Tag: Moonbyul (Mamamoo)

Another KPOP act to make her comeback towards the end of the year is Moonbyul. For some odd reason, Moonbyul’s comeback with PRESENT felt out of the blue. But I cannot pinpoint why I feel that is the case. It might be due to the fact that she has been quite busy in 2022, with a fairly active start to the year with solo releases LUNATIC and C.I.T.T, participated in MAMAMOO’s first subunit with SOLAR, and she just returned with the rest of MAMAMOO for ILLELLA. Anyhow, Moonbyul’s comeback is titled PRESENT (as already mentioned) and its release coincides with her 30th birthday. Happy belated birthday Moonbyul!

Just listening to the song alone, PRESENT is, put simply, a pleasant song about Moonbyul’s wishes for her birthday. Nothing more, nothing less. The track falls into the R&B realm, but it does features a bit of funk through some brass elements in the chorus, which helps liven up the song a bit and give it some groovy energy. It isn’t anything major or show-stopping. Rather, it just invokes a happy and gleeful tone that contributes to the pleasant nature of the song. Whilst PRESENT is primarily about her birthday, Moonbyul also adds a bit of holiday flair with the addition of sleigh bells to the song each time Christmas is mentioned in the lyrics, as she makes references to the fact her birthday is just three days out from Christmas. And you cannot really celebrate a birthday that close without acknowledging the upcoming holiday in some manner. Melody and hook-wise, nothing stands really stands out. But I did feel Moonbyul’s nasally tone was quite comforting in the song, and I enjoyed her weaving in and out of vocals and rapping throughout the song. PRESENT isn’t anything spectacular, but it is a nice listen nonetheless.

Just how I mentioned how it is hard to celebrate a birthday just a couple of days out from Christmas without making reference of some kind to the holiday, this video references both birthday and holiday. In addition to seeing Moonbyul set up and celebrate her own birthday, there are also Christmas/holiday references throughout the video. Overall, it is a cute video to watch and there was a nice warm tone to it. In particular, I quite liked the whole montage during the bridge that brings Moonbyul to the cake. There was something with the spotlight and the idea behind the montage that made it a memorable scene/shot for me.

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

I am jumping around today with my reviews this weekend to focus on solo artists who have released songs over the last few weeks that I have yet to cover on my blog. First up is actually a release from this week. Moonbyul is back with a new single, C.I.T.T (Cheese In The Trap). This is a pretty quick comeback for the solo artist, given that Moonbyul just release a mini-album earlier this year, headlined by the title track LUNATIC. But I am not complaining!

C.I.T.T doesn’t give me much to complain about, anyway. I am a big fan of upbeat tracks, in general. Extra points are given if the song makes me smile. And C.I.T.T fits the bill perfectly, fulfilling both criteria that I had outlined just now. C.I.T.T has this strong and satisfying pop rock sound that energises you as you listen to the song. Its undoubtedly fun, playful, bright and catchy. I am of the opinion that more could have been done to make the instrumental a bit more exciting and unique, but it works extremely well as it is presented to us. What makes C.I.T.T even more enjoyable is Moonbyul herself. The song plays towards her strengths in both the vocals and rapping departments, My favourite part of the song is the pre-chorus, with the raspy nature of her vocals perfectly highlighted for the ramping up sequence of the song. Her vocals in the chorus and second half of the bridge are also great moments. The melodies and hooks were catchy enough to make the song memorable and addictive. I can definitely see myself returning to C.I.T.T, which is the highest compliment that anyone can pay a song.

In this video, Moonbyul is a student who wants to experience love. Everyone around her is getting confessions, flowers or are in a relationship. She turns to a tape that teaches her how to put the ‘cheese in the trap’, which in this case is code for ‘make someone fall in love with her’ (i.e. trap them). But instead of following the tape itself, Moonbyul decides to embrace her true self to find that someone, instead of following some cheesy instructions from a tape. She would be more comfortable and this will be attractive to many people! Aside from the cute storyline, I really liked all the different looks that Moonbyul donned throughout the video. From the typical school student look to the punkish rock star at the end, she definitely showcased multiple sides of herself, which is fun and appealing.

I liked how the choreography embodied the fun side of the song. Nothing stood out, but it was a great routine that matched the energy of the song well.

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

Moonbyul made her solo comeback with the new single LUNATIC and mini-album, 6equence. This comes almost a year after the release of her Eclipse / Absence and Dark Side of the Moon mini-album, with the latter scoring the ‘Most Viewed Album Review of Year‘ award, as announced in the recently published 2021 KPOPREVIEWED Awards Winners post. Congratulations Moonbyul! This isn’t the most recent sighting of Moonbyu on this blog, however, as she has been busy teasing us with some pre-releases, including the December releases of G999 (ft Minari) and Shutdown (ft. Seori). Fellow member Wheein also made her own solo comeback earlier in the same week with Make Me Happy.

LUNATIC is a complete change in character for Moonbyul, who made her comeback last year (Eclipse) with a much darker and sinister vibe. Even her repackaged single (Absence) that she promoted was very mature sounding. On the other hand, LUNATIC is a much more fun and upbeat track. It isn’t exactly the most infectiously catchy track of that week, but there is some charm to LUNATIC. I really liked the chorus of this song, simply because the energy of the entire track is well concentrated in the choruses of LUNATIC. This track embodies a funky vibe, which is no doubt on trend with the funky pop instrumentals. I quite enjoyed the ‘Lu-Lu-Na-Na-Na-Lunatic‘ hook and the melodies around it that Moonbyul delivers. It is catchy enough and gave me an impression of a great time. Like in her other solo tracks, we get to hear more of Moonbyul’s vocals and rapping abilities. It is amazing to think that a few years back Moonbyul was shy about her vocals, and that she has come very far to bring us multiple solo tracks that are vocal-centric. Now and in LUNATIC, she is hitting high notes and gives us pleasant vocals that encapsulates that already mentioned fun vibe. When it comes to her rapping, Moonbyul did well (as expected, given this is her expertise). In the first verse, I liked how her rapping sequence blended in with the verse, while in the second verse, her rapping was bold and a bit crazier, showing us a slightly edgier and crazier side to her in this song. Overall, LUNATIC delivered well on the other elements and this made the song great!

In this music video, Moonbyul plays the role of a suspected killer, who is committed to a hospital and later escapes. I like how she used this concept to relay her feelings of falling in love, taking the idea of falling crazily in love with someone to an extreme. It does tether on a fine line in some regards, but I think it worked extremely well in showing off that fun energy that the song has. Moonbyul was extremely charmful and funny throughout the video.

I enjoyed the performance, simply due to the fact that Moonbyul looked she was having a blast on stage each time I watched a performance for this comeback. For the most part, everything felt standard and there wasn’t anything really that impressive. But I did like the chorus routine and thought the performance as a whole took on that fun energy well.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 7.5/10
Performance – 7.5/10
Overall Rating – 7.8/10

Apologies for the 3-day late review. I know I promised the reviews would only be a day late last week, but I took some time off over the weekend as I needed to recover from a lack of sleep. One of the reviews that were meant to be published on Saturday is Moonbyul’s solo comeback, Eclipse. The Mamamoo rapper and vocalist made her solo comeback back in 2016 with Selfish (which featured Seulgi from Red Velvet). It has been a while since we heard any solo work. I do need to warn you. If you are expecting something along the lines of Selfish, I would quickly change those expectations now.

Why would I lead into the review with a change in expectations? Well, Moonbyul goes full blast with Eclipse. We have never seen her like this. Not in Selfish and definitely not as part of Mamamoo. I think the relevant way of it saying it nowadays (Internet jargon/slang is not my thing) is that ‘She snapped’. The song has this intense trap-based dance instrumental as its backdrop. While this is typical in the industry, the way the song manages to come together makes it sound epic and helps breathe new light into the style/sound. There are also some smaller details such as the song’s slow down moments (which provide relief from the intensity) and the deep voice in the background during the chorus that helps with this. We see a mixture of Moonbyul rapping and singing in this song. I won’t describe this as an extension of what we have seen so far. Not when she raps with such intensity and her vocals shine through thanks to the raspy nature of her voice. I feel like Moonbyul created her own identity through Eclipse, far away from what we are used to. The song itself is also catchy and has a nice rhythm, which appeals straight to my tastes.

Talking about ‘sides’, Moonbyul presents two sides of herself in the video. I think the first is Moonstar, which is represented through the white outfits and her much lighter makeup. The second is Monster. This side of the artist is presented by the black outfits and heavy eye makeup. I definitely thought this was a very strong concept. Two sides of an artist has been visited before. But this one feels a lot more fulfilling once you finish watching the music video. I am not usually a fan of the flashy nature of music videos, but I thought it was very well used in this video and helped with the intense aesthetics.

I liked how despite the fact that Moonbyul still had to rap and sing throughout the performance, she delivers with her moves. No moves stood out to me. But I thought it was a cool performance, regardless.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 8.9/10

Moonbyul made her solo debut 2 weeks ago. Clearly shows how ‘up to date’ I am. But once again, better late than never. Moonbyul is Mamamoo’s well-known rapper (and starting this year, vocalist). The main title track is Selfish, which also features Seulgi from Red Velvet. The two previously participated in Idol Drama Operation Team. Furthermore, I have decided to include In My Room, which also had a music video (hence the review).

Selfish is a nice song that does bring a smile to your face. The song is quite melodic and slowly paced (but not too slow), which makes it pleasant to listen to. When rappers released solo songs, they are usually fierce and energy packed in the way the lines are delivered. However, Moonbyul’s solos tracks are one of the few examples that don’t really conform to that. Seulgi’s vocals in this song pair well with the soft nature. But my favourite part in the entire song is the harmonies, particularly in the final chorus. It is clear that Moonbyul can sing (as seen through her group’s releases this year). But there is something about the harmonies that has me falling in love with the song. Overall, it is quite good.

In My Room takes on an R&B approach. In this song, she takes on both the vocals and raps herself. Though, there seemed to be a male singer featuring in the middle of the song, who didn’t seem to be listed on any of the tracklist or information that I could dig up. I like her vocals in the song and when she changed to rapping as well. The instrumental was also quite nice, which gets me swaying along to the music. Sadly, I don’t find this song as memorable as Selfish was. However, it was still pleasant to listen to and showcases Moonbyul’s talents in a much more softer manner.

The two music videos are polar opposites. Mainly due to the atmosphere the song creates. Selfish’s video was more fun-filled, while In My Room was more emotionally centred. The message of the Selfish video can be seen clearly throughout the video (see the English translations for the song) but I really liked the comedic approach they took in some of the scenes (e.g. the kids intimidating and getting the singers’ money).  In My Room seemed to conform to that typical R&B visual, with the darkness and nightlife scene. On top of that, I thought the loneliness that Moonbyul was easily experienced just by watching.

Selfish
Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8/10

In My Room 
Song – 7/10
Music Video – 7/10
Overall Rating – 7/10