Number 9 (Well... there are six of them...)

Personally, I've never really like T-Ara, I mean, I'd gotten interested for a while and then I found out about all their scandals and the mismanagement by their company.... and so it's safe to say that I gradually wandered away and immersed myself in other groups. However, their new song "Number 9" isn't too shabby! The review:

The Song:
It's one of their better ones. Absolutely no doubt at all. For example, take "Sexy Love". I won't deny that the song wasn't catchy, but I seriously think these KPOP companies need to get a certified English speaking songwriter. I mean, what song has the lyrics, "... sexy nose..." Please, that's just pushing it. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that "Number 9" was a pretty good song, and it ranked on many music billboards and shows. It was a poppy tune, and I liked the beginning where Eunjung pulls the "Oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh..." Even Hyomin's rap wasn't bad... rather, it was short but nice. Better yet, Soyeon (T-Ara's powerhouse vocalist) had a lot of singing time and sounded beautiful. Jiyeon... mehh. She was more visual than vocals, and wasn't as impressive as even Boram in this song (for once, the girl gets a cool part!). Qri? Well, not the best, not the worst, but I can't argue with that when the rest of the song rocked (so essentially, Qri was meh too). Now to get nitpicky. I was extremely bothered when Hyomin did her little, kind-of rap part, where she goes "I'm addict! I'm addict!" Like I said, maybe CCM (their agency) needs to find an English teacher or something, because that's grammatically incorrect (I'm sounding like a grammar nazi, but it's true)! Next up, when Eunjung pulls off that high note right after Soyeon's part. I mean, we all know Soyeon can sing, so do they really have to give Eunjung that piece? It would have fit in perfectly well if Soyeon did it, but I guess CCM needed to showcase one of the more popular members a little more. Pity, this song was one of
T-Ara's releases that showed off Soyeon more. Still though, not bad. (Tip: CCM, Jiyeon already has too much attention as it is, time to stick Qri, Boram, or Soyeon in the center)

The Music Video:
Yeah um, kinda at a loss of words here. I mean, sure it had stuff other than dancing in a box (*cough* SM!), but it still wasn't that great. There wasn't really a storyline, just some girls moaning, or rather, singing about a heartbreak. The dance definitely bored me (if anything, the "Sexy Love" robot dance would've worked too), and the choreography was pretty slow. But hey, it takes skill to dance in heels, that much I can say. Nothing really to talk about in the music video, just that I'm pretty sure you only eat a rose after someone breaks up with you if you're quite weird. Not the greatest, but then again, music videos can't always be interesting, especially if you're talking about KPOP (where *cought* SM *cough* dominates the entertainment industry).





Not bad, I'd give it 4 sparkles out of 5. If anything, 4.1 sparkles out of 5. The music video kind of messed the song up, as well as the title choice (why number 9?), but the song itself was great! Pretty pleased with this comeback and I hope CCM gets everything straightened out before ruining T-Ara's reputation again!

The House of Hades... (Deathly Boring?)

So normally, I only blog about books that I really like or that are really popular. This is one of the popular ones.... that I don't necessarily LOVE but like. I had extremely high expectations for "The House of Hades," but idk, they kinda fell short. Personally, I guess I should cut Rick Riordan some slack (for writing this decent book in an year), and I do not like people who complain about how "slow" these books come out. Like, seriously. If you're going to complain about that, then try writing a book the same size in a year, and if it's half as good, I will be impressed (no seriously, try). However, I digress. The review:

The Book (since that's all I can talk about):
It was good. Just good. Not great or magnificent or anything. Good, that's it. I totally freaked when it came out but after reading about the first quarter of the book, I was already kind of disappointed. Most Riordan books contain lots of humor, but the jokes in "The House of Hades" let me down. Most of the "funny" scenes are fueled by Leo's wisecracking... and really, most of the time, it's to insult someone. Then, add the lack of humor to lots of kissing (and yes, I mean a LOT), and boom. Story. It wasn't all negative, I'll give it that. Although the beginning was pretty slow and slightly boring, the middle of the story really picks up the pace. What really shocked me was the Nico DiAngelo confession scene. It was, to say the least, totally unexpected. I mean, when does Riordan decide to insert a piece like that? Which only goes to make me lament even more. I really enjoyed the Percy Jackson series; it had that kind of witty humor that only goes with a book like that. However, I feel like Riordan has really made the characters grow up. I mean, we all knew that someday Percy and Annabeth were going to get older. But I think what really made the original series such a hit was that it was narrated by a teenager, a kid learning to cope with his abnormal parentage and normal teenage problems (bullying, raging girlfriends, etc.) I'm not saying that this series isn't good. In fact, it still rings of Riordan. However, its more grown up now, and less childish/kid's perspective, which isn't necessarily the best thing ever (at least for me). But overall, quite nice.

Positives right? So it's boring in the beginning but definitely starts to climb. I personally like to believe that the official start of action is at the part where Nico confesses. That brings everything that we've known about the kid before to a stop. It's pretty interesting though, and Riordan drops a few hints about Nico's feelings throughout the book before the scene. It's evident that he's "lonely," has no one that really loves him (his sister, Bianca, died), and is kinda secluded and socially awkward. However, after this revelation, the plot starts to really get intense. I especially liked the ending, and I cried when I found out Bob and Damasen (you'll find out who they are when you read the book)  sacrifice themselves for Percy and Annabeth (that darn Tartarus!). Anyways, without revealing too much, the ending was very well written, with many surprises and twists.

Overall, good book! Just good, remember? I'm actually anticipating "The Blood of Olympus" very much, since "The House of Hades" left an extremely exciting cliffhanger. Good book, good cover art XD, good as a whole. Liked it, and would deserve 4 sparkles out of 5. I'd definitely recommend it. As of now, Keep on Sparkling!

Gotta Talk To You (Gotta Fangirl Over You!)

SEUNGRI! SEUNGRI! Yes, that's right, you knew this was coming. What KPOP blog would be complete without a devoted post to Big Bang, and more importantly, the most handsome maknae of all, Seungri. However, just because I'm biased and have wristbands with his name on them, doesn't mean I won't add my little "criticism" to the review. The review:

The Song:
Beautiful. Work of art. Whatever you want to say about it (that's positive, of course!). Actually, I'm being truthful here. Seungri's new album, "Let's Talk About Love," really is very nicely done. The songs are catchy, but most importantly, the song I'm blogging about, "Gotta Talk to You," is one of the best. When I first heard it, I had a major song-of-the-month moment, and listened to it on repeat for quite some time. It's true Seungri isn't the best singer in Big Bang, after all, he's the main (or lead) dancer of the group, and quite a good one at it. But the song didn't push his vocal abilities to the limit; it maintained a soft, mature feel to it and was well composed. Trust me... I'm listening to that song on repeat while writing this. Overall, one of Seungri's best songs; it totally rang of Big Bang with a little panda maknae uniqueness.

The Music Video (questionable swag?):

Really, if it weren't for the music video, I could totally give this song a 10 out of 10 (cue the 2PM music) without being biased at all. However, even though I'm still giving it a 10 (cause I'm biased, that's why), the video was a little on the boring/queer side. I mean, I like how they did that little remix at the very end, intercut with Seungri's mad dancing skills, but the basic storyline was kind of expected. Most of the video, actually all, was shot in a dimly lit rooms, and though it gave off that cool, dark city feel, I felt that YG Entertainment could've done slightly better. Maybe it's just me being envious of that girl he dances with and "crushes" on throughout the song (although we all know it's acting, thank goodness!), or maybe YG needs to work a little harder on their music videos. Although better than SM's (that's right, here we go again), I think they probably have run out of ideas. Truthfully though, I'll cut them some slack. They've produced great songs (like this one! <3 Seungri) and the videos aren't the worst, in fact, they're really professionally done, so much so, that they make SM's box sets look like a joke.

Overall, this song really showcased Seungri's growth, whether in his singing or composing abilities, and I felt he gave off a much more mature vibe in this release. And while, the video could've been more interesting, it was extremely hot and worked very well to show off Seungri <3! Coming from a totally biased Big Bang fan (Seungri is my favorite!), this was a great release on both Seungri and YG's part. Keep on rolling the same way YG! *ahem* SM... where were we?

**Support Big Bang!**

Yes, Yes, Yes! (Or NoNoNo... I Guess)

When it comes to the cute factor... it's all about APink nowadays. And I totally think they got it down perfectly... I mean, seriously, they're kinda like the younger, more teenage version of SNSD. And their new song "NoNoNo" really rocks the adolescent girl concept. The *drumroll please* review:

The Song:
At first, the song sounded weird to me. I mean it starts off with little, catchy snapping sounds and then cue the drums... lead into the chorus... "No no no... No no no!" Yeah okay, so after that little girly chorus section, there's this random techno clip and then boom. Song officially starts. So I guess it takes some time to warm up to, and I definitely like "My My" more, but this song isn't bad as well. A few tips. APink, you have wonderfully cute and bubbly songs, but the song names I just don't get. First, it's like "My My," then "Hush," then "NoNoNo." Nothing against "Hush" at all, but don't you think the other two songs have these tiny repetitive titles? I mean, sure I complain about song names (cue the lamentation in Rum Pum Pum Pum review) but I do try to give my piece from a practical standpoint. And frankly, these entertainment agencies could use a little help with naming those songs.

More on the song. I'm really glad that the vocals were mostly equally distributed, though of course, Chorong was pretty much shut out of it and Eunji (Pretty Eunji!) dominated most of the song. However, what kind of surprised me was that they gave Naeun a long-ish part near the end of the song. I'm not saying she's not a good singer, but she's about average and after all, Naeun is the visual of the group... and we all know visuals are placed in groups to add more looks than anything else. However, maybe it was auto-tune or maybe it's just me doubting visual Naeun's singing abilities, but it was a nicely sung part. Overall, pretty catchy, and as always, APink was just as cute as they needed to be.

The Music Video:
Um... it was okay. Not particularly interesting, just scenes of the girls dancing intercut with what I believe is a party of some sort going on that displays them lamenting about this guy. At least it was better than f(x) and SNSD music videos (NoNoNo, I will never stop complaining about those box sets!). Basically, I don't have much to say about the video except that I think I saw Naeun wearing these ridiculous blue contacts. Yeap, way to take on the "fashion" that f(x) tried in their Electric Shock video... and believe me, they looked just as ridiculous wearing those contacts in close ups. At least the video didn't do many zoom-ins on Naeun's contacts during her little solo part... now if only SM could learn that (for all those who think that I hate on SM too much, believe me, I hate Core Contents even more... T-Ara's mismanagement ruined it for me). But that's beside the point. Not the greatest music video ever, Apink, but certainly better than "Hush." That video was like a replicate of SM.

As a whole, catchy song, creative dance. And believe, I do mean that it was a pretty cool dance (very cute!), especially since they had to make the choreography look nice with Yookyung gone, bringing the members down to 6. However, I personally don't really mind seeing Yookyung not in the group. It's not like SNSD, where if you took out a girl, it would feel empty. Simple truth: Yookyung didn't really do anything for APink, except demonstrating her English skills once in a while. She wasn't even that much of a looker... (with all due respect to Yookyung and Pink Pandas) But I'm digressing. Like I said, it was a satisfying comeback and very APink. One last tip to APink before I sign off: If you're bored, you can always sit yourself down and think of good, less repetitive song names. If nothing comes to mind, call me.


Happy Birthday, ERomo! You're turning 33 (I mean, 13 XD)!

A.D.T.O.Y. (A Meaningless Word)

Boy bands are pretty cool. However, I have to say, the whole Korean concept of "flower boy" bands really tick me off. Sure they look cute, sweet, and handsome. But take SHINee for instance. Don't they look so malnourished? Or Super Junior? Too many men with no abs. So, I had high hopes for 2PM, my second favorite boy band (1. Big Bang is forever my first     2. They're tough and masculine.), and their new album, "Grown." And sure, of course they've "grown" since their debut, in what I believe and hope is the right direction. However, a few comments (criticism of course) even for 2PM... after all, only Big Bang can always be complimented:

The Song (I focus on A.D.T.O.Y):
Yes, that's right. A.D.T.O.Y. is a song. In fact, it stands for "All Day Thinking Of You," which 2PM decided to shorten into a meaningless phrase. I wonder if it was because the song title was too long...... well, duh right? So essentially, it's an okay song, not nearly as catchy as my favorite 2PM song, "Gimme the Light," but still okay. However, it could use some work. Taecyeon's rap in the beginning is... I don't know, kinda long? Yes, kinda long. I'm okay with rap, but I really wanted to hear some vocals too, which I guess came out a bit later on in the song. Of course, vocals were courtesy of Jun.K, Wooyoung, and Junho, and Nichkhun did next to nothing as well. Chansung was there to look good and overall, it was a legitimate, average 2PM song.

The Music Video (*speechless*):
It's so... *shudders*. Really, all there is in that video is romance (particularly kissing, and you know, the undoing of the guy's tie and everything..). I'll refrain from saying too much. It sure was interesting, but after a while, I mean, there really were too many kiss scenes. I thought Chansung's part was done pretty well, when the girl undoes his tie or something but Nichkhun... I mean, we all know you're more visual than vocals but man, that was just plain awkward. At least Jun.K had the sense to have his scene in the car... stairs don't work that well. Overall, so extremely... yeah, well, you kinda get the picture. Then the dance. I thought it was pretty cool, what with the routine incorporating chairs and some sexy moves. Nichkhun looks pretty hot rubbing his back while singing, and Jun.K in his low V-Neck shirt is pretty charismatic too, especially when he doesn't do anything and just sits on a chair while this girl dances around him. Nice moves, boys, very hot.

Overall:
It was an average song. It was a pretty cool dance. It was a pretty hot music video... Too much kissing. That's all I have to say. However, not bad. Everything worked out well for 2PM (no jokes today T-T).

Expect the Best from Girl's' Day

I have to say... I really wish Girls' Generation would something just like this. It seems that Run Devil Run was a one time thing, and the rest of the time, SNSD is trying their best to be cute... I mean, come on! With 9 extremely hot girls, all SM can think of is making them sing "I got a boy on my chin?" Please, if anything, Girl's Day totally nailed the hot act in their new release, titled "Expectation." *Drumroll* The review:

The Song
Oh. My. Gosh. I can't get it out of my head. I mean, seriously, it's like, "Ooh ooh ooh," all day long. I don't know what Dream Tea Entertainment did to give Girl's Day such a fabulous song, but it sure worked. I won't lie that if SNSD tried this song, they could probably pull it off just as great too, but for a more low profile group, Girl's Day really nailed it. Minah, Sojin, and Hyeri all did quite great, and frankly, since this whole release was centered around Yura, I have to give her a bit of credit too. Just one tiny little complaint. Yura, love you and everything... but please work on your English. Your rapping didn't suck, it just had a total Korean accent in it. And I mean, she is Korean anyways, so I guess I can't stress about it too much. Polish it up and the song is fine!

The Music Video

Yeap, it was pretty great too. Like duh, Girl's Day isn't really my favorite girl group but I'm blogging about them so you can probably guess that I'm saying something good. It was really straightfoward, about how Yura is dating this guy, but she finds out he's cheating on her, and then she decides to dress all hot and rub it in his face... yeah, not the worst music video ever. Especially when you compare this to SM's box sets. It totally makes SM look like a small, no-name entertainment agency... yes, that's right, I'm talking about SNSD and their annoying videos... frankly, they could learn a thing or two from groups like Girl's Day.... THAT DANCE. I was awestruck, and believe me, if you try dancing to that choreography, it's pretty darn hard. I really liked the suspender dance and the whole sexy concept of this release... personally, I preferred it to Girl's Day's previous song, "Don't Forget Me." However, the heavy eyeliner was a little to much for me, I mean, you can mess that hair up all you want and wear short shorts too, but that eyeliner will make or break you. Please, I just don't want you to look depressed, that's all.












So all in all, great song, great dance, great video, great girls. Nice package. Now all I'd like to do is direct Girl's Generation and whoever's in charge of making their music videos over here. Please have a look. Please soak it in. Please understand that nine pairs of legs doing this dance has got to look great... Please, Girl's Generation, you have your work cut out for you.