Tag: NAYEON (TWICE)

[Album Review] NA (2nd Mini Album) – NAYEON (TWICE)

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NAYEON is nominated for Best Female Soloist and Best Dance Performance – Female Solo for ABCD in the 2024 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support NAYEON and ABCD by clicking here to vote today.

Next up on the album review front of the blog is the review for NAYEON’s second mini-album – NA. This was released back in June 2024, headlined by the single ABCD. Six other songs feature on the mini-album. In my view, NA is a strong mini-album, even though it did weaken towards the end. But this mini-album consolidates NAYEON’s potential as a solo artist. Read on and let me know if you agree with me.

NA Album Cover

1. ABCD (Title Track) – Click here for the full review for ABCD. (9/10)

2. Butterflies – Butterflies is an all-English track, tapping into R&B pop territory with a trap-based instrumental. It is an excellent track with a solid beat and vocals from NAYEON. The only thing I wish for in Butterflies is for the instrumental volume to be toned down in the chorus. This will allow us to appreciate NAYEON in Butterflies more. I felt the trap elements, particularly during the follow-through, were a tad overwhelming to my liking. (8.5/10)

3. Heaven (ft. Sam Kim) – Heaven is a mature yet contemporary R&B track. Both NAYEON and Sam Kim work extremely well with one another on the track. It would have been nice for Sam Kim to have a larger feature in this track because he really rocked his part. Between the vocal blending between the two in the choruses, their solo moments and Sam Kim’s backing vocals, Heaven is quite a heavenly track. (9/10)  

4. Magic (ft. Julie of KISS OF LIFE) – NAYEON turns to a funkier motif in Magic. The track is a fun and bright upbeat pop song, thanks to the brass, pan flutes and bold beats. It definitely feels summery, and I can’t help but have a boogie when Magic appears on my queue. Julie (from KISS OF LIFE) features in Magic, serving us some really cool raps. Magic is also quite catchy, thanks to the hooks and the all-English lyrics. (9/10)

5. HalliGalli – Produced by AKMU’s LEE CHANHYUK, HalliGalli is the first song since the title track to feature Korean lyrics. It is another song I can’t help but dance to when it appears in my queue. The house beat and squeaky synths make it a fun track, which makes sense since the song is based on a card game of the same name. The entire chorus (the main portion and the follow-through) is super addictive, and NAYEON’s high note just pops. Because of this edge, HalliGalli is a 10/10 in my books. (10/10)

6. Something – For me, Something was a blur. I don’t remember much of it. Even when writing this review, I had to sit down and really pay attention to Something to write about it. It features a fast-paced garage beat, and I liked the guitar work in the background. The bridge provided some good reprieve from the fast-paced nature of the song. I also appreciate the ear-wormy hooks that Something featured. (8.5/10)

7. Count It – NAYEON taps back into R&B for the final song on the album. Her vocals, Count It’s melodies and parts of the instrumental opt for a dreamier vibe, which I enjoyed. But it would have been a successful song had it not been for the clangy and clunky percussion. This disrupted the song’s dreaminess and potential ‘smooth’ nature. (7/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.7/10

NA Teaser Image

[Special] KPOPREVIEWED’s Personal Favourite Songs from the 1st Half of 2024 & more

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One of the first posts after 30 June each year is my ‘Personal Favourite’ post. Each year, to help round out the first half of the year, I post a list of my personal favourite songs from the 1st half of the year. As we are now in July 2024, it is time to post my personal favourite songs from the 1st half of 2024 (with a few extra tidbits).

For this year’s post, I am following what I did last (and the year before that) year, as I quite liked how that turned out. In addition to the usual list of 10 songs (which are in no particular order and not related to my reviews as songs do grow immensely on me) for the first half of 2023, I will also be posting two songs from the November – December 2022 period I personally liked and 3 non-Korean songs (i.e. English, Japanese etc.) by Korean artists that caught my attention so far this year. So without further delays, here are the list of my personal favourite songs of the year thus far (in no particular order, of course).

From November – December 2023

Personal favourite non-Korean songs of 2024 thus far

Personal favourite KPOP songs of the year so far (January – June 2024)

[Weekly KPOP Chart] 3rd Week of June 2024

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Welcome back to another Weekly KPOP Chart post. Once again, apologies for the later than usual post. Not much to update you on, other than it has been on long week and I am still recovering from it. So I am going to get right into the Weekly KPOP Charts for the 3rd Week of June 2024.

Non-Korean Song of the Week

As my focus on this blog is primarily on KPOP songs, I draw attention to a particular song that isn’t in the Korean language in this part of the Weekly KPOP Chart post. That song is the top ranking non-Korean song on each Weekly KPOP Chart post. The past week’s non-Korean song of the week, Jung Kook’s Never Let Go, ranks in the 15th position this week.

The Charts

NAYEON’s ABCD is the top song for the Weekly KPOP Charts for the 3rd Week of June 2024. Congratulations to NAYEON!

PositionSong TitleArtistChange
1ABCDNAYEON (TWICE)(▲ 5)
2Badder LoveEVNNE(NEW)
3Last NightJEONGHAN x WONWOO (SEVENTEEN)(NEW)
4SABOTAGEKWON EUNBI(NEW)
5Boom Boom BassRIIZE(NEW)
6AccendioIVE(▲ 9)
7Shooting StarKep1er(▲ 22)
8WORKATEEZ(▼ 7)
9MAESTROSEVENTEEN(▲ 14)
10Fatal TroubleENHYPEN(▲ 49)
11One KissRIIZE(▲ 10)
12LOST!RM (BTS)(▲ 52)
13Virtual AngelARTMS(▲ 3)
14NowONEUS(▲ 8)
15Come Back To MeRM (BTS)(▲ 58)
16Never Let GoJung Kook (BTS)(▲ 22)
17CoinciDestinyWeki Meki(▼ 14)
18ZOMBIEEVERGLOW(▼ 13)
19SupernaturalA.C.E(=)
20Celestial NightW24(▲ 47)
219 DAYSRIIZE(▲ 52)
22HomeLim Young Woong(▲ 18)
23FXX OFFONE PACT(▼ 15)
24Pretty MobCSR(▲ 49)
25BloomingHan Seung Woo(▲ 36)
26RUSHJUNNY ft. BOBBY (iKON)(▲ 47)
27POM POM POMwoo!ah!(NEW)
28HEYAIVE(▼ 14)
29Girls Never DietripleS(▲ 19)
30FEELING LUCKYJackson Wang ft. BIBI(▲ 43)

[Review] ABCD – NAYEON (TWICE)

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Two years on from her solo debut with the widely successful POP!, NAYEON has returned a solo artist with her new single ABCD and 2nd mini-album titled NA.

NAYEON throws us all back to the early 00s with ABCD. Within a matter of seconds of recognising the the strong presence of the hip-hop and R&B influence from that era in ABCD, I was very much into the song. The verses pays nice homage to the era. But I loved that NAYEON goes even further when it came to the chorus, which I put down to amazing replication of said era. So much so that it took me right back to the music that I was exposed to while growing up. Her vocals were really well done throughout ABCD, and I do really liked the slight spoken nature of the chorus. All of this (i.e., her execution and delivery) exuded a lot of natural charisma and personality that helps make ABCD very addictive and attractive to me. As for the instrumentation, I liked the strummy and plucky nature of the guitar throughout the verses. I also found that additional string instrument (which I have no idea what it is) to be very intriguing, but in a good way. The chorus brings out more of a dance pop and hip-hop colour in its instrumental, finishing off with fast beats that definitely is a throwback to that 00s era. The music video version of ABCD features a dance break that (in its current form) slides effortlessly into the song. I personally think it could have gone harder to give NAYEON more opportunity to showcase her performance skills, but it is a pity that the official studio version doesn’t feature any of it whatsoever. It didn’t disrupt the flow or needless break the song. Aside from that, however, I am definitely impressed with ABCD on many levels and how nature NAYEON comes off in the song.

Throughout the music video, NAYEON is portrayed as a show-stopper. Everyone throughout the video becomes engrossed when NAYEON walks by, to the point that it is causing car accidents as we saw at the start of the music video. I honestly don’t blame them – I too would be in awe if NAYEON was to walk by me on the streets one day. I liked the idea of no matter the era or location, NAYEON’s presence is always the talk and focus. Her various looks throughout the music video were all stunning, my favourite is that long red dress. Very striking. Just like the song, I liked how some of the shots reflected that 90s vibe quite well. I do have one issue with the music video, however. The CGI text that appears in the video (‘A Girl Named NAYEON’, ‘Crossing the Cosmos’) cheapens it and felt totally unnecessary. It didn’t help they looked like WordArt.

The performance for this comeback is amazing. She really showed us a more mature side with the choreography, which suits the song. The hip-hop influence also comes through quite well. I really liked the chorus routine, particularly when those fast beats came through. Great to see the dance break on stage. I did like how the routine in the music video was a little more daring. It definitely pushes the boundaries, but doesn’t do it a very in your face manner.

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

[Album Review] IM NAYEON (1st Mini Album) – NAYEON (TWICE)

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Majority of the post this week will be album reviews, as I am out of town and have decided to take a break as well. As a result, I have scheduled a bunch of album reviews for this week – through to the start of next week. So prepare yourselves for the onslaught of album reviews. First up is NAYEON’s self-titled debut mini-album, IM NAYEON, which was released in June of this year. Leading the charge on this mini-album is the title track POP!. There are an additional six tracks on this mini-album.

M NAYEON is another fairly decent album release. I also feel that this description of the mini-album could be applied to her debut, as a whole as well. There are a few strong tracks, like the last few mini albums I have reviewed. I might be able to be persuaded to include the title track in that grouping as well (but I won’t change my original rating just yet) But overall, IM NAYEON was average, at best. Let me know if you agree with my thoughts or not.

IM NAYEON Album Cover

1. POP! (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review of POP!. (7/10)

2. NO PROBLEM (ft. Felix of Stray Kids) – I am completely in love with NO PROBLEM. The English lyrics to NO PROBLEM are one aspect of this track that I am totally enjoying. Another is the electro-pop instrumental. It was just so vibrant and there was a nice disco vibe coming from the song. The same vibrancy is aided by Naeyeon’s vocals, which just gave the song an extra pop of freshness. The melodies also add to this. Felix’s deep voice appears in the bridge and his rapping helps offset the brightness of the song, allowing NO PROBLEM to feel balanced. I also liked how his featuring is not kept to just one section of the song, allowing him to contribute to the closing moments and give NO PROBLEM some depth. (10/10)

3. LOVE COUNTDOWN (ft. Wonstein) – LOVE COUNTDOWN stays in the realm of pop. The instrumental feels a bit punchier and bouncier with a lively beat and percussion, while the melodies are more pleasant and mellow. NAYEYON’s vocals brought a nice colour to the track, while Wonstein’s featuring adds a bit more bite to the song. His rapping brought a dynamic factor to the track. Again, I liked that he is not constricted to one section of the song. Wonstein, although subtly, provides harmonies to the second choruses and adds ad-libs to the final chorus. A neat track, overall. (8/10)

4. CANDYFLOSS – Just like the title, this song features a dousing of sugar. NAYEYON executes this song perfectly, with her bright and sweet vocals shining throughout. Even though the song does go down that saccharine path, which might not be everyone’s cup of tea, I still found CANDYFLOSS to be quite a catchy and fun number to listen to. I find it hard to emerge from this song without smiling. (9/10)

5. ALL OR NOTHING – ALL OR NOTHING enters R&B territory with its instrumental. It is fairly simple instrumental and brings a touch of extra oomph than compared to café style of music (but it is still pleasant enough to be heard in that type of environment). The vocals, whilst nice, do not really elicit much thought from me. I am not as drawn to them as I was with other songs on this mini-album. (7/10)

6. Happy Birthday To You – Happy Birthday To You follows a similar vein as the previous track. However, I note that there was a fair amount of synths throughout the track. To be honest, the synths felt a bit odd, to me. They sure brought texture to the song, but the abundance of synths felt unnecessary and I am unsure of their value in this song. NAEYEON had nice vocals, but again, she does not do much to captivate me nor elicit a response from me. The melodies felt plain, as well. (6.5/10)

7. SUNSET (노을만 예쁘다) – SUNSET is more of a ballad. More importantly, I feel it is an improvement following the previous tracks. I really liked the breathy backing vocals and the harmonies that NAYEON and the backing vocals share. This combination helped create a soothing piece. There was a bit more to the song’s instrumental than your standard ballads and the swayable melody was definitely there. I am quite satisfied that the album ends on a more positive note (musically) with such a piece. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 7.9/10

IM NAYEON Teaser Image

[Review] POP! – NAYEON (TWICE)

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After seven years, the first member from TWICE is finally making her solo debut. The honour goes to TWICE’s NAYEON, who debuted as a solo artist last Friday with the single POP! and the mini-album Im Nayeon. I personally wonder if this solo debut is a backup plan in case TWICE’s contract negotiation falls through (which I hope is not the case). I just find it suspicious that the group is only a few months out of the standard seven year contract, and suddenly one member (so far – I hope there is more solo debuts on the way) make her solo debut. But I guess time will tell. Until then, this is my review for POP!. This is also the first TWICE related release of the year, as well, following the release of Doughnut in Japan and SCIENTIST in Korea.

POP! is an okay track. Since its release, I have listened to it a few times. And while it nice and decent, I am not exactly head over heels for this solo release. As mentioned yesterday, maybe time will help make the song grow on me. But as for now, I am pretty neutral over POP!. I liked the instrumental’s percussive and upbeat underlay, which was a pleasantly consistent element in the instrumental. It brought on a refreshing vibe to the song, undoubtedly fitting for the Summer season that this comeback falls in. The brass in the verse and the electric guitar in the chorus were nice additions to add extra life and colour to the instrumental. Together, they create a relatively simple pop instrumental for the likes of POP!. As for NAYEON’s vocals in POP!, they sound good. But I am not overly excited by her vocals. They felt somewhat plain. Similar comments can be said about the song’s melodies. I just expected something more jumpy or vibrant. We get part of the way there, but it just isn’t enough. Her spoken hook (i.e. the pops) were probably the most exciting part of the song. Though, I do think POP! would have benefited from something more punchy and colourful. The rapping felt unnecessary and adds an overly cute sequence into the song that felt too sugary and saccharine for my taste. Overall, I feel the strong and weak points of POP! cancel each other out, leaving me without much feelings for the song. I neither hate nor like POP!. I am just somewhere in the middle.

The music video fairs better than the song. It is everything you can ask for in a Summer concept music video. Bright, colourful, vibrant. The sets look amazing and fun, as well. I quite like the look of the post-production treatment, as it help adds so much more life visually to the video. On top of that, Nayeon is stunning and looks amazing throughout the video. Her smiles also make the a whole lot of difference to the video, adding more to those bright and vibrant descriptors I have mentioned.

I thought the choreography was great. The small pops that come via the hips and body movements looked fantastic and adds a vibrant and fun element to the routine. I also like how the dancers made the popping come to life following the second chorus when they stand behind Nayeon (and then fan out).

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