From: "Lady" (Single) Released: October 2011, South Korea Rating: 4.20
Laugh at me all you want, but I actually liked "Lady", and this is a list of my favorite songs, so this belongs here. "Lady" is a gorgeous song, but it also made some kind of statement -- that just because The Boss come from an obscure little agency, doesn't mean they can't be talented, because my goodness are they amazing.
And actually, this is their first formal ballad release. Which is surprising because they've always been pushed as an "idol group who can sing" and usually in Korea that equates to ballads. But I'm not complaining, because I liked their uptempos!
Everything starts out simple enough, with minimal instruments and their gorgeous voices, but slowly, the entire thing just explodes into a glorious mix of epic instrumentals and a gorgeously sung melody. By the end my jaw dropped, and when the resolution came around everything just went blank. The good kind. The kind where you're literally stunned and can't say anything cohesive anymore,
The vocals, oh dear Lord the vocals. They may not be up to par with older, more experienced singers, but for their calibre, my God. The harmonies, the solo lines, the belting -- stunning. Their vocals literally shine, and after hearing this, I don't think anyone can discount the fact that, vocally, they're one of the best idol groups in a long time. Like I said earlier this year, there's still so much they have to improve on, but put them beside any of the newer idol groups and they crush them.
Which is why, even if "Lady" in itself is pretty generic, and if you're not listening well enough it can bore you, they've made it work. The arrangement is simple, but the vocals carry the entire song.
From: "Love Power" (Single) Released: April 2011, Japan Rating: 2.41
Last year, The Boss was the rookie group I placed my bets on. As we all know, they haven't exactly achieved commercial success, but they've grown so much as a group this year, both as vocalists and performers (and I have both bases covered on this year's countdown, just to let you guys know) that it would be wrong to not have them on the list.
Their Japanese releases have, so far, been more of uptempos and happy songs and less ballads, however that doesn't make them any less of an outstanding group. It actually makes them a better group, because in Japan they show people that they can do all this jumping through hoops and fire in terms of performance, and in Korea their thrust now is on showing the market that they have some of the best vocals you'll hear in an idol group these days.
"Love Power", despite being really bouncy and lively (and actually a little cheap during some parts), is actually really light and doesn't really depend on a gazillion different layers of synths to make a point. Though they played around with their synths, the instrumental is very basic and you can actually clearly hear the bass line. You don't just feel it buried underneath all the other, sometimes unnecessary, elements, it's very obvious, even to the untrained eye.
The vocals don't really show off their wide ranges and whatnot, but they do show that they don't have to depend on screaming their heads of and running around screaming like headless chickens to deliver solid, consistent and pleasant-to-the-ears vocals.
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.
Apparently, they've never been D-NA to start with, so I'm calling them The Boss from now on.
So The Boss haven't exactly swept music show wins this year, nor have they really sold a lot both in Korea and Japan (do they even have a single out there?), but I like these guys. And for more than the fact that they remind me of my beloved DBSK. I re-iterate what I said earlier this year (like in a lot of what I've been writing lately) - 비틀비틀 is generic, cheesy at certain points, and you know not a lot of money was invested in to this, but it's like that to show how much more talent The Boss have compared to your run-of-the-mill boyband from a small agency no one's heard of.
I'd say they're tied with BEAST - BEAST have the backing of a semi-major agency, but lack in terms of talent when compared to The Boss. Put these two groups together and you have just a little less than what DBSK had when they were just starting out.
Let us now take the time to worship Mika and Karam's vocals. I have an unpublished, unfinished, draft of a vocal commentary for The Boss (that I wrote last summer), and I call Mika the Junsu of The Boss, and Karam and Jaejoong. Their vocals are drop-dead gorgeous, and I think being in one of the many generations of Xing helped. The other three are strong too, but Karam and Mika carry the band vocally, and for a band as new as them to be as good as they are is a hard feat to even try reaching.
비틀비틀 is catchy verging on cheap sometimes, but the way all five of them carry it both live, with their stage presence, and recorded with the epic, amazing vocals give it another dimension. To be honest with you, if k-pop gave me the same songs it did this year, only with people who could actually sing them, I wouldn't be complaining.
