[Review] Girl's Day - Expectation

Vocals: 10 / 10

Now, pardon me if I’m wrong, as this is my first experience with Girl’s Day, but isn’t Minah supposed to be the star vocalist of the group? I mean I didn’t expect her to be some powerhouse juggernaut like Hyorin and Sistar, but I found Minah underwhelming. Minah is good, yes, but I’m more impressed by the roster as a whole (Sojin especially). Supports, transitions, belts, all are fantastic and the chorus can get you addicted easily. While the buildup to the final chorus was sloppy as hell, I loved how they reversed the sequence for the last chorus, singing words for the first part and then “Ooh ooh ooh” afterward. Excellent showing.

Appearance: 9 / 10

Sojin is…26? W-why is she hanging out with 19 year olds? Moreover why does she look so young? I drew parallels with her to f(x)’s Victoria merely because of age, but at least Victoria looks her age (or is in the ballpark). Like Victoria though she seems to have trademark eyes which captivated me early. In contrast, Yura looks older than her 1992 birthday would suggest, and while the hairstyle isn’t that great a look, it’s normal enough, and God knows normal is a good thing, especially for girl groups. Hyeri has a little Jiyeon syndrome going on, but thankfully after looking at some more Girl’s Day stuff I found it’s just the makeup for this video specifically. Minah’s a cutie. Didn’t know she had incredible eye smiles until I saw other videos / interviews though. This song is another instance where the outfits of the group and the backup dancers are the same, which gives a nice show of union (particularly since the choreo doesn’t differ between the two).

Dance: 7 / 10

Straps? Really? I know the concept was geared towards the sexy mature side or “change” for Girl’s Day but they’ve got a ways to go before matching the images of their KARA or Sistar sunbaes. Truthfully aside from the straps there’s nothing special about this dance, and that’sk ind of a problem, consdiering how addicitve Kpop choreography can be. If you don’t have the straps you can’t really mimic the dance. Well you can, but it’s not gonna be as interesting (for example, I’d bet most if not all the performances have been with straps).

Rap: 5 / 10

Oh, no. No no no no no. This was not a good first impression for Yura’s rapping. It’s not that she’s bad, more like the rap itself is bad. But, considering Girl’s Day was the typical aegyo cutesy girl group before this release, it doesn’t seem like the other raps are not much different. The English is sloppy, enunciation sounds sloppy, and the messy instrumental background certainly does not help in the slightest. Her rapping voice is decent, which is the only thing saving this score from being worse.

Music Video: 9 / 10

It’s essentially the same idea behind the music video as G.NA in “Oops”. There are blank rooms, elegant solo shots, alternate rooms, and some form of a plot where Yura gets back at the boy of interest. Actually now that you mention it I’m going to give it an extra point because Yura’s the only member acting in the music video and not all the members sharing. Glad to see someone got the idea, sheesh. Having a completely blank room though, seriously?

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Overall: 80 / 100

Given my about zero knowledge about this group before this, I didn’t really know what to expect (heh) from them. Something tells me I wouldn’t have really liked their earlier aegyo stuff, and first impressions always matter, especially in Kpop. I’m glad I was pleasantly surprised with “Expectation”.

[Review] G.NA - Oops (feat. Ilhoon)

Vocals: 8 / 10

This song is cute and timely with the season change, yeah, but I can’t help but make comparisons to “I’ll Back Off So You Can Live” (which I consider her best piece yet). Everything else since then has been lackluster; at the very least G.NA could do with a better showing of vocals. So for what it’s worth, she eases in to this type of song well but it’s much too aegyo-cutesy for me to really enjoy it. G.NA in many ways draw parallels to Girls’ Generation’s Sunny where they can sound excellent in medium paced songs but mediocre in cute songs.

Appearance: 6 / 10

When I saw the teaser, I thought “Oh God please no that wig is awful”. So you could imagine I was pleasantly surprised to see G.NA sporting the long hair once the music video started. You could then also imagine how I cringed in horror halfway through when the wig showed up for the first time. Good grief it’s hideous. Not because of the colour so much, but because of the short cut. G.NA cannot do short hairstyles and this is a pretty good example why. It just frames her face too awkwardly. Five out of five for the non-wig parts, a meager one out of five for everything after.

Dance: 7 / 10

G.NA has never been known for any intense choreographies, and this song is no exception. In fact, it’s probably the most boring out of many dances in a while. To sum up the entire dance, it’s hip movement and not a whole lot else. G.NA is mainly a vocalist to begin with, so there aren’t too many expectations but even stuff like Ailee’s “I Will Show You” was far more interesting than this.

Rap: 7 / 10

If Sistar19 should have been Sistar feat. Bora instead of Sistar19, this should certainly be G.NA & Ilhoon instead of G.NA feat. Ilhoon. He’s got a lot of lines, basically the verses, and exchanges for the prechorus are all Ilhoon. But…I’m not sold on his voice. It’s not bad, like I can listen to the whole song without problem, but he always sounds out of breath. I’ve yet to listen to anything from BTOB so I’m a little concerned about the rapping for their music.

Music Video: 8 / 10

This music video actually has a plot…sort of. G.NA wakes up, leaves, and parties. That in and of itself earns more points since other music video’s are so damn boring. That aside, there are still godawful blank rooms and the aforementioned wig. Ilhoon was also used rather awkwardly, and I prefer having collaborators actually be together for videos (think Taeyang’s “I Need A Girl”), but I figure it’d be rather difficult given the extent of Ilhoon’s lines. There is nothing extraordinary in this MV, but the previously mentioned points work for it.

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Overall: 74 / 100

I want to like this song. I really do. G.NA’s voice is pretty underrated but this song is an example why: too much cute sound and aegyo really hurt and hide her vocal ability. Combined with a mediocre rap, and a boring dance, it’s quickly drowned out by some other recent releases. I’ll be content once G.NA goes back to her debut days of “I’ll Back Off So You Can Live”.

[Review] 2AM - One Spring Day

Vocals: 9 / 10

I’m upset that Jinwoon was so poorly underutilized. He appears at the beginning and then again towards the bridge / end. Looks like other groups have yet to follow in Miss A’s footsteps of good line distribution. Changmin and Jo Kwon provide the brilliant belts throughout the chorus, and everything else, really. Seulong is also not given enough time like Jinwoon, even though I feel both their voices were more suited for the song. Everything is a little bland though, but there’s enough powerful notes, high belts, and use of emotion to make me forget that more often than not.

Appearance: 9 / 10

Jinwoon looked the best, which is a recurring theme for 2AM, in my opinion. Jo Kwon’s hair and glasses looked pretty good, too, while Changmin and Seulong were a little awkward with the hairstyles. Changmin looks best in spiked hair, like some looks while promoting under “Homme” but ballads aren’t the place for that. Seulong always looks a little weird unfortunately, so I don’t know what he could do to remedy that. Some article noted that 2AM always has the same positions for performances and music videos, because of people “looking better from one side”, which I wouldn’t have actually guessed.

Music Video: 9 / 10

Given that 2AM is a ballad group, they really need to maximize attention with the vocals and the music video. And usually, this has been executed fairly well, throughout “You Wouldn’t Answer My Calls” and others. This one was good enough, but I’m much too lazy to actually talk about the plot. I did like the use of the doors and hallway to illustrate the passage of time. Seulong continues to show some merit in acting. Perhaps we’ll see some greatness out of him in “Heaven’s Order”.

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Overall: 82 / 100

As far as standout ballads go, “One Spring Day” falls a little short, leaving half the members with unfavorable distribution and a decent music video to go along with it. Vocal presence is good but strangely lacking in comparison to past hits. For 2AM, this isn’t so much a step forward or step back as it is a step to the side, while Big Hit continues to look for where to go from here.

[Review] Lee Hi - It's Over

Vocals: 10 / 10

Did you listen to the first thirty seconds? That is probably the smoothest and colourful introduction to a song I’ve heard, it’s incredible. When I first listened in, the song seemed like there wasn’t too much going on, but further repeats revealed there’s actually a lot of harmony work and lively ad libs scattered around, and it’s really good to listen to. The song is just full of a “serene evening” vibe. Lee Hi’s voice is perfect for this type of smooth music, YG really got it spot on for her.

Appearance: 10 / 10

It’s funny because during my review of “1,2,3,4” Lee Hi would’ve gotten a perfect score in appearance if not for her awkwardness. Now, that awkwardness is gone (see the MV bit), and she proves what I said right. Lee Hi probably had twenty plus outfit / hair changes in a variety of looks from cute, playful, sexy, innocent, elegant. In other words, she looks amazing. She could do without the bright red lipstick of a few looks though. Also, while I loved the use of the giant teddy bear, it made Lee Hi look a lot smaller in stature than the already short 156 cm listed on her profile.

Dance: ? / 10

I’m not sure if I should really talk about the dance at all. There’s like tiny glimpses of it during the chorus, but nothing much otherwise. Compared to “1,2,3,4” there’s even less overall, so I guess I shouldn’t. For what it is worth, the chorus dance / arm movements are pretty simple, cute, and follow with what she sings.

Music Video: 8 / 10

Everything about this is a straight upgrade to “1,2,3,4”. Except for the ridiculously boring blank room… Lee Hi’s lipsyncing has improved tremendously, it’s nowhere near as sloppy as it once was. Within the first five seconds of screentime she’s got quality energy and said energy extends throughout the rest of the song. She’s expressive and interactive with the props and the bear. She has personality, charisma, and charm now and I love it. The various hilarities with the bear was cute and fitting for her age. The “One Of A Kind” cameo (I guess it’s a cameo of sorts) was…interesting, complete with backup dancers and all. If the sets from “1,2,3,4” were used this would have been perfect, too.

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Overall: 90 / 100

Wow, Lee Hi definitely delivered with this comeback, and it really highlights how she’s grown over the last couple of months. Husky smooth vocals that are expressive all around with some adorable acting with the teddy bear. I heard she’s getting her own apartment, too. Lee Hi fighting!

[Review] SHINee - Dream Girl

Vocals: 10 / 10

SHINee’s incredibly high vocal standard only increased with “Dream Girl”. Everyone but Minho had quality lines, which is acceptable. Taemin’s vocal prowess continues to expand, as I felt he had a bigger presence throughout than Key or Onew. Minho even had multiple lines, improving the line distribution aspect of SHINee that was already pretty solid. The background “Woo” or whatever during the chorus was fairly well placed, in contrast to say “One Shot” from B.A.P. A shame Jonghyun’s brilliance at the end was not more loud but still awesome work by him. Catchy and explosive vocals from SHINee once again.

Appearance: 8 / 10

To any other group, the intensity of the colours, makeup, and outfits would be too much, but for SHINee, this is also another standard that has become very familiar to Shawols. Some say this was over the top for even SHINee, but I disagree. Everything seemed pretty natural, with Jonghyun and Minho leading the group. Onew is always hit or miss with me and it’s another miss this time, the crimson and cut not really framing his face well. Speaking of miss, Key is also mediocre, the blonde is not a good look for him at all. Nice pants by the way.

Dance: 7 / 10

While the vocals didn’t disappoint, the choreography did, for once. SHINee (and S.M.) are known for their fabulous dances, which when performed live are incredible to watch, along with live vocals. However, this dance, is just average. They use props, yeah, but it’s not interesting in any way. Live performances of “Dream Girl” are really only for the singing, since the dancing is not up to usual par. The only thing this dance has going for it is the “Manager version” of the choreography by the various S.M. managers.

Rap: 8 / 10

Woah. Minho rapping something good? Definitely did not expect that. It was easy to predict that his parts would be a buildup to the final chorus but I thought the rap was well executed, and being “average” compared to other higher quality rappers is good enough for Minho. The English was somewhat laughable but that’s alright, no one judges too harshly for that to begin with, and SHINee is known for using some of the most…interesting English lines to date.

Music Video: 7 / 10

A few things here. I felt like there was a lot of missed potential. Firstly, the “dream girl” in question has like 5 total seconds of screentime. At least in TVXQ’s “Mirotic” she was a centerpoint of the story. With all the sleeping, waking up, and falling back to sleep cuts, I thought there could have been more…you know interaction between the members of the girl. Perhaps in a dream or something. Even if it’d be creeping on her like in “Replay”. I also thought the use of mics / mic stands for the choreography could have given them a sort of stage presence (like say performing for an audience) but that was not used either. Finally, the use of fancy colours, video effects, and versatile camera angles was nice to look at at first, but eventually become really disruptive to the rest of the music video. Next time, more plot, less fancy extras.

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Overall: 80 / 100

SHINee delivers in voice, and basically nothing else. But that’s fine, the song is noteworthy because of its chorus, which is good enough for me. The choreography could be ramped higher to SHINee standard, and the music video was certainly a different twist resulting in the typical S.M. music video outcome. Maybe they made everything else subpar for Minho’s rap to stand out. *Gasp*