[Review] 2PM - Come Back When You Hear This Song

Vocals: 8 / 10

I’m very impressed. For a song that didn’t offer too much variety or have interesting happenings, 2PM sound really synchronized for the first time in a long time. It’s surprising, since essentially all the vocalists are in the relative range of the others, you’d expect more songs to have a similar synchronous sound like U-Kiss, but the last song that I felt this sort of harmony dates back to “Again & Again” when Jaebeom was still part of the group. I wanted more of Junsu (I refuse to call him Minjun or Jun.K or whatever name he uses now) but still pretty good.

Appearance: 8 / 10

Junsu looks awesome and Junho looks awesome. They’re easily the best looking members of 2PM. Wooyoung and Nichkhun can look good too but these hairstyles don’t really do them any justice. Chansung and Taecyeon will never look good without short hair. That’s basically a fact. Everyone’s got fairly standard outfits so nothing is too obnoxious, and nothing obnoxious is a godsend from those horrid outfits of “I’ll Be Back”…

Dance: 6 / 10

For the first time in basically forever, I felt that this dance simply didn’t match the song or instrumentals at all. It just seemed weird watching the dance with the vocals. Maybe it was partly from the awkward movements, or the seemingly random individual headbanging / rocking, but everything about this choreography just didn’t seem right. Ehh, I didn’t want something as energetic or crazy as “Hands Up”, and certainly not something as stupid as “I’ll Be Back”, but something was just off about the dance, and it makes it weird to watch.

Rap: 6 / 10

This was one of the forgettable moments for Taecyeon. His voice is too high for it to be enjoyable in any means, JYP should utilize his lower register more. Oh well. The super serious words at the end “I’m sorry, and I love you” were not only random but out of place, too. The rest of the rap is fast paced and building but the spoken words just cut through any momentum. Standard Taecyeon is standard. At the very least, he was the only one rapping this time.

Music Video: 9 / 10

I enjoyed this music video. The use of the seven deadly sins did a good job of painting the overall picture of the MV / story, even though I didn’t even notice “pride” at the beginning on the necklace and thought the video was gonna get racywith Chansung and “lust”. It was neat to see the sins intertwined with the members and them being active in “fixing the past” per se. Speaking of lust, what about that one girl sharing six guys hmm? Oh well. Cute and ordinary sets, and the solo shots were actually directly linked to the other scenes which I liked. It’s a good MV fitting the song (read: not the dance).

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Overall: 74 / 100

Holy crap, 2013 is turning into the year of incredibly long (English) song titles… “Gone Not Around Any Longer”, “Come Back When You Hear This Song”, “The Reason We Broke Up”, etc. and don’t forget the other 2PM title track “All Day I Think Of You”, a song that got abbreviated for Youtube. All in all it’s a good song but lacks that sort of edge other big comeback names have like “Venus” or “Keep Your Head Down”. It’s good work by JYP / 2PM but I think something bigger could have been possible.

[Review] Younha - The Reason We Broke Up

Vocals: 25 / 25

Younha struts her stuff or rather her voice quite well in this song. She goes from sounding light, to powerful with fluid transitions all around, while bringing plenty of emotion into the mix. Furthermore, the instrumentals are excellent at complimenting her voice, filling in the empty spaces throughout the song without being too excessive, and the restriction to acoustic and some strings was a really nice touch. With “The Reason We Broke Up”, you have a variety of sounds all tied together nicely, and the two ad lib sections are delightful. Honestly, not many of Younha’s songs would get less than perfect (“123” is a rare example) so this is no exception. The ending is a little fuzzy but easily forgotten.

Music Video: 23 / 25

I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t find the dancing throughout the video very interesting, or fitting. But after a few more watches and I started to see the artistry in it. The MV starts off practically frozen, with Younha and the ex-boyfriend but as things continue on, the people provide graceful movement and act as visual transitions. The movie theater scene especially. It’s also a welcome addition because generally speaking Younha videos are about love and relationships, meaning she’s nearly always seen in music videos looking upset (understandably so). With something else to look at, it adds another flavor to the MV. Also, all of Younha’s solo shots involve blurred out backup actors playing the supporting instruments which I loved. On an end note, Younha’s hairstyle (you know which one I’m referring to) is sexy. Jussayin’.

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Overall: 96 / 100

“The Reason We Broke Up” is another incredible addition to Younha’s repertoire. Mirroring the score of the fantastic “Run” over half a year ago, it’s the second song to achieve this high a score from my reviews and rightfully so. The emotion and vocal showing is flawless and the music video is just as complimentary as the instrumental track. It’s a perfect ballad piece which provides a familiar piece on the new EP.

[Review] SHINee - Why So Serious

Vocals: 4 / 10

I did not want to listen to this song twice. One listen was enough and I really didn’t want to, but since it has been a while I gave it another chance (I regretted said decision almost instantaneously). It’s similar to both Super Junior M’s “Break Down” and Soshi’s “I Got A Boy” in both structure and sound, which are not good comparison songs to be used. The awkward jumps between three or four different mini songs was terrible and none of the individual “pieces” of the whole song sound good to begin with, unlike with “I Got A Boy” which had at least individual pieces that sounded good but didn’t mesh together. I considered talking a bit on how some parts would’ve sounded incredible if Jonghyun was here, or how Taemin stepped up big time but it’s not even worth it, everything is just bad, simply put.

Appearance: 8 / 10

Onew and Minho look good, per usual. Key’s hair doesn’t suit him at all, or to be more accurate that colour hair doesn’t suit many people at all, so it’s not really his fault. Taemin’s hair could also be scrapped. He easily looked the best in “Disturbance”, with a simple and clean look. I miss Jonghyun.

Dance: 9 / 10

I guess if the vocals and song of SHINee will disappoint then I can look to the choreography. There’s all sorts of fancy things going on here from the zombie dancing to splits and other various intricacy. It’s pretty neat and all definitely but something many people mentioned that is without a fifth person, the choreography lacks of a center point, the main person of interest per se, the glue holding everything together. It doesn’t necessarily have to be Jonghyun but there is something missing and it’s definitely evident. Regardless though it’s a super cool dance.

Rap: 4 / 10

Key is a better rapper than Minho, Minho is a better rapper than Taemin, and all three of them were downright terrible for this song. It’s just all sorts of bad, with the bizarre high pitch changes and all that random jumble akin to some of the verses. If it makes me cringe while merely typing about it, it’s ten times as worse to listen to so I’m stopping here.

Music Video: 3 / 10

I’ve noticed my music video ratings have become more harsh with a steep decline. This is probably due to me getting very quickly tired of generic boring music videos. Five boys I mean four boys going after one girl, nothing new. Everyone dancing in empty rooms with fancy designs and such, nothing new. Some incoherent form of a “plot”, nothing new. I don’t even think we get to see the girl’s face this time, in comparison to “Replay” or “Sherlock”. But I guess this is following the so-called trend starting from “Dream Girl”. One of these days / songs S.M. will make a good music video, but this was certainly not the song.

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Overall: 56 / 100

OK, so Jonghyun got into an accident. OK, so S.M. was gonna have SHINee return as four. OK, that’s understandable given the money making machine S.M. is, but I would have appreciated if this song was enjoyable in the slightest, which it isn’t. The song is a mixture of three smaller songs and none of them are enjoyable, and the rapping makes things even more atrocious. Ultimately, this song ends up being flashy choreography of which if I want to watch, I’ll just load the video then mute it, because unfortunately, it really is that bad.

[Review] 4minute - What's Your Name

Today marks the start of finals week for me, so in spirit, we’re gonna have to review some recent things that make me upset or bother me. Let’s get into it. They’ll be a little short and sloppy, but in reality it reflects ultimately on how I feel about the song(s).

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Vocals: 5 / 10

4minute is considered a mediocre group in terms of vocals, but only because Gayoon and Jiyoon are so underrated and underappreciated in their music. Gayoon (had) a unique sound with incredible power and high notes while Jiyoon brings sustainability and can also reach high. That said, everyone else is average, but this song and setup didn’t do anyone justice. I’d say the chorus was the “best” part, but even then it’s just repetitive and sounds a bit awkward. Additionally, no one in 4minute is really that great at English (even though Hyuna’s antics with G.NA were pretty hilarious) so “What’s your name” tends to sound like “Watch your name”, which is, for a lack of a better word, bad. I chose not to add anything rap related because Hyuna is terrible at it.

Appearance: 8 / 10

Gayoon is easily the best looking for this release. Out of the teasers, the only one with any mesmerizing qualities was hers. The hair is absolutely fabulous. Jiyoon really needs to grow her hair back out. I think it would fit this concept more, and make her look more badass and confident all around. That, and she looks too much like Sohyun and if not for her standout voice I probably couldn’t differentiate the two. Hyuna and Jihyun are worth a mention I guess, but not anything good.

Dance: 6 / 10

There was a dance to this song? Oh yeah I guess you can call all the hip movement and whatever else there was choreography. 4minute has never really been a dance heavy group; the only dances I really recognize are Hyuna’s “Change” (her best solo work-ish) and “Hot Issue” (thanks Jihyo). I really tried to watch this video as least as possible (you’ll see why come MV section) but even through a few looks, nothing ever stood out of the dance to me. I don’t tend to mark dances lower than 5, unless they’re really really really bad or laughable but hey it saves 4minute here.

Music Video: 5 / 10

I’ll admit that I didn’t notice the scenery similarity to “I Got A Boy” until I read comments about it, but even then that isn’t what upsets me about the music video. You guessed it, it’s the zombies. Pray tell, what was the point of the zombie apocalypse intermission? I have many gripes about this issue. It seems like just a completely random copout to save some box dancing time and some extra solo shots. There was no real contribution to the plot and in fact took away from that: flirting turns to fleeing. Then there’s the issue of what the hell were they doing after the zombie apocalypse was announced? They “escaped” into more zombies and eventually just come to terms with it and…start dancing with the zombies. I didn’t see any visual evidence of the girls having turned into zombies so I’m still lost (or blind, maybe both). I will give the girls props for being active at the beginning, hanging out with a bunch of men and flirting around. But that’s the best I can say.

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Overall: 58 / 100

When you look at this group at a glance, the girls seem really lackluster. Vocal talent is hidden amongst the group, line distribution is horrific, choreographies aren’t that interesting and faux rapping leaves much to be desired. Sometimes I think if it wasn’t for Hyuna’s solo endeavors (and their agency) they’d just become a nobody, and I find that a huge shame with the incredible vocal talent of 2YOON and the quirky personalities the group has. If they could bring back just one release that went along the sounds of “I My Me Mine”, I’d be content and then probably stop following, since release after release I’ve been consistently disappointed by Cube.

[Review] Jay Park - Joah

Vocals: 20 / 25

I’ll be honest with you here. I never liked Jay’s voice. I found it higher in range, less flexible than most, and usually tend to gravitate more towards his rapping than singing. I considered Taeyang from Big Bang a better vocal substitute for pretty much all of his solo work. The only instances I’ve enjoyed his vocals were when he was just starting out solo (“Nothing On You”) or when he was being carried by Junsu (“Again & Again”). With this, however, I am pleasantly surprised. Excluding the short spread of falsettos which I will pretend didn’t happen, this is a good showing by him throughout the verses and chorus. However, those falsettos were really unsettling and also unnecessary and so bring this score down a significant amount.

Music Video: 25 / 25

As far as artful goes, this music video brings it all. Creativity, colour, realism, and simplicity combine all together for a fresh music video. Everything is filmed outside (or at the very least not in an obvious decorated box) where the scenery is nice and gives you room to breathe. The clothes Jay has are pretty average, adding a sense of connectivity (that’s a word right?) or familiarity with viewers and fans alike. Walking around, being with the girl of interest, hanging out with people, are all elements modern music videos lack. Even the ones that are filmed outside usually don’t have this level of flavour (Big Bang’s “Bad Boy” for example). I don’t really care about production, this type of music video will look better than any enclosed room other entertainment companies can conjure. Oh yeah, and the girl is super cute, too.

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Overall: 90 / 100

A bright message, coupled with light vocals and a fantastic music video make this one of my favourite Jay Park songs. I wasn’t too moved by really anything he had released since his departure from 2PM but this turns things around. I hope Jay will release music similar to this in the future, because it seems like it’s very well received thus far.