[Bonus] Girl Group Rapper Power Rankings III: Winter 2016 (#20-#11)

#20. Sihyun (+2)
Here's where I consider the rappers to be serviceable at worst. Not a knock on Sihyun, because she has it tough in particular, being in a vocal powerhouse group like SPICA. More unfortunately, while their latest comeback "Secret Time" was awesome, there was no rapping to be had. Still, her past works speak for themselves. I would consider her the reverse Moonbyul (sort of): a great singer that happens to be alright on the mic.

#19. Exy (--)
If Dahyun gives me Hyelim vibes, then Exy gives me Yubin vibes, but not to the same extent. She sounds like a younger, more nasally Yubin, which at the end of the day is still a relatively pleasing voice to listen to. Even though she is in a gigantic group, she gets plenty of opportunities in the spotlight. Her rap in "Secret" was one of the best of this year, although it agonizes all Bora fans because if Exy can get a 15 second rap in a group of 13, how is it that Bora gets half of that in a group of four? But I digress.

[Bonus] Girl Group Rapper Power Rankings III: Winter 2016 (#32-#21)

With this, all the Power Ranking series will have been released / updated at least once for the 7th season of the blog. This will be the most arduous task yet, because in this revisiting of the girl group rappers, I'll include more than 30 rappers. Of course, due to the changes of the girl group landscape, there are a handful of departures, including but not limited to: 4minute's Hyuna, miss A's Jia, and Rainbow's Woori. With those drops and the large influx of new entries, the rankings are going to be jumbled heavily. For the most part, the changes of returning rappers won't mean too much in comparison with each other. Thanks to my procrastination and being busy with other things, this piece may not be as pretty or polished as I'd like, but I wanted to get this done before the new year, and before even more groups fall apart.

So what's the criteria? Here's a rough outline of what I (tried to) focus on. First, the ability: the individual's talents, and that includes voice, speed, etc. This is definitely the most important aspect. Second, the quality: if the raps themselves are actually good. There are certainly good rappers with bad raps, and bad rappers with good raps. Third, the progress: this involves both whether or not we've seen improvement in either of the first two categories, and consistency in their performance throughout the years. In the interest of fairness, I'm only looking at title tracks or material like released singles, etc. With that said though, I'm afraid most non-newcomer writing is going to be talking about what they've done (or not done) since last fall.

#32. Junyeol (--)
Welcome to the series, Junyeol. You're going to have to be seated here though. Stellar's songs tend to have brief rap segments, which isn't the best opportunity to show us what Junyeol can do. Furthermore, most of her raps have been more of the rap-singing mix, and as far as I can tell there isn't a single time where she's been average even doing that. Stellar as a group is hanging on by a thread, and it won't be the rapping that gets them extra attention anytime soon.

#31. Dahye (-8)
Looking back, I'm not exactly sure who or why I placed Dahye above a handful of other rappers last time. She's got a pretty good voice for rapping, sure, but when it comes down to it most of her material is very brief and unimpressive overall. She isn't blowing you away, and hardly gets the opportunity to in the first place. Compounding this is the fact that BESTie has been quiet since "Excuse Me," with only Uji getting any exposure (that I know of) elsewhere.

[Recap] 2016 September-December: Slowdown

Well, this has to be done before I get into other year-concluding pieces like "Best Of 2016" anyway, so might as well write it all out now. The last few months of this year didn't hesitate to punch us in the mouth, with various news from all angles: 2NE1 disbanding, Heejun getting married, Running Man shenanigans, etc. etc. Definitely got everyone spinning, and to think there's still over 15 days left before January. The possibilities seem dangerously endless.

[Bonus] Best Of B-Sides: Part I

Sometimes, the title track is poorly chosen, or is simply a bad song. Thankfully, there are other songs around to help it out. These posts will highlight some of my favorite songs off albums that weren't title tracks. B-sides are often difficult to compile if only because nobody has all the time in the world to scour every album and every tracklist. However I have my fair share of albums in my library, so this should be an easy task. The songs themselves won't be ranked, mostly because these posts will be recurring - as they essentially give me an outlet to write on any given day even if I'm stuck on a review or can't get ideas flowing.

BTS - Butterfly

Perhaps the hottest boy group right now is BTS. And while they're often known for their insane choreography and in-your-face energy, they have some really great stuff on the slower side of the spectrum. "Butterfly" is a classic example and both the singers and rappers restrain themselves wonderfully. Despite the mass amount of falsetto, it's a rare instance where it works given the pace of the song. BTS shows that you don't need excellent vocalists to have excellent ballads.

Younha - Realize After Breakup (feat. Kim Bumsoo)

As mentioned previously, Younha has seen her fair share of strong collaborations. This was a top-end ballad of 2009, and the names alone reveal why. Contrasting Kim Bumsoo's sharp voice is Younha's more clear and rounded one. They combine for wonderful harmonies throughout the song and easily make this piece a karaoke classic. Neither singer overpowers the other, which is a quality I really love seeing in duets (even if it's rather uncommon). Impressive singing from start to finish, what more could you ask for?

[Misc] Dream Collaborations: Part I

With Zico's recent "Bermuda Triangle," and the trinity motif in the MV, it got me thinking. The collaboration possibilities in Kpop are practically infinite (not the group). Today I'm going to highlight some collabs I'd love to see. Like the post about girl groups and subunits, these options range from totally plausible under the right circumstances to impossible but would be fun or random. I know I haven't done many reviews at all since school started (one per month sadly), but I will get back to them starting with Baek Ahyeon's new release coming up something... Anyway, onto the collaborations I wish would happen!

Eric Nam and Henry
It never really struck me until recently, but these two are cut from practically the same cloth. Both are born in North America and (as a result) speak multiple languages. Both are great in the variety world and have similar voices. They could easily team up and bring their talents together, sporting an R&B or ballad song.
This team effort doesn't even have to be for in the studio! Bring them both on Running Man or something, I'm sure fun times would ensue. Disclaimer: I don't watch enough variety to know if they've already been on a show together.

Solji, Uji, LE, Yezi
Here we have two top 10 girl groups vocalists joined by two top 5 girl group rappers. You can't tell me that doesn't sound appealing! They would be dangerous on both sides of the ball. Give them some upbeat dance track and let the rappers run the verses with Solji and Uji belting high notes left and right. Dance-wise they would't be spectacular but life wouldn't be fair if they could be killer dancers too. I know Yezi and LE would be a stellar combo because we've seen plenty of good double raps in the past (with less capable rappers no less).