Best of 2009: October #6 - #4

October was an all-kpop month. See which songs made the cut.

#6: SS501 - Wasteland

If you remember back when the mini-album this is on was released, I did a review and it was slammed, bashed and treated like trash by a bunch of SS501 fans (Triple S) just because I said I didn't like it and that it sucked. I don't regret saying that because for crap's sake what is wrong with me saying what I think and no, I will NOT be careful with what I say because I was raised to always say exactly what I think. I study in a school that taught me to always voice my opinions so NO, I refuse to 'soften' my opinions just because someone'll get hurt. ANYWAY. This entry is sort of a truce to the NICE SS501 fans. You know who you are and I won't name you anymore but thank you for presenting your opinions in a civilized way, I appreciate that. To the fans who just kept on bashing me, this is mot definitely NOT for you.

Wasteland is the best of the mediocre - it's bearable and the melody has some semblance of beauty.

#5: SeeYa - 그 놈 목소리

SeeYa came back late this year with a new member and a continuation of their Hot Girl days - it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Yeah, their vocals are processed like hell (excuse me for a moment while I throw up..) but BEG went the same way - from ballad singers to eurocrap robots. I had a few theories on them back when this was released and they still stand. SeeYa are the Korean version of the Sugababes and they're trying to cash in on what The Brown Eyed Girls have done with their music. His Voice isn't a BAD song, I just wish they'd get rid of the processing.

#4: Hwayobi and Sleepy from Untouchable - Kiss Kiss Kiss

This is brilliance. No really, Kiss Kiss Kiss is a sweet R&B staple but it's not dated - it sounds like it's from 2009. I like the funky-sounding instruments, the simple but pretty verses and the undeniably R&B hook - Hwayobi knows how to make a song. All is great with just that but then you add Hwayobi's gorgeous, gorgeous voice and everything just explodes (figuratively).

SeeYa - His Voice

I first wrote about SeeYa back during the k-pop special when I knew very little about how the industry worked and what being in certain talent companies meant to your success. Let's just say that SeeYa aren't under SM, JYP OR YG.

The girls are back with a new single His Voice and it's literally nothing like what they used to be. It's a lot like Hot Girl though, following the trend of K-pop at the moment which is, I hope you don't mind me saying this but, pop songs with heavily auto-tuned vocals and instrumentals that go on and on and on that are meant to stick in your head for weeks. A while back as well, one of the members left the 3-piece and with the release of this new single introduced a new member to the group. I have two theories on the girls - one is K-pop centric and the other one isn't.

SeeYa used to be a ballad-centric band, the girls are known for stronger than strong vocals that can pull of difficult ballads like a bunch of amateurs can pull off an auto tuned number. His Voice is techno, Eurocrap and autotuned beyond belief that the girls' vocals sound like crap. Does that transformation ring a bell? They're going for none other than what The Brown Eyed Girls did with How Come and now Abracadabra. Their talent company must've thought "Hey, if The Brown Eyed Girls can come from a God forsaken talent company and transform from ballad singers with little publicity to one of Korea's biggest girl groups, why can't SeeYa?" Needless to say, these girls are cashing in on what The Brown Eyed Girls did - have I ever said that pop is all about copying someone else?

My second theory is this. One of the original members left a while back and with this new album she was replaced by a new girl. Once again, does that event sound like a certain British 3-piece girl group? Of course it does. I think in some way, shape or form and whether these girls like it or not they're going to be the Sugababes of Korea. 3 girls, one already left and was rather coldly replaced with someone else willing to fill in the spot. I swear, if another one of the original members leaves within the next few years I'm publicizing this theory until everyone agrees with me! Hahah.

On to the song. I said a while ago that this song is so auto-tuned that you'd think these girls absolutely cannot sing at all. I wasn't exaggerating. Seriously, the song screams lousy auto-tune with another cheap, tasteless and overused loop for an instrumental. Horrid excise for a single, really. The song as a whole is just like its instrumental - cheap, tasteless and overused. But I bet it'll be a moderate hit at the very least because the hook is infectious. I gotta hand it to the girls, the hook may be as annoying as hell but at least it has a melody. BUT, the majority of the song still sounds crap.

2/5

SeeYa - Hot Girl

One thing you should know about this song before anything else - IT DOESN'T HAVE A RAP PART! Finally. That's one amazingly good thing about this song.

For some strange reason the three girls in a girl group singing fun, perky uptempo songs thing reminds me a lot of a certain band we call Atomic Kitten(In particular, Right Now). Heck, one of the girls even reminds me a bit of Tash(the one who sings first? kinda...)! Whatever. Moving on.

I'm against processing but like I said - if it's done the right way like Son Dambi's Bad Boy, it can give a good song another dimension that makes it even better. I don't bend for processing that often though so if I do, the song is either really, extremely well or there's something about it that I absolutely adore. Hot Girl is both.

It's dance but it's the type that if done the wrong way with an absolutely whacked out melody and unnecessary talking can sound really, really, really, really cheap but this sounds more like a remix of a top ten hit playing in an LA club or something. At least that's the impression I get. The chorus even sounds like something you'd put in an ad for a music channel or a cellphone, it's hip, young and the hook makes you smile but there are moments that make it round a bit 'retro' and disco-y in my books(of course I haven't heard a lot of disco but from that stuff I've heard, this is kinda like that..). 

The middle-8 is nothing special - I don't hear the magic that the chorus has but it's acceptable. Not a big fan of it though.

Also, it sounds much better in HQ - a lot of the backbeats that surprisingly give it a lot of groove for a dance song and make it an absolute pleasure to listen to got lost in the YouTube version, I'm afraid.

4.3/5