Category: Reviews

Flame – Choa (AOA)

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For a while, we all thought that Choa would be officially make her solo debut with Flame, but rather she is only credited as an artist featuring on a project album. Which is somewhat disappointing because Choa was good vocals that managed to wow audiences last year when she participated in King Of Masked Singer. Flame is a remake of a song released by Jang Hye Jin back in 2006 which featured Gary from Leessang (or Running Man). Unfortunately, Choa’s single did not make much of an impact when it was released (even though the anticipation was high) and was sadly forgotten.

And I am going to be truthful, I was one of the people who have forgotten about the song. You all probably know that I am a major sucker when it comes to ballads, falling for them almost instantaneously. This ballad, even though the melody was great and the song had me swaying for it, did nothing to satisfy the need for the song to be addictive or somewhat catch my attention to continue going back to the song to listen to it. The orchestral instrumental was really good, but the drums that were playing throughout the song were either overpowering or had the bass turned up quite a bit. The original song is said to be quite emotional, carrying the sorrow feeling. Choa did an excellent job of carrying the same feeling over for the remake, but as I said before, failed to make the song more appealing to the listeners.

The music video is amazing. I don’t think any other video would have suited the song anymore. We see a vampire, who used to be a young girl and at certain times can become deadly and kill people. Since becoming a vampire, she cannot go into the sun and hence sets up all these lights and candles in her room to remind her of the memories of the past. Of course it is not enough and she finally decides to venture out into the sun, even though she knows she will die. I can say that the her memories of the sun and light are like lovers who want to be with each other, but cannot due to some sort of barrier. Essentially, the flame is still there to rekindle their love but it is up to the people to make that flame become a fire. That is how I interpreted the video, and thought it was rather nice. I love it how Choa was singing in the caged area in which the girl had kept as a place to keep her prey. It adds that extra excitement to the video. How it does? I sat here wondering if Choa was the prey.

The package was great, but if the song appealed to me a lot more and was not easily forgotten, it would have been perfect. 8.5/10

D×D×D – SHINee

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One of my goals for this is to review more Japanese songs. And it has been a goal that I have been trying to achieve for the past few years. While I spent some time reviewing only a limited amount of Japanese songs during the first six months of last year, I barely did any reviews in the second half of the year. But I did take some time to discover new artists from Japan and hopefully, when they release something this year, I will jump onto it and review it. SHINee made their comeback to Japan after promoting in Korea last year with a brand new album. D.D.D was the title track for the album, which had the same name.

The song is like a rock and dance mash up which sounds pretty good. There is a lot of auto-tune to start off the song and that was a major turn off for me. But I stayed around and the rest of the track is great. Just that auto-tuned was too excessive in my opinion. When I first heard the chorus, I was a little torn. The genre of the chorus seemed to be a little different compared to the rest of the song. I personally like the chorus now, just sometimes when I listen to the song over and over again, it just feels a little disjointed and does not match well with the rest of the song. Vocals were not that strong in this song, but it suited the instrumental. Minho’s rapping was bomb as hell in the song. Personally, this sound goes well with SHINee in my opinion. If they went with this sound in Korea, I think it would be a worthwhile move for them. Come to the think of it, a Korean version would be nice. Overall, I think this is a great song, but it took a few listen to take everything in and consolidate different aspects of the song.

The music video had a more edgier feel to it. More than what we are used to. The video is quite dark and suits that rock theme that the song had going for. I feel like the solo shots of the members where they were standing in the corridors or in tight places were the best part of the video. The dance set seemed generic and boring. Not exactly fond of the holograms of the members that appeared in the video. It just looked like their souls were leaving their own bodies. And of course, everyone in the comments on the video is enjoyed the SHINee times 2. Why ahve one SHINee when you get the option of two. I also like it how they have them positioned as if they were having some duel or dance off. The ending was somewhat dramatic. Fire setting the alarm off, chair is being smashed, TV is being smashed, Minho ripping this shirt (per usual) and Onew with his gas…. I had to. Could not resist.

The dancing was not that impressive. There was a lot of bouncing and all, but beside that, there was not much to comment on.

First Japanese review of the year and I promise you: more will be coming. For D×D×D, 7/10.

 

What’s Wrong? – iKON

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This is iKON’s second song for their full debut album. Check out their other release: Dumb & Dumber, which was has been reviewed. But on with the review.

I really don’t know how to start off this review and I tried my best to avoid starting it this way. But, I just can’t think of any other way to start off the review. So, compared to Dumb & Dumber, this song was a let down. “If you ever loved somebody, say yeah” sounds like an awkward start to an awkward song. I don’t know, but there are more creative ways to get the audience into the song and have them participate. The song has the rock and hip hop vibe to it, which sounds nice, but sounds so generic. There really is nothing that sets this song a part from the other songs that you get throughout KPOP. It seems boring and quite unappealing to me. Beside Junhoe’s vocals, I feel like everyone else had to strain their voices to get it into the way the vocals are presented in the song. Once again, that complete halt in the song is back to haunt us. Only once, but damn, it ruined the flow of the song for me. But other good points of the song: it is great head banging music.

The people in the video, looked so scary with their colourful socks on top of their head. I know YG has a habit of covering their dancer’s faces and all, but this just looks so low budget and slapped together at the last minute. The video fits in well with the song. The boys are singing what happened to us and the video showed the boys and girls (or their partners) battling out. In what seemed to nearly escalate into a food fight, a massive fist fight and also a little bit of dodge-ball. Ahhh dodge-ball. It has been years since I last played that game. All them painful memories of always having the ball slammed into my nose/face. The video was nice and reflected the song pretty well.

I am glad they got rid of those socks for the live performance. Much cringe worthy. Beside that, I could not see much of the dance. The camera work manage to avoid most of the dance and filmed all the parts where they are avoiding the girls and running around. I don’t have much to say about the dance until I see more.

Quite disappointed with this particular song. To me Dumb & Dumber was much better. 5.5/10

Which iKON song did you like more? I have decided to include all of their promoted songs to in the below poll, so vote away.

Dumb & Dumber – iKON

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Opening the 2016 year with fresh new reviews of acts that either made their comeback in the later half of December 2015. For those who don’t know, I stopped reviews for newly released songs after the 15th of December and went on to focus on End of Year charts, the BOBs and also finish the year off with some reviews that I managed to miss out. iKON is one of those groups that released their official full debut album after the 15th.

I think I can now safely say that iKON is a group that I think has improved greatly with each release. Their debut wasn’t that great in my standards, but every single song they have released so far has shown a new talented side of them to me. This song feels like a party anthem made specifically for the boys. Their rapping and vocals match the song really well. Not exactly fond of the complete halts that the song has throughout it. While they ahve their charm, I also think that something can be used to fill that void. Don’t take me the wrong way, there are some songs out there that need the halts or utilise the silence really well, but this isn’t one of them (at least that is what I think). The song is catchy and addictive. I have a feeling that this song can become trendy as it has that feel to it. The same feel I get when I listen to viral songs like Psy’s Gangnam Style. Like the title suggest, the song sounds wacky and for some reason, completely out of context for a YG group. But they manage to keep to their roots and style.

Every single time I watch the video, I get a feel of the weird and wacky side that Big Bang gave us in Bae Bae last year. Their previous releases have all been serious or light-hearted, but this. Only wacky and crazy can describe this video. The video was well shot and had a great concept to it. I just feel like for some reason, that the Dumb and Dumber duo style would have been a more well suited concept given the title of the song. But I did say that the song was like a party anthem and this video manages to channel in that feel as well. I personally like the ending of the video where the song drops its final beat. Everything becomes down to earth but at the same time still manage to have that wacky feel to it. The video as a whole, is great and suits the song exactly.

The dance for this song makes me think they had a bit to drink just before going onto the stage. Their stage presence is quite large when they performed the song for the first time. (I am watching the performance that performed at the 2015 SBS Gayo Festival). I like how tough they managed to showed themselves to the audience, but with use of fun and a very odd concept. There really isn’t a thing about the dance that sets it apart, but it something that goes well with the song.

Great comeback to start off the year. 7.5/10

 

Du Du Du – Kim Dong Wan (Shinhwa)

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Just a little while back, Kim Dong Wan made his solo comeback with I’m Fine and Piece. Having promised back to to back mini album promotions, he was due to release his comeback last month. But I am assuming something along the lines of preparations affected the potential “back to back” promotions. However, he made his solo comeback with Du Du Du earlier this month, fulfilling the promise he made.

Like I’m Fine, Kim Dong Wan brings out his guitar for the song. The other song has that more emotional aspect to it and has sad lyrics to it. This song, however, is much more cheerful and includes the lovingly sounds of his vocals. Honestly, it is a really nice song that suits the season of snow. I would imagine myself listening to this song to just cheer myself up. Lately, I have been saying that the sound “Du Du Du” has to be one sound that makes any song pretty catchy. And well, it makes the song really vibrant and happy. The chorus is quite high pitch but at the same time is quite simple to listen to. Probably be an ideal song to catch any girl’s feeling. His English is quite nice as well.

The music video has this story line to it, which confused everybody the first time they watched the video. Essentially, the video starts off with Kim Dong Wan hanging out with Girl #1. But then, Girl #2 starts to come along and ruin Kim Dong Wan and Girl #1’s happy date. We see Girl #1 disappointed and sad, while it is revealed that Girl #2 and Kim Dong Wan are joking around and wren’t actually a couple. But it was later revealed in the video, that in fact Girl #1 was in on the whole thing and Girl #2 was actually the girl that Kim Dong Wan likes (shown when Girl #1 joins in on in the dancing and Girl #2 was the one he was pointing at). Plot twist much? Yeah it is a little confusing but it makes more sense when you watch the video. That or the bunny was his one true love. Don’t you love it when you read YouTube comments? They clear everything up but at the same time still have that playful side to them. Beside the story line, the video was quite fun to watch. Once again, it was a bright and cheerful video that matched the song’s sound.

Overall, a perfect song and video in my opinion. Little confusing on the video, but hey, it is part of the charm. 10/10

Lean On Me – Soyu (Sistar) & Kwon Jeong Yeol (10cm)

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Let’s back track for a few months and review a song. Before Soyu went on a break (if you didn’t know, she has been having back problems and has gone on a break, hence Sistar has been focusing a lot on solo promotions), she released a few songs and per usual I think they were mostly collaborations with other artists. This time around she has gone with a member of 10cm, Kwon Jeong Yeol, whose group is known for ballads. And honestly, Soyu’s collaboration has done it again and slayed me. I put a lot of emphasis on Soyu when i review her songs, but somehow don’t manage to put the same level of emphasis on the other singer, who also plays an important part in the collaboration. So let’s do it.

Once again, the vocals from both artists have been superb. Soyu and Jeong Yeol voices go hand in hand in this song. Both artists have the same level of huskiness to their voices, which compliments each other really well. Everything about this song fits in with the Autumn season really well. From the vocals, to the instrumental just gives off that feel. The song is also quite catchy for a ballad. The chorus just sucks me in and reels me in. I feel like the song ended off perfectly. Sometimes, the ending of songs are dragged out or abruptly, but this ending was perfect. I don’t have much to say about the song beside how great it is.

As for the music video, it is quite nice. The same feel in the music video is in the song, hence they go hand in hand. The screen splits into two and we see to different lives. One of them is the of the guy’s and the other is Soyu’s. And we see them lounge around and act as if they they were recently heart broken. But when we assume they get into different taxis, well, they don’t. Instead, they seemed to be in each lives and enjoy each other company. Another ongoing trend I see in KPOP nowadays (and actually life in general), but someone is bringing out the cameras from the late 1990’s, where the camera quality isn’t that grand and crystal clear. I don’t know why it is a trend but it is. Interesting concept for a video, which looked quite nice and well polished.

Overall, another amazing song from Soyu and her collaborations with great male vocalists! 9/10

 

 

Q&A – Seventeen (S.Coups, Woozi & Vernon) & Ailee

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First of the last four reviews of the year. Q&A is a collaboration between Ailee, the vocal queen of KPOP and Seventeen, the rising KPOP rookie group. And honestly, it is a really nice song to listen to. It’s bright and vibrant to listen to. There is a strong American influence throughout the whole song, I think. Every time I listen to the song, I know that there is some sort of foreign influence to the song. The song flows quite well and is extremely pleasant to listen to. I love the pairing of vocals. Both Ailee’s and Woozi’s voice go really well together, and top of that, the member’s deep sounding raps really bring the song together. Some of you may be wondering about the title. Essentially, the song’s lyrics are like two people sharing their feelings, but through asking questions and seeking answers, hence Q&A. They are not asking literal questions, just the lyrics (when translated) seem like they’re having a conversation (asking questions and seeking answers). Very interesting concept and equally unique. The instrumental is a little bland, but overall, the song is great to listen to and chill.

As for the music video, the concept is a little clearer. Essentially the girl is making the boys sit through a test to probably determine who would be the most suitable to be her next boyfriend. The boys are studying extremely hard (or too busy posing for the camera). And then we see the boys take the test (but I don’t think they got that far). They even had to result to cheating (with very obvious means). Honestly, the concept of the video weaves into the song a lot more better than the song and I like that about it. Apparently, you get blood noses when you study in South Korea. Seen it in the video and also in many dramas. Funny, cause the only time I get blood noses is when I get I hit in the face with a ball. There also the guys represents different students. Woozi is the one that actually studies, Vernon is the one that looks like they are studying and S.Coups is the one that gives no crap about what he is doing (I am personally a mixture of Woozi and S.Coups. Who are you?). Disappointed Ailee was not in the video.

Overall, great collaboration. 9/10 

Crazy Dog – Yezi (Fiestar) ft. San E

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Time to finally review something that is directly hip hop related. Hahaha… And another song without a freaking music video… WHY?? But, we must go on. We probably all know who San E is, but who is Yezi? Well, Yezi is the rapper of the female group Fiestar. She recently participated in Unpretty Rapstar, which is a show for female rappers. Now Yezi has received a lot of support and gained a lot of popularity with her appearance on the show, which leads to her very first solo, Crazy Dog, featuring San E.

If you don’t know, I don’t really like listening to K-Hip Hop songs, but this one is an exception. I have always been a fan of Yezi’s raps in her song and while I do not follow Unpretty Rapstar, I saw small snippets of her on the show and she sounded really cool and tough. She is definitely a top notch rapper that should be looked out for in 2016.  This particular song is pretty catchy and has really addictive yet repetitive beat to this. I love how she repeats “Crazy Dog” in both Korean and English. It is hella tough and quite sexy to hear. A bit torn with San E’s part. He sounds great and fit in with the track, but I felt like maybe Yezi had a little more toughness and sounded much more powerful in her delivery. The trumpet sounds in the instrumental gave an unique sound to the song, one that I would not have associated with a hip hop track. I just don’t associate that instrument with the genre, but hey, it worked really well. It had me head bopping all the way through, so I guess it is a pretty good track.

Overall, a solid track. I really want to see her perform this one stage one day and show the world who is boss. 7/10

I can confirm to you that this is the final review without a music video. 2015 is slowly wrapping up and I will be writing up 4 more reviews before the end of the year (Final review will be released on the 24th). The the BOBs will be released starting on the 29th, and the year ends with the End Of Year Chart for 2015 on the 31st. ANY major group/solo comebacks (i.e. iKON, ChoA (AOA) etc.) that is released from now on to the end of the year will be reviewed next year (and included in next year’s charts).

It’s Christmas Time – B1A4

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Jingle Bells Jingle Bells…. Christmas is really taking a toll on me. Too many sleigh bells ringing and Ho Ho Ho’s heheheh… I am only joking, but it seems like B1A4 has jumped on the Christmas song bandwagon with their very first Christmas Single. And it is a pretty good song. Just there were some things that I was kind of iffy on. For example, B1A4’s English isn’t that great. I mistook “I just want to be your good friend” as “I just want to be your girl friend”. Their voices were very husky in this song and I liked it. Honestly, it is the only Christmas song so far that is quite upbeat and it really brings the “cheer” and joy to the table. I, for some reason, have this big smile on my face when I listen to the song. Some of the vocals in the verses could have been a little louder, but beside it is a pretty much solid track. The rapping by Baro is also pretty good. I know he isn’t an underground rapper and whatnot, but sometimes he has pretty good raps. Upbeat Christmas track that I would be playing for the next week? This is it.

And then I realized that there is no music video to this song. Nor is there any performance. Song wise, since it the only thing I can review it on, 7/10. 

Sing For You – EXO

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EXO has returned to the stage with a special Winter album, with the title track Sing For You. This time around they featured all the members, plus made their comeback with a ballad, which is quite different. Their last promoted ballad was Miracles in December, sung by D.O, Baekhyun, Chen and Luhan. Anyway, on to this ballad. The vocals just blow me away in this song. I know EXO is highly capable of singing ballads as there are amazing vocalists. But even the rappers (Chanyeol, Sehun, Kai) all singing a part of the song. And everyone sounds as if they were blessed with amazing vocals from the very start of time. This ballad is quite slow, and while I am not a big fan of those extremely slow ballads, this one is pretty good. It is just a free flowing song that really gets to you. The guitar instrumental that played throughout the song was blissful. There is one thing that would take the ballad to a whole new level and that is harmony. I feel like if the boys harmonise a little more the song would become 100% perfect. There is a little harmonising going on, but it definitely not enough and feels quite limited.

And let’s go onto a brand new corner of some reviews: The Question. For this review, the question is: What in the freaking effing world is a massive whale doing in space? While it probably does symbolise something that many people just don’t get (including me), it just seems a little too far fetched. But this is one beautiful music video. We see all the members hang out, but in reality they are just memories of some members, and some are just lonely. Sehun in space, Kai reflecting in space while he could be out drinking with the other members, Suho and Chanyeol fighting, D.O driving the car by himself. Some people say this is a way to represent the whole members leaving the band news, and I am going to agree with some band, I don’t think that is it. Yeah, some people do manage to point out a lot of evidence from the video, but I feel like the video is much more than former members, but the friends, family and lovers that we all truly miss. Or maybe I am missing the whole point, but I feel like the acting in this was really good. Kai’s dancing was solid and very interpretive. Honestly, beautiful video. But do share what your thoughts on the video are? Or any “confirmed” story lines. But what I have put is my interpretation. Oh and the video matches the song, but I think you all got that from the above.

10/10. Yeah, something could have been added to the song to make it much better, but what we have here is pretty much perfection.

 

Feels So Good – HALO

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[NOTE: As there is no music video to the following song, I decided to use their last comeback as the featured image]

Not exactly a normal review today. I know I don’t review many songs without a music video, but I am going to make a few exceptions for a few more reviews to finish up 2015. The first of which is Halo’s new song. Halo is a new band that made their debut last year with Fever. They made numerous comebacks since with Come On Now, Surprise and While You’re Sleeping. The group is made up of 6 members: Dino, In Haeng, Ooon, Jae Yong, Hee Cheon and Yoon Dong. I was planning on reviewing their debut song, but cancelled the review because of time constraints.

This song is surprisingly good. Their debut song was really good, but their comebacks lately had been lacking quite a bit. This was something that the band needed, but it did sound quite ordinary. While their songs are dance centred and have a more modern electronic feel, this one has more of a retro feel to it (like While You’re Sleeping) and involves a strong disco feel to the video. Some of the vocals had been auto-tuned to fit the song, and I guess I like it. The rapping did not match the song at all and really felt like it was just placed over the instrument. I wouldn’t call the song catchy but the chorus manages to work its magic. As I said in a review recently, any song with the “du du du” sound manage to become catchy and I think that was the hook in my point of the view in the song. Beside all of that, it is a solid song that really caught my attention. It felt so ordinary that it was screaming at me to look at a band that I had planned on paying attention to.

Yeah, their previous dances were much better than this. Their last few had been more suited for more dance centred songs, but this suited the ordinary feel of the song and is that side of KPOP boy bands that somehow must go through. And I referring to the fact that this comeback once again is a boy group doing a cute concept.

This is an example of a good song in my point of view. I like it, but yeah, I see it as a pretty standard song. 6.5/10

For You – Lovelyz

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Within a little over a month, Lovelyz has returned with a brand new song. They made their comeback with Ah Choo at the end of October, and surprisingly made their comeback at the start of December. This song just throws me back to the early SNSD days and Kara days. This is a song that honestly feels like it came out during the Golden Ages of KPOP. They went for a more upbeat song this time around. I say that, because it is a lot more upbeat than Ah Choo (which was already upbeat itself). The vocals in this song are pretty nice and fit into that realm of cute concept. As for the instrumental, it is pretty typical, but like the bass sounds in the song. It gave the song more depth and allowed the girls to sound more like from the 2008-2010 era. I think this is a better song that Ah Choo. It has that really addictive beat and the “du du du” sounds. It is a hidden fact that the “du du du” sounds make all songs sound really nice and catchy. But really, it seems like the girls did a really nice job with the song.

As for the video, kind of thankful they are not in a place that is fake. All their music videos have been (sadly) in a box, so to see them embrace the real world makes it oddly satisfying. Maybe I should not have worded it in that way. Not exactly sure what is happening in the video, but it seems like they are all friends and are all meeting up once again. Or that the girl in the snow is holding a box full of memories. While I am not too sure about the plot of the video, I have to admit it was beautifully shot. The scenes were all very bright and matched the tone of the song. The close-up shots of them were spectacular and it highlights each of them individual beauties. Also, what is with this upbeat trend during the season that is commonly associated with slow and snow? Loving it, though so no complaints.

I have yet to see a live performance for this song, so yeah. No dance. [UPDATE: Just saw the dance, but there really wasn’t anything impressive. But the score stays as normal]

Overall, liking the song and the video. 8/10

Dear Santa – SNSD-TTS

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SNSD-TTS has returned with their very first Christmas album. Oh sigh… More songs to remind me that the year is about to end. But anyway, this song is okay. It seems to be a mess to my ears. I was perfectly okay with the track being the ballad. Yeah, would have been a slow song and that does not seem to be TTS’s style, but the start was amazing. However, it just suddenly changed and I am still trying to get used to it. But I can’t even say the song “dropped the beat” or whatever. The rest of the song was just blah to me. I still listen to it, just hoping it will catch on, but at the moment, I cringe when I listen to the song. And then the song attempts to end with a 3 second ballad part at the end, which has me confused. Why would you start off with an amazing ballad sound, change it into a Christmas pop song instantaneously, and the end it as a ballad. I don’t think that formula works that way, and who on earth thought it would work? The vocals are amazing (per usual), but honestly minus their vocals, everything else was a major let down. It just sounds like a complete mismatch. If the two were split up into two different songs, I think that would have been many times better than just the one. And Tiffany’s “Come On” parts. Wow.

The lion returns. He is still rejected by the girls after what happened in Lion Heart, so it was unexpected that he would make a return in this video. But beside the lion, it was an okay video to watch. Loving the start where the girls are in those beautiful red dresses. It matched the ballad feel the song had at the start. Then the girls get transported through a portal (in the form of an invitation) into a more playful world. Hmmm… I don’t know but that just screams desperate to me. Desperate to find some kind of way to put the girls into a fast and upbeat feel. And everything in between was okay. But honestly, them acting cute. I don’t see it in them anymore and they just looked so awkward acting surprised in a cute way. And then the ending where they all share a laugh. It looks so forced. It looked unnatural and looked cringe-worthy.

As for the performance, I have no bad comments. Removing the song, the mime was an excellent way to make the stage more unique and suits the time of the year that they were singing. Somewhat disappointed that they are promoting for such a short amount of time though (1 week. They already finished)

Overall, highly disappointed. If only they decided to cut the song into two, I would have been happy. 2/10

Run Away – Royal Pirates

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Royal Pirates have finally returned after over a year’s break. And boy did they make this return a hella smashing one. This song is super duper amazing. Can I just say, that the instrumental break for this song is my favourite part of the song. The song was quite upbeat and fast already, but that instrumental break just took it to a whole new level. It is a mix of a rock genre and the electronic genre, and this mix goes hand in hand. The vocals are amazing but I do have one small complaint. Royal Pirates put out really nice song that are catchy (the word to describe the chorus) and appeal to me right away. The English in this song fits in with the Korean with the song. I just feel that the vocals could be a little louder. The instrumental is overpowering and I can’t make the vocals for some part for most of it. The other complaint is I personally feel the song is a little too quick. It sounds like the song was sung mostly in the first minute and 30 seconds. The guitar and drums in the sound brings the song back to the rock ages, but the electronic sound makes the song a lot more modern and I personally like that about the song. Great song.

As for the music video, I am totally fine with the seeing the band just rock out to the song. The bright scenes where the members in the sun, seem to show that they are currently running away or something. But they only made up like 20% of the video and could have been taken out. I see no one talking about those scenes, because everyone is in awe with the the dark band scenes. James hitting the metal shield with the guitar seemed a little funny to me. I blame it on the slo-mo. Beside making it look like he was hitting the shield super hard, it seemed like he only allowed the guitar and shield bump each other. And blindfold drummer boy. He is just showing off. Not exactly sure why there was a snow storm towards the end of the video, but it gave the song that fast element, as if they were running. I love the small screen they had to cover their mouths. That looked pretty cool. Honestly, beside the small snippets of light, I think the video was quite nice to watch. The darkness complimented the song’s emotions. And the rock theme travelled through the music video, with the head banging and seriousness the guys had on their faces (from what we could see).

Overall, totally digging this comeback. 9/10

Daddy – Psy ft. CL (2NE1)

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This is the second part of Psy’s comeback, with Daddy. This song, I think, is meant to embrace the international audience that fell in love with Gangnam Style and Gentlemen. Why I think that, well the song is a better mixture of English and Korean, compared to Napal Baji. CL also features in this track, and while her part is very limited, I actually liked her vocals in this song. More than Psy’s vocals in this song. Yeah, Daddy really did not appeal to me. It had that American feel, but overall the song fell quite short in comparison to Napal Baji. Call me hypocritical, but I feel like this song has a little too much electronic components and Psy’s vocals (in some parts) had excessive autotune. The very simple chorus, is once again the hook of the song, and it really did reel me in. Maybe because the sound of the song has been Americanized quite a bit, I am not feeling the song overall. However it is still a nice song to listen to.  Quite catchy as well.

The music video was interesting and I personally think I enjoyed it to a certain level. It is not that I am disappointed in it, but it felt too complex for Psy. If that makes sense. Yeah, it had that wild element and also the crazies, but it just felt that too much detail was placed into the video. Maybe I am going crazy with these reviews. Hahaha.. But seriously, baby Psy is ummm… creepy. I don’t want a baby winking at me. I absolutely love the school scenes where he is like the ultimate flower boy or hot school jock that everyone is blown away by. The girls acting in this make me laugh so hard. I also love the scenes where he attempts to woo the teacher. I don’t know why by Spanish dance teacher Psy suits his image a lot. The other scene I totally love was the tornado scene. Beside, the grandfather version of Psy was not that great, kind of looked creepy. The one thing I feel like this music video can do without though is CL’s appearance. I personally don’t understand the point of putting someone in the video or on the stage for around 5 seconds, and have them walk off right after.

I feel like the dance for this song suits it 100% and suits Psy 100%. It is simple and easy to follow and it matches the beat of the song. Per usual, Psy looks ridiculous dancing, but he genuinely looks happy about it. If I were to review the dance only, I personally give it a 10/10.

Daddy falls short a tiny bit. Napal Baji was my favourite this time around. 8/10

Which Psy song did you like this time around? Pick below!!!

Napal Baji (Bell Bottoms) – Psy

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Psy has returned and this is a comeback that I am willing to review. Hangover was a total mess in my opinion (and I don’t consider it as KPOP). This song, Napal Baji, is an amazing song. This channel the same feel as Gangnam Style, but probably will never reach the same standard as the latter song. Anyway, regarding the song. I like everything in this song. It is super catchy and quite addictive. It is also quite a fun song that I really enjoyed. It has me singing along, even though I don’t understand a single word he was singing about. I really like the intro. While his past songs have been all electronic based, this song had a really nice instrumental and the guitar at the beginning was pretty cool. The chorus, even though it was like “Woah, Napal Baji, eh heeeeeeeeeyy …”, it was pretty much the hook of the song and damn did it hook me.

Psy, bring back the bell bottoms since 2015. Honestly, everyone that wore the pants in the video managed to rock something that is quite outdated. The rest of the video looks like a day in Psy’s life. For example, when he wakes up, he goes to the salon and gets shaved (I wonder how much the nose cost as well), he then goes onto different late night shows and also award ceremonies, with awkward golden dancing statues. And then he comes home with a few girls, who ends up leaving because he is too busy dancing. And he goes back to sleep, on his stand up bed. Hahaha… Honestly, the video made me chuckle and I would say it made me laugh. Psy’s music video had a nice clean feel to it and it felt so fresh. My favourite part of the video would have to be when they transition from the verses into the chorus. Yeah, those scenes where the walls fall down and bring out dancing Psy. I really love that idea.

As for the dance, did Psy say he used T-Ara’s Roly Poly as an inspiration, like how he used Brown Eyed Girl’s dance for Gentlemen? I thought it was a really nice dance and there is something regarding Psy’s facial expression that makes the dance so much better. I actually think one part of what makes him so popular is that of his facial expressions. His funny dances really mismatch his serious expression, but hey, at least we can tell he put his heart and soul into the performance. As for the dance overall, loving it.

This particular song dives back into his Korean roots, but at the same time, deserves to be a hit single everywhere. In my point of view, Psy, you have done it again. 9/10

My review for Psy’s Daddy will come out tomorrrow or the day after, but I put forward this highly important question: