[This is a two-part review - part 1 can be found here!]
GUGUDAN (구구단) - NOT THAT TYPE
Yes, this song still slaps. HARD.
"Not That Type" was high on my favourite songs of 2018 list for damn good reason (I'd recommend reading my thoughts on it there if you want a bit more detail). I MEAN JUST LISTEN TO IT. I said it in that article and I'll say it again - songs like this are why I love girl crush concepts in K-Pop. They're bold, they're brash, they're in your face, and they're not afraid to be confident. And hey, when the music's as good as this, who can complain?
But while I talked about the song in quite a bit of detail, I never did really touch on the lyrics or dance. And yeah, the lyrics are pretty alright! They're nothing too extraordinary, but I like the confidence that they've got. It's a style I love seeing.
Yes or no, just tell me
Make it easy and simple
I hate ambiguous answers, I'm not that type
What about the choreography though? Is it as intense as the song demands?
Well, not quite, but I still like it quite a fair deal! The introduction in particular is fantastic. The choruses are quite slow and there's not a lot of detail to them, but I feel like maybe that was done to give off an air of confidence to match the lyrics? I don't know. It's nice, just nothing mind-blowing. Which, fair enough, idols can't be going hell for leather on the stage 24/7 - they do still have to sing. But at the end of the day, Gugudan perform pretty well as a unit if you ask me, and I think they carry this routine very well!
All in all, this is a song I STILL listen to nearly every day. It's one of those rare songs where my mood drastically improves every single time I listen to it. I'll definitely be curious to see where Gugudan go next after this, because if they stick with a concept and style of music like this one? HOO BOI WE'RE IN FOR A TREAT.
JENNIE (제니) [BLACKPINK (블랙핑크)] - SOLO
I remember being in college the day this came out, unable to listen to it, and browsing some comments on Reddit. A lot of people were initially VERY harsh on "Solo" - I saw comments like "it looks more like a fashion film than a music video", and "this sounds like something an amateur producer could've made in GarageBand", stuff like that. And while I do actually agree with some of those opinions, I think people were just a bit too quick to judge. "Solo" isn't mindblowing, but it's alright.
We don't really get to see a lot of Jennie's raw power in BLACKPINK any more - well, not if you ask me. In the "BOOMBAYAH"/"WHISTLE" era, she was this apparent master of both rapping and singing, and she really gave it her all! But as time's gone on, I don't think she's had the chance to show as much of that prowess - whether that be because of her supposed huge ego, or because of the direction BLACKPINK's management are taking. Yes, "DDU DU DDU DU" was the (very welcome) exception, but I think "Solo" really captures that sort of wild energy for me. The power she's got behind her vocals in the pre-choruses is staggering, and it adds quite a bit of momentum! And hey, her English rap was a lovely surprise too! She's certainly got the ability, she just doesn't show it that often anymore.
While the choruses are very subdued and stripped-back for the most part - hence the GarageBand comments - I guess you could say they do their job. You could also argue that they only really exist so that the final switchup has any sort of momentum, but I don't mind them. When it comes to the lyrics, they're nothing too special either - aside from the fact that it 110% sounds like she's saying "bitch 나는 솔로". They're just another flippant kiss-off with a strong, independent woman behind the microphone. Nothing too new here. (Ironically enough, they DO mostly sum up my thoughts on cutesy/aegyo concepts... maybe Jennie just so happens to feel the same.)
Naive and innocent, acting like I'm proper
I'm tired of it now, it's annoying
[...]
This is a love story that doesn't touch me at all
To be honest, this is a perfect example of a song that benefits wholly from being a K-Pop song - the song may not be 100% perfect, but it's elevated quite a bit by its dance.
It's by no means a show-stopping routine or anything like that, but I actually quite like "Solo"'s choreography! It's a very clean routine, with fluid movements in the verses being contrasted with sharper, quicker ones in the choruses. It's not a hard dance, since you could probably learn it just from watching Jennie perform it so many times (like I have). But it still looks detailed enough to keep you interested all the same. And hey, the rest of the routine is absolutely worth it for that final switch-up. THAT gives this routine the energy the song so desperately lacks. Even if the backup dancers are picking up most of Jennie's slack, it works in her favour (similarly to Tiffany's "Over My Skin" a while back). And yeah, that final chorus really does have a lot of power behind it here! It's the sort of power I expected from a solo song from Jennie.
"Solo" is by no means a bad song; it just falls flat in a few crucial places. Yeah, I like it quite a bit, but I can't help but shake the feeling that it could've been so much more. It placed so much emphasis on being pretty and glamorous that it... kinda forgot about the other bits. It's an alright song, and I still come back to it, but I hope Jennie does a bit more with any future solo projects of hers.
RED VELVET (레드벨벳) - RBB (REALLY BAD BOY)
K/DA - POP/STARS
Oh, I don't know, maybe because iT'S INFERNALLY CATCHY.
"POP/STARS" is an EDM-inspired pop song with a lot of distorted synths and snappy percussion behind it. It definitely feels like a lot of production, time and effort went into it - and that's especially clear by who Riot chose to voice each member of the group. You've got Jaira Burns as Kai'Sa, a budding singer who's had a little bit of fame in the past through some commercials - this boosted her popularity a fair deal from what I've seen. Then there's Madison Beer as Evelyn, who blew up on YouTube overnight and got signed to a major record label thanks to Justin Bieber. Then you've got Ahri and Akali, who are voiced by, oh, I dunno, FREAKIN SOYEON AND MIYEON FROM (G)I-DLE. Yeah. that piqued my interest straight away.
And these four girls manage to have some pretty great chemistry throughout the song itself (even if Kai'Sa gets barely any attention). It's one hell of a potent lineup, and hey, it's drawn a huge amount of attention onto each artist! That's often a pretty damn good thing. But yeah, the song is addictive as sin. It even managed to top the Billboard World Songs chart. THAT'S how much it blew up. And for good reason! Strong melodies, great vocal performances from each of the girls and a chorus that's like a fucking magnet in your brain once you hear it - it sticks and never leaves your brain ever again. The lyrics aren't anything special, they're pretty normal pop song fodder - but in this case, the song is just so much raw fun that they don't need to be complex. It's an entertaining ride from start to finish.
You'll like whatever you see
[I'm on an] inaccessible level
I'm sure you want a fight with me
With any good K-Pop song comes a good dance to match it. And Riot even went all in in that department too!
I honestly was NOT expecting them to release a dance practice video for "POP/STARS" - but lo and behold, they delivered! It's so good that it managed to end up on my list of favourite dances from last year. I've already talked about it there, so all I'll say is this - every single move flows together excellently, and ends up creating a routine with a metric shitton of character. The fact that you can kinda tell who each dancer is meant to be in terms of the members really shows this routine's strengths.
...but if you're still confused as to who's who, there's a fantastic cover dance on YouTube by BoliFlowerGarden! How they manage to dance in those costumes is beyond me, but I stumbled across this the other night and couldn't not mention it here. It's stuff like this that shows what a viral hit this song really was - and still is, honestly.
After seeing how good "POP/STARS" was as a whole, I really really hope they aren't just a one-time thing. I understand it may be hard to recapture that same overnight phenomenon that we had here, but that doesn't mean Riot can't try! With as much effort and potential as this, it'd be a sin to let this go to waste.
Damn, TWICE had a REAL busy year last year. Two songs in one comeback review, that's weird for sure. But hey, this wasn't a fully promoted release or anything - it was just a nice little Christmas song that they apparently had as the leadoff single for a "YES or YES" repackage. Which, alright, TWICE are no stranger to Christmas releases - they re-released "Twicetagram" (that name still annoys me in a huge way) as "Merry and Happy" for the Christmas season, which spawned "Heart Shaker"... but I hate that song. With a passion. So what do I think of "The Best Thing I Ever Did"?
Well, it's certainly a step in the right direction! It's also not what I was expecting though, and that ended up being a great thing here. I've never listened to any of TWICE's side tracks, so I've never really heard them tackle a ballad like this; but hey, they do it pretty well! The instrumental is very minimal, but it lets the girls' vocals shine through amidst all the twinkly piano keys and sleigh bells. It's just a nice, sweet and very sentimental Christmas song that found its way into my seasonal playlist pretty quickly. The lyrics are quite sweet as well, especially if you take them as a thank you to ONCE. TWICE had an admittedly killer year last year, and this feels like a huge thank you to the fans for getting them to where they are now. It's very humble in a warm and fuzzy way!
TWICE (트와이스) - THE BEST THING I EVER DID (올해 제일 잘한 일)
Well, it's certainly a step in the right direction! It's also not what I was expecting though, and that ended up being a great thing here. I've never listened to any of TWICE's side tracks, so I've never really heard them tackle a ballad like this; but hey, they do it pretty well! The instrumental is very minimal, but it lets the girls' vocals shine through amidst all the twinkly piano keys and sleigh bells. It's just a nice, sweet and very sentimental Christmas song that found its way into my seasonal playlist pretty quickly. The lyrics are quite sweet as well, especially if you take them as a thank you to ONCE. TWICE had an admittedly killer year last year, and this feels like a huge thank you to the fans for getting them to where they are now. It's very humble in a warm and fuzzy way!
The best thing I ever did this year is [that I] met you
The best thing I ever did this year
Is not saying goodbye to you, is being with you
While there isn't a dance to this song because of how slow it is, it's a really nice little song to unwind to regardless. Like a lot of other Christmas songs it'll probably be forgotten for the other 11 months of the year, but as soon as December comes around I'll be listening to it again! I'd love to hear TWICE take this sort of approach more often.
EXO (엑소) - LOVE SHOT
A boy group? On my blog?! It's more likely than you'd think.
For real though, there's a... weird phenomenon that's been going on with me and EXO over the past few years. Think back to 2016, when they released "Monster" and "Lucky One" as double title tracks. I really didn't like "Lucky One", but found "Monster" to be pretty good. They THEN released a repackaged album a while later with "Lotto" as their title track. "Lotto" is one of my absolute favourite songs of EXO's. It's amazing.
Then in 2017, they came back with "Ko Ko Bop". And I hated it. Then, a while later, they repackage the album and release "Power". That's another one of my absolute favourite EXO songs. It gets far too much flak as far as I'm concerned; it's a phenomenal EDM song that completely blew me away. Yeah, the video's kinda cringey; I don't care. I love it.
AND THEN THIS REPACKAGE PHENOMENON HAPPENED FOR A THIRD TIME.
When EXO released "Tempo" late last year, I... didn't like it. It reminded me too much of "Love Me Right", another EXO song I've never understood the hype for. The acapella section was fucking sick, but that's about it. So I think you've got the gist by this point - they repackaged the album, led with "Love Shot" as their title track, and surprise! I love it. 😅 EXO REPACKAGES ARE MY FAVOURITE THING IN THE WORLD, APPARENTLY. WHAT THE HELL.
"Love Shot" is INFERNALLY catchy. Good luck trying to get that adlib-filled chorus out of your head, 'cause it ain't happening! You're going to be singing that shit in your sleep. Every single member sounds fantastic here, with Chanyeol's rap being straight-up the best part of the song, and they all bring a great deal of charisma. It's... actually quite a sexy song, too, when it comes to its vibe. (And no, that's not just because "Love Shot" is a huge innuendo. Get your mind out of the gutter.) The trap percussion and the mirrored, echoey accents make this sound really sleek and polished - almost reminiscent of a great Super Junior song, honestly!
That theming is carried through into the lyrics as well, and hooo boi they're pretty innuendo-filled. Not on the level of something like NCT 127's "Whiplash", but they're certainly not the most innocent lyrics either. There's actually quite a depressing section during D.O.'s bridge towards the end; but then they ditch that and go straight back to being sexy. Which, EXO have come a long way at this point, and that's an image I'm honestly pleased to see them pursue! It suits them strangely well.
My faith is so dry, it's about to crack
But I'm gonna drench it with you, filling up the cracks
Lighting a fire on my heart that's about to turn off
So we've got a great song and some pretty interesting lyrics - what about the dance?
...one thing I've noticed about these winter comeback reviews is that there are a few dances I wish I'd known about in advance, so I could've put them on my favourite dances list for last year. It happened with Hyoyeon and "Punk Right Now"... and it's happened again with EXO.
Can we please, PLEASE talk about how fucking insane this dance is?! No beat goes missed, charisma is never lost and every single member NAILS this choreography. That floor section in the second verse had my jaw on the floor - that shit was masterful. I know boy group routines are known for being quite a bit more complex, but good LORD, this is still amazing. SM choreographers have really stepped up their game, jeez...
God, I can't wait for EXO's next comeback. That might not happen for a while, since I know some of them are approaching military enlistment, but when it does happen, I'll be listening to it as soon as I can. And hey, if I don't like it, I'll just wait for the repackage! 😂
CLC (씨엘씨) - NO
IT'S 👏 ABOUT 👏 FUCKING 👏 TIME 👏.
CLC comebacks are ALWAYS something I get excited about. And I didn't think it was possible for them to top "Black Dress", to be honest - that song really delivered on my expectations. But "No"? THEY JUST WENT AND RELEASED ANOTHER CONTENDER FOR MY YEAR-END LIST. First Chungha, now this? Dear lord, 2019 did NOT come to fuck around.
Soyeon needs to write and produce songs more, because if this is what we're going to get when she does that? I certainly won't be complaining. "No" immediately struck me as absolute gold for a number of reasons - the bouncy synths, the girls' powerful vocal delivery and the sheer tour de force that is this song's momentum just combine to make one huge banger. It literally sounds like something you'd hear on a runway. This is the kind of song you listen to when you want to be in boss bitch mode.
The spoken adlibs do nothing but further the sass, and if you ask me, they're by FAR the best part of the song. ESPECIALLY Yeeun's little spoken breakdown towards the end. All she needs is a thick bassline and a little bit of restraint in her vocal tone to absolutely blow me away. And if that's not enough? The lyrics are Girls' Generation Oh!GG "Lil' Touch" levels of big dick energy. LIKE. FOR REAL. The entire moral of the story here is 'if you don't adore me and the way I carry myself, then fuck you, go find somebody else that fits your (obviously low) standards'.
HOLY SHIT. SOYEON'S A FUCKIN SAVAGE.
With a bar as high as that, I was worried that the dance wouldn't be as good.
NEVER MIND, I WAS WRONG.
This is CLC's era, y'all. They've finally found their image, they've found their stride, and now they're breaking into a full-on sprint. And you know what else they've found? THEIR FIRST WIN. 🏆
Damn, two possible year-end list entries ALREADY??
And guess what? There's another one coming up in an album review I'm doing soon (that's not CLC).
2019. Stop it. You're going to kill me.
(but don't stop it cause secretly i'm fucking thriving and i love it thanks)
Not That Type
Solo
POP/STARS
The Best Thing I Ever Did (올해 제일 잘한 일)
Love Shot
No
CLC comebacks are ALWAYS something I get excited about. And I didn't think it was possible for them to top "Black Dress", to be honest - that song really delivered on my expectations. But "No"? THEY JUST WENT AND RELEASED ANOTHER CONTENDER FOR MY YEAR-END LIST. First Chungha, now this? Dear lord, 2019 did NOT come to fuck around.
Soyeon needs to write and produce songs more, because if this is what we're going to get when she does that? I certainly won't be complaining. "No" immediately struck me as absolute gold for a number of reasons - the bouncy synths, the girls' powerful vocal delivery and the sheer tour de force that is this song's momentum just combine to make one huge banger. It literally sounds like something you'd hear on a runway. This is the kind of song you listen to when you want to be in boss bitch mode.
The spoken adlibs do nothing but further the sass, and if you ask me, they're by FAR the best part of the song. ESPECIALLY Yeeun's little spoken breakdown towards the end. All she needs is a thick bassline and a little bit of restraint in her vocal tone to absolutely blow me away. And if that's not enough? The lyrics are Girls' Generation Oh!GG "Lil' Touch" levels of big dick energy. LIKE. FOR REAL. The entire moral of the story here is 'if you don't adore me and the way I carry myself, then fuck you, go find somebody else that fits your (obviously low) standards'.
HOLY SHIT. SOYEON'S A FUCKIN SAVAGE.
"How about this?" "I think it's meh."
Don't force your conclusions like that
[...]
What I do with "me" is my business
With a bar as high as that, I was worried that the dance wouldn't be as good.
NEVER MIND, I WAS WRONG.
I mean it's certainly no "La Vie En Rose" (and I mean that with every ounce of respect possible to CLC), but goddamn, this is fantastic either way. It's a very vogue choreography - this entire song is perfect death drop material. (Get on it, Drag Race. I want 100% more CLC in the next season.) And this dance matches the glamorous vibe of the song perfectly! There are moves in here that are so sharp and on-point that they're breathtaking. I know a lot of people complained that the dance break in "Black Dress" was awkward, and I swear to god if I hear anyone say that about "No" then I'll strangle them on the spot. This is brilliant, from start to finish. It's confident, it's cocky, it's glamorous, and it's CLC's best choreography to date. Yes, I said it. And I really do mean it.
(Also, the silhouette version of this dance practice is fucking gorgeous. Just sayin'.)
I feel like a proud mother, honestly. I've been a bit of a Cheshire since they debuted with "Pepe" and I'm SO monumentally proud of them for doing so well - so proud, in fact, that I'm planning on doing a full album review of "No.1" very very soon!! Long may their success last. 🎉🎊🎉
•••••
Damn, two possible year-end list entries ALREADY??
And guess what? There's another one coming up in an album review I'm doing soon (that's not CLC).
2019. Stop it. You're going to kill me.
Not That Type
Solo
POP/STARS
The Best Thing I Ever Did (올해 제일 잘한 일)
Love Shot
No
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