Category: Reviews

[Review] Nothin’ – Chanyeol (EXO)

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Excuse me while I divert our attention to releases from a while back now. In preparation for an album review later today, I will be reviewing both Chanyeol and Sehyun’s indvidual tracks that appeared alongside their 1 Billion Views and Telephone releases last month. I had promised these two reviews for some time now, but I just kept on running out of time to post them. But as I always repeat on this blog, it is always better late than never. As you can tell by the title, this particular review post will be focusing on Chanyeol’s Nothin’.

Despite having a number of solo tracks already, Chanyeol manages to show off a different side to his rapping skills through the easygoing yet subtly intense Nothin’. The song starts off with the catchy vocal hook of ‘I will never worry about nothin’‘. I am not a fan of autotune usually, but his autotuned vocals added some texture to the song. The verses come into play and we hear Chanyeol slow rap along to slow trap instrumentation that the song is backed with. There are some guitar that is present in combination with the trap instrumental. Together, these two elements pretty much make Nothin’ sound like straightforward R&B. Unfortuately, the instrumental is repetitive and plain. It is disappointing to an extent, but I also find that this acts as a blank canvas for Chanyeol’s rapping, which is what gives the song some variety and appeal. We do get some profound electric guitar riffs at the very end, which was nice and much appreciated. As the song felt relatively short, the placement of this additional instrument actually felt appropriate. I couldn’t imagine what the song would have been like if this explicit electric guitar was brought into play earlier. Going back to his rapping, you could feel the emotion in his voice as the song progresses. It is subtle, but definitely present. It is also quite captivating. Overall, I quite like the song. It fits the chill nature of the album and direction of the subunit. Yet it manages to add a bit of Chanyeol flair to the song.

The music video is noticeably shorter than the actual song itself. But as there is still a music video, it earns itself a review. The song itself is about not worrying what people are saying and to stick to being yourself. And I thought that the path to the song’s meaning was well shown in the music video. The music video depicts Chanyeol as a photographer. His pictures seem to represent the thoughts and comments of others. After he develops them, he puts them on this wall, which acts like his thought bank. In this life, it is rather monotone and repetitive. We see Chanyeol clearly wants change. Once we see him certain of this, he rips a picture off the wall, revealing a bright light. It is uncomfortable, which is the harsh reality. But he gets used to it and runs away from the underground studio setting. He slowly gets used to it and this becomes a stroll, as shown at the start of the video. Moving away from my interpretation, I liked how the atmosphere we get from the video really suits the moody nature of the song.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.4/10

[Review] Aloha Oe – Cherry Bullet

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The next release to be in the reviewing spotlight is Aloha Oe by Cherry Bullet. The track was released on Thursday this past week and follows the release of Hands Up earlier this year. Not much else happened with the group since their last comeback, so this introduction is quite short. So why don’t we just get straight into the review?

Cherry Bullet’s Aloha Oe is what I would consider to be a more upbeat and exciting Summer season track, unlike the previous Summer track that I just reviewed. It is colourful and definitely catchy with its addictive melodic and instrumental hook. One might say this instrumental hook might be squeaky, but I didn’t mind it. Specifically, the chorus features a bright blast of pop energy that makes this song extra appealing. And this blast of pop energy carries throughout the chorus, from start to end, which gives the song an overall boldness that I thoroughly enjoyed. I wished the verses also reflected this, as they did feel quite plain. But this is a good example of how the chorus really compensate for the verses’ plainness (as mentioned in my previous review that came out just before this one). The members had nice vocals in this song, with the lightness and higher pitch suitable for the Summer brightness and energy. There was a brief rapping sequence embedded in the second verse that I felt could have been left out. The instrumental backing for this was slightly over dramatic and Aloha Oe didn’t feel like it needed that dramatic backing (or a rap sequence in general). It did feel overwhelming and scared me during the first listen as it came out of nowhere. But apart from that, I really enjoyed Cherry Bullet’s new song.

While the music video features the closeup and choreography formula, I personally thought it was a really good video. Each member was doing their own thing in this music video, as if it was emphasising the idea of social distancing, which we are all actively doing (I hope). We have a member editing videos, food blogging, camping, partying, watching movies (more specifically horror flicks) and playing tennis amongst other individual activities. We also got the mirror wiping Tik-Tok trend that I am sure everyone has already seen on their social media. One element I really enjoyed was the video’s play on colour. During the individual shots, everything was quite colourful. However, when we got to the choreography shots, the set was more of a blank canvas and the members’ outfits gave that spruce of colour it needed.

Once again, given that the song has that cutesy feel to it, the performance aligns itself with that vibe and adds some aegyo into the performance. When Cherry Bullet does this on stage, it actually looks good. I say this because when other idols do this off stage as a challenge or dare, it is pretty cringy. I also liked how sharp their movements were and how good this made the performance looked.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 7.5/10
Overall Rating – 7.9/10

[Review] JUICY – Rocket Punch

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It is time for the start of the Saturday catch up. Kicking off the start of four reviews that I will be publishing today (fingers crossed) is Rocket Punch’s comeback, which dropped on Tuesday of this past week. Their title track this time around is JUICY and it is featured on the group’s third mini-album, Blue Punch. This is the group’s first comeback since Red Punch, a mini-album released earlier this year, which featured the title track Bouncy.

I found the tropical sounds and melodies that started off JUICY to be very appealing. It really steered the song into that Summer mindset. However, that appeal was shortlived. The first verse came, but it was largely plain. I should have known this feeling was pretty much foreshadowing what was to come. But I gave the song the benefit of the doubt and dismissed this as some KPOP tracks have pretty typical sounding verses, but the chorus manages to compensate for lacking verses. Unfortuately, this was not the case. JUICY‘s chorus was an extension of the verse, a soulless instrumental being the main driving force of what should be the catchiest sequence of the song. Their vocals just didn’t have much energy or life in them. The melodies did not have a memorable element or any energy to help propel the song forward. The second verse was primarily the same set up, with the addition of a messy trap-based rap sequence that sounds off-putting (if I have to be honest). There is a bit of heft to the bridge of JUICY, but it was undermined with the childish sounds that came from the member’s voices and the return of that off-putting trap sequence. Even when we turn to the song’s main hook (i.e. the ‘Juicy Juicy Juicy‘ repetition, we just get an overwhelming plainness that doesn’t save the song. Overall, I am pretty disappointed with this track. And truthfully, I wouldn’t be returning to this track any time soon.

Given what the song is like, the music video is appropriately filled with aegyo. It surprisingly didn’t feel as cringy as I thought it would be nor did it feel overloaded. But even if that was the case, I can’t complain much as the song did lead the video in that direction. Aside from that, I did like the underwater sets and the bubble visual effects that filled out screens. It does look like it is part of some children’s TV show, but it went well with the concept.

The performance was alright. I liked how the choreography kept on moving for the most part. It makes me look at the dance, as it makes me feel that I might miss something. It isn’t a mind-blowing performance in any way (I feel that if it got to that calibre, it would be a waste given the disappointing song), but it does the job fine.

Song – 3/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating – 4.8/10

[Review] BOY – TREASURE

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I break the catch up transmission with a review for a new release! TREASURE officially makes their debut with the release of the title track BOY. This is YG Entertainment’s latest addition to their company, consisting of 12 members (Hyunsuk, Jihoon, Yoshi, Junkyu, Mashiho, Jaehyuk, Asahi, Yedam, Doyoung, Haruto, Jeongwoo and Junghwan). The group itself was formed through the 2018 trainee survival show, YG Treasure Box. The show formed two male groups to join the YG Family and was collectively 13 members earlier this year. However, Yoonbin left the group prior to their debut and the decision was made to merge the two groups together to form Treasure. The group’s debut was teased since January 2020 and Bang Yedam debuted as a solo act earlier this year as well with Wayo (to be reviewed).

Previously, YG Entertainment has been heavily associated with hip-hop music in the KPOP industry, with some noticeable exceptions. And I think TREASURE, based on BOY, is another one of those exceptions. They stray away from their company’s heavy reliance on hip-hop and goes down more of the pop route for the group’s debut single. I am basing this observation on one song, so there is a chance that the group might end up going for something more towards YG roots in future releases. That being said, the producers still employ a notable YG element in BOY, which I predicted was coming. More on that later. BOY is quite dynamic and intense. I actually felt this at the very start of the song and they managed to continue this throughout the song. I also find the EDM drop (the genre of EDM is so familar but I cannot pinpoint its exact name) in the chorus to be very profound and refreshing. Their vocals and rapping adds to the song’s dynamism and energy. I really like that they were very clear and crisp throughout the song. The song’s memorable hook ‘I just wanna be your boy‘ was handled by Junkyu and Yedam, who both together form a very powerful duo. Definitely members that I will keep an eye out for. However, the song isn’t perfect. The song starts to unravel after Hyunsuk’s shouty bridge. BOY could have done without the anthem-like ending. It is a very overused YG tactic, so it is very plain and boring. It was good the first few times. But since it is now overused, I just roll my eyes at it. It is done to give the song one last hype moment, but I just felt it overwhelmed everything that came prior to it. But apart from that, BOY is definitely a strong debut song.

The music video definitely has great visuals. From the members to the sets, everything looked exciting. On a side note regarding the sets, there seems to be a lot of depth in comparison to other YG music videos. I say this because compared with this video, other recent YG music videos end up looking more like box sets now. The music video does follow a closeup and choreography formula. But there is a lot of dynamism in the music video as well, so I am not as fussed. I really liked the special effects they added during post-production. They helped heighten that level of fun we get from the visuals in the music video, which compliment the song in a variety of ways.

From what I can see, the choreography is going to be superb. The air guitar-like move and the footwork during the chorus looks very impressive. They seem to use their space very well, as seen in the second chorus. The dance break we get as part of the bridge also looked really cool!

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

[Review] 2 KIDS – Taemin (SHINee)

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Time to continue this week’s edition of review catch up. Next up on the reviewing list is 2 KIDS, Taemin’s pre-release single for his upcoming comeback. Originally scheduled for July 2020, his comeback had to be pushed back due to an injury. But with the release of 2 KIDS, it seems like we will be seeing him very soon again through his comfirmed two part third studio album, Never Gonna Dance Again. There is no confirmed date for this comeback just yet, but I will endevour to review it as soon as it is released, unlike this review which is many days late. In other news, this Taemin’s first solo comeback since the release of WANT.

While 2 KIDS doesn’t deliver anything epic or powerful as his previous releases, Taemin’s 2 KIDS still manages to fit his discography. Given that this is Taemin, it clearly doesn’t have a wow factor to be given that title track status. And so, it comes off as an ideal side track for his upcoming solo album. The new release features an electronic pop instrumentation that opts for lighter and simpler vibes. Yet, there is an elaborate nature to it that enables Taemin to show off his vocals and performance skills (I will touch on this later on). There is an airy nature to the song, making it perfect song to put on while taking a stroll on a breezy and sunny day. His vocals are breathy throughout the song, which definitely compliments this. This combination is quite refreshing. Taemin’s sentimental and reflective vocals were stunning in this song. You could feel the emotions in his voice as he sings about young love. However, I did feel that the chorus was a little too heavy handed with the autotuned backing. I wished that it was a little lighter in this regard. But it at least gave the song some interesting textures to play with. I also wished that he had more ad-libs towards the end of the song, as this seems like the perfect track for Taemin to show off some of his ad-lib skills. In addition to the ‘wishes’, I wanted the song to be less repetitive. The repetition dried out the song and left it boring, especially towards the end. But overall, 2 KIDS is a solid effort and a definite strong teaser for what is to come.

For this review, I will be combining the music video and performance parts of the usual review together. Why? Well, the music video is essentially a performance piece. We don’t see much choreography during the verses. Instead, we see Taemin act throughout the verses. It looks like he is wandering the streets right after an argument with his lover and is reminiscing about his young love. The choreography comes into play during the choruses. And it is just so captivating to watch. I also love the European city setting of this music video. It just adds such a refined and comforting atmosphere to the video, which contrasts nicely with his pain and emotions that he channels through his choreography.

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

[Review] DUMDi DUMDi – (G)I-DLE

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Apologies for my absence over the last two days. I will explain myself later on once I get pass the many releases have been left un-reviewed during my absence. Let’s restart the reviews! First up is a Monday release from (G)I-DLE. I actually tried to write a review for DUMDi DUMDi on Monday, but ended up running out of time (as I needed to sleep for work the next day). And here is the review, finally! This is the female group’s first release since their epic Oh My God comeback earlier this year and online concert, I-LAND.

I personally wondered where the group would go after releasing Oh My God. DUMDi DUMDi was not what I had expected. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. First off, it is a very bright and energetic song. And I will compliment the song for that. It is definitely suitable for the Summer season. Secondly, I felt that the song’s instrumental was pretty good. The song does feel quite plain and quite slow during the verses and it doesn’t become exciting and energetic until we reach the chorus. And the EDM we get in the chorus really makes up for the slowness and plainness we got in the verses. The African drums and music influence during select parts added a little something different to the song and it allows the song to standout in the sea of releases we have gotten recently. One of the letdowns of DUMDi DUMDi actually is associated with the instrumental itself. Reflecting over the song retrospectively, it seems like the instrumental is a bit hectic and messy. I wished there was a little bit of more consistency throughout the instrumentation. It sounds good, but it needs to be tied up better. The rapping was probably a skippable section. Sorry Soyeon, but I felt your part was the least memorable in the song. As for the vocals, I am a bit torn about them. Miyeon, in particular, brought an interesting vocal sound to the chorus which makes the song’s chorus memorable. But the more I listen to the song, I can’t help but find the chorus becoming more and more whiny. DUMDi DUMDi has some good and bad aspects. But overall, it is still enjoyable.

The video starts off with a very long ‘context’ preamble, where it specifies that six souls (the members) converge to a motel in the middle of nowhere to spend their ‘most exciting’ day of their lives. Of course, it was fluffed up to be mysterious. But it went by too quickly to actually read while the video was in play mode. The video then begins what seems to be the longest minute and half in KPOP ever. Like most Western films, I felt the entire introductory sequence that introduced each member converging to this motel to be incredibly boring. The Western music did not help. The producers of this video could have directed more time to showing us how the members came together to actually fun. It just feels so random that the members went from being strangers to best friends in a matter of seconds. The rest of the video was essentially of them having a great time, which ties in nicely with the Summer theme. I do have one additional complaint. During some of the solo shots of some of the members, it was quite obvious that the other members were told to sit there and be pretty. I wished they did something in the background rather than sit there and stare at one another or look off into the void.

I can’t but think there are some moves in this choreography that brings me back to their previous releases such as Oh My God and Lion. I am not sure if my eyes are playing trick on me. But other than that observation, the dance was quite fun and energetic, which defintiely suits the song and Summer season.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 6.9/10

[Review] Paradise – Eric Nam

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Let’s kick the week off by catching up with reviews for a previous release! Don’t worry, I will be typing up reviews for the new releases of the day as per usual. But for now, the focus will be on Eric Nam’s return to the Korean music scene with Paradise, the title track off his fourth mini-album, The Other Side. This comeback comes after his first English album, Before We Begin, which was released at the end of the last year. It also comes after Eric Nam kick started his first world tour, which has been postponed due to the ongoing global pandemic.

If I had to think of one word to describe Paradise, I would pick ‘pleasant’. Everything instrumentally feels quite balanced. This dance song isn’t heavy, but it isn’t too soft. Even during the song’s most loaded section (i.e. the zippy post-chorus instrumental hook), everything felt balanced. And that is a really positive thing to say, as this song could have easily underwhelmed if it didn’t develop at the right moments or add to itself as it went on. I also feel that the instrumental had some really strong moments. The first most notable instrumental sequence has to be the that keyboard-like synth that kicked off the song. That alone was quite new and fresh, opening the song up with promising feelings. The second notable instrumental sequence has to be that post-chorus instrumental hook that I mentioned. There was a bit going on texturally and gave the song an extra boost of warranted energy. As for his vocals, they were very clear and crisp. I really liked how low he went during the bridge. To me, it gave the song that something different to keep it interesting and also enabled some contrasting with the rest of the vocals in the song. I have to be honest that the song isn’t mind-blowing or completely unique. But it has enough to be a pleasant track to put on during the Summer.

The music video seems to be quite confusing. But I think I got a story out of it. Mind you, this is my own interpretation of the music video. It seems like Eric Nam is a bit bored in his usual desk 9-to-5 job at the start of the video. So he purchases a Paradise switch, which he uses to visit a different reality or ‘paradise’. In this alternate reality, or ‘paradise’, he meets another version of himself, who hands him a note that says ‘Live Your Life’ in French. He then finds himself in a bedroom that is growing into a jungle, lost in the darkness and within the TV, in an anti-gravity workplace and finally a movie theatre watching a movie about himself. All of this stops once Eric Nam switches off ‘paradise’ or this alternate reality and returning to his usual life. Based on what I am reading, this video seems to be linked to the current lifestyle we are all living in. Life currently is the ‘paradise’ depicted in the music video, where things aren’t as normal as it was months ago. But eventually, we will return to that normal from months ago, as shown by Eric Nam at the very end of the video.

Eric Nam claims to be horrible at dancing. And while he does look a little stiff on stage, he manages to dance his way through this stage in a way that we have never seen him before. The start of the performance begins with a little illusion of Eric being pulled into the ‘paradise’ and ends with him leaving the ‘paradise’. Everything in between was quite good and I liked how that post-chorus instrumental hook came to look on stage.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.3/10

[Review] Gotta Go – Soyou

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The next release that I want to review is Soyou’s solo comeback, Gotta Go. The release came on Tuesday on this week, so I apologise for the delay with the review. However, as I always say ‘better late than never’. Gotta Go features a different sound from the former girl group member and follows the release of her previous solo singles, The Night in 2017 and All Night in 2018. Since 2018, she hasn’t been active much as a solo artist on her own, but rather through collaborations, such as Rain Drop (with Ovan).

I want to break this paragraph into two parts. The first part is based on what I remember of the song from the few times I have played it while it sat on my ‘to review list’. Admittedly, the only thing I could remember from Gotta Go has to the ‘Gara Go‘ that Soyou sings as part of the chorus. This one thing should not be seen as a bad thing, however. It is super catchy and memorable. Unfortuately, the rest of the song was forgettable and I just wished that it lived up to the same standard that the song’s main hook had set. From this point onwards, everything I mention is based on what I note from relistening to Gotta Go. The song contains a fair amount of sass that gives it a interesting colour. The instrumental is quite upbeat in the verses, which add to the that interesting colour. It mainly delves into the tropical genre that is quite common to the Summer season. Though I admit that this direction was a little unexciting, it was still quite decent. I also didn’t enjoy chant bridge. It just felt over the top and the transition to said part from the second chorus was too sudden, so it was pretty overwhelming the first and current listens. I did like the ‘return to the roots of the song’ that followed in the second half of the bridge. Soyou’s vocals were good, with her husky voice being put on full display in this song. Overall, another decent but different style song from Soyou.

The music video for Gotta Go is really good. It starts off with Soyou has part of a fashion show crowd. And while the attention was on the runway, Soyou grabs attention by joining the fashion show without security jumping at her. Interesting. I do like this set up though, as the runway soon becomes her stage for the first chorus. As we dive in the second verse, we are taken behind the scenes of the fashion show. I really like it when she is dancing in the midst of the hectic behind the scenes shots of the fashion show. It just feels very different from most videos and works the choreography shot so naturally into the music video. I also like how she returns to the runway for the final chorus, bringing the video to a close with her walking off the runway. I enjoyed this video and everything looks good. Soyou also has a really sexy figure that she shows off throughout the video, which works with the theme of the video, as well.

The choreography looks good. I liked the use of the piece of fabric. She wraps it around herself and she uses it almost like a curtain during some parts. The chorus also had a memorable move, which was quite nice. I won’t be doing it when I think of the song in the future. But I will definitely imagining the move!

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.3/10

[Review] Now or Never – APRIL

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It is time to catch up on reviews that I should have reviewed during the week but was unable to for whatever reason. First up is APRIL’s Now or Never, which is the group’s first comeback single since LALALILALA earlier this year. The single is featured on their first special Summer single album, Hello Summer. Prior to this comeback, Naeun was swept in a bullying controversary, which has since been proven to be a lie (as confessed by the person who spread the rumours). It was announced that Naeun would not be promoting this single due to shock. But from what I could see on the group’s comeback stages, Naeun is well and continuing her duties as a APRIL member.

APRIL’s take on a Summer single is pretty much what we have heard previously from other female groups. But that impression changes once we get to the chorus. The surprising incorporation of brass during Now or Never‘s chorus was a pleasant one. But I just wished that it was better mixed into the instrumental. To me, the brass seems like it is between two layers of instrumentation. It comes off alright, but it does not feel as explosive or energetic as the many examples of brass I have heard in KPOP previously. For example, I felt the brass in the song’s pre-chorus was nicely mixed into the instrumental. The brass that faded in the pre-chorus was a great teaser and buildup to the chorus (I had no issues with this). Their shouty ‘Now or Never‘ hook was pretty catchy and I really like the brightness that comes from this element. I also really like the ending, which (to me) added some classy style to this bright and upbeat track. Their vocals were good, but I wished the melodies were a lot more memorable. So far, everything I have described seems positive and neutral. Unfortuately, there is one bad element to the song that I felt was unimaginative and unnecessary. I am talking about the rapping. The short rap line at the end of the chorus is not the issue here though. I find that to be a good addition to the song. The issue is regarding the rap sequence that follows the first chorus. It just felt unneeded and cheesy with its trap-based setup. But apart from that part, Now or Never is still a decent track to bring some freshness to Summer.

The video was nailed perfectly. It is pretty hard to stuff up a Summer themed music video as the things we would associate with the season is quite obvious. Water, sun, sand and smiles. This video had it all. The bright lighting and colourfulness of the video is probably my most favourite aspect as everything just pops right out at you. In terms of content, there isn’t much to the video. Though for a Summer video, you can’t really expect for much, other than the members having fun.

Unfortuately, the choreography for this comeback wasn’t that impressive. Aside from the chorus, the rest of the choreography just didn’t seem as interesting. What I enjoyed in the chorus was that subtle bounce that made it look appealing. That was lacking in the rest of the performance.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating – 7.9/10

[Review] INCEPTION – ATEEZ

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Without a doubt, ATEEZ is one of the groups to look out for during 2020. After a successful year of promotions and non-stop releases, the group rounded out their Treasure series earlier this year with Answer. So what was next for the group? Well, they were meant to embark on their Map The Treasure world tour. But that has been postponed due to the ongoing global health pandemic. And since then, we haven’t heard too much from the group, aside from virtual concerts and some special stages. But that all changed yesterday, after they returned with their fifth mini-album Zero: Fever Part 1. On this mini-album were two tracks (INCEPTION and THANXX) that fans got to vote to become the title track. In the end, INCEPTION was announced as the title track for this comeback.

The entire Treasure series has really built the group a powerful and explosive reputation. That is what I remember and think of the most when I hear of ATEEZ. INCEPTION, to me, felt like it stepped back from this reputation. It felt underwhelming and relatively safe. While it did have a powerful and explosive profile, it neither rivaled or exceeded their past releases, which is disappointing. Take that instrumental break we get after the first chorus. While its placement dared to be a bit different, it felt very weak thanks to the use of unexciting hollow drum synths. That section would have been a great catalyst to amp up the rest of the song and increase the intensity by many magnitudes. But it just fizzled and didn’t really help boost the song. And hence the rest of the instrumental stayed relatively linear and didn’t get exciting as it could have been. The song did have some positive aspects, however. These mainly revolved the members. Its quite a vocally-centric song. The melodies have a pleasant ring to them and I find them to be potentially catchy (I need more listens to confirm this). The rappers did a really good job of increasing intensity in the song. And both aspects come together to form a powerful bridge, which was my pick of best moment. But at large, INCEPTION has all the elements to be their next big track, but it unfortunately underwhelms.

I am confident to say that there is a plot line in this music video, given that the fans got to see story line previews prior to selecting the title track. From what I got out of the lyrics and visuals, it looked liked the members are trying to get back into a dream they once had of their lover. But each time they do so, the setting gets more worse, as if foreshadowing how dangerous this lover is. The music video starts off in a brightly lit classroom (kind of an innocent dream). But later in the video, we see the classroom supposedly ‘lit’ on fire. It gotten so bad that Hongjoong entered a dream of nothing (and from the ending, it looks like he is stuck in that dream). I wonder how the next music video will link up. Everything looked quite good, though I must question whether Seonghwa’s abs reveal was necessary for this particular music video.

Performance-wise, INCEPTION delivered, as well. You can tell that they were extra powerful with their performance given the energy and effort you could see behind each of their moves. I liked how they split into two groups for the second chorus. I also surprisingly enjoyed the dance break they had during the instrumental sequence that I previously described weak. When I listen to the song by itself, it definitely comes off weak. But when you see the moves they put together for that part, it actually helped the sequence come off intense.

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

[Review] Lonely Night – Yoon Do Jun (HIGHLIGHT)

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It has also been a while since we heard from HIGHLIGHT. That is because HIGHLIGHT has reached that stage of their lives where they needed to enlist into the military, a hurdle that all male KPOP idols have to overcome. Yoon Du Jun finished his enlistment earlier in the year and is currently awaiting the return of his fellow members before promoting under the name of HIGHLIGHT once again. But while he is waiting, Yoon Du Jun jumped right back into music promotions with his solo debut! Today, Yoon Du Jun released his first mini-album, Daybreak, which features the title track, Lonely Night.

Given that Yoon Du Jun has been active in the music industry through his works with HIGHLIGHT (or Beast), I wasn’t exactly sure what direction he would take his solo work with. Lonely Night seems to be a R&B dance track and I have concluded that this really suits him. There is that sleek feel to the song which one would commonly associate with R&B. But the rest of the instrumentation indicates something a little heavier and more upbeat, like a song that you would associate with choreography. And the combination of the two that results in Lonely Night creates a classy atmosphere and an engaging energy that draws my fingers and mouse pointer back to the replay button. What I also really enjoy in this song is his vocals. I never really picked up on Yoon Du Jun’s vocals during his group promotions before. But here, it sounds like he has been the main vocalist of his group since forever and that I have completely overlooked him. His vocals have a subtle husky nature to them that I really enjoyed. During the chorus, his harmonies with his own backing vocals was superb. There was also interesting melodies/delivery, such as the opening sequence to the second verse. Overall, Lonely Night was a great debut track and does Yoon Du Jun’s vocals justice.

The song is about the loneliness that he feels after a busy day. The feeling comes during the night, as during the day he has to pretend that he is okay. Throughout the video, we see Yoon Du Jun throughout the night, all alone. The way I see this video is that regardless of what life he lives, he will always be lonely. The first half of the video makes it looks like he is rich and he gives off movie star vibes. It looks like he was just part of a fight, so I am assuming he is an action movie star. But at night, he goes to the bar and drinks alone, which draws our attention to his loneliness. The people around him looks in his direction because I presume they recognise him due to his movie star status. The second part of the music video shows Yoon Du Jun living a humble ordinary life in his apartment. There isn’t people there to highlight his loneliness. Rather the director chose to have everything around him frozen in midair, while Yoon Du Jun moves about normally. That was a clever way of showing his loneliness in a more profound and explicit manner. The rest of the video showed Yoon Du Jun alone in multiple contexts, all complimenting the song’s lyrics.

At this stage, there is no choreography for this comeback. I am not entirely sure whether he will be promoting his solo debut. I do hope he does and if we get a stage version of this performance, I will come back to update the review accordingly. For now, I will keep the ‘overall rating’ focused on the song and video.

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

[Review] MIL (Make It Love) – Song Ji Eun

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It has been a while since we have heard from Secret, one of my favourite female groups in the KPOP industry. The most recent news of Secret (as a group) was the unfortunate news of their disbandment, which occurred in 2018 when Song Ji Eun (and fellow member Jun Hyo Sung) left TS Entertainment. Since the news of her departure and the group’s disbandment, Song Ji Eun has been active as an actress. For the most part, she has been absent from the music scene, with her last release being the 2016 Bobby Doll. However, that all changed yesterday with Song Ji Eun returning as a solo artists yesterday with the title track MIL (Make It Love) and her third mini-album, Dream.

If you travel back in time on this blog, you will notice that I was a super duper big fan of Song Ji Eun’s solo releases. My personal favorites have to be Hope Torture and Don’t Look At Me Like That, while Pretty 25 (which I reviewed as a bad song initially) has grown tremendously on me. But that’s a brief trip down my memory lane. With her most recent release, all I can do is yawn at MIL. MIL lacks all character that she had built up previously. Sure, she may have decided that she needs a new sound, since those previous releases are quite dated (going back in 2013). But she could have picked genres that are a lot more exciting and different, as her previous releases have been just that. Instead, she opts for an overused tropical synth based instrumental. It is something that feels very mid to late last decade. On a slightly more positive note, MIL has nice and easy to follow melodies. And the hooks were catchy. However, I do feel that the instrumental weighs these more positive comments down. The most positive comment I can give regarding this song (that is untouched by the instrumental) is that I like her voice. Personally, I miss her voice and MIL gives a nice dosage of her voice.

The lack of choreography in the music video suggests to me that Song Ji Eun isn’t promoting this song. That kind of stuck out at me, as I was hoping to see more of her in the coming weeks (so I can admire her beauty and continually remind myself of the good old days of teenage me fanboying over her). Instead, MIL features a bunch of cute shots of her singing and having a bit of fun. But this music video is a good opportunity to refamiliarise ourselves with the solo artist and her good looks (she literally doesn’t look like she has aged), it felt dry to watch. I wanted more people to be in the video to make the fun look more convincing. I wanted a memorable atmosphere to be created and help compensate the lacking points of the song. For example, a poolside party concept would be suitable. It works with what she already has planned here and it creates a more enjoyable and fun atmosphere. And a poolside party would compliment the tropical synths we had heard in the song. Don’t misunderstand, there isn’t really any issue with a music video of just her. I am just extending the idea of the video to make it go one step further.

Song – 5/10
Music Video – 6/10
Overall Rating – 5.4/10

[Review] RUN – GreatGuys

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Earlier this month, GreatGuys made their comeback with Run, which is the title track of the group’s third mini-album, We’re Not Alone_Chapter2: You&Me. I am not familiar with GreatGuys at all. The only song which I have reviewed from the group was their 2019 release, Be On You, which was the title track off Chapter1 of this We’re Not Alone series. Based on a quick Google search, the group is made up of nine members (Jaei, Uiyeon, Horyeong, Daun, Baekgyeol, Donghwi, Hwalchan, Haneul, and Dongin). They are under DNA Entertainment and have been around since 2017. Chapter2 also features the remake track In Summer, which also serves as a title track for this release. I haven’t decided whether to review it yet, but if I find time, I will try to. In the meanwhile, here is my RUN review.

Despite being an unknown group to me, RUN was an enjoyable track. I prefer it without the horse neighs at the start and throughout the song. But I will give the producer some points for using that unorthodox way of drawing/keeping the attention of listeners into the song. What I really like about the song is its intensity and its fast-pace. The trance-like instrumental just continues to come at you while the members are singing or rapping. It packs a punch when it matters most, such as when the members are singing and during the very important chorus. But it also knows when to hold back on the punches, such as the stripped back pre-choruses. The instrumental also has this thrilling side to it. Replay it a few times and you will probably hear what I mean. It felt like the music you will get in a thriller or action movie when the character is running away from death or the antagonists. This is probably intentional, given that the song is titled RUN. Vocally, the group had some really good moments. But overall, I thought it was decent, at best. I just wanted a little more to the song in the vocal/rapping department so it can go that additional mile and pull in some more listeners. Overall, it is a really cool track that is exhilarating. It is safe to say that RUN has put the group on my radar.

For a music video from a smaller company and an obvious low budget, this one was pretty good. Their company didn’t opt to use any of those overused music video sets. The water fountain background that they shot majority of their choreography shots and some solo shots actually looked very unique. I am also glad that they didn’t have outfits that intentionally expose their bodies like in their previous comeback. Though, some abs were shown towards the end of the video. Overall, everything looked quite good in the video. However, I am going to picky with one particular element. The post production addition of flames during the second verse rap sequence looked really cheap and unnecessary. As far as I could remember, that was the only appearance of it throughout the entire music video. Glad it didn’t make its way to anywhere else in the video, as that would really lower the quality (which should be avoided given that the video already does have a ‘low budget’ feel).

It was an okay performance, overall. I felt that the moves could have been punchier, refined and cleaner. This would have matched the intensity of the song quite well, but also give off the impression of being in sync. I am quite sure we all know the reasons for the latter. It just looks better.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating – 7.6/10

[Review] HOLO – Lee Hi

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Like all YG artists, past or present, Lee Hi was heavily under-promoted during her time under the widely known company. It made complete sense for Lee Hi to move to a different company once her contract with her former company was up for resigning. The company she ended up moving to was AOMG (the home of some of the biggest Korean hip-hop and R&B artists). This was only announced yesterday despite it being heavily rumored over the last few months. And the day after the announcement (i.e. today), Lee Hi makes her grand comeback with her first AOMG single, HOLO. Hopefully it is the start of countless others from the popular soloist.

Lee Hi’s HOLO goes down the ballad route. It is a breathtaking song that left me speechless when I listened to it for the first time earlier today. And that speechlessness remains each time I have listened to the song since that initial listen. When I am not speechless, I am admiring all the fine points of HOLO. The song starts off with a nice piano melody. It is simple, yet it is prominent enough to really set the momentum from the first second. Lee Hi’s vocals come into play alongside this piano melody. You get a sense of emotion during the verses, but it is subtle. And note that it isn’t really a saddening emotion. Instead, I find a soothing and comforting emotion coming from her voice. She doesn’t dive right into it and overwhelm us, though. She restrains herself and doesn’t let her powerful vocals off until we reach the chorus, where she amps up her vocals alongside the song’s instrumentation. And from that point onward, her vocals just keep on building. This inclining climb is something that I don’t ever remember Lee Hi doing before and it is because of this that I find the song refreshing. The song had stunning melody and it pretty much had me swaying along to the music the entire time. I really like how the backing vocals help lift the song and added a golden tone/definition to her vocals. Overall, HOLO is one beautiful song that you cannot afford to miss.

It seems like Lee Hi takes the role of a guardian angel in this video, which makes sense since her vocals are comforting and soothing. It seems the young girl in the music video is depressed and alone. When she tries to take her life, Lee Hi is seen swimming to her to get her out of the water. There are a number of scenes that depict Lee Hi with wings, which further proves this. The ending is a little more cryptic. At the start of the video, we see Lee Hi leaning over a person in a black and white dress. At the end of the video, we see Lee Hi standing in the exact same dress. I think the ending suggests that Lee Hi was the one being saved. We don’t see the figure at the start to identify the figure as the young girl, despite seeing the young girl clearly throughout the rest of the video. Why keep her identity hidden? It only makes sense if the young girl was Lee Hi when she was younger. The song is about ‘convey[ing] a message of consolation to herself for overcoming a period of solitude and to those who are living in a confined environment’ (Taken from Soompi). So this theory of the young girl and Lee Hi being one person makes total sense.

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

[Review] AWay – Jeong Eunji (APINK)

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It has been a while since we have heard from Jeong Eunji as a solo artist. Her last solo release was titled Be There and this came out in 2018. However, we have seen her more recently through APINK’s comebacks, such as %% in 2019 and Dumhdurum a few months ago. A few days ago, Jeong Eunji made her comeback with her fourth mini-album, Simple and the title track, AWay.

Jeong Eunji’s solo releases have shown us her ability to be versatile in the ballad realm. If I remember correctly, her solo debut track and first solo comeback (Hopefully Sky and The Spring) were folksy ballads. Her most recent solo release was more acoustic based. And now, she takes on a momentum-heavy pop sound approach with AWay. One may argue that this isn’t a ballad and I understand what you mean. But given the lack of choreography and how it is vocally-centric, I would say it is coming from a ballad root. It just has a different instrumental style to the more typical ballad. As mentioned earlier, there is some heft to the song that adds impactful energy and an epic vibe to the song. It also feels refreshing and suitable for the Summer season. It carries her vocals and forces her vocals to soar (which she handles really well). This, in turn, adds even more momentum to the song. The chorus had good hooks that helped made the song somewhat memorable. I felt that the hooks had to compete with the instrumental to be the standout memorable element of the song. In the end, I felt that the instrumental, due to its nature, nudged ahead of the other. Overall, all the elements in AWay works neatly with one another, forming another great song to go under Jeong Eunji’s name.

It is a pity that this comeback isn’t being promoted. This song really needs to be out there on the music shows for it to gain attention. I just don’t want this to be another forgotten song. But I guess we just have to settle for a music video. The song is about wanting to escape the feeling of being lost. Majority of the music video was essentially seeing Eunji being stuck in this lost feeling. Despite her life changing around her (i.e. the change from the green fields to the yellow sand), that lost feeling remains. We don’t see her resolving this predicament that she in by the time the video wraps up. She sings about charging back up to help escape that feeling, which I assume she does through the video’s happier moments. Apart for that lack of explicit resolution, it is a fine video that compliments the song well.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.6/10

[Review] What You Waiting For? – Jeon Somi

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Jeon Somi was one of the most anticipated solo debuts of 2019, given her status as the number 1 trainee during the first season of Produce 101 and her promotions as part of I.O.I. And I felt that she exceeded my expectations with her solo debut single, Birthday. But she just disappeared after that and she did not release anymore songs in 2019. In fact, it has taken her over a year to return with What You Waiting For?, her comeback single released just today. Since her solo debut, Jeon Somi has been busy with variety shows and her own reality series, which I believe captured the preparation for this comeback (which ended up being delayed due to the ongoing health pandemic).

Described as a R&B dance track, What You Waiting For? is a definitely step up from Birthday. The first reason for this ‘step up’ is also the only flaw to the song. The melodic wooden xylophone-like synth that the song features during the verses really stood out to me due to its prominence. I liked its freshness and vibrancy in the first verse. While I did enjoy it in the first verse, it didn’t sit right with me in the second verse. I know they tried to keep the momentum going by having part of the chorus continue in the second verse. But the combination of said momentum from chorus and the wooden xylophone-like synth just didn’t blend with with one another and this unharmonious sequence just stuck out too much. But apart from that detail, everything else in this song was really good. I liked how they switched up the instruments for the final part of the song, opting for a metal xylophone-like synth and cow bells. It had that familiar melody of the start, but also an added level of freshness that made the song even more exciting. Somi’s vocals were fabulous. Autotune was used but it was balanced and not over the top. I also liked how the chorus brought a club-like atmosphere to the song. Definitely another memorable aspect the song.

I am not sure if I follow the story line of the video. The song is about waiting for love. So basing everything off this, Somi is waiting for her prince charming to come and save her from being trapped in that room. But instead of her prince charming, alter egos of Somi break her out. These include Black Somi, Hotel Somi, Boat Somi, Singer Somi and Dress Somi. I just love that credit sequence. My favourite part is when Singer Somi (I think) takes the industrial digger to the wall of her apartment. That was pretty epic.

[Updated] I am not exactly sure that I like this performance. The moves were plain and just didn’t fit in with the song. Maybe this is why they decided to omit it from the music video? It is hard to put my thoughts into words to explain myself. I do have to emphasise that I am no choreographer, so I can only speak about how the performance looks visually. It just looked like the focus was put on Somi looking good and not really on the music.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 5/10 [Updated]
Overall Rating – 8.2/10 [Updated]