October 31, 2016

[Bonus] Kpop Free Agency: End Of The Rainbow

Another group bites the dust. Rainbow is the next act to say goodbye, and with that it is time to debut a new series called "Kpop Free Agency." It will explore the landscape of Kpop groups and member changes, if only to appease my desire to make the industry more like a game. Though technically, this isn't the first time I've ever written a piece like this (though it is ancient). Also, these will be much easier to write than reviews. But rest assured, those are still coming! There are a handful of November comebacks on the way and I'll try my best to not miss many. Anyways, I'm going to pick a few names from disbanded groups and try and place them into new groups. Mostly for fun, but some decisions will be more serious than others. Let's start!

Youngji to April
Look, by now DSP is a relic of the past. KARA is finished, and Rainbow has now joined them. Youngji made her way to stardom by becoming a member of KARA, so joining April - the last surviving DSP girl group - makes sense logically. Sure, there'd be a pretty significant age gap between her and the youngest member, but that isn't something foreign to groups anyway. Plus, Youngji is certainly capable of turning to the bubblegum pop side. I'd never like it if that actually happened, but hey this is all theorycrafting anyway.

October 27, 2016

[Review] TWICE - TT

You can argue all you want, but Twice is the hottest girl group in Kpop right now (whether or not they're literally on fire is debatable). Maybe you don't have to argue that, considering their popularity, variety appearances, etc. Either way, this is Twice's third title track and their momentum continues to climb higher and higher. Perhaps the most hype surrounding this comeback is the idea that they'll be going up against Black Pink later in the month. After getting me invested in this group after "Cheer Up," we'll see if they can keep it up with "TT."
For this comeback, I did something I don't usually do. I listened to the teaser, so as a result I was mentally prepared for the inflections "TT" brought to the table. It seems that the inflection virus from "Cheer Up" has spread to this comeback, too. Sidenote: Twice is not the only culprit, as GOT7's newest track "Hard Carry" also has their fair share of inflections. Anyway, this song illustrates the Twice formula that we'll see for years to come. Nayeon starts us off, Tzuyu and J-Trinity lead into the chorus of Jihyo and Nayeon, Dahyun and Chaeyoung paired together, etc. Unlike last time, I think Nayeon has a better showing than Jungyeon in "TT," though that may just be biased towards how much more lines Nayeon has.

October 23, 2016

[Bonus] Best Of 2010-2015

Now that we've looked at some of the best songs of each year for the past 6 years, it's time to look at the bigger picture: who will come out on top overall? To find out the best song(s) from 2010-2016, only the top 3 of each year will be candidates. After all, it would be unfair (and also too much work, admittedly) to look at the top 5, or each full list. Anyway, if you want a refresher, here are the candidates.

2010: Taeyang - I Need A Girl, Rainbow - A, IU - Good Day
2011: Big Bang - Love Song, Davichi - Don't Say Goodbye, 2NE1 - Ugly
2012: Girls' Generation-TTS - Twinkle, Big Bang - Blue, Ailee - Heaven
2013: Girl's Day - Expectation, SPICA - Tonight, 9MUSES - Wild
2014: AOA - Miniskirt, Girl's Day - Something, Soyu & Junggigo - Some
2015: INFINITE - Bad, FIESTAR - You're Pitiful, EXO - Call Me Baby

I'll only list the top 10 for simplicity sake, and because I've talked about many of these songs a number of times already, the conversation will revolve around why one song is better (or worse) than another. It's another simple piece of writing as I prepare for another week of midterms and the new Twice review.

October 16, 2016

[Bonus] Best Of 9MUSES

Instead of posting my 3rd blog series on the 9MUSES career train, I'd rather go the memorial route and follow what I did with 2NE1. Here are 9MUSES' best songs, from "worst" to best. At this point, Hyuna's departure is nowhere near a surprise, and the future of Sungah (and the rest of the group) move ever closer to the recycle bin. That being said, I'm also stretched for writing material that is light so here we go.
7. Hurt Locker
"Drama" was their official return in 2015 but "Hurt Locker" was the song that showed 9MUSES was really back. The upbeat tempo of this dance number drives the song and a combination of vivid outfits and their usual model appearances delivers the usual 9MUSES' eye candy. Kyungri might have been overbearing with her parts, but key decisions to give Hyuna more lines and keep Erin as the only rapper were good improvements on the faults of "Drama."
6. Just A Girl
The only non-title track entry is "Just A Girl," which is much less graceful than its Korean or Chinese title counterparts (which has more to do with angels). Anyway, this is slow 9MUSES at their finest. In a time where Sera was still in the lineup, their vocal ability was nicely spread across the roster. Sera's graceful voice leads the members through the song, gliding through the choruses. And even though Erin had to share raps with Eunji, it's one of Kpop's better dual-rap showings (that didn't already belong to 9M).

[Misc] Bias Power Rankings VI: Fall 2016

Welp, I was planning to delay this piece until towards the end of the year, but to say I've not been productive is an understatement. So, here is the final edition of my Bias List for the year 2016. In this edition, we'll see some new faces rise and familiar faces fall. Like last time, we'll have some notable mentions who didn't quite make the list.
Honorable Mentions: Suzy / Choa / Victoria / Irene
Suzy's rumored solo debut is certainly enough to maintain her position, and acts as the preview to her future off the sinking ship that is miss A. Choa's stock plummets mainly due to other AOA stars rising. Yuna and Chanmi have been fierce on the Instagram game, and Choa's recent bangs don't help (what a disaster). The duo of Victoria and Irene remain just outside the rest, the former suffering from a lack of a comeback and the latter because her comeback wasn't anything special. Still, their visuals continue to destroy everything in their path.