[Misc] The Late Report: February 2021

I nearly forgot that February is a short month, so uh...anyways! Here's some stuff. Fuck you Blogger and your impossible-to-format bullshit. The inconsistency is driving me bonkers.

The Big Bully Blitz

February's Kpop news theme has been the plethora of bullying accusations being lobbed like candy. Some names include but are not limited to: Loona's Chuu, Seventeen's Mingyu, Stray Kids' Hyunjin, and Hyuna. All I have to say on the matter is a simple "yikes." Bullying is an entirely different beast in Asia so the only hope I have is that the truth comes to light.

Interesting Comeback Stage

Remember this track? "Black" was great and now many years later, we get a comeback performance of a different variety. Kpop's newest power couple has been born with Big Bang's G-Dragon and Black Pink's Jennie. I'd be lying if I said I remembered other famous Kpop couples, but this is definitely one of the strongest pairings to memory. Surprisingly, there's only a seven year age gap between the two. I guess it's more that I thought G-Dragon was older than 32 (turning 33 this August). Good for both of them.

SHINee - Don't Call Me

Don't. This song is awful. It sounds like the type of shit that EXO and NCT would do, and I honestly thought SHINee would be better than that. They had found their stride prior to military enlistment but seems like that's been lost as the younger groups in their company took control of everything. I just can't. More Minho rapping? Get the fuck outta here. Because they're veterans I gave them the respect of finishing the song but damn, I was not happy to do so. Swing a huge miss out of SHINee.

Collection of Miscellaneous Shit

And now a jumble blob of some other things that I noticed. Positive, negative, neutral, it's all fair game. Some German radio show host said racist shit to BTS, essentially calling them the same as coronavirus? I don't think I've ever written the words "career suicide" before but it's appropriate here. A stalker broke into T-ARA's Soyeon's house? That's fucking horrifying and I hope that creep goes to jail. Cherry Bullet and a few others have hosted AMA threads on reddit, which is cool. Luna sets up her own label, that's pretty good. Hopefully she'll see some success. Finally, some comeback news on the horizon, with the likes of Jessi, V, and DAY6 as headliners.

Late Rollin' to a #1 Spot

Brave Girls have had their EXID / Hani moment. Their song "Rollin'," which originally released in 2017, recently hit #1 on Bugs Chart, their first ever. Quite impressive considering that the throwbacks usually can't compete with their modern competitors. Great to see from them, though unfortunately I don't see a rise to superstardom in their future because the group is too unstable. Regardless, a win is a win and the song is quite good, despite the awkward pronunciation. Anyway that's all for today. Until next time, whenever that may be. Stay safe and healthy.

[Review] Brave Girls - We Ride (Teaser)

Of the entire list of girl groups I'd never thought would make a comeback in this day and age, Brave Girls was probably at the very top of the list. They have for the lack of a better word suffered throughout their tenure and 2020 marks their return after three years of silence and losing members. "We Ride" sounds like some classy retro pop is on the horizon which will be interesting since this group has pursued plenty of different genres before. Unfortunately for me there will be no Hyeran who is probably still just enjoying her life away from the idol sphere, but this increases the chance of "We Ride" having a shitty rap by like 80%. I might make it a rule that if I ever post about a teaser I must also cover the actual song once released. That makes these less fluff and more substance, and would essentially be a quick juxtaposition going from teaser to full song. Think of it like an extremely quick revisited since instead of years between looking at the song it'd be days. That will probably start in September though (or later...) since I'm that kind of lazy bum. Anyway you have my interest, Brave Girls. Don't squander it like all the other times.

[Bonus] Best Of 2016 (#16-#9)

It's that time of the year again. I'll be breaking down my personal list of the best songs of 2016. Because I've run this theme before, there will be 16 songs if only to match the year. I don't have much time to waste - Best Of 2016 and the annual Kpop Awards need to be complete before the end of the year because January is already booked with comebacks. This year my list will be split between the top and bottom halves. Remember, this is my set, not yours! But definitely share which songs you think I missed out on.

#16. Brave Girls - Deepened
This song is the best slow dance track of 2016. Everything about it is sensual, which is reflected in both the singing and dancing. The vocals are soft and almost graceful, which is matched by the choreography. Hyeran's rap break was the best sequence of its kind this year, though unfortunately for her made her later appearances disappointing. Nonetheless this was a very complete song that helped bring Brave Girls back into relevancy. It almost made you forget that they had been inactive for three years before coming back.

#15. DAY6 - Letting Go
Nostalgia speaks to me strongly, and a group like Day6 is exactly what I'd have been obsessed about in my high school years. Rock is an old sweetheart of mine and these guys put their Kpop spin to it quite nicely. "Letting Go" is aptly named as the band had lost a member prior to release, and you can almost hear the emotional rift in their voices. I've yet to be sold on Younghyun's rapping, but perhaps that needs some time. After all, I've come to really enjoy rappers like Verbal Jint and Mad Clown and their unorthodox flow. Maybe Younghyun is next.

[Review] Brave Girls - Deepened

After a hiatus that seemed to last for an eternity (about 3 years, which may as well actually be eternity), Brave Girls returns with "Deepened." Another questionable English title because the Korean title has nothing to do with deepness (literally translates to "(You've) Changed.") Anyway, what with Ladies' Code and now Brave Girls having come back it just makes me all the more sad that EvoL will not be joining the nostalgia trip, as wonderful as that could be.

It's a good thing I reviewed "Galaxy" just before "Deepened," because here we can see the harsh similarities between the songs. Both are slower R&B-esque songs, though Brave Girls adds a more emphatic instrumental to support the choreography / dance nature of the song. Both also don't really have momentum. Again, in the concept that both songs start a certain level and remain there for the entirety of the song, which isn't necessarily a bad thing in these specific instances. What sets "Deepened" apart from "Galaxy" is the rap break in the middle of the song (more on that shortly). Maybe because this song is a dance track, the instrumental is much easier on the ears compared to the one from Ladies' Code. Brave Girls don't have any standout vocal talent (at least at a glance here) but they're all comparable to each other and their voices are good enough to make a song like this work. Brave Girls' frail sensual vocals are matched by the choreography, which isn't all that impressive (lots of squats though) but maintains pace with the song. There haven't been too many interesting dances that we've seen thus far, so the choreography from "Deepened" may be the best at current.

The last time I saw this group was with "Nowadays You," and since then they've only retained 2 members so I haven't caught up with the new faces yet, but let's talk about Hyeran. Her rap in "Nowadays You" was a reflection of the song as a whole: mediocre for the most part, but showing potential. In "Deepened," her rapping serves as the main attraction to an otherwise simple (but not exciting) song. She demonstrates good mechanics and adds some singing to the mix, too. In a quick whirlwind, we've already seen some impressive raps this promotion cycle, from Serri to Chammi and now Hyeran. I'm only further hyped for seeing what the real established rappers can bring now that the less experienced and less talented rappers have already stepped up. Lastly, I've not much to say about the MV. Nothing creative and otherwise your stereotypical box sets and dancing shots video. Huzzah?

It's not like Brave Girls knocked it out of the park with "Deepened." As previously mentioned it's on a similar level to Ladies' Code's "Galaxy," but they get an edge in Hyeran's explosive rapping segment and the better and less obstructive instrumental. Assuming they can actually stay active for an extended period with this comeback, they'll at least have a fighting chance this time around.

[ Overall: 85 / 100 ]