus hits, the EDM blends in and drowns out the piano sound that we hear at the start and in the verses. It is a nice contrast, without going over the top or being too powerful that it makes me comfortable. The rap is powerful and hard-hitting, which goes hand in hand with the chorus that is succeeded. Not exactly fond of the complete slow-down of the song at the bridge (right after the rap). Though it does give the song more dimension and lead nicely to the final chorus, it makes the song lose its energy. Taecyeon’s rap sequence was the peak, but then it just all disappeared within less of the second and moved back to that piano medley at the start.  However, I did like the buildup during that part, and as I said, it leads nicely to the final chorus. The vocals were amazing. Each of the members shined their own in the recording of the song (the live was a little disappointing and some of their vocals fell flat, in my opinion). That charming and romantic concept were delivered in the lyrics of the song.

The music video shows 2 sides. Junho, Nichkhun, Chansung plays the guys who had broken up with their girlfriends. Wooyoung, Jun.K and Taecyeon play the guys with girlfriends. The song talks about being mature about love and the “promise” to be someone better next time. It seems like the members do play towards that in the video. This was evident for scenes like Nichkhun. He throws the bouquet of flowers in the air, but later one picks one rose up as if it was a sign of change or moving on. Not exactly sure how those with the girlfriends play into it. But maybe these shots are like before and after change?  The rest of the music video looks very elegant and fits in well with the concept. From the sets to what each member was wearing. The only issue was the small dance segments that were scattered throughout. I personally did not like them and thought it felt distant to the rest of the video. The editing between members for these dance shots made it look funny and it is a rather odd thing to have in the video. Also, Jun.K, the new guy in KPOP who can’t seem to keep his shirt on.

Disappointed by the dance. It doesn’t seem powerful. The instrumental is quite hard-hitting and sounds perfect for a more powerful choreography, but the entire dance lacks energy and does even deliver half the energy the song delivers.

Rating – 6.5/10

[Review] Carnival (The Last Day) – Gain (Brown Eyed Girls) 

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Gain is a member of Brown Eyed Girls and is consistently known for her unique concepts that no other artist or group in KPOP have ever done. Her songs and music videos are just proof of this. Now, she has returned with part 1 of  her new album and the title track, Carnival.

This is an 180-degree turn around for Gain. All of her concepts in the past have emphasised the sexiness. From the sound to the looks, everything has been sexy. This new sound is a lot different and quite unexpected. The songs are more of an orchestra inspired or theatre based 1930’s song. Staying true to her versatile roots, she still manages to go for a style that is not done that much in the industry. It does remind me a lot like IU’s Red Shoes, however, this song is still quite different. First of all, the song sounds a lot brighter and more “happier” (in a sense). Secondly, this song also compliments Gain’s vocals quite well. Gain isn’t known for her vocal work but is quite known for her voice’s huskiness. Not once did I listen to the song and think “boy, if only she had a more powerful voice for the song”. She handles it perfectly, to the point where I wondered why I always thought she was vocally weaker than others. I did have my doubts with the song, though. The first few listens, I thought the instrumental would have been a little too overpowering for her, but after a while, I realised there was much more of a nice balance. Personally, I really like the track. Though it is much different from her past songs, she managed to pull it off and still sound stunning. I totally love the grand nature of the instrumental and that ending was perfect, ending the song on such a grand and elegant feel.

While I did say she had an 180-degree change, she still managed to keep the sexy in the video. I believe we all saw the shortest length the dress will ever become in the video. Anyway, the video is quite complex. The plotline confused a lot of people (myself included) but I think most people agree that in the video, Gain had died and the every start and end of the video are parts of her funeral. The parts where she gets up from where she was laying and starts randomly dancing with an umbrella seems to be when she is a ghost and reliving the memories of her past, including when she met the man of her life (aka. the old guy who attends her funeral at the end). I love the sets. Everything looks stunning and breathtaking. Especially those firework scenes at the end. I love how her outfits still carry that early 20th century feel to it while keeping the sexy in.  Beautiful video.

I love the use of umbrellas in this dance. Especially how it is used with the ending of the song. Really gives the stage that extra sense of boldness and uniqueness. I, however, am disappointed with the rest of the dance. While it does keep to the roots of that era, going around in circles and giving small kicks in the air for the dance isn’t amazing nor spectacular, like the song or video.

Rating –  9/10

[Review] Hit Me – MOBB ft. Kush

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MOBB is a subunit that compromises two rappers. One coming from Winner and the other is from iKON. if you have been following the site for the last few days, you probably can tell who is who. That’s right, Mino from Winner and Bobby from iKON have joined forces to create a subunit that will be engraved into the minds of their fans. Both have previously returned with their own solo song and released their collaboration the day after their solo releases came out. Check out those reviews by clicking their underlined names above.

Out of all their releases for this subunit, this song really takes the cake (because party = cake). This is such a freaking amazing song. Once I started listening to the song, it is pretty hard to move onto another song. This song just continued to be on repeat. And when I do move onto another song, a part of me wants to go back and listen to it again and again. This song fits joins the great party vibe of Bobby’s and the laid back feel of Mino’s solo releases. The song is bright and vibrant, suiting that party vibe. It isn’t too hard hitting and not over the top in terms of production. The instrumental was at the right balance and didn’t feel too overpowering. From Mino’s and Bobby’s rapping to the vocal work done by Kush (who is Kush? – According to Wikipedia, he is a producer signed to a sub-label that falls under YG), it all fits very nicely and the distribution is quite even. All I can do is praise this track because I think it is flawless.

I did say Mino’s song was flawless yesterday. But the music video was a major let down. This song is flawless and I think the music video fits in well with the song. Essentially, what happens in the guys make sudden plans at night to go partying and we see them get ready, meet, ask politely for the taxi driver to change songs on the radio and arrive at the party in style. Then they proceed to bring the party to the streets. There isn’t anything to complain about in the video. It goes hand-in-hand with the song. It is pretty simple and makes sense without blowing a budget or overdoing it. I do honestly wonder if an actual party is going on in the video or if everything was staged? Because (while I don’t do parties), it would honestly be interesting to go to one of these parties and be in a music video.

Final Rating – 10/10 (Simple and vibrant. Yet still managing to hit the right vibes for a party or club). 

 

[Review] Body – Mino (Winner)

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The other half of the MOBB collaboration has made his solo debut with Body. Yes, I am talking about Mino, who is a member of the group, Winner. I previously reviewed Bobby’s solo debut, Holup!. A review  for their collaboration, Hit Me, which should be out tomorrow or Monday.

This song was promised to sound very sensual. And that is what we got. Well, at least the lyrics said so. Mino’s voice shows the sexual vibe quite well in this song. The instrumental is basically chillstep but still has a nice buildup. The buildup isn’t big and it doesn’t really build up the momentum of the song (since the song has a consistent beat and does not change up that much). Since the song started off very soft and it ended very softly, the small buildups made the song flow even better. I do like the song more for its chill and laidback feel, while at the same time, still delivering a sexy sound for us to here. The chorus of the song is amazing. While the song already has a calming effect, the chorus of this song makes me feel calmer and is very “easy on the ears”s. I personally don’t see any flaws in the song. I guess the calming does make it somewhat forgettable, but overall, it is an excellent song.  I don’t want to pick between the Bobby’s or Mino’ s (but I am going to anyway) song, but I do prefer Mino’s song more. Mainly for the calmness. But there is always a time and place for either song.

Am I the only one disappointed with the video? We were promised a very sexual music video to compliment the song. But personally, the video fell short. It didn’t feel as sexual or erotic as I thought it would be. High expectations… argh… The camera shots move around a lot as if they were memories of Mino’s about his ex, just floating around and disconnected. While I see the point of these disconnected memories, I don’t think they worked well together. There wasn’t much focus on one scene for too long. Each shot took about one or two moments before I can appreciate what I could see. This video felt more artistic than sensual. The majority of the “sexual” scenes were the two of them “gliding” over each other (which I get –  I don’t they wanted the video to be banned), but come on. I know many people prefer the video this way and found the video quite like what they were promised. I just was disappointed and expected too much. [Okay, this video is the edited version. Explains a lot of my thoughts. Still, they promised us a sexual video and then we get this…]

[Note: In exciting news (?), apparently there is a r-rated and unedited version of the video coming out soon. I never get these memos but I might come back here and make a few comments about it (it’s YG we are talking about here. “Coming soon” – check back in a few years)]

Final Rating – 7/10

[Review] Holup! – Bobby (iKON)

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The first member of iKON to go solo is Bobby. He debuts as a solo artist alongside Mino from Winner, who released his own solo single the next day. The two go on to form the subunit, MOBB, and released their subunit debut album the day after Mino’s solo debut. It has been a long time coming, with rumours of the two forming a subunit and talks of Bobby’s solo debut for quite some time now.

For those who don’t know me, I find it hard to get into hip hop or rap based songs. Not exactly my style. But nonetheless, here is what I thought of the song. It is honestly not that bad, but it really isn’t the best. Bobby does have a great husky vocal which this song did justice to. Some parts almost sounded like he was growling and that gave a tougher feel to the song. I did like the rhythm and instrumental. It does give a party-like vibe to the song as expected. You would expect this to be played at a party or club. It is perfect for that setting and bound to get everyone bouncing to it (I assume people bounce to songs at parties or clubs. And when I say bounce, I mean dance). Not a big fan of the autotune in the song. Very little times have I felt the autotune was meant for the song. Particularly that part towards the end with him singing and straight up autotune, not feeling it.  The autotune was probably the biggest turn off for me. But then again, the autotune was needed to keep up with that tough and masculine feel. For a rap song (in my books at least), it is okay. I do prefer the other releases though.

This music video just backs up the fact that I hate dreadlocks. Sure, they will look good on certain people, but when Asians do it, I just stare blankly at them and just fade away from the situation. Okay, with the video. I guess that house looks exactly like other houses after a house party. Like a really wild and “lit” party. I don’t know, I am only assuming, because the parties I have been to, we all clean up and make it look presentable before leaving. Anyway, another thing (if you haven’t watched the video yet) that may draw your attention to watching it later on is the abs available in this video. The background does distract you quite a bit but I am sure if you focus strongly enough, you will see only the abs. Hahahaha… Though yes, Bobby does have good abs. Yeah, there really isn’t much else to talk about beside pointing out every single detail now. So I am just going to end it here, before I start boring you (if I haven’t yet).

Final Rating – 6/10

[Review] Russian Roulette – Red Velvet

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Red Velvet has made their comeback with their third mini-album, Russian Roulette. Their title song is the same title as their mini-album. The girl’s most recent release and comeback was back in March of this year, with One of These Nights.

Interesting song. My feelings a little confused. One part of me doesn’t like some aspects, but another part of me wants to get up and dance along with the song. The first impression, I thought it was quite catchy and more of the Red Velvet style that I like. The second time around, I thought the song was quite choppy and would become annoying to listen to over time. Third time around, I just sat there deciding whether I like the song or not. And I am still deciding. The choppiness, which I was thinking would become annoying, was the charm of the song. The chorus was amazing. So catchy and it makes the song quite addictive. I love the 8-Bit sound as if this was taken out from one of those arcade games. The vocals in the song were pretty solid as well. Each member was flawless in the song. I don’t if my theory is right yet. Mainly because it is the song that I have been playing on the loop consistently for the past few days. Maybe in a weeks time, maybe never. But so far, I can say that I think the elements in the song come together quite nicely, even though I was never a big fan of the choppiness in other songs. The girls have put out such a catchy song that I think delivers the right form of Red Velvet that I grew to like in Dumb Dumb.

Certain parts of the video I liked, others I didn’t. Let’s start off with the intersection of the song and video. The song likens the game of love (well, when people fall in love with the same person, all at the same time) to the game Russian Roulette (the more violent game, of course). The video does a splendid job of showing us that, but saving us from the gore and consequences. I’ve read the video was inspired by Tom and Jerry (one of my all time favourite animations) and the video did just that. There a cat and mouse cartoon in the video, but it was much more interesting seeing everything occurring between the girls.  From throwing dodge balls at each other, to cutting rope that is attached to a fridge dangling from the roof, to cooperating with each other to cause a series of lockers to fall over, the girls pretty much have this game sorted. The video fits the choppiness of the song quite well. I love their blank facial expressions when they all turn to the camera and start lip-syncing to the song. Wait, I love their facial expressions in this video. Especially when  each other them put their respective plans into full effect. It gives you shivers.Those are just some highlights of the video. What I didn’t like was some of the close-up shots during the choreography parts. They looked amateurish and really showed a more “unpolished” side of the girls.

Which leads me to the dance that accompanied the song. Sadly, not loving it. There were a few scenes in the video that made it look chaotic and an eye sore. Watching the stages, it was a bit better. I liked the start of the chorus. I just thought that this time, there was too much going on and it kind of took the fun out of it.

Final Rating – 8/10

[Review] On The Way Home – Sunny Hill

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Sunny Hill has finally returned after a year and a half. They have returned with a new single, On The Way Home that has sparked a little concern from fans (I included). This song along with the video really alludes towards disbandment for the group, which everyone does not want to happen. They are extremely underrated and unfortunately have not found the right momentum in the industry as of yet. However, their songs have always been iconic. Now, I will talk about reasons why I think the “we are disbanding” message is being given off from the song and video later on. The description of the video somewhat downplays this speculation. However, I’ve read that when the company was asked, the company simply replied with “Nothing is confirmed yet”. Furthermore, I am also reading that Seungah posted about leaving the dorms to live elsewhere. Though we have to wait for a confirmation to make it official, it seems like a lot is going in favour of this disbandment. But as I mentioned before, hopefully not. Writing this introduction has me in tears because I love Sunny Hill and I will support them. And as you can this review is going to be a long one.

Listening to the song for the first time, I honestly fell in love with the song. I have liked most (if not all) of Sunny Hill’s songs. From Midnight Circus to Here I Am, I think everything they put out is amazing. The song has a nice pop vibe but at the same time has a nice ballad feel to it. There is a hint of electronic in it as well, which they have done it in the past. It is just, this time, they tone it down a lot. The girls sing quite a bit about ‘going home’ and that they keep on asking themselves “why do they look back”, making the process of going home a lot harder. That is the evidence I was talking about in the song. Moving along, their vocals fit the song amazingly. While the song is quite upbeat and more on the “happy” side, you can tell there is a hint of emotions in their vocals. It is like every other Sunny Hill ballad they have put out there. They do everything to the perfect extent. I would love if the vocals in the verses were a little stronger. I know the members who sang these parts aren’t really the best singers out there, but at least throw in some backing vocals to give some depth to them.

We see each member in the video in different lives. One of them is currently with a partner, another is working, another is travelling and I don’t know what Misung’s character is doing (maybe unemployed – I don’t know). But each of them is fed up with their current situation (in the video) and you can tell them that life is putting a lot of pressure on them. So they start to move along with their escape or exit from their lives. They all talk on the phone for a bit in the video. I don’t know if that is calling “daddy and mama, I’m coming home” or if they are communicating with each, in agreeance with each other’s departure. But let’s skip forward. Here is where it gets to me and has a lot of people concerned. When each member returns to their home, prior to opening their doors and saying “I’m home” to their family, they look behind them, to a small television which plays two of their past hits: Midnight Circus and Goodbye To Romance. For a moment, and we all see it, a hint of sadness. Then they turn back to their houses and go inside. It is a great video (though I don’t like the pale filter) that packs a punch. Whatever story they are telling, it is amazing and I love it.

Final Rating – 9.5/10 – No I didn’t give them a high score just because it could potentially be their final song and video ever. It is based purely on my views on the song and video.

In the end, whatever happens with Sunny Hill, I, as a fan, will support them. Even if it is parting ways and doing their own thing, like any other band, I will wish them the very best. If they stay together, then I will continue my support. Watch the video, share it, like it!!!

[Review] Love Paint – NU’EST

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NU’EST returned earlier in the year with Overcame. I haven’t heard anything from the group since then, so this introduction will be very small. Now, they have returned (unexpectedly) with Love Paint and their fifth mini album.

I am still warming up to this song. I am going to be honest, my views on the song could change in a few days. I just thought it was an odd mix of sounds. The classical start and the mix of electronic sounds had me cringing. The chorus caught me off guard and I was wondering where they were going with this. But listening to it a few times, I feel like the song taps into what the whole concept was about and what they are singing about. The song was as if it was a canvas and the sounds (along with the vocals and the raps) were like that paint. The track is quite artistic. Didn’t appreciate at first, but I do see it (well, hear it) more clearly. I do like the chorus quite a bit now and I am in love with the instrumental. I would have loved to hear more that classical start throughout the song. The song was mainly an EDM-based song afterwards, with a small hint of classical. It probably would have made the artistic feel I felt more apparent sooner. But nonetheless, I don’t mind the song at all now. I am just not 100% committed to it (yet). The vocals were okay, but I love Baekho’s vocals for the chorus. Very strong and matches the instrumental quite well.

The music video has a nice artistic vibe to it. It is a tad boring. Let’s start off with the choreography shots. I am quite a minimalistic person when it comes to these things. Simple is always better than over doing it. Them dancing shots were pretty nice. Dark room, with a few lights in the back and the guys at the centre of attention. What more do you need? I would really love it if a dance version came out (like right now) for my (and your viewing pleasure). The literal camera shots filmed at an angle and spinning around gives off that nice minimalistic vibe but emphasises the artistic side of the video. As for the rest of the video, I had no idea what was going on. From what I could tell from the video, there isn’t a plot. It is more like the guys are thinking about their love. I would have liked it if the video was more interesting somehow. It would give me something to speak about and at the same time, make me go back to the video more times to try and appreciate it even more.

Not really impressed with the choreography. It looked pretty cool in the video, but on the stage, it is quite lacking and dull. There really is no memorable bits at all and I am a little disappointed. It might stem from the fact that there is nothing in the song that really acts as a “hook” (well, at least that is what I see). I think I just play the performances on YouTube, just to listen to the song (in this case).

Final Rating – 6.5/10

[Review] Shooting Love – Laboum

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Laboum has returned to the stage with a brand new song. They made their first comeback in 2016 with Journey to Atlantis, which I totally loved. Just 4 months later, they returned with a new mini album and their newest title track Shooting Love. Furthermore, Laboum topped my weekly KPOP chart for last week. That was just my way of sliding my charts into these posts!

They came back with a pretty good song. I have to admit. It was catchy and addictive to listen to. I totally fell for it. But there are a few things that did disappoint me. The song sounds more childish (and at parts, cringeworthy). Journey to Atlantis was still that cutesy aegyo concept, but there was a more mature vibe to it. Parts of Shooting Love sounded like a kid was making shooting sounds. Some parts would have sounded a lot better in cheerleading format, but instead, we got kiddy format. I did like the rest of the vocals. The “Bang Bang Bang Boy” reeled me in pretty fast (though it did take me a while to figure out what they were saying, which I don’t really know why, though). The rap was unnecessary and was probably the other part of the song which I did not like. The pop vibe in the song was pretty great. I liked the instrumental to the song. Consistent throughout and the extra beats added for the chorus came at the right time. Really made me happy to listen throughout the rest of the song (minus the rap).

We really need to address this ongoing use of guns in the videos. I get they try to avoid the rating officials and want something cute rather than violent to be in the video, but honestly, it is getting pretty damn embarrassing and ridiculous. Have no clue on what is occurring the video. I get that they are split into teams. One of the teams comes with bombs and spy gear, while the other team comes with grenades and pink guns. I guess they are competing for someone’s love and trying to eliminate the other team. While my idea is ridiculous, I am going with what I think. And though that is pretty cringeworthy and really childish to watch, I find the video quite interesting and amusing. Plus dropping the bomb in the bin somehow managed to stop the bomb from blowing everything on camera to bits. Yeah, I don’t know. I loved the camera work in this video. It made the video look quite cool at some parts. In regards to the ending, I don’t know if the video was actually meant to be the “shooting of a (terrible) movie”.

The dance was great. The editing in the music video made the dance look quite cool and really made me expect a lot. I was a little disappointed with the stage performances, but only a little bit. Overall, I thought the dance was fitting for the song. Though I do have to ask, what were with the random “place hands under each boob” part of the chorus? Got a little lost there, but I loved the use of the handguns (makes sense) and the imaginary bow and arrow (also makes sense) in the dance. Just that random move I don’t find any sense in it.

Final Rating – 7.5/10

 

[Review] Chewing Gum – NCT Dream

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NCT is back (once again) but this time with a brand new subunit, NCT Dream. This new subunit consist of 7 members: Mark (who has also debuted with NCT 127 and NCT U), Ren Jun, Jeno, Haechan (who is also a part of NCT 127), Jaemin, Chen Le and Jisung. Every time I hear this song, I have to let out a sigh.Their average age as a group is around 15 years old. I also did some research and all the members are younger than me. I feel old and am getting old.

This is another amazing song to add to the mix of recent releases. It is a completely different style to what the previous subunits have done. To be precise, this song is more pop than any of 127 or U’s releases. Furthermore, it is a completely different style to what SM puts out. It is such a colourful and bright song. It is damn catchy and addictive. “Chew-Chew-Chew-Chewing Gum“. It is easy to remember and you will be singing along in not time. Even the vocal work and the rapping in this song is pretty good. It doesn’t sound like a new debut group, but one that has tonnes of the experience in the bag. The instrumental is pretty nice as well. It was consistent throughout. No major slow downs to throw the track off its … track. Even when it came to the rap, the song remained true to itself and didn’t change in any way. So many songs do that and somehow manage to ruin the vibe and the flow of the song. This is by far the best NCT release yet, mainly because I fell for the song as soon as I heard it.

The music video is definitely colourful and vibrant. Fits in perfectly with the song and the concept. As the average age of the group is quite young, it makes sense for them to go for this concept, the scouts. Move over school boy concepts, make way for the boy scouts! It is pretty unique, to be honest, I give that to them. So, from what happened in the video, I guess the camp leader is not too big on chewing gum. He lines them up and makes the boys spit out whatever is in their mouth if he catches them chewing. My question is: why are you acting as if it is disgusting? You asked someone to spit on your hand. Even if you are not expecting chewing gum, I don’t think anything nice will be coming out… But per usual, you tell kids to do one thing and they will do the other. So they have a hidden stash and at night, they have fun. Until the guy comes in, so they have to hide. But somehow, they trap the camp leader guy with chewing gum… Okay, towards the end of the video, it becomes a little confusing. Despite that, the video was fun yet interesting to watch. Not complaining about anything here. I liked it a lot and I keep coming back to the video and watching it.

Hands down. This has to be one of the best dance performances of the year. They are dancing on freaking segways. I can’t even ride a segway. I never even seen one in real life. I am amazed. After one week of promotions, I am in awe. None of them has had a stuff up on the boards and they make it look like it too easy. Even when they are not on the boards, the guys still manage to blow me away with their moves. Damn… For a pop based song, I think the quality of the dance was excellent. All I can do is the water sprinkler and I still manage to look like a clumsy human being.

Honestly excellent debut. Final Rating – 9.5/10

[Review] Secret Time – Spica

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It has been over two years (apparently two years felt like an eternity) since we last heard anything from these girls. Not much has happened in the previous two years since their last release, Ghost, which was not even promoted at all. They have changed to a different company, CJ E&M Entertainment (earlier this year) and since then, their activities have increased. Notably, Bohyung is appearing on the show, Girl Spirit, which allows main vocalists of underrated girl groups to shine.

If you don’t remember Spica or have not heard of them, remember them now. Their vocals and unique retro songs back in the day made them quite popular. And now they are back with the superb harmonies and vocals with this new song. It is as if there was no 2-year gap that could have undermined their vocal abilities. I am amazed at the quality of the song. Sure, it does fall short compared to other songs at the moment however I liken this song to like a “re-debut” rather than a comeback. Okay, more about the song. It is a very nice nu-disco track that makes me want to dance. It is funky and retro-y, fitting really well into the songs that Spica had released in the past. As I mentioned before, the vocal work in this song is amazing. I feel like they selected the right person for each part of the song. Jiwon, in particular, fits the chorus really well, in my opinion. Bohyung and Boa sounded amazing together. Narae and Sihyun (they don’t really shine in the song) sang really well. While they do all sound different, they came together really well and made the song flow spectacularly. I really loved the small short segments of no sounds, right after each chorus. It gave what followed through right after a nice punch and it made the song more vibrant and cool. The beat was there throughout the whole song and it contributed to that nice vibrant feel.

Not exactly fond of the video. I guess the song had a party-like vibe to it, so it made sense for a party to appear in the video. Love the idea of the skating centre. The set (and the idea) does bring you back to the times when roller skates used to be cool. I just feel like the events in the video are quite outrageous and extremely random, to the point where it did undermine the quality of the video (for me). I loved everything else regarding the choreography shots and the closeups. We need to talk about the “gun” nature in KPOP videos one day. This pretty much adds to my frustration when it comes to guns. The video, I admit, looked quite hardcore then. And then it turns to bubble guns and the girls are all smiling the next minute. I had a “huh?” face for the rest of the video. It makes no sense and it ruined the mood of the video. I feel like the video could have lost of the craziness and make it feel like a party. It is a way to capture our attentions, but as I said before, it was over the top. Like the addition of the backup dancers to the party was far too late.

Dance wise, it was okay. Sure, it could have been better. But Spica is definitely highlighting their vocals in this song. Hence if they had a more upgraded dance, their vocals were gonna be sacrificed. I understand that and for that, I can’t really say much about. Quality first. I did like the end of the performance where they line up in a diagonal line and do the “ssshh” gesture. That looked cool.

Final Rating – 8/10