[Misc] The Late Report: February 2021

I nearly forgot that February is a short month, so uh...anyways! Here's some stuff. Fuck you Blogger and your impossible-to-format bullshit. The inconsistency is driving me bonkers.

The Big Bully Blitz

February's Kpop news theme has been the plethora of bullying accusations being lobbed like candy. Some names include but are not limited to: Loona's Chuu, Seventeen's Mingyu, Stray Kids' Hyunjin, and Hyuna. All I have to say on the matter is a simple "yikes." Bullying is an entirely different beast in Asia so the only hope I have is that the truth comes to light.

Interesting Comeback Stage

Remember this track? "Black" was great and now many years later, we get a comeback performance of a different variety. Kpop's newest power couple has been born with Big Bang's G-Dragon and Black Pink's Jennie. I'd be lying if I said I remembered other famous Kpop couples, but this is definitely one of the strongest pairings to memory. Surprisingly, there's only a seven year age gap between the two. I guess it's more that I thought G-Dragon was older than 32 (turning 33 this August). Good for both of them.

SHINee - Don't Call Me

Don't. This song is awful. It sounds like the type of shit that EXO and NCT would do, and I honestly thought SHINee would be better than that. They had found their stride prior to military enlistment but seems like that's been lost as the younger groups in their company took control of everything. I just can't. More Minho rapping? Get the fuck outta here. Because they're veterans I gave them the respect of finishing the song but damn, I was not happy to do so. Swing a huge miss out of SHINee.

Collection of Miscellaneous Shit

And now a jumble blob of some other things that I noticed. Positive, negative, neutral, it's all fair game. Some German radio show host said racist shit to BTS, essentially calling them the same as coronavirus? I don't think I've ever written the words "career suicide" before but it's appropriate here. A stalker broke into T-ARA's Soyeon's house? That's fucking horrifying and I hope that creep goes to jail. Cherry Bullet and a few others have hosted AMA threads on reddit, which is cool. Luna sets up her own label, that's pretty good. Hopefully she'll see some success. Finally, some comeback news on the horizon, with the likes of Jessi, V, and DAY6 as headliners.

Late Rollin' to a #1 Spot

Brave Girls have had their EXID / Hani moment. Their song "Rollin'," which originally released in 2017, recently hit #1 on Bugs Chart, their first ever. Quite impressive considering that the throwbacks usually can't compete with their modern competitors. Great to see from them, though unfortunately I don't see a rise to superstardom in their future because the group is too unstable. Regardless, a win is a win and the song is quite good, despite the awkward pronunciation. Anyway that's all for today. Until next time, whenever that may be. Stay safe and healthy.

[Misc] Thought Corner: Goodness Gracious GFriend

Oh yeah, we're definitely in the endgame now. It is what it is, but let's talk about GFriend briefly. Um. They're dumb. Really fucking dumb. Photos with a Nazi mannequin? Saving said photos as "Kitler?" That ain't it. Like at all. I don't care what kind of excuse you have, that shit is inexcusable. These members aren't some doe-eyed babies either. Maknae Umji turns 21 this year. Even if we were somehow in a bizarre alternate timeline where the Korean education system taught absolutely nothing about WWII history, surely a Hitler-inspired nickname would have raised some flags? No? Okay then. Later GFriend, it's been real. I think I remember some vague news from a few years back about BTS also being under fire for some Nazi-related shenanigans and it's pretty baffling that we're seeing something similar surface again in modern day. Of course there was some half-baked apology and whatever but yikes man, yikes.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Misc] The Late Report: December 2020

Short but sweet comes the December Late Report. Can't wait to still be pissed off about how Blogger fucks with my formatting. It's been months now and it still won't play nice with when I try to insert images or Youtube videos. I also may or may not have consumed a copious amount of alcohol while writing this. But as the young kids these days say, poggers or whatever.

This DLC Fucks

I don't care what the people say: CLC + Dreamcatcher = DLC. There's no better nickname for that combination. Anyway watch this choreography. It's not like I could comment on it in any way, shape, or form but like... They do be slayin' though. It's a damn shame CLC is fucking finished thanks to Cube's incompetence because who knows that the future holds for Seungyeon. She deserves better. The whole of CLC likely deserves better, but man. Seungyeon hopefully won't flame out because she's a goddamn star.

[Misc] Christmas With Corona

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas despite the absolute insanity that 2020 has been. Enjoy time with family and friends, but not too many of those I hope. Have an IU video because she's one of the best for the holiday spirit.

[Misc] Super Junior Power Rankings

Fuck it. Let's rank all the members of Super Junior. Here we go!

#15. Kibum
Was there anyone else suitable for last place? Kibum has the shortest tenure out of all the members and even when compared to the Super Junior-M exclusive members had the least amount of contributions. He was definitely one of the more popular members in their very early years, but having disappeared since 2009 it's hard to put him anywhere but dead last.

#14. Shindong
Kibum and Shindong are unfortunately the easiest two members that come to mind when discussing Super Junior afterthoughts. Yeah the meme was that he was the fat one, but outside of some dance moments Shindong didn't have much. He sings here and there, raps here and there, but has been utterly mediocre in all of his exploits. Hell, he's probably the weakest of the whole squad in everything but dance.

#13. Zhou Mi
Splicing in some of the Super Junior-M members will feel odd but does give me a rounded 15 members to rank. Zhou Mi was an unknown (more than Henry) when he debuted but it's safe to say that he contributed. His voice was flexible and utilized in all sorts of their music, and even had his own solo debut in 2014. Having actual Chinese members for a subunit aimed specifically for Chinese audiences was an obvious move, and Zhou Mi was a great pickup.

#12. Ryeowook
Oh man, back in the earliest discovery days I used to dislike this dude. More specifically, I thought his voice was mad annoying. But of course as time went on, I realized that Ryeowook just has a gift. His range is his range, and he excels at hitting those glorious high notes. Super Junior was kinda limited in the higher ranges outside of him and maybe Sungmin, so having that coverage was important.

#11. Eunhyuk
If I was doing this ranking back in like 2015, I may have given Eunhyuk the #15 spot. That's because he basically did nothing but dance and have shitty rap moments. And back then I did not give a shit about choreography points. He's one of the legends in the industry when it comes to dancing and as my interest in Kpop matured I realized that visual performance is equally as important as the audio performance, and Eunhyuk do be a danciung machine.

[Misc] The Late Report: November 2020

Man, it seems like this year has gone by both really quickly and slowly at the same time. There's been...a lot going on. But we're not hear to talk about the whims of the world in 2020, we're here to chat about various stuff that happened in November. Unlike the average Thanksgiving plate, this edition won't be so stuffed.

More Of 1million

Ah, 1million. I remember attending KCON and attending their dance workshop and also being in their video during 2017. Good times. Anyway this crew has been pumping out content for a long while now and the quality continues to improve. This time with Soyeon and Miyeon joining them in studio. It's really unfortunate how awkward Miyeon is in her stage presence, as she pales poorly in comparison to Soyeon and all the other dancers. Yoojung is still impeccable, and her movements are easily the highlights of the video (even if her pants aren't...). Listening to this again reminds me that I wanted to review the whole album, but maybe I'll get to that in December.

[Misc] The Late Report: October 2020

Mamamoo - Dingga

It's fucking infuriating how this new Blogger won't let me make my normal alignments without fucking up the spacing between sections. I don't understand why it's this bad, I really don't. Anyway, happy Halloween I guess? Ain't nobody should be out and about given the pandemic but hey people are stupid (just like Blogger). No candy from me, just some videos and songs to go over as October draws to a close.

Starting us off is Mamamoo's "Dingga," which is...something. It's not their greatest work vocals-wise, and it's also not their most fun release. It's essentially "Hip" but with a more bright splash of paint over it, topped off with an overall less impressive choreography to boot. The most disturbing thing about this track is Hwasa's apparent lack of eyebrows. Not a good look. With Red Velvet's controversy and Mamamoo stumbling a bit here, is it once again time for Twice to take the crown?

[Misc] Thought Corner: Goodnight Irene

Oh Irene, you fool. There's been quite the commotion surrounding her over the last couple of days. I'll spare you the details because I'm lazy and also not fully informed but man. Irene's been putting in work in the wrong departments. To sum things up in one sentence? Irene harasses people verbally and people are bring it to light. There hasn't been released evidence or anything like that sure, but the fact that Irene had to post an apology and meet with the accuser personally says everything. You truly wonder what was said on that recording...

[Misc] Happy Younha Day

There's still time to finish out the rest of the standard protocol for October. So on my birthday, I will merely post a video of Younha and nothing else. She remains my #1 Korean music darling and has been so for the last 12 years. Almost half of my entire life has been gifted with her voice (I'm 27 now). One of my dreams is to attend a concert of hers. Of course with the apocalypse that is 2020, who knows when the next opportunity for that would be. Hope everyone has a good long weekend. I know my unemployed ass sure will.

[Misc] Which Blogger Would...

Which version of Blogger would make me want to vomit? This one. This new one, that has been ungracefully forced upon my poor soul. I hate everything about it. As of writing I can't switch back, even though I managed to revert previous attempts. It's so...ugly. Everything looks very awkward and I'm simply not standing for it. Enjoy this video of Black Pink (Jisoo MVP) while I rage.

[Misc] EXO - Mama Superpower Power Rankings

Careless, careless. Shoot anonymous, anonymous. Heartless, mindless, no one who care about me. Today we will be ranking all of the superpowers EXO showcase in their track "Mama." Why? Because I wanted to. Shitposters be shitposting.

#12. Baekhyun - Light
Now obviously having superpowers of any kind would be pretty sweet, but it's clear that one member got the real short end of the stick. Baekhyun's ability to control light is useful at best and hella lame at worst. Congrats, he can see in the dark whenever he wants. It simply pales in comparison to all the other effects.

#11. Xiumin - Frost
There's a handful of members with the classic elemental powers, and Xiumin brings up the rear with frost. Even though I despise the cold, I am justified in the placing near the bottom. Out of all the elemental abilities, Xiumin's is the most limited since he requires the proper environmental setting to be most effective. Even if it could work in a hostile atmosphere, frost would be less powerful overall.

[Misc] The Late Report: September 2020

Another Late Report, yay! Hope you weren't used to the August edition and the extra credit there, because this month has slimmed down considerably and is more in line with other previous installments. Wonder what is in September's grab bag of goodies.

Presidential BTS

Really seems like BTS are doing some groundbreaking worth every month or so. Granted I haven't really listened to any of their recent music, but still. To get a letter from the president is pretty rad - doesn't matter if you follow, love, or hate them. They really are on another level by this point, and not even the worldwide pandemic has been able to slow them down in any capacity. Scary shit.

Choa - Girls Like You

Amidst all the depressing news revolving AOA (and the rest of the world), it's nice to have some good show up. Choa has been out of the spotlight for a while now and I'm glad she is back. Her voice is delightfully refreshing and this Maroon 5 cover does a great job of that. This should be a slow but steady return to at least singing in the public sphere for her. Welcome back, Choa.

[Misc] Girl Group Visual Power Rankings V: Fall 2020

Two years after the previous installment, Visual Power Rankings have been revived. Not only that but they will help set the new precedent for future ranking posts. They will all be structured in line with the Bias and Group Power Rankings. As in, there won't be a representative from every group - because it's too much work and I'm far too lazy for that shit nowadays. Which means these lists are more like a current top 10 (without any honorable mentions) than anything else but I'm keeping it under the Power Ranking series regardless. There may be an installment where I simply rank the visual threats overall (not limiting myself to those classified as the group visual) but this will not be that instance. You know the drill. Visual rankings are gonna be more subjective than ever, but these are for fun anyway.

#10. Yuna / #9. Solar / #8. Tzuyu / #7. Junghwa / #6. Sowon

A newcomer starts us off as Itzy's Yuna makes her debut. I'll admit she didn't really grow on me until "Wannabe" but yeah, definitely deserves a place here. After Yuna we have a couple of stalwarts in Tzuyu and Solar. Both have been extremely powerful for their respective groups and will continue to be so. Twice have plenty of lethal weapons so I give Tzuyu more credit since she faces stiffer competition. I wasn't sure if Junghwa was eligible for this edition since EXID have all but dropped off the map in terms of mainstream attention, though ultimately her looks cannot be denied. At the same time if they don't become active domestically there's little reason to keep her around. Sowon barely edges Junghwa out because she might be the most consistent visual on the entire list. I cannot remember any time she got butchered by stylists. That combined with her height are convincing arguments to put her above the current crowd.

[Misc] Thought Corner: Refreshing The Office

Even though I'm not in school anymore, September ushers in the new semester and we're gonna do some cleaning around the blog house. It's still a crazy world out there but we're gonna try and set some standards and protocols to help drive the site forward. Hell I nearly went for making a new season before realizing that Season 10 started this January. Anyway, first things first I'm gonna be revamping the Recurring Series Directory (may or may not have already been done by the time this goes live). I love that post as the central hub for someone of my favorite excerpts over the years and it needs a refresher. I'll figure something out. Second, the latest Girl Group Power Ranking has to be revised since I somehow let Dreamcatcher slip out of the writing there. But that's enough of fixes, what about moving forward?

[Misc] Uncover Blogger Sadness

And here I thought Blogger was gonna have both interfaces available since I did not enjoy the new update one bit. According to the latest notice, the old variant of Blogger's design will be removed by the end of August. I guess technically they gave us another month or so for keeping the old format, but man I just have to ask why? If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Definitely wasn't broken by any stretch of the imagination. Well, in the meantime, enjoy this delightful performance by Seulgi. I'm gonna try and get two more pieces out before the end of the month (not including Late Report).

[Misc] American Kpop Idol Hall Of Fame

Today we shall take an objective look at the top ten Korean American singers of all time. Of all time! These male and female artists proudly represent the United States of America on this hallowed special day. We'll briefly discuss their talents and accomplishments maybe, though that seems pointless. If it wasn't obvious, this shouldn't be taken seriously at all. Five female candidates and five male candidates because I'm not sexist. Here we go, happy 4th or something.

Tiffany

These aren't in any order, but when it comes to Korean Americans in the industry, Tiffany is the first member that comes to mind. She also was randomly generated into the first slot, so the number manipulation knows what I want. Of course she was part of Girls' Generation and had many a solo and group endeavor since those debut years. You know there really isn't much to write for these entrants, it's all fluff and humor anyway.

Jae

One of the newer generation of idols, Jae represents them with his position here. There are others, like a couple Seventeen and NCT members, but Jae takes the spot with additional flair of being in a band. DAY6 has plenty of official releases that have flawless English versions and he's certainly a reason for it. Jae also does an online podcast primarily in English, which is cool.

Ailee

There are gonna be a handful of soloists here and Ailee's appearance should not be surprising to anyone. Sassy and supreme in vocals, Ailee has done great work across the decade. Hell, years ago she was the likely candidate to take a campaign to the US and succeed.

[Misc] Bias Power Rankings XIV: Spring 2020

Turns out there was a button to press allowing you to use the old Blogger ha! Definitely wasn't there before... Anyway my blindness doesn't stop me from placing girl group members on another ranking list.

#10. Jennie / #9. Eunji (-3) / #8. Mina / #7. Hwasa / #6. Olivia (+1)

By some miracle, Jennie doesn't get dropped even though she's been as inactive as can be. There are rumors flying that Black Pink will be picking up some steam as we head towards the summer but until I see an actual video posted by YG I'll remain cautious. Hwasa and Mina are by no means new to the list, having made appearances here and there throughout the years. Mamamoo's continued excellence means Hwasa will keep dipping in and out, while Twice's comeback teasers have me cautiously optimistic for another standout track following the heels of "Feel Special." As one of the veterans of this list and Kpop in general, Eunji hangs on for dear life. On the flipside, Olivia Hye keeps her status as the new "it" girl in my eyes despite the pretty disappointing "So What."