[Single/MV Review] Girls' Generation's worst single? ...Catch Me If You Can

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. 

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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....

[Single Review] f(x) continue to impress with 'Red Light'

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.

BoA proves she's still queen of Japan/Korea/Rest of world with "Shout It Out"

BoA surprised released the music video to her new Japanese single "Shout It Out" apparently out in march and I'm so here for it.

[Single Review] SHINee are at the top of their game & rival TVXQ with "Everybody"

SHINee are back with their THIRD I repeat THIRD comeback of the year. That's kinda crazy. Although k-pop artists usually have much quicker promotion cycles than you would find in the west they still normally limit themselves to once maybe twice a year (unless you are B.A.P). SM really seem to be pushing SHINee hard at the moment and I really hope this isn't signalling the end for them or that some of them might be going into the army. Although I'd love to see some solo work from them.

When I first heard this song and snippets via teasers I initially though, oh no another boring dupstep-y track, the chorus is not particularly interesting or catchy and is quite frankly kinda lazy from a composition sort of view. The verses are better and Minho isn't rapping this time which makes for a nice change, although he's got better since debut days, he isn't that great and I think I actually prefer his singing voice much like Amber in f(x). It's ok but when compared to other SHINee singles like Lucifer & Sherlock it doesn't compare. 

Where the song really shines however is when they perform it. This choreography is incredible, they throw each other around, turn into a transformer and they execute it perfectly. If you ask me, this solidifies SHINee as the best dancers in k-pop for sure. Infinite need to up their game to take their crown. The song wasn't really crafted to be listened to as much as performed to. If they ever perform it completely live (which I'm hoping they will next week) and the vocals are on point SHINee are seriously up to TVXQ level standard and that's incredible. SHINee are probably my favourite band in k-pop these days and I couldn't stand them back in 2009. They constantly show growth with every comeback and release albums that are consistent throughout. 

Score:

Performance : 9.5/10

Song: 6/10

(Did the score slightly differently this time because a combined score would really show how I felt - what do you think? I might start doing this for all releases)

[News] f(x) release possibly the best song of the year so far

f(x) are back after over a year. I'm gonna do a proper review later but basically you all need to listen to it now. The production is amazing, infusing elements from all over the world, I can her some indian, spanish and western elements in there. I love the contrast between the verses and the chorus. It's super catchy and just super amazing and I'm so happy. The MV is boring though which is a shame but it shows of the choreo nicely and the girls look amazing. 

I need to give it a few more plays before doing a review but this might actually my favourite k-pop song of the year so far. Give it a listen and tell me what you think.