Category: KPOP

Lovekiller – Niel (Teen Top) ft. Dok2

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Niel, the main vocalist of the boy band, Teen Top has officially made his solo debut. He did release a pre-release at the end of January, titled as Affogato, which I didn’t hear about. Also, to launch his solo career, he was a part of the new TV show 4 Things Show, which (I believe) talks about the personal life of the stars. On top of that, he also used his members C.A.P and L.Joe in this mini album and also had Dok2 feature in his title track. I believe his solo debut has been talked about for some time, with rumours originating since last year on forums that I have been silently reading. Yes, I do that. I can never be motivated to create an account though.

The soft guitar sounds open up the song for us. We then proceed to get Niel’s vocals which are quite husky. I never thought that Niel would have a husky voice, but now he does. So for the first part of the song and the first chorus, we got this RnB kind of sound that actually matched the lyrics quite well. Afterwards, the song changed up a little. We started to get more of an electronic beat and more modern sound. Not complaining, though, as I quite liked the change between the two and how they manage to go well together. The rapping was pretty good (why am I even commenting on that part, Dok2 is always good). I just don’t like that pause right afterwards and the sounds that Niel makes immediately after the pause. Why did the song just have to stop there for that 1 second? Also, I don’t like the background vocals for the chorus. It felt awkward and kind of made me cringe.

I don’t know why I find many videos boring nowadays. This one is between boring and good though. We see Niel rock up in a van on a really rainy day. And then we get shots of him dancing by himself in the tunnel, with cuts to his model girlfriend, played by Yoo Seung Ok. We get flashbacks to the happy times. The music video does go back to the lyrics though which is quite good. When he sings “When you don’t pick up” (something like that, not 100% translation, maybe just 50%), they have scenes regarding mobile phones and etc. When the song picks up and starts to transform, we change to a different set of Las Vegas style signage. I don’t get the connection, but I actually liked that set a lot. Also the tunnel with the lights was pretty cool as well. The music video was quite dark and I am guessing that represents heartbreak and sorrow.

This dance has references to Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal. When I heard that, I was surprised and excited. Just, there was no “man leaning at impossible angle” move. I was very disappointed in that though. I found that his moves seemed much smoother. With the clicks in the instrumental, I was expecting some kind of sharp movement. But anyway, the dance was pretty amazing. I know Teen Top does mad dances, but I think they should try this style out. It looks very cool.

Overall, a pretty nice track. The music video was so so. The dance was well polished and professional looking. 7/10

NPNP – Soya x KK

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This is the first time that I am reviewing both of these artists and they have come together for a collaboration. Now you, like me (probably) have no freaking idea about these two artists. Well, Soya is the female counterpart of this collab and she is the niece of Running Man’s Kim Jong Kook (who is also formerly a part of Turbo and a singer himself). She debut back in 2010 and I think she is known for her collaboration with Mighty Mouth for their amazing song Tok Tok. She has done past OST and have also featured on numerous other Mighty Mouth songs. KK is the male counterpart of this collab and he is very hard to find online. I did dig up a piece of information where he actually collabed with Wassup and I think the song title is “Boys Be…” (fast and Faster). This may be his debut song (not entirely sure).

This song is quite lively and to me, channels the same feeling as Some did when it was released last year.  I am going to be honest, I don’t like the rapper. He does not sound that suitable for this style of song where it is like similar to the cutesy and lovingly concept. However, I do think about their voices go well together. Soya has a really nice and sweet voice. After reading the description box of the music video, I found out that the song has “strong rhythm” but “soft instruments sounds that do not harmonize together”. Yes, I actually thought the two blended quite well together and did not actually think of it until I read it.  The one complaint that I have is that is lacks the appeal to me. Yes, it does “channel” feelings to me, but it is not a song that I would go back to. It really does not have a hook for me and I don’t think it is one that I would replay. However, this might be a nice song to listen to when you’re feeling down. There is just something about the sweet vocals. Also for the title, NPNP stands for My Side, My Husband (in Korean of course). As for the lyrics, I really don’t see the conflicting side between the lovers (as said in the description box) which kind of annoys me. Overall, a cute song that really does not have anything pulling me to it to listen to it again.

As for the music video, it was boring. The stop motion effect was good and all. The feel of the video suits the nature of the song and all. But it was boring to watch. I like the different sizes of the characters in the music video. And I think the music video is trying to push to the funny side a bit with the effects they put it in. It is okay, just I can watch this video with a straight face. I have to say, the colouring of the video is very dull (like the pale yellow background) and that kind of got me yawning. The effects changed it up for me and I guess without those extra pictures, the video would have been something I skipped. And if you need to give someone a test to find out they love you, I’d be a little concern. But I know that was just for the video.

I am not expecting a crazy dance routine for this song. And we just got that. It is a very simple choreography which matches with the song. I just think no dance routine would have a better effect for this song. Like the two can act cute and stuff just fine. If the company just got the two to act cute together on stage, it would have been fine as well.

OMG, such a long review. Overall, cute collaboration between the two. Just nothing that I would go back for. 5.5/10

Shake That Brass – Amber (F(x)) ft. Taeyeon (SNSD)

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F(x) has to be one of the most overlooked bands of Korean Pop. Well, not overlooked by fans but by their own company. Last year, F(x) made their comeback with Red Light, but promotions were cut short after Sulli “went on a hiatus” and that is basically code for “going against your company”. But now, I guess we will see the revival of F(x) with Amber, the group’s resident rapper, making her solo debut with Shake That Brass, which features SNSD’s Taeyeon. Amber is the first member of the group to undergo formal promotions for solo work. Other F(x) members are widely known for their OSTs and also acting works.

I think anyone listening to this song could tell it is very Americanized. There is no KPOP feel to it, but really a very big mass American appeal to it. In my last review, I did talk about the ongoing trend about mashup between various genres. For this song, I think all of the sounds went really well together. This song flowed soundly and I could not feel awkward or did not cringe at some places. Amber’s rap is pretty good and I really love the “na na na”part. That is pretty cool. Taeyeon’s part was okay. I am sure it could have been left out and Amber put in another rapping segment or another “na na na” part. As for the title, I am 100% Amber changed the wording around to avoid getting cricisted and banned from the networks. That or she really wants to shake some brass. Literally. But it was a very catchy songs and those trumpet sounds were really appealing to my ears.

This is one very bright and colourful video. You can tell that Amber brought the youth to her video. I like it how she invited most her friends to the shoot. It is pretty smart and at the same time, shows that she is very connected in the industry. So many people including Jackson, Joon from G.o.D, Rome from C-Clown, Min and Jia from Miss A, Brad from Busker Busker and many more celebrities that I cannot name from the top of my head attended. I love the little comic sound effects that they added in. That laundro-mat scene was pretty interesting. I would like some glasses that gets everyone to party, but that last part was embarrassing. Guess the glasses last only a few times. I like it how they took the gold brass colour and used that throughout the video. I believe in every scene there was something gold or made of brass. Nice video.

The dance was cool. I honestly don’t know what to say. It guess it is catchy. I just can’t really imagine a different dance routine in place of this one.

A very vibrant and colourful comeback. 8.5/10

너무 Very 막 – MYNAME

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For the first time ever, I have put Korean hangul in the title of this review. I know right, such a big milestone. 너무 Very 막 is a brand new song released by the band MYNAME just last week. It translates roughly to “too very so MUCH”. As you can see, the title is really nothing to be proud of. They made their last comeback with Day By Day back in 2013, and later went on to release their first (?) Japanese album with the single of F.F.Y in 2014 (which also won Best Japanese Song for 2014. You can check out the other awards HERE!).

Hmmm.. There is this common trend going through many KPOP songs at the moment. They take 2 or more genres and smash them up into one song. It could be a ridiculously mess or an amazing sounding song that blows your mind. To me this song, it is a mixture of both. Parts of this song don’t really match up and it feels disconnected. But as a whole, the song was actually a whole song, so I really could not decide whether it was entirely bad or good. It has a hip hop feel to it, but then the song cut to a very slow instrumental and it got me cringing. I have to be honest, the song is pretty catchy and I guess that is why I keep going back to the song. Their rapping and vocals have been improving and it is kind of hard that a few years back they were doing ballad type songs.

The music video was not funny. People said that they were laughing throughout and my initial thoughts were “really?”. I understand that the music video was meant to be humorous, but just watching it got me confused. I really don’t know sometimes the point of Korean comedy. Sometimes it is funny, sometimes it just makes them look really stupid. Maybe I was born in the era of stand up comedy and am really just used to people standing up and telling jokes rather than acting them out. Like the ambulance scene. A saw and a jack-hammer was used to “operate” on the dude. Actually, the whole ambulance crew rocked up as if they were going to a construction site. And then they cut to something like a limbo scene (which I kind of get, just don’t know why the ambulance men would be there). And then they cut to some factory that produces brains. The they attempt to catch the girl that they have fallen for? You see, none of this make sense. And I am really disappointed about that. (And I am very disappointed in my grammar in this paragraph.)’

Dance was pretty cool. That word they keep on repeating in the song (mainly by the rapper and that chipmunk voice) means headache, and I just love it how they have a dance move that kind of represents you hitting your head during a headache. The dance overall was lively and happy.

Song was okay. Music video was terrible. Dance was pretty good. 4/10

Sign – Brown Eyed Girls

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As many of you know, I am a huge fan of Brown Eyed Girls. Sign was released in 2008 after their hit single Abracadabra, which still serves as one of the biggest and well known songs in the KPOP industry to date. Sign was released as a repackaged album for their third studio album.   This song was later released in Japan in 2010. After this song, they went on a break and later came back with hits like Sixth Sense and Kill Bill.

Not as great as Abracadabra or their later hits, but it still was pretty good. The piano instrument and electronic sound blended really well to make the song so good. Their vocals were superb and the rapping by Miryo was once again, probably one of the best raps ever. I really like the “sexy” bridge part. Gain’s voice sounded so sexual (this is not a complaint). But like I said before, this song really was not up to par compared to Abracadabra which was such a big hit. It just  did not have the feeling of “most popular”. Actually, I am sure some people thought Brown Eyed Girls would become a one hit wonder. That being said, the song was popular in South Korea to a degree and since the band went on to release in Japan as well, showed that the song did achieve some of kind of value for the band. When I first heard this song, I was disappointed. But when I continued to listen to it a lot of times, it grew a lot on me.

This music video was a little controversial when it was first released. It literally made headlines from what I remember. So, the Korean version is a drama version. The reason why it got a lot of criticism because there was a scene in the music video where Gain drowns. Yeah, even though such a scene is confronting to watch, I see no problem. There should be a warning sign on the music video somewhere. I guess that is why they now have a rating system for music videos. The music video shows this man bashing some people up to help save Gain from dying. He, from what we know, completely fails and she sadly turns up dead in the music video. It is a solid plot to an extent. The Brown Eyed Girls members become ghosts throughout the video and sing creepily behind the fighting scenes. As for the Japanese video, they focused mainly on the dance.

The dance was pretty solid. It became a pretty popular dance and I love how they used the beat and incorporated that into the dance with the fans. Not people fans but “it is so hot” fans. Yeah, you probably get me. But it was a cool dance and I enjoyed it a lot.

Overall, a nice song. It just was not good enough compared to Abracadabra. How many times have I said that today? 8/10

Don’t Say Goodbye – Davichi

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Davichi released Don’t Say Goodbye back in August 2011. Since then and actually before then, they were already quite popular and have been really popular. However, this song in particularly, I would consider as their most successful song to date. This song basically took their name and blew it up. They also stayed on the charts for quite some time. In terms of reality, this by far is not their actual successful single to date (8282 probably was), however the publicity for this song in 2011 was huge. I remember everyone talking it about on-line and complimented the girls on such an amazing song. Like every other song, I have been putting reviewing this song off for some time.  But that is going to change TODAY!

Has any song released by Davichi ever disappointed us? I don’t think so. Both girls sing so wonderfully and so strongly that it is really hard to pick at the way they sound. And if they sound wonderful and professional, that kind of sets the rest of the song in stone for us. Their voices just do something to our ears that make it sound so wonderful. As for the song itself, it has a rather upbeat feel to it. The orchestral feel gave it that ballad feel to it but with the drum beats and electronic sounds, it made the song sound more upbeat Despite it has a sad meaning, the song has a more of a summer feel to it. Well, considering it was released in Summer, it complimented the tastes that the audience wants. That high note towards the end just blows you away. As for their harmony at the end, I have to say Davichi is one of the best in the industry.

The music video. What is there to talk about? A freaking lot of things need to be discussed. This space/star obsessed guy notices a garbage bag outside of his house. When he opens it, he finds a girl. A freaking girl who is alive. Wait, before that, he lightly kicks the bag. Ummm… It looks like a garbage bag and 99% of the time garbage is in there (the other 1% is a living human in case you’re wondering). Anyway, he takes her in and allows her to get clean and get fed (because she looks hungry). He then proceeds to start a relationship with her. Okay, so where is the part where you phone the police? Or a friend? Cause you just found a girl in a garbage bag. Yeah… Anyway, the girl finds a photo album of another girl (who we can assume the guy used to like but she disappeared). The guy gets a phone call telling him that his disappeared girlfriend can be traded back for the girl he found at the start of the video. A dilemma is caused for the guy and he makes the heartbreaking decision to give the girl up for his former girlfriend. Such a sad storyline. Yeah, the guy can be seen as an asshole and I guess if this did happen in real life, he has to live with the regret of giving the main girl to some creepy dude who would be doing who knows what. But I just love the acting in this video, particularly the ending.

Wow, this review is pretty long. But that is what you get with a music video that has a good plot. Overall, an amazing song and music video. 10/10

Ticket – Nine Muses

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Nine Muses returned with Drama just weeks ago. But let’s go back into our time machine and look back some of their past hits. Further than 2013. Maybe back to 2012 when they released Ticket. This was a song that gained the girls some popularity in the industry, but it was not until 2013 when the girls released Dolls, Wild, Gun and Glue, that they became big names and a rising team. Interesting fact, this is the one song that got me to into Nine Muses. And I am probably going to tell you how in the review.

This song is really catchy. Who hasn’t heard the world ticket and started to sing this song either out loud (if you are brave enough) or in your head (to avoid being judge)? “Ticket One Way. Ticket One Way. One Way One Way One Way Ticket“. This song has a really retro sound to it. I can’t pinpoint which era it came from, but it does sound like something that came from the past. Maybe 70s? Despite that, I really enjoyed the instrumental. I love the rapping in this song. It is sad to not see both the rappers now, since they have left the band, but the rappers here (Eunji and Sera) sounded really amazing and powerful. Likewise, the vocals were pretty strong as well. The song itself describes the feelings the girls have about their emotions and likens their love to a one way ticket.

The music video was a little to the boring side. I remember watching it back then when it came out and not look back once at it. We see a man buy a ticket from the ticket booth, where the attendant seems to have some other thought. As he baords the train, we see the girls look up at him and they also seemed to be travelling on the train themselves. Some come late while the others come early. This music video for some reason reminds me of that movie where the lead actor is revisited by the lovers of the past. This music video may have been based off that. We see him cry when he realizes he can’t come back (?) and the girl who comes late walks off disappointed. Yeah, not entirely sure about the plot of the video. I loved the eerie train yard they are in and the darkness gives it that more creepy feel to it. But as I said, there really much happening this video. There is really no interaction between the girls and the guy to prove my plot. That being said, this music video can be interpreted anyway.

The dance was hella catchy. I think we probably all tried this dance at least once. I just love the main dance with the spinning arms (I think they are made to look like train conductors or something along the lines of that), but I also love the dancing at the end. It gives more life to the dance and shows off the girl’s moves.

One of the catchiest Nine Muse’s songs ever released and something that gives me a lot memories to. 8.5/10

Hormone War – BTS

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Another song from last year. BTS is a rising boy group in South Korea as we all know very well. Hormone War was a song off their first album. It was promoted as a follow up song, after promoting Danger. It was released on the 20th of August. However, they did not start follow up promotions with this song until October. Once again, I could not give up an opportunity to not review this song. I tried hard to, but BTS’s promotions for this song fell straight into my hiatus period last year. Better late than never, I guess.

I am going to be honest. I did not like this song at first. It was the very song that I avoided. But once they started to promote it on the live shows, it grew on me. The song is pretty good. It is hella catchy (as I have learnt). Yes, their English can be worked on a little. “I’ll be your panic, I’ll be your fan. And I’ll be a man of  you you you you babe“. Yeah, I won’t take classes on how to pick girls up, especially, how they are basically singing about hormones (and puberty).  Anyway, as I said the song was pretty catchy. The rock instrumental was amazing and add that extra man power to the song. Though some members I am not a fan of, however overall the vocals and rapping were at a really good level. Best part of the song would have to be the bridge. Overall, a great song that grew on me.

I like the fun concept but the music video looked rather cheap. I guess that since it is a follow-up there really was not that much put into it. This music video could have been so much better with colour. Like loads of colour. It is a fun concept, and the grey-scale just made it seemed dull and boring. The member’s expression were quite out there and at some parts seemed quite “suggestive”. I think the girl was meant to be some mysterious character. Mainly because we don’t see her face that clearly. But beside that, I don’t have much to say about the video.

As for the dance it was pretty cool. Kind of toned down from their past dances, but still have that Bangtan feel to it. It matched the cool instrumental and also the nature of the song.

Overall, an amazing follow up promotion. BTS has been proven to be quite popular last year. Let’s hope that they can do things this year that will skyrocket their popularity even further. 8/10

Happy Valetine’s Day. I will be alone in my room (per usual).

Wild Flower – Park Hyo Shin

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Just weeks ago, I reviewed Park Hyo Shin’s Happy Together. I did mention that Park Hyo Shin did release another single, much earlier in the year, titled as Wild Flower, which was hugely successful. That being said, I could not miss the chance to review it. Given the low amount of comebacks that I could review at the moment, I have decided to go back in time and review past songs. Wild Flower was released on March 28th and later went on to top all charts in Korea. Given that Park Hyo Shin is known as the ballad prince in South Korea, that is not surprising. From what I have read, this song and Happy Together are songs off the singer’s 7th album. But we have no word on that album yet, so we shall wait.

This song has an amazing orchestral instrumental. It just blows my mind. The piano and orchestra just did such a great job. I wouldn’t have a problem with it just on its own. The singer’s husky voice was pure bliss and sounded so heavenly sounding that it just gets makes my mouse go back to the replay button. I just love his voice has so much impact but at the same time is so soft to listen to. The way he eases into notes are amazing. As for the song, I just love how his voice and the instrumental (ever so slightly) builds up to the end. His high note at the end. Don’t even get me started on that. I just can’t really say much about this song but praise it so much.

The music video was really nice. Though it was just him and close-ups of him singing, it was nice to watch. Yes, it got a little boring after a while, but still it is a beautifully shot video. The scenery is just empty and matches the emotions of the song. Not sure about those “behind the scene” shots at the start, but I am not going to complain about them. They gave the music video some eeriness to it which made the video seemed mysterious in a way.

I was watching a fan cam of his performance of this song at his recent concert. Those tears, I don’t know what they are for, but it is amazing. Despite him being able to not to sing due to him crying, he managed to push through and finish the song. Especially how the fans were supporting him while he was crying.

Do I have to say anything else? This by far, is the most perfect comeback that I ever scene. 10/10

Humanoids – TVXQ

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Let’s throwback to a few years ago. I hate that word so much. But let’s travel back in time. Last year, I did the same thing for one whole week. That was a fun week. So why not repeat it this year? TVXQ is a two member group that is quite famous. If you have not heard of them, wow. Only kidding. But last year TVXQ made their comeback with Something. Removing all Japanese singles, their previous song promoted before Something was actually Humanoids. It has been a song that I wanted to review for some time, however I have been putting it off so much.  Finally, TODAY is the day that I will be reviewing it. And I need to do more TVXQ reviews.

This song is really amazing. Like, I never liked them before, but this song was freaking amazing. I didn’t enjoy their first song, Catch Me, for this particular promotional run. But Humanoids really changed my perspective on them. And Humanoids was so freaking underrated. It barely got any recognition and just disappeared from the scene. This is basically their first or second try at dubstep and electronic rather than their classical and orchestra heavy songs like Before You Go. And boy, was that promising. I really enjoyed the chorus. The only thing that changed throughout the song was their vocals, which gave them so much space to move in terms of musical ability. The chorus was like them taking it back to their orchestral days, but the instrumental kept is as a more modern song. Their vocals were superb in this song. I also liked those parts after the chorus, kind of them rapping, but it was no rap. Their bridge fitted the song’s overall fell and complimented the chorus. Yeah, there goes me praising the song again.

I don’t like the music video. That “plot” in this video is useless. The video would have been just fine if the music video was just them dancing in their box sets. Cause honestly, I don’t want to talk about the scrap metal yard they are in and the mysterious port-key (Harry Potter Fans, what up?) or projecting machines (for muggles). Their dancing is really solid. It does not blow your mind like previous TVXQ dances, but it still does the job. I like how parts of the dance is like how robots would march and there were quite a lot of robotic formations in the dance. Lastly, I really liked what they wore. I don’t pay attention to fashion as much, but their jackets were really cool. Wonder where I can get one to wear? It is going to get chilly in Melbourne soon.

Overall, the song and dance were amazing. Just the music video needs to be scrapped. 7.5/10

Crazy – 4Minute

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4Minute is officially back with their sixth mini album, titled as Crazy. Their title song, which happens to have the same title as their mini album. They released their other song, Cold Rain, back in late January and will be launching their promotions this week for the new mini album. This time around, the group has gone for a hip hop concept, rather than their past retro or pop sounding songs.

Okay, part of me likes the song. Another part of me thinks this song is not so good. I just love it how they have gone for that hip hop concept with this song. It has this fierce feel to it which sounds really empowering and strong. The vocals and rap by the members do just that. I can definitely imagine this song at a club. Actually, it will be a really big club song. But as I said, what happened to the 4Minute we know of? The one with disco feels and poppish roots? Even though the chorus sounds amazing, I really can’t help but point out the odd instrumental. Though, it probably some country’s national instrument, it really feels disconnect to the rest of the song. I guess this song has a better line distribution overall, compared to Cold Rain. Just Jihyun gets only one part, but that part seems quite long, so I guess that makes up for it.

I freaking love this music video. It just ticks off the check box for best music video. I really love the set. Well, the main one is the one I am talking about. But when they do the 360 camera (kind of), to show that it is just one big, white room, just blew my mind. The black room feels more compact and suffocating compared to the white room. The close up of butts and private parts were really not needed in this video. I love how they used the black and white filter once again, but on top of that isolated one colour from the whole screen, like Jiyoon’s hair and Sohyun’s red socks. Talking about hair, Jiyoon rocks the green hair.

As for the dance, I thought it matched the song very well. It seems powerful and also “straight to the point”. Twerking nowadays seems quite cliché.

Overall, this is a really big change for the band. But either way, it is still good (even though I have some doubts). 9/10

Dangerous – Tey (Mr.Mr)

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Sigh… Here we go again. Tey is a newly debuted solo artists from the band Mr.Mr. Tey, also known as Han Ji Hyun, is the main vocalist of the band. He is the first member to go solo from the band. Now, where on earth have these boys been? They have been missing from the stage for ages. I have always liked their songs, though I never got around the reviewing them much as there was never enough time. To not see them on stage with their really catchy songs really disappoint me. Let’s hope their company is going to break them back soon!

To get off my chest, this song does not sound like Taemin’s Danger song. This has it own uniqueness and colour to it. This song sounds simple and quite attractive to my ears. It has that funky retro sound to it like what would have originated from the 90s. Actually this song has the sound and style of like Michael Jackson. Well, after doing a bit of research, this song has the same title as the exact song I was thinking of. And it kind of sounds similar. Well, only the use of the screams (which annoys the crap out of me every time I listen to this song). This song has a more modern feel, particularly the dance instrumental part of the song. He has pretty cool and also smooth vocals (well, he is the main vocalists after all).

Abs everywhere. Eye candy much? I have to be honest, he is quite handsome and quite fit-looking. Just the eye-liner. So thick. It is like that option you have on Microsoft word with the weight of the lines you can do in documents. Yeah, I guess with the Triangle, we can kind of say that there are some similarities to Taemin’s video. But beside that, I really liked that dancing room with the triangle. The laser lights were pretty good. As for that room with mirrors and flashing lights, thank you for giving me a headache. Not the best combination on a hot day, like how it has been in the last few days where I live. Not sure about the foggy room though. We really could not see much and I don’t get why that room with the fog/smoke was even used. But overall, there was this really nice simple feel with the video. Nothing to grand but at the same time, nothing looked too cheap.

The dance is not that impressive. There really is no cool move that makes me want to go back and watch the dance continuously. So yeah.

Overall, a pretty good debut for a person from a not-so-well-known band. And those rumours should be put at rest. Cause there were only similarities, not pure “copying and pasting”. 6/10

Child In Time – Sunny Hill

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The return of the queens. Sunny Hill has returned to the stage with Part 2 of their first album, titled as Sunny Blues. While the first part of the album focuses on more of the pop and fun songs, the second part of their album went on to focused on the ballads to which Sunny Hill are quite well known for. An interesting fact is that Sunny Hill debuted in 2007. Their first album (this album) was released 7 years later. Many still believe that they are a brand new band, just they are like seniors in the industry.

This song is pretty good. I like it how Sunny Hill always addresses various topic instead of the mainstream love topic that songs always have. Sure, they mention it, but their focus is more on travelling back in time and reliving the moments that they loved the most during their childhood and adolescents. Their vocals are really good. There is no rapping. just pure singing from the girls and they all have such nice voices. Though to be honest, the song is on the boring side just a little. The instrumental, though it fitting the feel and emotion of the song, really lacked colour. That flute (I think that is what it is) was really annoying at some parts.

There are two music videos. One is the actual drama version, while the other one is the “lip version”. It just baffles me why there are so many different version so the music videos in the industry. And sometimes, they get weird. Like the “eye contact” one. I like the drama version. It fits the meaning of the songs. Though the character does not directly go back in time, she goes back in time to the time frame where she was growing up. It seems like she created numerous scenarios during her time as a teacher for her younger self, which I am not sure if someone else did when she was actually young, like how the boy confessed to loving her. Also, like doesn’t anyone seem a little troubled to why the teacher grew so close to the young girl? Like why the teacher approached the young girl and proceeded to take her out to the arcade and stuff? It also seems like the father noticed the teacher was actually his daughter. It was a nice scene to be honest, but 100% the younger girl does not agree.

Overall, it is a nice comeback. The song was pretty good and the music video fitted with the lyrics really well. 9.5/10

Cold Rain – 4Minute

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4Minute is making their comeback in a few more days. But to kick off promotions and to get fans wanting more, the band released a pre-release. The pre-release comes in a form of a ballad, which is a first for the band, who are known for their pop songs. They have been releasing teasers for their upcoming release, which actually looks like the girls are not going to be holding back and will be attempting something along the lines of a hip hop track and showing off their fierce women vibes. Until then, this is their newest release.

This is a nice ballad. Though, I honestly don’t think this is something that the band should re-attempt. It is not bad. Don’t misunderstand me. But honestly, this feels very disconnected to the 4Minute that we know of. Even though they are attempting something different, I feel like they won’t be as successful with such a song. Another thing we must address, this song is so focused on Gayoon and Jiyoon, that I feel like the other members had no parts at the start, so the writers just wrote something up and added it to the song. Maybe I am exaggerating it, but I get that feel when Sohyun comes on. The line distribution is basically 60% Gayoon, 20% Jiyoon, 5% Jihyun, 10% Hyuna and 5% Sohyun. It just frustrates me. But anyway, this song was nice. It did have that really sad emotion pouring out of it. I liked Gayoon’s vocals at the very start. The way she sang gave the song a very nice kick to it.

Once again, people are going off at how a band is copying another band. “4Minute is copying 2NE1 this time around for their music video“. Seriously? There are a few things that I want to say to these fans. a) 2NE1 did not MAKE this idea. Why don’t we start asking why 2NE1 copied over ballad singers for Missing You? Look 2NE1 sat down on a chair, why don’t we say that 2NE1 copied Davichi who also sat on a chair to sing their ballad? b) 4Minute videos actually has very a sadder touch to it. 2NE1’s video had a dancer dancing to the song, while in this video we don’t have a dancer at all. In this 4Minute video, we see the girls stand behind a glass window and have water come down it. Why are some fans so stupid? I Just… urghhhh…

Okay, recap. I think this music video is much sadder. I love the use of “rain” in this music video. It made the song have more emotion and gave a deeper meaning to the song. The fact that the environment seems cold and distant from warmth, really brings out the sad nature of the song. I love the use of the “water down the window”. It gave the girls a more dramatic look. The start where Gayoon rips the letter, gives it some sort of eerie feel when I first watched it. Overall, I thought the video did a good job at channelling the emotion of the song.

Nice ballad (could work a lot more on line distribution for any future song), nice video (fans should not be too sensitive. Cause it makes me frustrated to know that there are such people in the wordld). Not 100% sure if 4Minute should do this style again though. 8/10

You – G.Soul

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Now, we move to a newly debut artist. G.Soul made his official debut mid January 2015. An interesting fact, it is likely that is the longest trainee ever in the Korean music industry. To do the maths for you, he has been training in New York and South Korea for 15 years. That means he started in 2000 and have been deemed as a trainee for a very long time. Though, according to an interview, he decided to stay in New York for a longer amount of time than intended. That being said, G.Soul is the newest Korean male solo act from JYP.

This song is freaking amazing. Like, I liked every single detail regarding this song. Nothing disappointed me. I was so amazed that a song like this exists. G.Soul can sing and does a hella good job during the chorus. Though high notes really draw out the emotion behind the song. I really cannot find proper words to describe it. His rapsy voice at the start really complimented the style of the song. The lyrics are really romantic, saying things along the lines of “You are the only one for me” etc. Even though the last chorus does not sound that much different to the rest of the song, you can imagine fireworks coming out for the last chorus. I also have to applaud the backup vocals. They sound really nice and complimented G.Soul’s voice. This song is just so praise worthy.

To be honest with you, I have yet to watch the music video. That being said, I just watched the music video and wow. It is very dark, but I guess that is what really complimented his voice. Many may think that this music video may have been shot with a very low budget, as there is nothing going on. But I have to say. This music video is really amazing to watch. Even though it is just him and close up of him singing, this music video really brings out the meaning of the song. As the song proceeds, the lights get brighter or actually get turned on, opposed from the darkness at the start. But when I mentioned the fireworks before the last chorus, the music video features the brightest light turning on. Purely amazing. I also like the camera work. Luckily, it was going slowly. Any faster, and I probably throwing up.

A perfect debut song. Something that really has me interested for his future releases. G.Soul, those 15 years, have been worthwhile. Let’s hope that JYP can promote you and get you up there as being on the biggest artists ever. 10/10

Pretty – Infinite H

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Infinite’s most hottest subunit is back. Infinite H, for those who don’t know, consist of Hoya and Dongwoo and releases songs for the hip hop demographic. They debuted with Special Girl back in 2013. Since then, they have been heavily promoted with the rest of Infinite, with singles such as Man In Love, Destiny, Last Romeo and their latest hit Back. But after a 2 year wait, fans can now get a better look at Infinite’s resident rappers.

This song is claimed to have a “soft hip hop beat” to it. I can hear that it is soft. Just I really can’t see (or hear) much of a hip hop influence. Their last song, Special Girl, had a more hip hop vibe compared to this song. That being said, I feel like this is more of a pop song. But that is just what I hear. I like this song. It really is not that bad.  I really don’t know what else to say about the song. The boys can rap? But this song also points out that they can also sing. The song really is not that catchy however and though it does appeal to me, it really does not have me coming back to listen to it again and again. I just feel that it is cause it lacks the hip hop feel according to my ears. But nice song overall.

Music video, even though was meant to be humorous, really did not make it laugh. Actually, it makes me think the boys are quite clumsy. I just like it how they played out various scenarios in which the girl was so beautiful that it got them nervous and caught them out. Beside having just one plot, there are multiple plots in this one video. I like how the background, even though it was fake and seemed fake, really brought out the back ground in the music video. It actually seemed stylish and a really modern idea. Just making hearts while driving, really does not seem that ideal. The girl, to me, is not that great looking. She has a great face and all, but nothing I would go crazy for.

The dance is okay. It was toned down a little from the Infinite dances we know of, mainly because this has a much softer sound for the song. The two seemed to be having fun on stage and enjoys the dance as well.

Overall, nice song. Though, I think it time that Infinite H makes a comeback with another song that actually has a hip hop vibe to it, that all of us are familiar with. 6.8/10