[July 10, 2011] SBS Inkigayo Highlights + Commentary

Yay! Another recap! I can't guarantee you guys that I'll be back next week/this Friday, because this weekend was unusually light on assignments, but I'll try. Today's Inki was in celebration of Korea winning the bid for the Winter Olympics (or so I heard), so some of the acts on today had little gimmicks here and there. We say goodbye to f(x) for the year (I suppose), but HELLO TO CSJH!


Video credit goes to CodeAnalysisSeason5. Yay!

B1A4 - "Only Learned The Bad Things"
Weak vocals today, apart from that guy who sang first/did the middle 8, and I've come to the conclusion that B1A4 is better off with the uptempos. That's not to say that they're not proficient and the uptempos are a way to mask their incompetent vocals because they actually have decent voices, it's just that they do much, much better prancing around stage (while singing) - they all look more comfortable.

A Pink - "It Girl"
I really do not understand the rationale of making your voice light and incompetent ON PURPOSE. Do they want to be cute? Because it just makes them sound like bad singers. I'm pretty sure that majority of these girls don't sing like that in real life. Stop degrading yourselves, then we'll talk, A Pink.

Girls' Day - "Hug Me Once"
Can we just skip this entirely? I suppose I'd take this over Hyun A, but I'd hardly call that a compliment.

Rainbow - "Sweet Dream"
Another strong performance - I'm glad Rainbow are shaping up, it took long enough! And it's surprising because the girls who are now getting competent aren't the ones I originally liked, bar the girl who used to be blonde (with bangs?), who is apparently their lead singer.

f(x) - "Danger" + "Hot Summer"
So, this is the last we'll see of f(x) on music shows for a while. The girls have really stepped up this year, and at this point they really do deserve their status in SM. The performances are not up to par with their seniors just yet, but they're pretty close - they have the vocals and the presence down, all that's left is the command of the stage. They've not completely immune to Inki sound yet, which is why today's vocals were softer than usual, but a strong effort and a nice way to wrap things up.

Hyun A - "Attention" + "Bubble Pop"
You know, for all the insults and the crap I go through just because I like kpop, I've never been ashamed of liking it - until Hyun A started "singing". Like, in all honesty even with Girls' Day and A Pink and Dal Shabet I just shrugged them off, but Hyun A's case is more than just not being able to sing, even if I admit that's the biggest factor. It's a very cheap performance. You can argue that "but people have shown more skin before!", but it's not just about the clothes, it's everything put together - the clothes, the choreography, the song. And the fact that she's actually try hard to one, sing, and two, make it seem like it's not cheap just makes it worse. I don't know if I should laugh or cry because it's so ridiculous. I mean think about it, she's actually trying, and people actually like the fact that she can't sing. If it was just cheap I'd shrug it off because I live in a country where noontime shows are the epitome of cheap and showbiz shows aren't aware of the concept of tact, but they don't mask the fact that they're cheap. Bottom line is, this entire idea of Hyun A singing and releasing this single is ridiculous and I would like to shoot whoever thought of it.

ZE:A - "Watch Out!" + "Heart For 2"
Weak vocals on the first song, but nice try - I'd like to see a full performance of that song, to be honest. As much as I like "Watch Out!" and as much as their vocals are actually pretty decent on it (which is the deciding factor most of the time), I cringe whenever I see the choreography and the wardrobe. Of course the first songs sounds like a gazillion other songs out now, but if they can pull it off well (which, by the looks of it has rather slim chances but is worth a shot) and not make me cringe, I can manage. Basically, what ZE:A have to do now is put together all the good points they've shown so far, and put something out that emphasizes all of them - because it's possible.

Secret - "Starlight Moonlight"
Earlier this year I was THIS close to liking Secret, but I'm afraid it just wasn't meant to happen. Starlight isn't a bad song, and considering all the other songs out right now I really shouldn't be complaining, but the song just isn't my taste. Secret have turned into rather competent and strong live performers since I last saw them, which is good - even Sunhwa and the blonde girl got pretty strong! The performance makes me like the song a bit more, but not enough I'm afraid. Strong performance as a whole.

T-Ara - "Roly Poly"
To be honest, today's performance wasn't half bad. It's the kind that you know isn't the best, but it draws you in and makes you want to watch 'till the end because their vocals aren't painful and the concept is rather intriguing. Core Contents knows how to sell T-Ara, and T-Ara know how to sell a song - I'll give them that.

2NE1 - "I Am The Best"
But of course, when you talk about a girl group who makes you want to watch them even if you don't like the song, 2NE1 win over anyone active right now. These girls are playing - they have enough actual talent to just not think about the technicalities for a second and just make you, force you, to watch them. Willingly. The crazy outfits, the choreography, the song - everything makes sense, no matter how ridiculous it may sound.

SHINee and f(x) - "Hello"
Before I start, WHERE THE HELL IS ONEW AND WHY ISN'T HE HERE. So anyway. I think we learned a lot from this performance, didn't we? Victoria and Sulli should never be let near another SHINee song and should just sing f(x) songs forever because they don't sound sad. Krystal's so-so, Amber is SURPRISINGLY NOT BAD, and Luna can sing anything she wants to. But we all knew that. Key got his nice timbre back, THANK GOD, Taemin needs more practice but he's still Jaejoong v2 for me, and Minho isn't half bad. It was a competent performance, but lacked a bit of punch at some parts.

CSJH (Dana And Sunday) - "One More Chance"
I understand that they're not on this week's Take 7, but to have CSJH perform that early in the show is insulting - I'm insulted. This is not some random girl group - this is CS freaking JH, the queens of kpop. But what's done is done. Today's performance was one of the rare times that I prefer listening to the live version over the recording - even with the small slip-ups, as a whole their vocals on this had much more life and punch and body compared to the recording (the one on the music video, at least) and even if it was there during the past few days, the "we're the queens, we can do anything we want to so bow down now or else" attitude of the performance is getting stronger and stronger. And may I just say that these were my favorite outfits from the video - not my favorite hair, I like it when they have their hair down, but these are classy without being too stiff - it matches the song well. The whole performance was really like being in the presence of queens - it was frivolous but not too excessive, strong but not perfect to the point of being robotic, and a feast to your senses. My mind is spinning just thinking what it'll be like to see all four of them on stage again.

2PM - "Hands Up" (WINNER)
They're not completely undeserving of their wins, but I wouldn't say that they're the most worthy either. To be honest, today's performance went right through me. When you're not concentrating on the performance and really picking out the nitty gritty the entire thing just whizzes by leaving no trail. I was like "wait, that's it?" - the song itself just goes on and on and on, and I'm afraid their less than spectacular vocals don't really do much to help it. When you think about it though, it's an OK song and a pretty fun performance.

[July 9, 2011] MBC Music Core Highlights + Commentary

Guess who's back? And with a recap at that! It's been a while, and I'm starting to get a hang of college life (even if I still have a gazillion assignments to finish this weekend) so I thought I'd do a music show recap this week. And besides, there's a lot to talk about the acts who performed this week - ESPECIALLY CSJH! Even if it's just Dana and Sunday, it's still CSJH!


An explanation first as to why I these music show recaps keep going on and off - for the record, I've never officially said that I'm never going to do them again. This series is something that has done a lot for PRN and has established my writing around kpop circles in general, so it's not something I'm ready to let go of just yet. When I do pause from writing them, it can be due to any or all of the following reasons. One, I'm too busy. I just started college last month and every weekend I'm literally submerged in schoolwork - readings, papers, research - these are things I can't not do. I have priorities, I have to get a degree, I have to do well, I have to do this and that - PRN is one of my priorities, but there are more important ones for me. Two, there aren't enough idol groups with material I have something to say about. When there is a lul in releases from idols, I stop doing recaps because I don't want to do a recap with just 2 or 3 performances. Three, when the line-up gets boring. If, say, there are around 9 acts and all of them have been performing for several weeks now with no one coming back and no one saying "goodbye" - I get bored. And when I get bored, I tend to say the same things over and over again - I'm sure you guys don't want to read a recap that's exactly like the one last week. So I stop.

But now I'm back. I can't guarantee you that I'll go all the way to the end of the year with this "tranche", but remember that I'm not going to completely stop doing these recaps altogether.

Video credit goes to CrazyCarrot270.

N-Train - "One Last Cry"
Weak harmonies at the chorus, the guy who sings first isn't that strong a singer. The guy doing the high notes at the end is OK. The guy who sings second (the bridge?) is amazing though, and so is the guy doing all the gymnastics at the chorus. It's a bland song to start with, with whimpy vocals at the chorus, and if you aren't really concentrating on the performance it's pretty boring until that one guy starts screaming.

Rania - "Masquerade"
These girls can sing, and they've proven that they can sing and dance at the same time and still deliver strong vocals, but honestly, sometimes their performances are far too theatric - like today's. It's perfectly fine to have gimmicks and whatnot because that's what pop is in the first place, but I do wonder now what people are watching Rania for - their material or the choreography. Of course a lot of people watch music in general for the visual aspect, but in Rania's case it's a waste to market them as a "visual" group, so to say, because they have the talent to be more than that. We'll see.

Boyfriend - "Boyfriend"
Before anything, let me just say that their eyes freak me out, especially Blonde guy's. But anyway, their performances so far have been somewhere in between orchestrated to the last step and "let's go prance around stage and have fun" - their vocals are so-so, nothing to rave about, but not especially bad. They did a remix today, and it's a lot edgier than the original, but it's good that their movements and, to a certain extent, their vocals have retained the fun-ish part of the performance. Not bad - just stop freaking me out with your eyes.

Girls' Day - "Hug Me Once"
Too much pink, too much winking - too much pink in general. And it's a waste because the hook isn't half bad when you think about it, it's just that I want to strangle these girls because they're TOO CUTE. It's so annoying, and it's not like any of them have drop-dead vocals hiding under that horrid facade, nor do they have outstanding material. Take me back to "Nothing Lasts Forever", please.

Rainbow - "Sweet Dream"
Wow, their vocals have gotten a lot better since I last watched a live performance. They aren't the best to start with, but their live vocals are a lot more stable now. And add to that the fact that I like the song - Rainbow, I am liking you the more I see you. So now that you have the vocals part pretty much fixed and the material all accounted for, you just need to keep getting better. Which you are. YAY.

f(x) - "Hot Summer"
I expect nothing less than a strong performance from f(x) - and I got it. Surprise of all surprises - Amber sings with a feminine timbre! They tried to hide it in the recording, but live vocals don't lie! Krystal's vocals are getting less and less like her sister's, THANK GOD, and hopefully she develops a nice timbre in the near future. Luna's voice is still as stable and stunning as ever, Sulli's back to getting parts that don't show off her now-existent voice, but Victoria's still getting better and better. A bit more pushing f(x), and you'll be amazing. Hopefully.

Hyun A - "Bubble Pop"
I laugh when people say that Hyun A's a good singer. Like, really laugh. I saw someone comment on a performance of "Bubble Pop" saying something like "OMG she's so good at singing - she's not even a singer!" - seriously? How can you be on a music show and not be a singer? Everyone knows she's not a singer, and it didn't show that much on the recording (for obvious reasons - I'd like to know how much Cube paid to make her sound like she had some semblance of a voice) but my god the presence of a backing track over her non-existent vocals make it even more obvious that she can't hold a melody. At all. Let alone sing. There are lines that she doesn't even sing - period. In all honesty, she's a disgrace to idol group singers. It's so bad, that even if the performance is 90% backing track, 10% Hyun A, you hear the Hyun A over the backing track. Please go back to rapping - you singing makes me actually like "Change".

ZE:A - "Watch Out!"
I actually like this song! The live vocals are a total letdown though, and it's freaky watching them all smile-y with that ridiculous choreography. Will ZE:A please decide what they want to do with their music and image, because I swear, if they release that song on the teaser it's going to be very confusing. And I don't like acts who don't even know who they are.

T-Ara - "Roly Poly"
Still dependent on backing tracks, T-Ara? Not a big fan of the song, the performance, or the vocals, but at least they don't make the throw up with all the cuteness. It's bearable song, and a bearable performance, if you don't think of the heavily backing tracked-vocals.

2NE1 - "I Am The Best"
Not really a big fan of the song, and their hairstyles are ridiculous and distracting, but whatever I do I can't deny the fact that these girls know how to put on a show. What they do, they do well, and that's something to commend. They're not afraid to do all these wild things (with their hair as well), and some people like what they're doing - as long as they have stable, strong vocals and a sense of unity, all of which they have, I'm good. Watching them, regardless of what song they're performing, makes you want to jump around your room like them.

2PM - "Hands Up"
I've never seen 2PM as the "let's just forget everything and jump around stage" band, but it's good that they pull this song off in somewhat an "organized mess", which is a very 2PM-approach to this. The song's insanely catchy, both a blessing and a curse seeing as it goes nowhere if you really listen to it well, but it's perfect for performing. As a whole it's a strong effort.

CSJH (Dana And Sunday) - "One More Chance"
I'm waiting for the official single release with the official audio track before I do a review, but if things work out, I will be doing one - so as much as possible I'll refrain from talking about the song proper too much. But anyway - CSJH ARE BACK. Half of them, at least. On one hand I really wanted Lina and Stephanie to be with them one, because they're my two favorite members and two, because the four of them together are epic in every possible way. That's not to say that Sunday and Dana aren't talented though - their comeback shows all these newer, some of them incompetent, girl groups how things are done around here. Today's performance was much more stable than yesterday's, even with the crappy Music Core sound, which they are immune to (thank goodness), and Dana's vocals, bar the shaky part at the beginning (because that part is virtually un-singable in the first place), are flawless and stunning, and Sunday's much stronger today. The entire performance, even with parts that aren't my taste, has ever step, every note, calculated down to their last breath and pulled off like it's second nature to the girls. Because it IS second nature. A performance in the truest sense of the word.

The 2011 First Quarter K-Pop Report: Part 2

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.

I rest my case.
[Full MV] Namie Amuro ft. AFTER SCHOOL - Make It... by ASFVariety

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

[July 25, 2010] SBS Inkigayo Highlights + Commentary

I'VE FINALLY COMPLETED ANOTHER WEEKEND OF RECAPS! *pops confetti* Let's finish things off with Inkigayo, and yes, Taeyang won again, SHINee made their comeback, and Super Junior finished off promo for Bonamana (the album).

Video credit: CrazyCarrot350 :D

G.NA - I'll Back Off So You Can Live (review)
I just noticed today, but she looks so uncomfortable on stage. Seriously, it's like she's about to cry, not because of her song, but because she hates being on stage - she moves, and looks, like a robot. I know she must love performing to be in the industry and be a trainee for as long as she has been, but it clearly doesn't show and if it doesn't show, that means her performances are once again ineffective. Seriously, it's like the entire performance perked up when Doojoon came on, and then went back to zero when he left. She should be able to carry herself on her own, but it doesn't look like she can. I hope I can add a "yet" after that.

Teen Top - Clap
Teen Top looks very sophisticated and practiced and all, but until I hear more than two guys singing on a lead single, I think they'll be a cross between Infinite and MBLAQ. They're trying too hard to look good on stage, but there are guys in the group who can sing, it just doesn't really show, even if their material is somewhat decent. They have to prove me wrong on that one, somehow.

Miss A - Bad Girl Good Girl
Ouch. What happened to pink-haired girl towards the end? Completely stopped singing for like 2 seconds. I don't know if I should be disappointed or feel bad for them - I know a lot of people have said the routine's hard plus they're singing live, which makes it especially hard. But then they pretty much pulled it off yesterday, which means it's humanely possible to sing and dance that thing at the same time. Oh well. Although now that they've proven they can sing, dance and literally do gymnastics, I think it's time for a better song, don't you, JYP? LOL.

Sistar - Push Push (review)
Just... no. Next single, please. And next time make it a little tasteful, please?

ZE:A - Level Up
Ugh. Next song, please.

Black Pearl - Gogossing
Seeing these girls just make me miss CSJH even more. Seriously, I miss girl groups with actual vocals, who actually make use of them. Another consistent performance - and the even stronger harmonies today just sent be ballistic. I'M IN LOVE WITH THOSE HARMONIES. lol.

SHINee - Up & Down + Lucifer (review)
It's good to know that some people agree with me when I say Jonghyun's live singing is getting a tad bit too excessive. He was just a big, slightly wild voice before, and it was just a matter of taste that I didn't like his vocals, but now it's like he's like how he should've been when they just debuted - running before even attempting to walk. He's trying to do all these ad-libs and high notes all over the place, and because he's not really sure whether he can sing it or not, he fails several times. But when he's sure of what he's singing, he actually sounds good. Even with Jonghyun going wild today and SBS' most of the time crap sound, I do think that this was the best performance out of the three - if we're talking about performance as a whole. Onew was phenomenal to say the least, Taemin and Key sounded good, Minho was... Minho, and Jonghyun had his good points.

Son Dambi - Queen
For Son Dambi vocal standards, today's performance was pretty good, actually. Not as good as I'd like it to be, but good enough. In Filipino, pwede na. She does carry herself well and command the audience, so I'm OK.

Super Junior - No Other + Bonamana
Well, it seems like their rather impeccable performance yesterday was just luck - and we're back to having not very strong vocals. If my "calculations" are correct, this is the last ever promo performance of both songs - it's a pity they didn't make it phenomenal. Oh well, I guess I'll just go watch yesterday's brilliance.

Taeyang - I Need A Girl (WINNER)
It's been a while since I last recap-ed a Taeyang performance, but I'm afraid my opinion hasn't changed - don't like him, the song, and the way he performs it. I'm sorry. But I wouldn't go as far as saying he doesn't deserve his win, because he's definitely better than a handful of other idols. So yeah.

[July 24, 2010] MBC Music Core Highlights + Commentary

I'll just get this out as fast as humanely possible - I have a BoA review to write! And most likely I'll be home late again tonight, so my Inki recap will come late too. Video credit for today's recap goes to CrazyCarrot250. Always brilliant. LOL.


G.NA - I'll Back Off So You Can Live (review)
She sounded off at the beginning, but thankfully by the second verse she was the way she always was. HyunA's part was a little boring, I prefer the guy from BEAST. This girl seriously needs to learn how to carry herself on stage like a performer. Not a diva or a "rookie", a performer. They're pushing her as an outstandingly good artist, her skills as a performer should match her vocals.

Girls' Day - Tilt Your Head
To be fair, their vocals improved today, however much they can given the crap song. And honestly, I do think they have more sophistication than SISTAR. But they still suck, sorry.

Miss A - Bad Girl Good Girl
Well that's more like it! All they had to do to get the breathlessness out was win two awards. LOL. They must've been really nervous before they won that now that they have, they're doing pretty darn good. I still don't like the song as much as I'd like to, but out of all the groups who've recently debuted, I'd say they're by far the best. No question.

Infinite - Come Back Again
They were getting better the last few times we saw them, but they just stopped for a few shows and suddenly they suck again? For some strange reason, they kinda remind me of ZE:A back when they were really new. Towards the tail end, the vocals started getting better - but that was for like 10 seconds. Not impressed.

Sistar - Push Push (review)
Holy crap what the hell happened to tutu girl's tutu? IT JUST GOT BIGGER. lol. But anyway, what use is a single if only one of the 4 girls can sing it? I'm now sure that more than one of them can actually sing, but not on this song. Even if that song they did for the video game soundtrack was a little generic, I'd rather they promote it than this.

ZE:A - Level Up
Their vocals are getting better, yes, but their improvement's getting masked by the fact that the song is pathetic. Sorry guys, try again.

MBLAQ - One Better Day
The only part I like is the piano line at the beginning before they start singing - that says a lot about them and how they perform. Like I always say, if all they really do on stage is look good and maybe dance together, then why be idols who're supposed to make songs? Form a dance group for all I care, but if you can't sing why push it? Seriously.

4Minute - I My Me Mine
I don't know exactly why, but they kinda lost their punch on this performance. I mean technically their vocals were strong and they carried themselves, but the punch they had when I said I was starting to like them suddenly disappeared. I wonder what's wrong.

Black Pearl - Gogossing
Have I publicly professed my love for Black Pearl yet? I will now. Except for the girl with the thing in her hair, they have gorgeous voices. And I mean gorgeous. Harmonies on music shows, strong vocals and a nice perky (but sometimes cheap) song - what more can I ask for? HARMONIES PEOPLE, HARMONIES.

SHINee - Up & Down + Lucifer (review)
ONEW YOU ARE BRILLIANT. Jonghyun has a tendency to go wild when he sings live and sometimes fails, almost like Mark Westlife, but Onew, onew just nails it. But, I do think that this sounds better recorded - I was listening to the recording all day yesterday and I can't get enough. Like seriously, I'm itching to hear it every few seconds. This is bad. The performances are good, strong, and there's no question that these guys are performers, but I'd have to go with the recording on this.

Son Dambi - Queen
I don't like the song as much as I did when I first heard it (before I saw the videos and performances), but she is getting better at performing it. Like I said, Pledis makes performers, not necessarily singers, but at least they're better than MBLAQ because they're not just trying to look good on stage - they're trying to entertain. And besides, Queen is a song this girl can most likely pull off brilliantly if she tries hard enough - it's not out of the range of her abilities.

Super Junior - No Other + Bonamana
Actually, that was pretty good. Except for a few slips here and there, it's kinda said that they only really got the hang of things when they're ending promo. The vocals were strong, the performance was tight, and I "enjoyed" it. LOL. I really did.

[July 23, 2010] KBS Music Bank Highlights + Commentary

One of the main reasons why I'm still writing these recaps is because SHINee are back - if they weren't promoting Lucifer I'd stop writing and study. But nooooooo! Hahah. A rather "shocking" winner today and no, it wasn't SHINee. Hahah!

Video credit goes to Unknowncarrot150

G.NA - I'll Back Off So You Can Live (review)
Last week I had some doubts about whether or not she was singing live, but this week I'm sure she is - looks like last week as just a warm-up. In terms of vocals. She has the vocals and most probably the dancing mastered, but her performances lack an "aura", not sophistication, an aura. You can tell she's trying to make her eyes expressive, but it's like she can only make one expression - she doesn't really feel what she's singing. And if all she does is stand there and sing, she doesn't know how to command an audience. She's a fantastic live singer, yes, but she has to become a performer, she has to learn. With time. But I'm glad she has her vocals down.

Sistar - Push Push (review)
I was listening to that song they did for a video game sound track and I was surprised that they actually sounded decent on it - the song was simple, could be perceived as generic, but it had that little amount of "sophistication" that they desperately need. We now have recorded proof that more than one girl in SISTAR can sing - I'm happy. But the catch is, that isn't the song they're promoting and "making a name for themselves" with - it's the crappy song below. They've certainly gotten comfortable with performing the song, or at least the girl who sings has, but if the song itself sucks, the entire thing will fall apart, especially when the girls don't have the ability to make crap songs sound good. But not a lot of people do, so I wouldn't blame them.

ZE:A - Level Up
I don't even wanna bother with ZE:A anymore - it's a lost cause. Where's the song in this? I know they look like an entire unit now, but they lost the music component of it. Give me back All Day Long and I'll gladly take that.

MBLAQ - One Better Day
It's a cheesy song, first off, and they sound so nasal. But in fairness, they sound better if you compare it to their vocals on Y. Still too concerned with looking good on stage, I say, and their singing sounds so deadpan. Like, can you guys please sing with some enthusiasm?

Son Dambi - Queen
Son Dambi has never been a live singer, and I think we all have to learn to accept that. Yes, even me. She does have a certain presence on stage, and she's a good performer, but she needs foundations. If G.NA is all foundation and no performance, Son Dambi's the complete opposite. She sounds better than she did on her comeback week though.

SHINee - Up & Down + Lucifer (review)
Any first performance will be flawed in one way or another - no one's perfect - but I just gotta say, that was one heck of a comeback performance. There were a few slips here and there in terms of vocals, but as a whole that was borderline fantastic. The vocals were strong enough, but could be better, and the choreography+execution, in the eyes of someone who knows nothing about those, were very tight and well-done. SHINee have that sophistication I always look for - they know how to command an audience and carry a performance. Like I said, music is half-heard and half-felt - you cannot have music without emotion because then it would be useless. This performance was one of the few that have made my chest kind of tighten - very few groups have been able to deliver performances that do that to me, and it's a very good sign. I do hope they improve over the next few weeks though, and that Minho gets better! Him sitting there was better than him not being there at all, but I gotta say that nothing will beat Jaejoong's platforms and thrones on Rising Sun when he tore/pulled a cartilage. :D

Narsha - Bbri Ri Bba Bba
OK her outfits are getting more and more freaky by the week. I'm kinda slowly getting sick of the song as well - it's lost its bite and character. Oh well.

Super Junior - No Other
*sigh* I'll say it - I like the song. But that's mainly because everyone sounds good on it now. Leeteuk's smile still freaks me out and choreography's a bit too cheesy for my taste, but I like the song.

Miss A - Bad Girl Good Girl (WINNER)
I'm glad that at least 80% of their breathlessness has been eliminated - it's just skirt girl and pink-haired girl who need to try a bit more. But I will say that they're worthy of their win - I'm relieved that kpop knows how to spot talent. I know the song isn't the best in the world, but these wins (yesterday and today) should give JYP a wake-up call to give them better material in the near future. And by near future I mean NEAR future - like, ASAP. Apart from the breathless parts, it was a strong performance as always, and

[July 11, 2010] SBS Inkigayo Highlights + Commentary

Pretty much the same line-up as yesterday's MuCore, except for D-NA and Orange Caramel. Let's get straight to the recap, shall we?


If Music Core replaced their sound engineer, Inkigayo must've given theirs a scolding - it's better, but not perfect. "It's better than nothing" is a phrase I've learned to use a lot in kpop. As always, YT credit goes to CrazyCarrot350.

Girls' Day - Tilt Your Head
Can I barf now? OK fine, I won't. But seriously, even if their performances are getting shorter and shorter, they still suck. The shorter airtime is a welcome relief though. Do these girls even like what they're singing? It seems like the one girl who had that pre-debut video where she sang Take A Bow suddenly disappeared - I honestly can't spot her.

Teen Top - Clap
"Emotional Teen Pop Band"? o.O The set today looks like a slightly cheaper version of a set they could've used for 2PM's Without U, and maybe even the outfits. There's even fire! All we need now is rain. I'll have to admit though, that was a tight performance. For a new group that was pretty good. Vocals-wise they falter a bit, but they do know how to perform and not just try and look good on stage. I'll be watching them from now on.

Miss A - Bad Girl Good Girl
Why do I keep screwing up the title of this song? I think I've put the wrong title on 2 recaps already. *sigh* I'm glad we've solved most of the breathlessness, but the girl in the tutu-like thing wasn't very good today - what went wrong? She's usually decent. Over-all it was a strong performance, as usual. There's nothing else to say!

Infinite - Come Back Again (review)
They're not that good to start with, then you put them together with SBS' crap sound system - epic fail, I'm afraid. Although, I do hear more than one guy with a decent voice. Maybe in the future Infinite, but not now.

Sistar - Push Push (review)
What do I have to say? The epitome of cheap. The choreography, the clothes (oh God the clothes) and the song itself sound so cheap it kills. They don't have finesse, there's no grace to their performance - maybe it's because the song doesn't allow it, but maybe they really are like that. A good performer can and will make the cheapest song into a song with class - 2NE1 is the perfect example of that. But you see, SISTAR aren't 2NE1 - they don't have the training and the abilities that 2NE1 got. Oh well.

ZE:A - Level Up
It pains me to watch something like this - a song with absolutely no dynamics performed by a bunch of amateurs. They look like a single unit now, yes, but if getting to that stage takes a song like this, I'd rather watch their All Day Long era performances. This is not working, ZE:A.

CN Blue - Love
There's not much difference arrangement-wise - it's just the regular arrangement played with a bass and 2 electric guitars and they changed the setting to "heavy metal" or "rock". And maybe a few changes to the drum line here and there. I like the original one better though, BUT THE DRUMMER IS STILL TOO DAMN FAR. Here we go again. Need I remind these people every single time that the drummer is the single most important part of the performance? *sigh*

4Minute - I My Me Mine
I can now stand 4Minute - Mel will be happy. So there, I think they're now my third favorite girl group. Give me a few weeks to do my research and watch a few TV shows, then I'll tell you when I'm 100% sure. 4Minute have developed grace and finesse on stage, and they used to be the cheap version of 2NE1, so SISTAR may just have a shot. Although technically, 4Minute are under a big three company - Cube Ent. is under JYPE. So SISTAR might not have a shot. Oh well, 4Minute are still decent now. Yay.

Taeyang -I Need A Girl
Pretty much the same observations for Taeyang today - the song sounds better recorded. And his voice seems a bit off as well, more nasal than usual - in Filipino he sounds paos, like he has a sore throat or something.

Black Pearl - Gogossing
Harmoniesssss - my ears are in heaven. That's what I call a girl group, if they can dance that's a plus, but it doesn't matter 'coz they can damn sing! I do wonder what their old material sounds like, so maybe after this I'll go do some more research, deeper than what I already know. For some reason, the girl on the far right reminds me of Solbi, and the girl next to her (with the brilliant voice) reminds me of Sooyoung SNSD. Hmm.

Son Dambi - Can't U See + Queen
Son Dambi is a good performer - I'll give her that. She's still miming a lot of her performance, but she does carry herself very well on stage, which is good. Pledis acts seem to really be like that - good performers, mostly sub-par vocalists. I think the clothes and the set had something to do with Queen sounding very cheap yesterday, it sounds a little more tasteful today.

Narsha - Bbri Ri Bba Bba
I now actually like the chorus of this song. The verses are OK, and the hook is very catchy (true to it's name), but to a certain extent the chorus intrigues me - it's so ethereal. I like. I do appreciate the fact that Narsha's agency is actually spending and, in turn, making an effort - the gazillion back-up dancers, the outfits and the rather.. interesting video show that. Hey, at least someone's making an effort. And besides, Narsha actually has a voice - it's not like she's some pretty face with no actual talent.

Super Junior - No Other
Well they won today. Congrats! The vocals were pretty strong, which is good. Everyone looks normal today - no creepy smiles or extreme emo-ing. My only complaint is that Ryeowook sounded horrid at the beginning, but other than that they were OK today.