[Misc] New-ish Girl Group Member Spotlight

As usual, production takes a dive as school gets into full swing. I'd like to review Jieun and A-Pink's newest songs if time allows, but meanwhile, here's a quick piece to satiate my writing desires until October. With my 7th year in Kpop in full swing, it's time to take a look at the new generation of groups and members. This is basically a Bias Power Ranking but only for the relatively recent wave of (girl) groups. Anyone that debuted during or after 2014 is fair game. To avoid seeing too many familiar names from the true Power Rankings, I've restricted one appearance per group. This serves as a reminder to names I'm invested in as their music develops.

Wheein / Seulgi / Momo / Jennie

It's no surprise to find Wheein here. She's quickly gained traction in the group with her adorable personality and soothing vocals. Wheein was the first member I was truly smitten by when watching "Mr. Ambiguous" and that trend easily carried over across subsequent releases. Irene may be Red Velvet's star visual but Seulgi is not far behind (excluding her orange appearance in "Russian Roulette"). She's a fierce dancer and an underrated vocalist in a group gaining momentum. Speaking of, perhaps there is no single member who is hotter right now than Momo of Twice. She leads the J-Trinity and is an incredible dancer - watching her dance is a treat. Jennie makes headlines for being a long-time trainee, but she possesses talent, too. She could easily become the next Minzy for YG, as her rapping, singing, and dancing are all solid and will only get better as time passes.

Yuna / Chungha / Elkie / Yuju

I never said the members here had to be from active groups, heh. Yuna got shafted by the collapse of The Ark, but her rapping is no joke and if there was any girl I wanted to get a second chance with a group, it would be her (I've given up on the Jucy train). I still don't fully understand I.O.I, but what I do understand is that Chungha is so charismatic and intense it hurts. She's got a killer gaze and killer moves, easily the main member of the group in my eyes. Elkie is from Hong Kong, so I have a natural instinct to be curious about her, as we both speak the same languages. She also has potential to rise as a singer if CLC ever branches out into different genres. Lastly, leaving out Yuju would be so disrespectful, so here she is. Yuju is the premiere (female) vocalist of the new generation of Kpop, with enough power for a small country, probably.

And there you have it. There are plenty of other noteworthy individuals, including but not limited to Mina of Twice, Mimi of Oh My Girl, and all of Purfles. There is no lack of talent in these new generation girl groups, and it should be an exciting time to observe them all, or try to anyway. As long as they all avoid extreme bubblegum pop songs...

[Review] Red Velvet - Russian Roulette

I wonder how long it'll take before the title track names get oversaturated and easily noticeable. Anyways, Red Velvet are back after the incredibly beautiful "One Of These Nights," and if their promotion cycles are any indication, they'll be going back to some funky dance tunes this time around. Teaser images certainly pointed us in that general direction, but I can't say I was too pleased with some of those results. Also, it goes without saying that the infamous Red Velvet sacrifice theory reared its head with the Tiffany fiasco. Anyway, let's dive in to "Russian Roulette."

Ever since the magical wonder that was "One Of These Nights," I don't think you could convince me that any member is a distinct loser in terms of their voice. Irene is probably the weakest of the bunch, but her support work with Joy and Yeri get the job done, while Seulgi and Wendy take charge. That being said, I don't think this song is the type that really frames any particular voice nicely. "Russian Roulette" is very much generic pop and as a consequence I can't really see any voice being spectacular, much less anyone from Red Velvet. I've talked about this before, but it's easy to sound average or boring in a pop song, and more difficult to be different.

[Bonus] Best Of 2010

I may have been looking forward to the nostalgia trips of 2011 and 2010, but it never dawned on me how difficult ranking may have been. Forget that 2010 was a tough year - not only did it seem thin on hits, but of course, my memory isn't as efficient going that far back. Great songs were still found, so the list must be made. Either way, this is the last stop in the Best Of series, at least until December rolls around and I do the list for this year!

#12. G.NA - I'll Back Off So You Can Live
G.NA has been mostly a miss during her career - which is quite awkward to say, given her career is basically over or on indefinite hiatus at this point. However, her debut was what caught my attention for being a really pretty song that framed her voice nicely. This song was probably one of the best debuts for a soloist I didn't know about. Unfortunately, subsequent releases from G.NA failed to live up the expectations she set for herself with "I'll Back Off So You Can Live."

#11. 2AM - I Can't Let You Go Even If I Die
Korea loves ballads, and 2AM is one of the best at delivering them. They were the premier ballad idol group and their long history shows their pedigree. "I Can't Let You Go Even If I Die" is a lengthy title, but who cares? The voices of 2AM are beautiful and each member got to shine in their own way. This was the song that really stood out to me in terms of both their individual talent and working together with each other for harmonies.

[Misc] Girl Group Member Hall Of Fame

What would a Kpop Hall Of Fame look like? This was a fun thought I had been toying around with over the last few days as I was shamelessly delaying reviewing WJSN's "Secret," as well as reading too much NFL-related material. If we had to construct a Kpop Hall Of Fame or a Mount Rushmore, who would belong in it? Let me first list some points of order regarding my thought process. For starters, this will be a group member HOF, so no soloists. That will unfortunately leave out legends such as BoA, Hyori, etc. whose careers are extensive. Conversely, I'd be looking at the industry as if it stopped existing after today (like a meteor was about to destroy the planet or something). This means it's unlikely to include members from newer groups, which is unfair but we're looking at the complete body of work which will naturally favor veterans. Without further ado, here is my suggested list of 12 members (because formatting), presented in alphabetical order.

CL (2NE1)

CL is perhaps in many ways a no-brainer for a list of this kind. Upon debut, she separated herself from the crowd of girl group rappers with her fiery energy (pun most definitely intended). Her stage presence is insane and is (was?) the driving force behind 2NE1. She had strong raps throughout her career, and is gifted in the vocals department, too. In Kpop's heyday she made a name for herself as both a rapper and as the iconic fearless leader of one of Kpop's most badass girl groups.

Erin (9MUSES)

It's without a doubt that a cornerstone of success for 9MUSES during the 2013 era was Erin's rapping. Her rap breaks displayed all her talents: flow, speed, charisma, etc. "Wild" was the best song in all of 2013 and Erin's rap is a top 3 girl group rap of all time. The consistency she showed with 9MUSES is nearly unmatched by any other girl group rapper, and only now do they get a chance with her no longer being active in the industry. She'll always be in the discussion for best girl group rapper of all-time.

[Misc] An Introduction

Hello there! Over the last few days, it seems my blog has been hitting significantly more traffic. If this is a result of bots, I would be sad and a little disappointed. If this is a result of mysterious alien activity, hooray? Please know I come in peace. But hopefully this is a result of people - yay people! Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to read my ramblings about Kpop! Regardless, I figured it would be a good idea to make a small introductory post about myself and the blog. Given the start of the new semester, it's also pretty timely with introductions in classes and whatnot. When I first moved here from my Tumblr, I only made pseudo-introductory pieces with the start of my Bias Power Rankings, but here's a short blurb about me, and what you can expect to find on my blog.

My name is Tery, and I've been following Kpop since late 2009. I began writing and posting reviews on my Tumblr around the summer of 2012, and about two years ago decided to move my stuff over to Blogger. My favorite three artists all-time are Younha, Big Bang, and Sistar. Song reviews are the most common type of writing you'll find here, along with the very rare mini album review. Maybe even a full album review in the near future? My favorite series are the Power Ranking ones, which range from simple bias lists to (attempted) super serious rankings of the singers and rappers of girl groups. There's also plenty of off-topic material, like a Hall Of Fame post which should be coming out shortly. I try to do a little of everything. Outside of Kpop and blogging I dabble in a variety of other things, like dancing and gaming. I have plenty of social media and other places you can find me over on the right.

I'd love for some more interaction. I've cross-posted a few of my material over on reddit and I really enjoy hearing the opinions of others as well as generating discussion. I'm also always open to critiques and other ways to improve my writing - something much easier to spot via outside eyes as opposed to self-review. Anyways, thank you and welcome to my blog. Please do enjoy your stay~

[Bonus] Best Of 2011

We now embark on a trip down memory lane, for the years of 2010 and 2011 still house some wonderful songs to talk about. Continuing tradition, I'll list my top 12 picks of the songs of the year. This was by far one of the easiest to compile, and subsequently also one of the easiest to rank. There's a distinct hierarchy between the top and bottom half, and regardless of their position all these songs are definitely nostalgic delights.

#12. TVXQ - Before U Go
If you want to look at one of the most important comebacks in Kpop history, the revival of 2VXQ after the JYJ lawsuit is definitely a nomination few would argue against. While "Keep Your Head Down" was the official comeback song, the repackaged album featuring "Before U Go" turned out to be one of three ballads on this list. The X factor was the surprisingly formidable Yunho vocals, which matched pace with Changmin in both power and skill.

#11. Secret - Love Is Move
This song was quietly a top-notch dance number that I felt many people slept on. It had many qualities that combined together for a great performance piece. Relatively catchy hook, frantic (but still clean) choreography moves, and a smooth vocal attack by Jieun. Sure, the Zinger rap is forgettable (hey she didn't change her name yet) but then again so are half of her raps. Like Yunho establishing himself in "Before U Go," Hyosung started to gain traction as a secondary vocalist behind Jieun in this song.