Category: Reviews

[Review] Outside – Crush ft. Beenzino

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One of the biggest names in the K-Hip Hop industry at the very moment is back with a brand new single. Crush, who coincidently crushes digital charts with his recent releases, unveiled his newest track, Outside, which also features Beenzino. I am just going to ruin the review for you right here, but this is one damn good comeback.

Outside is a fantastic song. Crush hasn’t had many (if not any) bright or Summer based songs. I know him for more dark or emotional forms of RnB, such as his tracks like Sofa, Hug Me and Don’t Forget. But this is a different side, and I actually like this sound from him. There is a much brighter feel and fits that Summer feels that I envy at the moment. His signature vocals that everyone loves sound so great here. The chorus is damn good. While there is a very non-mind blowing element, I actually like it. It is easy to get into the groove of the chorus, which actually makes me want to get up and dance (how lame does that sound?). And I love the short sequence that he has at the end of each chorus. I haven’t actually heard him rap that much, so it was unexpected. But it really gives an edgy feel to the song, which makes it even better. Beenzino’s rap fits into the song quite well and it also contributes to that edgy vibe. Overall, totally digging the song.

If there is an award for the most hilarious music video for 2017, this might just be the clear winner. Completely unexpected, given his past portfolio of music videos. I guess this video is the nightmare of pet owners who are trying to figure out if their pet is trying to kill them (i.e. all cat owners out there). But in this case, the dog wants to knock you out, torture you by locking you up in a suitcase and taking your place in all the fun activities of a vacation and Summer. It’s fun to watch a dog head go swimming, hang out with girls, skydive etc. It definitely made me laugh and made the overall comeback much more enjoyable to me. It gives the song a fun side, which makes it a winner in my books.

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

 

[Review] Love Don’t Hurt – Shannon

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Shannon Williams is a soloist in the KPOP industry that is currently under MBK Entertainment. She first appeared on various variety TV shows that put her vocals in the spotlight. After that, she debuted on Daybreak Rain in 2014. She then later returned with Why Why in 2015 and Lachrymal Gland in 2016. Love Don’t Hurt was released in both Korean (with Lil Boi as the featuring artist) and English (with Amber from F(x) as the featuring artist).

Love Don’t Hurt is one amazing song. The fact that it is getting minimal exposure is confusing me. The song falls under the RnB genre and it sounds like the typical song that I would have grown up with (before KPOP entered my life). The instrumental itself isn’t amazing, but rather typical. But her vocals is the aspect of the song that makes it amazing. Her vocals are clear and crisp. The verses are a little dry, but they dominate, which allows it to stand out from the instrumental. But it is once we move onto the chorus, that we are blown away by her vocals. They feel more powerful and definitely stronger. The impact from her vocals makes the song sound more amazing. That high note at the end makes it even better. Once the song finishes up, you want to go back for more, which makes it an amazing song. The featuring rap sequences by Lil Boi suits the song very much. Usually, the music changes around and feels disconnected when it comes to featuring artists, but here, it flows nicely from Shannon’s parts. If you are after a song to blow you away, this is the one to check out!

The music video tells the story of a couple, who first meet at the bar and the seem to fall in love with each other. They enjoy each other’s company and I believe they had some sort of falling out. This resulted in her disguising herself and killing him in the end. I don’t know why or how it got up to that part, so if any of you understand, then please share with all of us in the comments. But besides the confusion behind the video, the video is shot beautifully. The video effects give it an intriguing appeal. The combination of the song and video is remarkable. It is, unfortunately, age restricted due to the tattoos in the video, the ‘nudity’ (which I saw none of) and violence. I kind of understand it, but I feel like the restriction based on the tattoos is kind of overboard. But then again, I don’t make such decisions.

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

 

[Review] Runner – UP10TION

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UP10TION is back with a brand new song and mini-album, Star;dom. They previously were on the stage with White Night, which was released at the end of last year. The group is currently short one member, Wooshin, who is focusing on recovering from mental stress.

Runner joins the expanding list of song that are categories the tropical house sounds that have dominated KPOP waves for the past year or so. And while it does sound quite chill and laidback, the instrumental doesn’t really hype you up or give the song its needed buildup. Instead, it felt relatively neutral and this gives the song a more boring sound. That being said though, I do think it is okay. The laidback feel isn’t that common in KPOP, so it does have a refreshing feel to it. The vocal work does dominate throughout the song, which sounds nice when paired with the laid-back instrumentals. The chorus tries to be a little more dynamic, but it falls short. It does hook you in but it doesn’t hold you there for long. The rapping is quite good and suits this more laidback vibe. However, I do prefer a more upbeat and powerful vibe coming from UP10TION, such as White Night. This is different and this is good. But I don’t know if it is the track that gets them more exposure in the industry.

For a more active concept, the guys seem to have their fair share of sitting down time in this video. It makes me giggle. While the group does give off a more masculine vibe in the video, I can’t seem to get over a number of scenes of them ‘working out’ in comparison to the number of scenes of them ‘resting’. The video literally comprises of that and choreography scenes, so the video is more on the boring side of the spectrum. But the sets and the overall quality of the music video was amazing.

Their performance was quite cool. I liked how their hand movements matched the starting pistol used in athletic sports. I also liked their formations. Overall, I thought some of the moves in their choreography were original and different, which sets them apart from other performances.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 6.5/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 7.5/10

[Review] Archangels of the Sephiroth – Stellar

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Known for their ‘sexual’ concepts in the more recent years, girl group Stellar marks their return with a new mini album and the title track, Archangels of Sephiroth. Their latest release was fundraised by fans, giving the girls and their company the opportunity to release Stellar’s 3rd mini-album, Stellar Into The World. While the group is not as popular as other girl groups, they must be doing something right as they managed to exceed their fundraising expectations by a fair bit. This is also the girls first time as a 5-member girl group, with the addition of Soyoung to the group.

Sadly though, I can’t make up my mind about this track. A part of me wants to love it and appreciate the uniqueness that the group is putting out there, but at the same time, the song doesn’t sit well. For me, I love the Middle Eastern influences that they have included in the track. That gives it an intriguing aspect, which does draw your attention. For once, I think the verses are probably the highlights of the song because they are done right. But once the song hits the chorus, I shiver and don’t really understand the chanting that they presented us. It takes the song backwards and doesn’t sound nice. Furthermore, it doesn’t match the rest of the song and it cuts the flow from the verses. On the other hand, the chorus does feel like it was to be the impactful moment of the song. But from what I feel, I don’t know exactly how effective it was. Their vocals overall are quite nice (minus the chorus, though). If only the chorus was more dynamic and better than what we got, I feel like this would be the one Stellar song I would love.

Given the title, you would expect to have some sort of storyline to the video. And that is exactly what we got. Essentially, one of the members is being lured to the light or the dark side. From what I can gather, Gayoung and Junyeol represent the dark side, while Hyoeun and Minhee represent the light side. In the end, I think the dark side won, managing to lure the last member, Soyung, by making her think she was going to the light side (but it turns out to the dark side). It is a very interesting video to watch and I thought it was beautifully shot. The contrast between the light and the dark was apparent and didn’t require me to squint my eyes and do a bit of Googling before coming to no conclusion. The scenery in which the video was shot was beautiful and I have to admit, this could possibly be the best video of the year.

I also loved the choreography. Given how the song is, the dance moves fit the song perfectly. There is also a  lot of elegance in the group’s performance. I also liked how there was a sensual side to the performance as well. It made it look cool and fascinating to watch.

Song – 5/10
Music Video – 10/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7/10

 

 

[Review] Camo – BoA

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BoA has made an unexpected comeback with CAMO. I remember reading live updates for the Produce 101 Season 2 final and coming across an article indicating that BoA (who was hosting the final) was dropping a new single, which came out a few hours ago. It has been a while since we have seen BoA actively on stage. From memory, she was last on stage for Kiss My Lips promotions, which was 2015. Since then, she was released a few singles under SM Station such as Spring Rain (2017) and No Matter What (2016).

I am screaming. Internally, so I don’t sound weird. I was blown away when I saw the teasers. But the entire track is on a whole new level. BoA goes with a dance track that sounds uber sensual and amazing, nonetheless. The song flows very smoothly. There were no rooms for gaps. Even the lead into the chorus was not that apparent. I thought that was very interesting. The intensity of the song is very subtle, but it is there. When I finished listening to the track, I released a breath that I did not even know I was holding in. That is a sign of a possibly great track. I haven’t been impressed with BoA’s recent (okay, 2 years old) releases, but this is amazing. Throw in her vocals, I thought everything was spectacular. The best part was just before the final chorus. I don’t know how to exactly describe it without butchering and destroying that part, but it was about the 3:00 mark. It was extremely climatic and the buildup was pure bliss here.

Though there isn’t an official video out for this song yet on YouTube (that, or I can’t find it), you can catch the video by watching it on the Naver website, which was where I found the video initially. Once there is an official music video, I will update the post accordingly. I have little to no clue about what is happening the video. It seems like her body is like a chameleon and hence, she can blend into things. I don’t know. Hence, CAMO = Camouflage. That is about as clueless as I can get. However, despite that, I can comment on how things look in the video. And I think everything looks stunning. From the aesthetics to BoA herself, it is one beautiful and breathtaking video.

BoA is known as the Queen of KPOP and there is always one thing you associate with BoA. That is the choreography that she has for every single track. Matching the aesthetics of the video, her choreography is amazing here. It is snappy and very sharp. She does not hold back whatsoever and I think that is an amazing aspect of the choreography. Now, can we petition for a full dance practice or a dance version of the music video? I would love to see the entirety of the performance.

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

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[Review] As If It’s Your Last – BLACKPINK

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BLACKPINK is the first YG group in a very long time to not disappear without a trace from the KPOP scene and then make their comeback 5 years down the track. With their seniors, 2NE1, now gone, BLACKPINK has big shoes to fill and their first attempt is with As If It’s Your Last. That being said, BLACKPINK has their own colour and style, which has already proven to be extremely popular. Without a doubt, they have what it takes to fill the shoes of their senior labelmates.

As If It’s Your Last starts off as a strong song. A little different but it suits Summer quite nicely. I love the bass during the verses and the pre-chorus. It reminded me of Boom Bah Yah (which I grew to love). Just the end of the pre-chorus build up didn’t sit right and it felt too instantaneous. The chorus turns the song into a more pop-styled song, which is good and all. But it just doesn’t suit the bass and well, the start of the song. It made it sound generic. The song does throw it back to the great start for the second verse, but it doesn’t save the song. Usually, the final chorus is where the artist changes things up a bit. Here, the final chorus felt just simply like another copy from the previous two choruses. Their vocal work in this song is quite strong and definitely, makes the song sound so much bolder and defined. Something that I have noticed is that their title track’s first impressions have been let downs. But I have grown to love their songs after many replays, so maybe that might just happen here. But for now, I will leave you with those comments.

The music video quality from YG Entertainment is always excellent. And it happens to be the case here. But there is nothing too mindblowing or impressive. Just a standard music video. But there was something that caught my eye. Lisa’s outfits are quite questionable in this music video. And I think some fans are also questioning the style behind the outfit. The first is the blacktop with the sparkly bra or bikini top (most likely sewn onto the blacktop). The second are those denim shorts and two massive pieces of obnoxious fabric on her legs…. Watch the video if you haven’t seen them. And you will most likely see why I question some of these fashion choices in KPOP sometimes.

[UPDATED] Apologies for the lateness. But the performance was actually quite good And that’s the best that I can describe it. There wasn’t anything that felt new or different with regards to the performance, in comparison to other groups out there. However, for a relatively new group, their stage presence is amazing.

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

[Review] Yes I Am – Mamamoo

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Mama~ Mama~ Moo~. Mamamoo is officially back with their latest mini album, Purple and title track Yes I Am. This is their first comeback since Decalcomanie, which was released back in November 2016. The group previously did release the music video for Aze Gag, an accompanying song featured on Purple.

Love the funkiness that is coming out from the song. It is quite upbeat and it definitely fits the Summer season quite nicely with its bright and quirky sound. Just listening to it for the first few times makes me want to dance. We know Mamamoo for their amazing vocal talents and they delivered with that talent in this song, while managing to incorporate a bright and fun sound. Moonbyul finally sings for once (even though it last for literally a second) and them high notes that Solar deliver sound spectacular. The post-chorus, Yes I Am, is quite catchy and addictive. All of that being said, the bridge changes up the song by incorporating a slow section, which did cut the flow of the song in my opinion. Not exactly fond of the bridge. While it is good on its own, it does sound like it would have fitted another song. But that is just my thought. Overall, Mamamoo brings out another song that will be loved by fans and myself.

Fitting the song is this music video. The bright and bold colours of the backgrounds match the bright and vibrant sounds in the song. What I love about Mamamoo is that they somehow manage to throw their quirky personalities in the music video and they genuinely looked like they had a blast filming this music video. The song is a message for all the ladies out there to be confident with themselves. And while I think the video could have done a somewhat better job at making that more apparent, their presence on the stage and in the video reflects that message quite nicely.

As mentioned previously, their stage presence fills the stage very nicely. I don’t think it is their best performance routine. I think Decalcomanie has that honour for the time being. But who knows, the performance may end up catching on for me. What should be noticed is that they managed to dance while singing live, displaying a great performance nonetheless.

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

[Review] A Daily Song – Hwang Chi Yeul

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A definite rising star in the industry. That is just one of the few phrases that can accurately describe Hwang Chi Yeul. He debuted in 2007 and basically received no recognition. It wasn’t until 2015 until he started receiving his well-deserved recognition for his vocals through his many appearances on Korean TV shows like I Can See Your Voice and Immortal Song 2. He reached new heights through his appearances on the Chinese version of I Am A Singer, which provided a boost in his popularity.

A Daily Song is your typical ballad and that is all I can say about the song. It has a very generic sound and does have a bit of dryness to it. It does make me want to sway along, but it doesn’t have much to make me go back to it. Despite that though, the instrumental is good. But it is his vocals that hit the ball out of the park for me. Through those TV show appearances, we know what Hwang Chi Yeul is capable of. Listening to this song, those skills and techniques that we hear from the solo artist seemed to be missing. Now, I am not expecting long or extreme high notes. But the song lacks colour in its sounds and felt monotone throughout. Despite that though, his raspy voice does shine in the song and probably is the main highlight of the song. I know I sound disappointed with the song. It is just some of his other songs sound a lot better and are more of the type of songs that bring out his vocals and skills more.

I just want to point out that Hwang Chi Yeul is 34 years old (according to Wikipedia) and here in this video, he plays the role of the rebellious school kid. He has a crush (even though he tried to play it cool at the start) on the girl (who coincidently has a crush on him as well). After she makes a move on him, he turns from the rebellious school kid into the lovey-dovey boyfriend. Turns out that it was all in his head, as he is somehow brought back to reality, where the girl has a family of her own and barely knows he exists. Yet he carries the one thing that he probably did steal from her (as I am assuming that part is true) and that is her cassette tape. Pairing the video with the song, the emotional side of the song is brought out more. Furthermore, even though I am not a romantic K-Drama type of person, the video felt like a mini drama or movie.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 9/10
Overall Rating – 7/10

 

[Review] Shine Forever – Monsta X

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Monsta X recently returned with their first full-length album and Beautiful in March. Fast forward a few months and the group is officially back with their first repackaged album ever, which includes two songs, Shine Forever and Gravity, along with all the tracks were part of The Clan Part 2.5: The Final Chapter. Though I did miss out on the opportunity to review their first album, I will be doing a full album review for their repackaged album, which you can expect at the end of the month (can’t say exact day, just expect it to come :))

Following Beautiful‘s EDM influence, Shine Forever goes for another hard hitting track. While they do accomplish that very easily with the intensity and music genre, the track falls short in a few minor aspects. The instrumental felt very generic and failed to be mind blowing. Beautiful was good because there was an addictive melody, which made it much easier to enjoy. Shine Forever doesn’t seem to have that and felt more like a flat line. The vocal work for the group. It only seems like Kihyun could manage to drag himself to the forefront of the intense moments in the song (i.e. chorus), where the rest of the members felt like they were embedded in the instrumental, which made their parts seem less memorable. The verses share the same fate and just didn’t have enough energy to make it feel memorable as Kihyun’s parts in the song. The raps were pretty good and seemed to go well with the instrumental during their parts. But that is just my breakdown of the song. Do I like the song? Yes. Not their best, but still a great track to listen to.

I actually like the video. It seems like Kihyun and Minhyuk got into an accident, which left Kihyun blind (hence he was wearing blindfolds). It seems like Minhyuk is constantly reminded of the events, which leave him very guilt ridden. Somehow, Wonho finds out the truth and turns away from Minhyuk, with the rest of the members learning of the accident, which they all leave Minhyuk feeling guilty and sadden. Kihyun, though still blind, doesn’t blame him for the accident and comforts him, who I also assume also convinces the others that Minhyuk was not to blame. In the end, they band together and help Kihyun either regain his sight or provide some sort of light to allow him to see again. Though, it doesn’t necessarily amaze me, the plotline was good and cinematography was cool as well. Their acting isn’t the best but they did a pretty good job overall.

[UPDATED] Their performance does look a bit bland on the outside. But it does pack a punch as it progresses along. While there isn’t anything that memorable in this routine, there is something that I can’t pinpoint, but it makes this performance captivating. Their past routines had a key dance move, but this doesn’t. Yet, I still can’t take my eyes off them.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 7/10 [UPDATED]
Overall Rating – 8/10 [UPDATED]

[Review] Remember – Nine Muses

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Nine Muses are officially back with their latest title track, Remember. Their last official comeback as a full group was in 2015 with Sleepless Night. Since then, a number of the girls have “graduated” from the group, leaving only 5 members (Hyemi, Kyungri, Sojin, Keumjo and Sungha). Sungha is currently on hiatus, hence Nine Muses will be promoting as a four-member girl group for this comeback.

Because of my exams, I missed out on all the teasers and the highlight medley for the release. So when I checked out the music video a few hours back, I was listening to it with no idea what to expect. And I am glad that I did. The song blew me away within just the first listen. While I do think I would have also been blown away with the song if I had an idea in regards to which route it would go down, not knowing made it feel so much more impactful. The song starts off eerie and haunting, with an acoustic guitar in the background. Then the song reaches the pre-chorus, which probably was the height of all that haunting-ness. And then the song built up in an instant and launched itself into the electronic, bass-filled and intense chorus. The contrast between the two parts sounded very cool and was quite unexpected. The song returned to the same initial haunting vibe, but this time with a constant thudding sound. While the same formula was used, it was reinventive each time, making it feel fresh and different each time. Their vocal work was amazing and the rapping was low-key amazing. The layers at the end sounded gave the song the feel of complexity without feeling messy and hence made it more interesting. I may have over did my breakdown of the song, but do check out this song! It is not one to miss.

Like how the song starts off, the music video is equally as eerie and haunting. The story isn’t confirmed yet, but this is what I understand from the video. Each member represents a stage in life. Keumjo is the youngest stage and we see her running away from a guy (presumably her father, who abused her), holding a bear. We then see Hyemi, who seems to be a more grown up version of Keumjo and fully understands what is happening. I presume that the girl ended up killing her father. We fast track to Sojin, who is now in the world and working, where she meets the photographer guy. And that leads onto Kyungri. Now, I don’t know if the girl decided to hate every other guy in the world (and goes around killing them) or the photographer guy did something to her (like cheat on her), but we see Kyungri shoot, kill and dispose of the body. We see at the end that the members make up one person and we see them burn the guy in the bathtub. He has photos with him, which I assume were all the girls he used to be with and hence that kind of proves that he cheated on them and since the abuse her father inflicted on her was so traumatic, she thought of only to kill. The bear burns as well because it represents innocence, which was lost at the young age through the abuse. That is just my take on the video. But all in all, the imagery and the feel of the video is fitting for the song and I pretty much liked the entireity of the video.

I am quite sure the accompanying performance would look great on a proper stage with fantastic lighting. But from what I could see from the showcase, the performance looked amazing. They went with a sexy comeback this time and they did not joke around with it. Not groundbreaking, but still looked amazing.

Song – 10/10
Music Video – 10/10
Performance –  8/10
Overall Rating – 9.5/10

[Review] Cherry Bomb – NCT 127

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NCT 127 has returned with their latest mini album and the newest title track, Cherry Bomb. The subunit previously made their return with Limitless at the start of the year. The fandom for NCT recently got their official fandom name and now are known as NCT Zen.

Cherry Bomb is song full of experimentation that was handed to NCT 127. For the most part, it could have been a great song. The hip hop influence with the dance style instrumental makes it into a potentially great song. But the mix up of genres that the song kept throwing at it changed it up a little too much and that took the greatness out of the song. To me, from the start of the song to the 1:20 mark of the song was amazing. It could have rivalled Limitless (which I have grown to like quite a bit). But once the vocal parts kick in, it feels like a completely different song with the same instrumental. And then the rest of the song goes back and forth, with other different styles thrown into the mix as well. Stand alone, I thought they would have been great. But together, the song doesn’t flow that nicely. It honestly felt I was listening to three different songs jumbled about. Their repetitive does try to become catchy but to me, they come off as somewhat annoying as we approach the end. Overall, what could have been a good song ended up on the other side of the spectrum.

I think the rough vibes from the song are presented nicely in the video, through the industrial backgrounds. The industrial backgrounds look quite cool and extremely fitting. Just the cartoon animations that were used throughout the video could have been replaced with some a little better, like the more real-looking (but you know they are fake) cherries at the end. The cartoons made the video look more childish, while the song does go for a tougher vibe. Besides that detail, everything looked quite good.

I think everyone watches the video to see the guys get low. They nearly do the splits, but they don’t. Either way, getting that low already seems painful enough. Overall, the performance looked quite great, as well. It doesn’t amaze (besides the half splits) me that much.

Song – 5/10
Music Video – 7.5/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 6/10

[Review] What’s My Name – T-ARA

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Unfortunately, we have another group to add to the growing list of goodbyes. While their official disbandment won’t be until December, T-ARA has confirmed that the inevitable will be occurring. They last promoted with TIAMO at the end of last year with 6 members. Their contracts had expired last month and Soyeon and Boram chose not to renew it, hence ending their run with the group. The remaining four members (Qri, Eunjung, Hyomin and Jiyeon) chose to stay together until December this year. While it is not goodbye yet, this release will be the group’s 13th and final mini-album.

T-ARA is the one group who is saying goodbye without deviating from their usual upbeat releases. Don’t want to remind everyone about the ongoing disbandment news, but those groups have all chosen to return one last time with a ballad-like song. But it is still a normal day in the T-Ara camp with their upbeat sound. While I personally do like the song and think it is quite catchy, it does lack impact. There is definitely potential for the song to be dynamic and powerful. But it seems to hold back in that area, which does make it sound lacking in a way. The instrumental is probably the biggest example of that. It sounded cool and could have potentially become amazing. But instead, it didn’t seem to stand out. They could have done more to that funky xylophone sound, but instead, it seemed to just be there. The vocal work here is not groundbreaking, nor does it sound like their best. But it also not their worst. If there was one word to describe the song, the right one would probably “generic”.

Now, like every other fan of the group, I patiently waited last night for the music video. From what I understood, the video was meant to be up at 6 pm KST (7 pm where I live). But not a single message to communicate a delay or some sort of explanation for why it was uploaded late. I don’t want to sound like a fussy person, but it seems like their company has just given up on them. Okay, moving back to the video. It looked good, but I couldn’t stand how empty and lacking the video was. There were scenes of the girls looking back at their relationship with the dude and for a moment, some seriousness. And then at the end, they join hands together and smile. Given the circumstances regarding the comeback, I understand it. But I think it could have been explained or presented in a completely different way, which would make the video feel more engaging and interesting. To me, the video just confirms what I mentioned before regarding the company. Moving to a more brighter side of this review, I personally loved how they included references to Boram and Soyeon, through the six bottles, six pencils and six desks.

The performance was good but like the rest of the comeback, it didn’t feel like the right level of energy was channelling through it.

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

[Review] Critical Beauty – Pentagon

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Pentagon has returned with a brand new song, Critical Beauty and their third mini-album, titled as Ceremony. The group made their debut last year with Gorilla and later went on to return with Can You Feel It?. This year, they followed up with Pretty Pretty promotions. E-Dawn and Hui joined Hyuna to form Triple H and made their debut with 365 Fresh. The full album also consists of the pre-release Beautiful, with is one amazing song.

Critical Beauty seems to stand out in the crowd. And for the same reasons, the song doesn’t sit right. In other words, I can see both sides of the coin for this song. It’s unique in a way that it mashes sounds together that you don’t really expect to work, but it does. The song opens up with a very notable Elvis Presley Jail House Rock riff. That alone already perked my ears up. It then mixes hip-hop into the song. Together, it makes the song more interesting and (as mentioned) unique. But the same combination sounded very sluggish and slow. There was no buildup, and it kind felt stalled. The vocals were quite good. What the song does lack in tempo (for me, at least), it makes up through the vocal work of the song. Just minus the whiny E-Dawn sequence we get in the song. The more I listen to it, the catchier it sounds. It just doesn’t get to the point where that slowness (mentioned previously) could be overlooked and to me, that was the biggest issue with the song. But overall, it is worth checking out for its individuality and uniqueness.

Thier music video seems to match the lyrics of the song. I interpret the lyrics of the song as the guys being extremely confident around their lover, singing lines like “what’s the point of asking what’s obvious”. The guys came off as confident men in the video through their charismatic gazes into the camera. And I thought that was pretty cool.  Just a simple observation, but there seem to be one camera angle that felt like it was being overused. The camera seemed always be positioned at a low height and continuously shot while looking up. Overall, the video was dry for the most part, but it went well with the song.

The performance was actually quite good. I liked the introduction and their formations throughout the performance. That confidence seems to carry through to the dance as well.

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

[Review] My Swagger – GOT7

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While I did promise to do a set of reviews for JPOP releases by girl groups, I am having a hard time finding songs to fill that set. But yet, there is an abundance of boy groups releasing JPOP songs. So, for today, I have picked one song by one of my favourite groups, GOT7. My Swagger, released in May, ended up topping charts in Japan, showing the group’s popularity.

Right off the bat, just by listening to the first few seconds of their song, you could tell it was going to be a messy song. They do not mess around with their intense and more hardcore EDM sound. I tend to get worried when it comes to such songs because some aspects are hidden under the midst of all those loud sounds, such as the vocals. But I would gladly headbang to this. I know.  The song itself was quite catchy and left a positive impression (i.e. no headaches) on me when I first listened to it. Those vocals weren’t hidden at all and not once did the song feel repetitive. I think the vocal work contributed to that. As for the raps though, I don’t think it is their personal best. It felt dragged out and their tone didn’t feel as hard-hitting as in their Korean releases. The build-up was quite good, hyping the song up until the beat is dropped for the chorus. Not exactly fond of the ending, though. Overall, not a total fan of the song style, but they make it sound pretty good.

I thought the use of the pictures was interesting. They didn’t amount to much but it made the video look appealing. One thing I did notice was that the video started off much more focused on the tough sound and seriousness. But that was kind of dissolved into nothing as we proceeded with the video and the guys started to interact with the camera and each other. I know it is an odd observation that probably would be more disapproved (such as the guys were always like that from the very start). While it fit the music video, in the end, I thought it was rather odd. Poor Youngjae (at the end) and the moment he realised something was up. Overall, the video wasn’t too bad.

The dance was pretty good. Given the song style and their capabilities as dancers, they did pretty much was expected. Though I think we saw more of the choreography during the chorus, rather than the verses (so I am essentially going from that).

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

[Review] Why Don’t You Know – Chungha ft. Nucksal

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One of the former I.O.I members, Kim Chungha, have made her official solo debut with her song, Why Don’t You Know and min-album, Hands On Me. She (from what I remember) is the first member of I.O.I to make her solo debut, since disbanding. She is currently under M&H Entertainment and has been a highly anticipated solo act.

Why Don’t You Know tries its best to live up to the standards that have been set prior to its release. And it sadly falls short of those expectations. For the most part, the song is mildly good to listen to. The tropical EDM sound is quite nice. I personally enjoyed the instrumental of the track, but I feel like constant releases of the tropical genre may end up becoming repetitive in the future. But besides that, there was nothing standing out when I listened to the track and the same impression sticks to even after many replays. Her vocals are okay. They do shine, but I feel like she doesn’t shine enough. She does, however, sound like she spent most of her times pushing her voice to the limits, especially in the chorus. The featuring rapper, Nucksal, did not need to be in the song. I felt like his part took the song a step back, rather than a step forward. It also cut the flow of the song, which left Chungha and the instrumental having to recover (and quite poorly) to the original state of the song.

The music video was a mess in my eyes. It felt like there was, visually, too much going on and the editing necessarily didn’t help with that. The video could be cut in multiple sections. Let’s simply call the section ‘outdoors’, ‘aesthetic’ and ‘white room’. They didn’t go with each other and the editing made it feel all disconnected from each other. There wasn’t a common thread between each section, which made it harder to enjoy the video. If we looked at the individual scenes on their own, everything probably would have looked good and crisp.

Chungha performance looked quite good and matched the song perfectly. It just didn’t have that many memorable moments and was quite easily forgotten.

Song  – 6/10
Music Video – 4/10
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating – 5.5/10

[Review] Untitled, 2014 – G-Dragon (Big Bang)

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Within just an hour of release, there are only a few artists that are capable of debuting at the top of charts in South Korea. Actually, that might be incorrect, since I am only aware of one occurrence of that happening (just yesterday!). I am referring to the long awaited comeback of G-Dragon. And he has been topping charts everywhere around the world with his latest mini album, Kwon Ji Yong. The main track is Untitled, 2014 and is the first YG artist in a while to only come back with one main title track (not exactly sure if promotions will actually occur).

And of course, the Digital King himself went with a completely unanticipated style with this track. Though I am quite sure G-Dragon has released ballads in the past, I don’t think I have heard anything from him that is this heartfelt. Just by listening to it, you can tell that it goes deep. There are two parts of this song. The melodic piano instrumental receives big ticks from me. It’s simple and clean. Nothing too fancy. But the real winner has to be his dominating and amazing vocals. If the instrumental received big ticks, then G-Dragon’s voice has to receive massive golden stars. I think that description alone tells you what I think of the song entirely. I  am literally just staying still for the entire song, every time I replay it. I am in awe and am speechless at the same time. There is no highlight. I usually point out to a certain section of the song that I love the most. But it is evident that for the very first time, I think the entire song is the highlight. We all know what G-Dragon is capable of, but yet he manages to blow everyone (including myself) in one away or another, majority of the times he come back.

The music video showed his professionalism and skills. Essentially, the video was shot in under an hour. That is something unheard of. According to the new articles I am reading, the idea was extremely simple (which matched the simplicity of the song). The video focuses on G-Dragon’s performance, not content or complexity. And that is what is delivered. I love a good old simple video and this one probably one of the few that does it right. While we do not see G-Dragon that clearly, it is an amazing video to watch that matches the song perfectly.

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