SONAMOO debuted last year with 'Deja Vu' and they disappointed to say the least. TS pushed them as the female B.A.P but lacked that something special, it didn't help that the title track had an outdated sound and that it truly was B.A.P's early concepts plastered on female bodies. But I saw talent and promise and prayed for a better (proper) comeback single. But their new single 'Cushion' thankfully may be one of the best of the year so far.
'Cushion' strikes a perfect balance between 'cutesy' and 'fierce' that many groups try and fail to do. This is actually the concept/sound I wish A-Pink would transition to instead of churning out the same thing over and over. Really fresh production and some very VERY nice harmonies sprinkled through (0:22 is perfect vocal performance and production), raps are pretty good, chorus is super catchy... what more could you want from a k-pop single? Ok the awkward english lyrics are a little grating, I actually thought they were saying 'kiss my cushion' which would have made the whole thing 10x more amazing but it's ok I'll deal with another boy adoration song instead of ass worship. The chorus also reminds me of Red Velvet's Ice Cream Cake in the best way possible. It's the kind of song you'll probably listen on repeat for the first week and then never play again until December and tweet out "remember this jam?" or is that just something I do?
They're all beautiful as well and I personally want them to be known as the more interesting version of A-Pink but I'm doubtful Korea will pick up on them as they have the CUBE girls. Oh well, we can only hope.
So this is SNSD's first single since the loss of member Jessica. It's a Japanese single but for some reason SM has decided to release it in Korea simultaneously too. I guess it's to act as some sort of buzz single for their full blown Korean comeback rumoured to be happening sometime in May. ...and it's kinda left me a bit disappointed.
Now I generally set the bar for Girls' Generations Japanese singles a bit lower than for Korean but this just didn't quite reach it. I do really like the punchy verses showing off their lower registers and the fact that Hyoyeon gets more than one line but that pre-chorus is really bland and unoriginal. I really do not like it and actually, I hate it. That really doesn't happen often that I HATE a part of a single from a company like SM but it's happened.
The breakdown is fine, nothing special and a bit repetitive. Taeyeon singing over it in the end second chorus made it a bit more interesting, don't know why they didn't do that for every chorus and for the whole chorus. It's by no means their worst single ever (Hoot exists, ya'll seem to have forgotten) but it seems to be getting a lot of backlash from people. Oh well, if you want great EDM in k-pop just look to T-ara.
I'll probably still jam to it for a bit and then remember that songs like The Great Escape and Karma Butterfly exist and then wonder why I'm wasting my time with this crap. BECAUSE HYO GODAMMIT. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The MV however is friggin' great and actually one of my favourites from them. I probably wouldn't even given this song more than one play without it. They all look great, the choreography is great, the setting is great. It's great. I don't know if the choreography has been stepped up to distract away form the fact we've lost Jessica or if losing her meant the rest could actually be pushed dance to their full potential. I'm mostly just pleased that Hyoyeon actually is featured predominately for once. I'm deducting half a point for those orange suits though...smh
Song: 2.5/5
MV: 4/5
...Actually also thinking about it, now that they've lost a main vocalist I wonder if SM is gonna push them less vocally and go for these types of dance centred tracks and give more vocal songs to TTS. hmmmmmmm....
SISTAR are a top tier group now, there's no denying it. Competing with the likes of Girls' Generation and 2NE1. They released 'Touch My Body' on the 21st and it's been #1 on Melon since despite INFINITE releasing their brilliant new single since. So what do I think?
I have been so hyped for this comeback since they announced it and as usual f(x) have not let me down. 'Red Light' is an electro-pop song that goes hard. Switching between fast pace rap style verses, a synth-pop style light pre-chorus to a crazy chorus. There's a lot going on here but it's all threaded together wonderfully. The bridge is SUBLIME too. We've never really heard this kind of style from them before. The first play may be jarring to some and not instantly catchy like Electric Shock but after a few plays I promise this will be stuck in your head just like any other classic f(x) hit. SM are really taking some experimental steps with the music they put out and I think it's superb.
When Pledis initially revealed the afterschool subunit I wasn't particularity impressed. I don't normally go for the whole cutesy thing they were doing for the first couple singles. But over time they've slowly morphed into this quirky group with their own distinct individuality. Since 'Bangkok City' they haven't had a bad single. 'Lipstick' was friggin' amazing. They also have some INCREDIBLE album tracks in their discography that I suggest you check out. See 'Bubble Bath' & 'One Love'. 'Catallena' is described as an 'indian disco song' that samples a a Pakistani folk song (!!!), so obviously it's amazing. The lyrics describe a mysterious 'Catallena' woman. urgh seriously I just love everything about it. So funky, so fresh. Listening Orange Caramel, you're never bored, Pledis are really doing a great thing here with them. The video is the most original MV I've seen in k-pop since.. well their last MV 'Lipstick'. The girls become sushi... and I don't really know what else to say, just watch it.
