It’s my birthday today, readers so I’m sharing a happy song with you. Guaranteed to make you smile!

Credit: Youtube

Also I can’t not post about this a.k.a. THE BEST TEASER IN THE HISTORY OF TEASERS

Well, after watching that, I’m excited. I mean, I was excited before but this has taken my excitement to a whole other level. Everyone looks fantastic, especially Siwon – HOTNESS! – and I’m finally noticing that Zhou Mi is actually pretty hot too. (OMG, when did this happen?! I’m shocked!) Also I think their style here seems to be a mash-up of ‘Sorry, Sorry’ and ‘It’s You’ and this song appears to be the one they mentioned that would be in a similar style to ‘Sorry, Sorry’ so I’m not complaining – this should be good. So yes, if you’re not into SJ-M, I suggest you get into them like now, right now – no, right this minute! – so you’ll be able to fully appreciate this sure-to-be-epic comeback. Okay? Got it? Okay, good! ~Wo shi ni de Shupaman~

I’m off to enjoy my day now. Have a good week-end, all!

Maki

That’s how long I’ll be in love with KyuHyun’s voice – if it doesn’t turn out to be longer. Ah, maybe you got it, maybe you didn’t but that was just a silly joke referring to his just released solo song which is a remake of YooYoungsook’s ‘7 Years of Love’. Just in case you don’t know, YooYoungsook decided to release an album to mark his 20th anniversary in show business featuring reworked versions of some of his songs (he reworked them himself, I believe) and he chose Kyu to particpate in it and gave him this song to sing.

Anyway, long story short – the song’s finally been officially released (fancams of Kyuhyun singing it at YooYoungsook’s album showcase were floating around the web for about two weeks prior to this) and it’s just beautiful – I’ve been replaying it since I found it a little while ago and I see myself doing so for quite some time to come. It’s a bossa nova rendition of the song and as I’m no bossa nova buff (really, I know next to nothing about it), I was pleasantly surprised to see how well Kyu’s voice suit that style of music. He sounds so breathy and his voice is so light and soothing here – soothing is really the best way to put it. Listening to it, I feel like a spell’s being woven over my mind and as though I’m being lulled off to the very sweetest dreams of Kyu hopefully – it’s equal parts sad and romantic and even though it’s a pretty long song, about 5 and a half minutes, the song just seems to fly by. Every time it ends, I feel a little sad and empty but most of all, surprised that it’s already done. All in all, it’s a really lovely song and definitely something to check out whether you’re a Suju fan or not. I think KyuHyun should be very proud of himself.

So here’s the MV courtesy of Sup3rJunior

And one of those fancams I mentioned earlier of his performance at the album showcase:

credit: kyunerdful

You’ll check it out, right? You really should….trust me – you don’t want to miss out on this moving piece of music. Go, watch the videos, you know you want to.

That said, yesterday was my last day of work so I’ll have a good bit more free time on my hands for a little while and will hopefully be a little more active around here as a result – expect lots of posts about old things that you probably already watched a million years ago now. ^^ And let me say a short saengil chukhahae to one of my favourite leaders, Teuk-Teuk-Teukie! I have to do a proper birthday post for him in a little while so I’ll just wish him all the best and all of God’s blessings for now. I hope that he looks at this birthday and sees it for what it is – another year of life passed through safely and a chance for a new beginning in his life should that be what he so desires.

Well, that’s all for now. Ja ne!

Maki

Here it is!!! EDIT: I changed the video to the official one, btw – turns out the one I posted before was the leaked version, my bad. Anyway, it’s really not that different – it just has some longer solo shots and a few added scenes as well as added effects in the dance portion. The effects are a little distracting but other than that, it’s okay – still a fantastic video.

credit: wondersmurf

Enjoy! Spazz to come. I’m warning you – this will be long. It might rival my ‘Amigo’ spazz post – just saying.

Okay, so I came home today, hoping (but not expecting) that the video would be released and planning to write a ridiculously long Suju spazz post to get out all of the random thoughts that I have about them and to hopefully get some of my fangirliness out because I am so totally a Suju fangirl now. Really, I’m ashamed of myself at this point – I can’t believe how much I love them. I’m just watching all their videos and dramas and lurking around Suju posts because I am a loser to read the comments and just generally being very sad and pathetic. But that aside, the good thing is that the video did come out and it’s good. Hmm, I think if you don’t like the group but you like the song, you’ll think it’s just okay but for me in my current non-logical fangirl state, IT IS FANTASTIC. Did you hear me? FANTASTIC. It’s definitely one of, if not their best, MV to date.

Agh, where to start? First off, let me talk about the song – I really like it. No, I love it. It’s mature, it’s sexy, it’s good – not catchy like ‘Sorry Sorry’ or cute or fun like some of their other songs – it’s just a good song and I’m very impressed with it. Suju have shown that they were serious when they said they wanted their sound to mature and I think their music’s going in a very promising direction. In addition to that, even though this song uses synthesizer and whatnot, their voices aren’t digitalized and I can actually hear each person clearly which brings me to my next point. The lines are distributed fairly evenly – everyone gets a part (except Kibum)! Man, I’m hearing Teukie, Heechul, Shindong AND Eunhyuk which is certainly more than in ‘Sorry, Sorry’. Of course, they’re all getting like two lines but with so many of them, that’s to be expected, right? Now let’s move on to the video, shall we?

Good points: First off, I actually like the dance. The first time I watched it, I thought “ah, it’s okay – there are some awkward parts but it should carry over all right on stage” but then the more I watched the video, the more I liked the choreography, especially in the mainly dance parts like during the little interlude between the first chorus and the second verse. This dance routine doesn’t immediately make me want to get up and learn it like ‘Sorry, Sorry’s did but that’s okay – I think it’s good enough and works well for the song. It’s better than the choreo for ‘Why I Like You’ at least and that makes me really happy because as much as I liked that song, the choreography was so random and cheesy and all over the place. Methinks this is a lot better. I particularly liked the little dance portion with EunHyuk, Donghae and Shindong as well as the choreo that goes from Sungmin’s lines to Shindong’s in the second verse.

credit: hightimejump on LJ

Then, almost everyone looked good in the white portion of the MV – except Kibum. Please take off that headband and then we can talk. It is nice to see you though. Yesung and KyuHyun basically stole all my attention in this video. Seriously there is not a shot where those two did not look good – Yesung totally had his stage charisma on and Kyu, I take back what I said about you not being sexy. I don’t know how I could have thought that – he proved me wrong here. Ryeowook is also looking pretty good here, he almost made it to manly, not quite there but he is very close – a far cry from the awkwardness I perceived in the ‘Sorry, Sorry’ video – and he looked so sweet at first with that bouquet of flowers. Sungmin’s hair….I keep thinking I don’t like it and then he’ll start dancing and it will swish to the side and I’ll end up going ‘ooh, pretty~’ so I guess I only like it in motion then. after watching the video some more, I really like it. It’s mesmerizing, instead of looking at his face, I just keep looking at his hair. It’s a very nice colour – a pretty plum. I’m not sure if it suits him though.

Honestly, Hae, Geng, Teuk and Siwon looked fabulous here as well – I was just too busy spazzing about Kyu and Yesung to focus much on them. They got some nice close – ups though. That’s another thing – everyone got almost equal screen time! That’s practically unheard of for a Super Junior video – I love this, they really seem to be trying to even things out somewhat amongst the members (except Kibum but that’s a whole other story). And Heechul looks unlike himself but in a good way. He has a really versatile look, that Kim Heechul, I feel like he’s always reinventing himself. Like Madonna, ooh~

Okay, Not So Great Points:

Okay, I’m sorry but clothes-wise, there was a lot of fail here. They seemed to be going for some sort of vintage, 1950’s feel with the outfits (or at least, that’s what I was getting) but if that’s the case, then what happened to EunHyuk’s street outfit? He looks like a total hoodlum and it really doesn’t flow with the others (his random graffiti-ing is also a little bit odd, it’s sweet too – ‘only4you’) but whatever, his dance outfit was very nice. Actually it worked out like that for most people where they looked good in either the dance or the street scenes but not in both – notable exception being Yesung (I LOVE both of his outfits, especially his black and white shirt) and Kyu – no, really, this isn’t bias – it’s the truth! The shots did flow very nicely into each other though – whoever edited this video did a really good job.

Also, the actors were over-acting a bit. Kibum, Heechul, Hangeng and Siwon, I know it’s supposed to be sad but y’all went a little too far – I ended up laughing at them instead of feeling sorry. Well, looking at it again, I guess they didn’t do too badly but I still think they could have pulled it back a little.

The others did a pretty good job though and like I said, the dance portions were nice. The video could have been a little more colourful or so but  guess the dull colour works with the theme of longing and heartbreak. But anyway, it’s a really good video! I quite liked it and I’m going to go watch it again. You do that too, okay? I really can’t wait to see a performance of this now – remember, the first one is going to be this Sunday, the 17th on Inkigayo. I’m excited – are you excited? You should be. Come on, get excited! It’s going to be great! SJ fighting! ‘It’s You’ – Dae Bak! (And you guys know what comes after the 17th, right? SHINee’s new song teaser on the 18th – yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!! These next two weeks should be fun – don’t miss it if you can!)

Anyway, I’m really going now – have a good night. Hope you liked the video. Laters. (And you guys, I promise to respond to comments – I know I’ve been lax on that recently but you’ll get your replies soon, okay? Sorry, Sorry!)

Maki

Here’s her new MV for ‘Boo’.

Okay, yes, the concept and the song are very different from ‘Mia’ and probably not what you were expecting from her (I know I wasn’t) but it really isn’t that bad and we shouldn’t think of it as a step down but instead as her trying out a new style. Honestly, ‘Boo’ really is a very cute, catchy enough song and it’s impossible to hide IU’s impressive vocal ability in a song like this – and look on the bright side, it may be on the cutesy side but at least, they didn’t digitalize her voice or use a ton of synthesizer – and for that, we should always be grateful.

So the MV, like the song. is very cute – it’s basically just different scenes of her strutting through a neighbourhood and walking with her video love interest who is alternatively seen standing around and looking bewildered and mildly annoyed at her lateness – it doesn’t really make sense, per se and I don’t think there’s much of a plot so it doesn’t really matter. Hmm, I must say that I love that pink car she’s standing next to in the video – it’s just adorbs! – and even though I liked her long hair, this new style gives her a lovely, childish, fresh look that quite suits her concept and age. What does not suit her age, however, is that ridiculous frou frou piece of tulle mascarading as a skirt that her stylists have her prancing around in – I really don’t know what’s going on with that, it is obscenely short, so short that you can see the red tights that she’s wearing beneath it and she’s even wearing them for performances! This makes me want to cry. Codies, why are you doing this to her? Am I the only one outraged?

What makes me feel better though is listening to her first full length album, Growing Up – listen here; buy here – it is thankfully quite lovely and it follows the style of her mini-album in that it incorporates slower songs that do a better job of showcasing her vocals as well as more upbeat, catchier tunes that show her range and versatility. I’ve only heard it once so far but I’m quite enjoying it so far and I definitely recommend giving it a listen. All of her mini-album songs are on it, including a rock version of ‘You Know’ (Itjanha) that’s extremely entertaining – she actually pulled it off very well, I’m impressed! Hmm, I’ll probably be back with a proper review of the album in a little while – in the meanwhile, give it a try, okay?

I would also recommend checking out one of her new performances – here’s her latest M! Countdown one. I’m happy to report that she has really improved in terms of her performances – her vocals are as strong and consistent as they always were but her actual expression and so on was severely lacking previously and that’s definitely changed now. She’s a lot more lively, expressive and open here, she loosk more comfortable on stage and she really seems to be enjoying herself doing her cute, little choreography so I guess giving her this style to perform was good for something. She still has to work on her actual stage presence a bit – and of course, the skirt HAS to go – but other than that, I’m happy to report that IU seems to be doing quite well for herself. So I hope this image change really works to her advantage by generating a good bit of interest in her and hopefully, this video of a number of other artists including FT Island, Davichi, Bae Seul Ki, K. Will and  Untouchable talking about IU and ‘Boo’ will help her get some more recognition. Goodness knows she deserves it.

IU fighting! DaeBak!

Maki

So I’m listening to a little bit of J-pop on the side these days and I recently checked out Koda Kumi’s new album, TRICK because I listened to her ’stay with me’ winter single (also on this album) and really liked it – and I actually liked this album more. I’m thinking about buying it. Well, I’m not really into J-pop so other than her name, I didn’t know much about her beforehand but I think this album is a good starting point. Hmm, I won’t say any more since I’m thinking about doing an album review of it but I’d definitely suggest you check it out. She runs through a number of styles in it – pop, rock, hip hop, etc. and you’ll probably find at least one song you like. So for the mean time, I’ll just leave you with my personal favourite and what I consider to be the best song (because my favourite MUST be the best song, claro) on the album, Just the Way You Are.

She even released a video for it! I’m happy – it really is a great song and she looks lovely in the video and it’s pretty fitting for the song, if a little awkward at times. Anyway, I’m really digging her red plaid outfit.

credit: phumint on YT

Well, I hope you like it. Enjoy!

Maki

So since the boys are going on break, I’ve started paying attention to more people in an effort to find some folks to check out while they’re away. Here’s some of the people I’ve been keeping tabs on and my thoughts on them so far.

After School

Now I generally don’t like it when people try to be overly sexy because as far as I’m concerned, sexiness should be subtle and natural, not contrived or forced (SeungRi, I’m looking at you) and people need to understand that while some people just exude sexiness, it doesn’t come as easily (or at all) to everyone so if you can’t pull it off, just let it go and find another image, one that would be more fitting for you instead of trying to be something you’re not. Anyway as such, when I heard that this group were taking cues from PCD for their concept, I wasn’t feeling very optimistic. However they weren’t quite as risque as I expected but I’m still not feeling their concept too much and I find their song, ‘Ah’ only mildly catchy. It’s okay to listen to once in awhile but I wouldn’t call it ipod worthy. Also that ‘Ah’ noise is simultaneously appealing and irritating. I haven’t listened to their mini-album yet so I can’t say anything about that. Sorry. To date, I’ve only seen one or two of their performances and while I wouldn’t say that they’re particularly stunning, they’re fairly solid and not a bad watch. They need to cut down on those leg splits though - that I do not need to see.

Surprisingly though, I rather like the concept of their MV. Like 2pm’s ‘10 out of 10′ MV, it’s very cheeky and tongue-in-cheek and I hear folks saying that that’s nothing new but I think it really works here. In the video, After School act as schoolgirls, which is amusing in and of itself given that they’re all decidedly older than your usual high school students, who attempt to seduce their teacher and I’m not sure why but I find it pretty cute. Even though they act overly flirtatious and silly, they never go too far or attempt to be too over the top or scandalous and I appreciate that. They never do anything that would make the person watching them feel uncomfortable and strangely enough, when they actually get the teacher alone, they don’t do anything but laugh, dance with him and play with his hair (and who hasn’t wanted to do that with a cute guy every once in awhile? I can think of one already – hi there, Kim Bum!) Anyway, the video actually made the song bearable to me and I listen to it more now because I want to see the video. Hmm, I don’t know if I’d recommend the group per se but I’d say give the video a look, especially if you liked that 2pm one. It’s not nearly as risque as that!

Taegoon

So I posted about him before but I think I sounded like a loon there so I’m trying again sans the fangirlness. Hmm, I like Taegoon so far – he’s a cute guy – way cuter when he smiles – and his song, ‘Call Me’ is extremely addictive, imo. He’s a pretty good dancer as well – very clean lines, fairly precise, except when he gets to his solo though – it would be better if he didn’t dance so quickly but I can’t totally fault him that because I notice that a lot of Korean artists seem to dance faster than is necessary to songs, I’m not sure why. It would just look so much better if they would slow things down and allow me to appreciate the individual moves better. That said, I can’t say much for his singing – so far in his lives, he’s always had mic trouble or had some handicap like that weird stage design on music bank or just was lipsynching but from what I’ve heard and seen, it looks like he still needs to work on his live singing. Ultimately, it’s not bad but he obviously has trouble singing and dancing and I’ve noticed that in his more recent performances, he’s been doing less dancing as a result (which sucks because he’s a great dancer) but of course, it’s better to forfeit the dancing for the vocals. Hmm, his latest performance on Music Core was definitely his best as far as I’m concerned and I’m happy to see that he seems to be improving vocally. Also and this is a weird side note but I always notice that female back-up dancer who dances next to him. I’m not sure why but I pay a lot of attention to her – I think it’s because in his second performance on Music Core (the one where he smiles a lot *_*), he didn’t do a particular move with her during the second chorus and she gives him this shocked/semi-perturbed look like “excuse me?!” and it was so funny. I can totally tell that she said something to him about it back-stage – she looks feisty like that. Uhm-hmm.

As for his MV, which I’ve watched way too many times than was good for me, I really like it. Honestly, the song didn’t immediately make an impression on me but the video did so I kept watching it and subsequently got addicted to the song. The editing of the video is kind of cool but a little confusing as far as plot exposition goes – it took me forever to really figure out what was going on there – his dancing looks great, very smooth; he looks great, although you can’t get a very good shot of his face there and that’s about it, really. Also Park Hye Shin and Jaejoong from DBSK are in it and I’ve watched this video enough times to realize that 1. Jaejoong  is really just ridiculously good-looking and 2. that his acting is semi-believeable. At first I thought he just looked blank but after about fifty watches, I must say he did a fairly good job of looking all broken up about everything so I take back what I said about him in my last post about this video.

So the plot of the video is fairly simple – there’s a girl, she’s dating two guys, Jaejoong and Taegoon, and also cheating on them with another guy. She’s with Jaejoong first, then meets up with Taegoon in a club (ooh, hot dance scenes!) and then she gets together with him and he finds out she’s with Jaejoong but he still doesn’t dump her and then afterwards she picks up with another guy. Knowing her three two- timing nature, Jaejoong gets all bent out of shape and fired up and he decides to end things by getting a gun and shooting the other guy (no, it wasn’t Taegoon OR the girl) but they don’t show what happens after the shot so the ending’s a bit ambiguous (like SHINee’s Amigo MV ending). Still it’s exciting, isn’t it? If totally confusing as well. Anyway, I like Taegoon – he seems like a nice guy – so I’ll be keeping an eye on him. If you’re interested and want more info on him, definitely check out his fan-made Youtube channel or his official forum. He needs all the support he can get, you know, especially with all these people hating on him becase he reminds them of so and so and so and so. Whatever with that – give the guy a break, he’s new, let him find his stride first before you start criticizing.

Also I gave his mini-album a listen and while I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would, it’s not bad. The songs are very dance-able and I think they all suit his voice really well. He may not be the best singer but he has a nice voice and he even does a little rapping in this song, ‘I Understand You’ featuring H-Eugene which I think is the best song on the cd. It’s the one that stood out the most to me on the album and it’s the only one other than Call Me that I could see myself listening to for an extended period of time. Also there’s a part of the song where he sings ‘uhtddkhae’ etc, etc, and he sounds all plaintive and his voice is full of longing and it’s really kind of hot, you know. It’s rare for me to say something like that so you know it’s true. So check him out, okay?

May Doni

So I posted about her already but it wasn’t a proper post so here goes. Honestly I’m not so interested in her that I’ll check out her older videos or a lot of her performances but I did watch one – she’s performing with Miryo, the rapper from BEG which I think is pretty cool – and it was pretty good. She can obviously hold her own live and while I am yet to understand the necessity of having a dance break in the middle of her only-slightly-more-upbeat-than-a-ballad song, she managed to carry things off well and still be able to sing well despite performing the dance break.

I am not at all impressed by her MV – I get that it’s supposed to be unique and set her apart but I just think it’s weird and creepy and I wouldn’t recommend anyone watch it. Just open the page and listen to the song, okay? Don’t bother to watch the video. The song is nice though – her voice is digitalized a bit too much in it so that you don’t get the full effect of it and she ends up sounding like a lot of those other really high-pitched female singers out there and of course, it would have been better if she had debuted with a song that was more like this one so that people could get a better idea of her vocal range but this is what we got so we should work with it instead of complaining – it’s not a bad song and I like listening to it. Still not sure if I want to put it on my iPod but I’d definitely recommend it. I also gave her mini-album, 7teen a listen and I have to say that of the three original tracks on there (the rest are just remixes and instrumentals), this one is the best, imo. The first one, ID (I’m MayDoni) is more upbeat and powerful and the third, 처음처럼 does a better job of showcasing her vocals but Molla-ing is best overall. It’s the most commercial, I believe and I think it was a good choice on their part letting her debut with it. Just my two cents anyway – feel free to disagree.

Well, that’s it – I’m a bit tired for now so I may or may not pick this up later. Hopefully you’ll appreciate my little musings on these artists and maybe you’ll even agree. The most important thing is to check them out yourself to see though. So thank you and good night.

Maki

So I was bored earlier (bored? there are so many things I could have been doing!) and I started watching some old videos and I put on Replay and I had such a blast watching it that I ended up ~replay~ing it about four or five times.

credit: princessxhours

Hmm, I think I might have said this before but I miss the Replay days. I miss the boys’ cute image. I mean, I know they haven’t that much and I really like Amigo and I loved LLO but I think they could have continued going the cute route for a little bit longer. I just miss how cute and young and fresh and awkward they were, how they were always bushy-tailed and bright eyed about everything, how they always looked happy and excited and eager and NOT tired, how they did a million interviews a week (I really miss that!) and I even miss their too bright clothing and matching graphic print tees. Hmm, I don’t know what to say…I guess I’m just feeling nostalgic. I know I’m just being silly – after all, everything changes and the cute thing would have gotten old after awhile but I just can’t help how I’m feeling.

I remember when I first saw the video the first thing that struck me was how well the boys danced. They just moved so well together – everything was in unison and while, yes this is a music video so it should be good, I couldn’t help being impressed by the caliber of their dancing. To be honest, I still am.

I mentioned in a previous post that Taemin was the first one who caught my eye in the video – and he really was. He was just always smiling – and he looked so young! I was like “What is up with this kid? Why’s he so happy?!” Ha, but I thought he was adorable. And I couldn’t believe he had a bowlcut – like who has a bowlcut in this day and age? (A lot of K-pop stars apparently.) I also noticed him because of his WICKED t-shirt and his dance solo. I didn’t know who he was but I thought he was awesome and the most adorable kid on the planet so I made sure to learn his name if no one else’s. And for that, Taeminnie will always be my little mushroom head. ♥ Oh, and speaking of smiling, watch this video – I was so happy to see him smiling genuinely again, I can’t even tell you. I was like “my baby’s happy again! Yay!”

The second person I noticed? Probably Onew. I remember wondering why he was dressed all hip-hop-y in a pop video. His fake gold bling! That really cracked me up. But I really liked his hair though and he had one of my favourite lines in the song – “To you I know this love is one moment, one feeling but no matter what is said, this is my life’s everything”. Yes, it’s silly and melodramatic (especially coming from a younger guy) but I thought it was the sweetest thing in the world and I couldn’t understand what girl would be dumb enough to dump a guy who said that to her. Oh and my friend also pointed out this really cute moment at 2 minutes where Onew puts a handkerchief on the bleachers for the noona to sit on. Aww, how much more adorable can you get?! (I bet you Onew would totally do that in real life too – if, you know, he actually had a handkerchief on him).

Hmm, I think I noticed Jonghyun next – well, technically I noticed him right away but it was more me going “why does that guy have those big headphones around his neck? Who actually uses those things in public?” (I don’t much like big headphones) so I’m not sure that that actually counts. I only noticed him really because it occurred to me that he seemed to be doing the most singing (although I think they spilt up Replay pretty evenly) and because I really didn’t like his hair or his clothes in the dance portion (you know where everyone’s wearing red and white and black) – I mean, a bandana and a red plaid shirt?! Not cool, stylists, not cool. I didn’t really end up liking him (although I loved his voice) until I saw the LLO MV but I talked about that already so moving on…Oh, but on a totally unrelated note, Mnet had some star ranking thing and Jonghyun was on the list! He was number 59 out of 100. I hope it gets subbed by shineesubs soon – I’d really like to know what they said about him. (Key was also on the list – number 81.) Congrats boys! Those are some pretty high spots for rookies.

Hmm, I’d love to say something about Key and Minho here but I really didn’t notice them much during the MV, although I did think it was funny that Minho kind of had a bowlcut then too. I remember after I watched the first episode of Yunhanam and I finally learned who Minho was, when I went back and watched the Replay MV, every time I saw him, I kept going “OMGee, yes! He was there! So how come I didn’t notice him?” It’s sad, I know but I really just blanked him out – I just remember his close-up during the “so cool” part, that’s it. Sorry! I notice him now though. As for Key, I have to say that when I look at him in the Replaydays and I watch him now, I feel like I’m watching two different people. Why? Because he looks different now – like he wasn’t so pretty before, IDK what happened, is it because they dyed his hair? – and I don’t know, I guess he doesn’t really act differently. I think it’s really just that I had a different impression of him back then than the one I have now – like now that I have a better idea of what he’s like, I realize that my initial impression of him was really inaccurate. So because of that, it seems like he changed when it’s really that my view of him changed.

And well, there really isn’t much more for me to say – Replay’s always gonna be a classic for me and it’ll always have a special place in my heart being the first K-pop song I ever heard. Whenever I feel down, I watch the video and I laugh at how young the boys all look and how odd some of their clothes are and how cute and corny the video is and I smile because it was their very first video and it’s amazing to see how far they’ve come since then – just what, seven months ago? What can I say? I really ♥ those boys – and I know that they’re just going to keep getting better. Faith. You gotta have some, you know?

Anyways, adios!

Maki

Oh wait  – the Song Rec! Well, today it’s SNSD’s new song, Dear Mom, off of their ‘Gee’ mini-album. (LOL, I’m sure some of you are like “OMG! Not SNSD again?! Why won’t she stop talking about them?! LOL, sorry. ^^) Anyway, this is the only ballad on their mini-album and it is, in my opinion, the best song on there. The link takes you to a video with subs as well as the track and when you read the translation, you realize just how touching and authentic a song it is. But honestly, you don’t need that – you can determine what it’s about from the title alone and really, the girls just bring so much heart and emotion to the song that you can be moved just by listening to it. I always feel sad when I hear it – it makes me so depressed! – and listening to it with the translations almost made me tear up. It’s a really beautiful song and whether you like the group or not, I’d definitely recommend you check it out. It makes me wish my mother wasn’t mad at me right now…anyway, just check it out!

So these days, I’m trying to broaden my musical horizons – there are tons of great artists out there and I don’t want to miss out on some of them because I’m too busy listening to the same songs over and over again (hello SHINee~) and since the only female Korean artists I listen to in a big way are the Wonder Girls (and really not even them so much), I figure I should check out some other people too (feel free to suggest, by the way).

So given this quest, when I heard there was a new girl group debuting, instead of cringing like some people and grumbling about there being another one, I figured I’d give them a try. So today I watched Brand New Day’s MV for ‘Livable’ for the first time. And surprisingly, I really liked it.

Well, honestly I didn’t like the MV itself that much but I really like the song. It’s not the kind of song I’m used to listening to but that’s kind of the point. It’s not exactly catchy from the get-go but once it gets to the chorus, it picks up a lot and gets to be really infectious. And it helps that the three members are all quite capable vocalists. It’s strange – I hear people saying that this song doesn’t really do their voices justice but I disagree – I think it’s a really solid debut song, it’s just catchy enough to stay in your mind without becoming a nuisance and it allows you to get enough of a sense of their ample vocal ability to want to check them out further. At least, that’s what happened to me.

So onto the actual video….so it’s about a girl who’s happily dating some guy and then she finds out that he’s cheating on her so they break up and she gets depressed – but then she sees Brand New Day on tv and she remembers that she has their magazine/catalogue so she goes and finds it and of course, there’s an article about how to get over a break-up. She uses the article, starts to get her stride back and as she finally leaves her house after however many days to meet up with her friends, who does she see but THE EX! And with his new girlfriend, no less. They pass each other and you think she’s just going to walk away but instead she gets some spunk and comes back and gives him a slap to make up for what he did to her. (Make sure to look at the other girl’s face at that point – she looks so shocked! Now you know he’s got some ’splaining to do…) Anyway, brava, chica, brava. Overall, the MV really wasn’t bad – I love the lighting they used in the video for some reason, although the actress’s hair kept distracting me because it made her look so much like the main singer of U-Kiss (Sorry, I don’t remember his name).

Listening to the song, I wouldn’t have guessed that’s what it was about so I’m glad for an MV with a plot showing that. It actually reminds me a lot of Davichi’s Love and War video – watch it if you haven’t, it’s hilarious! – and in a similar way, shots of the actual group members are spliced in between the scenes with the plot. The members themselves are quite pretty and I really like their outfits – I’m a sucker for well-layered black and white – and although I feel that the dancing in the video is a bit awkward at times, it’s not bad. So overall, I like this song – definitely suggest you give them a try. I’m checking out their mini-album, ‘Lady Garden’ (definitely could do better as far as titles go) now, courtesy this playlist on imeem and while I’m not sold on it yet, they really do have impressive vocals and I like that they tackle different musical styles in their songs. I’m particularly fond of the last two techno sounding tracks – they’re really nice and I was surprised to see how well they managed to pull off that kind of sound. The only thing is that I don’t know why but I just get a japanese vibe from their music – I think it’s because some of their songs sound so much like the kind of songs they use as anime theme songs. But that’s not really a bad thing – and coincidentally, the one who I assume is the lead singer – the one with the long hair – reminds me so much of Jonghyun because of the way she sings. They both have these really powerful voices that practically knock you down from the force of their singing and they also seem to have similar singing styles to me but I can’t be sure because I’m not a singer or a musician so I’m not really attuned to that sort of thing.

So anyway, I recommend checking them out – don’t write them off as ‘just another girl group’, okay? I think they’re worth checking out so please do! Here’s a picture…

There they are – that’s Brand New Day, members are Kim Su Ji (20), Kim Su Jin (19) and Lee Su Jin (20) (from left to right). Yes, they all have the same name – I’m not sure what that’s about but I’m sure it’ll make sense soon or that I’ll just get used to it. I’m looking forward to see what happens with them, although it’s difficult to find info on them at the moment. Still I’m sure if I putter around, I’ll find something.

Maki

Oh, and on a totally unrelated note, if you’re looking for a laugh, I suggest checking out Epik High singing DBSK’s Mirotic in honour of Mithra Jin’s birthday! It is, like all of their renditions of other’s songs, epikly humourous and throughout it all, the man of honour looks like he wants to be anywhere but in that room. XD So watch! And saengil chukhae, Mithra Jin!

….which is spazz over our lovely Minho in their adorkable new MV! Here it is!

credit: AhMiGo on YT

Okay, that still shot in the above video is horrible, by the way. How do those things get chosen? YT always picks the most random moments. LOL.

So Minho’s part is pretty small, I’m not surprised really – this being the girls’ comeback MV, I assumed they’d want the focus on them (after all, SHINee’s already got more than enough, right? XD) He looks adorable though and I’m really digging his hat. As I assumed, he’s the sales clerk working in the shop that the girls are mannequins in and he is apparently the boy that they all come alive for (or come alive to spazz over at least). Serious lulz at the totally unnatural way he walks away from the store, by the way. But enough about him…

This MV is seriously cute! And while I didn’t like the way that their outfits looked in the promo pictures – those colours, ugh! So bright! – they somehow work in the MV. Everything’s bright (like really bright – honestly, I don’t recommend watching this video more than thrice, it could NOT be good for your eyes) and sparkly (banjak banjak!)  and cool and the girls look pretty good too. I almost like Jessica’s hair. Almost. OMG! And I finally know who sings what parts because they magically seemed to find a way to make them all sound almost identical in the song and everyone gets some lines. Sunny gets parts! Yay! And this is one of those times where Hyoyeon acting cte does not make me cringe. (That girl – the cute thing just doesn’t work for her, I’m sorry. Anyone else – but not her.) Oh, and the outfits where they’re wearing short pants – all I have to say is WOW, the use of colour really works there. I love it. And they’re wearing pants! So you should be happy.

OMG, THE DANCE! So…I know I said that I thought the moves would be ridiculously cutesy but they’re actually not and lol, somehow the fact that they’re wearing pants really adds to the overall effect. The move from 0:48 – 0:51 looks really nice too. So some of the moves are kind of cutesy but you know, it’s SNSD so that works for them. Somehow they’ve managed to make me buy into this uber-cute fantasy land of ponies and unicorns and fairies that they all seemed to have emerged from. Because really, how else could they pull off acting cute twenty-four seven? So the dance does get a little awkward towards the end but that’s okay – I’m sure they’ll sort themselves out when it comes time to perform it. I really love when they all point towards Hyoyeon in succession and then she jumps though – in heels at that! – you have to respect that.

Uhm, to be honest, I’m not loving the all white shots during the bridge – you know, where they’re all sitting down – it looks kind of awkward to me. It didn’t in the teaser but somehow seeing it in context makes it seem odd. I find the ending intriguing though – I thought that they’d return as mannequins and then Minho’d come back and find them and notice that things were off like that they were wearing different clothes or something (which they weren’t but you know they could have changed – it is a clothes store) but instead they all just decide they don’t want to be mannequins anymore and leave. This idea is spearheaded by Tiffany, of course – and I don’t mean that in a mean way either – watching Factory Girl gave me some insight into Tiffany’s personality and while I see what traits got her (and the rest of the group) in trouble, those also happen to be some of the same things I like about her – because it shows she’s realistic, you know, she makes mistakes, she speaks her mind and she’s not afraid to hide what she truly feels. This isn’t always a good thing, of course, but in an industry like this, it’s refreshing. But ANYWAY back to the ending…(lol at Minho’s faux perplexed face), yes I think it’s supposed to be all girl power-ish which would be cool, except that I don’t think it really goes with the tone of the song, you know. But that’s just me…

Oh, and I couldn’t help noticing that their ‘Employee of the Month’ sign was in English and I could not understand why. Are random signs in Korea really in English like that? And do people really use English phrases as often as some of these dramas and reality shows would have you think? Hmm, I wonder… Someone, please enlighten me. Unnie?

Anyway, so I like the MV. I wasn’t really looking forward – was more interested in the song but this is one of those rare cases where the MV actually makes me like and appreciate the song more. Anyway, I hope you liked it as much as I did! Soshi fighting!

Maki

Soooo Seungri-gun’s MV for Strong Baby is out and I gotta say – I wasn’t that impressed. And you should know that Strong Baby is one of my favourite songs off of Remember so I was pretty excited when I heard that there was going to be an MV and that he was going to be promoting the song because I have faith in SeungRi and I knew he’d do his best but honestly, I am not really liking the way things are turning out.

Let’s talk about the MV, shall we?

So…I’d heard some rumours about what was going to be in it – abs, a bed and a kiss scene – and I was a little surprised at that but I figured I’d wait and watch the actual video before I made any assumptions. Well, the video did include abs, a bed scene and a semi-kiss scene and they didn’t really do much for me. I don’t know – I mean, SeungRi looks good, you know he always rocks suits well and he wears one in just about every scene and he looks very gentlemanly and classy but I just felt like he was trying too hard to push this grown up image. Now it’s true that he’s getting older and I figure it’s pretty difficult for a maknae to be seen as anything else and I get that he wants to be treated with more respect and to show a different side to himself and I don’t have a problem with that – I just don’t like the way he’s going about it.

Watching that video, I was just alternating between laughing at him trying to be sexy (and he can totally be sexy too! – just not when he’s being so blatant about it) and feeling kind of bemused. One of the things that I wa really looking forward to was the dancing because I know Baby’s a choreographer and so I expected the choreography to be really cool and on point but…I didn’t really like it, to be honest. I mean, there were certain parts that were cool like when Seungri and the female dancer are doing the same moves – that part’s nice – but honestly, it wasn’t anything particularly remarkable. And the thing is I know he tried his best too because you can see that he’s really serious about everything but to me, the ‘MJ’ inspired moves (a.k.a. the crotch grab – eew, why do people do that?! It is soooo not sexy, it’s kind of gross actually) and having the female dancers rub up on him is just so unnecessary and way too much. Seungri, you don’t need that – I’d tune in just to see you dance for three and a half minutes, really! And the scene at the end with him and the noona actress – I’m not feeling it. I wasn’t appalled or anything but I just didn’t want to see that – and not because Seungri’s maknae or because I’m jealous (it’s definitely not that). I just don’t want to see that – and not just from him, from anyone. That’s so not cool – and it too is extremely unnecessary. I’m sorry but I’m just having a really hard time taking Seungri seriously here – but who knows? I might like it yet. I’m still holding out hope though. The performances could change my mind but if the SBS Gayo one is what they’ll all be like, I doubt it.

Oh, and in a side note – I hear a lot of people saying that both the song and the video have a Justin Timberlake vibe but I didn’t get that at all and I watched it again to see if I saw it buuuuut I didn’t. I mean I suppose him chasing the girl through a room full of other girls is similar to Sexyback but really, it’s not like that hasn’t been done in a million other videos as well so I don’t agree with those “OMG, so unoriginal, he’s just copying JT!” comments – at all.

Oh, and on a totally unrelated side note, the teaser for SNSD’s new MV was just released and it looks pretty good so far. I’m glad this MV seems to have some kind of plot this time as opposed to their last three and the song is super catchy – it’s stuck in my head already. Also even though their concept hasn’t changed drastically, it’s still a nice change from the cutesy, cutesy, carrying around fake lollipops (OMG, get rid of them already!) ‘Kissing You’ concept so I think I’m actually kind of excited for ‘Gee Day’ now. The Gee thing is kind of weird but who knows? Maybe Soshi will make it work and bring Gee back into the vernacular – or I suppose introduce it to the Korean one.

Later,

Maki