Category: KPOP

[Review] Back Again – KNK

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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 Not saying the song is currently outdated, but it sparks the memories of the many boy groups that released songs similar to this, like Beast or Infinite.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

[Review] L.I.E – EXID

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Last year’s hottest group is officially back. EXID has returned with their first ever full album in their 4-year career.

Big fan of the group, but when I listen to the song, it doesn’t blow my mind. I kind of go “meh” every time I hear it and just listen to it. It doesn’t have me head banging or bouncing around in joy. It isn’t as catchy (which they are known for) nor addictive.   According to some people Up & Down, Ah Yeah and Hot Pink sounded very similar, which I disagree with. This song sounds a lot weaker than any of their previous singles. I do have to say it is a great mash-up of the classy and electronic genres. There is definitely some class in the verses and chorus. As for the electronic additions, you can hear them in the instrumental break down. It is a little weird as it barely matches up, but it still manages to work pretty well. I personally liked them a lot, but yeah, it did make the song sound awkward. The vocals seemed to be held back. Not bad, but once again, I do miss that powerful vocal style. I do agree with many people and say that LE’s rap gave the song more meaning (and is probably one of the few reasons to why I would actually listen to the song). And if you cannot tell how I feel about the song so far: I am disappointed with it.

The music video is pretty nice to watch. It does fall a bit on the boring side, but I actually put up with it every time I listen to it. I just want to start off with the “sexual controversy” that the video had. Many people (netizens) have complained about the many sexual references made in the video.  The director responded with “it was deliberate” and that pretty much made my day. Anyway, those sexual scenes were probably my favourite parts of the video. Hani, seasoning the meat so suggestively and LE in that bathtub. OMG. The music video starts off with a couple checking into the hotel. It seems like the girls are searching for the guy, who probably from the title is lying to a lot of people. I love Hyerin in the black dress, who instead of picking petals off the flower, is ripping hair out of a Ken Doll. Their acting in this video is quite nice and very bright. I just felt something else in terms of the plot should have made the video more interesting. The guy exploding at the end was a little alarming and confused me quite a bit, but they should have included what happened in between, like “why did the guy explode?” and “how did that occur?”.

The dance was okay. Not as memorable as their previous dances. Loved the dance break but felt the chorus was a little lacking.

Final Rating – 6/10

[Review] Free Somebody – Luna (f(x))

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Another long-awaited solo debut. Luna, the main vocalist from f(x), has finally made her solo debut. It has been years since fans wanted a solo album under her own name and finally the wait is over. Who’s excited? I am!!!! Though, SM Entertainment promotional runs are becoming extremely short. We only saw her for a short amount of time and it is such a pity.

Another song to add to the favourite list. I am not a big fan of Luna, but I agree with many people that she is a person that deserves a lot more attention from her company. She is definitely very talented and it is such a shame that we had to wait for this song for her solo debut. And regarding that, I don’t think I can think of another song that can encapsulate her amazing vocals and talents on the stage. I love the retro sound that the song had going on in it. Throw in Luna’s explosive vocals and a very simple but catchy chorus, and you have a killer song. Every time I listen to the song, I cannot hear a single flaw. I bang on things that sometimes you guys probably see as too harsh or just plain stupid. But Free Somebody ticks the boxes for everything. It is the perfect song for her and definitely an amazing song to listen to. I just can’t help but to bob my head along and sing the “Free Somebody” lines with her when I listen to the song.

The music video is really unique and it stands out for me. It has that retro and funky vibe channelling through the video. I absolutely love the animations (even though they did weird me out). Luna jumping into your mouth and all is not part of the normal day living. I love it how the dude was just like checking out Luna the whole time (and who wouldn’t) when she was dancing outside the elevator. I also love how the whole thing was basically set inside the elevator. Though it really looks constricting, the camera angles and their chemistry made it look like an infinite amount of space. It is such an interesting video. Though, I did expect something scandalous from the two the whole time they were in the elevator (if you know what I mean). We did see a little glimpse of it at the end but come on. More! More! More!

And the true reason why I wanted to see a little more is because of the dance. Damn, can Luna dance or what. She made such a simple choreography quite sexy and manage to still belt the song out. Them squats were just too much to handle hahaha…

Final rating – 10/10

 

[Review] Apple Pie – Fiestar

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Fiestar has returned with a brand new song in time for the Summer comeback rush. With their previous releases being focused on a much darker and sexier concept, the girls have returned with a brighter and fresh concept. Is it enough for the girls to succeed in South Korea? Since they were picked as one of the girl groups to look out for in 2016.

Sadly, Korea does not agree with the song (or the band for that matter). This song failed to even dent the charts and it seems that the group (or their company) failed at capturing the right moment. I’ll talk more about that later. I actually enjoyed the song. I was expecting something a lot darker (given their recent releases), so I was caught off guard. It took a few listens to actually get into the song. It sounds like a generic KPOP song, hence I kind of shrugged it off and went off to other songs. But after leaving it for a while, I actually fell in love with it. The vocals were okay. I feel like I enjoyed the song more because of it is catchiness rather than the vocals. Besides the vocals, I think Yezi’s rapping was pretty good. I was more impressed with her part than any of the other members in the song. The instrumental was a little odd. It was generic for the most part, but there was that odd breakdown (which I loved) just after the first chorus and after Yezi’s rap. It added another dimension to the song and matched the for the rap. It just did not match the rest of the song. The song still managed to flow, but that part always seem to catch me off guard.

The music video is honestly just boring. I feel like the girls should have avoided the concept altogether and went with something that suits all the members. Yeah, sure, the girls were originally the cutesy and bright concept group. But with their latest string of concepts and with a particular member (I will discuss this even more) looking like she is regretting life choices, I think the dark and sexy concepts are better for them. Anyway, we have the girls centred around Apple Pies and their attempt to get a good Apple Pie or bake the perfect Apple Pie. It ties in nicely with Snow White’s story, though. Instead of eating all those apples (which could kill her), she can simply eat an apple pie. Which is less nutritious that an apple, but oh well. The sets didn’t seem to match. All of them was bright, besides one which was made to look like an alleyway, which I do not understand.  Don’t get me wrong. The video itself wasn’t awful but more boring than anything else.

The dance falls in between boring and okay. It doesn’t amaze me and I don’t think their fans were feeling this comeback as well. As for Yezi, after appearing in Unpretty Rapstar, she looked mighty uncomfortable with this comeback. Maybe it is her own way to keep to her rapper style, but she barely smiled and it looked like she did not want to be there at all.

As I said before, the song barely made a dent on the charts and I think people are now agreeing that Fiestar’s company threw a good chance of making the girls big. Mirror (their previous comeback) charted well and higher than any of their previous releases, but Apple Pie seemed to go backward.

Anyway, final rating of Apple Pie – 5/10

[Review] #WYD – iKON

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iKON has returned with a brand new song. And then they disappeared. Like, where are they at the moment? Isn’t a pre-release? Where is the actual release then? Why am I asking these questions, when I know they are from YG Entertainment? But honestly, this was released in May and it is the start of July. And all these teasers were released in between for Bobby’s solo debut, so what is really happening?

It sounds a lot like a sadder version of My Type, which they debuted with last year. Didn’t like My Type, but I dig this song. It has a better beat and flows a lot better. The vocals here are a lot smoother and the rapping is pretty nice. The only problem I see with the track is the bridge of the song. It isn’t bad, but it sounds completely different from the song. It does contribute to the flow, but every time I hear it, it takes me by surprise, as if it comes from another song. The ending of the song was nice. The title is what you would commonly use in a text message and the ending of the song makes it sound like the whole song was part of a text message. Bobby signs off with “Good Night” and I think that is a pretty smart thing to do. I also noticed, but finally an iKON song, where the rappers aren’t singing and they just stick to rapping. It is one of the things I pointed out with My Type and I am glad that there is a change in their song.

For the music video, it just compromises of shots of the guys playing around with their love. Damn, it makes me want to be in a relationship. Can’t really complain about anything in the video. The only thing I will complain about is Bobby’s 70s style shirt and his hair. I have to be honest, though, I personally think B.I look hot in this video. Fanboy in the making? But then again, Korea has a lot of hot men (and ladies… you can never talk KPOP without the ladies) and if you are a dude into KPOP, there is probably a guy out there in the KPOP industry that you have felt some sort of attraction towards. I’ll end it there.

Wow, I wrote started this review yesterday and I was meant to spend a good amount of time on the music video part today. But, guess who wrote the music video part in less than 10 minutes? 7/10

[Review] No Oh Oh – CLC

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CLC has returned with another comeback this year. They previous returned to the KPOP industry with High Heels, at the start of the year. This is also the first official comeback by CLC which includes Eun Bin, who was a participant on the Korean TV show Produce 101.

The song is not honestly bad, but it is not the type of song that will get them known in the industry. There is a hip hop vibe that runs through the song, that I think is great. But I don’t think it suits them. I do love the heavy drum “bam bam” (technical term here) sounds throughout the instrumental and also the whistles. They made the track appeal to me and also made it quite catchy. Mentioning the hip hop vibe before, I did like how the chorus turned the song into a typical KPOP song. The vocals in the song were pretty good. I do have to say that the rapping was bad in this particular song. It wasn’t the awful kind, it is just not up to par with other girl group rappers at the moment.

The video is okay. I watched it a few times already, but I don’t really remember much from it. That kind of speaks out to me as a video that doesn’t have an appeal or isn’t memorable as I wanted it to be. The video is simply the dance, plus close ups and throw in a little snippet of them acting cute in everyday scenarios. That (like many videos out there) are pretty standard and I feel like I was let down by that. The song makes me expect the video to be quite appealing. Beside that, I don’t have much to say about the video.

The dance was pretty cool. Loved the clock arms and the whistle imitation that they have in the dance. The chorus was a major let down. It just didn’t fit the rest of the dance and the song. Like it matched the beat, but not the vibes coming from the song.

Overall, I thought it was okay. It could have been loads better. CLC is probably still trying to find its own personality and flare in the industry. 5/10

[Review] Windy Day – Oh My Girl

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A sudden return for this girl group. But I am not complaining. Oh My Girl returned with Liar Liar in April and have made a sudden comeback with the repackaged version of their album. Their newest track, Windy Day, is a song that you will listen to every single day, not just on a windy day.

I just want to say how freaking amazing this track is. I am jumping for joy as we speak. I have been jumping for joy ever since the song was released. This song probbaly has to be my vote for Best Song of the Year. I love everything about this song, from the lyrics to the instrumental, to the vocals. Everyone sings at such a high note in this song, it amazes me. It blows my mind. There is a  very nice ethnic feel to the song, when the beat drops. It gives a fresh feel to the song and isn’t something that you find often in the industry. The song itself resembles the weather. It starts off calm, but as the chorus kicks in the weather starts to get a little breezy. Once that beatiful ethnic sound comes, the breeze turns into 100 km/h winds, that blow you away. Hahahaha…. I sing along to it everytime I listen to it and it is a song that I have yet to get tired of. By far, one of the best songs of the year so far. And probably an example of the “perfect song”. Oh and it sounds like the summer sequel to Closer, which is also by them. Listening to the song, I get the same goosebumps that Closer gave me.

The music video has the Alice In Wonderland feel to it, with a side of craziness. But first of all, let’s look at the beautiful scenery that this video has to offer. It looks very beautiful and breathtaking. Not a big fan of the dark filter placed on top of the shots, but hey, it adds to the breathtaking view. The shots are a little incoherent. I make no sense of the girls in red and the girls in white; some with antlers; while others love the wind and some find it an inconvience. They come together for a reason though, but I have no idea what. I checked some comments, and no one knows what is going on. Like what I said about the weather in the previous paragraph, the song and weather idea fits in with the video. Also love, how the introduced the wind into the video. The use of the gun and opening the box to release the 1000 year old wind. Even though I could not make any sense of the video, I loved it nonetheless.

The dance is defintely amazing. It fits the song quite nicely and I have no complaints. It picks up appropirately with the song and slows down when it is required. It fits the sweet and beautiful nature of the video. The moves themselves look hard, along with the formation that they use.

Overall, one of the best songs, videos and dance put together. Overall, it makes me smile and speechless at the same time. 10/10

 

[Review] Swagger Time – MAP6

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MAP6 has officially made their first comeback with a brand new song. The track titled as “Swagger Time” was released on the 23rd of May. For those who don’t remember or know MAP6, they are a 5 member group from Dream Tea Entertainment, who made their debut at the end of last year with Storm.

For those who don’t know, I have a very hard time processing and understanding the word “swag”. For some reason, it is one of the few words which I don’t really get and it sounds like an ear sore to hear every now and then. So, let’s say, in my books, the song started off on a bad foot. However, it is a pretty decent song. The hip hop (mashed up with pop) sound is channelled throughout pretty nicely and the use of the brass instruments in the instrumental give it a catchy vibe as well. The song is much brighter than Storm and I feel like that is something that fits the particular season they are making their comeback in. Vocals and rapping were pretty good as well in the song. The song did remind me a lot of MYNAME’s 너무 Very 막 quite a bit, which also has a similar sound and style. Overall, it is a pretty decent song that does get them notice on my radar.

The music video fits the song’s sound. Watching it from a foreigner’s point of view, I am a little confused with the video. It seems like they are hesitant at first, but at the climax of the video, all hell breaks loose and the set is destroyed (or made better?) with the graffiti that they put up. They were hesitant at first due to people around them, but then they just give no care to the world and proceed on what they were doing. That is essentially the summary of the video and I don’t see anything deeper than that. I guess the video fits in with the lighthearted and brighter sound than their last video, so I guess that is a plus. I do like the sets, where they dance and all. They look cool (even though, some of them looked very familiar).

The dance itself was pretty cool. Not amazing, but I thought that the amount of “swag” as young people would say nowadays, managed to be presented well inside the choreography. I did like the fun aspect and the chorus, though, with the matching to the instrumental.

Overall, it is a decent comeback. Not sure if I prefer the bright or the dark version of MAP6. What do you think? 7/10

 

[Review] So So – Baek Ah Yeon

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It has been a very long time since I lasted talked about Baek Ah Yeon. Actually, I have never talked about this gem in the Korean industry. Baek Ah Yeon does not fall into your typical South Korean group. She is a solo artist who was formerly a contestant on KPOP Star, making it to the top 3. While her early days as a solo artist failed to put her out there, the previous two years have been highly successful for her. She made her comeback (in 2015) with Shouldn’t Have, which featured Young K of DAY6 and earned herself a position on the charts. With this comeback, she has gone further and topped charts with her single, So So.

Baek Ah Yeon has a pretty good discography of songs that I like. This is just another addition to the list. I am usually not into these flowery ballads, but her song is just so amazing. To me, Baek Ah Yeon has the voice that will fit this song. Probably no other artist will ever do a rendition of the song that will make me feel satisfied. There is a perfect balance between the vocals and instrumental.  None of the two overpowers the other and that is a sign that a good ballad (and song). The lyrics are easy to understand and I think make the song relatable to everyone. Those feelings of your past relationship lingering around to the point, where you don’t know what love ever felt like. That is the essence of the song. The song is also very easy on your ears, but that is expected of any ballad. Nothing felt over the top and I think that is why I liked the song a lot.

One of the ways to make an excellent video is to simply take the lyrics and form a video from it. This particular video does just that and I think that makes it an amazing video to watch. We have Baek Ah Yeon, admitting herself into the hospital because she feels “so-so”. It makes sense and is logical.  She doesn’t understand why nothing feels the same anymore, so she undergoes treatment. The hospital brings good food, but just can’t taste the goodness in it. They find (or he happened to wander to them) a handsome guy, but he failed cure her heartbreak. However, who let the dog out? She manages to focus her attention on the dog and at the end, when the dog leaves, she follows after to the owner, who we all suspect “cured” her heartbreak. This is a storyline that matches the lyrics and made the video feel right (for once). I find the scenes of her playing with the dog extremely cute. It makes me want to get a dog.

Overall, amazing song and video. I just want to continue praising it. Take all my compliments. 10/10

[Review] She Is – Jonghyun (SHINee)

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Jonghyun made his solo debut last year and has officially made his first solo comeback after more than a year. For those who don’t know or remember, he made his debut with Deja Boo and Crazy. Now, he is back with another album and has released She Is as the title track for this promotional run.

This song kind of reminds of his past releases. Not that they are the similar standard tracks as I called them last time, but the variety and different sounds he has going on, in his songs. And this song is not standard. It is so much more vibrant and modern in terms of sound. His English may be a little troublesome. It sounds a lot like “Shits” rather than “She Is”. Where is that break between the words, when you need Korea??? His vocals this time around rolled off the tip of his tongue quite nicely. The vocals matched the instrumental quite well. The song flowed quite nicely, despite the use of the disjointed electronic/ synth dominated instrumental. The song does seem to limit his talent, as I feel like a lot more could have been showcased in the song. HI ad-libs are quite artistic and fitted the song quite well. Overall, I think it was a much better song than his debut songs, which I didn’t think they were good.

Not sure about the odd filter placed across the video. It made me sleepy. But I guess it was to counteract the bright clothing and colours that you could tell were there. I just thought the video looked a little too dark. The use of yellow though in the SM Entertainment videos for the past few releases have been a little evident and emphasised. It seems like he is a guy with many jobs (I need a job, hire me). And he doesn’t seem to be that happy, with everyone going to him. It is a quite confusing song. I do like this style of video, but sometimes it is quite repetitive. But it is the director’s style after all. This one was a little confusing and I can’t really tell what is going on. SO, if you know what is going on, comment below. Enlighten us with your knowledge and deciphering skills.

As for the dance, I was unimpressed. The stages were pretty boring and the dance didn’t really draw my attention, though. In terms of style, I feel like he went backwards more than anything else with this dance. Backwards, as in “not improving”.

Overall, it was a pretty solid comeback. A lot more could have been improved on, but what we have already can satisfy different fan’s needs. 6.5/10 PS. Check out White T-Shirt. That track on his album is really good.

[Review] All In – Monsta X

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Monsta X have made their comeback with an improved and mature sound/look. They made their debut last year and have soon become one of the hottest rookies in the industry. Their comebacks have each showed improvement. I say this to about just every group out there, but Monsta X is a prime example that there is so much potential underneath what we actually see. They have the likes of becoming one of the biggest groups in the industry in the future and it seems like they going down the right path.

As I mentioned above, each track of their’s gets better and better. All In showcases a more mature sound to the guys, while still maintaining the style of the music that they debuted with and made comebacks with. The track itself boasts a really hard and deep sounding trap-genre instrumental. Vocals were so-so in my opinion. There wasn’t anything regarding the vocals that had me going “wow” or “amazing”. However the rapping in the song had the opposite effect. I was blown away with the rapping. The times where the rapping were integrated into the song were spot on and if made the rest of the song fall into place. It was as if the song was built around these rapping parts. But hey, whatever they did managed to work and I liked it a lot.

The music video has an interesting storyline to it. But I barely can decipher what is going on in it. From what I can get, the guys are standing up towards resistance or the troubles that they are facing. Some are facing  violence issues, while others are struggling with their sicked love ones. In the end, they seem to group together and take on these issues themselves, which seems like their own option due to the heavy police presence. The video is in parts, which makes it harder to decipher. I am going to link you guys a post (by another writer: ADATB) which does a complete breakdown of the music video’s plot (better than what I have done and what I will ever do). But overall, the cinematography and even the imagery in the video (like the use of the masks) was pretty smart. They draw you into the video and make you ask questions. The has to be a part 2 to the video though. It only makes sense. We are left at the end with that odd looking heart floating mid air at the end of the video, which intrigues me (and you guys as well!). This mini album is only part 1, so it all makes sense for the development of part 2.

As for the dance, they are pretty much going down the route of sexy. The exposed backs and body rolls pretty much have every fan swooning. I personally watch of these performances with a straight face, but Monsta X’s made me go wow. As for the dance itself, the guys were in sync and I could barely see any flaws in any of the performances. The standards just get higher and higher with every band.

In summary, the comeback was amazing. It made me speechless and amazed at the talent they are pulling out. Fingers cross for that part 2 of the video. Maybe, then I can understand everything. 9/10

[Review] Aphrodite – B.I.G

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It has been over a year since I last reviewed B.I.G. Last year, they caught my attention with Between Night n Music. They later went on to make a comeback and released Taola, which also caught my attention (I just didn’t have time to review it). Now, they have released their first mini album, with Aphrodite as their title track.

And they did it again for. That is, catch my attention. The song itself reminds me of B.A.P’s No Mercy, with less of a hip-hop beat to it. The traditional drum beats and the use of the subtle sirens in the instrumental made me think of B.A.P song. Let’s move back to B.I.G as this is their review. Instrumental had the “edge of your seat” experience, with the drum beats and electronic sounds. As if I had no idea what was going to come next. The song is definitely catchy and features a different style than any of their previous singles have. I particularly thought the rapper who did the “Fly Fly Fly” part in the middle of the song sounded amazing. Actually, the raspy voices of the rappers (regardless of the autotune) and the smooth vocals of the vocalists made the song sound so much better. The combination of the two at the end was pretty amazing and brought the song to a close quite well.

The music video is a dark and it is a style that I think many boy groups are now going for. It seems like the cute concept is officially dead and only one or two groups could succeed with the concept nowadays. Anyway, for a dark video, the use of colour makes it seem very vibrant and alive. It gives an added depth to the video. Besides the video falls into the “typical” folder. The boys are simply dancing in a few rooms. Throw in a few close up shots and that is essentially the video. And guess what, that means it can be categorised as a “typical KPOP video”. I feel like an extra something could have been done to set the video apart and throw it into the “unique” folder. Like a little more action or content to talk about. Well, it won’t necessary mean it will go straight into the “unique” folder, but hey, it would give us fans more to talk about.

As for the dance, parts of it seemed to be really good, but other parts seemed to be weak. The dance break was probably the coolest part of the whole choreography. The simultaneous kicks looked amazing.

Overall, it is a solid comeback and I thoroughly liked it. 7.5/10

[Double Review] Fly + Love Me The Same – Jessica Jung

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I’m back. I just finished my final exam for the semester have the next few weeks off. So I am going to jump right into it and start on the long list of songs that I have to review. I also plan to bring out some new content during the next few weeks (including those charts, which I am going to do and see what you guys think of it). But let’s move along now. Jessica Jund, the former member of SNSD, has made her solo debut with Fly as her title track. Even though she is not promoting, her debut has garnered a lot of attention, placing third (which is apparently hard, according to everyone, if you do not promote) on the weekly charts. Since departing the group and SM Entertainment, she has been actively busy in China and has signed with Coridel Entertainment.

Fly is a really ordinary song, but it is quite catchy and it suits Jessica’s style. There isn’t anything that sets it apart from other songs out at the moment. The song has a really nice pop sound to it, that isn’t too fast or too slow. It is has a great balance between the tempo. Even the balance was evident in the instrumental. The rapping was a little random to my ears, but its addition kept the song flowing. Fabolous (the featuring rapper) himself is a pretty good rapper. Moving along to Love Me The Same, which is a ballad (well, technically, I don’t think it is meant to be a ballad, but its sounds a lot like a ballad/pop mashup). Not that big of a fan of this song, though. She has a good voice, and I don’t think this style fits her voice well. It is a good ballad, but her vocals don’t seem to portray the emotions properly. Listening to the song, a large section of it has no vocals and is just instrumental, which kind of disappoints me somewhat. I did like the drum beat in the ballad, though. It isn’t often you hear drums in a ballad (usually, it is more of the classical instrumentals), so it gave a nice fresh sound to the song.

The music video for Fly really fitted in with the meaning of the song. In the video, Jessica receives a postcard from some snowy world. The thing is Jessica lives in the desert and hence once receiving the postcard, she falls in love with the idea of snow. She dreams of going to an icy wonderland and starts to preparing for it. Jessica is not a normal person however, she stands out with her bathtub in the middle of nowhere and she is not ashamed of it. And that is the point of the song. Regardless of how wacky of a dream it is, you should just “fly” for it and not look back when going forward. It was a very nice video and concept to show the message. The video for Love Me The Same fitted the tone and tune that we got out of the song. From colour tones in the video to the close-up shots of her, everything seemed to fall into place for this video. Loved the cute pancake scene.  Even the fake clouds looked really cool.

Didn’t see much of a dance for Fly. What I saw did fit the song (somewhat). Cute bobbing and hair fluffing. Would have loved to see her promote her music on the stage, though. There is a dance for Love Me The Same, but I feel like the dance could have been omitted. The dance makes no difference whatsoever.

Sorry for the short review and somewhat confusing review. Writing this on a minimal amount of sleep. And honestly, most of this was written weeks ago. Just never had the time to look over it. Hence I finished it off and some parts may sound disjointed.

Fly – 7.5/10

Love Me The Same – 6/10

[Review] Good Luck – AOA

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AOA has finally returned with a new track and they are not getting the attention they deserved. AOA started off their promotions for Good Luck, on a sour note, with two of their members somehow wounded up in a controversy regarding a lack of historical knowledge. One comment on that: History will never be everyone’s strong point, regardless if you come from a country that prides itself for its history. AOA (along with KBS’s Music Bank) was questioned for their win for first place, which was later confirmed by KBS that it was a mistake and that Twice (AOA’s contender that week) should have won. Again, it made their promotions sour ever further. AOA’s company ended  AOA’s promotion suddenly and said it was not related to the latter incident. I let you be the judge for that one.

But honestly, I thought it was a really good song and that AOA does deserve the win (especially given my thoughts towards Twice’s song). It was the perfect way to enter the Summer season. It was an upbeat track with a really nice and refreshing EDM style instrumental. Their vocals were pretty good (but the line distribution was a little skewed). I have to say, for once, I am starting to like Jimin’s rapping. It was ideal in this song and fitted in well. AND it DID NOT feel whiney whatsoever. It was a really catchy track and sounded really sexy at the same time. Much better than Heart Attack, and probably can be declared as my most favourite AOA song to date.

This is not a music video. It was a Sprite commercial. Get it right! Regardless of how I watch the video (while I am awake, extremely busy, just woken up etc.), I can only see the Sprite bottles. That is exactly what a commercial is meant to do. Draw your attention to the product being marketed. That whole start of the video, that mimcked Baywatch (and included Sprite) was not necessary. In other words, this whole video was a big mess and is asking for the wrong attention. Toyota and Jimin’s boob was also marketed (but both got blurred out or removed) in the final video that was released. Also, you go to Guam for their beaches and bars, not to their fire department. I don’t why, but half the scenes shot could have been taken out and we would have gotten a much better (and more relevant video) with the shots on the beach remaining.

Dance wise, more sexy than anything to talk about. Really disappointed in that, but then again, what did I really expect with this dance? The chorus part looks unimaginative and as if it was slapped together 5 minutes prior to them releasing the video.

Overall, I like the song a lot more than the rest of the comeback package. I think that sums up my review quite nicely. 5.5/10

[Review] Still I Remember – Woohyun (Infinite)

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Another solo debut that has been deemed as long awaited. Nam Woohyun, the main vocalist of Infinite, has officially made his solo debut with the new mini album,Write…

Song was disappointing at first, but it grew on me. Woohyun has a really nice voice, regardless of the song he sings. This ballad really brought out his voice really well. It was the first thing I noticed when I first listened to the song. The song just failed to appeal to me, at first. However, soon after, the song started to become catchier and I slowly got into it. Okay, so back to his vocals. It sounds so emotional. An excellent singer can convey his or her emotions through the vocals in the song. Woohyun did just that and I am amazed at the outcome. You can definitely hear the sadness in the song. The instrumental consisted of soft drum beats that were pretty consistent and gave the song that extra dimension, in terms of bass. The chorus, by far, was where he sounded the best. And those parts after the chorus where he sings “끄덕끄덕” sounds freaking amazing. 

Another video which I have yet to watch. So more initial reactions. Woohyun returns to a house to find an old camera. And of course, the camera holds a lot of memories. I guess literally but also mentally as well. He slowly goes through old images, which gives us flashbacks, to when he was an intern/assistant for some camera man. He was distracted and loved a girl who was a customer to the camera man. Turns out that she also liked him and that Woohyun failed to see these feelings. So technically, the girl thought he wasn’t into her, so that is why she left. After he realises, he turns into a man full of tears and regret. Beautifully shot video. Loving the filter and colours in the video. Interesting thing is that we never actually see her face. It is always hidden and I don’t exactly why, but my guess that it could be so that people can relate to the video. I definitely can. Not that I have turned into a man of tears and regret yet, but I have a feeling I am getting there. I should really just man up. Hahaha… Moving back to the video, Woohyun’s acting (well, crying mainly) in this video is quite nice to watch. Not over the top and over dramatic.

Overall, the song was quite good and the video was excellent. A great solo debut for him. 9/10

[Review] I Just Wanna Dance – Tiffany (SNSD)

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It has been a long time coming (both the solo debut and this review), but Tiffany from SNSD is finally here. After the success of Taeyeon with her two widely known singles, Tiffany has officially made her own solo debut, the second member (well, it is more like the third) to branch out onto the stage as a solo act. It was a much high anticipated solo debut that everyone had been waiting for.

I like the song. I listen to it and I can’t help to sing  or tap my foot along with it (at the bare minimum). But to be honest, it was a little underwhelming at first. Tiffany (like Taeyeon) is known for her vocals in SNSD, and I thought she would go with the ballad concept. However, I was genuinely surprised to hear the dance track. However, it just did not feel like it was right for her. It’s grown a lot on me, though. Vocally and musically, it was pretty a. But then I realised, this song sounds a lot like the song we got back in the day from pop artists in America (before the industry got saturated with autotune and mediocre tracks). This song definitely throws it back to the 00’s, which is the era of American pop music that I really liked. It has that nostalgic feel to it and without even blinking, I can tell an American producer made it. Tiffany is also American, and it kind of makes sense she would go down that path. The electronic and dance elements this song had was pretty damn good. It also sounds sexual without going too far or making it sound like it is over the top. I don’t mean the song is sexual or anything, just her voice sounds like sex to my ears. And with this instrumental, I feel like I am on cloud 9.

Little confused with the music video. Given SM’s last few artistic and abstract videos, this really misses the mark, unfortunately. It is a really bland video, slapped together quite quickly. Dance scenes and closeups of Tiffany. Describing it that way makes it sound boring, but honestly, that is what I got out of the video. It has that nice American feel, though. And I guess there was a plot to it. Boring Tiffany sleeps and enters the world full of colour and fun. She then wakes up, bringing her back to boring land. Really disappointed, because SM’s video have been really good these past few comebacks. It just feels like more a party scene would have fitted the song more. Her solo shots made her look good, but it just doesn’t have that EDM, electronic feel to it. In other words, the video was pretty much detached from the song.

Dance wise, it was pretty good. Not many KPOP artists get down and lie on the floor. I can think of a few, but not many. Definitely had the American channelling through it.

Overall, the song was pretty good. Disappointed that she didn’t win much with the song. Towards the end of the promotional period, I thought she should have won more with the song. 6.5/10