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.
What, you wanted some sort of introduction to the 2020 Kpop Awards? C'mon now have you been reading anything I've posted this year? I stopped paying real attention to the scene back in late February and have been barely coasting by since then. So we have seven total awards of...exciting caliber. Who will take home the most lackluster titles to date, let's find out.
Best Girl Group: TWICE
The carousel of this award continues to spin round and round. Twice are back to winning this award after doing so in 2016. Coronavirus did not slow them down because they continued with another huge slate of releases both in Korea and Japan. While I wouldn't say that every single title was spectacular - especially because I don't give a shit about Japanese releases - their track record simply outperforms the competition. "More & More" was alright (though hella repetitive) but it was "I Can't Stop Me" that bolsters their position. Ultimately their production and falloff from their rivals leads them into a second Best Girl Group award.
Best Boy Group: BTS
Imagine thinking anybody besides BTS would be here. Imagine also thinking I'd really evaluate the landscape of boy groups this year. Fun fact: the first time I heard this song was in some random Samsung commercial and I didn't even realize that it was a BTS song. And no, it wasn't because of the English. Like this is the BTS award by now, with this being their sixth win in the category. I'd have loved to give another group a chance but the trio of "Black Swan," "Life Goes On," and "Dynamite" shut down many arguments. The numbers don't lie, and BTS are writing the books themselves.
Here's the project of the month. All members that have ever been under any JYP Entertainment girl group exists on this graphic. Wonder Girls, miss A, 15&, Twice, and Itzy span over a decade of history under the JYP flag so this should be fun. How am I determining placements? It's gonna be a combination of their group, music, contributions, legacy, with a little bias sprinkled on top. Naturally I've strayed away from doing art pieces with blog posts but this was too much fun to ignore. Maybe I'll get addicted to making these scuffed graphics again, who knows.
D Tier: Lia, Chaeryeong, Yerin, Jimin, Hyuna
Reminder that these are ordered left to right within tiers. Thus, Hyuna starts us off in dead last. Of course, her extremely short stint with the Wonder Girls is the major reason. And then there's 15&, the unfortunate queens of inefficiency and mismanagement (or simply lack of care). They were extremely unproductive during their time together, with just five singles across their seven years before disbandment. Rounding out the bottom tier we have an Itzy duo. Both members have a chance to grow alongside their group, but for now their bland status relegates them here.
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.
Man, these are...not getting hard to write per se, but given the record lows of investment and attention I'm giving the Kpop world, I certainly have never felt more lost while making these posts. Thus it's more refreshing than ever to dig around and find out what's been buzzing in these ecosystem every few weeks. I don't plan on retiring this series just yet so we'll see what happens over the next couple of months. If the Late Report can keep chugging along until its two year anniversary in November, I think that'd be pretty cool.
Sunmi - Pporappippam
Everyone rejoice, for she has done it again. Weird title aside, Sunmi has returned with another electrifying dance number. The instrumental is beautifully powerful without being overbearing, and Sunmi's delightful vocals continue to do work. Redditors were saying how the opening was reminiscent of a Legend of Zelda OST. For some reason when I checked out the teaser I didn't agree, but my ears have fully opened and it's definitely out of a video game soundtrack. The rest of it is - as previously advertised - brilliant and the combination of the synths and Sunmi kills it again. Now that I've looked at the lyrics, don't the Korean words translate to "Purple Light Night" or something along those lines? You figure even a slightly scuffed translation would function better as a title, but who knows how the minds of these producers and songwriters work.
Originally I wasn't planning on reviewing this song but surprisingly, I haven't written a full song review for Twice since 2017. And even then it was a Blitz variant, so I'd say this comeback is due for a complete diagnosis.
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.
Whoops. Sometimes you just forget things. And I forgot about December's Late Report. Thus we'll have a super mega awesome combined deluxe version for this month (even though it'll mostly be for news from January regardless). These will also come out at the end of the month instead of the start of the following month, so this edition makes its debut on the final day.
Younha - Winter Flower
Alluded to in my review of "Dark Cloud," "Winter Flower" is a sensational track that features the brilliance of Younha's powerful voice with an electrifying instrumental and RM's appearance. Obviously he's a little busy as of late so he wasn't able to join her in this performance. No idea who BX is but he did a solid job stepping in for RM here. His voice is too nasally for my ears on a first listen but he keeps pace with the original, so props. I like this song so much that I'm trying to learn it on the piano. This will be the first time in almost a decade since I've touched a piano ha, should be a fun challenge.
BTS - Black Swan
Speaking of, here's BTS performing on the Late Late Show with James Corden. Considering that I did not look at any of the "Black Swan" releases of any form, I didn't know what to expect. The first thing I noticed was that this is very much modern BTS with the dancing and style of the song. Not surprising since this formula has been relatively untouched since their meteoric rise. The second thing I noticed was that they weren't wearing shoes. That couldn't have been easy. Shoutouts to the show and all because the whole setup was phenomenal: stage, scenery, lighting, etc. It's a great teaser for their upcoming album, that's for sure.
Red Velvet - Psycho (Remix) (feat. Nicki Minaj)
Kpop remixers really out here trying to add Nicki Minaj to every song. When it's this well-done, can you complain? No, you can't. Given that she has collaborated with BTS before, you could show this to someone new and they'd probably think this was legit. Okay given Nicki's lyrics probably not but you get the point haha. Since we've yet to see the rumored English version of "Psycho," a remix like this will have to do for now.
Christmas is almost here and that means the Best Of 2019 are also almost here. But before that, let's check out some of the songs that almost found their spot on that prestigious list. Some of these songs will be very familiar, as will some of the final set that drops on Christmas day. Nonetheless they are all here for a reason: quality tracks with a plethora of positives. Might not necessarily be the best of the remainder (when is it ever) but all are worth mentioning.
I'm actually going to go out of my way and list some of the songs I've previously talked about throughout this year. Since this is not a valid strategy for the actual Best Of 2019 post I'm utilizing it here. The leading lady of this group has to be Twice and "Feel Special." If these were ranked, their best work would surely have been #11. Such a fantastic dance number with many boons and a refined mature sound that they have been working toward all this time. Jihyo is god tier, and the members make solid contributions paired with a blessed instrumental. Had this been any other year it'd have been good enough for a higher placing but the competition in 2019 is super tough.
In honor of Twice's fourth anniversary, let's take a look at "Like Ooh-Ahh" and how the Kpop world was introduced to their newest girl group overlord and my reaction to their first song. Also holy cow it's been four years already since this debut. Help me I'm old.
Before this debut though, my honest opinion is that Twice doesn't have to try very hard. Miss A has yet to establish themselves as a top tier girl group, plus the general inactivity has left a gaping hole in JYP's girl group roster. Anything from a decent to average song will suffice.
Imagine telling 2015 fans that Twice would not only be the best girl group ever seen out of JYPE, but one of the top girl groups of all time in three to four years. Not to mention that both Wonder Girls and miss A would be out of order shortly after this debut. "Like Ooh-Ahh" matches up favorably to "Irony" and "Bad Girl Good Girl" and serves as one of JYP's best debuts to date.
October is already here, yikes. Theoretically I should be able to match post count from last year but with me you're never too sure. Nonetheless, we move into a new month and that means a new edition of The Late Report. Here's what September had to harvest.
Twice - Feel Special
Let's get the obvious one out of the way first. Twice's "Feel Special" is definitely their best song to date. Like I mentioned in the previous post, there's many things to like about this comeback. The vocals, the setup, and upon further review the choreography is super clean too. The evolution of their style over the years has reached its peak with "Feel Special," and it appears all too likely that Twice have made their position on the Best Of 2019 clear: they'll be there in December when it's all said and done.
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.
Been busy with overtime at work and a new dance cover (I'm really excited for this one). Twice are coming back as the main act of April, so let's watch some teasers only to be inevitably disappointed with the real product. We've been falsely led to believe Twice would take a turn of concept before albeit with Japanese promotions but this might actually be something. If they are going away from oppa-pop, part of me is concerned how their voices will do but Jihyo should hold down the fort. This video confirms that most members have already surpassed Momo in the visual department, not that this styling does her any favors. Chaeyoung and Sana steal the show along with the usual stalwarts like Tzuyu. And hello? Jungyeon with long hair? Finally, the roster is synced up with the long locks. I can't wait to be let down. Curse you JYP and your strong teasers!
Another year, another edition of the prestigious Kpop Awards. There's a slate of nine exciting awards that will be handed out to this year's very best. Who will take home the wonderful prizes? Who will have to wait until next time? Let's find out with the 2018 Kpop Awards.
Best Girl Group: Mamamoo
After the battles between Red Velvet and Twice (sorry Black Pink), Mamamoo come out on top of the girl group ladder. To call 2018 "the year of Mamamoo" is an understatement. Whatever you wanted from them, you got. Group comeback? How about the diverse tastes of "Starry Knight," "Egotistic," and "Wind Flower." Solo efforts? Solar continued to release soft ballads while Moonbyul and Wheein had strong debuts with "Selfish" and "Easy." Even though I predict they'll slow down a bit in 2019, their incredible 2018 campaign lands them as the best girl group of the year.
Best Boy Group: BTS
Goodness, BTS have won this award for four consecutive years. From this series' inception in 2015, no other boy group has been as dominant and as consistent as BTS. This was another year full of production from the squad. The R&B-infused "Fake Love" started their year while "Idol" was full of psychedelic elements in both song and video. So trippy in fact that there was a version with Nicki Minaj guesting. Individual stages were also plentiful, just check out the end of the year performances for proof. Huh, they're finishing up another album? Are we sure these dudes are human?
Should this be a Best Of Twice or Worst Of Twice? Pessimism is strong with me but for the sake of holiday cheer and good spirits we'll take a positive spin. Then again, given that I only use title tracks for these posts every Best Of is mostly a reverse Worst Of. That's why the first Worst Of post wasn't about a single artist. Anyway here is Twice. They've got yet another comeback - which I haven't listened to yet because thus far they have exactly ten tracks - and have made rigorous progress over the years. How do their title tracks fare against each other?
#10. Signal
I can't even start with this shit. You know why this song isn't good. Won't even stomach another listen. That dance has its moments though. Next!
#9. Knock Knock
This was the first song where Twice found their rhythm or groove so to speak. The pop dance style became their bread and butter after "Knock Knock" and they really took off. Both this and "Signal" don't have many redeeming qualities (if any) in my eyes but at least there was the funny JYP cameo troll moment.
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.
It's time for another round of Girl Group Power Rankings! There's only been four months since the last episode but the summer has been bountiful and thus more shuffling of the girl group ladder had to commence. Minor switches more often is better than major switches less often, especially on a list that only has ten ranked groups. Here's who's hotest during the summer of 2018.
Honorable Mention: Girl's Day * New Releases: N/A
Like I said, inactivity will have to be a more serious offence. Girl's Day have done nothing since late March 2017 and have been focusing on individual non-music activities. Therefore they'll drop out into Honorable Mentions, but not entirely off the chart. Despite the lack of promotions, they are still one of the best groups in recent years. While you could say the same for Girls' Generation, the fractured group structure prevents them from getting to the same level as Girl's Day.
Honorable Mention: Loona (NEW) * New Releases: Egoist (Olivia), love4eva (yyxy)
Man, Loona has got things going. There's plenty of hype surrounding this group. Their official debut will either be one of the greatest in the current era of Kpop or completely underwhelm and bust. Given their extensive track record of solid "predebut" songs though, they should at least do admirably. My favorites so far have been Jinsoul's "Singing In The Rain," Kim Lip's "Eclipse," and Olivia Hye's "Egoist." With so many different styles showcased by their members, who knows what genre they'll debut with.
#10. Black Pink (--) * New Releases: Ddu-du Ddu-du
Given how much I disliked their comeback, Loona ranking above Black Pink was a real possibility. But their performance numbers-wise is very impressive. I suppose that's what happens when a fandom is so starved. Being the fastest group MV to reach 200 million views counts for something. Jennie was hilarious on Running Man and their Instagram have been popping off. Regardless, I'm going to keep ranking them low until they either get out of the dungeon more or comeback with a bomb track.
This was actually a difficult piece to write. Outside of an obvious top 3-4 groups, the rest of the rankings were murky for a long time. I tried using some "sophisticated algorithms" to help look at each group from a music and activity perspective but even then I still changed the final list like five times at least. In any case, these are the best girl groups right now based on their lineup, recent showings, and where they're headed, with some legacy points tacked on. Also a reminder that "new releases" covers anything that was released since the last ranking, and that even goes for groups that are appearing on the list for the first time.
Honorable Mention: Sonamoo * New Releases: I (Knew It)
After flailing around in concept inconsistency Sonamoo have appeared to settle down in a zone. "Friday Night" and "I (Knew It)" are solid tracks that deviated from the much less enjoyable bubblegum dance pop they had throughout 2016 and early 2017. Currently the group is watching Euijin take center stage with UNI.T which could be a turning point in their group's career path. This will either give them a jolt of life or be the beginning of the end. Considering their label is TS Entertainment, I'm keeping them on my radar but not trusting their label until they prove otherwise.
Honorable Mention: CLC * New Releases: Black Dress
Similar to Sonamoo, I can't trust CLC because of Cube. They're already planning another girl group despite CLC not yet having a stable foothold in the industry yet. "Black Dress" was a great track but last time we were treated to a tougher, girl crush concept they immediately heel turned into "Where Are You?" which was the exact opposite. With both label and genre uncertainty, I'll place them in the Honorable Mentions for now. Fun fact: three out of five groups that started in Honorable Mentions went on to join the official list so maybe there's hope for them yet (and Sonamoo).
#10. Black Pink (-6) * New Releases: N/A Live footage of Yang Hyunsuk working on Black Pink. Seriously, what a joke. They are the least active high-profile girl group and it's not even close. Even 2NE1 out the gate was not this pathetic discography-wise. What's that? Black Pink has an album coming up soon? Nice! Oh, it's merely their prior five songs in Japanese. Fuck off outta here YG, this is some bullshit. The only reason they're not in Honorable Mentions (or off the list entirely) is that their worst song is still better than CLC and Sonamoo's best song.
After Girls' Generation's unofficial demise, let's see how I rank the members of Twice - who have taken over as the most popular girl group and essentially the successor to SNSD. As with any sort of bias ranking, the main factors include their talent, roles, and consistency. In terms of their personality I've not watched too much variety material on them besides Weekly. I realize now that this is actually the first formal group member ranking. There's not been a single group member ranking in my entire blog, I would've thought I did at least one official writeup for Girls' Generation. I suppose it's the changing of the times in both the Kpop world and my blog. Here we go!
#9. Sana
I wonder how many crimes this amounts to. Sana is a good mix of adorable and gorgeous but overall not really my cup of tea. Where she's strongest is that Sana has been one of the most consistent visually, or least ruined by their stylists. I mean yeah that's great since Kpop is so visuals-based but whatever. It's quite shocking to have such disparity within the J-Triplets, which you will see later.
#8. Jungyeon
Outside of f(x)'s Amber, I'm usually indifferent to other girl group members who followed that trope, though usually through no fault of their own. Jungyeon's the androgynous one of Twice but what's more important is that she has the strongest voice on the team - we won't see a vocal duel between her and Jihyo but I'm more for her voice.
Y'all know me I'm a sucker for series and continuity on my blog and in general. Here's some hopes and dreams I have for the Kpop industry in the year 2018. Like last year, they range across the spectrum - from realistic to borderline impossible. But before those meaningful thoughts hit the page, let's check back up on last year and see what happened with my 2017 hopes.
