Category: Reviews

[Review] I Loved You – DAY6

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Today is the 6th day of the month.  So naturally, it is time for the monthly DAY6 review. Last month, they returned with What Can I Do? and now this month the song is titled I Loved You (and the continuation of last month’s video).

The song marks the band’s return to their emotional side. The rock ballad song actually sounds nice. That being said, there isn’t anything groundbreaking or new about the song. It does sound pretty standard from the start to the end of the song. But I like it that way.  The instrumental isn’t too heavy and compliments the softer vocals and emotional side of the song as well. Talking about the vocals, they sound quite nice but it isn’t amazing like so of their other works. While we know DAY6 for their versatility, the group played it safe with a very neutral song for this month.  I am not too troubled by that though but it does dampen my expectations for something different from the band. It wont be my go-to DAY6 song but it will easily satisfy my ballad craving that I habe periodically.

The music video is the continuation of the same before from last month. Here we see a lot more character development. Young K is cocky, hence why no one wanted to be around him the previous video. Dowoon is popular due to his good looks and intelligence. Jae is in love with another girl, while Sungjin makes his moves after mustering enough courage to talk to his crush. Poor Wonpil, who was left on the bus and looking at Sungjin in a heartbroken manner. The most interesting friendship from this video has to be Young K and Dowoon’s. The latter defends the other but gets bashed in the process. However Dowoon stays close by and help his new friend out by buying medication for him.  The connections between the videos make it very interesting to watch. Furthermore, the band scenes in the dash look awesome and very fitting. 

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

[Review] Power – EXO

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The return of the superpowers that EXO debuted with! Per tradition, EXO has made their return with the repackaged album of The War, which has been renamed to The War: The Power of Music. This repackaged album features all the songs from The War (such as Ko Ko Bop) and it also features 3 new songs, one of which is Power.

EXO went with a totally new sound with Power. From their reggae influenced Ko Ko Bop, Power centres itself within the genre of Pop. I personally like this. It is right up my alley. Sure, it isn’t a brand new sound nor does it experiment with anything. But sometimes, you just need to return to the good old days and listen to some pure pop (like what I grew up with). What I initially thought was the song felt like your typical EXO side-track that you would find on the album, not a title track. But don’t get me wrong, this is one really good title track. The intensity from the instrumental was just right and paired well with the other elements of the song. I like the bright atmosphere, which suits the exiting Summer season which just ended in South Korea. The song itself is catchy. The “We Got The Power” line rings in my head even after the song ends, which is indicative that it is going to be one catchy song. Vocally, this is an amazing effort from the group. I felt everyone shined equally and it was definitely one of their best (in my opinion).

But I don’t think the song is the main focus of the comeback. It has to be the music video. I watched 5 minutes of what? I don’t know. No one knows. I personally thought that they despised their superpower debut. But it seemed to return in this comeback. Just it is hard to decide whether this is a recovery from that debut or if it adds to the shame that I believed they expressed in the past in regards to it. The acting was cringy. I’ll say that. And the way they posed for their individual shots. But it all adds to the humorous side of the video which I thought was an aspect of the video that was appealing. I personally felt the robot invasion theme was more suitable for an album titled as The War. Sighs. It has come to the point where I am going to say I like this video quite a bit. It is better than saying I want to roll up into a ball and cringe on their behalf.

[Updated] The performance was not what I expected for some odd reason but I like it. I am actually slightly addicted to it. My favourite part was the slow motion stepping at the end of the song. Besides Kai’s winks going viral, Power gave them room to be a little carefree and that is what I enjoyed the most about it.

Song – 10/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10 [Updated]
Overall Rating – 9.5/10 [Updated]

[Review] Honeymoon – B.A.P

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B.A.P has made their return to the stage with a brand new single album, titled as Blue. Honeymoon, the title track for their 7th single album, marks their first comeback since Wake Me Up earlier this year.

Honeymoon is one awesome song. Let me just it out there. The song starts with some intriguing whistles. It then leads into an electronic based dance song, which I thought sounded amazing. The instrumental felt very Western and it could easily have been released in America and attracted some attention for its easy going sounds and beats. It kind of builds up but it isn’t as noticeable compared to other songs. The first verse/chorus felt quite slow and underwhelming. That was probably the biggest letdown of the song. However, from Zelo’s rap onwards, the song manages to kick it up a notch and sound more energetic and impactful. Jongup’s section in the second chorus was phenomenal and everyone else contributed towards an intense ending, which makes it so much more different compared to what I felt at the start. The ending did feel abrupt but it felt right for this song and Himchan’s vocals were on point to the song. It is not a perfect song but it is going to get a lot of replays in the weeks to come.

The music video was quite aesthetic in nature. And the cinematography of the video was quite nice, which allows us to take in beautiful landscape and seascape fully. The scenes must come together somehow and tell a story. Not exactly sure what the story is and I don’t think there are any fan theories about the video. But there has to be a connection between smashing a baseball bat into a computer screen, releasing goldfish into the sea and pouring a bottle of wine down into a grassy field. And I liked watching the video. Just someone cut the mullets and remove them, please? I don’t get this trend that is going on but I thought mullets were the shameful past of the 80s, not the new decade.

[Updated] The performances waits for the chorus to kick before blowing the viewers away. Especially that first chorus, where they had the cascading effect with Jongup in front. That was fluid and amazing. They did do some standing around, which took away that amazingness but they made up in their vocals/raps each time.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10 [Updated]
Overall Rating – 9/10 [Updated]

[Review] What U Like – Lee Gikwang (HIGHLIGHT)

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Lee Gikwang, who is commonly known to be part of HIGHLIGHT (formerly Beast), was actually previously a solo artist under the stage name of AJ before he debuted with the group. However, his solo career was put on hold for the debut of Beast and has not promoted as a solo artist since his debut in 2009. Until today, where he dropped his track What U Like and 2nd mini album, One.

The track is underwhelming. It doesn’t appeal to my taste and it just doesn’t have the energy that I sought. I can see why some people would like it. It has some nice hooks and the overall sound contributes to a nice atmosphere. The track is easy on the ears and seems to separate itself from the competition for its combination of styles. The song is a mashup between that ongoing tropical style trend that KPOP has been experiencing and that minimalistic style of music. But the two doesn’t really go together. Tropical based music is meant to be energetic and the minimalistic nature just kills those vibes. And the same can be said the other way around. The vocals were great. They actually have this smoothness to them, which I thought was cool. This is just my personal opinion at the time of writing. It may or may not change with even more listens in the coming weeks and months. Gikwang’s solo return is definitely much appreciated but his song doesn’t do the job for me. (There is actually another song on the album which drew my attention: Misunderstand. Check it out here!).

The same can be said about his music video. I liked the setting (some urban place in Korea that keeps popping in music videos) and the cinematography was pretty good. The use of those coloured clouds looks amazing, as well.  But I found the video a tad boring to watch. Besides some solo shots and choreography, there isn’t anything else in the video to talk about. So I am going to poke at something that I usually don’t speak about. His outfits in the video look really good. I would never be able to pull off his style and it makes me slightly jealous.

Gikwang is known for his dancing. From his solo stages to his group work, there is a lot of expectations for his comeback in terms of choreography. There hasn’t been a full performance yet. However, from what I see in the music video, I think it looks like it is going to be a nice performance to look out for.

Song – 5/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 6/10

[Review] Just U – Jung Sewoon

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Another trainee from Produce 101 Season 2 has finally made their debut. Jung Sewoon may have just missed out on making it into Wanna One, but his solo debut has already hit the top of the charts. The solo act is signed under Starship Entertainment and made his debut in the past week with Just U.

Just U is one damn good song. Not exactly sure how to describe it but smooth RnB jumps to my mind. The song opens up with an acoustic guitar as the main instrument and it remains as the dominant instrument throughout the entire song. It gives a Latin influence to the sound of the song. The rap verse is the only part that doesn’t have the guitar but I honestly didn’t notice until I started to write this review. His rap verse was quite good. But the standout has to be his singing. That smoothness that I mentioned at the start comes from the vocals itself. They also drew my attention to the song and its combination with the guitar makes it sound so much better. The chorus itself is also quite catchy and sounds so good every single time I listen to it. This is just a debut song and he has already nailed it. I can’t wait to see what else he has in store for us in the future.

The music video is a tad dry in my opinion. It just didn’t pull my attention as the song did. I did like certain parts of the video. For example, I liked the way he interacted with the camera on the tennis court. And the transitions were pretty good. There was also a very stylish factor about the video which I thought was nice. Everything else just felt ordinary.

The performance was okay. He had a few dance moves in there but I felt the microphone stand made it feel constricting and took the appeal out of it. As the guitar, I don’t understand the purpose of it if he only used it for less than 30 seconds.

Song – 9.5/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 8.5/10

 

 

[Review] Babe – Hyuna

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Hyuna, the queen of Summer, has finally made her official comeback to the stage. This is her first promotional run as part of Triple H, he collaboration with Hui and E-Dawn of Pentagon. Babe is the lead title track on her 6th mini album, which is titled as Following.

Babe is a completely different style that Hyuna has never gone for. And that is a relief as some of her music does get a little unimaginative after a while. Right off the first second, you could tell an aesthetically pleasing song is in our midst and she delivers with just that. The song has American influence as its sounds feel like it would work in the U.S. The instrumental is interesting. It isn’t as upbeat as her previous songs but there is a nice variety of sound and synths within it. To me, Hyuna has never been a great vocalist, but she can sing. Babe seems to be her best effort yet as it focuses more on her vocal abilities rather than her raps. She could work on her pronunciation a tad bit because it took a while for me to understand what she was actually singing. And while her Babe hook seems to be catchy now, I am quite sure that repetitive listens could turn it into an annoying sound. The only thing that plays against the song is the ending. It just didn’t feel like the right ending for such a unique song. To wrap up, I like it.

Once again that pale filter is used once again and the same dull effect is brought on. It probably contributed to the appalling blue/green screen usage. However, I am glad that they left that for a while and went with something that felt more natural (i.e. no bad green/blue screens). It is definitely not her flashiest video in her career, but the sexiness she shows in the video is subtle and not in your face. And I like that quite a bit.

Her sexiness is more dominant in the performance. There is no doubt about it. But it seems to be the weakest out of all her dances that I have enjoyed, to date. But it is still nice to watch.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 8.5/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 8/10

 

[Review] DamDaDi – Golden Child

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The newest and youngest kids on the block. Golden Child, who is currently under Woolim Entertainment, the same company that brings you Infinite and Lovelyz, made their official debut yesterday with DamDaDi. The group is made up of 11 members (too many to name) and have already received attention for their knife like choreography, something that Infinite was known for when they debuted and made consecutive comebacks.

The song is surprisingly good. Given their ages, I thought they would go down the typical cutesy KPOP debut track. But instead, the group went with a more funky and energetic sound, which I thought was unique. The sounds fit the warmer seasons perfectly. Some moments felt very retro, while other moments felt modern. The hooks in the song are pretty good. It did get a little repetitive towards the end but they worked pretty well because it has me coming back for more. Their vocals and raps are good but it didn’t the wow factor that you want to hear from a new group. While I am very satisfied with the song, a part of me wants the song to go that extra length and amaze us. That way, the group can secure a more permanent spot in the industry, something that rookies don’t really get an express route to.

The music video had that hazy filter on it, which could have been removed entirely. The song calls for a bright and bold atmosphere, but the hazy filter made it feel dull. The colours seem to look vibrant but the filter just doesn’t convey it. The entire video sees the guys prepare for a  baseball competition and they have some fun on the way. It is a good video but it doesn’t leave me with much else to say.

The group is already known for their choreography skills. The performance for DamDaDi seems very good, with the entire group in sync for the entire dance. And visually, that makes it look so perfect. But I feel like they could have gone for a more energetic dance to fit the song, especially during the chorus. It is good but it isn’t as memorable as it should have been.

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

[Review] Can’t Stop – DIA

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DIA is also another group to make their return with a brand new song Can’t Stop (or E905). While DIA’s return is welcomed, the promotion of their comeback felt very sudden and that is an issue that I find common throughout the industry.  But nonetheless, this is DIA’s first return since their promotions of Will You Go Out With Me? earlier this year.

Can’t Stop is your traditional KPOP girl group song. There isn’t new about it, but it has a very refreshing sound that I can’t help but go back to. The vocals in the song are quite nice and the instrumental is something that I totally dig. Sure, the violins were made to fit the cute sound, but it still sounds amazing nonetheless. The chorus wasn’t exactly catchy but there was enough to make you want to go back for more. Moving to some of the things I didn’t like regarding the song. The ending was sloppy and didn’t give time for the song to actually end, in my opinion. It felt like a knife came down at that exact moment onto the song. The rap sequence for the bridge was disappointing. While I know the members had moments in the past where their rapping was quite good, the way it was edited and presented in this song felt awkward and mismatching. Overall, I think this is their best song yet, despite there being some things that don’t suit my taste.

I actually think the school-girl concept fits them quite nicely. The entire video revolves around the girls having fun during school time through sports and just hanging out in general. And while I did like all the scenes, it seems like the photo booth seemed a little dis-coordinated from the rest of the video. It didn’t match the school theme of the video. The cinematography was quite nice. The camera angles and work did feel a little too overdone, but it wasn’t too bad. While it did seem like Chaeyeon had fewer scenes this time around, her close-ups were just a subtle way of marketing her, compared to the rest of the members, who had to share scenes with each other. But overall, nice video to watch.

I actually liked their performance. Though it keeps to that traditional side of KPOP, those kicks at the end of each chorus were amazing. Not exactly fond of that ribbon that features during the verses, but everything else looked great!

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

 

[Review] Unbelievable – VICTON

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VICTON has returned with their brand new mini album and single, Unbelievable. The group previously made their comeback at the start of the year with Eyez Eyez. Since then, it has been relatively quiet and honestly, I may have forgotten about the group. Their comeback seeks to bring them to the surface and attract some attention to it.

But sadly, the song doesn’t seem to fulfill that. Unbelievable is quite boring. I have listened to the song a number of times, but I don’t remember it when it finishes. There are no memorable sections and it just doesn’t attract my attention in the moment. And that is a major issue. The vocals or rap aren’t terrible but they aren’t that great as well. For example, the song opens up with the rapper singing. And while I normally like that, it sounded a little odd. The chorus is normally meant to be the catchiest part of the song. But there was no hook and it was quite bland overall. The only thing which I did personally feel was great about the song was the Summer time instrumental. But even that felt very familiar and didn’t really set it a part from the rest of the group’s competition. It just isn’t the song for me this time around.

And like the song, I found the video to be quite boring as well. There really isn’t anything in there to separate it from the rest of the Summer themed music videos where the singers have a little fun. The guys were quite bubbly and happy, but the video just didn’t convey those same feelings to me. And besides those comments, the video doesn’t leave much for me to talk about.

The performance wasn’t that captivating but I think it was the better part of the comeback. The chorus had a few sharp moves in there and the post-chorus had a nice feel to it. Though, watching the performance, I noticed a member with the mullet. And now I can’t unsee that, even in the music video. WHY????

Song – 5/10
Music Video – 4/10
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating – 5/10

[Review] We Like – PRISTIN

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After their debut, Pristin has returned with their brand new song, We Like and mini album, SCHXXL OUT. Wee Woo, their debut song, managed to put them onto the KPOP rookie map for 2017. Given their performance so far, it is likely that the group has their eyes set on a few Rookie of the Year awards.

We Like is a pretty good song. From the very start of the song, the girls launch into their major hook. The ‘du du du du’ was undeniably catchy and constantly replayed in my head. Just the first second in and I could tell that this song is going places. The first verse down was the only let down of the entire song, with the rest of the song more enjoyable. I found the first verse to be quite dry and disappointing. It wasn’t until they launched back into their catchy chorus that I felt more at ease. Both the vocals and raps of the song were pretty good. The instrumental was a little smothered by the vocals (i.e. I couldn’t hear it that well) but the combination of the vocals and instrumental made it into a song that hypes you up. The tune was familiar but I don’t remember exactly where I have heard it before. Overall, it is a fun song that I liked a lot. Pristin has managed to do an amazing job with We Like.

The song grabs your attention with its sound. The music video did live up to that same standard. The girls went on a rampage, taking over a department store after hours. I liked the sets as the colours were quite bold. The flashing lights in the choreography scenes during the chorus was perfect. It’s the small details that make me happy when I look at these videos. I felt the crime board ending felt overdone in the sphere of KPOP but their cute twist seemed nice. The security guard is probably by far the worst one I have ever seen, but I guess since he did catch them (despite them giving up on running away) in the end.

The choreography didn’t seem that spectacular. Like they could have gone all out and had something that fits the intensity. But they mixed it with their cute side, which was okay. But it didn’t fit the energy and hype that the song had.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 8.5/10

[Review] Gashina – Sunmi

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After Wonder Girl’s surprise disbandment at the start of the year, we have heard little news in regards to solo comebacks or activities from the girls. But that is all about to change with the return of Sunmi. She boasts solo singles such as 24 Hours and Full Moon. And with her new management MakeUs Entertainment, which also houses Urban Zakapa, it is exciting to see what she has in-store for her fans.

Unfortuately, I don’t think Gashina had what it takes to top her previous two successful solo songs.  Right off the bat, the song was underwhelming.  I just wasn’t drawn to the song as I were for her other songs.  It might take a bit of warming up to. The instrumental was quite mute compared to the vocals, which didn’t really go well with her vocals.  The drop for the chorus shours have been more intense or gripping.  But it lacked so much energy and felt empty for the entire song. The only element that I did like was Sunmi’s vocals. They did draw some of my attention but it was not enough.  I liked her husky vocals in the song and loved it how her lines were sharp.  It gave, an otherwise dry and bland song, something interesting and defined. 

While the song isn’t to my preference, the music video was totally something that I would happily replay. There was a lot going on in the video. Not too much to be overflowing but enough to make me want to go back and see what I missed out. Sunmi basically lets loose in the video.  The chemistry between her and the camera was no joke.  Something about the blank stars were very intriguing and sexy as the same time.  Sure, the video was a little wacky but everything still manage to come together in the video. From her prancing in the diner to her Grandma style head scarf, everything felt fun. And that made the video feel quite enjoyable.

The performance was actually quite nice.  I love how one second she is smiling in a very cute manner and then the next second she has a acary glare on her face. I think that element came very nicely from the video.  It isn’t the most mind blowing stage ever but her facial expressions stole the show this time around. 

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 7.5/10

[Review] Rebirth – Red Velvet

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Red Velvet has been extremely busy throughout 2017 and we are only in August. Red Velvet as already made two comebacks this year with Rookie and Red Flavour. They have also released 1 SM Station track, titled as Would U. Rebirth is their second SM Station track of 2017. So it will be interesting to see what SM has planned for Red Velvet for the rest of 2017 or if their hard work has finally earned them a break.

If you took Would U and slowed that song down to a very slow tempo but kept everything else the same, Rebirth would be the final product. The cute and sweet sound that they are going for is nailed perfectly. I just felt the song could have done with a little more boldness or something that changes it up. It felt too constant and consistent at the same time. And while that is nice, you do get bored of the same thing over and over again. I think the rap sequence was included to do just that. But it felt awkwardly placed and it didn’t deliver a change that I was after. The vocals are nice but I couldn’t differentiate between the different members for some odd reason. They all sounded quite similar throughout the song. Overall, the song didn’t sound too bad but it just didn’t suit my personal tastes.

The music video was slowed down to match the tempo of the song. It is a little different from the usual videos, in the sense that the entire video is in slow motion. Essentially, Red Velvet is sitting in the middle of the screen at their desk, with all the other students doing other things around them. And the handsome cartoon teacher walks in, which surprises everyone. And while everyone else scrambles to their seats, Red Velvet stare in awe at their teacher. The entire video is pretty good and it suits the song quite nicely. My only issue with the video is the pole that is at the back of the classroom. My mature mind automatically thinks stripper pole. I guess other people would think pole dancing. But out of all the items present in the video, the pole seems to be the most misplaced.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7/10

[Review] We Young – NCT Dream

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NCT has made their return to the stage with their youngest subunit, NCT Dream. NCT has already had two NCT 127 comebacks this year and We Young marks NCT Dream’s second comeback of 2017, the first being My First & Last.

We Young is a very bland song. The first time I heard it, I thought they were going to mash up the two NCT 127 and NCT Dream styles that they are known for. But it ended being quite lackluster in the end. The sound isn’t the bad aspect of the song. I thought the instrumental was quite nice, which ended up being a Summer time sound with its tropical-inspired sounds (almost resembling safari music that you would hear in cartoons as you were growing up!).I think the reason why I didn’t like the song was the various tempos. The first half was just very boring and sluggish. It wasn’t until the raps kicked in that I felt it could turn out to be a decent song. The raps seem to give it some speed, which made the song feel more energetic and upbeat. The other problem is the song didn’t seem to react to their lift from the raps. Instead, the song remained in that neutral stance and the vocals in the second half didn’t feel that different from the slow start. Overall, I don’t mind the song but it is not to my taste. And it doesn’t match or compare with their debut or recent comeback.

I did expect something a little more imaginative with their comeback.  While they did tick the imaginative box nicely, the presentation of it looked rushed and last-minute. I am mainly talking about the green screen effect that they used in the video for the choreography scenes. It looked cheesy and kind of awful, in my eyes. The solo shots were fine and actually, they reminded me of their first video. But the choreography shots were major no-nos. It seems like the guys are telling the cartoon girl to have some fun and enjoy life while they are all young, which I thought was a nice message.

The same comments could be said for the performance. I don’t know why but I expected something a little more fun. I think that built up from the expectations from their last comeback. While at times it did look like a party but other times it just didn’t feel right. Though, they were in sync and that looked cool.

Song – 6/10
Music Video- 5/10
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating – 5.5/10

 

[Review] Wake Me Up – Taeyang (Big Bang)

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Taeyang has marked his return to the stage with his latest solo comeback. Taeyang attempts to make another successful comeback with Wake Me Up and Darling as successful as his previous solo tracks, like Eyes Nose and Lips. But since we are talking about Taeyang himself, there is no doubt that he will reach that same level of success or even possibly go higher this time around.

Wake Me Up is one epic song. I don’t know what other words could describe the song better than ‘epic’. Compared to my previous comments for his last comeback, Wake Me Up is a song that sounded unique and unexpected at the same time. It started off very silent in terms of the instrumental. I almost thought he would have gone towards an acapella type of song. But instead, it was all for the suspense. Once the beat dropped for the chorus, it felt like bliss. The suspense throughout the start was amazing. The chorus itself (with the beat drop) was what gave it that epic feel. He maintains the momentum and his signature vocals are on full display in this song. So, what more could you ask for? The impact was there and the lasting impression is strong.

Well surprise, surprise. Taeyang is not wearing a shirt in this video. To add to the oddness, Taeyang doesn’t have some weird or wacky hairstyle. On a more seriousness vote, I thought the video was very elegant. There is an obvious lack of colour in the video during the more slower parts of the song and once the beat drops, you get that golden colour that is replayed constantly through the video. It is a little confusing to piece everything in the video together (and I am sure there is a story to be told) as the editing was made to match the upbeat and fast pace music. But besides that minor detail, it is a great video to watch.

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

[Review] Friday Night – Sonamoo

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Sonamoo is back with a brand new single. Friday Night starts off three months of back-to-back comebacks for the girl group. They previously made their last comeback at the start of the year with I Think I Love U.

How can I my immediate attraction to this song in a sentence? Right off the bat, the girl’s latest song catches my attention for its extremely catchy feels and addictive beats. It is not exactly the perfect song because there was one thing that I think would have made it into a better track. What I would have liked was to see the retro/disco sound in the verses. Instead, it only transformed into that style when we reached the chorus, leaving the verses lacking character and hype. But by no means am I disappointed with the out come. I have actually replayed it an unhealthy amount of times since the song came out 3 hours ago. That is another story, however. Besides that, I love everything else in the song. The instrumental was amazing. The vocals were spectacular and the raps were just perfect for the song. All the elements worked well with each other as if it was a harmonious recipe for a cake. I just feel like the song is missing the cherry (improvement to the verses) on top. 

The music video is a lot weaker in terms of quality. The actual video itself was really low quality, which raises some concern regarding the once thriving TS Entertainment. Quite disappointing actually. Once again, dancing in the water looks cool but it doesn’t suit the song style, nor the rest of the video’s stylistic approach. I am not too sure about the slow motion sprinkled heavily across the video. While slow-motion is used to highlight curves and beauty, it doesn’t really have that effect in this video.

Performance wise, I thought the dance was pretty good. Once again, not mind blowing. But there is enough to do justice to the song.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 5/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.5/10

[Review] Summer Storm – Jessica Jung

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Jessica has made her solo return to mark 10 years since her debut. For those who don’t know, Jessica made her debut in 2007 as part of SNSD or Girl’s Generation. She was removed from the group in 2015 and has been promoting as a solo artist since then under Cordiel Entertainment. Her mini-album is named My Decade, which is named appropriately for her celebrations.

I know for a fact that I have been reviewing every single song Jessica has been releasing since her solo debut. I have been listening to them all but this one caught my attention. Vocally, it is a nice piece. It is not her best piece but her vocals do shine very brightly in the song. That quirky moment in the chorus was the element that got my ears perked up. I don’t know how to exactly describe it but she ended a number of lines in the choruses by going to a higher pitch and in a very sharp way, as well. The instrumental was pretty standard, but it went extremely well with her vocals. Soothing and flowy are words that I would use to describe it.  It isn’t catchy but I keep on coming back for more due to its more simple and easy-going sound.

I like the contrast between the past and the future in the video. The imagery between the trees. The lighting. The various scenes when she is with her boyfriend and when she is alone. Just the clothing she wears between scenes. The video itself wasn’t that flashy, which I thought went well with that soothing nature of the song. And per usual, Jessica looks amazing in the video.

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