Category: KPOP

Deepened – Brave Girls

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Brave Girls made their debut back in 2011, with “Do You Know?”. They then returned in 2011 with “Easily”, “Nowadays, You” in 2012 and For You in 2013 and has since disappeared off the face of Earth. Three years later, the girls have returned as a seven member group (originally a 5 member group) with their new title track: “Deepened”. The current lineup includes: Hyeran, Yoojin (the two original members) and Minyeong, Yoojung, Eunji, Yuna, and Hayun.

This song really does not sit well with me. Not saying it is a bad song, but it just doesn’t appeal to me or really make me want to listen to it. It just lacks the colour and poppy sound that I want in my songs. But damn, this song reminds me of the days of slow RNB, where the artists would do some sort of dirty dance to the music. It also sounds like a song I would have associated with After School. Let’s leave it there, before I start any fan wars. The song just sounds monotone in my opinion. The rap was added to give it more a faster tempo, but I actually thought the rap was pretty boring. I can see the rapper trying her best and does a pretty good job overall, but in the song, it just felt boring. The chorus does pick the song a little bit (and is the exact bit that gives me those After School feels), but it really does not change much for me. I thought the rhythm, vocals, lyrics (a bit suggestive, but I think we can all handle it like grown adults) and tune was all pretty good, just it sounds monotone and that really ruins it for me. I just can’t imagine this song any other way.

The music video was interesting. Seems like the girls have gone down the sexy concept route. And I think it does wonders for them. I am inclined to watch the video since I think it is quite a nice video to watch. It matches the monotone of the song. And I say all of that in a good way. Love how they use the one shot form to introduce the video at the start of the song/video. Goes hand in hand with the way the song is structured. Their sets looks pretty good and realistic as well. Gives off that hip hop and edgy vibe. The only thing that troubles me is the fact that they look like they are wearing fitness clothes. It looks good on them, but it just makes me giggle everytime I see them in it, because I think they are going to workout or something later. Don’t mind me, if you have been following me since the start, I have a weird sense of humour. That slow dance scene was pretty good as well.

A lot of sexy in this dance and a lot of swaying hips. On stage they look more like hip hop girls, but in the video the sports bra really brings out the fitness side of them, I guess. Not exactly fond of the extremely slow squat. The speed of the dance fits the song perfectly, but the squat just looks uncomfortable and unimaginative.

Overall, the whole comeback is okay. Sum it up for you guys in a few words. 6/10

Crosswalk – Jo Kwon (2AM)

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Jo Kwon has made his solo comeback after 4 years. His first ever solo song was I’m Da One, released back in 2012. He has joined 2AM in a comeback since then, in both Korea and Japan. He is the only member to remain at JYP Entertainment after contracts between the other members and JYP Entertainment ended, hence putting the band in hiatus mode for the past year. Nonetheless, he has decided to continue on with JYP, with this solo release.

One of the few songs which I have not heard of yet, so everything I write today is based on initial thoughts. This time he has returned with a pretty nice ballad. His vocals really suit the ballad genre (and I guess that is why he is apart of 2AM and 2AM is so good at the genre). When he first sang, I almost did not recognise his voice, but I managed to as he continued. The ballad was neither too fast or too slow. Just at the perfect speed so I could detect the emotion that was pouring out of his voice. The lyrics are quite nice and the way the song present the lyrics with Jo Kwon’s vocals is superb. Overall, I think this has the potential to be a perfect song. Not exactly sure how it is going on the charts, but damn, this is one good song.

The video features the one and only Suho from EXO. It is quite funny, but I have read some comments on YouTube, that said that they went to watch Suho, but instead fell for the song straight away. The power of Jo Kwon’s vocals. Okay, about the video. I think it is a very beautiful video. We see the couple break up and Suho walks off the cross walk. But a little later on, the video screen splits into two and there forms two scenarios. Suho either continues with the break up, or goes running back (and hence regretting his decision). One obviously ended up in tears while the other ended up with smiles. I have to compliment and praise Suho’s acting in this video. It is so good, you could see the emotion in his acting (and it is not as cringe worthy as some Korean actors). Love the cross walk effect that appears in the sad part of the video. I think it makes it seem like sad Suho still has a chance to turn back, as the crosswalk that the two were one extended for that one opportunity, until it faded away. Also love the black and white feel.

Needless to say, I think you all know what is coming next. 10/10

 

Pain – SS301 (SS501)

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After a very long wait, SS501 is finally back. However, as two of their members are currently in the military, the band has reformed to become SS301 for the time being. The line up of this subunit is: Kim Kyu Jong, Heo Young Saeng and Kim Hyung Jun. It has been years since the band last came out with a song. Thier last promoted song was Love Ya, which was released in 2010 (before I started this site as well). They have been going into the military and also been doing a lot of solo work since then.

The song is good. I do have some complaints, but we will get to them eventually. The song has this really nice soft sound to it. The piano and style sounds like they were going for some sort of Latin sound. While I think the mashup between the dance and piano sound was pretty good, there were some parts that I felt did not fit in. For example, the rapping was horrendous. Give them props for attempting it, but if I had the opportunity to eliminate any one part, it would be the rap. It just does not fit in and sounds pretty bad. And the English is pretty bad. “I’m so pain” just gets repeated all throughout the song and it literally gives me pain every time I have to listen to it. But beside that, their vocals were on point and I thought it was a good song to listen to. Is it memorable? Not really. Really did not make me want to listen to the song over and over again.

The video is simply just close up shots and the members dancing. That was simply the formula to the video. Beside that, I don’t have much to say about the video. Love the editing and I thought the video gave the song a really polish yet modern feel. The black and white sets look so cool and with the odd highlight of red. So what else, their fashion looks good? Even though it took me a while to figure out whether they were wearing school uniform at some points. Actually come to the think of it, something could have been added to the video to give it more to talk about. Like some sort of plot would have been nice, but I am honestly fine watching just this.

The dance was pretty cool. Not really memorable.The chorus looked like it just did not go well with the rest of the dance. The chorus looks out of placed and mismatched. The tie grabbing seem pretty cool, but it looked like the members struggled a bit while on stage. But nonetheless, we still got a pretty cool stage.

They’re back and hopefully they will stay. It has been a long time coming, but it is never too late to make a comeback. 6.5/10

Whoo – Rainbow

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Rainbow has finally returned, almost a year after their last comeback, Black Swan.

I actually enjoy listening to this song. Sure, it is not something that many of us expected, but I still think it is a good song. Pretty ordinary and lacking in a lot of areas, but when do we get those songs that tone everything down and takes us back to ordinariness. What I am saying is that sometimes it is good to go back to a lower level and live the good times. Do you understand? Saying that, I thought the song was really bright and catchy, but at times I wanted to listen to something that had a little more flavour to it. For example, the vocals were just meh and quite monotone. Maybe add in some high notes or something to give it life. The rap was too dry and failed to hype me up. Same goes for the chorus, it just fails to hype me up. But I feel like the bridge was the best part of the song for me. I also find it interesting at how girl groups tend to go into more retro songs nowadays, rather than more modernised songs, but that is another topic. Sure, an ordinary song but I still like it.

Regarding the  video, wow. It looks like DSP has cut the budget for the girls. Once again. Last time was for the really short promotional period due to “lack of interest” and now DSP probably thinks that the girls won’t get far and decided to put together the cheapest music video ever. White set, with a few black balloons, a few colour screens and one or two props here and there. Heck, even what they are wearing seemed to be picked up from the two dollar store. So, I guess my major complaint is that it might have been too simple (and looks quite cheap). I am going to be honest, but the way they managed to film the video and edit it, gave it a really nice retro feel to it. And how they manage to incorporate their Rainbow theme is most of their comebacks seem quite smart and I think that is why I love them as a group, because they maintain their identity as a group (most of the time). Overall, the end product came out well, just it really did not live up to expectations.

Dance seemed ordinary. Nothing really that special, but it seems like these girls misses the stage quite a bit. I saw their first comeback stage on SBS The Show, and they all looked genuinely happy to be promoting again. Their smiles really reflected the concept they were going for and pretty much showed me their feeling on the stage. But yeah, beside that, there really isn’t much to say about the dance/performance.

Overall, the one word that summarises the comeback is “ordinary”. But it has its perks as well. 7/10

I’m Jelly Baby – AOA Cream

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AOA is back in the form of 3 members. They just launched their newest subunit AOA Cream, which consists of Chanmi, Hyejeong and Yuna.

Boy, does this song grow on you or what? When I first heard the song, I thought it was a really bad interpretation of a 90s Girl Groups’ songs. It honestly sounded really bad and cringe worthy. But, as every other song, I replayed it and started to fall for it. Now, it just sounds really cringe worthy and bad. Yeah, I can’t get over the fact about how bad the song is. It is catchy and addictive (I probably only gives marks on that), but that rap sequence really needs to be stomped on and thrown out. I complain about Jimin’s whiny rap, but this is just something that does not fit in with the song and does not give off that feeling of a great song. It was recorded and then it sounds exactly like the producer autotuned it with the maximum possible setting. The vocals are not exactly bad, it is just the “hip hop” feel or whatever genre they are trying to attempt with the “La La La Lady” parts. So yeah, this isn’t right for me.

The music video is just so cringe worthy, once again. First of all, I feel like it the wrong concept. The acting in this video was pretty bad. The last thing I think we all want to see is the return of the aegyo and cutesy girls that was probably ditched and became outdated years ago. And furthermore, they went with the Sailor Moon or Power Puff Girls inspired heroes concept, which I thought was a really bad idea. And the fact that they use their powers to their own pleasure, seems very selfish. It looks like the guy doesn’t even notice the girls, yet, they decide it is right to torture him and embarrass him. Girl, there is a scenario, where he might not even know who you are, so scaring him and turning into a superhero with a wand, is not going to help your case. It was a very bright video (matched the tone of the song), just I think the concept should have either been something else or otherwise thought through a lot better.

The dance was another major problem in my point of view. Too sexualised. What were they even doing in the chorus? What can you even call that? Is that even a dance? I have no idea regarding that. I just thought it was an odd dance to have with such a cutesy and aegyo concept. In addition, their clothing really don’t match the dance was well.

Overall, this whole comeback as a whole, missed the whole point. Sorry. 2.5/10

 

I am You, You are Me – Zico (Block B)

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Zico, the main rapper from Block B, has been releasing solo songs after songs for quite some time. And sadly, for certain reasons, his songs have been falling through the gap. But now, Zico’s newest release shall be reviewed. I make it sound like an honour, it just a song that I have time to review.

This is the first time that Zico has released a ballad for one of his solo releases. And out of his numerous releases, I think this one has to be one of the best. Now I am not saying that because I feel like I feel bad for not reviewing his songs, but I am saying that because it was genuinely amazing. The song still maintains its hip hop roots with the music getting you to head bop along to it. The chorus to the song is really catchy and I think makes the song that much more addictive. To be honest, I don’t pay attention to Zico that much, but this song caught my attention from the very start. I love how he manipulated his mostly powerful and skilful raps into a softer sound to fit the ballad feel. Not once did he go back to powerful and kept it at that soft level for the whole song.

The music video is a little interesting to watch. We have this store that sells almost nothing (but that is just another story). In the store, there is this girl who tends to the cash register and probably is the only employee (maybe she is the boss of the place?) of the store. There is also one customer the whole time at the start, which is Zico. He goes to the store at the same time, each day. The two start to notice each other and realize that they wear the same thing. The same shirt (maybe different colour), similar colours, even their show laces were untied. I find Zico quite handsome in some parts of the video, but it is clear that there is quite a lot of make up. It is an interesting way to say “I am You, You are Me”, but is makes most sense. The set seemed quite nice and did a good protrayal as if the two are the only people on the planet (might explain why the place is dead for all of the video). The ending also looked like they were flirting (see above), but more like it was used to represent the title. It is a good video with a nice idea.

if Zico keeps puting out songs like this (and Eukra), then I am game to revieiwing all his songs. I just did not have the time at the end of the year to review all these songs he put out. But might start doing all of them now! 9/10

I’m Young – Taehyun (WINNER)

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I promised you guys I would review this particular video and song and here it is. This is a song off Winner’s newest album, “Exit:E”. This song only features Taehyun, one of the vocalists of the band. I previously reviewed Baby Baby and Sentimental, just a few days ago.

This is such a great ballad. I do say it is a little bland for my taste, but I think it is still a great song. Taehyun did a great job with the lyrics of the song. Actually, just from listening to the song, I can feel the heartbroken-ness and emotions that Taehyun poured into the song when he both wrote and sang the song. This is why love (both sides) is always an ongoing topic that can produce such great songs.  The lyrics were also quite good in my opinion, well the English translation which I found.  His vocals were quite soft in this song, and I think that complimented the piano instrumental quite well. It almost has this jazzy sound to the song, in some parts. Overall, I think this was a great song to listen to. Just take a few minutes out of your day and listen to the song.

This music video is like a mini drama and it is the one thing about the whole song/video package that I wanted to talk about. Taehyun gets out of his car with a bouquet of flowers.  He goes into a building and meets his former girlfriend. We cut to scenes of him lying in bed with her and we can safely assume that both had an awesome time (hmm… where am I going with this) back when they were a couple. In other words, their romance was heated and going smoothly. Until, they break up from fighting too much. We get these scenes now and again in the video. The video cuts back to the present time and I feel like I am writing the review for this one part. I FREAKING LOVE HER COMMENT. Okay, she says “You look good. The hair’s still stupid.” That one freaking line made my day. Why? Because I agree with it. But is that the one thing you really have to say to him after meeting up for who knows how long? Taehyun does not say anything throughout the video (probably because he was reviewed as one of the worst idol actors to date), but I personally think he did a good job in the video. While in the bathroom, he gets a sort of flashback where, and I don’t know, but either she is cheating on him or (more likely) moving on. Taehyun goes back to confront her about this, but she ends up crying. While crying, I guess she realize that she still misses him. But at the moment, her fiance comes to her apartment and almost walks in on them. Taehyun is hiding in her closet. The fiance notices something is off when she is staring at the wardrobe, but (since the girl really wants Taehyun to live and go on), she holds her fiance back and kind of declare that they are “in love” and also expecting a child together. I guess this suggests to Taehyun that there is no going back. Taehyun, expectedly cries and leaves. I feel like this such a great story line. Probably one we see too many times, but still, the way the video was shot and edited made this a really good story. That line though, made me laugh.

That is one long paragraph. But not the longest review. Great song and prefect music video. 9.5/10

Rain – Taeyeon (SNSD)

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After her success with I, vocalist Taeyeon from SNSD has made her first solo comeback and is the first artist of the new SM plan, where a new song is released each week.

Rain is a very nice song that you would listen to on a rainy day. Hmm… I wonder why? The lyrics of the song, along with the overall sound of the song was written and produced with the whole idea of a rainy day in mind. Once again, her vocals was totally smashing in this song. Her vocals matched the style so nicely and you can feel the emotions in her voice quite well. The song builds up quite nicely and I think the chorus can be described as the highlight of the song. The song is quite catchy and also quite calming. I am just always in awe with her voice. It can manipulated to fit almost an genre and still make me drop my jaws. If I was to be critical, I would have nothing to say. I think this is a perfect track.

The music video was quite nice to watch. But sadly, it really does not appeal to me. I’ve watched it a few times and kind of forgot about it. That is the only bad thing about the video. Otherwise, I would have considered this to be the perfect video to accompany the song. Anyway, the video does a great depiction of the rain. When she mentions rainy days, it is raining outside. The rest of the video is quite abstract, but it makes sense. The rain starts leaking inside (to the point where it kind of looks like it is raining inside. It turns everything into water and starts to cause a mini flood of water to appear in the room, isolating Taeyeon, hence making her lonely. It looks like memories are submerged in the rain. Great use of computer graphics, to be honest.

Overall, I am quite satisfied with this sudden and surprising comeback.  not really sure about this ongoing weekly release from SM, but if the songs are this good, then I am quite happy to sit down and review all of them. 9.5/10

Hate – 4Minute

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4Minute has returned to the stage after nearly a whole year’s absence from the stage. Last time they were on the stage together, they were promoting Crazy. Still continuing their hip hop concept, the girls have gone for a more edgier concept with Hate.

This song was produced with Shrillex, which had me wondering how he would go about producing a song in Korean for these girls, and he does a fine job. The song sounded odd at first, but the song does really grow on you. The song starts off with Gayoon’s ballad like part (which had an eerie sound with it), and then starts moving into Hyuna’s, Jihyun’s and Sohyun’s part. But as we progress through the song, it starts building up and gets us to the edge of the our seat. Jiyoon’s part was after the main chorus, but the way the song flowed between the chorus and her part was flawless. I am happy with the better line distribution in this song. Everyone had an even spread of the lines. The chorus sounds really funky and honestly has a nice ring to it. Though it does seem like the type get annoying after a few weeks (check back on me for that one), I feel like the chorus expresses their anger and power quite well. Put the song together, it just does not have the same level of rhythm as Crazy did. The song seemed a little disjointed at some parts, but manage to still come together pretty well.

The music video did a pretty good job. I described Gayoon’s part as eerie and ballad like, and in the video we got just that. As the parts started to build up, we got more parts in the video that matched the build up. From Gayoon’s mysterious wedding dress part, to Sohyun’s hip movement part. I think the video does a great portrayal of the song’s part. As for Jiyoon’s part, she looks good in leather but reminds me of bondage for some reason. Hmmm… The redness in the video gives the video that really bold look and as we go through the video, more emphasis was placed on the colour. Just the chorus parts in the video, they were quite underwhelming. Love how artistic everything looked around the chorus, but the chorus where they were wearing trackies and jeans really disappointed me. The chorus could have been done like in Crazy, but instead, what we got looked like a low budget video. It just was not up to par with the rest of the video.

A little more torn about the dance. It could have been a better dance, but I feel like it kind of does fit in. It has that hip hop vibe going through it and even if I disagree with the dance, I can’t think of anything better to fill in the gaps that I disagree with. But that level of power I have been going on about in this review is there in the dance.

Overall, I think it is a very bold comeback. I don’t think any other words could describe it except for “bold”. 7.5/10

[DOUBLE REVIEW] Baby Baby + Sentimental – Winner

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Winner has finally ended their long 1 year and 6 months hiatus with their first ever comeback. Winner has released Exit:E on the 1st of Feb and have plans to promote with double title tracks. While on their hiatus, the members have been promoting as solo artists or actors. Taehyun, Kang Seung Yoon and Jinwoo have been acting on different dramas. Mino have been particpating in Show Me The Money and released the song Fear as a solo artist. This review consist of both Baby Baby and Sentimental.

Baby Baby is a very soulful RnB ballad track that gets you swaying from side to side. It really does not appeal to me though. I don’t feel like listening to this song and I am not drawn to click on it when I see it on YouTube or my phone. It has this nice jazzy sound to it though. I personally feel their vocals in this song is lacking. I expected something a little more complicated to listen to. It just feels like a more upbeat version of their debut song, which to date I still do not like. While it does get me swaying, I think the song is pretty boring and I get this dull feeling every time I listen to it.

Sentimental is a different song altogether. This song can be described as more pop based, but still keeps that vocal side of the group that they debuted with. This song had a lot more colour and was much more upbeat then Baby Baby. I much prefer the instrumental to this song. The drums (which make up most of the instrumental) is pretty good. The vocals in this song isn’t that much different to the ones in Baby Baby, but they fit with the song more and the vocals fit in really well with the upbeat sound. I think it is safe to say with my comments above, which song I liked a lot more.

The music videos were nice to watch though. Baby Baby seemed like a drama in such a short video. The video starts off with the members making their return on the stage at the MMAs (article regarding that coming soon). And then it cuts to the members being lonely. And it seems like Mino cannot get rid of that singlet. It just reminds me of their fashion in their Empty days. Shivers. We see them being lonely or trying to find ways to get rid of their problem (i.e. sleeping around, go out partying and drinking etc). But I guess nothing will make up for good time they had in the past.

For Sentimental, the sets for this music video are, first of all, amazing. Secondly, I think it is quite smart at how they filmed the whole thing. It gives it a whole different perspective, while they are just on the ground. Seunghoon got the short end of the stick with the way his acting with his instrument. Made me laugh though, how everyone is focused on their instrument, and the poor fellow behind them is just doing his own thing. It would be interesting to see a dance to this. We get a small glimpse of what I assume to be a dance, but not exactly sure.

Overall, I am kind of torn on their comeback. Yeah, they have great voices which some songs capture, but other songs just don’t do it for me. Also, Taehyun also released a song on the mini album, with a music video. I may have left it out of this review, because, well, I want to do a separate review on it. I have lots to say. Review for it will come soon.

Baby Baby – 5/10

Sentimental – 7/10

Which Winner song did you like more for this comeback?

Lollipop – IMFACT

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2016 has officially began in KPOP with the debut of IMFACT (This is the first group  from a major company to make their debut this year). Yeah, it would be a boring year if there were no new debuts. IMFACT is a 5 member boy group, that is under Star Empire Entertainment, the home of Nine Muses & Z:EA. Let’s hope their company can do a better job with the promotions of this band than certain others. Anyway, the band is made up of Lee Ji An, Kim Tae Ho, Lee Sang, Park Jae Up and Na Ung Jae. They officially made their debut on 27th of January, with the release of their mini album Lollipop.

I had my suspicions with the song and I guess what I had in mind was kind of right. Like the song title suggest, the song has a very bright sound and the boys would attempt a bright concept. The song kind of irked me a little bit when I first listened to ti, but damn, it grew on me. First off, the song, from start to end, had powerful vocals and that rapper was such a deep and husky voice. That high note at the end really made my jaw drop and saying that, I am quite sure that this debut song showed the member’s talents really well. The song itself has this funky sound to it and I thought the song sounded very modern and cool. Even with the funky sound, the song has the dance element sound to it. The trumpets really fit in well with the song. The chorus was really addictive and catchy to my ears. To the point, where I am listening to this song constantly.  A little disappointed with the “Come On, Yeah, I Like Lollipop, Okay, Leggo” part in the song (just before the bridge). That is the only part of the song that I would love to get rid of, but beside that small 5 second part, I think this is a solid debut song!

As for the music video, I’m a little torn. Overall, I think it is a good video, but there were some scenes that had me doubting the whole concept. For example, the scene that consisted of just the girl’s ass and they were all staring at it. Ummm… You do know that you are attempting a high school concept, and I don’t staring at a girls ass and saying that she is your “lollipop” is appropriate. Further more, why were they stripping the poor dude and making him run out into the arms of another shirtless member and then capturing right at the nipple area. Yeah, call me dirty mind, but I personally did not think it was needed to go to all that length for the video. I am sure someone could have thought something a little more appropriate for the setting and concept. Sure it fits in with the fun concept of the video, but not the school boy. However, I would only consider them as minor problems with the video. The video was very bright and the amount of fun that they were having coincided with the song. Nothing felt like it was forced (i.e. their expressions all seemed genuine and that they were having way too much fun filming the video). Maybe some of the video (especially with the teacher dancing) could be described as cliche, but I think overall, it was an excellent video to introduce the band with.

The dance is what I want to speak more. Too much Nae Nae in my opinion, but overall, I think the dance looked really cool and fitted in with the song. Even on stage, their expressions don’t seemed to be forced. I think the dance was really well done and highlighted the boys capabilities even more.

Definitely a band to look out for in the future. Looking forward to what songs and concept they will be going for next. Solid and amazing debut. 9/10

Cider – Yezi (Fiestar)

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Late last year, I reviewed Crazy Dog, which I assumed to be Yezi’s solo debut. But apparently, I was completely wrong and that Cider would be her first official solo song, and hence her debut as a solo artist on the stage. For those who don’t know, Yezi is the rapper for the girl group Fiestar. Last year, she shot to fame with her appearance and participation on Unpretty Rapstar. With her new found popularity, it is said that Fiestar could potentially break out as a top group this year.

You all know that I am not into the rap or hip hop side of KPOP, but once again, Yezi does a pretty good job with making me enjoying this genre. When I first heard the song, for some reason, the start of the song (just before Yezi started rapping) sounded a lot like an intro to a boy group dance based song. I don’t wish to discriminate, but that was my first initial thought into the song. As soon as I heard her rap, I can say I was slayed. She sounded extremely powerful and badass. Throw away my thoughts of the intro to a boy group dance song, Yezi does an amazing job with the song. The chorus was extremely short for my liking, but damn, does the way she say ‘Cider’ sound so sexy? I am literally floored with the song. The “Let’s Do It, Just Do It” at the very end sounds so good to my ears. Totally digging this song. The song was extremely fast (what I tend to think with any song that has majority of it rap based) and seemed short at first glance, but it was an amazing solid 3 minutes, I just did not notice time flew by.

The music video was pretty cool. When I first watched the video, I was a little confused. She started off wearing white and they were in a pretty bright room. Too bright for genre. I mean, the colour that is associated with rap and hip hop is black, but the white threw me off. And then, it all started. Throw away that whiteness and supposed innocence, because she started to rebel and cause havoc on the set of whatever they were shooting. The directors seem to be fed up, but that poor assistant looked like he just crapped his pants when she pulled the pieces of paper out of his hands. I think the point of the video is show that the old concepts are out and the new concepts will be coming in. I am going to be honest, but I secretly like her when she is wearing black. It suits her more and also fits in with the rest of the concept. I really like the plot or idea around the video

The dance. Well, there really is not much of a dance. What I see Yezi do, seems to just be simple hand movements and there really isn’t anything that seems complex. Her hips though, in some performances, wow. The background dancers seem to have the more complex moves, and I think their presence behind Yezi seem to make the stage more complete and fill in the rest of the concept on the stage. And that red box that she rides on seem so cool. It gives off a very polished feel to it.

Amazing solo debut. Everything rocked. 9/10

The Little Prince – Ryeowook (Super Junior)

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The first release from SM this year and this time, it is also a solo release of a member of a popular band. Ryeowook, one of the main vocalists from Super Junior, has officially made his solo debut, joining the ranks of band member Kyuhyun. Ryeowook is also the second member to make his solo debut from Super Junior.

The song, is what we all expected from Ryeowook, a ballad. For his vocals, I have never been a big fan. His voice seems ordinary and there really is nothing to celebrate every time I hear his voice. He also has a high pitch voice, which never seems to fit in with the rest of the band. But this song highlights his voice and damn does he sound good or what? The song captures his vocals and makes good use of them. As for the song itself, I feel fine listening to just the instrumental. As you can tell, totally digging the orchestral sound. The verses seem a little bland, but the rest of the song (chorus + bridge) sounds catchy and really nice. (Secretly enjoying the chorus) I love how the song starts off super slow and builds up as we listen to more of it. His vocals do a good job at handling and balancing that build up in the song, making it sound as nothing complex is going on. The lyrics of the song are based off that famous French book of the same title, The Little Prince. So, what can you conclude from this paragraph? His voice is too damn good. And his song is amazing as well.

The video was a little boring to watch in my point of view. I have to say, the sets of the video were beautiful artworks that were made to look like the real deal. We see him struggle against his problems in the video, and while his expression is a little dull (we could have seen a little more acting), the way he interacts with the objects around him make up for it and display the “man in pain” that we know from the book. The imagery of the video was amazing, such as the pouring of wine on the white rose and the small snippets of burning pages and pictures from the book made the video look artistic and very beautiful. The colours give off that really nice Autumn night feel, which I think looks fantastic. But as a whole, I am not drawn to the video as I am with the song. I may have yawned when I was watching the video a few times.

Overall, the song was amazing and the video was great. 8.5/10

 

Depend On Me – VIXX

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VIXX has made their return to Japan with a new song, which coincides with the release of their first Japanese album. The album includes the Japanese versions of some of their past Korean hits, such as Chained Up and Error. The album has includes some Korean songs that VIXX has released as extra tracks. But even better, the album includes some Japanese tracks: Can’t Say, which was their first official original Japanese release and Depend On You, their second official original Japanese release and the whole reason of today’s review.

VIXX’s song is good but I keep on asking myself is it good enough? Depend On Me has this very dramatic orchestra sound, mixed with elements of electronic, which gives it a good sound which I like. The chorus beat drops and it sounds more like a pop song than anything else. It flows with the rest of the song, but to me, it just seems like it misses the cake. It was so dramatic sounding at the start, but then that same dramatic feel just disappears. Sure, I listen to the song if it comes on, but I don’t think it is something that I would get caught on. The bridge is okay, but it feels mis-matched with the rest of the song. The vocal work is pretty well damn good in this song. All the members sound great and Ravi’s rap is always sounding hardcore and bad-ass. I don’t know, I feel like I am let down with the chorus in this song. It is great to see such a powerful song from the band in Japan (thought they would stay with their Can’t Stay sound).

The music video is simple. Put the guys in an overused room to dance in and shoot majority of the dance scenes. Throw in some solo shots up close in the dark room and then more solo shots in a white room with red strings everywhere. And that is your video. There were some shots in the video of N just talking to a girl. N notices she becomes disinterested in what is going on, and then this flash forward (or back) of the red strings come along. And then at the very end, we see him whisper something to the girl, and that room flashes back with N whispering the same thing to the camera. So what is going on? Am I meant to look at the lyrics or something because I am a little confused. The strings make sense, since the lyrics talk about cutting strings that join the two together, but what about that N scenes? A little too simple for my liking, but still pretty nice to watch.

But here is what we do actually watch in that video, and that is the dance. While the video below does not capture the whole video for us (still waiting patient for the official upload though), the dance is pretty cool. The highlight of the dance though, the violin introduction where Ravi imaginary plays the violin. It looks so cool. The rest of the dance fitted in with the electronic components of the instrumental. A lot of powerful and strong moves.

Overall, little iffy on the song, video is good and VIXX never lets us down with the dance. 7/10

Don’t Forget – Crush ft. Taeyeon (SNSD)

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Crush made his unexpected comeback with a brand new song. And this time, Tayeon from SNSD is featuring in his song. After sky-rocketing to fame with his collaboration with Zion.T and for the songs that were released last year under his name, he has returned with Don’t Forget. And he continues with his success, after topping charts and earning his first solo win on Show Champion.

The song is really good. Let’s start off with the instrumental. Damn, is it calming or what? The clicking sounds that continuously plays throughout the song, along with the simple sounds that we hear (in other words, there isn’t anything that is “loud” or complex sounding) gives it that really nice calming effect, which makes me want to listen to the song again and again. Next up is the vocals. Crush’s vocals really match this style and feels like it is floating on top of the water. Taeyeon’s part is extremely short, which is a little disappointing. But nonetheless, I feel like she took on her part really well. I expected some kind of duet with Crush, but it was only just a small solo part. Putting everything together, that calming feeling that I was talking about juts a few moments ago just comes back. It is a song that I would play constantly to calm myself down or would be a song to listen to on a dark and stormy day.

The music video was beautifully shot. I am not drawn to the video as I am with the song, but everytime I do watch the video, it just makes my jaw drops. The shots were amazing, the scenery really is quite beautiful. The video was shot in Japan and as a person who really wants to go to Japan, this video captures really nice places to go to (or at least see somehow) on snowy days. These are the type of videos that make me want to live near snow. Interesting fact: I have never seen snow before, so this video makes me very jealous. Everyone (like me) is in awe with the scenes which shows the giant fete or carnival park.  Taeyeon does not feature in the video (which is somewhat disappointing). I can totally imagine her face in with the snow. It all matches really well. But overall, great video to watch (when I feel like it).

Overall, another amazing comeback. Damn with all these comebacks though. I feel like I have been giving too many 10/10s. This is the third one in a row. 10/10

Rough – GFriend

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GFriend has made officially made their first comeback of the year with Rough. After collecting numerous “Best Female Rookie” awards, the girls are back and have hit the top of the charts with their new song, showing how capable they are at taking over the industry.

This is probably my most favourite track of the year (so far). GFriend has unveiled a really addictive and catchy song to listen to. It has been replaying on my phone and computer. It is the first song that I want to listen to when I jump on YouTube and literally the last song that I want listen to , just before drifting to sleep. The instrumental is just an amazing orchestra type of style, which if you don’t know, I tend to dig. It reminds me a lot of Me Gustas Tu, but with a more of a warmer feel. It truly does suit the season a lot. The vocal work of the band is a lot stronger and powerful in this song, and the balance between the vocals and instrumental is just perfect. It really gives off a sense that the girls have matured, since they are going for this more mature sound. I literally have no complaints with the song. The ending is abrupt, but it is the song’s charm. I personally feel like the clock ticking sounds were a little random, as they only appeared towards the end, but it finishes off the song quite nicely. Totally a fan and totally digging this song.

The music video theory is honestly a good one. If you have not heard, people are speculating that GFriend’s concept, school girl, is ending after this comeback. Why? Well, many people believe that Glass Beads is when the girls first started off with their schooling, Me Gustas Tu is when they are attending school (or in the middle of their schooling) and now Rough is the end (hence a lot of scenes of them leaving and reuniting/their mature sound). Interesting theory, but something that I am a little concerned about. If the theory is true, what concept will they attempt next? They have owned this concept and literally made it their own, so what will they rely on next? But this video was beautifully shot. The fake snow even looks so real in the video. The set is honestly amazing and realistic. Their shots in the outside was so beautifully done. Even the colour of the music video gives it that Winter feel and/or that really warm feel that makes the song so nice. And that teddy bear scene. Don’t leave him behind.

Honestly, GFriend has always amazed me with their dances and this one is no exception. The start where they unveil one member at a time can be described as genius in my book. The ending, where it looks like the evolution of man kind (okay, very bad example), looks amazing and fits in with the song so much.

Overall, this is by far their most amazing comeback to date. But I am 100% sure that the next comeback will wow me even more. Amazing! 10/10