Hani (EXID) – KPOPREVIEWED

2017 KPOPREVIEWED Awards – Results

January 10, 2018January 25, 2018Posted in KPOP, SpecialTagged B.A.P, BTOB, CHUNG HA, Dream Catcher, EXO, G Dragon (Big Bang), Hani (EXID), IU, KARD, Luna (F(x)), MONSTA X, Pentagon, Red Velvet, Seventeen, Seventeen Performance Unit, Solar (Mamamoo), Sunmi, TWICE, Wanna One, Zico (Block B)Leave a comment

**drum rolls please**

It is time to announce the winners of the 2017 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. This is the first year ever that you (the readers) got the opportunity to vote and pick out the winners of each category (excluding a few). Let me just start by saying thank you for all those who participated in the voting process, as you all made this possible.

This will be an EXTREMELY LONG post and it will be gif heavy so it may take a while to load up. If you have a slow internet connection (like me), you can still view the winners (along with the nominees if you missed the voting period/want a reminder) by clicking the link here.

The respective gifs for each category represent the winners which you voted for, while I have put down my pick for the category. I have opted to not do a commentary this year due to the already long length of this post.

BEST MALE GROUP DEBUT

Author’s Choice – Wanna One

BEST FEMALE GROUP DEBUT

Author’s Choice – Dream Catcher

BEST SOLOIST DEBUT

Author’s Choice – Jung Sewoon

RISING STAR

Author’s Choice – NU’EST W

BEST SUBUNIT

Author’s Choice – Gugudan 5959

BEST CO-ED GROUP

Author’s Choice – KARD

BEST MALE SOLOIST

Author’s Choice – Bobby (iKON)

BEST FEMALE SOLOIST

Author’s Choice – Sunmi

BEST VOCALS

Author’s Choice – DAY6

BEST RAPPER

Author’s Choice – Bobby (iKON)

BEST JAPANESE SONG BY A KOREAN ARTIST

onemoretime_bestjapanesesongbykoreanartist — *One More Time* – TWICE

Author’s Choice – One More Time (TWICE)

BEST COLLABORATION

Author’s Choice – Bye Babe (Chen & 10CM)

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

Author’s Choice – Gashina (Sunmi)

BEST MUSIC VIDEO

Author’s Choice – You In Me (KARD)

BEST MALE GROUP

Author’s Choice – SEVENTEEN

BEST FEMALE GROUP

Author’s Choice – Red Velvet

BEST NON-TITLE TRACK SONG

Beautiful – Pentagon

BEST ALBUM

iuplatte-2 — Palette – IU (4th Studio Album)

And there you have it, the 2017 KPOPREVIEWED Award Winners. Congratulations to all! Hopefully, the artist’s that you picked came out on top and were victorious.

As for the BEST SONG OF THE YEAR award, it will be published in a separate post. For this year, the winning song will be the song that tops the End Of Year Charts (to be published on the 15th of January).
NOTE: YOUR VOTES MAKE UP 50% OF THE END OF YEAR CHARTS, WITH THE OTHER 50% CONTRIBUTED BY ME.

[Album Review] Eclipse (3rd Mini Album) – EXID

April 13, 2017April 13, 2017Posted in Album Reviews, KPOPTagged EXID, Hani (EXID), Solji (EXID)Leave a comment

EXID has returned with their newest mini-album. Unfortunately, the group is promoting as a quartet due to Solji’s hiatus. The group recently explained the meaning behind the name of their mini album, Eclipse, which you can click here to find out. This album sees the group attempt an entirely different and mature sound, that also shows a different side to the girls.

1..Boy – Opening the album is Boy, a very different track from what I have heard from EXID (or any artist that I have listened to). I feel wrong for describing a track as ‘creepy’, but this description fits the opening of the song quite well. Once we enter the instrumental chorus, you will understand how good this track is. It is a little foreign, but once you get used to the track, you will love it. I must applaud the vocal work and LE’s rap. Their vocals, along with the emptiness of the instrument (which in this case, is another good aspect of the song) actually contribute to those haunting vibes I was talking about. LE’s rap always sounds the same to me, but yet they fit into any song that you throw at her. (8/10)

2. Night Rather Than Day (Title Track) – Click here to view the full review for this title track (7/10)

3. How Why – Before starting these album reviews, I re-listen to the entire album (regardless of how many times I have already done so). The one track that stood out for me was this one in particular. I love the buildup that LE and Hyelin contribute to during the chorus before the beat drops, and the very catching instrumental sequence is brought into play. The song itself seemed to start off as a ballad, but as the song progressed, it seemed to become more upbeat and brighter. It is easily their best track on the entire mini album. (9/10)

4. Milk (Hani solo) – Time for the obligatory ballad on the mini album. This one seems to be mixed with RnB as well. While it does sound nice and the connection between milk and the lyrics are quite smart (like what everyone is saying), the song is an either a hit or miss. There really isn’t much that makes this song that captivating and was easily forgettable. Her vocals are quite nice. (5/10)

5. Velvet (L.E. solo) – It may not be my cup of tea, but Velvet actually sounds very good. It is a very sensual song and that already compliments the lyrics of the song. The instrumental also felt very smooth, further complimenting the sensual nature of the song. The chorus was also catchy. But there wasn’t enough for me there to really enjoy the track or fall in love with it. (6/10)

Overall Album Rating – 7/10

[Review] Night Rather Than Day – EXID

April 10, 2017Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged EXID, Hani (EXID), Solji (EXID)1 Comment

EXID has returned with a brand new song. Their latest mini album, Eclipse, is their 3rd mini album. Their title track for this promotional run is Night Rather Than Day. This is also their first comeback since their L.I.E promotions last year and their Chinese debut. Unfortunately, Solji will not be participating in promotions this time around due to her health. Hence why we see 4 members on stage and in the video instead.

For Night Rather Than Day, the group opted for a more retro sound, with a much smoother instrumental. Compared to their past songs, this one seems to be more subtle in nature. That being said, this change is nothing too concerning because EXID handles it amazingly. The question that remains is if EXID can handle performing without Solji, who is the powerhouse main vocalist of the group. Hence, probably another reason to why they shifted towards a more softer tone. Hyerin takes over the reigns of the main vocalist and as heard, she can take on the role with ease. She might not be the powerhouse vocals we know from EXID, but with a more softer song, Hyerin does a pretty good job during the chorus and ad-libs. Talking about vocals, all members saw an increase with lines and each member did a decent job with their parts. The different tones that each member has give the song depth, which makes it interesting to listen to. The contrast between a low pitch to a higher vocal pitch was showed in the song. LE’s raps are pretty good, but the ending seemed a little awkward. The song was quite catchy. By the second listen and I was already singing along to the chorus.

The video is more on the boring side of the spectrum. There really isn’t a storyline or anything to talk about the video. Their past videos have all had things going on in them that make them worth talking about. Here, they are either on a rundown train, on the street dancing or in their rooms. Things I have talked about in the past, such as the use of coloured filters, cinematography etc., don’t really apply much to this video (from what I see). The closeups, which shows off their looks, are the only things that I remember from the video. But then again, those bold colour jackets are quite memorable, but I am not a big fan of them. I am just going to stop here (just trying ramble now).

The dance is quite good. However, there isn’t anything that is memorable about the dance. All of EXID’s dances have been memorable to date, so it does disappoint me a tad bit. I like it though, because there is a bit of cuteness in the dance, while still keeping things sexy as always.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 4/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 7/10

[Review] Honey Bee – Luna (f(x)), Hani (EXID) & Solar (Mamamoo)

February 25, 2017Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged EXID, F(x), Hani (EXID), Luna (F(x)), Mamamoo, Solar (Mamamoo)Leave a comment

Honey Bee is a cross-company collaboration, which features Luna (from f(x) – whose is under SM Entertainment), Hani (from EXID – who is under Banana Culture) and Solar (from Mamamoo – who is under Rainbow Bridge World). The producer of the song (Park Guen Tae) is under Mystic Entertainment and is the same producer/writer for Baekhyun and Suzy’s collaboration, Dream.

Just by looking at the artists who participated in this song, you can definitely expect an amazing song which shows off the vocal abilities of each person. Sure, you may not expect Hani to be in that mix but she did a really good job of the song. She gave the song stability and kept the song grounded. Solar and Luna were exceptional in the song themselves but they kept making the song go higher and higher via their high notes. Hani’s vocals is sort of a platform to start at and as the other two hit the higher notes (starting from Hani’s level), it highlighted the high notes and allowed the song and vocal talents to further blow us away. The song itself uses a heavy dosage of saxophones, which gives off a nice jazzy vibe. I love the snaps in the song, as it was definitely needed to make sure the saxophones don’t dominate the song. The song does seem to lack something and it goes back to the vocals. The song needed something deep, either some bass or deeper tone. It just kept on getting higher, which in the past, I would have love. But since listening to more songs, I am starting to love songs with a much more darker or even gothic sound (I am referring to songs outside of KPOP here). It probably weird to want a deeper tone (probably just a phase) to accompany this song. It probably won’t work because it would just make the song feel standard. But what the girls have presented us with sounds pretty good and do showcase their vocals.

The music video is okay. It was shot in a bowling centre, which also showcases pool and possibly other games. Maybe it was meant to add to the fun vibes the song had going on. The girls each add their own charm to the video, in my opinion. Luna had a very mature yet charismatic gaze, Solar had a bright smile and Hani made the surroundings a lot hotter (and sexier if you didn’t understand what I meant). I liked the one shot video layout that featured for part of the video. It was definitely lacked a lot and honestly, I thought it could have used a little more colour to match that fun and vibrant vibe. They didn’t have to go full on bright because it wouldn’t match the sensual nature, but a little more probably could have lifted the video from the darkness it suffered. But besides that, I don’t have much else to say about the video.

The dance is quite simple. A lot of hip snapping to the side and running on the spot. But in a more dancey way and not exercising/sweaty way.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 7/10
Choreography -7/10
Overall Rating – 7.5/10