Spica Makes A Grand Return With "You Don't Love Me"

This music video was just bound to be awesome, I could feel it as soon as I saw the teaser photos and watched the teaser video. The 50's retro sound and styling was perfect and the vibe of the song totally had me jumping out of my chair in excitement. Spica has been flawless in their last releases, so I had my hopes up for another hit.

Nine Muses, Kara and Member Changes

I woke up this snowy morning to the news of Eunji and Lee Sem leaving Nine Muses, along with the rumor of two more members being added to Kara, who recently lost both Nicole and Jiyoung.
I personally don't care too much about Kara, but that seems like a stupid decision for a group that has been around since way back in 2007.
With Nine Muses however, I was both surprised and upset for several reasons. The girls have been getting more and more famous and are slowly but steadily climbing up the ranks, so I don't know why now would feel like a good time to leave the group.

A Sassy Debut For Kiss&Cry

I have to admit, I don't care about rookies at all unless they're from a somewhat known company or if they have a really unique concept. It's all the same nowadays, the same type of songs with the same type of clothes and styling. I actually feel bad for the majority of them, because most of the rookies that have debuted within the last three years or so will never be famous or achieve the success they dream of. This doesn't imply that they are bad in any way, but both South Korean fans and international fans already have their favorite groups and if you're like me and have a dozen, you don't have the need to engage in yet another one.

So by that standard, I usually wouldn't click and watch a new video by a rookie group, but for some reason (probably boredom) I decided to see what this new group Kiss&Cry was about. Let me tell you one thing, I am less than disappointed to have made that decision.

Best Of Kpop 2013 - The Hair Edition

Oh, kpop. I don't know how you keep finding new ways to make your idols' hair look stranger and crazier as time goes by. Just when you think you've seen it all, something new comes along and you find yourself sitting with your jaw all the way down on the floor.

However, there are also those people who just look good in just about anything, and that itself is a victory. In this post, I'm going to name some of my favorite hairstyles of the year, but also some of the worst.

The January Teasing Continues

Is it just me or does it feel like everyone is coming back in either the last week of January or in February? There's already been tons of comebacks only the last month, with big acts such as Girl's Day, TVXQ, Rain, Ailee, B1A4 among many, and it seems it won't stop anytime soon. Maybe it's just because the whole field is so overpopulated right now that it seems like there's always someone releasing new material, but what feels like everyday has there been news announcing comebacks of groups and solo artists.

Rainbow Blaxx Seduces with "Cha Cha"

After their latest comeback as a full group with Sunshine, it seems like Rainbow is going back to black with the debut of a new, sexy sub-unit - Rainbow Blaxx.

For a group that's been around since 2010, they are still fumbling in the mid tier territory while other groups who debuted the same year has seen success in various forms. I was really excited for this debut, as spoken of in my Sexy Girl Group Recap, because I really like this group of girls.

Best Of Kpop 2013 - Choreographies

One of my absolute favorite aspects of the kpop world is the dances. I always look forward to seeing what kind of moves my bias groups will put out, and I find myself constantly discovering new routines that blow my mind!

B1A4 Flies High With "Who Am I"

Following the review I did on the video for B1A4's comeback single, I have taken my time to listen to their second full album Who Am I, released January 13th, and will give you my opinions on it.
I can't say I've loved everything these 5 boys have ever put out, as with any group, but their general sound is not always my cup of tea, so to speak. It could be because I'm not a huge fan of the cutesy, poppy styled songs that have been their trademark since debut, but I have enjoyed some of them. Recently, however, they've undergone a change. A new, maturer B1A4 has arrived, ready to show what they've got.

2014 Is Bringing Sexy Back With Girl Group Comebacks

A new trend has been finding its place in the kpop sphere; sexy everywhere and anywhere. Of course there have always been sexier concepts even long before present time, but something seems to have happened, because now basically all choreographies involve some kind of buttshaking, bodyrolling or handgroping. It's fair to say it hasn't always been this sexually suggestive. From only a couple groups and solo singers being more daring, it now seems to have become the new norm. 
It has proven to be a successful move for many girl groups, most notably being Girl's Day switching drastically from their cute debut concept to the sexy one they do today and finding lots of success with it. 
Only in January this year, we've seen not only the sultry Something, but also comebacks from AOA and Dal Shabet as well as Rainbow Blaxx's upcoming sub-unit debut all playing the sexy card.

GOT7 - First Impressions

One would think that with as many acts that JYPE has under its belt, the last thing that should be done is debuting a new boy group. However, that hasn't stopped them from doing it anyway.

Meet Got7 everyone, a 7-member martial arts and acrobatics influenced boy group, and their debut single Girls Girls Girls. I can't help but think that JYP is trying to recreate the same interest that sunbaes 2PM recieved when they debuted with a similar concept, because that interest is vital at this point for the entertainment company. With the Wonder Girls basically disbanding (Sunye living a married life and Sohee abandoning the sinking ship), 2PM's failing comeback after two years of hiatus and a bunch of rookie acts (15&, Baek Ahyeon) that are still relatively unknown, it's not hard to see why they're trying to create a new senastion. The question is, is it a good idea?

B1A4 are feeling a little "Lonely"

8 months after their latest comeback, heartthrobs B1A4 are back to rock our worlds once again with the laid back and soft sounding Lonely. Coming from having won their first number 1 on Music Core last May with What's Happening and gaining lots of new fans, the expectations for this January release were high, at least for me. I became a fan after the stunning song that was Tried To Walk, which easily was one of my favorites of the entire year, and fell in love with their playfulness and boy-next-door image.
The teaser video and pictures were fantastic, and as much as I love their quirkier and colorful concepts, I was really excited for this as well.

A Winning Concept For YG's WINNER

I remember it like it was yesterday when YG made the announcement that they were going to debut a brand new, shiny, fresh form the oven boy group. Big Bang's successors. One group to rule them all.
If you can't tell already, I was not very excited about this. What made it even more, well I don't know what's a good word for it, let's say interesting, was that this new group was going to be voted by the public. It was reminiscent to Mnet's Mydol two years ago, in which the current members of Vixx were put together partly due to fan voting. This however, honestly felt like the kpop edition of The Hunger Games, which is not a title you would want to have on your label.

A 2013 "Running Man" Review

Anyone who knows me should know about my love for the variety show Running Man, a variety show that features one of the best casts ever as the tackle missions and race each other to win the prize of the day. The show has been going since 2010, and there are many factors as to why it's so great.
In 2013, however, there has been a drastic drop in ratings. I will try to review 2013's best and worst moments whilst trying to figure out what went wrong.

EXO and I - A (Not So) Love Story

Sometimes I feel like the only person who doesn't have a strong opinion about SM's latest moneymaker group EXO. I'm pretty convinced they have some of the most dedicated and passionate fans out there at the moment, but also a lot of antis that just hate everything they do. I'm sort of torn a bit in between. On one hand, I enjoy them to a certain extent, but on the other hand I still feel like they're enormously overrated.

TVXQ Celebrates 10 Years With "Tense"

Can you believe it's been 10 years already for TVXQ? Having debuted as a five member group in December 2003, they had imidiate success that just kept growing more and more as time went by. If I were to write everything they've accomplished this post would be very, very long, so I'll save that for a later time.
Now a duo, Yunho and Changmin have comeback with their seventh korean studio album Tense. It seemed the musical direction for this album would be more jazzy and intrumentally based, which I was really excited about.

KBS' "1 Night 2 Days" Hopes For A Brand New Start With 3rd Season

The once very popular variety show 1 Night 2 Days, or 1n2d, premiered in 2007 with a line up consisting of host Kang Ho Dong, comedian Lee Soo Geun, singer Kim Jong Min, former idol Eun Ji Won, entertainer Noh Hong Chul and actor Ji Sang Ryul. The cast lineup changed throughout the very first season (which lasted all the way to the beginning of 2012) and the most notable being the swapping of the last two mentioned for singer and actor Lee Seung Gi and hip hop artist MC Mong, as well as the early addition of singer Kim C.
The format of the show is reality-variety based, and takes place during the course of two days and one night in which the cast travels in Korea and are given missions and tasks to perform. It can sound quite basic, but with a great PD in Na Young Seok and a cast with amazing chemistry, it worked phenomenally well and viewer ratings had an average high of 27,8% over the first three years.

Reply 1994 - A Review *Spoilers*

Cable network tvN had a hit last year with coming-of-age drama Reply 1997, which was the first kdrama I ever watched from start to finish. I really only started watching it because INFINITE's Hoya was in it, but I finished watching it because of the great acting and writing. A Pink's Eunji and Seo Inguk absolutely stole the show as the two leads; Sung Shiwon and Yoon Yoonjae. I believed everything they did, and I found Shiwon one of the most relatable characters I've seen in a while.
Basically, I loved this drama through and through, and I am planning on watching it again.

Best Of Kpop 2013 - Gayo Daejuns

The absolute highlight of the year has to be the year-end fesitivals broadcast by the three largest television companies SBS, MBC and KBS. This year was my second time watching the Gayos and I was able to semi stream the first two ones but the MBC is broadcast on New Year's eve and unfortunately I wasn't home at the time.
As a whole I must say I'm a bit disappointed with all three of them, because neither really impressed me all too much. Obviously there were some great performances but overall it was a step down from last year. I've heard it said so many times how much better the Gayos used to be back in the day, for example 2008 which is usually named the best year. I, however have not experienced that myself so all I can compare to are the ones last year.

Best Of Kpop 2013 - Songs

I have to admit it was really hard to select my top 10 favorite songs of 2013. There are just so many good songs! Therefore I am starting with some honorable mentions that did not make the cut, but were still frequently played throughout the year.

Lee Hyori (w. Park Jiyong of Honey-G) - Amor Mio
Block B - Be The Light
BESTie - Love Options
G-Dragon - Crooked
CNBLUE - Coffee Shop
Mblaq - Smoky Girl

Now, moving on to the real deal.

Best Of Kpop 2013 - Music Videos

Part of the reason that makes kpop so great are the fantastic music videos that accompany many of the songs. These are my top 10 mv's that were released in 2013, of those that I have seen (in no particular order).

Double The "Something", Double The Fun!

After a year of successful promotions in Japan, the kings of kpop have returned to Korea to celebrate their 10th anniversary. So first of all, congratulations to you TVXQ for surviving this long. Obviously I am also congratulating the JYJ members, but for now I am focusing on Yunho and Changmin and their latest release "Something".

Best Of Kpop 2013 - Albums

Since it's now 2014 and a year of kpop has gone by, I thought I would start with a summary of my favorite albums of 2013. (This is only full length albums, so I haven't counted in minis or single albums).