Champagne & Candle What's My Name

As usual Brand New Music is KILLIN IT! 

Debuting a brand new duo, Champagne & Candle (CnC) are not just visually great but comes with talent too! Their introduction track has that wow factor and yes, it is so apt as an intro because people are wondering why such names. Damn, they look similar and has baby face. Good.. Cannot choose bias. Haha

I first saw their news on blogs...but since the names were weird, i thought oh boy, why the name? I didn't bother to look into the news because well.. I really don't have enough time to know every single debut you know...but then I got to know today that they are from Brand New Music! OMG. I stan BNM so of course I had to check them out. They look like idols but they sound like top quality underground hip hop duo. 

Their raps are smooth and I love their voices. I love the fact they produce their own song. I don't mind singers who don't produce their own song, but for rappers, I like it better when they produce their own song because rappers tend to rap better when it's their own song and rap is all about their expression.

The beat is awesome. It's cool trendy kind of beat but easy on the ears. Along with their voice, insfant gratification. It sounds too good to be true that a rookie is producing this kind of beat. I am looking forward to their debut and can't wait to watch their live performance.

This is Brand New fan, right here! Yo! 

LOL. 

I'm hating Wheesung Night & Day

There are few highly regard vocalist in Korea that I don't share the same opinion on. I'm just not a big fan of Korean deep voice. Yes, specifically Korean because it seem they share the same technique singing.

That singing method is so prominent in this song, I was annoyed through out the song. I sort of get why he sings it like that but just not my taste. For me, singing should sound comfortable and that kind of singing feels painful to hear.

I expected more from Wheesung as he is a good singer and I did enjoy some of his previous work. This time, maybe it's just not for me.

I'm loving Jay Park Metronome feat. Simon D & Gray

Typically, I like song done simple so initially I wasn't feeling the song as it was filled with a lot of sound effects and heavy bass. I did love the chorus so I had to listen more of it and I grew to love this song!

I love the construction of the song, maybe if I could change it... Simon D rap part was a little too long for me. His rap part is totally necessary though. It adds that extra special meaning to the song.

Jay Park vocal is great as usual bit what surprise me more was Gray. I don't know if he naturally sound like that or it was helped by computer but it was my favourite part of the song. Another favorite part was Jay Park ad-lib towards the end of the song. Those high notes? I can hear it all day, it was that good.

I hope they could maybe released or at least performed a more strip down version of the song. I think it does sound perfect already but it would be interesting to hear it.

Kris leaving EXO?!

First of all, if you have been following this blog and wondering where the heck I was, I decided to take hiatus since K Entertainment was in hiatus and I got no mood to write either.

Anyway back to the topic. I was shocked to read about this incident. I didn't see it coming as I'm just a normal fan of EXO. I thought no way he's doing this while in promotion but everywhere is reporting so this is it.

I don't know if it's because of this incident, I actually thought of it yesterday, EXO aren't really close with each other. I have watched several group videos and I am obsess with it because I love my bromance. EXO does nothing for me. I wanted to watch EXO showtime but one clip and I was bored. I thought, maybe EXO is not made for variety..well except EXO M.. But I guess I'm wrong again.

I somehow enjoyed EXO M more on variety than EXO or EXO K. Maybe I didn't get the right video or didn't search enough. Whatever it was, that was my impression of EXO. 

Every article mention about how Kris is the second HanGeng and I was like putting the puzzle together. Kris is the leader of EXO M and third oldest. HanGeng is the leader of SuJu M and third oldest! OMG! 

I don't know which side to take but I think Kris choose a bad time to terminate contract. Maybe it could mean he is THAT desperate to get out.  The group is in the middle of promotion and the 1st concert is coming, I just think WHY?! If you decided to be in this industry, don't you ever wish to have a concert? I mean, isn't that every singers dream? A CONCERT?! 

Another thing, he maybe called the Second Hangeng, but I am placing my bet that he won't be as successful. I totally cannot see him doing solo. 

Swings featuring Jay Park Fallin

I always thought that rap has to be fast paced. Swings rap sounds slower than usual but the impact feels intense that has that scary intimidating vibe. I feel the tempo was intentional, I've check the translation and the meaning was deep. Sometimes when raps goes too fast, it's hard to catch the words. Swing was like threatening you to listen every word properly.

The intro completely grab my attention. The sound of electric guitar isn't common in Kpop so I was pleasantly surprise. Jay's part was my pick for the highlight. I've been a fan of Jay's RnB vocals and it couldn't be more perfect than this. Every single line was perfect. If I had to tweak anything, perhaps the secondary part had better enunciation. I wanted to know what is he singing. It does sound like "Nobody,nobody"

Swing is not my favorite BNM artiste however, this does make me more interested in learning more on his music.

I'm Loving Baechigi 뜨래요

When female idols do retro, the public can't help but to compare with Wonder Girls. After all, Wonder Girls did make it big with retro concepts.

Thanks to my parents, I am very familiar with retro genre. I'm not a big fan but what's not to love good ole retro?

BaeChigi's Ddeuraeyo is a fun retro concept. I think the featured singer, Angli of 3B is amazing. He made the song fun and his voice is addicting to listen. This song needs him, I can't imagine another vocalist to do this song.

I love the music, it has all the essence of retro. If this song was released back in the disco em, it won't feel out of place. The only modern element of the song is the rap parts.

Hip hop is a great genre, it mash well with so many other genre.

I'm Loving Lee Michelle Without You

Although Kpop is known for having western influence, I don't feel Kpop is similar to western at all. I believe that Kpop is a genre that can stand alone.

As I listen to Lee Michelle's Without You, I guess you can't deny this song has that strong RnB influence. The song has a familiar feel that is easy on the ears.

I'm glad kpop has the chance to have Lee Michelle, she's an amazing vocalist that deserve attention despite color.

She may have similar background with Insooni & Yoon Mirae. I hope Lee Michelle can stand proud without their shadows.

I hope to hear more from Lee Michele.

One warm word

I want to say I hated it but in some ways I don't exactly hate it. 

I had no expectation towards the drama because it wasn't recap by dramabeans. It's kinda weird but I tend to watch dramas that dramabeans don't recap and skipped the ones they did. That's sort of good since I can watch more..usually after reading recaps, I don't watch it much unless it's good like You Who Came from the stars. 

The trailer got me intrigued because Ji Jin Hee is part of the cast, and I was assuming that it might be about rekindle love or something really sweet. Well spoiler alert, you got them at the last episode. I probably stayed for JJH, but I grew to love Han Hye Jin and Lee Sang woo interactions.

Their daughter is so adorable, though some parts are too hurtful to be real. The girl needs some counselling because there are things that kids should never hear. 

The drama made me hate  Ji Jin Hee... which is bad. It's an iffy character. He seems like wholesome person but he doesn't have any sense of remorse. The dongsaeng couple are cute but we already know what's coming, so it was a bit regretful.

The drama taught me one thing, don't watch another drama that have affairs.

Album Review: SoReal Story

As I listen to this mini album,I got confuse as what SoReal suppose to be. The album felt experimental because it doesn't feel like an album for a ballad group. Then again, I don't usually listen to albums that much.

l. Missing You feat. Choi Hyun Jun.
Gaps! A full English song and it's acapella?! Okay it is under a minute but I love acapella! The English usage seems easy so none of those Konglish. (Not that it matters.) I wonder why they had to include Choi Hyun Joon, but it does sound good.

2. 심장이 말했다 (Shimjangi malhaettda)

The main title song. Refer previous post

3. 뻔히보여 (bbeonhiboyeo)
This song sound like a typical idol song that probably suits the clubs with it's heavy beats and electronic sound. I really like Jang Moon voice against the electronic sound. While I like him singing ballad, he does sound great in Pop genre. It's weird that the other members sound like generic ballad along with the rhythm.

4.남자답게 (namja dabke)

My favorite track of the album, I'd say they should have gone with this song as their main title. This genre is on trend and it sounds great. It even has a great hook on the chorus. I think this song shows more strength on each members better. I guess it's on the upbeat tempo that requires dance routine.

5.  한마디 (han madi) One Word

This would be another good main title song. This is the textbook definition of Kpop ballad song. The thing about ballads, it's a 50-50 chance. It's either a memorable track or not. Ballad tend to sound similar so unless it has an element that makes it memorable, it's boring. I assume they didn't choose this track as the main because it's forgetable and suits autumn best. It's not a bad song just boring

6. My heart says (inst)

It's worst without the vocal. doesn't make me want to sing along.

Soreal

Star Empire song choices has always felt lackluster. Despite knowing that, I can't deny I'm less than happy with the song choosen for SoReal.

My Heart Says is a bright ballad song that sounds like a Christmas carol. The song starts with Jang moon and my heart squeals in happiness. I will try to memorize the other members name. I think the group voices matches each other well. Honestly this song bores me to sleep. For a debut song, if it wasn't for my love for Jang Moon, I probably ignore it. It would have been better if they debut during autumn, the season of sappy ballads. Now it's like the worst time to debut for ballad type group.

In the seas of idols, I hope that this group will become popular because we need singers that focuses more on vocals.

Troy

As more I learn about Troy, I find everything surprising. I know bits of Troy through Bumkey and Kanto since these two are more involve in music where as JaeWoong and ChanWoo are mostly cameo.

I didn't really have any expectation but I trust BNM to bring in good music. I knew Kanto and Chanwoo are rappers but I didn't know JaeWoong is one too. So that's 3 rappers 1 vocalist? The opposite of idols...lol.

As I look on their profiles, I find out that Bumkey is the second youngest! I know Bumkey was the leader so I thought he was the oldest considering he is 84 line born and since Kanto is 94 line.. I kinda assume Chanwoo and Jaewoong is similar to Kanto's age. Now we know BNM doesn't age discriminate.

I'm enjoying Green Light more than I normally would, as the genre is not my favorite. I love the dynamic of the song and the synergy between member seem smooth. The voice and style of each rappers are actually different which is easy to differentiate. Kanto's style is aggressive, Chan woo's more laidback and Jaewoong's sneaky? LOL that's what I get from this song.

Good to know that Bumkey is involved in producing the song. As usual, I love his voice. As much I love his solo works, I do look forward for more new songs by Troy.

Long awaited debuts!!!

I am just really excited that two of my long awaited groups have finally debut! Brand New Music's Troy and Star Empire's SoReal.

I have been waiting for SoReal debut sooo long I actually blog about it several times. I wanted Jangmoon to redebut since the disbandment of A'ST1 which was like 4 years ago. I'm so happy, you have no idea!

As for Troy, they were going to debut last year but Bumkey's solo work was great so it got postponed. Anyway.. I trust BNM to bring me more great news.

I will try to do reviews later. So excited.

I'm Loving CN BIue Can't Stop

I'm not big on bands because I'm more of a Pop genre fan but it is always good to switch it up a little.

After their successful debut with "I'm Lonely" I was a fan but after that their music seem similar that I lost interest for a while. Can't Stop change that, this song is fresh and I'm loving it.

The music is rich with instruments, I love seeing Yong Hwa on the piano. I'm a little upset I didn't see orchestra on the video because it would add glamour on the MV.

Speaking of the MV, the model was gorgeous! I love the random props on the video and the set is beautiful. I wish there were more shoots of other members, I know Yong Hwa is the main vocalist but give some love to other members!

I'm not sure how well this song chart but it goes against tough competitors! I hope it charted better.

Mr.Mr

If I don't write anything about the Queen of Idols, I'm a freaking lousy blogger! Joking.

I just watched the MV and as usual, I am mind-blown by SNSD beauties! All of them are so pretty and their outfits, 0MG made for them. Perfect hairs! That messy puffy hair on Sunny is gorgeous! My only complain is those horrible effects. Novelty, yes but it's covering too much of SNSD beauty... Imagine how much beauty without those blinding effects! DIE!

At first, I wasn't loving the song because of the heavy beats and sound effect but I do like it better than IGAB. As I listen to it more, I find the charm in it. I am pretty sure the performance will be better. I can't wait for them to perform this song and slay every idols.

To: Simon & Martina

I still read eatyourkimchi blog because I'm curious if they are going to change for the better now that they had more "Haters".

I can't be bothered by their videos anymore for many various reasons. I share a lot of similar opinions on Unpopular EYK opinions on Tumblr.

Their recent KMM has cause a number of angry posting that got me wonder if it's really bad. I kind of want to watch the video on how bad it could be but I'm going to restrain myself because I don't want to give them more views!

Part of me thinks that I'm jealous of them because they are basically living the live I want. Living in Korea and do bunch of videos? I practically have another live as a Korean (seriously I think I probably was a Korean in my past life, if it exist) and I learned multimedia in college.

Maybe S&M have valid reasons that I can't see through my jealousy? #sarcasm

I think the problem that lies in eatyourkimchi is they do what they think makes more views rather something they actually like. I dislike how they made their own rules but break it anyway. They created a chart for people to vote and yet they refuse to follow it. Isn't it the same as you voted A for president but the party decided B would be president?

My dad once told me "Go back to your roots if you feel like you're going to hit rock bottom'' because you need to refresh on what makes you do the things you do.

I want EYK crew to stop looking at the stat and look back on the old videos. They don't want to be professional and I get that but there is a reason why you gain "Haters".

One Thousand and four

In Korean, thousand four and angel has the same character; 천사 (cheonsa) hence the title meaning of B.A.P. latest track.

I don't exactly remember my first impression of the song but I do love the song now. Eversince Bang Yong Guk's I Remember, I always wanted rock element in hip hop track. . I love the angst in rock genre against the expressive hiphop.

1004 has a rich musical ensemble that makes the song felt impressive. Particularly the intro guitar is attention grabbing. I feel that each part of the song is carefully thought out because the dynamic between members seem smooth.

Congratulation to B. A. P. for their win for this song. I hope more songs like this.

I'm loving Brown Eyed Soul Pass Me By

Soul is a genre that is in the middle for me, I dislike if it's gone to Jazzy but combine it with RNB or Hip Hop, I love it.

Brown Eyed Soul is highly acclaimed vocalist group in Korea so naturally I got intrigued by the news of their comeback. To be honest, I only know 3 of the four. Sorry dude, so I won't talk about the members much.

The intro seems boring and I was close of not listening to it anymore but I wanted to hear SungHun voice so I kept on listening, by the end of the song it is on repeat.

I've been listening to it all day and I can't figure out why this song felt addicting. It doesn't have that typical repetitive hook. I thought the song made me feel calm.

Perhaps it lies in the rhythm? I love the beat and the music has soul. Thank your soul? Lol.

I guess because I'm a big fan of Boyz II Men, I find the music pleasing to the ear.

Variety Guide : The Return of Superman

It's my current favorite variety show now! Shows on celebrities kids has been a favorite with SBS Star Junior Show and MBC Dad, Where are we going? Now KBS join the trend with The Return of Superman.

While the title may confused you with the blockbuster movie, the concept is pretty straightforward, 4 celebrity dads taking care of their child(s) for 48hrs without their wife. The four dads are MC Lee Hwi Jae, MMA fighter Choo Sung Hoon, Epik High Tablo and Actor Jang Hyun Seung.

The childrens are twins Lee Seo Eun and Lee Seo Jun (Lee Hwi Jae),  Choo Sa Rang (Choo Sung Hoon), Lee Ha Ru (Tablo), Jang JoonWoo and Jang JoonSeo (Jang Hyun Seung). Their age varies.. I'm not really good with Korean age system since it's the new year so I'm guessing their age ranking are Joonwoo, Joonseo, Haru, Sarang, Seoeun then SeoJun. ( Although twins are only minutes apart, SeoJun has to call SeoEun, hyung)

Lee Hwi Jae is a late father in his 40's had his twins last March, Choo Sung Hoon ( Yoshihiro Akiyama) is Korean living in Japan with Japanese top model, SHIHO with most taping in Japan. Tablo and actress wife Kang HyeJung has adorable fish-loving daughter, who at first glance look like a boy. Jang Hyun Seung the actor (same name with Troublemaker/Beast member) has two older boys.

The show is fairly new, it would be great to marathon this show. The video is available on KBSWorldTV Channel on YouTube.

Featuring

I love featuring done right, it can be unnecessary at times but for the most part.. I like it.

For example I don't like idols who have featuring. Unless it's the opposite gender, maybe it's okay. It may sound good but idols already have little parts so to give it away to others feels bad.

My favorite featuring is Ailee and Bumkey. For rappers, San.E and Verbal Jint. Special mention Sanchez.

Ailee is a favorite choice among rappers and it's no wonder why. In addition of a great voice, she got the skills. I love her on Immortal Song 2 and I reckon she's great on recording studio. My favourite song by her is "If it ain't love" with Verbal Jint.

I feel like Bumkey is on roll! Maybe because I like him, but I see him everwhere! There isn't a song by him that I hate and that's rare. I even like his stuff during 2wins days. I didn't quite like As One "What are we?" but Bumkey made the song a whole lot better. It's hard to choose a favorite among his featuring. I love Walking in the rain with Verbal Jint, his featuring with Mamamoo "Don't Be happy" is also a favorite. I look forward to more stuff by Bumkey!

While I'm currently into K-Hip Hop, I am not a pro in commenting rappers. I just think whether they have good voice or not. I like the playfulness of San.E rap and Verbal Jint sometimes surprises me with his singing. He sang a short verse in "Come as you are" with Phantom and was pleasantly surprise at his singing!

One of my favorite vocalist ever, Sanchez of Phantom always make me fall in love because his voice is romantic! I remember the first time I heard his voice on Verbal Jint's "You deserved better" and I absolutely had to know more about Sanchez. That's how my love for Phantom began. That song is like Super Junior "Miracle" for me, it holds a special meaning in my heart. Though "You deserved better" is special, my favorite is hands down, "Breakup Dinner" with San.E!

My dream collaboration is Bumkey & Sanchez. It would be interesting for Ailee to feature with either of them too.  I would love to see Verbal Jint to collaborate with rock singers and San.E with G-Dragon or Taeyang for the heck of it!

I'm Loving Junggigo and Soyu Some 썸 feat Lil Boi

This song puts a huge grin on my face because it has all the things I love in a cutesy music.

It such a lovely sweet song that talks about the uncertainties in a relationship. I love the push and pull part of the song that goes well with the lyrics.

I love lyrics that tells a story and I can almost picture the story without the MV. The MV is fine but Baro and Dasom overdid their expression.... nevermind still cute..the colors are so pretty.

Oh my that dream part made me cringe from 2nd hand embarrasment. Haha

When I first heard the news of their collaboration, I thought Junggigo is a rapper because Soyu did collaboration with Geeks and Mad Clown. I was surprised to see Lil Boi featuring on the title...because surely if Junggigo is a rapper he can do it alone? haha

Lil Boi part was short yet it had impact. I like the lyrics, the English usage is good..not the typical English you hear on Kpop.

I hope this song will place in top of the charts.. perfect song for Valentines!