January is over and despite my lack of attention, there have been some interesting releases this month. Whether it's a preview of things to come or the rest of the year will deviate wildly, remains to be seen. Hope everyone has had a good (or at least better) start to their year than both myself and or last year. Stay safe out there. But then why are you "out there?"
Hyuna - I'm Not Cool
As I've said before on this series, not every song that makes it here is good. Hyuna has always been hit or miss with me and this time, she's struck out on three pitches. I just...don't like anything presented here. Some commenter on reddit said "the song isn't that good but Hyuna just makes it work." To that I say, "what exactly did she make work?" The structure is all over the place and I legit couldn't stomach a full second listen. Also this video thumbnail do be hella uncomfortable.
The coveted 2019 Kpop Awards are here, and actually in December no less. Just in time I say! The previous two years' awards were posted in January which should have been illegal. But hey we're almost at a new year, so new-ish me. These are always fun to write looking back on the year as a whole, and the narratives from other years makes for a fun clash. Here are the nine magnificent awards and their glorious, resplendent recipients. This may or may not be split into two parts.
Best Girl Group: Red Velvet
This was a competitive year between the usual top three dogs: Twice, Red Velvet, and Mamamoo. Each of them have taken home this title once in the last three years, and now Red Velvet are the first to grab their second award of this name. Mamamoo have been the most active, and Twice likely have the best numbers, but Red Velvet were not far behind in many of these aspects throughout the year. We don't speak of their first showing in 2019 but "Umpah Umpah" was a good summer jam while "Psycho" made plenty of good impressions with such a late release. Ultimately I believe that Red Velvet is most deserving by remaining the most consistent girl group showing marked improvements with each subsequent song.
Best Boy Group: BTS
Death, taxes, and BTS winning the Best Boy Group award. They've fully monopolized this category since the series debut in 2015 and until their military service fractures their production it doesn't seem like they'll stop. Their achievements, statistics, and legacy are overwhelming at this point considering all of the impact they've had (both the good and bad). Compound this with the fact that other groups of this generation simply cannot match BTS' output at an individual or group level and it's easy to see why they've had a iron grip on this award. Also worth noting is that they were unparalleled in the meme department as well. From "Seoul Town Road" to "Chicken Noodle Soup," BTS were firing on all meme cylinders.
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.
Throughout their career, GOT7 has been mostly a miss for me. With this newest inclusion, they have ten title tracks to their name, but I only really liked one of them ("If You Do"). "Hard Carry" and debut track "Girls Girls Girls" were alright but never fully lived up to the hype surrounding their name and label. What they do have going for them is intricate and expressive choreography, so we'll see if that trend continues in "You Are."
"You Are" shows a lighter side to GOT7 while still keeping their dance-friendly (or is it dance-heavy?) atmosphere. It's like they toned down the hype dials from past hits. In this way, "You Are" reminds me of BTS' "Save Me," though frankly the former is nowhere near as good as the latter. That being said, the instrumental is quality and the work of the vocalists like Jr. and Youngjae make the verses really smooth. Then there's the chorus which is powerful and uplifting, something which is also reflected in the lyrics. It does feel a little jarring compared to the main verses (mainly due to the long notes) but overall makes for a good combination. Unfortunately, what could've been a solid GOT7 release was instead ruined by an uncharacteristic mistake.
Enough with the inequality. Boy group members deserve some love, too. Otherwise I'd have dropped Taeyeon here and called it a day. Anyway, I don't think there's a boy group vocalist that's as incredible as Sandeul. He and B1A4 are sort of mired in mediocrity as far as I know but he has deservedly gained attention for his talents over the years. Appearances on singing shows increased his popularity and his OST offers grew. And in 2016 we finally saw him get a solo debut with "Stay As You Are," which further illustrated his vocal abilities.
Best Rapper: Zico
Speaking of gender equality on my blog... I don't think I'll ever write Rapper Power Rankings for boy group members, but if I did, there's one name that would be the undisputed champion: Zico. His style and charisma flow deep in Block B's music, not to mention the individual contributions he makes to the composition and lyrics of songs. He's also one of the most prolific group soloists, too. This year was another excellent harvest for the young man, with songs like "I Am You, You Are Me" and "Bermuda Triangle" giving him solace whenever Block B ends, he will be extremely comfortable pursuing the solo path.
I'm kind of sick of the boy groups already but I'll give GOT7 another chance to impress me. While "Girls Girls Girls" was a good debut they haven't released anything close to par since, and "Just Right" was all kinds of awful. The teaser for "If You Do" looked promising, and I know that from experience, JYP teasers are slightly more trustworthy than say S.M. Seemed like we'd be seeing a return to a dance-oriented song and video.
GOT7 made a flashy debut this year with "Girls Girls Girls" and their acrobatic dancing. Most were reminded of an early 2PM, myself included. What followed was "A," something more cutesy and innocent and here we're at "Stop Stop It."
I'll give credit where credit is due. Most of the GOT7 members have very clear voices, which is good when you're a vocally oriented group. What doesn't deserve credit though, is the grating autotune in the background at the beginning and chorus of the song. Holy crap that is disgusting to hear repeated over and over. "Stop Stop It" would have been far more tolerable without that junk. Even without the obnoxious autotune though, the song isn't particularly impressive. A routine method that works for what it's worth, but GOT7 is more dance and less vocals, so I'm not sure what I would expect for "good vocals" from this group.
The rap showing was pretty decent I suppose. I'd much prefer Jackson's appearance with Mark's voice. They sort of flip flop on that regard, as Jackson looks like the stronger rapper but Mark's voice is way better. Regardless, Mark is leagues ahead of Jackson and Bambam, which is funny since all of them aren't Koreans. It'd be interesting to see a scenario where Jr. and Mark are the main rappers, since I still think Jr's showing in "Bounce" was solid.
I'm not entirely sure I follow the MV, but I'll throw my signature "the MV has a plot of sorts and is therefore superior to box videos" all the same. That and it's also a copout to really dive into the elements of the video. The choreography, like the vocals, is also relatively tame, which is fine and all, but I much prefer the athletic and dynamic showings in their debut. What are those outfits though? Would have made more sense if they were wearing school uniforms or dress shirts.
I'm not that pleased with this release. On it's own, the song isn't that memorable and neither is the dance, which should ideally be this group's strongest aspect. The rapping is average but since everything else is weaker it stands out, so I suppose that's a plus. This song lacks the quality seen in "Girls Girls Girls" and certainly not to the standards from "Bounce."
Let me start by talking about the vocal ranges of the two. Jr., the rapper has a higher voice than JB, and while JB does do 90% of the singing, Jr. also adds some voice of his own in the chorus and bridge. High voiced rappers are a little mediocre but we’ll reference at a later and more appropriate time. JB’s voice is good. Not spectacular, but still good. All of his lines were comfortably within his range, and while there was some utility shown in the rock and roll themed bridge, there were no real opportunities to show off, so we don’t really know what he’s truly capable of. Hopefully future releases will be able to compliment JB’s voice the same amount as this song did to Jr.’s rap in this song.
Appearance: 8 / 10
Honestly there is not much to say regarding looks of these two, following JYP’s (read: KPop’s) standards of attractive people in the entertainment industry. The hairstyles are not extreme (although you could expect so from a school setting) so the two blend into the crowd. 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.
Dance: 9 / 10
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). Rather than having two people dance awkwardly next to each other, Jr. and JB do interact with some of the choreography (moreso towards the end but something is better than nothing) and the backup dancers also do a nice job. The dance strongly compliments the frantic upbeat mood of the song and is just straightforward and catchy. I found Jr. a little awkward during the bridge since JB was the only one singing, so maybe something should’ve been worked out there, but nonetheless excellent presentation and strong choice.
Rap: 10 / 10
Although this rap is definitely not something amazing and not something terrible, Jr. shows everyone that he is certainly capable. Ignoring the voice range I mentioned earlier, Jr. keeps a fast pace throughout the entire song. Keep in mind that the entirety of both verses are rap, and not a single line feels out of place. JB also chimes in every so often to throw the classic “repeat after me” bit to Jr.’s game. While very simple, it’s a rap scheme / style I’ve rarely seen in other duos (TVXQ) and is a welcome twist from JJ Project. Add some extra English words here and there and you have a traditional JYP rap. Along with B.A.P.’s Bang Yong Guk and EXO-K’s Chanyeol, I believe Jr. is a new rookie has earned a respectable slot of rappers I genuinely like and I am excited to see more of Jr. in the future.
Music Video: 9 / 10
Another lovely music video from JYP, who would have thought? Starts with the “JYP whisper, and then proceeds to the classroom / school setting that I’ve mentioned. JB and Jr. rally up everyone else to go crazy and just bounce. While there are shots and pieces of them dancing in a room, it’s a basketball court / gymnasium which happens to be something at a school. The duo are also seen trekking through the hallways and eventually make their way outside to go crazy some more with everyone joining in on the fun. Furthermore the rock and roll scene also has guitarists and drummers in the background, which actually match the theme (I’m looking at you, “Twinkle”). Similar to “Like This”, this music video encourages the audience to participate with the performers rather than merely aside them. Extra shots of people breakdancing and even some parkour are also thrown in which is a smooth touch.
~
Overall: 86 / 100
The new group on the block showed up in full force. Catchy song, good rapping, matching dance and music video. I want to note that this song really doesn’t feel like a JYP production (LOL), if not for the signature whisper at the beginning of the song I’d have never guessed the two were under JYP. The song mixes multiple genres together – rap, electronic, R&B, rock & roll – in fact it almost seems hashed together / cluttered but the transitions are actually really solid and is very new and experimental, which really isn’t JYP’s style. All in all this song impressed me and hopefully you felt the same.
