[Bonus] Girl Group Soloist Theory

1. Minzy (2NE1)
Minzy. Needs. A solo debut. This girl is a premier girl in Kpop when it comes to being a jack of all trades, master of none. Minzy possesses a stable lower register, flighty rapping skills, and is a top notch dancer. That's the complete package, and if that isn't worthy of a solo debut I don't know what is. Minzy could easily have a more dance-oriented number as the title track, and have other songs on the album like a slower ballad and more poppy tunes like some 2NE1 stuff. Unfortunately, this will either not be happening soon or at all, with CL's impending march onto the American market, any other 2NE1 related activities will be on hold.

2. Taeyeon (Girls' Generation)
Rumors are this is already going to be happening, but Taeyeon obviously would excel as a solo artist. She's pretty much perfect for ballads (something along the lines with Kyuhyun's "At Gwanghwamun" for example) but has proven she can do pop and other genres, as seen in Girls' Generation's variety of music. Taeyeon is already the #1 of Girls' Generation in so many aspects, giving her a solo debut on top of the subunit might make up for the fact that 2014 was completely disastrous for GG. Oh and while we're at it, let's not have troll teaser concept photos either. Please and thank you.

3. Soyu (Sistar)
Now Soyu had a pretty busy 2014. While a plethora of collaboration projects is nice, that doesn't substitute for a full length solo album release. Soyu has a beautiful stable voice. Her range is far lower than Hyorin's, but she's very consistent and I've never heard her strain for notes (though perhaps that's because Hyorin takes all those). Each release has utilized her graceful vocals so a solo debut would be no exception to this. I think that Soyu's best song this year and a half was "The Space Between" with Urban Zakapa, which really capitalized on her smooth voice. Something similar would do her (and Sistar) a lot of good.

4. Eunjung (T-ARA)
Jiyeon, Hyomin, and Eunjung are perhaps the biggest names in T-ARA, and logically Eunjung should have her chance at a solo debut next year, following the footsteps of Jiyeon and Hyomin. Eunjung is similar to Minzy in that she's a very well-rounded idol. No specific strengths (outside of looks heh) or flaws, and if Jiyeon had a fantastic release that brought out her talents, then Eunjung can surely be just as good if not better. T-ARA had a good year with "Sugar Free" and Jiyeon's "Never Ever" (both songs just missed out being on the Best Of 2014 at #21 and #23, respectively), An Eunjung solo should help wipe the memory of the other T-ARA member solo that we don't like to talk about as having happened. Seriously.

Just Outside: Sera (ex-9MUSES)
I actually want this comeback the most, especially since we've seen Nicole leave her group to return with a produced solo, I'm hoping something like this is in the works for Sera, though I don't think she's signed on with any label. She's been uploading clips to Youtube relatively frequently. If this is the fate she's left with then it's a shame. Sera's got one of the clearest and purest voices in Kpop alongside Secret's Jieun. Would be unfortunate to see that go to waste.

Just Outside: Luna (f(x))
This nomination is also technically a stretch, given how unlikely f(x) activities will occur in the foreseeable future. Still, Luna is amazing and her versatility could also come into play, letting her tackle electronic dance pop, while still having a reliable beautiful voice for slower songs. Luna is the only person keeping f(x) relevant in terms of music, so give this girl a chance at the solo stage, I'm sure she'd kill it.

Honorable Mentions: Bohyung (Spica), Seungyeon (KARA)

[Bonus] Girl Group Radar 2015

Editor's Note: Being the clumsy fool that I am, I accidentally deleted the original while trying to make some edits on mobile. And ever since I started using Blogger I haven't been saving these on my computer either. I'm just going to list the groups from the original but unfortunately all the text / thoughts won't be there. Sorry, I'll try to be more careful next time!

1. Girl's Day

2. Sistar

3. Apink

4. AOA

Just Outside: Mamamoo

Just Outside: 9MUSES

Honorable Mentions: KARA, EXID

[Bonus] Best Of 2014 (#4-#1)

4. Soyu & Jungigo - Some

Soyu has been on fire lately. Perhaps the best combination / collaboration of hers to date, Soyu and Jungigo provide some relaxing sweet harmony. Given no prior knowledge of Jungigo, suffice to say that I was very pleased with his voice and how it matched with Soyu. One of my favourite things (I really hate using this word) to see in a duet or collaboration is that no voice overpowers the other, and that when both of them are singing or harmonizing, you can hear both equally. You need the right combination of singers / voices in order to achieve that. I may have mentioned this before, but Kyuhyun & Tiffany's "Rise and Shine" is the perfect example. Anyway, all I'm trying to say is that this combination of Soyu and Jungigo is really good. While this is essentially a ballad duet (duet ballad?), it's not better than "Don't Look At Me Like That" because of the rap from Lil Boi. If there's one thing that has stuck with me since I got into Kpop, it's that nasal singing and rapping just don't sit well with me.

3. Orange Caramel - My Copycat

If this was a few years back I would have never imagined Orange Caramel would land a top 3 finish, but here we are. "Candy culture" was certainly never my style, and Nana's nasally voice compounded my interests to stay away from this subunit. But when "My Copycat" rolled around, All the walls were broken. "My Copycat" is very addicting, and very fun. Nana's nasal delivery isn't as prominent, and the instrumental is equally as goofy. "My Copycat" is hands down the best music video of 2014. Sure, another Orange Caramel nominee "Catallena" is arguably better, but the actual song of "My Copycat" is far superior. Anyway, the MV has you play a game where you find what's different between the scenes and subsequently has you try to find OC amidst a crowd. The dance is just as fun, silly, and carefree, not to mention that the "sexy outfits" are fantastically meta.

2, Girl's Day - Darling

"Darling" is cute. Going from sexy to cute seemed questionable at first, and I certainly thought so, but I couldn't blame them for returning to a familiar concept that drew them fans in the first place. And what do you know, Girl's Day is really good at being cute. With the combination of multiple strengths: a cute butt dance, the most inefficient car wash ever, everyone in a banana-esque outfit, "Darling" knows what it is and doesn't try to hide it. Once more, Minah really comes into her own with the adlibs at the end of the song, and even makes Sojin's support vocals look pedestrian here (I'd like to note that this was a good ploy, as in the following track "I Miss You" the lines were rebalanced to be more equal). Like I mentioned in my "Darling" review, the success of this song is not only related to Girl's Day as a unit, but because they showed even after a year of maturing into adults, they can still effortlessly pull off their original style.

1. Epik High - Happen Ending

"Happen Ending" is one of those songs where you don't need lyrics to be understanding. The calm, laid back nature of the chorus with the fast impactful raps is truly the Epik High formula we have all come to enjoy and love. It's worth mentioning that most people were wary of the YG signing as they feared Epik High would lose their trademark sound (and become YG-ified). It's clear that this did not happen, and this song and subsequently the album did not disappoint. I won't comment much on Tablo and Mithra as I believe I gave them enough praise during "Born Hater." Jo Wonsun's original feature was stable, but what "Happen Ending" really benefited from was having many different vocalists feature in live performances, and each brought their own distinct style, interpretation, and feel to the song. Younha was the closest the Wonsun's original sound; softer, but with the serene emotional grace that she usually provides. Lee Hi and Minzy brought a strong rich undertone to the chorus. Suhyun and Yoo Inna, while not amazing, were impressive in how they held their own in comparison. Surpringly, I find myself at a lack of words to talk about "Happen Ending." Maybe that's just how good the song is.

Merry Christmas, everyone. I hope you have a great time with friends and family during the holidays. Before the year comes to an end I may drop a few more bonus writings I've been toying with, and most importantly, I'd like to thank everyone that takes time to view my blog and listen to my thoughts about the Kpop world. It's been awesome, and I hope that 2015 will be a much kinder year for Kpop.

[Bonus] Best Of 2014 (#8-#5)

8. Mamamoo - Mr. Ambiguous

If you want to talk about an impressive year, look no further, because Mamamoo is about to blow you away. With a lineup of fresh new faces boasting incredible vocals (and a capable rapper), Mamamoo catches your attention right away with the classy smooth vibes of "Mr. Ambiguous." Seriously, Wheein, Solar, and Hwasa are nothing short of fantastic and show charisma, sass, and power in just a few minutes. Combining the fantastically smooth song with the stacked roster of cameos in the MV (Wheesung, K.Will, Baek Jiyoung to name a few), and Mamamoo made a statement that they're here to play. (Somehow "Mr. Ambiguous" photos don't exist, so I used "Piano Man," rest in peace consistency)

7. Girl's Day - Something

"Everyday is Girl's Day"? More like "2014 is Girl's Day." This year arguably couldn't have gone better for the girls. And they kicked off the year with the extremely mature and extremely classy "Something," The progression from "Expectation" and "Female President" to "Something" was really well done, and everything about "Something" shows that. The dresses, the choreography, the sensual vocals, and even the more serious tone of the music video are all welcome. When I first heard Minah, I wasn't as impressed with her as I thought I would be, but as Girl's Day kept releasing more songs with her carrying, I've really come to love her voice and the work she does for Girl's Day. Still, the support from Sojin, Yura, and Hyeri is solid, and the reason why Girl's Day has such a talented vocal lineup.

6. Jieun - Don't Look At Me Like That

Jieun, like Hana, suffers from a identity disorder where her group just can't decide what they want to be. That's why her solo work shows the best side of her, the side we often don't get to see. With "Don't Look At Me Like That," Jieun absolutely stuns with emotion and grace, and her clear voice really sells the message. This piece is easily Jieun's best to date, and shows just what kind of soloist she could really be if given the opportunity. If only Secret could play more to her strengths, "Don't Look At Me Like That" is the premier ballad of 2014, and I'm glad Jieun is the recipient of this award. Considering the competition with established veterans like TTS, and the vocal juggernauts of Hyorin and Ailee, Jieun did a damn good job with what she had.

5. Epik High - Born Hater

And now we move onto 2014's best rap track. "Born Hater" is awesome. Just straight up awesome. Combining all the various elements of rap: veterans Epik High, Verbal Jint, Beenzino, newbies Bobby and Mino, hilarious set and video capture, and strong lyrics make this a classic. The new kids are so impressive I didn't even know they were actually YG group members. Still, the lines from the previous generation (Beenzino especially) wouldn't get beat by a few young ones and the whole "Seven Deadly Sins" theme behind the video is excellent. Tukutz, in this season's most beautiful shade of orange, drops a sick beat and everything else is history. When they performed this live (most of them anyway) it was just as fun and hype as I imagined, and that's good. I imagine this will be a favourite rap track for a long time.

[Bonus] Best Of 2014 (#12-#9)

12. INFINITE - Back

To me, Infinite is the male group equivalent or counterpart to A-Pink, at least musically. Both groups have a very specific sound that jumps right at you, and the vocal distribution of voices on the roster certainly speak to that. However, "Back" was a little unorthodox and different for the group, but artistically "Back" is expertly crafted and the execution is just as good. Woohyun and Sunggyu do a solid job leading the pack, but you can also see (hear) the growth in the weaker vocals like L and Sungyeol. Lastly, Dongwoo and Hoya don't need a rap to show presence as they have more than adequate lines, too. "Back" was just what Infinite needed for the repackage album.

11. Wheesung - Night & Day

The soul king returned from the military to drop a beautiful power ballad on us. "Night & Day" is as powerful as it is beautiful. Wheesung delivers power and emotion right from the beginning, and his belts at the end are really damn good. The instrumental is underappreciated in my opinion, and the MV is descriptive with good support acting from Yura and CAP. The last 30 seconds or so (starting from the last chorus) is really strong, and stands out for other music that as mentioned before, have not had good finishes or consistency. Not to be outdone by all the youngsters debuting, Wheesung really made a returning impact with "Night & Day."

10. Juniel - I Think I'm In Love

See what I said about this list being all over the place? Juniel graces us with "I Think I'm In Love," and as I noted in my bias list, she's the only genuinely sweet girl that I just love. Her sweet voice does wonders for this track and unlike last year's "Pretty Boy," the instrumental doesn't sound out of place and subsequently doesn't interfere with the song. This means you can enjoy "I Think I'm In Love" from start to finish, and the acoustic versions aren't all that different (still wonderful). The MV is just about as sweet as Juniel, and if I ever wanted to have a date with Juniel, this video sums it up pretty nicely. Compared to past releases, this song is a bit more poppy, and the versatility of Juniel and the guitar make this song a good listen on any kind of day.

9. AOA - Miniskirt

And now onto something entirely different (again). AOA saw their biggest climb in popularity and on the charts, with Brave Sound at their side. "Miniskirt" is all sorts of classy, sassy, and sexy. They may just have dethroned KARA as the premier butt-shaking crew, and that dethroning was more like a revolutionary coup. "Miniskirt" scores high in all the right places, from the delicious eye candy to the short and punctual rap, from the fanservice hook and synchronized sound to Choa's powerful belts. As far as debuting on my radar goes, AOA set the standards very high, placing within the top 10 with their first song.

[Bonus] Best Of 2014 (#16-#13)

16. SPICA - You Don't Love Me

SPICA are talented. Almost everyone knows this, and yet time after time they come back with a new song that blows me away. "You Don't Love Me" arguably boasts the most vocal power on the list, with Bohyung continuing to melt my heart with her voice. It's rich and powerful, and even Boa (who I usually am not a fan of) shines. Considering this is a retro track, I wasn't really paying attention to the choreography because this music video is just fantastic. All of it. From the hilarious outfits, to popping up behind doors, to flawlessly throwing laundry on yourself, this MV is all kinds of great and the 2nd best MV of the year.

15. Super Junior-M - Swing

I realize that this may be a bit of a cheat, but since this song has been released in both Korean and Mandarin "Swing" qualifies to be on the list. "Swing" is a energetic dance number and man this dance is awesome. Even during the dubstep break, Eunhyuk and friends command attention with the choreography. Kyuhyun and Ryeowook continue to deliver with vocals that are just right for this dance song and wrapped in an aesthetically pleasing MV and you have all aspects covered. Similar to CL and "MTBD," Super Junior-M's "Swing" is a welcome return to form. During the years where "Sorry Sorry" and "Super Girl" dominated, "Swing" gives us a friendly reminder of the good ol' days of Super Junior strength.

14. Younha - What Does My Heart Become

Younha had a good year, though most of that goodness was actually from feature work. Still, "What Does My Heart Become" is an excellent addition to Younha's "Songs with Long English Titles that are Awesome." See "The Real Reason We Broke Up" and "Would We Have Changed" for reference. Anyway, everything about this song is very serene, from the enhancing instrumental to Younha's soft and delicate voice. The buildup into the final chorus is also very strong and beautiful. In a year where most songs were characterized by strong starts and weak finishes / bridges, "What Does My Heart Become" remains consistent from start to finish with Younha's trademark sound.

13. Girls' Generation-TTS - Stay

Girls' Generation had a tough year. "Mr. Mr" was rather quiet and "Holler" was a bit too loud in the wrong way, but the rest of the album had promise. And of this promise was "Stay." This is the highlight of the album, and the prime reason you put Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Seohyun together in a subunit. This song is amazing and doesn't disappoint. All the girls show off their skills, and even Tiffany has a rapping segment. Now naturally such a thing should never happen, but truth be told Tiffany is the only girl (in the group) who can put that amount of pizzazz and spark with her California accent and make the rap work, which I can respect her for that. "Stay" clearly should have been the title track on "Holler," but I will forgive Soshi this once considering the crazy year they had.

[Bonus] Best Of 2014 (#20-#17)

2014 was not a kind year for Kpop, as I'm sure most of you know. Contract terminations, lawsuits, drama, and member changes were ripe all year round, and we saw staple giants like Girls' Generation crumble and rising stars B.A.P suffer all of these conditions. The Kpop shenanigans were certainly at an all-time high, but not to be forgotten were the music releases. This year, I originally had a list of 12 songs, with an Honorable Mentions group, but that category grew to 8 songs, so I figured I'd consolidate all the songs into one premier list of 20. This year's list is all over the place, partly because of having more songs and partly because that's pretty much how this year went down. So here we go!

20. Sistar - I Swear

While Sistar's "Touch My Body" didn't have the same type of impact as previous summer releases. "I Swear" more than made up for that. With a solid base in the music video, which followed the girls' trip to Saipan, Sistar delivers a bright and happy "I Swear," spearheaded by none other than Hyorin's divine vocals. Seriously, her work in this song cannot be understated. Still, Soyu and Dasom make ends meet with support vocals (especially during the bridge), and Bora's rap, while a bit grating with aegyo, is still solid. It's a rather weak finish this year for Sistar, considering they clocked in within the top 10 the last 2 years, but nonetheless, they're going to be a prime group in 2015.

19. J-Min - Shine

J-Min was finally brought out of the S.M. dungeons this year after having worked in Japan. I was tempted to pick one of her Japanese works like "Sorry" but I'm being true to the Kpop name and only picking Korean songs. It's a solid number, however I can't help but think that "Shine" pales in comparison to "If You Want," but that's probably an unfair assessment. I think the instrumental is a little too loud and messy, which obstructs J-Min's incredible voice. That being said, however, J-Min's delivery is still flawless and the song as a whole is a lovely trip down memory lane to the older days of pop rock that first drew me in.

18. KARA - Mamma Mia

KARA suffered from losing Jiyoung and Nicole, but really made a statement with the addition of Youngji and "Mamma Mia." This type of high energy vocals is right up KARA's alley with Seungyeon and Gyuri. Even Hara and Youngji made waves for their work as well. I'm a bit displeased with the scattered English, and it made the song weaker without fluent pronunciation from Nicole, but man the MV was all sorts of eye candy and the choreography was pretty good, and pretty pretty. Personally, I was really interested in what direction KARA would take after another roster shuffle, but with the hilarious Youngji (literally never stops laughing) the changes were handled rather splendidly.

17. CL - MTBD

When I first saw this song on the "Crush" tracklist, I clicked with caution. After all, I wasn't impressed with the "Baddest Female" era that CL seemingly has herself wrapped in, but man was I pleasantly surprised. This song is all of what CL was that first attracted me to her style. Her charisma is still on point, lyrics and delivery are smooth and the instrumental is beast. The quality of this "MTBD" is so high that if this was released circa 2009 (the "To Anyone" era) this would've easily been a top song then, too. "MTBD" signals a return to form for CL, and I hope that her foray into the American market will have more of this and less of the "Baddest Female."

[Review] Nicole - Mama

The ex-KARA member has spent months in preparation to unleash "Mama" upon us. Videos of her progress showed promise, and if anything, I was looking forward to see what the new Nicole would bring to the table as a soloist. Nicole's position in KARA was more or less subdued to pseudo-rapper since she was outclassed in terms of vocals and dance was never the focal point of the group.

"Mama" is a really soothing song. Nicole plays her voice to her strength, sounding soft and sultry, something that Jiyeon did for her piece which worked well in "Never Ever." Given that Nicole is arguably a stronger singer than Jiyeon, it's a more pleasant outcome. The instrumental is a little louder than I'd like, as it drowns out Nicole in certain parts but isn't a very big problem. Nothing extraordinary out of Nicole as far as singing, and to be honest the vocals remind me her previous solo work "Lost" with the similar structure and breathy vocals. Still, I liked "Lost" and so in transitive I guess I like "Mama," too.

Now that she's a solo artist, choreography can be her prime showcase, and that's definitely true in "Mama." Nicole struts her stuff and damn does she look good while doing it. All the various interactions between her and the backup dancers were pleasantly artful and that sort of interaction was never shown in KARA dances. I'm sure that performing this song live is the highlight for her, and am glad to see it. The music video doesn't really trail off from the standard. Nicole looks amazing and has excellent dance scenes to show off her skills. I wasn't impressed with the choice to have a toilet set. It's not as good as when Epik High did it, and especially so since this bathroom looks much more grimy. Oh well. I'm far too entranced with Nicole in the other scenes to really care.

Perhaps due to the musical similarities with "Lost," I wasn't that excited with this release. Nicole fell a little short in comparison to other solo rivals, with Hyosung having much more punch, Jiyeon bringing a better song, and even G.NA with stronger vocals. Nicole had a very specific role in KARA which I was hoping to see a different side of her with this debut. Still, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" is a philosophy which I can respect, and Nicole certainly isn't breaking anytime soon.

[ Score: 80 / 100 ]

[Review] Zhou Mi - Rewind (feat. Tao)

S.M. has had diverging paths in the year 2014. Their group management has been atrocious, with members leaving left and right. On the other hand, they have been shifting sights towards solo artists, debuting a handful with rather solid results. Zhou Mi is the latest to crawl out of the dungeon. The Super Junior-M member has had chances to shine with the group but now has his own stage.

"Rewind" is a good song. It plays to Zhou Mi's strengths as a singer with his soft and clear voice for the R&B sound. The intro is especially strong with the toned down background instrumental for Zhou Mi to lead. This is Zhou Mi in his comfort zone, which is a good place to be when you're making your solo debut. The background repetition of "Hey hey hey" was quite annoying, but not more than the autotune in GOT7's "Stop Stop It." At least that wasn't around in the chorus or I'd have flipped.

Oh, the token white girl in a Kpop video. How often does this happen? Probably more often than we'd like. This title literally gives S.M an excuse to spam the slow motion reverse controls they adore so much, and the camera work for the choreography shots are pretty good. Zhou Mi has such a height where some of the dance moves look a little lanky and awkward, something that usually is hidden behind Super Junior-M, but perhaps he's in the spotlight front and center this becomes more noticeable. The choreography itself is also pretty good, with the chorus and bridge sections being both highlights and in character with the title "Rewind."

Tao's showing in "Rewind" is quite strong. I'm glad that they didn't have Henry appear, as Tao is an infinitely better rapper than Henry. Tao's lines are short and to the point, and the Mandarin flows well (in comparison to Chanyeol in the Korean version) and his tough rap was a nice addition and compliment to the smooth vocals from Zhou Mi.

Maybe S.M. is just trying to divert attention away from the disaster of a year that their groups have suffered, but nonetheless, the stream of solo releases have been very kind to each singer. With news of more solos on their way in 2015, I think S.M. will be picking themselves up a bit, at least in terms of music.

[ Score: 82 / 100 ]

[Review] GOT7 - Stop Stop It

GOT7 made a flashy debut this year with "Girls Girls Girls" and their acrobatic dancing. Most were reminded of an early 2PM, myself included. What followed was "A," something more cutesy and innocent and here we're at "Stop Stop It."

I'll give credit where credit is due. Most of the GOT7 members have very clear voices, which is good when you're a vocally oriented group. What doesn't deserve credit though, is the grating autotune in the background at the beginning and chorus of the song. Holy crap that is disgusting to hear repeated over and over. "Stop Stop It" would have been far more tolerable without that junk. Even without the obnoxious autotune though, the song isn't particularly impressive. A routine method that works for what it's worth, but GOT7 is more dance and less vocals, so I'm not sure what I would expect for "good vocals" from this group.

The rap showing was pretty decent I suppose. I'd much prefer Jackson's appearance with Mark's voice. They sort of flip flop on that regard, as Jackson looks like the stronger rapper but Mark's voice is way better. Regardless, Mark is leagues ahead of Jackson and Bambam, which is funny since all of them aren't Koreans. It'd be interesting to see a scenario where Jr. and Mark are the main rappers, since I still think Jr's showing in "Bounce" was solid.

I'm not entirely sure I follow the MV, but I'll throw my signature "the MV has a plot of sorts and is therefore superior to box videos" all the same. That and it's also a copout to really dive into the elements of the video. The choreography, like the vocals, is also relatively tame, which is fine and all, but I much prefer the athletic and dynamic showings in their debut. What are those outfits though? Would have made more sense if they were wearing school uniforms or dress shirts.

I'm not that pleased with this release. On it's own, the song isn't that memorable and neither is the dance, which should ideally be this group's strongest aspect. The rapping is average but since everything else is weaker it stands out, so I suppose that's a plus. This song lacks the quality seen in "Girls Girls Girls" and certainly not to the standards from "Bounce."

[ Score: 70 / 100 ]

[Review] Hi Suhyun - I'm Different (feat. Bobby)

Suhyun of Akdong Musician and Lee Hi of Lee Hi join together for this YG subunit release. Lee Hi had been inactive for a while so it was nice to see her return to the stage / studio with this song.

While the subunit name "Hi Suhyun" wasn't very clever, the actual pairing was. Lee Hi has a very rich voice and in contrast, Suhyun has a really clear and light voice and they match well. One of the true markings of a good collaboration is that neither voice overpowers the other, and that both members have proportionate line distribution (obviously). Hi Suhyun scores high on both marks, and combined with the quality combination of both voices, and there was little room to fail.

Unfortunately, YG managed to find a way to do so with having the prechorus in rap form. Perhaps it's not completely traditional rap but they're certainly not singing and they certainly would've been better off without rapping. Like I get it, they're cute and sassy but this is definitely not their cup of tea, and it just might've been better if Bobby was doing the prechorus for the girls.

Speaking of, Bobby shows up for a short bit and is pretty solid. I first saw him in Epik High's "Born Hater" and he really impressed for such a young one / rookie and he kept up the good work here. Surely Bobby saved Lee Hi and Suhyun because if not for his actual good rap, I'd have marked them down a ton for the prechorus.

The MV is adorable and compliments the song and lyrics. There isn't much to talk about, since the MV speaks for itself. Poor girls.

"I'm Different" is different in many ways. The song is light and catchy, the vocal pair is really strong, and the MV is absolute quality. Bobby's rapping is good, and the girls' rapping is not. Still, it's something I didn't really expect out of YG and pleasantly exceeded expectations.

[ Score: 85 / 100 ]

[Review] Mamamoo - Piano Man

Okay so I was totally going to start reviewing some releases from S.M., YG, and JYP, but then I remembered that this song is new and absolutely worth reviewing. So here we go with Mamamoo and their "Piano Man."

Every year, it seems 1-2 new groups flock onto the radar. 2013 had Girl's Day, early 2014 had AOA, and roughly in the middle of the year I stumbled upon Mamamoo and "Mr. Ambiguous." Right away I knew this group had to be looked out for. Anyway, Mamamoo doesn't deviate too far from their previous release, keeping to rather high vocal standards that you just don't see as often as you'd like. Every second of the vocals was enjoyable, especially the latter half where they start going crazy wih harmonizations and extra. I'm not a huge fan of groups that just splash their name in their own songs but both insertions of "Mamamoo" and "Mr. Ambiguous" were well done in the songs so I can't complain. Hwasa's voice is amazing, and seems perfect for this type of music. She was great in "Mr. Ambiguous" but easily better here. Solar and Wheein are just as good, but I'm just in love with Hwasa's voice in particular.

Moonbyul's presence is questionable at best. This song could have easily done without the crappy "To the left, to the right" business after each chorus. Her actual rap isn't half bad, and live performances show she had the charisma and ferocity to make the rap work. Still, I can't but help get the feeling that she's essentially the Bora of her group. She looks good and manages her raps without contributing anything for vocals. But perhaps that's enough to not be carried by the vocalwork of the other members.

While the MV seems like another throwback to Secret's "Poison," there's no heist involved and the girls are just having a good time (and props to Gongchan from B1A4, who I assumed was just some actor). All the haters can leave, the girls aren't wearing anything too revealing and the dancing is pretty tame, with the exception of Moonbyul's solo parts (I'm guess by "dancer" they meant more like stripper?). The colour scheme is great. It's like a throwback to the old times with the heavy usage of black and white, but keeping the colours of the jackets and curtains adds a little vividness. They look like they're having fun, and the choreography also matches the heavy piano background.

"Piano Man" is a masterpiece. Fantastic vocals backed by a supportive instrumental and fun video. The rapping is average and could be done without, but like I said Moonbyul does a good job of working with what she has. Considering that Mamamoo is a rookie group, I think people should be paying more attention to these lovely ladies and if they keep this up they will surely skyrocket to the top of the girl group list.

[ Score: 92 / 100 ]

[Review] Apink - Luv

Before I swing by the "Big 3" I'd like to drop a look at A-Pink's latest comeback. Teasers looked promising, even if that just meant the regular A-Pink formula. I think A-Pink has a lot of room for growth, and that's what I think they were aiming for with this release.

I was a little jarred by the opening and didn't expect the dramatic jump, but Eunji continues to be stellar, even though she had no extraordinary parts (disappointing). The vocal growth of members like Naeun was definitely a focus in this song, and I'll have to say I'm pleased with what I'm hearing. They're still really weak as support vocalists and pale in comparison to say, Jia and Fei from Miss A but hey, it's a work in progress. There are a few segments of the song where I could see a bridge over to past songs like "NoNoNo" or "Mr. Chu" but I would attribute that to the "A-Pink sound" more than anything else. Poor Bomi has the unlucky position of having to pronounce the "v" sound which doesn't exist in Korean, although Eunji should be noted for pulling that off smoothly. I actually think she and Suzy have some of the best English enunciation, and given they don't speak English that should be applauded. Overall it's a step towards the more mature sound for A-Pink and although slightly underwhelming, they sound good together (per usual).

Choreography-wise the group has also matured, though it should be said that it's tough tackling choreography and formations for a group with even number of members. Still, it's pretty and they look pretty, can't ask for much else I suppose. The MV is completely polar to the song and choreography, and is arguably really out of place, even if the MV is supposedly matching the lyrics. It's too upbeat and peppy for an emotional MV. The sparkly tear makeup or whatever is rather awkward, as well. Bomi and Naeun continue to stun with their looks and Eunji is as flawless as ever. Maybe they're all really sad because they're all sharing (going after?) the same guy. Ahh, the continuous struggles of the average group.

A-Pink is a group on the rise, and in terms of music and maturity "Luv" is certainly a push in the right direction. I'm curious as to see how they'll develop from here, but here's hoping there's more superstar vocal performances from Eunji and that Naeun and Namjoo continue to work hard as well.

[ Score: 83 / 100 ]

[Review] AOA - Like A Cat

AOA is having a busy year, From "Miniskirt" to "Short Hair," they've been flaunting their skills and their faces, and early teasers for "Like A Cat" showed no deviations from this. The girls were gonna be sexy, the music would probably be catchy, and the choreography would have butts at some point or another.

I'll be very forward and say that this is the weakest release from AOA this year by far. Don't get me wrong, this is a good song, and the hook is really powerful. Choa is fantastic and makes the rest of her group look bad, but there is a very loud and distracting instrumental. It's not as supportive as the instrumental in "Miniskirt" and just not as good as the one in "Short Hair." Quite frankly, it's jarring when compared to the vocals and they simply don't mesh well. On the other hand, there is too much presence from Jimin in this song, and that's not good. Her nasally voice pretty much takes control of the whole song from the beginning, and didn't sit well with me throughout. The English / rap segments themselves are okay but I just can't stand her voice. Sorry, Jimin. Better luck next time?

The choreography for "Like A Cat" was the most tame, which actually works for them. There's plenty of cat-like gestures and all that, and even the butt-shaking for the hook isn't as in-your-face as previous songs. Were there any formation changes, though? I remember once during the rap break but none elsewhere. Given song titles alone I would have imagined "Short Hair" to have had the most calm choreography but I suppose I can't say I'm not pleased with it.

Another AOA MV with substance, how pleasant. Even if this only reminds me of Secret's "Poison" MV, The ladies are super sneaky thieves that use teamwork and blatantly random techniques to acquire the diamond. Sure, there is plenty of questionable shenanigans going on, but really, it's a video with actual plot and substance, I can overlook the "mistakes."

In the end, this song would have been completely average, but Jimin's mosquito voice dominance is too much and the instrumental does hurt more than it does help. On the flipside, a good hook plus an MV that is actually an MV and not boxes and fanservice brings some points back. Still, this song has a long ways to go before catching up to "Miniskirt."

[ Overall: 70 / 100 ]

[Misc] The Porting

Alright, with the inaugural post of the blog out of the way, I'm going to begin the massive work of moving all of my old Tumblr reviews / posts over to this blog. It's gonna take some time (as I have over 100 pieces) but I'm willing to do so for the sake of archive and history, so I can look back at my old writings (and cringe, probably). I'm also going to keep the original dates of the reviews so I don't suddenly have 100+ posts in November, again for legacy sake. Just makes sense for me. Anyway, possibly more introductory stuff on the way but for now, I need to get back to moving posts over.

[Misc] Bias Power Rankings

So, I've more or less decided to shift over the Blogspot for the time being. It's both more convenient and geared towards what I want for my blog and at the same time, it's something new and fresh for me to learn some stuff on the side. Anyway, before I port all of my old reviews over from Tumblr (for archive sake), I figured I'd write up some articles to serve as more of an introduction and be fun little extras. For today, we're going to go over my biases. I've never actually compiled an order of my "waifus" so this will be an interesting challenge.

Should I even explain how I pick my biases? I just like them, heh. Of course appearance / eye candy / fanservice plays a role, but I am someone that loves vocals so most of the girls on the list will be good singers. I'm not someone that dives into much of the entertainment and variety world outside of Running Man but I do pay some attention through sites and Youtube and such. Anyway, here's the ranking.

10. Jaekyung

Underrated Jaekyung of underrated Rainbow starts off at #10. Jaekyung is a solid vocalist that's unfortunately in a group that's been mediocre for a while. Rainbow Blaxx had some good songs but Rainbow is still struggling to find the success like KARA. Anyway, Jaekyung's true strength is how reliably ridiculously attractive she is. That sounds a little strange, but I think she's consistently a top 3 visual, as her plethora of selcas on Instagram will show. This girl simply cannot look bad, perhaps outside of derpface.

9. Juniel

Juniel is an absolute sweetheart and is one of few soloists on the Power Ranking. This lovable singer has a beautifully soft voice and has excellent acoustic versions of her music, too. In addition, she is probably the only girl on this list that is just genuinely (naturally?) cute, as her voice (speaking and singing) is just very sweet and I'm not that bothered by it like I am with other cute aegyo voices. Some call Juniel a "IU clone" but she knows what she's good at and that's perfect.

8. Kyungri

Kyungri is hot. But let's be honest, who in 9MUSES isn't super attractive by default? The group could've easily been 9MODELS and no one would give that a second thought. Anyway, with Sera out of the picture (sadness), Kyungri will be the group's go-to vocalist when they make their comeback... Please have a comeback soon. Kyungri would be much higher on the list if her group was more stable. Seriously, I had some serious faith in 9MUSES last year after releases like "Wild" and "Gun" but member departures leave much to be desired.

7. Sojin

Back when I first jumped into Girl's Day with "Expectation," Sojin immediately stood out to me in both vocals (I liked her much more than Minah at the time) and appearance. You can imagine the shock when I found out she was 28. Still, she seems to be right at home with Girl's Day and I still think her voice is on average better than Minah's. Part of me is pained because Queen Victoria of f(x) is quite similar in a few ways but doesn't make the list, but Sojin definitely earned her spot here.

6. Suzy

The Nation's First Love was certainly my first love out of Miss A, even though everyone from that group is lovable and her "Bad Girl, Good Girl" look was...questionable at best. She's matured since then, and so has her voice, which used to be the weakest of the group. Now, she and Miss A sound incredibly in sync with each other and her presence in the acting, variety, and CF world is no joke either. Secretly, I think Sojin should outrank Suzy but because of seniority (Suzy had a 3 year headstart) Suzy snags #6.

5. Bora

Sistar's rapper isn't half bad, as referenced in my Girl Group Rapper Power Rankings. Part of Bora's charm is that she is a fierce no-nonsense girl on stage, and a bubbly energetic angel off the stage. Her athleticism is strong and she just unf. She's probably massively underweight but she makes that look healthy all the same. So far only she and Jaekyung's body size don't make me cringe if I think about their potential diet and such. Bora may be the weakest singer on the list but that's to be expected since she's a rapper, and would be horribly overshadowed by Hyorin and Soyu anyway.

4. Minzy

To be completely honest, Minzy is the only girl I really like from 2NE1 (now). She's more than a competent vocalist, a disgustingly good dancer and has enough rapping power to be in a subunit with CL. Minzy can flip from being adorable to eroMinzy in a heartbeat, and she can pull off both ends of the spectrum well, something most of the other girls on this ranking struggle with (in my eyes). She is incredibly balanced and well-rounded, to be expected of someone who was on my original bias lists back when I first started getting into Kpop.

3. Soyu

Sistar is the only group to have 2 members on this list. That's Sistar power for you. Anyway, Soyu is still underutilized by the group, although side projects and collaborations really bring out her strengths. She's an amazingly soft singer who spends her free time getting jacked. That's crazy. When she appeared on Running Man she was just...awesome. Sassy and competitive and everything. Soyu is just awesome. Sistar is continually going to climb the girl group ladder and that might mean Soyu could challenge the top 2 slots on my list. But...

2. Taeyeon

There's no denying that Girls' Generation was my first girl group crush, and that Taeyeon was my favourite member. The Kid Leader is adorkable (and the only girl I will ever use that word to describe), beautiful, and has an almost mesmerizing voice. Whether it's in OST work or Soshi songs, I'm always blown away by her voice. Out of all the placements on this Power Ranking, the top 2 were the ones I was 100% sure of. There was no changing this vote, and the power of Girls' Generation in their prime continues to show strength to this day.

1. Younha

Younha reigns supreme as the #1 KPop girl in my heart. Younha has always had this pure, mature look even in her younger days and it's been attractive ever since. Her voice is extremely versatile, and is hands down the best singer on this list. "Hero" and her Someday album completely hooked me when I was first introduced, and she has been killing it ever since. Speaking of, Younha outranks everyone in terms of seniority. While I didn't fully "get" into KPop until 2009, I had a taste of Younha many months before with her Japanese work "Houki Boshi" and "Ima Ga Daisuki." I'd seriously make efforts to see this girl outside of just music and I'd absolutely love it if she got to guest on a future Running Man episode.

Honorable Mentions

Hyejeong, Sohee, Eunji, Victoria, Erin

This was fun! Maybe I'll have updated versions of the Power Ranking as time goes by and my biases change, and this has definitely sparked my drive to write a Girl Group Power Rankings, too.

[Review] Girl's Day - I Miss You

Girl’s Day is on a constant rise, and after dazzling us with the summer spectatular “Darling,” they returned with an emotional ballad in “I Miss You." I was really glad to see Girl’s Day with a ballad for this comeback. We’ve already seen them do absurdly aegyo stuff, classy sexy stuff, and fun cute stuff. It’s time for Minah to absolutely stun us with her ballad vocals.

What I didn’t expect was that Hyeri would get so much limelight, not that I’m complaining. I’m very pleased to see a group stop overshadowing members, and especially since certain groups might not even be able to give generously to the less appreciated members (unfortunately, I’m looking at you Dasom). Still, the vocal quality is excellent in this song, and Minah continues to be excellent.

The ending was rather weak, but not to the level of 2NE1’s “Missing You” weak. Still, that is overlooked because Yura has a damn good rap. I can’t even believe I’m typing that out right now. Perhaps calling the rap “damn good” is an overexaggeration but it’s rapping from Yura that has good flow and sounds good. I’ve never heard anything close from Yura previously. Sojin also jumps in for some singing layered in, a term I will coin “Sistar layer rap” and that sounds really good, too. The overall ballad might be fantastic but I can really come to appreciate this song because it’s Yura’s first with a decent rap segment. Good work.

I dunno why but I laughed a little when I saw MInah in the group shot. The combination of her hairstyle and the outfit makes her look a little puffy or weird or something which made me chuckle. Outside of that, it’s a serious MV with serious emotions. The girls tugged at my heartstrings when I saw them tear up, and on side note, the happier shots of them happy in the snowfall reminds me that I’m not going to be very happy when this winter rolls around.

Girl’s Day has pretty much covered all the bases by now. “I Miss You” is a strong ballad with moving vocals and a supportive rap. They’re showcasing all their talents at a crucial time, with the shenanigans of their sunbae girl groups. Girl’s Day will only continue to rise. If I had gotten into Girl’s Day with this song, I might have put even more stock in the group than when I did with “Expectation.”

[ Score: 92 / 100 ]

[Misc] Scouting Report

Hey there. This is Tery, and I'm potentially moving my blog (http://terywj.tumblr.com/) over to this site because I've always wanted a medium of interaction if I ever got a following for my reviews. Something like Blogspot would be better to see other people's opinions and critiques on my writing.

So this is just a scouting of the mechanics and fundamentals of the site. I may end up shifting everything over, or I might not. We'll have to wait and see.

[Review] Jieun - 25

Secret’s lead vocalist Jieun has always had a place in my heart. She has one of the clearest / most crystal voices in the industry, and I would place her at the #1/#2 slot in regards to that (for those wondering, Sera would be the other member). With the recent incredible release of “Don’t Look At Me Like That,” the following track would showcase a more poppy and peppy side of her that “would be a refreshing change of image.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t buy that one bit, seeing as she’s part of Secret and their identity crisis is something that plagues their effectiveness as a group, and especially for Jieun, whose talents go to waste in some of their songs. Nonetheless, I wasn’t ready to give up quite yet.

This is indeed a more lively side of Jieun and could have very well been a Secret song. The classy saxophone reminds me of “Poison,” and in general I could easily visualize the other members’ roles. Hyosung would share a verse, Hana would grab the “pretty age 25” “rap” bridge, and Sunhwa would get some filler. That being said, since this is all Jieun all the time, the song sounds fantastic. I still don’t like the rapping considering how it’s only a single line being repeated ad nauseam but the sheer quality of Jieun’s vocals override that. Her English is also very crisp, and since the words “Beautiful young and free” and part of the chorus, she executes this rather splendidly.

Even though there’s plenty of choreography, the MV roughly clouds the dancing but it’s still just your average video. Jieun indeed looks beautiful and young (maybe not free, given the boxes, ha). I’d have preferred some interaction like in “Don’t Look At Me Like That,” but I suppose one can’t argue against more eye candy. And Jieun is absolutely gorgeous.

In the end, I think Jieun showed us many sides to her and her abilities. She’s cute, sassy, playful, sexy, and pure at the same time, and if there was ever a song that should convince you she could be a star soloist, this would probably be the song.

[ Score: 85 / 100 ]

[Review] T-ARA - Sugar Free

With the recent collapse of Girls’ Generation, T-Ara find themselves as a group of the previous guard with the original roster in tact. Despite the additions and removals of a few members, T-Ara returned with “Sugar Free,” which at a glance seemed like some promotional campaign for healthy lifestyles or something, and I keep hearing soda cans being opened.

The song is quite bland. Soyeon has the bulk of the work but not only does she carry the chorus but she shows up in the verses, too. The chorus itself is pretty bland, and the verses a mixture of rap-singing from Hyomin and Qri. Based on that, I guess the prechorus is the best part of the song, though the intro is strong, too, thanks to the instrumental. Speaking of which, this is what saves the song. The instrumental is killer and really generates energy and power for this otherwise mediocre song.

I’d like to see more vocal diversity in future T-Ara. Eunjung, Hyomin, and Jiyeon aren’t spectacular but they also aren’t pushovers. Qri and Boram are somewhat filler material but aren’t awful, either. A medium-paced dance track with more evenly distributed lines would probably hook me, honestly.

The video is a complete clusterfuck of seizure-inducing eye candy. That’s the simplest way I can describe it. I remember the first time I watched the MV for “I Go Crazy Because Of You” and I thought that was ridiculous, but this is probably worse. And when you consider there are multiple versions of the MV for some reason, the effect is compounded. Oh and don’t worry, all variants are just as crazy colourful and switch perspectives more often than you’d like. The choreography seems particularly lazy, but when your eyes hurt so much from the constant scene changing, you don’t get to see the dance too much. Again, the intro was pleasant but everything else looked very basic and unimpressive all around. This is a shame, since the instrumental is so damn good that I expected more out of the dance.

T-Ara stock will continue to rise as the aftermath of Girls’ Generation, combined with the death of Wonder Girls, restructure of KARA, etc. They are one of the 2 relatively unscathed flagship girl groups of the previous era (the other being 2NE1).

[ Score: 82 / 100 ]

[Review] Ailee - Don't Touch Me

The diva who competes for the title of “Korea’s Beyonce” returns with “Don’t Touch Me,” and as a follow-up to the likes of “I’ll Show You” and “U&I,” I’m…somewhat disappointed.

Ailee is known for the explosive vocals that we’ve seen from her since even before debut. However, I think this is one of her weakest showings yet, but let me clarify. The problems i have with this song are all in the chorus. It’s usually a distinct line between when a singer is hitting the notes and when she (or he!) is reaching for them, but to me almost all of the high notes in this chorus are reaches, and they are not graceful reaches. To be honest, there may be and probably are other factors to why I feel this way. Her high notes in previous songs like “I’ll Show You” were also reaches, but I never really had problems with them. It’s interesting, to say the least.

The verses are absolutely divine. Ailee’s least impressive area had always been her lower register, and “Don’t Touch Me” brings out her lower notes powerfully and smoothly. The bridge is also pretty solid, in a year where I consider a majority of the songs to have stronger starts and weaker finishes, Ailee comes in the middle for both.

As for the video, it’s nothing special. The set for the first chorus reminded me of some of the backgrounds in “U&I” which unfortunately reminds me of how much weaker I think this song is in comparison. But the key difference in this video and the others is how damn skinny Ailee has gotten. Apparently she lost 22 pounds for this comeback? Why? Ailee always possessed a healthy image, and like Hyosung, there was no real reason to lose the weight. Her appearance is much more frail, almost to the point where it’s unsettling. This is especially true during the bridge, I could hardly bring myself to watch. Please bring that weight back!

I do not think this was Ailee at her best. The chorus is unstable and the bridge is forgettable. Curious weight loss hurts her image and makes the supposed standard eye candy a little painful. That being said, she’s made impressive progress with her low range and that manages to hold the song together.

[ Score: 80 / 100 ]

[Review] Secret - I'm In Love

Secret is back, and after Hyosung’s decent “Goodnight Kiss” we are graced with “I’m In Love”, complete with English intro by Hyosung. Secret continues to bounce back and forth between aegyo and mature, and “I’m In Love” was poised to deliver the latter.

~

Vocals: 9 / 10

Secret (read: Jieun) is just divine. Alright to be fair Hyosung is a really good compliment voice to Jieun, and Hana has shown she can pull her weight since the days of “Poison” and “Talk That”. Poor Sunhwa though, poor girl is more Dasom than Dasom was in “Touch My Body”. If anything, Secret’s vocal composition has never really been kind to her, oh well. Back to Jieun though, this girl is pretty much perfect. She has a very clean voice but can always reach for those high notes to make you shiver. I’d love to give this song a perfect score for vocals but the bridge just doesn’t work for me. The tempo change is too sudden and doesn’t blend with the rest of the song. Coincidentally, I think the bridge in Hyosung’s “Goodnight Kiss” meshes better with this song.

Dance: 7 / 10

Meh. Some parts of the dance were better than others. The more graceful lying down on the ground and some of the shifting around positions was pretty good but most of the other movements seemed erratic and not well focused. Maybe I’m just lying to myself but I have yet to watch the dance practice video so I may be completely wrong.

Rap: 8 / 10

Hana is a staple in the top 10 of girl group rappers, so I was quite disappointed in the rap for a few main reasons. The first is that, like the bridge, the tempo was slower than the more frantic pace of the rest of the song. Second, it was way shorter than anything could do her justice. Last, the rap seemed pretty tame and Hana is capable of fantastic ferocity in her raps. Not so much a swing and a miss as it was an awkward hit to the side.

Music Video: 6 / 10

I have committed to giving a score of 6 for any stereotypical video (which includes boxes, solo shots, fanservice, etc.) and adding or subtracting from there based on stuff like outfits, appearance, etc. Speaking of, the girls look great. Not a fan of Hyosung’s bangs (didn’t really work in “Love Is Move” either), but everything else is genuine eye candy. Hana is probably my favourite visual out of the group, and has been since “Poison”. Anyway there isn’t much to be said about the video besides Secret being smirky and emotional. How lame.

~

Overall: 76 / 100

Secret comes back with vengeance, striking hard with a mature and sexy sound in “I’m In Love”. While not the superstar that “Love Is Move” was, it can remind us of how a consistent sound and Jieun’s incredible vocals really really help Secret when they’re being serious. …please no more aegyo stuff. Secret syndrome has existed for too long.

[Review] Hyuna - Red

Continuing with the “red” releases, we have Korea’s #1 sex kitten in Hyuna, with “Red”. Playing off a children’s rhyme, Hyuna is looking for a chance to redeem herself, since I consider her career on a downward trend with both 4minute and solo releases since “Change”.

~

Vocals: 9 / 10

To clarify, I’m only considering the prechorus as the vocals. Everything else is either rapping or chanting, which is obviously not singing. Anyway, this prechorus is glorious. It’s probably the best of any song released thus far this year, and still contests for one of the best all time in any Korean music. It’s just that good. The crescendo / buildup is pristine and right before the active chorus, there’s that shouting / howling going on which wasn’t as terrible as I thought it’d be. Probably makes more sense given all the monkey references.

Dance: 8 / 10

This dance was just casual twerking to me. At the very least, this choreography was a lot more tame than I had expected, coming off the heels of “Bubble Pop” and “Ice Cream”, both of which are releases I don’t want to watch more than once so I’m not going to backtrack and check. There was that one move where she does a split or something? Seems random and out of the blue. Still, the fact that I went in expecting some Stellar or 4Ladies’ choreography and was surprised is a good turn of events.

Rap: 8 / 10

Despite Hyuna’s nasally voice, the rapping was pretty good here. The flow is good and Hyuna shows that she’s still the lead rapper in 4minute, since I don’t think Jiyoon could do as well as she did. The chanting of the chorus is energetic and all, but severely weakens in the 2nd half. As for the chorus itself, I know it’s referencing a children’s rhyme, interchanging her own name within the lyrics, so talk about serious product placement. The amount of times you’ll hear “Hyuna” in this song is way more than the amount of times you saw “body” text in Sistar’s “Touch My Body”. As amazing as the prechorus was in “Red”, the rapping more than holds its own.

Music Video: 7 / 10

Standard boxes, multiple camera angles, and extreme fanservice are the trifecta of Hyuna’s videos and there’s no changes here. Considering the excessive use of “Hyuna” and monkeys, there were quite a number of both in this video. Despite the monkeys and crazy partying in the video, it’s pretty bland. I won’t call it boring since the partying looked fun and saying that’s “boring” is just being rude. Nonetheless it’s a pretty mediocre MV but I will give bonus points for the monkeys.

~

Overall: 80 / 100

“Red” is certainly no “Change” (Hyuna’s best solo title), but it’s actually a solid song that while a little repetitive, has good rapping supported by a beautiful prechorus which holds onto the hype and high energy feel of the song. It’s not much of a change of pace as it is a different step forward for Hyuna, who has failed me the last couple of years.

[Review] f(x) - Red Light

With Sulli’s “recovery” (might write a blog about this, not convinced yet) and f(x) taking a hiatus, I figured let’s backtrack a little and talk about the recent release of “Red Light”. The girls have been on a confusing roller coaster, with a strong showing in “Electric Shock” followed by a weak rebound in “Rum Pum Pum Pum”. Hopefully “Red Light” will bring the cycle around.

~

Vocals: 5 / 10

This song has around four phases, all with different tempo, melodies, etc. and the transitions are mediocre at best. Some of the earlier transitions are good, but towards the end everything seems to fall apart and collapse on itself. I don’t know why but S.M. really struggles with effective transitions compared to YG (2NE1’s “I Love You”) and JYP (JJ Project’s “Bounce”). If this series of lines sounds familiar, that’s because I used the exact same lines from SNSD’s “I Got A Boy” review. This song in a nutshell is a version of “I Got A Boy” specifically tailored to f(x). So with all that being said, it’s not very good. Individual pieces could potentially work well if the whole song was in the same vein but that’s not the case. The bridge is beautiful, and much like EXO’s “Wolf”, is amazing and would’ve really complimented a good song. But unfortunately, this isn’t. And unlike “I Got A Boy”, none of these individual mini segments are as good. There’s some form of rapping but they’re minimal (also not that good either) and not worth talking about.

Dance: 7 / 10

Not sure how I feel about this dance. It’s not quite the usual “f(x)” choreography if I may coin that sort of term. Either way, the MV never gave too much vision of the dance but unusual dance is not the same as bad dance. For recent comparison, it’s not extremely awkward like Sistar and it’s not cute like Girl’s Day. It’s serious and kinda refreshing and there’s many changes of pace, but this works better with choreography than vocals. All in all an average showing here from f(x).

Music Video: 8 / 10

What the hell is happening in this MV? There’s dark colour schemes and burning books and everyone has an eye patch sometimes and their makeup is weird… This is all happening in some broken down warehouse, too. Kudos to the girls for not using a box set for the 30th time. And honestly I appreciate a video with so much stuff going on I can’t follow much more than the bland stereotypical video of close-ups and boxes. Victoria looks flawless per usual, but again, the weird makeup and eye patches were confusing. Oh well.

~

Overall: 67 / 100

S.M. is struggling this year. And that’s a phrase only speaking from a music frame of reference, not including all the political problems. Anyway, “Red Light” is a flawed variant of the already poor “I Got A Boy” of their labelmates from a year ago. A good quality video and excellent bridge is not able to rescue the jarring sound of the rest of the song. It’s honestly an improvement from “Rum Pum Pum Pum” but not by much. Here’s hoping this isn’t the end of f(x)’s light.

[Review] Girl's Day - Darling

Girl’s Day is certainly in the limelight. After landing on my radar just last year, they’ve catapaulted themselves forward with solid title track after title track. When news of this summer release being a return to their roots, that being aegyo, I worried I wouldn’t like the backtracking. Boy was I wrong.

Vocals: 9 / 10

When I first discovered the group in “Expectation”, I thought Minah wasn’t all she was hyped to be and that the other members were still good in comparison. “Something” pulled me away from this opinion and “Darling” rather cements it. Minah is really good. Sojin could pretty much only stand on the sidelines this time around, with the chorus’ range possibly being one of the highest ever. Minah continues to be the strongest with excellent delivery and beautiful high notes at the song’s conclusion. Line distribution, however, is still a weak point of Girl’s Day. Yura and Hyeri have shown us tme and time again that they have the capable support voices but just aren’t ever given enough time to prove so. This is made harder by the extremely high ranges of “Darling”, some of which even Minah is clearly reaching for. All in all though, a graceful synchronized sound carried by Minah.

Dance: 8 / 10

Girl’s Day have discovered the jackpot blend of sexy and cute for choreography. No one with a right mind can argue that the 4 girls shaking their butts at the camera is overly sexual, and it’s just damn cute. Something new this time around was the use of male backup dancers, like the lucky men who got to carry Sojin! But besides that, standard choreography for Girl’s Day or any girl group, to be completely honest.

Music Video: 10 / 10

Girl’s Day. Summer fun. Music video. I could stop writing here. But write on I will. Much like the dance, Girl’s Day grabs the elusive sweet spot of blending cute and sexy together flawlessly. For starters, the outfits were perfect. At least, the white and red dresses were pristine. I was not convinced by the yellow and white tube dresses (I have no idea if that’s what they’re called but whatever) though. The rest of the video is pure fun. Enjoying the free time by baking cupakes, getting ready, throwing darts, etc. etc. Put simply, the BTS could be just a free party film of sorts.

~

Overall: 94 / 100

On paper, “Darling” isn’t something extraordinary. Routine carrying from Minah with loveable Sojin support. A dance that is both cute and sexy, and never weighs down too far on either spectrum, all wrapped together in a delightfully fun music video. Yet, this score speaks for itself, in that it’s outstanding. Girl’s Day show us that despite the sexy releases of 2013 on, they still have the cute and quirky qualities the aegyo songs of older years past.