There are very few female acts that I truly like, in Korea or else where, because a lot of them fall short in one category or another. I can be very picky when it comes to girl groups and singers. Plus, them being girls excludes them from being true "eye candy" for me. Hehe. Anyway, 2NE1, and CL in particular, falls into the "can't wait for your new music" list.
CL has just come out with her first solo single "The Baddest Female", on the 28th of May, and I'm happy to say that I like the song and video.
The outfit changes were many and varied, and the attention to detail, maintaining the fact that this is a CL video not one for 2NE1. She looks great in this video, I think my favorite part is when she's on the CL Swing with pig- tails and a lollipop and everything was so visually interesting. Nothing confusing or fussy, but enough to stimulate and keep your attention. The only thing that was truly predictable about this video were the cameos from G-Dragon and Taeyang of Big Bang. I just knew they were going to come out and support her.
Also note, I LOVED the paisley tattoo she has on her arms- very cool.
I wish that this was lyrically one of her better songs. I know she has more in the tank than that,as evidenced by her part in "The Leaders" featured on G-Dragon's solo album "Heartbreaker". But when I think of what might appeal to a broader fan base, I think this was a good choice. The song is a bit braggadocios, but shows her spunk and personality really well.
All-in-all, I think this video and song represented CL very well and I for one am looking forward to more songs from her in the future.
*Doing the Unnie*
OH! Before I forget, this video was really great for my screencap collection. Here are some to share:
I'm a little slow with this post since the video has been out for almost three weeks, but I like the song so much that I felt that I just had to make a post about it and include some of the great screen-caps that I was able to get.
I was wondering when they were going to make a come-back since it's been more than a year since 'Hands Up' came out. Now they're back with 'All Day I Think of You' and 'Come Back When You Hear This Song'. With these two songs and videos I've noticed two things. They look mature and hot, and the song titles are hella long now.
Beyond that though, I really do like ADTOY. The song, the choreography and the video are perfect together. I think they did a good job of making it known that they're older and more mature without being tasteless about it.
There have been a few performances of this song, so far but I've only seen one that includes Nichkhun's falsetto part. It's the MBC-Kpop performance that they did on 5/11/13.
As promised, feast your eyes on all the following hotness....
I usually know something about the groups that I put up, but
although I have heard their name before, I have no real idea who the members of
WonderBoyz are, and what types of singles they have put out before. Honestly, I’m
not that interested in them yet, but I did come across their new song and MV ‘Tarzan’.
The first time I heard it, I thought I had stumbled upon a
Reggeaton song, another genre of music that I enjoy, so I wasn’t upset, but
then the presence of cute Asian boys threw me off. There is definitely
something about this song that is reminiscent of a Daddy Yankee song, but
beyond that it’s just really well produced. The placement of their vocals and
all the added background sounds, makes this song super catchy. As I said, I don’t
know anything about this group and the song doesn’t give a great understanding
of their vocal skills, but it’s got that great addictive hook and updated Tarzan
call.
The video is cute but I with there had been a little more to
the story. This guy stays in his house all day surrounded by Tarzan comics and
old school movies. Then he leaves the house, which is a huge step, and he
appears in front of his “Jane” with the dirty clothes and messy hair because he’ll
be just as wild and fierce as Tarzan in order to protect her, but is he some
jobless loafer? Couldn’t they have worked the other members into the plot a bit
better? How come that pimple on his upper lip disappears when he goes outside? Just
few things that went through my mind while watching.
Anyway, I’ll look out for their live performance of this
song to see if I’ll become interested in this group, but if I don’t, at least I found a really cool song to start off
the summer withJ.
SHINee is back with a new album and video, ‘Dream
Girl’. The song about a dream girl that they see each night but disappears in the morning, starts out with this heavy house beat and then transforms itself with well placed guitar strumming, smooth vocals and deep bass and techno influences. It’s a bit reminiscent of Sherlock since so much is going on in the song, musically, that you never get tired of it. It’s constantly changing, making you wonder what you’re going to hear next.
SM was nice enough to release the
MV and Dance version at the same time. The video is bright and fun just like
SHINee is. The outfits, oh the outfits
in this video. Just as always I both love and hate what they have on. If it was
anyone else I would have laughed and stopped watching the video but why does
every weird flower pattern look so oddly good on them? With the exception of
Key’s shoes here, I enjoyed picking out all the different patterns and colors.
**Note to other bands:
Don’t try this at home kids, these guys are professional color and
pattern mixers, any attempt made on your own could severely damage you image.**
I love the choreography it shows them like an old-school vocal quintet with the mike-stands,
but then showcases the new aspect with the creative dancing.
Some screenshots:
Overall I like the song and video, I think the song will
grow on me the more I listen to it, but right now I’m looking forward to their
first on-stage performance. I can hardly wait to see them on Music Core or any
of the other music programs, because I think I’ll like it better than the MV.
The boys are back!!!.... oh wait they never went away. I’m
starting to think their going to be more like an American band since they don’t
do goodbye stages. They just simply come out with a new song and album. Since
their debut last year, they have
released 8 songs as a group, all of which, I liked. I love that they try new
things, their MVs usually have a story, and that they can be gangsta and cute
depending on the song and video.
This video is all about being gangsta, as they play a gang
that has one of their friends held for ransom. The story for this one is the
best yet with thugs, robbery, yachts and girls, and a shoot out. Even the
choreography for this was bad-ass. The floor work was animalistic and hot, and Zelo’s
back walk was crazy. The whole MV had my eyes bugged out and glued to the
screen.
But behind the great story-line of this MV was a great song. ‘One
Shot’ as a song is about taking charge of you life and choosing to live in a
good way since we only get to live this life once. Some lines from the song:
“Shout your voice to the world”
“Even if the world abandons you, protect yourself”
“Shake your head and say no to being a slave to laziness…all
those who don’t try, wake up right now”
“Like Martin Luther King Jr. shine the light”
They type of song that makes you want to look at yourself
and try harder every day to reach your goals.
The combination of ‘One Shot’ and ‘Rain Sound’ has finally pushed me into
the official fan category. By that, I
mean that I not only like their songs, but I want to find out more about them,
watch them sing and dance as well as other variety shows that they took part
in. In short, I’m in love hehe.
Unfortuntely all the stages so far have been one member
short. Himchan broke his ring and pinky finger on his right hand, and had to
get surgery. I would love too see all six of them together for this song, but
more importantly I hope Himchan gets better.
Here are screenshots from the video:
Last thing, seriously. Bang's acting in this MV was pretty damn good. The range of expressions that he went through during the shoot out scene was good, I think I see a few dramas in his future :)
What did you think of the video greatness or just okay?
This is the very first solo single and mv combo from Kim
JaeJoong (the first single was ‘One Kiss’), and as a fan of almost five years,
I had high expectations. What genre of music was he going to come out with?
What sort of concept? I worried and anticipated. Finally, earlier today, the MV
premeired.
At first I was drawn in with the rough, almost desperate
sounding vocals, because JJ usually sounds so smooth and romantic. The heavy
guitar riffs give the song a gritty feel.
Then the visuals of the video started to make an impact.
Lost in a barren forest, and chained up unable to speak because of the muzzle
put on him. Then he breaks the chains and casually throws them over his
shoulder as if to say ‘What’s next?’. He runs through a flock of Ravens (a bird
that feasts on corpses and symbolizes death to some), when he comes out on the
other side he’s stronger and a predator (vampire and snake lover) in his own
right, with his own space where he sprouts the wings of an owl (a bird of prey
which is considered a symbol of wisdom).
Finally, the lyrics. They are filled with pain and again a
bit of desperation. With lines like “You’re terrible, it’s like you’re diseased”,
“Don’t come here, this is my ocean”, and “Don’t block out the sun that shines
on me”. I read that the songs for this album ‘I’ were all written by JJ himself
and reflect his inner feelings and thoughts. How much did he go through, to
have written these lyrics??
I think everything was done so well for this. The colors
were dark and minimal; the concept was consistent and created a contrast
between anything I’ve ever seen him in previously, and his beautiful voice
giving off emotions that I’ve never heard from him. This is the sort of thing
that makes me happy that I’m already a fan. I hate feeling like I’m jumping on
a band-wagon, but with no shame and with the knowledge of a long-time fan, I
can confidently say that I LOVE this song and video.
If you haven’t watched it so far, please feel free to do so
now.
2013 is still very new, but the boys of B.A.P are back with a new single. 'Rain Sound is a track from their up-coming mini-album.
The teaser wasn't much, just a small snippet of the song and a metal chain with green rain falling down on it. I had no idea what to expect, only that this might be a slower track than anything they have released previously. My guess was correct, but B.A.P has continually surprised me, and this time in no exception.
Everything from the song and vocals to the video and images. For starters this is the first single that was neither fast nor forceful. This was a smooth, slightly sexy mid-tempo tune. Sweet and clear vocals from Young Jae accompany the sound of rain drops at the beginning of the song, before the bass line and Yong Guk's husky rap starts... So well done. I love that everyone had a decent length part in this song. Himchan was finally singing, not randomly yelling, although he's pretty hot when that happens... but this time we get to really hear how deep his voice is as he subtely says 'I'm drawing you again today, will I be able to erase you?
I loved the rich reds and purples before the black and white at the end. I loved the fact that there was barely any dancing in this video, it makes me look forward to their live stage. Although I'm not sure if or when they'll have one since this was a pre-release not a comeback. Obviously, I want to see a live stage for this one, but right now, I'm so happy with this video, that I'm too busy re-watching it to look for live performances.
There were just some shots in the video that I couldn't resist taking shots of. I even tried my hand at my first ever edit...
