[Review] Fei - Fantasy

I've ranted about titles before but this one is just plain weird. "Fantasy" is the English title but "It's Okay Fantasy" is the Korean title. I dunno. Anyways, Fei having a solo debut was an important process because not only is she the least thought-of member in terms of solo ability in her group, this release would at least hold down the fort in a world after Jia's departure put miss A's future in the uncertain air. Unfortunately, it came at a problematic time, what with all the Chinese politics everywhere. Regardless, I only care about the music. So let's dive in.

"Fantasy" plays out like a song from a fantasy alright. The instrumental is smooth and gives off R&B vibes, which assist in Fei's breathy vocals. Wait, hold up a second. Fei sounds like this? It's a serious surprise that Fei is capable of delivering such a vocal performance. You don't really get to hear much out of Fei in miss A's pop-oriented music, so that's neat. You'll note that I didn't say "pleasant surprise" because honestly, you can't convince me to say that she sounds great in "Fantasy." In terms of difficulty Fei gets high marks because I doubt she ever has to sing like this, but she's an average vocalist at best so she ain't making me swoon or anything.

[Blog] Kpop in Seoul-ish

If you, dear reader, are like me, then you are probably curious about Kpop in Korea. After all, most of us are international fans. I had the opportunity to be in Seoul (more specifically, the Myeongdong and Hongdae area) for a week. While I was enjoying my time buying and eating everything in Seoul, I paid attention to the songs that Korea (or rather, Korean shops I suppose) were listening to. A few notes before moving forward:

- I recorded songs that were within hearing range. I wasn't about to bulldoze my way through a crowd to figure out a song because that's unnecessary. And like mentioned earlier, these were primarily in the streets of Hongdae and Myeongdong.

- My library is not all-encompassing. There were certainly songs that I didn't recognize, and I tried to account for them as best I could whenever I had the time (because an international plan only gets you so much data).

- Girl groups and soloists only. I didn't pay attention for boy groups, but even then I could easily tell you that the three dominating parties were: ballads, hip-hop and rap (plenty of San E), and Big Planet (Big Bang and EXO). I also heard more Psy than I would have thought.

[Bonus] Best Of 2014 Revisited

Continuing the revisited series, we stop at a shy two years back in 2014. This was one of the more diverse years and I expect a handful of new entries to join the fun. Writing these redos have been fun and I may go in reverse after doing the 2015 set, although I'll probably only write 2011 and 2010 because my memory doesn't go much further back. At some point, I even plan for a "Best Of 2010-2015" and basically pit the top 5 of each year against each other to see which songs come out on top.

#12. INFINITE - Back (--)
Original: INFINITE - Back
Zero changes here. Infinite's "Back" was a reliable release with all the trademarks of the group in tow. Solid vocal showing from Sunggyu and Woohyun, and a dance performance that lives up to the Infinite name. In terms of the individual categories they all did well and came together well, too. There were some boy group songs competing for this spot (namely Block B's "Her") but at the end of the day the consistency of Infinite's track record proved stronger.

#11. Lovelyz - Goodnight Like Yesterday (NEW)
Original: Wheesung - Night & Day
Lovelyz kicks off five consecutive new entries to the 2014 list. Most of the songs that were replaced were ones that didn't have staying power, whether through the songs not being as good as initially interpreted, novelty wearing off, or a combination of those and other factors. "Goodnight Like Yesterday" is a premier ballad and helps out Jieun in that genre's representation. Soft soothing voices led by Kei make this a lullaby for the ages. The best part? "Destiny" showed that this wasn't a one-trick-wonder either, this style could be their bread and butter if they wanted.

[Misc] 4th Anniversary Post

On July 21st, 2012, I posted my first ever Kpop review of Wonder Girls' "Like This" on my Tumblr. At that point, I was about 3 years into my discovery of Kpop. Fast forward four more years, countless different "generations" of writing, and now we're in 2016 and the 7th iteration of reviews. It's always been an intriguing affair and I doubt I'll stop anytime soon. This blog has helped arch me away from the super fanboy phase (2011 to early 2013) and into a more standard consumer of Korean music, and that's pretty important. I can't keep hoping Taeyeon or Younha will marry me, heh.

I appreciate each and every one of you who take time to read my reviews, power rankings, etc. Writing about Kpop has and will continue to be a fun and awesome experience and I look forward to what the future holds, for both myself and Kpop. You the reader, the audience are part of the process, too. So thanks! Four years have passed, let's see how the next four years go! I've not got anything fancy so here's Taeyeon. :3

[Blog] The Soloist J-Trinity

Today is a short and light blog post that sort of doubles as a spotlight-esque article. We'll see how I feel about it and go from there if I have similar ideas in the future. We all know the J-Trinity that is Twice's Mina, Momo, and Sana. But there's another trio of J's who are nowhere near as popular or discovered, and that's a damn shame. These three are all underrated soloists that don't get anywhere near as much love as they deserve, for reasons (mostly) beyond my understanding.