It's Beast's turn ladies and gentlemen. They came back with "Good Luck" officially. Unofficially, there was "No More". Both songs are pretty good in my opinion. One is slow and has a lot of sincere emotions in it while the other one is more upbeat with a feeling of moving on.
Dongwoon's voice in No More impressed me a little. It sounded so soft and sweet. He doesn't have Yoseob's vocal skills but this song went really well with his voice. In Good Luck, I was really blown away by the beginning. Yoseob's voice is as smooth as ever. To me, it seems that Hyunseung's voice grew up a little, as in he worked on it more.
One thing that impressed me (and does for a while now) is Junhyung. He really evolved as a musician. Lately, there are a lot of collaborations and his songs have a mixed feeling. In short, he matured and he learned how to use his talent in various music genres. He learned how to use different things in music or maybe he knew but only now he got the chance to use them. I don't know if I'm right, but he seems to be a scholar musician. That practically means he studied classical music. I've remarked that in Good Luck too.
I am a sucker for orchestral music. They used it at the beginning of Good Luck and they got me. I really like the song and the idea itself. The MV isn't something to be amazed of but the dance is awesome. It seems simple and smooth, I dunno. I just really enjoy listening and watching Good Luck.
On the other side, I have mixed feelings for No More. It's a good song but they could have done more. The MV was better and from my point of view, it just attracts me more towards Junhyung lol. I also liked the idea of using Instagram. It's gotten very popular in Asia lately.
Anyway, the whole aspect is that, they invested some good money into this comeback.
The last one, because it's getting tiring, is Beast's comeback. The teaser didn't express much for me but the song is quite catchy and worth it. What impressed me in a way was the girl and the whole idea with the dark and light. Also, the design on the girl's face and body was also captivating. It all created something fantastic. The images are all dark and sinister, it gets you entirely into the song and its meaning.
Dongwon is my favorite yet, like always, he didn't sing much but he's still my favorite. I really like |Hyunseung's voice. It's kinda scratchy but really nice. It's higher than the others' and it's really cute. Anyway, Yoseob's voice is still really good and maybe the best out of them yet let's not say anything yet because the others didn't really show us their full potential. And God, look at his hands, HIS DAMN HANDS! You can see the veins and that is hot. But then again, I have something with hands so it may be just me.
Anyway, the song grabs your attention instantly with "I'm Shadow" part...which is wrong grammatically but after so many years of listening to K-pop you get used to it. However, that is really catchy. Sometimes Hyunseung says it, sometimes Doojoon does but it sounds the same...but is good. I like it a lot.
Oh, one song I completely forgot about is Caffeine. Yoseob's voice sounds so resentful and somehow, has a tent of regretfulness and enthusiasm. Don't ask how I figured that out. Anyway, I was a little surprised when I saw the music video. I was expecting to see a story, to see the lyrics being acted into the video. I haven't been dissapointed at all. The whole plot looks somewhat veridical so that's fine. The background looks too classy and maybe a little overused. The idea itself isn't innovative. But I liked it and it's a pleasure to watch it.
Something that doesn't seem to get well with the song is actually Yoseob's face. I know he is a grown up, young adult; he's not a boy any more, he's a man but damn that baby face of his betrays everything! He's so cute while being mad, he's even more adorable in the happy moments, I couldn't focus on anything but his face when I first watched the video. However, when you listen to the song without watching it, that's completely different. It's my favourite song from his solo album and it touches me deeply. It's a story sang by someone with an incredible voice and so, the message gets a different tint.
Until now, there have been a lot of new releases. A Hell lot of them! From my point of view maybe just half of them are really good and entertaining. The industry of K-pop, most of the time, is concentrated on the looks and on the perception of the fans, who love a good looking guy more than a talented one so the companies tend to make danceable songs so the hot ones would show off. However, this year brought a lot of truthfully good songs. The older bands improved a lot and the rookies have done a great job. There are just 5 albums in my top and I asked more than just a few people for an opinion. I also asked non-k-fans who have been very helpful.
On the first place, in my point of view, is Blockbuster. No matter how you look at it, the album has everything it needs, from bad ass rap songs to melancholic ballads. Also, fans have been very receptive mostly because this album was long awaited for. Every song makes a deep impression and that's been proved. So Block B's Blockbuster is definitely the best album of 2012.
Second place goes to Big Bang's Still Alive. Besides the fact that I'm a VIP, their comeback came like a serious bang. Every song comes from their own experience and it's obvious they've grown very much since their début which was a few long years ago. Their vocals also improved and eve if TOP's dance moves are bad, like always, they know now how to make them funny and attractive. Daesung's voice is amazing and he has a lot more parts now where he shows a cool side of him. They've done something more emotional, more personal and it sounds good.
On the third place is SISTAR. I'm not such a big fan but Hyorin's voice always attracts my attention. She's also really pretty and the dance moves these girls pull off aren't that easy as they look. Their mini-album, Alone, is one of my favourites. Their voices bring something different to the songs mostly because of their different tones. But in the end they're very good entertainers and they have professionalism. That's an important factor and they are pretty famous because they do an awesome job.
The fourth place is taken by B1A4. Why? Because the latest album is so cool and sounds so different and bohemian and has some melancholy in there, some piano, a few soft female voices and overall it's a pleasure to listen to it. In the Wind wasn't on my list but after I listened to it I realized I'm stupid. It has everything it needs, it sounds classy but at the same time very new. It's definitely a good album.
The fifth place would be GaIn's Talk about S. Her mini-album captivated me simply because it breaks the barriers. There's sexuality, there's seriousness too but overall everything comes together and it sounds very good. It's not necessarily the gender I listen to a lot but her album was much better than others. I also like her style when it comes to singing. She's not a bad ass but she's not some princess either you know. She's a woman and I like that she expresses her feminism and sensuality so well without being too much.
Other good albums which haven't been included here are:
BAP's No Mercy
Yoseob's The First Collage
Exo-K (and Exo-M)'s Mama
and others that I seriously can't remember right now :)
Alright, like I said before, this summer has been full with awesome comebacks. Bands tried to be even more passionate and changed their look to be even hotter. Firstly, I would like to say that it might be a little bit hard for the idols to work so hard. I mean, have you seen some of the coreographies? In MV's they seem fresh, of course, but on stage things get a little hard when it comes to singing.
Anyway, one of my favourites (and it seems a lot of fans agree) comeback is Nu'EST's Action. The video is awesome and the song is really powerful. The boys have a badass look and attitude but at the same time, the song talks about something teenagers go through. I never did but blending with the crowd has always been a problem for some of my friends...like everyone is unique and they should act like themselves, even if that means they stand out. So, it's one hell of a song and I had a lot of expectations from it and sincerely, they didn't disappoint.
Another good comeback (though it's not really a comeback but more of a single, I guess), though not that spectacular, in my view is A-JAX's Hot Game. The song resembles Low by Flo Rida a lot and it's so, so obvious that it hurts. However, the dance is kinda cute and they are cute. The beats are easy to follow and it stucks into your head no matter what. It's really hard to get it out of your head, believe me. The video is a little bit weird. I mean, ok, I get it, it's about a game the girl who plays around some 'hot' game but I believe the idea itself could have been differently approached. Like the director should have used some more elements. And for me, as a girl with a different mentality, what the MV resemble is not a 'hot game'.
Another, and very recent comeback, is Beast's Midnight. Ok, I love Yoseob's look and DongWoon's but what's with that red hair on HyunSeung. Maybe some of you don't agree with me but it's such a powerful and blinding colour. It doesn't look good on him and truthfully speaking, I don't like the hairstyle either. Also, I don't like JunHyung's hairstyle. However, the song is refreshing. The video is colourful and good (surprisingly) and it gets you to relax and listen to their smooth voices. It has a slower rhythm and it sounds very good.
T-ara's Day by Day is another awesome comeback. The song is calm and the video is a little dark but it has that thing that gets you to like it. It's one of my favourites songs and I enjoy their voices in it. They seem smoother and their image is also more mature. I like that. Like I said, the MV is darker in its idea but also really well made. It reminds me of Final Fantasy with those costumes and everything.
LedApple's comeback with Run to You is also good. But I have this feeling that either Yonghwa composed the song for them either they got inspired by CN Blue because it sounds exactly like their music. I don't say it doesn't sound good, because it definitely does and I always liked LedApple's songs, but I guess the influence is very obvious. The dance is catchy but very silly. They look a little bit silly too but I still like them. I like that they didn't change and they chose to go steady with their style. The video is also silly but I enjoyed it a lot.
ZE:A's Aftermath is an awesome song. I love the chorus and the intro and everything about the song. I like their moves and the guys look really good. I love the idea for the MV and how it was directed. I don't think I have bad things to say about it. I'm not a fan of ZE:A but this song is just so awesome. It's exactly what I'm listening to right now. Ok, maybe their fashion it's not really on my taste but that's something small.
Ok, another one. I don't know if it's his comeback or not (I just know he's in 2PM) , I just heard about his solo songs! Jang Woo Yeong is something. I watched him on Inkigayo and he was more than fantastic. The song, Sexy Lady is something that Europeans love, is exactly their style. It's really catchy and easy to follow and his image is just completing the whole MV. He's a one hot piece:D He reminds me, somehow of Usher. Don't ask why:D
