Category: KPOP

Sour Grapes – San E & Mad Clown

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San E probably has one of his biggest years this year. Sure, he has been a very big icon in the hip hop industry in South Korea for some time and each song of his continues to be big hits. But this has to be one of his best songs ever. This time around he collaborated with Mad Clown to make one of the catchiest K-Hip Hop songs ever. The rhythm and melody of the song just gives you the head bopping feels and just makes you want to sway around. The lyrics are quite funny. While some of them are the cringe worthy kind, I feel like how they incorporated the words (both English and Korean) into the rap, but gave them different meaning is really cool. Of course the rapping is amazing (per usual). Not exactly sure of the originals of the “Sour Grape” title, but I assume it is like a saying in South Korea. Honestly, for the first time ever, I think I can say that I am legit into a K-Hip Hop song.

The music video was good. And only good. Watching it the first time was fun, but the second and thrid time had me yawning. There is one part in the video which I liked the most and it was the Drake dance parody. Was made into a meme and has now reached the KPOP shores. Hahaha… The video took the lyrics and showed them literally, which was pretty nice. Honestly did not think Mad Clown had this fun side to him. His own songs were always so serious and never fun or playful. It puts him into a new light for me. I personally don’t get why it is rated 19+ but then again, South Korean innuendo is completely different to the innuendo that I am used to in Australia. The video alone is pretty bright and colourful. Which surprises me, since there are so many different bright and colourful centred colours during the season of Fall over there. Did South Korea suddenly move down to the Southern Hemisphere? For some reason, I like the circle (aka when the girl looks into the telescope) and how it focuses on a certain part of the video. Yeah, I am that simple. But honestly, it gives off that pervy feel and actually compliments the video’s rating. Which then means that the title has something sexual going on. Hahaha…

Yeah, the language barrier was probably the biggest turn off for this collaboration. But nonetheless, for what I can hear, I think it is great. For what I see, I think it is all right. 7/10

 

Muah – APRIL

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APRIL has returned with a song that pleases me and sounds 100% better then their debut song. This song is much more lively and energetic than Dream Candy, which they released a few months back. And I personally like that aspect of the track. You can tell just from the sound of the track of how fun and colourful the track is. While the highlight of the song was “Muah, Muah, Muah”, I think over words could have been used in place of muah. I honestly heard “Wah” when I first listen to the song. The vocal work for this song and the rapping were amazing. Not 100% sure what they sound like on stage, but this song gives me high hopes. The instrumental sounds pretty ordinary, but I don’t think it effects my perspective on the song that much. It is quite catchy and pretty addictive at the moment. Overall, I like it a lot.

As for the music video, that colour that we find in the song is evidently here in the music video. The video itself is a lot more interesting than Dream Candy. So the whole video is about them falling in love with one particular guy. Like all five girls, falling in love with only one guy. The same guy. Hmmm… Honestly, KPOP needs to invest in more people to act in these videos. Almost every KPOP video is about 1 guy or girl and the whole band falling in love with them. Kind of ridiculous. Every time I watch a music video that has this kind of plot, I kind of throw the video to the side. But the weirdest bit is that the girls become angry at each other, but make up with kisses. And fake kisses at that. Ummm… For some reason this sounds like something coming out of a high school. And really, these girls (in their girl scout uniform) look like their barely at the age to even be loved by a dude who looks way too legal.

The dance is really not that impressive. There really is nothing that grand about the dance. It’s cute and all, but with competition in the industry at the moment, this dance is going to get them no where. But I have to say the “muah, muah, muah” dance seems very bouncy and seems to be the cutest moment of the dance.

Overall, great song, interesting video and ordinary dance. I think you guys need to just read this line, and it summarises the review in just a few words. Hahahah… 6/10

Sleepless Night – Nine Muses

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The song is quite underwhelming. To me, it suits the feel of Autumn but the song is really monotone. Listening to it from start to end, I really could not decipher which part was the verse and chorus. After a few listens, it started to become clear, but that monotone feel remained. To me, I can imagine a straight line running throughout the song, and the vocals really did not deviate from that straight line. The entire song was sung at a high pitch and honestly listening to the recorded version and the live version shows a very big difference. This song is basically suited for only a recorded version, which sounds really good (minus the monotone complaint).  But the girls struggled a lot with the song when singing live. Only the main vocalists nailed the song, the rest kind of didn’t sound up to par as they did in the recorded version. Now I understand that they are dancing and all, but there have been other songs that suit each members vocal style really well, so it was a disappointment. The rapping was another part that was disappointing. It sounds heavily edited and just so whiny. It did not fit in well with the rest of the song. If it was manipulated in a way to sound more sensual and softened, then it wouldn’t needed to sound forced and “over the top”, if you understand what I mean.

The music video looked interesting. So we have Mina which appeared in the video at the very start. It seems that every other member plays a part of Mina (such as her memories). Now, clearly from the tone of the song and the music video, you can tell that Mina is facing some sort of break up and each member (her memories) seem to cause her this pain. The ending, seems to show another member, and probably symbolises that Mina has moved on from her memories. Yeah that last part isn’t that clear. But damn, this video was beautifully shot. The nice rustic feel of the video gives that Autumn look. Honestly, great video.

The dance to this is very sexy and sensual. However, it is not over the top and is quite classy in my point of view. I really love the end where they are all squatting (This by far is the worst word to describe such a sexy dance move) around the chair. It added that extra class I was just speaking above. Once again, the live vocals aren’t that great. Props to them for singing live, but this might not be the right song for that.

Nice song, but not exactly sure it was the right choice for stage performances. 5.5/10

Confession Song – GOT7

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You know is going to be Christmas very soon when stores blare Christmas songs (Did someone just say Mariah Carey?) or Christmas carols as soon as you enter them, turkey and whole chicken takes up a single aisle in your supermarket, the only thing that seems to be on sale are Christmas decorations and soft bells sounds, such as the sound we assume Santa makes when he is riding his sleigh across the world, start to take over the instrumental in songs. Yeah, GOT7’s song came out a month early. It is a nice song, that is really cute and has a nice message. Though, the title is very ummm.. creative. I really can’t say much about the song. It is refreshing and fits in with the certain time of the year (and here I am sweating down here in Australia). Vocals were okay and so was the rapping. Overall, nice song for the holiday season.

The video was cute. It reminds me of Lee Seung Chul’s My Love video. It fits in with the cute sound of the song. I just be a little concerned if two reindeers came in and decided to kidnap a few students. I also want to point out two different scenes in the video, which involves the members. The collision between JB and Jackson at 3:08 in the video looks hella painful. And Jackson’s not so cute facial expression at 4:30 in the video. Yeah, beside that, really cannot mention much about the video. Hopefully those couples stay as couples.

I am literally questioning why I decided to review this song. Song is a great start to the Holiday Season (preparing for the army of Christmas songs that will be released by KPOP and non KPOP singers in the next few weeks) and the video is cute as well. 7/10

Nail – The Legend

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The Legend is back and they are back to wow us with another amazing song. I am going to be honest, but when I first heard the song, it was quite underwhelming and didn’t seem like it was up to par like in their previous song, Shadow. But after listening to the song a few times and much more closely, I feel like the song is really well done and very classy. To me still, this isn’t better than Shadow, but this still pretty good. The song is like a slow RnB track with that fast dance element to it. The vocals were on point (the use of high pitch in this song, if some of us were to sing it, would end our voices for days). The rapping and vocal work blend very well into the instrumental, especially the combo that formed the bridge of the song. That high note at the end was executed really well as well. Overall, all I can do is praise the song.

The video was boring. It really did not appeal to me. Some black and white videos work but others don’t really work at all. It adds that really typical RnB video feel to it, as we get in some American videos back in the day. The nail biting in this video really threw me off. Yeah, one of my pet peeves is when people bite their nails. But that is another story. Honestly, beside that there really is nothing else to talk about.

The dance isn’t that great this time around. It matches the beat of the music, but it is boring to watch when it is performed on stage. It is pretty standard and really does not have me amazed by it.

Overall, song is great. Music video and dance isn’t so much. 5/10

Insensible – Lee Hong Ki (FT Island)

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Lee Hong Ki, the main vocalist from the band FT Island, has officially made his long overdue solo debut with Insensible. As expected, he went with a ballad that really brings out his voice and vocal talent. To me, this sounds like a normal FT Island song. Mainly because FT Island songs usually have Hong Ki singing majority of it. But I feel like a band version (featuring all the members of FT Island) can happen with the instrumental. Talking about the instrumental, I am totally loving it. It has a grand feel to it and the orchestra adds a really nice touch to the song. Let’s focus back on the vocals. Superb. Hong Ki is one of the few artists in KPOP that I feel can spill all the emotions into the song and focus on singing really well at the same time. Usually, artists are known to sing really well, but sometimes lack the required emotions. But with this song, you can hear his heartbreak and sadness. I love the song and I personally enjoy listening to it. For a ballad, it is pretty catchy and the song remains in my head for a while. (So many songs are repeating in my head lately, it confuses me a lot as well).

The music video has a nice plot, but it is confusing to me. Hong Ki acts along side Park Shin Hye. We see them go through the ups and downs of a relationship, leading to the end, where Park Shin Hye concludes that Hong Ki is having an affair. She ends up taking her life (at the end, there is the present she finds in Hong Ki’s suitcase with blood on it under the curtains), and Hong Ki blames himself for not realizing what his girlfriend was going through. It makes perfect sense, compared to my understanding of the plot (which was not accurate). It turns out she was just imagining everything and Hong Ki had been faithful the whole time. Thank God for YouTube comments. I have to be honest, it was confusing to understand. The acting in this video was amazing. When Hong Ki threw his phone, you could literally feel the anger his character had.  The video was beautifully shot and us the viewers had to pay attention to the smallest detail to understand it. Great plotline and video.

Overall, this solo debut is really great. It essentially collates everything that we had expected from Hong Ki and it proves that this is a solo debut that should have happened ages ago. 10/10

 

Taola – B.I.G

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This song is definitely a “new chapter” for the B.I.G boys. Even though it is a style of song that I did not expect from the group, they managed to rock it. I actually like it a lot. From what I hear, it is some of sort of funky and hip hop type of mash-up, which sounds better than what I am currently describing. Does it live up to their earlier track in the year? Probably not, but it has the potential to be up there as their second best track to date. The vocals are clear and quite dominate. The rap on the over hand, sound like they have muted somewhat. I don’t know, but it sounds like the rap brings down the song for me. It is not as powerful as the vocals (or as loud), but that could just be my speakers (I have been using the same computer for nearly 10 years now!). It is pretty catchy. One minor complaint, but the song could have done with the dial tone sound that is scattered throughout the track. But overall, I liked it.

The music video was a lot darker and more mysterious compared to Between Night n Music. Each member is centred around something that makes them look tough, from the looks of the video. Sorry, I don’t know names, but one member is shown as a boxer, motorcycle rider, sitting around a large countdown timer, sitting around and on top of television and pumping gas. Okay, the last three make no sense whatsoever. I personally love the simplicity of the dance scenes. Literally was just a concrete wall they performed in front of. The only member I can put a name to is Benji and can I just say that it took me multiple times to be able to pin point which member was Benji. Actually all the members, look so different, I thought I clicked on the wrong video. The video can be rated good to great. I wouldn’t mind watching it over and over again, even though there isn’t much to it.

The dance is a brand new style for the guys. It seems like they adopted the infamous sexy concept but managed to keep it classy and fits their new dark image (seen the eyeliner, might have gone a little too far with it). I think the dance fits the song as well and I personally think it is an amazing choreography.

I feel like my review is a little lacking here. But I manage to write what I feel about the song. Overall, it is a great comeback, just not one I had expected (Honestly, I thought they keep the bright concept). 8/10

 

Anthem – B.I & Bobby (iKON)

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Anthem is an okay song. It does not have me raving about it such as in Apology, the song has its good and bad points. What is good in the song: it is catchy (like an other anthem song), has a nice foreign sound/vibe to it and the rapping is on point. Bobby and B.I, as well all know, are talented rappers and they have proved themselves and probably pushed out their limits with this song. The song reminds me of the singles that T.O.P, G-Dragon and other famous rappers have put out in the past, but to me, this one has a much stronger hip hop vibe to it than those. The bad points: the catchiest part of the song has to be the most annoying part of the song. “iKON is coming to town” just bugs me everytime I listen to it. It is drawn out excessively and just sounds like a part that was smashed into the song for the other members to be included. Furthermore, I personally don’t like songs that is just full of raps. I personally like it when there is a bit of vocal work in the song, so I was already a little “biased” (in a way) regarding the style of song. So in conclusion (my personal thoughts only), not a fan of the song, but the song has its own good points.

The music video reminds me of the black and white videos that YG usually do for the rappers. And reminds me of videos of GD. T.O.P and GD&TOP released back in the day. Maybe it is because I am not a fan of the boys, but I don’t find anything interesting in the video. It has this grand feel to it and fits the style of the song, but beside that, I don’t really see what is great about it. Many fans and comments are like “omg, their facial expressions are amazing and funny” and here I am thinking “what is amusing?”, “what is funny?”. Though talking about comments, I love it how majority of the comments are about how the number of views are down. Ummm… Even I tried to watch the video (while not paying attention to the view count) and manage to appreciate what the channel put out (even though I am not linking it). Yeah, so… Not a fan of the video.

Overall, not a big fan of the song or video. 3/10. If you want to see the review of Apology, click here.

Apology – iKON

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iKON is back with two digital singles. Apology (this review) and Anthem (the other review released later today) form part of their debut album, which to date, only half of it has been revealed. The other half is said to come out next month, forming a full album. This particular song features the entire group, while the other song only features Bobby and B.I as the artist. But let’s review Apology right now.

It is a hip hop infused ballad where the song is quite upbeat. The lyrics are not that upbeat though. This upbeat sound that they have gives the song that more rhythmic side of the song, which in turn makes the song more catchy to listen to. The “mian, mian” that we hear in the chorus is repetitively stuck in my mind. The vocals and rapping in this song is top notch. The vocals are very dominated and I just really love that about the song. Sometimes the vocals are covered up with the instrumentals, but there is a really nice balance in this song.  I just love their songs when it comes to these ballad types. To me, it suits them a lot. BUT I personally find the song a little dull. Not too much to deter me away from the song, but I feel like if a little more something was added to the song, I believe it would take the song to a whole new level. But what we have here is satisfying in my point of view already and to the many perspective of other fans.

As for the music video, a lot of tears and a lot of hearts were probably broken in the making and watching of this video. It is a pretty simple video when you think about. Just seeing couples fight and everyone getting angry. Their acting is pretty good (compared to other videos that I have made acting centred comments about). The black and white filter on the video gives it that really rustic feel and makes me zone into the emotions in which the group and the actresses are pouring out onto the screen for us to watch. But beside that, there really is not much else to say.

To hear that there is a dance to this song is really disappointing. This is the type of song where I expected no dance.  So I am just watching the dance practice to this with an unimpressed face on and nothing changed it.

Overall, an amazing song (compared to their first round of promotions), the music video was great, but the dance… yeah… 7/10

Hot Pink – EXID

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The girls, EXID are back with Hot Pink. From what I heard, so people think this song was just released to keep the group relevant, but I am totally digging this song. After all their past hits, I think Hot Pink has to be one of the best songs the girls have released so far. This song, like all their other songs, have been super addictive and it just keeps replaying in my mind. The cows bells, I thought they be annoying, but they give the track its addictive nature. Yeah, their English isn’t that great in this song: “I like the way you pink it”. Cringe worthy, but they add that KPOP feel to the song. Cause it ain’t a true KPOP song until we look at its English. The instrumental, vocals and raps are all great. I love how some articles are dubbing Junghwa’s part as the “virgin verse” so all their oppa fans still believe that someone in the group hasn’t had sex yet. Hahahaha… I like her part. It does changes the song up quite a bit and sounds like there was something wrong in the recording session (like they played the wrong song entirely fro Junghwa) but if you look at the song as a whole, it flows pretty well.

As for the music video, the girls seem to be sellers of an illegal substance known as Pink Oil. They influence drivers and bring in the bank by selling the Pink Oil with their good looks. But when policemen come by and inspect the station, the girls just simply turn of the lights. Ummm… I think they need to retrain the police officers (and check their eyesight). In the end, the police officers find some suspicious substance and we see at the end, the girls are closing in with tools of the trade. It ends there, but the scene at the start seems to finish of the story, with the girls successfully killing the policemen and have put them into the boot of a car. Yeah, another cheesy video plot, to be honest. I am more impressed about the set. How they managed to replicate the scene of a dark highway seems really extraordinary. And that goes to show how easily impressed I am. Honestly, I think their sets look pretty cool. And I think the best comment of the day is: “Pink Oil is made up of a pink liquid and Junghwa?”. Yes, they squeeze the essence of Junghwa into the Pink Oil, and hence it is seen as an extremely expensive commodity. Hahahaha.

The dance isn’t that great. It is just wiggling the butt and biting on the thumb to look sexy. It really isn’t going to be iconic compared to Up and Down, but it is as simple. Not really impressed with the dance part when Solji sings her part. Especially in the music video, it just looks like the girls are throwing their arms around the place and just for the sake of it. It just begs everyone to ask the question: how do you make a more iconic dance than Up and Down?

Overall, love the song. The music video is good, but the dance really does not exceed my expectation. 8/10

Young, Wild & Free – B.A.P

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B.A.P has finally returned with a brand new mini album. And they have maintained their strong and widely recognised powerful comebacks with Young, Wild & Free. This time around they went with a rock based song. I am totally liking this, since I am head banging (not literally though, just the feels) to the song all the way when I hear it. The break they had is worthwhile, cause this comeback shows off new talents. The most obvious, Jongup has a much more stable voice than compared to their previous releases and Zelo seems to have a deeper voice. The chorus to the song is pretty catchy and addictive. I am always singing along to the “We are Young~ Wild and Free” and it sounds a lot like some kind of anthem where everyone needs to be chanting. There is a whole heap of anger that is present in the song. The song reminded me of their first few singles. While it might not be as bright as those first few songs, the dark nature in which the song has and the rock/hip-hop themed songs is still present.

The music video is okay. Dark themed, checked. I am a little disappointed with the music video. I expected something action packed and it feels like this song can have some kind of rebellious music video plot. I personally hope their company can properly promote them and return the band to their old style (as in music) . I just the feel the video seems to be a last minute things in term of sets. The video to me seems empty. The sets do give off that independent and strong power that the boys are trying to sing about, but I don’t know. It just seems to need something else. I think the paint/play scene and drifting cars give off that “young, wild and free” feel the strongest out of the all. Not exactly sure about the “dead” Youngjae scene that we see, where he uncovers his body that is in a suit. It is like saying the constrained version of them are gone and now left behind is the free version of them? Tad confusing. But the ending with them as Kings seems very cool!!!

The dance fits in well with the rock performance. It isn’t really that impressive and doesn’t make me go wow. But the group manage to carry that rock performance style of the free style bouncing on the stage and all. Did I expect something else? Yeah, I expected them to make me go wow, but what we have here is fine. It fits in well and does what it is needed to keep that rock theme.

The song to me exceeds my expectations. The video and dance does not really. 7/10

OMGT – Madtown

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This is my first time I am reviewing Madtown. They have been active since October and I am finally getting around to reviewing this guys. They are a 6 member boy group consisting of: Moos, Daewon, Lee Geon, Jota, Heo Jun, Buffy and H.O. They debuted with Yolo and made their comeback with New World back in March. Now they are back with another acronym based title, OMGT. They are under J.Tune Entertainment.

OMGT is a hip hop based dance track with hints of that electronic modern style. I personally don’t mind the song. Is it the best track ever? No. But it does its job in satisfying my ears when I listen to it. I actually like this track over any of their other tracks. But it doesn’t really make me want to listen to the track or the band over and over again. The song is monotone to me and it seems to be at that same level throughout the song. The rapping is good and I like how it is infused with the vocals. The “OMG Thx” part is pretty addictive and catchy. The vocals add to that monotone issue for me, but at the same time, they do fit in well with the instrumental. It is a relaxing track, to be honest which gives that satisfying feeling. Sure if this song popped up on my playlist, I’d be happy to listen to it, but not continuously listen to it when I fall in love with a track.

The music video is cringe worthy. Their acting is not that great. Let me get that out of the way. At the start they looked like some pervy guys that are going to some club that has hot girls.  And I got it totally wrong, since they start worshipping the TV. Somehow, the lady that they all like start to make her way through the TV into their world, but her attempt is cut short as someone turned off the TV, leaving one real leg in their world. Yeah… My thoughts exactly. Removing the odd plot from the video, the rest of it is fine. Nice close-ups and the dance scenes are great.

The dance to me seems cocky. Am I the only one with that impression? Just me? I think it was for their concept to impress the girl, but it came off as a whole heap of cockiness. Body waves seem to be taking KPOP by storm this year as well. This is like the 15th dance that has a body wave in it. That being said, I like it.

Okay comeback. Okay song, music video and dance. 5.5/10

 

Lightsaber – EXO

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Lightsaber is a collaboration with  between EXO and Star Wars. And for those who don’t know, a new Star Wars film will be released soon. I personally am not a fan of the franchise, so I don’t really feel interested. At first when I saw this information, I shoved Lightsaber to the side and forgot about it. BUT after listening to it once, I am now replaying this song constantly. The line distribution in this song does trouble me to an extent. I understand the point of a main vocalist and lead and just a normal vocalist, but honestly, after 3 members leaving, I am sure those who remain who usually have the odd line can be bumped up with a little more. Mainly talking about Xiumin in this song. Poor fellow has a great voice and we can never hear it. But honestly, beside that, I think this is an amazing song. The vocals are on point and I enjoyed the fluctuating speeds in the song. Some parts are fast, others are slow. The biggest highlight in this song would have to be: Chanyeol’s rap. It is extremely husky and forcibly masculine. I got into the song through his rap and it is one of the most perfect rap sequences I have heard so far this year (hmmm…). I enjoyed the dubstep drops and the chorus is quite simple, but at the same time giving that electronic feel to the song that the Star Wars obviously has.

As for the music video, I was intrigued when I first saw that the some of the members (mainly Kai, Sehun and Baekhyun) actually featured in it. I was expecting like scenes from the movie, but instead we got a brand new music video. The video has this mysterious feel to it. We just see the said members be Jedi and get into battle. That air of mysteriousness adds a nice touch to the video. I would have liked a little more, but I think what we have so far is really well done and amazing. The dark lighting and camera-work gives that extra edginess to the video.

Overall, great song and music video. It sucks that it is only a collaboration and we’re not going to see much more of the single anymore. 9/10

Storm – MAP6

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MAP6 is a brand new boy group from Dream Tea Entertainment, which also houses Girls Day. As per usual with KPOP bands, they don’t go by the number in their name and there is actually only 5 members: Minhyuk, J.Jun, Sign, Sun and J.Vin. A little fact about the group: the group actually consist of 4 former members of the disbanded group A-Prince. They are the first boy group for Dream Tea Entertainment, debuting with their single Storm.

This is a nice track, but it is a little underwhelming. The song has this really strong vibe to it, even though the start and throughout the song, it has the really slow piano sounds. But it gives an interesting side to the song. The vocals and rapping in this song are on point, and I believe this group has a lot of potential. But there seems to be a lot missing from the song. It sounds two dimensional for the most part. There are the slow bits (consisting of the verses and chorus – while they are quite upbeat, I felt like that still had that slowness to them which made the song underwhelming) and the “negae, negae”parts, essentially two parts of the song, but I personally feel like something else could have been added to the song to give it more depth. Maybe taking the dubstep or electronic sounds to a whole new intensity would give the song a more solid sound and can redefine the whole meaning behind the “strong sound” that I have been trying to describe to you.

There really isn’t much to the video. I liked the sets. That aftermath of a storm on the set looks really awesome and quite cool to be honest.There is one minor detail that I want to question, but that glass or plastic vase that contained the flower. Somehow it managed to survive whatever happened without dying or breaking. Funny. But yeah, there really isn’t much beside the talking about the sets or how they stare into the distant.

While the song it slow, I think this is pretty cool dance. I am going to say it is missing that extra bit of power or strength. But what we have compliments the song, but I am sure that their dance skills have yet to be shown. Their intro for their debut stages looked awesome, so I can see that there is more to them, then what we see with Storm. I like the part where they lie down. It looks cool, even though it is rather simple.

Overall, it was a good comeback, but if the guys do a little more to enhance their talent and show the world more of what they got, I am sure they are able to make it. 6/10

Chained Up – VIXX

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VIXX new song is not what I expected. Usually they have a song that we can describe as dark and mysterious. However, this particular song is more upbeat and possibly “happy”, even though the lyrics do not go in that direction. I feel like the instrumental can be also be used for a less darker or more fun concept. Do you understand? It is rather odd to think that way, but it seems to be the only way I can describe it. Nonetheless, this song is pretty solid. I absolutely love the rap segments before the chorus. They build up to the chorus pretty well. The vocals are pretty solid in this song and I feel like the autotune works really well with the song. The chorus is catchy, but it did require a few listens for me to get into the groove of the song. At first I thought it wasn’t a VIXX song and that it sounded rush. But after extra listens, they managed to chain me up in their music (no pun intended – is this how puns actually work?). I feel like Hongbin and Leo got their time to shine in this song, vocally.

Visually, I think the music video is stunning. The outside scene where they are on top of building at the start looks really well shot, and the members individual scenes seems to bring the concept pretty well. They all seem like good places to hang out at, to be honest. Who doesn’t want to run through Leo’s chains and those pieces of plastic hanging about. The members also bring out a whole new level of sexy. Their costumes, even though they seem simple and easy to copy, bring out that side of masculinity in the guys that we have not seen yet. I’m kind of iffy on the topic of the chokers. Yeah, they look cool and fit the concept really well. BUT they look so damn uncomfortable. Or maybe that is just me and in reality they are cuddly as heck. In the song paragraph, I said Leo and Hongbin stood out. Visually, I think Ken looked the most awesome in this comeback. Everyone else looked fine, it is just Ken looked like he was suited for this concept.

As for the dance, I think we can agree on that it is either Leo on his own OR the whole entire group. From flying members to body waves, now hip rolls. Now what on earth is left in terms of key dance moves that the boys can attempt next? Out of all the dances by VIXX to date, I think this is the most literal dance for any of their comebacks so far. And I think I am going to say this, but it is probably one of their strongest dances to date. And finally, damn it was sexy. And this is coming from a guy’s point of view.

VIXX seems to bring out brand new dark concepts that we have never seen before and manage to impress everyone with their continuously creative and imaginative comebacks. And this is no exception. 9/10

Demonstrate – Rania

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Rania is back after 2 years and have brand new members. The group is now a 6 member girl group consisting of Di, T-ae, Xia and brand new members Alex, Seulji and Hyeme. Alex is an African American woman and has people talking since she is the first official African American to enter the KPOP industry as a girl group member. And it is great to see KPOP embrace different cultures and ethnicities.

As for the song, I am pretty  much disappointed. It is an okay song, but it does not reel me in and make me listen to it more and more. It is a song that I would expect that an American artist to release, which shows to me that they are keeping true to their roots since debut. But the song just isn’t my cup of tea. It feels disjointed and the parts don’t really go well with each other. The song sounds sassy and powerful, but the “demonstrate, demonstrate” sounds so freaking awkward in the song. Same goes for the “come on baby” and that high note towards the end. I feel like the power of the vocals matched the hip-hop influenced instrumental. The biggest stand out was the rapping. I felt that was the only part that actually suited the song, but it was so short.

There are two music videos, one without Alex and one with Alex. I believe there were some kind of visa issues at the time for the filming of the music videos, and the company quickly added her into the music video (hence the two). Well, Alex’s part in the music video did not match the rest of the video and that is quite disappointing. Though given the circumstances, I can’t really blame them. But the music videos had really bad camera work. They were meant to look cool, but it was more of a distraction for me. I am not really digging the bright costumes with many colours, but I think there girls are looking damn sexy in black. And beside that, there is really not much else to talk about.

As for the dance, is Alex a featuring member? She should have stayed on stage throughout the whole performance, not leave until her final part and joined in. To me, the dance was mainly made up of poses and squats. The poses made them look strong, but when they moved about, they lacked energy and that did not go well with the strong poses.

Overall, it was a disappointment. But I am still glad that they kept with their style and went for that American influenced concept. 2/10