[Review] Secret - Love Is Move (Throwback)

Touted as one of my favorite / best Secret songs back in the day, "Love Is Move" was never reviewed - because my Kpop blogging experience started in 2012. Nonetheless I had fond memories of the upbeat dance track. So much so that when I made a (very) belated Best Of 2011 post three years ago, I had it ranked as the #11 song. Time to take a throwback look at one of Secret's premier title tracks. There's the intricacy of reviewing an old song. Am I going off how I perceived the song then and comparing it to now? Should the current state of the group and or the industry factor in? Nobody knows the answers to these questions and certainly not me.

[Misc] Thought Corner: Secret's Out

There's finally some fucking closure because Jieun has announced her departure from Secret. More importantly, this also means she is leaving TS Entertainment. They've been on hiatus since 2014 with the linked "I'm In Love" (which was a good release, hell I reviewed this song way back then) after Sunhwa got out of dodge quick, and as a group did absolutely nothing until the news today. What a waste and shame on TS, honestly. We were supposed to have a group comeback "sometime" last year but that never came to fruition for whatever reasons.

[Bonus] Best Of 2016 (#16-#9)

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.

[Bonus] Best Of 2011

We now embark on a trip down memory lane, for the years of 2010 and 2011 still house some wonderful songs to talk about. Continuing tradition, I'll list my top 12 picks of the songs of the year. This was by far one of the easiest to compile, and subsequently also one of the easiest to rank. There's a distinct hierarchy between the top and bottom half, and regardless of their position all these songs are definitely nostalgic delights.

#12. TVXQ - Before U Go
If you want to look at one of the most important comebacks in Kpop history, the revival of 2VXQ after the JYJ lawsuit is definitely a nomination few would argue against. While "Keep Your Head Down" was the official comeback song, the repackaged album featuring "Before U Go" turned out to be one of three ballads on this list. The X factor was the surprisingly formidable Yunho vocals, which matched pace with Changmin in both power and skill.

#11. Secret - Love Is Move
This song was quietly a top-notch dance number that I felt many people slept on. It had many qualities that combined together for a great performance piece. Relatively catchy hook, frantic (but still clean) choreography moves, and a smooth vocal attack by Jieun. Sure, the Zinger rap is forgettable (hey she didn't change her name yet) but then again so are half of her raps. Like Yunho establishing himself in "Before U Go," Hyosung started to gain traction as a secondary vocalist behind Jieun in this song.

[Review] Hyosung - Find Me (feat. D.Action)

Even though her career with Secret has stagnated, Hyosung has become a soloist with a prolific resume. Since "Goodnight Kiss" in 2014, she's released something good (decent) every year, and always to a dance-happy track. Teasers for "Find Me" would show no likely change to the formula. Classic Hyosung visuals with a good-enough choreography are likely in order.

I didn't expect that kind of start. Hyosung is not what you would label as a "power vocalist," and she has always operated under Jieun's shadow in Secret, so seeing such a strong showing from her is a pleasant surprise. Even outside of that, this is Hyosung at her finest. The entire song is well within her range and she sounds great from start to finish. She's barely reaching for anything, which is another good sign. Often we see members that take on solo efforts try too hard (heck even Girl's Day's own Minah had too much strain in her solo debut), so good job there. Structure-wise it's not very interesting, but Hyosung's sultry vocals combined with the nice pace of the song will always make this an enjoyable listen when you're looking for something upbeat.

While the song started off well, and everything else that followed was just as good, the nagging fear that I had was that the issues from her previous solo efforts would surface. Those would be a really bad rap of some sort that would ruin the otherwise perfect tempo of the song ("Into You") or some silly chant gimmick (or super awkward dance break) that would also do the same type of damage ("Goodnight Kiss"). Thankfully, D.Action's inclusion offered both a new voice and a way to escape those worries. For someone I've never heard of, he's not a bad rapper by any stretch of the imagination, and does a nice job linking his rap to the bridge.

The video is the usual Hyosung photoshoot. She tries on a few outfits for the camera and flaunts her beauty. Nothing we haven't seen before. Mixed with various dance shots and a small portion of prop usage, and these are really Hyosung's extra photoshoots she gets to do from time to time. Oh yeah, and she (unfortunately) does the whole "bare back and look vulnerably at the camera" deal that we just saw Hyomin do a week ago. Then there was Hyuna before that. These girls need to pay respect to the OG Jungah, who started this in 2013 with "First Love." Moving on, the choreography isn't all that exciting, and at a glance looks to be just a handful of flailing around (lots of arms moving above the head and such). Still it's more than likely on par with "Into You" and "Goodnight Kiss" in the dance department which is considerable enough. Not everyone can be BoA, after all.

"Find Me" is "Goodnight Kiss" in a more comfortable vocal setting, and drops the most glaring issues in the debut song had. There's no awkward chanting, nor is there an ugly bridge separating the chorus from the next verse. Everything flows together nicely, and a respectable vocal performance from Hyosung glues it all together. I can't help but get that sinking feeling about Secret's future, though. Hyosung already overshadowed the rest of the group well before she embarked on her solo path. Let's hope there's at least a Secret comeback before the end of this year.

[ Overall: 88 / 100 ]

[Review] Hyosung - Into You

Last of the late reviews from May, we have Hyosung and "Into You." Her debut with "Goodnight Kiss" was received well, even though it wasn't my personal favourite on the album, it did enough to get the job done in establishing her as Hyosung the solo singer rather than Hyosung the member of Secret. I would like to see her continue this trend confidently.

Alright let's first get this out of the way. I can't stand this peach-orange mix of a hair colour that Hyosung has. It just does not look good on anyone, so Hyosung is no exception. Combined with the curious choice of bulky jackets and questionable outfits, Hyosung's visuals which are usually on point weren't all that great here.

Anyways, like "Goodnight Kiss," Hyosung isn't trying to fool anyone with "Into You" either. This song is sexy and Hyosung's vocals are smooth and sultry. Years ago I wouldn't have paid much attention to the difference of Secret vocals. It would have been "Jieun >>> everyone else" but Hyosung has certainly risen up to the support vocals challenge and the space between her and Sunhwa is staggering and continues to be so. I can hear a little of the reach in "it's only you tonight" but she keeps the rest of the song within comfortable range and doesn't try to show off. Last time with "Goodnight Kiss" we had an awful dance break transition in between verses and I was glad nothing like that happened after the first chorus here. But then shortly after we got like 10 seconds of Hyosung rapping. It's not that it isn't...bad...okay it's pretty terrible honestly. She sounds much worse rapping than singing (little girl voice) and I don't want to see anymore of that. This sort of thing happened a bit with Jieun, too, in her "Pretty Age 25" and really didn't have to show up again. Leave any rapping for any Secret member to Hana, please.

I'm not all that invested in this song so I haven't checked out lives, but from the choreography MV I'm quite content with the skill level of the dance and hopefully Hyosung is able to sing this live while dancing. Jieun's the star vocalist of Secret and even she can get unstable sometimes in lives so hope for the best. Also, how is that one part not edited or forced to be changed because I can't imagine the shows would be comfortable broadcasting that ha!

"Into You" excels where "Goodnight Kiss" faltered in that the song as a whole is more consistent, even with the completely unnecessary and uneventful rap break. However, "Goodnight Kiss" played to Hyosung's visual strengths and the choreography was a bit better. In the end, I would still trade vocal progress for substandard visuals anytime.

[ Overall: 80 / 100 ]

[Bonus] Best Of 2014 (#8-#5)

8. Mamamoo - Mr. Ambiguous

If you want to talk about an impressive year, look no further, because Mamamoo is about to blow you away. With a lineup of fresh new faces boasting incredible vocals (and a capable rapper), Mamamoo catches your attention right away with the classy smooth vibes of "Mr. Ambiguous." Seriously, Wheein, Solar, and Hwasa are nothing short of fantastic and show charisma, sass, and power in just a few minutes. Combining the fantastically smooth song with the stacked roster of cameos in the MV (Wheesung, K.Will, Baek Jiyoung to name a few), and Mamamoo made a statement that they're here to play. (Somehow "Mr. Ambiguous" photos don't exist, so I used "Piano Man," rest in peace consistency)

7. Girl's Day - Something

"Everyday is Girl's Day"? More like "2014 is Girl's Day." This year arguably couldn't have gone better for the girls. And they kicked off the year with the extremely mature and extremely classy "Something," The progression from "Expectation" and "Female President" to "Something" was really well done, and everything about "Something" shows that. The dresses, the choreography, the sensual vocals, and even the more serious tone of the music video are all welcome. When I first heard Minah, I wasn't as impressed with her as I thought I would be, but as Girl's Day kept releasing more songs with her carrying, I've really come to love her voice and the work she does for Girl's Day. Still, the support from Sojin, Yura, and Hyeri is solid, and the reason why Girl's Day has such a talented vocal lineup.

6. Jieun - Don't Look At Me Like That

Jieun, like Hana, suffers from a identity disorder where her group just can't decide what they want to be. That's why her solo work shows the best side of her, the side we often don't get to see. With "Don't Look At Me Like That," Jieun absolutely stuns with emotion and grace, and her clear voice really sells the message. This piece is easily Jieun's best to date, and shows just what kind of soloist she could really be if given the opportunity. If only Secret could play more to her strengths, "Don't Look At Me Like That" is the premier ballad of 2014, and I'm glad Jieun is the recipient of this award. Considering the competition with established veterans like TTS, and the vocal juggernauts of Hyorin and Ailee, Jieun did a damn good job with what she had.

5. Epik High - Born Hater

And now we move onto 2014's best rap track. "Born Hater" is awesome. Just straight up awesome. Combining all the various elements of rap: veterans Epik High, Verbal Jint, Beenzino, newbies Bobby and Mino, hilarious set and video capture, and strong lyrics make this a classic. The new kids are so impressive I didn't even know they were actually YG group members. Still, the lines from the previous generation (Beenzino especially) wouldn't get beat by a few young ones and the whole "Seven Deadly Sins" theme behind the video is excellent. Tukutz, in this season's most beautiful shade of orange, drops a sick beat and everything else is history. When they performed this live (most of them anyway) it was just as fun and hype as I imagined, and that's good. I imagine this will be a favourite rap track for a long time.

[Review] Jieun - 25

Secret’s lead vocalist Jieun has always had a place in my heart. She has one of the clearest / most crystal voices in the industry, and I would place her at the #1/#2 slot in regards to that (for those wondering, Sera would be the other member). With the recent incredible release of “Don’t Look At Me Like That,” the following track would showcase a more poppy and peppy side of her that “would be a refreshing change of image.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t buy that one bit, seeing as she’s part of Secret and their identity crisis is something that plagues their effectiveness as a group, and especially for Jieun, whose talents go to waste in some of their songs. Nonetheless, I wasn’t ready to give up quite yet.

This is indeed a more lively side of Jieun and could have very well been a Secret song. The classy saxophone reminds me of “Poison,” and in general I could easily visualize the other members’ roles. Hyosung would share a verse, Hana would grab the “pretty age 25” “rap” bridge, and Sunhwa would get some filler. That being said, since this is all Jieun all the time, the song sounds fantastic. I still don’t like the rapping considering how it’s only a single line being repeated ad nauseam but the sheer quality of Jieun’s vocals override that. Her English is also very crisp, and since the words “Beautiful young and free” and part of the chorus, she executes this rather splendidly.

Even though there’s plenty of choreography, the MV roughly clouds the dancing but it’s still just your average video. Jieun indeed looks beautiful and young (maybe not free, given the boxes, ha). I’d have preferred some interaction like in “Don’t Look At Me Like That,” but I suppose one can’t argue against more eye candy. And Jieun is absolutely gorgeous.

In the end, I think Jieun showed us many sides to her and her abilities. She’s cute, sassy, playful, sexy, and pure at the same time, and if there was ever a song that should convince you she could be a star soloist, this would probably be the song.

[ Score: 85 / 100 ]

[Review] Secret - I'm In Love

Secret is back, and after Hyosung’s decent “Goodnight Kiss” we are graced with “I’m In Love”, complete with English intro by Hyosung. Secret continues to bounce back and forth between aegyo and mature, and “I’m In Love” was poised to deliver the latter.

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Vocals: 9 / 10

Secret (read: Jieun) is just divine. Alright to be fair Hyosung is a really good compliment voice to Jieun, and Hana has shown she can pull her weight since the days of “Poison” and “Talk That”. Poor Sunhwa though, poor girl is more Dasom than Dasom was in “Touch My Body”. If anything, Secret’s vocal composition has never really been kind to her, oh well. Back to Jieun though, this girl is pretty much perfect. She has a very clean voice but can always reach for those high notes to make you shiver. I’d love to give this song a perfect score for vocals but the bridge just doesn’t work for me. The tempo change is too sudden and doesn’t blend with the rest of the song. Coincidentally, I think the bridge in Hyosung’s “Goodnight Kiss” meshes better with this song.

Dance: 7 / 10

Meh. Some parts of the dance were better than others. The more graceful lying down on the ground and some of the shifting around positions was pretty good but most of the other movements seemed erratic and not well focused. Maybe I’m just lying to myself but I have yet to watch the dance practice video so I may be completely wrong.

Rap: 8 / 10

Hana is a staple in the top 10 of girl group rappers, so I was quite disappointed in the rap for a few main reasons. The first is that, like the bridge, the tempo was slower than the more frantic pace of the rest of the song. Second, it was way shorter than anything could do her justice. Last, the rap seemed pretty tame and Hana is capable of fantastic ferocity in her raps. Not so much a swing and a miss as it was an awkward hit to the side.

Music Video: 6 / 10

I have committed to giving a score of 6 for any stereotypical video (which includes boxes, solo shots, fanservice, etc.) and adding or subtracting from there based on stuff like outfits, appearance, etc. Speaking of, the girls look great. Not a fan of Hyosung’s bangs (didn’t really work in “Love Is Move” either), but everything else is genuine eye candy. Hana is probably my favourite visual out of the group, and has been since “Poison”. Anyway there isn’t much to be said about the video besides Secret being smirky and emotional. How lame.

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Overall: 76 / 100

Secret comes back with vengeance, striking hard with a mature and sexy sound in “I’m In Love”. While not the superstar that “Love Is Move” was, it can remind us of how a consistent sound and Jieun’s incredible vocals really really help Secret when they’re being serious. …please no more aegyo stuff. Secret syndrome has existed for too long.

[Review] Hyosung - Goodnight Kiss

We’ll start coverage of the Dube Sidekick solo releases, in chronological order, so we’ve got Secret’s fabulous Hyosung. While known best for her body, Hyosung more than holds her own as a support vocalist to Jieun. Will her solo debut play to her strengths or fall flat?

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Vocals: 7 / 10

Hyosung is more than able to get the job done. Breathy husky vocals which provide a sultry sound which we’ve seen past glimpses of in “Poison”, and given the soft sounding lullaby feel this is quite a good match. The problem is the choice of awkward breaks that make me cringe and add no real value to the rest of the song. The “K-I-S-S-I-N-G” chant during the prechorus was for a lack of a better word weird. It does fit in with the title of the song but I’m getting memories of an elementary school chant instead. The chorus itself is quite good if not for that horrible “Boom boom zoom zoom” English that was thrown in. Also of note is that Hyosung’s English is quite solid. I don’t think many of the words used were very difficult for Korean speakers but credit where credit is due. Pretty much every bridge was awful and should have been removed, otherwise this would have been a fairly good song.

Dance: 9 / 10

This dance is furious! Note that I didn’t say “all over the place”. I haven’t seen any lives of this song yet but this is some seriously impressive choreography. Hyosung might be the “lead dancer” on Secret but Secret’s choreography has never been this intense. Even when compared to “Poison”, which is the closest equivalent to the dance in “Goodnight Kiss”, the former seems way more tame. Excellent job here.

Music Video: 6 / 10

While Wheesung’s “Night And Day” video sort of had an open ending plot that could be pieced together, “Goodnight Kiss” is a difficult puzzle to keep track of. Is this an affair for the groom? Were they previously in a relationship? Nothing is very clear and the video just bounces between the “plot” and various shots of Hyosung (I don’t really have to comment much on this, Hyosung is gorgeous). What further complicates any understanding of the plot is that the lyrics do not match the video (or dance). At all. If you just looked at the lyrics, I could easily see a sweet ballad form off them, but instead we have this… I see many people comment on how Hyosung just can’t keep her hands off her lips the entire video, which while overboard, is some form of continuity since last I checked you need lips to kiss. If the plot were expanded upon, or if something that better matches the lyrics was shown, this could have been a really good MV.

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Overall: 74 / 100

Can’t say that I wasn’t a little disappointed with how poorly the audio of the dance breaks messed up the song. There was some promise from Hyosung but I think the unfortunate combination of horrible breakdowns and a confusing / misplaced music video keep “Goodnight Kiss” from being a breakout song.

[Review] Secret - Talk That

Vocals: 9 / 10

This time around, Ji Eun doesn’t get anything extraordinary to make this score perfect, but everything about the vocals falls in line for every member. Hyosung and Sunhwa show a little more than mere transitional voices and Zinger even makes her debut(?) with a healthy amount of lines for the second verse. While she doesn’t have the greatest voice, it’s still pleasant to listen to and compliments everyone else. The setup and structure is not anything extremely impressive, but that’s precisely why their score is near perfect. The execution and emotion is perfect for the mood and tempo of the song.

Appearance: 10 / 10

I expected colour and style changes since it has been two months since “Poison”, but the only one who did was Ji Eun, and thankfully so. She looks so much better and the colour is not bad for her. Seems like the major vocalists of girl groups have tried the crimson red at some point: Park Bom, Tiffany, Ji Eun, Seungyeon. Nobody really changed aside from the hair colour for Zinger, so this remains perfect. Was hoping for a return of Sunhwa’s glorious eye smiles but it’s a ballad. Oh well.

Dance: 7 / 10

Honestly after watching the music video, the dance barely crosses my mind. Perhaps because there was just so little emphasis on it, or that TS Entertainment had the shadow backup dancers be the focal point of the choreography, but either way the dance is something light piggybacked along by the vocals. Hyosung gets a short solo and everyone drools over her, but other than that standard stuff.

Music Video: 8 / 10

Couple a simplistic set of vocals with simplistic visuals and music video and you’re bound to have a good score. Since the dance was so light, it was practically taken out of the equation, leaving solos and group shots where the scenery is pristine and everyone looks great. Emotions matched well with the song, and Ji Eun even gets some smooch time in there. While certainly not the standout ballad like 2AM’s “Can’t Let You Go Even If I Die”, the formula for the music video is the same and so a good one.

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Overall: 86 / 100

When you first listen to it, the muffles and filters of “Talk that” seem way too repetitive and unnecessary, but after multiple listens you can hardly even tell they are there (except for in the beginning, of course). What you’re left with is a beautiful melody and moving vocals, all in all making “Talk That” an excellent ballad.

[Review] Secret - Poison

Vocals: 9 / 10

Secret is one of those (girl) groups that have always been decent in terms of vocals but happen to house a power vocalist so impressive it just strengthens them by so much. In this case, it’s obviously Ji Eun carrying the others on her back. Sunhwa and Hyosung (Zinger?) are by no means poor singers and they fit the verse sections quite well, both girls have soft voices which are out of place in the loud and emphatic choruses. Thankfully, Ji Eun saves the day, and completely dominates the last 45 seconds of the song with expressive belts ranging from low and powerful to high and shrill / emotional. Ji Eun’s vocals match this song so perfectly that I have to rate the vocals a 9, instead of a 5 if not for her presence and excellent performance.

Appearance: 9 / 10

Wow, they have undergone a complete 180 turnaround from the last time we saw them! The cutesy, aegyo, and pretty Secret have gone, and in place are four extremely beautiful women. Secret is a group which isn’t too skinny to the level where it can freak people out (thank you, Hyosung). This music video gives the girls the flashy old-school appearance and each of them look great. Hyosung and Sunhwa are their usual selves, with the side note that there aren’t enough eye smiles from Sunhwa (understandable, due to this song’s more serious nature) and Hyosung looks like Gain with her short cut. Ji Eun stands out a little odd, the hairstyle not really complimenting her face very well, she was much more flattering with her hair dropped and / or in bangs. I honestly think Zinger is the highlight here though, with the long hair and streaks looks, give amazing compliment to match the fierce raps. The outfits for the plot MV were very nice and flashy.

Dance: 8 / 10

<This information has been removed by the Korean Commission Of Youth Protection> Yeah, have you seen live performances of this song yet? You don’t really see any shots of anything lower than the waist. Now to my knowledge, the original choreography has not been altered, but definitely focusing cameras up there to avoid…yeah. The risqué movements / touching are definitely pushing it and the camerawork of the music video certainly didn’t help. KARA and Sistar have signature butt choreographies but this blows those out of the water. It’s honestly uncomfortable to talk about the dance. Let me put it this way, if Secret wore long pants for the dance, I’d still find the dance too provocative.

Rap: 8 / 10

Zinger shows a fair amount of presence in this video, much more so than “Love Is Move.” Also contrary to “Love Is Move”, Zinger brings a fierce and powerful set of raps, which is her specialty, compared to the cutesy rhymes of the group’s previous release. While I absolutely love and enjoy seeing more variety in Secret’s songs: where Zinger gets some more of the spotlight than what is considered “the usual” (for a rapper, anyway), a problem I have with the rap is that none of the segments really have a solid conclusion to them. Sure, Zinger comes in, spits some sick lyrics but then it just kinda abruptly ends and goes right into singing. If anything, the powerful “What” at the end of her final segment is…really awkward sounding. Oh well, some solid rapping and powerful charisma nonetheless.

Music Video: 8 / 10

Perhaps this is the first review I’ve done where the music video has some sort of noticeable plot to it. That said, I’d like to just ignore the other half of the video, you know, the stereotypical sets and attractive outfits / design, the dancing with backups in various rooms, the cars, the lights, all that. Hyosung’s bout with the detective(?) is traced through the girls’ work at locating / infiltrating a safe, and use cheeky predictable methods to do so, but they seem to stand around awkwardly when they actually reach their destination and get ambushed (poor Sunhwa). Hyosung shows up to rescue everyone with some rather hesitant shooting (did you see how long it took for her to shoot the second guy?) and they all grab the goodies and peace. A little bit confusing and open if you ask me. Perhaps I wasn’t paying too much attention to the Hyosung / detective parts, but that’s not a good thing for me to say regarding a music video. In the end though, the fact that this isn’t a boring as hell room video is good enough for me.

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Overall: 84 / 100

“Saranghae move move, saranghae move move~” Oh wait. Wrong song. That’s how I feel about “Poison”. It’s a great song, but it’s not particularly memorable, save for maybe drooling over Hyosung, unlike “Madonna” or “Love Is Move”. Additionally, the song is much too repetitive which really turns me off. I’ll find myself often starting the song and just skipping to the end to hear Ji Eun’s glorious vocals.