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.
Since I didn't follow Kpop much at all throughout the year, I originally only had 12 tracks on the ballot which wasn't enough to justify a separate post for honorable mentions. Thus, two songs ended up getting cut from the final version which is unfortunate but hey that's the theme of 2020. Also I am once again bitching about the formatting because it won't every align everything properly or the way I want. I will continue to be tilted about this shit as long as Blogger keeps it up. Or I eventually stop writing here...
#10. K/DA - More
Damn if K/DA doesn't release powerful music consistently. Last month I talked about the 1million cover, but this month it's time to talk about the song. And yeah, I'm never getting to that album review... Anyway, Soyeon continues to put in work. Her verse is incredible at setting the tone and pace for the rest of the track. Lexie Liu's Mandarin bridge was also delightful. K/DA have shown their talent at mixing multiple languages seamlessly. What can I say, I'm a sucker for multilingual music, and "More" uses all three extremely well.
#9. Suhyun - Alien
Kinda wild to think that Akdong has been active since 2012, yet we only got a true Suhyun solo release this year. "Alien" is distinct from the usual AKMU sound yet Suhyun utilizes her talent to still give it a typical feel. Her voice glides through the song and is a nice compliment to the more harder-hitting instrumental. Also I didn't know this but their channel literally posts the lyrics in the video description. Suhyun edges out Chungha for representation here. Retro groove drives "Alien" forward, something it shares with the next song coming up.
#8. Seulrene - Naughty
It's a good thing these lists are for music only, otherwise there'd be an Irene-sized can of worms to discuss. Anyway, "Naughty" has that right combination of groovy powerful instrumental, electric choreography, and soothing vocals. Tutting has always been rare in the dances of Kpop so seeing it as the center of "Naughty" is really cool. Of course that's because of the execution by Seulgi and Irene. The chorus is pretty bland, but overall the pieces fit together very well. This track surpasses their other release "Monster" because of its polish.
I don't know what I'm gonna write here. There is...a lot going on in this world during 2020 and not much of it is pleasant. Music has not been as much of a getaway as it used to be and I default to gaming more often than not. Between Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem, it's got my bases covered. Anyway here's what was interesting in May.
DAY6 - Zombie
Man is it hard to avoid the music from this group when both my sisters only put their albums on repeat. Obviously it's still great music but I was never the type that could listen to the same thing over and over again. "Zombie" is the latest out of the band and it's another powerful piece. This coming off the heels of their break due to anxiety and other mental health concerns, is a proper and emotional track. There's also an English version of the song, which functions equally well.
With this, a full year of Late Reports have been filed. I can safely say that I like this series' inclusion on the blog: it helps take any pressure off having to write multiple reviews frequently, is clean and easy to format and write, and is super resourceful when it comes to Best Of 20XX and any compilation posts. Very glad I decided to do something like this. Here's what caught my eyes and ears during the month of October.
Tiffany - Run For Your Life
It's been a hot minute since I paid attention to what the non-Taeyeon girls of SNSD are up to. Tiffany strikes fear into the hearts of fans with this freaky MV. Halloween came early with these music video because she's got some curious outfits and styling present in "Run For Your Life." Those distorted leg shots are unsettling to say the least. Everything visual appears inspired by the works of a young Lady Gaga, and so does some of the sound. In particular, the way the autotune (or whatever mixing is involved) and her pronunciation of "glitter" is what reminds of Gaga's older material.
Heading to my first DAY6 concert tomorrow, it's time for their Best Of edition. Fun fact: you can look back to songs released in 2017 and find Youtube comments stating "this group has no bad songs." These statements still hold true to this day (heh). JYP has never had an artist as consistent as these dudes - if you conveniently ignore the Junhyeok departure,which to be fair happened early on in their career. As a result, I am overly excited for tomorrow's concert despite it being on a Sunday. Here are my picks for DAY6's best.
#10. You Were Beautiful
When I reviewed "Hi Hello," I talked about how I prefer they play more high tempo material. The energy inherent within a band's instruments should always be utilized. That being said I can appreciate the slow jam gem every once in a while. "You Were Beautiful" is a romantic nostalgic ride (for some of us anyway) with a gorgeous chorus that's equally exciting on both the vocal and instrumental fronts. The bridge is juicy and leads well into the final chorus. More importantly, there's no rapping from Brian here. You may expect to find this sentence in many of the songs on this list. Also shoutouts to the English version of this track, as when these are crafted well they're always a treat.
#9. Congratulations
Considering that "Congratulations" only ranks 9th, and coupled with the idea that DAY6 does not have bad songs, and that's mighty impressive. Like "You Were Beautiful" there's also an English version of "Congratulations," and both versions of the latter trump the former. Both songs are about an ex-lover but the energy in "Congratulations" is better and more infectious. This song showed everyone a glimpse of what DAY6 brought to the table with their instrument prowess and exciting voices. In the hall of JYPE debuts this is one of if not the top candidate. Ironically, both the Korean and English versions have Young K's best raps in their discography. So unlike their songs which got better and better, any rapping got worse and worse.
#8. Dance Dance
Honestly I'm gonna end up writing the same shit over and over for a lot of these entries. Oh well, whatever. "Dance Dance" brings high-octane fun for every listener. The harmonies (and to a lesser extent the chanting / audibles) throughout the chorus are DAY6 staples that will never go underappreciated by me. The middle section of the song (and the repetitive nature of the final 30 seconds) is considerably weaker (for rapping-related reasons) but that's more credit to how the rest of the song shapes up. "Dance Dance" does its job at making you want to get up and dance.
#7. Time Of Our Life
DAY6 the band made their latest title track an anime opening. Fans of both have been hella pleased. All the typical ingredients of a DAY6 classic are here: the driving drums and guitar, the uplifting vocals, the harmonies, and especially the lack of rap. By the way the "won" in Wonpil stands for "wonderful" because his voice is really something special. If I ever make an extended version of Boy Group Vocalist Power Rankings he'd be a lock for at least B tier. I've honestly really enjoyed this newest track over the last two months but I cannot give it any higher a placing than 7th. That'd be rude to the other selections at the top end of this list.
#6. I Need Somebody
The only other slow song finds its way onto the ranking, "I Need Somebody" is a masterpiece of an emotional jam. "Why am I alone?" is the question hounding throughout the choruses and the powerful voices of Young K and Sungjin really drive it home. And do you hear that bridge? The feels man, the feels. This is what I classify a "power ballad" with the naturally slow elements of a ballad intertwined with the emphatic backing instrumental and strong vocals. It's a beautiful track that quickly became a staple of my sad_zone playlist.
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#5. Somehow
Back-to-back B-side appearances on here! "Somehow" might actually have the best chorus of the entire list which is a damn bold statement to make. Sungjin and Wonpil did not play around with those high notes at all. The song flows extremely well from the light verses to rising prechorus and finally the magnificent chorus. And speaking of high notes, how about respect for my man Brian with his own during the bridge? I wanted to include the studio version but instead I found something better: fucking look at Dowoon's face during the first chorus. Should I witness something of this caliber tomorrow night I will consider it an absolute victory. Let the memes flow.
#4. Shoot Me
First it was back-to-back B-sides, now back-to-back selections from the same album. This is where things get really interesting. DAY6 and "Shoot Me" landed at #8 on the Best Of 2018 which is the best of their two entries on any Best Of 20XX list. Find out who was able to outshine this placing shortly afterward. To reuse a quote I've said about this song before: "Shoot Me" is full of energy and is exactly what you want out of these instrument-jamming kids. Jae has been as consistent as the band itself, but I consider this one of his best outings to date. It's only fourth here, but I imagine come tomorrow I will have jammed out to this song the hardest.
#2B. How Can I Say
Yep. I'm a mad lad. I couldn't decide between the bronze and silver medals, so I designated them as 2A and 2B. Sort of like the Minnesota Vikings with Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs: both are really good receives and are WR1A and WR1B as opposed to WR1 and WR2. But anyway enough football what can I say about "How Can I Say?" The high-rise energy is there, the powerful drumming is there, and so is everything else you'd ever want from these guys. When this song could be considered a fucking baseline for their library, you're doing something right. And since this was released in early 2017, they have kept up with the good work.
#2A. I Wait
Everything fell into place rather quickly when drafting this post, but the battle between "How Can I Say" and "I Wait" was legendary. Truth be told I was nearly about to flip a coin to determine who got where before the NFL analogy came into play. "I Wait" is more of an earworm and the instruments are really fucking good - moreso than usual since we're talking about this band. Meanwhile, "How Can I Say" houses a more active chorus and is faster paced overall. You really couldn't go wrong with either song if you were forced to pick at gunpoint (which may or may not be how I felt while writing this).
#1. Letting Go
"Letting Go" is damn good. No more words are necessary to describe the beauty of this song, but alas we must go on. The sentimental value of this song is important as this was released shortly after Junhyeok departed for greener? pastures. Apparently according to Wikipedia, this was also the song that coincided with their first official stage debut. Plenty of historic songs have had their status amplified due to emotional significance whether early or late (think Super Junior's "Sorry Sorry" or Lee Hi's "Breathe"). A question I asked myself was how "Letting Go" compares to "Shoot Me." The former was #15 in 2016 while the latter was #8 in 2018. Considering the level of competition in 2017, the #15 spot is arguably more impressive than "Shoot Me" getting 8th last year. Plus, "Letting Go" was their second release - they had not perfected their craft quite yet back in 2016. Additionally, there's a rebooted version which erases Brian's rap in favor of a traditionally excellent DAY6 bridge, which gives this song even more points. Only putting the rebooted version would be disrespectful to the original, which was near-perfect in the groundwork. If I can only hear one song live at concert, it'd be this one no doubt.
Here we go, I'm actually reviewing a song that I put in a teaser post. DAY6 earning this honor is perhaps fitting seeing their high levels of consistency across their entire discography. And considering how (a) I've enjoyed listening to bands since I was in middle school and (b) my two sisters blast the ever-living shit out of their library, it's hard to not like them. With their coming to a concert near me in September, this new release is what we all need to hold out until then.
DAY6 announced they'd be touring in Boston later this year and that's fucking amazing. Not too many artists come through here so I'm glad to participate (though my wallet won't) there instead of all the way in New York. As I've said many times before, I'm much more fond of their faster more intense stuff. You know, music a real band would (should) play. I wasn't particularly fond of "Days Gone By" so definitely color me invested in this comeback. The teased section certainly feels like an anime opening, so it'll be interesting to see how the full track spins it. Exciting music should be exciting. DAY6 HYPE. Well, as long as Brian doesn't rap.
Hey I had to work on Christmas Eve haha! Who needs an introduction? These are my picks for the top songs in 2018. Let's fucking get it.
#10. Pristin V - Get It
Apparently people slept on "Get It" but it's the best ever released by Pristin (even though this is a subunit). It's kinda sad, but this is what optimal Pristin looks like. The song matches the instrumental in the hard-hitting nature, while everyone serves up that femme fatale look. From Eunwoo's vocals to Rena's rapping, each member puts in a solid performance for a well-rounded track. Without any aegyo bullshit or unnecessary moments, it's easy to see why "Get It" earned a spot on this list. Hopefully the rest of Pristin can get on this level for the future.
#9. Stray Kids - I Am You
Stray Kids are the new kids on the block, and they've amassed quite the early portfolio. "I Am You" is a refreshing take on the typical energetic dance track mixed with some powerful rapping. Like SM, JYP finally has some solid rappers with this generation of groups. As far as first impressions go, they remind me of GOT7 if GOT7 had actual rappers. Changbin, Han, and Felix make the highlight reel (though the latter is mostly on voice alone) and the singers aren't bad either. I imagine they will pan out nicely thanks to their rapping and composition abilities.
Apparently it's been over a year since the last review about a boy group. Holy cow, let's fix that haha. DAY6 is one of the groups that my sisters really love (besides BTS that is) so I hear a lot of their music throughout the days and weeks. Given their band nature and constantly putting out new songs (and I mean constantly), it's hard to ignore them. Plus this goes back to my middle school years and early foray into Kpop when rock and pop rock were my bread and butter. So let's see what DAY6 has to offer in their July releases.
"Hi Hello" is soothingly slow and soothingly soft. Those harmonies during the chorus are something spectacular, man. I could honestly repeat those small sections over and over again. I've always been a bigger fan of Jae's voice than Sungjin truth be told, but not sure if I can explain why. Sungjin's voice tends to be higher and a little more nasally. Jae's tends to be more distinct and I like that. Younghyun is also a good contributor for vocals so it's nice to see him not get the usual rapper treatment. Speaking of which, I'm glad they haven't been adding any raps in their music lately. Not only does it make sense - bands don't generally have rappers (or at least I feel that should be the case) but as with most JYP rappers not named Yubin, they aren't that good and their actual raps themselves aren't that good either. A slow rap could've ruined this song so smart moves were made to exclude one.
It's that time of the year again. I'll be breaking down my personal list of the best songs of 2016. Because I've run this theme before, there will be 16 songs if only to match the year. I don't have much time to waste - Best Of 2016 and the annual Kpop Awards need to be complete before the end of the year because January is already booked with comebacks. This year my list will be split between the top and bottom halves. Remember, this is my set, not yours! But definitely share which songs you think I missed out on.
#16. Brave Girls - Deepened
This song is the best slow dance track of 2016. Everything about it is sensual, which is reflected in both the singing and dancing. The vocals are soft and almost graceful, which is matched by the choreography. Hyeran's rap break was the best sequence of its kind this year, though unfortunately for her made her later appearances disappointing. Nonetheless this was a very complete song that helped bring Brave Girls back into relevancy. It almost made you forget that they had been inactive for three years before coming back.
#15. DAY6 - Letting Go
Nostalgia speaks to me strongly, and a group like Day6 is exactly what I'd have been obsessed about in my high school years. Rock is an old sweetheart of mine and these guys put their Kpop spin to it quite nicely. "Letting Go" is aptly named as the band had lost a member prior to release, and you can almost hear the emotional rift in their voices. I've yet to be sold on Younghyun's rapping, but perhaps that needs some time. After all, I've come to really enjoy rappers like Verbal Jint and Mad Clown and their unorthodox flow. Maybe Younghyun is next.
JYP sure is liking his bands lately. The newest rookies of JYP Nation are DAY6, and thankfully, there are 6 members in the group. Considering that GOT7 had a very 2PM-esque debut with "Girls Girls Girls," and since the Wonder Girls take on the band concept wasn't as smooth as I would have liked, I didn't really know what to expect out of this group.
This is most certainly rock / pop rock, and I am very pleased. As someone who first discovered Younha with songs like "Houki Boshi," "Ima Ga Daisuki," and "Te Wo Tsunaide," "Congratulations" rings out familiar nostalgic vibes. The chorus is driven off the instruments, along with the chants powering behind the "congratulations." For a while, I wondered why GOT7 struggled with their vocalists, but turns out they were all waiting to debut under DAY6 ha. Seriously though, Sungjin and especially Jae definitely stand out with their voices and delivery. I'm not sure how I feel about the rap from Young K. It's not bad, and I'm convincingly reminded of Yubin's segment in "I Feel You." At the end of the day, a decent rap that doesn't hurt the song should be good enough. Both raps are good enough and build into the final chorus so there's not much else to be said after that.
Unlike Wonder Girls and "I Feel You," "Congratulations" differs in having no choreography since they were primarily marketed as band. This makes sense. DAY6 is a band from the get-go, as opposed to Wonder Girls who were a group-turned-band (sort of). I'd dare say that this group's take on being a band is more serious than their sunbaes (though I understand WG did indeed practice their instruments). Maybe it's once again the fact that they're a band from the start but their style seems more authentic to me, or I'm just weird. Moving onto the MV, we get a decent plot behind everything, another nice change of pace compared to "I Feel You," which was just rertro fanservice of sorts. The story involves a young man and his ex-girlfriend in a chance encounter on the subway. Complete with flashbacks and everything, the video is cut up into him staring her down, reminiscing on past love, and shots of the band (of course). Might I add that setting up on a subway probably isn't the brightest idea, that seems like a safety hazard. Also, why is Young K the only member who "talk to" the girl? I thought that was a little weird since nobody prior had scenes with the new couple.
DAY6 starts off their career on the right foot, with a splendid song and a relatable MV. The instruments power through the song and provide a strong backbone while Jae's vocals give the song extra flair. Young K's rapping may not be spectacular but it's able to work with the song and he honestly may be one of JYP's better male rappers already. "Congratulations" is the debut track DAY6 needed to show that JYP can put together not just groups, but bands, too.
