Category: KPOP

Teenager – Jung Joon Young

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Joon Jung Young is a soloist that is very well known in Korea. He is became quite popular after finishing in the top 3 of the South Korean TV Show Superstar K. But he won that show back in 2012. He made his official debut last year with The Sense of an Ending and now he officially made his first comeback with Teenager.  He, when he was younger, aspired to be a rock star and he actually became one. However, he was been ann artists since 2008, releasing various singles and songs and at one point was a part of a band. He had also collaborated with a few artists some of which are quite well known such as Roy Kim with the song Becoming Dust and more recently his collaboration with Younha with Just The Way You Are. That is a little run down on the soloist if you never heard of him.

I am not a big fan of the artist myself. I am not appealed to his songs as much, but this song has to be one of the best songs that I have heard from him. The rock alternative song sounds really good and I think needs more recognition out there. The song starts off quite slow and I don’t think really builds up at all. But when you get to the chorus, it just sounds so amazing. It basically punches you in the face. The use of a rock insturments and then a softer sound like the keyboard really gives it a nice different feel to the rest of the other songs. The chorus isn’t that hardcore but it getting there. His husky voice compliments the song quite well and gives the song that extra hint of emotion. When you read the lyrics, the song encourages everyone to go back and start dreaming again, especially those who have lost hope in the world. I think it is an amazing song and one that you should check out.

The music video shows Jung Joon Young as a typical desk job worker which is deemed as acceptable. He is adult who has to work to be able to live. He is surrounded by people who put pressures on him. His boss and his elders are some examples illustrated in the video. Despite that everyone is looking down on him, he still thinks back to the days when he was a little younger and starts to write a song. Stressful as it already is, his boss comes around and starts telling him off, to which he decides that enough is enough. So he ends up pushing back all the things in his life and return to what he really wanted to be, a rock star. I think it is an amazing video. Everyday we do the same thing and are pressured by others to do that same thing. Yet as soon as we step one foot out of line, we are deemed as a failure and unsuccessful. A message to many people in this video is that you don’t have to have a desk job to be happy. You just need to dream and with many elders nowadays, they look down upon that because it is “not professional” enough for them. I really liked the video and how it told me that. The video was shot in a monotone grey colour, while when he is “young” again, it is shot with a golden glow.

10/10. After all that praising, you think I would dock any points off?

A few review ago, I asked you which Taeyang song was better overall. So many people chose Eyes Nose and Lips, while coming in second was 1AM and then Ringa Linga. Still going to stand by my choice and go for 1AM.

 

Psycho – History

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History is now back with a brand new single. And now they are back with a much tougher image than ever before and probably an image that would get them locked up in a mental institution. Their comeback song, Psycho, is their 4th comeback since debut. This is also their third mini album since debut. And this band is also quite underrated. They have good songs and sometimes they go for concepts that some bands would never even think of going to attempt. I am just saying, but this band really does deserve more recognition.

This song is freaking amazing. I really enjoyed listening to it, Though once again, this song does sound like a typical KPOP song, I feel that there are some highlights that stand out a lot in this song. The “You’re gonna like this babe” part was really seductive and sounds really cool. Their chorus was also quite cool as well. I am just really disappointed with Kyungil’s solo part during the verse. There is far too much autotune on his voice to make it sound good. It just really distracts me from listen to the song. The rapping was quite good, but it problems in it as well. The same thing goes for the autotune in it and it was far too short. Like the rapper gets one line or like two seconds in the song. That really is not cool. I am not sure of the small instrumental only part in the bridge. It sounds out of place and really does not fit in with the song. Actually, the song was pretty cool until it added the pop vibe into it which got me quite disappointed. but overall, a pretty cool song.

The music video is okay. Not the best music video to be honest. The start reminded me of Big Bang’s Monster. And then we get the creepy church theme which is not creepy at all. And then we cut into the song and actual music video. Okay, so we see the guys get up one by one systematically and then they start creepily staring into the girl in the next building. And then they battle each other to see a glimpse and get touchy with each other as a warning. And that picture scene, where the guy hangs up the million pictures of the girl. Did anyone notice that the very big picture failed to have a nose? Just putting it out there. They call her, but she hangs up on them which annoys and angers them. The girl then gets a letter from next door, to which she does not open it, but she physically goes over and just barges through the door. Uninvited… Anyway, the girl starts to wander around and notice that the people who live at this place are stalking her. When someone appears she runs. Great. Good girl. But to her house. How freaking stupid is that. Anyway so the guys go into for the kill and then have some kind of breakdown to which they don’t choke her. Instead it is revealed that the five guys are technically just one mentally disabled person. It is like a typical horror movie with the really lead character doing all the stupid stuff that really does get them killed in the end. I like it how the music video is shot in the black and white filter, but the dance scenes. They ruined the music video. Too bright. I would not have minded 3 minutes of just plot, but yeah.

The dance is pretty cool. It has that really creepy side to it. The hair pulling and all of the dance moves which they actually teach in a separate video which you can view by CLICKING HERE, were really well done. They did a lot in enhancing the song and it looked really good on stage.

I think this was a really good comeback, it just could have been a little longer and a little better in some areas. 7.5/10

Day 1 – K.Will

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K.Will has returned rather unexpectedly with a brand new song. It has been over a few months since we last saw the singer on the stage. We last saw him in November with his song, You Don’t Know Love. That song was proven to be quite successful and now he is back with a different side of him. K.Will has been a singer in the industry for a very long time and have been earning praises from the fellow artists that he shares the stages with from day dot. As always, his songs becomes instant chart toppers and this one is no other.

This song is quite upbeat and shows off the new style of K.Will. It feels like a fresh summer song that we would hear from K.Will because it sounds so good. It does however sound like a typical KPOP song. It really does not carry a unique feel that K.Will is known for. This song is not as catchy as his previous songs, though when you watch the performances, it enhances the song a lot. His sounds pretty good in the song. I like it, but it is not a song that I would go back to listen more and more. What he needs more of is a song that show off his vocals because we all know that he is talented, and some previous songs have highlighted that, just this one, to me, really did not do anything. The instrumental was okay. I think tries to get the message over that regardless of how you look like, there will always be someone out there. “People say I am the best looking, of the worst”. Overall, an okay song.

K.Will makes another appearance in his music videos. I think this being the second one. And this time he is a love counsellor not a theme park operator who gets shot like in Love Blossom.  And he is helping this one young fellow try to get this one girl. We see this guy get ignored by this girl, who is played by Soyu (sorry, the name of the actor slipped from my memory), and that he slowly goes crazy for her, to the point where he starts to stalk her. Like what is with the stalking theme in songs and videos nowadays. Anyway, so basically he tries to get noticed, but gets ignored by the girl, regardless of his plot twist. He tries to impress the girl, but ends up failing, but then he uses the magic flower technique to woo her. Which was quite successful, if we don’t consider that Soyu has been looking at the guy for quite some time and thinks he is quite cute (obviously having feelings for him). But that was revealed when he was going in for a kiss on this date, but was surprised that she always was going in for a kiss at the same time. All those times he was ignored by her actually were times she was looking at him and wanting him as well to be her lover. Nawwwsss.. such a cute video and something that I can kind of relate to. I think it did a great job at telling the story and relating to the lyrics.

The dance is mega cute. I am so sorry. But if you don’t think that way with the head moving, I am going to be very disappointed. Literally every time I hear this song, I just break out and start doing the head dance when the chorus kicks in. And you probably would too as well. Hahahaha…

Song was okay, music video and dance was much better I say it be a 7/10. Still a pretty okay comeback. It just crept up on people.

Mr. Ambigious – Mamamoo

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Mamamoo has finally made their official debut with Mr. Ambiguous. Mamamoo has started off on a strong start, as they have gotten their name out previously with their past songs. Back in January, the girls released a number of songs, but did not promote them. However it seems like their tactic is paying off as the girls are receiving a lot of support from fans and viewers. For those who are not aware of the band, the band released three songs (one of which I happened to review) and they include: Don’t Be Happy feat. Bumkey, K.Will and Mamamoo’s collaboration with Peppermint Chocolate featuring Wheesung and Mamamoo’s collaboration with Geeks for Hi Hi Ha He Ho. The group consists of members Solar, Moon Byul,  Whee In and Wha Sa.

The girls have such amazing songs and this one probably have to top it. This is the first song that the girls have sung on their own without featuring of another well known artists such as their pre-releases have. To me, this group sounds like they have been doing it for many many years. When you listen to the song, you won’t really get that rookie feel from the group, but instead a group that has the experience and talent after numerous amounts of the year. The group sounds amazing in terms of vocals. The rapping was really good as well. The song sounded classy and at the same time oozed with this feminine feel that is quite unique in KPOP. The “Let’s get the show started” sounds really amazing and the chorus is really catchy. I think this is the first group, for me to like the rapper more than the vocalists. She stands out a lot and I love it how the song builds up tot he rap. So yeah, awesome song.

The music video is quite interesting. The song talks about this mysterious guy, too which the girls call him Mr. Ambiguous. And finally a KPOP video does it right by adding some guys in it. We see Bumkey, K.Will, Joon Jung Young, Jonghyun for CN Blue and Wheesung, with the random featuring of Baek Ji Young, to which they have a little hidden camera experiment towards the end, upsetting the girls. The music video to me seemed like a mish mashed of random clips put together. I love it how they used the same technique for their music video from Peppermint Chocolate. I gues the video gives an insight into how videos are filemed. Honestly, this does not look low budget, though I read somewhere it was. The one thing I will complain about, but those hats seem to get bigger and bigger each time a KPOP video is released. It is so massive and looks very distracting. But overall, a cool video.

The dance to this contradicts the “classy” feel of the song. I don’t think I ever seen “classy” girls wobble their legs like that. But it seems to fit the song. Their formations are pretty good as well. And I love their use of the moustaches, especially at the end. Amazing dance.

So I am just going to be bias and say 10/10. Though I did complain a really teeny weeny bit in the review, I still think these girls have what it takes to become a good artist in the future. They have been proven to be popular and if they continue, they will be at the top. Will be keeping an eye out for them in the future.

A – GOT7

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GOT7 is back with a brand new song. They made their debut back in January of this year and after receiving a lot of love, the boys are back with a brand new song. Their debut single, Girls Girls Girls, was not as a great song as I had expected, but they manage to start off quite strong as the newbies in KPOP. Dubbed as the next 2PM, the boys have managed to show off a different style for their fans, and have actually been doing quite well on charts, considering they are seen as a rookie group at this very moment still. However, we can see this group as the next big group in Korea. Maybe not today, but later on.

This song, to me, mirrors 10 out of 10 by 2PM. It has this same style of a fun song that manages to show off the charm of the members. Let’s look at the song. When I first heard the song, I thought the “A~” would become one of the most annoying things on the planet. But instead, I grew to like it a lot. Maybe I don’t find it annoying now, but maybe sometime in the future. I actually find it compliments the song quite well and really does not turn me away from the song. I like the rapping in the this song. Actually, I feel the same way about this song. It feels quite laid back and casual. It is not a very serious song nor is it a song that exaggerates the fun feel of the song. This just sounds like a casual song, where the song is sung in a casual setting, with the summery feel to it. I like the vocals and the rapping in the song. Particularly the rapping, it gives that casual feel to the song. The song, however, was far too short for me. Their lives barely make it over the 3 minute mark, Just a tiny complaint. But overall, an amazing song.

The music video is too quite casual. From where everything is set, to the clothing that they wear, the whole thing feels like a “normal” video to watch. The boys start walking into a diner, and then finds the pretty waitress, which they all decide to hit on. Then everything gets creepy. When she is walking alone on the streets, they follow her. When she goes shopping, they follow her. That is not love. I think that is considered to be stalking by many people. Anyway, the extras in the video really annoyed me. The boys run in and starts randomly jumping around and dancing, and they just continue to eat and eat. If that was ever to happen to me, I would be very annoyed, because they would be interrupting my time with food (forever alone) and also quite confused on what is going on. It was not until the end of the video that the extras started to dance around, and that two looked really awkward. But the video managed to reflect the feel of the song and also the lyrics so it was done quite well.

The dance is quite awesome. It seems to be an easy routine (not the ending though, those moves looks hard), but it also contributes to the simple and casual feel of the whole video which is once again reflected here.

Overall, quite a cool comeback. It is something that KPOP does not really have. That casual feel, that we don’t really see as much in KPOP. 8/10 Much better than their debut song, in my opinion.

Short Hair – AOA

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AOA, after a successful single, has finally returned with a brand new mini album. After Miniskirt, the girls are back shorter hair, in the song “Short Hair”. It also showed off the girls new found popularity after their Miniskirt promotions, ranking in the top 5 of charts for quite some time. The girls have also proved to be a rising girl group with their new song as that too has received a lot of love from fans as their music video is quite high, this performances have been widely supported and many new covers have started to pop up of the people around the world dancing to this song.

I like the song overall. There were some parts where I was quite unsure about. But the start of the song had that Miniskirt feel to it, but it was done in a light hearted way, which I am not sure if I am much of a fan of it. The song was sung really well by all the members, though after listening to it, I can pick out the good vocalists and the bad ones. I still don’t like the rapper’s whiny voice at all. I like the part after the chorus, but that being said, I thought the chorus sounded quite nice. I find the bridge just does not fit in the song, but still managed to glue the song together. To be honest, it is quite a dull song. But overall, I feel like it was a good song, but it was a let down on many parts.

The girls are dressed up as hairdressers, flight attendants, police, cheerleaders, waitresses, business women and mechanic. And I guess they are really bored with their jobs (or just bored in general), so to fix it, they go to a hairdresser to get their hair done. Though it is meant to be a “comical” video, I watched it with a straight face and thought some scenes were kind of boring. And that was when I watched it with English subtitles as well. Not really sure how after they get so angry with that one customer, they remained to dance with the same customer at the end after getting their hair cuts. A few things, but I would never go to a hairdresser where it is the only shop, in the middle of nowhere. Kind of creepy don’t you think. And it sucks how everything was done in a set. I would have expected a few outside scenes, but nope. Stuck inside the box, once again. Needless to say, the video was not as great as expected.

The performance to me was pretty boring. There was nothing as fun with this dance as their Confused dance or Miniskirt (and I found that one boring). Though it seemed they were going for a more of a fun concept this time, it really did not feel like it was that great compared to their previous routines.

6.5/10. An okay comeback this time. It could have been way better but it still managed to do much better than what I think of their last song.

Good Luck – Beast

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Yesterday I reviewed No More, by Beast and now I am reviewing their title track on their new album, Good Luck.Proven to be a hit, the song has earned many awards so far and have many people praising the boys for their talent.

I freaking like this song. Many people are like “meh” but I really like the modern feel of this particular song. Though I do have complaints about the song, I feel was produced to a really high standard. However, the start where Yoseob is singing “Why you leave me alone? I’m still loving you” does not fit the song as well as the rest of the song fits the song. KPOP really needs to move away from the 35964546 song mashup. Some bands make it sound good, while some bands make it sound really awful. This song does not do it as well as I would have liked it. A ballad start and then the rest of the song sounds like a club electro filled song don’t blend well. Minus the little intro, the vocals in the song sound quite good. The rapping was a let down. I just did not feel it from Junhyung this time. His rapping is superb, just the lyrics don’t string together as a proper rap for me. The other members did quite fine throughout the song. The chorus was quite catchy. Overall, a song that sounds pretty cool, minus a few bits.

Boy those teasers were so boring. Though they were used to give an insight into the story, I found the teasers to be a drainer to watch. But anyway, the teasers tell us that the girl is up to something behind each member’s back. Junhyung’s teaser itself has the same story line, but the thing that is different is that is it was done to replicate the “Last Supper”, where the betrayal happened. Here, the girl wants to leave him, so as betrayal, she stabs him. The rest of the video was quite meh, I did not like any of the dance sets. I was also quite paranoid with Dongwoon’s scenes, where he and the girl are making love, but he is the one singing into the camera, and it looks so awkward. Beside that, there is nothing that is worthy to comment on in the video, so yeah. An okay video, I guess.

The dance of this song is said to be one of the hardest dances that the boys have attempted. And according to others, Fiction seemed to be the easiest. Can I say that I still cannot dance to Fiction. Hahahaha… Anyway, this dance was pretty awesome. There is nothing to say about that. The boys are known for their dances, and they delivered with a good dance. I love Junhyung’s part where he was “Like an elevator” and the boys actually went down as if they were on an elevator. Hahaha… I get so fascinated by the smallest things.

8/10. They did quite well this time around. Especially with the competition they now have on their hands. So how did you guys like the comeback? Comment below!

 

No More – Beast

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OMG, Beast is back with a new songs. And they are back on “Beastagram” for their new music video. Wow. After nearly a whole year disappearance from Korea as a group, the group has finally returned to the stage to wow everyone with their new songs. Last time I saw the one of the members on stage was JunHyung’s solo Flower. Now they are back with a pre-release song. It is another ballad, which Beast is widely known for and their ballads have also been proven to be quite successful, because with every single album or mini album , the group have one one award for each of their ballads. Such titles include: On Rainy Days, Will You be Alright and now No More. And they have finally made their comeback, with their title track, being reviewed tomorrow.

This song is pretty okay. I am not much of a fan for Beast’s ballads, mainly because I associate the band with dance heavy songs. This to me, was quite boring to listen to. I like my fair share of ballads, just this one has too much rnb and hip hop smashed into it to make it a ballad for me to like. I did like their vocals in the song. It matched the soft instrumental that they had with the song.  I am not big on raps in ballads, but JunHyung did really well in this song. It is not your typical rap from Junhyung, as it much softer and sounds a lot similar to whispering. So yeah, overall, it is a good ballad, just it did not do well for me.

The music video of this is pretty cool. “Beastagram” was used in this video to tell a really good story and really suited the feel of the whole video. Actually, the way the video was shot was quite smoothed and fitted the song quite well. We see Junhyung and his former girlfriend. Each member had their own profile, and their own little video clip for the video is transition into the next solo. That is pretty smart. The whole thing was also used by the video, to help the two mains of the video of their memories, and that is too very smart, as all of our memories are now captured digitally. And it is through these shots, we get a glimpse of how things used to be.  Then they literally go down “memory” lane by walking down the same path when they were dating, and then they bump into each other. However as they know they can no longer continue, they keep on walking, even though it breaks their heart. It turns out that Junhyung is going to meet another girl, while the girl is busy putting away the things that remind her of him. However at the end, we can see that through “Beastagram” both can still manage to be together. Such a sad music video to watch, but also equally as entertaining and unique.

5/10. Even though I am not much of a fan of the song, I liked the uniqueness of the video, which made the whole thing stand out. That, or I would not have reviewed their pre-release.

 

Obsession – Boyfriend

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Boyfriend is now back with a brand new song and a tougher and masculine image than before. Move away flower boys, because tough men are coming to the stage. Remember when they used to young boys that always did the cutesy concept? Now they are men. Tough looking, scary looking men. Yeah. Anyway, the guys are back with a new mini album after a whole year and a bit disappearance from the stage.   The boys last released I Yah, which they promoted on stage. Then they release On & On which they did not promote and this is their first song since. They have also been releasing many Japanese songs becoming one of the hottest Japanese – Korean artists currently. Anyway, on with the review.

This song is pretty cool. I liked it. It was catchy, the instrumental was pretty cool. The vocals were awesome, though a little more power would have made the song really awesome. The rapping was pretty good. I thought it was going to be another one of those really bad sounding songs so I did not pay attention to them at first, but then I heard the song on one of the kpop shows, and I instantly searched it up and was so surprised. It seems like they know finally how to reel in the fans, by throwing away the cutesy concept and tackling the more dark and serious concept. This song had a lot of power behind it and it made the song sound really good. I don’t think I would complain about the song at all, it was that good and it should just stay that way.

I think I have watched the video before, but I don’t think I paid that much attention to it. From a foreigner’s perspective, those scenes with the really cool octagon library does not really fit the music video. Hell, it does not even match the song at all. Anyway, the boys seem to try to get the girl back, but their plan backfired. Literally. Anyway, so they try to blow the current boyfriend and take the girl with them, which she wants, but unfortunately the current boyfriend holds her captive, with the same bomb that the group placed, and throws her into them, but she ends up dying. Like guys, why did you put the boy in the middle of the room? Why not like somewhere hidden? Another thing, but during those last scenes of the plot, how did the girl and her mysterious boyfriend come in? Cause it seems like they can walk through walls. And last of all, why put a knife in the video, when you know it would be blurred. Overall, I found it quite amusing to watch, but altogether, it was pretty boring.

Out of all the things I am going to say, I would love those light up stools. Not joke. I thought they are a really modern addition to the performance. I liked the dance, though I feel like there were too many people on the stage. I found it really distracting to watch. However, I think the dance was down to a reasonable standard. It matched the amount of power the song had and it looked awesome. I liked the ending and the use of the chairs. It was pretty cool.

7/10. I think this is the first Boyfriend comeback that I have been really fond of since forever. I don’t remember what I gave them last time though, but this probably did top that one.

Last week I asked you which female soloist you all liked. Jung Hyosung claimed the top spot. Congrats. Answer another poll will you? Please? Hahahaha… (It is not Boyfriend related though)

Breathe – Z:EA

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Z:EA is finally back with a new song. It has been their first official group promotion since The Ghost Of The Wind last year and also their subunit promotions for Z:EA Five and Z:EA 4U. It seems like some of the members have been quite successful, appearing on multiple programs since then. I have officially run out of things to say about them. I don’t follow them as much as I do with other bands. With some groups, I can do an introduction so much better, but with a band that I do not follow, I just don’t know what to right about them. Pity, because I really liked this song.

This song is pretty cool. I have been disappointed with their past songs and the band does not appeal to me. However, this song is quite different. The pop feel to the song really fits the band quite well. Though I do have complaints with the song, I actually liked it. It is pretty catchy and sounds really nice. My compliant is with the  line distribution. I know some of the members are weak when it comes to vocals and there are members that have quite strong vocals. However, when listening to this song, you can tell that the focus is on the members who have the strong vocals. Basically, in my point of view, those who have weak vocals (such as the rappers) get 1 line, while the main and lead vocalists get the bulk of the song. It is just so evident in this song. I am not going to diss the band for this, but I think some more equality is needed. But needless to say, the rapping was pretty good, however it should have been longer. The instrumental is pretty cool and the chorus is pretty catchy to me. The song, to me, was quite cool.

This music video, has to be very boring. The music video at the start looked quite similar to Beast’s Breathe, which I thought would make the video have some story line. But no, the girl is rescued and then the boys are happy. Like nothing amazing happens. No evil alien queen coming to skill them? No evil robot who destroyed the Earth is alive and trying to kill them? Okay, maybe not that extreme. I get the sense that planet Earth is destroyed and there is no oxygen to live on the planet anymore, but the buys (well mainly Dongjun) ends up going out and rescuing the love of his life, and then we get videos of the guys staring at her creepily when she was on planet earth and watching her sleep. Amazing hey. The video was “set” in “space” and to me, it just seemed like a Lotte World commercial. It looked cheesy and there was nothing appeal to me in this video.

The dance is much better. Though this band is not that great as dancers, I think their dancing has improved since their last two comebacks. To symbolises “breathes” they move their arms in a way to represents “breathes” which looked awesome, and I liked the intro to the whole stage.

Not that great as a comeback when it comes their music video, but the song and dance were quite awesome. 7.5/10

1AM – Taeyang (Big Bang)

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Yesterday, I reviewed Taeyang’s Eyes, Nose, Lips. Today it is 1AM’s turn to be reviewed. This song was first performed at the SBS Gayo Daejun which occurred at the end of last year. It was then included with the release of this mini album. It also became another title track for Taeyang’s promotions. And I glad it was. Let’s say, this review won’t be as bad as yesterdays one, because, mainly this one is the song that I liked. And this is where I am gonna end my introduction.

In my personal opinion, I like this song much more than Eyes, Nose, Lips. Like 10 million times better. This song, though, still does not fit my idea of Taeyang, but at least this one feels more cheerful and does not sounds like “monotone” in the way he sings it and the way the song is presented. It is also a much more lively song to listen to and I honestly think this vocals in this song is much more better than his vocals in this primary song. The song is pretty catchy. I like those 1 to 2 seconds moments prior to the chorus, where he slows the song down and then enters back with power for the chorus. Though the bridge can have some work on it, this song is totally more amazing. His live vocals are much better with this song than of Eyes, Nose, Lips. The song talks about how he remembers his love at 1AM. Overall, a much better song and probably my favourite off the mini album.

This music video is a lot darker than expected. I think most of the scenes were filmed at night which contrasted the lively feel of the song. Though there is a lot more lights in this video which gives it that really nice feel to the video. I have to say something though, but I am getting pretty annoyed with Taeyang’s hair. I though G-Dragon’s colour change was a problem, but Taeyang’s fat mohwak is terrible. Anyway, the “sex scene” in this video is actually not too bad. Beside the fact that Taeyang is sill wearing clothes while making out with her (like your on a bed, making out, shouldn’t clothes be coming off?). Actually come to the think of it, this video features Taeyang in clothes for once. Like he is not showing his abs for 99% of the video. It seems like he is shirtless 1% of the time, with 99% of the time being clothed. Just an observation. Honestly, I don’t think this video is that bad. I liked it. And I don’t mind it.

There is a freaking dance. LOL jks. Well, there is a dance, just it is not the Taeyang feel that we are used to. It is just not the same, but at least he is up there dancing.

8/10. Honestly love this more than yesterday’s one. Which prompts me to ask this question. Which Taeyang song did you like the most? Was it Eyes, Nose, Lips,? 1AM? Or was it Ringa Linga? Or maybe another song off the mini album? Answer below.

 

Eyes, Nose, Lips – Taeyang (Big Bang)

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Taeyang has finally made his return with a new mini album after years and years of waiting. He, last year, released a single in November, Ringa Linga which was proven to be very popular. This time around, he had decided to tone his comeback down a bit with RnB songs, not his usual dance-heavy songs that we all associate Taeyang with. He achieved an all-kill when he released his album and managed to rank 1st for like 3 days, which from memory is a record for an artist. On top of that, he has also ranked first on many international charts such as iTunes RnB charts. Proven to be quite a successful artist and proves that he still has it, even though his official release was 4 years ago. And he has also won awards for this song as well, doing very well for 2 weeks and we are still counting.

This song, however, was not for me. I understand that Taeyang had other ideas, but I have always associated him being a dancer and even though his last few songs have mainly been RnB songs, this one was to be the worst crappiest out of all. Just listening to this song a few times, I just could not play this song anymore. I just found it boring and odd to listen to. His voice, not sure if it was the desired effect, was very shaky at many moments. His vocals were monotone to me, though he did have some moments. There was nothing in this song that “catches” my attention. I was very disappointed when I first heard this song. I am sure you guys already got that feeling from my previous lines. I just have nothing else to say about this song. Just – shakes head-

The music video, I thought would be good. Boy, was I wrong? Instead, we get a video of a camera zooming out on Taeyang (who is once again shirtless) singing, with a burning picture of a girl in the background. Oh wait, did I just spoil the whole video for you? I apologise for that. Well, I can’t really say anything about this video as well. Because there is nothing in it. Disappointment. Even a few of my friends thought the video was quite boring to watch. And didn’t he used to have defined abs back in the day? Cause his body looks weird for me. Though I am not judging, I cannot get my body anyway near his. Just a very disappointing video.

No dance, so I am going to skip over that part.

Oh look, the end. I will be reviewing Taeyang’s 1AM tomorrow, which has a lot more going on. This is probably the shortest review I have done in a long time. 1/10

Don’t Flirt – UKISS

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PLEASE NOTE: Some things I say in this review may be explicit to some people. I tried to keep this review “safe”, but I may have let loosed a few times. Read at your own cost 🙂

UKISS has made their return to a stage after a few line up changes. Member Dongho left the band saying that he would prefer a normal life, as he feels that his health and stamina would not keep up and also his desire to be a celebrity has weakened. Member AJ has decided to stay in Colombia to focus on his study for now, and recently tweeted pictures after some form of heart surgery. Hence, why their management had brought in member Jun as the replacement for Dongho. Jun is a vocalist and rapper (basically covering Dongho’s position). He also replaces Dongho as the maknae, who is I think is still under-age (like 17 or something), so his music video this time around has not been shown to him because he is below the legal age of 19. On top with that, I will be covering UKISS’s controversial comeback as well, so let’s get rid of the introduction and onto with the review.

I don’t know about you guys, but I really like this song. It is not as great as other UKISS songs which I like, but it still pretty good. The song opens up with this really addictive guitar instrumental which sounds really cool and then enter the hip hop feel. The vocals were pretty good. Kevin, Soohyun, Kiseop and Hoon did a really good job this time around. The instrumental is really cool and the chorus was really addictive. The “No No No” part would have to be the most catchiest part. Once again, and same with Dongho, Jun got the short hand of the stick with only 2 lines. Such a pity. Eli did a pretty good job with the rap though, but I feel since Jun is new, some focus should be on him. The bridge of the song was also pretty good as well. Kiseop did a wonderful job at bringing the song to a close, and I have to be honest, this song is pretty cool.

Here is what the group got some backlash and here is what made the whole comeback quite controversial. UKISS attempted the “sexy concept”, and I think it did the band really well. However, the music video was deemed to be a 19+ video. Mainly because of the explicit actions in the video. Ummm… what??? Not sure, but some of the stuff in movies are far worse than this. Oh a bunch of guys taking their shirts off, slapped with the 19+ rating. Oh, girl is putting her legs around the guys waist? There is another reason. After watching the music video, I felt some of the them were trying so hard to be “sexy”. Hoon was slapped across the face, but he had a look that kind of said “what do I do here?”. Though it did feel unnatural at some parts, some parts seem like the real deal. Not trying to imply anything about me or the band. Anyway, the music video, to me was well shot. It had this dark feel to it, which reflected well in what the guys were trying to portray, a darker side of them. The “sex scenes” with Eli, Hoon and Kiseop were quite heated (ha ha ha). Just was it necessary to stare at the camera? But hey, it all suited the song and the music video.

Let’s move onto something that is a little more controversial than a 19+ video, mainly because they have been around. The dance. This dance was officially the first dance ever done by a boy group that required the dance is be re-choreographed, because it was far too much for the viewers. To me, the dance was okay. Well, I might see their point when it comes down to Kevin and the girl bending over. But overall, I found the dance to be quite cool and nice to watch. “Nice”. But the new version of the dance is really cool as well. I honestly, feel no difference between the two version of the dance.

So the comeback, to me, was just fine. To be more precise, I have been digging this song and dance since it was released. I try to keep away from the music video, mainly because there are things I don’t want my parents to know that I watch. Not implying anything. 8.5/10

You You You – Fly To The Sky

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RnB duo, Fly To The Sky, has finally made their official comeback with a brand new album after 5 absence from the scene. Now that they are back, they have proved themselves to be very popular, with their songs topping charts since the very day they released their album and earning themselves two wins on the weekly music shows. They returned with what they do best, with a new RnB song and new album. This time they have vowed that they would not break up again, which they did a few years ago due to different taste in music. Not only that, but it seems like the old groups back when I was born (prior to 2000) will be making their comeback and proving to be quite popular.

To be honest, this song did not have much of an effect on me. I am not a fan of the band. I think their songs are okay, but I just don’t think their songs are that great. This song just reinforced the same idea. I did not find the song to be that great when I listen to it. It is not bad, it just lacks change. Maybe I am not good of a listener, but I find the thing was quite monotone throughout the start to end. I am a fan of Brian Joo. The vocals were really strong, which is what they are known for in the industry. I just found this song quite boring overall to listen to. Hwanhee’s high note at the end are quite good. The started the song off well, and ended the song quite well as well The song itself talks about how the guy was meant to live without his love of his life.

The music video was quite interesting. I liked the story line of the whole thing. So we see Brian Joo and Hwanhee with this girl. Brian is going out with her, while Hwanhee has a crush and also is the third-wheel of the couple. He is so jealous and immature (hence a line of the song) and also quite selfish, decides to involve the couple in an accident. The girl is saved with amnesia and I think some brain damage to make her think she is like a teenager. Anyway, so Hwanhee and the girl end up dating whie Brian was in a coma. However, good things only last so long. The girl starts to have flashbacks of the car accident, which Hwanhee fears the worst. At the same time though, Hwahee receives a call from the hospital that brain had awoken from his coma and also another call from Brian telling him that their friendship is over and that he will be taking everything back that Hwanhee took from him (ie. the girl). We see as Brian wakes up he notices a ring in his hand and realized what had happened and went ot find the girl, to which Hwanhee gets angry when he sees the ring. When Hwanhee returns after attending to Brian, the girls remembers everything and then slaps Hwanhee and dumps him. Hwanhee, who cannot live without her, leaves after her butt hen Brian appears. The guys have a very big fight, to which the girl just stands there and screams. In the end the girl chooses to stay with Brian, to which Hwanhee knows that it is too late and starts to leave, but then gets run over by a car killing him (?), which shocks both the girl and Brian. In the end, it is revealed that Hwanhee regrets everything that he had done. I think I gave the story in a lot of detail. Hahaha… But really good story line. The music video was well shot and really well done.

Song was not so great. Music video was pretty cool. I’d give it a 6/10. 

Eternity – VIXX

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VIXX returned with Eternity after a successful year of promotions which earned them their first weekly music show award and also earned them a Bonsang award at one of the important end of year awards shows (Seoul Music Award). They also managed to secure their name as one of the rising KPOP groups with their dark concepts. This time around they came back with another dark concept but with more of a traditional concept mashed into it as well. Romantic boys. Did it work out? Well, according to the fans, the group has managed to show off their immerse popularity by managing to win against big names, earning themselves two more awards than what they previous had. Definitely a group to keep you eye on.

The group has gone for a dance anthem this time around, with the song being really really well done. I have no complaints with this song. Well, there is 1. It is too freaking short. The instrumental is pretty hardcore with the cool party (dubstep) instrumental giving the song that needed “impact” for me to like.  Ravi’s rapping in this song, even though it was quite limited, sounded really good. The vocals were really top notch. Leo and Ken’s high notes at the end just blew me away. Hyuk and Hongbin both have more lines this time around, much better than Voodoo Doll, where Hyuk only had 1 line. The song built up from the moment it started and pretty much unleashed at the choruses. The song flowed pretty well, though when I first heard I thought there be some odd section where the song had slowed down a lot. Overall, a top of the game song.

In the music video, each guys has these moments with the girl. Like the girl. Only one freaking girl. Like there is no other girl in this world and that they had to chase after this one girl. This one girl who happens to disappear into thin air (literally) towards the end, leaving the guys alone. That or the girl has no idea she is dating everyone from the same group. Anyway, so they have their love moments, but then it turns out that their imagination is playing them and the girl was not there at all, leaving the boys to look lost and depressed. Good story line. However, did they have all these “loving” moments in the same room. And let’s ignore the fact there is a large wheel in the room as well. I like the dancing sets as well. Pretty cool. Especially the effect where they disappear except for Ravi and then all appear in the middle for a later part of the dance and song. That was pretty cool.

The dance was awesome. The wave dance, the clock work dance that they drop at times. And I loved the start. The slo motion backwards walking and stuff. Not only that, but they went slow motion a few times, giving that extra reinforcement that this song has something to do about the past. Really well thought out and done well. And the throwing of the members Ken and N to stand up was pretty cool as well.

I honestly have no to little complaints about this song comeback. A near prefect comeback in my point of view. 9.5/10.

1 Minute 1 Second – Jiyeon (T-Ara)

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T-Ara is back with only one member. I only kid. Jiyeon from T-Ara has officially made her solo debut with 1 Minute 1 Second. Now is it a great thing that she came back alone, I don’t know, but she has been proven to still show the support that T-Ara still gets. And also, this is the first of the many reviews that will be coming out after today. Today, I just finished my final piece of assessment for the term and tomorrow night I start my term break! Woo! However, I am still a little busy during these holidays but will try to manage to put reviews up for you guys. Hahahaha… Anyway, not only Jiyeon is going solo but also Hyomin, who has not yet released her song yet, but will be doing so very soon early next month, I believe. Saw the teaser a few moments ago, and I am not entirely sure yet.

This song is pretty awesome. A little complaints here and there, but it has to be a pretty cool song to listen to. The song itself is pretty catchy to listen to. The “Never Ever” part is pretty good. He voice is quite husky for the song which fits the “sexy” concept that this song has. But was it a chart topper in my mind? I don’t think so. It did lack that passion or that “impact” which I tend to talk about. The song started off well but it was very repetitive and kind of felt boring towards the end after listening to it a few times. There just was nothing “loud” about this song. It did not change around that much or even slightly. It just basically sounded monotone all the way through. But still a pretty good song. The chorus was pretty cool, but I think I only think it is cool because, well, when I listen to the song, I tend to pair with the dance and the dance for this was awesome. But honestly, still think it was a cool song, just it could have been enhanced a little bit to make it sound better.

The music video is quite confusing. I assume Jiyeon is a patient in a metal hospital. However because of her love, she believes she lives in a house with no rooms. Everyday she would wake up and do the same thing. She cuts up a few vegetables, she waters her plant and then she sits down and knits. That is all. Nothing amazing about your life girl. So the girl each time wakes up notices something ifs off and I think everything that does become off, it reminds her of her past. That is basically what I think the video is about. Not sure about the rain indoors though, nor do I think the dance scenes are relevant in any way. The music video plot line was pretty bright but then the dance scenes were so freaking dark and it really ruined the feel of the story and actually made the music video quite distracting.

The dance was mighty cool. I have to be honest, when they said that they were creating a song and concept that mirrored Park Ji Yoon’s Adult Ceremony, they were not kidding. This reminds me of that a lot. Maybe I just read it too many times, but the dance did have the same feel. I love the dance with the wall and the chorus as well. The jacket dance was awesome.

7.5/10. I like the song and the dance, but not entirely sure about the music video. The comeback is pretty cool as well. However, as you may have noticed recently that other female soloists have made their comeback in the pop genre. So who was your favourite? G.Na? Jung Hyosung? Or Jiyeon? Or you did not like any? Answer below!!!!