[Review] Juniel - Pretty Boy

Vocals: 24 / 25

Juniel is not straying out of her comfort zone, and with her voice there’s truly no reason to. Everything from start to finish is lively and sweet, perfectly accompanying the meaning of the song. While it’s only been a year since her debut, she’s really proven herself early and shown that this genre of music is her strongpoint. I haven’t checked the performance lyrics (Music Bank, etc.) but the pronunciation of “Hello” in the bridges sounds more like “Hallo” and is pretty weird so I’ll take off a point for that. I really wish there were some more ad libs but I’ll manage without them. Very cute, and very lovely all around.

Music Video: 23 / 25

The immediate issue I have with this music video is the use of the guitar. While it was a really nice “prop” (use that word loosely, given Juniel plays it) in past videos, it definitely sounded out of place and looked a little out of place, too, given that most of the instrumentals is electric guitar riffs, at least from what I could tell. So yeah she’s playing the guitar and definitely knows how, it just doesn’t fit right with the music video or me. Another note, is the (creeper) fellow at the end the same one in IU’s “Good Day”? He seems vaguely familiar out of the creepiness factor. Otherwise, a good music video. As opposed to the darker emotional sounds of “Bad Man”, Juniel’s pursuing an interest so she’s in the outside world, transitioning from home (cute teddy bear) to the streets to a local cafe. There are secluded rooms for the “dance” but they don’t have too much screen time and a few instances have plenty of people interacting in the background, not just backup dancers. A very bright and energetic video, coupled with a tint of humor at the end, too.

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Overall: 94 / 100

I really like this song! Juniel is incredible with her vocal talents and her company knows how to utilize it extremely well. It’s cute, but without excessive aegyo. There’s empty room sets, but plenty of camera out in the open. This score is maybe the highest I’ve ever given a review, so kudos and congrats to Juniel for excellent work.

[Review] Psy - Gentleman

Vocals: 3 / 10

What very little portion of singing in this song was horribly murdered by excessive autotune and the buzzing background. Some songs can make tolerating autotune bearable (T-Ara’s “I Go Crazy Because Of You” for example) but this did not come close to achieving that. After a handful of listens it becomes more bearable but ugh I felt bad for my ears when first listening to this song.

Appearance: 8 / 10

It’s Psy. He’s not extremely handsome, he’s not extremely ripped, but he’s goofy and carefree and dressed like a gentleman. Not much else to say other than that. Everyone who made cameos get props: Gain, Jaesuk, HaHa, etc. etc. So many people were in this just like “Gangnam Style” so that’s always cool.

Dance: 8 / 10

I dunno about the general consensus but I thought it was a pretty cute / smart idea to incorporate the “Abracadabra” dance into this one. It wasn’t a complete copy, Psy added some funny new editions to it, and it also helps bring Gain and Brown Eyed Girls into some of the spotlight, in a similar but more impressive way than what was done with Hyuna in “Gangnam Style”. That being said, it’s certainly not a standout choreography but it’s still funny and has energy to match the song.

Rap: 8 / 10

Like with the vocals, I found that there was way way way too much autotune and buzz cluttering up what could have been a more decent sounding song with energetic Psy spitting lines everywhere, calling himself a “mother father gentleman”. The pronunciation could have been a little better or maybe it just sounds a little funny to my ears. But yeah, akin to “Right Now” and “Gangnam Style” it’s not that much different. However, the bridge was pretty uh…ineffective and also pretty awkward. Those are not lines anyone would really wanna be repeating out in public.

Music Video: 8 / 10

Following the heels of “Gangnam Style”, “Gentleman” also delivers a wacky tacky music video. I wouldn’t put the two in the same category, as this one is a little more crude / dark, but it’s a solid MV nonetheless. Trolling women, acting like a “gentleman” throughout. Jaesuk’s return in that same yellow suit is questionable but I suppose nobody (by that I mean non-KPop / Running Man followers) would recognize him otherwise. HaHa and the Infinity Challenge members had decent cameos and some also participated in the trolling. Gain’s role as the successor of Hyuna did fine, and I especially liked where she trolled Psy in return with the chair. I recognized a few Running Man locations scattered throughout the video, and the continued use of flipping between obvious sets and the real world provided plenty of change of scenery.

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Overall: 70 / 100

There is a lot going for this song: funny hooks, a goofy music video, Gain for eye candy, etc. But there’s also a lot against it as well: obsessive autotune, annoying buzz, and a boring bridge. When it comes down to it, it’s nothing near the level of incredible that “Gangnam Style” achieved and more of a sidegrade / release than anything else, but you know what? I’m perfectly okay with that, considering I liked some of Psy’s music before the Gangnam phenomenon took over.

[Review] Younha - It's Not That

Vocals: 25 / 25

“It’s Not That” reminds me a lot of “Set Me Free” at first listen. It’s very light and delicate at the start, but suddenly, it explodes, bursting with energetic belts that of which impress anyone regardless of whether or not they know of Younha. Like past releases “Hero” and “Run”, it’s incredible how Younha sustains such high notes and power for such a period of time. And it’s truly beautiful. I thought the background voices / mumbles were really distracting but I couldn’t even discern what they were saying behind Younha’s emotional voice to begin with. Oh well, not too bad a damper. Younha continues to be just about perfect.

Music Video: 20 / 25

Out of courtesy and love and respect, I’ll give Younha 20 points here. There was so much potential for a colourful and expressive MV but we got something much more tame, even after the buildup to the explosion of vocals. Younha looks very pretty and the sets have good design but that’s the entirety of the ballad. Past ballads like “Please Take Care Of My Boyfriend” and “Broke Up Today” were just as emotional with supporting music videos so I was a little disappointed here. I wasn’t looking for anything breakout like the MV for “Run” but something with a little more “oomph” in it.

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Overall: 90 / 100

Another brilliant piece by Younha with emotional and explosive vocals from start to finish. I wish the music video could have been a little more artistic but even superstars like her need to slow it down every once in a while to rest up. The only thing really “unacceptable” about this song is the variation of titles it could have.

[Bonus] Best Of Collabs

I’m a huge fan of collaboration work. Whether it’s within the company, between companies, or even two members of the same group, collabs help bring out sides of singers you may not get to see as often (or at all) when they are part of the group. I tried to have most of these selections have considerate portions, as opposed to short clips by one person and then 80% by the other. So without further ado let’s talk about some of my favourites.

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Super Junior & Girls’ Generation - Seoul Song

If there was a better song to be used to advertise Seoul, I have yet to find it. Take some higher tier vocalists from SNSD and some higher tier vocalists from Super Junior and you have a delightful melody. The spotlight was surprisingly for Sunny and Donghae for each group, both of which sounded incredible with Sunny’s high notes and Donghae’s verses. This is the type of range I’d love to see more of Sunny, but I digress. The music video was artful and is of course, a necessity given this is to attract tourists, and the cute coupling of various members and additional touches (like Leeteuk helping Taeyeon, etc.) made the MV even more enjoyable.

GD&TOP & Park Bom - Oh Yeah

You can’t go talking about collaborations without this glorious party piece. The chorus by Bom is kinda repetitive, but bright and rich thanks to her vocals. Backed by G-Dragon and T.O.P rapping the verses, it’s just the perfect song to emphasize the rapping highlights with Bom’s vocals. The English scattered throughout the song like some kind of condiment for a recipe is also pronounced accurately, given YG has some of the best English speakers / pronounciation in the industry. The ending where GD&TOP took the chorus for a final spin was also pretty nice.

Zhang Liyin & Junsu - Timeless

One of my favourite and earlier ballads during my initial wave of exposure to Kpop, “Timeless” brings two distinct voices together with some more than impressive results. Junsu is incredibly talented but Zhang Liyin more than pulls her weight here, with some lovely high notes, belts, and harmonizations. The music video was also a masterpiece, utilizing the acting skills of buddies Han Geng and Siwon of Super Junior along with Lee Yeonhee. Truly a tearjerker, and the emotional vocals did well to support it (or vice versa).

Jongkook, HaHa & Gary - What I Want To Say To You

I have to rep my Running Man buddies here, this song from Jongkook’s 7th album is a happy mix of ballad, reggae, and hip hop and the three pull it off smoothly. I actually thought the order of transition from Jongkook to HaHa to Gary was really good. You can’t undersell any of their talents, whether it’s Jongkook’s high voice, HaHa’s antics, and Gary’s light paced rapping. If Gary had more similar presence to HaHa I think this would have been even more enjoyable, or maybe utilize his voice, which I consider pretty decent.

[Review] U-Kiss - Standing Still

Vocals: 10 / 10

While U-Kiss does not have crazy standout singers that you could group with the likes of Junsu, Jonghyun, or Changmin, what they do have is such a synchronized lineup with so much synergy it’s ridiculous. You could probably have everyone lipsync someone else’s lines and any newbies would probably get their heads so confused they’d spin out in misery. Seriously though, you could easily rotate Kiseop, Dongho, Kevin to the main verses and Hoon and Soohyun to the transitions and it’d still sound just as good as this current one. Awesome work by everyone.

Appearance: 8 / 10

Looking slick, U-Kiss. Hoon and Soohyun look the best probably. The “dirty” style for Hoon looks good and Soohyun strikes a resemblance to some other idol whose name escapes me at this moment. Kiseop’s the ulzzang, right? Sometimes I think Soohyun could rob him of the title. AJ always looks angry for some reason, poor guy. Not to mention his hair is not doing him any favors. And Dongho has some serious Heechul syndrome with those hairstyles. Please stay away from that as much as possible.

Dance: 8 / 10

For a music video that was so boring (more on that later) the dance wasn’t too too memorable. It’s flashy and all but also relatively hard to follow (though in part due to the seizure MV). What could have been a dance break at the heavy electronic intro or soft bridge but those were replaced with…U-Kiss walking together and a burning flower. Artistic flavour? Sure. Choreography potential? Not so much. Even then, the only interesting parts are the chorus since the verses are pretty tame. It’s a solid dance but isn’t gonna be one of the more memorable U-Kiss dances.

Rap: 7 / 10

I didn’t really like AJ’s part, with the awkward autotune harmony for half of it. The latter half was pretty nice I guess. Eli’s English is perfect (as expected), so it just leaves me wondering if whether or not using Dongho in place of AJ would have been better, but given it was AJ’s return it wouldn’t have been fair to neglect him so much. All in all a short but decent rap sequence for Eli and AJ.

Music Video: 5 / 10

Think “Dream Girl” by SHINee except more empty rooms, less vibrant colours, lack of funny camera effects, seizure inducing transitions and a girl with creepy contacts. Was there even any fire? Goodness the music video was so dull I can’t even bring myself to remember (or watch it again for that matter). I don’t even want to write anymore.

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Overall: 76 / 100

Similarily to Girl’s Day and “Expectation”, “Standing Still” impresses with quality vocals but leave everything else with a lot to be desired. The dance is pretty soft and nothing really jumps out at you, and while the music video might do that to your eyes painfully, everything else is boring, boring, boring. More or less a solid single all around but I hope one day we can see impressive and attention grabbing music videos as a norm instead of this stuff.