[Review] Super Junior - Sexy, Free, & Single

Vocals: 7 / 10

Continuing on with the usual expectations from Super Junior’s vocals, the song is clearly dominated by Kyuhyun and Yesung. Ryeowook, who is usually also a standard in the Super Junior lineup, seems to have taken a more supportive role, only getting one main line and a few short belts in addition while Donghae seems to have stepped up via utility voice. This song sounds better with lower voices, favouring Kyuhyun, Eunhyuk, and Yesung (and Donghae’s first line), so Sungmin, Kangin, and Ryeowook seemed out of place. Siwon, Shindong, and Leeteuk received like three second lines, something I find strange since the previous releases have been a little more balanced in terms of line distribution (especially selections from the 5th album). As far as the English in the song goes, Yesung and Donghae received a majority of the English, and both of them are…well, to put it simply, pretty bad at English. Actually, all of Super Junior are pretty terrible at English…speaking of which, I think I speak for everyone in that “Sexy, free, and single I’m ready too, bingo” is probably the most pathetic line ever. They could’ve at least paused for half a second to create the space needed between “too” and “bingo” but no. And even if they did, it’d still be a terrible line. I’ll just pretend the line is “Sexy, free, and single I’m ready to mingle.”

Appearance: 8 / 10

Has Super Junior ever disappointed in looks? Not really. Has there always been one awkward man out? Pretty much. Lately, it seems Donghae and Eunhyuk are getting more and more of the spotlight while Siwon gets less and less (is this because of Siwon’s various acting roles? I pray he is not the next Kibum). That said, even with Donghae and Eunhyuk getting more screentime, the others are still minimal compared to them, especially poor Shindong. A mix of hair colours with that at least looked okay with the full group. The blondes in Sungmin, Leeteuk, and Shindong pull the look off better than Eunhyuk did, especially since two of the three have been blonde before. However, it seems once Super Junior departed from the days of “Sorry Sorry”, “Bonamana”, and “Mr. Simple”, their outfits have deteriorated quite heavily. Just look at Siwon, Kyuhyun, and Leeteuk if you really want to see.

Dance: 9 / 10

This dance is upbeat, synchronized, and catchy, nothing new in terms of Super Junior choreography for the past couple of years. Continuing off the success of past releases, there’s a visually appealing fluid dance style. There really isn’t too much to say except for how hilarious the dance is during “Sexy sexy sexy.” Highlight: Eunhyuk’s dance segment was amazing. The sliding and all that while the rest of the members stood solemnly behind him was very classy, so much so that during this clip from the music video teaser, I thought it was a rap / dance bridge segment and not a line from the verse. The clapping and snapping in tune with the instrumental was also neatly coordinated. All in all, impressive work per usual.

Music Video: 5 / 10

I am being really lenient on SM here with this score. EXO had interesting enough sets with dust particles flying around with their “Oh~ Oh~” and f(x) had uniquely coloured sets to match the style of “Electric Shock”. But Super Junior literally has a white room with a black section running across. Are you ****ting me?! This is Super Junior, one of the veterans of the Korean music industry and they get something like this? The other sets aren’t exactly revolutionary either, to be honest. But, then again, this is Super Junior, who seem to have made their new home in these fancy sets for the past three years. The saving grace for this music video is the complimentary if not controversial (Leeteuk) costumes. Other than that, it’s merely another stereotypical (and this bears negative meaning here) music video from SM. “Let your artists out of empty rooms for crying out loud.” Or, at the very least, show the members doing something interesting circa “No Other,” like picking up girls or something, any action is better than none at all.

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Overall: 72 / 100

The question with Super Junior and “Sexy, Free, & Single” isn’t whether or not the release is in the right direction, it’s where they will go from here. The 6th studio album is one with the absence of Heechul, the return of Kangin, and signifies Leeteuk’s enlistment to military service. Having already managed the departures of Han Geng and Kibum, how will the group approach the future? Maybe Kibum will come back? With repackaged release in “Spy” showing some more of retro Super Junior, stuff may be looking up.

[Review] 2NE1 - I Love You

Vocals: 10 / 10

There is a lot going on in this song in terms of vocals. Singing, repetition, rapping singing mixture, rhythm changes, etc. You’d think this mixture would result in a rushed-sounding song but 2NE1 does a really nice job of creating flow between the verses, bridge, and chorus. Besides, it’s hard to go wrong when you have one of the best utility voices in Korea (Dara) who is also a master of the rapping singing mix, second to Big Bang’s G-Dragon. Park Bom’s extremely unique voice continues to shine but I’d like to see more variation in her lines in the future. Minzy and CL are pretty much perfect throughout the whole song, no complaints. I do have problems with the static “Hey” and other assorted noises in the background throughout the song, but it’s not enough to keep me from giving 2NE1 a perfect score for their singing.

Appearance: 9 / 10

Almost no letdowns here. Everyone is rocking the looks and rocking them extremely well. CL has been blonde for such a long time running now that my memory struggles to remember what she looked like before going blonde. I have this conflict of opinions in which I cannot decide whether Bom is just really pretty or that her doll-like face is almost scary. Minzy’s various colours worked nicely (even purple). Dara is the star of the show, shaving half your head has never looked so good, and pink is easily her colour. The hairstyle at the rap / end of the video was also amazing. The one disappointment? Minzy’s Egyptian throwback hairstyle. There are some girls who can pull off that sort of short hair style where their forehead is covered, but Minzy is not one of them.

Dance: 8 / 10

For the short dance to go along with the rap at the end, 2NE1 does a good job. It’s a very frantic, upbeat, and hair-flipping choreography that matches well with the hype and loud / muffled rapping. Rather than merely highlighting Minzy, there is a lot of individual movement but nice group presentation altogether. The idea of using shadows was a little strange since the buildup consisted of lights turning on…

Rap: 8 / 10

Whereas the previous slower ballads of “Lonely” and “Ugly” did not have a rap, this similar styled song, “I Love You” does, and is a welcome addition to the song. This is what I love about YG! They know CL is such a powerful rapper and singer so they find ways to incorporate both into their music. It appears at the rising crescendo at the end, is short, sweet, and to the point. The rap is a little repetitive though, in contrast to the mixture of explosive vocals, and for the majority of it being in English, the last Korean line is just a reword, kinda weird. Dara (another excellent rapper) also provides some background rap during Bom’s vocal version.

Music Video: 8 / 10

This is a tame music video by 2NE1’s standards (think “Lonely”). No extremely bright lights, ridiculous sets or crazy costumes (for the most part). While the members are very frequently in various locations and sets throughout the music video, there is some flow: from the bedroom to the hallways, into the car out onto the streets, inside another building, etc. which smoothens out the quick transitions. Additionally, the sleet-like weather appearing at the beginning of the first chorus is consistent and seems to increase in severity throughout the rest of the music video, something often overlooked in others (Big Bang’s “Bad Boy”). There are some issues though. Awkward lipsyncing is seen (most evident in Minzy and Bom), which is a rare occurrence for 2NE1. Soft singing isn’t necessarily characterized by minimal lip movement but there are times where the lips don’t match the words at all. There are shots of members while they’re clearly singing in the song but they’re not in the music video, which is bizarre in my opinion. Also, did anyone else find the segments where CL and Minzy are dancing by themselves awkward? Minzy’s set I can understand to some extent since she is by herself but CL is doing a suggestive dance…to an empty chair. EXO’s Kai danced with a invisible person in a teaser, and now it seems he was sitting in the chair in front of CL. Stuff will get really suspicious if CL starts playing invisible instruments.

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Overall: 86 / 100

Honestly, I love this song. I feel the score reflects too lowly on the overall song but perhaps that’s just because the rap and dance are very short and shouldn’t be weighed as heavily as the vocals, appearance, and music video (a removal of said sections would result in a 27 / 30 score). Dara is unmistakably the highlight of this song and proves it. All in all it’s another standout song from 2NE1 to add to their collection. “I said yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah~”