Category: KPOP

Colour Ring – Winner

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This is the second review for Winner this week (and probably this is the last review for the band for this promotion round. Let’s hope they don’t come out with another 6 music videos, like Big Bang or 2NE1. I need a break). My last review was of their official title track, Empty. Now it is their other song. Colour Ring!!! Hopefully, this review is a lot better than yesterday. One thing is for sure, these boys should have debuted ages ago. Like no kidding. Doesn’t YG have plans for like 3 other debuts and also a comeback from 2NE1, Epik High, Psy and Big Bang. Kind of cramped up for the end of the year don’t you think? Hopefully, YG does not over do it and undermine their power. Also another thing, what is YG’s new approach. I like ballads and RnB but where is the good hip hop stuff that we liked. But enough that, on with the review!!!

I honestly think this song is much better than Empty. Though the start sound really bad (runs away from all the fans). Mainly because I absolutely have no tolerance to rappers singing. They sound so bad when they try to sing. I understand sometimes bands do so to fit in a line for the rapper, particularly in the ballad, just something that I don’t want to hear. The rapping in this song sounds really good and loads better. Also, the chorus has a bit more of a rhythm to it and feels like it can become pretty catchy. The vocals are pretty soft and it actually fits the song. No hard vocals that ruin the tempo of the song, which is a pretty good thing. The ending when they kind of all come together and make that mess of a sound (and it is a pretty nice sounding mess to be honest) makes the song sound so much better. The instrumental sounds pretty good with the gradual addition of each instrument. The lyrics talks about what seems to be like the exact same thing as Empty did. Kind of creepy hey.

The music video this time contained only a little more colour compared to the last one, giving it a vintage look. The music video is okay, just nothing I would watch over and over again. The scenes of them seeing, were filmed with a really bad camera. The quality was good, but was it necessary to have the extreme close shots. Also, the product placement in this video is pretty bad. Is there like at least one scene when they are acting they are not holding a phone. I liked the transition of the sofa into the pool or bathtub. That looked pretty cool. I liked the setting of the whole music video. From that place that seemed like limbo and the city, everything looked cool. Also the ending. Gah… why do they try so hard to contact the girl and then give up. Umm maybe that everyone is calling her and your calls are not going through????

No extremely short shorts. That is a bonus right here.

8/10. So much better than compared to their title track. But here is my question I wish to put forward to you: which Winner song did you like out of the promotional singles? Empty or Colour Ring? Put your preferences down below.

Empty – WINNER

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YG’s newest group has finally made their debut after making fans wait so freaking long. WINNER was a band that was formed on the reality TV show, W.I.N (Who Is Next?). The group consists of Kang Seung Yoon, who assumed the position of the leader and vocals. Members Jinwoo and Taehyun also are the vocalists in the band, which leaves Seung-Hoon and Mino to be the rappers of the band. Kang Seung Yoon is also a solo artist, making his debut under YG back in 2012 and is now a apart of the band. WINNER was also known as Team A. Team B, the group that did not win the W.I.N (which was a pity, because I really liked Climax), is still under YG and have been said to be gearing up for their debut. So that is a little background information of the band. It just has been so freaking long since we actually got something back from the band. But hey, at least they are here now…

And they are killing the charts with their new songs. Perfect all-kill as soon as it was released, the band has the potential to become one of the biggest “monster rookies” (ie. rookie bands who just debuted but managed to take first place on the weekly music shows). This song however to me really is not that great. I know, I probably gonna end up dead tonight, just I don’t really feel the song. The chorus is pretty good, but it lacked that “long-lasting impression” that rookies are meant to give out when they debut or gradually get popular. I am gonna say this, but the song sounds monotone. It really does not have that much impact to it. And let me tell you, some slow songs have left a big impact on you. It felt awkward when I listened to it, listening to  a bunch of guys sing a note higher than what their voices are actually are. Couldn’t they make use of their husky voices. However, I also feel that the guys have managed to pull the song together quite well and still managed to show off what they are known for (or what they will be known for, cause really, they only just debut and still have plenty of time to change around their image). The song also a pretty deep message, as the guys sing about how they yearn for their girl, just everyday is a reminder that they cannot be together.

The music video opens with the girl hanging up on the dude. The dude than starts singing (sorry, don’t know names). And then rest of the video is just about the guys sitting around and doing nothing, because they have nothing to do as they miss everything about the girl. I just love how they find anywhere to sit. I see the stairs and the train station, but the laundromat. I don’t see how anyone would want to sit there.
“Oh just doing my washing… Damn I miss her” -starts being depressed next to the washing machine-. “You are the only one for me, washing machine”. Well that escalated quickly. Me, forever making the next plot line in the next KPOP music video. I find it really odd how the whole music video just finishes off with all of them in the same room. But hey, not one to judge. (?) LOL. I like the darkness and “greyness” of the video. It really does sum up the song quite well.

As for the performance, I like shorts. And I also like Summer. Just this song feels so out-of-place with them wearing shorts and sleeveless shirts. I think I am only complaining about the shorts, because that dude standing (sorry, don’t know names yet) with the shorts on, why are your shorts so short???? I also don’t like their hair. It looks really geeky on them. But I really like the stairs. The stairs were a great addition in my point of view.

Though this is just the debut, and seeing how well they are charting and also seeing that they have a pretty big fan base which could rival some of the biggest bands, I think these guys have a lot of potential. Just this to me is really not the right song for a debut. 6/10. Come back on Friday, where I review their second music video, Colour Ring.

I’m In Love – Secret

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At the start of the week, Secret had made their official return after 8 months absence from the stage. Since their promotion of I Do I Do, the group had disappeared from the spotlight (and yes, I was Secret deprived for the 8 months). Hyosung made her official solo debut with Good Night Kiss back in May. She, herself, started acting appearing in the crime drama Ghost-Seeing Detective (which I really liked watching) and at the moment, My Dear Cat (which I also happened to be watching). Member Sunhwa recently restarted her acting career on Marriage not Dating. Besides that, I honestly have no idea what the other two, Ji Eun and Hana were up to. But who cares, they are now back with the sexy concept and a killer song.

This song is mega awesome. I really don’t know why they are not charting. It is driving me insane. But then again, a bigger rookie group just debuted and it seems that group is currently overshadowing Secret’s comeback. It is so depressing. Anyway, the song. Oh yes. I freaking love this song. You could say that “I’m in love”. Hahahaha…. This song is really catchy and is a lift up from their previous two songs that were a part of the cutesy concept. Now, they are becoming serious. Song Ji Eun probably has to be one of my most favourite main vocalists in all of KPOP. Her voice, especially in the bridge sounded so amazing. Talking about main vocalists, Sunhwa has gotten a decent amount of lines in the song, singing parts of the chorus. Hana sang about 1 line and rapped as well, but hey, it is a combination we have been dying to see from Hana. The slow ballad part is something that I don’t mind, but when you look at the song overall, it really does not fit in with the song. I really liked the chorus and the “Think I’m In Love” part was really well done. Overall, the song was amazing.

The music video, in my honest opinion, could have been done a little better. It seemed rather confined and boring to watch. There is like little to no plot in this video and I feel the sexual concept could have been taken to another level with this music video. It felt plain and lacked that excitement of knowing what is going to happened next. The music video opened up with a scene of what the girls portray as innocent, wearing white and being quite sad and shy about things. They are seen to be interviewed by a guy who looks pretty intimidating. After a while, they turn into evil ladies, who turned sexual and it seems like the girls instead of being innocent and shy, they torment the man and also tries to flirt with him. I really liked the solo shots and the blue lighting in the background. That looked really cool. The dance sets are really not that great overall. They are big, just really don’t have that great feeling to them. Also, Hyosung had nude scenes in the music video. But yet it has very little views.

The dance is pretty good. The twerking, not so much, but hey, it is not a slutty job. I really don’t understand why Hyosung always have to have a little solo dance time in the choreography, it really takes her away from the group. I Do I Do, Talk That and now this. On top of that, I think the chorus dance was pretty good.

As I wrote this review (which spanned over what seems to be like 4 hours) I slowly realized that the group has been absented for far too long and no longer garner the same amount of views as before. Their company really needs to direct some more attention to them and get them back to the spotlight. They were at their peaks in 2011 and 2012, but now they are just going to be another forgotten group. 8/10

[Update] As part of my 2017 review of Secret Summer, the group’s 5th mini album, which features the title track I’m In Love, I had decided to ultimately increase the rating of this song to 9/10. This can be attributed to the changing perspective of the author.

Happiness – Red Velvet

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SM’s newest weapon for the KPOP industry, Red Velvet has made their debut with Happiness. Red Velvet is a 4 member group that consists of Irene, Seulgi, Wendy and Joy. A pretty successful group so far, but I am not sure really if they are successful, or if it the mass fans that follow SM Entertainment. They managed to peak in the top 10 right after they released, but it seems the group has started to die off a little bit. There was minimal hype for them and I think many of us can agree that their debut was quite hasty. Look at EXO when they debut. Over 100 teasers and a lot of hype. Red Velvet though, seems to have like 1 teaser and then the official debut. And you can tell from the quality of the song and music video, that maybe they are getting the short hand of the stick. Those are just my thoughts on the group, mainly because they don’t have the hype that bands like EXO and F(x) have.

This is definitely not a song that anyone debuts with. It is a terrible choice in my point of view. They really need a song that is memorable and even though they come from SM Entertainment, I would be a little concerned with the song. It is a good song overall though. Just not the right debut song. This song has a very happy vibe to it, which I find unique, but not really that great. It also has the hint of aegyo and whatnot in it, which I don’t know if it really works on the Korean population anymore. The song is somewhat catchy and the instrumental is okay. I really like the “Shine on me” part. I thought having those vocals are amazing, but if I was to comment how it fit into the song overall, it could have been a little better. For a group with an English speaking member and also a company that deals with overseas a lot, I still am thinking that their pronunciation on some words such as “Happiness” could really have improved. It sounded a lot like gibberish to me. It took me a few days to notice.

The music video is really crap. It just did not ooze that SM feel. Maybe it was a good thing, but it felt so fake to me. SM Entertainment’s trademark are the very famous box sets. However this is just filmed on a very large green screen and it seems very low budget. Though it is meant to look artistic, the pictures in the back ground that are meant to form a collage, looks very messy and out of placed. Also, the pictures came under fire recently as they featured pictures of the bombings of Japan and the 9/11 attacks. SM Entertainment asked their director and the reply we all got was “He just picked them and did not use them intentionally”. Pftt, I don’t think that many people believe that statement. I honestly don’t think their dipped died hair is that great nor the things that they are wearing. Not really that great to be honest. I like the pink bear though and there were some decent scenes where they were not filmed on the green screen. But overall, crappy music video.

The dance is really not memorable and I thought that it kind of sucked.

Honestly, SM really needs to pick their game with this group. Please don’t turn it into another F(x) group, because honestly, that is something that we don’t really need. A better song, music video and choreography with a decent budget next time. You have the money, use it to make more money. 1/10

Red – Hyuna (4Minute)

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Hyuna, the rapper from 4Minute, who has been known for her many solo songs and being a part of the sexy duo Trouble Maker. Songs such as Ice Cream and Bubble Pop have illustrated that Hyuna is able to cope and also be a very successful solo artist ( that is if she ever decides to part ways with her group, which she stated that she liked to be a part of more than being solo).  Her band, itself recently made their comeback with Whatcha Doing Today? and now she is back to prove she got what it takes. She has already earned her first award for her new song Red and probably be able to grab even more.

This song is okay. It is not memorable or is it the best song out there to listen to, but it really feels quite personalised and well polished. For those who don’t know, I am not a fan of Hyuna’s rapping, which I describe as whiny sounding and just not my “cup of tea”. However, despite all of that, I like the catchiness of the song. It is very unique and quite different to other songs. Her voice when she is singing sounds really amazing. The irony is: I don’t think her rapping is that great. Sure she can rap, but it just not that much powerful compared to other rappers who do a really good job. I did like the catchy bits such as her vocal parts and the instrumental of the song is quite good. I think the chorus was pretty good as well. Though I can’t really tell whether she is singing or rapping. One more thing before we move on, but I really don’t like how the song changes from fast pace to a very slow pace in a matter of seconds for the bridge. Surely, she could have eased, but the transition seemed so rush, I was very disappointed. It is an okay song to listen to, just to me, it is not that great.

The music video is going to be quite interesting. Need to be my immature self and say “BOOOOOBS”. For the girls though, you can stare at boobs or abs. You have a choice. Cause I am strangely distracted by that big banana and why Hyuna is sitting on it (no pun intended). The amount of sexual references in this music video is just really extraordinary. being the immature self, I decided to count how many times I thought dirty. Here we go. 21 different times. Wow. Well. I think that shows you a lot about me. Anyway. At least this video did something right and included numerous objects and clothing and styles that involved with the colour red. Another thing, but why is she not getting sued? Like seriously? Not that I want her to get sued, just is very obvious she is making very obvious references in the music video. Gorilla on a disco ball – Miley Cyrus on her Wrecking Ball. Hyuna in bunny ears – quite similar (more like identical) to the Play Boy symbol.

The dance is pretty cool. She flaunts her body (which is why she is so popular. Please don’t say you don’t find her body attractive and that you only listen to her voice only. You lie. I can tell. All people (especially guys) ends up staring at her body). But I think is a good mashup of that tribal concept that she is going for and also a modern twist (with the twerking. I cannot believed I approved of twerking).

6/10. Think I am being too nice here, but hey, she has a good body and she managed to get me hooked. Usually I am not a fan of Hyuna myself, but something about this comeback is pretty good.

H.E.R – Block B

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Block B has finally returned after a year on the stage. Last year they promoted Very Good. Recently, they released Jackpot, however it was dropped from promotions because they felt t would not have been suitable to promote a song like that especially when the recent Sewol tragedy occurred. However, now they are back and they promoted both Jackpot and now, their new title track H.E.R. It is a different style to their previous songs which have been quite strong and powerful (and also quirky). This however was a change that no one really expected, however it was probably done so to fit the Summer season that Korea is currently experiencing. ON WITH THE REVIEW!!!

This song is not that bad. However, to me it sounds like a typical KPOP song. It really does not have that Block B feel like in Very Good and Jackpot. This sounds mainstream and really does not pull me in I had expected it to. However, beside saying that, I actually thought it was an okay song to listen. I really like how they changed it aorund and had the rappers do the chorus. Though it seems unfair for the vocalists, but the rappers managed to do a good job. That being said, this song did something that I think they never should do again. They really failed in trying to make the band do a completely different genre. To me,  the rappers only fulfilled half of what a vocalist should do. The chorus should be the part where it is the catchiest. And usually, a vocalist would do a good job handling this part, however, subbing in rappers really don’t cut it. Honestly, they could have rapped their way through. I did like the “her” part of the song, (after the chorus) and it sounded pretty catchy. The song was colourful and upbeat. Just it seems like a song that would have came out back in 2011, when there was a huge influx of groups and basically producers just made songs with whatever they could at a fast pace.

Block B is known for its extreme style and quirky concepts. However, this video seemed quite ‘normal’ to me. I thought it looked awkward and really not retain that Block B feel from the music videos. I guess the most craziest part was where Zico raps to the ostrich.  Cool, just not there enough. I don’t get the whole detergent thing. It confuses me to if they are singing about the detergent or an actual person that they like. That interview seemed out of place. And Zico’s (failed) aegyo really did not help the video at all. The ending was pretty cool with 3 times of the band. Don’t know how fan girls will cope with that, but I thought that was a fun addition. Also, the music video was shot with some kind of filtered. I should say edited. It gave the music video a very smooth feel to it, but I felt that was not really needed. Overall, the video was also a disappointment.

The dance I really cannot comment on. It did have that really fun feel to it and it did fit the song. It just did not live up to the potential it could have been.

3/10. It was not the best comeback and probably not one that I would like to see the boys reattempt. I am 100% sure that they could do just fine if they go back to their hardcore and extreme styles, like Very Good.

Ain’t Nobody – HA:TFELT (Yenny – (Wonder Girls))

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Wonder Girl’s is finally back  in the form of one member. OMG. Only joking. Yenny has returned as a solo artist under the stage name HA:TFELT, but for simplicity and efficiency reasons (and avoid using the colon), I will be referring to her as Yenny. This is the like the first major production that involves Wonder Girls, since leader Sunye got married and gave birth to her child. Since that time, former member Sunmi made her debut with 24 Hours and returned with Full Moon. Some time later, member Sohee announced that her contract with JYP ended and that she would be perusing acting, just under a different company, which resulted in the departure of Sohee from the band. Despite the future looking quite bleak from anyone’s eyes, Yenny has returned to give some hope to her fans.

This song is spot on. I don’t think anything can be compared to this song. I think it has to be one of the best songs to date for the year. It basically takes a ballad, but it mashes it up with a dubstep drop. It is a pretty interesting concept and it may sound awful, but this is one type of the song that works out. I don’t think there are any flaws at all. I also think for this song “drop the beat” is an appropriate way to describe the song. ‘The song “drops the beat'” – I quote myself. The start is slow and ballad like. But then when you get to the chorus you gets this huge punch in the face with the change in instrumental. Then it slows down and goes back becoming a cycling. I particularly like the lyrics. Though for a group that speaks fluent English, sometimes the pronunciation gets to me a little bit.

The music video is pretty cool.  I really like the symbolism at the start. I think the butterfly at the start symbolised her boyfriend. When she careless broke the jar, letting the butterfly go, it kind of tells us that she was on one part careless and that a part of this problem is her fault. The images of the people that she walked past down the street was quite similar to a trip down memory lane. The nights waiting alone and the nights where they fight are all in this “trip down memory lane”. Though I don’t see the reason why someone that sad would start dancing on the street when she was just seconds from being run over. I think for the music video, when the song breaks into the second chorus the phone really needed to be shown cracked or something. It would fit the hype of the song, to be honest. The ending was pretty creepy. She stops before her ex boyfriend’s room, to which the doors open and the music video cuts out. Only moment before did she struggle getting up the stairs of the apartment. Hahaha…

The dance is where I want to focus on. Did any of you guys notice, particularly for KBS’s Music Bank stage, the set was distinctively (well exactly) the same as Sia’s Chandelier for her live stages? The bed, the table. It just looks the same to me. The only difference was the star of the dance. I like the normal stages where she just stands up on stage by herself. Much better. Though I for the time being, don’t use playlists any more, I shall link each of the videos down below for you guys.

Beside the dance, I would have given the whole comeback a 10/10. Though for the time being, I think I shall dock two rating points off for the dance. You will see why. 8/10

Back – Infinite

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Infinite is finally back a brand new song. It seems like just yesterday that they were performing. Oh wait, didn’t they just finish promoting Last Romeo just like early last month? That might explain it. Hahahaha…. The group is back with a repackaged album of Last Romeo, which had been retitled as “Be Back”, which contains all their other songs from the Last Romeo album and also 2 brand new songs, Diamond and Back. The latter is being reviewed today. Probably one of the most violent videos ever. If some of you guys remember, last time they promoted Woohyun was injured. This time around, Hoya is injured. So many injuries. And so little time to review this. Sorry, I was drowning in homework when I started this review. Whoops.

This song is freaking amazing. I have no words to describe. I was speechless, but my jaw did not drop a mile. It is a really nice song that is a wonderful mash-up of different genres, just I don’t think it is that memorable overall. However, the song is quite up there as one of my favourites. As soon as the song starts, we get some kind of ballad of some sort, but little over a minute and the beat drops. Basically the thing that really stands out for me is that Infinite is quite known for their dance songs, with all of that heavy choreography. On top of that, myself and probably the rest of the fans really enjoy their ballads as well, so this song combines both of them. Pretty decent. I liked how the song goes from slow to fast and back to slow, and then back to fast. It sounds really amazing. Another thing to note, is that there are no raps. Members Hoya and Dongwo who are known for rapping all end up singing vocally in this song which goes to tell how strong their voices are. All the other members get decent line distributions here in this song. just I think Sunggyu ends up dominating. I also found the “Back Back Back” part really catchy and the instrumental equally as appealing.

Probably a video done right. It has a 19+ rating, but hey there is none of that sexual nonsense here. Just a very young girl is being kidnapped and a fight ensues between the kidnappers and the band, which turns ugly in just about 1 second after the “Back” and Infinite sign took over the video. Just the one thing that is troubling me is that the girl looks like she is still in elementary school. Probably young enough to be the youngest sister of one of the members, not their lover [CORRECTION: The girl actually is the sister. My bad]. Anyway, the boys go into this abandoned warehouse to save the girl. As soon as they walk in they start fighting. Some are throwing punches, some are doing really weird flying kicks. Just Sungyeol is very angry, and pulling the minions hair and Sungjong, are you holding an umbrella? “Hey you got the guns? No. Well what do you have?” An umbrella. Wow. But hey, don’t look down on him because that umbrella is probably the world’s deadliest. However in the end they get overpowered. However, it seems at the end, they start going back into combat when we all first thought they had lost. Amazing what love can do to you. Beside the violent nature of the video, I thought the video was quite nice to watch. The solo shots look awesome and those scenes where the members, one by one, are sitting behind the fence, in the middle of the fight, looked pretty cool to watch.

The dance is pretty good. I really think the start was probably the best out there. It matched the slow start and then when the song started to get quicker and there was more of an electro sound to it, the dance picked up as well and started to be more fitting for a dance song.

By far, probably one of the best Infinite comebacks. Too bad they are currently overshadowed by big name bands in the industry this time around. Congrats on your win today though. 10/10

Touch My Body – Sistar

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Sistar has finally returned after a year and 2 months disappearance from promotions. Last time they were on stage, they were promoting Give It To Me, which was a very successful song for the girls. That was back in June 2013. Since then, Dasom has been acting in a show called Melody Of Love (which I actually watched and cringe when they get surprised), Hyorin released her first solo album, One Way Love back In November. Member Bora has been all over variety shows and also got herself an acting gig, being the host for the Music Bank show on Fridays. Lastly, member Soyu has been hitting the top of the charts with her hit song collaboration with JungGiGo for Some, which was a really successful song that was loved by everyone and also Mad Clown and Soyu’s Stupid In Love. As you can see, each member is very successful and quite busy. And that is basically the run down of the Sistar events that happened since Give It To Me. Now it is Touch My Body.

Touch My Body is not technically my cup of tea. It is an okay song, just it is really repetitive and that really drags out the song and makes it sound so boring to listen to. Touch My Body is like repeated 23675260 times or in other words, those three words dominated the song. It is catchy, just it is not as memorable as their other songs in the past. Though, I do somewhat like it for its Summer feel and the brightness of the song. Though, I would love it if it didn’t repeat “Touch My Body” excessive amounts of the time. I feel like their company and the song writers are finally listening to the fans who want more lines for the members. Dasom has been receiving more lines, though I think Soyu has much less. And I think more a longer rap is needed to make the song more even for Bora. Hyorin does not sound as great as before though, I think this song limits the girls ability. The instrumental sounds pretty good, with the saxophone like sound and modern beat to it.

The music video is quite boring to watch. I really love the bright colours, just really after watching it once for me, it felt so boring and artificial. You know what could have been better, if they went outside for this music video. It is a freaking Summer video for summer perfect for an outside video, not a artificial set that is made out of a thin layer of cardboard. There are a few things that I liked in the video and there are a few things that I just find really boring and uncreative. Let’s start with the latter. Disliked what they were wearing, when they dance that is. Like are they running out of stuff to wear in Korea? Secondly, the people who watch the video. Like seriously guys, calling this the sexy concept. Must I link you the girl group that is taking the sexy concept, dropping the y an calling it the sex concept? Thirdly, the little party scene. It looks so repetitive. We have see this loads of times in a lot of boy group’s video and quite a lot of times in videos for girl groups as well. But let’s move onto what I like. I diamond swing looks pretty cool. I would not mind getting on that swing. I cute speech bubbles that appears are an amazing addition to the video. And even though I despise of the set, I like the mini island they created for themselves.

The dance is kind of …, just not one that I would expect to win the award for best choreography. The chorus twerking within one second dance looks really bad and the dance they have right after the chorus is also quite bad. I have to be honest. A pretty bad dance and I will be the one raising questions if they win best dance performance again.

This song and comeback was not for me. I like Ok Go much more that this song to be honest. 2/10

Fantastic – Henry Lau (Super Junior M)

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Last year Henry promoted Trap and 1,4,3 as his songs on stage. On top of that, Super Junior M recently made their comeback at the start of the year with Swing where all the songs reached moderate success. Now that it has been around a year, SM Entertainment had announced a comeback for the male soloist. After reading the news, it seems that SM Entertainment is trying to rush a lot of things and have comebacks and debut lay over each other recently. For example, while Henry is promoting, F(x) and J.Min were also promoting. Now that SM Entertainment has announced that their next rookie girl group will be debuting on Friday, it seems like a very big mess. Have they not learnt anything since EXO and F(x) had their comebacks at the same time last year? But this review is about Henry and I shall keep it that way.

This song is pretty good. But it really is not a song that I would go back to listen to. That being said, I don’t think it is a song that I find memorable. The instrumental with the violins is pretty good and finally they actually incorporated a violin into the performance and song, something that Henry is quite well known for. But beside that, I think the vocals did not do a good job of promoting Henry’s ability and I don’t remember much from the song after listening to it a number of times. I think this song was written to be more of a MPOP song rather than be a KPOP song, especially when you listen to the chorus. The “It’s Gonna be Fantastic” feels very monotone and awkward. It disrupts the feel of the song I find it really awkward. Honestly, I would have expected this song to be much better and the chorus made it sound really good, but this is a letdown for me. The bridge also did not fit the feel of the song at all as well. Disappointed.

The music video seemed like a normal SM video, with the infamous box sets. Guess this time, it makes for the last year’s “out of the box” sets. I see no apparent reason why the “maze scene” which I am sure was taken from the EXO music video and slammed right into here. I just see that there is hardly any connection between the rest of the video and the introduction, beside that fact the girl disappears and turns into a violin which I used in the rest of the video. It just seems like SM Entertainment videos are getting far too repetitive. Those wirings that connects the violin with Henry make him look like a Doctor Oct kind of prop which is pretty cool, just I really don’t see the whole point why it had to be connected to him. I think holding the violin with the violin stuck to the wires is sufficient enough, it just gives that extra sci fi look to the video that really is not needed. The flashing lights did a good job of accompanying the song in the video. Just there were a lot of things that I thought were not needed weighing the video down for me this time around.

The dancing here was pretty cool and I really like how the violin was incorporated into the dance as well. It looked pretty fancy and really professional.

3.5/10. It is such a pity because I was looking forward to the comeback and was quite disappointed when I got to hear and see it.

Solo Day – B1A4

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Another band who made their 2014 comeback at the start of the year has finally returned with a brand new mini album. B1A4, proven to be one of the biggest boy groups through their last song, Lonely, is finally back with a summer style song, titled as Solo Day. Last time, we saw the boys being very emotional and “lonely” but now it seems like they had each other and decided to go travelling, to cheer themselves up. Though I think Lonely and some of their previous songs are much better than this, I think the boys have done a great job and not only that, but their fans have also decided so themselves, by helping the group win 3 awards for the song so far.

This song is quite good. Though, everytime I listen to the song, I don’t hear “Solo Day” but instead I hear “Summer Day”. Is it just me? Or is there someone else in the world like me? I really like the casual whistling in the song. It gives the song a really nice feel. The whole insturmental was designed to make the song really upbeat and I think the whole song did quite that. It is a song that you would expect to hear on the radio, in a car, basically doing what they did in the video and did a nice road trip. Not a big fan of the rapping in this song. It just sounds like normal rapping to me. I really do like the vocals of the band. They sound really good. Overall the song came together quite nicely. It had that really nice summer feel to it and it reminds me of the Summer season and the heat.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Currently, I am struggling in the cold. Basically every day involves me freezing me ass off. Welcome to Melbourne.

Ummm…. Yesterday, I said “random stuff” for Girl’s Day’s review. I take that back. I totally forgot about this video. Hahahaha… No. I seriously did forget about. This by far have to be the most quirkiest video that I have see in KPOP since forever. We see 5 guys, who are friends, of course. They consist of the “Couch Potato”, “Pizza Delivery”, “Flower Vagabond”, “Obsession Guy” and “Space Geek”. And what do you get? Another KPOP band with the members names. Try making a band name out of that. *shivers*

Okay, onto the video. Obviously, they are bored or just not happy about their lives. So they decide to go on a road trip. They also decide to go at the time where aliens are taking over the world. Wow. And how did homeless Gongchan, afford such nice clothes when he was just advertising the “end of the world”? They decide to stop at the local diner before continuing on. Just, if I was to walk in and see a lady with abnormal ears, I think most people would be respectful and leave. Not actually stay around and eat alien cooked food. And, how did CNU, the “obsession guy”managed to eat with those dudes, because OCD should have taken over him. And they are fighting over food. Like have you guys ever seen food before, clearly not. So they head off to the beach and have some fun. Now that beach, it has a sign saying “Beware of Alien. Watch out for UFO come out. They are not friendly”. Nice reminder. This prompts, the boys exit from the beach and the music video ends there. I actually find this video quite funny to watch. Their faces at the end and also the way the UFO was shot using those CGI effects looks really cool. Though some scenes could be a little random, this was pretty much a perfect video to watch.

The dance is also quite upbeat and nice to watch. I really love those final seconds before the first chorus. That was basically what sold the dance to me.

A really nice song and dance. And it comes with the most random-est video since forever. 9/10. Went way over the word limit.

Darling – Girl’s Day

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Girl’s Day, after a very successful run on promotions for Something, which launched them into having the status of one of the top KPOP bands to date are back with a brand new song. This time they have taken a step back from the sexy concept which they have been promoting for the past year and a bit; and one step forward back into the cutesy girl image that they were originally known for (see Twinkle Twinkle and Hug Me Once). This has to their most successful song to date, which earned them their first All Kill (where they topped all the major charts) and were very close to achieving their first Perfect All Kill. Not only that, but hey managed to top the weekly Gaon chart for this week. Success everywhere.

This song is freaking amazing. I may be biased in a way, but I find this song really awesome. It just brings back the memories of the Summer and the sun, which is basically why this song was written. It is light hearted and none of that serious business. Their voices are unusually high throughout the song, but I think it suits this style as it flaunts their aegyo around for the world to see. The girls sound all vocally superb and each of them have a fair share of lines this time. The chorus sounded pretty cool and was basically the best bit for me. If I were to look back and change anything from this song, I would not even change a single thing. Thank you for whoever decided to omit a rap for this song, I am so thankful. If there was a rap, the song would not sound as great. All the hype for this song made the song pretty good and I think for once the hype has not let me down.

The music video was so so. The girls were being filmed doing “cute” stuff like washing the car with bubble guns and playing darts. Move over fangirling over hot guys or trying to get a guys attention, because using your shower hose as a microphone will make the boys run over to you. Hahahaha… Random stuff. Anyway, the music video could have been a little more better. I just felt, despite it being a fun-filled and very bright, the music video felt quite monotone throughout the whole thing. I guess this what flashing lights and club beats do to you. The one thing, out of many, that I am very impressed with in this video, is how the girls have kept their sexy image with this music video. They look cute, tick, but the way the video was filmed focused on what made them popular, and I think it turned out quite nice.

The dance of this is really cool. Maybe the exaggerated faces should go, but I really love the dance. Especially the chorus, it gives the song that really cutesy feel and also brightens it up quite a bit.

Despite me loving them for their sexy concept, I really think that this comeback was really well done. If they do the right chess moves and manage to go back into the cutesy era successful, or continue their ongoing success with their sexy concept, I think Girl’s Day have a very huge path a head of them. 9.5/10

 

Good Bye Bye – NU’EST

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NU’EST is finally back with a brand new song. It has been little over a year or little under a year since their last comeback, Sleep Talk. It has been so long since this band has been on stage and now fans have been “satsified” with their recent comeback. Attempting a concept that they had never tried, but to me, it seems like a more serious concept which I think is quite similar to their debut song and so. However, there is more a romantic side to the song, focus more on the emotional side of the song. While I am here, I just wish to apologise for my absence. I think in the next few weeks, I will be wrapping up the reviews for the time being and hopefully make my return in due course, but more of that when I actually make my decision.

This group has a lot of potential. You can just see it in their song. They are quite talented and I think they sound really amazing. To be precise, this song actually highlighted their talents and showcases their skills very well. The vocals in this song were really good, while the rapping was equally as great as the vocals. When I first listened to the song, I instantly like it. They played the soft yet hard sounding piano at the start, which reminds me of the song “Holding On and Letting Go” by Ross Copperman. The song kind of built up to an extent, but managed the enter the upbeat yet serious chorus. Then they moved onto the rap, which suited the song, with the husky voice. The one part of the song that really did not sit well and felt really awkward in the song was the dubstep breakdown. It was okay, just really does not fit the feel of the song. Honestly, if they kept the song fluent and did not add random dubstep breakdowns I would have digged the song more, just now everytime I listen to it, I just have memories of the bridge. But overall, a pretty amazing song that really does the boys well.

The music video is done in an odd manner.I am wriitng this as a person who randomly watches the video and would have no idea what the lyrics mean, okay? Though, I kept looking for the girl (Please don’t kill me, I am talking about Ren). I did some looking and searching up and he actually cut his hair to a “boys” length which allowed him to have a masculine feel for this comeback. He also and some other member also have ads, and it just sounds weird as hell. The whole video was shot in a very dark lighting which really adds to the meaning of the song. There are some things that even after looking at the lyrics I still don’t fully get. Like did the dude just try to the fish, like is he drunk? And the drunk depressed guy throws up a flower and it gets stuck in his mouth? Another guy is laughing like a maniac and driven insane? Then the more dramatic things happen. Such as the guy who goes around ripping off wall paper and punching walls (which I think is starting to pick up in many videos). However, most dramatic award goes to “guy that exits his house onto the streets”. Yep, so freaking dramatic. At least have a guy smash a vase or something. And then they are jumping around. In slo motion in the air. Normally I would say the video is okay, but this time around to a foreigner, it looks like a wild mashup of different videos in to one.

The dance looks pretty good, just overall, it does seem quite boring to watch.

The song was done really well, the music video and dance not so much in my point of view. 6/10

Nice Body – Hyomin (T-Ara)

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Back a few months ago (like last month), Jiyeon from T-Ara was the first member to go solo in the band. Now it has moved onto another member. Hyomin was finally made her solo debut with Nice Body which features Loco as the main rapper for the song, but recently Sungmin from Speed has been featuring in the song to cover Loco during the live performances. Anyway, I think what their management is doing is pretty smart, just let’s ignore the fact that the management caused the big scandal which may have ruined the band’s reputation forever. What? Don’t leave me? Just quoting the news okay? Yeah, sorry. What I said then could be the truth or could be a total lie. This review is branded with a RANT ALERT (something I am going to start adding, if there is a rant)

The song to be honest i quite bland. Though it is catchy, it is not as memorable as other songs. It is quite boring and really does not have much of a hook compared to the other songs out there at the moment. I find the rapper’s addition in the actual song to be very distracting to listen to. I prefer Sungmin’s rapping, but still the parts do conflict with the entire song. The chorus was catchy, but the rest of the song is not that much of a stand out for me to continue listening to. It does have a summer feel to the song, but it is not as strong as newer and past Summer songs. The song talks about the “stereotypes” for the perfect girl and why not be a better time to release the song as it is Summer where everyone wears literally things to define their curves. I like the lyrics of the song, just if the song was not made into much of a dance show off type of feel but more of a mocking type of the song than it could have been a bigger hit. But overall, the song was quite boring.

I haven’t watched the music video is full detail yet. Once again, to me, it is quite boring. I would play the video, say I watch it, but end up going to another tab on my browser. So basically it is about a chubby person who wishes to have a nice body and dreams of  a magical doughnut that allows her to become the perfect girl, but then wakes up to be chubby again. That would be a kill joy right there. It is an okay video, but it just focuses too much on the perfect figure. And I love it how every time such videos come out and talk about the becoming skinnier, it neglects the naturally skinny people. I am one of the latter and absolutely hate being skinny. I get overshadowed and looked down upon by others and we getting treated that we are sick. If you are concerned about your weight, don’t. Be proud of yourself. You are just the way you are and skinny girls and guys with abs won’t help you with that. Actually, they make your life worse. I am so sick and tired of people asking whether I get feed or how I stay skinny. I am a guy and I don’t want to be skinny. I have friends that are girls who find it hard to cope with being skinny. Just be yourself, because there is always someone for you out there to love and bond with you. But beside that mini rant, overall a boring video.

The dance is okay. Not as great as I expected. I have to like the start and the use of the tape measure. I also like the dance where they dodge the punches and stuff. But overall, it just seems like a normal dance that there really is nothing to comment on.

To give an honest score, 3/10. It is okay, just not as memorable and that grand as I had hoped for. But how did you like it? Actually, which T-Ara solo song did you like? Jiyeon’s 1 Minute 1 Second or Hyomin’s Nice Body? Answer in the poll below. 

Red Light – F(x)

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F(x) is finally back with a brand new album. Last year they had a very unappealing promotion of Rum Pum Pum Pum, which did record some success, but with a majority of people disliking the song (I was not alone). Now they are back with a brand new song that is described as an electro style song with a mashup of another genre. I have to be this song is much better than their last song and their album this time contains pretty cool song. I really love Paper Heart which sounds amazing. This comeback has also caused a little criticisms to which I will discuss below. And It also seems the girls are back with a more edgier concept, one that I think the girls need to stick to.

This song is freaking amazing. Who cares if their entertainment company bought the song? IT IS FREAKING AMAZING. Must remain calm. To me, this is a good mashup of 10 different songs into one. Like seriously, there are like 10 different songs in this song. Sometimes it is fast other times it is slow. Sometimes there is not instrumental, other times there are. I find the song matches my taste and style. Another thing is their vocals in this song sound quite good. It matches the tempo of the song and I find it is a good thing. The lyrics, to me, make somewhat some kind of sense, but at other times it sounds like something that came out of multiple different books. The lyric is what go them banned however. KBS cited the reason that the song contained the word “Caterpillar” which happens to be a brand of machinery in Korea. WOW. great freaking excuse. Next we can start banning songs for containing names of people. The vocals were nice and I think it manages to show off the member’s talent. Overall, an amazing song.

Their music video has been criticised for burning the Bible at the start. Though is a legitimate excuse to cause an outrage, I don’t think we should be jumping to that conclusion.  Aren’t most of Koreans and the band (well some members, if not all) are people who follow the Church? Anyway, the music video is quite dark and for once the band is having their music video outside of a box. Wow. How amazing is that. A non box-y video. Hahaha… I like the start with the telephone, it sounded creepy. I love it when they are filmed dancing and only their silhouettes are shown. And the inclusion of red lights is pretty smart. Though I am not a fan on the colours effects that they add onto the solo shots. Once again, quite distracting. I just feel that something else is needed in this video. Maybe more of a plot or something to make it more memorable.  That or the plot of the video was the girls were modelling and then started to run away from flashing lights. But I think it was an alright video to watch.

The dancing could have been way better than what we have been presented with. Not that I am saying what we have already is bad, because it is pretty okay. But I think the dance should have been ground breaking and had more of an impact towards it, then it would have secured the girls a really high spot in terms of popularity.

Overall, I give it a 8/10. It is a pretty cool comeback at the moment, but with a few things extra, and the “perfect comeback” would have been established. 

One More – FIESTAR

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Fiestar has finally made their comeback but with a more adult look. They are back attempting the sexy concept and I guess it is doing wonders for the girls, as they have been getting more spotlight recently, but maybe for the wrong reasons. Their last comeback was actually the totally opposite style to this one. If you forgot, their last comeback was I Don’t Know. Now this one ran into a little trouble recently. Well, to be precise, only a few days ago with some of the lyrics, but I will talk about that later. Also, since their last comeback one member had called it quits. Cheska, the English speaking member left the band I think at the start of April. This song and comeback was meant to be for April, however due to the Sewol Ferry Incident, the management and band had postponed at, obviously, it was very inappropriate.

This song is actually pretty good to be honest. It has a really cool disco-like vibe in it that makes it sound so retro, but at the same time there is a modern sound within it as well. The vocals and rapping sound quite great in the song. The chorus sounded really well done and I thought it was very polished overall. The “La, La, La, Hanna Na Do” part sounded really catchy and got me singing along. It also had  Britney Spear kind of sound in it I believe. Cao Lu only had 1 line. Like I expected with one member gone, more lines would be given, but no. Disappointment. Now, the lyrics. Apparently the lyrics are leaning towards to having a threesome. The lyrics in question when translated to English are:

“You and me us two, invite someone who’s done this more than us to our room, now is perfect one, two, three“. – lyrics from One More by Fiestar

That I agree is a little explicit, but out of all the broadcasting stations, KBS has not ban it yet. But it is the first song to deal with something like this and maybe we can start seeing more songs that hint at such suggestive things (I hope not. That is the exact reason why I distanced myself from the American industry). But overall, I liked the song quite a lot and thought it sounded really cool.

The music video as well was pretty cool. Though I have to be honest, it was rather boring to watch. Just let me get one thing off my chest. It is time some people just “Let it Go”. Like seriously. If guys are allowed to take their shirts off or wear sleeveless tops, why are girls consistently criticised for showing some skin. Just because everyone is throwing around the term “sexy concept” does not necessary mean it is going to be something bad. Sadly, people need to make a living and maybe they need the sexy concept, because last year was a great indication, with Secret and Rainbow not being able to reach the same success as they have with Poison or A in the previous years with the cute concept. If they want to do a sexy concept, then let them. Oh and don’t get me started with fans who cause an uproar when a group starts doing the sexy concept and when the same group does the cute concept and then call it stupid. I see you every single time you comment on the videos.

But anyway the music video was boring to watch overall. Unlike some people, I don’t think this whole video is that bad overall. Just them in rooms and then dancing. Though those pants are rather distracting. And the product placement is kind of sucky. I see those Tide detergent boxes. They make no sense at all.

The dance could have been a little more sensual to be honest. But it looked quite good. I was not “sexy” at times but it still lived up to the sexy concept in the end.

Another comeback to which I have been satisfied. Wait… 8/10. Sorry for the little rant, it just took over. Sometime in the future there will be a post for the reasons why I dislike KPOP and this rant is an example of what is on it.