Category: Reviews

[Double Review] Refresh + I Believe – Zico & Kang Daniel / Bae Jin Young & Kim Yo Han

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For the first time ever, I am putting together two songs by two different sets of artists into a double review format. For today’s double review, I will be focusing on Zico and Kang Daniel’s collaboration, Refresh, and Bae Jin Young and Kim Yo Han’s collaboration, I Believe. The reason why I am group these two songs together is because they form part of the 2020 Pepsi and Starship collaboration, which has been occurring lately. Refresh was released back in April of this year for the For The Love of Korea part of the collaboration, while I Believe was released two weeks ago as part of the Heritage Project part of the collaboration. The four artists join a long list of other popular KPOP artists who have participated in the Pepsi and Starship collaboration, including Eunha and Ravi, Ong Seong Woo, and Hongbin and Hyungwon.

Not only does Refresh features the likes of both Zico and Kang Daniel, the song is also co-produced by Steve Aoki. That in itself means that this is a pretty star-studded lineup for a two and half minute song. Both Kang Daniel and Zico sings during the verses, with Zico adding some raps to the song later on in the second verse. These parts were decent, but they don’t really scream out Zico or Kang Daniel in any way. The pre-chorus hook was pretty decent as it gives the song some life and memorability, before dropping a half squeaky and half screechy type of synth in the chorus. Not really the most likeable synth out there, but it has its charm. The saving grace of Refresh is the heavy thumping bass. It probably shows how easily you can satisfy me, but the thumping really added momentum to Refresh for me and accented the right parts at the right times for me.

I Believe is actually a remake of a ballad OST by Shin Seung Hoon, which was released for My Sassy Girl (who remembers this movie?). Bae Jin Young and Kim Yo Han’s version gives it a trendy and fun retro spin, featuring a heavy amount of 80s synthesizer in its instrumental. I have no issues with this style as the instrumental brought a smile to me. They keep the melody from the original and also incorporate some raps, which genuinely surprised me. The song ended up being quite memorable and catchy for me, thanks to the collaborative nature of all the song’s elements. Aside from all the positivity that I am writing about the song (and the positivity that the song brings), I have nothing else to say about the song (and this is a good thing).

For Refresh, the theme was loving Korea (i.e. it was the ‘For The Love of Korea’ project) and there was a lot of traditional influence in the music video. The production value for Refresh was extremely high based on the visual effects that were utilised. I think it was a very suitable music video for Refresh, given the concept of the project and the appearance of both Zico and Kang Daniel in the video. I also liked their outfits and the product placement of Pepsi felt light and suitable. Kang Daniel makes a second appearance in the Pepsi and Starship collaboration project at the start and end of the I Believe music video. While we hear a bit of the Refresh instrumental, Kang Daniel starts a game on an old arcade that segueways into the main body of the music video that features the actual artists of the song. As for Bae Jin Young and Kim Yo Han, the video depicts them having fun whilst alone. I like how they incorporated the 90s filter of a circular frame and the white-washed lighting that many might remember from 90s KPOP music videos. Even their fashion looks like it could have been from that era (though some of it has been modernise to fit the current 20s). I also noticed that both videos acknowledged current events, with a little nod to face masks and elbowing in place of a hug or high-five.

Both songs are quite danceable. However, only I Believe has a proper choreography routine. Based on the music video, it looks pretty good but isn’t anything impressive. The pair do put in a lot of effort for an one off performance and that really lifts the look of the choreography by a lot.

Refresh – Zico & Kang Daniel
Song – 8/10
Music Video – 10/10
Overall Rating – 8.8/10

I Believe – Bae Jin Young (CIX) & Kim Yo Han (WEi)
Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8.5/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.7/10

[Double Review] Plant + Whale – Sejeong (Gugudan)

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While I am catching up on more recent reviews (barely even scratched the surface of that list), I am also keeping in mind some of the older releases which I haven’t reviewed yet. One song that falls into this ‘older’ category and has been continually emerging on my playlist at the moment is Kim Sejeong’s latest single, Whale. It was released mid-August and follows the release of Plant. That one was released 2 months prior in July of this year. Both songs haven’t been reviewed yet, so I am going to do it one go in this double review format.

Plant is a ballad, an expected starting point for the solo career of the main vocalist of any group, not just Gugudan. It is a features a pleasant orchestral instrumental, which can be broken down into nice strings and soothing piano. It is extremely slow paced, so it isn’t my preferred type of ballad. But it was still a good one, nonetheless. An interesting observation is that it never climaxes, despite it does do some building to reach that orchestral touch. Another interesting observation is that the song feels relatively short despite doing for almost four minutes. But all of that is okay as Sejeong captivates us with her vocals. They are beautiful and really helps elevate the ballad into an elegant piece.

Whale opts for a little more upbeatness but remains very light for the entirety of the track. But it incorporates a more pop aligned instrumental, which features some nice acoustic guitar and mid-tempo percussion. It reminds me of a number of songs, such as Jeong Eunji’s recent solo comeback, AWay, and AKMU’s Dinosaur. As a result, it feels typical. One good thing about the track is nice Kim Sejeong sounds in the song. I really like the entire bridge of the song, which features a short yet sweet high flutey note at the very end (and the entire sequence is in English). Unfortunately, the song doesn’t earn a 10/10 from me though. When it was first released, it was easily forgettable due to its lightness and typical nature. That bars the song from getting the highest ranking as that thought does linger to this day (and I quite like/recognise it now everytime it pops up on my phone/playlist).

The slow pace of the music video for Plant compliments the slowness of the song. I quite liked that. As for the meaning of the video, I pinched the following interpretation from a YouTube comment (courtesy of kyu). Essentially, Sejeong is lonely in this world. The plastic bags she encounters throughout the video (i.e. the plastic bags in her mobile home, the plastic bags that are floating about while she was in the car and the plastic bag art display in the abandoned warehouse that she dances around) represents the negative thoughts, perceptions and words that she has to deal with. The plant that she grows in her mobile home is essentially the only thing not in a plastic bag and represents positivity in her life, hence why she is smiling at the end. For Whale, there isn’t really a music video. Instead there is a ‘live clip’ that acts as a music video. It is an okay video, focusing on Sejeong and her singing. I would have liked if her company put a bit of money towards a music video, as Whale deserves something with a little more substance. The live clip was pretty unfocused and had this yellow hue hazy filter which dulled the experience for me.

Plant
Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 8.2/10

Whale
Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 6/10
Overall Rating – 7.5/10

[Review] Lovesick Girls – BLACKPINK

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Kicking off the intense month of October is BLACKPINK, who makes their third return of the year with their long-awaited first album! With the group’s success since the start of their career, fans have been actively pursuing a studio album for the group for the past four years they have been active. Prayers and requests were answered earlier this year when YG Entertainment confirmed confirmed the album for September (though I personally was in a ‘see it before I believe it’ mindset), but it was later pushed to October. Lovesick Girls headlines the album, which was been titled as The Album, and features alongside BLACKPINK’s How You Like That (released back in July) and Ice Cream featuring Selena Gomez (released in August).

Lovesick Girls is a great changeup to the group’s (and YG Entertainment’s) usual style of music. More recently, the company’s artists have been exploring new sounds and genres, though most of these releases do opt for some of the usual YG tactics. Lovesick Girls seems to be the biggest step away from the usual style, by opting for a dance pop profile rather than the hip-hop roots associated with BLACKPINK and their company. It also doesn’t include the usual chant-like chorus and drop chorus, nor does it build up to an anthem-like final chorus (in an attempt to changeup the song in its final moments). No doubt, all of this is quite refreshing. To me, Lovesick Girls is an impressive display of BLACKPINK’s vocals and rapping. The pre-chorus is the prime example of the great vocals, before the group joins forces with an all-in approach and catchy hummable melody. I do have some minor complaint about the chorus vocals though. I didn’t like how the slight echoey nature of the chorus. I felt that the producers had a strong opportunity to make this part dynamic, but opted for a much weaker approach. It didn’t ruin the song for me, but it did strip away the energy that was building towards to the chorus. The rapping that features briefly in the first verse and more prominently in the second verse gives the song more heft and depth, with Lisa and Jennie incorporating a brief hip-hop touch to their delivery. What really made the rapping better was how well it complimented the instrumentation. If the instrumentation was the cake, then Jennie and Lisa’s rapping would be the icing. In addition to that sequence, I really liked what the acoustic guitars brought to the verses, further complimenting that dance pop styled-chorus. Overall, Lovesick Girls is definitely a great song!

What a stunning music video. For once, BLACKPINK is not in a built set. I think we have seen BLACKPINK out in the open air before, but it has been a while if I remember correctly. The music video shows the members in a happy relationship one second and the next second are in an argument or in tears over their relationship. It works well with the lyrics, which is all about them wanting to love someone forever but only knowing the pain of heartbreak. The most captivating part of the music video belongs to Rose during the bridge of the song. The way she throws black paint across the pink wall (subtle BLACKPINK reference?) and is later seen covered in black paint and crying in the bathtub is such an impactful sequence for me. Her acting was superb. I had to rewatch that sequence a few times to properly take it all in.

The choreography looks good. The chorus starts off simple but it slowly builds in complexity as the routine involves moving about. The way they got into formation for some parts (as shown in the music video) looks quite clever as well. Other than that, I don’t have much else to say.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.8/10

[Review] Think of Dawn – GHOST9

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Another review in the same day? Who am I?

The second debut of last week that I want to cover today is GHOST9’s. The group hails from MAROO Entertainment, which is also the home to Park Ji Hoon. GHOST9 contains nine members (Junhyung, Dongjun, Shin, Kangsung, Junseong, Prince, Woojin, Taesung and Jinwoo), with the latter three also part of the TEEN TEEN project group lineup that made their debut last year with It’s On You. Other members of the group come from MIXNINE and Produce X 101 backgrounds as well. The group made their debut last Thursday with Think of Dawn as the title track.

When I checked out Think of Dawn last week, I didn’t think much of it. And unfortunately, it seems like that statement still stands true a week after it was released. It takes on the noisy side form EDM, with some of the instrumental becoming slightly overwhelming when the focus should have purely been on the member’s vocals and rapping. There are a few examples of noisy EDM that I liked this year and I felt that I would have enjoyed Think of Dawn if the producers mixed the song a bit better, so that the members would have been more of the focus rather than the instrumental. But aside from that, it features a strong instrumentation that is extremely powerful to see on stage (more on that later). And their vocals and rapping were of a good standard. I did like how smooth the falsetto vocals in the pre-chorus and chorus felt, contrasting nicely with the intense and almost-erratic nature of the EDM instrumentation. I feel that the song could have been enhanced with some individual flair. To me, Think of Dawn could have been released by a number of other male groups active this year. It was pretty much a ‘heard before’ sound throughout majority of the track. The instrumental dance breakdown was a pleasant surprise. I liked the inclusion of it and its overall intensity, but this would have been a great opportunity to have gone down a unique route. Overall, a decent debut track.

It seemed like the music video didn’t have much to it other than that choreography and closeup formula (I really need to decide which order the two C’s should be in and stick with it). However, at the very end, we see one of the members flip a switch, revealing the massive cyclops robot that follows the members at the very of the music video. The presence of this robot raises questions, some of which are answered in the prequel video ‘Cinematic World‘. However, how did the members get stuck in the set of this music video? And what did the ending of the prequel video mean? I guess we will find out in their next music video/comeback. Story aside, I find such a robot to be very eerie (how fitting for the month of October) and the suspense at the end really sets the bar for the next comeback. I wished they included some of that suspense throughout the earlier parts of the MV. That would have made the video a little more captivating to watch.

As mentioned earlier, the song enables the performance to be very powerful. And that is exactly what we get. I quite like that. But they could have gone for something a little more impressive at the start. It looked cool but compared to other stunts that we have seen this year, it falls short. The performance climaxes during the instrumental dance break, which looked awesome.

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

[Review] DRUM – CHECKMATE

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Two reviews tonight. Coming your way now.

Today, I want to focus on the debuts last week. First is the debut of an extremely rare CO-ED group. It is a very small niche within the KPOP community, with only two active groups (KARD and Tiger-K ZERO from the top of my head), so there is definitely more room for CO-ED groups in the industry. Coming from GRACE COMPANY Entertainment, CHECKMATE is a five-member group consisting of Sieun, Suri, Nason, Yongseok, and Noah. They debuted last week on the 21st with DRUM.

Unlike what the song’s title suggest, DRUM lacks dynamism from the get-go. To me, drums (the instrument) symbolisms power and depth in music. We don’t really get much of either in the song, which is a pity as I feel like DRUM was going in all the right directions. It did have some catchy energy and flair through the moombahton influence embedded in the instrumental. Both of these could have been enhanced to the next level by somehow incorporating power and depth within the music. Aside from the instrumental, the members attempt to put their best foot forward through their vocals and rapping. There was some catchy vocal melodies that the female members brought in the pre-chorus sequence and the chorus. As much as these melodies were catchy and easy to get into, I found all their vocals to have this certain dullness to them. They just weren’t interesting and didn’t have much individual colour. (On the flipside, it is quite refreshing to see the male members take on a vocalist role as well). Likewise, the rapping just didn’t have momentum to grab my attention. It should of as the song had some flair that would have enabled for the rap sequence to gain some edge, which occurs in some groups (i.e. in such songs, the rappers manage to outshine the rest of the group). It seems like whatever CHECKMATE is doing, it is definitely in the right direction. It just wasn’t executed as well. If the song proved anything, there is some potential behind this group, which makes me hopeful for their next release.

Apart from taking on that close-up and choreography setup, the music video doesn’t elicit much from me. The sets were pretty ordinary and they had some good closeups that captured their visuals well. I am a little surprised that there was no images of drums flashing throughout the music video. I think some coloured dusts bouncing off the drums would have worked in this video and added an additional element of fun. The producers may have thought this was a cliche idea, but I reckon it would have been fine.

To me, the performance was a highlight for this debut package. I liked the drum imagery they had incorporated during the chorus and the body rolls. Their movements helped made the song seem a lot more lively than what it really felt without seeing the performance, so good on them for that!

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

[Review] MADE FOR TWO – VAV

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Let’s begin the influx review with just one review, two tomorrow and a few more each coming day! Might be ambitious for me, but a challenge I am willing to take.

After a break from the industry, VAV is back as a six-member group dropping their new release earlier, MADE FOR TWO, this week. Baron enlisted just last week prior to the official release of MADE FOR TWO. He features in the music video, but is unable to participate in the promotions for this comeback for the obvious reason. MADE FOR TWO is the group’s first comeback in 11 months after Poison dropped in October last year.

MADE FOR TWO is a very unique song. It is a new type of minimalist song in my point of view, opting for very little instrumentation. I say ‘new type’ because I don’t think I have ever used the saying ‘less is more’ to describe a song in general, let alone a minimalist song. MADE FOR TWO is a testament to this saying. It strikes a fine balance by going down this very aesthetic minimal route, but not spilling into the area of music that underwhelms. There were moments that I found the song to have an epic vibe, such as the orchestral final moments that the song takes. What really drove the dynamic nature of the song are the vocals and rapping. They pretty much helped give the song that extra kick. I really like the backing vocals which added some depth to the vocal front of the song, whilst the main vocals by the members really helped propelled the song forward. When it came to the harmonisation of both the backing and forefront vocals, I was pretty much blow away how silky and smooth they felt. But it is the rapping that really gave the song some impact and helped give the song a bit of zing. The faster nature of the rapping (relative to the vocals) were really a highlight and memorable moments of the song for me. The instrumental complimented, but it maintained that minimalist vibe. Overall, MADE FOR TWO is pretty much up there as one of the best VAV songs I have heard (Gorgeous still takes the title for best VAV song). And with that statement, it is safe to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this comeback track.

The music video shows each member hanging out with a lady, before we see them alone reminiscing about those times, complimenting the lyrics. What makes the music video a little bit more captivating (as the idea can become quite dull) are drone shots that make the video look quite epic. It is a little flair to add some more appealing points to the music video. Those scenes when the members are on the rocks, and the drone captures the waves crashing into the rocks and also zooming by the members are probably strong examples of how appealing and aesthetic they made this video.

Unfortunately, the comeback suffers in the performance domain. I had expected this when I heard the song. It would have been extremely hard to pull off a captivating performance with a song of this style, when there isn’t much of the music to build the performance from. They do a good job, but it just doesn’t impress as I wished it had.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating – 8.1/10

[Review] SHOOT THE MOON – BDC

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This is a problem with big gaps between releases. Groups can be easily be forgotten. In the chaos that is 2020, BDC has unfortunately become one of the forgotten groups, despite me enjoying their debut track. They made their debut in the later half of 2019 with Remember Me. Since then, we haven’t heard much from the trio that hails from Brand New Music (the home of AB6IX and Lee Eun Sang). That changed this week, however, as the trio returns with SHOOT THE MOON.

SHOOT THE MOON doesn’t play around with its sound this time around, unlike Remember Me. Right from the start, you could tell it was going to be a dance track. I really like the acoustic guitar and flute synth at the start. They make up the main basis of the verse. Nothing too harsh here. There are some solid work in the verses from the members, but it comes off rather plain and generic. The song instantly gets better once the chorus kicks into gear. The acoustic guitar at the start makes sense, as the song segueways into a fitting synthwave piece for the start of the chorus. Smooth and sleek are words I would describe this part of the chorus. The second part of the chorus features a harder drop, bolstering the chorus and giving some oomph to the song (all at the same time). The synthwave and harder drop carries over into the third part of the chorus, creating a heavy yet dynamic instrumental piece that comes off as quite memorable. They pretty much follow the same formula for the second verse and chorus (though it omits the harder synthwave piece). For the final chorus, the song opts for just the harder synthwave piece that I had outlined as the ‘third part of the choruses’/omitted from the second chorus. That was a smart move, as it embeds the climax within the boundaries of the song that they had set previously. It allows the song to come off as clean and simple. The vocal and rapping work in SHOOT THE MOON is solid. They do feel a little simple in hindsight, but I understand the music doesn’t get them much chance to delve into something a little more different. Overall, SHOOT THE MOON is a enjoyable track.

I am not too sure what the music video is trying to tell us. There obviously a storyline about shooting the moon, but I don’t know if they are actual cause of it as the moon blows up earlier on in the video, whereas the members cause the blue light to occur at the end of the video. Also not too sure about the members in those glass cylinders where they are wearing masks. What I do like is the darkness and minimalist vibes of the video. The two techniques work very well together and made the song a lot more elegant and mature sounding.

The performance begins and ends with the members within the ‘moon’ formed by the arms of the dancers. I like how the verses give each member solo moments to show off their dance skills. They come together for the chorus, which ranges from sleek to epic!

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

[Review] Light – UP10TION

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It is almost two years since UP10TION moved to an eight member lineup, as TOP Entertainment continues to promote Lee Jin Hyuk and Kim Woo Seok as solo artists after their participation in Produce X 101 (and in Kim Woo Seok’s case, the short-lived X1). Since Produce X 101, the rest of UP10TION have not had much promotions aside from their last comeback, Your Gravity, which is quite disappointing (and I solely blame their company for the lack of promotions). However, that changed slightly during the week after the remaining eight members of UP10TION dropped Light (their new song) and Light Up (their new mini-album).

My number one issue with Light is that it still doesn’t offer anything new for UP10TION. The song, as a whole, plays it safe and sounds quite pleasant, which I have mentioned before is not always a good thing. And here I am hoping for UP10TION to have a smashing comeback for once. I want a really dynamic and impactful sound, that would highlight their performance skills and make people go wow (and hopefully garner enough attention to get the other two members back into the group’s lineup – bold ideas, I know). If I were to breakdown the instrumental background of Light, you would have that squeaky synth at the very forefront of the song and funky electric guitars, over a future bass backbone. Not really the most inspiring combination of sounds ever. But I liked the direction of what the first verse was going in. When it came to the chorus, the producers left me uninspired even further with a pretty generic drop. It isn’t exciting and placed an imaginary weight on the song, which ruined the light (pun unintended) vibes from the verse. And from there, the song just doesn’t get back to the level at which it started promisingly. What I do think Light did pretty well at was highlight both the vocals and rapping potential of each member. They were solid and consistently good element of the song. Overall, I clearly wanted more to the song. It is pleasant and I don’t mind it. It just isn’t something I would go out of my way to search for.

Another music video that uses the choreography and closeup formula. This one joins the ranks of the music videos that use said formula but captures the strong visuals of the members. Other than that, the sets are rather plain and I think the sets could have been a little more dynamic, which may have added more energy to the song (and helped added an additional tinge of appeal).

I don’t have much to say about the choreography. It works well with the music, but it isn’t anything new that we haven’t seen before.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 6.5/10
Overall Rating – 6.6/10

[Review] One (Monster & Infinity) – SuperM

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If you are a fan of the SuperM (the ‘Avengers’ of KPOP) members (that is Baekhyun, Kai, Taemin, Taeyong, Mark, Lucas and Ten), then you must be excited for their comebacks that are ongoing or ‘soon-to-be’ occurring. Here is just a quick rundown for these busy members. Taemin made his solo comeback earlier this month with Criminal, whilst NCT is gearing up for NCT 2020 in October (NCT and WayV members combined!). On top of that, Kai has been confirmed for a solo debut some time in the future, while I remember reading somewhere that Baekhyun might be releasing new music. But while we wait for those comebacks, check out SuperM’s latest title track, One, which follows the pre-release of 100 and Tiger Inside.

One is a hybrid track, merging two of the side tracks (Monster & Infinity) from the group’s first studio album. It is similar to how SHINee’s Sherlock, which merged Clue and Note from their Sherlock mini-album back in 2012. So the concept of a hybrid track isn’t new, but it is rather rare in KPOP. This alone already makes the song stand out. However, I wish I could say the same for majority of the song. For the purpose of this review, I wanted to delve into One only. This proves to be a little difficult, however, as I feel like we are constantly reminded of the fact that it is two songs merged into one. I find One to be slightly disjointed, especially around the start of the chorus. It didn’t feel like it was a natural blend. In addition to that, I find One‘s instrumental to be a generic form of EDM. The chorus does bring a grand and adventurous vibe to it, which I liked (it also brought me back to their debut track, Jopping). But everything else wasn’t as adventurous by today’s standard. The vocals and rapping work performed by the members are a lot more captivating than the instrumental and I give them ticks of approval. Unfortunately, I found the melodies were pretty generic and I didn’t really find a hook in the song to help make the song catchy. That being said, there was one part that really stood out to me. This part was the climax of the song (Taemin’s husky vocals, Baekhyun and Ten’s high note, followed by Mark’s rapping), leading into the final chorus. The intensity and epicness of the EDM during this part really help make the climax more fulfilling and the members involved made it pretty dynamic. At least, there was something in the song worth waiting around for.

The music video on YouTube made it pretty clear that there was some paid promotions, which I assume is the mobile phone that we see during and at the very end of the music video. I wonder if there was more to it, as the music video seemed to look like it was based or modelled after a game of some kind. I just got that type of vibe from the teasers they released and the overall setting of the video (even though most of it was literally inside a box). There were some snippets throughout the video, whilst the ending went through a very quick flash of various visuals of the members that I don’t remember seeing anywhere else before (unless my memory has completely failed me). I find them to be captivating, mainly because I had question marks about what was going on in those mysterious and unfamiliar shots. Any one knows?

The performance was good to watch. But I didn’t see anything impressive or ground-breaking, but I liked that they went hard and didn’t hold back in the performance.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 7.5/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 7.2/10

[Review] ARISONG – cignature

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Dropping their latest comeback yesterday was cignature. The new song is titled ARISONG and is featured on their first mini-album since their debut earlier this year. ARISONG follows the groups Nun Nu Nan Na debut and ASSA comeback in April.

ARISONG does not hold back. It takes a matter of seconds before the song blasts us with this messy noise. I caution those who wish to listen to the song on ‘full blast’. At a low volume, the song is quite bearable. But at a much higher volume and I would say the intensity and chaotic nature of the song is quite overwhelming and can best be described as an ‘assault’ on your eardrums. I cannot believe I just said that regarding a song. To me, the best parts of the song came during the verses. Everything was a lot calmer and more palatable. Nothing overwhelms, with the vocals and rapping opting for a more normal sound. The instrumental featured synths and textures that I thought were interesting and even fun. When it came to the chorus, things started to get a little more intense and chaotic. And with the instrumental for the main part of the song labelled with such words, the overly cutesy vocals were just a no go for me. I get that they tried to infuse a bit of character into the song through their vocals and rapping, but it just felt too much of a mismatch of styles once you factor in the instrumental. As the song climaxed, everything goes haywire. I found myself to be overwhelmed and didn’t know what to exactly focus on. Nothing really a good ‘last’ impression of the song to leaver the listener with. On the plus side, ARISONG does earn marks for memorability, given everything does standout in one way or another. But in this context, it might not be a positive thing.

The school student concept isn’t a brand new or groundbreaking concept for KPOP. I wished there was a bit more to the music video to make it memorable. They could have gone with more wacky visuals, along the lines of that orange hand tree that featured midway into the video. I think that would have made the video more interesting and it could have enhanced the chaotic nature of the song within the music video. I guess I just found the solo scenes and closeups to be quite tame, relative to the music.

The performance fits more of the cutesy side of the song, rather than the intense or chaotic side of the song. And for a cutesy centric performance, it isn’t a terrible one. Nothing was that groundbreaking once again, but this wasn’t a major deal breaker this time.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 5/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 5.9/10

[Review] La Di Da – EVERGLOW

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After their amazing and catchy DUN DUN comeback earlier this year, EVERGLOW is finally back with their latest single, La Di Da. The new single is featured on the group’s second mini-album, -77.82X-78.29.

EVERGLOW has once again managed to exceed the expectations that they had set themselves through their previous comebacks. La Di Da is exciting thanks for the upbeat energy that it packs through its 80s retro electropop instrumentation. It is also rather unique. There are a few KPOP songs that have preceded La Di Da in this genre, however none of them have managed to exude as much appeal by going hard as La Di Da has. Even when it came to the rapping in the verses, EVERGLOW manages to wow us with trap sequences that fit in with the retro vibes that the song is built upon, but also remaining fresh and unique at the same time. The vocal work and rapping are superb. There is so much power that comes from these two elements that brings it up to par as their other powerful tracks, but is refreshing given the retro twist. I also love the short instrumental break we get right after the second verse. The only issue I have with the song is that their vocals and instrumentation during the peak of the chorus seems a little blurred. But this doesn’t compromises the hooks and catchiness of La Di Da in any way, so it literally be can be glossed over. Definitely give La Di Da is a listen. I doubt you will be disappointed.

Once again, the music video takes on a choreography and closeup formula. But it manages to captivate nonetheless. I applaud the director for managing to capture really good visuals of the members, but also managing to capture the best angles of the choreography as well. I love how the shots were clean and didn’t employ any of those shaky effects that a lot of music videos are incorporating in their music video in hopes to replicate an edgy vibe. This song could have enable this, but I am glad it didn’t go down this route. Instead, the music video adds that edgy flair using the sets and their outfit, which were really well executed.

La Di Da emphasise what EVERGLOW does best. A powerful choreography. As weird as it might sound, I enjoyed the use of their arms throughout the performance. It adds a visually appealing complexity that makes it worthwhile to watch. I also like that while the group is powerful, they can still be sexy with no compromises. I also find Yiren’s ‘La Di Da’ just before the final chorus so memorable and can simply be classed as a ‘killer part’.

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

[Review] The Stealer – The Boyz

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It is fair to say that The Boyz has had an action-packed 2020, so far. In March, the group returned with their first studio album and title track of the same name, Reveal. Later in June, the group emerged was the victors of Road To Kingdom with CHECKMATE, earning them a one-way ticket to the upcoming season of Kingdom (which has been pushed to next year). And now the group has returned with their new title track, The Stealer and mini-album, Chase.

The Stealer starts with a short peaceful piano piece, before launching right into the chorus. The contrast between the two makes the start become quite bold and it really pulls you in. The chorus itself is paced, employing a dragged out effect within the dance instrumentation, and the vocals come off shouty (in a good way). I would have loved a more captivating hook, but the combination of shouty-like vocals and strong instrumentation that makes up the chorus is well-rounded and dynamic enough for me. The choruses are followed by a snappy drums and cool bassline instrumental break, which also makes up the basis of the instrumentation throughout the rest of the song. It also gives off stylish vibes, adding extra appeal to the song no doubt. When it comes to the verses, I find the song blends the rapping and vocals extremely well with one another. Unlike the dragged out nature of the chorus, the verses kept you on your heels with the instrumental being consistently fast paced. The second verse is when I realized that the song is a hip-hop dance track. I somehow didn’t get this vibe during the first verse, which is odd as the chorus basically sets up the same hip-hop route. To me, the best part of The Stealer is the bridge. It simply comes down to an awesome vocal line, followed up with dynamic rap sequences, before launching back into the final chorus. The Stealer could used some extra oomph to close out the song in a much stronger manner. But that is just an additional want from me.

The song itself is about how the members are attempting to steal their lover’s heart. But at the last moment, their lover disappears after. It seems like their lover is onto them, as the music video does depict them going on a mission to steal their lover’s heart. But at the end, the heart is gone and the members are left behind bars and fences (even the lighting was set up to look like a fence in some choreography shots), meaning their lover had played them. I thought this was a nice twist to the storyline they were trying to depict within The Stealer‘s lyrics. Aside from my quick interpretation, I really like the boldness and dominance of the red colour. The members are dressed up stylishly in black outfits, popping out of the red background.

Given that this is the comeback following their Road To Kingdom appearances and win, I expected something with a little more wow factor. While that wasn’t delivered (I mean, how do they top the jump from their Danger cover?), they opted for a more stylish and trendy setup and vibe for this performance. I quite like this alternative direction, with the choreography exuding masculine energy that really sets them apart from other male artists who have more recently returned.

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

[Review] I LOVE YOU – TREASURE

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Making their first comeback literally weeks after their debut is TREASURE, with I LOVE YOU. This hastiness to make a comeback is quite rare in YG Entertainment’s world, given that their artists tend to go for months and years on end with no signs of a comeback. That being said, YG Entertainment have already confirmed plans for an ambitious end for 2020 with confirmed BLACKPINK and AKMU comebacks and it is rumoured that iKON, WINNER and BIG BANG will be also making their comebacks before 2020 wraps up. Today, the focus is on YG Entertainment’s latest addition to their family and their comeback single, I LOVE YOU.

In my BOY review, I noted that the group stepped away from YG’s strong association with the hip-hop genre, going with what felt like a pop sound instead. I am not sure if I LOVE YOU confirms that observation, as it seemed to take a step back towards the hip-hop genre. It isn’t strong throughout the track, but it prevalent during some parts (i.e. the second verse). Personally, I don’t mind this as both BOY and I LOVE YOU manages to breath some freshness into their company’s discography. I LOVE YOU‘s opening verse promises more of that pop feel. I really like the lightness of both the guitars and their vocals. The pre-chorus brings about a build up that felt typical, but makes total sense given the fast-approaching epic, deep and abrasive drop for the chorus. I personally enjoyed this drop as it totally throws your expectations for the song array. I liked how the chorus doesn’t stay in this rough gear for its entirety, instead emerging out of the deep and abrasiveness nature to help bridge to the other parts of the song. The second verse was a typical trap-based rap sequence. I am not entirely against this trap-rap sequence, but it did feel dry and unoriginal. Skipping forward to the bridge, we return to that pop feel briefly before we are launched right back into the pre-chorus. The one part of I LOVE YOU that I am not a fan of is the anthem-half of the final chorus. It is very YG to do an anthem at the end of the song and (as I have mentioned before) it is pretty cliche. I wished that they just made the second half of the final chorus be the actual final chorus. I would have been fine with that. They could have also thrown something dynamic into the mix to change up the final chorus if they wished. To sum up, a good followup to BOY in my opinion.

The song talks about their feelings towards their lover and the music video was a pretty good representation of that. There were a lot of love hearts and youthful visuals throughout the video, matching with the song’s innocent theme. I wasn’t a fan of the closeups of some of the members during the second half of the rap sequence. It felt a little try-hard and mis-matching. I actually preferred the visuals and choreography closeups during the first half of the rap sequence, as it binds nicely with the rest of the music video. My favourite bit of the entire music video has to be any scenes in front of that huge screen. Especially when it came to the chorus and the screen showed this huge wave and a really nice blue/green hue to it.

The choreography is fantastic. I liked how powerful they made the chorus feel from just the moves alone, emphasizing the bass and power that the chorus had musically. The head bopping and finger hearts was definitely a killer part in my opinion. This might just be a visual component in the music video and not necessarily replicated on stage, but the dancing in the water looked epic.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 10/10
Overall Rating – 8.2/10

[Review] RIDE – KNK

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Another group who has been absent from the stage for a year and three months is KNK. It has definitely been a while since we have seen this group as well, with their last comeback being Sunrise in July 2019. Today, the group returns with RIDE and the mini-album, KNK Airline. Here is a fun fact related to this comeback: this comeback is funded by fans after the group and their company started a MAKESTAR project earlier this year. This makes it KNK’s second comeback funded by fans, with Sunrise and KNK S/S Collection being their first! To me, that is pretty cool and shows how strong Tinkerbell’s (their fandom’s name) is.

Something that I find common with KNK comebacks is that they never fail to draw my attention. It is the same case with RIDE, instantly drawing me into the song from my first listen. You might think that I am easy to satisfy, which I agree to a degree. However RIDE manages to have a few tricks up its sleeve that I personally did not expect. I have to begin by saying that RIDE does feel significantly weaker as a whole compared to their previous title tracks. This is partly due to the generic nature of the instrumentation that doesn’t really have much boldness or character to it. However, it is what they add to the instrumentation that gives the song life. Firstly, let’s focus on both the vocals and the melodies in the song. While they aren’t explosive or powerful as they could have been, the choppiness to the melody was pretty unique. And it is more interesting, as the rhythm to RIDE made this choppiness feel smooth (which is contradictory, but KNK and the song’s producers struck a fine balance between the two and I like this very much). The melodies also make this song quite catchy. Secondly, the rapping adds some stability to the song, in my opinion. They help keep the song grounded (or anchored), while the rest of the vocals and melody provided upbeat energy that made the song feel like it was floating about. Thirdly, the energy that I just mentioned was pleasant and enjoyable. It isn’t as hard-hitting as I expected and I thought that was quite nice. Overall, I enjoyed listening to RIDE. It may not be up to par as their past comebacks, but they managed well with it.

Another music video with strong visuals from the members during their closeups. But aside from adopting that same choreography and closeup formula that I have mentioned time and time again, there isn’t much else to the music video. I personally do not understand the setting of the music video. The members are dressed up as pilots and do some choreography on the airplane runway. That makes sense. But it is the desert scenes that I have question marks over. There might be a reference to the desert (or some place isolated and away from civilization) in the lyrics, but I haven’t picked up on anything yet.

The start to the RIDE choreography with Heejun being lifted into the air, after he ‘levitates’ off the ground by holding onto the member’s legs is really cool. There is a subtle smoothness to the choreography that I really enjoyed. I also liked the fast paced nature of some parts, matching the tempo of the music quite well.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 7/10

[Review] Feel Good (SECRET CODE) – fromis_9

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Next up on the comeback list this week is fromis_9, who makes their return for the first time since their FUN! comeback, one year and three months ago. Such a long gap between comebacks is not ideal, especially for a group who was starting to gain momentum following their Love Bomb and FUN! comebacks. However, as I always say on this blog, it is better late and than never. The group returns today with Feel Good (SECRET CODE), their third mini-album, The Little Society, and a eight-member lineup (as Seoyeon is sitting out of the promotions due to an injury).

Whilst Feel Good is track filled with funky guitar riffs (and hence complimenting current trends to a tee), the track is interestingly not as retro as I had hoped for. While I believe that fromis_9 would have one of the few female groups currently active that would have nailed the retro style and sound, Feel Good opts for a clean, modern and quite refreshing spin on the whole idea of a funky sound. There isn’t much going in the instrumentation apart from the funky guitar. In hindsight, it is rather plain (This was a thought when I first heard the song, but it has long disappeared from my mind now). However, that isn’t really an issue as the members really do help cover it up this barely noticeable flaw with their vocals. The rapping isn’t as great as I felt they wasted an opportunity to go down a more dynamic route for Feel Good, which could have been incorporated into the song via the actual rapping or instrumentally. But the vocals are really well thought out. They go with a lower tone for the verses, which I think gives the song a mature flair on top of the funky instrumentation. I really like the ‘Woo Hoo Hoo‘ that we get in the pre-chorus, for no other reason other than it felt classy. Once we got to the chorus, the members sang at a much higher tone, adding a subtle but appreciable amount of energy that doesn’t overwhelm the listener, complimenting the instrumentation. The chorus itself is also quite catchy, thanks to the vocal melodies and hooks.

The music video has nice visuals. But other than that and the choreography/closeup formula, it is incredibly plain to watch. I liked how they held back with the colours though, which suits the song style. But from what I have seen in KPOP music videos over the years, the producers could make the video a lot more dynamic and visually appealing whilst also complimenting the song’s style (as they have with the colour choices). A much strong balance between these two elements would have made the video more appealing to watch.

From what I can see in the music video, the choreography looks good. There isn’t anything ground breaking or new in it. But it works well with the music video. There seems to a mature feel to the choreography, as well. It is subtle, but it feels different for the group, especially since fromis_9 has been known for more cutesy and innocent concepts in the past.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.7/10

[Review] Bad Idea – Moonbin & Sanha (ASTRO)

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Yesterday, ASTRO launches their first duo unit with Moonbin and Sanha joining forces to bring us Bad Idea, which is featured on the pair’s first mini-album, IN-OUT. This comes after the entire group returned with Knock earlier this year.

It seems that funky is now the norm in KPOP. Bad Idea continues the ongoing trend of reemerging funky and groovy numbers in the industry, a trend that KPOP has definitely experienced in the past. Some of the best and widely known KPOP tracks over the years fall into this category! While Bad Idea does fit in with that particular crowd of songs (based on genre alone), it just needed a bit more to potentially be given that status. And that ‘bit more’ could have easily been a rap sequence. Sure, the addition of a rap sequence would have been cliche move. But I felt that Bad Idea was missing an element to give the song a kick and some additional intense energy. The entire song is vocally centric, which makes complete sense given the vocalist label that both Moonbin and Sanha carry whilst promoting with the rest of the ASTRO members. There isn’t anything wrong with that. I just believe it is missing that oomph to bring it to the next level. But aside from that, what we got was perfectly nailed. Both Moonbin and Sanha did amazing with the vocals, especially when we got to the falsetto pre-chorus. That pre-chorus was super sexy sounding, admittedly. The chorus was quite simple and catchy. The instrumental has a nice bass feel to it and the guitars work very hard to bring the funkiness to life. Maybe that ‘bit more’ could also have been delivered with a bit of a change up in the instrumentation, but it would have been most effective as a rap sequence (in my opinion).

The music video for Bad Idea is super interesting. The pair take on a dark sensual concept with their choreography and solo shots. That itself is something quite exciting, as it takes ASTRO’s previous concepts a step further. But that is embedded throughout a time-loop story line, where Sanha constantly dies after drinking a poisoned drink and wakes up right after. He becomes confused and lost. Moonbin isn’t the centre of this time-loop, so suspicion is on him almost immediately from the start. It is revealed towards the end that Moonbin indeed did poison Sanha, causing him to die. I think Sanha had shot Moonbin in the past, which might give Moonbin a motive. Though I am not sure why. That is just my take on the music video though and I am sure other theories have determined by Moonbin is killing Sanha and how Moonbin better fits into the story line (i.e. I didn’t understand meaning behind the fire and broken glass scenes).

The choreography looks quite good. I liked how they carried that dark sensual concept from the music video into the choreography. I really like the move that did when they repetitively sang ‘Bad’ during the chorus. Their chemistry was also note-worthy during their duo moments!

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