Category: KPOP

[Review] SHOOT THE MOON – BDC

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This is a problem with big gaps between releases. Groups can be easily be forgotten. In the chaos that is 2020, BDC has unfortunately become one of the forgotten groups, despite me enjoying their debut track. They made their debut in the later half of 2019 with Remember Me. Since then, we haven’t heard much from the trio that hails from Brand New Music (the home of AB6IX and Lee Eun Sang). That changed this week, however, as the trio returns with SHOOT THE MOON.

SHOOT THE MOON doesn’t play around with its sound this time around, unlike Remember Me. Right from the start, you could tell it was going to be a dance track. I really like the acoustic guitar and flute synth at the start. They make up the main basis of the verse. Nothing too harsh here. There are some solid work in the verses from the members, but it comes off rather plain and generic. The song instantly gets better once the chorus kicks into gear. The acoustic guitar at the start makes sense, as the song segueways into a fitting synthwave piece for the start of the chorus. Smooth and sleek are words I would describe this part of the chorus. The second part of the chorus features a harder drop, bolstering the chorus and giving some oomph to the song (all at the same time). The synthwave and harder drop carries over into the third part of the chorus, creating a heavy yet dynamic instrumental piece that comes off as quite memorable. They pretty much follow the same formula for the second verse and chorus (though it omits the harder synthwave piece). For the final chorus, the song opts for just the harder synthwave piece that I had outlined as the ‘third part of the choruses’/omitted from the second chorus. That was a smart move, as it embeds the climax within the boundaries of the song that they had set previously. It allows the song to come off as clean and simple. The vocal and rapping work in SHOOT THE MOON is solid. They do feel a little simple in hindsight, but I understand the music doesn’t get them much chance to delve into something a little more different. Overall, SHOOT THE MOON is a enjoyable track.

I am not too sure what the music video is trying to tell us. There obviously a storyline about shooting the moon, but I don’t know if they are actual cause of it as the moon blows up earlier on in the video, whereas the members cause the blue light to occur at the end of the video. Also not too sure about the members in those glass cylinders where they are wearing masks. What I do like is the darkness and minimalist vibes of the video. The two techniques work very well together and made the song a lot more elegant and mature sounding.

The performance begins and ends with the members within the ‘moon’ formed by the arms of the dancers. I like how the verses give each member solo moments to show off their dance skills. They come together for the chorus, which ranges from sleek to epic!

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

[Album Review] NOT SHY (3rd Mini Album) – ITZY

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The album review that I had intended to publish yesterday is ITZY’s NOT SHY. It is also the title to their most recent title track as well! It has been over a month since the album was released, so apologies that it has taken me so long to review this mini-album. I decided to review the album during the week it was first released, yet somehow I arranged for the album review to be published this week. Right off the bat, it is a slightly interesting album. NOT SHY (the album) starts off in a familiar domain that is synonymous with the name ITZY. But as we get to the other end of the album, you might hear some different sounds. What are these ‘different sounds’? Well, you gotta find out yourself below!

Not Shy Album Cover

1. Not Shy (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for Not Shy. (7/10)

2. Don’t Give A What – In my review for their title track, I noted that Not Shy was missing some energy to really give it a kick. If you were confused about what I meant, just listen to Don’t Give A What. It has that energy that almost rivals Wannabe in my opinion. I love the pop rock sound that forms the basis of the track, which no doubt suits the group’s strong sound. There are super catchy hooks throughout the song that makes it a memorable track. Interestingly, it is Ryujin’s ‘Strike a Pose’ that steals my attention, despite the super powerful hooks surrounding it. The bass helps boldens the song. Overall, I think Don’t Give A What would be have the perfect alternative title track from this EP. (10/10)

3. Louder – Louder is a pretty weak track, especially following Don’t Give A What. And I was expecting great things give the song was title ‘Louder’. And I squarely place the blame on the instrumental of the track. There wasn’t much meat to it, simply a backbone that felt like there were gaps throughout it. Something with a little more heft would have been appropriate, especially if it gets you to turn up the volume higher to enjoy it. And it is a pity, as I thought the vocals throughout Louder do get louder, but it dragged down by the flawed instrumentation. (6/10)

4. iD – iD goes down the mainstream pop route, with the rhythm embedded in the instrumental reminding me of the instrumental breakdown in Wannabe. That part in their past title track has grown to be my favourite, so a reminder of that definitely appeals to me right from the start! I think the reminder is simply due to the combination of their metallic clangs (cowbells?) and their vocal/rapping melodies. Those are some good melodies and I like how they bolster up their power by singing together. I would have liked some stronger hooks to really push the song into the 10/10 range. For now, it sits slightly lower than that. (9/10)

5. SURF – SURF steps away from the heavy reliance of electronic synths and production, opting for something a little more retro. It is a nice change up to their sound on this album and SURF really highlights the group’s vocals (especially when we get into the chorus). There are falsettos and each member brings a slightly different tone to the song. I particularly like the falsetto that carries the title of the song post-chorus. The instrumental is a lot smoother, more easygoing and a lot less harsh (relative to their other songs + their usual sound). Overall, SURF was pleasant but in a definite good way. (8/10)

6. Be In Love – ITZY continues to steer away from their reliance of electronic synths and productions with Be In Love, opting this time for an acoustic pop track and my pick for this album’s hidden gem. It is an interesting sound, as it seems to merge both an upbeat pop sound with a ballad. And I give my tick of approval for the sound. But what initially steals my attention with this song is their breathy vocals at the start. I also like how the song continues to highlight their vocal potential, with that upbeat nature of the instrumental helping to bolster their vocals. The melodies were extremely pleasant, closing out this mini-album in a strong manner (just without the theatrics). (10/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.3/10

Not Shy Teaser Image

[Review] Light – UP10TION

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It is almost two years since UP10TION moved to an eight member lineup, as TOP Entertainment continues to promote Lee Jin Hyuk and Kim Woo Seok as solo artists after their participation in Produce X 101 (and in Kim Woo Seok’s case, the short-lived X1). Since Produce X 101, the rest of UP10TION have not had much promotions aside from their last comeback, Your Gravity, which is quite disappointing (and I solely blame their company for the lack of promotions). However, that changed slightly during the week after the remaining eight members of UP10TION dropped Light (their new song) and Light Up (their new mini-album).

My number one issue with Light is that it still doesn’t offer anything new for UP10TION. The song, as a whole, plays it safe and sounds quite pleasant, which I have mentioned before is not always a good thing. And here I am hoping for UP10TION to have a smashing comeback for once. I want a really dynamic and impactful sound, that would highlight their performance skills and make people go wow (and hopefully garner enough attention to get the other two members back into the group’s lineup – bold ideas, I know). If I were to breakdown the instrumental background of Light, you would have that squeaky synth at the very forefront of the song and funky electric guitars, over a future bass backbone. Not really the most inspiring combination of sounds ever. But I liked the direction of what the first verse was going in. When it came to the chorus, the producers left me uninspired even further with a pretty generic drop. It isn’t exciting and placed an imaginary weight on the song, which ruined the light (pun unintended) vibes from the verse. And from there, the song just doesn’t get back to the level at which it started promisingly. What I do think Light did pretty well at was highlight both the vocals and rapping potential of each member. They were solid and consistently good element of the song. Overall, I clearly wanted more to the song. It is pleasant and I don’t mind it. It just isn’t something I would go out of my way to search for.

Another music video that uses the choreography and closeup formula. This one joins the ranks of the music videos that use said formula but captures the strong visuals of the members. Other than that, the sets are rather plain and I think the sets could have been a little more dynamic, which may have added more energy to the song (and helped added an additional tinge of appeal).

I don’t have much to say about the choreography. It works well with the music, but it isn’t anything new that we haven’t seen before.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 6.5/10
Overall Rating – 6.6/10

[Review] One (Monster & Infinity) – SuperM

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If you are a fan of the SuperM (the ‘Avengers’ of KPOP) members (that is Baekhyun, Kai, Taemin, Taeyong, Mark, Lucas and Ten), then you must be excited for their comebacks that are ongoing or ‘soon-to-be’ occurring. Here is just a quick rundown for these busy members. Taemin made his solo comeback earlier this month with Criminal, whilst NCT is gearing up for NCT 2020 in October (NCT and WayV members combined!). On top of that, Kai has been confirmed for a solo debut some time in the future, while I remember reading somewhere that Baekhyun might be releasing new music. But while we wait for those comebacks, check out SuperM’s latest title track, One, which follows the pre-release of 100 and Tiger Inside.

One is a hybrid track, merging two of the side tracks (Monster & Infinity) from the group’s first studio album. It is similar to how SHINee’s Sherlock, which merged Clue and Note from their Sherlock mini-album back in 2012. So the concept of a hybrid track isn’t new, but it is rather rare in KPOP. This alone already makes the song stand out. However, I wish I could say the same for majority of the song. For the purpose of this review, I wanted to delve into One only. This proves to be a little difficult, however, as I feel like we are constantly reminded of the fact that it is two songs merged into one. I find One to be slightly disjointed, especially around the start of the chorus. It didn’t feel like it was a natural blend. In addition to that, I find One‘s instrumental to be a generic form of EDM. The chorus does bring a grand and adventurous vibe to it, which I liked (it also brought me back to their debut track, Jopping). But everything else wasn’t as adventurous by today’s standard. The vocals and rapping work performed by the members are a lot more captivating than the instrumental and I give them ticks of approval. Unfortunately, I found the melodies were pretty generic and I didn’t really find a hook in the song to help make the song catchy. That being said, there was one part that really stood out to me. This part was the climax of the song (Taemin’s husky vocals, Baekhyun and Ten’s high note, followed by Mark’s rapping), leading into the final chorus. The intensity and epicness of the EDM during this part really help make the climax more fulfilling and the members involved made it pretty dynamic. At least, there was something in the song worth waiting around for.

The music video on YouTube made it pretty clear that there was some paid promotions, which I assume is the mobile phone that we see during and at the very end of the music video. I wonder if there was more to it, as the music video seemed to look like it was based or modelled after a game of some kind. I just got that type of vibe from the teasers they released and the overall setting of the video (even though most of it was literally inside a box). There were some snippets throughout the video, whilst the ending went through a very quick flash of various visuals of the members that I don’t remember seeing anywhere else before (unless my memory has completely failed me). I find them to be captivating, mainly because I had question marks about what was going on in those mysterious and unfamiliar shots. Any one knows?

The performance was good to watch. But I didn’t see anything impressive or ground-breaking, but I liked that they went hard and didn’t hold back in the performance.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 7.5/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 7.2/10

[Review] ARISONG – cignature

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Dropping their latest comeback yesterday was cignature. The new song is titled ARISONG and is featured on their first mini-album since their debut earlier this year. ARISONG follows the groups Nun Nu Nan Na debut and ASSA comeback in April.

ARISONG does not hold back. It takes a matter of seconds before the song blasts us with this messy noise. I caution those who wish to listen to the song on ‘full blast’. At a low volume, the song is quite bearable. But at a much higher volume and I would say the intensity and chaotic nature of the song is quite overwhelming and can best be described as an ‘assault’ on your eardrums. I cannot believe I just said that regarding a song. To me, the best parts of the song came during the verses. Everything was a lot calmer and more palatable. Nothing overwhelms, with the vocals and rapping opting for a more normal sound. The instrumental featured synths and textures that I thought were interesting and even fun. When it came to the chorus, things started to get a little more intense and chaotic. And with the instrumental for the main part of the song labelled with such words, the overly cutesy vocals were just a no go for me. I get that they tried to infuse a bit of character into the song through their vocals and rapping, but it just felt too much of a mismatch of styles once you factor in the instrumental. As the song climaxed, everything goes haywire. I found myself to be overwhelmed and didn’t know what to exactly focus on. Nothing really a good ‘last’ impression of the song to leaver the listener with. On the plus side, ARISONG does earn marks for memorability, given everything does standout in one way or another. But in this context, it might not be a positive thing.

The school student concept isn’t a brand new or groundbreaking concept for KPOP. I wished there was a bit more to the music video to make it memorable. They could have gone with more wacky visuals, along the lines of that orange hand tree that featured midway into the video. I think that would have made the video more interesting and it could have enhanced the chaotic nature of the song within the music video. I guess I just found the solo scenes and closeups to be quite tame, relative to the music.

The performance fits more of the cutesy side of the song, rather than the intense or chaotic side of the song. And for a cutesy centric performance, it isn’t a terrible one. Nothing was that groundbreaking once again, but this wasn’t a major deal breaker this time.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 5/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 5.9/10

[Review] La Di Da – EVERGLOW

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After their amazing and catchy DUN DUN comeback earlier this year, EVERGLOW is finally back with their latest single, La Di Da. The new single is featured on the group’s second mini-album, -77.82X-78.29.

EVERGLOW has once again managed to exceed the expectations that they had set themselves through their previous comebacks. La Di Da is exciting thanks for the upbeat energy that it packs through its 80s retro electropop instrumentation. It is also rather unique. There are a few KPOP songs that have preceded La Di Da in this genre, however none of them have managed to exude as much appeal by going hard as La Di Da has. Even when it came to the rapping in the verses, EVERGLOW manages to wow us with trap sequences that fit in with the retro vibes that the song is built upon, but also remaining fresh and unique at the same time. The vocal work and rapping are superb. There is so much power that comes from these two elements that brings it up to par as their other powerful tracks, but is refreshing given the retro twist. I also love the short instrumental break we get right after the second verse. The only issue I have with the song is that their vocals and instrumentation during the peak of the chorus seems a little blurred. But this doesn’t compromises the hooks and catchiness of La Di Da in any way, so it literally be can be glossed over. Definitely give La Di Da is a listen. I doubt you will be disappointed.

Once again, the music video takes on a choreography and closeup formula. But it manages to captivate nonetheless. I applaud the director for managing to capture really good visuals of the members, but also managing to capture the best angles of the choreography as well. I love how the shots were clean and didn’t employ any of those shaky effects that a lot of music videos are incorporating in their music video in hopes to replicate an edgy vibe. This song could have enable this, but I am glad it didn’t go down this route. Instead, the music video adds that edgy flair using the sets and their outfit, which were really well executed.

La Di Da emphasise what EVERGLOW does best. A powerful choreography. As weird as it might sound, I enjoyed the use of their arms throughout the performance. It adds a visually appealing complexity that makes it worthwhile to watch. I also like that while the group is powerful, they can still be sexy with no compromises. I also find Yiren’s ‘La Di Da’ just before the final chorus so memorable and can simply be classed as a ‘killer part’.

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

[Review] The Stealer – The Boyz

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It is fair to say that The Boyz has had an action-packed 2020, so far. In March, the group returned with their first studio album and title track of the same name, Reveal. Later in June, the group emerged was the victors of Road To Kingdom with CHECKMATE, earning them a one-way ticket to the upcoming season of Kingdom (which has been pushed to next year). And now the group has returned with their new title track, The Stealer and mini-album, Chase.

The Stealer starts with a short peaceful piano piece, before launching right into the chorus. The contrast between the two makes the start become quite bold and it really pulls you in. The chorus itself is paced, employing a dragged out effect within the dance instrumentation, and the vocals come off shouty (in a good way). I would have loved a more captivating hook, but the combination of shouty-like vocals and strong instrumentation that makes up the chorus is well-rounded and dynamic enough for me. The choruses are followed by a snappy drums and cool bassline instrumental break, which also makes up the basis of the instrumentation throughout the rest of the song. It also gives off stylish vibes, adding extra appeal to the song no doubt. When it comes to the verses, I find the song blends the rapping and vocals extremely well with one another. Unlike the dragged out nature of the chorus, the verses kept you on your heels with the instrumental being consistently fast paced. The second verse is when I realized that the song is a hip-hop dance track. I somehow didn’t get this vibe during the first verse, which is odd as the chorus basically sets up the same hip-hop route. To me, the best part of The Stealer is the bridge. It simply comes down to an awesome vocal line, followed up with dynamic rap sequences, before launching back into the final chorus. The Stealer could used some extra oomph to close out the song in a much stronger manner. But that is just an additional want from me.

The song itself is about how the members are attempting to steal their lover’s heart. But at the last moment, their lover disappears after. It seems like their lover is onto them, as the music video does depict them going on a mission to steal their lover’s heart. But at the end, the heart is gone and the members are left behind bars and fences (even the lighting was set up to look like a fence in some choreography shots), meaning their lover had played them. I thought this was a nice twist to the storyline they were trying to depict within The Stealer‘s lyrics. Aside from my quick interpretation, I really like the boldness and dominance of the red colour. The members are dressed up stylishly in black outfits, popping out of the red background.

Given that this is the comeback following their Road To Kingdom appearances and win, I expected something with a little more wow factor. While that wasn’t delivered (I mean, how do they top the jump from their Danger cover?), they opted for a more stylish and trendy setup and vibe for this performance. I quite like this alternative direction, with the choreography exuding masculine energy that really sets them apart from other male artists who have more recently returned.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.5/10

[Album Review] The Book of Us: Gluon (1st Mini Album) – Even Of Day (DAY6)

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As you can tell by the title, today’s focus will be on DAY6’s first unit, Even of Day, mini-album release that dropped at the end of August 2020. The title of the mini-album is quite lengthy, The Book of Us: Gluon, and it features the vocals of Dowoon, Young K and Wonpil (the other two DAY6 member, Sungjin and Jae, are currently taking some time off). The mini-album has a unique setup. There are only three songs on the album, including the title track When The Sea Sleeps. However, interwoven into the tracklist are an introductory track, two interludes and an outro track featuring commentary and vocals from DENIMALZ 3, the mascot of the three members who form the group (see the When The Sea Sleeps music video for the mascots). For this particular album review only, I have opted to include those tracks in the album review as they are a cool and individualistic draw point to this mini-album.

The Book Of Us: Gluon Album Cover

1. Landing (Introductory Track) – Opening the album is an instrumental track that depicts DENIMALZ 3 making their landing on a planet and discovering a whole new world (based on the ‘vocals’ in this song). The organ-like synthesizer brings a grand welcome type of vibe to the song, reminding me of synths used in the past as part of the theme song for a sporting event in a new city (i.e. Olympics and World Cups). The song then changes towards the end to be a lot more fun, colourful and upbeat. It is a great opener to the album! (10/10)

2. Landed (그렇게 너에게 도착하였다) – The members of Even of Day has said the main difference between their songs and DAY6’s usual discography is the incorporation of synths in the music. Landed is a very obvious example of this difference, with the presence of the synths compensating for the lack of guitars. It is a very different style but I still enjoyed it. I also like how the drums were quite profound throughout this song. What remains consistent between the unit and the original band are the vocals, which I find to be very dreamy and soothing in Landed. The instrumental reminds me 80s ballads and new wave love songs (which incorporated a fair amount of synths). Both come together quite nicely and is a pleasant listen, overall. (8.5/10)

3. Ocean (Interlude 1) – Ocean is the perfect track to have playing in the background whilst having a stroll along the beach. I find the whistling, harmonizes and vocalisations throughout the song quite uplifting and joyful, making this song suitable for Summer. It can go the extra mile and brings some warmth to the listener during Winter as well. I also like how the member’s mascot continue their ‘discovery’ theme, tying both the theme and title track (i.e. the sea references) together quite nicely. The song isn’t my personal cup of tea on this mini-album, but still is a pleasant number to listen to (especially if you find waves crashing into the shore therapeutic) (8/10)

4. Where The Sea Sleeps (파도가 끝나는 곳까지) (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for Where The Sea Sleeps. (10/10)

5. Forest (Interlude 2) – Forest includes samples of forest sounds, similar to how Ocean contained samples of ocean waves crashing into the shoreline. Once the musical instruments comes into play, the forest sounds become quite subtle and I wished they were somehow more profound. However, the instrumental to Forest has a bit of a kick to it and is almost arcade game-like, which has very enjoyable upbeat energy to it. (8/10)

6. Thanks To (땡스 투) – Thanks To follows the same route as Landed as it sounds like another 80s ballad/new wave love song. What differs with the two songs is this one is a lot more playful with the synths (i.e. that deep burp-like synth sound that constantly repeats in the instrumental), taking the song a step further than Landed and providing an interesting textural background. Their vocals once again are really nice, compliment the instrumentation. The best parts are when Wonpil and Young K harmonize with one another, binding the song together to be one wholesome track. (9/10)

7. To Be Continued (sung by DENIMALZ 3) – Based on the title of this song, DAY6 might still have more coming our way in The Book Of Us series. However, the song could easily just allude to the fact that DENIMALZ has so much more to discover and that their discovery stories/songs will continue into the future. Instrumentally, To Be Continued is the most upbeat track on the ballad, thanks to the saxophone, which coincidentally reminds me of other saxophone centric KPOP tracks (Orange Caramel anyone???). It is fun, energetic and definitely an eventful closer to the album. I also find it cute that their mascots sing in this song and the autotune really gives a crunchy texture to the song. (10/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.6/10

The Book Of Gluon Teaser Image

[Weekly Chart] 3rd Week of September 2020

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Another Sunday and another Weekly KPOP Chart post. It is going to be a quick one today, as I want to get today’s album review out since I already missed out (and hence cancelled) the album review on Friday. That will be published shortly. I have already written everything up. I just need to quickly format the post to make it look like every other album review on this blog. But in the meanwhile, here is the weekly KPOP charts for the past week – the third week of September 2020.

One thing that I have been doing a lot lately is looking at the song’s that experienced the biggest jumps each week. For this segment, I consider a rise in 30 positions or more a ‘big jump’. For this week, the big jumps belong to Taemin’s pre-release single, 2 KIDS, and Super Junior-D&E’s latest release, B.A.D. Outnumbering the big jumps are the songs that have remained steady between last and this week’s weekly charts. These include YooA’s Bon Voyage, Taemin’s Criminal and Lovelyz’s Obliviate.

And now it is time for the Top 5 breakdown. Starting for the fifth and fourth position this week is Taemin’s Criminal and YooA’s Bon Voyage (respectively), which we have established to be steady from last week (see above). The rest of the Top 5 are new songs that were released during the week. fromis_9’s Feel Good (SECRECT CODE) debuts in the third position. ASTRO’s first subunit, Moonbin and Sanha, debuts in the second position with Bad Idea. And finally, Stray Kids’ Back Door takes the throne for the third week of September 2020. For more of the charts, scroll down below.

  13th Sep – 19th Sep 2020
Title Artist Status
1 Back Door Stray Kids (new)
2 Bad Idea MOONBIN & SANHA (ASTRO) (new)
3 Feel Good (SECRET CODE) fromis_9 (new)
4 Bon Voyage YooA (Oh My Girl) (=)
5 Criminal Taemin (SHINee) (=)
6 Helicopter CLC (▼ 3)
7 I LOVE YOU TREASURE (new)
8 RIDE KNK (new)
9 Flame CRAVITY (▼ 7)
10 Where The Sea Sleeps Even of Day (DAY6) (▲ 12)
11 I Miss You B.O.Y (new)
12 GUNSHOT KARD (▲ 4)
13 Obliviate Lovelyz (=)
14 Not Shy ITZY (▲ 22)
15 MADE FOR TWO VAV (new)
16 B.A.D Super Junior-D&E (▲ 37)
17 Sacrifice Han Seungwoo (VICTON) (▲ 26)
18 Open Mind Wonho (▼ 9)
19 Sukhumvit Swimming ONF (▼ 11)
20 Ice Cream BLACKPINK ft. Selena Gomez (▲ 11)
21 2 KIDS Taemin (SHINee) (▲ 43)
22 Bad Guy JENYER (▲ 23)
23 THANXX ATEEZ (▼ 17)
24 ULLAELI KKOLLAELI 1TEAM (▲ 8)
25 DBDBDIB SATURDAY (▲ 9)
26 Beautiful Scar Lee Eun Sang ft. Park Woo Jin (AB6IX) (▼ 16)
27 nanana MCND (▼ 8)
28 Oh Ya Ya Ya LUNARSOLAR (▼ 9)
29 TO BE OR NOT TO BE ONEUS (▼ 28)
30 Favorite Boy (Goblin) A.C.E (▼ 18)

Songs leaving the charts this week are:

  • Naughty – Red Velvet – Irene & Seulgi
  • Dessert – Hyo ft. Loopy & Soyeon ((G)I-DLE
  • What You Waiting For – Jeon Somi
  • HOLO – Lee Hi
  • Time Turner – The Man BLK

See you in the next post (that album review that I mentioned at the start).

[Review] I LOVE YOU – TREASURE

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Making their first comeback literally weeks after their debut is TREASURE, with I LOVE YOU. This hastiness to make a comeback is quite rare in YG Entertainment’s world, given that their artists tend to go for months and years on end with no signs of a comeback. That being said, YG Entertainment have already confirmed plans for an ambitious end for 2020 with confirmed BLACKPINK and AKMU comebacks and it is rumoured that iKON, WINNER and BIG BANG will be also making their comebacks before 2020 wraps up. Today, the focus is on YG Entertainment’s latest addition to their family and their comeback single, I LOVE YOU.

In my BOY review, I noted that the group stepped away from YG’s strong association with the hip-hop genre, going with what felt like a pop sound instead. I am not sure if I LOVE YOU confirms that observation, as it seemed to take a step back towards the hip-hop genre. It isn’t strong throughout the track, but it prevalent during some parts (i.e. the second verse). Personally, I don’t mind this as both BOY and I LOVE YOU manages to breath some freshness into their company’s discography. I LOVE YOU‘s opening verse promises more of that pop feel. I really like the lightness of both the guitars and their vocals. The pre-chorus brings about a build up that felt typical, but makes total sense given the fast-approaching epic, deep and abrasive drop for the chorus. I personally enjoyed this drop as it totally throws your expectations for the song array. I liked how the chorus doesn’t stay in this rough gear for its entirety, instead emerging out of the deep and abrasiveness nature to help bridge to the other parts of the song. The second verse was a typical trap-based rap sequence. I am not entirely against this trap-rap sequence, but it did feel dry and unoriginal. Skipping forward to the bridge, we return to that pop feel briefly before we are launched right back into the pre-chorus. The one part of I LOVE YOU that I am not a fan of is the anthem-half of the final chorus. It is very YG to do an anthem at the end of the song and (as I have mentioned before) it is pretty cliche. I wished that they just made the second half of the final chorus be the actual final chorus. I would have been fine with that. They could have also thrown something dynamic into the mix to change up the final chorus if they wished. To sum up, a good followup to BOY in my opinion.

The song talks about their feelings towards their lover and the music video was a pretty good representation of that. There were a lot of love hearts and youthful visuals throughout the video, matching with the song’s innocent theme. I wasn’t a fan of the closeups of some of the members during the second half of the rap sequence. It felt a little try-hard and mis-matching. I actually preferred the visuals and choreography closeups during the first half of the rap sequence, as it binds nicely with the rest of the music video. My favourite bit of the entire music video has to be any scenes in front of that huge screen. Especially when it came to the chorus and the screen showed this huge wave and a really nice blue/green hue to it.

The choreography is fantastic. I liked how powerful they made the chorus feel from just the moves alone, emphasizing the bass and power that the chorus had musically. The head bopping and finger hearts was definitely a killer part in my opinion. This might just be a visual component in the music video and not necessarily replicated on stage, but the dancing in the water looked epic.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 10/10
Overall Rating – 8.2/10

[Review] RIDE – KNK

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Another group who has been absent from the stage for a year and three months is KNK. It has definitely been a while since we have seen this group as well, with their last comeback being Sunrise in July 2019. Today, the group returns with RIDE and the mini-album, KNK Airline. Here is a fun fact related to this comeback: this comeback is funded by fans after the group and their company started a MAKESTAR project earlier this year. This makes it KNK’s second comeback funded by fans, with Sunrise and KNK S/S Collection being their first! To me, that is pretty cool and shows how strong Tinkerbell’s (their fandom’s name) is.

Something that I find common with KNK comebacks is that they never fail to draw my attention. It is the same case with RIDE, instantly drawing me into the song from my first listen. You might think that I am easy to satisfy, which I agree to a degree. However RIDE manages to have a few tricks up its sleeve that I personally did not expect. I have to begin by saying that RIDE does feel significantly weaker as a whole compared to their previous title tracks. This is partly due to the generic nature of the instrumentation that doesn’t really have much boldness or character to it. However, it is what they add to the instrumentation that gives the song life. Firstly, let’s focus on both the vocals and the melodies in the song. While they aren’t explosive or powerful as they could have been, the choppiness to the melody was pretty unique. And it is more interesting, as the rhythm to RIDE made this choppiness feel smooth (which is contradictory, but KNK and the song’s producers struck a fine balance between the two and I like this very much). The melodies also make this song quite catchy. Secondly, the rapping adds some stability to the song, in my opinion. They help keep the song grounded (or anchored), while the rest of the vocals and melody provided upbeat energy that made the song feel like it was floating about. Thirdly, the energy that I just mentioned was pleasant and enjoyable. It isn’t as hard-hitting as I expected and I thought that was quite nice. Overall, I enjoyed listening to RIDE. It may not be up to par as their past comebacks, but they managed well with it.

Another music video with strong visuals from the members during their closeups. But aside from adopting that same choreography and closeup formula that I have mentioned time and time again, there isn’t much else to the music video. I personally do not understand the setting of the music video. The members are dressed up as pilots and do some choreography on the airplane runway. That makes sense. But it is the desert scenes that I have question marks over. There might be a reference to the desert (or some place isolated and away from civilization) in the lyrics, but I haven’t picked up on anything yet.

The start to the RIDE choreography with Heejun being lifted into the air, after he ‘levitates’ off the ground by holding onto the member’s legs is really cool. There is a subtle smoothness to the choreography that I really enjoyed. I also liked the fast paced nature of some parts, matching the tempo of the music quite well.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 7/10

[Review] Feel Good (SECRET CODE) – fromis_9

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Next up on the comeback list this week is fromis_9, who makes their return for the first time since their FUN! comeback, one year and three months ago. Such a long gap between comebacks is not ideal, especially for a group who was starting to gain momentum following their Love Bomb and FUN! comebacks. However, as I always say on this blog, it is better late and than never. The group returns today with Feel Good (SECRET CODE), their third mini-album, The Little Society, and a eight-member lineup (as Seoyeon is sitting out of the promotions due to an injury).

Whilst Feel Good is track filled with funky guitar riffs (and hence complimenting current trends to a tee), the track is interestingly not as retro as I had hoped for. While I believe that fromis_9 would have one of the few female groups currently active that would have nailed the retro style and sound, Feel Good opts for a clean, modern and quite refreshing spin on the whole idea of a funky sound. There isn’t much going in the instrumentation apart from the funky guitar. In hindsight, it is rather plain (This was a thought when I first heard the song, but it has long disappeared from my mind now). However, that isn’t really an issue as the members really do help cover it up this barely noticeable flaw with their vocals. The rapping isn’t as great as I felt they wasted an opportunity to go down a more dynamic route for Feel Good, which could have been incorporated into the song via the actual rapping or instrumentally. But the vocals are really well thought out. They go with a lower tone for the verses, which I think gives the song a mature flair on top of the funky instrumentation. I really like the ‘Woo Hoo Hoo‘ that we get in the pre-chorus, for no other reason other than it felt classy. Once we got to the chorus, the members sang at a much higher tone, adding a subtle but appreciable amount of energy that doesn’t overwhelm the listener, complimenting the instrumentation. The chorus itself is also quite catchy, thanks to the vocal melodies and hooks.

The music video has nice visuals. But other than that and the choreography/closeup formula, it is incredibly plain to watch. I liked how they held back with the colours though, which suits the song style. But from what I have seen in KPOP music videos over the years, the producers could make the video a lot more dynamic and visually appealing whilst also complimenting the song’s style (as they have with the colour choices). A much strong balance between these two elements would have made the video more appealing to watch.

From what I can see in the music video, the choreography looks good. There isn’t anything ground breaking or new in it. But it works well with the music video. There seems to a mature feel to the choreography, as well. It is subtle, but it feels different for the group, especially since fromis_9 has been known for more cutesy and innocent concepts in the past.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.7/10

[Review] Bad Idea – Moonbin & Sanha (ASTRO)

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Yesterday, ASTRO launches their first duo unit with Moonbin and Sanha joining forces to bring us Bad Idea, which is featured on the pair’s first mini-album, IN-OUT. This comes after the entire group returned with Knock earlier this year.

It seems that funky is now the norm in KPOP. Bad Idea continues the ongoing trend of reemerging funky and groovy numbers in the industry, a trend that KPOP has definitely experienced in the past. Some of the best and widely known KPOP tracks over the years fall into this category! While Bad Idea does fit in with that particular crowd of songs (based on genre alone), it just needed a bit more to potentially be given that status. And that ‘bit more’ could have easily been a rap sequence. Sure, the addition of a rap sequence would have been cliche move. But I felt that Bad Idea was missing an element to give the song a kick and some additional intense energy. The entire song is vocally centric, which makes complete sense given the vocalist label that both Moonbin and Sanha carry whilst promoting with the rest of the ASTRO members. There isn’t anything wrong with that. I just believe it is missing that oomph to bring it to the next level. But aside from that, what we got was perfectly nailed. Both Moonbin and Sanha did amazing with the vocals, especially when we got to the falsetto pre-chorus. That pre-chorus was super sexy sounding, admittedly. The chorus was quite simple and catchy. The instrumental has a nice bass feel to it and the guitars work very hard to bring the funkiness to life. Maybe that ‘bit more’ could also have been delivered with a bit of a change up in the instrumentation, but it would have been most effective as a rap sequence (in my opinion).

The music video for Bad Idea is super interesting. The pair take on a dark sensual concept with their choreography and solo shots. That itself is something quite exciting, as it takes ASTRO’s previous concepts a step further. But that is embedded throughout a time-loop story line, where Sanha constantly dies after drinking a poisoned drink and wakes up right after. He becomes confused and lost. Moonbin isn’t the centre of this time-loop, so suspicion is on him almost immediately from the start. It is revealed towards the end that Moonbin indeed did poison Sanha, causing him to die. I think Sanha had shot Moonbin in the past, which might give Moonbin a motive. Though I am not sure why. That is just my take on the music video though and I am sure other theories have determined by Moonbin is killing Sanha and how Moonbin better fits into the story line (i.e. I didn’t understand meaning behind the fire and broken glass scenes).

The choreography looks quite good. I liked how they carried that dark sensual concept from the music video into the choreography. I really like the move that did when they repetitively sang ‘Bad’ during the chorus. Their chemistry was also note-worthy during their duo moments!

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

[Review] Back Door – Stray Kids

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At the very end of the music video for their previous comeback (God’s Menu), the members of Stray Kids were seen walking through the Back Door, which is also the title for the comeback title track they just dropped a few hours back. This means that Stray Kids and their management had planned this comeback and teased it since the beginning of their God’s Menu era. It astounds me how much planning goes into these comebacks, especially when they are all interlinked like this. Back Door is featured the repackaged version of their first studio album, GO生, which has been renamed to IN生.

Opening up Back Door is a very groovy background instrumental piece. It isn’t profound or something that the members pushes to the forefront of the song. Instead it remains in the background and feels subtle, which to me makes it more powerful. They keep the groovy background for the majority of the first verse. Why is this of significance? Well, it is a change up to the usual intense synth-heavy sound that Stray Kids has been going with through their title tracks and it is definitely intrigued me with the direction in which Back Door was going in. When we enter the pre-chorus, the funkiness dissipates and we are slowly brought back into Stray Kid’s usual intense style in time for the chorus. The main centrepiece of the song is made up of thumping synths and percussion, which works hand in hand with the idea of the door knocking we get at the start of the chorus and is quite catchy. I also really like the shouty vocals part of the chorus, which brings a more dynamic feel and additional depth to the song. While I am on the topic of the vocals, I feel like the chorus was the best showcase of the vocals in the song. Unfortunately, I did not care for Seungmin, Bangchan and I.N’s parts (i.e. pre-choruses and bridge), mainly because their parts of the song were incredibly plain. Back Door felt more like it was well set-up for the rappers, who were able to show more of their intense delivery style without the need for the intense instrumentation. Overall, I am liking the grooviness in the verses and the catchy nature of the chorus. I just wished there was a better bridge between the two parts to make this a more dynamic song.

Back Door is a song that invites you through the back door for a party. And they essentially do that with the actors from their previous music video. We have the scientists, the masked people doing measurements (not exactly sure what profession they are meant to be representing) and the school girls from God’s Menu. They are among the suited people in the art gallery, who do not like the idea of the part and continually switch off the lights preventing the members from partying. But that doesn’t stop the members as they turn on the lights and continue on with their dancing. In the end, the members get their epic party going with everyone in the background dressed in white hoodies. I wasn’t a fan of a number of things in this music video though. Firstly, the tan coloured tops they wore underneath their outfits looks pretty cheap. And secondly, the overuse of the shaky camera effect. It just makes those scenes look exaggerated.

The choreography was awesome. I really like the whole chorus routine, especially the second half of the routine (i.e. some of the members intensely knocking on the door, whilst the rest paired off and acted like arches/doors that spun around the knocking members – that sounds complicated just in words). The first half was equally as cool. The door knocking and that whole final sequence when the funky backdrop comes back was memorable.

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

[Album Review] Lived (4th Mini Album) – ONEUS

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As mentioned earlier today, there is another album review coming. And here it is! The album that I wanted to focus on today was ONEUS’ fourth mini-album, Lived, which was released less than a month ago. At the forefront of this mini-album is To Be Or Not To Be, while ONEUS’ Road To Kingdom finale single, Come Back Home, was also featured on the release. In addition to the two tracks, there are another four (including an introductory track) which I will have a closer listen to below.

Lived Album Cover

1. Intro: Lived – Lived (the mini-album) opens up with Lived (the introductory track) and features lyrics, landing itself a spot in this review. It is a nice opener. Lived eases you into the album with a simple instrumentation. It is a style that we have heard before and it isn’t the most groundbreaking or suspenseful introductory track that I have heard. However, it is pleasant opener (even though the members do weigh up the worse of two options – dying and the fear of being wiped from their lover’s memories). (8/10)

2. To Be Or Not To Be (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review of To Be or Not To Be. (10/10)

3. Dead or Alive – Dead or Alive continues the momentum from To Be or Not To Be. To me, Dead or Alive has this subtle funk to the verses, which I am digging. In addition to that subtle funk, the song has an epic dubstep chorus drop and guitar riffs throughout the verses to add depth and textures throughout the song. Interestingly, the two merges together to open the final chorus (which was really cool) and help set up a different climax form, which was extremely effective than your usual high or soaring note climax. I also really like the electric guitar riff solo we get just prior to the final chorus. As for the vocals and rapping, I give them a big tick as they sound so clear and crisp, even throughout the noisy nature of the dubstep chorus. Overall, Dead or Alive was pretty dynamic and definitely a track worth listening to on this album. (10/10)

4. Dizzy (혼란하다 혼란해) – We get more guitar riffs and a peppy form of modern hip-hop/pop in Dizzy. As soon as you play the song, you can register a much more cheerful and happy tone to the song, which stands out after two intense dance tracks. It is also super catchy and very addictive. I really like how they executed the title of the song at the very start of the chorus. It was bold and it almost felt like they were stomping their foot down, but with their voice. Their vocals and rapping made this happen and it felt like their strongest effort on this album, as there wasn’t much instrumentation for them to hide behind or bolster up the track for them. I wished the final chorus was more of all them singing. I felt that was appropriate, despite it being a pretty cliché move. We did get some, but they soon reverted back to one member singing. Aside from that one lacking element, Dizzy is a fun number to listen to. (9/10)

5. Airplane – Airplane continues that bright tone we got in Dizzy. However, the song falls into the pop realm, as opposed to the hip-hop like influence the previous song centred around. I personally think that Airplane is the best song instrumentally on this album. This is thanks to the vibrancy we get into the electrifying chorus. It is a pretty catchy instrumental hook and feels well-suited for the Summer season. Vocally, the members sound quite nice and the rappers add a further dynamic touch to the song. I would really like to see a live performance this track, as the song enables for a fun yet grounded performance suitable for ONEUS. (10/10)

6. Come Back Home – Click here to read the full review for Come Back Home. You will need to scroll down a bit for the review. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 9.2/10

Lived / To Be Or Not To Be Teaser Image

[Review] OH YA YA YA – LUNARSOLAR

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Remember that I should be catching up on reviews? Well, they are slowly coming. I guess I will be drip-releasing the reviews as I finish them. The first track that I am reviewing as I return to the “catch-up” phase is LUNARSOLAR’s debut track, OH YA YA YA. This recently (like start-of-the-month recently) debuted female quartet hails from JPlanet Entertainment and their lineup consist of Eseo, Jian, Taeryoung, and Yuuri. The group has quite an extensive resume, with their lineup being associated to the Produce 101, MIXNINE, The Unit and a number of previous female group including the Korean S.E.T and the Japanese I’S9.

To me, OH YA YA YA is a song that has been heard before. One listen in and it felt generic enough to stop and skip to the next song on my playlist. However, I held onto hope that maybe OH YA YA YA would change and become a little more interesting. But unfortunately, it just didn’t. The song is a mixture of electronic music that we have heard before. Trap and tropical is what comes to mind when I am trying to figure out the exact genre of OH YA YA YA. A combination that we are all quite familiar about. The hooks and melodies, which could serve as the saving grace of this debut song, were okay. But they weren’t impressive enough to compensate for the generic nature of the instrumentation because they are pretty standard themselves. What this song does extremely well, however, is show off the potential of the group. Their vocals and rapping are really strong. It is just a pity that the song didn’t do them justice and give them an opportunity to shine on stage or the charts with a memorable song that impresses. I will definitely put the group on my radar given their skillset, but I wouldn’t be going out of my way to search for this song.

OH YA YA YA was all about breaking free from society and having fun. And the music video shows exactly that with the office scenes. But they don’t show the members as part of the office staff. That would have made the video cheesy. Instead, the members are already inserted into the scene ready to have fun. They just had to break the boring and dead atmosphere of the office. Aside from that and the rest of the music video, there was a lot of references to the group (aside from group/solo shots). I would have been fine with the use of their playing cards that featured the group’s logo. That was actually quite cool. But the insertion of those images that simply flashes between frames is a bit much for my liking.

Performance-wise, the group definitely holds their ground with the live vocals and rapping. Good on them for that! As for the routine, I am rather impressed as their legs seem to be in uncomfortable bend/formation during the key parts of the choreography. I also like their bright energy they bring to the stage via their smiles whilst they performing. Definitely exudes the upbeat energy from the song.

Song – 5/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 6/10