Category: KPOP

Mirror Mirror – 4Minute

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This is like the fourth review of the past hit songs, 2nd review of the consecutive three, G.Na’s Top Girl being the next song to be reviewed. Mirror Mirror was released as the title track for the band’s first album in April 2011. Earning them only one award, this song still managed to top charts and given skyrocket the girl’s fame even further. Okay, let’s get this straight. I absolutely disliked this song when it first came out. I felt it was not their mojo to come out with a song like this. However, 2 years on, I have finally lived to the point where the song has warmed upon. I really do like it and think it is an awesome song now, rather than when it first came out. That is just a bit of a heads up for this review.

The song has its good and bad points. The high notes were amazing, JiYoon’s parts before the chorus were superb etc. However, it seems like the bad points kind of weigh the song down. At the very start, I keep on hearing “4Minute Sluts” beside “4Minutes Left”. Seems like Hyuna agree with the slutty rumours then? The most annoying part would have to be the chorus. I do enjoy it now, but a part of me still does feel that the chorus is lacking something. It really does not get my mind in the right mood to hear the song. Also, the giggles has to go. They are useless and a total distraction to the song. Also JiYoon’s rap was too kind of useless. There was no feeling in the song and I found it really boring. It changed up the beat of the song so much, I just thought, why the last minute addition to the song? So as you can see, the song was overall okay. Not the best song, but not that bad to give it a really bad score.

As for the music video, a lot of mirrors were used in the making of the video. Like a lot. If mirrors were worth 100 dollars each, the whole set was really expensive. Okay, sarcasm over, this is the most boring video I have seen in KPOP. There is not one piece of fun or seriousness in this video. Some of the sets got me kind of, WTF?, like the road scene. What was that meant to mean anyway? Also, frizzled hair, out. I hate frizzled hair and it really does not suit JiHyun. Sorry guys. They also used a lot of reflective stuff. Even though the song is called Mirror Mirror, it seemed over the top to literally combine all the mirror that come from all over the world and make a 3 minute video about it. Also, I am not sure of the very last scene where the 4Minute emblem drops down and digs itself into the concrete. Kind of weird? It made no sense. So yeah, not that happy with the video.

As for the dance, wow. It can be sure deemed sluttly, particularly the one in the music video. It seems that the band toned it down for the stage, but it really was not good at all. JiYoon’s rap part, no. I do like the idea of the hands acting like mirrors. And those purple circle, what purpose do they have? What on earth are they on about? Cause, Mirror Mirror on the wall does not have purple lines go through it.

3.5/10. That is only the song though. The rest seemed crap. Not the standard that I personally would go for, for a great song.

Heart To Heart – 4Minute

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The third review of past hit songs by big name groups, and the first of three consecutive reviews of the same topic. Heads up, 4Minute’s Mirror Mirror and G.Na’s Top Girl will be reviewed next. May decide which “past” song I will review next by the end of G.Na’s review. Anyway, off topic. But on topic. Heart To Heart was chosen as the second promotional song for the groups back in 2011, when they released their first studio album. It must be noticed that the song itself was released in March, and was deemed as a digital single in March 2011. The songs were then re-released on the first album of the band. It was also used as the follow-up song for the band’s promotion.

This song is really addictive. It was a change for the girls to be seen in this way, particularly their last releases and the level of seriousness of Hyuna when she makes her “comebacks”. Hyuna, JiYoon & Gayoon have been dominate a lot of the songs that the band has released. This, however, gives the last two members Jihyun and Sohyun more lines in which they usually have. This song has that extra sweet sound to it, which makes the song much different. Many were not happy with this particular song as it did not fit the girls image. This song is more of the aegyo type, which I agree, does fit the band. However, the song is really catchy and has that addictiveness that many KPOP songs have that I enjoy. The song talks about how a weak some men are when fessing up to cheating to their girlfriends. Interesting and different.

The music video, yeah, it is a bit extreme. I guess they are either pro prankers or really really stupid amateurs. It starts off with a couple, who are perfectly in sync with each other. But as time passes, they grow apart. Or just the guy. She is suspicious that something is up, so she investigates and that proves her idea of a cheating boyfriend. Or really she just happened to stumble upon the cheating boyfriend when she is partying with friends at a club. She confronts him at the club, but he plays it cool and does not know her. He however, it quite suprised. Then, they do a lot of pranks on the boyfriend. Spraying food to make it hard,  substituting whipping cream for shaving cream (which he really does not need, as he does not need to shave at all), putting glue into his toothpaste (the scene where they are laughing is hilarious). Then they decide to manipulate his car. Hey loser. How on earth do you not notice a group of girls laughing in the background? It is not like they are laughing silently or anything. They also go to lengths of making him sit on a cardboard box and giving him lingerie at a workplace. Original. However, the last prank kind of ruined the long run of perfect pranks. He make him faint so laming-ly, so they can take a picture of him and photoshop him, making him a criminal.  What a really bad piece of art they made there. That was badly photoshop.

The dance is quite okay. It bounces to the music and the girl’s intention behind the song fit the softness of the dance.

7/10. Pretty cool. Seems pretty good overall. Would definitely recommend the music video, just for laughs (or threatening your boyfriend for whatever action they may have committed). Hey not giving any ideas here. Linked in the playlist below, is the Korean version and the Japanese version of the song. Enjoy~

Baby – John Park

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John Park, after a long year has finally made his comeback with a new song from his first album. Truthfully, the review was meant for AAA’s Love Is In The Air. It was about to start it until I noticed that the actual song has not be released yet and that only the “short” version of the music video has been released. My bad. Anyway, I am really enjoying the album overall. It has a really catchy tune to it, which fits John Park really well. Is it me or are solo artists who are not a part of groups (such as G.Na, Roy Kim, John Park etc.) are either doing really well on charts or are winning a award for each song.

This Baby song is really catchy, rather than Justin Bieber’s. I also thought that John Park was a much better singer than his counterparts and competition. He has one of the best voices that sound sweet and mellow. This song shows that she can do many styles. From his last song, Falling, which was more a serious side, where everything was slow and emotional. This song on the other hand had more of an upbeat instrumental, which carries more energy than Falling.  The lyrics are quite Sweet, as a girl would describe the lyrics talking about how a guy is attracted to a girl, as seen in the music video as well. The song is really great and says that summer tune which everyone in the Northern Hemisphere is in, and us Southern Hemisphere are not. The song itself is really catchy and the instrumental is superb. The drums with the guitar is pretty cool and by far a really good love song this year from the band that does not step over the line of hurt or pain. Recommended.

Wow, as a science freak. I love this video. A lot of attraction occurred in this video. Let’s just say that physical attraction and chemistry attraction occurred in this video. We get a sense that the guy (John Park) is like the North Pole in this video, at the start everything in the apart was attracted to him. However, when he meets this girl, who happens to live next door, everything went opposite and her charm (or force of attraction) was much stronger than his, making all the objects that were attracted to him, attracted to her (including him). That lead him to deducing that she in the one for him and that he should take advantage as an attraction to sing behind as she pushes the trolley along the longest stretch of road, behind a factory. Like where is this apartment? In some run down place. Oh, that would explain the horrible hallway. Oh girl, I don’t want to be rude or anything but are you deaf. He is singing to you, as you walk around an area where there are no other people. Yet you don’t turn around at all until he bumps into you. Also, when you opened that door to check out that “presence”. Has it not occurred to you that the door was a lot heavier now compared to when you first opened it? No? And how on earth are you meant to change the light tube if you are standing well away from the light itself? Beats me. I like the video a lot, but there were some scenes that I thought, no. It was colourful, I think they portrayed attraction really well.

On the topic of attraction. When his glasses and necklace were raised up towards the girl in the elevator, it looked kind of wrong, hence me deduction on the “chemistry” attraction.

The live only consisted of the guy singing and a live band, so nothing much here. Though it looks like he is enjoying his time there.

8/10. Pretty good solid comeback. I was thinking of slipping in a Justin Bieber joke into the review, but it would be a little weird, since I am not reviewing him or anything.

Black Tinkerbell – Chocolat

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This is my first review of the band and hopefully it won’t be the last. Chocolat recently made their comeback on the 11th of June with their newest single, Black Tinkerbell. Despite hitting a road blocking with promoting this song, with very limited YouTube views, which I only just found out with this song. The things you learn about everyday. Also, they are a just a rookie group. I am surprised with this quality of the song from such a young group that, with this song, is really underrated.

Wow, this is one rocking song. As I said above, I was totally surprised with this quality of the song. The whole idea of the “Black Tinkerbell” is my type of thing. It is meant to be a magical creature, Tinkebell, but a “black” one (Please hold the racist comments) gives off that dark magic type of feel. However, there is no reference to the dark version of Tinkerbell. We do, in the lyrics see the girls comparing their love to the small Tinkerbell, asking their cheating boyfriend if the his love for the other girl is bigger than Tinkerbell. They make references to the size of Tinkerbell and their love in the guys perspective. The instrumental in this song is really cool. I love the electrotronic feel of the song and that dubstep part before the second chorus was amazing. It fitted the song really well. Their vocals and rap were pretty cool as well. The “I Can’t Leave, Can’t Leave” part is very catchy. The dubstep feel of the song overall was pretty cool, which I totally like.

I am not sure of the Tinkerbell or Peter Pan fairy tale, but when I saw this video I got some along the lines of cheating Prince Charming dumping Cinderella for another girl. The music video, I agree, makes the whole image of the girls look really “slutty”. I don’t like using the word, but it is the only word that fits into the description. Rubbing yourself over the couch, is not technically the greatest thing to do. Also, dance in the water stage and rubbing your body really is not that great at portraying your image as well. However, the other scenes of the music video were pretty cool as well. Where the girl pulls extra hard when making sure the dress is tight for the wearer, to tell who is boss. I also like how dark the video is, it fits the feel of the song and the title of the song as well.

The dance, is slutty. Yes, I admit that. However it has the good parts as well. It has great formations and the hand motion up the air is pretty cool. Rubbing down there is not actually. After that, I think I apologize if I have interpreted the dance and music video that way. It is my thoughts on the video and dance and you may think that way or maybe not.

6.5/10. Still a pretty good song, but yeah the music video and dance. Not the best of both worlds.

Coffee Shop – B.A.P

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B.A.P will be returning with a brand new album, I think it is with 3 title songs. However, instead of leaving their fans drooling over the band members, the group has done what they do best, make fan girls drool over the band members. The first of the three title songs from their next release was released on the 28th of June. Their next album or something like that will be released sometime this month. For some reason, this month gives me the feels of a lot of B.A.P reviews, and I am going to start it up with this very song, Coffee Shop.

Wow. This is a much softer side of the boys that we don’t see at all. This jazz feel slash hip hop slash originality is awesome. I think all of my KPOP friends are all digging this song at the moment,and I hope every other song o their album has the same feels that this one have. We are all used to their hardcore, rock pop side. They have also tried aegyo and ballads, which were not as great, but this song is amazing. I usually like the instrumental feel of the song. It is much different. While many KPOP songs are energetic, serious and jam packed. This song however steps back and has that really pleasant feel to it. This is something that I would see solo artist like John Park or Roy Kim do, but not B.A.P, hence why I am suprised. I am totally digging the vocals as well and the raps fit in very well. Its relax and calming, not like One Shot or any of their past releases. I will totally recommend this song to anyone. Like seriously anyone. To me, this is the song to put on, on a rainy day. It matches the feeling of a rainy day quite well.

The video was filmed in Las Vegas and few other places in USA. The only thing I can say about this video is: it is flawless. There is nothing to complain. The whole video has that sepia tone to it which fits the song amazingly. the camera angles are extraordinary and a lot of thought has been out into the editing of the video.

10/10. I don’t think I have given a 10/10 in a very long time. Also, I think this is the shortest review for quite some time. Yay for short reviews!!!

Is It Poppin’? – 4Minute

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4Minute recently returned to the stage with a brand new single. It has been a very long time since we last saw the girls (sarcasm) in May and now they are back at what they do best. They had their comeback in May with What’s My Name? At least not they have recovered from their memory loss and now have gone for something that I think is a bit outdated. No one ask “Is It Poppin’?” anymore. Was it even a phrase back in the day? I don’t even know. Maybe a phrase like B1a4’s What’s Happening? This song was released June 28th, a month since promotions for What’s My Name ceased.

Oh boy, this song has very little to talk about. I don’t like this song. It is not 4Minute-ish. 4Minute is not into that bubblegum pop stuff that I find really hard to listen to. Even they aegyo phase of Heart To Heart was much better than this. I have to admit this is the worst song by the band by far. Not only was a disappointed, I was totally weirded out by the tune of the song. The song does have its good part, being catchy and all of that common stuff, like Justin Bieber’s Baby, but for the wrong reasons, like Justin Bieber’s Baby. Yeah, I think that is the first time I used Baby twice in a sentence. Only a few more and I can beat the world record. Hahaha. The song talks about how a girl is suspicious of her boyfriend. I have to say the song is original, but it just does not yell out “Major Hit” to me. Again, I was totally disappointed.

I really like the water theme of the song. It matches the song’s previous title of “How’s the Water?” I think. And beside that, the music video was totally low budget. Talk about a month for preparation. I totally thought that the whole thing was quite rushed and yet again disappointed. Basically there are three different scene. Dance scene, which is the most empitest part. Party scene, where everyone was partying hard, in slo-mo. And the pond scene, where the girls stand in the pond and sing. Well, that escalated quickly. And here is where I am going to defend the girls. No, they do not look like sluts. Go home, your drunk. These girls are not sluts in this video, just because they dance. Also, how the fire starts and the water comes down. Shouldn’t that be your cue to actually like evacuate the building? Cause something tells me that you dancing won’t put out the fire. Wait a minute, there was a recent fire at a party in Australia. Yeah, there is no fire at a party here. I lied. Sorry. Here is me going weird now.

The dance… seen better. Again, the whole thing was rushed. It has that cute thing to it, but I am not exactly impressed. What’s My Name had a much better dance. However, I do like the casual feel of the dance. It’s feel is much better than other more complex dances.

2/10. It could’ve been loads better. I was really disappointed. A bit more time could not have hurt. Or the company should’ve just waited for beast to comeback and than 4Minute. Give the girls a break. Hyuna just recently got out of hospital. Let them rest.

Shock – Beast

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This is the 2nd review of past songs (G.Na’s debut single being the first review). A review that I was meant to do since the very day I started this website. It only took me 2 years. So what. Released back in 2010 and being the very first song that brought the boys to fandom, the group has since released powerful tracks, which they are known for. Winning their first award on M Countdown, the group won awards for many other songs, making them one of the biggest groups KPOP has to offer. Also, it must be noted that this was only their second single and was reconsigned for their powerful vocals and amazing talent.

Shock, by far, is one of my most favourite songs by any KPOP artists by far. The start of the song, I agree is not the best, but what made me repeat this song is the chorus. “Everyday, I shock. Every night, I shock.”. Whoever likes KPOP and don’t knows these distinctive lyrics, have to be kidding themselves. Again, released in the prime of KPOP, making this song quite popular. The song talks about the feeling a guy has towards a girl when she leaves him. Honestly, we don’t see much songs like that. I do agree with many reviews about the powerful vocals from the members and the raps. I just don’t really see that “rock” sound within the song. I find the song has that popish feel to it, rather than rock. But beside that, I really do recommend this song to every person out there. It is an amazing song. But here is where the review goes a little down hill.

The music video I found really weird. It just does not do it for me. I don’t like it, but I don’t hate the music video either. It is one of those things that I am neutral about. From what I see, and still see today, the music video makes no sense. Especially Yoseob. Girls, I know you want to be the wires that “plug into him”, but I found no reason for that scene to be in the music video. I am not big on the whole transition of the music video. It feels weird. It is like those 360 degree cameras that SM always uses. Yeah, I am badass. Comparing Cube with SM. Wait for the next review, where I compare SM with YG. Boy, that will go down well. However, I do love the fire in this video. It gives that impact upon the video and shares the same feelings with the song. Large scale music video, check. Awesome effects, check. Awesome song, check.

The dance here is pretty simple. You just need the right timing. Like literally. If you did not go at the right timing, wow. That would look awkward. But the solo parts of the dance are a bit harder to deal with. Yeah, but ti all looked awesome. I guess looking awesome is what the group does best. Something that I clearly lack in. Hahahaha.

7.5/10. Awesome song and dance. Okay music video. Oh, reviewing this music video brings out so much memories of how my computer used to be in my bedroom and that I used to sing along to the song when I never understood everything. I do pick up on some things though. Hahaha.

Female President – Girl’s Day

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Girl’s Day recently made their comeback with the repackaged version of their first album, Expectation, on June the 24th. This song and their previous hit song Expectation, which transformed the girls from cutey girls to empowering women and launch the band into further fame, ranking very high on the charts. Though many are quite disappointed with the new look of the band, I would like to disagree. I love both the old and the new look. It will only become troublesome if they discontinued singing and performing their previous hits like Twinkle Twinkle, Oh My God, Hug Me Once etc. But beside that, I see this image fitting the girls. Anyway, the song also relates to the current times, as discussed below.

I love this song. I have been listening to it non stop as it came out, because I guess I have to say is that I am now a fan of the band. The song has caused a lot of problems. They have this image in their minds of girls being the first and powerful one in the relationship. Why do men always make the first move and females don’t? This song raises this point very well and does a great job at portraying the “problem”. Also, for those who did not know, South Korea, recently elected their first female president. (As for Australia, we just kicked out our first female prime minister). So this song does really well with relating to modern day society as well see women starting to become a bigger figure in jobs in which men always had. The vocals for this song is very powerful. I love how the rap for this is incorporated into the chorus. I love the high and low parts of the song and the fast and slow. The only complaint was that I was confused about which was the second verse and which was the bridge, as it seemed mashed up with each other. But beside that, I thought the song was great.

As for the music video. Wow, pink. I like the idea of the kiss scene. It shows a girl, dressed up as a girl making her move on a girl dressed up as a guy. There is nothing wrong with this. Only, the music video is trying to portray a positive image for the girls. A guy in the video would be very inappropriate. The only thing I don’t get is the table. Why are they standing on top of tables and singing? I don’t really see the connection between standing on tables and being empowering. That or I am just not watching the right stuff. And that undressing scene at the start. Not loving it, unfortunately. Really gives off that wrong idea of the girls. And beside that, I don’t have much to say. This music video quite good, so no complaints whatsoever.

The dance is amazing awesome, however when they clap, it interferes with my hearing and their live. But I love how they would be all sexy and empowering. No complaints here. However, I do think it seems to be more appropriate to use guys to lean on rather than girls. It might just contradict the whole idea. But loving the dance. I also love the costumes they are wearing. Fits the whole comebacks, cause they look like they just came from the army.

9/10. Loving the song, music video and performance. Loving everything. But here is my question: Which song do you like? Expectation or Female President? Leave you answers in the comment. I want to know. If I was to choose, I wouldn’t. Both songs are equally great and amazing. Both videos are linked below in the playlist.

I’ll Get Lost, You Go Your Way – G.Na ft. Junhyung (Beast)

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G.Na made her debut at the end of 2010. “I’ll Get Lost, You Go Your Way” is a ballad that is very powerful, winning a reward on one of the weekly music shows while promoting the song. The song features labelmate JunHyung from Beast, while the music video also features labelmate DooJoon from Beast as well. She also released two English versions: one, on her 3rd Mini album, Bloom, featuring hit 2Hot, where Junhyung still featured with the rap squence, which was still Korean. She then released the second version on her International album, which contained all of her previous hits in English. For this review, I will be reviewing the first version. The original version. On with the review, and stuff the history class.

This song is a very decent song which we cannot find that much nowadays. Back in the day, when KPOP was at its prime. Anyway, her voice in this song is very even and I totally love this song. It has that RnB type of feel to it and still contains the ballad feel to it, despite it still being an upbeat song. Junhyung’s rap is very powerful and it is modify to fit into the song, which is very smart. From what I know, this song talks about how a girl is willing to let go of her feelings because the guy does not want to continue their relationship. However at the end of the song, the girl changes her response, and says that without him, she will not be able to live. I particularly love the last chorus as there seems to be a ring within it, which makes it stuck in my memory. I do find this song well polished and a huge success.

The music video is quite plain. It does fit the feel of the song, but not as well as I thought it would. We see a guy reflect upon his relationship with the girl and that is about it. We don’t see much else in the music video beside sad guy and happy guy. To me, it seems like they used the same set from SHINee’s Ring Ding Dong. Junhyung’s part seems to be very dark as well. Or is that just his skin? Thats scene where she is singing to the camera and sitting down. What is with that shirt? It is nude tone and also does not cover the back. Bit revealing right? Oh, and thank you to you YouTube commenters. I now cannot watch the music video without noticing sweat patches of the guy’s under arm pits.  Great work. I think she does look pretty with her blonde hair and hat. Good looking girl.

Her stage presence is very strong. Yes she may have been shaken on her first stage, because it is her first stage, but now look at her. The dance is not that great, but does fit the beat of the song really well.

9/10. G.Na’s success has been through the roof since then. Amazing song, music video and performance.

Darling Of All Hearts – Sunny Hill

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Sunny Hill has recently made their comeback with a new, equally as awesome and powerful song. This time, it plays on the the theme “aegyo”, which can be seen throughout the whole comeback. Released on June 20, and since has been ranking very high on the charts, the song does what the band always does. They always find a way to portray and “make fun” in a serious way of a very sensitive topic, which can be seen in Midnight Circus, Pray, The Grasshopper Song and Is The White Horse Coming?. This time, they incorporated their style with folk music, a genre that is hardly done in the KPOP. It had fans uneasy at first, but they in turn found it quite enjoyable.

To me, the song is not the best. It lacked power, which I adore of these girls. All their past hits had a level of seriousness to it and a lot of power which most girl groups don’t actually have in the industry. This song, when I first heard, was a bit kind of, weird sounding. It was too cutesy to my liking, until I realized that it was meant to be that way. It took me a few rounds to get use to their new style which now I honestly like. The vocals were quite great. Seungah, has improved the most. For Misung, the rap was a let down of the song. It sounded odd and “not-quite-there” for the song. I guess I can say, and many others, that the rap was not needed. I love the lyrics for this song. They do have their “special hidden message” in this song as well. This time around, they are talking about how all women need love. Women in love stories, successful business women, lonely women, friendly women. The whole lot. The chorus is surprising catchy. Not the best song of the band, but neverless a great song.

The music video was okay. Not as memorable as their previous comebacks in the past. To me, there is not as much symbolism in this video compared to their past videos. However, on that note, I love the simplicity of this video. It gives us a change of image for the band and their style which is great, especially if you are bored of seeing and watching the same thing over and over again. The lyrics blended well into the music video. As for Jubi’s part in the video, all I caught from there was Uncle Sam and the American Flag, which I found did not really match the lyrics. Maybe I am just overcomplicating the whole scene. I do that a lot, thank you teachers. The dance scenes were very cute and I loved how simple the set was for this.

The dance is not as memorable. It does not shout out “Sunny Hill” to me, however it still fits within the range of their style. That instrumental part of their dance was amazing and they seemed to be quite in sync. The ending was pretty cool. The dance has that feminine side to it along with the cuteness style they have gone for. It is not as powerful when you look at it, but it is still powerful in terms of the message which they are trying to get across.

8/10. This comeback did indeed show a side of the girls which we never knew existed. I know I did not right about the featuring artist, Hareem. I am kind of creeped out, particularly when she smiled half way through the video with the girls spinning around on his glasses.

 

Be Ambitious – Dal Shabet

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Dal Shabet recently made their comeback with one of the catchiest songs for the year so far. Released on June the 20th, the song has been deemed as inappropriate for the public, however as a fan of the song, I have to disagree. The song was deemed as inappropriate by SBS to be broadcast, so they instead decided to promote the song using a different set of the lyrics on the broadcasting station only. However, am I the only person who did not see the lyrics and the music video as “inappropriate’? They are just lyrics, a bunch of words, that have a deeper meaning than what many of us would think. It is like taking “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” as a literal statement. End of rant. Review starts now!

How freaking amazing is this song. From the start to the end of this song, I was totally in love with this song. This by far, has to be the best song of the year so far. It has this positive feel to it. Everything from the instrumental was great to lyrics to the vocals and rapping. I am in love with the whole feel of the song. It grasped me as soon as I first listened to the song and was totally amazed. It has a cute sound to give off a sexy message, which is portrayed amazingly here. The part just before the chorus is the highlight of the song, and the chorus was one catchy chorus as well. The raps and vocals were superb. As for the lyrics, many people who say “SLUTS”, you must be kidding yourself. Don’t take the lyrics literal. From what I see from the song, I hear “If boys are not players every time they try to impress a girl, why can’t a girl impress a guy once in awhile?”. Just because the girls are saying “Look at my legs, they’re pretty, I wore a short skirt” does not mean they are that type of female. Try reading the lyrics that followed up after it “Look as if you’re interested”. These songs really do steal me heart. Sorry if I am the really cheesy guy. Overall the song was perfect, especially with the high notes at the end.

The music video was amazing as well. It was cute and colourful, just as you expected. It shows the range of roles a girl can be in to impress a guy that they have always wanted from the laundry to the movies to the art class to the dance revolution stage. The only complaint out the whole video si the army scenes. I am a bit confused there, and it actually may give the audience the wrong idea of the song and video. I love the plot twist as when the girls thought they failed at grabbing the guys attention, the guys show that the whole time they have been focussing on the girls. They were just “busy”.

As for the dance, I love it. The incorporation of the dresses and how stunning do the girls look? The dress was made to look like a dress and then bam, you could take it apart to look sexy, to show what is underneath. I also loved the ending. It was different how they ended the dance.

I have to say well though, the whole comeback was different. 9.5/10. Amazing song, dance and music video. Just don’t think dirty alright?

Painkiller – Various Artist (Yes, there are quite a bit)

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I have being dying to review this song and “project group”. This song is a ballad and really one of the songs that’s emotion were very big and did a hell of a job to deliver it to its audience. Let’s list all the amount of artists and groups who participated in this label collaboration. These people include: T-Ara’s Soyeon, The SeeYa’s Yoojin, 5Dolls’ Eunkyo and SPEED’s Taewoon and Sungmin. For those who don’t know, all these artists belong to the same company: CCM Media. The song itself, with its music video was released on the 9th of June 2013.

The song is a ballad that talks about how painful love is. Love, in this song, is like an illness that cannot be curable, hence why painkillers can only be taken to be ensure less pain. There are a few lines which I like from the song when translated from Korean to English. I would also like to say that I am very lazy with where I take my translation of lyrics from (kpoplyrics), so I do not cross reference my takings. Sadly. There may be many variations with one line in the song, so what I put on here would not be technically right. You guys should be thankful that I am not using Google Translate. Anyway here are the lines: “Though I’m sick to death, I only think of you” and “Love is love only when it hurts”. The song has a radio like sound start to it and then goes into the full song. Then towards the end it fades into the radio sound once again.

As for the music video, I first thought it would be something horror base, since the video was rather creepy at the start and the music complemented this genre as well. From watching the music video,we can assume that this girl just moved back into the apartment that must’ve belonged to her former boyfriend,as there are many objects in the video that remind of the girl of her past, which causes to become “sick”. Is it me, or my first instinct if this guy or girl cheated on me, making love painful, I would throw out their belongings because it would help me get over the loss? No? Just Me? Okay, then. Also, the stuff looks rather new. Like the mirror has not dust on it. Regardless of the cover or not, there shall be some kind of dust right? We also see her taking some “toxic” drugs which in my point of view, she should’ve died earlier in the video, as at the start (or the first time) taking the drugs, she took a huge amount, more than the recommended amount. Also, the blood looks real as. I am amazed by the special effects. Sad life, I know. At the end, I think she tries to go back into time, but the clock won’t let her. However, it is too late when fate does, as she has taken her final dose of drugs, to kill her. I must commend Jiyeon’s acting. It is amazing. Props to her. You could definitely feel her emotion a lot in this video.

8.5/10. I must say I am quite impressed, especially since I have not be much impressed with the company’s reputation recently.

Ocean of Light – Nell

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Nell recently made their comeback earlier this month with Ocean Of Light. Despite the band being renowned for being a Korean Indie group that I think would have to be the most famous of the genre ever, this group really has what it takes to be a KPOP band. Nell has many previous hits before including: White Night, The Day Before and by far my most favourite song by the band, Ocean of Light. Overall, the whole album was quite amazing. Never have heard a better album that any before, which technically these guys are really talented, because I don’t tend to listen to the whole album of any artist, unless they are really good. Anyway, lets go on.

The song is really amazing. I am just going to start of with this and say: listen to the song, regardless of the what you are doing. The group itself specialise a lot in rock, rather than pop, but seriously I think this song is actually more of a pop song rather than a rock song. I really like the start of the song, with the electro shuffle-like beat and the piano. I really like the gradual addition of the drums and the build up it has to the chorus. The chorus itself has the huge impact that I look for within a song. I also quite enjoy how the song from the chorus returns to it slow start and than slowly rebuild itself. The ending itself is quite amazing. I guess this song is more of a “marching band” type of song which I like.

The music video is pretty cool. The small rooms which we find them are pretty cool and awesome. The bedroom, dining room and the bathroom. Also that room with many doors. Yeah, I don’t understand that room. Weird. When the walls open up to allow the light in, the whole scene of the guy hiding from the light was pretty funny. Also the dark scenes, where they play their respective instruments on the platform over a pool or something is pretty cool as well.

There is no dance to this comeback. The guys are a band for obvious sake.

9.5/10. Great song, music video. No dance so really can’t say much there. Hahahahaha.

I Dance – Ivy ft. Yubin (Wonder Girls)

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Ivy recently made her anticipated comeback with a new style of a song that is one of the most amazing songs of the year so far. The actual song features Yubin from Wonder Girls. Woori from Rainbow took over Yubin after the first week of promotions, for those who don’t know. This song is one of those mashups that we all don’t like of, however this song carries a different feel of the song. This song, I admit, will not be for everyone, however I think it will be one of the hottest songs of the year. Have been quite disappointed with any songs, but I also quite like this one.

I love the instrumental of this song. It is totally amazing. The Spanish feel of the song is totally one of my favourite feels of the year. Well, not Spanish, but rumba or tango, I don’t know which is which. As you see, and probably have noticed, my knowledge of dances are quite limited. I love the vocals of Ivy in this song. It showcases her vocal talent in one go without need to of autotuning. Seriously, why have I not found such a great artist before! Her high note at the end was one of the most amazing notes that I have heard. I totally love the addition of the rap in this song. It fits in with the song and gives that song the extra beat of electro music which I totally love in this video. “I got to keep on dancing, cause tears are coming down my eyes” and the lines of the raps that follow are the actual highlight of the song, for me. It was catchy and kept into my mind. Great work Ivy and Yubin (and of course, the other artists that will join Ivy on stage).

The music video, I don’t really understand that well. The whole idea of technology with the song’s instrumental is kind of “not there”. She seems to be trapped in some kind room with some sort of torturing device that is growing her mad. Also, cameras are taking picture of her and the whole music video solo scenes seem quite quirky when you have the music right there. That or she is a drama queen and is stuck in the corner of her elevator. Also, did you see that nude tone dress with the black ropes (?) around her? Quite extreme in my point of view. Though Yubin’s scene in the music video seem quite appropriate. The ending was a little too much for me. But overall, I think the music video, beside the really weird parts, do quite well. But I am still weirded out.

Rumba or Tango, the dance is amazing. From the traditional dance of rumba or tango to the more modern version of the dance after Yubin’s addition to the song. Also Miss A’s Jia and Rainbow’s Woori have joined Ivy in place of Yubin to be the rapper and all three of them do quite a splendid job. If I want to choose one, it would most probably be Yubin because she sounds most natural, but as I said, all three sound really good.

8.5/10. Only the music video. Blame the music video. But beside that, I love everything else. I have included the music video and the three different rappers into the playlist, so check it out.

First Love – After School

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After School recently made their well demanded comeback since Flashback last year. Released on the 13th of June (just a 2 weeks ago), the girls have made a huge impact upon the KPOP scene since coming back, giving Sistar, MBLAQ, Rainbow, EXO and other widely known bands a run for their money. However that I what the fans think of the whole comeback. I myself, have a completely different view on the song. The comeback itself is unique, but really lacking overall. Though they know how to get a guy excited, for me, it did not do as well. Well, that kind of came out wrong. Don’t think dirty guys. The whole comeback for me is “not as good” as the other comebacks to date. (I like cute girls more).

The song was too freaking slow. Am I only the one that felt that the song was dragged out over the 3 minutes and 40 seconds length? I do see how the song has the bit if addictiveness to it, however the song overall, to me was a complete failure. I do like my RnB music and I do like my ballad music, but these two sound awkward together. The vocals were quite fine, actually. Which I liked about the song and was completely surprised that this song contained no rap but just pure vocals. For groups, I don’t see that much in KPOP. Vocal’s only songs are mainly for soloists. Also, that gospel high note at the end seems out of place but at the same time fits in the song. Crazy, right?However, my ears say “KILL THE GUY!!!”. Which guy? The guy who throughout the song goes “Get Funky, Get Down”. What is a DJ going to do to the song? Appeal to the female demographic? What in the world? And that disk scratching sound. Seriously, this song is meant to sad, so why even? If I wanted to hear a disk scratching, I would go to a club or hear a remix!

The music video is quite okay. It seemed rushed. Any set that had the pole dancing in it seemed quite rushed. Floral wallpaper on the walls and the roof? The used of flowers on the grid like walls? It does not contribute to the feel of the song. However, I totally loved the feel of the closeups of the members. The coloured background added that extra impact and the water dripping down the side of the camera seemed like tears falling down. The members too also look quite sad. But beside that, there is nothing else to say.

The dance does seem sexy. The whole idea of pole dancing seemed quite interesting but also extreme, but the girls seemed to pull it off quite well. After all, pole dancing is a very demanding activity and the girls had 6 month to prepare for the comeback. However, the song did overall ruin the dance. The start of the performance and dance was amazing. How on earth are you meant to be twirling around there, not feeling blisters or being burnt by the metal pole.

3.5/10. Sorry girls. Better luck next time. I actually personally liked their past songs more than this one. Hope they win at least one award, since they are so low on the numbers and jope both Lizzy and Nana get well soon.

Give It To Me – SISTAR

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Sistar has finally made their comeback with one hell of a new song. Give it To Me was released on the 11th of June 2013, being one of the biggest comeback this month by far. I personally quite enjoyed this comeback and its style. The Moulin Rouge theme which they have been going for is amazing. The whole thing, from top to bottom has perfection written over it.

Give It To me has this really addictive instrumental. Though it seems to be too “feminine” for me, the instrumental is quite good. In the whole song, Soyou’s parts were totally amazing and I love the subtle vocals at the bridge of the song, and that epic “bring-me-up”. By usual, Hyorin dominates the song with most of the vocals. Dasom also has a much longer part that really fits the song really well. However, Bora’s rap seemed limited to only a few lines that really does not give her any spotlight during the song, which is totally not great. The lyrics talk about the girls willingness to love again, after a relationship breakdown. The lyrics “Cry, cry all day until morning comes”  is quite concerning. (Imagine I am saying this in the bitchy girl voice) Gurl, if you are cryin’ all day and night, you need help. Phone a friend, go on a shopping spree, have some fun! Don’t knowing if it is sun or moon or day and light is also quite concerning.

As mentioned before, extra points on the idea of the concept, which I really enjoyed. However, the teaser made the whole music video appear much bigger. It feels exaggerated and the video was quite boring. It is just shots of them posing or dancing. There is nothing much to it. Oh and the “ring dance” which Bora was meant to be having in the music video. Where is it? Cause I don’t specify spinning around on a ring as a dance. The lighting, particularly at the parts of the diamond backing or whatever you call it, is quite distracting. The only sequence that I liked from this music video content-wise was Hyorin’s high note part. That was pretty cool and amazing.

As for the dance, I will be sitting here, waiting for the day where Dasom has a scandal where when she through the hat, it hits one of the back up dancers who would sue her for damages. Too much? Too far? Sorry, Dasom. But I love the dance. The clicking, Bora’s glitter throw. I love the fact that they all move to one side of the stage while one member is singing on other side, giving the spotlight away. However, Dasom’s pole dancing is rather weak in regards to the rest of the song. But loving the dance.

7.5/10. Great song and dance. Not so much on the music video. A great comeback, and congratulations on the awards you have all received.