[Review] Taeyeon - Spark

The queen is back. Taeyeon has returned with a new album "Purpose." If I was a true fan, I'd go and review the entire album but I know myself: I'd try and give up halfway through because I'm a lazy piece of shit. To that end, here we have the title track of this album, "Spark." Because I'm true Taeyeon trash I exposed myself to the music video teasers (and highlights from the album, too) so I was feeling pretty good about another solid Taeyeon release. Here's what I think.

[Review] Secret - Love Is Move (Throwback)

Touted as one of my favorite / best Secret songs back in the day, "Love Is Move" was never reviewed - because my Kpop blogging experience started in 2012. Nonetheless I had fond memories of the upbeat dance track. So much so that when I made a (very) belated Best Of 2011 post three years ago, I had it ranked as the #11 song. Time to take a throwback look at one of Secret's premier title tracks. There's the intricacy of reviewing an old song. Am I going off how I perceived the song then and comparing it to now? Should the current state of the group and or the industry factor in? Nobody knows the answers to these questions and certainly not me.

[Review] TWICE - Like Ooh-Ahh (Revisited)

In honor of Twice's fourth anniversary, let's take a look at "Like Ooh-Ahh" and how the Kpop world was introduced to their newest girl group overlord and my reaction to their first song. Also holy cow it's been four years already since this debut. Help me I'm old.

• Before this debut though, my honest opinion is that Twice doesn't have to try very hard. Miss A has yet to establish themselves as a top tier girl group, plus the general inactivity has left a gaping hole in JYP's girl group roster. Anything from a decent to average song will suffice.

Imagine telling 2015 fans that Twice would not only be the best girl group ever seen out of JYPE, but one of the top girl groups of all time in three to four years. Not to mention that both Wonder Girls and miss A would be out of order shortly after this debut. "Like Ooh-Ahh" matches up favorably to "Irony" and "Bad Girl Good Girl" and serves as one of JYP's best debuts to date.

Rest In Peace, Sulli

This is truly a cursed year for Kpop. Out of the many headlines, Sulli's death was the last thing I expected. Apparently the authorities have not ruled it a suicide but she was alone when it happened. Either way devastating news. f(x) was one of the earliest groups in my Kpop journey, and Sulli was at the forefront of her group. Her cute smile and bubbly personality drew me to her, and she was my favorite member of f(x) before Luna took center stage. I got to see them perform live twice: once in New York and once in Hong Kong. Really wish I had a smartphone back in those days so I could have had some fancams still around. People talked so much shit about her that was undeserved - as it always is - and I pray that she maintained close relationships with others she could rely on for support. We always take life for granted. Mental issues are no joke. Depression is no joke. Being a keyboard warrior is a joke. They've announced that her funeral will not be open to the public and thank fucking god. The media constantly trashed her both during and after her f(x) days, why should they have access to anything from her death? Praying for her friends and family, and anyone else who knew her. Combine everything happening in Kpop this year and the bullshit in Hong Kong, it's been a rough couple of months on my mental physique. Nonetheless we keep pushing onward. Take care of yourselves, guys. I pray I never have to make one of these posts ever again.

[Misc] Belated Birthday Blues

My birthday was yesterday...I'm on the wrong side of my 20's now, ugh. I woke up to this video in my subscriptions and was almost crying immediately. 2NE1 will always be one of my favorite girl groups of all time and this is super sweet even though it's only half the roster (kinda like the "Spring" song). Listen to those Dara vocals! Admittedly I need to catch up on her Youtube content. Bom has been on Queendom and has a couple releases to her name now. Minzy has been pretty quiet on the music front last I checked, and CL is still with YG (hopefully not for long). Even if it's informal, there needs to be a reunion on their futures. Please. Blackjacks around the world need it. More content next week, 'cause for now I'm enjoying the long weekend. Hope y'all do too.

[Bonus] The Late Report: September 2019

October is already here, yikes. Theoretically I should be able to match post count from last year but with me you're never too sure. Nonetheless, we move into a new month and that means a new edition of The Late Report. Here's what September had to harvest.

Twice - Feel Special

Let's get the obvious one out of the way first. Twice's "Feel Special" is definitely their best song to date. Like I mentioned in the previous post, there's many things to like about this comeback. The vocals, the setup, and upon further review the choreography is super clean too. The evolution of their style over the years has reached its peak with "Feel Special," and it appears all too likely that Twice have made their position on the Best Of 2019 clear: they'll be there in December when it's all said and done.