[Bonus] Best Of 2020

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.

[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?

[Bonus] Girl Group Power Rankings XI: Summer 2020

So it's been a long time since the previous installment of Girl Group Power Rankings. As such, this probably won't be as polished as I'd like. Plus, my waning interest in the girl group landscape (especially for newer groups) makes it difficult to rank groups, even with subjective opinions. Regardless I will do my best because that's what this blog is all about. The next ranking will be out before 2020 ends at least so there's some continuity available.

Honorable Mention: Black Pink
* New Releases: How You Like That
God it pains me to keep putting Black Pink here. Not only because they keep putting out shitty music, but because none of the young blood has piqued my interest enough to justify putting them here in BP's place. That and my status as a Jennie and Jisoo fan are keeping enemy groups at bay. "How You Like That" was completely disappointing at best and absolutely atrocious at worst. Their first ever studio album (literally called "The Album") has been delayed to October in traditional YG fashion so we'll see what comes of that later.

[Bonus] The Late Report: March 2020

With the world suffering under the wrath of coronavirus, the social distancing and quarantine shenanigans are out in full force. I've had more time to write but also more time to sleep or play Animal Crossing or do absolutely nothing. Nonetheless, March comes to a close with a very basic Late Report to go over.

LOONA - Sorry Sorry

You cannot escape the power of Loona. They have an extremely impressive collection of high-quality dance covers under their belt. And with Lee Sooman participating in album production, perhaps something like this was inevitable. Loona display chemistry and class with a cover of "Sorry Sorry," and even though there's autotune you can't deny the girls sound good. The choreography is also clean (as expected) and Yves does fantastic work as the center. If LSM sees potential this group, then you know they're doing something right.

[Review] LOONA - So What

With three weeks of digestion, it's now time to look at one of the most anticipated comebacks of not only 2020, but for girl groups of the last few years. LOONA have been gaining all of the momentum and hype after releasing "Butterfly," and despite Haseul being sidelined, I'm still ready. The last time I was this excited about a girl group was probably when 9MUSES returned after losing Eunji, Sem, and Sera. If you aren't keeping track, that was a long time ago. Let us continue the February onslaught with more reviews.

[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] Best Of 2019

Last year, the Best Of 2018 post was released Christmas Eve on which I worked. This year's Best Of 20XX will be released on Christmas Day. Can you guess if I worked yesterday? Hope you said yes because I'm drowning myself in alcohol over the next few days. These are my picks for the top tracks in 2019. Remember, it's just an opinion bro.

#10. Taeyeon - Blue

Starting off with a B-side? You goddamn right I am. Taeyeon has made more progress to her career this year, but none better than this somber and soothing ballad. Don't get me wrong, "Four Seasons" and "Spark" are both excellent additions and showed yet more of her brilliant versatility. Combined with her Japanese release "Voice," they make for a fine 2019 trilogy. However, the simple beauty of "Blue" rises above the rest. It definitely feels weird to have a B-side on the Best Of 20XX series but hey it's been done before. Hell, I'd argue that it's kinda surprising that none of her title tracks were better, though that may be because of her high standards.

#9. Mamamoo - Gleam

Mamamoo have had a year of ups and downs. Activity and popularity-wise they have been rolling, but between "gogobebe" and "Hip" nothing has really knocked my socks off. Then I remembered that they released "Gleam" which was more a promotional CF of sorts kinda like "Woo Hoo" was for some Samsung phone. The fact that it's an ad for (sun)glasses makes it better. It's the most polished Mamamoo track despite "Hip" being solid thanks to its simplistic nature. Shoutouts to the bowling alley dance floor. First a B-side and then a promotional song, what a weird start to this year's best.

[Bonus] Girl Group Power Rankings X: Fall 2019

This is blog post #500(!) and I finally have another edition of Girl Group Power Rankings. I'd love to say this was all part of my grand scheme for delaying this for so damn long but we all know that's bullshit haha. It's been a while so this will serve as a refresher course for the Power Ranking posts. Group Power Rankings are all about what a team has done lately, what talents they bring to the table, and how consistent they are / could be. They're all subjective lists anyway but I like showing the criteria I use, if only to keep my own rankings consistent over time.

Even though it's been a while, I still reference the previous list which was nearly one year ago (yikes), but also treat 2019 almost like a brand new year. Older groups that previously were on the list due to legacy but have since disbanded or "gone on hiatus" will not be making an appearance, so you won't see names like Girls' Generation, EXID, or Girls' Day on here. Though it should be mentioned that Brown Eyed Girls is having a comeback soon but their veteran status is so lofty it wouldn't feel right putting them here with these youngsters. In a similar vein, shoutouts to AOA for their participation in Queendom. They've handled well as a group of five.

Previous installments have included a "new releases" tab where I showcase some of their work between ranking posts and that trend will continue. No auxiliary releases though: only main Korean comebacks and other noteworthy efforts - there will be no OST work or Japanese promotions. Is that enough rambling? Alright, onto the list!

Honorable Mention: Black Pink
* New Releases: Kill This Love
In a company battle reminiscent of the late 2000's, YG's Black Pink barely edges out JYP's Itzy for the last honorable mention. They're contrasts to each other in many ways: BP has better rappers, Itzy has better singers, and both groups are known for their choreography. Itzy is a newcomer with a pair of meh tracks to their name so far, while Black Pink has been around with enough inactivity to kill a cow. Speaking of killing, "Kill This Love" was touted as the worst Black Pink release during my review back in April. While that statement still stands true I have thought better of it upon scarce listens since, plus it eases expectations for their next comeback in the year 2021.

[Bonus] The Late Report: August 2019

The funny thing I realized is that even though I feel post production has been slow this year, I'm still on pace for the second most posts in a year on the history of my blog. Of course now that I've said that, everything will self-destruct during the fall and that won't happen but I digress.

Rocket Punch - Bim Bam Bum

Woollim has a new girl group in town. Rocket Punch's "Bim Bam Bum" is your average summery dance track with blips of English here and there, and a generic music video to boot. Truth be told there isn't anything particularly interesting to glean about Rocket Punch to start, but they are coming out of a respectable label so I figure they were worth mentioning here. They do have a neat logo, which I'll use in future posts that need them. They're obviously going in a different direction from Lovelyz, so it'll be interesting to see how they progress with more comebacks.

[Misc] Live Laugh Love LOONA

That makes two consecutive fluff posts about Loona under the Miscellaneous tab haha. They are simply that good. Check out their cover of BTS' "Not Today," a grim reminder that LA's KCON will always be superior to their New York counterpart.

Though I must admit, I don't think this was as impressive a showing compared to their "Fire" or "Cherry Bomb" performances. Their movements did not look as sharp or synchronized, but maybe that's because of the choppy video? Having danced this choreography myself, and seeing others do so with, gives me more perspective to critique compared to their other two covers. Maybe they didn't have as much time to prepare for this special stage? That seems like oversight on the company's part however. Still, they did a good job and I was surprised to hear their vocals instead of simply doing a dance cover. Loona has plenty of stock going into their comeback.

[Bonus] Best Of 2019...So Far

It'll be tradition to post a Best Of the year at the midway point because I loved the idea that some songs would start strong early and then falter off, or new challengers would rise up during the second half. In the 2018 edition four of the nominees would go on to make the final list at the end of the year so let's see if 2019 can do better. Compared to last year, I haven't paid as much attention music-wise because I've been busier (though blog production is the best going into July over the last three years) but I'm pretty comfortable with my list. This time we'll go in alphabetical order by artist, to prevent bias when I reference this at the end of the year for Best Of 2019.

Chungha - Gotta Go

Oh look it's Chungha again, back so soon? "Gotta Go" is the pinnacle of her solo career thus far, showcasing her wide range of vocals, enchanting choreography, and gorgeous visuals. She struts her stuff from start to finish and the fact that it kept improving off her previous releases makes things even better. Extremely consistent, excellent composition, and stellar aesthetics make for a well-rounded track out of this well-rounded artist.

GFriend - Sunrise

This entry is a painful reminder I need to finish the next iteration of Girl Group Power Rankings seeing as GFriend is coming back very soon. Nonetheless their "Sunrise" was a perfect way to start the Kpop year. The main selling point of this song is the chorus, which is once again spearheaded by their two-headed vocal monster in Yuju and Eunha. Said chorus is exhilarating and climbs in both the notes and energy, something which you'll see from another girl group later in this post. Between the strong team performance and beautiful structure of the song, "Sunrise" is yet another addition to GFriend's repertoire.

[Misc] LOONA Bomb

Hot damn. Nothing else needs to be said. Go and watch this dance cover of NCT's "Cherry Bomb." Olivia Hye is a lord and the group synchronization is fucking clean. Stan fucking talent. Stan LOONA.

[Misc] LOONA Power Ranking

Aside from Dreamcatcher, I'd say that Loona is the other young girl group I'm really excited about. "Butterfly" was a masterpiece and their plethora of material is no slouch. Their diversity has plenty of people hyped about them and reminding everyone to stan Loona. Since I don't really know them all too well, these will be brief rankings based on their skills, live performances, and glimpses of interviews. I haven't watched much of them in terms of variety but I'll fix that soon.

#12. Yeojin / #11. Hyunjin / #10. Chuu / #9. Choerry

With twelve members, it was easy to split them into three tiers. A pair of jins bring up the rear as Yeojin and Hyunjin don't inspire me in any way. Don't despair because with any new group things are bound to change as I get more familiar and invested with the members. Chuu is the classic case of overly cute member that has never been my cup of tea, and honestly Choerry appears to give the same impression at a glance. Out of all the bottom four, I give Choerry the best chance to make moves upward and that's why she sits at 9th.

[Review] LOONA - Butterfly

Life has taken some unpleasant turns for me, but that won't put me at a standstill. Red Velvet's concert post is incoming but I'm gonna let this take precedence because the new style of song reviews means more should be written. I know I've been giving all the girl groups love but I promise with the increase of reviews there will be boy group content too. Last year started to get more balanced and I'll look to bring that back for 2019. Anyways, what's been going on with Loona?

[Bonus] Best Of 2018: Honorable Mentions

Here come the Best Of 2018! Well, the ones that didn't make the final cut anyway. With five selections, they serve as a teaser to the final Best Of 2018 list. But unlike that list coming later this week, these will remain unranked. They may not necessarily even be the best outside choices (when are they ever?) but they certainly made a strong case throughout the year. May they wet your palette before the official best drops on Friday or something.

LOONA - Favorite

Not enough BRRRRA in Kpop honestly so thank goodness for Loona. The styling of group names is something I've struggled to get consistently in writing and tagging posts, and still haven't found a working ground for. Anyway "Favorite" is like EXO's "Mama:" a debut track that isn't really a debut track. Still there's a lot to like here. The choreography is strong, the instrumental is bangin', and the energy is through the roof. With this and "Hi High" as their official "debut," Loona is giving us plenty to look forward to.

[Bonus] Girl Group Power Rankings IX: Winter 2018

The final chapter of the 2018 Group Power Rankings was more difficult than most. I had over 15+ groups that kept bouncing on and off the list before settling down at the 11th hour. Obviously the upper echelons were pretty easy to separate from the rest of the pack but Honorable Mentions and the lower end gave me headaches. Either way, I powered through and here we are.

Honorable Mention: gugudan
* New Releases: Not That Type
Making their debut on the group rankings is gugudan, who narrowly beat out (G)-IDLE for this spot. And thankfully they did because I would have loathed writing that name over and over. Anyways, gugudan have lost a member but gained plenty momentum in 2018. Subunit and full group activities were seen since the summer and while "Not That Type" wasn't perfect, it was a solid dance number that really impressed me. That and "The Boots" give me plenty of hope for the future of gugudan.

Honorable Mention: Black Pink
* New Releases: Solo (Jennie)
Black Pink has not been in our area, but Jennie did drop a solo on us out of nowhere. I'm in the group that thinks a solo debut for a group that has less than ten total songs in their discography is odd if not desperate, but at least the song itself was serviceable. Her rapping was better than her singing, though the choreography was powerful and for a debut piece especially so. I considered dropping them off the list entirely but other groups don't have the luxury of having YG as their label, which theoretically bodes well for their future endeavors.

#10. Lovelyz (-2)
* New Releases: Lost N Found
When it ain't broke, don't fix it. Lovelyz have a formula for innocence and continue to display it with "Lost N Found." That chorus is magnificent while the rest of the song is competing for that coveted ethereal sound that Cosmic Girls mostly hogs to themselves. Kei, Yein, and Mijoo lead this team with all sorts of success, and the visual combo of Mijoo and Jisoo is devastating. With Infinite members enlisting left and right, Woollim will focus their efforts on Lovelyz as their main attraction - I don't exactly know how popular Golden Child is but Lovelyz is the only girl group regardless.

[Review] Olivia Hye - Egoist (feat. Jinsoul) (Blitz)

The Loona hype train has come to a stop for now with the final member's solo release. Olivia Hye (dropping her last name from now on) is here with "Egoist" which is funny considering she was the last member / release. Anyway back when I reviewed "New" from Yves I said that simplicity worked out well for her. In "Egoist," Olivia gets to do a little more and the instrumental provides a nice assist. Those dance breaks were easily the high point of the song and matched the choreography well (or vice versa). Vocals-wise I don't think she's that impressive and the backing audio does well in masking what she really will sound like in live performances. At this point in Loona's time I have no idea which member is gonna be what so they're all decent support vocalists until I hear otherwise. Jinsoul's rap feature is a solid B+ in my book. She has that disparaging filter but I can look past it in favor of the overall good rapping. Rapper Power Rankings are being worked on for April so this new material is welcome. Loona is definitely in capable hands with her manning the rap department. The video has crazy strong aesthetics once again, but those ripped pants triggered my trypophobia and made me extremely uncomfortable the rest of the video. The ending where Olivia meets Heejin is a quality touch and gave me goosebumps. We could be on the verge of something magical here with Loona.

Word Count: 248

[Review] Yves - New

So Loona is the new hot commodity. Thanks to an extensive investment in the group, they're milking as much about of this debut process as possible. Think EXO's predebut but on steroids. Loona started teasing in October 2016 and the group won't debut (as a whole) until 2018. As long as it works, their management will look like geniuses rather than idiots. Anyway they've already had a plethora of releases for individual members as well as subunits, and today I'll tackle the newest member to take the stage. I'm hesitant to create a new tag for her since who knows if they'll have solo material once they've debuted. But Yves (how the fuck do you pronounce that) is here with "New," let's take a look.

First off I apologize for the lazy banners, cropping the images proved difficult without having any text or logos. Anyway the song is a light dance number that makes use of Yves' lively voice. Her singing is somewhat betrayed by the heavy instrumental, but the mixture does make for an enticing listen, I'll give it that. There's two instances where the depth makes the song better: the first is when there's no singing after the chorus. The instrumental takes over and it's not an abrupt change since it remains constant from the beginning. Second, the "bridge" (I dunno if I would classify it as a bridge since the lyrics are the same from an earlier part) sounds good with all other sounds removed, then suddenly climbing right back into the active chorus.