[REVIEW] The “Hero” : Kim Jaejoong’s 1st mini album “I”

(MV screenshot by me.)

김재중. As a 7 year Cassiopeian I have a lot I could say about Kim Jaejoong. I’m really happy that he’s released a solo. It would be an understatement to say I was looking forward to it. Hearing his mini-album [I] would be rock based, I was ecstatic!!! I remember his solo song “Maze” from back when TVfXQ released TRICK… waaay back when I said: “He would do so well with rock songs. Especially J-rock!”. Years later, here we are! Let’s get on with the review then.


[ONE KISS]
Pre-release single. I was speechless. Literally. It was more than amazing! I mean, it’s on replay for me. I’ve listened to it countless times. It’s rock, but softer, like alternative or acoustic, the way it builds… so full of emotion, it reminds me of groups like Dashboard Confessional, The Calling or Lifehouse. I knew his songs would be high quality but I was really blown away. His voice is emotive and soft but still powerful. It really catches your attention! (*inspiration/freedom)

[MINE]
The “title” song. Dynamic, meaningful, beautifully constructed, amazing. What else can I say? I’m not being biased (especially considering my favourite TVfXQ member has always been Changmin). I listened to “Mine” and I was pleasantly surprised that it was on the opposite end of the scale from “One Kiss”. It’s so strong, the guitar just amps up the energy perfectly! Jaejoong’s vocals are perfect for this style! He’s amazingly versatile!!! I’d compare it to 30 Seconds to Mars, Lostprophets, Three Days Grace, maybe some Taking Back Sunday and Evanescence (for the musical content, not the MV), even some Linkin Park! Much heavier stuff really. The meaning is intense and the only part that didn’t surprise me. The way he was chained up, restricted from speaking, lost in the forest, the mask, running alone in the opposite direction… the vampire scenes coupled with the lyrics about “blocking the sunlight”, spreading his wings to fly and the line… “my ocean”. It doesn’t take a genius to get the meaning from that! Awesome debut. (*truth/perseverance)

[내안 가득히]
A lighter type of sad song here really, this displays yet another musical style for Jaejoong. The music in the verses has an almost funk like (?) more unique melody than standard rock, with a feel comparable to the likes of Maroon 5; whereas the choruses pull us back to soft almost ballad type korean songs. This merge of styles makes it really interesting to listen to, it blends so well! And although Jaejoong’s vocals remind me of the good old TVfXQ days, you can hear how much his voice has matured and improved since debut. (*love/hope)

[나만의 위로]
We’re pulled into the acoustic part of rock here (a style I really admire). Jaejoong shows us yet another sub-genre of rock that he can pull off. I really love his voice here; it’s almost hesitant, as if he really is reflecting on the past, acting out the song… re-living the moments. I felt myself tearing up a little bit by this part of the album. I personally love stringed instruments, so this one almost calls out to me. It has elements that really make me think of the past myself. I know Jaejoong is amazing when it comes to ballads, but his voice really rang through to me here. (*reminiscence/melancholy)

[ALL ALONE]
Here we slip into the piano led, emotion dripping ballad area of rock. This song adds a new element at each stage, enhancing the overall sound; more instruments, vocal layers, tension, etc. I wanted to say so much about this song… but the words just won’t come to me. Every time I listen to this album I’m speechless. There really isn’t enough words for me to express how good I think it is. The powerful lyrics, the composition… I really wish I could hear these songs live in concert. (*loneliness/loss)


The [*] indicates the feelings and themes I get from the songs, I had to add it to show how intense they really are! But what I really love about this mini album is the absence of “a catchy pop-song to pull you in” because they’re all memorable and give such an impact! Jaejoong showcases his talent to what I would say is the fullest, for the fact that it’s completely on another level; but I still feel like he’s capable of more. Considering the “rock” element - he aced it, and more! He completely exceeded my expectations (which were high anyway), he dominated the charts and he surpassed the j-rock influence and k-pop image to release something that could (in my opinion) easily be integrated in the English-language market. But considering that was just 5 songs and one genre… Kim Jaejoong could quite possibly do any genre. His voice is versatile enough, he’s talented enough, and it would sell. But even with these 5 songs, I want to say: “Kim Jaejoong… thank you for the music. All 7 years of it. Thank you for being an inspiration to me. And Happy Birthday.”

I highly encourage, k-pop fans, TVfXQ fans, Jaejoong fans, rock fans - music fans in general… to listen to this mini-album. I definitely recommend it as a gem of Korean music and a great addition to anyone’s music collection! Support Jaejoong by buying the album, and check out the MV for “Mine” here:

(Source: chaekyon)

[REVIEW] One for the girls!!! (Part 2: Brave Girls)

So… Brave Girls? I heard they were pretty good. I was reluctant as usual because I don’t like most of the girl groups (for various reasons) but I think they’re becoming more varied these days.

[Mini Album 1: The Difference]

The intro is… interesting? It really kinda introduces the members (vaguely though ^^”).I don’t like “So Sexy”. It’s overly repetitive with not much lyrical content. But… a song I WOULD recommend is “아나요”. It’s a nice slow song, very nice vocals and soft rapping. It’s a nice easy listening song (which I love).

[Mini Album 2: Back To Da Future]

Positive music change in this release! “툭하면 (feat. Skul1)” has a mellow reggae beat throughout which goes well with the girls’ strong vocals. I don’t often hear such varied music styles in MAINSTREAM k-pop to be honest, so it’s a nice break. A personal favourite of mine: “비가 내리면”. It’s one of those really emotive songs that also have a nice dance beat. I love the composition and the lyrics it’s a great song! A nice ballad by Eun Young here “너무 아파 (feat. Maboos)”. I’m always intrigued by groups that release solos early. Sometimes it’s great to showcase their talents, and Eun Young’s voice really deserved the attention! I like how they added the acoustic of “아나요”, it gives the song a different feel!

[Mini Album 3: Re-Issue]

I think they keep improving as they go on! They completely changed their image here and show a strong image for females. Wearing suits doesn’t make them any less feminine and of course it won’t change their vocal or dance ability! The intro is pretty clever. The reference the the 1st release is saying like: “Do you remember us? We’re so different from that now!” The title song: “요즘 너” is epic!!! I was very happy to see the talented backing singers and band actually IN the video (give credit where it’s due ne? ^^) After such a powerful dance song, we need a break ne? And in comes “말 없이” (another favourite of mine). It’s a really nice song that you could relax with, but it’s such a sad song ne~ “I’ll be fine, even if it hurts.” TT^TT The remix of “요즘 너” showcases the lovely vocals in the song in an almost acapella setting (just light piano in the background).

My fave songs: “아나요” + “비가 내리면” + “말 없이”
And of course… here’s the MV for “요즘 너” enjoy!!! ^^

So… anyone feeling better about k-pop girl groups yet?

[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?

[Review] M.I.B - “ILLUSION” 3rd release

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[Review] VIXX: Value In Excelsis? O.o???

New male group *again* this year~
VIXX: Value In Excelsis (at this point I can’t even comment… ^^”)
Members: 6 [L>R] Line1: N - Hongbin - Ravi
[L>R] Line 2: Leo (his face is covered OTL) - Ken - Hyuk
Released songs: “Super Hero” & “Starlight”

*Click “read more” for the reviews…

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[Review] Music of Memories: Pokemon Orchestral Medley review

[Review] Infinite, Dalmatian & ZE:A Dance Stage!

I can never watch this too many times!!! It aired about a year ago, but I was watching some dance stages and wanted to share my thoughts on this one! ♥

I love this video for 4 reasons:

1. Infinite’s slick R&B style
2. Dalmatian’s powerful Hip-Hop style
3. ZE:A’s cool K-pop style
4. K-POP COLLABORATION!!!

Infinite ace the synchronisation! They have been highly praised for their dance skills since debut, and well deserved too!!! Infinite’s “H-couple” (I SERIOUSLY CAN’T GET OVER THAT NAME!!!!! XDDD) are totally stylish, confident and precision dancers! Hoya and Dongwoo really led the performance!!

Dalmatian in pink. Pink… yes, pink! Why not dalmatian spots? XD But to be honest, not many people can wear a full pastely pink outfit and look so powerful and hardcore when dancing!!! I’m not an expert in dance styles or terminology… but Dalmatian’s style seems way more freestyle(?) O.o I can’t think of the word. But I loved it! We never {really} get to see much dance from Dalmatian, but WOW!!! They were so dynamic! O.O

*sigh* I’m mildly disappointed that ZE:A danced to their OWN song. I mean… it kinda makes it less challenging for them. But in my opinion, I just don’t see them {collectively} on the same dance level as Dalmatian & Infinite anyway~ so I’ll glide past it. *shrugs* I didn’t understand the point of the eye-masks either! The silver masks were cool though! ^^ (I’m sure most people will think of the Jabbawockeez at this point ne?) I’ve gotta say… I found it interesting with the EXTREMELY formal suits and everything. Their moves seemed a little staggered, but the ending looked PERFECT!!!

The group dance at the end pretty much made it for me! The way Kevin owned the stage (and the camera XDDD) and Hoya’s freestyle looked like some serious krumping! And come on!!! There’s what… 22 of ‘em in total? Yeah, 22 pretty much in synchronisation? That’s some nice choreo and good practice ne?

Yeah. So now you’ve heard me rant, check out the vid! ^^

So, what did you think?

A music catch-up and わたしの　リバウンド　「My Rebound」

こんいちわ～！！！ Hi everyone! I’ve really been M.I.A on here for a while ne? *oh well* I didn’t review a lot of things I wanted to but here’s my “Summery summary” *aish with the puns* >.<”

MBLAQ’s “Mona Lisa”: 5.7/6
Infinite’s “Over The Top”: Not over the top to me! 8.9/10
Chi Chi - Longer: Song = 90% / Dance = 50% / MV = 75% / Remixes: 70%
AS “red” - In the night sky: 75% / Hollywood: 60%
Teen Top’s “Roman”: 4.75/5 *surprisingly good*
ZE:A “special single” - Intro: 100%  omo~♥ / Watch Out!!: 100% Summer Fun!! / Why: 95% / Heart for Two: 85%
Super Junior’s “Mr. Simple”: 9/12 [not so into 3 or 4 of the songs this time but +1 for Tae Wan Mi, +1 for Mr.Simple MV intro song and +1 for SUPER MAN (finally we get the full version after how long? Wasn’t it revealed at Gayodaejun? XP)]

These are all opinions based on how much I enjoyed the songs, how often I’d be likely to repeat them and overall content/quality. And now here’s my special recommendations!

MBLAQ

• Moreugesseoyo - MBLAQ obviously worked really hard on this mini album!!! I loved it almost more than their album! XDDD The musical concept of this mini album is really strong! I actually liked every other song on the album better than Mona Lisa, but I picked this song out because of Mir’s little comedy feature! XD

Infinite

• Julia - Inspirits called Julia MUST be happy right now ne? XD *lucky* This song is really amazing! I loved all of their previous songs but this one… so beautiful ne? ♥
• Because - I thought I’d love “Crying” most out of the ‘solos’ since my mind screamed: “Hoya naekkeo haja!!!” when I first heard it! XD It’s very reminiscent of Epik High’s Umbrella (I think it may even have a sample from that song O.o) BUT… it was Sunggyu’s solo that really captured my attention! I never expected a song like this… it was just *wow* I appreciate his voice in the group even more now! I love this song, one of my fave Infinite songs! I even had it on replay in the car! XD

Teen Top

• Beautiful Girl - I *unexpectedly* really loved Teen Top’s mini album!!! Each song was like a scenario and a view on ‘love’. Beautiful girl is such a fun song and watching them perform it, they looked like they were having fun too!!! ^^ I wasn’t much of an “Andromeda”(O.o?) before but this mini album may have made me a proper fan!

ZE:A

• Why - This song is just too fun! X] This time round ZE:A captured the fun of friendship, cute summer crushes and lots of summer fun memories!!!!! ^^

Super Junior

• Haebaragi - This song reminds me of growing sunflowers as a child back when they were my favourite flower ♥ And it also reminds me of summers / sunny days and watching Wei Xiao PASTA!!! *good times* keke~* ^^
• Opera - Don’t ask! I love it!!! There’s something really compelling about the music and the way it has been sung! Ah~ the drops and rises in the flow of the music and the chaotic overlapping melodies!!! It’s just so intriguing!!! ^^ 
• Y - Written by Donghae from real life experiences apparently! I loved it before I even knew that~ it just seemed really deep and emotional ne!!! Sou touching~♥

Okay so last music mentions go to:

• Koda Kumi since I’ve started listening to more of her stuff and *YAY Kumi!* Of course she’s awesome!!! ^^
• Yanghwajin band labelmates of F.cuz. They’re a great band!!! I’m anticipating a formal debut and hope many people support them! ^^ They’ve got an OST song already and have done some awesome rock-esque covers of some really popular K-pop songs! *hell… they even made me listen to their version of Miss A’s Bad Girl Good Girl!!!* XDDD
• And finally to all 4 members of F.CUZ I want to wish you luck in the future! I’ll support both Lee-U and F.cuz and wish them all the best for their final fan meeting tomorrow as four! 8’<

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sou to bring this to a lighter note! I’ve “rebounded” back in the drama scene and watching another Mokomichi Hayami drama (I admit… I’m a Moko-fangirl *sighs*) This drama has CAKE so it’s a MUST for me!!! *I heart caeki* Anyone who’s ever felt… unhappy about their weight should probably watch this! I’m on EP4 and my fave lines so far are: absolutely ANYTHING in “Muumin” keke~ and “Body weight has nothing to do with the weight of love”. Yes Aibu Saki takes the lead role here and for you Zettai Kareshi fans it’s like a little like a walk down memory lane! ^^

Sooo…. ^^ anyone else seen “Rebound”?

[REVIEW] Dyu Know What? O.o

Dyu Know What? ¬.¬” <WHY NOT?>

Do you know what sucks? ¬.¬

“Yeah, a vacuum! ^^ Right?” No seriously…
The lack of P-pop and P-pop awareness!!!

P-pop is as awesome as K-pop and T-pop and stuff! I’m a newbie in the Filipino music scene… I listened to a little last year and it wasn’t my kinda thing. But cuz there wasn’t really any info available to me, I totally skipped it. Recently a friend told me about some P-pop groups she listens to, and directed me towards RPM’s Para Sa’yo and fyi it’s awesome!!! That one song fully converted me to P-pop! So I was bored today and I remembered one of the groups mentioned: XLR8. I thought *ah~ let’s listen ne? I need a break from replaying Block.B & B1A4’s mini albums* So I clicked on “It’s Time to XLR8” and… hello good music! Seriously!!! I’m declaring *fan status* already! I love my K-pop and all, but T-pop (well the few groups/singers I’ve heard, cuz I only really listen to the Kz [Kamikaze] artists and a few others like Candy Mafia) and P-pop have english in their songs that makes sense! Not like “if you wanna pretty”, “fantastic, elastic”, “Mazeltov, Monday Tuesday… Wednesday, Thursday. Friday Saturday Sunday” (I know…Mazeltov is NOT an english word) and other fun things like that! ^^” I kid! I love SHINee and ZE:A!!! ^^ But back on topic! P-pop is a YES in my books, and I want to see a lot more of it around! For those of you who don’t P-pop yet…

It’s Time to XLR8!!! ;]

So… ;] Do you know now?