We break into the top 10 today, right on schedule! Once we reach the top five, the posts will come once a day only - to add an element of suspense, perhaps? The countdown is scheduled to end on the 30th with my #1 song of the year. On the 31st I have something planned, but that's all under wraps for now. On to the review. Sorry.
When I first heard of SM The Ballad, I wasn't really so excited, partially because no one from DBSK, or HoMin, is in it, and partially because I didn't really like the idea of Jonghyun murdering more ballads than he usually does. And who the hell was that Jino guy? However, the day I heard the teaser for Hot Times, all my doubts and frustrations disappeared. The day I heard the full version of Hot Times, in HQ (not that crappy MuCore leak), I nearly cried - THIS. SONG. IS. GORGEOUS.
Up until a few days ago, there was a part of me that had already gotten sick of the song - I really didn't want to listen to it because I felt like I was gonna throw up (I'm serious.), but listening to it again, I'm still in love with it. It's a good thing, I don't have the freedom to move this down the list if I stopped liking it!
I believe I said this last Sunday during the Inki year-end recap, but SM really did pick the right combination of the right people. You have Kyuhyun, who sounds fantastic anywhere you put him and is very consistent when he sings, you have that guy from TRAX, who has probably the most gorgeous voice in SM now that JYJ are gone and who knows how to flaunt it, you have Jonghyun, who, when restrained, can sing ballads like no other in SHINee now that Key's voice has gone down the drain, and you have the new guy, Jino, who, although a bit inexperienced, is clearly trying his best and is practically on the same level as the 3 - that's hard to do.
I think that had they put Yesung in instead of Kyuhyun, the vocals would've exploded - it would've been too much. Had they put Ryeowook, well, I would've gone after them with more than a torch, telling them to repent for their sins. I'm thankful that Onew clearly didn't make the cut and SM finally got the message that HE IS NOT A BALLAD SINGER GODDAMNIT, and Key was snubbed too, because yes he was my favorite ballad singer in SHINee before, but that was then and this is now.
So they work together brilliantly, I think you all get the picture, and now that SM has four of it's best vocalists together for promo, obviously you need a song worthy of both their ability and their "chemistry". In comes Hot Times. After all the sins SM has committed this year AHEMSuperJuniorSNSDf(x)BoAAHEM, the release of Hot Times has made me consider forgiving them for several of those mistakes.
The melody of this is WIN, one hundred percent WIN. From the verses to the chorus to the drop-dead gorgeous middle 8 I just wanna replay over and over and over again, this is not only a Yoo Young Jin creation, this is an A-grade YYJ masterpiece - I can hear the guy singing this in my dreams for heaven's sake! The high note parade can get a little too much at times, especially when Jonghyun does it live, but I think without it the song would've lost one dimension, so it's fine as it is.
The chorus, oh my heavens the chorus - when 4 voices of their calibre sing it with that kind of intensity and urgency but with so much finesse, I feel like crying - IT'S STUNNING, GORGEOUS, AMAZING, OUTSTANDING, BEAUTIFUL and every other positive adjective I can think of.
That, coupled with a simple yet stunningly apt instrumental and a cool arrangement, make for a song that is just waiting to blow my mind. The live performances are fine, but the recording gets me every single time.
I'm back! Why wouldn't I be - it was the Inki year-end special today and although not as packed as the MuBank one, it was fun revisiting my weekly Sunday routine of loading a truckload of YT videos then watching them all in one go.
If there's one thing that's changed with Inkigayo since I last recapped it, it's that they're letting bands use hand mics now! That's basically it though - the sound still sucks and for Christmas, I would like the sound engineer fired, before he screws up this year's Gayo Daejun as well. He actually kinda reminds me of the sound guy in my school - he once "accidentally" stopped the backing music of one of our big music presentations. It was graded, mind you. I literally wanted to scream at him and have him fired when that happened.
YT credits go to Jackhklee5.
SM The Ballad - Hot Times (note: This song is on my 50 best songs of 2010 list, so the full version of my fangirling is available when I publish that post. In a few days.) SM picked the right combination of the right people for this new sub-group/project - they could've picked Yesung SuJu or Onew or Key SHINee but they chose Jonghyun SHINee, Kyuhyun Super Junior, that guy from TRAX who has A GORGEOUS VOICE and Jino, who isn't too shabby himself. They're actually kinda like DBSK - they're not only lead singers of their respective bands, they're 4 (or today 3) vocalists who work extremely well together. Today's performance was half-mimed, and I'm not exactly happy with that, but at least the Inkigayo sound guy/girl had less chances to ruin their gorgeous vocals. For the live parts, it's a YESSSSSS.
VNT - Sound Just when I thought there was nothing more pathetic than SISTAR, VNT show up. The entire facade is crap - the crappy choreography (and that's already coming from someone who knows nothing about dancing), the cheaper-than-SISTAR costumes and the pathetic song that makes them sound like nothing but wannabes. However, that girl with the black hair has a gorgeous voice, and that other girl who sings, albeit sloppy and given the worthless song, would sound pretty not-bad in say, KARA. There are times when I forget rapping-girl-in-yellow-jacket exists, until she comes in and tries to sound like Hyun A, who isn't exactly my favorite in 4Minute. Lesson learned - GET A GOOD SONG AND SIGN TO A TALENT AGENCY WITH MONEY. As much as I hate that everything revolves around money, in pop you need money to get a decent song.
SISTAR - How Dare You After VNT, SISTAR actually sound pretty decent. Maybe after SISTAR, KARA will sound good. Wild guess. Their progress has basically halted, if there was any to start with. That 1 girl still carries and entire band, and she's doing a pretty good job considering who else is in that band, but as a group they still have no grace. I understand that you're supposed to just dance and sing like crazy when you're on stage, but you also have to do it with some grace.
BEAST - Breath + Beautiful If there's one band I want to see sweep music shows and become legends in the near future, it's BEAST. They've gotten a heck of a lot better this year, and they still have the potential to get a hell of a lot better. They work well as a group, individually they all have decent vocals, some fantastic, and they're not afraid to try new things, without straying from who they've shown they are. That and they're an absolute pleasure to watch on stage, especially when they themselves are having fun, and even if the song's a little on the cheesy side *ahemBEAUTIFULahem*.
2NE1 - Can't Nobody Performers in the truest sense of the word. They have the right balance of everything in the right amounts - the dance-like-crazy attitude, a sense of grace, strong live vocals and audience impact. (LOL that sounded like the criteria of some school presentation) Yes, even Sandara, even if she's weak compared to the other 3. At the end of the day, these girls know how to put on a show, they know how to make a mediocre and generic song sound great and they can show that their performances really had a lot of thought put into them.
2AM - Even If I Die, I Can't Let You Go + You Wouldn't Answer My Calls Gorgeous. There's no other way to describe it, and I wouldn't want to say anything else. Gorgeous.
After School - LOVE LOVE LOVE Ahhh yes, the RainaNanaandabitofUEE-fest. Raina now annoys me and she should be never let near this song ever again so Jung Ah can take all her parts and cream Raina at her own song. Nana is lightyears better than she was last year when she had just joined the band and she actually has a pretty decent voice, but if she so much as gets more lines than Gahee on their next single I am going to have to go and whack Pledis in the head. In a perfect world, After School is made up of Gahee, Bekah, Jung Ah and maybe Nana so there's someone for the fanboys.
SHINee - Hello (remixed) + Lucifer They truly are the leaders of their generation of boybands, in my opinion. At least, not when the Inkigayo sound guy/girl is out to get them. HE TOTALLY RUINED ONEW'S BRILLIANT MIDDLE 8! And they even mimed part of it. OF ALL PARTS TO RUIN, IT HAD TO BE ONEW'S I WILL NEVER FOGIVE HIM FOR IT. Oh, and the slightly remixed version of Hello was a nice variation to a pretty song, and it's good to see everyone dancing again, even for a simple routine.
KARA - Jumping So where's the singing? As if their vocals can get any worse, the sound guy strikes again. Has he no pity for these girls? No one can hear them on Music Bank and he chooses to literally drown them in the backing track, ruining the entire performance. The only actual vocals I can clearly hear are Nicole's squeaky high notes and short parts of Gyuri's solos. That's it. Everyone else is a blur.
GD&TOP - Oh Yeah (with Bom) I won't be talking about High High because it's practically all rapping and if it weren't for Bom, I wouldn't be talking about this either. The song is all YG - the arrangement, the hook, the English, the rapping, GD and TOP. However, the melody fits Bom like a glove - something tells me that only she can sing it and have it sound like that. In a sense, you need a voice that wild but with that much body for it to make sense, because of the range of the melody. I say time and time again - YG acts are performers, and these three are no exception. I'm actually starting to like the song because of this! This doesn't always happen, but I'm all praises for them today.
Super Junior - No Other + Bonamana It's been a while since I've heard, and seen, both songs performed live, but I gotta say, they really have gotten better vocally, under the crap Inkigayo sound. Ryeowook is starting to sound better, actually, which is GOOD. I mean, how can someone STILL sound bad using hand mics? If I had the money, I would willingly give SBS a new sound system for Christmas. But I don't, so they'll keep sucking. Aaaaand the dance break is still there.
IU - Good Day (WINNER) May I just say that justice has been served because IU HAS FINALLY WON A MUSIC SHOW! I'm actually glad that she didn't win for Marshmallow or that other song because they simply did not do justice to her talent - this song, however, does. So I can sleep peacefully tonight knowing that the voting and buying public still know what talent mixed with a good song is like. She didn't hit the high note today, and like a lot of people, I'm quite pleased that she's changed things up a bit. For someone else that would be a sign of vocal inability, but for heaven's sake we've heard that note several times already, live mind you, so we know she can sing it. Apart from the fact that the theatrics can get boring at times, the performance was spot-on. But then again this is IU we're talking about - the girl is beginning to sound like Hwayobi for christ's sake!
