Tuesday 18 December 2012

Confessions on Kim Sunggyu's "I NEED YOU" MV

OMG... I was not expecting this GLORY. Definitely a VERY pleasant surprise.
I LOVE IT~ It's so aesthetically beautiful and matches the delicate feel of the song. EUGHHHHH....


Did anyone else recognise the stairs at 1:54?


EXO Kris [Teaser]



Big Bang- Beautiful Hangover


Sunggyu- I Need You
Hehe. :)

The smoke near the end was also perfect. Hnnnnnggggg.... *more inhuman sounds exit my mouth* Not to mention the final few seconds where he looks back over his shoulder towards the camera and then walks off... ajf;dsursakfr;suars

I really like this side of Sunggyu. It suits him really well. :)


+Admin K

Listening to: Nell- Holding Onto Gravity

Monday 17 December 2012

Confessions On The MelOn Music Awards 2012





Following MAMA, another awards ceremony has just taken place, namely, the MelOn Music Awards.
Firstly, I'm just gonna go ahead and say how much I liked MelOn compared to MAMA.
Even though it's not as big a deal, I thoroughly enjoyed all of it.


Now, I must admit, I missed almost half of the red carpet but I gathered enough from what I saw.
Which, admittedly wasn't a lot... since I couldn't understand what the MC's were saying anyway.

I was pretty startled during the awkward complete silence every time the idols were being photographed though...

The line up of the red carpet was:

Dynamic Duo
Julien Kang
Simon D
K.Will
B.A.P
Huh Gak
Ailee
Kim So Hyun
INFINITE
B2ST
Seo In Guk
HaHa
SISTAR
A-Pink's Eunji
T-Ara
Kim Yoo Jung
2NE1 






Red carpet footage can be found here.

The MCs of the night were INFINITE'S Woohyun, B2ST's Gikwang, Moon Hee Jun and Danny Ahn. 
First off, I think they did a spectacular job running the whole event (even though I don't understand most of what they said)...

The line up for the performances were:

Simon D, Rhythm Power & Dynamic Duo


K.Will feat. INFINITE's Dongwoo and Hoya


B.A.P


T-Ara


INFINITE


SISTAR



Nell


Ailee and Huh Gak


2NE1

B2ST


WOW. Ok, first of all, AMAZING. SO GOOD. Seriously enjoyed it, much much better than MAMA.
INFINITE, SISTAR and B2ST left my jaw hanging. My three favourite performances of the night.

Honestly, I thought all the stages were amazing and well thought out and interesting.
Except... T-Ara's... I'm not sure what their concept was or if the song choice was bad? But I was really bored and uninterested in their performance and actually swapped tabs to Tumblr to see what was going on there. Actually, the other idols looked pretty bored too.
I loved SISTAR's little video skit at the start. Creative, relevant and oh, so sexy! (unfortunately the skit is not shown the the video above).
And 2NE1!!! Omfg. I actually like near cried during their red carpet. I haven't seen them in sooooo long and damnnn Bom. So hot, you make me tear ;___;
Ailee and Huh Gak's collaboration was beautiful as well.

The list of award winners of the MelOn Awards 2012 are:

Artist of The Year - B2ST
Album of The Year - Busker Busker
Song Of The Year - PSY (Gangnam Style)
2012 Top 10 Artists - B2ST
                               SISTAR
                               Huh Gak
                               2NE1
                               INFINITE
                               PSY
                               T-Ara
                               Big Bang
                               IU
                               Busker Busker

Best New Artist - B.A.P
Global Star Award - PSY
2012 Netizen Popularity Award - B2ST
2012 Hot Trend - Troublemaker
Best OST - A-Pink's Eun Ji & Seo In Guk
Best Rock - Nell
Best Rap/Hip Hop - Dynamic Duo
Best R&B/Ballad - K.Will
2012 MBC Music Star Award - Super Junior's Shindong & Kim Shin Young of "Show Champion"
2012 Songwriter Award - Duble Sidekick

Can I just mentioned that I noticed that there was not one JYP nor SM artist (besides Shindong) present at MelOn?

Admin S






Saturday 15 December 2012

Confessions on Sunny Hill's "GOODBYE TO ROMANCE"



It's been a while since Sunny Hill has come back with a song. After Pray, Sunny Hill has definitely established the image of being a group that makes a social commentary with their edgy songs. As a result, of course I was surprised when they came out with Goodbye to Romance which is definitely not as powerful and impacting as their previous songs (after the addition of members). 


Despite some criticisms, I think this return to their previous style prior to that long hiatus is refreshing. To be honest, I actually miss this part of Sunny Hill. I didn't know about them until their long awaited return with Midnight Sun but exploring their past a bit, I actually really liked the sweet/cute feel of the old Sunny Hill. With the sort of "a couple and a female third wheel" feel to it. LOL. Especially from Dial Back Tone. I miss Janghyun's lines....


Goodbye to Romance is reminiscent of this sweet side of Sunny Hill which I was hoping to see again. The song is simple and very appropriate for the Winter/Christmas period. Personally, I'm a sucker for MVs with cute kids... Also the one-shot style of the MV is also nicely and smoothly done. Definitely an impressive point to note.

Though the lyrics aren't particularly showing much of a social commentary, they are still quite thoughtful. From the teaser and the translations (http://popgasa.com/2012/12/14/sunny-hill-goodbye-to-romance/) it seems like the song is about childhood romance and reminiscing about lost love. That's my interpretation anyway. Loen has provided English subtitles if you want to watch the teaser.



Overall not my favorite Sunny Hill song but definitely something to check out along with the rest of this mini-album. :)

 +Admin K

Listening to: BoA- Only One

Monday 10 December 2012

Confessions On Lunafly's "DAY BY DAY"


Lunafly has officially released their English version of "CLEAR DAY, CLOUDY DAY".
Do check it out and support these amazing boys!



Admin S

Listening To: Brand New Year - Brand New Project

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Confessions On Lunafly's Second Single "CLEAR DAY, CLOUDY DAY"


[Single] Lunafly - Clear Day, Cloudy Day
 
Track List:

01. 맑은 날 흐린 날
02. 보고 있거나 보고 싶거나
03. 맑은 날 흐린 날 (inst.)
04. 보고 있거나 보고 싶거나 (inst.)
 

Our three precious boys of Lunafly are back with another single album.

Clear Day, Cloudy Day talks about life's hardships and unpredictable weather. It asks about support and sends a message of hope to those facing difficulties. 

The rainy night is not too bad
How's the weather for you?
For some reason, it seems like it'll be a clear morning tomorrow

The song is absolutely breathtaking and beautiful.
The lyrics are written beautifully and I can definitely relate to them very well right now.

As always, Lunafly's range and vocals astound me. Their falsetto is smooth and easy on the ears and the gentle guitar and soft percussion beats make my heart flutter.
Even though I was really obsessed with Superhero/How Nice It Would Be for a good while, I think I can safely say that this is my favourite song from them so far.

I'd like to see Lunafly promoted and marketed better to be more internationally known. Although I have heard that they've been marketed to target an international market, I'd like to see these guy's fame skyrocket as I believe that they are truly talented.
 
It seems that Lunafly has garnered some attention over in Japan (refer to MV) and they've been set for the opening act for Sydney's KPOP Heart concert next year.
It would be a dream if I could see them and Block B there next year, but I live one state too far (hah. hah. I hate you, school).

Admin S: I love this one.
My heart is crying
It's so good

Admin L: Darling, your heart cries a lot
I don't know if it's healthy

Totally proof of my love for this song.

Admin S~

Listening to: Yang Yoseob (Beast) - Caffeine


Monday 3 December 2012

Confessions on MAMA Awards 2012







Admin K

All the fuss led up to this. Almost 7 hours (according to the live stream when I started watching) of flashing lights, cheers and disappointment. To be honest, I don't think it deserves as much as people make it to be. It definitely didn't leave me completely emotionally invested like some people. The most predominant controversy being the BAP vs EXO-K drama that spanned the last few weeks of voting. In the end, neither of them won that rookie award; leaving both arguing parties disappointed and the bystanders like me, shaking their heads in shame.
This is just one of the many things I plan to rip apart in my section of this article. Probably why this will start with me and end on a happy note.
Firstly the winners list.

Best New Female Artist
Ailee
Best New Male Artist
Busker Busker
Best Female Artist
IU
Best Male Artist
G-Dragon
Best Female Group
SISTAR
Best Male Group
Big Bang
Best Collaboration Performance
 Hyuna and Hyunseung - Trouble Maker
Best OST
Seo In Guk & Jung Eun Ji - All for You (Reply 1997)
Best Music Video
PSY - Gangnam Style
Best Rap Performance
Epik High - Up
Best Band Performance
Busker Busker - Cherry Blossom Ending
Best Dance Performance – Solo
PSY - Gangnam Style
Best Dance Performance  Male Group
SHINee – Sherlock
Best Dance Performance   Female Group
f(x) - Electric Shock
Best Vocal Performance  Solo
K.Will - I need you
Best Vocal Performance – Group
Davichi - Will Think of You
Best Global Group – Female
KARA
Best Global Group – Male
Super Junior
SONG OF THE YEAR
PSY - Gangnam Style
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Big Bang
BEST ASIAN ARTIST
Wang Leehom
Philippines: Sarah Geronimo
Japan: AKB48
Vietnam: My Tam
Indonesia: Agnes Monica
Singapore: Taufik Batisah
China: Li Yuchun
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Sexy Free & Single – SUPER JUNIOR
best new asian artist
New Asian Artist Group - EXO
China: TimeZ
Thailand: Natthew
Mnet PD’s Choice Award
B.A.P.
BEST NEW ASIAN ARTIST
EXO
International/Global Favorite Artist
Psy
Style in Music
Ga In of Brown Eyed Girls
Guardian Angel Worldwide Performer Award
Big Bang
Best Line Award
Super Junior


No surprise that PSY won so many of the awards. Gangnam Style rightly deserves Song of the Year for making such a big impact on the global music market. But as I was watching it, I couldn't help but guess the winners to practically all the prizes near the end of the ceremony. Why? Well this is just a theory I had formulated from ideas I read from other people as the ceremony was airing. It seems like MNET tried to make sure everyone who attended left with an award. That would account for some of the awards that I have never heard of before being awarded. It fits together quite nicely once you look at the nominations for the awards that were voted on by fans and then look at the awards that were given that didn't have a fan voting contribution. Just a theory. No bashing. I've just always believed these awards reflected the power of established fandoms and marketing (add in a little bias from the organisers?) rather than true quality of music. Of course, there were many on this extensive list that I think deserved their awards very much.


 




On to the performances. For making me sit down for so long, the performances had to be good. To be honest, I didn't watch all of them. As I said, seven hours is a long time. EXO and SHINee's performance did give me a slight heart attack from too many feels (maybe a little biased there) but looking at it objectively, the purpose was a "time skip". It looked pretty biased to me. H.O.T, TVXQ, SHINee? It's looking more like an SM promo than nostalgia (though I am not denying that SM has been very popular in the past). Other personal favorites were the obvious epic Epik High and the explosive Big Bang (puns fully intended :P). I also thoroughly enjoyed Roy Kim's performance. I've never heard of him prior to this, but I definitely liked his vocals. Though Seo In Young's English pronunciation didn't cut it for me, K.Will's did. OMG. Just a quick comment on the Troublemaker performance (second MAMA version). Was it just me or did it just get to a new level of sexual that I thought never existed?  Conservative me coming through


 


Being the stagecraft critic that I am, I have to say that the lighting and sound in this year's ceremony was pretty good. There were times where I picked up sound that was probably from the backstage crew's communication devices but I forgive them. Camera-work was good. Not too jumpy or lagged. Angles were ok. Being a live show though, sometimes the camera did miss some things that I wanted to see through panning to the idol pit (as I called it) or simply shooting from another angle.

Anyway, I think I've ranted enough. I'll leave some for the others. Overall, liked the ceremony but it was very long and sometimes grueling to get through. I won't even go into MNET Global's live Twitter commentary. EUGHHH.... Don't get me started.

Admin S
Ok hi. My turn~

First of all, I sat and watched the entire 7 hours of the stream (screaming at my family occasionally to stop talking to me because I was busy) but I have to admit, I was actually very disappointed in MAMA this year.

Can I just say how annoyingly unprofessional and obnoxious the English MC's were?
They basically didn't know anything or anyone and proceeded to diss the entire of Troublemaker's performance and Epik High's costume.
Then they said something along the lines of:
"Oh. I really liked that one dress that was short at the front and long at the back. I think that was very nice"
"Oh, did you mean Ga In?"
"Was that her? Yeah. I think so. Ga In."


 

o.m.g.
As MC's of a very important event, you would think to at least commit names to memory and avoid being sarcastic towards the idols.




Moving on from the pretty disappointing and somewhat offensive commentary,
I pretty much tuned in at the very start (although I skipped "The History of MAMA" because gawddddd. that was boring). 
The red carpet was quite interesting and I actually enjoyed looking at the fashion and was super delighted by the surprise performances of both B.A.P and Block B (OMG. BLOCKBAP. MY FEELS).



 
 
  
 
The standouts on the red carpet (for me) were:
B.A.P
Lee Hi
f(x) (omgggg. amber *blubbering mess of incoherent noises*)
Park Shin Hye
Song Joong Ki
Ga In
Block B (so much win omg)
Seo In Young
Wooyoung
Bai Bai He (my favourite of the night)

On to the actual ceremony...
Was anyone else confused about the second award?? (Presented by Simon and PSY's first award of the night)
There was no mention of what the award was or who the nominee's were.
Judging by the look on his face, PSY was pretty darned confused too.
I'm disappointed that MNET did not provide any explanation to this...

The night went on and to be honest, the winners of the awards were quite predictable.
Except Best Female Global Group.
Wtf. How did Kara win that?? They were the least likely of all the nominees (in my opinion).
I still wonder how 2NE1, f(x) and Sistar didn't cinch that one...
[ADMIN K: Evidence to my theory up top]

But the most shocking, disappointing, annoying, unhappy and angry feels I had to an award winner was Busker Busker (not that they're not good and I don't like them. No hate, ok?)
I know that only 20% of the results come from voting but the other 80% is made up of album sales and a judging panel.
Sorry, call me biased but I really, seriously don't think that Busker Busker could've surpassed Exo or B.A.P at album sales...
It seem like MNET just gave it to them to avoid a fanwar between Exotics and Babyz (fried tofuz). I think they just made it worse though? Because both sides came away angry and annoyed and disappointed.
What got me the most though, was that they didn't bother to announce the winner on the live stream but through their Twitter instead...

As for the actual performances,they were actually... quite disappointing and not as good as last year's (in my opinion).




G-Dragon's opening rap was fabulous and amazing and I died so hard because it was perfect.

But then Ailee, Bang Yong Guk and PIA took the stage and honestly... I hated it.

I really really loved Epik High's performance and of course Big Bang's because seriously GD, how did you do that to your hair in less than 2 hours??
And T.O.P, your eyes.
 

Yeah how did this...

 
Become this in 2 hours ?

 



(On a side note, since GD was shirtless under that big, red coat, it's confirmed that his tummy tattoo from Crayon is real)

And then Troublemaker was just... yeah...I'm not even sure what was going on there.

I really didn't like B.O.B and Seo In Young's performance of Airplanes (you would've thought to get someone with a high enough vocal range and who was fluent in English?)

Like Admin K said, there were quite a few awards that didn't really make sense to me (what's a Line Award? and a Guardian Angel Worldwide Performer Award??) and there were a few winners I was quite unhappy with and thought they didn't deserve it and I was quite sad that many bands didn't make the nominations stage (Nu'Est, BtoB, C-Clown etc etc etc etc etc.) but I'd like to congratulate everyone, nonetheless.





Wednesday 28 November 2012

Confessions on October - November K-Pop songs


I'M STILL ALIVE.

Just not as active..
mianhe mianhe mianhe mianhe TT.TT
so much good music, so little time.
SO I shall compress and express it all in this one uber massive post!
BEHOLD.




LUNAFLY: HOW NICE WOULD IT BE

 ok so pretty much every Lunafly song is fantastic baby~
like seriously, as a vocal group they make beautiful music.
REALLY similar to Phantom who made their debut a few months ago with Burning.
It's kind of refreshing to hear k-pop without the typical dancing and doof doof sounds but rather real and soulful notes that make good music and a song with meaning.

AKJFHAKJLHLDSA
AYO LUNA. OMG.

SO I MEMORISED THE ENGLISH VERSION (Superhero) OF THIS SONG AND LISTENED TO IT LIKE 10457920578203750982 ON REPEAT K.

OK SO (from left) YOU HAVE YUN, TEO AND SAM (who's half British)
Not gonna lie. The first time I watched this I was all like OHMYGOD.
REN (Nu'Est) IS THAT YOU??
but then I was like lol no. ur not ren. or hoon in stop gurl.
Teo pls.
That hairstyle already gives me nightmares.

Question though..
Why are these guys not being marketed? Why are they not on music shows? Why do no one know them? Like WHAT?

I'M ACTUALLY SO HAPPY THEY'RE COMING AROUND TO AUSTRALIA NEXT YEAR BUT JK IT'S IN SYDNEY (like always)
SO THE PROBABILITY OF ME GOING TO ANOTHER STATE AND PAYING $200+ TO SEE THEM ON STAGE FOR 3 MINUTES IS LIKE
0.01%



BIGSTAR: THINK


I only got into Bigstar after this mini album and it has been one of the best albums songwise this month. Everything is just composed wonderfully.
CHINCHA AWESOME.
I don't know much about their live performances, but I can always listen to song no matter what.


EXID: EVERY NIGHT
 
I don't understand this MV... at all.
I don't get the gas masks
or the spitting
or the pepper/chilli whatever
or the test tubes
 
but I love the song :D
Probably my favourite female rookies omg LE's rapping sooo so so good!
 



RANIA: STYLE


THEY'RE BACK.
ok ok ok Rania were awesome with such tracks as Dr Feel Good and Pop Pop Pop.
Now we've got STYLE.
Down to 5 members, they are still a pretty strong group.
The MV and production is all YG with seriously blunt lyrics courtesy of Mr Tablo.
I actually really liked this song, the 'Runway Runaway' part is sooooo damn catchy :)

 


AILEE: I'LL SHOW YOU


 Ailee won her first award  recently with her comeback song I'll Show You.
The MV features MBLAQ's G.O who plays her love interest and is sort of a retard for rejecting her and then wanting her back after she transforms into the sexy stylish diva Ailee...
the song is decent but it took a very long time to get used to the disco chorus bit... I think I'll stick to Heaven.
Also check out her new song Evening Sky which is currently promoting the movie 'Now is Good'!



MISS A: I DON'T NEED A MAN



 honestly... this song is annoying D:
It just wasn't as powerful in choreo or concept as Touch, nor was it strong vocally.
It had potential, but even the live performances didn't appeal to me very much..
idk I LIKE Miss A but this song felt inept and a little clumsy in composition.
Songs that I really love though in this 5th project album is Time's Up and If I Were a Boy.




TOXIC: LONELY


 I LIKE IT LIKE IT LIKE IT.
It's so nice having real bands in K-pop omg
ok this duo are HOT.
and TALENTED.
and SEXY.
THE WHOLE FIRST ALBUM IS JUST SO PERFECT. TAIWANMEI.
I just recommend everything, seriously. It's so so so good!!

 

B.A.P: STOP IT

TS. 
IS IT REALLY NECESSARY TO HAVE LIKE 1309472309582 COMEBACKS?

ok so
HAJIMA.... It's very similar to Crash (although I preferred Crash over this)
Like yeah I was genuinely surprised when Crash came out because I thought it was a one off thing for their repackaged and the closing to the end of the year but nooooo.
They come back with this.
And yes.
I mean, it's cute the first time.
But really, just go back to your DOKRATHI MAN VORRIOR ARGHHHHHHH days.
No more cutesy.
Jebal 

 

GIRL'S DAY: DON'T FORGET ME




I'm not big on Girl's Day but this song is actually quite nice.
Just anything but Twinkle Twinkle or Oh My God or the sickly sweet pinky fluffy cute cute aegyo-ridden girly concepts is fine with me.
I love the verses even though they are heavily autotuned but still :D




TAHITI - HASTA LUEGO



I didn't really get into their debut song but Hasta Luego is uber catchy :D
the MV is a tad... how do I say, low budget?
very very dark lighting..
about 90% autotune but hey, autotune can sound nice  i think


HYUNA: ICE CREAM


Need I explain?
Just something else to contribute to Hyuna's repertoire of sexy sexiness~




NS YOON-G: IF YOU LOVE ME ft JAY PARK



Ok I found the ending super creepy in a stalkerish way.
like, I mean the whole gallery of guys on her wall..
It's sorta like Jay Park and all his pics of girls in Girlfriend...
Besides that it's a great song, always love Yoon-G and her awesome vocals.
 
 
Listening to: C-Clown - Young Love