[Misc] The Late Report: January 2021

January is over and despite my lack of attention, there have been some interesting releases this month. Whether it's a preview of things to come or the rest of the year will deviate wildly, remains to be seen. Hope everyone has had a good (or at least better) start to their year than both myself and or last year. Stay safe out there. But then why are you "out there?"

Hyuna - I'm Not Cool

As I've said before on this series, not every song that makes it here is good. Hyuna has always been hit or miss with me and this time, she's struck out on three pitches. I just...don't like anything presented here. Some commenter on reddit said "the song isn't that good but Hyuna just makes it work." To that I say, "what exactly did she make work?" The structure is all over the place and I legit couldn't stomach a full second listen. Also this video thumbnail do be hella uncomfortable.

[Review] IU - Celebrity

Well this is eerily similar to how last year started, as this early release from a female solo act is the most exciting thing I've heard so far. Granted, I definitely have not heard much but that's what star power does for ya. IU is coming back with an album and released "Celebrity" ahead of time. Will this song hold up at the end of the year, like Younha's "Winter Flower" before it?

[Misc] Heartbreak

Well, as if this year couldn't start any worse, my cat passed away earlier this week. My family adopted her about 14 months ago and I'm just...depressed. There's really no other word for it. These last five days have bene a gray blur. I didn't have energy or interest to write about Kpop when the year began and I certainly don't have any of that shit now. I'm sure I'll be "back to normal" in a week. Life's tough. Cherish your pets.

[Review] Girl's Day - Something (Revisited)

Despite my best efforts, here is some writing about writing of an old song. I will soldier on this year and we'll see how far things go.

• So with that said, I’m going to go ahead and review the “Something” that didn’t have me cringing, although I was first concerned on how Girl’s Day and TVXQ would be releasing a lead track with the same title. I’m pretty sure Girl’s Day is the first group to have pieces reviewed for a third time, which is impressive given I only discovered them last year.

Girl's Day were one of the most hype girl group discoveries across my many years of Kpop, and so the instant infatuation led to multiple reviews. Also, I wonder about the other various occurrences of groups releasing a song with the same title.

[Misc] Thought Corner: Kpop Hopes In 2021

It's been tradition over the last four years to start the blog off with this type of post, so despite less attachment to the Kpop world, here we go. Linked is another SM rendition of "Hope" with their current roster, and man... It feels me with equal amounts nostalgia and depression seeing all the people who are no longer there. Heechul (and Sungmin) not there. Taeyeon and Taemin the only representatives of their groups. EXO with just Kai and Baekhyun. No f(x) at all. NCT members are like 40% of the entire present roster, and I'm pretty sure there are more of them that aren't in the video. It's crazy seeing the evolution and passage of time within a company, and in general. No BoA is omega cringe, but at least Kangta was there at the end. Anyway that's enough of that. Now let's look back at what I looked forward to during January of 2020, before the world-shattering events.