Younha - Winter Flower
Alluded to in my review of "Dark Cloud," "Winter Flower" is a sensational track that features the brilliance of Younha's powerful voice with an electrifying instrumental and RM's appearance. Obviously he's a little busy as of late so he wasn't able to join her in this performance. No idea who BX is but he did a solid job stepping in for RM here. His voice is too nasally for my ears on a first listen but he keeps pace with the original, so props. I like this song so much that I'm trying to learn it on the piano. This will be the first time in almost a decade since I've touched a piano ha, should be a fun challenge.
BTS - Black Swan
Speaking of, here's BTS performing on the Late Late Show with James Corden. Considering that I did not look at any of the "Black Swan" releases of any form, I didn't know what to expect. The first thing I noticed was that this is very much modern BTS with the dancing and style of the song. Not surprising since this formula has been relatively untouched since their meteoric rise. The second thing I noticed was that they weren't wearing shoes. That couldn't have been easy. Shoutouts to the show and all because the whole setup was phenomenal: stage, scenery, lighting, etc. It's a great teaser for their upcoming album, that's for sure.
Red Velvet - Psycho (Remix) (feat. Nicki Minaj)
Kpop remixers really out here trying to add Nicki Minaj to every song. When it's this well-done, can you complain? No, you can't. Given that she has collaborated with BTS before, you could show this to someone new and they'd probably think this was legit. Okay given Nicki's lyrics probably not but you get the point haha. Since we've yet to see the rumored English version of "Psycho," a remix like this will have to do for now.
Sera The Eternal Muse
Sera. Still. Got it! At 32 years young and out of the idol industry for years, she worked super hard on this dance medley and it shows. Going over 9MUSES' discography in 4 minutes, she reminisces on choreography from her debut days to the legendary 2013 run. Watching her smiles warms my heart. Even though the group days were no doubt troublesome and stressful as hell for her, she enjoyed performing and you can see it here. How quickly she's become one of my favorite Youtube channels.
Gary Returns To Stage
Another hero of times past returns to the spotlight (at least speaking from the perspective of this blog). Running Man has since fallen out of favor for me - and variety shows in general - but my sisters let me know that Gary and his kid are on Return Of Superman which invoked a "woah where has the time gone?" response. Fond memories of his days on Running Man so seeing him here with his son was a mixture of a blast to the past and how time has flown by. His kid looks to have gained his sense of humor and personality from his dad it seems.
Bobby & Junhoe - Deep Night
As far as I could tell there's no official English title so I went with the literal translation of the Korean which is "Deep Night." Since B.I's departure, iKON have been pretty quiet on the music front. But now two of their pillars come together for this track. Bobby is primarily a hype man in this video but his rap break is nothing short of spectacular, as expected of the young rapping phenom. Given his unique voice, I'm not surprised that Junhoe's voice would work on a more band-oriented song. I'm also not surprised to see him playing the guitar. Maybe Junhoe can do a collaboration with DAY6, that'd be neat.
Siyeon - Paradise
Instead of talking about LOONA for the nth time, here's some Dreamcatcher content. Siyeon is one of their vocal starlets and provided a special track in "Paradise." It's a pretty song with a heavy-hitting instrumental that is something you'd see out of a group release. I have mixed feelings when an individual sings something that the full group typically would promote. On one hand, it's a logical option and shows the member's talents in a solo setting. On the other, sometimes it can show how irrelevant the group could theoretically be. The best example I can give is when Hyorin released "One Way Love." But hey man whatever, more promotion material for Dreamcatcher is a win in any fan's book. Though I've no idea how to feel about them releasing a white and black version of the music video. I mean I'm always for more content but this feels like empty bonuses. Meh, I shouldn't be greedy.
Pledis Problems
Now I'm not go around advocating that you should hack into Korean label wbesites, but if you're gonna do it, follow this dude's lead. Some Pristin fan hacked into Pledis' official site and put up notices calling them out on how poorly they've run Pristin and other groups. Remember After School? The icing on top of the cake is the above image. "Wee fucking woo" is going to be an iconic phrase of years to come and arguably a high point in 2020. You think Pledis' password was "password?" This is a fan taking action for what they believe in, and they're right: Pristin deserved better.
You Make Me Feel Stalked
And here we have the complete opposite side of fans taking action. What the fuck is wrong with people. Some "fan" has been creeping to extreme levels, sharing phone numbers and even getting on the same plane. Bruh. This dude should be jailed. I know there's batshit crazy people for all groups from all corners of the world but I don't think it's ever been this insane. Hope and Twice and JYP take all the necessary safety measures because this is no laughing matter. Get some help.
Zico - Any Song
Having seen the dance challenges across Instagram from celebrities and friends, I tuned into Zico's "Any Song." What I did not need was yet another reality-checking piece from this musical genius. Lyrics that are close to home and a video that shows how many can feel on any given day make for a deadly combination. Another gem to add to his collection. "I'm sick and tired of my every day." Same, brother, same.
Coronawhat Now?
Not really Kpop but who gives a shit. Coronavirus is a growing concern and 
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