Category: Reviews

[Review] Moon Rider – BDC

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Starting off this week is BDC with the release of their latest single, MOON RIDER. This single is featured as part of the group’s second mini-album, The Intersection: Discovery. This return of the trio from Brand New Music follows the release of Shoot The Moon and The Intersection: Belief in September of 2020.

The funky trend continues to infiltrate the KPOP industry, with MOON RIDER being the next song to conform to this ongoing style of music. While that sentence does potentially sound like it would be followed up with a groan, it is quite the contrary. I am enjoying the funky sound, as I tend to have an affinity towards the more upbeat and energetic styles of music which this style in question clearly falls under. What I do like in MOON RIDER is that the disco-like synths that make up the song maintains that matureness to it that I had pointed out in my SHOOT THE MOON review. Together, MOON RIDER is refined yet also fun at the same time. The matureness is in part thanks to the members themselves. To me, they sound very experienced in this department. There is that touch of simplicity to their vocals this time around as well, but I felt that they managed to show a bit more technique thanks to the falsettos they employ as part of the chorus. All their other vocal work was well-processed and felt clear and crisp to me. I also really like the kick the rapper brought to the song following the first chorus. It kept the momentum of the chorus going and helped drive the song forward in an appealing matter. The bridge was interesting. They opted for vocal layer and a stripped back instrumental background. I thought it was nice and gave the final chorus the ability end out the song on a punchier note. Overall, MOON RIDER felt consistent to their previous comeback and maintains that enjoyable nature.

Once again, the music video doesn’t make much sense to me. I did have a rewatch of their previous music video, but I can’t seem to pinpoint any connection between the videos, as I am going on the assumption that the comebacks are linked. In this video, the members are obsessed with the moon. For a moment, they close their eyes together and find themselves searching for something. While I was expecting us to see what they had found, the video leaves me slightly frustrated by not showing us anything. Towards the end of the video, they snap back to reality and then converge (upon remembering what happened) to a white box that has light shining from it. You probably can see my literal notes for the video don’t make sense. But that is how the video comes off for me. Many questions are flying through my mind. Any help will be appreciated. Aside from the plot, the video does have a simple aesthetic of black and white dominance. It felt stylish and trend, compliment the music in an abstract manner.

From what I could see in the music video, the choreography looks good. It isn’t as exciting as other routines out there. But the energy was pretty much well-matched between song and dance. My only critical comment is that the choreography could have been a little more refined by polishing the synchronization of artist and dancers. But this might be the editing of the music video.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.2/10

[Review] Why Why Why – iKON

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iKON is finally back after a year and a month absence from the stage with Why Why Why. The new release follows Dive, their title track of their previous comeback. Since then, things have been quiet for iKON until most recently. Bobby made his solo comeback with U MAD in January of this year, while iKON was also confirmed to be a participant for their upcoming show Kingdom. Hopefully 2021 is a more eventful year for the group, with Kingdom already making it look promising.

Honestly, I don’t have much to say about Why Why Why. This may sound like a bad thing to start the review off with, but I felt the song was straightforward enough to describe what it felt like for me. And honestly, it felt like a really great addition to their discography. Why Why Why is probably iKON’s most smoothest and melodic comeback to date. To me, I felt everything glided along with the acoustics of the instrumentation. I quite liked that. The song largely feels like a ballad, with the tiniest hint of a hip-hop influence in Bobby’s rapping in the second verse. I thought the chorus was a really nice ring to it in terms of melodies. Paired with the vocals, you could feel the heightened heartbreak behind their voices. Why Why Why undoubtedly shows us a more fragile and delicate side of the group. Their vocal delivery during the chorus made it feel like the song was going down a power-ballad route. I did wish they committed to it more, with a featuring of more powerhouse vocals and some high notes from the members to potentially make the song even better than what it is. I did like the emphasis on the raspy and huskiness of their voices, which comes naturally with some of the members. While it might be a whole heap of praise, I have to note that Why Why Why is no mind-blowing song. It isn’t unfamiliar territory for the group, who have had a string of melodic hip-hop centric releases in the past – Love Scenario being the most well-known example from their discography. Does that impact how much I like the song? No, not really. Why Why Why managed to reel me in for all of the above praises and it has definitely maintained its appeal to me.

To match the song’s ‘sad reflection’ tone and showcase some of the fragility, the members appear quite sullen and heartbroken throughout the video. You can tell they did a good job at conveying those emotions throughout the video if that is what is coming off it. The lonely scenes of the members and the amount of space the cameras managed to really capture in their solo shots stood out for me. And loneliness is probably one of the best ways to showcase those emotions. The simplicity of their choreography scenes was also quite aesthetic. I also find the purple/blue sky to be potentially quite iconic, as it is the most memorable element of the music video for me. The burning bus (that they were travelling in) was a very riveting image, yet extreme step in getting over this relationship that had left them heartbroken.

The choreography actually looks quite nice. It starts off with just five members, before Bobby is introduced into the choreography during the second verse through his rap sequence. Unsure why this is the case, though it could be related to potential overlap with practice and his solo promotions. I thought the last addition made the performance look somewhat unique. The chorus looks quite nice, while the final moments of the routine during the song’s balladry moments were quite nice.

Song – 9.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9.3/10

[Review] Get Away – VERIVERY

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The next group making their comeback this week is VERIVERY. 2020 was one busy year for the male group, with three comebacks in the one year (Lay Back, Thunder and G.B,T.B.), all forming part of their FACE IT trilogy. The group also participated on Road To Kingdom, where they made it to the final round/episode and released Beautiful-x as part of the competition. Now, with the busy year behind them, VERIVERY turns to a new chapter with yesterday’s release of Get Away. It appears the group has also started a new album series, with their latest single album titled Series ‘O’ Round 1: Hall. The first part of the name suggestion new instalments to a new series once again.

Get Away‘s initial verse was definitely captivating. I really liked the whisper-like/higher pitched vocals and the stripped back nature of the instrumentation. What was definitely dominating during the first verse were the trap beats. Interesting texture and a very mysterious vibe arises as a result. The song builds slowly as it progressed closer to the chorus, with more of the instrumentation coming back and the vocals were becoming more amplified. Rapping was introduced as a last pitch, before an even more mysterious horn sounds. So far so good. The chorus is what drags the song down for me. I wished it wasn’t just an extension of everything I had just mentioned. Further amplification of every element of Get Away thus far. Usually, I would like this. But it felt too predictable and just lacked excitement, especially after that horn really caught my attention. What I do like about it, however, is that the intensity peaked and every element did feel satisfying. The second verse doesn’t necessarily return to that stripped back instrumentation, opting for something that felt in-between the first verse and the chorus. The vocals and rapping in this section did seem to stall, in terms of building trajectory. But like the chorus, satisfying would be the word I use to describe them. The bridge does take a bit of a reverse turn by going back to that stripped back nature of the instrumentation, which really drew my attention to Donghyun’s rapping. But the song reverted back to a buildup to the song’s chorus quite quickly. Overall, I felt the song had some good moments. But when it mattered most, I was left disappointed with the result. I wished Get Away had more curveballs to keep myself on the tips of my toes, as that would have given me more to really talk about.

Since the release on Wednesday, I have watched the music video a number of times. But yet, I don’t understand what is going on. From what I did see, it looks like we are dealing with two version of the group once again. The first version of the group are the ‘campers’, who received a special invitation to leads them to a dark place. This dark place is essentially where they get drugged after eating the spread of food on the table, which I assume resulted in their kidnap. The other version is watching the ‘campers’ through TV screens. While they see their plan is succeeding, they celebrate. But it seems like there is a bit of conflict between the members, with some members potentially being killed within second by Donghyun if it wasn’t for Hoyoung stopping the fight and seemingly remind everyone why they were all there. Once all the ‘campers’ were knocked out, it seems like the ‘other version’ of VERIVERY replaces them in the real world. At the very end, we do see a figure wearing white walk down a spiral building. This person could be Minchan (who is currently on hiatus and is not part of this comeback), who I believed was kidnapped at the start. Why was he kidnapped first? I have no theory for this. We don’t see a Minchan in the ‘other version’ of the group, so maybe the ‘other version’ of Minchan decided to betray the rest of the ‘other version’ to protect the real Minchan, and so the real Minchan could save the rest of his members? It is interesting though, as we see seven chairs and seven beds throughout the video, implying that the Minchans were meant to be with their respective groups. It was also a nice way to include the missing member in the video. Overall, a complicated video. But an interesting story to probably dive into once we get more of it.

I really like the mature side that the members showed through this comeback. There was a masculine and sensual feel to their moves, but in a subtle manner. I particularly liked the final chorus routine, where their moves were timed to be in sync as per the additional beats/percussion in the song during the sequence. As a result, there was some jaggered footwork at one point, which I thought looked really cool and hard to make everyone be synchronised with one another.

Song – 6.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.6/10

[Review] Fireworks (I’m The One) – ATEEZ

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Kickstarting this week with the comebacks and debuts is ATEEZ. The male group, known for their powerful performances and amazing skills on stage, have been growing in popularity. Top performances on Immortal Song and high expectations for their upcoming appearance on Kingdom have been driving this growth in the last few months of 2020. This combined with their Inception comeback earlier in the year definitely makes ATEEZ become one of the groups to look out for this year. Today, the group returns with part two of their Zero: Fever series, which features their latest title track, Fireworks (I’m The One).

As mentioned a moment ago, there is high expectations for ATEEZ with this song. And I feel that ATEEZ really hits the mark with this song. Fireworks (I’m The One) really knows how to build intensity. But let’s start from the beginning. The opening verse didn’t really do much for me. The hip-hop infused trap instrumentation and their heavily autotuned vocals felt sluggish and dry. To me, it felt like a hurdle that I had to get over to get the more filling and promising sections. The song takes a turn when Mingi (His hiatus continues. But from what I understood from the comeback announcement, he popped into to participate in recording for the album) starts rapping and it starts building that intensity I mentioned before. The intensity flows into the first part of the chorus with the song opting for powerful yet a relatively slow tempo. It feels like it was weighted down. What is really great about this first part is that it continues to build up, leading to the second half of the chorus. Here, we are blasted with energy when the EDM comes into play and the intensity peaks. The vocal work and rapping in the song is quite fine, but I found some of the vocals in the verses too heavily autotuned for my liking. I personally didn’t think the song needed that degree of autotune in the verses, especially in the song’s slower moments. The repetition of the ‘Bulnoriya‘ during the more intense half of the chorus really caught on for me, making that section even more memorable. Aside from the opening verse, I really enjoyed the journey that the Fireworks took me on in terms of energy and intensity. Definitely a fulfilling song.

I will be completely honest, I have no idea what is going on in the music video. Obviously, as the mini-albums form part of a series, the music video for Fireworks connect somehow with Inception‘s video. I just cannot pinpoint how, or if I am making a leaping assumption. But that figure in red at the very end looks very intriguing (unsure who that is meant to represent. I did think Mingi, as he is not part of the music video). Aside from the storyline, I really enjoyed the dystopian setting of the video caused by a massive sandstorm. Whatever story is moulded into the video will probably be a good one, given its premise. The emphasis on the colour brown throughout this video actually comes off quite edgy and industrial. I am also glad they included fireworks in this music video, given that the song is titled Fireworks. They definitely captialised on its presence by using it during the final peak of the song, which helps relay a more explosive atmosphere.

As usual, the choreography for this comeback is top notch. It looks aggressive for the most part and a definitely tiring workout during the song’s more intense moments. While I can only judge the performance section of this review on what I see in the music video, I think their facial expressions will play a very big part in captivating the audience during their stage performances. Their facial expressions in the music video definitely play their part in making the video more alluring.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.2/10

[Review] Lose – Wonho

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The final big comeback of the week was courtesy of Wonho, who made his first comeback since going solo last year. Yesterday, the solo artist made his anticipated return to the stage with Lose as the title track and the mini-album Love Synonym #2: Right For Us. As mentioned, this is his first comeback since debut as a solo artist with Open Mind. As a little side note, Wonho and Open Mind was nominated for Best New Male Soloist and Best Male Solo Choreography of 2020 in the 2020 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Click here to find out if Wonho was voted to be the winners of those categories in the 2020 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Apart from that, let’s move on with the review before we ‘lose’ any more time.

Lose continues the really stylish and sleek profile from his solo debut, something that I really enjoyed. But instead of being a proud and loud song like the synths in Open Mind, Lose is more atmospheric and ‘dark’. When you listen to Lose, you can feel this intensity and dark aura (amongst other things which I will touch on in a second) rolling off the instrumentation, vocals and everything else which I won’t have room and time to mention. The new single is concentrated with chugging guitar work, driving the song forward. The guitar also brings out a subtle sense of funkiness, which makes the song weave into the ongoing groovy trend that KPOP has been experiencing. But while it does fit in, Lose does have massive appeal and stands out thanks to the already mention atmosphere that it created, the intensity and ‘darkness’ that comes from the music. There is more of the grooviness towards the end with the outro of the song being an instrumental extension featuring an even funkier guitar piece. My favourite part has to be the violins, especially in the final chorus. The opening to this section of the song was definitely the peak of the song, whilst the use of classical violins empahsises everything that I have mentioned thus far. Adding a sensual vibe to the song are Wonho’s vocals. For the most part, he whisper sings his way through the song with a husky tone. It is very alluring and definitely fits in with the already mentioned appealing aspects of the song. While everything in Lose is literally perfection thus far, I wanted more to the song. And I felt that the song could have used rap sequence, either from Wonho or a featuring artist. Call me cliché, but I think that would have added an extra layer of intensity and appeal. And if Wonho was to pull it off, well, I am sure fans (Wenee’s) would be mindblown with Lose.

Lose‘s accompanying music video is a Wonho video. So, abs are a mandatory element. So I am sure fans and other viewers will be overjoyed if that is the thing they like to look out for. I felt a lot of the video’s setup was done so to really emphasis his body, like the rain and the associated choreography shots. His outfits definitely enable use to see more of this body (thought it makes you think why they even both with a shirt or jacket in the first place). But at the same time, it definitely made the video worth watching. Aside from a distractingly good body, I really like how the video taps into the song’s dark aura by using darkness and dimming the lights.

The choreography for Lose is quite good, fitting for the music as one would expect. It really fits because of the balanced mixture of the fast and sharp movements, with the slower and smoother moves. Wonho also makes the performance more alluring to watch thanks to his facial expressions. They just really captivate and shows off his showmanship.

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

[Review] Breathe – Golden Child

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Congratulations to Golden Child for winning four of the categories in the 2020 KPOPREVIEWED Awards including Best Male Group, Best Male Group Choreography, Rising Star and Best Song of 2020 with ONE (Lucid Dream). To check out who else was voted to be the best in 2020, click here!

Golden Child is back! A month ago, they made their comeback with Burn It and their fifth mini-album, Yes. The comeback has proven to be a success, with the group scoring a few weekly KPOP show wins and edges the group closer to the top of the album charts. Golden Child also made their first appearance on the Gaon Digital Charts with the single. And it seems like the success has given them the opportunity to promote a follow-up single from the album. Today, the group dropped the music video and started promotions for Breathe, the final song on their Yes mini-album and the focus of this review. On a side note, I will be reviewing their mini-album and that album review will be out very soon!

Breathe taps Golden Child into the once-again common retro trend. And it is a fine track to kick back to, especially at the end of the album. What I really enjoyed about Breathe was the upbeat energy that comes off the song, particularly during the choruses. This isn’t hard-hitting like most songs we hear today which heavily utilises EDM and comes swinging at you in a relentless manner. Instead, Breathe comes off as quite pleasant and satisfying. There is also a nostalgic ring to the song. The pop dance track features synths that really make the song quite dynamic and appealing to me. What is also great about Breathe is how it present the members. The melodies are quite easy to get into, allowing the vocalists to be heard in a fulfilling manner. The ‘I Wanna Breathe‘ opening line to the chorus actually stuck with me, along with their other hook and melodies. The bridge is a prime example of how their vocals were highlighted in the song, with Bomin and Joochan bringing some steadiness to the song to make the final chorus that little more impactful for us. I also really liked how the rappers’ section had a groovier kick, allowing their rapping to fit into the song with a slightly more intense and dynamic background. The groovier kick still fits in with the pop tune of the song, of course! Overall, Breathe is definitely a nice track, with optimal energy being its biggest asset.

The image teasers leading up the follow-up promotions showed us Golden Child as volleyball players. In the music video, we see their high-school volleyball player personas train for a big game. It appears that Daeyeol and Y have a bit of a rift while practicing for the game. It leads to Y becoming quite moody and it also appears that he temporarily leaves the team (i.e. when he leaves his sweatband behind after practice). Joochan tries to hold him back, but he brushes him off. It turns out that Y doesn’t want to leave the team and comes after hours to continue practicing. Joochan joins him and gives him his sweatband to tell him that he is part of the team regardless of whatever he is experiencing. They have a bit of fun before Daeyeol appears in front of them. Y believes he is about to get scolded, but Daeyeol ends up throwing a ball at him. All is forgiven and they return with the team to train as a group. They go on to play the game, with the team scoring a win thanks to Y. The story is pretty cliché, but nice at the same time. Apart from the storyline, the music video features satisfying choreography shots. My favourite is the white shirts and demin jeans on the outside field. The colours just pop and look great.

I really like the entire routine. Like the song and music video, it just feels just right and it compliments all the other elements of this comeback quite well. The start was quite interesting. It was a nice soothing look on stage, before the first chorus kicks into gear. I also enjoyed the sharp moments in the chorus and how Golden Child performed in sync with one another on stage, giving this choreography a really polished look.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8.5/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.9/10

[Review] Beautiful Beautiful – ONF

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ONF is the next group to make their return to the stage with a new song. It is titled Beautiful Beautiful and follows the pre-release single, My Name Is. Both songs are featured on their first studio album, ONF: MY NAME. The release of this album also makes ONF join a growing number of artists to return with a studio album this year. We last saw ONF through their Sukhumvit Swimming comeback last year and their still incredible New World Road To Kingdom single. Yes, I am still raving about that song. Let’s see if Beautiful Beautiful has what it takes to replace the title New World holds for me.

Beautiful Beautiful kicks off with post-chorus that is undeniably catchy. The “Brrram ppabam…” repetition from the very first second sets up the song quite nicely and gives hint at how fun the next three minutes and so will become. When the song actually kicks into gear, it takes on a wonderfully energetic and exciting retro profile. It brought me a smile to my face and I had a little boogie in my chair. The really upbeat energy and splash of colour that you could hear in this song is quite impressive and felt quite refreshing. The sudden switch to between chorus and bridge actually worked really well. Usually I am not a fan of this tactic and am an advocate for transitions. But here, it fitted in with the retro sound. I really like how strong their vocals are in the song. They really made sure they could be heard over the song’s quite dominating instrumental. I honestly cannot pick out a standout member because they all sound fantastic and deserving of the title. But more so, I cannot choose because they (as a group) decide to drop the acapella version of their post-chorus hook on us within the bridge. I just really liked how flawlessly the producers weaved that into the song. Very clever and it paid off for me. The last thing I wanted to touch on was the hooks. As already mentioned at the start of this section. they are super addictive and catchy. Altogether, all the elements of Beautiful Beautiful make it a perfect song. I don’t think it can replace New World as my new ONF song to rave about however. Both are distinctly different. So I have decided to make them both my favourite ONF songs to rave about!

ONF takes us into a futuristic world, where it looks like they are outlaws trying to make a positive change. There also seems to be the side mission of rescuing J-US, who has been captured by the robot authorities and is detained in a virtual prison. Hyojin is the one in charged of that side mission, while everyone else is hacking their way through the world (as it is the future) to make that positive change. I am not sure what that change is, but it is most likely to spread the message of the lyrics (to be proud of oneself). I felt a Thunderbird-like presence in U’s solo parts with the flying rocket ship, Their outfits in the choreography scene gives off that same feeling as well. It really brings back memories for me (does anyone know what Thunderbirds is anymore? Or am I showing my age?). I really like how elaborate the landscape was and all the post-production that was added to the video. It definitely looked cool. I also appreciate the lighting, which went extremely well with the bright energy of the song. Overall, a really cool and interesting video to watch.

Once again, the choreography brings forth that energy that I really enjoyed in the song. They managed to strike a fine balance between making the choreography fun and infusing their usual powerful performance style that we all associate ONF to. And you can tell that they really enjoyed it. I also liked how the performance felt freeing and it not constricting. There was a strong sense of harmony between the members for this routine as well.

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

[Review] All Or Nothing – WEi

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Next up on the comeback list for this week is WEi with their first comeback since debut and new single, All Or Nothing. This is featured on the group’s second mini-album, Identity: Challenge. If you are unfamiliar with the this group, they are a six-member male group under Oui Entertainment. They kicked their careers off with their single, Twilight in October of last year. Other than that, there really isn’t much else to say in terms of an introduction for this review, so let’s just move onto the sections to why we are here.

If you were to put Twilight and All Or Nothing together side by side, you wouldn’t be able to guess that the two songs are by the same group. All Or Nothing is many more times aggressive, abrasive and powerful than their debut track. If you look back on my review for their debut single, I mentioned that the song underwhelmed because it lacked ‘heft or load’. Well, I am happy to report that all the heft and load that should have been in Twilight somehow made its way into All Or Nothing. They really went for it and it definitely impressed me. To some, the use of this blastful energy and noisy synth work could be overwhelming. But for me, this is what I am looking for. The song taps into a hybrid trap motif, bringing a lot of texture and vibration to the song. There was also an exotic influence to the instrumentation. It was very subtle in the chorus, but made explicit in the second verse. I really enjoyed that even though the song started off quite abrasive and aggressive, it built upon that initial feeling in a very satisfying manner. By the end of the song, I was heading banging along to the music – always a great feeling. I do have to note that this song doesn’t bring anything new to the table. But it is definitely an upgrade, in terms of appeal, from their previous work. The high intensity also gives the rappers of the group an opportunity to really shine. They really showed off their skillset and showed us that they should not be messed around with their deliveries. The vocalists did a fine job themselves when given the opportunity. They had to give us some powerful vocals to be heard over the instrumentation, but this didn’t affect the quality of their sequence. Overall, All Or Nothing really captures your attention with its energy and holds a lot of promise for WEi’s future.

The music video for this comeback looks really good. Some of the sets had this really edgy style to them, like Daehyeon’s hallway that is lined with guns and Dong Han’s cliff (mainly due to the angle at which the camera was shooting at). Other sets like Junseo’s golden room and Yohan’s couch were a bit of a let down. I wished the producers thought of something more original with those members’ scenes. I really like the industrial profile of the choreography sets and that they used a lot of flashing lights to match the music style. Aside from the usage of the typical formula as I just outlined, the music video does its job well and compliments the song as a whole.

The relentlessness and intensity of the song makes this one tiring performance. And to pull it off whilst performing live would be an amazing feat. For their showcase, they do just that. So props to them for nailing the performance. I really like the fast paced nature of the first sequence in the chorus, It was also quite satisfying to experience the aggressiveness of the dance as the song drew to a close (as the music pushes the members one more time with an intense closer).

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.7/10

[Review] Tail – Sunmi

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Today, we see the return of Sunmi with the new single, Tail. This is her first comeback since the release of pporappippam in June of last year. Since then, Sunmi has been active with other artists such as J.Y.Park for the collaboration, When We Disco, which was nominated for Best Collaboration of 2020 in the 2020 KPOPREVIEWED Awards (Public Service Announcement: Award winners have been announced, so click here if you have checked out who won which categories yet). I really enjoy Sunmi’s work, so I am brewing with excitement for this comeback. So without any delay, let’s get stuck right into the comeback.

What steals my attention in this pop song is Sunmi’s vocals and the song’s hooks. Let’s start off with the first standout element of Tail. Once again, this song showcases the husky tone that Sunmi has in her arsenal when it comes to her solo songs. It is fitting with the concept of the comeback (more on this later on). Aside from her husky tone, her snappy and sassy delivery of her lines in the verses is very memorable. Moving along to the hooks, my favourite has to be the second half of the chorus. Her vocals go into an almost whisper-like tone which adds to much more character and intensity to the song, while the melody is quite hypnotic. This is followed up with a few spoken words (‘Shake Shake‘), adding more of everything I just mentioned into the song. I also found the instrumental of the song to be quite a dynamic mix of electronic synths. This is pretty typical style for Sunmi, but I really like how the instrumental helped carry the vocal work and hooks in this song. The energy that is the result of everything coming together is really fulfilling and helps drive the song forward. To me, Tail ticks a lot of boxes. Most importantly, it reeled me from the start and I am addicted to this new song.

I am unsure if I interpreted the video correctly, but it seems like a story of the Curse of Sunmi (or cat-lady, depending on how you look at it). I am guessing Sunmi’s former lover is attempting to break free from their relationship. I am not sure what brought on Sunmi’s case of crazy laughter, whether this is the reason to why her former lover wanted out of the relationship or whether it was brought on because of the news of the breakup. Either way, it results in Sunmi falling to her ‘death’. However, she is saved by some alley cats. From this point onwards, she adopts cat-like traits and prepares to exact revenge by kidnapping her former lover and tying him to a railroad with an approaching train on its way. He manages to escape but is now obviously terrified by Sunmi. I would like to see more of the story like a continuation at the end, or a sequel. I think that would be really cool. I also really like the sets for this music video, which look very elegant and sophisticated. Her outfits are definitely another strong visual aspect of the performance.

Tail is Sunmi’s sexiest performance yet. Just from the start of the performance where is crawling on the floor like a cat between her dancers legs, it pretty much sets the tone of the performance. But it seems like the sexy nature of the performance comes and goes, because we don’t see anything provocative until the second verse, where she dances with her dancers while sitting down. The best part of the performance comes during the bridge and is probably the peak of this comeback’s sexiness profile. The dancers’ legs act like a tail moving about, fanning out behind Sunmi like a moving tail while she is on the ground. In terms of last impression, Sunmi hits the nail on the end with her cat-like pose at the very end.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 10/10
Overall Rating – 9.2/10

[Review] Clicker – J.Don (Lee Seung Hyub – N.Flying)

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Yesterday, we saw the solo debut of J.Don a.k.a. Lee Seung Hyub of N.Flying. For those who are unfamiliar of this member of N.Flying, Lee Seung Hyub is the leader, main rapper and lead vocalist of the band. His debut single is titled Clicker and is featured on his first single album, ON THE TRACK. He is also the second member to go solo (member Hwesung has dabbled in solo work before), but the first to officially debut as a solo artist.

Personally, it was hard to figure out what to expect with the news of the impending solo debut of J.Don. From what I recall, his solo collaborative work has shown he has excelled with his rapping. But his N.Flying work has shown otherwise with vocals. So it was hard to predict which route he would go with. Clicker seems to be a mixture of both, but with a more laidback and easygoing vibe that edges towards the hip-hop genre. The instrumentation isn’t hard hitting in any way, but there are still rock influence mixed into it that connects it to N.Flying’s work. The laidback and easygoing vibe gives off a bright tone, carefree and almost hippy in a way. It is pleasant, but it is admittedly plain. The carefree and ‘almost hippy’ description can also be applied to J.Don himself in this song. There is a mixture of both rapping and vocals in the song, with the former being more dominant during the verses and the other in the chorus. To match the rest of the song, the rapping is light and flowy. The melodic touch comes through via the vocals, which sounded pretty decent. Due to the set up of the song, the hooks aren’t the most memorable aspect of the song. But there is something about the way he sings ‘Clicker‘, which just… well… clicks. The most memorable part has to be the the really short pre-chorus sequence where he sings ‘Oh momma ma ma‘. That stood out for me given that it was different to the vocal and rapping work we heard in Clicker. Overall, the best way to describe Clicker is that it is pleasant. Nothing more or nothing less.

From what I am reading, the lyrics are telling us to change negativity into positivity, which is a great message. I just don’t really see much of that in the music video. It seems to be subtly there and I think I can make out the storyline that fits in with the lyrics. Here is my attempt of making sense of the story. It seems like J.Don experience thoughts of the negative kind in his life, as shown through the different versions of himself. Casual J.Don has to battle music coming from the hippy J.Don neighbour. Scientist J.Don seems to lack ideas for his experiments. Businessman J.Don seems to be focused on others all the time. By the end of the video, J.Don has changed his negative thoughts into positive one about himself. Casual J.Don clicks a button (I am assuming the reset button to change his mentality), Scientist J.Don starts an experiment on ‘how to be yourself’ and Businessman J.Don finds a book that shows him how to focus on himself. Not exactly sure about hippy neighbour and construction worker version of himself though.

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

[Review] Don’t Call Me -SHINee

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Making their grand and long-awaited comeback today with their seventh studio album is SHINee with Don’t Call Me. This new song headlines their new album of the same name. Since the end of 2018, SHINee has been absent from the stage (aside from Taemin, who has continued to promote as a solo artist) due to military enlistment of three members. The three members who enlisted (Onew, Key and Minho) were all discharged in the latter half of 2020. Since returning to the industry, the group had rejoined with one another to hold a special live online concert in January, where they announced this comeback much to the excitement of fans.

Don’t Call Me is a dance track that has firm roots in the hip-hop genre of music. While we have definitely heard this combination in the past, SHINee’s take on this is quite refreshing and addictive. The refreshing description comes through in Don’t Call Me via the instrumentation. The variety of synths used throughout the song really intrigues you. They don’t really stick to one type of synth, so there is always something different around the corner. The use of bass helps make the song ‘hit hard’ (pun intended). The bass drives the song forward and really adds emphasis to the pre-chorus or chorus, where it predominately is used. It also made the song more dramatic, which we all know is my favourite effect. While I am talking about being dramatic, they really top it off with that dramatic piano piece that appeared at the end of the bridge and infused into the first section of the final chorus. It managed to blend in well with the rest of the song and just gave the song that extra level of interestingness, albeit random. Together, the synths and bass really makes this song a textural heaven. Also adding to the addictiveness is the repetition of the title. It opens with the ‘Don’t Call Me‘ chant that is pretty much engraved into your memory before the song actually kicked off. There is a bit of rapping throughout the song, but more in a spoken manner. When it came to the vocals, there was some really cool and interesting melodies to show off vocal flair. These were an attraction and made the song even more intriguing, as they aren’t what you expect. I particularly like the melody in the chorus. Overall, SHINee manages to pull off another stunning song that slides well into their growing and varying discography.

While I think SHINee is at that status in the industry where they can attempt anything music-wise and would be untouchable with that song, I don’t think it applies to their outfits. Sure, they might get some leeway here and there. But I still question some of the fashion choices. Namely Key’s feather hat and his other headwear throughout the video. I am also not keen on Onew’s red headwear (whatever that was) and Minho’s ear flap attachment to his hat. Aside from the questionable fashion, the music video sets look really cool. And the post-production added to these sets (especially when it came to the part of the music video with the piano piece) really elevated something that could have looked rather ordinary. Some of their solo shots were very intriguing and made me rewatch the video make sure I saw things right.

Per usual, SHINee excels in the choreography department. I really like how they were fierce with this performance, which matched their lyrics and tone of the song. The ending of the performance is definitely a scene engraved into my mind and felt like a statement to viewers that they are officially back. I also enjoyed the tiny hint of elegance that was brought into the song via that piano section towards at the end of the song.

Song – 10/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9.2/10

[Review] Excalibur – KINGDOM

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As mentioned in the last review, I will be focusing on two new debuts from this week. I have already covered TRI.BE’s debut single in the mentioned review. Today, I will be focusing on a newly debuted male group, KINGDOM. They are a new group under GF Entertainment and is made up of seven members (Dann, Louis, Chiwoo, Arthur, Ivan, Mujin, Jahan). Dann and Arthur were previous members of VARSITY. An interesting and unique concept with the group members is that their stage names are based on historic kings from across the world. KINGDOM made their debut on Thursday with the single, Excalibur, and the mini-album, History Of Kingdom : PartⅠ. Arthur.

There seems to be a bit within Excalibur. For some songs, that could be a compliment. But in Excalibur‘s case, this description is not as positive as it could have been. Let’s break the song down, starting off with the members. While Excalibur does show that the members can perform, it felt overly ambitious at the same time. Some of the vocal work felt strained, while other parts could have been more polished to feel cleaner and clearer. I also felt the vocal department didn’t offer anything new to the industry, which leaves them less memorable to me. Nor was there anything impressive to wow me. The rapping faired a little better. But overall, there was a consistent plainness that came from the members. Similarly, the song doesn’t have much of a strong hook. There were good moments within the song, but they were brief ‘moments’ and nothing like what a ‘strong hook’ should be like. Those good moments are mainly there due to the instrumentation. I felt that the producers managed to showcase an epic vibe within the sound of the song quite well. But unfortunately, the epic vibes were pretty much concentrated during the pre-chorus, where the background inclines using organs and gripping energy. It is also quite unfortunate that the producers reverted to a very plain use of EDM for the chorus. There was so much potential for the chorus to be so much more dynamic. The bridge is a bit more interesting, using a wobbling-like synth effect which I haven’t heard of before. I also liked how it grew faster, which was very different. Overall, Excalibur was ambitious that didn’t feel like it was well-executed. There were some positives about the song that I was glad to still enjoy. But it seems like the song’s negative aspects outweighs its positives.

The visual concept behind this group might be one of the biggest positives of the debut as a whole. As the mini-album is centered around King Arthur, the main character for this music video is Arthur himself. Furthermore, the song is titled after King Arthur’s infamous sword. So clearly this makes the most sense. You can see each member representing the king that has been assigned to them by their stage name throughout the video. All join forces to defeat whoever is trying to kill Arthur and all pay their respect to King Arthur at the end of the video when he finally sits on his throne. While I did like the visual concept, I am not keen on their outfits. They seemed overkill and felt like the stylist got too carried away with the chains. I also would like to see whether they will focus on each king/member in their subsequent releases. It will be interesting to see a different story being told, especially after they went with the most obvious story of a king battling to reclaim his throne. I am hoping they don’t repeat the same story another six times, just revisualised to fit the background of the king in focus. It does seem like we will be seeing the Chinese king, Chiyou, in the next video based on the ending.

KINGDOM made the plain EDM chorus turn into a powerful piece thanks to the choreography. That is quite a feat! On top of that the performance looks quite good. The choice to use swords and so many backup dancers really paid off, even though both sound very risky. It helps bring the visual concept to life on the stage, expanding the comeback in a very clever manner. However, them posing with the swords at the end felt a little corny for my liking.

Song – 5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 6.5/10

[Review] DOOM DOOM TA – TRI.BE

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The next two reviews (released today and tomorrow) are for some new debuts that occurred this week. Yesterday, we saw the debut of TRI.BE, a new female group co-produced by Shinsadong Tiger and Universal Music. The group consist of seven members (SongSun, Kelly, JinHa, HyunBin, Jia, SoEun and Mire). From my research, the group name is split into two, with the ‘TRI’ part representing perfection (and comes from the word ‘Triangle’) and ‘BE’ representing the perfect being. They debuted yesterday with DOOM DOOM TA, which is featured on the group’s first single album, TRI.BE Da Loca.

Aside from a smashing to start of their careers with, what newly debut groups really need to demonstrate with their first few songs is potential. And I feel that TRI.BE has done that through DOOM DOOM TA. It is what I enjoyed about this song. I felt like there was a lot of it throughout the song that showcase the members to a degree. There are great vocals throughout and I definitely have to praise whichever member handled the high note just before the final chorus. Other members showed different textures which I think can be carried forward to new song releases, provided the producing team for their future songs can capitalize them. Knowing that this is a Shinsadong Tiger produced group, I feel that they are in safe hands. There were some decent rapping throughout the song, as well. This showcase of potential is definitely important in this case, given I felt DOOM DOOM TA was a boring song overall. To me, I couldn’t find a memorable hook in DOOM DOOM TA. There was a lot of repetition, but it just felt flat. The instrumentational had a tribal-like exotic flair to the electronic sound. While I do feel like this is slightly unique, it just didn’t live up to my expectations when it mattered most. It felt plain during moments when the instrumental should have been the most dynamic (i.e. chorus). And no matter how times I have replayed it so far, I just haven’t been reeled into it. I also felt the transition between the chorus and bridge could have a bit more smoother and not so much sudden. Overall, I have mixed feelings about this song. Maybe more listens will help make the song more enjoyable. But for the time being, it seems that I am on the fence about DOOM DOOM TA.

There was a big emphasis on triangles in this music video. And I think this really helps emphasise their origins. From first glance, the music video takes on the girl crush concept. But when you watch the individual scenes, they feel a bit random. Lying in the mouth of crocodile, confronting haters with guns and rifles, flaming chainsaw to cut down a really tall basketball goal, meteor shower with pyramid-shaped alien spaceships floating in the air. I am not too sure what is going on. I guess there is a little bit of a parallel with other female group’s takes on the girl crush concept, such as Weki Meki. But this is a step into the ‘out there’ spectrum from how I see it. Maybe it is all there for a specific reason and I am just overlooking the meaning of everything completely. Aside from that, I really like the post-production on the video with various cool transitions (shooting the bottle on top of the members head, before transitioning scene into a choreography shot, the whole pyramid alien ship CGI etc.).

Once again, a lot of moves and formations involving triangles throughout the choreography. As a whole, the performance is so-so. You pretty have seen everything they pulled off before in other choreographies. So they don’t really bring anything new to the table. But they managed to meet the energy of the song, which helped made the performance look pleasant.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 6.5/10
Overall Rating – 6.7/10

[Review] PARANOIA – Kang Daniel

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Making his epic return today is Kang Daniel with his brand new single. PARANOIA. This follows the release of 2U and Who U Are, his two 2020 singles (which were featured on the two mini-albums he released last year as well). It also follows the release of State of Wonder last month, which is a collaboration between himself, inverness and Anthony Russo. They are also the creative minds behind PARANOIA, alongside Kang Daniel. He has also been recently announced to be making his acting debut. But while he prepares for that, it seems like he has to shake off some PARANOIA.

What I really enjoyed about this song is its fierceness. This persona fits in with the whole message of fighting inner demons and emphasises the edgy nature of the song. I also find that the fierceness strikes at the best moments, just as we are coming to the chorus. Why do I think that this was the best moment? Well, the verse felt like suspense was simmering away. While the chorus was the more melodic and what you could call a mini-peak in the song’s momentum. The use of the harsh, rough and deep tone electric guitar as a tunnel for the fierceness really adds so much energy to launch the song into its chorus. As mentioned a moment ago, the chorus is a lot melodic and flowy compared to the verse and pre-chorus launch. But yet it showcases Kang Daniel’s vocals really well. The melodic hooks really make the song memorable and the instrumentation is quite atmospheric/mysterious to a degree. In addition to that, the heavy use of English really helps make the song even memorable for the international audience and gives us insight into the lyrics of the song. His rap-whisper sequence in the bridge was the next best thing in the song. It just had so much behind it and drove the song forward. Without a doubt, the whisper delivery was intentional, serving purpose to the lyrics of the song and just add more momentum towards the final chorus. As for the final chorus, I liked what they done. But I wished they peaked the energy at the start to carry on that momentum from that bridge. It felt like the energy was drained away, which I personally do not like. But once it did peak, the song ended on a really strong note. Overall, PARANOIA is a heavy track, both in meaning and its execution.

The music video is awesome. We see Kang Daniel struggle to fall asleep and is haunted by something. He cowers under the table in fear, and (I assume) he is haunted by whatever is going on when he closes his eyes. It looks like the video hints at some drinking to help with this fear. But obviously, it doesn’t help much. He does have brief moments of solitude where he is aware that those fears are lingering, but they don’t touch him. But the briefest distraction sets him back and he is reminded of those fears. The video chugs along with the same story, though at the end, I think the video shows these fears are just his inner demons. We are shown Kang Daniel with one red eye, indicative of an evil side. Towards the end, we see him struggle with someone who comes so close to stabbing him. But at the very end, we just see him with a bloody hand with no-one else in the room to show ‘he won’ the battle with his demon. While we are on the topic of bloody hand, there was a scene in which we saw a grate at floor level with Kang Daniel on the bed. On the floor is a trail of blood, which suggests to me something a little more sinister. I wonder how this all plays with his future comeback, as this does tease for that comeback.

This performance is on point. I enjoyed all aspects of the choreography, from the complexity of everything once it is put together to the individual moves. I really like how some of the moves made it seem like Kang Daniel and the dancers were possessed, moving in such a manner that really looked intriguing and cool. The dance itself is quite powerful and definitely one of watch in detail.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 10/10
Overall Rating – 9.2/10

[Review] ZERO:ATTITUDE – SOYOU & IZ*ONE (ft. pH-1)

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Prepare yourself for the first collaboration of 2021. Members from IZ*ONE (Eunbi, Sakura, Minju, Yuri and WonYoung) and former Sistar member Soyou have joined forces with pH-1 for the new single, ZERO:ATTITUDE. This new single forms part of the Pepsi X Starship Project, providing us with great collaborations between big KPOP artists since 2019. Other artists who have participated in this project include GFriend’s Eunha and VIXX’s Ravi (Blossom), Ong Seong Wu (Heart Sign), MONSTA X’s Hyungwon and former VIXX member Hongbin (Cool Love), Rain & Soyou (Beginning), Kang Daniel & Zico (Refresh) and CIX’s Bae Jin Young & WEi’s Kim Yo Han (I Believe).

Like majority of the collaborative efforts between the artists listed above, SOYOU and IZ*ONE do a pretty neat job with this single. I find ZERO:ATTITUDE to be super catchy, which reels me into the song even more. And this catchiness tempts me to press the replay button with its infectious sung-spoken hook. On top of that, the confident energy that is expressed in the lyrics comes off pretty well in the instrumentation. The vocals from both the IZ*ONE members and Soyou were very clean-cut, popping out over the EDM based instrumentation. I also felt the line distribution was pretty fair between the individuals who participated in the The instrumentation is a hit and miss for me. Aside from the positives that I have mentioned thus far about this element, I have to make the note that it is relatively plain. Currently, it feels suitable as a short and sweet commercial track (which is the whole purpose of this collaboration in the first place). If the instrumental was a little more interesting and spruced up a bit to be more dynamic, I think ZERO:ATTITUDE has what it takes to be an awesome title track as everything else is pretty much at that level for me. pH-1’s bridge was a bit random for my taste. I honestly thought the song could have done without this part, replaced with a dance break to boost the song’s dynamism. This is not critical of pH-1’s delivery as his rapping is awesome. It is more so that his trap breakdown sequence just didn’t fit the liveliness and pop roots of the rest of the song. But aside from that, ZERO:ATTITUDE is another strong collaboration between two big names in the industry.

In case you missed it, the music video for ZERO:ATTITUDE was a three minute long commercial for Pepsi’s newest Pepsi Zero Lime flavour. The walls are lined with cans of the drink and the members (per soft drink commercial protocols) down the drink in the music video. Thought I point that out. But aside from the video’s purpose, I am loving the overall urban aesthetics of the big screen, exposed scaffolding/stage structure and the outfits donned by Soyou, the IZ*ONE members and the dancers. It just felt on point and really showed off a sexier side that is synonymous with Soyou. It also felt suitable for the IZ*ONE members. I was wondering when the two parties would meet up to make this video and collaboration feel complete as they were pretty much separated throughout the first two thirds of the video. But they managed to bring the two parties together at the end, fulfilling my wish for this video.

The performance is pretty neat. I liked how it exudes confidence, fitting in with the song and its purpose. I also liked how good it made Soyou and the IZ*ONE members look.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.8/10

[Review] Bicycle – Chungha

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Chungha is finally back!! It has been a long time coming, especially with the many pre-releases that Chungha was unveiling over the past year. It all started off in April 2020 with the release of Stay Tonight. Her second pre-release for this comeback was with PLAY in July. Her third release, which will be reviewed and published on the weekend, was an English track with R3HAB titled Dream of You. While this was shaping to be one epic comeback, Chungha’s comebacks plans were halted when she tested positive to COVID-19, which delayed her fourth and final pre-release single, X. This ended up occurring in January and pushed out her previously confirmed comeback date of 4th January to 15th February (today). And today, she drops her new title track, Bicycle, and her first studio album, Querencia.

Described as a R&B pop-trap song, Bicycle comes swinging at you with its powerful energy and intensity. As a result, one word comes to mind with this song – fierce. And knowing the trajectory that Chungha has been on with her solo releases, this one has managed to one up all her previous outstanding releases. It comes off as an intimidating song, as Chungha does quite a lot in this song to make sure that Bicycle is relentless. While I do want to point out that the song is her least melodic from start to end, she gifts us with strong and elegant vocals throughout. But they weren’t always elegant. Some parts framed her as quite seductive sounding, such as the sequence following the second chorus. Other times we get a bit of the melodic touch from her, such as during the chorus. And in at other times, she is quite fierce with the way she ends her lines in the chorus. She also presents us with a show-stopping rap verse for the second verse (which is all in English). It definitely showcases her development and maturity over the years. Based on what I understand, only the music video and the performance contain the foot-stomping dance break. I wished this was part of the official song. It just reiterates that fierceness quite well, by providing the song a more powerful sequence and edge. I also like how they used the bicycle bell sparingly throughout the song. It easily could have been overused and been a distraction if that was the case. I think my only other complaint with the song is that we don’t get much opportunity to hear her high notes in the foreground. They are always hidden in the background. I thought Bicycle would have been the perfect setting for her high note in the front, as that really would have emphasised the fierceness of the song (if it was done right).

Visuals galore. Whoever is Chungha’s stylist(s) really need a pay rise because her looks throughout the video were on point. From the amazing outfits to the simple closeups of her face, everything felt like perfection on that front. I also liked how her outfits were part of the set design as well, such as that massive black dress at the peak of the song where she was flying up. That part looked epic. The set designs were quite cool as well, going hand-in-hand with the outfits in each part.

Performance wise, I thought the comeback was really good. The fierceness that I mentioned earlier was definitely displayed, along with her confidence and seductiveness. I also have to mention that her charisma is very alluring, especially throughout this performance. The entire performance is a highlight. But more specific moments that I enjoyed are the human bicycle for Chungha to pedal on and the foot-stomping dance break.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 10/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9.3/10