[Bonus] The Late Report: January 2020

Whoops. Sometimes you just forget things. And I forgot about December's Late Report. Thus we'll have a super mega awesome combined deluxe version for this month (even though it'll mostly be for news from January regardless). These will also come out at the end of the month instead of the start of the following month, so this edition makes its debut on the final day.

Younha - Winter Flower

Alluded to in my review of "Dark Cloud," "Winter Flower" is a sensational track that features the brilliance of Younha's powerful voice with an electrifying instrumental and RM's appearance. Obviously he's a little busy as of late so he wasn't able to join her in this performance. No idea who BX is but he did a solid job stepping in for RM here. His voice is too nasally for my ears on a first listen but he keeps pace with the original, so props. I like this song so much that I'm trying to learn it on the piano. This will be the first time in almost a decade since I've touched a piano ha, should be a fun challenge.

BTS - Black Swan

Speaking of, here's BTS performing on the Late Late Show with James Corden. Considering that I did not look at any of the "Black Swan" releases of any form, I didn't know what to expect. The first thing I noticed was that this is very much modern BTS with the dancing and style of the song. Not surprising since this formula has been relatively untouched since their meteoric rise. The second thing I noticed was that they weren't wearing shoes. That couldn't have been easy. Shoutouts to the show and all because the whole setup was phenomenal: stage, scenery, lighting, etc. It's a great teaser for their upcoming album, that's for sure.

Red Velvet - Psycho (Remix) (feat. Nicki Minaj)

Kpop remixers really out here trying to add Nicki Minaj to every song. When it's this well-done, can you complain? No, you can't. Given that she has collaborated with BTS before, you could show this to someone new and they'd probably think this was legit. Okay given Nicki's lyrics probably not but you get the point haha. Since we've yet to see the rumored English version of "Psycho," a remix like this will have to do for now.

[Review] Super Junior - 2YA2YAO!

Oh man it's Super Junior. They're still kicking it and got something for us early in the 2020 cycle. Sungmin is still not officially back with the group despite releasing new music under their label. Here's hoping that the next release will feature his return. As I constantly debate over how much I really want to review songs, January will conclude with a second review and future months will likely see a similar number of review posts. One possible workaround is to have much bigger Late Reports per month to cover some of the music. The other option is to simply focus more on non-review writing but my indecisiveness towards this subject will continue to know no bounds.

[Bonus] Best Of The 2010's

Back in early 2016 I made a post highlighting the best picks of the first five years of the decade. And of course there was the timeline post, too. But now with the 2010's behind us, it's time to see which of the top songs of each year would come out on top in a battle of the best. To make things simple, each year brings one candidate to the table. I contemplated giving some of the runner-ups a chance (because there have been some damn good #2 picks over the years) but that wouldn't be fair to all the songs who claimed the gold medal. This was arguably the hardest song ranking piece I've ever had to write. Let's see how the stars of the 2010's match up against each other.

#10. Ailee - Heaven (2012)

Make no mistake, the fact that "Heaven" is a debut track making a top 10 such as this is impressive. Plus, it's the only debut track to have accomplished such a feat. Some debuts have been good, but never this good. "Heaven" is a sublime power ballad that showcases Ailee's technique, power, and range all in one song. Ailee's powerful vocals have always been the center of attention for obvious reasons and her career started off on quite the introduction.

#9. 2NE1 - Ugly (2011)

The only knock I really have on "Ugly" in the context of the rest of these songs is that it's decidedly safe in most respects. Don't get me wrong it's still an emphatic dance number. I also love the lyrics and message that this song delivers, but some of the traditional YG mannerisms show up - in particular the chant-esque bridge - which by themselves are not bad, but fail to stand out compared to others here.

#8. IU - Blueming (2019)

The trouble with writing a list like this so soon after 2019 ended is there hasn't been enough time for the newest song to simmer in the ol' library you know? Because while "Blueming" is brilliant, it loses out against other tracks simply because it came out the latest. Still, IU's switch of styles provides a relaxing and soothing listen. No doubt after a couple years we will look back upon its legacy like some of the other songs here but for now it'll nestle itself at 8th place.

[Misc] #StanLoona

I can't contain my excitement. Who knows how long it's been since I've been this hype about a group and their comeback. Considering that three out of the last eight miscellaneous posts have been about LOONA, I'm not even being subtle about the love I have for these girls. Apparently someone is hurt so they won't have the full force of 12 but I'm still damn excited for what this album will bring.

Of course knowing me and Kpop, this comeback will fucking disappoint and my day / month / year will be ruined.

[Bonus] Cube Entertainment Girl Group Member Tier List

What better way to get rolling in 2020 than with some tier lists? EXO featured in my pilot episode and now we have a conglomerate of Cube girl group members, both active and disbanded. The five members from 4minute, the seven members from CLC, and the six members from (G)I-DLE will compete to see who will take the inaugural tier list of the newest year. We shall start from the bottom and work our way up.

D Tier: Sohyun, Shuhua, Yujin
The inhabitants of D Tier all share something in common: they're the awkward member of their respective groups. Not only that, they're all the forgettable awkward members of each group. Compared to the other idols they seem the least settled in their roles and coincidentally provide the least vocal utility on average. I also thought that Yujin was the maknae of CLC for the longest time but she's straight up like the 3rd oldest. That's how lacking I find her presence... Shuhua only recently broke out of the whole "sing one syllable in every song" phase so she has the most potential to escape this tier, but Sohyun's long career with 4minute takes precedent for now.

[Review] Younha - Dark Cloud

Bless you, Younha. It's been over 15 years since you started on your musical journey, and over 12 since I discovered your incredible talent with "Ima Ga Daisuki." I've kept up (mostly) with you over the last decade plus between albums and minis, covers and OSTs. There is nobody in the industry that is more deserving of being the first review of 2020.

[Misc] Thought Corner: Kpop Hopes In 2020

First, check out this absolute slapper of a mashup. It's really well done and gave me the chills at various points throughout. Makes me wish I had a penchant or talent for mixing music like this. Anyway it's 2020, goddamn. We're gonna start fresh and mark the new year and new decade with a new season. Unlike previous years I won't go back and proofread anything or make edits to mistakes. It's about moving forward to another year of blogging. This will in fact be one of my resolutions: to have a more productive year than my 2016 campaign in which I churned out 90 posts. So we start with the new tradition of my short list of hopes and predictions for the new year. But before we look ahead, we'll look back on my predictions at the start of 2019.