[Review] 2NE1 - Can't Nobody (Throwback)

2NE1 in 2020? Yessir. For the nostalgic selection of a song I haven't reviewed I decided to journey back a decade ago to one of the earliest hits in my Kpop journey. How has 2NE1's legacy held up after a whopping ten years? Let's take a time machine and find out.

Well, even though this was only their second year in the business, 2NE1 had zero shame in announcing who they were and what they're all about. This was the type of brash, in-your-face type of music that this group would become renowned for, and for good reason. They are pretty good at being loud, crazy, and aggressive. The heavy autotune cements the "I don't give a fuck" attitude that CL even echoes later in her second verse.

[Review] B.A.P - Hands Up (Throwback)

Guess I've been in a TS mood. Well that's not really true considering how little Kpop I've actually listened to over the last few months but whatever. TS Entertainment have run into the ground every group they've been in possession of. After just talking about the disappearance of Sonamoo, there's also B.A.P to talk about. Yongguk and Zelo left TS three months after this release, and then everyone else in the group followed suit. As far as I'm aware there has been no noise from then since. Maybe a few of them have released some individual material, but as we close in on three year mark for their hiatus, any reunion or comeback seems more and more unlikely. As such we'll take a look at "Hands Up," which was their final release as a group under TS.

[Review] CLC - Pepe (Throwback)

As is tradition, a lottery was ran to select the throwback review candidate and CLC takes home that honor for the month of October. They debuted with "Pepe" a little over five and a half years ago, which is kinda crazy to think about. For one they've been relatively underrated for most of their career, but part of that is in no small part thanks to Cube's management of this group. But for now let's take it back to a simpler time and see what CLC brought to the table.

[Review] JJCC - Where You At (Throwback)

Apparently JJCC are still active. I remember reviewing their debut track "At First" and then they quickly dropped off my radar. But seems like they had some roster changes in 2015 and have kept kicking it from then. "Where You At" is one such release under the new regime - and during their most active year. Don't count on me mentioning members by name because of the aforementioned lack of attention.

[Review] Rainbow - To Me (Throwback)

Oh man, remember Rainbow? Those were good times when all these girls groups I followed actually existed. This will only be the third time I've reviewed one of their songs, as my blog started after their glory days of "A" and "Mach," with this track coming directly after. I kinda forgot this song existed but stumbled upon it almost by chance when digging around for some old-school hits. Let's see where "To Me" stands in Rainbow's library.

Getting the MV discussion out of the way immediately: it's bland. Stereotypically bland. My interest in the world of music videos was highest during this era and I still think I'd have been bored. The girls look great and always have been: Rainbow were consistently a top tier visual threat from head to toe, from leader to maknae. Jaekyung's beauty is eternal and she'll always be my favorite.

[Review] Girls' Generation - Run Devil Run (Throwback)

Well things have certainly been...existing. The other day a couple old SNSD songs showed up on shuffle, and I thought "hey why not look at some of their classics?" And here we are. "Run Devil Run" has aged pretty well all things considered. Originally sung by Ke$ha (does she still exist?), SNSD brought this out of the mire way back in 2010. To add to the excitement, this was released shortly after "Oh!" popped off and there was the mysterious teaser at the end of their video.

[Review] BTOB - Movie (Throwback)

Free from the confines of my room, I'm bringing a retro review to the table. Yesterday was my sister's birthday and I asked her to give me a random Kpop idol / group. She named Peniel so here we are. At first I was wildin' how they haven't released anything since the small unceremonious song "Sorry" by a few members which was included in a Late Report one year ago. Then I remembered that most if not all of them are probably doing their mandatory military service by now.

[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.

[Review] SPICA - Russian Roulette (Throwback)

Despite nearly ten title tracks across four years, I never once reviewed a SPICA song. So as much as I praised them, I didn't give them the love they needed. Sad sad sad. Thus they are rewarded by being the first retro review in over four years. Hopefully this will suffice. "Russian Roulette" was their essential debut - they released "Doggedly" before, but that was some more "predebut" bullshit. They were the standout vocalist group that set the precedent for Mamamoo, and "Russian Roulette" shows off their talent with a splendid-sounding track.

[Review] EXID - Every Night (Throwback)

The retro series is pretty much nonexistent on my blog. I wanted to use the retro tag for songs that have long been out of the spotlight, or even old songs that were never really appreciated. The only other song on my blog that's tagged retro is Psy's "Right Now," which I reviewed alongside "Gangnam Style" during that past time. It's only appropriate I take a look back for EXID, who have risen to great heights with the help of "Up & Down."

"Every Night" has all the right elements of a solid release. The rapping from LE is excellent (more on that later) and kept in check by the superb vocals in the chorus. The support vocals and instrumental also have good teamwork, the latter doesn't take away from the singing while the former is good enough to bridge the main points of the song: the rap and chorus.

An excerpt on LE: I'll try not to dive too much into her here as I have to write about her in the Girl Group Rapper Power Rankings, but she is really good here. Hani and her fancam may have brought them to fame but LE was probably the standout member from the start, even before superstardom. LE's rapping in "Every Night" is commanding but doesn't overrun the song in any way, something that tends to happen with other key rappers like CL and even Yubin. I'm not convinced that she says "booty call" in her opening rap though, I always thought the words were "pretty cold" before I looked up lyrics so it's been hard trying to convince myself those aren't the lyrics.

Solji is exceptional. I'm going to be making a Girl Group Vocalist Power Ranking sometime this month as well, and I can already tell Solji will have a high placing. She has a lot of soul and power behind her voice, and is the driving force behind the choruses in "Every Night" and "Up & Down." The amount of work she does here, especially towards the end of the song is incredible.

The video is interesting to say the least. The gas masks are pretty creepy admittedly, and the actors and actresses do a good job playing their part(s). However, I'm not exactly sure why we needed slow motion close-ups of them spewing liquids from their mouths. If that was added with intention to be funny, they fell quite short. Everyone in EXID looks great, with Junghwa and (of course) Hani in the lead.

All in all, "Every Night" has every right to have been the song which launched EXID's career but the remake apparently continued to fly under the radar. Explosive vocals from Solji coupled with dynamic rapping from LE make for a strong combination, and with EXID's visuals and a gloomy video as backup they scored high in all the right places. Here's to more magic out of this group in 2015.

[ Overall: 90 / 100 ]

[Review] Psy - Right Now (Throwback)

Vocals: 7 / 10

Psy isn’t exactly the greatest singer, but he can still carry a tune (one would hope so after having like ten year career). Even though this song doesn’t exemplify fantastic singing talent or anything, Psy does a nice job with the chorus and definitely can hit some of those upper notes in repitition. Since the chorus is the only part with vocals, I can’t drag out this segment much. As such, a clean score for Psy.

Appearance: 8 / 10

This man is not out there trying to fool anyone. He isn’t the most attractive and not the most built, but that gives him a much more friendly vibe without shooting eye smiles and acting all cutesy / aegyo. From the nerdy office worker look to the stylish party out in the middle of the streets look, Psy looks charismatic as always. As with other flashmob videos, the backup dancers / participants look and are in very typical settings and so do not look too extreme. Even Psy doesn’t change costumes until the crazy party begins to breakout. The pinkish white looks pretty fancy and contrary to popular belief so he doesn’t wear sunglasses all the time.

Dance: 9 / 10

There isn’t too much choreography, the most notable being the bridge / buildup to the final verse, and with reason. It’s a flashmob song which emphasizes letting loose everyone once in a while so there isn’t so much set choreography. Of all the dancing though, the fellows at the subway sure know how to impress and battle with each other across the lanes. During the bridge there’s a slow paced build that matches the song and even a nice little homage to Super Junior’s smash “Sorry Sorry”.

Rap: 10 / 10

Psy earns a perfect score here. No, it isn’t because he raps the fastest, no it isn’t because he raps with the best flow or rhyme schemes, his charisma is more than enough and he’s probably one of Korea’s most charismatic, ever. He may not be on G-Dragon’s level of charisma but he has the energy of a thousand suns and if you watch his live performances they are all just as ridiculous as the last.

Music Video: 10 / 10

The music video provides the setup and perfect mixture of dance sequences and crazy partying / hilarity. Like some other signature YG videos, there’s just so much to comment on. The calm buildup with office worker Psy dancing around like a moron amidst traffic. All the scenes where it’s just a few people but then hype builds out through the song and then it’s just one crazy party flashmob. Psy and his “ripped body”, etc. There is a Seo Woo version of the music video where she lipsyncs from her perspective instead and it’s a neat variation I suppose, if not for her awful lip syncing. Also did you see the blonde guy? He was in every scene. He’s a magician!

~

Overall: 88 / 100

Before the global sensation of “Gangnam Style”, was “Right Now” and this song really drew me to Psy where I realized what a great personality / character he was. While it may not be the dropdown silly antics and hilarious choreography, it’s still a very well produced hype song perfect for flash mobs and parties. Performance wise, Psy was so into it that he ripped his pants once on stage. ‘Nuff said.