Good Night MY LOVE is nominated for Best Ballad in the 2021 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support Good Night MY LOVE by clicking here to vote today!
The second of the two ballads to review from the Best Ballad category from the 2021 KPOPREVIEWED Awards is Good Night MY LOVE by former Sistar member Soyou. Good Night MY LOVE was released back in March of this year and is her final release with Starship Entertainment (her company for 11 years, which she officially left in September).
Good Night MY LOVE falls into the ballad and R&B category of KPOP. But is much softer than your typical, and can be passed off as a lullaby. And I feel that lullabies are more ballads and I listed it as a nominee for Best Ballad in the 2021 KPOPREVIEWED Awards, as specified above. However, don’t let the ‘lullaby’ deter you from listening to Good Night MY LOVE. It is not boring or a dry song that puts you to sleep. Instead, I found it captivating and a beautiful track. Good Night MY LOVE is warmly instrumented, with an instrumental made predominately of acoustic guitars and piano. To me, the instrumental was a bit sparse and almost like a blank canvas. But this paired with Soyou’s husky and soulful vocals, you get a soothing and calming number that acts in a similar sense to a lullaby. Soyou’s touching vocals are the pure focus of the song, due to the sparse nature of the instrumental, and this really helps make the song captivating as her vocals carry you away. I also get a really touching vibe from her vocals. Now, the following might put you off the song, but I am intrigued by it and would like to hear some thoughts if you have any. I had to relisten to Good Night MY LOVE a few times to really make sure about this next point though. Within the background of the song, I heard snippets of a male voice. It felt like an echo and they were very brief. Personally, I am not too sure about them since it could have been a mistake or possibly even intentional. You don’t really pick up on them if you are listening to the ballad in a casual sense. They are masked well and are very very minute. But if you really pay attention (like I have for this review), they kind of stick out. Maybe my mind is paying tricks on me and there is nothing there or I have mistaken something else for a male’s echoey voice. Hopefully, I haven’t deter you from listening to Good Night MY LOVE.
The artsy music video features four characters (though one of them – the assistant – doesn’t get enough screen time). Each of these characters are struggling in one way or another. The female character is looking for a job. She is happy to hear her friends managed to find one, but is sadden that she is left behind once again. The male character who works at the pet shop that sells only fishes is an aspiring actor who is stressed over an audition and insecure about his skills. The second male character is the director, who is struggling to put together a story for his next project. Each of these characters are struggling, but they all put on a brave face and push on. The lyrics of the song talk about a star that is looking over them and ‘protecting them’ from the struggle. At the end of the video, we see the four characters come together. The director has put together a story to work with, the second male character lands his audition and the female character finds a job. They look happy with their struggles out of their way. Soyou also appears in the video, singing. Her high position in the video make her seem like that star looking down on the characters. My only issue about the music video is the lack of English subtitles at the end. We had them at the start, but they were omitted from the ending which doesn’t make sense to me. But overall, an artistic and aesthetic music video.
Song – 8/10 Music Video – 9/10 Overall Rating – 8.4/10
Within a blink of an eye, another 6 months have passed. 2021 was still an awful year with lockdowns, isolation and the pandemic still dominating news headlines. I feel that these events, amongst other things, has really slowed me down this year. But at least, KPOP was on the pleasures that I still had to get me through these last 6 months.
A lot of albums and a lot of songs were released, per usual, in the span of the first 6 months of 2021. And I am still playing catch up with some to write reviews for! I will get there eventually! But in the meanwhile, I thought I share with you 10 KPOP songs that are my personal favourites from the last 6 months (in no particular order). Why 10? Well, it is an even number and I just couldn’t decide on a few, so I went with a couple :D. (Please note that this is irrespective of my reviews – songs can grow on you over time!)
Let me know if we shared similar taste in 2021 so far? And if we don’t, then comment below what your favourite songs of the year are! I would love to see what you all have been enjoying.
Prepare yourself for the first collaboration of 2021. Members from IZ*ONE (Eunbi, Sakura, Minju, Yuri and WonYoung) and former Sistar member Soyou have joined forces with pH-1 for the new single, ZERO:ATTITUDE. This new single forms part of the Pepsi X Starship Project, providing us with great collaborations between big KPOP artists since 2019. Other artists who have participated in this project include GFriend’s Eunha and VIXX’s Ravi (Blossom), Ong Seong Wu (Heart Sign), MONSTA X’s Hyungwon and former VIXX member Hongbin (Cool Love), Rain & Soyou (Beginning), Kang Daniel & Zico (Refresh) and CIX’s Bae Jin Young & WEi’s Kim Yo Han (I Believe).
Like majority of the collaborative efforts between the artists listed above, SOYOU and IZ*ONE do a pretty neat job with this single. I find ZERO:ATTITUDE to be super catchy, which reels me into the song even more. And this catchiness tempts me to press the replay button with its infectious sung-spoken hook. On top of that, the confident energy that is expressed in the lyrics comes off pretty well in the instrumentation. The vocals from both the IZ*ONE members and Soyou were very clean-cut, popping out over the EDM based instrumentation. I also felt the line distribution was pretty fair between the individuals who participated in the The instrumentation is a hit and miss for me. Aside from the positives that I have mentioned thus far about this element, I have to make the note that it is relatively plain. Currently, it feels suitable as a short and sweet commercial track (which is the whole purpose of this collaboration in the first place). If the instrumental was a little more interesting and spruced up a bit to be more dynamic, I think ZERO:ATTITUDE has what it takes to be an awesome title track as everything else is pretty much at that level for me. pH-1’s bridge was a bit random for my taste. I honestly thought the song could have done without this part, replaced with a dance break to boost the song’s dynamism. This is not critical of pH-1’s delivery as his rapping is awesome. It is more so that his trap breakdown sequence just didn’t fit the liveliness and pop roots of the rest of the song. But aside from that, ZERO:ATTITUDE is another strong collaboration between two big names in the industry.
In case you missed it, the music video for ZERO:ATTITUDE was a three minute long commercial for Pepsi’s newest Pepsi Zero Lime flavour. The walls are lined with cans of the drink and the members (per soft drink commercial protocols) down the drink in the music video. Thought I point that out. But aside from the video’s purpose, I am loving the overall urban aesthetics of the big screen, exposed scaffolding/stage structure and the outfits donned by Soyou, the IZ*ONE members and the dancers. It just felt on point and really showed off a sexier side that is synonymous with Soyou. It also felt suitable for the IZ*ONE members. I was wondering when the two parties would meet up to make this video and collaboration feel complete as they were pretty much separated throughout the first two thirds of the video. But they managed to bring the two parties together at the end, fulfilling my wish for this video.
The performance is pretty neat. I liked how it exudes confidence, fitting in with the song and its purpose. I also liked how good it made Soyou and the IZ*ONE members look.
Song – 8.5/10 Music Video – 9/10 Performance – 9/10 Overall Rating – 8.8/10
The next release that I want to review is Soyou’s solo comeback, Gotta Go. The release came on Tuesday on this week, so I apologise for the delay with the review. However, as I always say ‘better late than never’. Gotta Go features a different sound from the former girl group member and follows the release of her previous solo singles, The Night in 2017 and All Night in 2018. Since 2018, she hasn’t been active much as a solo artist on her own, but rather through collaborations, such as Rain Drop (with Ovan).
I want to break this paragraph into two parts. The first part is based on what I remember of the song from the few times I have played it while it sat on my ‘to review list’. Admittedly, the only thing I could remember from Gotta Go has to the ‘Gara Go‘ that Soyou sings as part of the chorus. This one thing should not be seen as a bad thing, however. It is super catchy and memorable. Unfortuately, the rest of the song was forgettable and I just wished that it lived up to the same standard that the song’s main hook had set. From this point onwards, everything I mention is based on what I note from relistening to Gotta Go. The song contains a fair amount of sass that gives it a interesting colour. The instrumental is quite upbeat in the verses, which add to the that interesting colour. It mainly delves into the tropical genre that is quite common to the Summer season. Though I admit that this direction was a little unexciting, it was still quite decent. I also didn’t enjoy chant bridge. It just felt over the top and the transition to said part from the second chorus was too sudden, so it was pretty overwhelming the first and current listens. I did like the ‘return to the roots of the song’ that followed in the second half of the bridge. Soyou’s vocals were good, with her husky voice being put on full display in this song. Overall, another decent but different style song from Soyou.
The music video for Gotta Go is really good. It starts off with Soyou has part of a fashion show crowd. And while the attention was on the runway, Soyou grabs attention by joining the fashion show without security jumping at her. Interesting. I do like this set up though, as the runway soon becomes her stage for the first chorus. As we dive in the second verse, we are taken behind the scenes of the fashion show. I really like it when she is dancing in the midst of the hectic behind the scenes shots of the fashion show. It just feels very different from most videos and works the choreography shot so naturally into the music video. I also like how she returns to the runway for the final chorus, bringing the video to a close with her walking off the runway. I enjoyed this video and everything looks good. Soyou also has a really sexy figure that she shows off throughout the video, which works with the theme of the video, as well.
The choreography looks good. I liked the use of the piece of fabric. She wraps it around herself and she uses it almost like a curtain during some parts. The chorus also had a memorable move, which was quite nice. I won’t be doing it when I think of the song in the future. But I will definitely imagining the move!
Song – 8/10 Music Video – 9/10 Performance – 8/10 Overall Rating – 8.3/10
The next song on the review list is Soyou and Ovan’s collaborative single, Rain Drop. This was dropped on Thursday of this past week and has since risen steadily towards the top end of the charts. For those who don’t know, this is very typical of many collaboration singles featuring Soyou. I will avoid naming such songs (as I think I do that will every Soyou related review and hence will be quite repetitive). The other half of the collaboration is Ovan, who is a Korean hip-hop artist and rapper. He made his debut back in 2017 and have many singles under his name since his debut.
Rain Drop is more like a cafe style of song, rather than a ballad as my previous draft of the review had stated. There is a slightly jazzy influence in the instrumental, which is slightly appealing to my ears. At this very stage of the year, I am wrapping up my semester of studies and currently on the hunt for soft songs to work with. This track practically ticks that major box for me. I find the vocals to be soothing and calming to an extent, which is also another box ticked for me. There were some moments that did have a certain typical nature to them. But for the most part, I thought the vocals were good. I did like the slight rapping tone Ovan brought to the bridge of the track, which attempted to throw an interesting texture in. Overall, I think this would be a nice song to add to my study playlist, as previously stated). Though, I am not too sure if it would fair well in a more recreational playlist due to the very nature of the track.
I am not too sure about what is going on in the music video. I have an idea but since the events were jumbled about, I am not exactly confident in my story that I have formed. The video showcases a cute couple from the moment the female character made her move on the male character (and thus starting their relationship) up until the moment that she leaves him on a rainy day (‘I watched you go away without an umbrella‘). However, in the end, it is another rainy day that brings her back. We see the male character slightly surprised at the end after seeing his former lover swiping her wet hair to the side. It is a slightly interesting story, especially with that twist at the end. I do want some closure with the story though, given that twist.
Song – 7/10 Music Video – 8/10 Overall Rating – 7.4/10
With schedules for group comebacks becoming more spaced out for many established groups (particularly for male groups due to mandatory enlistment), many members have turned to solo careers. SHINee happens to be one of these groups. Dramas and solo music careers can be placed under the names of the other members but Key has only dabbled in variety shows. Now, he is officially making his solo debut this month and as a special pre-release, Key has released a collaboration with his good friend Soyou titled as Forever Yours.
Following their group promotions with three title tracks and one special repackaged release single, Key’s pre-release is a tropical house EDM styled song. And given the current competition, his song fails to really break any boundaries and stand out. The instrumental is nice but it doesn’t offer anything new to really be amazed at. What does keep this song quite fresh, however, are the vocals of both Key and Soyou. I have to admit that his voice feels very plain in this song. However, with Soyou’s husky vocals and the parts where both of them sing together, their voices brings a nice dynamic to the picture. I liked how Key’s voice was at the forefront of their duet moments, while Souyou’s husky voice stands out from the back. Other than that, I don’t have much else to say about the song.
And like SHINee’s music video, Key takes a fast-paced ride into space in his car. It felt the same producer or director played a part in this video. I really liked the retro feel in this video. The fonts and styles choices of the words that you see in the video remind me of various movie posters and really cringy fonts back in the day. The visuals are quite abstract and I have no clue on how to interpret this odd concoction of visuals. I am a little disappointed that Soyou didn’t appear in the video, which would have been nice if she did.
Song – 6/10 Music Video – 8/10 Overall Rating – 6.8/10
Making her solo comeback after almost a year’s absence from the KPOP scene is Soyou. The last time we saw her on stage was with The Night, which was released back in December 2017. Her latest comeback is All Night, which features on the second half of her 1st album, RE:FRESH. Known for her ballads and love songs, Soyou opted for a dance-centred comeback which turns on the heat and makes things very interesting, as you will know of if you continue reading.
All Night takes the on the growing trend of Latin influences, specifically the more traditional musical style of tango. I think using this style of music allows for her breathy voice to really shine and lift the sexiness level to a whole new level. It is also an interesting sound, as KPOP tends to steer towards a pop sound, rather than going full out with the tango. I thought the chorus was really dynamic with its presentation. I like how her lines went and it made the song memorable. There was a jazzy number during the bridge of the song, which I thought liven things up. SIK.K also featured with a rap, which gave the song some intensity and modern flair. His part didn’t technically go hand-in-hand with the rest of the song but it wasn’t to the point where it felt too awkward. Overall, I like her new song quite a bit.
Oh, how the world of ratings in South Korea never makes any sense. How this video got a 15+ rating beats me. The entire time I was totally speechless and surprised at how sexual the video got. But it definitely matched the very sexy sound of the tango. Soyou plays the role of a cat (who transforms into a human) and basically seduces her partner (or in this case, a stranger at the bar). Things get quite steamy towards the end of the video. I thought the editing in this video was really well done. The turning transitions between Soyou/Male Lead and Soyou’s dance break were really well done.
I thought the smooth movements during the verses and the sharp movements for the chorus were really ideal for this song, as they remind me of the tango a fair bit (I may have watched a bit of Dancing With The Stars growing up). I liked how sexy the performance got and I loved the dance break at the end.
Song – 9/10 Music Video – 9/10 Performance – 9/10 Overall Rating – 9/10
Have you voted for this year’s KPOPREVIEWED Awards yet? If you haven’t and want to support your favourite artists and songs, click here to get voting!
With many famous collaborations under her name, Soyou has officially embarked as a solo artist with her solo debut. With the unfortunate disbandment of Sistar earlier this year still haunting us, Soyou has taken this opportunity to show off a different side with her title track, The Night (featuring The Geeks) and her mini-album, Part 1 RE:BORN.
While I did expect something along the lines of her collaboration works, this one has a different sound to what I am used to. It makes sense, given her need to remove herself from the safety of Sistar and her duets with big names in the industry. Her song is quite nice, giving off a warm atmosphere through her vocals. It has a sweet and happy tune to it, which is something I like, mainly since Winter seems to focus largely on ballads. The melody makes the song quite catchy but I wonder how long the song would stick around. The song doesn’t necessarily feel like a song that should constantly be replayed but it is definitely a nice sound. Geeks added a nice touch with their delivery fitting the song’s tune very neatly. It’s definitely not Soyou’s next Some song but there is a decent sound to it.
The music video seems to show Soyou preparing for her date and shows her excitement for the date (as per the information taken from the description box to the music video). At the start, she is rehearsing what she expects will occur at night (i.e. cooking the ramen, drinking the blue bottle alcohol) but it seems her dates takes an unexpected turn as she returns home alone. At the very end, her head somehow lands into her date’s lap, which surprises her. It’s a nice video that makes sense with the lyrics. I like the brightness of the colours and the camera work that featured in the video.
Song – 8/10 Music Video – 8/10 Overall Rating – 8/10
Many groups are sadly leaving and disbanding. It will obviously never be the same without these groups. I previously did goodbye posts for some of the bands disbanding. However, I am quite unhappy with them and have decided to redo them. It will take time but you can expect them soon. Essentially, I have decided on a short reflection and then will rank all their title tracks in order of preference, along with some non-title tracks.
But enough with other groups. This post is about Sistar and their amazing 7 year run! The girl group comes from Starship Entertainment and made their official debut in 2009 with Shady Girl. Throughout the seven years, the group became known for their Summer time comebacks, with many fans saying Summer is incomplete without a Sistar comeback. To know that in the future, we will never see a Summer comeback from the 4 girls (Bora, Hyorin, Soyu and Dasom) ever again, it does dampen your day quite a bit. Personally, I am a fan of the group for their bright and catchy songs. But I also love their more sexy and femme fatale sound, as well. While I don’t enjoy their earlier stuff, Sistar has come a long way with their music. As individuals as well, their solo careers have become very big topics. We all know Hyorin’s capabilities as a soloist, Soyu with her collaborations and Dasom and Bora for their acting careers. So its safe to say that while Sistar is breaking up (:() , we can still see each member doing their own thing in the future!
We can’t talk about Sistar’s career without talking about their amazing discography. 2 full-length albums, 4 mini albums, multiple singles and multiple collaborations. Talking about albums, I always wanted to do an album review for Sistar. And since I started doing them this year, I was awaiting a comeback from the girls. But now, I guess I need to spend sometime and revisit some old albums.
Below are my TOP 10 songs from SISTAR alone! It’s not influenced by any reviews or any other person. Just my honest and biased opinion!
There are many other songs that I liked from the girls that were not promoted in anyway. They include (in no particular order):
Crying (released in 2013, as part of their second album, Give It To Me)
Lead Me (released in 2012, as part of their first mini album, Alone)
String (released in 2016, as part of their fourth mini album, Insane Love)
Holiday (released in 2012, as part of their Summer special album, Loving U)
Ok Go! (released in 2014, as part of their second mini album, Touch N Move)
Within Sistar, they have a subunit named Sistar19, which features Hyorin and Bora. While the future of this subunit is unclear, I had to mention them and their songs:
And that’s all for this short and probably badly written tribute. As I mentioned previously, I am a fan of Sistar and it doesn’t sit right with me that I am not making some sort of tribute for the girls. I always enjoy listening to them. Every now and then, I spend some time out of my day and have a Sistar listening session. Why? Because their songs are too good! I wish the girls the best for all their future endeavours.
I will shortly be posting a review for their final single as a group. And I will be looking forward to their upcoming final stages together. But in the meantime, do check out that final song, Lonely, which was released today!
Another collaboration between two of the biggest idol names in the business at the moment. Soyu (from Sistar) has many collaborations to her name, such as Some with JungGiGo and Stupid in Love with Mad Clown. Baekhyun (from EXO) collaborated with Suzy for Miss A for Dream and have participated in OSTs for popular dramas in the past. All the collaborations and songs that the two have participated ended up being successful and high charting songs.
As expected given their portfolio, the two went with a ballad. It is one of those extremely slow ballads that people tend to shy away from. Even I do that to some of the songs of that nature sometimes. The combination between Baekhyun’s sweet vocals and the huskiness you hear with Soyu’s vocals is something you expect to be fantastic. And for the latter half of the song when they sing together for the final chorus, we got that fantastic feel. But the start of the song just didn’t have that same feeling. You could hear their vocals in the purest form (i.e. there is nothing shadowing or covering their respective parts) and that is good. But with a slow ballad, that seemed to drag out the song. While I am not too troubled by that now, it was something that I had to get used to after multiple listens to the song. But there is something else. Changing from Soyu to Baekhyun felt too instant and too fast. There was a second of silence and that was it. That silence felt like it two songs were ‘joined’ together as the two have different voices. A nice transition that eased in Baekhyun’s part would have made the song nicer as I felt the song needed that transition.
I am not a big fan of the video. There wasn’t anything of interest in the video. I just play the video mainly for the song. But you guys may like it. The video simply shows a young girl wandering around in the rain (or course with an umbrella). We do see that she is thinking about someone as shown via her drawings in her book and on the blackboard. While the video is not my cup of tea, the video is beautifully shot. Just by watching the video, you can’t help but smile when the girl in the video is happy and joyfully jumping around, which is quite cute.
Song – 7.5/10 Music Video – 5/10
Overall Rating – 6.5/10
Let’s back track for a few months and review a song. Before Soyu went on a break (if you didn’t know, she has been having back problems and has gone on a break, hence Sistar has been focusing a lot on solo promotions), she released a few songs and per usual I think they were mostly collaborations with other artists. This time around she has gone with a member of 10cm, Kwon Jeong Yeol, whose group is known for ballads. And honestly, Soyu’s collaboration has done it again and slayed me. I put a lot of emphasis on Soyu when i review her songs, but somehow don’t manage to put the same level of emphasis on the other singer, who also plays an important part in the collaboration. So let’s do it.
Once again, the vocals from both artists have been superb. Soyu and Jeong Yeol voices go hand in hand in this song. Both artists have the same level of huskiness to their voices, which compliments each other really well. Everything about this song fits in with the Autumn season really well. From the vocals, to the instrumental just gives off that feel. The song is also quite catchy for a ballad. The chorus just sucks me in and reels me in. I feel like the song ended off perfectly. Sometimes, the ending of songs are dragged out or abruptly, but this ending was perfect. I don’t have much to say about the song beside how great it is.
As for the music video, it is quite nice. The same feel in the music video is in the song, hence they go hand in hand. The screen splits into two and we see to different lives. One of them is the of the guy’s and the other is Soyu’s. And we see them lounge around and act as if they they were recently heart broken. But when we assume they get into different taxis, well, they don’t. Instead, they seemed to be in each lives and enjoy each other company. Another ongoing trend I see in KPOP nowadays (and actually life in general), but someone is bringing out the cameras from the late 1990’s, where the camera quality isn’t that grand and crystal clear. I don’t know why it is a trend but it is. Interesting concept for a video, which looked quite nice and well polished.
Overall, another amazing song from Soyu and her collaborations with great male vocalists! 9/10
Sistar has returned. The digital queens are officially dropped their new mini album back in June with Shake Their last comeback was around a year ago with I Swear and Touch My Body.
I don’t know why some people are always having a go at Sistar when they do these Summer concepts. Actually it is girl groups in general. And I think their perspective on the summer and sexy concept clouds their enjoyment and distract them from the song. I honestly thought this was an amazing song. The song totally feels like a summer song and does a much better job at it than what Touch My Body does. It is really addictive and super catchy. In other words, it is currently my jam and my go to song at this very moment. The lines were more evenly distributed this time around, which makes me happy. I just enjoyed the song and really did not felt that the song was lacking in any area whatsoever.
This video was creepy. Yeah, feel sorry for that Noel guy. He is popular, but does he have to play the creepy roles in all music videos. First BESTie’s Excuse Me and now this Sistar video. As for the teacher, he looks very scary. I like the little comic bubbles that pop up at certain times of the video. I thought they added a nice touch to the video and actually added to the comical feel of the video for me. I was surprised with the lack of butt close-ups. I expected a lot more, but the video only had 20% ass. I have to say, Sistar has really nice bodies. They looked very hot and sexy in this video. Which means the video did its job correctly. Finally, Soyu’s boobs. I think I covered the main bits… Yeah… That was meant to be a terrible pun, somewhat relevant to the video.
As for the dance, there is a lot of butt shaking. But yeah, the song repetitively says “Shake It”. What else can they shake? Honestly, if they were shaking their head, arms or legs, the video would receive no attention. The ass and boobs (but there wasn’t any of the latter) did their job in the video. So essentially to those attacking Sistar for their concepts, you should really start seeing what actually works in the world and what doesn’t. But I am 100% that they did not overdo it in this dance and I am personally thankful for that. That or I be replaying the music video for quite some time.
Overall, I feel like this is one of their best comebacks in a long time. They honestly did a wonderful job. 9.5/10
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.
Sistar has finally returned after a year and 2 months disappearance from promotions. Last time they were on stage, they were promoting Give It To Me, which was a very successful song for the girls. That was back in June 2013. Since then, Dasom has been acting in a show called Melody Of Love (which I actually watched and cringe when they get surprised), Hyorin released her first solo album, One Way Love back In November. Member Bora has been all over variety shows and also got herself an acting gig, being the host for the Music Bank show on Fridays. Lastly, member Soyu has been hitting the top of the charts with her hit song collaboration with JungGiGo for Some, which was a really successful song that was loved by everyone and also Mad Clown and Soyu’s Stupid In Love. As you can see, each member is very successful and quite busy. And that is basically the run down of the Sistar events that happened since Give It To Me. Now it is Touch My Body.
Touch My Body is not technically my cup of tea. It is an okay song, just it is really repetitive and that really drags out the song and makes it sound so boring to listen to. Touch My Body is like repeated 23675260 times or in other words, those three words dominated the song. It is catchy, just it is not as memorable as their other songs in the past. Though, I do somewhat like it for its Summer feel and the brightness of the song. Though, I would love it if it didn’t repeat “Touch My Body” excessive amounts of the time. I feel like their company and the song writers are finally listening to the fans who want more lines for the members. Dasom has been receiving more lines, though I think Soyu has much less. And I think more a longer rap is needed to make the song more even for Bora. Hyorin does not sound as great as before though, I think this song limits the girls ability. The instrumental sounds pretty good, with the saxophone like sound and modern beat to it.
The music video is quite boring to watch. I really love the bright colours, just really after watching it once for me, it felt so boring and artificial. You know what could have been better, if they went outside for this music video. It is a freaking Summer video for summer perfect for an outside video, not a artificial set that is made out of a thin layer of cardboard. There are a few things that I liked in the video and there are a few things that I just find really boring and uncreative. Let’s start with the latter. Disliked what they were wearing, when they dance that is. Like are they running out of stuff to wear in Korea? Secondly, the people who watch the video. Like seriously guys, calling this the sexy concept. Must I link you the girl group that is taking the sexy concept, dropping the y an calling it the sex concept? Thirdly, the little party scene. It looks so repetitive. We have see this loads of times in a lot of boy group’s video and quite a lot of times in videos for girl groups as well. But let’s move onto what I like. I diamond swing looks pretty cool. I would not mind getting on that swing. I cute speech bubbles that appears are an amazing addition to the video. And even though I despise of the set, I like the mini island they created for themselves.
The dance is kind of …, just not one that I would expect to win the award for best choreography. The chorus twerking within one second dance looks really bad and the dance they have right after the chorus is also quite bad. I have to be honest. A pretty bad dance and I will be the one raising questions if they win best dance performance again.
This song and comeback was not for me. I like Ok Go much more that this song to be honest. 2/10
Soyu is back with a brand new collaboration on stage with another singer in her on label’s sub label. Yes, I hope this will be a thing that Soyu will continue doing on stage from now on. She is basically now called the “Charts Queen” or something because both of her songs which she had duet in last year (Stupid In Love) and now this song which literally took over Korea. Like wow. But we must not forget that this is Soyu and JungGiGo. Did a little research and turns out this guy debuted back in 2002 I think and has a lot of fans. But now that he signed with a major label, he gets to showcase his singing skills. Both two are match made in Heaven (I think I said the same thing for Mad Clown as well).
This song is freaking amazing. Last time it was vocals and raps. Now it is just vocals and the smoothness of the both Soyu and JungGiGo’s voice in this song is amazing. The RnB sound in this song suits him so well and Soyu accompanies the song quite well as well. I entirely in love with the chorus. To me it sounds like one syllable getting pushed from one side to another at the very start of the chorus. The instrumental is sweet as and sounds romantic. Like appropriate for yesterday! The rapping was okay for the song, but the rapper did not suit the song. Maybe Mad Clown should step in, but his voice sounds a little too serious. And for your information, the rapper is LilBoy from Geeks. Honestly, I love this song at the moment and have been replaying it each time my headphones are in. I guess it won’t be as catchy as other songs, but I found myself listening to the song again and again for quite some time.
The music video shows two people, which we will name them as Baro and Dasom (for no apparent reason). Baro is a pilot who is never home, whereas Dasom is always on home. Now, they have a crush on each other and I guess they know each other as well. Once Baro comes back, it seems he is waiting for his friend’s calls or text messages and at the same time Dasom expects her friend’s text message as well. Until the guy (yay!) decides to text first and I think they arrange an outing with each other. And while the girl is preparing for their date, the guy falls asleep on the bus and makes a fool out of himself, causing him to be embarrassed. Or more like frustrated. I don’t know what happened next, but both become quite upset. Then Dasom takes it out on her bear, which turns into a live white teddy bear, which usually I think I would hug, but she just decides to WWE the bear and hurt it. Poor bear. But then the couple remember that they should be somewhere and go looking for each other. Baro runs into the bear who wants revenge on who ever caused his pain and decides to attack Baro. Yeah, that failed. And then the pair meet up. And the end. Pretty funny video if you ask me. Baro being a pilot and an oversize living teddy bear is pretty interesting. But it is a great music video.
10/10. Such a romantic duet with a funny video. What more can you ask for? Still waiting for Mad Clown’s second song, JungGiGo’s second song and Soyu’s next collaboration!
Sistar, one of the biggest girl groups at the moment, returned in 2011 with So Cool. Now they are known for big hits like Alone and Give It To Me, which sky-rocketed them to fame. Prior to this is that the girls made their comebacks with a few songs, such as Shady Girl, How Dare You, Push Push. They also before So Cool’s release unveiled Sistar19, which is a subunit of the band which consisted of members Hyorin and Bora. So Cool was not the first song that they won their awards with. They got their first music show award with How Dare You which rose to the top of the charts quite quickly. So Cool followed likewise as well, rising to the top of the charts as well.
Looking back, I really don’t know why I chose to review this song. I was not a major fan of them back in 2011, and this song was really boring for me. It was just a standard pop song for me, which was quite disappointing, because now they release top hits like Give It To Me and Alone. Another string of boring songs. Well, it is not that boring as I still tend to listen to it (It is on me exercise playlist for some reason) and I enjoy singing along to it, bur it really is not a song that I would say is high up there at all. The vocals are okay, not as great and the line distribution was much better than nowadays. The rapping was the only thing I liked in this song, since it really showed off Bora’s style and all I remember from the song is “So Cool like Ice Tea”. Hahahaha… So yeah… Not so much a great song. Its not bad, but not that great either.
The music video to me was boring, but I know a few people who thought this music video was amazing. I did not like the set as much as I wanted to, and those guys were a distraction. I thought they were Brave Brothers, but it turned out that Brave Brothers was a one man band. Anyway, I was not entirely sure about them running in puffy dresses, but at least they were wearing runners. Cause if they were not, wow. What would have had happened to them? I always think something and here we go. I don’t like how the white people are portrayed in music videos. With the exception of YG Ent, the white people always seem to be directors and people behind sets. On top of that, they always seem to be so fake and whatnot. But then again, probably revenge on how Asians are portrayed on the screen in America and other countries.
The dance is okay. The music video one was better, but was not as catchy as I thought it would be. On top of that, how did tail swishing become shoulder rubbing on face dance? I would love to see the thought progress of that one.
6/10. Honestly don’t know why I chose this song to review when I come to think about it. But hey, a review is a review. Not much has changed since 2011 I guess. Next review goes to: Fiction by Beast. Note: I will update a proper playlist tomorrow when I have time.
KPOPREVIEWED 