Tag: Yang Yoseob (HIGHLIGHT)

[Review] BRAIN – Yang Yoseob (HIGHLIGHT)

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After taking a few days off after my album review blitz, I am back with a review of Monday’s main release, BRAIN, by Yang Yoseob (from HIGHLIGHT). The new song is featured as the title track of Chocolate Box, Yoseob’s first ever studio album since his debut 12 years ago. This is also Yang Yoseob’s first solo release since Star and Where I Am Gone in 2019 and his release from the military. Earlier this year, Yoseob returned with his fellow members of HIGHLIGHT for Not The End and The Blowing promotions, marking the end of a two year hiatus for the group.

To me, BRAIN is a fairly straight-forward R&B track. It is always nice to hear something that you can describe as pure and not overly processed or potentially muddled by other influences (which is more so the case of today’s KPOP music). It is also a nice throwback to how Yoseob started his solo career, which was also an R&B track (see my review for Caffeine).I wasn’t a fan of his debut song back then, but I would say my music tastes have matured over the many years since then and can appreciate a song like Brain now. A few elements pop out at me in the newer song. Within the instrumentation, I found the muffled flute to be quite an intriguing centerpiece. At first I didn’t like it, but it drew my attention in quite quickly and dragged out a few additional listens out me. The bass was a much needed element in BRAIN, adding definition to the instrumentation and the song overall. The rest of the instrumentation was more on the typical side of the spectrum and hence the muffled flute and bass really did wonders to make it more attractive. Another element within BRAIN was Yoseob’s vocals. His vocals are smooth and perfectly suited for the R&B genre, and I felt that BRAIN really highlighted that and presented his vocals extremely well. I particularly like Yoseob’s vocals during the bridge, as they seemed to push the song’s boundaries. It might be minute, but it was definitely appreciated. The melodies that he brings to the song also gave BRAIN a tinge of memorability, which works hand-in-hand with the other memorable elements of the song. Overall, BRAIN is a pretty decent song. I am not head over heels for the song, but it is a great return to form for Yoseob and highlights his skills in a manner that is clear and pure.

As for the music video, it is fairly typical. But it was still fine to watch. I did like how the stylist(s) for this comeback changed Yoseob’s image for this comeback. He looks very mature in this music video in his outfits, which is rather different to the image that I am more familiar of him (for those who are wondering, I am much more familiar from his youthful image back in the early days when he was promoting under the name of Beast). Elsewhere in the video, I felt some of the sets provided a bit of sophistication and classiness to the music video. The lighting added a bit of a dramatic flair, especially around the peak of the song.

Choreography-wise, it matched the vibes of the music video. I thought it was classy looking and there was a tinge of sensual energy. It was also elegant and smoothing looking as well. I particularly like the slow shuffling in the chorus and the slow swinging of the legs in the post-chorus hook. I feel like the choreography really lifted up the song, for me.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 7/10
Choreography – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.2/10

[Review] Where I Am Gone – Yang Yoseob (HIGHLIGHT)

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Yang Yoseob has finally dropped his first solo comeback since his solo debut back in 2012. Last week, the main vocalist of HIGHLIGHT gave us a small snippet into this latest release with Star. One week later and he has dropped the entire mini-album (White), along with the title track Where I Am Gone.

Once again, Yoseob starts off the song with the traditional ballad route. His first few lines of the song were quite heartbreaking and putting emotions into this vocals is what we know Yoseob for. The song develops more into a pop song once it reaches the chorus and I feel like this is the strongest moment of the song. It was mildly disappointing at first because there wasn’t anything special with the first half of the chorus. The second half, once the autotuned vocals kick in, was definitely more interesting and this gave the song a rougher effect, which contrasted nicely with the rest of the song. It was also quite catchy. Yoseob’s vocals do stand out in this song. It may be a little too plain of the song for us to have a full grasp of his vocal abilities but it enough to prove his status, particularly the bridge and the final chorus. The main issue with this song would have to be its plainness. Yes, it has its moments but you cannot just forget about how incredibly plain the song is. I have a feeling that within a few more listens, I would get bored of it.

I am also on the fence in regards to the video. It is definitely fitting for the song and there were some moments which I did enjoy. It just had a few aspects that should have been more thought out. Let’s start off with the car scene. I personally like the direction but the car seats it used was a little too futuristic for my taste. Maybe one of those olden day cars or something that looked a little more traditional would have worked well with that scene. Also, there is no driver, which is a little concerning. But regarding what I did enjoy, I liked the choreography scenes, particularly those where we only saw the silhouette of the dancers and how Yoseob was the main focus (as he should be) during these scenes.

I did like the solo moment he had with the female backup dancer. Hopefully, that made it into the choreography. But the rest of the performance (judging from the music video only) looked really awkward. He looked stiff and uncomfortable throughout the chorus and this didn’t really relay well back to me when I watched the video. Hopefully, the performance is better.

Song – 6.5/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 5/10
Overall Rating – 6/10

 

[Review] Star – Yang Yoseob (HIGHLIGHT)

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After 5 years, Yoseob from HIGHLIGHT will be making his official return as a solo artist. The last time he promoted as a solo artist was at the end of 2012 with Caffeine. Fast forward 5 years and today Yoseob unveiled his pre-release track to his upcoming mini-album, which is due to be released next week. So, let’s begin the countdown to Yoseob’s return by having a listen to his pre-release track, Star.

Like most pre-releases, Star falls under the ballad category. Throw in Yoseob’s vocals and you do have a perfect pairing. And while I did think Star would become a little too straightforward with a consistent ballad instrumental, it did take an unexpected yet welcoming turn. We start off with a slow yet dreamy piano instrumental. From the second verse, the song starts to pick up. Not in a way where it turns into a pop song but rather there is a dramatic buildup with a very deep thumping sound, which resembled thunder. Then came in more classical instruments, which made the song sound so much better. I also liked it how his vocals were at the forefront despite the instrumental change-up, allowing the listener to focus on the vocals and not have it drowned out by the violins. Overall, I really like the ballad.

The music video is essentially a long walk in the snow. That is what Yoseob is doing, which goes well with the song. It just doesn’t work well on the memorability front. They shot at really pleasant places with great camera angles, which visually worked well as well. Besides that, I don’t much else to comment on with regards to the video.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 6/10
Overall Rating – 7.8/10

[DOUBLE REVIEW] Gotta Go To Work + YeY – Beast

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Finally, what I intended the double reviews for. For when artists come out with a pre-release and then their title track. Honestly, I felt like Beast should have reviewed sooner, but it won’t be fair for other bands to wait it out as well. Beats has comeback with their fifth mini album. Gotta Go To Work was their pre-release single, while YeY is their title track for this promotional run. Their album is titled as “Ordinary” but this album and their songs are nothing “ordinary”. Prepare for lame puns.

Knowing me, I liked YeY more than Gotta Go To Work. While their last few pre-releases were more of the ballad type, Gotta Go To Work can be described as a song that we would not have expected from the band. There is a lot of aegyo feelings in this song compared to any other song that they have released. And it is pretty interesting. No, it is not a crap song. It is actually pretty nice to listen to once in a while. And I am glad they did not choose this as their title track, because it would be a song that I would get tired with quite quickly. I think that while it is good to listen to from time to time, consecutively listening to this song on the loop would drain it of all the effects it should have. I love how Junhyung carries the first half of the chorus though. It changes things up a bit. I like their vocals in the song.

YeY is a much better song in my opinion. Mainly because I have replaying the song since it has come out and really enjoy the dance and party theme it was going for. The song starts off slow, and starts to build up to the first chorus. It basically hypes you up until the beat drops when we get to the chorus. Junhyung is singing quite a bit in these songs. Interesting. I really enjoy the chemistry between their voices in this song. Junhyung’s rap at the beginning was pretty bad ass though. There is one complaint I have in terms of the vocals. Kikwang seems to have a pretty deep voice this time around and I am quite sure I have never heard a song with Kikwang singing like in this sing. Not saying it is bad, but I feel like it really did not fit well with the song. The instrumental and chorus is really addictive as well. “Yey Yey Yey!!!”

The music videos are quite nice. Gotta Go To Work has a very colourful and cutesy video. I honestly like where they were going with the video and how the girl does not want Doojoon to go to work, mainly because she would miss him so much. And he would tempt her anyway he can to just go to work. Wait, doesn’t that mean he wants to leave her? OMG…. Hahaha… I know, don’t worry. But damn girl, she is just too clingy. I enjoyed Doojoon’s acting in the video though, Suited the music video very well. Yey also had a great music video. Though, my number one complaint is regarding the stylist who did Junhyung’s and Hyunseung’s hair. Please. NO. I cringed so hard, I felt like I cringed on behalf of Australia when I saw them dread locks. The rest of the music video (sorry have to gloss over this part) went pretty smoothly. Party animals I have to say. I love the warehouse dance set that they had. It looked pretty cool.

There should not have been a dance for Gotta Go To Work. It just looked weird on stage. YeY had a much better dance to it and that I expected from them. Their dancing matches the song quite well for YeY.

Overall, this was probably a solid comeback. Always expected Beast to make a great comeback and they managed to deliver pretty well despite all the competition.

Gotta Go To Work – 5/10

YeY – 9/10

Good Luck – Beast

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Yesterday I reviewed No More, by Beast and now I am reviewing their title track on their new album, Good Luck.Proven to be a hit, the song has earned many awards so far and have many people praising the boys for their talent.

I freaking like this song. Many people are like “meh” but I really like the modern feel of this particular song. Though I do have complaints about the song, I feel was produced to a really high standard. However, the start where Yoseob is singing “Why you leave me alone? I’m still loving you” does not fit the song as well as the rest of the song fits the song. KPOP really needs to move away from the 35964546 song mashup. Some bands make it sound good, while some bands make it sound really awful. This song does not do it as well as I would have liked it. A ballad start and then the rest of the song sounds like a club electro filled song don’t blend well. Minus the little intro, the vocals in the song sound quite good. The rapping was a let down. I just did not feel it from Junhyung this time. His rapping is superb, just the lyrics don’t string together as a proper rap for me. The other members did quite fine throughout the song. The chorus was quite catchy. Overall, a song that sounds pretty cool, minus a few bits.

Boy those teasers were so boring. Though they were used to give an insight into the story, I found the teasers to be a drainer to watch. But anyway, the teasers tell us that the girl is up to something behind each member’s back. Junhyung’s teaser itself has the same story line, but the thing that is different is that is it was done to replicate the “Last Supper”, where the betrayal happened. Here, the girl wants to leave him, so as betrayal, she stabs him. The rest of the video was quite meh, I did not like any of the dance sets. I was also quite paranoid with Dongwoon’s scenes, where he and the girl are making love, but he is the one singing into the camera, and it looks so awkward. Beside that, there is nothing that is worthy to comment on in the video, so yeah. An okay video, I guess.

The dance of this song is said to be one of the hardest dances that the boys have attempted. And according to others, Fiction seemed to be the easiest. Can I say that I still cannot dance to Fiction. Hahahaha… Anyway, this dance was pretty awesome. There is nothing to say about that. The boys are known for their dances, and they delivered with a good dance. I love Junhyung’s part where he was “Like an elevator” and the boys actually went down as if they were on an elevator. Hahaha… I get so fascinated by the smallest things.

8/10. They did quite well this time around. Especially with the competition they now have on their hands. So how did you guys like the comeback? Comment below!

 

No More – Beast

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OMG, Beast is back with a new songs. And they are back on “Beastagram” for their new music video. Wow. After nearly a whole year disappearance from Korea as a group, the group has finally returned to the stage to wow everyone with their new songs. Last time I saw the one of the members on stage was JunHyung’s solo Flower. Now they are back with a pre-release song. It is another ballad, which Beast is widely known for and their ballads have also been proven to be quite successful, because with every single album or mini album , the group have one one award for each of their ballads. Such titles include: On Rainy Days, Will You be Alright and now No More. And they have finally made their comeback, with their title track, being reviewed tomorrow.

This song is pretty okay. I am not much of a fan for Beast’s ballads, mainly because I associate the band with dance heavy songs. This to me, was quite boring to listen to. I like my fair share of ballads, just this one has too much rnb and hip hop smashed into it to make it a ballad for me to like. I did like their vocals in the song. It matched the soft instrumental that they had with the song.  I am not big on raps in ballads, but JunHyung did really well in this song. It is not your typical rap from Junhyung, as it much softer and sounds a lot similar to whispering. So yeah, overall, it is a good ballad, just it did not do well for me.

The music video of this is pretty cool. “Beastagram” was used in this video to tell a really good story and really suited the feel of the whole video. Actually, the way the video was shot was quite smoothed and fitted the song quite well. We see Junhyung and his former girlfriend. Each member had their own profile, and their own little video clip for the video is transition into the next solo. That is pretty smart. The whole thing was also used by the video, to help the two mains of the video of their memories, and that is too very smart, as all of our memories are now captured digitally. And it is through these shots, we get a glimpse of how things used to be.  Then they literally go down “memory” lane by walking down the same path when they were dating, and then they bump into each other. However as they know they can no longer continue, they keep on walking, even though it breaks their heart. It turns out that Junhyung is going to meet another girl, while the girl is busy putting away the things that remind her of him. However at the end, we can see that through “Beastagram” both can still manage to be together. Such a sad music video to watch, but also equally as entertaining and unique.

5/10. Even though I am not much of a fan of the song, I liked the uniqueness of the video, which made the whole thing stand out. That, or I would not have reviewed their pre-release.

 

Fiction – Beast

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Source: http://static.tumblr.com/4mcuz71/E95me6ing/beast_2012.jpg

How on earth did I pick these songs? Today I will be reviewing Beast’s Fiction. This was the title track off their first album and was one of their most successful songs. It was released in 2011, when KPOP was quite smaller, compared to now. It has changed so much that I don’t even know what is going on. It is a review that I have being put off for a very long time. Actually, I think it is a review that I had already written, lost it when my computer had to be wiped clean and reinstalled and all of that occurred early 2012. Yeah, there are a few reviews that I believe are hanging around my computer somewhere or on my external hard drive. Which reminds me, I could not copy and paste CN Blue’s review for I Am A Loner. I remember that one because it was the only one that would not publish. Anyway, on with the review.

Back in 2011, I hated this song. Why? Because it played non stop everywhere. All the sites were raving on about it and I was just like no. Fiction now disappeared from the ranks and I am thankful for that. I have no idea what the hype of this song was for. It was another boring song which I never got into. It was not impressive and I know the boys could have done a whole heap better because of their songs that they released prior to this. The chorus was boring and unappealing and there was not one thing I liked about the song. The vocals were so so and I expected a song much better from that band. Honestly, I have no idea why I am even reviewing this song, because by now, you probably will understand what my score will be at the end.

The music video is not actually that great. It is basically about how a guy is completely heartbroken at how his girlfriend leaves him. Yeah, the music video was played so many times that I got sick of Junhyung’s acting. It was good at first, but it was really boring when you watch it over and over again. It was dark in some places which fit the feel of the song, but then there were parts that were super bright (such as the one where he is at the desert, but it did not look like a proper sun light. Sun light is not white…) and then dark places, such as that scene where they are dancing on the roof. And what is that alien ship structure where the whole scene is orange, looks like they were on Mars. Though I liked the plot of the video, it was played some many time, I grew to dislike it.

The dance is called the “penguin shuffle” dance I believe, and it looks easy to attempt. Yeah, I have to dance the dance. It fits the speed of the song which I great, but really lacked the impact of a good performance. And those leather suits or whatever look kind of weird.

I try to be reasonable and rank it as if I first listened to it and watch the videos. 4/10. Obviously not the best Beast song out there. I will update the playlist tomorrow. Currently watching the Seoul Music Awards. ^^

Shadow – Beast

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Source: http://www.hellokpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/130717_BEAST_ShadowMVTeaser.jpg

Beast recently made one of the hottest comebacks on July 19, with their creepiest song yet: Shadow. If you think Fiction, Breathe or Shock was creepy or scary, it must be noted that is just childsplay. Shadow has proven to be a hit amongst fans earning an all kill as soon as it was release and topping all charts. However, the song seems to not be doing well on the weekly show charts. I don’t know since they have only promoted for their first week, so I am expecting a major all kill on the all 4 different charts this week. It must be noted that the companies basically threw a whole bunch of bands onto the charts (something like the Hunger Games) and the best will win. Other artists that are going head to head are Infinite, Ailee, Brown Eyed Girls, F(x), EXO and many more. But they are not as important as Beast for this review, so let’s continue.

WOW!!! I totally love this song. It is catchy, dark and really cool sounding. Something of my liking. This song is something along the lines of their Fiction days, and I hated Fiction. This however is by far their best song yet. I really like the different feel of the song. Last year, they made a comeback with a dance themed song. The year before that they made a comeback with a ballad like song. This year, creepy. I love the vocals of this song and JunHyung’s rap is totally amazing. Doojoon gets a majority of the chorus with Yoseob which is much different than usual. I also love how everyone else sings once, but suddenly starts singing to different parts of the chorus at the end. Not sure if they are putting emphasis of how much the others suck or what, but seriously this whole idea is pretty cool. Not exactly a fan of the “Shadow, Shadow” part at the start though. Sounds conflicting with the song.

As for the music video. I really hate that filter that put over the whole video to give it that olden feel to the video. I really hate static and all of that mojo, so this music video was a letdown when I first saw it. That guy with all the tattoos on his back is really scary.  I really like how this video is full of “shadows”. It really makes sense. However the close ups with the members and that glass frost wall is really too much. There was too many flashing lights in this video. From what I see from the video, this girl, which the guys love, have walked onto the “dark side” (aka. leaving the guy). Basically, it is pretty scary and lives up to the whole concept. And that set is pretty amazing. I know it is just green screen and some realy parts, but still it is pretty amazing. I also liked one part of the video which I will pose to you guys as a question: What does B.A.P’s No Mercy, VIXX’s Hyde and Beast’s Shadow all have in common?

As for the dance, it matched the speed and the instrumental really well. Splitting the bands into their solo parts at the start was pretty cool, and gave each member some time to shine. Pun intended.

8.5/10. Pretty cool. Woo! Much better than Beautiful Night from last year.

Caffeine – Yang Yoseob (Beast)

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Source: http://d1i45kki000yqu.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/121128_Yoseob.jpg

Beast is renowned to do really good dance style songs like Shock, Breathe, Beautiful Night, Mystery, Bad Girl. However Yoseob has come out with a song with an unexpected twist. Caffeine, can be said a song that many can get “addicted” to. However I am not an actual coffee drinker (I find it really bitter), so this song is not my cup of tea. Wow, so many puns!!!

The song is not for me. I see how addictive and happy fan girls or boys can get over this guy and his song, however, I really dislike this song. I actually expected something along the lines of the groups past songs. Isn’t he like a B-Boy as well? However, there were some aspects of the song I liked. I liked the fact that they added the sounds of coffee being stirred into the song and also the sounds that is made when you place a delicate cup of coffee on a saucer. I guess I did not like the feel of the song. It seemed bland and dry. It is not as good as other songs. I felt like other songs from his album would’ve made it better than Caffeine, like Look At Me Now.

The music video is really confusing. I don’t think anything I think even make sense. He has a girlfriend, however they fight and the girl leaves. Since she was Yoseob’s daily cup of coffee (;)), he becomes depressed. After that I am quite lost. I see quite a lot of symbolism in this video, however, I don’t see anything about the girl and Yoseob himself disappearing into a cloud of smoke and the box, which contained his heart. I saw nothing with that, and how confusing that became. However, I did like the dancing on top of the table. Denying physics since 2012. That was pretty cool.

The dance of this song kind of fits the whole song however, I found it unappealing to watch. Mainly because I did not like the song and that I found it quite difficult to watch the dance without some kind of song that goes with it.

Sadly, I am going to give this a 4.5/10. Not the best song at all, however it did have some fine points that were alright. However, overall, I did not like the song.

I Remember – Bang Yong Guk (B.A.P) ft. Yang Yoseob (Beast)

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Song

OMG, this must one of the best ballads yet. Rapping and vocals were superb. I never would’ve thought that these two, one a good rapper (Bang Yong Guk) and the other is one of the best vocalists in the KPOP industry (Yang Yoseob). The song is not a good song that people would say “Sounds good.” This song is a song where people would say “OMG, IT IS SO GOOD.”

Like come one, you must agree with powerful raps and powerful vocals, this song is hard to beat. I also felt that there was something familiar between this certain song and Going Crazy by Song Ji Eun featuring Bang Yong Guk. Am I getting somewhere now?

This song tells the story about a guy who remembers the memories of his lover. Along with the music video which I don’t want to discuss the music video here, but we get the sense that the person has actually died and is remembering the past.

Music Video

Wow oh wow. Is this music video banned by the MOGEF yet? Did you see the back of the guy’s head explode outwards? Did you see the amount of shots he took to the body? I would be very surprised if the music video is not banned yet. But if my memory serves me right, it was banned.

As you can see in the music video that even until the last moment in a person’s life, love can so be so powerful. The guy proved his true love to his girlfriend who happened to be kidnapped at the last moment. He storms through all the bullets to just get to the other side to be with his girlfriend until the last moment where all their happy memories come back to both of their minds until reality took over and said that they were both going to die.

I have some complaints. Firstly the road or tunnel which the gun-fight took place, is that not the same place where Kim Hyun Joong filmed a part of his music video for Break Down. (Something unrelevant, but the atmosphere in the music video for Warrior by B.A.P is exactly the same). Also, for some reason the police seemed to be pretty crap. They could not keep a guy out of gun fight and kept shooting at him during the gun fight. Seriously police? There are other people much better than you are.

Live Performance

There is a live performance? There is a performance but only featuring Daehyun, a member of B.A.P (Bang Yong Guk’s band), but this review clearly states I would be reviewing the orginal version. But if you want to see, I will link you it here. It is still epic.

And The Rating?

I would give this song/music video a 9/10.

(NOTE: I swear I wrote a review for this music video before. Deja Vu?)

Have Fun Watching. 😀 Troy