K-pop for July

I haven’t written any K-pop reviews in forever.

First: Mina's "Toy Boy." You can't expect much from a song with the chorus "just like a toy boy" performed by a woman who tries hard to show nearly every inch of her skin (it is summer…) but still, it is a song. Therefore the absolutely weak vocals delivered with no power or energy (but a huge amount of electronic help that we can tell is needed), well, I'd just say this is a pass.

MBLAQ, a group always worth watching for the eye-candy and the Rain-ish dance moves, has released "Mona Lisa" earlier this week. It's not a perfect release. I won't be listening to it over and over, but it's not bad, either. It's got a hint of a Latin feel in parts, something that appears in several of MBLAQ's previous releases as well. If only they'd get rid of Thunder's lame rap it'd be a B+ effort. Seungho is still my favorite, but his hair looks like it was fried and then dyed in this video, whereas for the first time GO is starting to look attractive (Jun ALWAYS looks hot, of course and Mir is a cutey, too). And I must admit dance moves where men grab their crotches is so much better than when women do it.

GP Basic is a pretty new group, this release is called "Jelly Pop."  It's nothing special, just regular old electronic Korean dance music without strong singing or interesting lyrics. And for some reason all the members have died hair (orange trying to be blond). And the dance motions are in some cases too sexual for a group with such young members. The one cool part of the video is the clapping section (unfortunately the music takes over the clapping beat, we don't get to see them continue to beat the rhythm themselves).

  

Kim Hyun-joong's "Kiss Kiss"  is the most annoying type of video, the type where they just use footage from the person's "star" life and put the song over it. There are a few things probably shot for the video, but mostly it's crazy fans, stage scenes and Hyun-joong going here and there. Boring. The song is okay but too soft for my tastes. If I watch it again, it's only because he's total eye candy. Still I prefer SS501's faster tracks over this.

  

DBSK/ TVXQ (동방신기) has released their latest song, "Superstar,"  it's a Japanese release (unfortunately), but hot dance moves and catchy. I hope the long version is even better (this is still the short version). Also I find the video very washed-out looking. I want more contrast and more color.

Finally, even though it came out nearly a month ago, 2NE1's latest, "I am the Best."  The song isn't the best, but the visuals in the video are as usual absolutely awesome. And I have been listening to it consistently since it was released. But you know it bothers me that 2NE1 incorporates Korean 삼고무 (3 drum dance) –after—it's already been incorporated by a Western artist, Shakira, on "I Did it Again" (you can really see the drums on this live performance video). Neither Shakira nor 2NE1 did the drummers the favor of using them in a way that the drummers could really show their stuff and contribute to the audio, not just the visual, but… oh well. 

See the Drums on each side of the pyramid?

Various K-Pop Releases

K-pop Reviews:

제 블로그를 방문해 주셔서 고맙습니다. 저는 이 블로그에 일주일에 4번 정도 한국 전통 공연 문화에 대해 쓰고 있습니다. 처음에는  K-pop에 관심이 있으셔서  방문하셨겠지만 나가시기 전에 한국 전통 문화에 관한 것도 한번 봐 주시면 좋겠습니다.

When MBLAQ asks you to "stay with me" how could you possibly leave? In "Stay" hese guys are so hot, I can almost forget they're practically young enough to be my sons. This is definitely MBLAQ's best work yet, in many ways they are maturing as a group, but I find the song overall to be too "busy," there is just too much going on. And the video, with some of the colors and lighting, sort of strains the eyes, when I'd really just like to relax and look at the guys. There is a longer review on allkpop, just in case you're interested.

Park Jungmin, one of the performers from SS501 (at least in the short term the group is taking a hiatus), has released a solo effort, "Not Alone." The song lacks originality and although the choreography has a few moments of brilliance, we mostly just get to look at the new slicked down hair cut and dark eyeliner that Jungmin is sporting, rather than dance moves. Like some other SS501 songs, Jungmin has utilized a bunch of string instruments, but it feels contrived. And he really shouldn't have changed his look, the old one was much hotter. At least the autotune is not overpowering his voice, which isn't bad.

This character shows up in the video. I just thought the glasses merited a screenshot.


Teen Top (talk about stupid group names) has released the video for "Supa Love," which apparently was produced by a guy who has also produced for Justin Bieber. That should tell you a lot. But as much as the previous releases of this group have fallen short in my opinion, this one is actually a very danceable/club track. If I have to hear it too many times it's going to irritate me, but in the short term I can see myself getting the dishes done in a big hurry while listening to this. The last twenty seconds should be cut off the track though. The video is fairly good, somewhat simple choreography but a nice consistent look throughout. The teen top guys are young, but they don't come across as pre-teens, despite the sort of immature references to supa as in Superman, and a set of outfits that sort of look like trainee superhero garb. I read an online review that says basically one guy, Niel, is singing the whole time. But if it was a solo singer instead of a group that'd still be the case, so who cares how they divide up the work?


A new group that wants to fight back against the idol group culture had just released their first song—the group is called Piggy Dolls and indeed the members are hefty. The song, "Trend" has a long intro, but once the singing starts, you can see that these three can sing, they've got serious lungs, although autotune is still in use, perhaps stylistically chosen, not needed though in this case. It seems to me, though, if they dance that much they are going to lose their trademark plus size. At any rate, Korea is a bit too hung up on appearance and I applaud attempts like this to fight back. But they aren't the first such group, so I am skeptical if they can stick around.



Infinite released a video for "Before the Dawn" that is too violent, apparently, for television. Shots of dance choreography alternate with a dark fight scene. The fight scene just doesn't seem justified in the lyrics, I think it's supposed to be a metaphor, but way too heavy handed to work out. The choreography is pretty good, very strong and masculine, but the singing isn't gritty enough to match the fight or darkness, it's too pretty and smooth.



Joo has released the new track "나쁜 남자", or bad man. The song is whatever, nothing I'd want to listen to again, but the video has an advantage, in that the man is played by Chansung from 2PM, definitely their hottest member. He has the best eyes.

A Lot of K-Pop Releases (best saved for last)

K-pop Reviews

SM the Ballads' “Hot Times” has a smokey bluesy sound in parts; actually it’s a much better vehicle for the voices of the guys than their previous video release. It is clear that Jonghyun is the best of them, though. And I’m only a tiny bit biased.

One of the boys from B2ST with an incredibly stupid new hairdo and one of the women from Davichi has released a song called "Udon." It’s not a dance track, so it’s surprising that I sort of like it, I think mainly because the video is just too cute. The song is about udon (the noodles) and in the video the boy and girl alternate on who is able to eat a lot of udon, the successful eater is the object of love for the other person.

Strawberry Fields has released a new song, 별빛행진곡 which is quite different from most Korean pop music. First it really does have a Beatles flavor. It’s neither dance nor ballad but something else, with decent music and a very odd fantastical video featuring a small boy with a horn near a very interesting beach clambering on the on the rocks, sand and bluff. I like it. I don’t know how much I’d want to hear it, or see it, but it feels so refreshing compared to most Korean pop music.

John Park, most recent runner up of the Korean version of American Idol has released a jazzy pop piece, it sounds like he’s trying to copy Kim Geunmo, but he doesn’t have the pipes. The song is called “I’m Your Man” and the video is just him in the studio. I don’t know how well he’ll do with these non-traditional pop piece, but it does show off his voice, and I appreciate the fact that when he inserts English into his song it sounds completely natural and fluent (he’s Korean-American), whereas many stars just insert random English that might not mean anything, or be grammatically incorrect, and it can be said awkwardly.


Girls Generation has a new song,“Snowy Wish.” It’s truly annoying, full of product placement and recycled footage, there is no choreography and the song is ordinary, so unless you’re a maniacal fan you won’t find much in this new release.

F.Cuz released a new song “괜찮아” with the subtitle “for my fans.” The song is a syrupy ballad. Nuff said.

After School, a group notable only because their lead, Gahi, is amazing, released a “Love Love Love” in two versions. The first version shows clearly the story of the song. The second version has a video that is sort of like the music to accompany a composite scene in a movie or television drama that explains that the characters are models. But the music is obviously supposed to be Christmas with jingling bells and a melody that almost rips off that theme song from “Love, Actually” and it’s all delivered in this super sappy saccharine way.

New group Dal Shabet has released their first video, Supa Dupa Diva. I'm not sure if they know what the word Diva means. And Koreans say "Diba" not "Diva" anyway. The song is so annoying, I can't even barely watch the video. I hope this doesn't do well, but a sinking feeling in my gut says it will.

A new Chinese group has debuted but they're obviously going for a Korean look at sound, even to the extent of getting a Korean female singer to be a guest star in the video. HIT-5 is the name of the group, I'll give you only one guess how many members they have. Here's the link to the video, which really should receive money for product placement of the Apple iphone. The song itself? Only interesting if you want to practice your Chinese listening skills, in my opinion.

The men of MBLAQ are finally back with a sexy video full of ultra sexy dance moves. If you can get past the excessive eye make-up on the members, you'll be sure to notice the Rain inspired/choreographed movements with a very active and mesmerizing pelvic emphasis. Cry is a bit soft, almost ballad like, and not likely to do super well, but the boys sure look hot. Or wet. Watch the video and you'll see what I mean.


One Way, a group made up of three overseas Koreans- either one Australian and two Americans or I have the numbers wrong, have released an English language song. The song, “Rainy Days” is actually really awesome, they’re good singers and the acoustic sound of the song is refreshing compared to normal Korean releases. The guys aren’t going to win awards for being the hottest faces out there, but they should get more notice just based on their skills.


G-Dragon and TOP (two members of Big Bang) released their video "Knock Out" today. I have to admit, I hope this does well. In fact, I already downloaded the audio track a few days ago. The video has a very year of the rabbit feel. You should watch it even if you don't like rap because these two are super daring. Like CL for 2NE1 (a group with the same management company) they're known for their outrageous look/fashion sense. It's here in full flaming glory. They're so tongue in cheek and very very up to date. Let me put it this way, Johnny Depp at his most wild would fit into this video.



But the most exciting thing, I saved for last, is that DBSK/TVXQ (동방신기) (or what's left of a five man group, now only two) has released their new song, "Keep Your Head Down." It's pretty fantastic, the song grows on you as you hear it more. If amazing dance wasn't reason enough, the outfits are a reason to watch the video. First of all, the V-neck is taken to EXTREMES here. Second, psychedelic suits, seriously. Third, they wear tail coats that end up looking a bit more like sedate Dracula capes. So much fun just to look at the clothes. The weakest thing is the rap which should have been left out. And if you still didn't click the link, my friend Tim calls this video "the hottest Bromance the world has ever seen." Clicked now, didn't you.