Category: KPOP

[Review] She – VRomance

Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Leave a comment

Another boy group has made their debut. VRomance is a4 member boy group, currently under Rainbow Bridge World, which also houses Mamamoo. This group is considered to be Mamamoo’s brother group. The group consists of Janghyun, Hyun Kyu, Chan Dong and Hyun Seok.

This is a solid song. It may not be many people’s cup of tea, but it definitely shows that this band has great vocals and a lot of talent. Truly a group to look forward to. The song is catchy and has a pleasant feel to it (aka. another song that doesn’t sound too heavy on your ears). The song is jazz/swing-based, with hints of pop scattered within it. It isn’t really common within the industry for a group to promote Jazz based song, however, as proven by Mamamoo and their debut song, they might do well in the future. As I mentioned before, the group has amazing vocals and that can be said about every individual member. Though  I am not familiar with the members of the group, what I hear tells me that they all have great potential and they all shined in this song. The high note and their harmony were well done and the taking turns in the chorus gives each of the members individual time to shine. While the song is quite giddy and all, I would have liked if there was a little rap section. It may make or break the song, but the song doesn’t feel complete. I think that is what excessive listening to KPOP do to you. Miss elements of songs which could potentially ruin it. Overall, I liked it a lot. Good debut song. Oh and “Hello, Hello, Hello ~” (love this part).

The music video is a little dry. It has that romantic feel that the song is trying to communicate across. It has that jazz and swing vibe going on. But, it just feels boring to watch. The featuring of Hwasa in the video doesn’t really make it better. If anything, I would feel the same way without her featuring in the video. Though, I did like the choppiness of the start (which is also the same as the teaser). It is different and it draws your attention into the video. It just doesn’t add up with the video. The featuring of the couples in the video gave the song that more romantic feeling and a cute element. Cause there is no other way to express interest and love but through dancing. The guys, dressed in the pink suits, did look quite obnoxious. I do prefer them in a more neutral colour or like their stage outfits. They look more a laid back band and more relatable, rather than a bunch of pink flamingos.

There isn’t much of a dance to this song. Unless you consider minimal footwork behind a microphone stand and leaning the stand to one side as a dance. But, I must mention the passing of the microphone is pretty cool. No, amazing. It is timed so well and perfection is key for the performance to work. I love to see some bloopers or mistakes on stage, mainly because this performance is 100% prone to them.

Final Rating – 8/10

[Review] Breathless – Astro

Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Leave a comment

It has been a few days since my last review and I (once again) apologise for that. I have restarted the second semester of the year and will be a little slower with reviews. I should still be able to publish reviews, though. Which leads me to Astro! They have returned with a brand new mini-album and their newest track, Breathless.

As you may know from my previous review of the guys, I was not as fond of their debut track, Hide and Seek. This song, however, is definitely an improvement. It isn’t the best song out there at the moment, but it is still a good song. It is a lot catchier and it suits the Summer season really well. Give it a few listens and I guarantee you will be singing along (that is what happened with me and this song). The instrumental puts you at the beach straight away. Upbeat, bright and fresh. The rapping is pretty good (but ain’t impressive). The vocals are pretty good as well. The chorus sounds pretty good because there are backing vocals there. The verses do sound a little bit empty and dry. Maybe a tiny bit of backing vocals will improve the verses, it doesn’t need to be as excessive as the chorus. The “Ppa Ppa Ppa Ppa” is really addictive and those “shouts”that they do after the “Ppa Ppa” do leave a good impression on me. The guys are definitely improving with their songs.

The music video is okay. They call it a music video, but from start to end I feel like it is more of a promotional run of that orange soft drink. The essence of the video is basically the guys are the orange soft drink bottles that we see with the girl constantly. It makes it funny, but yeah, it would be the perfect product placement video if the product actually existed. The video fits the Summer vibes of the song and it situates you perfectly at the beach. The guys also come in different colours. I don’t know you, but that duck is definitely the highlight of the video. Following the girl around and all. Beside that, there isn’t much else to the video. Not a video that I would go to watch constantly, but it was okay.

The dance can described simply as “cutesy concept with the guys trying to act cool”. I don’t think it is a great performance. Like their debut, not that impressive. Though, it looks like they are having the time of their lives on stage.

Final Rating – 6/10

[Review] Navillera – GFriend

Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Leave a comment

GFriend has returned with their first album. The girls are currently the hottest trend in South Korea and have confirmed their popularity with the release of Rough at the start of the year. Now they are back and are looking to further cementing their title as one of the most popular groups in South Korea at the moment.

Initially, the song felt quite dead and boring. It really did not yell out GFriend or sound as similar to their previous 3 songs. However, after listening to multiple times, the song has grown quite  a lot. To the point, where it claimed 4th place on my weekly charts. For a song that I did not quite get for most of the last week, it rose pretty fast towards the end of the week. Anyway, the song is really good. I love the “na-na-na-navillera” part of the song. So catchy. I would have liked it more if the chorus had some sort of bass or some other instrument to make it “heavier”. The vocals were great, though I felt at times during the song, it felt quite flat. But what we have already sounds amazing and I really enjoy listening to the song. The instrumental itself is pretty good as well. The start sounds a lot like Infinite’s The Chaser. Is it just me, when it comes to that observation? And I think I have figured out the formula for GFriend’s successful song. Each of their songs has allowed for an instrumental break. This gives the girls to showcase their moves while on stage, but also hype the crowd with what is to come (i.e. the high notes).

This video reminds me of Me Gusta Tu quite a bit. Not that is a bad thing because this video is shot in a completely different style and manner. Both videos showcase the girls having fun with each other. The other video followed their school trilogy, while this one shows a much more mature look and rollerblades. I love how one girl sings, and while the girls have fun, it spans to another member to sing the next line. Okay, it sounds terrible in words, but it is as if the camera is a person looking around the room and seeing the next member sing each time. Not fond of the home video concept, though. There is also an air of mysteriousness that hovers around the video, though I am not really sure why I have that feeling and why that is the case. Everything else looks quite polished, but those scenes filmed with the home camera (back in the day) kind of ruins that feel. But I guess it fits with the retro vibe the song had going. Overall, I think it is a great video which gives off a fresh feel, well fitting for the season of Summer in Korea.

The dance was a little underwhelming. I think the chorus could have followed on with their previous dances. Each of their previous dances has had a memorable dance move, but this one doesn’t have one. Or I have yet to see one that I can associate with this song. But that dance break was amazing. I love GFriend dance breaks. They look so cool and it shows different sides to the group that we do not commonly see.

Before I leave, these girls have basically started the new trend of dancing to songs at 2x the speed. Did you guys see their latest Weekly Idol appearance where they danced to Navillera, Glass Beads and Me Gusta Tu at 2x the speed? Amazing.

Final Rating – 8/10

[Double Review] Why + Starlight – Taeyeon (SNSD)

Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged , Leave a comment

The solo artist who reigned the charts in South Korea with her solo debut last year has finally returned with her second mini album.Taeyeon made her solo debut with I last year and returned at the start of the year with Rain, as a single that was part of SM Station. This time around Taeyeon brings two music videos. Her lead title track is Why and the other music video is Starlight, which features Dean. Both will be reviewed today.

While her solo debut and her recent single have been ballads, it was definitely a shock to hear a dance song from Taeyeon. It isn’t anything to be shocked over, I just thought she would make a comeback with another ballad, particularly with the success of her recent/past releases. However, Why does have that ballad-y feel to it. The start of it showcases her vocals quite well, similar to what she showed in I. As the song progresses, the beat builds up and those dance song sounds start to emerge. Yes, it is another EDM based song from SM Entertainment and I honestly don’t mind. Her vocals (per usual) shine throughout the song. Never did it get overshadowed by the instrumental. The chorus was particularly short and simple. It did feel choppy, but it was catchy and quite nice. Overall, I felt that she shined bright even though it wasn’t something that I expected from her.

Starlight features Dean, who is a solo artist. He has a nice voice, but he hasn’t amazed me as of yet with his releases. If you are a fan, please recommend some of his work down below for me and everyone to listen to. But moving along, the song is good, but it isn’t my cup of tea. The start of the nice with Taeyeon’s intro and the launch into Dean’s vocals is quite nice. The rest of song sounds “meh”.  It just sounds like a typical lovey-dovey song without any hooks or anything else to it. I don’t it particularly find it catchy or any appeal. The vocals are quite nice (and compliment each other) but the song is quite dry. That is all I can really say. I am more on the fence with regards to this song than anything else.

Music video wise, I am a little disappointed. Every element fits into the video quite nicely for Why. But the overall outcome looks too similar to Tiffany’s video. Both were filmed in America and  shows the girls having fun in America. Taeyeon takes it a little further by rebelling and spraying sauce over the poor cook at the food truck. Tiffany had more solo shots. The camera shots were also quite similar. I don’t know if the two were produced/directed by the same person but seriously, it just ruins the mood. Starlight had an okay video, but once again, I am disappointed. The chemistry between the two is the main concern. First of all, Taeyeon looks like she is the one pulling all the moves out and trying excessively hard to get his attention. However, he simply smiles in all the scenes or awkwardly gazes at her. His probably inexperienced with acting, which I get, but they should have toned Taeyeon’s acting down or made it look like he was somewhat more interested. Barely any interaction between the two looks decent or seemed too exaggerated. Furthermore, both artists had very minimal shots of them singing. So what was the point of adding those scenes, instead of scenes that may have contributed to their chemistry on-screen?

Why is the only song with a dance out of the two songs. The dance was pretty cool. I really enjoyed the snappy start and it looked quite cool with the camera zoomed up into her face. The rest of the dance followed with a similar snappy progression, which fitted well with the song.

Why – 7.5/10

Starlight – 4.5/10

[Review] Fire Truck – NCT 127

Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged , Leave a comment

NCT has returned to the stage with the debut of another subunit. NCT’s first subunit made their debut in April as NCT U. The lineup between the NCT U and NCT 127 are quite similar, however there were some changes. So the lineup for NCT 127 includes Taeil, Taeyong, Yuta, Jaehyun, WinWin, Mark and Haechan. Yuta, WinWin and Mark were not part of NCT U.

I was surprised when I first heard of Fire Truck. It was completely different to anything anyone in the industry has put out.  There is a very strong American EDM vibe in Fire Truck. I am one of those people who do not really enjoy the EDM genre (however, give me a good one and I will be heads over heels for it), but this song sounds amazing. It just took two words (Fire Truck) to win me over with the song. Those two words sound amazing in the song. Talking about those two words, they seem pretty random, don’t you think? To just have a song titled as Fire Truck sounds a little “out there”. But then again, it is KPOP we are talking about. Moving along, I was very unimpressed by the rap. The vocals were a little better. Emphasis on “a little better”. It just felt whiney and annoying (to an extent). I guess it is heavily influenced by the EDM and editing of the song. The vocals in the bridge are much clearer and Though, what we have already fits in well with the instrumental. It just doesn’t sit well with my ears. But give me the instrumental (though, I would like the bass to be turned up just a bit more) and just the words “Fire Truck” and I will be extremely happy.

Moving along to the video, I am quite confused. The guys go around with fire hoses and start spraying water around at people. Not that I have a problem with that, it fits in with the lyrics of the song, but it seems quite random (if you watch the video only). There are “supposedly” sexual themes in the video, from what I am researching off. It does make sense with the guys standing around females with water spraying into their faces and letting it go everywhere in other scenes.  Watching the video the first few times around, I just thought they go around spraying water at people for fun. Moving to SM’s explanation of the video. Essentially, the guys are the young girl’s guardian angels and these angels use fire hoses to “flush out” the troubles for the girl. It sounds really childish and very desperate. It sounds a lot more like a  back-up plan, than an intended story. I don’t know what to believe. While the sexual theory makes sense visually (hmmm.. that does not sound right at all), it doesn’t make sense with that final scene where the band “moves on” to the little boy, which fits more of SM Entertainment’s explanation. But I don’t think SM explanation fits in with majority of the video as well. Was there a need to do close shots of those moments? Might as well make the guys do the cutesy concept if that is your explanation. Are there any other theories that you guys know of? I only know of the two, but if there are any others, comment below! Besides the confusing plot, I really liked the choregraphy scenes in the video. Fits the feel and vibe of the song.

The dancing was pretty good. Overall, they do bring out more of a hip hop vibe to the dance. However, some moves look like they lacked imagination and lazy. I am talking about 1:02 minutes into the music video. But beside that, I liked it. Also, poofy hair dude. He is wearing a shirt that cyclists would usually wear. It looks completely out of place and terrible on him. And that is coming from a guy who has little to no fashion sense.

Final Rating – 5.5/10

[Review] Wonderland – Gugudan

Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Leave a comment

Another one! Gugudan is currently one of the newest groups to have graced the stages of South Korea, They are a 9 member girl group, who are currently under Jellyfish Entertainment, which also has Vixx under their belt. The 9 members include Mimi, Hana, Haebin, Nayoung, Sejeong, Sally, Soyee, Mina and Hyeyeon. Furthermore, Nayoung, Sejeong and Mina participated in the 101 Produce and Sejeong and Mina went on to debut as a part of I.O.I.

The song is okay. Once again, it isn’t terrible or amazing, but it fails to capture my full attention. I will be honest, I am drawn into the song for the chorus, but then while listening to the song, I easily get distracted and end up skipping to another song. There is a small hook in the chorus after each line, where they add emphasis onto the final syllable of each line they sing. That made the song catchy, but it just wasn’t enough. Besides that, the song is rather bland and boring. That straight line analogy can be referred to here as well. Another song that I don’t see any deviation from that straight line. Their vocals are quite weak. The only time when they sound decent is during the chorus, but that is when they overlay each other’s vocals on top of each other. The same can be said about the instrumental. It felt quite empty. The bridge of the song fits nicely, but it sounds quite choppy.

The video was okay. The concept of the video/comeback is mermaids and I believe that is a first in the industry. I just hope they keep with the fairytale concept because so much could be done with that idea. The video just lacked a lot. There was the choreography scenes and then closeups of them being pretty. Oh, and their acting could use a little help. They looked a little awkward. But there isn’t much else. The sets were quite beautiful. I really like the big, white tree looking set. I guess the idea of the story is that the girls are magically transported from under the sea to the stage of some kind. Just it would have been nice to make the audience look like … well… an audience. All the seats are completely empty. Also, dancing with water isn’t a first in the industry, but to dance in water with heels on probably is. While I did say there isn’t much else to talk about it, I managed to ramble on (somehow).

The dance was actually quite nice. A little to the boring side as well. But the dance does the job with fitting into the song quite well. The start looks quite nice. Liked the mini jumps they do at the end of the choruses. It could have been better though.

Final Rating – 5/10

 

[Review] Why So Lonely – Wonder Girls

Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged , , , Leave a comment

Guess who is back??? Wonder Girls!!! Yep, the ladies have returned to the stage. Last time, they promoted I Feel You and introduced us to the band version of Wonder Girls. Once again, the band version of Wonder Girls have returned with Why So Lonely and have also brought a dance along with them. So let’s get on with it, shall we?

The girls went with such an amazing song. They have constantly pushed out songs that have always been deemed as unique and like no other. KPOP is a very large industry, but this is the 2nd or 3rd time I have actually heard someone attempt the reggae genre.  Yeah, it sounds like it wasn’t released in the right era nor does it sound modern and upbeat. But it definitely  is unique and it drew my attention (and most likely, yours) in straight away. The vocals were great. Yubin also has singing parts, on top of her rapping parts. Yubin’s rap was amazing. South Korea also likes the new sound as well, as their song topped the charts as soon as it was released and received certified perfect all kills. I love the harmonies during the chorus. The song isn’t heavy on the ears and is a song that I wouldn’t mind listening to every now and then. With such a unique song under their belt, the girls have done a great job with it.

The music video is made up of a simple story and close up shots of the girls. I particularly like this video because of the story line. It makes me laugh. The girls find the their “partner” cheating on them (if you go by the video) or their partner has lost interest in them (if you go by the song). The girls, either way, take matters into their own hands and deal with the situation. They kidnap him, slam a car’s bonnet on top of his arm and proceed to chain him up. But that ain’t the peak of it. They wrapped him up and then chop his arm off. But the peak is where they just start performing in front of him and then leave him there to… I don’t know what plastic dolls do… rot? It was such a freaky video, but the ending could have been dramatised a little bit, don’t you think? There is also a very kinky or sexual side to the torture, though , and I guess that alludes to the fact that he hasn’t been paying attention to the girls in any way. I thought the idea of the video was amazing and most of it was. Just a little disappointed with the ending performance and then just leaving him behind. Why not bury him in a hole? He lost an arm and in real life, he would have bled to death, so might as well just get rid of him?

There are two versions to this song when we refer to the performance. First is the band version, and second of all, is the dance version. Can’t say anything about the band version, but their blank facial expressions, for some reason, fit in really well with the song. The dance gives their facial expressions a lot more freedom. But the dance is very bland and lackluster. It was kind of expected from the sound of the song. The song doesn’t necessary have the dance feel, so I don’t know why they wanted to make a dance version of this song. If anything, they should have promoted I Feel You with a dance version.

Final Rating – 8.5/10

[Double Review] Butterfly + Ribbon – Beast

Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged , 4 Comments

Beast has returned to the stage. This comeback marks the first time the boys have returned since Hyunseung withdrew from the group back in April this year.

Let’s start off with the pre-release, Butterfly. This ballad song is great. Their vocals are quite nice. Since Hyunseung departed, you can definitely tell that the group needed to step up to fill in the empty spot and this song is an excellent example of that. Even Junhyung, who predominate raps in Beast’s songs, have stepped up and opened the song really well. The rest of the group sings really well, as well. The chorus is quite addictive as well and I find it a great song to sway along to. To me, it sounds like a flawless song and I really do enjoy listening to it.

Ribbon is another great song to add to the list. The song sounds like version 2.0 of 12:30. I can’t say this is a ballad, but I see where everyone is coming from. I really enjoyed the violins in the instrumental. It was well emphasised and it drew my attention right away. It does have a few issues in my book, though. The first would have to be the vocals vs. instrumental balance. I found the instrumental was very overpowering at times and I couldn’t hear the vocal work of the members as well. The “Tie up a ribbon” sounds really awkward and it took me a while to actually understand that is what was being sung. I actually thought they were saying something in South Korean. Those high notes at the end were pretty cool. Overall, both songs are pretty good.

The music video for Butterfly is really beautiful . Though, I do think the addition of the props are a little weird (who really enjoys a couch in the open field?), the overall setting is really nice. The camera captures a really nice shot of both nature and the guys. Though, there really is not much else to talk about the Butterfly video, it fits in well with the sound and the overall expected “gracefulness” when we hear the title of the song. Ribbon is a much darker video. The darker atmosphere matched the sombered feel of the song, but the video does remind me (quite strongly) of 12:30 as well. I don’t know what is going on the video But it seems the guys each had good memories about the surroundings they are in (for example the teddy bear in the locker). However they are bounded to these surroundings (by ribbons) and are reminded constantly by the heartbreak (Kikwang’s expressions when he sees both the teddy bear and the extending hand). They try to break away, some successful and some I guess were not. And once again, those awkward props are placed in the weirdest environments. Who honestly puts a photo booth on a skyscraper’s roof top and helipad?

Glad Butterfly doesn’t have a dance. I think Ribbon’s dance is quite nice. Them hip movements, though. Hahaha… Something needs to be done with their pants though. Way too baggy around the ankles. The dance does remind me a lot of 12:30. I did like 12:30’s dance, so I don’t know if it is a bad or good thing that it reminds me of 12:30.

Just a closing statement – Both were awesome, but I am a little troubled about how simlar Ribbon was with 12:30, espeically now how I have finished writing this review and I have mentioned it so many times.

Butterfly – 9.5/10

Ribbon – 8.5/10

[Review] Very Nice – Seventeen

Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Leave a comment

Seventeen has returned with their first repackaged album and title track Very Nice or 아주 Nice. They previously made their comeback with their first official album and title track Pretty U in April. 

First time listening to the song, I thought it was rather weird and cluttered. It is a song that you would describe as multiple songs mashed into one. It turns out to be a typical pop song, but there are so many different elements in the song, that sometimes it catches me off guard. But I have grown to love it. It is a song that I constantly play and because of that, it topped the first weekly KPOP charts that I posted on Sunday. I did like the fast chorus and then the slow downs in the song. It worked in their favour. I particular like the start of the song (DK did a pretty good job there and the rest of the high pitch lines before the choruses), Woozi’s ballad breakdown/slowdown and Vernon’s and Dino’s rap in the middle of the song. The one part that I am not feeling is Jeonghan’s part in the bridge. It honestly does not match the rest of the vocals and the “explosive” nature of the song. For sure, I find the song extremely addictive and catchy. Overall, I really liked the song and I honestly recommend this song.

The music video was “Very Nice” to watch. Okay, I will refrain myself from the puns. That is one creepy girl. Of course, it makes senses with their heart exploding since they are singing about her and how she make their heart explodes. But damn, those shots where she appears out of nowhere and walks in the shot. Also, when the guys are dancing in the video and the camera zoom into her staring at them. Tell me that isn’t creepy. And how she stares blankly at them when their heart explodes. It is as if her goal is to kill the guys, rather than be with them. Really liked the exploding heart effect, though. I liked this video more than Pretty U, mainly because they are interacting with the camera. Not exactly sure about the ending when they are all running. KPOP has this odd fetish with explosions. First the lying dude from EXID’s L.I.E and now S.Coups. I think the question that should be asked is: who is next? I also wish to applaud Wonwoo. For a person who is sick and meant to be resting, he appears in the video multiple times and we probably cannot continue the review without some acknowledgement.

The dance was amazing. The chorus probably got some fangirls excited (i.e. hip thrusting and butts everywhere) but I thought the dance fitted the song extremely well. The chorus was amazing and looks too hard to even attempt an attempt.  As if a key and lock. The suspenders (even though looked quite unstylish) were well used.

Final Rating – 9/10

[Review] Emptiness – Madtown

Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Leave a comment

Slowly catching up. Getting there, but ever so slowly. Madtown has made their first comeback of the year with their third mini album. Their last comeback was OMGT, released in November 2015.

When it comes to this particular song, I am in the middle. I don’t think it is genuinely a bad song, but there is clearly a lot of room to make the song better. While the song has a really nice RnB feel to it, I do think the autotune at the start was not required. Sure, it made the song interesting, but comparing the start of the song with the actual choruses (where no autotune was used), the choruses sound more decent and carry more emotions with it. Their vocals are a little flat. That might be caused by the actual instrumental, but some parts in the song seem to be lacking. I think the best way to describe the song is my straight line example. The entire song sits nicely on the straight line, but that makes it boring and deters me from wanting to listen to the song. The instrumental itself sounds pretty nice. I would have liked a more hard-hitting rap, though. There is a rap sequence, but it doesn’t satisfy my ears.

The video was boring. It fits the song pretty well and it falls into what we expected, especially with the lyrics about feeling empty. The black and white contributed to the overall end product of the video. The video does look quite cheap (and probably the reason why I would label it as a bad video if it was in colour). But the video looked more sophisticated and well polished with the black and white filter. Their acting was okay. Would have liked something that showed a little more chemistry. Or maybe a few scenes that were a little longer. But what we have is decent enough and tells the heartbreak or “emptiness” pretty well.

The dance was standard. Again, nothing was there to amaze me. A decent dance routine can go a long way. But then again, incorporating a dance to a slow song is pretty hard. I am one to avoid dances with ballads and other types of slow songs, but this is a song and performance that would require a dance to keep it interesting. It matched the RnB feel and the slow tempo of the song.

Final Rating – 4.5/10

 

 

[Review] On The Road – DIA

Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Leave a comment

DIA has returned. This is my first time reviewing the girls. For those who are unfamiliar with this new girl group, they are currently a seven-member girl group under MBK Entertainment, which also houses T-Ara. They made their debut last year with Somehow and also released My Friend’s Boyfriend. On The Road is their first comeback for 2016. Some members of the group featured on the Produce 101 show and is also part of IOI. Currently the lineup of the group includes Eunice, Hui Hyeon, Jenny, Yebin, Eun-Jin, Chaeyon and Eunchae. The group’s former leader, Seunghee, withdrew from the group once her contract with the company expired at the start of the year.

The song is quite good, but it isn’t amazing. It didn’t blow me away and I am a little disappointed by it. It is a catchy song and I think that is why I like it. Particularly the chorus. The somewhat long note at the end of each chorus gives the “quite standard catchy” chorus more of a hook to it. It is a great song to have to play on in the background. The song isn’t heavy nor extremely loud, so it won’t distract you in any way. Their vocals compliment the overall balance of the pitch and tempo of the song. Same as the rap. Neither overpowered the instrumental or any other components of the song. What this song needed more of is harmony. They already sound quite good, but a little more background vocals or harmony with the other members could have made the song a lot better.

The music video was pretty boring. Again, it was quite standard and that was disappointing. Such a good song, with such a bland video. Basically, it is that formula of closeups and choreography, nothing more to it. There are some other shots with the girls and a guy, but there isn’t anything to talk about in those scenes. I want to say and speak about the video more, but there honestly was nothing to talk about.

The dance was boring as well. I am not fond of their live stages. But I guess the dance does fit the song. It is very underwhelming and lacks a lot of appeal. Maybe because the song isn’t heavy and “loud” that they adopted this style of dance, but overall, I would have like something with a little more powerful. (I guess I am all powerful choreography this and powerful dance that nowadays).

Final Rating –  5.5/10

[Review] I Like That – Sistar

Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Leave a comment

It is not officially Summer until Sistar makes their comeback. Sistar are the queens of Summer, making comebacks with numerous hits including Touch My Body, I Swear and Shake It. Now, they are going back to a more classy style with their latest comeback.

I Like That reminds me more of the Give It To Me and Alone tracks that the girls made their past comebacks with. Not saying the tracks are similar, but they remind me of the mature sound. When it comes to Sistar, line distribution is something that will always be discussed. Last few comebacks have been okay, but this time around Hyorin has more lines than Dasom, Bora and Soyu put together. Talk about being uneven. Though I am going to say, overall, the vocal work was fine and that applies to all members. I loved that Dasom got more lines, but instead of getting lines from Hyorin, Soyu had to pay the price. What this song needed more was a rap. We got a few seconds  of one, but it wasn’t enough to quench our thrist. The song could have easily eliminated the “I’m so fine, I’m so fine. Baby, don’t touch me” part and replaced it with another rap sequence. First of all, I always thought that part had been a little awkward and it doesn’t match up well with the rest of the song. The instrumental sounds just right and I love the start as well (with the “Let’s dance”). I also loved the slow down in the chorus. It made the song more interesting and intriguing to listen to.

I love the oriental feel that the video had going on. I guess that feel was created based on the sets and props, but it gave off a really nice and fresh Summer feel. One the note about the sets, I thought they really looked cool and amazing. It didn’t seem claustrophobic or tight at all (like in 90% of other KPOP videos). Besides that, there isn’t really much else to the video. Most of the video of the girls are dancing and then some solo shots of the girls sitting around and sulking. I did enjoy the editing and camera angles in the video. Some parts had a really fast zooming motion and that seemed very cool. Not sure about the green breath. But overall, I thought the video was pretty nice, despite it having so little.

The dance was amazing. I am in love with their choreography. I am pretty much a sucker when it comes to excellent use of people’s surroundings or costumes. The use of the skirts as the curtains for their dance was amazing (and genius). I am not fond of the “I’m so fine, I’m so fine. Baby, don’t touch me” part, though. It just felt distant from the rest of the dance.

Final Rating – 8/10

 

[Review] Monster – EXO

Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged 4 Comments

EXO is back and I will be reviewing both Lucky One and Monster. Not in the ‘double review’ format, though, since I want to talk about both songs. Their album has managed to break records that the group has set themselves including massive pre-sale numbers and the highest selling numbers in the first week alone. They, of course, conquered the charts and once again, proved to Korea and the world that they are not a force to be reckoned with.

Monster is the track that is more associated to EXO. It is a powerful track that is more of EXO’s style than anything else. Once again, the vocals and the rap roll smoothly in this song. The raps, in particular, suit the song a lot more. Chanyeol’s and Sehun’s husky and raspy voices really do wonders to this song. The vocals come together quite well and the power behind the vocals suit the song quite well. It is a song that oozes energy and the vocals exhibit the perfect amount of that power needed. I can’t say this song is catchy. It is fine as it is at the moment, but the chorus needed more of a hook to reel me in. It just doesn’t wow me or amazes me in any way. Just a standard chorus to be honest. I particularly love the ending of the song. It is a complete change up from the powerful side of the song. The song becomes much slower as Chen’s “creeping” dominates the foreground of the song. It kept the song interesting and yeah, it hooked me to the song. However, a hook at the end of the song doesn’t really mean anything to me, because the song is basically finished and most likely I have made my mind up in regards to the next song I want to listen to.

Okay, here is what I see from the video. EXO is some sort of squad that goes to war with the force. We see them sitting around a table at the start. I assume that war or fight occurs a little after that table shooting scene because the table and all the things on it is badly damaged at one point in the video. In the end, Baekhyun remains at the table, while the rest of them is being carted off to jail. This means Baekhyun betrayed the others (for his freedom, I assume). But wait! Plot twist alert. It is revealed that Baekhyun is a double agent and he ends up letting everyone go. That is my basic rundown of the video and what I saw. I think it is a great video overall. The story is there and everything was chaotic, as expected. The really like the dance scenes. Another fine video, where the darkness works really well. I also liked how in all the scenes, despite the darkness, they emphasised all the members that were in the scene. I liked the use of colour and the contrast between them. Also liked that huge pole with all the security cameras. Don’t know why, but it seems cool to sit on top of that.

Dance wise, I thought it was pretty cool as well. Fitting the song, it was quite powerful. It wasn’t obvious and the ‘power’ was very  subtle, but it was there. I loved the start of the dance with the violent swaying and the ending with Chen’s “creeping” part. And everything in between. Particularly the X formation they did in the first chorus. That blew my mind.

Another long review. Final Rating – 8.5/10

[Review] Lucky One – EXO

Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged 2 Comments

EXO is back and I will be reviewing both Lucky One and Monster. Not in the ‘double review’ format, though, since I want to talk about both songs. Their album has managed to break records that the group has set themselves including massive pre-sale numbers and the highest selling numbers in the first week alone. They, of course, conquered the charts and once again, proved to Korea and the world that they are not a force to be reckoned with.

My favourite track off the entire album. Lucky One caught my attention almost immediately and I essentially fell in love with the track. It is so damn catchy and addictive to listen to. The song brings you back to the funky days of disco. It is a style that is more retro than any of their other tracks or releases, so it is quite different from the normal EXO sound we would associate with them. The funky instrumental is also a favourite of mine. The vocals and rapping were smooth and fitted the song quite well. I love the change in tempos for different parts of the song. Even the change in tempo matches up with the vocals and I think that gave the song a great effect overall. Usually, different tempos do not string together well, but everything in this track flows quite well. Out of all the EXO tracks that I have heard, I think this has to be one of best ones (for my personal taste) and put it up there with Love Me Right, which I loved so much from last year.

The video here is quite good. The video opens up with these futuristic nurses or experimenters rolling in EXO, who are lying in bed. They get injected with some blue magic fluid, which seems to awaken something in their body (I wrote that last part 5 different times, each time giving off a perverted and dirty feel). There is a moment where scenes of the moon and space. Kind of links it back to their original concept from having superpowers and being from another planet. Something clicks and they start to escape from the hospital/experimentation centre. Using superpowers that they probably recovered and from what I see from the majority of the second half of the video, their good looks. It is as if they tempt the nurses/experimenters in the video. Once the girls get distracted by the guys, well, they self-destruct. In the most painful (but instantaneous way possible. Kind of similar how fangirls/boys will “self-destruct” of their favourite band or bias looks at them. They find every way possible to escape and tempt the females (for example, Kai dancing. Pretty cool yet no one (I repeat, NO ONE including Kai) knows why he was to dance there). The other problem was finding a way out of the area. Well, because it (and quite cleverly) is a maze in the form of the EXO symbol. Overall, I thought it was a great video that matched the tempo of the song. When the song was slow, the video was slow and so on. I love the different camera angles at the start as if the camera man was floating in space and the use of editing in the video.

I am starting to realise that there are no flaws to Lucky One. Everything so far is just perfect. And if you are wondering about the dance, I think it is was perfect as well. I would have liked something with more power (maybe more hip thrusting). So many hip thrusting in the video. But what we see matched the song perfectly. And the start where they are all moving their heads side to side (it looks funny, but it fits the song).

Longest review I have written in ages. Final Rating – 10/10

[Review] Stalker – UKISS

Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Leave a comment

UKISS has finally returned after nearly a year and a half disappearance from South Korean stages. Per usual, when the group is not in South Korea, they are most likely in Japan. They have released new songs in Japan, some of which I have reviewed: One Shot One Kill & Kissing For You.

This is the song style that I want UKISS to stick with. Give the boys anything electronic based and a song that is worthy of an amazing dance. Stalker is so freaking catchy. I really enjoyed listening to the song. I fell in love with it when I first listened to it and have since been a song that I have been listening constantly to. The “stalker, stalker” introduction really hooks your attention. The instrumental is probably one of the best of the year. I love the electronic components of the instrumental and the bass of the song. It gives off a pulsing effect, as like a heart beat. The chorus feels a little “safe” and really doesn’t wow me. It is good, but it doesn’t amaze me. I am more drawn to the verses. The line distribution is completely off. Playground (their last Korean release managed to be balanced) but Jun and Eli got the short end of the stick this time around.

Creepy title = creepy video. And that is what we got. The video consists of footage of the guys staring at the girl while she is sleeping and carrying about her normal routine. I am suprised at how close the guys was to the girl. Probably if you are stalking someone, you probably would rather stay hidden then be spotted. So sitting in a chair in the corner of the same room your target is in, probably isn’t ideal.  Though I think the rest of the video is well thought out. The dance scenes are filmed in darkness with bits of light is pretty smart. Gave off the creepy feel pretty well, even though, I could not see 75% of the video. Not complaining though, because it make sense to use darkness here. Overall, I thought the video was quite interesting to watch. I had to pay extra attention because of the darkness and I guess that drew me into the video. Or the dark side, which ever makes sense.

The dance was really cool as well. I really enjoyed the “covering up the eyes with your hand” movements. It is like opening a closed blind or peering over a ledge to see who you are trying to stalk. The dance fitted the tempo of the video and I thought the chorus was handled pretty well. I would have liked something to give the dance more of a wow factor or some sort of intensity. It looks cool already, but I am quite certain that something could have been added (or replaced) to make the dance even cooler.

Final Rating – 8.5/10

[Review] Back Again – KNK

Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged 2 Comments

KNK made their debut with Knock, back in February.  They have since returned with Back Again during the month of June.

The boys are back at it again with another powerful song. Comparing to Knock, Back Again is not as catchy or addictive. However, the guys still sound amazing. Reading through the comments, I agree with many fans who are saying this is a song that you have expected to be released years ago. Not saying the song is currently outdated, but it sparks the memories of the many boy groups that released songs similar to this, like Beast or Infinite. Oh, the good old days. Vocals and raps were highlighted and emphasised in this song. They sounded great! The instrumental is already quite powerful by itself. There was a great balance between the vocals/raps and instrumental. Either one did not drown the other out and it sounded quite nice. As I said above, it just wasn’t something that I would describe as a memorable song. It just did not contain the punch in the chorus as I had observed and heard in Knock.

Music video was a little boring to watch. I was more into the song than video. The standard formula of choreography, close up shots and a tiny sprinkle of acting on top. Those overused sets are back at it. I don’t mind them, but it would be a little nice to see many KPOP videos change it up. I understand that usually, they go for these sets because they are convenient and cheap to use, but you can only change a template so many times.  Besides that, I don’t have much to comment about the video.

The dancing is spot on. Another group with knife-like precision and accuracy. 100% synchronisation. Thought the dance for the chorus was spot on. The dancing that KNK has done so far with their two promotional runs have shown their powerful side and it is a side that I want to continue seeing from the guys, because it suits them a lot.

Final Rating – 6.5/10