Today's show was literally drowning in idol groups, though majority of them rookies/unknowns. Absent from the broadcast (at least who I'm aware of) were U-Kiss, BTOB, Stephanie (MY QUEEN) and 15&. Although big names like Secret, Ga In, T-Ara, Orange Caramel and DBSK were all in attendance. Like last week, DBSK's "Catch Me" failed to win today's show, losing to "Gangnam Style".
Video credit goes to shu35150510 and lokyan64 @ YT, other videos to follow.
84LY - "Girl Talk" I have no idea who some of these acts on today are, 84LY included. From the performance alone, which was lip-synched (BOO KBS), they remind me of Rania's "POP POP POP" era without the intensity and slightly more obvious class that Rania have (even if "POP POP POP" was super cheap). It's okay for what it is, but too generic wit nothing
A.cian - "Stuck" Another act I don't know, who have horrible vocals even if it's lip-synched. Yes, it's that bad. It's one thing to only sound good on a recording, but to sound painful on it? How that happened is beyond me. The instrumental is boring not because it's bare, but because the elements are generic when they need to cover up those horrible vocals more than anything. Horrid song, horrid vocals, sloppy performance. Who are these guys and why were they even let on stage?
BBde Girl - "Messing Around" Well, at least they're singing live? This string of bad unknown group performances continues though, because these girls sound so tired, making their already non-existent vocals even more painful. You know they're trying at least a bit, but their movements don't translate well on stage, neither do they look convincing.
Mr. Mr. - "Who's That Girl" This kind of rookie/unknown performance was more along the lines of what I was expecting from the previous acts. I mean it's not spectacular or anything and the song is pretty mediocre, but the vocals are stable where you'd expect them to be (slipping here and there, yeah) and they look convincing enough. It's just okay, but considering what came before, I'll take what I can get.
Be Bop - "offroad" Well, they look promising. Their vocals could use serious work, especially that guy in the red plaid shirt, but for once they actually look like they enjoy being on stage, which is something that's a lot harder to learn than vocal technique. It's a mediocre song, and their vocals are painful for half the performance, but the melody matches them, and manages to mask a bit of the pain on their voices. Not bad, not bad at all. I'll keep my eye on them.
EXID - "Every Night" Usually songs like "Every Night" tend to bore me, but surprisingly (even for me!), they managed to catch my attention with their performance. It's lip-synched and they aren't amazing performers, but they have presence. I'll be waiting for a real live performance.
Rania - "Style" I think it helps that I actually kind of enjoy the song (no matter how YG-generic it is), but this performance was pretty good. The vocals were as on-point as they could get for majority of the song, and the attitude was there. My only complaint though is that this performance lacked emotions in their movements -- they were dancing all the right things and they look enthusiastic, but the emotion wasn't there.
AOA - "Get Out" I still don't know how to feel about this song, whether I like it or not because it sounds like a DaVichi song-turned-drama OST sung by people from a gazillion other girl groups. And if they really did play the instruments in the recording, because you guys know how much I hate instruments being treated like props. (AND THE FAKE DRUMMER BEING SO FAR FROM EVERYONE AGAIN) It was a pretty boring performance, because no matter how the blonde girl emoted while lip-synching, they just don't have enough presence to just stand there while doing an uptempo and actually pull it off. Try again, AOA.
ChAOS - "Kiss Kiss" Just because you're smiling/smirking on stage, doesn't mean you're enthusiastic about the performance. The song is extremely generic, and their movements mirror that. NEXT.
100% - "Bad Guy" I remember listening to their debut release a few weeks ago, but the fact that it's a really vague memory should mean that it was't that good. The performance has put things into perspective for me though, and it's not half bad! They're clearly pretty okay performers, their group dynamic is great for a group this new, and are they singing live? I can't tell (!!). Because if they are, those are some pretty strong vocals.
SPICA - "I'll Be There" After all the mediocre groups that came before, this is like a breath of fresh air, even if there's really only one girl who can actually sing it decently. The margin of painfulness between the most painful in SPICA and the least painful in at least half of the previous groups is huge, which in itself is a huge achievement. It's an amazing song, done with strong vocals and the right amount of attitude and enthusiasm.
Big Star - "Think of you" Okay so maybe the dancing at the chorus was a little too enthusiastic -- it just looked like they were flailing their arms in random directions and didn't really look like an organized performance. They were pretty okay for the rest of the song though. Not brilliant, but if they work on their stage deportment, they have potential.
Jewelry - "Rhythm Ha + Look At Me" Before anything, I'd just like to profess my love for the lead single. It has that funk that old-school Jewelry (as in original line-up) had, but upgraded - it's exactly what I would've imagined Jewelry the group (regardless of members) to do in 2012. And they pull it off. Not as strong as I would've wanted it to be, but strong enough, and ever so classy.
Orange Caramel - "Lipstick" Words cannot describe how much I despise this song. I mean, it has three of the things I hate the most -- cheaper than cheap synth loops, cuteness, and non-existent vocals. I only started acknowledging the fact that Raina has a voice, but that all went down the drain with this song. I mean they're enthusiastic about this horrible song and all, but the ship has sunk too deep for enthusiasm to save it.
T-Ara - "Sexy Love" Contrary to popular opinion, I don't entirely dislike "Sexy Love". Today's performance was standard T-Ara, which means they were okay performers but the song carried them so it makes everything seem better than it actually is. Which is okay, because that's what works for T-Ara, and really, the point of a performance is to make people look better than they actually are.
Ga-In - "Bloom" IU comparisons aside, I love this song! And to make things better, I don't have to complain about bad vocals (even if the choruses are heavily overdubbed BOO) or sloppy performances because Ga-In is a demigoddess and she knows how to not only hold the audience in the palm of her hand, but control them at the same time. A strong performance of a brilliant song.
Secret - "Poison" "Poison" is basically a rehash of "Madonna" and "Magic", which is a bore, but their live vocals for this are really good. Add that to their always-present grace and intensity, and you have a really strong performance.
DBSK/HoMin - "Catch Me" This performance was basically a slap in the face to all the mortals who came before them. I mean really, flawless live high notes while lying down on your stomach and being raised up in the air, equally flawless vocals while break-dancing, and overpowering the already overpowering backing track? If that's not outstanding I don't know what is. Conviction, conviction, and more conviction, laced with truckloads of talent and years of experience give us a stunning performance. Best performance of "Catch Me" yet, although the only other live performance was last week's Music Bank. BUT STILL.
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Guess who's back? I've been officially free from school since Tuesday, but after I finished all my requirements I just collapsed and got sick again, which is why I haven't posted anything. A few small "announcements". First, I assume you've all noticed the sparkly new layout! yay! Second, I'm going to try and get as many posts out over the weekend, which means single of the week/weekly rundown, complete music show recaps, and maybe a few full single/album reviews. It's been so long, and I have so much catching up to do! That's all for now, I guess. See you guys tomorrow for Music Core!
YAY! I made it through another recap! I'm pleasantly surprised with the sound and mics on today's show, MuCore is actually ahead of MuBank in terms of sound guy-competency this week! I really have been away for that long.
Video credit goes to CrazyCarrotNew210.
Boyfriend - "Don't Touch My Girl" Well I guess their vocals are that much better than they were yesterday, but their vocals have no punch, and the song is lazy to start with, so it does nothing to hide that fact. I almost fell asleep while watching this, I'm afraid.
B1A4 - "Beautiful Target" We'll talk when all of you go back to actually singing, B1A4.
Orange Caramel - "Shanghai Romance" When the Taekwondo back-up dancers rolled onto the stage, I LOL-ed. When they just disappeared after a while, I LOL-ed again. That was probably the best part of the entire performance.
Infinite - "Paradise" + "Be Mine" I will say this until your ears bleed, but I was on the Infinite bandwagon before everyone else, and I'm so proud of how far they've come, music-wise! Of course there are still members who can't sing, like their maknae, but the members who *do* sing, have gotten miles better, and really, as performers they really deliver. They have the material, some of them have the voice, and they have that unity on stage. The makings of a great band - it's all a matter of time. And more better material.
Secret - "Love is MOVE" I admit that I was never the biggest fan of this song, nor was I jumping for joy over the video, so I never really bothered watching their live performances. I was dead wrong through, because this song is made for the stage. Secret's vocals have become increasingly better, and very consistent, which makes it even better to watch live. Even if their material has strayed from what I personally like, they pull it off well, they can sing, and they know what works for them.
U-Kiss - "Someday" I believe that, once again, I predicted a post-album single. However, I do not have the honor of predicting that their live vocals will be a complete and utter disaster. Gorgeous song, but my God, what kind of vocals are those, U-Kiss, seriously. You've been around as long as SHINee, and they can sing something like this without batting an eyelash (and Jonghyun screaming his way though, but we'll save that for another time). I mean that guy in the glasses is fine, and the guy singing at the chorus (who I assume is the guy who has a throat problem so he can't sing that much) is great, so is the guy who does the middle 8, but everyone else, which is like, more than half of the band? Yeah, NO.
Davichi - "Love Oh Love" Oh Davichi, you two are brilliant as always. Even if you get double-tracked like hell at the chorus you still push through and fight the stupid idea. YAY. Flawless performance, pretty song, why isn't this winning anymore. Oh right, because this is a popularity contest. I'm sorry, I forgot.
SNSD/Girls' Generation - "The Boys" Apart from the fact that the entire intro was mimed and Jessica's mic didn't work until much later, I CANNOT BELIEVE MY EARS AM I HALLUCINATING OR SOMETHING. Because SOMEONE has finally gotten the levels on an SNSD performance right. This is how they should sound, and believe me, if they sounded like this all the time I wouldn't hate them as much as I do. I understand that their previous blunders had a lot to do with stupid sound guys behind big, shiny equipment they probably don't know how to use, but nothing is an excuse for bad singing, and if you are talented you will find a way. But the past is the past, and now you can actually hear their voices over the excessive bass! Best music show performance of this song so far.
Watching today's show made me realize how long it's been since I've watched more than a few cuts from a music show, let alone write a recap. You'll have to excuse me if I'm REALLY rough around the edges and allow me to slowly ease back into this routine, but hey, this is a start! I hope I make it out of this week alive, for the sake of my year-end countdown!
It's really no surprise who won today, but honestly I'm surprised at all the acts I've never heard of before! Oh well. Since it's been months since my last recap, for new readers, my music show recaps focus on idols and idol groups whose singles I've already heard prior to performance.
Video credit goes to UnknownCarrot180.
Boyfriend - "Don't Touch My GIrl" It may be a quaint song, but my God, these guys really can't sing this song live, can they? It's like they equate singing well to singing loudly. No. They end up sounding like they're whining and/or sing-song-ing, and I'm sorry but that just doesn't really quality as actual singing. I watched one of their earlier performances of this though, and it was even worse, so I suppose this is the best they can do.
The Boss - "Lady" Stunning song, gorgeous vocals, but inexperienced vocalists. Don't get me wrong, they are lightyears ahead of their peers, but looking at their vocals alone there is much to be improved. Everything up to the part just before the high note parade is perfectly fine - strong vocals, solid, consistent delivery and stunning harmonies - but the guy who does the high note, no matter how much his voice shone on that live video they released the other day, when left to his own devices he's not as sure as Mika or Karam. First of all, he cut the note in half. On one hand I appreciate that he had the foresight to not push the sustain, but after hearing that disaster of a note that came after that pause, I get the feeling that he stopped to "gain momentum" for a train wreck. My throat hurts after hearing it - you're overdoing the husk(y). Not really something praise-worthy. Try again, DGNA.
Orange Caramel - "Shanghai Romance" We'll talk when you people stop putting out such cheap songs, coupled with horrid choreography and bad vocals, Orange Caramel.
Secret - "Love is MOVE" I never thought the day would come when Sunhwa would become the second-best singer in the band. I always thought it would be the other girl. But then again, they've all really improved over the years, and Ji Eun can now sing her own songs with that pretty voice of hers! Strong performance this week, very explosive and consistent, except for that girl who now cannot sing. And I really like how the entire thing is perky and fun, but still melodic. It's one of those songs that does best live.
Brown Eyed Girls - "Cleansing Cream" I finally understand how BEG challenge the k-pop norm, and it's not just in the song, it's in the entire package of the comeback. The song itself isn't anything groundbreaking, it sounds like several other songs, but the way they pull it off, and of course the fact that they're actually mainstream whether they like it or not, makes the entire idea of this release, somewhat off. In a good way of course. And the performance - of course it has to be different from everyone else who prances around stage or stands there - they're sitting down. Thrones, maybe? Again, the outstanding vocals get perfect marks, but the performance as a whole is really something else.
Kim Hyun Joong - "Lucky" Whoever says that Hyun Joong can sing live clearly has no ears. He's gotten much more stable since going solo, but it's not like he has a voice to start with, so there's only so much he can do before. And why isn't he singing during the chorus? I don't care if the choreography is hard, you are a singer, you SING, you do not dance and randomly chant English. Oh Hyun Joong, when will you ever realize that singing solo is not for you.
SNSD/Girls' Generation - "The Boys"(WINNER) The only thing on my mind while watching this was how I could accurately describe my rage over the excessive bass on today's performance. Let's just say that no, I haven't found an English word, but I do have a rather stinging rant in my native tongue, which I put on Twitter. As for the vocals, I don't know, there's always something off about EVERYONE's vocals, and I think that has to do with THAT STUPID BASS LINE DROWNING EVERYONE OUT. If everything was evened out on the recording, I'm afraid studio tricks mean nothing in the real world. Seriously, they all sound like they're being strangled, regardless of whether or not any of them are singing well. I'm sorry, but that really puts me off.
Inki was in Jeju today! Yay! However, when I found out that little bit of information yesterday, I was less than pleased - more like fearful for my ears. Why? Because one, you have a gazillion rookie groups on today Two, this is Inkigayo - the sound ALWAYS sucks. And three, this is Inkigayo somewhere other than the SBS studio - the sound people aren't used to the venue. Add the fact that they can't even get good results at the SBS studio week in and week out and you have a sonic disaster.
Well it looks like my predictions were right. Someone please fire the Inki sound guy before I go there myself and make sure he dies a slow, and painful death. I don't care if it's easter, he needs to go. NOW.
Video credits go to CrazyCarrot370. The best thing that ever happened to kpop hahah.
A Pink - "Don't Know" You know what they remind me of? That group of girls in elementary school with budding stage parents who force them to perform during school events. Maybe some of them can sing, but the main goal of the entire performance, as dictated by their parents, is to be "discovered" and become the next Mariah or Whitney. Which you can only do by attracting attention to yourself more than the others. The vocals today were painful and the over-all performance like some kind of cute-off. Meh.
Rania -"Dr. Feel Good" That part where the girl's miming the part another girl sings reminds me of Chun and Yunho on "The Way You Are". Anyway. Oh wow. Apart from that stupidity at the first line of the song and the 2 or 3 solo lines mimed, for rookies Rania overcame crap Inki sound pretty well. And in k-pop, doing well in Inki means you're pretty damn good. They have presence, they have vocals, they have a pretty decent song - I'm impressed, and I want more.
Dal Shabet -"Pink Rocket" I don't even want to talk about them. Just watch the video.
Infinite - "Nothing's Over" As much as I'd like to say Infinite did good today, like on MuBank, and as much as they've really improved, for SOME STUPID REASON like I don't know, crap sound, they sounded off today. And the verses hurt my ears. That last set of high notes wasn't half bad though, even if the guy doing it was cracking all over the place. Very tight performance, except of course for the blegh vocals.
Orange Caramel -"Bangkok City" I don't want to talk about the song, but I will say something. I AM SO GLAD AFTER SCHOOL IS COMING BACK THIS WEEK SO I CAN BE SPARED OF THIS BLASPHEMY. Preferably by a JungAh/Gahee tag-team.
Rainbow - "To Me" It's now a contest between the long-haired blonde girl and the girl I liked yesterday for my favorite voice in Rainbow. The fact that there's a contest means we're making progress, Rainbow! But the inki handsfree mics are doing nothing for their vocals, and you really have to listen to hear them actually singing - most of the time it's just a bunch of random sounds and the backing track laced with breaths. We're not making that much progress, Rainbow - work harder. LOL.
ZE:A - "Here I Am" I understand that the song is floaty and whatnot, but their live vocals do not sound floaty - they sound strained, like in reality that can't sing the song. Their energy on stage is really strong, and they finally worked on that whole "being a group" thing, but their vocals are the exact opposite - some of them are lifeless, majority are strained. And as a whole just sad, I'm sorry to say. My ears hurt. It's a shame though, I kinda like the recorded version.
CN Blue -"Intuition" JONGHYUN. SHADES. YES. Yonghwa slurring his words because he doesn't have shades but still wants to be all "gangster". NO. Just no. Yonghwa you're a very competent, consistent live singer - slurring your words only makes you sound like you don't know what you're doing. ANd if we can move the drummer a biiiiiiiit closer that would be great, SBS, thank you. We can work on plugging in their guitars later.
f(x) - "Danger" What did I say about NOT TURNING THE BACKING TRACK UP TOO LOUD, inki sound guy? I thought we worked this out last year - you have to make their voices AUDIBLE, not drown them in pre-recorded crap. You can hardly hear ANY of them, and Krystal's vocals were like, non-existent. We're talking about Krystal here, the popular one. And you can't hear her? Are you nuts? Now because the stupid sound guy was being stupid, the performance lacked punch - obviously, I COULDN'T EVEN HEAR THEM SING. The attitude was there though, which is always good.
4Minute - "Mirror Mirror" They're all getting used to singing the song, that's for sure - OK maybe everyone except Hyun A. Can she just stick with rapping and mock-singing please? However Jiyoon sounds epic as always. And Gayoon is consistent, but the problem is just I really just don't like her voice. The performance was fine, with the standard 4Minute attitude, and the vocals were ever so slightly better than the last time. I still prefer HuH over this though.
U-Kiss - "0330" Oh wow. Their vocals sound a lot less strained today, and a lot richer. Of course the hand mics are a big help, but it's like they all got rest because there's no panting. And the high note was done pretty well, even if the line right after was sloppy. Strong performance - I've been waiting to say that for a U-kiss song!
SNSD - "Hoot" Before I personally thought SNSD's live vocals were way below the standard for a band of their stature and pedigree. I mean outside of their singles a good half of them can really sing, but they could never quite pull off their singles the way a band like them should be able to. The only reason why I didn't like SNSD was because I wasn't sold on the live performances of their singles, and it annoyed me that they could sing other people's songs better than their own, but as they get older they're forced to grow - more so now that they're in Japan. Surprise of all surprises, guess what the solution to that problem was - Japan. Of course. It turned DBSK from extraordinary talents into legends - it's slowly turning SNSD from a girl group that hit the big time to a girl group with pedigree to their name, and this performance is proof of that. The good singers are getting competent, consistent, and the slightly better ones are getting stronger.
Big Bang -"Love Song" If you want TOP to sing, and want to make it look like he isn't TOP trying desperately sing, please don't put his line before Daesung, who is undeniably the best singer in Big Bang. (if you want to argue with me I don't care - Taeyang's voice annoys me) Then if you want to make GD sound good, don't put him between Daesung and Taeyang, who have obviously been singing more lines than GD these past few years. What's more, GD couldn't even pull off singing a few "I hate this love song"'s without panting. And Seungri's first solo was weak. I know he's sick, but if he can stand on stage and dance, the vocals should be slightly stronger. Daesung sounds tired too, and his lower range sounds weak. Did someone forget to make these guys warm up or something? Do they even need to be told to warm up at this point? The only one who sounds like usual is Taeyang. I'm being tough on them because they're Big Bang, undeniably 5 of the best performers of their generation - for heaven's sake they just gave an epic performance yesterday, what the crap happened? Apart from Seungri being sick, of course.
DBSK/HoMin - "Before You Go" & "Keep Your Head Down" Before we start, Inki, is it really necessary for the flame to be heard through HoMin's mics? It's annoying. But anyway. If you want strong Inki handsfree mic vocals - you get them with HoMin. Of course they're not as good as they are on MuBank, but of all the performers who used handsfree mics today, obviously HoMin's vocals were the strongest. And Inki sound guy only slightly messed up! Yay! The performance today was spot-on for Inki standards - if you're a good performer, you're a good performer wherever you go, and technicalities cannot, and will not change that. HoMin are seasoned, trained and outstanding performers - you see how their vocals are brilliant whether it's on major music shows like this or small TV shows with almost no equipment to accommodate vocals. Now, this is the official end of all HoMin activities for "Keep Your Head Down". I'm sad. Really sad. But like the crazy OT5 cassie I am, there's that little sliver of hope that the next time they come back, it's at 5. I know it's ridiculous, but it keeps me, and a lot of other fans, sane. The demands of the industry say otherwise, heck even my brain says otherwise, but there's a part of me that HAS to see that magic again - and hoping keeps me from going nuts, so yeah - have mercy on me just this once?
Yes, I will be returning with the regular three music shows a week - this is serious, until I once again get too busy to keep up. Today's MuCore had a pretty good line up, and surprisingly, MuCore sound has greatly improved! A lot of debuts today, as well as f(x)'s comeback and HoMin's farewell stage.
Let's get right into it! Read on for the recap.
Video credit goes to CrazyCarrot270@YT. Brilliance, I tell you, brilliance!
B1A4 -"OK" You know what this song reminds me of? The theme song for a Disney-type teenage sitcom by someone like McFly, or the JoBros in their early days. Or the theme song for something like "God of Study". It's not bad, in fact since it's the kind of music I was surrounded by growing up, I'm kinda feeling it. But to be honest with you their vocals, their presence and their over-all performance is over this type of songs that I honestly just want them to get over this phase and give me brilliance. Did I hear fanchants? And loud cheers? For a debuting group? And did you see how they just prance around stage like it's nothing to them - but end up putting out pretty strong vocals? Right now, it's between them and X-5 for new boyband supremacy, and the competition is pretty damn fierce, if you ask me.
A Pink - "Don't Know" Ugh. Them. Once again, everyone is trying to out sing, out dance and out cute each other. It's like this is a competition between members for them and the one who has the cutest expression or the sharpest hand movements wins - it's not. And because everyone is still trying to outdo everyone else, I cannot pinpoint an effortlessly amazing voice yet. Today's performance was very robotic - no feeling, no spark. Boring.
Block B - "Freeze" I know a lot of people have been gushing about Block B, but to be honest with you I don't see the hype. The song is generic and they're not the best singers I've seen either. The guy with the hand mic, who I assume is their lead vocalist, can belt notes alright but there's something off about the way he sings. It's like he's trying to be Taeyang, Seulong, and Jay Park all rolled in one - he's not any of them. And is it just me is one of the rappers trying to look, and rap, like TOP? Give me a better song and work on singing before I take notice of you, please?
Rania -"Dr. Feel Good" To be honest with you, I don't really get why they're being criticized. I mean OK the choreography is rather suggestive, but for heaven's sake it's not like we haven't seen something like this before. And my god are these girls talented - they can sing like THAT while dancing themselves into oblivion? I'm impressed. Yeah sure majority of the performance was the hook(s), but their solo lines were near-perfectly delivered. With handsfree mics. While dancing like that and lying down on the floor and everything. If it's between X-5 and B1A4 for the boybands, it's definitely a war between Rania and the Brave Girls. Oh dear why is this generation of new groups so damn good.
Dal Shabet -"Pink Rocket" You know Dal Shabet, you didn't need to come back so quickly after "Supa Dupa Diva". That's code for "I don't want to see you on music shows. preferably never again, but I'll bargain for a few months". But nooooooooo, they just HAD to come back with this disaster of a single that they obviously cannot sing. Their vocals today were an absolute pain to hear, I'm sorry.
Rainbow - "To Me" Rainbow are the perfect example to girl groups starting out that if you really want it and you really try, you can turn out pretty decent. From what I've seen, I really like the girl who's in the middle for majority of the choruses - the one singing "na reul bulreo bwa"? Yeah, her. Nice voice. And around 3 others have nice voices, but not enough technique to carry them live. Today's performance wasn't as good as yesterday's, but it's definitely a lot better than majority of the performances of their previous singles. I wouldn't willingly watch this again, but I won't cringe to death if I watched it again. We're making progress, Rainbow, let's hope DSP lets you stick around long enough.
Orange Caramel -"Bangkok City" I refuse to talk about the song again, and subject myself to anger and annoyance LOL. But to be honest with you the vocals weren't bad, if you take in consideration how the verses fit none of them and the chorus is 90% backing track. Next song, please? My ears hurt.
CN Blue -"Intuition" The only difference this has from yesterday's performance is that Yonghwa isn't wearing shades, he has a guitar, and the song's shorter. That's basically it. Vocally strong, as always, unplugged guitars, as always, and an alienated drummer. Although we're making progress - maybe 2 feet closer to Yonghwa and I'll be happy.
f(x) - "Danger" Oh wow. Where do I start. Well, considering that SM refuses to give up on the "NU ABO"/"Chu~" vocal treatment that I would like them to set on fire for the world to forget, I think this song is a good compromise. It's not that cutesy anymore, it has a bit more epic-ness to it, AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY SING THE SONG NOW! SME I'm so proud of you! LOL. And another thing - it fits all their vocals perfectly. Luna's vocals are degraded here and there's no epic high note to make up for it, but I now realize that they could've done worse. The gap between the better and the worse in f(x) is getting closer and closer - Sulli and Victoria's vocals are much much stronger now, and are catching up to Luna and Krystal. And may I say that I'm beginning to like Sulli's voice. Whether or not they're all using handsfree mics today, it was a strong performance.
4Minute - "Mirror Mirror" I like the outfits today! Jiyoon was good today, although her vocals still a bit too throaty, but I'd take her over Gayoon any day. Now if only we can get Gayoon's fluidity and Jiyoon's technique and put it in one voice - that would be perfect. Although, Jihyun wasn't half bad today. And their presence is slowly, but surely, getting stronger and stronger - if before they owned the stage, now it looks like home of them. They're still really bringing it, but it's slowly getting effortless. Now just work on your vocals and BAM.
Big Bang -"Stupid Liar" Performers in every sense of the word. Not a big fan of the song, but I can't help but watch - they're having SO MUCH FUN and you can't keep your eyes off of them. It's like, screw caring about our vocals, screw trying to hold the audience in the palms of our hands - we can do that like clockwork now - we are going to prance around this stage and have fun and no one can stop us. And my god what a show that makes - it makes you just want to prance around like they are. I'd watch this at least a dozen more times.
DBSK/HoMin - "Before You Go" & "Keep Your Head Down" If Big Bang went the "screw everything we're having fun here" route, which perfectly matches who they are, HoMin went with the "we're gods, we know - keep worshipping us" way, which also perfectly matches the songs. They know they're good, they know they're practically immortal in k-pop, and they know the fans will go to ends of the earth for them - they're turning that into a performance. The result? A spectacle - a feast to all your senses. Everything about this performance was formulated, calculated, painstakingly practiced, but they're so good, so experienced, that they make it look like all you have to do on stage is stand there and look pretty. And maybe that's why so many new idol groups are so lazy and lack effort - because when they see people like DBSK and Big Bang on stage it looks so easy. It's not, they just make it look like it os. EXCUSE ME WHILE I ABUSE THE REPLAY BUTTON.
Sorry for the delay, it's just that things were hectic last week - graduation, graduates' ball, family celebrations left and right, sleepovers, gallivanting with friends in celebration, burning all my university exam reviewers and deleting all my high school files, you know, the usual? Hahah.
I've only gotten the chance to sit down and finish writing this now, with the help of my spankin' new audio technica headphones.
So far, March was THE month of releases left and right - anyone who mattered (and even those who didn't) had something out. Or at least was gearing up to have something out. And to be honest with you, majority of the major releases (LOL) were actually pretty darn good.
HoMin/TVXQ - "이것만은 알고가 독백 (Before U Go)" From "Keep Your Head Down" Repackaged Released: March Stunning
Whenever I hear this song I want to cry with joy. I kid you not. When I saw the first live performance of this I had the volume so high my mom could hear it from the kitchen (and we have a relatively big house, mind you) and I was literally crying because it was so gorgeous.
This is everything Yoo Young Jin stands for - it's like SM The Ballad's "Hot Times" and "Beautiful Girls" (the one on the SNSD live album? yeah.) were the prototypes for this song. They don't sound alike, but a lot of elements from both songs were taken, mixed together and bettered. The harmonies are swoon-worthy - hearing them live or recorded makes me want to cry because they're so gorgeous. I can't emphasize the power of beautiful harmonies enough - it will make or break a song, frankly.
Yoo Young Jin is one sneaky bastard, that's all I have to say. The recording is stunning, but you listen closely and you hear all these little elements - an acoustic guitar line, the "sprinkles"/chymes - but then you listen to the live performances and you just wanna die with joy. The slight tweaks to the arrangement, the addition of another harmony line at the chorus, the shifts in instrumentation - Yoo Young Jin why are you so damn brilliant?
Another reason why this song just works is because it fits both Yunho and Changmin vocally - it's everything they can do, and everything they were never able to do because Junsu, Jaejoong and Yoochun did it better than them. This song, and the two of them singing it, just proves a point I've raised long ago - I fall to my feet at Jaejoong's voice, I adore Junsu's, and Yoochun's I praise, but Yunho and Changmin are something too. Yunho and Changmin are good singers, they know what they're doing and they know how to do it well, it's just that you put them beside people like Jaejoong and Junsu and they pale in comparison. However that doesn't mean they're not good - they are.
The simple fact that they stood beside what could very well be Asia's best voices and didn't crumble or run away in fear - that shows how good they are. Remember, DBSK is not a "dream team" because they're all talented in different things, DBSK is a dream team because they are five lead vocalists of dissolved SM project groups. LEAD SINGERS. You put five lead singers together and you'd think you'd have the five of them trying to outdo each other, but they didn't - because they knew their strengths and they stuck to that. However, that also meant that there were times when certain people never got to show that they're able to do certain things.
And you know what? HoMin showed exactly what they can do on this song - sing damn well. Put them beside any lead singer of an idol group now and they win - by a really long mile. I kid you not.
Girls' Day - "반짝반짝" From "Girl's Day Party #3" Released: March Blegh
Now because words are simply not enough to describe what I think about this song, and Girl's Day in general, I've prepared a graph for you guys! LOL. Let's just got this out of the way before I find anything more to complain about. Hahah.
So basically this new single is like a less decent "Nothing Lasts Forever", or a better "whateverthenameofthatsinglewas" - there're two ways of looking at it hahah. So anyway. There. It's got much better vocals than their first single, although autotuned almost as bad at the verses, and as a whole the arrangement and production are much better. But it's far too cutesy to the point of being squeaky and annoying in the bad way - it just goes on and on and on and on and around in circles until the song ends.
And how they pronounce the "반" in "반짝반짝" pisses me off too lol. So does the girl who "stars" in the video - she makes me want to throw up. Literally. I almost did, actually.
In my opinion these girls most probably do have the chops to do more, because "Nothing Lasts Forever", although a little all over the place in my opinion, was pretty good. Nothing special, but it was a decent song. And then they go back to this? Oh well.
Lee Haeri - "Can You Hear Me?" From "Tears of Heaven" Released: March Stunning
I admit that I only really listened to this because Junsu stars in this musical and he sings this too on stage, but this is honestly one of the few songs that have literally brought me to tears at the first listen. I can understand some of the lyrics and the general theme of the song and it's sad and all - but my God the melody, the arrangement, the vocals are spot-on.
The strings add dimension to the very simple piano part, and everything starts out really soft and floaty, but when the percussion and the guitar parts come in, along with a rather pretty backing vocal line, I just lost it. There's a sense of urgency to the entire song, and everything explodes, without losing that character the song had at the beginning, and the stunning melody.
Let's take a moment to worship Lee Haeri's epic vocals, shall we? I swear, no matter how gorgeous the song itself is, and no matter how much the arrangement makes me want to cry, it's the delivery that delivers the final blow. And in this case, she knocked it out like hell. She doesn't push it too much - she's not screaming in your face, forcing you to think she's a good singer. And she doesn't shower you with belting and high notes either - she has a gorgeous voice because it really is gorgeous, and she knows how to use it.
Just thinking of Junsu in the recording sends shivers down my spine.
Namie Amuro with After School - "Make It Happen" From "Checkmate!" Released: March Okay
This is technically k-pop. Technically. OK it's not. But After School are here, and I like the song. And besides, I'll be talking about KARA's "Jet Coaster Love" too, and this is my list, so who says I can't include this? Anyway.
Avex, huh? Smart move, Pledis, very smart move. For an agency that doesn't really crank out stars like a factory, they're really playing their cards right with After School. They better have an epic comeback next month or I'm gonna explode with rage - I'm already putting my "I only like talent" reputation on the line for these girls, I need nothing less than brilliance from them!
So the song. It's very Namie, it's very Japanese, it's very Avex - it's standard. There's nothing epicly bad about the song, but there's nothing extremely special about it either. The rather eyebrow raise-worthy English can be overlooked, and we've heard songs like this a million times before, but it's not really enough for the song to be bad or anything.
It's got great production, an arrangement with attention to dynamics, a very clean melody and literally it's like a cheesecake. Here I go again with my food analogies. Call me crazy or something, but seriously - this song is like a cheesecake.
Infinite - "Nothing's Over" From "Inspirit" Released: March Okay
"Nothing's Over" is more like their debut single than anything, and for one it's rather confusing because you have similarities with "Come Back to Me", but with the maturity they had in "Before The Dawn", but it sounds like neither. And once again, that can either be a good thing, or a bad thing.
This is one of the songs that are okay, but borderline amazing for me. It's close, but not quite though. If I may say so though, Infinite are turning into the Beast of their generation of boybands. That's a complement. They're not the most talented people - they can't belt out high notes like it's second nature or anything like that - but you can see that they really do try, and their effort shows. And my god do they dance in sync, it freaks me out sometimes how together they are when they dance.
The melody is there, although a little choppy at the verses and a bit overpowered by the rapping, the arrangement very tight, like all their singles, and the dynamics in place. It has enough of everything to induce foot-tapping, and maybe even random dancing around your room, which is always a good thing. All they really have to do is learn how to perform this extremely well and I'm sold.
Point is, the talent is there, the material is more or less decent, and they have a solid backing - the only thing stopping them from succeeding is time, and pretty soon that'll have to make way for them too. IF THEY GET FAMOUS I CALLED IT! I was the one who believed in them right from the beginning LOL.
KARA - "Jet Coaster Love" From TBA Released: March Okay
This song in particular brings back memories for me, because it came out when I was sick with that horrid tropical virus last month and because of it I didn't go to Singapore which pissed me off. Anyway. Yes.
To be honest with you, I'm seriously liking Kara now, material-wise. Emphasis on the NOW and MATERIAL-WISE. If not for the "they can't sing live to save their lives" situation, they'd probably be one of my favorites. So basically as long as I don't watch them sing the songs live, everything during and after the "Lupin" era is fantastic for me, especially "Lupin" and "Jumping".
I like this song, actually, well for the most part at least. It's very Japanese production and arrangement-wise, and the part just after the first chorus, and even the middle 8, is stunning, and nice contrast to the rest of the song. That's it - the song has contrast. The verses are strong, they have just the right amount of spunk and grace, the bridges are nice and floaty, and the chorus is catchy.
It's just a little too cutesy at the chorus for my taste, but it's bearable.
Kim Hyung Joon - "Heaven" From "My Girl" Released: March Stunning
SS501 are not untalented, and I believe I've said that before, it's just that I never really adored any of their material, in Korea or Japan, so I never took the time to learn all their voices inside out. I know all their names and basic stuff about them because I had to write about them during my time as a k-pop news writer/editor-in-chief, but that's about it.
Which is probably why I never really took notice of Hyung Joon. I knew him as the guy who's got almost the same name as Hyun Joong, who's Jaejoong's bff, and the guy with the now ex-U-Kiss member for a brother. He does have a nice voice though. Not stunning or anything, but I assume that years of singing, both in Korea and Japan, whipped him into shape.
Because seriously, this song is stunning in every single way possible. Yeah sure you've probably heard the piano line somewhere else, and the melody isn't exactly the most original thing ever, but the combination of the two, mixed with Hyung Joon's competent vocals and a spot-on arrangement, make my head want to explode. With joy.
It's simple. It's a simple orchestration with a simple melody and an average voice, but sometimes music does things to you that you can't really explain nor justify. It's like a tame, slightly less stunning version, of JYJ's "Long Way", which I named my favorite song of 2010, mind you.
I can talk about how gorgeous the melody is all day, and maybe one day I will, but I will leave it at that for now.
ZE:A - "Here I Am" From "Lovability" Released: March Okay
In the ZE:A vs. Infinite battle, which I started myself and has nothing to do with history because ZE:A were alive long before Infinite and only started because they released stuff around the same time in March (my iTunes library, which never lies, says I added them on the same day), Infinite win. Without a doubt. Better vocals, better material, better performances.
I mean come on, "Mazeltov"? "Man to Man", which I don't even want to see in my iTunes library because it disgusts me? Total fails. Their only good single was "Day By Day" and although it was actually kinda really good, they just had to follow it up with a pathetic excuse for a song that was "Man to Man". (or however you spell it)
They've improved, a lot, though. This new single is actually a song! Someone clearly got the picture. The hook is nice, not too imposing or loud, but to be honest the entire package lacks intensity. The vocals at the chorus are light, but a little too airy, the verses too calm, and even the high note sound half-baked. There's no BAM or sudden break downs - the song just kinda goes on and on and on and on until the song ends.
It has good points, but none of them are enough to deliver and make the song memorable, really. This will be forgotten in a few months, trust me. No variety show's gonna parody this and expect people to laugh like there's no tomorrow.
4Minute - "Heart to Heart" From "Steal 20" Released: March/April Okay
Just to be clear, I'd rather talk about "Mirror Mirror", but I'm recapping everything from January to March, and "Mirror Mirror" was out in April, so we'll get to that next time.
Heart to Heart, the song, is decent at best. It has a catchy chorus, decent production, a cohesive arrangement and it does have its moments, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't fit 4Minute. It doesn't fit them because it brings our the fact that 4Minute vocals are throaty, rough in the bad way, and cheap. I mean OK, Gayoon has a big voice and I like Jiyoon's vocals, but let's be honest - they're not suited to songs like this.
The vocals really make the song a lot less decent that it could've been. Seriously, my ears hurt just thinking of the chorus, and it doesn't help that the hook is in English and requires a tad bit of belting. Their voices are rough to start with, and they still have very little technique. Jiyoon is the better among them, but even she isn't that good. She's fine though.
As much as I'm not their biggest fan, if there's one thing they did right before "Heart to Heart", it's that Cube knew how to choose their repertoire, or at least they knew what to do with the songs so their vocals would sound apt and that much more tasteful (e.g., the ever so slight autotune on "What A Girl Wants").
CN Blue - "Intuition" From "First Step" Released: March Okay
Well, maybe partially OK. OK verging on bleh.
I had a never-publicized CN Blue phase last year, just letting everyone know. Before it's too late. That and I grew up watching bands record albums and write songs, so I think I'm a little more qualified to write about CN Blue than I am writing about pop, to be honest.
CN Blue are a novelty in kpop - apart from FT Island, who're under the same agency so it doesn't really count that much, and a spattering of indie acts, there haven't been that many bands with the drum-base-guitar-vocals set-up who've really gotten really popular lately. And I think that's why they got as famous as they did. I mean I know they have a cult following in Japan and obviously that amounts to a lot, but the success in Korea is just mind-blowing. (They beat HoMin on Music Bank in the first week of this month, I'll give them that)
"I'm A Loner" was spunky, and personally I adored the verses. Just the verses - the chorus annoyed me after a while. The drum treatment made the entire song, in my opinion - they were raw, they sounded real, but they were so clean and smooth at the same time. The guitars were leaning towards American-style production, and the melody was strong. And my god was the chorus catchy as hell. They had all the makings of a hit, except for the fact that the song actually had actual drums and a few other things.
But why am I talking about "I'm a Loner" instead of "Intuition"? Well, because it's like every CN Blue lead single after "I'm a Loner", which is pretty much every other Korean CN Blue single, sounds like "I'm a Loner". I understand wanting to make a signature sound, especially if the band themselves write the material, but it seems like Yonghwa, who I assume is writing all these lead singles, doesn't get it.
Signature sound does not mean taking a song that worked, changing the key, tinkering with a few chords here a there, writing new lyrics, adding some "bad-ass" electric guitar lines, and changing the title. Those "stop everything and sing a line" parts, although cool, are being overused way too much, and the choruses are the same kind of repetitiveness, plus the short parts after the chorus? Aren't we a little to obvious now?
I'm starting to think that this is all Yonghwa is capable of, to be honest, or that this is his idea of a "hit song". I mean okay, it technically is a hit song now, but mark my words - people will get tired of this one day, and if CN Blue don't wanna be a "afewhitswhichallsoundthesame-wonder", they better hurry the hell up and deliver.
U-Kiss - "0330" From "Bran New Kiss" Released: March Stunning
I've never really liked U-Kiss, but I've never hated their guts either. I was there during "Man Man Hani" and to be honest with you that single was pretty decent. The proceeding singles ranged from blegh to nothing special, but in the wake of member changes they present us with this masterpiece.
When I first heard this I had a strange feeling that I'd like it, and I do. A lot? Hell yeah. As much as Mel is ready to have me sliced into tiny little pieces for saying I like the song now, I think I'll sacrifice that to listen to this lol.
It's a simple song, with a piano line that's a slight variation of stuff we've all heard before, a simple, repetitive but not so repetitive melody, surprisingly strong production (or is it just my new headphones?) and no predominant hook, which is unorthodox for kpop - but throw everything together and my god is it gorgeous.
Allow me to backtrack on something I just said - the song doesn't have a predominant hook. It doesn't. Or at least one as short as "sorry sorry" or "I hate this love song" or "I got that SOUP love" (LOL). And I'm very pleased at how everything turned out, considering that miniscule detail - basically the entire chorus, or maybe half of it, is the hook. And it blatantly made the song catchy but far from annoying.
The rapping is bearable, but I think over 2 years in k-pop has made me learn to either tune out rap, or appreciate it. In this case, I'm appreciating it. Not a lot, but enough. And I like how it ends too - it's the type of song that will go on and on and on and on and ooooooooon, but they cut it at just the right time, in just the right way, a little after everything got too chaotic, but just before the song became a bore. And it's much harder to end a song well than it is to start it well.
Super Junior M - "Perfection" (Chinese/Korean) From "Perfection" Released: March Okay
I'm not so hot over this, but it's very SM and very new and rather good. The Chinese version is a bit more graceful than the Korean one, mainly because Chinese is a much more graceful language to start with, but apart from that they're practically the same.
Everything about the song - from the production, to the melody, to the processing, to the hook - screams SME. Therefore, it's a strong song. I like the synths, and I like the guitar lines at the beginning, even if they remind me of "Hoot" and another recent major release I can't quite pinpoint.
Other than that, there's nothing else to say, really.
Chi Chi - "장난치지마" From "장난치지마" Released: March Blegh
The first thing that came to mind when I heard this song was "WHAT IN HEAVEN'S NAME IS THIS ATROCIOUS THING?!", and even after I calmed down a bit I still couldn't stand the song. The hook, both instrumental and vocal (oh wait, they're the same LOL), sounds like it's straight out of those 90's swede/German pop that I had to endure when I was going through pop history back when I was a new blogger.
You know, the type that goes on and on and on and yet gets nowhere AND pisses you off in the process? For about 97% of the song, that's how I feel - pissed off.
However, I tried looking for some salvageable part, and the heavens granted my wish. YESSS. The middle 8 is probably the most decent part of the song and even though it's not close to good, it's a start. A pretty OK start.
Can they sing? Who knows - the song's too bad for me to be able to draw any solid conclusion, and when I hear it I just want it to be over quicker, so I might listen to their next single just to see if they can. If they ever see the light of one.
Orange Caramel - "Bangkok City" (Chinese/Korean) From "Bangkok City" Released: March Blegh
If you told me this was a cover of some German/Swedish/Europop act like STEPS or beFour (I can't believe I still remember them), I wouldn't be surprised. At all. Because I have a very strong hunch that I'm on the right track with thinking that and no one's around to verify that for me.
"Bangkok City" is just a step above that Chi Chi song, mainly because of the better production and the less blatant and not that in-your-face cheap melody. But that doesn't mean it's any good. If this was released in Europe or even the US I don't even have to guess that it'll have a gazillion remixes on the maxi single.
Oh how I miss writing like that. I can't wait for k-pop to get more sophisticated, if that means having a history more than 20/30 years long, official sales charts that really count, and actual singlessssss. But that's just me. Anyway.
Their voices still annoy me, After School should hurry and come back as the full group because Orange Caramel are getting on my nerves now with their non-existent brilliance and their sub-par singles.
I return to my regular blogging schedule on TUESDAY. With a single review. A full-length one. Hopefully. And I'll start working on my After School commentary as well, so that just come before the end of the month. If it sees the light of day, that is.
Leave me lots of comments - I've been reading them over the past few days and I'll be replying in the coming days. :D
*sigh* I know, I know, shoot me for not writing this last night - but I had this concert to watch with my mom! I didn't choose to go to that concert! So there.
Debuts from Girls' Day and Teen Top and comebacks from ZE:A, Black Pearl and Son Dambi. AND D-NA!!! Hahah. The consensus today (or last night) is that MBC must've fired the old sound engineer and gotten a new one, because everyone actually sounds decent today. Hurrah! Credit goes to CrazyCarrot250
Girls' Day - Tilt Your Head Oh dear. Just thinking of this group and their lead single makes me head ache, and actually seeing them gives me a very very unpleasant feeling. What happened to this? Personally she wasn't the most brilliant, but she was good and she was trying - so where did that go? This lead single is annoying, it's far too autotuned and if I didn't see that video before they debuted, I would've thought none of them could sing, because clearly they can't sing this song. *sigh*
Teen Top - Clap I know this has been said before by people other than me, but Teen Top really do remind me of 2PM. Well, 2PM with slightly better live vocals. I think one good thing about this batch of rookie bands is that they have pretty decent vocals. I'm not 100% sure if most of Teen Top can actually sing, but they sure give off the impression that they can. The performance was tight, very practiced, and the set really does remind me of something 2PM had used. Oh well. Just hearing the song didn't really convince me, but now they've made me curious - we'll see.
Miss A - Bad Girl I like the idea, I like the vocals, I like the performance, but I don't like the song. The concept of Miss A is there - good vocals, strong performers - but they lack the songs to really make an impact. On the other hand, I suppose this is better than what Girls' Day got, so I'll shut up and be thankful.
Infinite - Come Back Again(review) A lot of these groups are good dancers (in the eyes of someone who doesn't know how to dance), and a lot of them are synchronized and all, but what does that have to do with the music? They are girl groups and boy bands - because they can't play drums or the guitar or bass, their voices are their instruments. If they can't even use that, they have no right to be called, in this case, a boy band. The song's perfectly fine, it's got character, it's ever so slightly out of the ordinary, and it's a strong debut single, but Infinite falter in the execution.
Sistar - Push Push(review) All SISTAR have at this point is some experience on stage, backing from Brave Sound, and a glorified novelty song. It will sell, yes, but how long can that one girl carry the entire band vocally and performance-wise? It's not really tradition for an idol group to have all the members be good singers, but at least half or 3/4 of them should have some semblance of a voice. But anyway. I'm now 100% sure that if Miss A and SISTAR were to face off with these singles and at this stage of their careers, Miss A would trample SISTAR.
ZE:A - Level Up One good thing about ZE:A now is that they're slowly starting to look like one whole band - it doesn't seem like there are a gazillion guys on stage. But I do admit, I like All Day Long better than this. Level Up was really built around the gimmick - that's it. It sounds like a commercial, their talent company didn't bother building up a lot of buzz for it, and I'm starting to think that they're giving up on ZE:A. I mean, all they really need is good material - give me that and the world will be a better place.
D-NA - Stumble Stumble I missed these guys, I really did! I've already established why they were given such a generic song, so no complaining, but I do really think they have good vocals. That and those vocals are actually shown live - I don't have to think really hard to say that they can sing live. Now that they're my second favorite boyband, they better prove to me that they're worthy - I cannot wait for a full-length album.
Orange Caramel - Magic Girl (review. kinda.) I was already annoyed last week, right? K. Still annoyed. I have a very low tolerance period for these kinds of songs, but it just so happened that I was in awe with how they magically got live vocals, so I kinda stopped noticing the song. Now that I am, I'm annoyed.
4Minute - I My Me Mine I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I'm starting to like 4Minute. Still don't like most of their material, the two who are being pushed as the singers can actually sing live. That and they're making an effort to look a bit more clean/sophisticated now and are straying from the "new 2NE1" label. Which is good. Slowly but surely, 4Minute, slowly but surely.
Taeyang -I Need A Girl To me, it's like once GD stops showing up, the performance just gets boring for me. He's performing it better, yes, and I actually kinda like the melodic part better now, but there's no GD, so Taeyang's improvement just fills the gap that GD left - the performance as a whole is still the same, it's just the individual elements that changed and shifted around.
Black Pearl - Gogossing So, Black Pearl. Apparently, they first debuted in 2007 (along with SNSD and The Wonder Girls) under Mnet, if my memory serves me right, but obviously they were outshined by SNSD and WG. My research on them led to another group, but we'll save that for another time. I first heard this song last week, if I'm not mistaken, and the first thing I noticed was the vocals. I'm like, "finally a girl group with strong vocals!" My one complaint though is that I don't understand why all girl groups who can actually sing (SeeYa, Davichi) have to make songs like this. They're OK songs, but I'd like them to explore, because they actually have the vocals to do that. That aside, OMG I HEARD HARMONIES. I find the girl who sings the second part of the chorus a little too uncontrollable - her voice is to shrill. The best? The girl who takes the first part of the chorus and the middle 8. The other 2 are good too, but that girl's better. It looks so effortless.
Son Dambi - Can't U See + Queen I know she was miming on Can't U See, but even so, I don't understand why someone would want to go from tasteful, (but a tad bit generic on the music side) with the pretty piano loop and the nice melody, to slightly cheap and far too gimmicky-y. My one comment on Queen? It's so Kylie. Seriously. Apart from the chanting/rapping/whatever on the verses, I wouldn't be surprised if Kylie suddenly burst out on stage singing this. I listened to Queen (the album) with the illusion that Can't U See was the lead single, and the most decent song (apart from Can't U See) for me was Queen. I think I liked the song for a few hours, tops. When I got home from school that Friday, I didn't like it, and when I saw the performance, I wasn't impressed. She's been gone for almost a year and she still can't sing more than 50% of her own song?
Super Junior - No Other From what I can see, SuJu broke 2 rules of performance today, but at least their vocals were decent. First, Eunhyuk looks like someone died - did someone die? I mean I know the happy happy thing creeps me out, but the emo-sad thing does too! Did LSM beat him up or something? He didn't smile. And next, why does Heechul keep talking to whoever's beside him? I know it was his birthday and it's easy to hide in such a big group, but it's not easy to hide from the camera. That aside, the vocals were rather strong, if I may say so. So yay.
