[Recap] 2018 May-August: Shenanigans

Fashionably late again to the Recap post. You'll see some developments in that area later on in the read. There's been a mixture of good and bad music through the summer, including hyped pieces that didn't live up to expectations and underrated sleeper picks. Maybe you'll see some of those in the highlights section. If you think I'm slowing down, you're probably right...but that doesn't mean I won't fight it!

[Recap] 2018 January-April: Power Start

Honestly I forgot about this whole Recap business. Have a dingo channel video instead of a banner. I nearly considered scrapping it - or at least the first 2018 installment - because of being one month late but enough of giving up / being lazy. Funnily enough, last year's first Recap also got published in June because I got busy with school. So there's that coincidence. Anyway I'm also leaving next week for Taiwan and Hong Kong, and likely won't be able to write much outside of Blitz reviews via mobile. What I'll likely do is write shorter pieces and edit them with images when I get back in early July.

[Recap] 2017 September-December: Culmination

As 2017 comes to a close it's time for the final Recap of the year. What a year it was for Kpop. Groups debuted and disbanded, controversies continued to ravage the industry, and more fantastic music was released. It's been a bit over half a year since I returned from blog hiatus and my productivity has been pretty good. I've got plans to do more in 2018 but I'll save that for a miscellaneous post in the near future. To the scoreboard!

[Recap] 2017 May-August: Solos Shine

I'm going to try and come up with slightly creative (but not really) titles for these Recap articles. It's so dull just calling every single on a trimester. Even more tough will be going through old Recaps and adding a name to those. Anyway summer was a good time, as we saw solid releases from a lot of groups across the board, but it's more about the solo releases - mostly from group members. Who are they? Scroll down and see.

[Recap] 2017 January-April: Delayed

It's June already. This is coming out really late but I had to keep consistent either way. Obviously the title says January to April but I've included some May stuff too which you'll see for yourself as this piece unfolds. Anyway most of the news that I paid attention do during this timespan wasn't good. It was mainly disbandment information and that's not very fun. Nonetheless the year has already had a number of notable releases, some of which we'll get to (or already have) here.

[Recap] 2016 September-December: Slowdown

Well, this has to be done before I get into other year-concluding pieces like "Best Of 2016" anyway, so might as well write it all out now. The last few months of this year didn't hesitate to punch us in the mouth, with various news from all angles: 2NE1 disbanding, Heejun getting married, Running Man shenanigans, etc. etc. Definitely got everyone spinning, and to think there's still over 15 days left before January. The possibilities seem dangerously endless.

[Recap] 2016 May-August: Explosion

I've figured out how to do spoiler / dropdown buttons so that's where I'll shove the list of songs reviewed in the period, which will help clean up the appearance of this section at least. Additionally, more ghetto banners will make their kickoff across each section, which should help break up the monotone appearance of blocks of text. All for fun artistic imagery that tricks me into thinking I can make stuff look nice, haha.

[Recap] 2016 January-April: Station Spotlight

We have had a good start to 2016. In the timespan of only four months, we have this year's top candidate for best song of the year, as well as a top candidate for best music video of the year. If you want to continue this path, the rapping throughout has also been good, leaving just the choreography department a little lacking, but we've still seen some performances worthy of making this trimester proud.

[Recap] 2015 September-December: Quality Picks

December has descended upon us with tranquility. Not many groups have been too active, and the few that are are just releasing some holiday music in time before Christmas. I hesitate to review any of those songs (EXO's "Sing For You," Girls' Generation-TTS' "Dear Santa," etc.) because it's all Christmas music. They accomplish the same thing no matter what the formula. Anyway, since I "slacked off" this fall, there was no need to conjoin ranks when looking at the songs I reviewed over the past 3-ish months.

September - December Rankings
14. Twice - Like Ooh-Ahh (70)
13. EXID - Hot Pink (77)
12. iKON - My Type (80)
11. Red Velvet - Dumb Dumb (80)
10. 9MUSES - Sleepless Night (83)
9. Lovelyz - Ah-Choo (84)
8. GOT7 - If You Do (85)
7. DAY6 - Congratulations (86)
6. Super Junior - Magic (87)
5. Kisum - Love Talk (90)
4. IU - Twenty Three (90)
3. Ailee - Mind Your Own Business (90)
2. Taeyeon - I (90)
1. f(x) - 4 Walls (90)

Actually, I reviewed the same number of songs from January to April. At least that's reaching status quo in a way. Consider me impressed, because literally 1/3rd of the reviewed tracks scored 90 points. Looking back I wasn't overzealous with them, either. These songs are simply that good. The only exception may be "Love Talk," given that the song as a whole was a little too late for the summer block. Still, really impressive top 5. The bottom songs were definitely the source for disappointment, as Twice failed to capitalize on their debut and EXID didn't gain momentum off the stupendous work that was "Ah Yeah." Oh yeah, for the instances where I reviewed albums (Taeyeon, IU, 9MUSES), I gave a rough estimation as to where the score would be for each song independent of the other songs on the album. So naturally, IU and Taeyeon leap forward due to the strength of the title tracks while 9MUSES has a slightly above average placement in terms of score.

Girl Group Power Rankings Update (Winter 2015)
I was originally going to write up another Girl Group Power Rankings piece but considering that half the groups haven't been active since the last time, it's best to wait about half a year before getting around to updating those rankings again (around March probably). Instead we'll just briefly look over the groups that have been somewhat active lately and talk about them moving forward. I will have another Girl Group Radar before the new year which may repeat some of the things said here.

Girls' Generation: I thought Tiffany was supposed to have a solo debut sometime before 2016. While the subunit's Christmas music isn't too much to write home about, Taeyeon's solo effort was everything we wanted from her for a while now. "I" did extremely well in all aspects and is even better a catalyst for the group than their "Lion Heart" studio album was. Like I said last time, Tiffany's solo debut will have to be just as good or in a completely different realm to not have to hold up to those expectations that Taeyeon has set.

EXID: Weeks after the release of "Hot Pink" and I still can't quite dig it. The song is simply inferior to the other great hits they have, even those predating the viral explosion of "Up & Down." The group is still in a good spot, so no cause for concern. I desperately crave a Dasoni comeback, and while we're on this topic, the remaining members should also have a subunit of their own (credit to slipz). That theory does seem to struggle in terms of stage presence, because LE would have to carry super hard. Junghwa would also need to step up and not get the crappy awkward transitions that she has been plagued with.

f(x): Despite losing Sulli, f(x) literally turned everything around because the "4 Walls" album was nothing short of spectacular. They proved they don't need Sulli for either mass appeal or musicality, and my goodness is "4 Walls" a good song or what. The severe f(x) drought was quenched, but they still need to return to releasing regular content to become relevant again in the girl group battle. At least they are no longer locked in the S.M dungeons anymore.

Fall 2015 Highlights
Since the "Best Of 2015" series is coming up, I won't pick my favourites from this trimester necessarily, but I will point out a few releases that were noteworthy either way.

Mamamoo - Girl Crush

Leave it to Mamamoo to deliver something exciting and addicting no matter what time of year it is. This OST is fresh, cute, and fun. The vocals are naturally exquisite and maintain Mamamoo standard. Moonbyul's one-liners are more entertaining than the ones in "Piano Man," and her actual rap is very good, too. I don't typically dive into too many of the OST stuff, even those from idols but this is certainly an exception that earns that.

Joo - Cry & Blow

S.M isn't the only company with people trapped within. Joo used to be under JYP, before moving to the house of Infinite and Lovelyz. This ballad is everything great about her and her voice. From graceful quiet to emotional yearning, Joo covers the whole spectrum and the piano and strings add another soothing element to the track. Considering how absent she was in the industry before signing with woollim, she is a welcome face and her vocal talent should show you why.

Dynamic Duo - Jam

KHip-Hop hardly ever disappoints, and that statement rings even more true for Dynamic Duo. "Jam" is quite the jam. The rapping is delicious and the MV is creative and funny. From Gaeko's portrayal of a young curious kid, to the hilarious costumes and cameos, and of course the Big Bang parody, everything about "Jam" is awesome. It's a relaxing hip-hop tune that will keep everything chill on a lazy afternoon or evening.

San E & Mad Clown - Sour Grapes

Speaking of hip-hop, here's a collaboration between Mad Clown & San E. Lyrical content aside (that video thumbnail should give some indication), this is a very entertaining track. Even though this is more in line with what San E has done in the past, it's new ground for Mad Clown and he played his part admirably well. The chorus is more addicting than you'd give it credit for, and their singing voices are not only surprisingly adequate, but match together well, too. How does this MV not have a 19+ rating though.

Closing Thoughts
That's it for this recap. A few more goodies remain before 2015 closes out, like AOA Choa's solo debut. But until then, there will be the Best Of 2015 set and a few more girl group-related posts. Let's hope 2016 will be good start not just for Kpop, but for myself as well, as I've been slacking a little lately on the blogging. Until then, have a good one, and thanks for reading.

[Recap] 2015 May-August: Big Scores

Welcome back to another Recap. Now that we've had another 4 months pass us by, I've got a better grasp on what I want to use this series for. Besides the obvious recap, I can go over songs that I missed, or other topics, sort of like a mix between the usual reviews and the extremely rare blog posts (though I do have another of those coming up). I might not keep these to be recurring every 4 months, hence why I've changed the title of these types of posts. Anyway, I reviewed 30 songs from May to August, which is double the amount from January to April. I'm glad I was more productive! Anyway putting them in a list would be very clunky and take up a lot of space. So to overview the summer block, I condensed the list by score. If scores are the same, the better song is listed to the right.

May - August Rankings
30. Big Bang - Bang Bang Bang // Big Bang - Bae Bae (75)
28. Hyuna - Because I'm The Best (76)
27. Sistar - Shake It (77)
26. Hara - Choco Chip Cookies // Girls' Generation - Party (78)
24. Hyosung - Into You // A-Pink - Remember // Eunjung - I'm Good (80)
21. Wonder Girls - I Feel You // Girls' Generation - Lion Heart (82)
19. BoA - Kiss My Lips // Big Bang - We Like 2 Party // T-ARA - So Crazy (83)
16. GD&TOP - Zutter // 2PM - My House // Big Bang - Loser // Mamamoo - Um Oh Ah Yeah (85)
12. Super Junior - Devil (86)
11. KARA - Cupid (87)
10. Girl's Day - Ring My Bell // BTS - Dope // Girls' Generation - You Think // EXO - Love Me Right (88)
6. Lim Kim - Love Game // AOA - Heart Attack // Big Bang - Let's Not Fall In Love (90)
3. Big Bang - Sober // 9MUSES - Hurt Locker (92)
1. INFINITE - Bad (94)

I won't really dive into individual scores too much but man I overestimated a few songs. "Love Game," "Cupid," "Kiss My Lips," and "Into You" should probably drop a few points. They're still pretty good songs but when I see them next to some of the others in that score range I don't know what I was thinking. Come to think of it, most of the soloists didn't really do that well in the grand scheme of things, since the top 10 (that I reviewed) is dominated by the groups. This was a pretty good set for the summer, though most summer tracks were fairly average.

Big Bang Theory
Big Bang's long-awaited comeback delivered in spades. They provided all sorts of songs with relative success. The more casual you are I think the more you enjoyed this comeback. Or rather, if you had less expectations you'd have been more surprised with the result. "Bae Bae" and "Zutter" are more of the classic goof songs from Big Bang, while "Loser," "If You," and "Let's Not Fall In Love" are fantastic slower songs. "Sober" is definitely the star of the set, while the more chill songs "We Like 2 Party" and "Loser" also give strong showings. We do not speak of "Bang Bang Bang." All in all, 2015 wasn't so much a defining year for Big Bang, but this comeback certainly presents them in a strong fashion with this album. Who knows what's next.

Solo Ships
No, not that kind of ship. Quite a handful of solo artists joined the girl group comeback wave, along with some group soloists, too. Unfortunately, most if not all of them paled in comparison to group releases. BoA's album is probably the headliner but to be honest the rest of the field is more forgettable. Hyuna's "Because I'm The Best" couldn't live up to "Red," and the surprising and quiet debuts of Hara and Eunjung respectively didn't yield many good results. Juniel casually joined the fray with "Sorry" a few weeks ago but she has yet to really cement herself in the upper echelons of Kpop / soloists. Summer 2015 simply wasn't quite what it was for soloists compared to groups.

The Best of Summer 2015
So out of all the songs I reviewed, Infinite's "Bad" topped the list with a score of 94 / 100. That's damn impressive, but there have been some other songs that weren't reviewed or non-title tracks that really caught my attention, too. I'll drop a few of my personal favourites.

Primary - Don't Be Shy (feat. Choa & Iron)

I've been loving Primary lately. All the collaborations and projects and albums have been awesome. There were a select few of Primary songs that really impressed, but man this one is so good. Choa is incredible from start to finish, and is more proof that she really holds down the talent within AOA. Iron's feature is also pretty good, though definitely picks up towards the end of his rap. The feel of this reggae track is good and the cute and creepy MV full of sleepover shenanigans and Pokemon trading cards make for a strong release.

MAMAMOO - No No No

This is the title track that I wanted "Um Oh Ah Yeah" to be. The sass, the instrumental, the overall sound of this song is both carefree but has direction. The pop influence is there, but there's still traces of retro scattered about. Solar and Wheein are a holy combination of vocals and while Hwasa takes more of the sassy lines to inject personality in the song, Wheein and Solar's lines are the backbone. I don't know that Wheein is saying "winner" though, sure sounds like "we know" to me. You can even hear eSNa here and there. Lastly, Moonbyul's rap is fierce and gives her yet another strong rap to work with in her already impressive repertoire. Stop saying your name though, it's silly. Don't turn into the next JYP.

B2ST - Gotta Go To Work

This is a turning point for SHINee and B2ST. Previously, these groups were always "good but not great." Their comeback with "YeY" was loud but perhaps a little too loud. "Gotta Go To Work" is definitely the song of choice. Junhyung does a good job driving the chorus, which is a rare sight. When is the last time you saw the rapper lead a chorus? The casual yet lively attitude makes for a good relaxing tune, and somehow Yoseob's high tones aren't that grating for me this time around. Coupled with a cute video and B2ST finally has a winner.

Sistar - Don't Be Such A Baby (feat. Giriboy)

Here's another exhibit of poor title song choice. Sistar's "Shake It" was a fun but ultimately lacking track, but "Don't Be Such A Baby" recovers in all the right places. Hyorin's lovely vocals aren't out place, and combined with Soyu's breathy lines give this song a very soothing nature. Bora's rap is so good, redeeming herself from the mediocrity of the rap in "Shake It." Giriboy's inclusion is also very good if only for adding another perspective to the song lyrics. This really should've been the lead song on the "Shake It" mini album.

Closing Thoughts
Surprisingly(?), this summer delivered far more successes than failures. Sure there were disappointments but at this point it's basically impossible to evade those. Since I was so review-heavy over the summer, I'll try to shift more towards other pieces in the next few months. Get some blog posts running, some bias lists, and the actual return of the Girl Group Rapper Power rankings. Hopefully sooner rather than later. Thanks for reading!

[Recap] 2015 January-April: Debut

As May begins, I thought I'd introduce a new series that would be both light and reflective. Every 4 months (I'll call them trimesters), I'll compile and look back at all the reviewed songs in the months prior, and arrange them in a list from lowest to highest. Then I'll go through and talk about some of the songs, comparisons, placements, critiques, etc. It services as a nice recap of the releases / reviews thus far, and adds another type of writing on my blog.

January - April 2015 Rankings

14. miss A - Only You (70)
13. Minah - I Am A Woman Too (75)
12. Girls' Generation - Catch Me If You Can (77)
11. Amber - Shake That Brass (78)
10. HIGH4 - Day By Day (80)
9. BASTARZ - Zero For Conduct (80)
8. 9MUSES - Drama (80)
7. Rainbow - Black Swan (83)
6. Sonamoo - Deja Vu (87)
5. Mamamoo - Ahh Oop! (88)
4. FIESTAR - You're Pitiful (92)
3. EXID - Ah Yeah (92)
2. EXO - Call Me Baby (92)
1. 4minute - Crazy (93)

As far as placements and rankings go, this looks pretty accurate of my opinions per song. I'm a little surprised that "Catch Me If You Can" was better than both Minah and miss A's releases if only barely. The #11 through #7 area is just as I expect, and I'll talk more about the competed slots (tied scores) in a bit. The other surprise is that "Deja Vu" and "Ahh Oop!" were close in score. While "Deja Vu" was a solid release for Sonamoo, the Mamamoo girls (and eSNa) did a fantastic job with "Ahh Oop!" and probably deserved more points.

The only song that I think I underrated was Amber's "Shake That Brass." It's still a good song around the 80 mark but because I did a dance project on the song I kept the replay value low. On the other side, I think "Ah Yeah" is a slight step behind the other songs with 92 points but at this range calling something "overscored" when the actual difference is like 1 point doesn't really matter, especially since I no longer have specific categories for various aspects of each review.

HIGH4 is the weakest of the trio at 80 because it didn't offer as much in terms of both song and impact. "Drama" was more important as it represented 9MUSES' return after hiatus and had to prove themselves with yet more roster changes. BASTARZ falls in the middle for reasons explained in their individual review. Funny note is that all 3 songs had subpar videos thanks to acting: no acting, bizarre acting, and awkward acting. I'll let you guess which is which. As for the 92 trio, EXO had the cleanest song with good vocals and slick choreography which put them ahead. "Ah Yeah" is more addicting than "You're Pitiful," but the latter is a far more delicate and beautiful song. At current I'm more on the search for upbeat music and so EXID marks above, even despite the EXID hype train,

I believe the only April release that I was interested in covering that I didn't was "Joker" by Dal Shabet but I'll try and cover it under May right before the Big Bang releases. The first set of 2015 looks really solid so far, and as more high profile groups are making their returns (like the aforementioned Big Bang), this year looks to be really good as we near the midway.