[May 22, 2010] MBC Music Core Highlights + Commentary

I can't believe this is only my second MuCore recap - fate has not allowed me more! Ugh. Today's show was packed with comebacks and performances galore so let's get right to business, shall we?

Sound-wise MuCore was pretty decent - except for a few slip-ups with the system all the other problems came from the idols themselves. So there.


Credit for all the videos goes to CrazyCarrot220@YT.

CN Blue - Love + Black Flower
In the comments section of my recap for yesterday's MuBank there was a discussion running about how the guitars aren't plugged in so only the drums are playing live but then somebody argued that there could've been transmitters. I see the rationality of both arguments, but personally I'd have to side with the "only the drums are live" argument because knowing TV producers, it'd be difficult to have a bunch of dudes going crazy with live guitars in an environment like that - at least they think it is. One thing I find rather strange about the song is that for like 5 seconds there it's like they turn into TRAX - I'm like what??, complete with eyebrow raise. Oh well.

MBLAQ - Y
*sigh* Lazy singers, VERY lazy singers. If they had weak vocals but knew how to perform or had presence I'd consider, but they don't so I won't. They're too concerned with trying to look good on stage when one, they don't have the power to carry a performance just by standing there and two, their song isn't even that good. Sorry MBLAQ but until you learn how to perform AND sing at the SAME TIME, you won't be Rain 2.0.

Secret - Magic
I liked Secret today - tight performance. The girl who sings second has gotten surprisingly good - it's like all of a sudden she got technique, which is good, I just hope she'll be able to sustain it. Right now the only problem in Secret is that blonde girl's vocals - they have potential but she's not working on them so they're still weak.

f(x) - NU ABO
Wow, the sound engineer today must really hate f(x) - the sound got crap about 1 minute into the performance. That and Luna's middle 8 was a semi-EPIC FAIL - sorry Luna, I know you did it really well yesterday but today you were back to how you were last week.

4Minute - Who's Next (with BEAST) + HUH
I gotta say it - 4Minute know how to sell a song. There were a few iffy parts vocally but the performance was rather good today. But tell me MBC, what's the use of having clothes with touches of neon IF YOU DON'T TURN THE STAGE LIGHTS OFF? I was waiting for the lights to go off on the dance break or something but they didn't - why'd you make them wear spots of neon green and pink then? Ugh.

The Wonder Girls - 2 Different Tears
I dunno, I was too distracted by some of the strange styling to care too much about the performance today. Vocals were a bit iffy as well, and the backing track is just stupid, but they were OK. Not the best ever, but competent.

Rain - Hip Song
I saw him do this on one of the morning music shows and he was in a suit - you know, decent clothing? It was good. I may sound a bit superficial for saying this but I'm dead serious - wardrobe and styling affect a performance. I'm not saying everyone should be wearing formal clothes all the time or anything, but they should at least be soothing to the eyes, not painful and annoying, because people will spend more time criticizing clothes than they will the actual performance - that includes me, sadly. The performance was typical Rain - end of story.

Hyori - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Until Hyori adds something new to her performances, I'm bored to death. I'm sorry and I know a lot of you like the song and all but I've heard it too much - no more, please.

Gummy - As A Man
I missed Gummy yesterday - she's a breath of fresh air in a sea of sub-par idol group vocals and badly written/produced material. Gorgeous, gorgeous voice both live and recorded and the song may be a little sappy or whatnot but it's nice and sweet - it's a pop song.

2PM - Without U
What's with all the glow-in-the-dark outfits today? 4Minute, f(x) and now 2PM? Surprisingly, their vocals are getting a bit better considering that I've never really thought highly of them in the vocal department. They're strong, at least the ones who aren't miming. WAIT WAIT WAIT - where's Junsu? OK ANYWAY.

Super Junior - Bonamana
Siwon was miming - I wonder why. Does the sound engineer not realize that the reason why backing tracks are called backing tracks is because they're supposed to be behind the live vocals - you know, SOFTER? UGH. You can hardly hear any of their live vocal's 'coz they're being drowned by the BACKing track. I find myself STILL playing this song even it's been weeks since it came out - that's a good thing.

I'll be out tomorrow night, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to write up a recap for SBS Inkigayo - I will, however, be home in the morning so I might put out a few reviews if I feel like it. The posts will come when they come.

[May 21, 2010] KBS Music Bank Highlights + Commentary

Apologies for being MIA this week - I was so busy with review classes that when I got home I was too tired to even think, which is why I felt like I was gonna go crazy if I didn't write today. Hence, my review of the new Wonder Girls single AND today's MuBank commentary.

Quite a number of comebacks today, but all the acts had already performed on Mnet Countdown yesterday because none of them were from SME (long story) so technically today wasn't the first time they all performed their singles. I don't wanna do a recap of Mnet M!Countdown because I'm freaking out already with the 3 music shows, what more if I add.

I also noticed that a lot of the bigger artists used hand-held mics instead of hands-free ones. Usually hand-held mics sound better so yay. Although I'm not used to some of these idols actually holding mics anymore. Oh well.

Once again, YT credit for all videos goes to UnknownCarrot110.

CN Blue - Love + Sweet Holiday
The producers of MuBank committed a very, VERY grave crime with CN Blue today. Well at least it's grave for me. WHO THE CRAP OSTRACIZED THE DRUMMER TO A TINY LITTLE CORNER ON STAGE? That's just stupid - the 3 other guys have to actually HEAR the drummer because he lays down the foundations of a song. He lays down the tempo, the feel and the way the song flows AND YOU THANK HIM BY PUTTING HIM IN A CORNER? I know it was just for one song when they sang two but still. UGH. However I think I have new-found respect for CN Blue because I'm 90% sure that they're playing live - I hear hints of live drums here and there when it's not drowned out by fancy guitar lines. I hear wood clanking on metal. Yayyyyyyyy.

MBLAQ - Y
I won't deny the fact that MBLAQ have improved A LOT since their crappy Oh Yeah days, but their material is still generic as hell and they're still not the best singers in the world. In reality, I find their vocals very lazy - the reason why it's like they're going out of tempo is because they don't sing with conviction, their vocals have no kick. Their vocals are stronger than before, but now they lack kick. I mean a lot of pop singers lack soul, but at least some of them have kick in their vocals - they don't make it sound like the song's being forced upon them. Rain is trying way too hard to make MBLAQ 5 Rain clones music-wise but he has to understand that there's only one of him - that his ability to perform even without the best voice in the world is something he can't just tell 5 random guys to do. The 5 guys have their own style, and they'll learn that as time passes, but if Rain keeps pushing songs that could've been for him, they won't get anywhere. I'll expand on this once I whip up my review - hopefully by tomorrow morning.

f(x) - NU ABO
Their live vocals are getting better, and Luna's middle 8 is starting to sound fantastic - atta girl. I'm still not sold on the song as a whole though - f(x) have A LOT to prove to me in the coming months/years, but this performance was relatively good.

4Minute - Who's Next (with BEAST) + HUH
That's it, I'm writing a review for this single too, that makes 2 reviews to write tomorrow morning. GREAT. I like how BEAST kinda "passed on the Cube torch" or whatever at the beginning, and that track has grown on me. I'll save a lot of my observations on Huh for my review and just focus on the performance first - once I've said my piece by tomorrow, I can start ranting here. One thing I noticed about Cube idol groups, namely BEAST and 4Minute, is that when they're actually singing live, they're pretty good performers. These 2 bands know how to sell a song and they both started out kinda bleh in terms of performance but they've learned and grown - that's what's important. They tweaked their sound a bit, but I can still tell that it's from Cube, there's a certain combination of the instrumental and the melodies and the vocals that makes this entire package look, sound and feel very much like something Cube Entertainment would do. They've got a long way to go performance-wise, but hopefully by the time they're halfway into promo it'll get better.

The Wonder Girls - 2 Different Tears
One thing I like about never bothering to learn their names is the fact that I'm not biased when it comes to their vocals. The girl who did the hook at the start is really good, and I mean REALLY good, but the girl who did the first verse is very lazy - her runs at the end of lines were sloppy and her nasal-ness can get a bit irritating. The one doing the bridge is OK, but one line alone isn't enough to gauge if the nasal-ness is good or bad. The girl singing the so I hate you.... part has weak vocals, but a lot of potential - with a little technique I might just like her vocals.

Rain - Hip Song
The fanchants made this performance. I mean yeah Rain sang a bit more than usual but I still hate his wardrobe - it's irritating. Rain does what he does best on this performance and that is command an audience into thinking he's the best thing since anything, which is probably is.

Hyori - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
*sigh* When's she wrapping up promo? I hope she does soon. She isn't doing anything different to amuse us anymore, so I'm bored for like a gazillionth week in a row.

2PM - Without U
2PM are starting to bore me as much as Hyori now, I'm sorry. With Wooyoung, my favorite voice, lip-syncing his parts, I have nothing to get excited about anymore. They're good performers, yeah, but the song bores me now. Oh well.

Super Junior - Bonamana (WINNER)
SuJu score their first win on Music Bank today, and I have to admit that it was deserved - even if it's against my "beliefs" or whatever, I can't stop listening to it. Today's performance gained a few eyebrow raises from me in terms of their vocals, but SuJu aren't known for their strong vocals so today was a pass. The performance was tight and a lot more lively than the recorded version, and the vocals were comfortable. Not necessarily strong, but comfortable. Although I am surprised that Heechul sounded pretty good today. No magic trick during Donghae's line, I believe he did it earlier during an interview and gave the rose to the girl host.

So there you go, the weekend of comebacks is just beginning. Over the weekend I'll be reviewing 4Minute's HUH, MBLAQ's Y, a few of the World Cup songs and possibly the new Kylie single, POSSIBLY. That plus a recaps of MBC Music Core and SBS Inkigayo - that's a lot of posts! Well I gotta make up for the 4 days I was MIA.

[May 16, 2010] SBS Inkigayo Highlights + Commentary

Apologies for my absence for yesterday's Music Core recap, but I was at a resort in the mountains staring at orange and blue skies with stars scattered around and lounging around taking in the 17-degree temperature all day while you guys back in Metro Manila were melting in 30+-degree heat. Not bad, eh? I thought so. I wanted to show you guys some pictures, but I'm far too lazy to move them from my camera to my computer. Maybe next time - for now let's just get on with today's recap.

Never did I think I'd see the day (well since I started writing recaps) when Inkigayo would have decent sound. Not great, but better than usual - MuBank still has the best sound for me. We say hello to Davichi and Super Junior but goodbye to BEAST.

Credit for all videos goes to the fantastic CrazyCarrot310@YT.

f(x) - NU ABO

The only thing I actually take notice of when I watch f(x)'s performance now is Luna's middle 8. Of course I listen to the other parts and all, but I pay attention to that middle 8 in particular for the simple reason that it's the only part worth watching for me. Luna did it impeccably today - probably the best she's ever done. The middle 8 was nicely delivered and the high note wasn't off - yay.

BEAST - Special

BEAST ended promotions for their second mini-album Shock of the New Era today, and I'm impressed. When they debuted I named them better than their then competition MBLAQ, and I still think they are - better vocals, better material. I watched their debut performance after I saw this and they really have turned into true performers - they've got decent material, they tried some harmonies here and there and they've gotten more confident on stage, you can see that they have good group dynamics and they're comfortable with not only the stage but each other. Seriously, all they have to do is give me one drop-dead-gorgeous single and I'll be all over it.

After School - Bang!

Someone please fire the cameraman today - he's making my headache horrid. Their vocals were good today - probably the best they've ever been since the start of promotions. The two girls were actually singing, Gahee sounded nasal but her vocals were decent, that girl in the pony tail was OK and except for the fact that her high note at the end made my head throb, Raina was good today too. Maybe a few more voice lessons and some intense technique sessions? That should do, they're capable of it after all.

Davichi - Time, Please Stop

Davichi - gorgeous voices. The girl doing the verses was a little shaky at the start, but the second verse was a lot better. The chorus was very scream-y, but it fits the song - their vocals during the higher parts were brilliant and the harmony part (I just heard one!) was pretty. Here we go again with the fake band though. Ugh. Props?

Rain - Hip Song

Fanchants make Rain's perfomances - that accounts for about half of their outstanding-ness (LOL), but today's chants weren't as loud as one of his earlier performances on Music Bank. It's also with his performances of Hip Song that the importance of decent outfits really sinks in - I liked it when he was doing it a few weeks ago but the change of outfits just made me go "bleh". As a performance it was good though, as Rain's performances always are.

Hyori - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

I'm still bored with Hyori - there's only a certain number of times I can see this song performed live before I start losing interest, and Hyori has exceeded that limit. I saw her duet with Daesung yesterday morning before I left for the mountains (LOL) and I was all over it, still am - Hyori needs to give me something new with her performances, and by that I mean a new song. Oh well. Her vocals were so-so today, not bad but not spectacular.

Gummy - As a Man

Gummy seemed a lot more comfortable today, as if she wasn't already comfortable during the previous performances, but the sound engineer still can't seem to understand the meaning of TURN DOWN THE BACKING TRACK. Oh well, at least she sounds OK. Stellar vocals, good stage presence and a decent sound system make for a brilliant performance.

Super Junior - Boom Boom + Bonamana

I hate to admit it but they actually did relatively well with Boom Boom today. I wouldn't call it a spectacular performance but considering that they don't exactly pwn anyone when it come to live vocals, they did well today. Kyuhyun started it out strong, Donghae surprised me yet again with his now-existent live vocals, Sungmin was competent and Ryeowook did what he always does. Heechul's line was far too backing track-ed for my liking but his really short line at the end was OK. What kinda disappointed me though was the rather bad performance of Bonamana. Siwon still can't sing live, Heechul's vocals sounded weak and what surprised me the most was the fact that you could hardly hear Kyuhyun or Yesung - I once again blame the engineer. It's not the mics since they brought their own today (or SM did), it's the mixing and rendering of the vocals which is the engineer's main responsibility while the performance is going on. The backing track still pisses me off and the camera angles made my head ache a bit. However even if there are a gazillion people on stage in boyband language, it didn't seem like it - that's what separates Super Junior from the other bigger bands like ZE:A, their group dynamic. They looked like one single unit today and that's the foundation of an entire group's performance - everything else can be learned and acquired with time and practice.

2PM - Without U (WINNER)

And 2PM win again today - they haven't won a triple crown yet, right? *sigh* I'm bored with this song too, but then again I never thought it was any good when I first heard it. Their vocals were surprisingly relatively good as well, like a lot of other acts, and the performance as a whole was tight. I guess they do deserve the win today.

That wraps up this week's incomplete music show recaps - apologies for the second week without an MBC Music Core recap. Catch me this Friday for a live tweet+recap of KBS Music Bank!

[May 14, 2010] KBS Music Bank Highlights + Commentary

This week's Music Bank was rather entertaining, actually. Comebacks from Gummy, Lee Jung Hyun, Davichi and Super Junior plus almost everyone else who was on last week. Hope you all enjoyed my live tweet a few hours back!

At least Music Bank has a decent sound engineer. I wouldn't say he/she's good, but the vocals weren't drowned by super loud backing tracks or strangled by crappy microphones. And the cameraman has improved too. Yayyyy. Credit for all the videos goes to UnknownCarrot110@YT. Brilliance. Again.

Secret - Magic

Once again, we get another consistent performance from the girls today. The blonde girl was slightly better too, although still a bit bleh - I now hail her the Sandara of Secret, with a bit more talent. But seriously, at the rate Secret are going, I'm tempted to write a vocal commentary - maybe in a few weeks once I get used to doing these music show recaps. So much to write, so little time. Oh well.

f(x) - NU ABO

I'm still not convinced. I'm sorry, I just don't like the song. However their vocals sound very comfortable this week and Luna's middle 8 was good - her high note was a bit off though. Amber's vocal was cut, didn't notice it until I saw someone say it on Twitter. Oh well. NEXT.

After School - Bang!

After School were a lot better today as well. If it wasn't for Raina's slip during the middle 8, they would've pulled the entire song off pretty decently. The performance as a whole was tight and like I said, most of their vocals were relatively strong today, even Nana and the new girl. After School are slowly becoming my second favorite girl group - it's about time!

Lee Jung Hyun - Suspicious Man

It was my first time hearing of Lee Jung Hyun a while ago, and she reminded me of my beloved Robyn - she still does. The blonde hair, the similar hair style and a bit of the music since Robyn's Euro and this girl's going for a Euro-ish thing. Her vocals just annoy the hell out of me though - she's trying to sing a bit like Robyn but she can't. Like duh. I'll have to do my research/background check (LOL) on her soon if she's gonna hit the music shows regularly, so next time she performs I'll have more to say. Hopefully.

Davichi - Time, Please Stop

I LOVE Davichi, loved them last year with 8282, I still think they have gorgeous vocals and that the song is gorgeous but my conscience is telling me this is too much like 8282. Time, Please Stop is to 8282 kind of like how SuJu's Bonamana is to Sorry Sorry - similar elements, slightly different sound+melody. The band at the back just made me laugh, it's obvious they weren't really playing because I don't hear any real drums. I do like the fact that they're all girls though - yay! I still wanna spazz over their vocals though, outstanding.

Rain - Hip Song

So, no more stripping during Love Song, Rain's gonna be promoting this song from now until whenever. Ugh. I liked the old outfits for this better, the new ones remind me of what he wore when he was going around with Instead of Saying Goodbye like a gazillion years ago with the boxing gloves and all. Once again, you have to watch Rain to know how good he is - I tried just listening to him when I was watching the live broadcast and I wasn't impressed but watching it back on YT, the performance was actually pretty good. Wardrobe aside, of course.

Hyori - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

I'm bored with this song now, I'm sorry. ALTHOUGH, the one good thing that Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has brought upon this world is the fact that I am in the process of converting Adem to kpop-ism using this song. *fist pump* I'm glad she's lost all the wigs and horrid-looking outfits though - she looks a lot more decent today.

Gummy - As a Man

We finally get a better sound system for Gummy and she doesn't sing There Is No Love??!? Whyyyyyyyyyyyy. Her vocals on the first verse were a little bleh, it's obvious she didn't warm up or anything before she started 'coz by the bridge her vocals were brilliant and by the chorus they were spectacular. LOVED this week's performance - Gummy's now probably my favorite female solo artist along with Lyn.

Super Junior - Boom Boom + Bonamana

Well well well, it's Super Junior. I miss Han Kyung. *pouts* I was rather surprised with everyone's vocals today as they seem to have improved since we last heard them live - that only means that my vocal commentary is now back to only having an intro because their voices have changed (rather late) and I have to take down a completely new set of notes for all of them. Donghae's gotten better and singing live (FINALLY!), Ryeowook no longer sounds like that much of a girl, Heechul can actually sing now, but Siwon still sucks live. One observation about the song that I only noticed now - Kyuhyun's not singing in the correct range/octave for 3/4 of his line in the first verse, it's too low. That and the backing track to Bonamana annoyed me with that robotic whatever under the vocals. Ugh. The performance today was pretty strong though - still don't think the song's any good, but I will enjoy watching the performances. Something to look forward to for the next few weeks.

2PM - Without U (WINNER)

So Junsu's still injured, Wooyoung's still miming. Oh well. The performance today was tight, vocals were pretty OK. I knew they would win from the very start of the show. I mean, they were against December (was it December?) - duh.

Please note that there will be no recap for tomorrow's MBC Music Core because I'll be out of town until Sunday afternoon - will be back in time for SBS Inkigayo though. Yayyy.

[May 9, 2010] SBS Inkigayo Highlights + Commentary

Before we get to today's Inkigayo recap, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAYYYYYYY! Weeehee. OK moving on.

Last week I stressed the fact that the Inkigayo sound engineer must be fired and burned in hell for his crimes last week. He should be for this week's crimes too, the sound today was even worse than yesterday's MuCore. BOO.

YT credit goes to UnknownCarrot300. *bows down* Apart from the Gummy vids which are courtesy of the equally brilliant CodeMonMonMixes.

ZE:A - All Day Long

Someone has to go teach this engineer how to TURN THE BACKING TRACK VOLUMES DOWN. You know, SOFTER? The track on this performance was so loud, you'd think the boys were miming 70% of the song when they actually only usually mime around 30%. I heard traces of live singing on a few parts, but if you were casually listening to the song, the backing track is loud enough that it literally drowsn their vocals.

Secret - Magic

Just for this performance, someone PLEASE fire the cameraman along with the sound engineer. ALTHOUGH, Secret seem to be one of the two groups least-affected by the curse of the stupid sound engineer (we'll get to the other one later), maybe because a lot of the performance used pre-recorded lines, but maybe because they may actually have enough vocal ability to carry themselves. IF they can make those vocals into fantastic performing packages, they may possibly stick around for longer than I first thought they would. That and the rapper is quite a good singer, reminds me a bit of how CL 2NE1 can sing too, but she's not as good as CL yet. I'd give it some time.

B2ST - Special

Right now I'd very much like to fly to Korea, hunt down the SBS sound engineer, scream at him/her, cut off his/her fingers and ears, then watch him/her die a painfully slow death. Seriously, does the engineer even have ears? B2ST sounded crap today because of those stupid hands-free AND hand held mics - if it was just the hands-free ones I'd kinda forgive him since they're always a problem but even the hand held ones sounded crap! Although if you listen carefully their vocals weren't at their best, but that doesn't excuse the sound engineer from crimes of crap sound. AJ doesn't have a very nice voice to start with and the sound today made it worse, heck it even made Yoseob sound bad, and he's pretty good! BOO. (to the engineer, not B2ST - they were fine.)

f(x) - NU ABO

Let's put it this way - the only person who was affected by the crap sound today was Luna, because she had to actually sing without a lot of backing when she did the middle 8. It sounded held back, soft, and she didn't really hit some of the higher notes right. The rest of the performance was bleh. NEXT ACT.

U-Kiss - Mworago

Just when I thought ZE:A's vocals were drowned, looks like I hadn't heard U-Kiss yet. UGH. Heck, even that blonde dude (sorry, don't know his name) sounded like he was miming, and in the past performances he was supposed to be the one who could sing. I just hop for everyone's sanity that the engineer dies a very painful death one day.

After School - Bang!

The other group who sounded pretty good today were After School - does the engineer favor the two groups? Ugh, just like the MuCore engineer - playing favorites. Although After School sounding good today might be a blessing in disguise, their vocals are really getting better and better. The middle 8 was still a FAIL vocally and there were parts heavily backed-up by the recording, but most of the vocals were quite good if you compare it to their past performances.

2PM - Without U

OK so some of the comments for yesterday's MuCore recap said that Wooyoung has vocal chord nodules, which is why he's miming so OK, he's forgiven. But why's Junho (Junho? not sure about the names.) miming too? Please don't tell me there's a nodule outbreak within 2PM. (just joking, it's not contagious. At least the one I know of) Other than that and the fact that Junsu apparently hurt his knee, there really isn't anything else to talk about. Their vocals were consistent with yesterday's more comfortable ones, and the performance was OK.

Rain - Love Song

Compared to everyone else, Rain sounded pretty OK today. I mean, the Inkigayo sound engineer didn't let him off sounding bad just because he's Rain, but at leaast the mic wasn't shaky - because he brought his own. Lesson learned idols, if you wanna sound even the least bit better on Inki, bring your own microphones.

Gummy - There Is No Love + As a Man

Can I resurrect the engineer and kill him/her again just so he/she gets the right punishment? Seriously, who turns up the backing track to the same level of the vocals of someone who can actually sing? Stupidity. You can still hear traces of her live vocals when the backing track's on but because they're at the same level, the live and recorded vocals mix and you have to listen even more carefully to actually hear it. Her vocals were a bit lazy today at some parts, but she was consistent for most of the performance(s). I've noticed this even as early as yesterday but I didn't say it because I thought it was just a one-off mistake - Gummy's having some tempo problems during the first verse of There Is No Love. It's nothing serious, like she's missing the instrumental by one one-hundredth of a second, but to a trained ear and/or someone who's tempo-perfect (me) it's very obvious. She could be doing some of it on purpose though.

Hyori - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang(WINNER - TRIPLE CROWN)

Before I start the commentary, WHAT THE CRAP IS SHE WEARING?!?! OK on to busines. The engineer finally figured out how to turn down the backing tracks, just a teensy bit for Hyori, sice she's Hyori and all. Ugh. Today's Hyori performance was Hyori, that's all I have to say about it. And now that she's won her triple crown, I wonder who's gonna win next week. Hmm.

Well that wraps up this week's music show recaps - will be announcing via Twitter whether or not I'm doing a live Tweet for KBS Music Bank on Friday at 5:30 PM Philippine Time, so if you aren't already, follow me. Once again, live Tweets will span the entire show, but recaps will only feature idols. If you're watching too, don't hesitate to tweet me - I want multiple discussions running while it's on, OK? OK.

[May 8, 2010] MBC Music Core - Highlights + Commentary

I didn't get to do a recap of Music Core last week because I did my recap of KBS Music Bank this time last week. But I'm doing it now so here it is. Music Core is MBC's counterpart to Music Bank and Inkigayo, and it's emcee-d by SNSD's Tiffany and Yuri - ooooohhh. LOL. Read on for highlights of today's episode.

Today's commentary will mainly revolve around one thing - the crap sound system and how the engineer of today's show should be fired along with the engineer for SBS Inkigayo and the cameraman for KBS Music Bank. Burning them in hell and torturing them is optional, but recommended. Other than that, you'll have to read the recap!

Credit for all the videos goes to the brilliant UnknownCarrot220@YT - just as brilliant as CodeMonMon. Performances are in no particular order.

ZE:A - All Day Long

Apart from the still-bad group dynamics and the horrid hair+wardrobe, ZE:A were pretty OK today. The vocals were good, the performance as a whole was tight. When they first debuted I thought they were a lost cause - their material sucked, they didn't have any group dynamics and their vocals weren't at their best - but look at them now, it's a lot better than what they were back when they debuted. They managed to fix the bad material thing, and although the song's still generic, it's decent - if they can fix that within the span of one single, then they might still have potential. We'll see.

Secret - Magic

I still don't like the song, but Secret are slowly growing into performers - they have the ability, they just need the practice. There's a word for that in Filipino and I like how it sounds - "bihasa" (pronounced "Beeh-ha-sah"). It means "practiced" or "able", and I think it perfectly describes what they're slowly but surely approaching. They just need better material and more time - they might even grow into good songwriters if they're exposed to enough music.

B2ST - Special

I'm liking B2ST now. Not A LOT, but I don't hate them so that's a good sign. Their vocals are getting stronger, their performances tight, and they really look like they're selling the song. I'll be interested to see them face-off with MBLAQ again once they come back - it'll be fun to see how these 2 bands have grown. And it's got nothing to do with the performance today, but I saw their stint on last Thursday's mnet Countdown and you gotta hand it to them for TRYING harmonies. They weren't exactly the best, but the simple fact that they tried has got even a small part of respect from me. If they ever pursue the harmonies and actually manage to do them well, I might fall in love. For now though, this is all we have to work with. It's OK.

f(x) - NU ABO

I. Hate. This. Song. Seriously. I've tried, I really have, but I can't stand it. Once again, songs like these aren't really meant for singing which really pisses me off. Although I've got to admit, their performance as a whole today was a lot better than yesterday. And Luna, THAT'S MORE LIKE IT - the middle-8 and the adlib at the end were pulled-off a lot better, and her vocals were great today. A few problems with the mic, which didn't happen in MuBank yesterday, but other than that as a performance this was OK.

After School - Bang!

I think I know one of the reasons why After School's vocals have gotten better - it's because UEE isn't there. Right. Moving on now. Their performances are getting better and better - the vocals, the stage presence, everything is just falling into place more than it was before. The 2 girls singing the "duet" lines are getting a lot better too - stronger vocals today and they were singing all the right notes which is good. They still can't pull off the middle 8, but pulling off the verses is a good start. Yayyyy.

SNSD - Run Devil Run

What do you get when you mix SNSD's far from amazing vocals with a crap sound system and horrid mics? A disastrous last performance of RDR. *sigh* The girls aren't the best singers in the world to start with, then their mics failed on them - it's like the only one who had a decent mic was Seohyun! Does the engineer over at MBC like her or something? ooooohhh. Even if the performance as a whole was really ruined by the crap mics, they we're OK. I wish they would've ended promotions with decent vocals though. Oh well.

2PM - Without U

Surprisingly, some of their vocals are getting better - like a lot of acts they're warming up to performing. They're still not the best thing since anything, but there are some of them who are iff-y. HOLD ON. Did Wooyoung just mime that middle 8? It sure sounded like he did. Uh-oh, I take back what I said if he did - dammit. You know I hate miming. Oh well.

Hyori - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Here we go again - Hyori, please stop trying to go all GaGa on us, it's not working. OK maybe it is for everyone else, but it isn't for me. The sound was still crap, Hyori's vocals weren't exactly in top form today, and on top of that what the crap was everyone wearing? It was distracting. The GaGa-esque get-up isn't working for me, I'm afraid. Try again, Hyori.

Rain - Love Song

Rain was nothing special today - the crap sound made his vocals sound hoarse and there was no special whatever. The performance was standard Rain, but standard Rain is damn good. That's basically it.

Gummy - There Is No Love + Because Of You + As a Man

If all idol singers had live vocals at Gummy's level, the world would be a much better place. But they don't so it isn't, and Gummy is one of a kind. Which is fine with me because it just goes to show exactly why YG didn't dump into an idol group. I'm not saying that ALL idol groups suck, but you get my point right? Right. She doesn't need theatrics to carry a performance even if she does have backup dancers - her voice is her performance and that's the way it should be for everyone. Gorgeous voice, brilliant performance - I can die happy now.

[May 7, 2010] KBS Music Bank Highlights + Commentary

OK. Just a little addition to this entire "korean music show recap" thing - a few hours before Music Bank starts I'll be announcing whether or not I'm doing a live tweet on my account, since the show's broadcast simultaneously on KBS World here. If I am, you guys are welcome to @reply me your thoughts and stuff, would be nice to talk to everyone and get more opinions on the show! It'll help me think of stuff to write here as well. OK, let's get to business.

Today's Music Bank was rather good in terms of performance, actually. For some reason almost all the idols sounded good, or decent at the very least. There were performances that really stood out, and performances that were a bit bleh. Credit for all videos goes to CodeMonmonMixes - brilliant to the gazillionth power.

ZE:A - All Day Long

OK. So here we go again with ZE:A - I still have the same problem. It's not so much that there ARE too many guys on stage because SuJu's like 4 members more than them, it's that they don't have a good sense of teamwork and whatnot - they don't LOOK like one cohesive unit. If they did, 9 guys on stage wouldn't be a lot. Their vocals today were quite OK though - nothing to rave about, but they were consistent and at times, good. All in all I'd say it's a PASS this week.

Secret - Magic

Over the past few performances of this song I've been quite convinced that yes, their vocals may be competent but they've still got a heck of a lot to work on - they have the foundations of good singers, the voice, but they don't have all the technique and style to back it up. Today I was rather surprised at their vocals, because they were a lot better than they were last week - it's like the nasal and strained qualities were significantly lessened. If they keep this up, they could possibly be one of the most vocally-strong idol girl groups we've had in a while.

B2ST - Special

OK so apart from the fact that they were in suits today and I fall for anyone in nicely-tailored suits, B2ST were pretty good today - mainly because their vocals were rather good. They didn't sound like they came straight out of the recording, but they've had worse days, so today's performance was good. See? When the vocals are good, everything else about the performance will fall into place. Once again, I know nothing about dance, so I can't really say anything about the choreography apart from the fact that I found some parts a bit strange. Dunno.

f(x) - NU ABO

*sigh* I've tried, f(x), I really have, and I had this tiny little spark of hope that their performance would be strong enough to make the song sound good, but it wasn't. The performance was good alone, it made the song sound better than it was on the recording - better, but not good. Everyone's chanting and whatnot was a little "hinihingal" in Filipino, which means they sound like they're out of breath most of the time, Luna's middle 8 was a bit sloppy and her high note was a bit off, but I'll forgive them for everything since it's their comeback, even if they're supposed to be at the top of their game. From what they've done today, the performance will never be able to carry the song and make it good, but their performances have the potential to get better and better. We'll see.

After School - Bang!

Even After School sounded good today! Seriously. The vocals were still on the nasal side, but they were stronger and sounded more effortless today. Goes to show that they could actually become better singers! Like I said, all Pledis has to do is have the useless members "graduate" and add maybe 2 or 3 girls who can actually sing. As usual their performance was solid, no significant slips, plus their costumes today looked very nice on stage.

Hyori - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Hyori performed rather early today, hmm. I quite like the set design today, it's clean and "tasteful" - lots of white lines. Her vocals were strong today, and once again she has a gazillion backup dancers, but there insn't anything else to say about it, really. It's Hyori. That's it.

Rain - Love Song

Just one song each from the top 3 today - Rain did his stripping and mic-stand kicking song. Just a glittering suit today - doesn't light up like last week's. Like a few of the acts today, his vocals are getting much more comfortable on stage. You can't just listen to Rain though, because if you close your eyes or switch the tab he sounds like any run of the mill solo idol - when you see how he moves and how he sings, that's where he pwns everyone else.

2PM - Without U (WINNER)

2PM seem a lot more comfortable as well. Still not a big fan or them, the song or their performances, but they were OK. Their vocals are still off but not as off as they were last week and I'm actually surprised that they won, but whatever.

I will only be doing live tweets for KBS Music Bank, so only expect a recap of MBC Music Core tomorrow night! Yayyyy.

[May 2, 2010] SBS Inkigayo Highlights + Commentary

I'm back with another recap tonight, this time for the last music show of the weekend - SBS Inkigayo. (directly translate it means Popular Song) yayyyyyy.

If MuBank has 3 "nominees" for the top spot, otherwise known as the top 3 of the week, Inkigayo or Inki as I call it has what we call "Take 7", which is essentially the top 7 of the week. The show also has a limit as to how many times an artist can win with a certain single/song - if you win the maximum amount of times you win what is called a "triple crown", meaning one single can only win the show/chart thrice.


Since the show has essentially the same performers as MuBank except for a few changes, I'll follow a similar order. Also, Epik High performed today but I won't include them as I know nothing about rap/hip-hop. Aish, let's just get on with it. Video credits go to the brilliant CodeMonmonMixes@YT unless stated otherwise.

F.Cuz - No One

OK. F.Cuz, again. Their performance today was so-so - the vocals were OK but they were just drowned out by the backing tracks 70% of the time so I can't really get a lot from the raw vocals. I noticed, this song just goes on and on and on and on and refuses to stop - in the worse possible way. Seriously. It's not like Sorry Sorry that gets stuck and you HAVE to hum it, this is just annoying.

YT: UnknownCarrot300

U-Kiss - Mworago

The performance today was tight. Again with the backing track ruling majority of the song but you can tell that some of the guys in the band can really or remotely sing/hold a melody. Tight performance, group dynamics in check, and a few questionable wardrobes are all present. Oh, and Dongho looks like a 3 year-old today. I'm sorry.

YT: UnknownCarrot300

BEAST - Shock

I missed BEAST, I really did. Their vocals today weren't very good and the backing track started to piss me off by the chorus but the song makes up for it. A bit. It still has hints of being cheap-ish, which I hope they lose once they get a bit more famous, but the production is superior to that of the boybands in their league. That and they're pretty good performers, actually. I just hate the cameraman today as well - he has GOT to learn how to hold the thing still. aish.

2AM - I Did Wrong

This is 2AM's last performance of I Did Wrong, so I assume they're expected to do damn well. I wouldn't say the vocals today were spot on because they were far from that, but compared to a lot of the other acts today they were definitely superior. And the short break before everything explodes a bit was done quite well. The backup dancers are really strange, but over-all it was a good performance. Good vocals make for most of a good performance.

After School - Bang!

Ah yes, After School. Still loving the song with the straight-up rhythm section and all, but the costumes today just distracted me. What the crap are those two THINGS near their necks? But that aside, their vocals today are still bleh, probably more than MuBank last Friday, but they still know how to perform. Good performers + bad vocals = not that good performance. I'm sorry, but this is music and you have to get the music part down as good as, if not better, than the performance part. Just a bit more, maybe a few graduations and a few new members who can sing?

SNSD - Oh!+Run Devil Run

OK, I won't talk about Oh! anymore because I just can't stand it. No more. It's crap and I'll leave it that that. The mics today were crap too - their already sub-par vocals were hardly audible, I'd preferred them to be audible, no matter how crap they are. Bunch of scaredy cats - the sound engineers, not the girls. The performance as a whole was decent - nothing to rave about, nothing to bash (other than what I've already said). Oh, and I like Yoona's dress today. hahah.

2PM - Don't Stop Can't Stop+Without U

2PM's comeback on Inki today wasn't really any different from the others - cages, warehouse-ish thing, pseudo-stripping, some acting here and there, dancing, mostly bad live singing, rapping, rapping and more rapping. The hooks were a bit, I heard more fan chants and screams today and the explosion of rain was pretty nifty but they're not really convincing me at this point and I don't think they ever will. That's life I guess.

Rain - Love Song

And the award for the most guyliner and mascara in one sitting goes to... none other than Rain. Dude, you look great without it, why bother? But anyway. His vocals today are pretty decent, but he's always been a "pretty decent" singer anyway. And whoever the sound engineer was for today's show should be shot - everyone, including THE Rain (and we'll get to Hyori later), sounded like crap. If we're to talk about vocals alone he'd probably just pass, but as a performer he's very good. I know I said it already but he has a certain aura on stage and a mind-blowing command of it - listening to him on recordings are fine and live-able, but seeing him perform is just something else.

Hyori - I'm Back+Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (WINNER)

Hyori wins today's Inki and she won last week's too - triple crown next week? I like that she doesn't just stick to the same pre-single performance then the single with varying outfits - the pre-single stuff change and she really jazzes things up, makes an effort. The dance breaks today, even if I know nothing about dance, were smoothly done on the music-side, and her vocals may have been crap but I think everyone's were. FIRE THE ENGINEER! I personally don't like her choice of wardrobe and her over-all style 'coz it's not my taste and I think she's trying too hard to be GaGa 70% of the time, but it does look like something she'd do, based on her previous stuff, and she sells it so what the heck.

Next week I'll be doing recaps of all 3 music shows - Music Bank, Music Core and Inkigayo. Yayyy!

[April 30, 2010] KBS Music Bank Highlights + Commentary

Everyone's been saying that May's the month of comebacks for kpop - f(x), SS501, Super Junior, 2PM, Rain and Hyori have all released new singles or have confirmed new releases within the month. Therefore, I think it's time PRN ventured into another part of the Korean pop industry - the music shows.

For those who may not know, weekly music shows in Korea are a big deal. The 3 biggest TV networks in the country all have their weekly offerings of music and all major artists perform there on a weekly basis - you're a star, you perform there. The end goal of all these music shows is to crown a "winner", the number one single+artist of the week based on each network's "formula" and data - sales records, online streaming statistics, the list goes on. Winning one of these is also a big deal, as it means you're successful enough to garner thousands, sometimes even tens of thousands, of "points".

The three major music show's I'll be recaping over the next few weeks are - KBS Music Bank (Friday), MBC Music Core (Saturday) and SBS Inkigayo (Sunday). SO I'll start, with a rather late recap of yesterday's KBS Music Bank. I don't think I'll be doing a recap of MuCore this week, but I'll whip something up for Inki. I won't be writing about everything because I'm not familiar with some of the acts - this recap will focus on idols. Credit for all the YT videos goes to 360kpopHDperf@YT, unless stated otherwise.

F.Cuz - No One

I've got to say it, but F.Cuz were pretty decent today. I mean their song's generic as hell, so last year in terms of auto-tune style and catchy-ness plus it's not exactly the best thing since anything, but their vocals were competent and the performance was OK. For a new band they look like they're really selling the song, even if most of it is just plain boring. I'll give them maybe 2 more singles before they get possibly good?

ZE:A - All Day Long

The song's actually pretty good if you take into consideration how their competition (F.Cuz) is doing. My only problem is that it still looks like there're way too many guys on stage - their dynamics haven't changed since their horrid Mazeltov days and I'm not liking it. Either they need to change their choreographer or lock themselves in a room for 24 hours because it's clear that they don't look like they're working well together. Apart from that, their vocals are pretty decent. Not as good as I'd like, but competent. Off topic though, but who the crap is that guy in lab goggles? LOL.

U-Kiss - Mworago

OK. So straight off promoting around Asia (including the Philippines), U-Kiss are back in Korea. Right. As performers, I think they're damn good - the vocals are strong even if I think there're only like 3 people taking most of the parts, probably because they've been doing this for a while now. The song though is a bit bleh for me. I know it's catchy as hell and all, but some of it just sounds cheap (Don't kill me! I have a few KissMe friends too!) - in defense, it sounds like a hit. AND they have good group dynamics, unlike ZE:A. The performance could've been better, but I can settle for this.

cr: s0shikim@YT

Secret - Magic

Secret have turned into quite the performers, eh? I'm not sold on the song, but it definitely sounds and feels much better live - that's good. Their vocals are pretty good for a new idol group, and the verses were very well-delivered, except for some nasal parts. Not a big fan of the choreography, but then again what do I know about dancing? The cameraman was really annoying though, maybe that's why I had a horrid migraine last night.

OK, enough of the smaller idol groups, time for the heavyweights.

After School - BANG!

I love After School now, I really do. I liked their outfits this week too. Vocals are still bleh like they've always been and it really brings down the over-all performance for me, but it was still near-fantastic. ALTHOUGH, they've improved this week, which is good. Look at it this way, if After School could sing live, they'd probably be my second favorite girl group, second only to CSJH who are like BRILLIANT.

2AM - I Did Wrong

Mel's new second favorite Korean boyband, I've taken quite a liking to 2AM. In fact, they're probably my second favorite boyband too! Vocals-wise they just WIN, but technique-wise I just with JYP would stop making them sing like him. They're not him for crap's sake and sometimes his singing style can get annoying. But other than that, I LOVED this week's performance. Brilliant vocals, like YEAH. JoKwon's in the running for my favorite voice.

SNSD - OH! + Run Devil Run

So it was the girls' 1000th day since their debut yesterday, and what did they celebrate it with? A performance of Oh! before Run Devil Run. Oh dear - I thought we were over this horrid phase of theirs. I know I kinda liked the song at first, but after hearing it live I grew to absolutely hate the song. Enough said. Run Devil Run was OK, competent, but nothing caught my eye. Their hair looked good today though, apart from Hyoyeon but when does she ever have nice hair? *sigh*

2PM - Don't Stop, Can't Stop + Without U

2PM's back. And they're true to their tag - the performance boyband. I wasn't sold on the song at first, still not completely convinced, but hoenstly that was a pretty good performance. Still lacking in the vocals part, they've always been, but they carried themselves pretty well. The rain throughout got kinda annoying a few minutes in, but it's OK. Once again, no ramblings about the rap because I know nothing about it. Case closed. That and why don't I heard a lot of fangirl screaming? I won't tolerate any anti-2PM ramblings or any of that crap because this is a fair and honest judgement of what I think of the PERFORMANCE and the PERFORMANCE alone. Don't bring issues outside of the performance into this, please.

Lee Hyori - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang + Bring It Back

Hyori. I liked the album and the performances are OK, but she just keeps on getting overshadowed by Rain. Her vocals have gotten better since U-Go-Girl, which is good, you can tell that the performances were thought of and well-prepared for and Hyori's command of the stage is just something else. What seems like a gazillion backup dancers were also employed for this performance. Even so, I'm sorry Hyori but Rain wins this battle. We'll get to him in next.

Rain - Love Song + Hip Song (WINNER)

RAINNNNNN. Why oh why does he have to make his comeback when I'm no longer a fan? Oh well. I said Hyori's command of the stage is something else, but Rain's command is just mind-blowing - you can't put it into words. I wasn't a HUGE fan of both songs when I heard the recorded versions but DAMN this just blows everyone else and even his recordings completely out of the water. It's not so much the choreography 'coz I know nothing about dancing, nor is it the stripping (LOL) OR his vocals since they're not really THAT good, bu like I said recently, it's the feeling you get when you watch a damn good live performance - your heart starts to race and your senses kick into overdrive. Music is half heard, half felt. AND the fanchants were SO DAMN LOUD.