Category: Reviews

[Review] Grrr (Law of Total Madness) – Stray Kids

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Have you seen the winners of the 2017 KPOPREVIEWED Awards yet? If you haven’t, feel free to click here to be transferred to see who won!

Last year, as an introduction to a potential upcoming boy group by JYP Entertainment, Stray Kids unleashed Hellivator. The group then went on to compete to see who would be able to debut later this year, with all nine members confirmed to debut at the end of the show’s run. Now, they are back with a pre-debut mixtape (in the form of a mini-album) titled as Mixtape and features the main track, Grr (Law of Total Madness).

If we want to talk intensity, Stray Kids is probably the group to talk about. From the very start, there is no holding back. Instead, the group just launches right into there. The song seems to be a mixture of rock and EDM, with elements poking out at you during certain moments throughout the song. You could say that the combination turns it into a mess but given their past track, it is clear that it was intentional and definitely adds to their portfolio. It does lack something that could have made the track more catchy, in my point of view. Maybe a chorus because I felt this song’s chorus didn’t have much of a presence due to the song’s style and rap-dominance. But it is still decent to listen to. Once again, the vocals are overshadowed by the raps. So while this is just a pre-debut, I am hoping to hear a few tracks that highlight the vocal capabilities of the group in the future.

The music video is essentially the performance of this song, throwing in some closeup shots of the member. Everything felt fitting for this music video, from the shaky camera work to the industrial background. So there isn’t much else to talk about.

But the key part of the video is definitely the dance performance. That level of intensity that you could hear from the song is seen throughout the performance. In my previous review for the group, I commented on their potential and this performance just cements that. I like the ‘running towards the camera’ during the chorus and the second verse rap where some of the members are lying on the ground (at 1:30) is pretty unique.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 7.9/10

 

[Review] Diamond Girl – MXM

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Did your favourites win at this year’s KPOPREVIEWED Awards? If you haven’t checked out the winners yet, click on the link here to find out who ultimately won! 

MXM have made their return with Diamond Girl. This is their first comeback since their debut last year with I’m The One. For those who may have missed their debut, MXM is a duo consisting of Lim Young Min and Kim Dong Hyun.

Diamond Girl is an extremely funky track that gets you grooving along to it. It is super catchy, as you would expect with something so funky and retro. The instrumental consists of many components that give off that retro vibe, such as the high pitch synth (sounds like a traditional synthesizer sound) in the chorus (at 0:54), the many examples of brass and the good old cow bell. I also loved that coil sound at the end of the bridge. Not sure if you would say that is retro but it was definitely attention-grabbing for me. The repetition of the ‘Diamond Girl‘ feels so energetic. I thought the vocals were really nice. But once again, the raps stole the show for me. Particularly the raps that featured in the second verse. Overall, the song was really cool and definitely landing on my playlist.

For the music video, Diamond Girl seems to reference the pawnbroker whom in the main character that the MXM boys are trying to impress. She also gives out diamonds in exchange for their property. I guess they want to see her more so they gather everything they own to give to her. I also assume the video is set in space, giving they have flying cars and the freaking purple moon in the background at the end. The video was actually quite nice to watch and felt like it complemented the song. You could feel the chemistry they have together in this video, which makes it even better to watch.

I don’t have any specific comments regarding the performance of this comeback. I do like it a lot. It matches the energy from the song, which is a definite plus.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10 
Performance – 7.5/10
Overall Rating – 8.4/10

[Review] Don’t Leave – Block B

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Zico from Block B was voted as the Best Rapper of 2017. To see who else was voted as the best for 2017, check out the results for the 2017 KPOPREVIEWED Awards by clicking here.

We last saw Block B with Shall We Dance and their mini-album, Montage, in November. At the end of 2017, it was announced that the group would return with a repackaged mini-album, titled as Re:Montage. The repackaged mini-album features 3 new songs, including Don’t Leave (the main title track), a solo song from Jaehyo and U-Kwon.

Don’t Leave is another ballad under Block B’s wing. And while it does sound quite rooted within its emotions, the song fails to capture my attention. It just doesn’t have anything that separates it from some of other songs that are currently being released. Shall We Dance grew on me with a few extra listens after writing the review for its uniqueness in terms of its sound, whereas Don’t Leave just feels very standard. That being said, there are elements of the song which I like. The instrumental starts off as piano-based but it progresses to have a band feel. It definitely has a grand feel to it.. Vocals are quite nice (harmonies were beautiful) but the best part has to be the raps. You can never go wrong in that department when it comes to Block B. The transition between Zico rapping and singing felt flawless and P.O’s segment at the end of the song was definitely the best part of the song.

The HD quality of this music video makes it feel so fresh and crisp. It draws me in when there isn’t much going on in the video. The post-apocalyptic feel that I got from the setting of the video reminds me of Love Song by Big Bang, especially Kyung’s walk along the beach. I do like the various camera angles that make the video feel artistic and aesthetic. The slowness of the imagery in the video does compliment the ballad and slower nature of the song.

[Updated] Despite it being a ballad, Block B manages to fit a choreography routine in. It didn’t feel necessary but nonetheless, it is actually very nice. I love the choreography during the post-chorus repetition moments of the song. Their hands flailing around doesn’t look in sync but it has a nice aesthetic, which is something I like.

Song – 6.5/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 7/10 [Updated]
Overall Rating – 6.75/10 [Updated]

[Review] Secret Garden – Oh My Girl

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Oh My Girl have made their return to the stage with Secret Garden, which also shares the same name as their latest (and 5th) mini-album. This is Oh My Girl’s first comeback after the departure of JinE, who was still included in the lineup prior to this comeback despite not participating in the promotions.

Secret Garden is actually a pleasing song to listen to. With just a few listens already, the song has managed to grow on me quite a bit. When I first heard a snippet of the song, I was wondering what happened to the aesthetic or energy filled song that we are used to hearing from Oh My Girl. But I guess I was too quick to judge. Secret Garden is orchestral influenced with its dreamy instrumental. With Oh My Girl’s twist, they added a slight presence of a band to make it more upbeat, suitable to incorporate a dance into their stages. The use of electric guitar during their dance break is quite nice, giving the song some variety rather than just the classical instrumentation. The instrumental particularly evokes nostalgia within me, but I cannot pinpoint where this nostalgia is coming from. Their vocals were extremely clear with this song, which makes the song feel so crisp. I liked their chorus but felt like they could have added harmonies to give it a grander effect. Overall, Secret Garden definitely adds to the group’s portfolio as another standout track, in my point of view.

If it weren’t for a particular YouTube comment on the video, I would have completely missed a major detail regarding the music video. It seems like the music video for Secret Garden includes various details that link the past music videos by Oh My Girl to the present video, which ties in nicely with the lyrics of the song. Essentially, what the song is about is one’s ‘Secret Garden‘, which is a reference to one’s imagination. And the entire portfolio of Oh My Girl music videos have been based largely on imagination. Hence we can see different items shared between the videos. The presence of the deer is a reference to Closer and the clouds outside the window reference Coloring Book, to just name a few. If it is the true intention of the imagery, the videos are clearly thought out and interestingly intertwined. I like the video for that fact.

Fitting nicely with the song is the graceful nature of the choreography. I like how some of the moves are fast and sharp, while others were quite slow and fluid. The best part would have to be the dance break, which like the song, gives the choreography a nice kick.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.3/10

[Review] Tell Me – Infinite

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Infinite has made their first return since 2016 with their latest mini-album, Top Seed. This particular album along with the title track, Tell Me, is the first to not feature Hoya, who did not re-sign with Woolim Entertainment last year during the contract renewal. Hence this is the first comeback for Infinite as a six-member boy group.

With the departure of a member, I wondered how the 6-member Infinite will differ from the 7-member Infinite. And the direction that Tell Me went in seemed to depart from that traditional Infinite sound. The traditional Infinite sound is much more jam-packed and intense. Tell Me seems to be a little more spaced out and doesn’t feel as intense, hence why I say it doesn’t conform to the past. It has a more pop-centred sound, which actually sounds nice. The song is quite catchy with the “luv, luv, luv’ post-chorus segment. The fast repetition of the ‘naega, naega’ during the chorus just rolls so effortlessly in the song, it has become the main highlight. I liked the instrumental which definitely gives off a different side of the group. All the members sound nice but I feel like their vocals are as strong as before. It might be the song style but I feel like a tighter set of vocals could have brought more of that intensity and Infinite-esque sound to the song. A similar comment could have been made regarding the rap. But overall, I am really digging this track.

Call me crazy but I am dubbing this as the ‘Infinite’ concept as basically what happens in the video just continues on and never ends. I think the storyline of the video is being stuck in that memory of a chance at love and having to relive that until you finally reunite. The video came out to be aesthetic with the various ways they displayed the concept, such as the never-ending blue triangle corners and the various upward camera angles for the choreography. Overall, it is pretty interesting and definitely eye-catching (in my point of view).

Despite the more spaced out song and less intense nature, we can’t talk about Infinite and not acknowledge the synchronisation between the members. They brought such knife-like moves back to the table, which I think is amazing. Not as impressive, I must admit, but still quite captivating to watch. Woohyun’s solo body roll in this performance is on point (big Woohyun fan here)!!!

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 7.5/10
Overall Rating – 7.9/10

 

[Review] Hold Me – Eric Nam

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There are a number of songs that were released in the last week of 2017, which I have not looked at yet. Eric Nam’s Hold Me falls into that week, dropping on the 27th of December. While the soloist has been active as a singer throughout the year (via a number of collaborations), it is his first solo track since 2016.

Hold Me is a ballad that tells his lover to continue to hold onto him, regardless of whatever he does. There is some warmth to the song, which makes it an ideal song to listen on a cold Winter’s day. This is partly due to the combination of instruments used in the instrumentation and the vocal work. They all work well together, despite being just there is a background. The main focus is on Eric Nam’s vocals. It doesn’t pierce the music in any way, but rather, is gracefully flowing over the top of the instrumentation. His approach to this song plays to his strength and doesn’t feel overwhelming at all. The way he says “Jebal” (Please in Korean) is extremely striking and powerful in my opinion. Furthermore, that section between the second and third chorus was my most favourite bit because it has momentum, something that the song was aiming to build up to (ever so slightly) from the very start.

There is not a proper music video for this track, from what I can see (and what actually popped up in my Subscription box). But rather the main visuals for the song is a video of the live recording filmed as a music video. The colour palette of the music video makes the video feel warm. I like how they filmed Eric with what seems to be a one-shot. But they manage to include various other shots of the guys in the background playing the instruments, which I guess gave the video a wholesome feel as well.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 7/10
Overall – 7.6/10

[Review] Paint Me – Mamamoo

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Despite still being in the first week of the year, we have already seen some amazing comebacks so far. Joining the growing list is Mamamoo with their new single, Paint Me. From what I can gather, this is just the start of what Mamamoo will be putting out this year. So if you are like me and barely made it through today’s song, I have major concerns for the year ahead. But nonetheless, let’s continue.

Paint Me is an amazing song. The very first second literally doesn’t hold back. Mamamoo’s vocals just come at you. Powerful yet beautiful. It is really intense and you barely know about it. I love how they go extra powerful during the first line of the chorus. It truly grabs your attention. The instrumental pace allows the song to become so flowy and melodic. It starts off with a piano and builds up to include a guitar and (I think) violins. It isn’t much but it is so damn impactful. But let’s return to the vocals for a second because there is a bigger elephant in the room that we have yet to address. Moonbyul put aside her rapping talents and allowed her vocals to shine. FINALLY. I have a soft spot for when these rappers sing in Korean. Their voices are so unique, it draws my attention. Here is a fantastic example of that and it just makes me love it even more.

And the music video is equally as beautiful. Each member looks stunning. I am not qualified in fashion in anyway or form, but each member looked like they are ready to walk the red carpet and receive some prestigious award. I love the boldness of the colours on the black and white. Even some of the other scenes where the light is shone brightly onto them from the back to the light strobes all about, they looked perfectly fine in all the scenes. It is a simple music video (when you think about it) but it works wonderfully.

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

[Review] Hot Potato – N.Flying

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N.Flying has returned with their latest single, Hot Potato and mini-album, The Hottest. This is the band’s first comeback since their return in 2017, The Real (which is one of my favourite songs from 2017). And following their concept for the last comeback, it seems like N.Flying is continuing on with their wackiness, given their title of the title track.

And N.Flying has done it again, with what seems to be another amazing track. It is super addictive to listen to, especially once the chorus kicks in. It has me rocking to it. It seems like N.Flying has found their sound, which is definitely that playful and bright sound which you don’t really hear when it comes to bands across South Korea. There were a few moments that I liked throughout the rock-based The first being the small rock sequence which Seunghyub raps to for the bridge. That was an amazing section of the song. The second part was that extra instrumental at the end, which felt more like a tease. Vocally, the song is on point. So are the raps, which I felt (besides the chorus) is a very strong element to the song. The ‘Hot! A Hot Potato’ line at the end of the post-chorus (at 1:11) is so damn good, it still rings in my head.

Playing to that wacky side, N.Flying plays a group with not much to do (i.e. unemployed bachelors). A lot of the time, throughout the video, is of the group imagining how their lives would be shaped if they were famous. Portable fans vs. helicopters, money vs. bills. The reality vs. expectation scenarios makes the video funny to watch. Some of the sets looked quite cool, particularly the ones where they are performing. The helicopter and red carpet were my favourites. Overall, it was a good video to watch.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.6/10

 

[Review] Boom Boom – Momoland

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Momoland has made their return to the stage with Boom Boom and their third mini album, Great! This is their third comeback to date, following their tracks such as Wonderful Love, Freeze! and Jjan! Koong! Kwang!. For those who are not familiar with Momoland and want a taste of what they have to offer, check out their Asia Artist Awards performance, consisting of both Freeze and Wonderful Love. You will not be disappointed.

Boom Boom goes for a somewhat more mature sound with its instrumental and vocal work. It isn’t that bubbly and cutesy as their previous comebacks but it still manages to keep their bright and energetic sound. I am super addicted to the chorus of this song that just keeps on making me come back for more. But the most promising part of the song has to the be ‘Boom Boom’ in the post-chorus. The most unexpecting part of the entire track has to be the rap portion of the song, which breaks down into a few seconds of pure hip-hop sound. Unexpecting but it surprisingly works.  Besides that, the song fits neatly into the retro sound that KPOP is often known for. The song ticks all the right boxes for me and tries to be a little different, which is what I like about it.

To me, the video can be split into two. The first being your standard shots of close-ups and choreography, while the second part is their commercial concept, which I think could have been used in a better way. It doesn’t resonate with something that is memorable, so it doesn’t do a good job with its sale pitch. However, that being said, I thought they pushed with that somewhat more mature concept very well towards the end, when we see them in the suits. They all look quite good in their suits and it definitely gave the girls that mature feel.

I also enjoyed the choreography. It isn’t as out there as their past choreography which was more energetic and bubbly. The choreography for the chorus was perfect, with the tempo and overall feel met. They managed to throw in some moves that remind me of their fun side, which keeps them to their roots.

Song – 10/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 8.8/10

[Review] Walkie Talkie – HINT

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At first, I thought HINT was a newly debuted group gracing the stage with their first song. But after some research (aka. YouTube side recommendation bar), I have come to realize that HINT made their debut a while back (2012) under the name of TURAN. It wasn’t until last year with the release of Tang Tang Tang did they change their group name to HINT. Today’s focus will be on their recent track, Walkie Talkie.

Walkie Talkie falls within the ‘standard KPOP’ genre. And while we are always expecting something a little different with each release, it is always nice to have a look back once in a while. And honestly, the track could not have come at a better time. It is a cutesy song that has a catchy hook and beat. It doesn’t have me singing along, but I can’t help but gravitate towards the song today. The ‘Walkie Talkie‘ repetition was quite addictive.  The instrumental seems to fall neatly into the KPOP sphere (as previously mentioned) but it seems to incorporate some tropical house influence with that whistle synth. Overall, the sound is definitely bright, making it a stand out in the recent Winter weather dominated industry at the moment. Vocally, they sound pretty much like other cutesy girl groups. Not terrible but not jaw dropping amazing. I did like how they end the SOS by adding that effect on the song. 

Like the song, it is your standard cutesy music video. Unlike the song though, it just doesn’t have that fresh feel to it. HINT takes you to the beach in the video and arranging a nice picnic at some park. The colours are bright in the video, which compliments the overall vibes of the song. The choreography scenes were nice but it does suffer due to that standard look. I did find the onesies scene quite cute and would have like some more of that in the video.

Performance wise, I think their dance is enough for the song. It has that cute feel to it and definitely channels a decent amount of energy fitting for the song. The chorus made me smile with their arms flailing about and their faces all scrunched up into a smile.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 7/10 
Performance – 7.5/10
Overall Rating – 7.6/10

[Review] Wolf Baby – TRCNG

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Kicking off 2018 is TRCNG, who are returning with their first comeback ever. The group previously made their debut with Spectrum back in October 2017. Their latest mini-album, Who Am I, was released today which features their title track, Wolf Baby.

The dynamic nature of Wolf Baby does remind of songs that could have been released a few years back. I am not saying it sounds outdated but rather it does prick something in my memory bank. I like the upbeat rock-dance instrumental, which manages to make you feel energised and positive. There were various moments (such as 1:37 when we enter the second verse and the intro of the track) that gave a really playful sound as well, which felt very fitting for the song. Usually, those parts would have felt childish but they incorporated in a way that works with the rest of the track. The chorus was quite catchy. The vocals were good but I don’t think they are the standout element of the song. Actually, I felt the most memorable part of the song has to be the rap sequence that occurred during the bridge. It was by far the coolest section of the entire song and provided that extra punch of energy from keeping it too repetitive.

The playful vibes from the song are definitely seen visually throughout the video, which made it into a humorous video. These wolves are what you think they are. The mouths aren’t covered in blood but rather the excessive amount of tomato sauce (or ketchup) they drizzle on their sandwiches. The wolves also play with chainsaws but that clearly backfired with the good old fake hand trick. The sets were creepy (in a good way) which goes hand-in-hand with their visuals for this comeback.

TRCNG managed to throw the fierceness that you would expect from a wolf-themed concept and the cuteness that I believe fits their age range together quite well. The performance was definitely captivating to watch. That introduction was amazing with all the handstands and backflips occurring consecutively.

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

[Review] Reboot – TVXQ

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This year’s KPOPREVIEWED Awards’ voting period will end in a day. This is your final chance to support your favourite artists and songs of 2017. To get voting, please click here.

This is the final review of the four that I wanted to do. Originally, I was going to review another track released a few months back but I have decided to go with a more recent comeback. TVXQ recently came back to the music industry with solo songs after their respective military enlistments. Reboot is their first comeback as a duo since 2015 in both Japan and Korea.

Right off the bat, Reboot will probably suit any Japanese anime as an opener or ending credits. The takes a turn when it approaches the chorus. It transforms into an upbeat musical sound, which works well with its preceding section. The second verse seems to slow down and lies somewhere between that anime associated first verse and just a standard pop track. The bridge of the song is a little off-putting in my opinion. It isn’t terrible but it is the only part that I feel doesn’t fit. It has the basic instrumental layer that runs through the entire song but the rapping just doesn’t connect well. For the rest of the song, the vocals were quite good and it has the potential to become quite catchy. Not fond of the ending, mainly because it seems to be an extension of the bridge. But overall, for a song about ‘Reboot‘, it definitely works.

The start of the music video is like a mini-movie, just there really is no storyline associated with it.  The only thing that I can gather is like it tries to make an epic story out of the return of TVXQ. It has the cool factor down but maybe not as attention-grabbing as you expected. I feel like that first portion could have been left out altogether and allow the video to get to the song, which I am sure everyone wanted to hear. But that might just be my preference. I like the various sets of the music video, giving off a futuristic but grand feeling to it.

The choreography is usually the other main aspect of the TVXQ music videos. Reboot has a pretty cool choreography but I don’t find it as amazing as some of their performances that have wowed us. I don’t have any specific comments to make with the performance besides that.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 6/10 
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating – 6.75/10

As the full music video isn’t officially out on YouTube, I have decided to link the Naver version of the music video, which I am hoping is the official music video. Click here for the video.

 

[Review] Fly – UKISS

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The 31st of December is fast approaching and that marks the end of the voting period for this year’s KPOPREVIEWED Awards. If you have yet to vote and support your favourites, do so quickly by clicking here! Your voting could be the decider!

UKISS has been relatively quiet in South Korea this year. They released an album (Solo & Unit) at the start of the year, which is also the final release by UKISS to feature Kevin, who departed the group at the start of March. UKISS reformed into a 5-member group and released Fly (the main focus of today’s review) in October. Not particularly sure what some of the members are doing but I am aware that Jun acted in Avengers Social Club (highly recommend this drama) and is participating in the rebooting program, The Unit.

Fly is the third Japanese song that I am reviewing and it is one that I am particularly excited to talk about. What makes this song sound so damn good is the chorus, which is quite unexpected. For my explanation to make some sense, you need to have listened to the song. It starts slow and almost acoustic in nature. The vocals were extremely soft. Once the raps kick in, providing some intensity, the song starts to build up. But the drop/chorus was not what I had expected and it felt much more epic and appealing. It felt aesthetic even though it seems grounded in the pop genre. Each member sounds extremely good, their voices contrasting well with the music. But the member that stood the most for me was Soohyun whose vocals were just right each time I heard him (especially when he does the pre-chorus). The ‘Let Me Fly‘ seems to be cliche lyrics in many songs but it still remains to be an addictive icing on this particular song. The electric guitar during the final chorus is so freaking good and fits in so perfectly. Overall, I really liked this song.

For this particular review, I will be combining the music video and choreography sections together. Why? Well, the music video contained mostly choreography and the music video didn’t have much to talk about. For the most part, the video featured ‘angry and heartbroken’ acting close up shots. I liked the night scenery that they used. The choreography was nice, pairing well with the song. Despite the song style, they went with moves that felt very graceful yet fitting for the electronic pop song. Most of the moves were ‘done before’ but it still felt fresh for this song.

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

 

[Review] Turn Up – GOT7

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GOT7 is nominated for Best Boy Group and My Swagger is nominated for Best Japanese Song by a Korean Artist fir this year’s KPOPREVIEWED Awards. If you haven’t supported them yet, do so by clicking here. Voting ends in 3 days, so get voting!

GOT7 recently made their return to Japan with Turn Up, which was released in November. This is GOT7’s first comeback in Japan since My Swagger  (released back in May). A month prior to the release of Turn Up, GOT7 made their Korean comeback with 7 for 7 and You Are.

In my perspective, GOT7’s Japanese releases tend to be more centred around hip-hop genre more than their Korean releases. While it doesn’t have feature dominantly the more powerful EDM synths that were present in My Swagger, Turn Up was firmly rooted in the hip-hop genre. It did have some of those EDM synths but there were more in the background, giving a smoother feel to the song.  The chorus was definitely the most memorable part, while the verses (including the rap sequences) were the most forgettable part of the song. The overall sound of the song does manage to hype you up or make you ‘Turn Up“, which I think is the point of the song.

To me, the music video attempts to be edgy and cool. And while they did manage to illustrate that, it looks somewhat unnatural. They did look like they were having fun but it just didn’t feel that convincing. Some of the flashy scenes were nice and there was really good editing between various scenes in the video. I actually managed to stumble across BTS footage of the music video shoot and the bottle flip scene was extremely painful to film (interesting fact) and nailing that is admittedly cool.

The choreography was nice, especially the moves during the chorus. I like the simplicity of the ‘Turn Up” part, which gave a more fun vibe to the dance. The ending also looked fun as well.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 6.7/10

 

 

[Review] One More Time – TWICE

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TWICE is nominated for Best Female Group and Best Japanese Song by a Korean Artist. Have you supported them in this year’s KPOPREVIEWED Awards? If you haven’t, click here for the poll!

This is the start of four reviews for some JPOP songs released by Korean artists. I am going to aim to do them closer to their release date starting next year, so I don’t get around to doing them months later (like these 4 reviews). Today’s focus will be TWICE first original Japanese song. Just prior to their Korean Likey comeback, TWICE released One More Time. This is their first comeback in Japan, after their debut with Signal and TT in Japan.

One More Time ended up being really addictive and catchy in nature, which is something I like, particularly the repetition of ‘One More Time’ throughout the chorus and post-chorus. The song also seems to show off a cute sound but the instrumental keeps the song from going overboard. Out of all the members, I feel like Dahyun and Chaeyoung were the best in the song. Their raps were so fitting for the deep rough electronic synth that featured in the song. The vocals are nice but they weren’t as outstanding as the raps. The autotune at the end didn’t seem it was necessary but it felt fine. But overall, this is definitely a song that has been played multiple times since release.

The music video had this cute feeling to it but overall, it felt rather generic. The video is sports centred with two main matches. Dahyun and Chaeyoung fit it out in a boxing match, while Jihyo and Nayeon get on the court for a tennis match. The other members featured in the background and some other sports. I did like the colour of the sets and some of the camera work. But there isn’t much else to say about it.

Not sure if it is the editing of the music video, but I really liked the scene at 2:13 where Nayeon moves along the line of TWICE members while dancing. It honestly looked quite cool. I also liked the choreography for the post-chorus (at 0:53).

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8/10

[Review] Universe – EXO

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EXO is nominated for Best Music Video and Best Boy Group. Some of the members are also nominated in other categories such as Best Japanese Song By A Korean Artist and Best Collaboration. Get voting to support them as voting closes in a few days. You can vote by clicking here!

EXO has made their return with their annual Winter mini-album, which also shares the same title of the lead title track. Universe follows the success of EXO’s previous Winter tracks such as Miracle in December, Sing For You & For Life. The album was originally meant to be released prior to Christmas However, its release was delayed until after Christmas due to the death of SHINee’s Jonghyun.

And Universe lives up to the expectations that were set by EXO’s previous Winter tracks. Universe has a very simple feel to it, especially with the lone piano in the instrumental at the start. The addition of more instruments builds up the song, turning it into a dramatic piece of music. And I totally dig this style. The other major component of this song has to be the vocals, which are breathtaking. I particularly thought the chorus was extremely well done with that “I Search the Universe‘ very addictive for some odd reason, Finally, that slow down in energy at the very end where they ease away from that dramatic sound and taking us back to the very start was very nice. It completes the song perfectly, in my point of view, making this track one of the best.

The entire video has this brown colour type of palette, which gives off a warm feeling and compliments well with the song. The barista and coffee concept also seems to add to that warm feeling, which I think is quite perfect. There are also a number of scenes within the video that show two people being tied together. But that knot break apart and the EXO members go searching the entire ‘Universe‘ for the part of the rope. My interpretation may be a little weak but that is what I could gather from some sources. I really like the how the bass in the song is timed well with the vibrations on the coffee, making the video pair well with the song. It is a really nice video to watch, overall. 

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