Category: Reviews

Choco Chip Cookies – Goo Hara (Kara) ft. Giriboy

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Summer comebacks keep on coming and they keep on getting announced. Gu Hara who is a popular member of the group Kara was confirmed to make her solo debut a few months back and finally has dropped the new song this month. Kara was quite busy in the last few months, due to their comeback with Cupid. So when  I heard that she was going to debut just a matter of weeks after their promotional cycle finished, I was shocked. Why don’t these people get some time to rest? But then again, many fans (and guys) are probably thankful for this. Hehehehe…

Not a big fan of Hara. I never see why she stood out beside the fact that she has a nice body. And many people have acknowledge that she isn’t the best member at singing or rapping. However it is still a pretty big feat if you are that someone but manage to pull off a solo song by yourself. I personally think this song suits Hara’s capability of being a singer. It is not a complex song that needs high notes and all those ad-libs to make it sound cool. But I have to be honest, I did find this song rather ordinary. I liked it, but it doesn’t have much going on within it. Giriboy’s rapping was pretty good and accompanied Hara’s vocals pretty well. But the rest really didn’t wow me. Maybe I am so use to powerful vocals and all, but this did sound rather flat and dull.

As for the music video, I thought it was rather boring. I have to be very honest here, but that dude looked pretty nice (physique wise). The chemistry between the two was pretty good. At least they were not awkward with each other, because that would be a video with disaster written all over it. It is very Summery video and colourful. But beside that, there really was not much going on. The couple flirted and acted cute/sexy around each other. And that is all. There was nothing else to talk about. Yeah, I am very disappointed about that. Maybe I am being hypocritical with myself, but those scenes where she is just singing and staring into the camera. Yeah, they look fake. I know the video would more boring, but honestly, I cringed during those scenes.

As for the dance, that dude is back again. Hahaha… I just remember watching one of the performances and there wasn’t much screaming for Hara. However as soon as the dude stepped out, the fan girls started their reign.  The dance was boring. There really wasn’t anything to eye boggle about. It does fit in with her image and reflects the sexy summer comeback that many did expect from her.

Overall, it was okay. Could have been loads better. 4.5/10

Just Right – GOT7

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Wow, the songs this Summer are pretty good. GOT7 is finally back after over a half year disappearance from the industry. Yes, they are not forgotten and return with their first comeback of 2015. Why has it been so long since we last saw them? Well, they have been having a lot of activities overseas, with a Japan comeback. On top of that, JB and Junior (formerly known as Jr. – he changed his stage name recently) have been acting again. Beside that, I don’t follow the members so I don’t really know. On with the review.

When I first heard the teaser for this song, I thought it was going to be a really boring comeback with nothing to exceed the standards which their other songs have created. In other words, I thought this track was going to suck. HOWEVER, I will kindly take my words back and confirm that I now officially think this is a fan-freaking-tatstic song to listen to. Actually, their whole mini album this time around was amazing. I am not into these types of songs such as Just Right which, to me, has that really annoying sound in it that detaches itself from the song. But the song was made for that sound and I thought the song flowed quite well. the song was very upbeat and bright. The instrumental was really good as well. While A was more of a pop-ish song, this song reminded me of A. But maybe more of the concept. The vocals and the rapping (even though to me they sound like they are talking in a more posh voice) were really good. I felt the song was too short and wanted more from it. Amazing song.

The music video reflects what the lyrics of the song are. The guys sing about how the girl of their dreams is ‘Just Right” and that she does not need to try hard to be beautiful. Ahhh… Meaningful lyrics. Now, this was a very bright video and I thought it was pretty good. But it looked dull in some areas. Great ummm… use of green screen. Honestly, it doesn’t look bad and obvious as other videos. I just find it creepy that as soon as she noticed her draws moving, she opened them. Ain’t she scared of something popping out, like a rat or cockroach? I would. Ummm… Running out of things to say about this video. It was pretty cool and I liked it a lot.

The dance can only be described in one way. Awkward. But good awkward. Their facial expressions make me laugh, but it is the whole point of the dance. I really like the laid back feel of the dance and how it fits quite well with the song.

Obviously, this song is not “just right”. It is awesome to my ears and this comeback is awesome to my eyes. 9.5/10

 

Bad – Infinite

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Infinite is back after a year with a brand new comeback and mini album. Bad is their 5th mini album that was released with Back being their last release in July last year. Since Back (hehehe…), Infinite has been very busy with drama filming and promotions. Infinite H made their subunit comeback at the start of the year with Pretty. Sunggyu also made his solo comeback with double title tracks: The Answer and Kontrol. On top of that the boys have been releasing singles in Japan such as Dilemma which I reviewed earlier in the year. So many hyperlinks in the introduction today.

The song is described as a combination of hip hop and EDM elements. And that is something that we got. It honestly feel this is a very powerful song and it matches songs that I and probably many fans associate with Infinite. I also hear hints of classical and rock through the instrumental of the song, which adds to that powerfulness. As for the vocals, they were powerful and very strong, but remained matching to the style of song that the writers were getting at. Often we have a mismatch between vocals and instrumental, but this time around, they blended well with each other. Also, every member seemed to excelled in terms of vocals for this song. Sungyeol and Sungjong got more lines and their voices seem much steadier this time around. The rapping was kept to a minimal in this song, which I don’t fully understand why. I like Infinite’s rap in their song, but funnily not a big fan of their rap/hip hop subunit. Hmmm…

The music video is also quite interesting. The guys are tormented by this girl who they are describing as “bad”, hence the title of the song. The make use of mirrors in this video quite interestingly, being a way for the girl to get to them. I find that is an interesting concept. Hence why we see them sitting around, running away and looking around in fear due to the mirrors. And from the very first time I saw the music video, I knew it was the same guy or girl or group of people who filmed Orange Caramel and EXID music videos (and of course countless other music videos for other artists). I was amazed by the teaser for this comeback though. I believe they are the first KPOP group to actually use the 360 degree video format, which I thought was hella cool. I watched it on my phone and could spin around and looking around in the 360 view. Awesome. Just one complaint however, Dongwoo’s rap segment in the music video does not match up with the song. The lips were way off.

The dance is always awesome for Infinite. They are always in sync with each other. When I thought saw the dance, I was thinking that there was no way they would be in sync since there was a lot going on. But, the group managed to prove themselves to be one of the best dance groups ever.

This was a very powerful comeback with a really powerful song, a cool video and of course, per usual, an amazing choreography. 9/10

Party – SNSD

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SNSD has finally made their return as the Queens of KPOP with a brand new album. Party is their first title track and was released on the 7th of July. Their second title track will be Check and that has yet to be released, but will come out shortly after their promotions kick off. They previously released Catch Me If You Can back in May as a pre-release for their new album. Not much has happened since then though enough for me to say anything else here. So on with the review.

This song is very boring. Yeah, it has the summer sound to it and it is also quite fresh. But it really does not appeal to me. Neither does it make me want to go back. The song gives off the same feel as Katy Perry’s California Gurls track she released a few years back. But beside that, it is just so boring and really does not reel me in. The vocals were okay. They could have been better. I guess I am not used to the bright sound of SNSD that much. I like songs such as Mr.Mr by SNSD. This just disappoints me. The instrumental alone is pretty good, but the vocals don’t make the song outstanding or anything that I personally expected from the band.

There are two parts of the music video. One I like quite a bit and the other not so much. The part I liked was 70% of the video. And it was those lovely shots captured in Thailand. They look amazing and capture the summer feel very well. Not flak on the bikinis (hmmm…) but it seems like the girls are having fun and I liked it a lot. As for the inside scenes where they dance, wow. It looks so cheap. Let’s just hang up some balloons in a club and make it professional. Well to me, it looks like something that had no budget. And honestly, the outside scenes were very bright and then they just change to the club scene and it is dark. Kind of conflicting and doesn’t really suit each other that well.

The dance was okay. There wasn’t anything flashy about it and I don’t really have much to comment on. If this becomes the more promoted track, then I would expect a more interesting dance, but from what I have heard, Check will become the main title track.

So overall, not feeling the song. Music video was okay, though some parts looked cheap. Dance was okay. I hope Check makes up for the bad points. 4/10

My question is: Which 2015 Girl’s Generation song that has been released was your favourite? You have 4 options. Choose wisely.

 

Ring My Bell – Girl’s Day

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Girl’s Day is another girl group that has been added to the endless list of Summer comebacks for 2015. The girls have returned with their second album titled as Love and their title track is Ring My Bell. This is their first comeback since Girl’s Day released I Missed You in October(ish) last year. Minah also made her Minah’s Solo as a solo artist in March. Hyeri has been busy with drama roles, while Yura recently finished her part on We Got Married show. Sojin has been out and about and was recently on Mask Of Singers. This comeback has also faced criticisms, for some of which I will discuss below. While I do understand many girl groups get criticism, out of all, I feel like Girl’s Day is taking the mother load.

This song is a really weird song. I know from the get go that I love this song. It is catchy and addictive. But at the same time, I am just like “what is happening?”. The song open up to that cow boy/country kind of sound, but then the song loses that sound and goes straight into a pop song and I barely hear the cow boy sound anymore.  Also, while I was listening to the audio only version, something occurred to me. If you can barely say the title of your track properly, then why even bother in the first place. The live was much better, but I was thinking “Ling my bell” really does not appeal to me that much. But beside those two complaints, I am glad Yura is back rapping and also the vocals were quite strong. It is not an awful song (in reference to my weird statement) and I like it quite a bit. So much that it made it on my forever repeating playlist.

One criticism that the girls got for this comeback is wearing the swim wear during the music video. Fine. I get it. But I know people who say that the girls look slutty for wearing that swim wear, but SNSD made their comeback with Bikini’s and yet not one criticism? I don’t think it that fair. To me, swim wear = bikinis. I really don’t want to start a fan war, but this is just a clear example of why some fans shouldn’t really post anything on the Internet, because they sound really stupid. No offence to anyone. It is just the one thing I hate reading about in the comments. The video overall was quite colourful. I like how they stand out and how the music video comes together for this song. I don’t think that extra dude was necessary for the video. I liked their dance sets, especially the one with the thousand hoops. And since when was darts consider as sexy?

The dance is pretty cool. Horse riding is probably the main dance for this comeback. Sojin’s pants on the other hand for that showcase. Yeah. No comment.

Honestly, nice comeback. I really should ignore them haters. I think I am bias now. But honestly, my rant was just basically built up from other videos as well. 8/10

Hurt Locker – Nine Muses

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Nine Muses is another girl group that has returned for the Summer season. And they have done so with a bang with their latest Summer single: Hurt Locker. And it still confuses me how there are 8 members yet the group is still called Nine Muses. It confuses me. Also, I believe they were going to change the line up to Nine Muses but then decided against it. Why I think this? Well, an article was put out before the comeback saying that the line up isn’t going to change. Yeah… The group did return at the start of the year with Drama.

This is honestly a really good song. It is Summer and what other way to celebrate the hot season with an electro/dubstep style song. This is another song I am totally digging and the response from some fans have been quite positive. Not sure if this will be the best Summer jam, but it is totally up there in the list. I thought the instrumental was very powerful just on its own. It is quite sad to see only one member carry the song, while the rest gets 1 or two lines. That could be exaggerated a bit, but sometimes when I listen to the song without the music video, it does feel that well. I liked the slow and fast bits of the song. It added a little depth to the song. I know I sometimes complain about it, but I felt that it suited the song this time around. The rapping and vocal power of all the members was quite strong. The song flowed quite well as well.

The music video was quite cool. Very colourful. As for the lockers, or shipping containers, they used in the video looked awesome. The only thing I was thinking about though: What if one of the members fell into the crack while on top of all the shipping containers? Like, I felt fear while watching the music video. And that stood out quite a bit. I don’t think we have ever saw a group dance so high up before. Hahahaha… But honestly, I thought it was a great video. The way I explain things make it sound very boring doesn’t? I honestly thought during the rapping part of the song: why are they so happy and roller skating when the song was about being hurt and sad? Yeah, that confused me.

The dance was pretty cool. The chorus featured the “opening the locker” dance. I have no idea what they called it, but some people have been saying it is that. I like how they changed from fast to slow moves for the right parts of the song.

Amazing comeback. This is definitely something award-worthy. Time to get these girls some recognition. 9/10

[DOUBLE REVIEW] If You + Sober – Big Bang

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Once again, it has been a month since their last release. And now they are back at it with a more toned down comeback. But I am not going to use “comeback” anymore to describe Big Bang’s album’s promotion. Let’s call this a promotional run. They are going head to head with many big name groups this Summer with Super Junior, SNSD making their comeback in the coming weeks. Not only that, but other upcoming big name groups are making or have made their comeback: Sistar, AOA, Teen Top, Girl’s Day, A-Pink, Infinite etc. So essentially, this summer is going to be one very chaotic battlefield.

If You is a really nice song. Not one that is expected by many fans, however. When the song starts we hear T.O.P and G-Dragon sing. Normally, they raps. However his voice adds a really nice deep element to the song. As the other member move in to sing, we get a very peaceful ballad. I have to be honest though. I did say Taeyang did not have a suitable voice to be someone to take most of the lines, but in this song, his voice was delivered in a way that has me doubting myself. Even though it was a pretty long song and slowed down compared to the other Big Bang songs we have gotten, this song seemed to go quite fast for me. I have no complaints with this song.

Sober is a completely different song. It is toned down compared to their last releases, but it really isn’t a song that I again would associate with Big Bang. It’s more upbeat and I think I enjoyed it more than their other songs. It is quite addictive and catchy to my ears. It fits in quite well to their previous releases and it also has this strong Summer feel to it. Not as impressed with the vocals of this song though. I can see how some people are saying this song is quite similar to another song out there. Don’t remember the title of the other song though. And I get it. It does sound similar to me, just the style of Sober and the sound of Sober is a pretty much recurring sound in many music industries.

There is no music video for If You, which is quite disappointing. But then again, the company and band are filming quite a bit. Sober did get a music video which leans towards the crazy side. In other words, no where near what Sober’s definition is like. I personally like this video. It is quite wacky but it doesn’t overdo it like Bae Bae did. I did notice a few things. Why are there beds outside? What happens when it rains? T.O.P is not being T.O.P no more in any of the videos. Daesung looks pretty cool on the drums. Taeyang has been shirtless in 100% of the music videos that were released in 2015. I would like to now how they filmed the scenes where the members are in those spinning rooms. Not exactly sure if it spinning but it looks quite cool.

Not exactly sure if there are any dance to Sober. I can guarantee there be no dance for If You. But then again, I guess a lot of things and still manage to get things wrong.

If You – 9/10

Sober – 8/10

So what did you like more? Sober or If You?

It’s Okay – BTOB

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BTOB has returned to the stage with a Summer ballad. It’s Okay is their first release for 2015, since their Christmas special album which was released in December 2014. This new release is also their first to hit the number 1 spot on multiple music charts in South Korea. Sungjae, the youngest member of the group, has also been enjoying a large rise of popularity for his acting in many dramas in the past year.

The song is good. But I don’t feel it this time around. The ballad is very refreshing and has the summer feel to it. It is a pretty good ballad with great vocals and the rap blends in quite well into the song. The song actually reminds me of Second Confession that they released a while ago, just this song is a lot slower and not as aegyo. The song carries a lot of emotion and I think they pulled the song off quite well. But in terms of appeal, it lacks a lot. I don’t feel motivated to turn on my computer or phone to just listen to this song. I prefer songs from BTOB with the more dance beat or more a dance influenced song, if you understand what I mean. So this song is good, just I don’t think it is a song for BTOB to actively promote as their title track.

The music video is okay. The acting is quite exaggerated in this music video, but we were given the heads up to it. We see them struggle with normal lives. One of them doesn’t know how to propose to his girl, another is probably struggling with fees to study, while another is stuck doing jobs etc. So there is a lot of struggling with the characters. And I can relate to most of them with the struggles. However, Peniel’s one really takes the cake for me. He is doing his job as an ambulance officer. He gives CPR to the person, which might be weird since she is breathing. And then the main ambulance officer or Peniel’s supervisor runs over and be like “You idiot”. That I can understand. HOWEVER the main officer proceeds to wipe the blood off the girl with a freaking small cloth. If anything tells me that there is something wrong with this scene, it is most likely that. The lady was just in an accident. I’d give credit for Peniel going through CPR, but wiping blood away with just a small cloth does not do your job for you. Yeah… But it is an okay video. It fits in with the emotion of the song and matches with the Summer feel. And also that customer that ordered chicken. Great that you are angry about he lateness, but chucking the food on the floor really doesn’t do much, since you were hungry and ordered the chicken to eat. But throwing on the floor kind of means you are still hungry and probably have to wait longer for food.

As for the dance, was it needed? I feel like the group could have stood on stage and made the whole thing work quite well. I like their idea with the one microphone pole though.

Overall, it was a nice comeback, but I just don’t feel like it is a BTOB song. But oh well. 7/10.