[single] Nakashima Mika – Nagareboshi

Nagareboshi, released on 11.04.09, is Nakashima Mika’s 30th single. Nagareboshi is used in a House Mate CM while Memory feat. DAISHI DANCE is used in a Kanebo KATE CM.

「流れ星 (Nagareboshi)」 is a slow ballad ala ORION style (which I absolutely loved) and has a sweet intro before going into a short instrumental break. The first verse begins and Nakashima sings with subtle emotions that fit right into the song’s mood. The chorus begins as she slowly sings the syllables of “Nagareboshi” which leads wonderfully into the rest of the chorus. There is an instrumental break after the second chorus before the instrumental quiets down into only a piano solo for the third verse. Another amazing ballad from Nakashima.

Next up is 「Memory feat. DAISHI DANCE」 which begins with a solo piano instrumental that sounds very lovely before other sounds come in to create a neat and unique instrumental. A capella vocals do some ad-libs before going back into the instrumental. No vocals come in until Nakashima comes in at around 1:30 into the song and her vocals match well. The chorus is sung in a very high key but Nakashima does a really good job in hitting the right notes and not making it sound horrible. The song is close to 7 minutes long, but it’s a really neat track at worth at least one listen.

A PV was made for Nagareboshi. The PV is very simple but coupled with wonderful imagery makes it a very good on at that. All of Nakashima’s scenes are during the night where she simply swings on the swings as she sings along to the song. It also shows a (long) train journey of a young woman who does things to keep herself occupied but one thing that reoccurs is the showing of a pin that (I’m guessing) she received from someone special because at the end of the PV, while holding up a necklace and the pin located on the neck of her turtleneck, she cries.

Again, Nakashima Mika brings another wonderful single. She is an amazing singer and this single doesn’t detract from that fact. Although both songs on this single are quite long (the first at 6 minutes and the second at close to 7 minutes), they are both sung wonderfully and composed wonderfully as well.

[single] BIG BANG – Koe wo Kikasete

Koe wo Kikasete, released on 11.04.09, is BIG BANG’s 3rd Japanese single. The title track is used as the theme song for the dorama Ohitorisama.

The title track, 「声をきかせて (Koe wo Kikasete)」, begins with a sweet instrumental that show the song’s nice, slow pace in contrast to their other songs. Taeyang starts up first as he sings very nicely along the beat of the song followed by Seungri then Daesung. Daesung’s higher vocals which then lead into the chorus is a really nice bridge that provides a bit of change to allow the chorus to come in. After the second chorus, G-Dragon and TOP come in with their raps although I think GD did a better job with his rap than TOP (his came off as a little bit awkward coupled with what the listener has already heard of the song). Overall, a very sweet melody that I’m sure others will love.

Last is 「オラ Yeah! (Ola Yeah!)」 with TOP introducing the song right away. This song has GD and TOP doing some more in the song than they did in Koe wo Kikasete and Big Bang’s vocals sound nice. Just listening to a bit of the song already doesn’t impress me too much; now if they had more power and fierceness to their vocals, perhaps this song would work. However, right now it feels too weak and unforgettable.

A PV was made for Koe wo Kikasete. The PV has a bit of monochromic-ness to it and beautiful scenery and backdrops as well. The lighting provides a very pretty effect and the boys sure look handsome and definitely are eye-candy. Didn’t really get the thing with the melted ice cream on the ground, but the rest of the PV was fantastic.

Not feeling Ola Yeah! but I’m definitely loving Koe wo Kikasete. It has a slow feel to it and also feels different from BIG BANG’s usual song patterns. It was kind of funny how I started watching Ohitorisama and was like, “Wait… this sounds like Big Bang!” when the theme song started playing :P. Will definitely enjoy hearing it coupled with the rest of the drama now :D.

[single] BoA – BUMP! BUMP!

BUMP! BUMP!, released on 10.28.09, is BoA’s 29th single. The single features VERBAL from m-flo and the A-side was used for NTV’s MUSIC FIGHTER POWER PLAYER and music.jp’s CM.

The A-side, 「BUMP! BUMP! feat. VERBAL (m-flo)」, is a neat song that begins with only BoA’s sole vocals. After saying “hit it”, VERBAL’s rap verse comes up and the instrumental comes in as well. Although the song isn’t that “out” there, it’s a neat unique song and definitely is new material that BoA works well with. It’s simple but at the same time, it has a lot of energy put into it. Really love this track.

VERBAL introduces 「IZM feat. VERBAL (m-flo)」 with vocoded vocals as he says, “wanna be in love withchu”. After repeating the phrase a few times, BoA comes in with her strong vocals as she sings back, “You wanna be in love with me,” and enters into the verse that way. The instrumental has this mysterious techno feel to it but is simple, which is good as is BoA’s support as she sings. VERBAL comes back in after the second chorus and this time he’s without the vocoder with the instrumental completely halting for a moment. After BoA sings one last chorus, the two of them alternate between their lines “I wanna be in love withchu” with muffed vocals (and VERBAL has his vocoded vocals back) with BoA ended the song by repeating IZM until the end.

A PV was made for BUMP! BUMP! It’s pretty simple with a dark setting but the two of them exhibit a lot of energy and, since BoA and VERBAL have worked together before, they also show their familiarity with one another. BoA rocks her dance in this song as well with some creepy-masked back up dancers but the PV itself is fun and makes the listener/watcher pumped up.

I’ve been waiting for BUMP! BUMP! to release ever since I heard about it and I’m definitely not disappointed! I love BUMP! BUMP! and, while IZM isn’t that outstanding of a song it does have its pros. I’m looking forward to BoA’s winter singles as I’ve always loved her winter ballads (Meri Kuri, Winter Love, etc) :)!

Jdramas and Kdramas of Summer & Fall 2009

This is sort of a quick filler post but I thought I would talk about something other than music for once. My review for BoA’s BUMP! BUMP! will follow after this, but for now, I will discuss the Japanese and Korean dramas that I have personally watched from this year’s summer and fall season.

[mini-album] SS501 – REBIRTH

REBIRTH, released on 10.20.09 (10.22.09 for Normal Version), is SS501’s 4th mini-album. It is their first release in a year and a half since releasing something as a group.

Opening the album is 「Wasteland」 that starts with a piano solo along with ad-libs before the first verse begins. The verse is nicely paced, but as it nears the bridge and chorus, the tempo speeds up a bit. Their vocals are strong and match nicely with the song, but honestly, this song is kind of “blah” and forgettable. It does match its Wasteland theme, which is cool, but it could use some work.

「Love Like This (네게로; For You)」 is the title track which was exchanged with the original title track (unfortunately it had to be taken out due to unknown plagiarism issues). The song itself is upbeat, especially the chorus which stands out when the members sing, “Love, negero, love like this, negero, negero (negero being “for you”).” The song itself isn’t that spectacular, but the chorus is kind of catchy.

「하루만 (One Only Day)」 is a calming ballad that the members sing with nice, low voices. As the song nears the chorus, the volume of their vocals (mostly solo parts) gradually increase until the chorus where their vocals are noticeably louder. The second chorus shows their wonderful harmonizing and they definitely do well to sing nicely together. The ballad is beautiful and I’m definitely loving the amazing harmonization.

「Obsess (중독; Poisoning…)」 is a neat, unique track that has a really cool instrumental. The chorus especially has an almost chilling feeling to it as they sing, “I’m obsessed with you… wanna be with you…” As they sing it, it shows their need of that person and thankfully doesn’t come off as creepy (haha!) The third verse is more of a mid-tempo rap before allowing two members (can’t tell who the other one is, but I know the second one is Young Saeng) to sing their solo parts. This track really has a unique feel to it and it’s also really nice.

The last track is 「완.두.콩. (Green Peas)」 which draws your interest with the crackling of a fire and the sound of slow clapping, the ocean, and an acoustic guitar. It provides a nice feeling of hanging out at night by the ocean as if the members themselves are not singing in a studio, but outdoors. The song is calming and has a warming feeling to it, enough to make me smile :). I really like this track; it’s neat and it was a cool idea for the members to take this idea and make it into this song.

This mini-album didn’t impress me at first with the first two tracks, but the second half of the album really did blow me away. I love the last three songs and how they did everything. I ESPECIALLY love Green Peas, it was a really warming idea and gives the listener a very calm, nice feeling.

[mini-album] SHINee – 2009, Year of Us

2009, Year of Us, released on 10.19.09, is SHINee’s 3rd mini-album.

Steady percussion beats begin 「Y.O.U」 as Onew starts up the song with some quick-paced lyrics. There some lengthy pauses between each line in the verses but the verse is soon followed by the bridge. Taemin sings, “Nothing can stop me from loving you,” which leads into the chorus as they sing “you” particularly in a slightly higher key. It certainly stands out as they sing “you” every time with a higher key than the rest of the lines. The second chorus is followed by an interesting third verse which is different from the rest of the song as they sing a bit lower and alternate between singers. The song doesn’t go by too fast nor too slow; just enough to allow the listener to take in everything.

The hot promotional song 「Ring Ding Dong」 is up next! Described as the new genre “acoustic electronic” by SHINee/SM, it sure is different with its congo drums and sounds. Jonghyun does the honor of starting up the song which is then followed by an opening chorus “ring ding dong”. There is a bit of vocoder being used here, but their actual vocals can still be heard. The bridge where they sing, “so fantastic, elastic, elastic” is so addictive even with its repetitiveness. The rap fits in really nicely here and it is a great lead into the third verse where it takes a different turn. The song is so fantastic, I love it.

A fantastic opening and Jonghyun’s wonderful vocals begin 「JoJo」 as it then leads into the first verse. Their singing matches nicely with the instrumental, which has steady beats created by the percussion. The chorus has them singing in a higher key, “JoJo” of course standing out the most. A low English solo part sung by Minho leads into the second verse; Minho’s vocals certainly grab your attention. This song is neat and definitely an amazing one at that.

「Get Down」 is a rap battle between the two rappers of the group: Minho and Key. It has a very American hip hop feel to it as Minho starts up the rap battle as he raps for the entire first verse and chorus. Next, Key takes over for the second verse and chorus. After that, the two of them alternate between their raps. It is an interesting concept and idea, but not really that great if you’re not a fan of rapping in the first place.

An interesting beat opens 「SHINee Girl」 as Jonghyun and Onew sing for the first verse before going into a short bridge that then leads into the chorus. Things speed up for the chorus as the words they sing to describe “SHINee Girl” stand out as the supporting vocals sing it in English. The third verse is particularly interesting, especially the way they lead into the last chorus with “I want you, I need you, my love is true” as it is very unique.

Ending the mini-album is Onew’s solo (also the only solo on this MA) 「내가 사랑했던 이름 (The Name I Loved)」. The song is a piano ballad coupled with some acoustic guitar as Onew sings in a low whisper before his vocals gradually grow louder. Supporting vocals (which is just an echo of his vocals) sing along with him during the chorus along with the growing instrumental. I see Onew’s vocals as the second best vocals of the group (behind Jonghyun) so this song really allows him to show off his lovely vocals.

I absolutely love 2009, Year of Us! It certainly is a change from ROMEO and definitely much, much better as well. The promotional song Ring Ding Dong is fantastic and addictive and, coupled along with a pretty darn good PV, it makes it one damn awesome promotional song. Also, although not all of the members’ new hairstyles are that good, I particularly liked Jonghyun’s and Key’s as both of them know how to work their hair. The others’ hair can also be good depending on how it is styled. Love love this mini-album; check it out!

[mini-album] B2ST – Beast is the B2ST

Beast is the B2ST, released on 10.14.09, is B2ST’s (pronounced as BEAST and stands for Boys to Search for Top) debut mini-album. This boyband is from Cube Entertainment (JYP’s sister company).

Introducing the album is 「Beast is the B2ST」, the album’s namesake, and starts with a neat attitude-filled intro as the boys yell, “HO!” A rap starts up the verse before being followed by some vocoded vocals. The chorus follows with more singing with background vocals saying, “is the best! is the beast!” A neat short intro to prepare for the rest of the album.

「Bad Girl」 starts ala piano solo and some vocoded vocals that is followed by a rap-like voice in the background. Everyone comes in as they sing, “Down, down, we gotta get down!” The rest of their vocals are vocoded (with the exception of the rappers whose vocals aren’t vocoded). The song has a kind of fresh feel to it in terms of instrumental and sound.

A intro done by one of the rappers and along with a vocoded voice starts up 「Mystery」. A whisper is heard before they go into a starting chorus as they repeat, “mystery mystery (why)”. The verse also follows a pattern of repetition of some syllables and the pattern of repetition is heard throughout the whole song. The song provides some nice attitude and edge to their vocals, but it feels a bit lacking.

「아직은 (Yet)」 opens with a short dialogue as the listener hears the sound of a storm in the background. The verses is sung in a fashion where they go between singing their lines medium to quick. This track is a neat R&B ballad which showcases more of what the boys can do, especially during the chorus where they harmonize quite nicely. The chorus fades into a slow rap (mostly in English I’m guessing; I heard “oh shit”, haha) which leads into the next verse.

The album closes with the medium-tempo ballad 「Oasis」 as the percussion in the beginning leads into the instrumental. The verse is sung with simpleness (a bit nasally as well) as in between lines supporting vocals “whisper” into the song. The chorus begins as they sing, “I will live dreams for you and me” (could be wrong) as they sing in a higher key and it gives the song a light feel to it. The 2nd verse is sung with the same pattern as the third verse is primarily the rap as well as the last chorus.

This was another boy band that I was looking forward to and although they don’t exactly impress, they don’t disappoint either. They have the potential, which is always a plus for the anticipation of future releases. However, this album isn’t very diverse and it’s somewhat the same stuff track after track. My favorite track of this album though is Oasis. I also liked Yet :). Hope to see more of B2ST!

[single] MBLAQ – JUST BLAQ

JUST BLAQ, released on 10.14.09, is MBLAQ’s (pronounced as M-Black and stands for Music Boys Live in Absolute Quality) debut single. This five-member boyband (after all the new girlgroups) was created and trained by Rain himself and is Rain’s first group presented as a new singer-turned-producer of J. Tunes Entertainment.

The promotional song 「Oh Yeah」 does the honor of starting up the single with a rather Spanish influence over the instrumental as someone says, “Yo, amigos,” before some other instruments and sounds come in. A fierce rap makes up the first verse before another member sings with smoothness as it proceeds into the chorus. They sing, “Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah yeah,” (which reminds me so much of Lee Hyori’s U Go Girl, “okay, okay, oh-oh-okay”) and other female voices come in too. The song follows the same pattern and has a nice fierce attitude.

An orchestra-like instrumental begins 「G.O.O.D Luv」 and the intro to the song is similar to that of Oh Yeah. This song has the members singing smoothly with some nice vocals followed by a higher key of the guys singing, “I can’t stop good love, good love, good love”. The pattern continues until the near end of the song where it is coupled along with a rap as they continue to sing the chorus. Not a very spectacular song.

The last song, 「My Dream」, has some steady beats in its intro as the chimes change the instrumental into a nice, slower beat. A member sings softly before being followed by some a capella vocals that then lead into the chorus. They sing, “This is my dream, it was my dream” in a higher key and it has nostalgic feel to the way they sing it.

A PV was made for Oh Yeah. The whole PV is filmed with a black and white theme and the majority of it consists of the members dancing. There are a few handsome close-ups of each members during their lines, but it would’ve been nice if they included the girls who sang the lines found in the chorus. The boys looked odd lip-syncing those lines, haha.

I was looking forward to what MBLAQ would be like since Rain is a widely known idol and he is pretty talented as well. Unfortunately, I’m not a bit fan of MBLAQ right now (though I have totally converted into a Joon fan xD). They definitely have the potential and this is only their debut single after all, but so far all three songs follow patterns of repetitiveness and although there is definitely some fierce attitude going on, it ain’t coming across as strongly as it should (if you listen to them repeatedly, you do start to get used to them xD). I feel neutral about MBLAQ right now after listening to this single; maybe they’ll change my mind with their future releases.

[single] Secret – I Want You Back

I Want You Back, released on 10.13.09, is new girlgroup 시크릿 (Secret)’s debut digital single. Not sure what company they are from yet, but it has been said that their name “Secret” comes from the fact that they have hidden their unknown talent and now wish to show everyone what they can do.

「3년 6개월 (3 Years 6 Months)」 opens up this short single with a quick ticking sound before turning into a slow paced song with the members singing a capella-like. Strong vocals pierce through the quiet, simple instrumental before going into a medium-paced rap which then leads into another member singing their part. This song doesn’t have a prominent part that you can really call a “chorus”, but I think that’s what makes it a little unique (maybe the rap is the chorus, but that’s a random guess).

The promotional song 「I Want You Back」 ends the single with some vocoder used to distort their vocals in the beginning and parts of the other supporting vocals. The verse switches back and forth between the prominent vocals and the vocoded vocals which provides some nice contrast. The chorus starts as they sing, “I want you back, you back” and has a lot of repetition, but thankfully it’s not overdone. However the rap in it sounds so much like CL from 2NE1, it seems like she’s being featured here (of course, that’s not the case)

The PV for I Want You Back is kind of cute in a sense as they bring their music and style back to old-school. In the beginning of the PV, one of the girls fight with their boyfriend, but in the end make up (I’m guessing…?) and the rest of the PV shows the girls with their boyfriends happily along with some cute dancing. The PV and song bring a nice nostalgic feel and I like it.

Secret was a pleasant surprise. As the reason behind their name, they really do have talent, that I acknowledge. Their vocals are strong and the first time you listen to them, they show off their vocal talents real nicely. It’s a nice change from the kind of music that other girl groups like 2NE1, 4minute, SNSD, etc are giving us.

Update: What to look forward to

Gah, so many new groups, so little time. I won’t be able to do that much this week since I’m busy with other stuff, but here’s a quick list of what is to come for the rest of this month (there might be more later as I don’t have a steady source of all the upcoming Kpop releases)

Kpop -
MBLAQ – JUST BLAQ (Release: 10.14.09)
B2ST – Beast is the B2ST (Release: 10.14.09)
Secret – I Want You Back (Release: 10.13.09)
SHINee – 2009 Year of Us (Release: 10.19.09)

Jpop -
BoA – BUMP BUMP! feat. m-flo (Release: 10.28.09)