[Review] Chungha - Snapping

After the disaster that was Somi's debut, my ears desire cleansing. Chungha has been a hot commodity ever since she embarked on her solo journey. Starting with "Why Don't You Know," I feel she has steadily improved in her discography all the way to "Gotta Go" earlier this year. Considering I label that track as one of the best of the year thus far (more on that later), "Snapping" has some hype to live up to and expectations to surpass. Shoutouts to my boy Thanos.

[Review] Somi - Birthday

Oh no. Oh no no no no. I'm not wasting any time here. This song is painful, and I have only stomached two extra listens apart from the first exposure to this...creature. Somi has been on quite the journey to this point. From trainee days, to Produce days, to dungeon days, to betrayal days, Somi's passport is well-traveled. So you'd think that after all this time she'd have something polished for us to see.

[Review] (G)I-DLE - Uh-Oh (Teaser)

I'm back from my weekend of degeneracy. Once I settle back into the routine of life I'll try to round out June by storm. This group - yes, I'm continuing to avoid typing their actual name - is coming back and once again I've baited myself into getting hype for this release. Soyeon as always is the star of the show and the overall vibe of "Uh-Oh" gives the feel of an older generation of Kpop. That with the slower pace and denim outfits tells me we're in for a smooth ride with these girls. And Shuhua fans despair, because y'all already know what your girl's gonna get for lines.

[Bonus] Boy Group Vocalist Power Rankings

After almost deciding to review a few music video teasers (why), I'm jumpstarting my drive for Vocalist Power Rankings with a brief boy group edition. And by that I mean I'll make this post and then be out of town for four days later this week haha. Only seven selections because I'm lazy, and no linked examples either because I'm fucking lazy. Hmm, what else? The amount of research is loose but based on their history, talent, and versatility. Hard to balance the longevity of some singers since many of the entrants are old school but let's see what happens.

#7. Junsu (JYJ)
Xia Junsu is a storied singer. Between TVXQ, JYJ, and as a solo he has no shortage of material. When he was in a group (what's up with JYJ anyway have they been doing anything? Oh yeah Yoochun does drugs) he tackled many different styles and when he released solo music he tackled many different styles. SME has long had outstanding vocalists in their reserves and Junsu was part of the pioneering class.

#6. Sandeul (B1A4)
To be honest, Sandeul gets by on name alone. He has an extremely versatile and powerful voice, but outside of individual performances on singing shows I've not dived into his discography much. B1A4 was never really on my radar though it's not his fault. Sandeul appears at his best when he sings slower ballads but as I mentioned above, he's not afraid to do different styles and that's been the case with his group.

[Review] miss A - Only You (Revisited)

Since I don't want to write anything about the recent news regarding YG Entertainment (where would I even begin such a post), it's time for another edition of reviewing a review. I'll try doing these more often, but within reason. My initial blueprint is to have at least two new and two revisited reviews a month.

• Musically, this song is an intermediate between past releases of "Hush" and "I Don't Need A Man." It's not nearly as intense as "Hush" was in terms of the instrumental and sound but isn't as cute and quirky as "I Don't Need A Man" either. Whether or not this is a nice medium between those songs remains to be seen, I'll have to listen some more before I form an opinion.

After all this time, I still like all three songs mentioned. The question is in what order. "Hush" is definitely first because it's more mature and has that girl crush energy so many newer groups lack. "I Don't Need A Man" is really fun and right up miss A's quirky attitude alley, and if I was in a neutral mood, I'd want to listen to "I Don't Need A Man." more than "Only You" because the former is sassy fun while the latter is more tame and mellow.

[Review] Ateez - Wave

I really need to decide how I format group names (and to some extent song titles) on this blog, it's driving me bonkers arghh. The only two things I know about Ateez are that they did an episode with the Fine Brothers / React channel, and my old dance crew taught a part of "Treasure" at their previous auditions. Anyway here's one of their shiny new title tracks in "Wave." Since I didn't know which song to choose, it came down to a coinflip between this and "Illusion." Let's see if RNG picked the better song.

[Cover] Seventeen - Thanks

Between work, online courses, and tournaments, it's been tough finding time to write. And LAN is coming up, too. Enjoy this cover I did last summer which was an amazing experience. This was filmed in one continuous take and even though I didn't do my best in this specific final take, the squad looks hella good together. Thanks!

[Bonus] The Late Report: May 2019

Oh boy, May was quite a doozy. There's a lot I want to mention in this post, and not all of it is music though certainly no shortage of that. Part of the reason is because I didn't really write a lot and another part is because of the sheer amount of STUFF last month. Youtube has been broken for me for the last few days so I'll probably have to edit this after publishing. But let's take a look at the mega May edition of The Late Report.

Lee Hi - No One (feat. B.I)

Praise everything that is holy, Lee Hi is releasing new music again. Of course this is only because YG is fucking sinking faster than the Titanic but whatever, I'll take it. Whatever is going on in the backing audio, I'll have that and then some. It's almost janky but reminds me of like funky reggae, which I dig. B.I shows up with a classic iKON rap and if you only heard his rap you wouldn't be judged if you thought it was a new iKON song. Her "I don't care about shit" is so soft-spoken it's like she's afraid to curse. That bridge is absolutely powerful and Kpop could learn from it. No comment on Lee Hi with cat ears or any of the other feline imagery...