Probably if you are hardcore followers of BTS, you probably would know that BTS made two comebacks just in the last month. What??? Am I crazy??? No. The truth if BTS finished their promotions for I Need U, which was released back in April. They recently announced that they would be following up with Dope (Sick), which was released as a part of the new album. However, BTS also made a comeback in Japan with For You. So essentially I am reviewing a Japanese and Korean song. And both songs show two different sides of the group. BTS is getting really popular, scoring a whole week full of music show wins and topping album charts with their new songs.
Both songs to me were equally amazing. As I said above, both songs managed to bring out two sides. Dope brings out the side that we know BTS best for. This song is very upbeat and sounds very grand. I don’t know how to describe it exactly, but the song is a very strong. Especially the introduction to the song made it seemed like a song that a group would debut with. The move from rapping into vocals and back was pretty good for this song. I just don’t see anything to complain with in this song. Honestly, I felt like Jin and V should have gotten more lines. And here I go again with this line distribution topic again. I don’t know. I just like Jin’s voice. Jin has a nice voice. -fan boys-
However for For You, the line distribution for this song was more equal. And this where my proof to why Jin should get more lines. He carries the chorus for end of the song and manages to chuck in some ad-libs in it as well. And he pulls it off very well. This song brings out more of a softer and mellow-er side of the group, something that is not seen whatsoever in the fun and happy Dope track. You can feel the emotion quite well in this song as well. Not only that, but the piano instrumental was pretty nice in this video. Jimin’s part in this song was pretty nice as well, even though he kind of forgotten in this song. For the instrumental, I can imagine some standing there hitting the same note repetitively for some reason.
Both music videos were okay. I preferred the Japanese music video more. If there is one thing I hated about the Dope music video was that the focus on the face made it stand out more and kind of left everything else out. I don’t know, it reminded me of cartoons a lot, but when I look elsewhere, it isn’t and I guess that disappointed me. But I totally love the concept and how it matches the lyrics. And the one shot video thing, which has died down a bit in the industry, made the video quite pleasant to watch. As For You, the acting was pretty good, but not award winning. I have a feeling like For You occurred during the weekdays, but when it came to the weekend, Dope was where the party was at.
Dope’s dance was amazing. I have no complaints whatsoever with both dances, but Dope dance has more of the style I like. Both dances managed to fit the beat and kept up to the speed of their respective songs. I did like For You’s “rewind ending”. That looked so awesome. Dope had that in-sync feeling that I assoictae with Infinite and I guess BTS is another group wanting to challenge the “in-sync” title.
Don’t make me choose between the two. Too hard for me. Both songs were equally amazing and both totally rocked in terms of everything else.
Moving along with more reviews now. I just had a whole list of them, but because I have been skipping so many scheduled days, I just had to dump them all. Just for your information, BTS’s new song was not a part of that list. But there were so many songs and comebacks that I thought that I need to review, but sadly can’t. Don’t know why I am going on about this now. BTS. Yes, The group that we know of is finally back with a brand new song. Their comeback, known for their songs and amazing choreography, has wowed the viewers once again and have finally been nominated and claiming the number 1 spot on the weekly music shows. Congratulations!
Also congrats on such an amazing song. I don’t think that there is anything bad about this song. I genuinely enjoyed the song from start to end without being distracted by odd vocals or irrelvant parts of the song that could have been left out. The one thing that I did notice about this song was that it was much different compared to their past songs. Their past songs were more focused on the beat and the dance. This is a song that displays their rapping and vocals to an emotional standard. It mirrors a dance style ballad in a way and that is basically why I like this song. It is something that is different but at the same time, works really well if their image. As I said their vocals and rapping were focused more on the emotional side this time around. BTS’s rappers tend to be hardcore and fast paced, but with this song, the rapping was slowed and made to match the slow and dark nature of the song. The chorus and verses were good and the instrumental gave the song that more electronic feel, and ties the song together quite nicely.
The music video was released as two versions. The “normal” version which was rated as 15+ and the 19+ version. I prefer the 19+ version. And no, there is no sex (though I think some fans wouldn’t have minded). It was just the way the boy’s characters in the music video dealt with heartbreak was pretty extreme and pretty sure no on would want youngsters to “copy” or mimic them. There is more of a plot line and it makes senses rather than the heavily edited 15+ version which left chunks out. I have to say, that scene with Taeyung killing the dude was quite full on and graphic. Not too graphic, but nothing that I am sure Korea would want people to see at dinner time. Their acting in this music video was very captivating. It got me asking questions and I actually see a whole future for the band in acting. The one thing did tick me off, but Suga (Did I get the right member? Or is it J-Hope? Apologises if I got it wrong) drowsed the whole mattress in gasoline. So why was everything around the mattress burning and not the mattress? Kind of got me there. But the 19+ version was really nice to watch. Not in that way, but it was very intriguing.
Did I say the song was a ballad like song? That doesn’t mean there was a dance. It was definitely toned down but I thought the dance was still pretty nice. It still had the BTS feel to it and matched the vocals, rapping and beat of the song. Yeah, not going to lie, but the body waves were really good. Caught me by surprised, but it is the one part of the dance that I remember.
BTS should keep this style. It is a fresh look on the boy groups that many expect abs and full on crazy dances that could leave them with broken bones and twisted ankles. Though I still love the dance centred BTS that we all know of. 10/10
Below are the two versions! Which did you like more? (Just a retrial of the poll system. Also haven’t done a poll in a long time!!!)
Another song from last year. BTS is a rising boy group in South Korea as we all know very well. Hormone War was a song off their first album. It was promoted as a follow up song, after promoting Danger. It was released on the 20th of August. However, they did not start follow up promotions with this song until October. Once again, I could not give up an opportunity to not review this song. I tried hard to, but BTS’s promotions for this song fell straight into my hiatus period last year. Better late than never, I guess.
I am going to be honest. I did not like this song at first. It was the very song that I avoided. But once they started to promote it on the live shows, it grew on me. The song is pretty good. It is hella catchy (as I have learnt). Yes, their English can be worked on a little. “I’ll be your panic, I’ll be your fan. And I’ll be a man of you you you you babe“. Yeah, I won’t take classes on how to pick girls up, especially, how they are basically singing about hormones (and puberty). Anyway, as I said the song was pretty catchy. The rock instrumental was amazing and add that extra man power to the song. Though some members I am not a fan of, however overall the vocals and rapping were at a really good level. Best part of the song would have to be the bridge. Overall, a great song that grew on me.
I like the fun concept but the music video looked rather cheap. I guess that since it is a follow-up there really was not that much put into it. This music video could have been so much better with colour. Like loads of colour. It is a fun concept, and the grey-scale just made it seemed dull and boring. The member’s expression were quite out there and at some parts seemed quite “suggestive”. I think the girl was meant to be some mysterious character. Mainly because we don’t see her face that clearly. But beside that, I don’t have much to say about the video.
As for the dance it was pretty cool. Kind of toned down from their past dances, but still have that Bangtan feel to it. It matched the cool instrumental and also the nature of the song.
Overall, an amazing follow up promotion. BTS has been proven to be quite popular last year. Let’s hope that they can do things this year that will skyrocket their popularity even further. 8/10
Happy Valetine’s Day. I will be alone in my room (per usual).
Through this new segment (Finally got to use that one word), we will be looking back at the month that opened the year of 2015. I get to rank my top 10 songs. But we also get to look back at other events that happened in the Korean music industry. This way, I can talk about big events in the KPOP industry and rely my thoughts to you all.
Disbandment
Sadly, January saw many bands (more than usual, that is) announce their disbandment from the industry. This technically means that they are no longer a group (for whatever reason) and would no longer promote together. The list is extreme and includes: Jewelry, Wonder Boyz, GLAM and Airplane. Wonder Boyz and Airplane are probably considered as “rookies” still. Though they have popular songs, both bands announced their disbandment in January. GLAM, a 4 member girl group under Big Hit Entertainment, who clearly had so much potential, was revealed through their agency to have disbanded. Member Dahee has been sentenced to jail recently for her involvement in the Lee Byung Hun blackmail case. Some speculate that this was the reason why the band broke up. Finally, the longest running KPOP girl group has called it quits after 14 years on stage. The girls, including past members had a photo shoot as their last schedule as a band. Jewelry was well known for their hit, One More Time.
EXO-L’s in the wrong spotlight
EXO-L (EXO‘s fanclub) was accused of swearing at Girl’s Day Sojin at the Gaon Chart Awards for dating rumours with EXO member D.O. On top of that, EXO L was further accused for using other concerts and events as ways to check their ticket buying accounts were still working. Naturally, Korean neitzens “had a go” at the fanclub for their mean and rude gestures in both instances. EXO-L’s hit back by claiming not all of them were involved. Though I agree with the EXO L’s who are saying that not all of them did it, those fans who were involved are doing a pretty good job at ruining the fanclub’s and the band’s image.
Suing war continues…
For once, I have to agree with SM. Kris and Luhan who both asked for their contracts to be nullified last year, have been used by SM for illegally working in China with lawsuits in Korea. I personally don’t have a problem with them working. But I do have a problem with how quick they launched the lawsuit and how quick they started working in China. If your claiming to be overworked, I understand why you would ask for your contract to be nullified. Just why would you go to another country almost straight away and work there?
EXID’s jump in fame
EXID has been enjoying their newly found fame after a fancam of Hani dancing to the song went viral. This launched the girls to the top of the charts and becoming on the most successful bands for the year so far. Up and Down have still seen no end, as it still remains steady on the charts. Though, it is funny how they reached their new fame, I just want to congratulate the girls on their wins. Up and Down was amazing, and I hope EXID’s next song is equally as popular.
Award Ceremonies Everywhere…
January is the month for award ceremonies. The first was the Golden Disk Awards, in Beijing, which was planned so horribly that members of GOT7, BTS and the whole of Beast could not perform on stage due to the “wrong visa being given out”. Seoul Music Awards and Gaon Music Awards followed after in Korea. When we combine the three awards ceremonies, they gave out theawards to the right people. Mamamoo got their rookie of the award year at the Gaon Music Awards, while other bands such as Girl’s Day, APINK, Beast, AOA, VIXX and etc. got the awards they deserved at the other award ceremonies.
Welcome to the end of the 2014 charts. This chart has every single song that was released from the 1st of January 2014 to the 1st of December. I left the nitty gritty stuff out (aka. the numbers I used for the ranking) and made sure that everything was fair. So that means for songs that were released towards the end of the year would have received some extra increment to make sure that they were levelled out with the songs released in January. Other numbers used included whether songs were on the YouTube Playlist of The Month and each song was re-reviewed in categories of “song, music video and dance”. Below are just some interesting facts that you may enjoy in regards to this chart.
The very first song released to be included on the charts are Rain’s 30 Sexy and La Song. The last song released before the cut off date was Infinite F’s Heartbeat.
T-Ara’s Sugar Free (2) was the only song throughout the whole chart to score the maximum of 40 for the song re-review.
VIXX is the first boy group to appear in the charts at 14th place with Eternity.
As touched on above, this year the charts are dominated by the girl groups, with 13 boy groups versus 37 girl groups (repeated groups not excluded).
Heavily promoted songs tend to rank higher than songs that were released as a single and not promoted.
The following artists achieved the next few positions after 50th place: SPEED, Crayon Pop, Z:EA, Zhou Mi (Super Junior), BTOB, Infinite, UKISS, AOA and Gain (Brown Eyed Girls)
1
Something
Girl’s Day
2
Sugar Free
T-Ara
3
Up & Down
EXID
4
Monday Blues
Sunny Hill
5
Piano Man
Mamamoo
6
Darling
Girl’s Day
7
I’m In Love
Secret
8
Mr. Chu
A Pink
9
Yasisi
NS Yoon G
10
Red Light
F(x)
11
One More
Fiestar
12
Good Night Kiss
Hyosung (Secret)
13
Ain’t Nobody
HA:TFELT (Yenny – Wonder Girls)
14
Eternity
VIXX
15
You Don’t Love Me
Spica
16
So Wonderful
Ladies Code
17
This Is Love
Super Junior
18
Luv
APINK
19
Like A Cat
AOA
20
B.B.B (Big Baby Baby)
Dal Shabet
21
Good Luck
Beast
22
Cha Cha
Rainbow BLAXX
23
Full Moon
Sunmi ft. Lena
24
Error
VIXX
25
Catallena
Orange Caramel
26
My Copy Cat
Orange Caramel
27
Don’t Look At Me Like That
Song Ji Eun (Secret)
28
Back
Infinite
29
8Dayz
Megan Lee
30
What About You?
Laboum
31
Dont Touch Me
Ailee
32
I Swear
Sistar
33
Singing Got Better
Ailee
34
1004 (Angel)
B.A.P
35
Danger
BTS
36
12:30
Beast
37
Mr. Ambigious
Mamamoo
38
Lonely
B1A4
39
Beep Beep
BTOB
40
Mamma Mia
Kara
41
I Need You
Bestie
42
Solo Day
B1A4
43
Whatcha Doing Today?
4Minute
44
Pretty Age 25
Song Ji Eun (Secret)
45
1 Minute 1 Second
Jiyeon (T-Ara)
46
Peppermint Chocolate
Mamamoo ft. K.Will & Wheesung
47
FxxK U
Gain (Brown Eyed Girls)
48
Touch My Body
Sistar
49
Evanesce
Super Junior
50
Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms
HIGH4 ft. IU
THAT’S IT!!! 2014 IS OVER AND 2015 IS APPROACHING. WISHING YOU ALL (IN YOUR RESPECTIVE TIME ZONES) A HAPPY NEW YEAR. I only have 6 hours to go and I am excited. Party hard (but not too hard) and I will see you next year!! aka. in the next few days ^^
Code: RED FONT – WINNERS BLUE FONT – HONOURABLE MENTION
BEST ROOKIE GROUP
WINNER
HONOURABLE MENTION
2014, like the past few years, have seen so many new KPOP bands debut. So many new bands, so much that I have a really difficult job to select certain artists and also keep up with the old styles. 2014 saw the big 3 companies debut their own groups, but I have to be honest, the stand outs came mostly from the smaller companies. One group in particular stood out from the rest: Mamamoo. Harmony and totally different style from what we are used to. Honourable mentions go to GOT7.
BEST INSTRUMENTAL
WINNER
HONOURABLE MENTION
The one song that is overlooked by everyone on the album is the instrumental. I freaking love instrumentals, and this year, KPOP decided to tease me with so many new instrumentals. That being said, this year the winner of Best Instrumental is Ain’t Nobody by Ye-Eun (Ha:tFelt). Honourable mentions go to Sugar Free by T-Ara.
BEST VOCALS
WINNER
KPOP = Singing. There for it is only right for this year to have an award for Best Vocals, right? Well, the winner goes to Ha:tfelt – Ye Eun (Wonder Girls). I was so amazed by here singing this year that it blew my mind, particularly her title track Ain’t Nobody. Honourable mentions go to IU (yes, I think most of us agree).
BEST RAPPER
WINNER
HONOURABLE MENTION
Many KPOP songs have many rapping parts. At the same time, rappers need some recognition. Though, I feel my choice this year could be a little odd, only one person (in my opinion) did a really amazing job. Junhyung from Beast did a wonderful job in Good Luck, 12:30 and the many songs he featured in. Zico from Block B takes Honourable Mentions.
BEST SUBUNIT
WINNER
HONOURABLE MENTION
Since 2013, many subunits have been on trend. Even though subunits have been losing trend, many bands this year debuted their own subunits. However, I think we should move away from the new subunits. Cause this year an old subunit wins. Orange Caramel steals Best Subunit with release of three different songs. Honourable mentions goes to Rainbow Blaxx.
BEST COLLABORATION
WINNER
HONOURABLE MENTION
The new trend for 2014. Collaborations between artists have been on the rise. This year though, if you were a KPOP fan for a while, you would know already who the winner is. Soyu & JungGiGo’s Some steals the show, topping the end of year charts conducted in South Korea and winning Best Song as well on the SBS Music Festival. Well of course they would win, considering that they SLAYED the charts. Honourable Mentions go to Sane and Raina’s collaboration, Midsummer Night’s Sweetness.
RISING STAR OF THE YEAR
WINNER
WINNER
This year there has been so many stars that have started to become more popular. The nominees tend to be bands that have debuted in the previous year, and with help of comebacks, started to become well known in the industry. I think for the first time ever, I am going to be honest and put forward two winners to this category. First of all, BTS say a boost in popularity and have become a band that I look forward to listening to. Second of all AOA saw new popularity with release of Miniskirt, Short Air and Like A Cat. Both bands, obviously, rose a lot this year and I found it hard to differentiate them.
BEST JAPANESE SONG
WINNER
HONOURABLE MENTION
If you don’t know (I won’t be surprised) I also review some Japanese song. 2015 will be the year where I start to review more Japanese songs for you all. However, 2014 also had a lot of catchy and cool Japanese songs. The winner for this year is Korean boy band MYNAME’s F.F.Y. Such a catchy song. As for honourable mentions, it goes to AAA’s Showtime.
BEST DANCE
WINNER
HONOURABLE MENTION
KPOP is also known for its dancing. 2014 saw some interesting dances, catchy dances, and some dances that have no words to describe it. And that can be a good thing or a bad thing. This year, T-ara took the position as best dance. It was probably the most addictive dance and it was pretty easy as well. It matched the song and most importantly, I loved it. Honourable mentions to Infinite’s Back.
BEST ALBUM
WINNER
HONOURABLE MENTION
A brand new category for 2014. Every award show or some kind of award giving platform has the “best album” award. And yes, this year, there are so many freaking great albums (like any other year). In my opinion, the best album of the year goes to F(x)’s Red Light. All, if not most, of the songs were amazing to listen to and were so great. Every freaking song was different, and though that maybe risky, F(x) pulled it off as a flowing album. Honourable Mentions goes to AKMU’s Play.
BEST MALE SOLOIST
WINNER
HONOURABLE MENTION
Solos don’t tend to be the trend this year. Some bands saw new members branch into a solo career, however it seems like more and more KPOP idols (whether male or female) are branching out to acting or variety shows. However, the winner to this category is a person who started offically his own solo career with a lot of experience in the music industry. Crush is the winner. Damn, this dude’s songs are so good. You should check them out. Honourable mentions: JungGiGo.
BEST FEMALE SOLOIST
WINNER
HONOURABLE MENTION
It seems like more and more females are branching out onto the stage. We saw many KPOP divas making their solo debuts on the stage with new and fresh songs from bands like T-Ara or Secret. We already have divas who have accomplished a start to their solo career and saw comebacks of very big names. This year, one solo stood out and that is Secret’s Song Ji Eun. Releasing her first solo mini album, she did quite well considering the competition she was going through. Honourable Mentions goes to Sunmi.
BEST FEMALE GROUP
WINNER
HONOURABLE MENTION
Sexy concept by girl groups have been on the rise. If you know me well, then you probably already know my pick. However, so many girls groups made their comeback this year. Some picked up a lot of popularity and saw massive wins for the first time. Girl’s Day hitted big with their amazing single Something. They later went on to release Darling and I Miss You. Being one of the biggest girl groups of the year, they were sure to pick some prize up. APINK steals honourable mentions this year with their massive single Mr Chu and their latest hit Luv, which blew up and swept all the December trophies for 2014.
BEST MALE GROUP
WINNER
HONOURABLE MENTION
There have always been a large influx of boy groups and this year it is no different. I was so impressed I was just going to choose all 10 nominees as winners. However, there can only be one winner (well, technically), so I guess I have to choose one. I am going to put down VIXX. They released Eternity and Error this year and both songs were hits for the band. Not only that, they displayed great dance moves and skills. Beast takes out honourable mentions with Good Luck and 12:30, both being very great songs that also delivered like what VIXX had to show. (Just VIXX nudged a head a little bit).
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
WINNER
HONOURABLE MENTION
This year, most of my Best Music Video Nominees saw the depressing side of KPOP. 8 music videos had this sad or dark storyline to tell. 2 music videos were made in a soft hearted and were really cheerful. G.o.D’s music video for The Story Of Our Lives, told the amazing bond between family and that the outside will never be able to define the inside. Megan Lee features in the song and both band and soloist did an amazing job singing and pouring out their emotions. By the way, SM made a video outside of the box. F(x)’s Red Light, takes honourable mention.
BEST SONG
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
25 songs were nominated for Best Song for 2014. All were to an excellent standard. There were clear stands out. Something by Girl’s Day, EXID’s Up and Down and Beast’s Good Luck are this year’s honourable mentions. However, which song took Best Song category for 2014? Check the song and music video down below.
KPOPREVIEWED 