Since I haven't done Power Rankings for Red Velvet or Black Pink, why not combine the two? Originally I had two separate ranks for each group, but thought it'd be more interesting to see them mashed together. With Twice's Power Ranking already out there, maybe there'll be another installment with all three groups.
#9. Yeri
It's a shame I almost always start these lists from the bottom because I knew who would be dead last right away. Yeri's inclusion to Red Velvet was met with neutral reactions from yours truly so it's not that. She just doesn't strike me as interesting in any facet of Red Velvet's music. And while I do appreciate her savagery, that's a gem for the variety world. Plus lately she started stealing Irene's rapping lines. Not that Irene would've been amazing with those lines but still.
#8. Rose
Yeah I'm not gonna add the accent on her letter, sue me. Usually the primary vocalist draws me to a group but that wasn't the case for Rose and Black Pink. She immediately reminded me of her senior Park Bom which carries both positive and negative connotations. Personality-wise, she's my least favorite of the Black Pink members. Oh well. The good thing about any list is that there's opportunities to turn it around.
Fashionably late again to the Recap post. You'll see some developments in that area later on in the read. There's been a mixture of good and bad music through the summer, including hyped pieces that didn't live up to expectations and underrated sleeper picks. Maybe you'll see some of those in the highlights section. If you think I'm slowing down, you're probably right...but that doesn't mean I won't fight it!
As we hit full stride in September, Oh My Girl returns adding "Remember Me" to their 2018 campaign. I am immediately captivated by that instrumental because good GOD that bass hits hard. But the singing is soft and elegant, which creates a beautiful contrast. I appreciated the MV where the lyrics "when I close my eyes" is matched in the video. There have been plenty of inconsistencies from other artists so I appreciated that. The lack of a true chorus isn't missed too badly by my ears and honestly after two listens I'm definitely okay with it. However, things would've taken an even better turn if not for the non-singing parts of the song. In the surprise move of the year, Mimi's return to rapping has results that are less than satisfactory. She gets two verses but both are very out of place compared to how smooth the vocals are elsewhere, and don't sound great. Then half the squad has an awkward chant break right before the bridge which is equally as awkward. This is some Twice rapping straight up. Mimi is absolutely capable of better raps and it's a damn shame because I really like the rest of the track. Keep everyone else off her turf, seriously. Thankfully we get to end on a positive note because that bridge plus finale help soothe the pain - Seunghee and Yooa really shine in this type of music. "Remember Me" will be remembered for both the good and bad.
Should probably have had some more of these throughout the years - they're simple, easy to write, and have basically no restrictions on what or how I want to write. Anyway, Kpop has had an...interesting week. All kinds of news and most of it is not the good kind. The main headline is of course that Hyuna and E'Dawn would be leaving Cube Entertainment. This comes a month after their revealed relationship which has been a thing for over two years. Buckle up because this is quite the doozy.
Here's a big moment. Sunmi could do something rare: have five consecutive standout releases. "24 Hours," "Full Moon," "Gashina," and "Heroine" were all high-quality songs and this could be a historic addition. "Siren" brings another top instrumental and Sunmi's comforting voice to the stage, and these two elements drive the track much like how they have in past hits. The chorus provides an English hook fans can sing along to and serves as a contrast to her huskier tones in the verses. An underrated section of the song is that flawless transition from the verse to prechorus. It's so seamless that you might've thought "Siren" jumped directly to chorus from verse. In an era where songs have predictable changes and shifts, this is definitely something less common. The part that completely kills hype for the song - and the flow of the song itself - is the "lalala" part following the chorus. It's so awkward and serves no purpose. While I understand it's a dance break, the instrumental alone would suffice. The MV is whatever, though we do get to see some goofy Sunmi which was nice. Also, Sunmi is really skinny. Like, freakishly so. I know most Kpop girls are super thin but this is another level - it's uncomfortable. I like "Siren" more than "Heroine" early, but the latter was a grower and the former has little replay value. Despite her best efforts, "Siren" ultimately falls short of joining the club that its predecessors enjoyed being in.
This ought to be fun. Time for some motherfucking negativity up in here! Keeping with the S.M Entertainment theme, we're going to look at some of the worst selections (that are title tracks of course) to ever come out of that company. I did rank them, but that really means little when we're looking at the bottom of the barrel here. Some of the reasons are music-related, and some are purely hate-based. If something sounds bad, then it's bad. Simple as that. Let's see the worst material from one of the top entertainment labels in Korea.
#10. BoA - Nega Dola
Remember we're talking about bad songs so it's better to be up here than down there. Boy it feels bad to list BoA but I gotta do it. "Nega Dola" isn't even a below average song, but it would've been a great song if not for the horrific decision to make BoA rap. There are some things that you should never do. Giving BoA some pitiful rap lines in every verse leaves an awful taste in your mouth, and an awful sound in your ears. SME hardly has the rapping profile with their members, I don't know what they were thinking making BoA do that. Literally ruined the song for everyone.
#9. Super Junior - Mamacita
It's like "Mamacita" was a stepping stone or experiment to figure out how to incorporate international beats. Clearly needed some trial and error since "Lo Siento" was solid whereas "Mamacita" was...not. Everything about this track just feels awkward, like it's going through puberty or something. Even the typically sweet vocals from Kyuhyun and Ryeowook seem off. That rap break by Eunhyuk and Shindong is atrocious, so it's exactly like the average Super Junior rap! "Close your lips, shut your tongue" will always be associated with their cringe rap moments.
#8. TVXQ - Humanoids
TVXQ has had some magnificent highs and dreadful lows. They certainly support those type of eclectic tastes. I reviewed "Humanoids" on the blog before and it only scored a 70 thanks to appearance points and me liking the choreography at the time. Now with a refined taste in Kpop dances I can say it's not a strong dance. The chorus isn't half-bad...if all they were doing was singing. Too much chanting and rambling random shit. A hodge podge of mediocrity creates a mediocre product.
With Visual Power Rankings out of the way (and class ending) I can write actual content. Also this group's name puts them at the very top on Blogger's labels which pisses me off. Anyways, here's their first comeback with "Hann" and those verses are fucking gold. The English "do you remember what you said" flows super well unlike other tracks and goes right into the Korean. The rest of the English in the song...not so much (mostly because of pronunciation). The verses are drawn out so each member gets plenty of singing time. Miyeon and Soojin benefit heavily and sound amazing in lead roles. Soojin in particular leveled up since "Latata" with her mannerisms and stood out more - having bright red hair certainly helps. The song builds well on itself throughout but "Hann" struggles in the chorus game, leaving much to be desired. Hopefully this doesn't become a trend where they have really solid verses with lackluster choruses. They've been too repetitive and dull. I wasn't floored by this choreography either but the formations of an even membered group are enough to hold it down. Soyeon delivers another solid performance though it's not as impressive as her debut with "Latata." Like the verses, the bridge is also really good and builds into...an awkward dance break by Shuhua. Huh. Not what I was expecting but it'll do I guess. That break and the choruses hurt this song's chances of being better than "Latata." Plus Yuqi got ruined by those bangs, goddammit.
In traditional fashion, this got delayed because of work and other life struggles but here we are. The final eight will duke it out until one visual stands alone on top of the competition. Here's the matchups and seeding which I based loosely on their original brackets. We'll go right through with "details" on each matchup and we'll conclude with sunshine and rainbows.
Quarterfinals 1. Hyejeong (AOA) vs. 8. Jerry (Tahiti)
This is easily the most mismatched pair in the quarterfinals. Hyejeong is a stunner that has been consistent for forever while Jerry is sort of the reluctant pick out of her group. It was a tall order to even get this far so props to Jerry for a good run nonetheless. Hyejeong obliterates Jerry here and as the #1 seed is the favorite to go all the way. * Winner: Hyejeong
2. Hyosung (Secret) vs. 7. Jaekyung (Rainbow)
Well look at that. The two nominees from the Relic Bracket are immediately up against each other. Both are from opposite ends of the group spectrum. Hyosung is the popular vote as her status as a bagel girl has been discussed for years. Meanwhile, Jaekyung is underrated from within her own group with members like Hyunyoung. In a move that will surprise many - myself included - Jaekyung will move on. * Winner: Jaekyung
With four heavyweight candidates already in the finals, it's time to discover the underdog participants. Rising and Nugu Brackets are inferior but only in name and status. Attractiveness is not bound to a group or their success. But what am I doing this is too much effort and writing for a fucking beauty contest. Continuing on, here's Rising Bracket.
Here's the first part. Sorry this didn't get posted earlier. I actually had most of part I complete when the introductory post was published but have been busy with work and an online course. Anyways, Queen and Relic Brackets will go until there are two representatives each moving onto the final bracket. I'll post all contestants / matchups, then with the actual bracket. Instead of doing each matchup or round, I'm gonna show the entirety of the fights including the two "winners" of each set. Some filler text will go in each to highlight some of the marquee moments in my decision making (such a difficult task, I know), and we'll wrap it up rather quickly. Let's go.
For this edition of Visual Power Rankings, I've decided to go 200% with my most ambitious piece of writing for any rankings yet. This will either be super fun or mentally exhausting...hopefully the former. Anyway what we have here is a pure cheese post as visuals are the most subjective thing to look at in Kpop. We have visual representatives from 64 groups here. I've done some cheating because I had to use defunct groups and duos. The whole "visual vs. face" of the group is kinda silly but in those cases I defaulted to the visual unless it was very extreme. If a group has either no listed visual or multiple visuals, it was my choice of member. For disbanded groups or visuals that left, I usually went with the legacy choice over the most recent visual. An example would be Wonder Girls, where Sohee is the representative as she was the visual longer than Yubin was.
There are four brackets of 16 visuals each. The reason behind using four brackets is so some nugu visual doesn't go up against Naeun early on - makes for more interesting developments within each bracket. They'll combine once a top two are selected from each bracket and make the final bracket. This introductory post will show each set and brackets, as well as each visual's seed within the bracket. To determine seeding, I did a very loose Power Ranking of each group within each bracket. Like any bracket, the 1st seed goes against the 16th seed, the 2nd seed against the 15th, and so on. As for actual content besides picking winners, I don't have much in store. Talking about visual competition is as exciting as talking about the stereotypical Kpop MV: it's boring and repetitive, ultimately serving no purpose besides taking up space. The seeding reads as the #1 to #8 seed from left to right, then #16 to #9 from left to right directly below them so you know what the matchups are. With all that out of the way, here are the contestants for Visual Power Rankings IV: Battle Royale.
It's been a while since the last Best Of Artist post (five months) so here's GFriend's entry into that series. They have nine title tracks to their name so one extra song will get promoted into the competition. You know what most of the songs on here will be but what's the mystery track? Keep reading to find out. Here's the best of GFriend's title track game plus one.
#10. Love Whisper
Starting off the list is "Love Whisper." This song was very boring and their most bland since "Glass Bead." Considering the latter was a debut song, it gets away with being more simple in nature. "Love Whisper" on the other hand, came right after "Fingertip" so the disparity between the two was quite jarring. I understand the public didn't enjoy "Fingertip" as much but that's no reason for having such a lackluster song.
#9. Sunny Summer
The name of the game so far is "bland." These aren't bad songs per se, but they don't use much imagination and are even more cookie cutter than the MVs that accompany them. "Sunny Summer" is a stereotypical summer dance track through and through. Nice right now during the season, but will become forgettable rather quickly. Also hurting them is that this has to compete with the likes of Hyorin's "See Sea" and Lovelyz' "Wag-zak" which are both better summer jams.
#8. Summer Rain
With "Summer Rain," the summer trilogy concludes and all three songs rank at the bottom of the set. What "Summer Rain" has going for it is a more melancholy sound and the instrumental. It is still pedestrian as a whole, but since GFriend don't usually have sad songs as titles, it deserves to be the best of the worst we've seen so far. The bridge is also super pretty and helps elevate the song further against "Love Whisper" and "Sunny Summer."
"Love Scenario" did awesome on the charts for iKON. Let's see if the subsequent follow-up "Killing Me" will do the same. With a title like that you figured it would be a little darker and that's reflected in the song and video. It's harder-hitting, and the instrumental chops away the background almost eerily. Bobby and B.I do a great job setting up the track and their presence in the rest of "Killing Me" is substantial without being overpowering (something they previously struggled with). The supporting cast pull their weight with vocals - Jinhwan and Donghyuk. Oh yeah I can't buy the whole stage name thing. The names they debuted with are the names I use. I'm not a fan of the instrumentals during the dance breaks. There's too much going on and it sounds like a hot mess. Actually, if the distorted vocals were removed I think that would fix the problem. Too bad we'll never know. Besides that, the only other major complaint I have is that Junhoe's magical voice gets clouded here. Doesn't sound as distinct as he usually does in iKON's music. Like in "Love Scenario" they bring the whole group for the final chorus. In both cases, it works really well. Gives the song an exciting closure without changing much, and makes for a good party banger. "Killing Me" is a strong release of a darker kind and it's about time they actually started having some good music as part of the YG crew.
It's time for another round of Girl Group Power Rankings! There's only been four months since the last episode but the summer has been bountiful and thus more shuffling of the girl group ladder had to commence. Minor switches more often is better than major switches less often, especially on a list that only has ten ranked groups. Here's who's hotest during the summer of 2018.
Honorable Mention: Girl's Day * New Releases: N/A
Like I said, inactivity will have to be a more serious offence. Girl's Day have done nothing since late March 2017 and have been focusing on individual non-music activities. Therefore they'll drop out into Honorable Mentions, but not entirely off the chart. Despite the lack of promotions, they are still one of the best groups in recent years. While you could say the same for Girls' Generation, the fractured group structure prevents them from getting to the same level as Girl's Day.
Honorable Mention: Loona (NEW) * New Releases: Egoist (Olivia), love4eva (yyxy)
Man, Loona has got things going. There's plenty of hype surrounding this group. Their official debut will either be one of the greatest in the current era of Kpop or completely underwhelm and bust. Given their extensive track record of solid "predebut" songs though, they should at least do admirably. My favorites so far have been Jinsoul's "Singing In The Rain," Kim Lip's "Eclipse," and Olivia Hye's "Egoist." With so many different styles showcased by their members, who knows what genre they'll debut with.
#10. Black Pink (--) * New Releases: Ddu-du Ddu-du
Given how much I disliked their comeback, Loona ranking above Black Pink was a real possibility. But their performance numbers-wise is very impressive. I suppose that's what happens when a fandom is so starved. Being the fastest group MV to reach 200 million views counts for something. Jennie was hilarious on Running Man and their Instagram have been popping off. Regardless, I'm going to keep ranking them low until they either get out of the dungeon more or comeback with a bomb track.
This is the make-or-break point for Apink for me. It's been four years since "Mr. Chu" - which I consider their best hit - was released, and they've yet to recapture that magic since. It's actually concerning how many mediocre songs they've had during that time. Not that they had terrible songs per se, just nothing that really stuck. However, teasers for "I'm So Sick" showed plenty of promise, and actually got me excited about Apink for once. Would that hold?
With "I'm So Sick," Apink have (for the first time in a long while) abandoned the cutesy dance pop theme and instead shifted to a more mature sound. This is clearly a win in my book because I've always liked that style more across all girl groups. They also have the vocal ability to not make it sound terrible, which is a plus. Honestly the prechorus and chorus are gorgeous, while the instrumental and background vocals during the dance breaks are splendid as well. However, the structure of an Apink song has gotten so incredibly stale: Chorong gets an early part, Eunji and Bomi sing the chorus while everyone else mops up the rest. It really wouldn't hurt to mix things up during each comeback...
They're the only label with such a large assortment of artists to even do this for, so here is SM Entertainment's version of the Best Of Debuts (which has only one prior post). Some of this will overlap with said post because a handful of their groups made it on this list. However, times change and not only that, but this is only having their debut tracks in direct competition with each other. How good the song is / was overall matters most, but I also took into account relevancy at the time and if it withstood the modernization of Kpop. Because we wanna see each of their main superstars go head-to-head, TRAX and Zhang Liyin will be absent from this list, as will subunits and project groups like S.M. The Ballad and EXO-CBX. That could make for an entertaining revisit in the future though.
#10. Red Velvet - Happiness
Yeah...there's no way that Red Velvet wouldn't be last on a list like this. I still have nightmares about this song. From the awkward pronunciation of "happiness" to the terrible rapping heard throughout, there was a lot to forget about this debut. There was also the MV and the many issues there. Not much else to say other than thank heavens they turned it quite the ways around.
#9. Super Junior - Twins (Knock Out)
Despite not needing to compare with modern era boy groups, Super Junior 05's debut simply lacked the knock out capability their title claimed. I just don't think "Twins" is that good a song. Unremarkable in all facets, this was only impressive in the sheer number of members, as having 12 members was and still is unusual to see. In retrospect they almost had a fusion element to their early songs (almost like Dreamcatcher but a little more intense) and that's probably why I didn't like their pre-breakout era music.
#8. CSJH - Too Good
Before Mamamoo, there was SPICA. And before SPICA, there was CSJH. Pure vocalist groups can all trace their ancestry to the girls of CSJH The Grace. Their debut video has nothing but powerful voices and closeups to focus on the faces behind the voices. All these girls could sing and would dominate the competition today. Stephanie left and they've basically been dead but Dana's still kicking it today! Or at least, she did a ways back with "Touch You." Oh fuck that was two years ago...
These revisits will temporarily conclude now that I've looked at the first three reviews on the blog. Plus with a plethora of July releases on the way there'll be no shortage of material to talk about, though time will be another story. Here's my thoughts about my thoughts on JYP's newest project at the time - a duo that would eventually lead to the core of GOT7.
JB’s pink mix with blonde is interesting, definitely not something I see other singers pulling off so props to him. Also something to note: there were no hairstyle changes throughout the music video, only costume switches. Speaking of which, their outfits are also not anything amazing, which matches their schoolboy appearance and subsequently the MV set location.
Back in the day, I talked about appearances in my reviews because - and let's be honest - visuals are very much a driving force in Kpop and the younger me was even more easily swayed in my early Kpop years. Which of course made it weird talking about boy groups but alas.
I love this choreography, partially because it is reminiscent of 2PM’s early stuff and I miss seeing variety. Also, this dance absolutely destroys anything 2TVXQ had (at least for now, S.M. may surprise me).
While "love" seems like a strong choice in retrospect, I had no idea about the skill ranges of choreography back then. But that's why I'm looking back in the first place, to see how times and opinions have changed. It's still a fun dance with plenty of energy that matches the song. The headbanging is definitely a solid touch, and the dance moves themselves aren't too difficult while still being neat.
Nothing wrong with a little June speculation. Here are my picks for the best songs released so far in 2018. Obviously I'll have missed some artists (especially the more recent ones) but we're in the middle of the year so we can see who is winning so far. It'll be interesting to see how the selections here last when December rolls around and everything gets reevaluated with new songs in the second half of the year. They will be grouped loosely, and don't really serve a purpose since I believe trying to rank them right now would be silly.
Block B - Don't Leave
Block B have yet to break into a Best Of 20XX post, but here's their unofficial debut. "Don't Leave" shows off the melancholy side of Block B that they've perfected nearly as well as their hyperactive dance numbers. Block B were kind of one of the early groups to have two distinct sides to their title track game. Zico and P.O deliver flawless moments and both share the high point(s) of the song.
iKON - Love Scenario
Like Block B, iKON have been less of a main act and more of a disappearing one. They're more Winner and less Big Bang, if we're to use labelmate descriptions. But "Love Scenario" is their best song to date and their crazy chart successes mirror that. It's catchy, enjoyable, and has a good hook. Previous iKON releases have felt like a reach in some way or another. Sometimes the song was mediocre and other times the song had cringe moments. "Love Scenario" covers those weaknesses and has more of Junhoe's special voice.
Heize - Jenga
After "Don't Know You" last year, Heize drops another treat in "Jenga." This time she teams up with Gaeko and gives us another smooth tour of the Heize mansion. Her voice prettily glides through the track while Gaeko's rap gives us a nice boost of energy. I'll keep it short here since I previously reviewed it. That instrumental break is amazing and one of the best of all time. Between the bridge here and in Younha's "Hero," I can't quite think of other similar greats.
The problem with mobile Blogger is that it doesn't translate to when you post from a computer. There are differences font-wise, spacing, etc. that will irritate my OCD. As I'm back next Monday this will be the last post from Asia - and I can fix everything that was posted previously. Today, it will be another revisit to a review from my humble Tumblr beginnings in 2012. Here's a group we haven't seen or heard from in a long ass time.
So S.M. finally decided to show Amber some love and gave her singing lines! What a pleasant surprise! Sulli and Victoria’s vocals continue to improve and refine, and Krystal’s is nothing short of fantastic.
Come to think of it, f(x) was really the first girl group to have their rapper do some singing in title track releases. Amber was originally recruited as a vocalist anyway but still they set the precedent way back then. Surprising that I give Krystal's voice a lot of love. I always had liked her voice more than her sister's, but not to that extent.
Is it strange that I thought Luna’s “I’m in shock, electric shock” sounded better than Krystal’s, even though Krystal is the fluent English speaker?
No, it's not strange because Luna's English isn't bad. This was a case of underplaying Luna's language skills and overplaying Krystal's.
Black Pink is lucky I'm only doing a Blitz, for their sake. I can't rip them too hard for this comeback knowing there's a word limit. First off the title of the song is poorly formatted and looks dumb. It rivals Cube's new girl group's name in terms of how awful it is on the eyes, I won't refer to it at all. This song itself is so mediocre I can't believe I got hyped over their return after an entire year. It's really just...the sequel to "As If It's Your Last" in how each member's lines act as independent sections and barely string together at all. We do get to hear Jisoo improve on her vocals and that's good. Opposite her, Rose continues to struggle and I'm convinced she'll simply end up as Bom's successor in the singing department with the constant straining. Jennie's return to rapping "saves" the song and like Lisa in "AIIWYL" is the only good part - if this track makes it to my library it will be thanks to fierce Jennie. The chorus' beat is utterly wasted by the lack of energy or emotion in the choreography and it's almost insulting to think all that time waiting was for this weak of a dance. They are Black Pink and I'm happy for their current success with this song but I'm still pissed. They deserve better. Fuck YG.
