[REVIEW] One for the girls!!! (Part 1: APink)

(First of all, sorry for the giveaway spams… I’m a student; I like free things XD)

So… I listened to APink when they debuted. My first thought: “They’re okay, ^^ I mean… they’re really not bad!” But I actually forgot to go back to their music after a week ._.” (that’s not a reflection on how memorable they were, just a comment on how forgetful I can be XD). So here’s my Apink overview! I’m skipping ‘Skinny Baby’ & ‘Hush’ (to make a long story short - I don’t like them) plus any collaborative songs cuz I don’t know them, and ‘Bubibu (remix)’ since I haven’t heard it yet.

[1st mini-album: Seven Springs Of Apink]

Apink had a really fairytale at the beginning. ‘몰라요’ (I don’t Know) was cute, but I wasn’t keen on the MV personally. ‘It Girl’ actually stood out to me. It was cute, but catchy. ‘Wishlist’ is a nice calm song that flows nicely; I was quite surprised at how vocally strong some of the members are here! ‘Boo’ was very sudden at the end. The intro reminded me of retro videogames. I actually liked all of the songs on this mini album! (That’s quite rare for me, when it comes to girl groups). Though I don’t like the intro.

#Recommending: It Girl

[It Girl Remix Version]

To be honest, ‘It Girl’ was probs my fave on the 1st mini album. I’m not too pleased about the sudden tempo changes at the chorus. The style of the remix is nice, but those tempo changes… kinda mess it up in my opinion. The transition was MUCH better at the last chorus ne.

[2nd mini-album: Snow Pink]

I won’t comment on that name! XDDD Anyway… I get a very SNSD style from this one. (@Pinkpandas - That is the fan name right? ^^” - I’m NOT saying Apink copied. I don’t consider my self a S♥ne, a casual fan at best ne. @S♥nes - I’m NOT comparing which group is better, just saying the MUSIC/VOCAL style is reminiscent of SNSD. And we all know it’s the company that picks the music! The groups RARELY get  any input in most mainstream k-pop. It’s all about what sells.) Back to the songs. I really like ‘MY MY’!!! I blame F.CUZ for reminding me to check out this mini album! XDDD Vocals are great here (I’m not going to ask about the snow reference XD). I actually found the MV entertaining too! XD ‘Yeah’ has that stylish 8bit/retro-game sound again! I REALLY like this one! I mean I caught myself dancing to it the other day “oh! oh oh~ yeah-yeah-yeah~ yeah yeah!” ♥♥♥ ‘꿈결처럼’ (Dream-like) fits the title well. It’s a really nice dreamy type ballad. I was *again* pleasantly surprised at the vocal skills! I haven’t heard a lot about their reputation besides “cute style” to be honest, but it’s a great song. ‘Prince’ brings us back to the fairytale theme, but… “Eommaya~! Aniya~!” the lyrics of this song made me laugh SO MUCH!!! XD

#Recommending: Yeah

[1st Album: Une Annee]

That ‘Une Annee’ intro… *cringes* I’m sorry but I don’t like these Apink intros. They make no sense to me! ^^” ‘고양이’ is so ace! The music sounds cat-like!!! It’s so perfect! The subtle rapping adds to the stylishness of the song~ ^^ Now… ‘April 19th’ is a very strong ballad (slightly reminiscent of the older girl groups of k-pop). I like the variety of tones in the members’ vocals. With a song like this, I think they’d really excel in Japan if they’re given the chance. ‘Bubibu’ brings us back to “cute style” I like it, but I wish they’d stop putting in that “Dear boy…” line! XD I can see why they chose this to promote. It’s cute, catchy, fun, memorable, even the lyrics are cutesy… it’s something you’d play when you’re having a bad day, to pick up your mood. ‘Step’ is quite different from every other song they ever did. It reminds me of an old, quite mellow song; somewhere waaaaay in the back of my mind. It’s a great “easy-listening” song ne. When I heard ‘I Got You’ I was surprised Apink were getting a dance song. It’s not bad really. The really high “I got you~!” part at the end of the chorus reminds me of someone… is it Banana Girl? O.o I’m not like a BIG fan of this song, but it’s okay. ‘Up To The Sky’ is another dance song, but it has more  energy and feel to it! I like the rapping, it’s great how they use it sparingly, not just cram rap in just cuz they have a rapper! To be honest, I had been waiting to see a B2ST feature in an Apink SONG (not just MV). Junhyung to be specific. Junhyung was most likely. I was expecting more… words? XD He only did the intro!!! Another dance song, ‘Boy’ sounds really retro… like disco retro. It’s not bad, but it kinda pales in comparison to ‘Up To The Sky’ (as does ‘I Got You’)

#Recommending: ‘고양이’ + ‘Step’ + ‘Up To The Sky’

So… what are your thoughts on APink?

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I’m flattered!!! \(^o^)/ Thank you so much~♥ (Lee-U FTW!!!)

[Review] Christmas I mean… F.Cuz came early! XD

Hello F.cuz fans!
As I’m about to leave my laptop to watch: “Dynamo: Magician Impossible”
I’ll leave this to you and edit later!!! ^^
Mianhae~ I’m a magic fanatic and I HAD to watch the premiere!!! ^^”

So! F.cuz time! Let’s do a timeline like the last one »

1. Intro matching the original song (seen in 2nd/3rd teaser)
2. Kan’s verse *kakoii* ^^ (as seen in 3rd teaser)
3. Hello? Are you Yejun? O.o *he looks different! the hairstyle maybe?*
   His Japanese sounds pretty good… but what was his end line?
   ”Time to say goodbye” maybe? A liittle rushed ne? >.<
4. Lee-U!!! You’re looking so retro with that hairstyle~ ^^
   The Japanese skills seem good all round for F.cuz!!!
   Chorus not as dynamic as I thought the original was though… 8<
5. Harmonies and adlibs seem changed and adapted o.o *well done too*
6. Dance (as expected) looks like their performance of the Korean version a little while back! I know… most of the moves are standard ne >.<
7. Fashion looks so stylish~!!! Everyone is in a shirt and tie for walking scenes but their individual styles are shown with their jackets.
8. Jinon oppa~ wae Korean rap? TT^TT Oh! finish it in Japanese? O.O *NICE*
9. Kan handles the syllable count change well~ ^^
10. They really seem to sing with feeling *♥♥♥♥*
11. OMG my heart nearly jumped out of my chest when I heard the vocal panning here! O.O I was wearing headphones for best sound… sounded so close!!! *super scary* >.<
12. Thank you Yejun for pointing “down” for us! XD
13. After mostly posing shots of the members, eveyone really broke out! XD And we finish up with F.cuz in sunglasses and reverse shot of the opening.

So~ that’s pretty much my summary! I think F.cuz did really well ^^
The song wasn’t as dynamic as before, but I do like the new style on it!
IMO the retro MV was genius! It really suited F.cuz and this song~!!!

[Never Let You Go MV] » What did you guys think of it?

[REVIEW] OH MY F.CUZ K-POP! They’re back? O.O

I know you’re probably thinking: “erm duh! since 4 days ago!!!” but give me a break! I’m not an allkpop reading super sasaeng fan! XD Well anyway yeah F.CUZ is one of the groups on the top of my list so I’d been anticipating their August debut in Japan (that After School somehow ended up with too! but that’s probs beacause of the festival ^^ …or is it? *suspicious* XD). Well, I never expected a teaser to be released more than a month before the release date!!! O.O And better yet, it’s really good! Let’s take a look at why it seems promising:

1. 내꺼 (Mine) » This song was already epic in Korean! *my personal fave on the Gorgeous mini album* \(^,^)/
2. So far F.cuz have only showcased their language talents a little bit, but their Japanese on Twitter does seem pretty good! *IMO~ but I’m not a native speaker, just found out today that I passed my 2nd year test! ^^ YAY!!!*
3. The MV clip is the typical F.cuz promo style: “we won’t reveal too much” as it always makes you anticipate the full version.
4. F.cuz are the “model-idols” so fashion is important. And their layered casual clothes nicely contrast their matching black and white dance outfits.
5. They had a kind of retro style for their performance clothes back in Korea, but now they’ve hit Japan they’ve moved the retro into the MV style (the “lyric lights” karaoke) and the cover art (font style and theme).

Bonus for Fantasia, F1 and Runway!!!

• Do I spy Kan leading the dance @ 0.22? Maybe we’ll see him lead more F.cuz dance routines soon?
• Anyone notice Jinon’s tie thoughout his rap/monologue? It looked like a Union Jack tie! Yet another appearance of UK influence in F.cuz style?
• Did the colours seem familiar? (Green, Red/Pink, Blue, Yellow) Yes! F.cuz’ signature colours from the “Jiggy” era!!! They return to support their retro styled album cover! Looks good ne? ^^
• Last one! Did anyone realise the “.” of “F.cuz” on the cover has all 4 colours and the line design (around the edge and the circle and stuff) also make the “F.” of F.cuz!!! *As a graphic designer, I usually notice/recognise these things as easily as colours~ ^^*

So… fellow F.cuz fans! I know we’re all eager to see the full MV but I’m sure we can wait paitently now that we’ve had a sneak peek! XD Although most fans are sad that Lee-U will not be in the group after promotions end (what an aftershock ne? TT.TT) but as it seems to be a company based decision… let’s support The F.cuz 4 with all of their activities! *포커즈 加油~ 파이팅~ がんばって~ good luck!*

What do you think of the teaser?