Category: KPOP

Beep Beep – BTOB

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BTOB is finally back with a brand new song. The last time they were on stage, they were promoting Thriller. But after a year of successful promotions, it seems like the band is going back into time, back to their WOW days. I find this song distinctively familiar to WOW for many reasons and it seems like their concept change has actually paid off. I smell awards for this band and they have never ranked as high as this before. The funny thing is, I actually wrote this review before. But my phone was being weird and it did not save, so here I am retyping out my review. Forever sad.

I really like the hip hop phase this group is going through. Well, it is more of a pop song in my point of view. But it definitely reminds me of  WOW, which has to be their best song in my point of view. This song also is rivalling that top position. The vocals in this song is really cool. And so is the rapping. The chorus is somewhat catchy, but as we get to the “Beep Beep Bang Bang” part, then that stays in my mind forever. Peniel actually gets solid Korean lines that he finally deserves. Sungjae and Eunkwang confuses me sometimes. Who is the main vocalist of this band? There is a bit that I don’t actually like that much. Compared to BTS with their latest song, Boy In Luv, BTOB does not do a good job of combining their pop song with that ballad bridge. BTS does it really well, but BTOB makes it quite lacking and out-of-place. Sungjae’s high pitch note was okay, but wow, was that even necessary in this song? Overall, with the odd complaint, the song is really good. Check it out!

As for the music video, wow, how long have we seen such a great setting? For freaking sake, they are driving in the middle of the road. OMG, G.Na and now this? Seriously Cube, teach your artists to properly drive a car. I know it is meant to look artistic, but how about Sungjae’s close-up and then panning to the road and houses? What does that do? There really is no plot to the video. And why should there be? Well, beside road rage and the parking fine. It is nice to see a video without much of a plot. I actually found some parts pretty funny. Such as the guys at the back trying to get the car in front to move. Not entirely the use of girls in the video. I guess they tried to get the male demographic then? Those small cars look really cute, but the guys make themselves look like really weird weirdos.

As for the dance, wow! I really like the dance. It is so easy (well, only for a single part), but really addictive. And I think you know which part we are all thinking about. “Beep Beep, Bang Bang” everyone!

8.5/10. Really well done. Loving the song, music video and dance. Perfecto!

Boy In Luv – BTS (Bangtan Boys)

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I love my spare periods. They give me so much time. Was quite close to postpone this review once again until Friday, but then I thought, why not do a review to relax. So here is my relaxing review. Hahaha!! It is finally my first BTS (Bangtan Boys) review. Never got their acronym for their name though, because Bangtan Boys does not equal BTS. But as I said, this is my first review of the group and I am really pumped. This group is a hip hop male dance group with the members V, J-Hope, Jin, Suga, Rap Monster. Jimin and Jungkook. Interesting fact: Jungkook is a year younger than me. I feel old. This group has been proven to be very popular, securing themselves as the best rookies of the year for many award ceremonies for the 2013 year. It is also noted that this group has been active way before their actual review and that the current line-up of the group was not the original line-up. Only one person remains from the original line-up.

This song is amazingly great. There is nothing wrong with the song. This is the first Korean rock, dance, hip hop song that I ever heard. I was not much of a fan for their previous songs, but this song is really cool. This song is literally what I would deem as hardcore. Their rapping in this song is really cool and their vocals are very powerful, for a song supposedly about love. Their chorus is very catchy and I find it really easy to remember. That start too is really catchy. Actually, it is a really great way to open the song for me. The rock feel of the song gives it some more power. Without the rock feel, I guess the song would suck. The “andal nasseo na andal nasseo” part of the song (sorry I cannot tell who is singing when) is really catchy as well. I also liked whow they somehow incorporated that ballad or rnb sound into the song without ruining the song. I said it before, I like the song and it is seriously catchy.

As for the music video, I really don’t know what to say. I was pretty okay for most of it, but the plot for the video kind of sucked? All the guys hitting on one girl. Okay, well, one guy was attracted to her and he recruited the rest of the band to help him get her. Yeah, I would ask for one friend if I needed it, but asking like 6 other guys is really troublesome. And the way he gets his friend’s attention is to play music video over the announcement speakers of the school. You know, because calling or texting the others is too mainstream for you. And the urinal scene. Every guy knows the rule to not stand next to another who is taking a leak. And that other dude looks and smiles at him. I don’t think sexy meant that. And I get that you would want to sit on a fence, but not those ones that are like 2 to 3 metres off the ground. Oh wait, I will let that slide. Sitting on a basketball ring? That I don’t understand. Oh and also, girl really needs to check out her school. Everyone is in class, but her. And it seems like she is really lost as well.

The dance fits the power of the song. It is great, but not as great as I expected from the dance group. I don’t see how moving you body in a circle is great, and they repeat the same dance move around and around. You know what performance form this band I liked: that intro song or dance clip (teaser trailer) from their N.O days. I will put it into the playlist for you to make the judgement.

7/10. Overall pretty good. The song is really good and the music video is okay. The dance is also mildly okay. But still great work from the boys. And I wanted them to win Inkigayo on Sunday because they are pretty good and deserve an award, but they did not win. Pity, I had my support behind them.

Justice – C-Clown

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It is my second C-Clown review. Yay! Finally I have grasped the chance to review this band. Last time, I think it was Shaking Heart. And their releases since then were not as great as I had expected. This band has really good potential, but I guess they are still trying to experiment with the way they should go, and that phase is really annoying. One of my friends is a hardcore fan of the band and it is quite interesting. Though I don’t follow the band as much, I actually think this is a good image for them. That tough guy image. I feel like if I continue with this intro I am going into review territory.

Justice is one hell of a song. Like seriously, it is really catchy for me. I was never that impressed with any of the other songs from the band, but this song is really amazing. They are slowly getting recognise for their talent, which is amazing. There is that tough sounds in the group. I think also, this is what the music sounded like a few back when KPOP was in its prime stage. Yes, I went there. The current sound of KPOP is really not up to a good standard but this song gives me that great feel I experienced a few years back. The instrumental of this song is really intense. That gong sound gives it that more oriental feel, which to me fits the song really well. The song is really fast and I love that about it. The “boom chikichikichikichiki ah” is so amazing, I feel like dancing to it. The rap is intense. The vocals, yeah could have been a little more powerful, as too me, it was leaning towards the weaker side of things. But overall this song is amazing.

This more powerful image fits the boys a lot. But that phone call sound at the start is just a major no no for me. The set for this is pretty good. Fire, boxing and a throne to show who is the boss in this set. And that is the end of this paragraph. There really is nothing for me to complain about or anything to actually comment on expect for the dance and set. But onto the dance. The dance is pretty hardcore. A new hardcore dance group has been born. I like how the dance is a mashup between dancing hip hop and then martial arts. Throwing punches and stuff really fits the image of the tough guy. Really cool dance that would be too intense for me to even lift a finger to even attempt it.

8.5/10. Hopefully, this group does not drop off my radar anymore. Hopefully I will be able to get to review their next project. Woo!

Peppermint Chocolate – Mamamoo ft. K.Will & Wheesung

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Hello once again. I apologise for my absence. I was meant to write and publish this review on the Monday, but I guess homework got in the way once again. But anyway, I am back and probably will be writing a whole heap of reviews to be able to schedule them for the next few weeks. Today, I will be reviewing a new rookie group. Wow. Like already 32569050 rookie groups and here I am trying my best to review them. On top of that, Mamamoo, a girl group consisting of members Solar, MoonByul, WhaSa and WheeIn, recruited the help of hit soloists K.Will and Wheesung to be in this song. For those who don’t know, this group debuted in January with the song Don’t Be Happy, featuring Bumkey. I guess this is their comeback, but then again, they really did not promote their other song as well. But not only that, but VIXX’s Hongbin and N participated in the music video of this song as well. But enough background info, on with the review.

This song is freaking amazing. Honestly, I love it and it has to be the new song I am currently digging. That retro and jazzy vibe this song has mixed up with the electro instrumental sound like the most sexiest couple in the world got together and had babies, who were equally as sexy. The rapping in this song is prefect. I cannot ask for more. The vocals are equally amazing. Though I think the girls should have contributed a little more vocal work to the song, putting K.Will and Wheesung into the song makes it quite popular. Now, I know this band has four members. But from start to end, I feel like I only heard one person. I don’t know if I like that or not, but it seems to be pretty original. The song is about comparing love to sweets and candies. Original right? Also, the whole sound of the song overall is much different to any song out there at the moment and probably any song in the future to come. They pulled this song off really well.

The music video is also quite good. I love the filtering of the colours in the video. I don’t know why, but I find this music video really pleasant to watch. There is not much going on and it is overly cluttered. I would say there is a plot, but for some reason this video is not large on the plot. It is more focus on showing off the members in a fashion show kind of sense which I really like. Those colourful scenes look quite retro and really brings back the good retro feel to the song and video. The music video is quite low budget, but I like how they covered it up with the editing and the lighting in the video. I guess the plot of the video is basically some people trying to find the “love pill” of love. Now that sounds absolutely disgusting and gross, but hey, it fits the title of the song. Also, bringing VIXX’s N and Hongbin into the music video make the whole thing so much bigger.

Please don’t tell me I am the only one who loves this song. 10/10. No ifs and no buts. Last week I asked which Gain song you guys preferred, and it seemed like FxxK U was enjoyed the most. Truth Or Dare came in second. Both songs came in third place. YAY! At least someone out there enjoyed the mini album as well. But also enjoy this song as well.

So Wonderful – Ladies Code

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swlc

This is the first Ladies Code review ever on this website and guess who is excited! So these girls have been named one of the hottest rookies of 2013 and released Bad Girl (which was a boring song in my opinion) and Pretty Pretty. But why should I review those songs when there is a new song that was just recently by the band which combines the first two and a new song together? Efficiency. No, it was just a clear incident that the songs became one this time around. I was excited for their teasers and the song is just ______________________________. Can’t say much, because I might as well finish the review off here then.

But what is there to say? I am literally speechless from how amazing this song is. Wait one moment, let me grab a thesaurus. This song is wonderful, astonishing, marvellous and down right good. I literally have no complaints with the song. It is actually the first Ladies Code song that I found so great. Bad Girl to me was not a great song, while Pretty Pretty was okay, but it lacked something. This song however ticks all the right boxes. It has great vocals, the instrumental is amazing and the lyrics is so sensible. Hmm… The instrumental. I think I am turning into a person who would dig the saxophone. Those saxophone sounds at the start were bliss. And “So So So Wonderful” is really catchy. You would be kidding yourself if you did not find that part catchy. It was like the “Yeppeo Yeppeo” part in Pretty Pretty.

My first impression was if the video had to be that dark. This video was way to dark and kind of conflicted with the whole “wonderful” concept. It was good, but I can’t really see anything with the darkness. The girls are like mannequins or statues that are living. But that guy does not realize. Even though you like him, I think you guys can just move along, especially how he does not notice you guys living. And the fact that 5 of you are into one guy who cares for the others in the exact same way he does to you, is another thing that should realize. I find the guy old, so I don’t really think the age gap would help you. However, it was quite nice of him to create new arms for you, armless mannequin. Yeah, how they are staring at him and stuff is really creepy. I like the dancing set where they took all of the set placed in the back ground. Once again, a little too dark, but overall pretty okay.

As soon as I saw the performance, I just thought Nobody. Anyone else like me? Those microphone stands just bring me back to the time I discovered KPOP. “I want nobody nobody but you”. Whoops wrong review. But everything is suspiciously similar. Don’t know if they borrowed the concept or copying, but it suits these girls really well. Or maybe they are the next Wonder Girls? I enjoyed the dance overall.

8/10. This comeback is “so so so wonderful”. I wonder if a remixed version for this song will come out.

 

Truth Or Dare – Gain (Brown Eyed Girls)

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Gain officially made her comeback, joining the long line of sexy comebacks of the year so far. She made her comeback with Truth Or Dare, her third mini album, with the title track “Truth or Dare”. She also pre-released FxxK U which was a hit but did raise a few eyebrows. That song was BANNED from broadcast on every single station that you can possibly think of in Korea. And considering the amount of foul language in that song, I was not surprised. What I am surprises with though is the amount of foul language in this song and the intense video that accompanies it. I kid, I was being sarcastic! ( A little story: When I linked that picture(above)  into the post, the first thing my eyes see is her crotch. I felt so weird. The picture is way too big and it happened to go straight to her crotch.)

Okay, I am not going to beat around the bush, but when comparing this song with FxxK U, I just think this song is not appropriate as a Gain style comeback. The song is so boring. I am impressed, but it lacked the sexiness in the voice which I wanted to hear. The vocals are so high pitch it just gave me shivers and I just think that this song is not that great. It was a good song, but it was not my personal favourite. There really is nothing to talk about. Well, the instrumental was interesting. It had this back in the day disco vibe with it, but I don’t find it as appealing as I had expected it to be. The song talked about and I am not sure but about the rumours she had in the industry. Many say she is basically the “wild child”, but in this song she is asking us if we actually really know her that well and to that extent. I thought the idea was great and I liked the lyrics of the song. I also liked how she joined that one line from L.O.V.E (Stop being like that and start talking). I also enjoyed the instrumental for the dance break. This song did lack a lot in feeling and could have been a whole heap better.

The music video is a like a mockumentary or documentary type of video which interviews the people Gain works with a lot to see what she is really like. A girl who cares for her figure, who is always wanting to woo guys and also a girl who loved to be touched sexy. Honestly, I found the video boring. Show Lo did also cameo, but he probably had the crappiest part of the video. But anyway, I like the performance version. It focuses a lot on Gain’s figure and I guess that kind of makes up for the lack of sexiness in her voice. Maybe, not really. I did like the colouring of the video and I guess she went for a more femme fatale look and style this time. Like all her videos, she looks amazing but yeah, the overall style was not that great nor it was something that I would have expected. Bloom and Irreversible were really up there is power, this in turn took it all down.

The dance is probably the best part. Though it had nothing major, it suited the song and its bounciness. On top of that, it worked out really well. I liked the dance break and how she would part away from the guys and then rejoin them. As I said above, she definitely had a femme fatale concept going on which looked amazing.

5/10. Definitely not the best song out there. Her other songs are way better. What was your favourite song? FxxK U or Truth or Dare? Put your vote down in the poll below!!! Check back next week when I announce the results! (Will update the playlist for this reviews and the other reviews when I get some time!)

Some – Soyu (Sistar) & JungGiGo

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Soyu is back with a brand new collaboration on stage with another singer in her on label’s sub label. Yes, I hope this will be a thing that Soyu will continue doing on stage from now on. She is basically now called the “Charts Queen” or something because both of her songs which she had duet in last year (Stupid In Love) and now this song which literally took over Korea. Like wow. But we must not forget that this is Soyu and JungGiGo. Did a little research and turns out this guy debuted back in 2002 I think and has a lot of fans. But now that he signed with a major label, he gets to showcase his singing skills. Both two are match made in Heaven (I think I said the same thing for Mad Clown as well).

This song is freaking amazing. Last time it was vocals and raps. Now it is just vocals and the smoothness of the both Soyu and JungGiGo’s voice in this song is amazing. The RnB sound in this song suits him so well and Soyu accompanies the song quite well as well. I entirely in love with the chorus. To me it sounds like one syllable getting pushed from one side to another at the very start of the chorus. The instrumental is sweet as and sounds romantic. Like appropriate for yesterday! The rapping was okay for the song, but the rapper did not suit the song. Maybe Mad Clown should step in, but his voice sounds a little too serious. And for your information, the rapper is LilBoy from Geeks. Honestly, I love this song at the moment and have been replaying it each time my headphones are in. I guess it won’t be as catchy as other songs, but I found myself listening to the song again and again for quite some time.

The music video shows two people, which we will name them as Baro and Dasom (for no apparent reason). Baro is a pilot who is never home, whereas Dasom is always on home. Now, they have a crush on each other and I guess they know each other as well. Once Baro comes back, it seems he is waiting for his friend’s calls or text messages and at the same time Dasom expects her friend’s text message as well. Until the guy (yay!) decides to text first and I think they arrange an outing with each other. And while the girl is preparing for their date, the guy falls asleep on the bus and makes a fool out of himself, causing him to be embarrassed. Or more like frustrated. I don’t know what happened next, but both become quite upset. Then Dasom takes it out on her bear, which turns into a live white teddy bear, which usually I think I would hug, but she just decides to WWE the bear and hurt it. Poor bear. But then the couple remember that they should be somewhere and go looking for each other. Baro runs into the bear who wants revenge on who ever caused his pain and decides to attack Baro. Yeah, that failed. And then the pair meet up. And the end. Pretty funny video if you ask me. Baro being a pilot and an oversize living teddy bear is pretty interesting. But it is a great music video.

10/10. Such a romantic duet with a funny video. What more can you ask for? Still waiting for Mad Clown’s second song, JungGiGo’s second song and Soyu’s next collaboration!

Drawing The Line – Royal Pirates

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The rookie group, Royal Pirates, recently made their first comeback after their debut with Drawing The Line. They have been around since forever, but only debuted recently last year with the song Shout Out. Now, that they are back and it seems that the band is gathering more fans than ever before. Shout Out was more of a rock song, while this song is a little more light hearted and less serious. They are all American and ever since this song came out, I have been questioning my virtual life. How have I not heard of this band before?? Seriously, all my friends are raging on about this band and then there is me going “Whose that?”. I know, I should be disappointed in myself.

This song is freaking amazing. Like so amazing, I am seriously “Drawing The Line” here. Hahahaha… Oh god, please stop me. Anyway, at first I tried my best to stay away from this group. Like far away as possible, cause I never liked their debut song and thought it would be a repeat of the same events. I was wrong and I admit it. It is really catchy, and I think KPOP has been lacking the instrumental band playing groups for quite some time. All I see are dances and not enough instrumental and vocal works, so I guess why I like it. Can I liken this song to a drug, because it is really catchy. There is also an English version of the song which is also featured on the mini album, but I am not fond of the English version as much as I am for the Korean Version. The song talks about how they want this girl, however the girl just “draws the lines” and basically stops any “love messages” from coming through. Something a lot like in reality. Hahaha… Wow, what a proper song for Valentine’s Day!

Never actually fully watched the video, mainly because I don’t have enough time to watch anything nowadays. I can’t even keep up with my subscription lists on YouTube! I don’t have a problem with the video, but I get the feeling the director is really a major tight arse. Also, was the photographer dancing? Or is that what all photographers do? Cause my school photos will make me smile much more if that is the case. That slap on one of the members seem to hurt a lot. And why are they trying their best to “woo” more than one girl? Like, umm… I can see why she drew the line mate. You just made it obvious by getting a little personal with two girls. In one room, one after the other. I like how they just start randomly playing the song during the interview. Talk show host is a total party pooper and Brad, where did you come from? Those are just my lovely observations. I liked the video overall, even though I questioned a lot. It made me smile. Hahaha…

8/10. It was really nice and made me smile. On such a lonely day for me. Happy Valentine’s Day for all!

1004 (Angel) – B.A.P

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Source: http://www.soompi.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/BAP_angel.jpg

B.A.P recently returned with their first full length album. Their first album is receiving lots of love from fans. Interesting facts: the band is about to celebrate or have celebrated their 2nd year with fans. And they have already promoted 10 singles. That is pretty good, considering that I did not count follow up songs or pre-releases. Wow. And I think their hard work has finally paid off with the amount of determination from their fans to put them on the top. I don’t want to create fan wars, but I think the success of EXO and VIXX recently has made fans think the B.A.P’s awards are long overdue. And I agree. These boys should have won something by now with the standard in which their songs are being released at.

This time around, it seems the boys have dropped their hardcore tough guy image, for a more softer and more romantic image. The song is titled as 1004. When you say 1004 (Chunsah), you get “Angel”, the English title of the song. Honestly, I am impressed with this, but the numbers seem kind of random. Is there a need for the numbers or is “Angel” had enough to say? Mainly because I am looking at the translation, but there is no reference to a number. It seems the boys have toned it down largely, especially after their latest Korean comeback, Badman, was more of a tough guy type of image.  Now, the raps seem to have a lot more of “love” emotion in it and on top of that, the raps are not as powerful. Also Daehyun and Youngjae’s vocals have been toned down to suit the song more, giving it more emotion. There is no hardcore high notes in this song, but rather a more softer voice from the fans. On top of that, Himchan and Jongup are finally getting recognition. They both are overshadowed in the vocals department, but it seems like they are making it up in this song. I like the instrumental. t is much different from their other songs, but still has that great B.A.P impact they we always expect. Honestly, I really like this song. To be precise, I am digging this song a lot. Good work B.A.P!

The music video is interesting. Though, I think through the many music videos we have seen from the band, there are a few things I am sure we all can conclude. B.A.P always meets death when it comes to guns and I don’t think it is quite logical to give anything that could kill Himchan to Himchan. Yeah I guess I am copying a gif but in word format. But seriously, they die in One Shot, Himchan takes his life in this video. In Song Ji Eun’s solo, Going Crazy, he ends up dying as well. So, there is something going on here. But the acting in this music video is pretty cool. I really like the set and how it corresponds with the lyrics. I think though there is no solid plot to this video, it was shot really well. There is no shaky movement, but to match the song, a smooth transition. Even the dance is quite smooth,which matches the video and song as well. I particualy like Youngjae’s part of the video, where he is lost in the maze of mirrors and just breaks down. Bit exaggerated, but still pretty good. Bang Yong Guk’s scene touches on isolation, which is pretty cool. Not sure about Daehyun though. Flipping an hour glass is not that dramatic in my books.

I wrote far too much in this review. The dance is awesome, it matches the song as I said above with its smoothness. The music video is also quite good and so is the song. Really amazing.9.5/10.

FxxK U – Gain (Brown Eyed Girls) ft. Bumkey

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Probably the most problematic song at the moment. Gain, the maknae of hot band Brown Eyed Girls, is back with a new mini album. She has been known for her many other singles including Bloom and Irreversible. Now she is back and once again is making headlines for her new pre release single. Though, she officially made her comeback yesterday, I only started to review her songs today, so… Anyway. Why is this song making headlines, I hear you ask… Try rereading the title. I don’t think any other song in this world (exaggeration here) is titled as “FxxK U”. And like every other person, I became surprised from the title. Always knew that Gain would go for the edgy type of comeback, but never thought it was that far.

This song is pretty amazing. Actually, so amazing, I think it is much better than her title track at this very moment. Now, as I said above, I would not have expected the song title of this song, and neither did I expect her to dress the f-bomb throughout the song like that. But hey, it was a song, and I liked it. Her husky voice really matches this song and it gives more meaning to the song every time she swears. Hahaha… The only complaint I have was that every time she did drop the f-bomb, she was kind shaky. I did not take her that seriously, and every time she swears, I have to giggle. I wonder if she even knows what the word means? Anyway, her duet with Bumkey is really good. I always thought he was a rapper, but he has a pretty good singing voice. I also like how at the end, she changes from the FxxK U to Love You, which really adds that extra meaning to the video. Overall, the song was quite nice and pretty amazing.

As for the music video, is it getting hot in here? No, cause I think I witnessed the first KPOP video with the most steamiest make out scene. And I though Trouble Maker’s Now was bad, this just takes things to a whole new level. Like that one was passionate. This one, they are fighting while doing it. Like the guy has his head between the Gain’s legs. Like wow, great way to start. Something did trouble me. They were getting ready, but the moment they have eye contact, Gain just pushes away. Like you’re not drunk, why is it taking out that slow to make a decision to enjoy yourself or walk away? Now, the ending is a little confusing. Did she kill the guy? Or did he kill her? What is with the blood thing? Why is that there? Also the shower curtain scene, looked a lot like the Human Centipede. No, just me?

9/10. I liked this song more than her new song. But her new title track is still pretty good in my books. But the amount of censorship with this song is already so large, I don’t know what is happening anymore.

You Don’t Love Me – Spica

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Spica recently returned with their new single, You Don’t Love Me. This single is produced and written by their senior label mate and famous soloist, Lee Hyori who we all must know. This has to be one of the most underrated bands of all time. All their past singles have been amazing, but they have hardly been successful. It is quite disappointing. From what we are able to see here, is the retro concept. Now, if you think back a few years: Secret, T-Ara, Wonder Girls etc. all attempted the retro concept and they were deemed as mega hits. Now, it has been quite a while since those comebacks, so I am not sure if it can hold on as much as t did those few years ago, but if Korean still digs the same things, this song and comeback will be really a hit as well.

The song starts off with that really high and long note, which to me, was not really a great start to the song. I am not disappointed, but I don’t think it was a good thing to put that part at the start of the song. I liked the instrumental of the song and thought it was really good. It took me a few listens to get into the song, which is quite disappointing, considering that Spica got me into their other songs straight away. I found the rapping was not as great in this song and it really did not suit this song. But the chorus of the song is quite catchy and sounds pretty cool. The song itself talks about how the girl decide that the guy no longer loves them. Honestly, this song could have been better in my opinion. It is not as great as Tonight, but it still pretty good.

The music video was pretty good. Though, I was not much of a fan of the really old outfits and stuff that you would have expected to be trendy like is the 70s or 80s. However, the best part of the whole video was definitely one of the outfits and I think was the most amazing part. That ass!!! Yeah, really, beside that, there is not much about this music video to talk about. It is quite monotone and boring to watch and the only thing that was great were the asses. Yes, it is quite sad isn’t?

The dance is pretty cool. Again, not really to a high standard, but still pretty good. I notice that only two girls are given the spotlight in Spica and they are Bohyung and Boa. The other girls are really pushed to the side. I don’t why, but everytime I watch their performances, Ladies Code’s Pretty Pretty just appears in my mind. Maybe because of the retro feel of it and the dresses? Or is it just me?

5/10. Not that I am that disappointed with the comeback, I just feel too nice to give them a really good score for this song. Like most of the songs, I listed above with the retro concept, I actually had a hard time getting into them, so I guess this goes the same way.

Around over a week ago, I asked “Which sexy concept from January did you like the most?” Guess who won? Rainbow BLAXX’s Cha Cha. That caught me off by surprise. Girl’s Day, AOA, No comeback and Dal Shabet followed in the exact order.

‘End Of Year Music Festivals’ Favourite Performances

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Woah, 2013 is over (Soz, a tad late) and each year KPOP fans always end up looking forward to the end of year music festivals. These “festivals” are held on the final days of the year by the 3 major boradcasting companies of South Korea (ie. KBS, SBS, MBC). It is a stage where the artists who are active during the year can come together and celebrate by putting on some music and performing different stages from the ones that they had promoted during the year. So this means there are many different collaborations between artists or remix stages which would have fans screaming for. Because there happens to be little songs to review at this time of the year (end of Jan, don’t ask why), I thought I do this and release it in time for the Vietnamese (Or Chinese) New Year!!!!!

KBS Gayo Daechukje

  • Honestly, I was not satisfied with any of the collabs. They seem to be a last minute thing which made the show rather messy. They had good songs, but Iw as not satisfied with the way they were presented.
  • Crayon Pop’s Bar Bar Bar was a good stage. The start got everyone hyped up and when the song actually started, boy was the screams loud! It was rather fresh and different stage that everyone must’ve had enjoyed.
  • EXO’s Intro + Growl sounded amazing. Now if only they were not replayed 563495630295634092560 times this year and everyone talking about them, I would not think poorly of them. However the intro and the performance was really good.
  • APINK was one of the few bands to throw in a new instrumental for their “sexy version” of No No No. I enjoyed the dance and I liked the new mix.
  • Beast had a pretty cool stage as well. They kept their normal instrumental but made something interested out of it.
  • Sistar’s “femme fatale” Give It To Me looked really good. Minus the not so good looks of the dancers, I really liked their dance break and Dasom has my heart beating even faster.
  • Miss A’s remixes were amazing this year. I like them much better than the actual song. Amazing right?Well, honestly it is just a new instrumental over some parts and then the actual song itself. And Min, walking away like a boss and carrying on singing after getting hit in the face.

SBS Gayo Daejeon

  • First stage which I enjoyed was VIXX’s On & On and VooDoo Doll. I honestly thought that Hyde and On & On would have been a better match, but they still seemed to pull it off pretty well. I think I am turning into a fan. Damn.
  • Z:EA and Nine Muses collaboration stage with Ghost Of The Wind, Glue and finally hit song Bounce was another stage that literally got me into it. It is such a good stage with the two bands together, where it was Nine Muses first time and Z:EA’s second time since debut.
  • Another collaboration stage goes to Girl’s Day and APINK’s Expectation and No No No. Honestly, it seemed APINK had less airtime than Girl’s Day. Not sure about the detail, but it kind seems unfair. But both suited the stage every well singing each other’s song.
  • Crayon Pop’s Bar Bar Bar was pretty good. But the camera work destroyed the good stage.
  • T-Ara had a lot of hate, but I seemed to enjoy this stage. Number 9 but vampire version. Not much change to the song, except for really creepy dance breaks. And BOOOOBSSS!!!!!
  • 2NE1 had an alight stage. Though they just sang Missing You and Do You Love Me?, this still had remarkable stage preference.
  • Taeyang and G-Dragon seemed to had some fun on stage. I liked the lineup of songs they had coming. They sung 1AM, Crooked, Ringa Linga and Bad Boy. Considering that the whole group as not there, they did a good job filling up 3 other parts as well.

MBC Gayo Daejejeon

  • Miss A’s classy club mix for Hush sounded the best and probably has to be my most favourite stage out of all the stages listed here. It sounded to sexy and cool all at the same time.
  • T-Ara’s Number 9 and What Should I Do was a great stage. They combined the two songs into a club beat kind of song which flowed pretty well, considering the two extreme opposites for each song.
  • Ailee’s rapping before her performance , U&I, was da bomb.
  • F(x)’s Rum Pum Pum Pum was pretty good as well. Was not as impressed with the original version though.But the instrumental and ending of this stage was awesome!!! And finally F(x) gets a stage remix for an end of year festival.
  • B1A4’s rock remix for What’s Happening? was also a pretty cool performance. Literally got me going with the beat.
  • Infinite brought a new thing to the stage with Destiny remixed with the instrumental of Deception. Something that was quite unexpected but sounded pretty good despite the two songs sounding completely different.
  • Give It To Me by Sistar was pretty cool as well if the little bit of dubstep (I think) mixed in the song as well. Hyorin’s intro with Sweet Dream was pretty cool.
  • Kara’s medley of songs was pretty good. And considering the departure of two members, it fitted the occasion. They performed Lupin, Step, Damaged Lady, Mister and Honey (not sure about the last one though.

If you watched the performances, which one did you like? Honestly, when I was watching the performances on YouTube, all I thought was that it seemed too much like a normal music show rather than something to be called a “End Of Year Festival”. I think these stages are losing their purpose. But anyway, still a fantastic line-up and amazing stages!!! What were your favourite stages of the three nights?

Domino Game – Kiss&Cry

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Lets move along to another new band. This is the first female rookie group of 2014 which I will be reviewing and it seems like this group is being a hit. Kiss&Cry is a group under Winning Insight, which is home to the boy group Mr.Mr. There are 4 members of the group including BoHye, Dia, Haena, Soyumi. BoHye, Dia, Soyumi in the past had already debuted into various groups and going solo, while Haena is the only “new” person in the group to the industry. It seems, from the love they are getting, can quite popular. Honestly, I would have overlooked this group, but I decided to do a review because it is probably the first KPOP girl group this year who did not focus on the sexy concept (minus Sunny Hill).

This group has such strong vocals. I am so surprised with the song. I thought it was going to be some kind of boring crappy song that many girl groups debut with, but it turns out to be a pretty cool song. Though the rapping is quite bad, I am not going to complain. This band reminds of Yell.O.w from last year. That band had good vocals as well, but an absolutely crappy music video and 1 or 2 performances. The instrumental is like an army kind of beat to it, which sounds pretty good, which shows a more dominant side for the girls but it seems to be portrayed in a more upbeat way. Honestly, when I read the translated lyrics I kind of get confused about what they are talking about. It seems to be a mish mash of English lyrics, but I guess it would make more sense in Korean.

When I mentioned about the non-usage of the sexy concept, I may have lied. Re-watching the music video, there is a hint of sexy in there, but not as strong to call it a “sexy concept” and hence preventing a repeat of the events of the same story for the past 3 weeks with the girl groups. I think I may need to ban the word “sexy” altogether. You can tell that this music video is quite low budget with the camera. Not being picky here. but Mr.Mr had decent music videos and were filmed with what seems to be a more professional camera rather than a handheld crappy one. Yeah. the sets can be worked on, but hey, every rookie band must go through the same sets before they becoming big. But despite that, it was an alright video. Not much of a plot in it, but I am still completely confused about the whip that girl was holding. Hmmm….

Honestly, the dance is quite boring for me. There really is not much to comment on with this dance. However, I guess they make up in the vocal department since they sound pretty flawless in their performances.

6.5/10. Not too bad for a debut. I think it is time to turn on my radar and keep this band in the memory bank. Hahahahaha…. I am so funny. Not.

Don’t Say Anything – Sunny Hill

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As mentioned in a review a few days ago, Sunny Hill has finally returned to the stage with a brand new ballad. Though fans may be excited to hear that their band will be coming back with the male member, Janghyun, it seems like the excitement is dying off quite quickly, after the true meaning of the song was released. Janghyun, who was just a few months ago, released from military enlistment, had decided to step down as a member of the coed-group and become the producer for the band. He will not be showing his face anymore on stage, but will be working extra hard behind the scenes to provide new songs for fans to hear. As a fan, I am quite sad about the news. Sunny Hill has always been one of my most favourite groups, mainly because they are one of the few coed groups in Korea. But either way, good luck to Janghyun for future purposes and lets hope songs like the groups successful singles will continue to churn out!!!

The song sounds amazing. There is a slow start to the song, but I really enjoy how it starts to build up to the chorus. The chorus itself is much different from the song itself. The song is quite mute and quiet, while the chorus is loud and stands out from the rest of the song. Not only that, but the chorus is quite catchy and those parts after the chorus are catchy as well. There are a few flaws in the song however. Misung’s rap is out-of-place. It actually does not fit with the rest of the song at all. It sounds awkward. As you can tell, I am not a fan of rapping in a ballad, mainly because rapping tends to be fast and a ballad is usually a slow type of song. Not only am I unimpressed with that, but Janghyun. I thought he would have sung at least something in this song, since it is a goodbye song for him. But, instead he literally just speaks two sentences in English. Ummm… Honestly, I am sure he could have squeezed in a line or two for himself or close off the song himself. Hopefully we get to see him on stage though.

Damn this review is long. This is what you get for giving me a pen, paper and free time. I make notes on music videos. Scary right??? Anyway, the music video is quite beautiful. I like the setting of it. Quite bright. I also love the video. When you look into the lyrics of the song, it seems like the person wants to get rid of those good memories to be able to “move on”. In the music video, she brings their memories in the form of balloons. The white ones are useless to her, but the coloured one are her memories of her love. You see scenes where the girls grab these balloons and throw then out, in a way, getting rid of them. That is my way of seeing the music video, the white background makes it look like a flashback or memory as well. Not sure about the black background and Janghyun, cause it looked like they had a blackout during the filming. But I like the music video, so I am not going to complain.

What a long review. I would give it 10/10, but sadly, I am only going to give it a 9/10. It is a such a pity to see Janghyun go like this, mainly because he places an important role in the “coed” band. Hopefully, we will get to listen to more of his creations and he will remain forever faithfully, with the band he debuted with in 2006.

Manyo Maash – Puer Kim

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Let’s try moving to a lesser known artist for the time being. This one happened to just release a new song just a few days ago and honestly, I have no idea who this lady is. Now, I did a little search, and it was revieled that she is a folk singer who debuted back in 2002. She made recently signed to Mystic89, who houses other famous singers such as Yoon Jong Shin, Lim Kim, Park Ji Hoon etc. I did a little Google search, but nothing really came up, expect for a few covers. So maybe an underrated artist who took time off and then decided to comeback this year with a song that makes headlines? But honestly, have you ever heard of her?

First off the bat, the song really is not that great. She has a seductive voice which is quite husky. The song has this kind of retro feel to it (despite the video saying so). Even though the song was not that outstanding, the chorus had a pretty cool impact. Even though the music video was quite dark, the song did not seem so, which really confuses me, but at the same time, both suit each other pretty well. Now, I don’t know what “Maash” means but “Manyo” means witch in Korean, so something about fairy tales? I honestly don’t know. But they way she repeats each word separately really annoys me. The words are not joined together in the song, but rather scattered around. About the lyrics itself, when it is paired with the video, you get a sense that the video is trying to hint at something else. But the lyrics talking about fitting in and standing out. I don’t know if some people are being a little too picky with the lyrics though. But overall, a good song.

The music video is dark and creepy. Totally opposite to the feel of the song if you listen to it separately. But it matches the lyrics and the voice of the artist. Weird right?? In the music video, there is a clear difference between Kim and the mannequins, where she stands out which compliments the song’s lyrics/ I don’t why, but the video wants me to watch it more and more. It is not an addictive style of a video, but there is something in the video that makes me want to go back and look into. And that little “insult” thing with the SM and YG barcodes. Oh please, does every single song that looks supposedly down on the big company have to go to the firing range of the Korean netizens. But any video ends up going to that firing range anyway. But honestly, the “insults” seem quite credible once you look into the music video. But if they were not intended to be insults in the first place, then that person who designed the barcode needs to do something about their English skills.

7/10. Though it is not as high as other songs, I like the different style. Honestly, this company seems to put together a pretty good showcase of vocalists and can be quite successful. It is always nice to discover a new artist, particularly those who were around for many years and have never been discovered.

Cha Cha – Rainbow BLAXX

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Rainbow recently unveiled their new subunit, Rainbow BLAXX this month. It is the band’s second subunit after Rainbow Pixie which was a subunit for the cutesy version of the band. Rainbow BLAXX features Jaekyung, Seungah, Woori and Hyunyoung. Now, I am not really troubled with this subunit. Mainly because I really disliked Rainbow Pixie’s Hoi Hoi, which was a terrible song on all levels for me. This subunit is much better than the other subunit to me. On top of that, this is not the first time Rainbow attempted the sexy concept. Though this is a more extreme of the concept compared to their other songs, Sweet Dreams and A were actually sexy concepts. Looking back and now, you can see how far they have come.

Honestly, I actually like this song. Though yes, there are large influxes of girl groups doing sexy, this song to me was not that bad. It did not catch my eye straight away, but I have recently been listening to non stop. Maybe since I am a guy, it will make me fall for it more, but I like it. That “Cha Cha Cha Cha” at the start was pretty catchy. Woori’s rap on the other hand was not as great as I would have expected it to be. I love the line “You feel, I feel, We feel what is coming to us”, I don’t know why but that just makes me happy. Creepy hey. The chorus is pretty catchy as well.The song is quite upbeat than the previous songs that were released this year. Compared to Something, BBB and Miniskirt, this song sounds more fun and light hearted (Not sure if a song like this can be light hearted though).

Okay, I like food. But honestly, this kind of ruined it. I think they went a step too far with the food part, where they took bites and tried to look seductive. Though it may work, I was more interested in the macrons than anything else. I am not joking, I was seriously. The also feed themselves and start being sexy on the chairs. Yeah, I think the music video should have toned it down a little. The music video has really classy feel to it. I don’t but it looks really retro in some parts which is pretty cool. Beside that, I have no idea what is happening in the music video. Like, an old lady comes out and decides to takes diamonds from the girls. And the diamonds come out of the girls by the mouth. Ummm… Say what??? And the old lady acts as if she is rich, when the diamonds are probably fake. Yeah, hmm… I want to erase all images of the old lady making her move towards the girls. The images are overwhelming me, -cries-.

The dance yes I quite too explicit for broadcast. And yes, it was requested by the companies to tone the dance down a little. I like the dance though especially the use of scarves in this dance. From the performance last night, it seems like the boys are raging all about this dance. Hahahaha…

8/10. Not bad honestly, which is great especially the amount of hate for girl  groups. However, I like the pose a question for you: which sexy concept did you enjoy the most this month? Select our answer down below.