[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)

Reviews to come!

Hey! I’m way behind on the songs I wanted to review, but expect a review of Kim Jaejoong’s “One Kiss”, Infinite H’s “Fly High” album and an overview of songs by Primary & Matsushita Yuya. *Coming Soon*

Feel free to suggest some songs/releases for me to review! ^^

I just want to say thank you to everyone who liked my latest post! Even a simple “like♥” makes me happy!!! Thank you to my new followers (and also those who still follow… thank you for being patient and waiting for my updates). Happy New Year everybody!!! Take care of yourselves and do your best! 8D

[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?

[Mini-Review] 愛就宅一起 (aka. ToGetHer / Superstar Express)

[Review] DMC… the E3 Trailer.

Hello Ninja Theory… I see you’ve upgraded the gameplay ne? I accept it, it looks much better yes… but I’m still not impressed. His character design still sucks! And what? You think loading on the swearing makes hardcore characters or a really cool game? I’m not saying Dante NEVER swore but come on… even the other dude seemed like he was TOTALLY putting it on! It’s almost as bad as the pizza scene in the last video!!! (that was obviously only to bring in more perverted fangirls that already think that “that guy is so hot!”  what’s wrong with them? *Ugh… how repulsive* >.>) Oh~ and the whole “masked message” let’s play a game thing? Seen it too many times before: SAW, Liar Game… I just hope you have something original hidden behind that “Demon Takover” storyline ¬.¬” Also… did I see Dante get his white hair in that? Keke~ had to give in to the fans a little ne? XDDD

By the way, who’s DMC-Dante’s voice actor? O.O
That voice is very familiar but… different? O.o

Seriously I don’t care what people say about “the haters” (aka, people who don’t like THIS Dante) But that’s my point anyway! He’s NOT the original Dante, if he’s even Dante at all he’s a different one that doesn’t fit in with the original Devil May Cry games (which is why this is called DMC not Devil May Cry 5). So… I have the right to dislike him if I want (yeah I don’t HATE him, I have no reason to yet). Plenty of people HATE Raiden, even though his character design has gotten much better and his story is actually believable!!! I think they’re still bitter that Solid Snake wasn’t the main playable character in MGS2. I didn’t like the idea of not playing as Solid Snake either!!! Raiden looked like a flower boy (please note. I do not use this term to mean a guy who is good looking… I use it to refer to a feminine guy. XDDD) and yeah I didn’t think Raiden would be a good character when I saw him. But after playing I became a total Raiden fan! *he’s not better than Solid Snake, but he’s a damn good cybernetic samurai ninja mercenary!!!* XDDDDD So I’m not saying I won’t give this dude a chance. Those people saying: “change is always a good thing” it’s not ALWAYS a good thing. Positive progression yes, change no. Things CAN change for the worse. Ever heard of the government? If change was ALWAYS good, wouldn’t we simply pick something different each time, rather than the one we think will actually keep the country at it’s best? #MakeItRight people! XDDD


I want to address 2 more isssues, of incorrect comments I’ve seen VERY often:

“This new guy is schizophrenic so he thinks he’s Dante.” - people… you REALLY need to look up that word!!! A schizophrenic is not someone with multiple personality and/or an identity disorder. That is a completely separate issue. I can’t believe even TV gets this wrong!!! ¬.¬

“This Dante is such an emo.” - These days emo has been used as an insulting term to call anyone who likes rock music or anyone even slightly depressed. Emo music is basically more emotional within the lyrics/performance and does not just focus on negative emotions and aspects of life such as depression, self harming and suicidal thoughts. But even if it was… does that REALLY describe the guy in DMC? Think about it. *puh~leaze* >.> Most people just use the word ‘emo’ as an insult to people… the same way they’ll say: ‘oh you’re so gay’ when they don’t mean homosexual. Man he doesn’t even dress “stereotypically emo”!!! HE dresses like a modified version of Dante!!!

The last thing I want to address, is The Dante of DMC’s personality. The reason I’m currently disassociating him from Dante is: If Dante is a rebel (which we all know he is XD) and this one is supposed to be an even more “rebellious teen” type… why isn’t he disputing that guy’s claim? That random guy (the masked person narrating most of the new trailer) is claiming he’s THEIR (the humans’ I guess…?) weapon? Dante becomes a FREELANCE demon hunter when he’s older… why would he let someone go around claiming he’s theirs when he’s more rebellious and hormone driven? Even if he’s helping them, he’d have his own reasons and wouldn’t be claimed like a prize or owned like a puppy! He works only for his cause, or sometimes due to his actual humankindness! (LOL! HUMANS + KIND = oxymoronic phrase XDDDD but I digress) Dante is an ANTIHERO.


A last message from me (since LOTS of people think I pretty much hate everything… *sigh*): Liking EVERYTHING just shows you have no standards and no mind of your own. And just because you dislike or have no opinion on something, it doesn’t mean you hate it to the core. And being passionate about what you like or believe in, does NOT mean you are obsessive and/or closed minded. Life is about the good and the bad, so just accept that there has to be a balance of both!! We all have opinions……. if we have brains! >D

[Review] Teen Top - To You (5th title song)

I’ve got to be honest… I’m not that much of a Teen Top fan. There’s moments when they’re amazing and others when I’m disappointed. We’ve seen Teen Top debut and always come back with a catchy and memorable title song (though “Crazy” wasn’t as memorable for me personally), and they DEFINATELY haven’t let us down this time!

“To You” starts off with a kind of retro sound (YES RETRO!!! MY WEAKNESS! XDDD). The ‘Oooooh~ ooooh~’ eases you into the song and gives a soft dance feel (but the ‘to you’ part sounds a little like ‘do you’ X’]). FINALLY Changjo gets a verse… his voice deserves it!!! He starts the song with such a smooth tone and the transition is perfect. The little music cut part just enhances the song! And when we hit the “매일 매일” (“everyday”) part… it’s too late to turn back!!! The song only gets better! The harmonies come in, leading us into the rap. The song is pretty soft in general, but the raps aren’t too over-powering!!! The vocal style at the end of both raps, make a perfect balance.

The MV, that music video……… my first reaction was: “OH MY ASDFGHJKL!!! Oh my asdfghjkl TIN TAP UPGRADED!!!! Seriously… I really can’t even!” Remember… I’m not much of a Teen Top fan! I listen to ‘Supa Luv’ and ‘향수 뿌리지마’ casually, I REALLY like ‘Beautiful Girl’, ‘First Kiss’ and ‘Girlfriend’… ‘Angel’ and ‘춤춰’ are good too. But I really don’t count them as a MAIN group that I listen to.

So… when it started, I was enjoying the music. Nodding my head a little bit until it cut. Slightly disappointed, but I pretty much expected it. After the music builds… you see the room for the main group dance cuts. That room…….. SO BEAUTIFUL!!! OH MY GOSH~ O.O I LOVE the camera angles and scene cuts for this MV!!! Once the dance started… I was blown away buy how much Teen Top had improved! I never thought much of their dancing before really. The chorus of “박수” was so easy, even I could do it…“Supa Luv” was only slightly harder. “향수 뿌리지마” was much better but now To You is just…. WOW!!! The moves are pretty old school~ but Teen Top do it well, and with style! To be honest… Changjo stole the show! X’D His dancing was so smooth yet sharp! I actually don’t like Chunji… but he really pulled off the dance move in his solo shot! Ricky was pretty good too~ but Changjo’s slick dance slide was epic though!!! I could have done without the drama scenes… the story was bland (all 6 of them after one girl that either rejected or never wanted them, there wasn’t much thought put into it) and that mini fight scene with L.joe and Chunji was very anti-climactic ne? >.> I demand a dance MV!!! XDDD *and I hate CAP’s hairstyle… just saying* That jacket move in the chorus at “니가 알리  없잖아” is slightly funny… but I think it works well! X’]

[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] 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?

「PROMO」 Stellar & Sweet Revenge // Girl groups!

OH MY K-BANDS!!! THIS IS WHAT I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR!!! Girl groups worth my time? I hope so!!! The last time I gave a girl group *with potential* a chance (aka. Dalshabet) they went from ‘cool and interesting’ to ‘OMG wae do they look like that??? O.O *creeping me out* and SHUT UP! ¬.¬” I can’t take thisssss~’ yeah… not fun! XDDD So, I was gonna review ‘Stellar’ yesterday, but I got sidetracked ^^” but now I’ve found ‘Sweet Revenge’ I decided that a girl group post was essential to do! Here we go…

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