Video of the Week #20

Twice - "Like OOH-AHH", "Bad Girl Good Girl" And "So Hot" On Yoo Hee Yeol's Sketchbook



I always love it when groups perform covers of their senior labelmates' songs, and here we have JYP's new superstar rookie group Twice performing both Miss A's and Wonder Girls' hit songs from back in the day. Although the original versions are hard to beat the talented ladies of Twice do an amazing job and manage to bring their special charms and personalities into the performances as well.

Rainbow Find Their Colors In "Whoo"

Not going to lie, I was pretty excited when I heard that Rainbow were going to make their comeback, and the fact that it was a said to be a title track similar to the legendary "A" made me even more thrilled. Although their latest comeback with "Black Swan" was alright (the mini album was brilliant, though) it wasn't by any means amazing and not at all justifiable to their skills and talents. With newest MV "Whoo" it does feel like Rainbow has gone back to their roots and their earlier days of glory, and above all they've finally truly embraced their group name as their colors shine brighter than ever.

Taemin Takes It To The Next Level With "Press Your Number"

I am a huge SHINee fan, no question about that, but maknae Taemin has never been a favorite member of mine even though I obviously care for him. I'm in awe of his dancing skills, performance talent and continuously growing vocal abilities, but he's not my bias member and I have never really gone crazy about him at any point. When he first made his solo debut back in 2014 I was intrigued more than over the moon, and the actual debut song and MV were positively received by me but I didn't shamelessly love them. To conclude; Taemin's a talented kid and he's always improving, but I've never been more than a casual fan of him alone (rather than him being with his group). Now however he has made another comeback as a solo artist, and contrary to last time I'm actually having some genuine fangirl feelings over it. "Press Your Number" isn't just a enormous step up for Taemin, but quite frankly for the entire company.

Glorious Photoshoots - February

Two of SM's most famous visuals; Yoona and Kai, shoot together for Elle and look amazing.

SNS Friday #19

Ett foto publicerat av 레인보우 지숙 (@jisook718) Feb 23, 2016 kl. 9:33 PST

Welcome to this week's SNS photo spree! To start off this post we have Jisook and Woori being cool cats.

Kim Jaejoong Delivers Another Quality Album In "NO.X"

Many tears were shed when everyone's favorite Kim Jaejoong was sent off to his mandatory army duty almost a year ago, because for all we know that could've meant no more music from him until at least 2017. However we should've known better, and that of course Jaejoong had something in store for his fans even when serving his military service. His first and latest full album dropped in 2013, and I am forever bummed I never got the chance to do a proper review on it since I started this blog in early 2014, but it was one amazing album and so him. You could feel his soul and passion on every single song, and it was a very emotional yet satisfying experience. Of course this means that the expectations for this album were sky high, and fortunately "NO.X" doesn't disappoint.

Winner's EXIT:E Is The Beginning Of Something Great

It seems that YG's current preferred method of promoting its artists are year-long projects with multiple comebacks, although with a connection between them. Big Bang was first to do so last year with their "MADE" series (M,A,D & E being the four single albums), and have yet to release the full album with all the songs hopefully as well as some new ones. YG's rookie monster group iKon also did the same thing last year, with first releasing one half their first album "Welcome Back" and later releasing the full thing whilst promoting different songs off of it continuously.

In 2016 it seems that Winner will be given the same treatment, as their first album release "EXIT:E" is supposedly part of a greater project called the "Exit Movement". With three MV's released as well as a pre-release single I feel like most of the album has been covered already, but I thought I would dig even a little deeper into the tracks on "EXIT:E".

Brave Girls Rises From The Ashes With "Deepened"

For the first time in the two years I've been running this blog I'm writing about Brave Girls, a group formed by Brave Entertainment, the company of famous producer (whom I've written all the more about) Brave Brothers. This might come as a surprise to some of you, and it did to me, that he actually has more groups under his belt, such as Electroboyz and Big Star as well as the recently debuted (and disbanded) 1punch. It seems that although Brave Brothers manages to produce hit tracks for other groups the ones he himself has put together are not as successful. Brave Girls is the company's only girl group and debuted all the way back in 2011 as a five-member piece, but they haven't made a comeback since August 2013 and now when they've finally returned only two original members remain. Five new girls have been added to the group instead, and since it's been so long it's basically like a new group debuting under the same name.

Video of the Week #19

Winner - Baby Baby & Empty @ Yoo Hee Yeol's Sketchbook





 I'm still loving Winner's comeback, despite them having terrible promotions once again (seriously, what is YG doing?) but at least they got to perform on Sketchbook this time as well. Last time they were on I loved every single performance, and their cover of 2ne1's "Missing You" was a real highlight. This time I've been obsessively watching their "Baby Baby" performance, which proves more than anything how skilled the boys are. Thank goodness that Sketchbook has an actaul good sound system so that their voice's can be heard loud and clear.

Allow Me To Celebrate: Nam Woohyun Is No Longer Blonde

With maknae Sungjong returning from the jungle (he took part in variety show "Law of the Jungle") the boys of Infinite just had their encore concert Infinite Effect Advance earlier today in South Korea. While attending the press conference there was something that wasn't quite right, something that felt different, and what was noticed was that there was no longer a bright blonde head among the boys. You heard it, Woohyun himself, a.k.a everyone's favorite Namu, is no longer blonde. I would like to have a moment of silence for all those who've suffered through this long period of bleach and dark roots, me being one of those people.

That time is over now, as Woohyun has gone back to the color that suits him the best; dark hair, or black in this particular case. May it remain this way for a long time. I also would like to congratulate the boys on their concert and can't wait for the fancams. Infinite jjang!

SNS Friday #18

Ett foto publicerat av Jisoo (@actor_jisoo) Feb 11, 2016 kl. 10:14 PST

It's a visual overdose when actors Ji Soo and Nam Joo Hyuk come together for a selca.

AOA Cream Unleashes The Sugar With Debut MV "I'm Jelly Baby"

It does feel like it's been a while since a new sub-unit entered the scene, almost as if the idea of having sub-units in itself had faded a bit compared to two or three years ago. Instead there's been a rise of idol members going solo, and indeed did AOA's main vocalist Choa release a single of her own not too long ago. The group have, however, found a new unit in Hyejeong, Yuna and Chanmi, who together make up AOA Cream. I'm not too fond of the name but I really like both Yuna and Hyejeong so I was happy for them ro receive some well-deserved spotlight. Along with youngest member Chanmi they've made their official debut with the super sweet and sugary "I'm Jelly Baby".

4Minute's "Act 7" Is Short Yet Solid

It's been nearly five years since 4Minute last released a full album, in 2011 with "4Minutes Left", and with the success of their last comeback with "Crazy" last year one would've thought that it finally they'd release another full album. However that isn't the case, because as you know they dropped "Act 7" instead, which isn't only a mini album but a ridiculously short one as it only contains four songs. Of course 4Minute aren't to blame in this situation as much as their company and management, but it does make me a bit bitter, which I will discuss more later on. The mini itself however, is definitely worth a listen.

Video of the Week #18

Day6 - Stop And Stare (One Republic Cover)


Day6's many covers are the bane of my existence right now, and I'm so happy that they get the opportunity to do so many of them, both on radio shows and at their concerts. Everyone in this group is so freaking talented and I'm eagerly anticipating their upcoming comeback, whenever that might be.

SNS Friday #17

Ett foto publicerat av 우주대스타 김희철 (@kimheenim) Feb 5, 2016 kl. 5:04 PST

Everyone's favorite social butterfly Heechul takes a picture with the ever so lovely Yura. 

Winner Makes A Grand Comeback With Double Title Tracks "Sentimental" And "Baby Baby"

Like with all YG comebacks the idea of them actually happening is always so far away that I never quite believe that a YG act is releasing new material until it's concretely out there. The same goes with Winner, one of my favorite groups to debut in 2014, and appropriately that year was also the year the group latest released music. It's fair to say it's been a long ride to get here for all Winner fans, especially with iKon jumping into the game and killing the charts, but finally the time has come for this magical group to make a return to the scene; and magical it is indeed.

4Minute's "Hate" Is Not Easy To Love

I didn't think I would ever have to name a title about 4Minute in such a negative way, but here I am and this is the reality I've found myself in. You know how much I've been loving this group recently and especially after last year's comeback with the legendary "Crazy" I began to call myself a real fan of them, so this comeback was truly anticipated from my side. After a couple of years of trying out different genres 4Minute were finally starting to find themselves and go back to their roots, which from the beginning was a fierce, sassy but also sexy image with hip-hop influenced beats. Judging by the teasers it seemed as if "Hate" was continuing with the same vibe and I was over the moon about it, but now that the song and MV has been released I'm sadly feeling very conflicted.

Song(s) of the Week #60

B-sides from CNBlue's latest Japanese album "Colors" - "Irony", "Daisy" And "Hold Me"

I really wanted to share these songs with you all, but I thought it would be a bit too repetitive to have three "Song of the Week"'s in a row with only CNBlue so instead I put them all together in one post. As you may or may not remember I wasn't a huge fan of their latest Korean album and was wondering if this group was heading in a bad direction with their music, but I actually really like this Japanese album and wish it would have been released and promoted in Korea instead. Sure, there are some songs on there that I like less (like with all of their albums), but overall I enjoyed it and these songs in particular are amazing. Especially "Hold Me" is fantastic, and might be one of my favorite CNBlue songs in a long while.

SNS Friday #16

Ett foto publicerat av #BARO (@baroganatanatda) Jan 31, 2016 kl. 4:04 PST

Welcome to this week's SNS Friday! I'm letting this wonderful, wonderful picture of B1A4 in action begin this post, because it's just amazing and makes me laugh every time I see it.

TBT - Infinite's "Nothing's Over"

Released: March 16, 2011

This song I've always found to be underrated when it comes to Infinite's discography, and almost forgotten as well as of recently. Sure, it isn't as grand or dramatic as their other title tracks but it's really good song and this music video is a really creative piece as well.

GFriend Brightens Up The Winter Time With "Snowflake"

After releasing one amazing mini album and one brilliant single album in 2015, the six young women of GFriend are back to bless our ears with another mini album packed with great songs. And before you wonder if I'm biased towards this group I can tell you that the answer is yes, very much so. I kind of think everything they touch turn into gold and I agree that it is strange when you think about how my first impression of them wasn't all that positive. Lucky me that a person can change though, because I think not stanning them at this point would be very hard to do.

Top 10 Best f(x) Songs (As Of Now)

I've wanted to make this post for so long, but haven't gotten around to actually doing it until now. First of all I was unsure about f(x)'s future after Sulli left in 2014 and whether they'd make more music or not, and secondly I just had a really hard time deciding which songs I liked the most. Of course "4 Walls" did come out last year, which made me realize it was worth waiting putting together a list because that album hosts some of their best tracks to date; not that it makes my job any easier, but still. So finally after many deliberations back and forth I've decided on my 10 favorite f(x) songs as of right now.

GFriend Earn Their First Music Show Win!

YES! FINALLY! My babies, my perfect angels GFriend won their first number one on music show as they grabbed the top spot on MTV's "The Show" against hefty competition like Ryeowook and Teen Top. But honestly though, neither of those acts have been selling as well as GFriend because "Rough" is still in the top three, and have been pretty much sitting there ever since its release. I honestly couldn't be happier for these girls, and I think they are probably the group out of the 2015 rookies that is the most deserving of it. The week has just started and hopefully this victory will be one of many more to come, but either way I want to genuinely congratulate them on their win.

Congratulations girls, I'm so proud of you!

Not Much Impact With Imfact's "Lollipop"

It's another year and that means another round of fresh rookie groups, from both smaller and larger companies. We know now that both SM, FNC and Fantiago have plans to debut new boy groups this year so already there's going to be a lot to talk about, but first up in 2016 is Star Empire's new group Imfact. The company is behind groups such as Ze:a (or more so their successful members Kwanghee, Siwan and Hyungsik) and more importantly Nine Muses, a.k.a my precious babies. I am still very skeptical about this debut because I know these boys will have it hard, going by the experiences of their labelmates, and I don't know from where they're getting the money but hey, why not? Imfact consists of five members and debuted on January 26th with "Lollipop".

There's Never Been A Better Time To Be An F(x) Fan Than This Past Weekend

I honestly don't have words to express my happiness for the four members of f(x), and well, everyone that's been involved with the group like for example the managers, stylists, dancers and even the girls' family and friends. This weekend will go down in history as a time to remember for f(x) and all their fans as it was these three days, January 29th, 30th and 31st, that they held their very first live concerts. I cannot even comprehend how awesome it must've been and I will forever be upset that I couldn't be there to support the girls myself. It's surely no surprise for any of you that f(x) might just be my ultimate bias group, and the fact that they finally, almost seven years into their debut, were able to have a solo concert is a huge deal. At their last concert on Sunday they also finally announced their fanclub name: MeU (which probably originates from their song called "Me + U"). However the way it's pronounced makes it sound like the name of the maths prefix µ, and if that's the intention than I'm all on board. Their group name is mathematical after all, even though that's easily forgotten sometimes.


Hopefully this will symbolize a new start for the group, and that they'll continue making great music because they sure have that factor down. Looking at the setlist from the concert is only an indication of how freaking awesome their discography is, and I'm super jealous of everyone who went because they literally performed almost all of my favorite songs.

I think what I'm really trying to say with this post is that I'm really happy and incredibly proud of them, and if there's a DVD being released of this concert than I'm getting it no matter the price because that's just how much I love them.

Congratulations f(x)!