Tag: EXO

Sing For You – EXO

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EXO has returned to the stage with a special Winter album, with the title track Sing For You. This time around they featured all the members, plus made their comeback with a ballad, which is quite different. Their last promoted ballad was Miracles in December, sung by D.O, Baekhyun, Chen and Luhan. Anyway, on to this ballad. The vocals just blow me away in this song. I know EXO is highly capable of singing ballads as there are amazing vocalists. But even the rappers (Chanyeol, Sehun, Kai) all singing a part of the song. And everyone sounds as if they were blessed with amazing vocals from the very start of time. This ballad is quite slow, and while I am not a big fan of those extremely slow ballads, this one is pretty good. It is just a free flowing song that really gets to you. The guitar instrumental that played throughout the song was blissful. There is one thing that would take the ballad to a whole new level and that is harmony. I feel like if the boys harmonise a little more the song would become 100% perfect. There is a little harmonising going on, but it definitely not enough and feels quite limited.

And let’s go onto a brand new corner of some reviews: The Question. For this review, the question is: What in the freaking effing world is a massive whale doing in space? While it probably does symbolise something that many people just don’t get (including me), it just seems a little too far fetched. But this is one beautiful music video. We see all the members hang out, but in reality they are just memories of some members, and some are just lonely. Sehun in space, Kai reflecting in space while he could be out drinking with the other members, Suho and Chanyeol fighting, D.O driving the car by himself. Some people say this is a way to represent the whole members leaving the band news, and I am going to agree with some band, I don’t think that is it. Yeah, some people do manage to point out a lot of evidence from the video, but I feel like the video is much more than former members, but the friends, family and lovers that we all truly miss. Or maybe I am missing the whole point, but I feel like the acting in this was really good. Kai’s dancing was solid and very interpretive. Honestly, beautiful video. But do share what your thoughts on the video are? Or any “confirmed” story lines. But what I have put is my interpretation. Oh and the video matches the song, but I think you all got that from the above.

10/10. Yeah, something could have been added to the song to make it much better, but what we have here is pretty much perfection.

 

Lightsaber – EXO

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Lightsaber is a collaboration with  between EXO and Star Wars. And for those who don’t know, a new Star Wars film will be released soon. I personally am not a fan of the franchise, so I don’t really feel interested. At first when I saw this information, I shoved Lightsaber to the side and forgot about it. BUT after listening to it once, I am now replaying this song constantly. The line distribution in this song does trouble me to an extent. I understand the point of a main vocalist and lead and just a normal vocalist, but honestly, after 3 members leaving, I am sure those who remain who usually have the odd line can be bumped up with a little more. Mainly talking about Xiumin in this song. Poor fellow has a great voice and we can never hear it. But honestly, beside that, I think this is an amazing song. The vocals are on point and I enjoyed the fluctuating speeds in the song. Some parts are fast, others are slow. The biggest highlight in this song would have to be: Chanyeol’s rap. It is extremely husky and forcibly masculine. I got into the song through his rap and it is one of the most perfect rap sequences I have heard so far this year (hmmm…). I enjoyed the dubstep drops and the chorus is quite simple, but at the same time giving that electronic feel to the song that the Star Wars obviously has.

As for the music video, I was intrigued when I first saw that the some of the members (mainly Kai, Sehun and Baekhyun) actually featured in it. I was expecting like scenes from the movie, but instead we got a brand new music video. The video has this mysterious feel to it. We just see the said members be Jedi and get into battle. That air of mysteriousness adds a nice touch to the video. I would have liked a little more, but I think what we have so far is really well done and amazing. The dark lighting and camera-work gives that extra edginess to the video.

Overall, great song and music video. It sucks that it is only a collaboration and we’re not going to see much more of the single anymore. 9/10

Love Me Right – EXO

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After promotions with Call Me Baby, EXO has returned with their newest song, Love Me Right. The song, released as the repackaged version of their Call Me Baby album has (without any doubt) been a successful release, however their promotions were only for a short period of time, due to concerts overseas (which is quite disappointing). Now EXO has been stabbed once again, with Tao rumoured to have left the group. Essentially he did one stage with the boys and got injured once again. Then the saga began, again. And for this, the only Chinese member Lay is getting a lot of hate. How do I know? Fan chants and cheers for all the members except Lay at their stages while promoting Love Me Right. I just want to put out there, even as not a Lay or EXO fan, the EXO-L’s hating on Lay are being selfish and childish. That is just my take on it though.

I did not want to start the review with that. But I can say that the rest of the review is going to be amazing. Well, let’s hope so. BUT THIS SONG HAS TO BE ONE OF THE BEST SONGS OF THE YEAR. I am giving this my seal of approval. From the very moment I first heard this song, until the end of days, this song will forever remain in my head. This song, from the vocals, rapping, instrumental, rhythm, lyrics just blows my mind. The retro funky sound that the song has just amazes me. I have been playing this song non stop since it has came out and I think out of all the songs that EXO has released, this is their best one to day. Finally a song that gives the rap a place to fit in, the vocals a place to thrive and omg. Why was this not an actual song that was promoted for a long time????

The music video was pretty cool. Minus the America football gear. Everything was fine since the song was there, but the should pads on these guys really do not fit. God, it makes them so small. The music video is a mash-up on like so many different solo shots, it confuses me and string them together and they really don’t mean anything. Actually, come to the think of it, most of EXO’s music video don’t even have a plot line. It is just dance. So I guess the solo shots have an artistic nature to them? Hmm… That would make more sense then. Cause even the scenes don’t match up with the lyrics.

The dance for this is awesome. I am full of praise. Though I am going to be honest, their lip syncing really needs improving. Like A LOT of improvement. A LOT.

Must I say more? I am not a fan of EXO but this comeback exceeded my expectations and I thought it was INCREDIBLE. I am running out of words to praise this song. 10/10

Rewind: April 2015

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Apologies, it has been nearly a month. Haven’t forgotten these, just been so busy with so much work and studying that I had to push this back so many times. But now, let’s get on with this. This segment recaps the news of last month (April 2015) and let me put my thoughts into each news. This is so badly worded. I am doing this prior to my bed time, so sorry if nothing makes sense. I also lists my favourite songs of the month, and it was very hard for this month. You will be very surprised. Let’s get on with it!!! (yes, I rushed the preview picture. It looks bad, I know. I say sorry in advance!!)

EXO Tao’s departure rumours

Yes, I guess it won’t be 2015 until something EXO related pops up. I believe each Rewind has featured an EXO story so far, and that I kind of concerning, because I don’t think any have been any good for the band. But unfroteutely, there are rumours with another member, Tao. He was injured during promotions of Call Me Baby and he was allowed to return China where he got his time to rest and heal. But while his time in China, there were reports that his father talking with SM Ent to cancel Tao’s contract and according to Tao’s father, Tao gave in and is now wanting the contract to be cancelled. Not that I am opposing Tao’s father, but if you are asking your son to reconsider his job after he has explicitly said that he will forever be with EXO is kind of mean considering what has happened with the band in the last year or so. I understand he is concerned and I don’t doubt him for that. But is just seems sudden like there is something else that fans the public don’t know about it. That is my idea of the whole thing. All we know now is that Tao has left for America and we don’t really have any word from any side. Let’s hope that the talks between the two parties come out with a favourable outcome for Tao, his family, EXO L’s and also the company. Maybe a little hiatus for a few months? But then again, I think that is what he is going through.

Jinusean makes their first comeback in almost 12 years

Yes, legendary duo Jinusean made their comeback with Tell Me One More Time (featuring Jang Han Na) in April. No review for it, but is is a pretty solid song. If you don’t know, the band consists of Kim Jin Woo and Noh Seung Hwan. They basically were one of the first bands in South Korea to bring out the hip hop genre of South Korea and is still managed by YG Entertainment. They did pretty well with their comeback. They topped charts and ranked quite high on charts for a very long time (until other artists made their comeback though). I like the song a lot. Just YG promised Big Bang first, so I was very disappointed, but hey Big Bang ended up making their comeback in May.

Another couple of SNSD

Yuri and baseball player Oh Seung Hwan are reportedly dating. I think it was confirmed by SM but I am not too sure. But if they are, don’t worry about fans and date comfortably. I don’t think Girl’s Generation is a suitable name for them anymore. Best of luck for the couple!!!

EXO’s Instagram dilemma

With rumours of EXO Tao’s departure, some EXO members have gone to some extreme length regarding their instagram accounts. Firstly, Kai opened his prior to the comeback, but while in promtoions, deleted it. From what many speculate that Kai’s account has nothing to do with the rumours and was just a promotion stunt to get more people aware of their comeback. But Lay deleted all his photos and Xiumin deleted his account after a very long time on the social media site. We just will never know if this is in anyway related to the rumours regarding Tao. Let’s hope not. BUT it became a bigger problem, with Tao wiping “EXO” from his profile. Ahh, EXO. What is going to happen to you guys??? Like I said, we will never know what happened, but all this makes rumours sound like they are the truth. But let’s hope not.

Top 10 songs of April 2015

1. Ah Yeah – EXID

2. Catch Me If You Can – SNSD

3. I Need U – BTS

4. Joker – Dal Shabet

5. Call Me Baby – EXO

6. Hopeless Love – Jimin (15&)

7. Aah Oop – Mamamoo ft. eSNa

8. Only You – Miss A

9. Awoo – Lim Kim

10. Tell Me One More Time – Jinusean (No Review)

 

 

Call Me Baby – EXO

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Who has been waiting for this review? I know, I am very delayed, but I am finally putting out a review for this song. EXO is finally back with a new song after what seems to be a shocking year for the group. 12 members become 10 members after the shocking “departures” of Kris and Luhan (with rumours of more – hopefully this is not the case). I put departure in quotation marks mainly because from what I understand, their contracts have yet to be ripped up meaning they are still under SM Entertainment and a part of EXO. From what I understand (again), their contracts are still valid up until the day both sides reach an agreement of contract cancellation or the courts decide for the parties. This is quite sad news, but it seems like EXO is going strong. Fans still support them in both Korea and China, with their latest song a huge success pretty much.

And from hence forth, I think I am going to have 58934689034 fangirls stalking me for what I am about to say. Don’t take this the wrong way, because this is a pretty good song. But, I personally thought the song was quite a mess. This song is pretty good (better than Overdose) but it really isn’t up to par with the likes of Growl. After listening to the song so many times already, “Call Me Baby” is probably the most annoying thing that I have ever heard. Some songs do need the repetitiveness, but in this song, it clashes with the rest. I personally don’t like songs where singers sing on top of each other, but with different lyrics (minus a few exceptions). This just sounded so messy. The chorus was being delivered with a rapper rapping a small part and on top of that, the next vocalist is brought in.  It just confuses me and it is not neat. But on the other hand, I liked the song. The part where Chen and D.O harmonize during the bridge was pretty good. The rapping was good (but the mismatch between the voices at the start of the rap has to go). It is a nice song overall, fits in well with EXO’s style.

Okay SM. There is no need for another one shot video for EXO. It is so boring to watch. But many of their fans are probably like “this is a one shot video”. Thank you for telling me something obvious. The music video was shot to mimic the “one shot concept” and I don’t think this song or concept needs that. I don’t think they need excessive amount of videos mimicking something that they already done. It kind of looks like the company (well director and porducer in this case) is lost when it comes their music videos. Actually, SM has always been lost. They never got out of the box until recently. Another complaint. Their hair. So ugly. My hairstyle at the moment is pretty bad. Kai’s and Chen’s permed middle part really needs to go back to the bin. This isn’t the 90s we are looking at. I thought their clothing were bad in Overdose, but their hair here takes it to a whole new level. Actually, I want to know what Kai is wearing half the time. He really looks “untrendy” in this video. As for that black and white filter, what was going on?

Their dance, I can say, is much better than their music video. Though there is a lot more patting on the back and shoulders, I think this dance was really cool. Their solo parts at the beginning where pretty solid. In fact, I have not seen some members attempt dance moves like that in their previous releases ever. Don’t know what that means though.

I know, I don’t like taking stabs at artists. Especially artists  such as EXO, I always become uneasy with putting out their reviews. They haven’t had the “perfect” song that incorporates a dance, but they still put out good songs. But these are just my opinions on the song, music video and dance. 7/10

 

Rewind: March 2015

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Through this new segment (Finally got to use that one word), we will be looking back at the third month 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.

Lee Min Ho and Suzy Dating

This by far is the biggest news of March 2015. Just a few days ago, it was confirmed by both companies that Miss A’s Suzy and Hallyu actor Lee Min Ho are officially dating. More importantly, JYP (Suzy’s company) have announced that Suzy would not avoid questions regarding the couple. Now, usually companies try to “Hush” the rumours, so I thought it was a little wierd that JYP would say Suzy would be answering all questions. Though I get that both companies would have to confirm due to the evidence presented, but I think JYP is milking everything they can out of this big piece of news. Dating in the industry is going to be hard but I wish the very best for the two. Now let’s move along with Miss A‘s comeback, shall me?

Red Velvet First Win

The subheading says it all. Congratulations to Red Velvet on their first music show win. At the time I am writing this, they actually have won 4 music show awards. Their latest song is ________________________________________________________________. Sorry. Let’s leave this here and wait for the review to come out. Soon. I promise. I am not YG. It will come soon. Like next week probably.

2AM Members Change Companies

Another big piece of news with the 2AM members splitting up with their company. No, they are not disbanding (though it sounded a lot like it at first) but 2AM members have decided to go with different companies. Jo Kwon decided to stay with JYP Entertainment. Seulong decided to go with SidusHQ and Jinwoon decided with Mystic Entertainment. Changmin signed with Big Hit after his contract ended with JYP last year (I think?). This kind of says something about JYP Entertainment, but at the same time, we should be glad the ballad group are not going away for now. Let’s hope 2AM comebacks with a new song with this different formation with companies. (On a side note: all 2PM members – contract ended around the same time – resigned with JYP).

Comebacks for April

BIG BANG HAS BEEN CONFIRMED!!! Though, not exactly sure when the comeback is exactly. But BIG BANG HAS BEEN CONFIRMED to be the first YG artist making their comeback in 2015. On top of that, EXID will be making their comeback. Miss A and EXO just made their comeback at the end of the month. Dal Shabet, Mamamoo, Cross Gene have also be confirmed. SNSD (Girl’s Generation) will also be making their comeback in May BUT they will be releasing a track during April in both Japan and Korea.

Yewon and Lee Tae Im Scandal

This scandal I am not familiar with. Essentially what happened is that Yewon spoke informally to Lee Tae Im. After Lee Tae Im got angry and left, Yewon decided to curse out at Lee Tae Im, and hence causing this controversy. Essentially, Yewon is more of a younger person in the industry, so she had to be formal. I get it sometimes. I come from as Asian background and sometimes I don’t think the formality thing is right. Just because they are older does not mean they are right. Imagine this: the older person is cursing the daylights out of you and your loved ones, and you “disrespectfully” defended yourself and your family. Is the older person right and you are at fault? Though this is not what had happened, it seems like the industry zooms in on one part and leave the rest out for every bad situation. We don’t know 100% what happened. We will never know what 100% happened. Something could have happened before that got both angry. Those are just my loosely put together thoughts on the whole thing. Maybe Yewon is in the wrong. But what if she isn’t? Remember I am not siding with her. I am just being “opened minded” about things.

Top 10 songs of the month

1. Paradise Lost – Gain (Brown Eyed Girls)

2. Between Night n Music – B.I.G

3. FM – Crayon Pop

4. You’re Pitiful – Fiestar

5. Donghae & Eunhyuk – Growing Pains

6. I Am A Woman Too – Minah (Girl’s Day)

7. Ice Cream Cake – Red Velvet

8. Apple – Gain (Brown Eyed Girls) ft. Jay Park

9. Growing – K.Will

10. Bounce – Boyfriend

Rewind: January 2015

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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

Jewelry Members Get Together One Last Time for Final Photo Shoot

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

exid1stwin

 

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.

 

Top 10 songs of the month

1. Up and Down – EXID (released in August 2014)

2. You – G.Soul

3. Break Ya – LU:KUS

4. Fire – Mad Clown ft. Jamsil (Mad Soul Child)

5. Drama – Nine Muses

6. Apologize – Eddy Kim

7. Why – 4Ten

8. Coming Soon – N.Ca

9. Pretty – Infinite H

10. Child In Time – Sunny Hill

Overdose – EXO K

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EXO is back with a return to their Chinese and Korean subunits. A note to fans that this review is not as great as their other ones. In fact, I am going to state it here. I don’t like it all. And while they have been promoting this sing, it seems that the members have been plagued by such bad news of a member filing for termination of his contract. Basically if you are an EXO fan and you have not heard about this, you have been basically living under a rock. I just have one thing to say about the whole issue. Everyone from day 1 turned their backs on each other. No need for an explanation. Well, that is how the media portrays everyone as. But anyhow, good luck to EXO for now and the future.

This song is not a great song. Let me get that off my chest. I don’t hate it as much as their other songs, I just find it lacking a lot, compared to Growl, their song from last year. It just did not have that feel. It was not catchy for me. It was actually pretty boring. The song itself felt way too foreign and awkward for me to listen to. The claps or clicks were okay and the English lines was okay. But like “Someone call the doctor” was really cheesy. Not only that but lines that were way too cliche were used in this song. The vocals were not strong and were overshadowed by the electro instrumental. The drums beats were pretty good but failed to wrap the song up. The bridge felt too out of placed. It got high and then slowed down. The rapping though was pretty good. The raspy and deep voice fitted the song. But overall, the song was not my suiting.

The music video was pretty bad. Guess they decide to use the box sets with EXO now that they are successful. Disappointed. Usually I won’t have a complaint, but it was so god damn distracting for me. The lighting was awkward and really did not show the members that well. Though I did like the set where the 11 or 12 guys danced in. My major complaint would have to be the fashion on the band. Like, clothes from the 90’s is not in trend at the moment (and I don’t think they ever will be). Why are their clothing on stage so much better than in the music video beats me, but the clothing was just so painful to look at. One last thing, and I think majority of people agree with me here, but: please get rid of the bucket hats. You do humanity a great favour by destroying the existence of those hats. Not only were they distracting, but awful, once again, to look at.

The dance was really something to look at. It gave that loud wow found factor with the hexagon shape the members formed with their body. It looks awesome and really cool. The addictive, “knocking on the cheek” dance move is pretty catchy. Those two are basically the two moves I remember the most from the dance. I don’t think EXO has ever left me unimpressed by their dance.

Overall, if you could not tell from the review, I liked the dance much more than the song or music video. It was such a pity, because I was looking at what they could do after such a great song. Expected so much so it can be like this. 2/10.

‘End Of Year Music Festivals’ Favourite Performances

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Woah, 2013 is over (Soz, a tad late) and each year KPOP fans always end up looking forward to the end of year music festivals. These “festivals” are held on the final days of the year by the 3 major boradcasting companies of South Korea (ie. KBS, SBS, MBC). It is a stage where the artists who are active during the year can come together and celebrate by putting on some music and performing different stages from the ones that they had promoted during the year. So this means there are many different collaborations between artists or remix stages which would have fans screaming for. Because there happens to be little songs to review at this time of the year (end of Jan, don’t ask why), I thought I do this and release it in time for the Vietnamese (Or Chinese) New Year!!!!!

KBS Gayo Daechukje

  • Honestly, I was not satisfied with any of the collabs. They seem to be a last minute thing which made the show rather messy. They had good songs, but Iw as not satisfied with the way they were presented.
  • Crayon Pop’s Bar Bar Bar was a good stage. The start got everyone hyped up and when the song actually started, boy was the screams loud! It was rather fresh and different stage that everyone must’ve had enjoyed.
  • EXO’s Intro + Growl sounded amazing. Now if only they were not replayed 563495630295634092560 times this year and everyone talking about them, I would not think poorly of them. However the intro and the performance was really good.
  • APINK was one of the few bands to throw in a new instrumental for their “sexy version” of No No No. I enjoyed the dance and I liked the new mix.
  • Beast had a pretty cool stage as well. They kept their normal instrumental but made something interested out of it.
  • Sistar’s “femme fatale” Give It To Me looked really good. Minus the not so good looks of the dancers, I really liked their dance break and Dasom has my heart beating even faster.
  • Miss A’s remixes were amazing this year. I like them much better than the actual song. Amazing right?Well, honestly it is just a new instrumental over some parts and then the actual song itself. And Min, walking away like a boss and carrying on singing after getting hit in the face.

SBS Gayo Daejeon

  • First stage which I enjoyed was VIXX’s On & On and VooDoo Doll. I honestly thought that Hyde and On & On would have been a better match, but they still seemed to pull it off pretty well. I think I am turning into a fan. Damn.
  • Z:EA and Nine Muses collaboration stage with Ghost Of The Wind, Glue and finally hit song Bounce was another stage that literally got me into it. It is such a good stage with the two bands together, where it was Nine Muses first time and Z:EA’s second time since debut.
  • Another collaboration stage goes to Girl’s Day and APINK’s Expectation and No No No. Honestly, it seemed APINK had less airtime than Girl’s Day. Not sure about the detail, but it kind seems unfair. But both suited the stage every well singing each other’s song.
  • Crayon Pop’s Bar Bar Bar was pretty good. But the camera work destroyed the good stage.
  • T-Ara had a lot of hate, but I seemed to enjoy this stage. Number 9 but vampire version. Not much change to the song, except for really creepy dance breaks. And BOOOOBSSS!!!!!
  • 2NE1 had an alight stage. Though they just sang Missing You and Do You Love Me?, this still had remarkable stage preference.
  • Taeyang and G-Dragon seemed to had some fun on stage. I liked the lineup of songs they had coming. They sung 1AM, Crooked, Ringa Linga and Bad Boy. Considering that the whole group as not there, they did a good job filling up 3 other parts as well.

MBC Gayo Daejejeon

  • Miss A’s classy club mix for Hush sounded the best and probably has to be my most favourite stage out of all the stages listed here. It sounded to sexy and cool all at the same time.
  • T-Ara’s Number 9 and What Should I Do was a great stage. They combined the two songs into a club beat kind of song which flowed pretty well, considering the two extreme opposites for each song.
  • Ailee’s rapping before her performance , U&I, was da bomb.
  • F(x)’s Rum Pum Pum Pum was pretty good as well. Was not as impressed with the original version though.But the instrumental and ending of this stage was awesome!!! And finally F(x) gets a stage remix for an end of year festival.
  • B1A4’s rock remix for What’s Happening? was also a pretty cool performance. Literally got me going with the beat.
  • Infinite brought a new thing to the stage with Destiny remixed with the instrumental of Deception. Something that was quite unexpected but sounded pretty good despite the two songs sounding completely different.
  • Give It To Me by Sistar was pretty cool as well if the little bit of dubstep (I think) mixed in the song as well. Hyorin’s intro with Sweet Dream was pretty cool.
  • Kara’s medley of songs was pretty good. And considering the departure of two members, it fitted the occasion. They performed Lupin, Step, Damaged Lady, Mister and Honey (not sure about the last one though.

If you watched the performances, which one did you like? Honestly, when I was watching the performances on YouTube, all I thought was that it seemed too much like a normal music show rather than something to be called a “End Of Year Festival”. I think these stages are losing their purpose. But anyway, still a fantastic line-up and amazing stages!!! What were your favourite stages of the three nights?

Happy New Year!!!

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Hi all, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Wow, 2013 is finally over. Can you believe it. With days to go, I will be unable to update this over my “break”. Beside that I have scheduled a whole heap of reviews. I promised you guys an End Of Year Charts, and with that very day 3-4 days away, I think it is time unleash the beast. Party hard! Welcome the new year in style! I will wish to see you all back on the 2nd of Jan 2013 (subject to change). At the very bottom of this post, there will be two links. One is a playlist for the winners of the BOB’s and the other is the top 20 songs of the year, as selected by this chart. Yay!!!!

Position Title Artist
1 Female President Girl’s Day
2 G.R.8.U (Your Impressive) VIXX
3 Tonight Spica
4 Hush Miss A
5 Damaged Lady Kara
6 24 Hours Sunmi
7 Voodoo Doll VIXX
8 Give It To Me Sistar
9 Expectation Girl’s Day
10 Only One Gummy
11 Be Ambitious Dal Shabet
12 Red Shoes IU
13 Number 9 T-Ara
14 Very Good Block B
15 Everybody SHINee
16 Kill Bill Brown Eyed Girls
17 Destiny Infinite
18 I Don’t Know FIESTAR
19 Only You VIXX
20 U&I Ailee
21 Madly FT Island
22 Love Blossom K.Will
23 Love Options BESTie
24 What’s Going On? B1A4
25 Growl EXO
26 Gone Not Around Any Longer Sistar19
27 Yoo Hoo Secret
28 While You Were Asleep JeA (Brown Eyed Girls)
29 1.4.3 Henry (Super Junior M) Feat. Amber F(x)
30 Dream Girl SHINee
31 Wild Nine Muses
32 Thriller BTOB
33 Goodbye Dasoni (EXID)
34 Insane A-Jax
35 One Shot B.A.P
36 Lonely Christmas Crayon Pop
37 Confused AOA
38 Bar Bar Bar Crayon Pop
39 Glue Nine Muses
40 Twenty Four / Seven 2Yoon
41 Jeon Won Diary T-Ara N4
42 I Like That GLAM
43 Tell Me Tell Me Rainbow
44 Stupid In Love Mad Clown ft. Soyu (Sistar)
45 Rocking Teen Top
46 No No No A-Pink
47 Why So Serious? SHINee
48 Baby I’m Sorry MYNAME
49 Dreamer History
50 The Letter Davichi

PLAYLIST 1: 

PLAYLIST 2: 

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM KPOPreviewed!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!!!

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It is finally Christmas and I am excited! And the year is already up. Sadly though. However, shall we continue with a more different review this time around? But before that, I just would like to wish everyone who will read this post a Merry Christmas. Enjoy your time, with family, friends or anyone else. Be thankful and be safe. Let’s enjoy the final few days of 2013 and ready to party with 2014. Anyway, today, it is really more of an impromptu review. Not score will be given for these reviews. I have review Lonely Christmas by Crayon Pop and Miracle Of December by EXO. There are however four more Christmas songs that I want to review and today will be three song reviews in one! Shall we get started???

Christmas Song – United Cube 

United Cube is back with a lovely slow Christmas song that showcases the groups under A Cube Entertainment and Cube Entertainment. The artists in this song include: Beast, 4Minute, APink, G.Na, Huh Gak, Roh Ji Hoon, BTOB and Oh Ye Ri. Wow that is a lot of artists. Also included is Kim Gi Ri, the comedian for Gag Concert. The song has this soft tune that reminds you of a warm Winter’s night, like Christmas Night. Though the song starts off really slow and it takes quite a while for it enter a more Christmas-like song, by the end, you are bound to remember those warm Christmas nights with your loved ones. I think the rap was handle really well in this song which is pretty good, considering how raps tend to ruin a good song. And the whole song, vocally, sounds amazing.

 Love Falls – Romantic J 

Now we are getting into the more festive songs. This song may sound like a love song, which it is. I really love the jingle bell feel of the instrumental and how the vocals in this song are not hard hitting as powerful vocals. Though Jonghyun from CNBlue does not have as much lines as Juniel, the song still sounds amazing. His husky voice fits the tone of Juniel’s voice which makes the song have this beautiful duet. The song is quite addictive and sounds really good. I have been lipsyncing to this song since it came out. Though the music video may seem more of a romantic story, the song still carries the Xmas cheer. Yay! Also, this is a duo that I would love to hear more from.

Winter Propose – Jellyfish Entertainment 

This song is the only song that is really close to those Christmas carols we here every year. Not exactly what I like, but it still does. It features all the artists of Jellyfish Entertainment including: VIXX, Seo In Guk, Sung Si Kyung, Park Hyo Shin and also a mysterious female singer (do I hear a singer debuting next year?). This song sounds amazing and really has that festive cheer to the song. It combines all of the artists of Jellyfish Entertainment and amazes me a lot. Though I was not much of a fan of their previous Christmas song and also their more experienced singers, this song gives you that warm feeling that makes you remember Christmas day and eve a lot.

Snow Candy – Starship Planet

The final song which gives off the happiest Christmas feeling of the year. It features Sistar, K.Will and Boyfriend and seems the most enjoyable song out there for memories of family and friends. Again, this song, along with the others vocally sounds amazing and the rap seemed to be handle really well by Bora and the Boyfriend rappers. Of course K.Will and Hyorin holds the main vocal part of this whole company venture, but with this song, I am going to let it slide. The music video also seems to be the most festive one out of the four. Pity that Dasom from Sistar was not a part of the filming, but probably have featured in the he song somewhere. Not sure where though.

Thank you for spending another year with me. Merry Christmas to all, wherever you are on this planet. Be happy and I will see you next time!!!!
Click here for the winners of the BOBs

Miracle Of December – EXO

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EXO is finally back to gift their fans with a brand new mini album. After successful promotions of Growl, their hottest song yet, they released a Christmas album, just in time to all the EXO fans to have under their Christmas tree. This time around they have opted for a weird promotion style. Well, not weird, but abnormal to what bands would have done and I am sure SM Ent has their reasons. But only Chen, Baekhyun, D.O (for Korean version) and Luhan (for Chinese version) recorded this song. After a week of the promoting as a trio, EXO has added Luhan and Lay to the crew, so I cannot wait to see what they have their sleeves (or stockings).

I freaking love this song. Not the point where I am screaming everytime they open their mouths, like some people I know. But this song is freaking amazing. It is like a 180 degree change for the band. Wolf and Growl were choreography based songs that focuses more on the dance, but the song was still amazing. This however focuses on the vocals of the three main vocals of the band. You could feel the emotion in this song.  I loved the instrumental and the lyrics are truly beautiful. The only thing I have to complain about, and I won’t be deducting any points, but the rapping. A part of me does not want to hear a rap in this video, mainly because it is a ballad. On the other hand, a rap could’ve changed the song around a bit and make it more interesting. But beside that: top notch song.

I have nothing to say about the video. It is just like the ballad. Beautiful and amazing. Though, I am going to make the comment with practicing on the facial expressions. Some of the acting is pretty good. Others are not. And why is there that Wolf era scene in the music video with the ring and the lunar eclipse thing. That is really quite confusing and useless in this type of video. Also, Kris as an artist? What is going on? What is this sorcery? The present seems cheesy. The plot of the video seems to be quite boring. And I hope the tuning point is that they are going back in time, but really it is just their imagination.

There is no dance to this song. But isn’t Luhan and Lay the dancers of the group or something? Please don’t tell me that there will be a dance.

10/10. By far one of the best EXO songs out there. It joins the rank of Growl in my mind.

PLEASE CHECK OUT THIS POST ON MY PAGE. THANKS AGAIN!!! EXO has been nominated for Best Performance, Best Song, Best Dance, Best Male Artist and Best Music Video.

 

Growl – EXO

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EXO recently made their comeback with their followup album with Growl. Rejoining with all 12 members, EXO is continuing their massive takeover of the charts with this very song. Released on the 5th of August, the band has been been topping charts with their latest song. The group has wowed fans with their new song and style of their music video taken in one shot. Yeah, sorry about the lame introduction. Growl is included in the repackaged album of their first album including their last promotional song, Wolf.

This song is much better than Wolf. So much better that I actually liked it. I disliked Wolf and Mama, but this song is quite different altogether. I like the hip hop feel of the song which is completely different to other songs. I also do like the instrumental. It seems poppy and really like how it is upbeat at some parts and then slow at others. The chorus is pretty catchy especially the “Na eureureong eureureong eureureong dae” part which is really catchy. I feel sorry for my friends, because I kept on singing that part the whole day. The transitions to the rap at the end of the song was not as great. And that extra slow part which sounds like a pop ballad at the end sounds pretty awkward which goes to show that this song has a few genres mashed into one. The song’s ending with the two thumps (also through the song) was pretty cool as well. I find this song 1000000 times better than Wolf and it seems like the band made the right song choice.

The music video is really creative. It is taken with what we can assume is with a camera of one shot. Who was extremely impressed with this video because of that? Unlike some videos lately such as f(x)’s Rum Pum Pum Pum, this video was well invested. They did seem have a smaller budget with the clothing. Yeah, I saw that they did not change much from the outfit which they wore in Wolf’s drama version. Also the lighting in this video contributed to the feel of the video. Yes, the non “flashing lights switch dance by Baekhyun” flashing lights. Pretty weird they missed out on that while editing the video and finding the perfect shot. The music video looked pretty good this time around but SM needs to do this for all of their artists. But such a creative video which we cannot see for any other band in the company.

As for the dance, it too incorporated that circle shape to the choreography and the camera work as well for some of the live stages. I particularly find this dance much more appealing than Wolf. The live is pretty good. However am I the only one really unimpressed with the hat trick in both the video and the stage performances? It was pretty lame compared to the rest of the video. The dance was pretty cool and then there was the “amazing” hat trick by the members.

8/10. Impressed by this song. That is my point of view. But was yours? Did you like Wolf or Growl more? Comment below!!!!

Wolf – EXO

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EXO has finally made their long awaited comeback. Seriously guys? Despite EXO not coming back for a whole year, why are you guys so needy for a comeback and saying that “It has been so long”. I have never seen a more feistier fanclub ever before. It is like if we put Super Junior, 2PM, Beast and Big Bang’s fans in one room. Likewise, SNSD, Wonder Girl’s, 2NE1, 4Minute fans in the room. Okay, I should shut up before some exotics get to me. EXO made a very confident comeback which is quite likely to put their name out in the field, but not really enough to be as successful as their other label mates. What I see is from the perspective of fans. What this review is, is something totally different.

This, by far, is the worst song out there at this very moment. Yes, it had an addictive beat but the song was just a mis-mash of different genres placed together. I was looking forward to this song, however first time listening to it, I was WTF? Second time, WTF? Third time, WTF? Fourth time, WTF? The lyrics are not appealing. The song overall was a tragic mess. I avoided reviewing MAMA for a reason, and actually I regret not reviewing that song now. However, due to the amount of publicity this group has been getting, I guess I had to put the review up. I am quite disappointed. I expected better. I guess SM is doing the same stunts now, like what they have been doing with SHINee and F(x). Horrible management. The only part I like was that part, however, which was the relief bit for you guys, was that part after Kyungsoo (I think that his name is), where the three guys start rapping. That was cool.

The music video was quite horrible as well. Another tragic mess. Another dark video, one that was quite confusing. The set was not as spectacular as I had expected. It did not feature anything that was “great”, and again SM is not putting enough money into the production of these music videos, just a box set and odd lighting. The dance was okay as well. Not great. I thought they were making the crocodile snapping heads during the dance and at the same time I thought, “Wasn’t this song about wolves, not crocodiles?” That was pose must’ve been hard to do, but seriously, it looked random and out of the place during the whole performance. The ending was great, but the start did not appeal to me at all. So overall, crappy music video and a somewhat okay dance.

4/10. At least they scored higher than T-Ara’s Sexy Love? Comforting? No? Also, this is my view on the song, and I actually have friends that agree to how boring and useless this comeback is. So there are people in the world that also share views that are opposite of “Dreamy Kai Oppa” or “EXO is the BEST BAND EVER” or “EXO beats the rest”!

What is Love? – EXO K / EXO M

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Song

These boys can sing. They have great vocal skill and sound very good. The Korean version is kind of bland & boring. The Chinese Version flows only a bit. The guitar in this song is really boring. Okay, I’ll admit. Not a fan of this song. Not a fan of both versions. Let’s hope their debut song is much better than this song. Their voices really don’t match this kind of genre which I am confused about as well. Yes, they can sing but I really think this song is not a good song to listen to.

Music Video

Oh Boy. This music video has no plot. No plot at all. Instead it is a music video with all their teasers rammed into one with a few extra scenes we have not seen. Boring. I was more intrigued with the instrumental that was going in their teasers not what was actually was going on in them.

Anyway, there is one thing I can agree in this boring music video. Really great visuals. (No Homo). They are all good looking. (No Homo).

Anything Else?

I am not writing much about this song. (I might need to write an essay for their official debut song). Just who thought of the idea of a prologue single? Seriously, this song puts me off EXO. They have a lot to do in their debut then.

And The Rating?

A poor song but great vocals. SM Ent once again fails to impress me. First Mr. Simple, A-Cha, The Boys now this. 4.5/10. Sorry guys.

Have Fun Watching. Troy 😀

Chinese Version

Korean Version