Category: KPOP

[Album Review] Dystopia: Road to Utopia (6th Mini Album) – Dream Catcher

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It is time for another album review. Honestly, I am so sorry about how scarce these album reviews are this year. They just take up so much time and I find myself to be quite limited with time lately. I am trying to keep to my schedule where I can and I am hope to get out all the album reviews that I have flagged on the ‘Coming Soon’ page as soon as possible. But enough talk about that. Today, we will be focusing on Dream Catcher’s latest mini-album, Dystopia: Road to Utopia. It features the single Odd Eye as the title track and Wind Blows as the secondary promotional track of the album. In addition to those two songs, Dystopia: Road to Utopia includes another three songs and an intro track (which I will not be including in the review). So without any further delays, here are my thoughts on Dystopia: Road to Utopia.

Dystopia: Road To Utopia Album Cover

2. Odd Eye (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review of Odd Eye. (9/10)

3. Wind Blows (바람아) – Dream Catcher, once again, merges their signature rock sound with EDM. While the group has done this before with some of their other side tracks, Wind Blows is unlike any other. And I say that in a good way. Wind Blows is a powerful piece. The energy that comes off it is quite thrilling. The softer moments of the song helped make the rest of the song more impactful. Their vocals and rapping really suits this style. Maybe in the future, Dream Catcher can revisit something along the lines of Wind Blows for a title track, as it definitely has the potential to be ground breaking change to their rock niche. (10/10)

4. Poison Love – Poison Love opts for an electronic dance profile, diverting well away from that rock niche that is associated with Dream Catcher’s name. And it joins the ranks of amazing side tracks from the group. Honestly, the amount of times I have replayed Poison Love since its release is probably quite unhealthy. Poison Love has such a sleek club sound during the chorus, subtly intense and quite hypnotic. The verses, considering the combination of instrumental and vocals, come off as quite classy sounding. The rapping in the second verse is heavy, yet continues the trance that the chorus creates. As a whole song, I find Poison Love to have this nostalgic factor that reminds me of songs from 2000s (which is what I grew up on). (10/10)

5. 4 Memory – Dream Catcher continues their diversion from their rock sound, continuing with a lighthearted song that delves into a mild touch of acoustics and a heavier tinge of an abrasive EDM. 4 Memory is a nice song that showcases their vocals. The lightheartedness of the song really brings out a smile in the listener, and you can feel the positive and bright atmosphere that is exuded from the song. Overall, quite enjoyable. (9/10)

6. New Days (시간의 틈) – New Days returns to the rock sound that we all know Dream Catcher for in their last song. New Days sound like it could be the anthem or OST for a bright and happy anime. It is quite an upbeat and bright song. I could imagine myself listening to the song while in the park on a day of blue skies. I really like their vocals in New Days. While the song blasts us with rock energy, their vocals keep the song grounded and not go overboard with the rock energy. I also like their harmonisation in this song. The best part of the song has to be the ‘Wa’ that follows the first and final choruses. It just adds a level of prettiness to the song that one would not expect when you hear this style of rock sound. (9/10)

Overall Album Rating – 9.4/10

Dystopia: Road to Utopia Teaser Image

[Review] On The Ground – ROSÉ (BLACKPINK)

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It has been a long time coming. But after years of promise, the next BLACKPINK member has made their official solo debut. ROSÉ makes her start as a solo artist with the single On The Ground, an all English single. Usually for an all English single would be lumped as part of the International Song Review segment. But as ROSÉ will be promoting the song in Korea, I have decided to write a separate review for it. The first member of BLACKPINK to make her solo debut was Jennie, way back in 2018 with SOLO. Check out that song if you haven’t yet after this review.

On The Ground is an awesome track. I literally have to get that off my chest. I was pretty satisfied with the entire song from the start. ROSÉ really shined with her vocals in this song, making a lasting impression of a minimalistic acoustic instrumental at the start of the song. Her vocals were extremely clear and I really like the tiniest tinge of raspiness in her voice throughout the song. The producers were very clever with the minimalistic instrumental approach, as this made us zone into her vocals from the very first second. I also like the ‘Every day, every night‘ line in the verses, which reminded me for the briefest of seconds, a Taylor Swift type of melody. The chorus is a bit of a twist, with the direction changing for a bit of an electronic influence. I really liked this beat drop changeup, as it cuts through the acoustic of this song and brought a intense dynamic to the song without going for an overload of synths or strong beats. It is aesthetic, similar to how I perceived Jennie’s solo debut. As mentioned at the start of this paragraph, I was pretty satisfied with the song. But what sealed the deal for On The Ground that spectacular high note/peak. It came out of nowhere and everything before it in the bridge did not give me any idea that high note was fast approaching. It was so good and out of the blue that it left a strong impression on me. To the point where it made the final chorus feel more astonishing and lively. Needlessly to say with how impressed I am with the song, ROSÉ delivered a stunning solo debut song with On The Ground.

The music video compliments the song so well. I really like how the music video really highlighted her visuals throughout the video and kept her grounded (pun intended) throughout the video (for the most part). I also liked, to match with the song’s chorus, the music video opted for explosions and really cool effects (i.e. floating ROSÉ) to heightened the chorus’ vibes and energy. I also like how glamarous she looked throughout the video, which I am sure is reference to her celebrity status. But there are many scenes littered throughout showing us that she is realizing what is most important to her is not that lifestyle, but rather being herself. This is the premise of the lyrics as well.

[Updated] The performance was very clever. The thing that really stood out to me was just really how low the performance was, which felt fitting for the song’s lyrics/title. The first chorus was performed by Rose and the dancers by lying on the floor. The second chorus was performed sitting on the ground, while the final chorus was performed while standing up. It was a creative choice and it felt like a climb that shows that while she was at a low while living the glamorous life, she got back up as she fully embraced her own identity.

Song – 10/10
Music Video – 10/10
Performance – 10/10 [Updated]
Overall Rating – 10/10

[Review] SEOUL – GHOST9

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GHOST9 is back with a brand new single, titled after the capital city of South Korea! SEOUL is featured on the group’s third mini-album, Now: We Are Here. One of the things that I am glad about with GHOST9 is that they (and their management) have already bypassed their first hurdle by already delivering multiple comebacks within less than a year of debut. That is a big feat as they aren’t from a big company, and we have seen many groups from similar companies fail to return after one song. SEOUL follows the release of W.ALL, which was the main title track for their December 2020 comeback.

Within just one listen of SEOUL, I was confident that the new song surpassed their previous title track in terms of likeability, execution and enjoyment. I really liked how the song started off with such an intense introduction, before throwing us a curveball with a higher pitch synth. It was definitely an intriguing start. SEOUL then followed up with the same choppy spiraling synth but at a lower pitch. I liked this reversal as the higher one would have been too whiny to continually listened to, given how much the latter was played throughout the verses. The synth itself brought dynamism, something that I pointed out was lacking in the the verses of W.ALL. It also complimented the lower tone in their members voices when they rapped or sung in the verses. I also liked the energy that the vocals and raps in the verses brought to the section, heightening the dynamism I just mentioned. SEOUL‘s chorus was also pretty good. It went for a more vocal centric approach. I felt that this was a lot less intense and almost softer than their other releases, allowing for a pop vibe to come through. I quite like this changeup for GHOST9 as it brings something different to the table for the group. One thought that did occur to me while listening to the song is that the chorus does feel ever so slightly plain. I feel that was the super critical side of me processing the song. I still enjoyed the chorus nonetheless and would happily continuing listening to the song regardless of that thought. Skipping forward to the bridge of the song, especially with how atmospheric it felt. The heavy thumping made it sound more epic. The higher pitch version of the synth returned just before we launched into the final chorus. I felt quite done with the sound by then, but the higher pitch made it feel reinvigorating and punchy. The ending brought a bit of dubstep to the song, which I quite liked as well. Overall. SEOUL was quite enjoyable.

I was keen on getting a continuation of the big robots that featured in their Think of Dawn and W.ALL music videos. But the music video for SEOUL opted for more traditional icons in the giant department. For this video, the focus was primarily on Seoul (the city) and their giant of choice was a really cool dragon. The city of Seoul was also featured in the video, with the nightline of the city being the centrepiece for this comeback. We saw it behind the choreography shot where they performed on a floating platform which I am assuming is on Han River. We also saw it in their rollercoaster ride, though I assumed this was more post-production than reality. I also liked how they performed in front of the more traditionally structures of the city, acknowledging the culture of the city. The hanboks and jackets worked really well, as well. Overall, a really good video.

I liked the choreography for this comeback, but I felt that it could have been a little more powerful. It was going in the right direction, but I felt their moves were a bit weak and could have been sharpened a bit. I know they employed some smooth moves during the chorus, but that doesn’t mean other parts didn’t need to be a bit sharper. Other than that, I really like the choreography for the bridge and enjoyed the different vibe the ending part had when the dubstep started to come through.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 8.6/10

[Review] Encore – GOT7

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Earlier this year, GOT7 announced their departure from JYP Entertainment, their home for the past seven years since debut. The leadup to this news, there were rumours of disbandment and rifts between the members and their agency (i.e. JYP Entertainment unfollowing GOT7 members on Instagram and vice versa). However, like many groups nowadays, GOT7 promised their fans that they will remain as a seven-member group into the future despite signing to different companies and seek ways to promote together under the name GOT7. Many groups have made similar promises but have yet to make that group comeback that they have promised, instead focusing on solo work. Well, GOT7 has managed to deliver on this promise by regrouping shortly after their departure to release Encore, a single that promises fans that they are still a group no matter what.

As the song’s messaging suggests, Encore is quite different from the usual dance centric title tracks we have heard from GOT7 over the past seven years. While a dance track or something of their usual style would have been greatly appreciated, the group opts for more of a ballad approach with a band-inspired instrumental that is quite toned back. I feel like most songs for fans typically fall into this style simply because it is the easiest way to convey thoughts and feelings. But instead of being a sad ballad, there is a hopeful tone in both the instrumentation and from the members, which suits the messaging of Encore. Every member (vocalist or rapper alike) all take a melodic approach to their lines, complimenting the band-like instrumental that I had mentioned they opted for. It was quite flowy and soothing to listen to. What I also really enjoyed was the line distribution of the song. It felt like each member got a distinct part. I know that Mark and BamBam got the least, but their parts were noticeably theirs. I also liked how these two members, who usually just rap, actually had vocal lines in this song. The ‘Encore‘ repetition was quite nice, briefly mimicking the shouting of ‘Encore‘ that you would usually hear fans shout at the end of the concert, which they actually did blend into the song at the very end. Overall, Encore definitely came off as touching and pleasant.

The music video simply showed the members gather to record the song, share a meal and convey that promise that they are still a group in a short speech in the video. Pretty much what I expected. It was nice to see the members show their friendship in a casual and laidback manner, without the need for flashy lighting and elaborate set designs. They used a home style filming approach, which made the video feel more impactful. At the end, when they blend the fans shouting ‘Encore‘ into the song, we see a camera filming the crowds at one of their concerts whilst the members on stage. To include fans in the final moments of the video was really nice and appreciative.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9/10

[Review] Moon Rider – BDC

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Starting off this week is BDC with the release of their latest single, MOON RIDER. This single is featured as part of the group’s second mini-album, The Intersection: Discovery. This return of the trio from Brand New Music follows the release of Shoot The Moon and The Intersection: Belief in September of 2020.

The funky trend continues to infiltrate the KPOP industry, with MOON RIDER being the next song to conform to this ongoing style of music. While that sentence does potentially sound like it would be followed up with a groan, it is quite the contrary. I am enjoying the funky sound, as I tend to have an affinity towards the more upbeat and energetic styles of music which this style in question clearly falls under. What I do like in MOON RIDER is that the disco-like synths that make up the song maintains that matureness to it that I had pointed out in my SHOOT THE MOON review. Together, MOON RIDER is refined yet also fun at the same time. The matureness is in part thanks to the members themselves. To me, they sound very experienced in this department. There is that touch of simplicity to their vocals this time around as well, but I felt that they managed to show a bit more technique thanks to the falsettos they employ as part of the chorus. All their other vocal work was well-processed and felt clear and crisp to me. I also really like the kick the rapper brought to the song following the first chorus. It kept the momentum of the chorus going and helped drive the song forward in an appealing matter. The bridge was interesting. They opted for vocal layer and a stripped back instrumental background. I thought it was nice and gave the final chorus the ability end out the song on a punchier note. Overall, MOON RIDER felt consistent to their previous comeback and maintains that enjoyable nature.

Once again, the music video doesn’t make much sense to me. I did have a rewatch of their previous music video, but I can’t seem to pinpoint any connection between the videos, as I am going on the assumption that the comebacks are linked. In this video, the members are obsessed with the moon. For a moment, they close their eyes together and find themselves searching for something. While I was expecting us to see what they had found, the video leaves me slightly frustrated by not showing us anything. Towards the end of the video, they snap back to reality and then converge (upon remembering what happened) to a white box that has light shining from it. You probably can see my literal notes for the video don’t make sense. But that is how the video comes off for me. Many questions are flying through my mind. Any help will be appreciated. Aside from the plot, the video does have a simple aesthetic of black and white dominance. It felt stylish and trend, compliment the music in an abstract manner.

From what I could see in the music video, the choreography looks good. It isn’t as exciting as other routines out there. But the energy was pretty much well-matched between song and dance. My only critical comment is that the choreography could have been a little more refined by polishing the synchronization of artist and dancers. But this might be the editing of the music video.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.2/10

[Review] Why Why Why – iKON

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iKON is finally back after a year and a month absence from the stage with Why Why Why. The new release follows Dive, their title track of their previous comeback. Since then, things have been quiet for iKON until most recently. Bobby made his solo comeback with U MAD in January of this year, while iKON was also confirmed to be a participant for their upcoming show Kingdom. Hopefully 2021 is a more eventful year for the group, with Kingdom already making it look promising.

Honestly, I don’t have much to say about Why Why Why. This may sound like a bad thing to start the review off with, but I felt the song was straightforward enough to describe what it felt like for me. And honestly, it felt like a really great addition to their discography. Why Why Why is probably iKON’s most smoothest and melodic comeback to date. To me, I felt everything glided along with the acoustics of the instrumentation. I quite liked that. The song largely feels like a ballad, with the tiniest hint of a hip-hop influence in Bobby’s rapping in the second verse. I thought the chorus was a really nice ring to it in terms of melodies. Paired with the vocals, you could feel the heightened heartbreak behind their voices. Why Why Why undoubtedly shows us a more fragile and delicate side of the group. Their vocal delivery during the chorus made it feel like the song was going down a power-ballad route. I did wish they committed to it more, with a featuring of more powerhouse vocals and some high notes from the members to potentially make the song even better than what it is. I did like the emphasis on the raspy and huskiness of their voices, which comes naturally with some of the members. While it might be a whole heap of praise, I have to note that Why Why Why is no mind-blowing song. It isn’t unfamiliar territory for the group, who have had a string of melodic hip-hop centric releases in the past – Love Scenario being the most well-known example from their discography. Does that impact how much I like the song? No, not really. Why Why Why managed to reel me in for all of the above praises and it has definitely maintained its appeal to me.

To match the song’s ‘sad reflection’ tone and showcase some of the fragility, the members appear quite sullen and heartbroken throughout the video. You can tell they did a good job at conveying those emotions throughout the video if that is what is coming off it. The lonely scenes of the members and the amount of space the cameras managed to really capture in their solo shots stood out for me. And loneliness is probably one of the best ways to showcase those emotions. The simplicity of their choreography scenes was also quite aesthetic. I also find the purple/blue sky to be potentially quite iconic, as it is the most memorable element of the music video for me. The burning bus (that they were travelling in) was a very riveting image, yet extreme step in getting over this relationship that had left them heartbroken.

The choreography actually looks quite nice. It starts off with just five members, before Bobby is introduced into the choreography during the second verse through his rap sequence. Unsure why this is the case, though it could be related to potential overlap with practice and his solo promotions. I thought the last addition made the performance look somewhat unique. The chorus looks quite nice, while the final moments of the routine during the song’s balladry moments were quite nice.

Song – 9.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9.3/10

[Review] Get Away – VERIVERY

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The next group making their comeback this week is VERIVERY. 2020 was one busy year for the male group, with three comebacks in the one year (Lay Back, Thunder and G.B,T.B.), all forming part of their FACE IT trilogy. The group also participated on Road To Kingdom, where they made it to the final round/episode and released Beautiful-x as part of the competition. Now, with the busy year behind them, VERIVERY turns to a new chapter with yesterday’s release of Get Away. It appears the group has also started a new album series, with their latest single album titled Series ‘O’ Round 1: Hall. The first part of the name suggestion new instalments to a new series once again.

Get Away‘s initial verse was definitely captivating. I really liked the whisper-like/higher pitched vocals and the stripped back nature of the instrumentation. What was definitely dominating during the first verse were the trap beats. Interesting texture and a very mysterious vibe arises as a result. The song builds slowly as it progressed closer to the chorus, with more of the instrumentation coming back and the vocals were becoming more amplified. Rapping was introduced as a last pitch, before an even more mysterious horn sounds. So far so good. The chorus is what drags the song down for me. I wished it wasn’t just an extension of everything I had just mentioned. Further amplification of every element of Get Away thus far. Usually, I would like this. But it felt too predictable and just lacked excitement, especially after that horn really caught my attention. What I do like about it, however, is that the intensity peaked and every element did feel satisfying. The second verse doesn’t necessarily return to that stripped back instrumentation, opting for something that felt in-between the first verse and the chorus. The vocals and rapping in this section did seem to stall, in terms of building trajectory. But like the chorus, satisfying would be the word I use to describe them. The bridge does take a bit of a reverse turn by going back to that stripped back nature of the instrumentation, which really drew my attention to Donghyun’s rapping. But the song reverted back to a buildup to the song’s chorus quite quickly. Overall, I felt the song had some good moments. But when it mattered most, I was left disappointed with the result. I wished Get Away had more curveballs to keep myself on the tips of my toes, as that would have given me more to really talk about.

Since the release on Wednesday, I have watched the music video a number of times. But yet, I don’t understand what is going on. From what I did see, it looks like we are dealing with two version of the group once again. The first version of the group are the ‘campers’, who received a special invitation to leads them to a dark place. This dark place is essentially where they get drugged after eating the spread of food on the table, which I assume resulted in their kidnap. The other version is watching the ‘campers’ through TV screens. While they see their plan is succeeding, they celebrate. But it seems like there is a bit of conflict between the members, with some members potentially being killed within second by Donghyun if it wasn’t for Hoyoung stopping the fight and seemingly remind everyone why they were all there. Once all the ‘campers’ were knocked out, it seems like the ‘other version’ of VERIVERY replaces them in the real world. At the very end, we do see a figure wearing white walk down a spiral building. This person could be Minchan (who is currently on hiatus and is not part of this comeback), who I believed was kidnapped at the start. Why was he kidnapped first? I have no theory for this. We don’t see a Minchan in the ‘other version’ of the group, so maybe the ‘other version’ of Minchan decided to betray the rest of the ‘other version’ to protect the real Minchan, and so the real Minchan could save the rest of his members? It is interesting though, as we see seven chairs and seven beds throughout the video, implying that the Minchans were meant to be with their respective groups. It was also a nice way to include the missing member in the video. Overall, a complicated video. But an interesting story to probably dive into once we get more of it.

I really like the mature side that the members showed through this comeback. There was a masculine and sensual feel to their moves, but in a subtle manner. I particularly liked the final chorus routine, where their moves were timed to be in sync as per the additional beats/percussion in the song during the sequence. As a result, there was some jaggered footwork at one point, which I thought looked really cool and hard to make everyone be synchronised with one another.

Song – 6.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.6/10

[Review] Fireworks (I’m The One) – ATEEZ

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Kickstarting this week with the comebacks and debuts is ATEEZ. The male group, known for their powerful performances and amazing skills on stage, have been growing in popularity. Top performances on Immortal Song and high expectations for their upcoming appearance on Kingdom have been driving this growth in the last few months of 2020. This combined with their Inception comeback earlier in the year definitely makes ATEEZ become one of the groups to look out for this year. Today, the group returns with part two of their Zero: Fever series, which features their latest title track, Fireworks (I’m The One).

As mentioned a moment ago, there is high expectations for ATEEZ with this song. And I feel that ATEEZ really hits the mark with this song. Fireworks (I’m The One) really knows how to build intensity. But let’s start from the beginning. The opening verse didn’t really do much for me. The hip-hop infused trap instrumentation and their heavily autotuned vocals felt sluggish and dry. To me, it felt like a hurdle that I had to get over to get the more filling and promising sections. The song takes a turn when Mingi (His hiatus continues. But from what I understood from the comeback announcement, he popped into to participate in recording for the album) starts rapping and it starts building that intensity I mentioned before. The intensity flows into the first part of the chorus with the song opting for powerful yet a relatively slow tempo. It feels like it was weighted down. What is really great about this first part is that it continues to build up, leading to the second half of the chorus. Here, we are blasted with energy when the EDM comes into play and the intensity peaks. The vocal work and rapping in the song is quite fine, but I found some of the vocals in the verses too heavily autotuned for my liking. I personally didn’t think the song needed that degree of autotune in the verses, especially in the song’s slower moments. The repetition of the ‘Bulnoriya‘ during the more intense half of the chorus really caught on for me, making that section even more memorable. Aside from the opening verse, I really enjoyed the journey that the Fireworks took me on in terms of energy and intensity. Definitely a fulfilling song.

I will be completely honest, I have no idea what is going on in the music video. Obviously, as the mini-albums form part of a series, the music video for Fireworks connect somehow with Inception‘s video. I just cannot pinpoint how, or if I am making a leaping assumption. But that figure in red at the very end looks very intriguing (unsure who that is meant to represent. I did think Mingi, as he is not part of the music video). Aside from the storyline, I really enjoyed the dystopian setting of the video caused by a massive sandstorm. Whatever story is moulded into the video will probably be a good one, given its premise. The emphasis on the colour brown throughout this video actually comes off quite edgy and industrial. I am also glad they included fireworks in this music video, given that the song is titled Fireworks. They definitely captialised on its presence by using it during the final peak of the song, which helps relay a more explosive atmosphere.

As usual, the choreography for this comeback is top notch. It looks aggressive for the most part and a definitely tiring workout during the song’s more intense moments. While I can only judge the performance section of this review on what I see in the music video, I think their facial expressions will play a very big part in captivating the audience during their stage performances. Their facial expressions in the music video definitely play their part in making the video more alluring.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.2/10

[Album Review] YES. (5th Mini Album) – Golden Child

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Per the posting schedule, it is time for another album review. This time it is the latest mini-album from Golden Child, YES. This mini-album was unveiled at the end of January 2021. Burn It was the title track from the album and the group has since wrapped up promotions for. As of this week, Golden Child has started follow up promotions with Breathe, another track from the mini-album. Alongside these two songs, the album also features three other tracks and an introductory instrumental track (which per usual, I have not included in this album review. Continue reading to see whether the mini-album will earn a big YES from me.

YES Album Cover

2. Burn It (안아줄게) (Title Track) – Click here for the full review of Burn It. (8.5/10)

3. Cool Cool – Cool Cool is what I would call a well-rounded song. I felt like I enjoyed every aspect of the song. The instrumental was quite cool (pun unintended). From the xylophones, to the striped back percussion of the first half of the chorus, to the brass that dominated the second half of the chorus. It all worked really cohesively together to form the song. I would have liked the song to be a little heftier, as that would really have made the song mind-blowing for me. Cool Cool also shines thanks to the vocals and rapping. The vocals really pushed the song from being ordinary to being quite dynamic through the high notes and their overall delivery. The rappers brought a really nice sense of edgy and punchiness to the song, making the song even more dynamic. (9/10)

4. Round n Round (기다리고 있어) – If you know me, you will probably know that I am attracted to songs with a bit of upbeat and lively energy. Round n Round seems to be the that track on this album. The electronic centric instrumentation gives the song a lot of texture. It also makes the song feel fulfilling and adds some interesting detailing to the background. I also like the bounce to the instrumentation, which really appeals to my affinity for this type of song. I really like the pop route they took with the chorus, which practically sold me the song within the first listen. The rappers also give the song a classy effect, while the vocalists do their usual thing with their great vocals. To me, Round n Round is this album’s hidden gem. (10/10)

5. Milky Way – Milky Way is no ballad, thanks to its instrumentation. But it feels like the album’s mandatory ballad thanks to its more downtempo approach. The song also leans more to the pop genre (maybe even pop rock to a certain extent). Once again, I like the synths used in the instrumental and how it was underlaid with some nice guitar work, which helps bring a bit of acoustic to the song. For the members, I enjoyed their vocals, especially those who sang the ‘Nothing without you’ line from the chorus. I also like the autotuned deep vocals that end the chorus. It all really makes Milky Way captivating and worth listening to. (9/10)

6. Breathe – Click here for the full review of Breathe. (9/10)

Overall Album Rating – 9.1/10

YES Teaser Image

[Review] Lose – Wonho

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The final big comeback of the week was courtesy of Wonho, who made his first comeback since going solo last year. Yesterday, the solo artist made his anticipated return to the stage with Lose as the title track and the mini-album Love Synonym #2: Right For Us. As mentioned, this is his first comeback since debut as a solo artist with Open Mind. As a little side note, Wonho and Open Mind was nominated for Best New Male Soloist and Best Male Solo Choreography of 2020 in the 2020 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Click here to find out if Wonho was voted to be the winners of those categories in the 2020 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Apart from that, let’s move on with the review before we ‘lose’ any more time.

Lose continues the really stylish and sleek profile from his solo debut, something that I really enjoyed. But instead of being a proud and loud song like the synths in Open Mind, Lose is more atmospheric and ‘dark’. When you listen to Lose, you can feel this intensity and dark aura (amongst other things which I will touch on in a second) rolling off the instrumentation, vocals and everything else which I won’t have room and time to mention. The new single is concentrated with chugging guitar work, driving the song forward. The guitar also brings out a subtle sense of funkiness, which makes the song weave into the ongoing groovy trend that KPOP has been experiencing. But while it does fit in, Lose does have massive appeal and stands out thanks to the already mention atmosphere that it created, the intensity and ‘darkness’ that comes from the music. There is more of the grooviness towards the end with the outro of the song being an instrumental extension featuring an even funkier guitar piece. My favourite part has to be the violins, especially in the final chorus. The opening to this section of the song was definitely the peak of the song, whilst the use of classical violins empahsises everything that I have mentioned thus far. Adding a sensual vibe to the song are Wonho’s vocals. For the most part, he whisper sings his way through the song with a husky tone. It is very alluring and definitely fits in with the already mentioned appealing aspects of the song. While everything in Lose is literally perfection thus far, I wanted more to the song. And I felt that the song could have used rap sequence, either from Wonho or a featuring artist. Call me cliché, but I think that would have added an extra layer of intensity and appeal. And if Wonho was to pull it off, well, I am sure fans (Wenee’s) would be mindblown with Lose.

Lose‘s accompanying music video is a Wonho video. So, abs are a mandatory element. So I am sure fans and other viewers will be overjoyed if that is the thing they like to look out for. I felt a lot of the video’s setup was done so to really emphasis his body, like the rain and the associated choreography shots. His outfits definitely enable use to see more of this body (thought it makes you think why they even both with a shirt or jacket in the first place). But at the same time, it definitely made the video worth watching. Aside from a distractingly good body, I really like how the video taps into the song’s dark aura by using darkness and dimming the lights.

The choreography for Lose is quite good, fitting for the music as one would expect. It really fits because of the balanced mixture of the fast and sharp movements, with the slower and smoother moves. Wonho also makes the performance more alluring to watch thanks to his facial expressions. They just really captivate and shows off his showmanship.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9/10

[Review] Breathe – Golden Child

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Congratulations to Golden Child for winning four of the categories in the 2020 KPOPREVIEWED Awards including Best Male Group, Best Male Group Choreography, Rising Star and Best Song of 2020 with ONE (Lucid Dream). To check out who else was voted to be the best in 2020, click here!

Golden Child is back! A month ago, they made their comeback with Burn It and their fifth mini-album, Yes. The comeback has proven to be a success, with the group scoring a few weekly KPOP show wins and edges the group closer to the top of the album charts. Golden Child also made their first appearance on the Gaon Digital Charts with the single. And it seems like the success has given them the opportunity to promote a follow-up single from the album. Today, the group dropped the music video and started promotions for Breathe, the final song on their Yes mini-album and the focus of this review. On a side note, I will be reviewing their mini-album and that album review will be out very soon!

Breathe taps Golden Child into the once-again common retro trend. And it is a fine track to kick back to, especially at the end of the album. What I really enjoyed about Breathe was the upbeat energy that comes off the song, particularly during the choruses. This isn’t hard-hitting like most songs we hear today which heavily utilises EDM and comes swinging at you in a relentless manner. Instead, Breathe comes off as quite pleasant and satisfying. There is also a nostalgic ring to the song. The pop dance track features synths that really make the song quite dynamic and appealing to me. What is also great about Breathe is how it present the members. The melodies are quite easy to get into, allowing the vocalists to be heard in a fulfilling manner. The ‘I Wanna Breathe‘ opening line to the chorus actually stuck with me, along with their other hook and melodies. The bridge is a prime example of how their vocals were highlighted in the song, with Bomin and Joochan bringing some steadiness to the song to make the final chorus that little more impactful for us. I also really liked how the rappers’ section had a groovier kick, allowing their rapping to fit into the song with a slightly more intense and dynamic background. The groovier kick still fits in with the pop tune of the song, of course! Overall, Breathe is definitely a nice track, with optimal energy being its biggest asset.

The image teasers leading up the follow-up promotions showed us Golden Child as volleyball players. In the music video, we see their high-school volleyball player personas train for a big game. It appears that Daeyeol and Y have a bit of a rift while practicing for the game. It leads to Y becoming quite moody and it also appears that he temporarily leaves the team (i.e. when he leaves his sweatband behind after practice). Joochan tries to hold him back, but he brushes him off. It turns out that Y doesn’t want to leave the team and comes after hours to continue practicing. Joochan joins him and gives him his sweatband to tell him that he is part of the team regardless of whatever he is experiencing. They have a bit of fun before Daeyeol appears in front of them. Y believes he is about to get scolded, but Daeyeol ends up throwing a ball at him. All is forgiven and they return with the team to train as a group. They go on to play the game, with the team scoring a win thanks to Y. The story is pretty cliché, but nice at the same time. Apart from the storyline, the music video features satisfying choreography shots. My favourite is the white shirts and demin jeans on the outside field. The colours just pop and look great.

I really like the entire routine. Like the song and music video, it just feels just right and it compliments all the other elements of this comeback quite well. The start was quite interesting. It was a nice soothing look on stage, before the first chorus kicks into gear. I also enjoyed the sharp moments in the chorus and how Golden Child performed in sync with one another on stage, giving this choreography a really polished look.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8.5/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.9/10

[Review] Beautiful Beautiful – ONF

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ONF is the next group to make their return to the stage with a new song. It is titled Beautiful Beautiful and follows the pre-release single, My Name Is. Both songs are featured on their first studio album, ONF: MY NAME. The release of this album also makes ONF join a growing number of artists to return with a studio album this year. We last saw ONF through their Sukhumvit Swimming comeback last year and their still incredible New World Road To Kingdom single. Yes, I am still raving about that song. Let’s see if Beautiful Beautiful has what it takes to replace the title New World holds for me.

Beautiful Beautiful kicks off with post-chorus that is undeniably catchy. The “Brrram ppabam…” repetition from the very first second sets up the song quite nicely and gives hint at how fun the next three minutes and so will become. When the song actually kicks into gear, it takes on a wonderfully energetic and exciting retro profile. It brought me a smile to my face and I had a little boogie in my chair. The really upbeat energy and splash of colour that you could hear in this song is quite impressive and felt quite refreshing. The sudden switch to between chorus and bridge actually worked really well. Usually I am not a fan of this tactic and am an advocate for transitions. But here, it fitted in with the retro sound. I really like how strong their vocals are in the song. They really made sure they could be heard over the song’s quite dominating instrumental. I honestly cannot pick out a standout member because they all sound fantastic and deserving of the title. But more so, I cannot choose because they (as a group) decide to drop the acapella version of their post-chorus hook on us within the bridge. I just really liked how flawlessly the producers weaved that into the song. Very clever and it paid off for me. The last thing I wanted to touch on was the hooks. As already mentioned at the start of this section. they are super addictive and catchy. Altogether, all the elements of Beautiful Beautiful make it a perfect song. I don’t think it can replace New World as my new ONF song to rave about however. Both are distinctly different. So I have decided to make them both my favourite ONF songs to rave about!

ONF takes us into a futuristic world, where it looks like they are outlaws trying to make a positive change. There also seems to be the side mission of rescuing J-US, who has been captured by the robot authorities and is detained in a virtual prison. Hyojin is the one in charged of that side mission, while everyone else is hacking their way through the world (as it is the future) to make that positive change. I am not sure what that change is, but it is most likely to spread the message of the lyrics (to be proud of oneself). I felt a Thunderbird-like presence in U’s solo parts with the flying rocket ship, Their outfits in the choreography scene gives off that same feeling as well. It really brings back memories for me (does anyone know what Thunderbirds is anymore? Or am I showing my age?). I really like how elaborate the landscape was and all the post-production that was added to the video. It definitely looked cool. I also appreciate the lighting, which went extremely well with the bright energy of the song. Overall, a really cool and interesting video to watch.

Once again, the choreography brings forth that energy that I really enjoyed in the song. They managed to strike a fine balance between making the choreography fun and infusing their usual powerful performance style that we all associate ONF to. And you can tell that they really enjoyed it. I also liked how the performance felt freeing and it not constricting. There was a strong sense of harmony between the members for this routine as well.

Song – 10/10
Music Video – 10/10
Performance – 10/10
Overall Rating – 10/10

[Review] All Or Nothing – WEi

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Next up on the comeback list for this week is WEi with their first comeback since debut and new single, All Or Nothing. This is featured on the group’s second mini-album, Identity: Challenge. If you are unfamiliar with the this group, they are a six-member male group under Oui Entertainment. They kicked their careers off with their single, Twilight in October of last year. Other than that, there really isn’t much else to say in terms of an introduction for this review, so let’s just move onto the sections to why we are here.

If you were to put Twilight and All Or Nothing together side by side, you wouldn’t be able to guess that the two songs are by the same group. All Or Nothing is many more times aggressive, abrasive and powerful than their debut track. If you look back on my review for their debut single, I mentioned that the song underwhelmed because it lacked ‘heft or load’. Well, I am happy to report that all the heft and load that should have been in Twilight somehow made its way into All Or Nothing. They really went for it and it definitely impressed me. To some, the use of this blastful energy and noisy synth work could be overwhelming. But for me, this is what I am looking for. The song taps into a hybrid trap motif, bringing a lot of texture and vibration to the song. There was also an exotic influence to the instrumentation. It was very subtle in the chorus, but made explicit in the second verse. I really enjoyed that even though the song started off quite abrasive and aggressive, it built upon that initial feeling in a very satisfying manner. By the end of the song, I was heading banging along to the music – always a great feeling. I do have to note that this song doesn’t bring anything new to the table. But it is definitely an upgrade, in terms of appeal, from their previous work. The high intensity also gives the rappers of the group an opportunity to really shine. They really showed off their skillset and showed us that they should not be messed around with their deliveries. The vocalists did a fine job themselves when given the opportunity. They had to give us some powerful vocals to be heard over the instrumentation, but this didn’t affect the quality of their sequence. Overall, All Or Nothing really captures your attention with its energy and holds a lot of promise for WEi’s future.

The music video for this comeback looks really good. Some of the sets had this really edgy style to them, like Daehyeon’s hallway that is lined with guns and Dong Han’s cliff (mainly due to the angle at which the camera was shooting at). Other sets like Junseo’s golden room and Yohan’s couch were a bit of a let down. I wished the producers thought of something more original with those members’ scenes. I really like the industrial profile of the choreography sets and that they used a lot of flashing lights to match the music style. Aside from the usage of the typical formula as I just outlined, the music video does its job well and compliments the song as a whole.

The relentlessness and intensity of the song makes this one tiring performance. And to pull it off whilst performing live would be an amazing feat. For their showcase, they do just that. So props to them for nailing the performance. I really like the fast paced nature of the first sequence in the chorus, It was also quite satisfying to experience the aggressiveness of the dance as the song drew to a close (as the music pushes the members one more time with an intense closer).

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.7/10

[Review] Tail – Sunmi

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Today, we see the return of Sunmi with the new single, Tail. This is her first comeback since the release of pporappippam in June of last year. Since then, Sunmi has been active with other artists such as J.Y.Park for the collaboration, When We Disco, which was nominated for Best Collaboration of 2020 in the 2020 KPOPREVIEWED Awards (Public Service Announcement: Award winners have been announced, so click here if you have checked out who won which categories yet). I really enjoy Sunmi’s work, so I am brewing with excitement for this comeback. So without any delay, let’s get stuck right into the comeback.

What steals my attention in this pop song is Sunmi’s vocals and the song’s hooks. Let’s start off with the first standout element of Tail. Once again, this song showcases the husky tone that Sunmi has in her arsenal when it comes to her solo songs. It is fitting with the concept of the comeback (more on this later on). Aside from her husky tone, her snappy and sassy delivery of her lines in the verses is very memorable. Moving along to the hooks, my favourite has to be the second half of the chorus. Her vocals go into an almost whisper-like tone which adds to much more character and intensity to the song, while the melody is quite hypnotic. This is followed up with a few spoken words (‘Shake Shake‘), adding more of everything I just mentioned into the song. I also found the instrumental of the song to be quite a dynamic mix of electronic synths. This is pretty typical style for Sunmi, but I really like how the instrumental helped carry the vocal work and hooks in this song. The energy that is the result of everything coming together is really fulfilling and helps drive the song forward. To me, Tail ticks a lot of boxes. Most importantly, it reeled me from the start and I am addicted to this new song.

I am unsure if I interpreted the video correctly, but it seems like a story of the Curse of Sunmi (or cat-lady, depending on how you look at it). I am guessing Sunmi’s former lover is attempting to break free from their relationship. I am not sure what brought on Sunmi’s case of crazy laughter, whether this is the reason to why her former lover wanted out of the relationship or whether it was brought on because of the news of the breakup. Either way, it results in Sunmi falling to her ‘death’. However, she is saved by some alley cats. From this point onwards, she adopts cat-like traits and prepares to exact revenge by kidnapping her former lover and tying him to a railroad with an approaching train on its way. He manages to escape but is now obviously terrified by Sunmi. I would like to see more of the story like a continuation at the end, or a sequel. I think that would be really cool. I also really like the sets for this music video, which look very elegant and sophisticated. Her outfits are definitely another strong visual aspect of the performance.

Tail is Sunmi’s sexiest performance yet. Just from the start of the performance where is crawling on the floor like a cat between her dancers legs, it pretty much sets the tone of the performance. But it seems like the sexy nature of the performance comes and goes, because we don’t see anything provocative until the second verse, where she dances with her dancers while sitting down. The best part of the performance comes during the bridge and is probably the peak of this comeback’s sexiness profile. The dancers’ legs act like a tail moving about, fanning out behind Sunmi like a moving tail while she is on the ground. In terms of last impression, Sunmi hits the nail on the end with her cat-like pose at the very end.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 10/10
Overall Rating – 9.2/10

[Review] Clicker – J.Don (Lee Seung Hyub – N.Flying)

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Yesterday, we saw the solo debut of J.Don a.k.a. Lee Seung Hyub of N.Flying. For those who are unfamiliar of this member of N.Flying, Lee Seung Hyub is the leader, main rapper and lead vocalist of the band. His debut single is titled Clicker and is featured on his first single album, ON THE TRACK. He is also the second member to go solo (member Hwesung has dabbled in solo work before), but the first to officially debut as a solo artist.

Personally, it was hard to figure out what to expect with the news of the impending solo debut of J.Don. From what I recall, his solo collaborative work has shown he has excelled with his rapping. But his N.Flying work has shown otherwise with vocals. So it was hard to predict which route he would go with. Clicker seems to be a mixture of both, but with a more laidback and easygoing vibe that edges towards the hip-hop genre. The instrumentation isn’t hard hitting in any way, but there are still rock influence mixed into it that connects it to N.Flying’s work. The laidback and easygoing vibe gives off a bright tone, carefree and almost hippy in a way. It is pleasant, but it is admittedly plain. The carefree and ‘almost hippy’ description can also be applied to J.Don himself in this song. There is a mixture of both rapping and vocals in the song, with the former being more dominant during the verses and the other in the chorus. To match the rest of the song, the rapping is light and flowy. The melodic touch comes through via the vocals, which sounded pretty decent. Due to the set up of the song, the hooks aren’t the most memorable aspect of the song. But there is something about the way he sings ‘Clicker‘, which just… well… clicks. The most memorable part has to be the the really short pre-chorus sequence where he sings ‘Oh momma ma ma‘. That stood out for me given that it was different to the vocal and rapping work we heard in Clicker. Overall, the best way to describe Clicker is that it is pleasant. Nothing more or nothing less.

From what I am reading, the lyrics are telling us to change negativity into positivity, which is a great message. I just don’t really see much of that in the music video. It seems to be subtly there and I think I can make out the storyline that fits in with the lyrics. Here is my attempt of making sense of the story. It seems like J.Don experience thoughts of the negative kind in his life, as shown through the different versions of himself. Casual J.Don has to battle music coming from the hippy J.Don neighbour. Scientist J.Don seems to lack ideas for his experiments. Businessman J.Don seems to be focused on others all the time. By the end of the video, J.Don has changed his negative thoughts into positive one about himself. Casual J.Don clicks a button (I am assuming the reset button to change his mentality), Scientist J.Don starts an experiment on ‘how to be yourself’ and Businessman J.Don finds a book that shows him how to focus on himself. Not exactly sure about hippy neighbour and construction worker version of himself though.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 7/10
Overall Rating – 7/10

[Review] Don’t Call Me -SHINee

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Making their grand and long-awaited comeback today with their seventh studio album is SHINee with Don’t Call Me. This new song headlines their new album of the same name. Since the end of 2018, SHINee has been absent from the stage (aside from Taemin, who has continued to promote as a solo artist) due to military enlistment of three members. The three members who enlisted (Onew, Key and Minho) were all discharged in the latter half of 2020. Since returning to the industry, the group had rejoined with one another to hold a special live online concert in January, where they announced this comeback much to the excitement of fans.

Don’t Call Me is a dance track that has firm roots in the hip-hop genre of music. While we have definitely heard this combination in the past, SHINee’s take on this is quite refreshing and addictive. The refreshing description comes through in Don’t Call Me via the instrumentation. The variety of synths used throughout the song really intrigues you. They don’t really stick to one type of synth, so there is always something different around the corner. The use of bass helps make the song ‘hit hard’ (pun intended). The bass drives the song forward and really adds emphasis to the pre-chorus or chorus, where it predominately is used. It also made the song more dramatic, which we all know is my favourite effect. While I am talking about being dramatic, they really top it off with that dramatic piano piece that appeared at the end of the bridge and infused into the first section of the final chorus. It managed to blend in well with the rest of the song and just gave the song that extra level of interestingness, albeit random. Together, the synths and bass really makes this song a textural heaven. Also adding to the addictiveness is the repetition of the title. It opens with the ‘Don’t Call Me‘ chant that is pretty much engraved into your memory before the song actually kicked off. There is a bit of rapping throughout the song, but more in a spoken manner. When it came to the vocals, there was some really cool and interesting melodies to show off vocal flair. These were an attraction and made the song even more intriguing, as they aren’t what you expect. I particularly like the melody in the chorus. Overall, SHINee manages to pull off another stunning song that slides well into their growing and varying discography.

While I think SHINee is at that status in the industry where they can attempt anything music-wise and would be untouchable with that song, I don’t think it applies to their outfits. Sure, they might get some leeway here and there. But I still question some of the fashion choices. Namely Key’s feather hat and his other headwear throughout the video. I am also not keen on Onew’s red headwear (whatever that was) and Minho’s ear flap attachment to his hat. Aside from the questionable fashion, the music video sets look really cool. And the post-production added to these sets (especially when it came to the part of the music video with the piano piece) really elevated something that could have looked rather ordinary. Some of their solo shots were very intriguing and made me rewatch the video make sure I saw things right.

Per usual, SHINee excels in the choreography department. I really like how they were fierce with this performance, which matched their lyrics and tone of the song. The ending of the performance is definitely a scene engraved into my mind and felt like a statement to viewers that they are officially back. I also enjoyed the tiny hint of elegance that was brought into the song via that piano section towards at the end of the song.

Song – 10/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9.2/10