East Asian pop update Jun - Aug 2018

From: Pristin V - Get It

It has been an unusually good summer for kpop, with some japanese and chinese tracks too.

Apink - I'm so sick. If you know about kpop, you know about how it all goes south during summer with songs that may have fan-service videos of lightly dressed boys and girls, but which musically often fails terribly. Apink proves me fantastically wrong with what may be the video of the year. Pure kpop classic.

SF9 - Now or Never (질렀어). Almost perfect. Those bass rhythms are a killer.

Yubin - Lady (숙녀). Sultry retro from Yubin, of Wonder Girls fame.

ONF - Complete (널 만난 순간). Oh My God, so catchy and charming. That refrain...

Reol - Saisaki (サイサキ). She oozes with that sub-culture electronic style unique for Japan.

Elris - Focus. Good song but it is the dance number that makes the video me come back

Laboum - Between Us (체온) and Love Game proves again that Laboum is a underestimated group. Between Us may be the "real" video, but "Love Game" proves again (like with Elris ' Focus' above) that a good dance video can deliver on all accounts.

Saturday - MMook JJi BBa (묵찌빠). If this is not the new Crayon Pop, I don't know what! Momoland have touched upon the Crayon Pop concept, but Saturday perfects it soundwise and style; nerdy and super catchy. Now just add some vimsical dance act and all is the same.

Jvcki Wai - Anarchy.  This is actually from 2017, but I discovered her just recently and I love her singing, with pronouncation and all.

Twice - BDZ. The song from their Japan debut album with the same name has a lot of "story" in it, the music piece in itself buried in the middle.

Norazo - Cider(사이다). Channeling that PSY craziness...

Rocket Girls(火箭少女101) - Calorie (卡路里). A satiric(?) song about pressing down your calorie intake, that can be heard in the movie "Hello Mr. Billionaire! (西虹市首富)".

Oresama - Hot Hashiru(ホトハシル), an ending song for the anime "Muhyo & Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation".

More interesting videos:
Leo - Touch & Sketch. Leo from VIXX
Varsity - Flower. Good new song from this boy group.
f(x) - Signal. The track is so so, but I do have a soft spot for them, and I like the retro vibes
Pristin V - Get It (네 멋대로). A nice enough debut from a Pristin sub-group in glorious 4K.

East Asian pop update Mars - May 2018

Dreamcatcher in "You & I"

Three more months has passed, and so spring came and left, and now we have had a month of summer here in Sweden, no rain and only sun.

1. Probably the best mainstream kpop song of these months, and a great debut for girl group (G)I-Idle, is the video "Latata". It feels like one of the best songs from Blackpink.

2. An alternative high point came from Anda, who has always had a unique voice for the korean music scene, and the song "Dressroom" together with super talent music writer Primary is just another great and ambient music escapade.

3. TVXQ delivers another classy kpop hit in their "The Chance Of Love". Cool choreography and catchy beats.

4. I have written about korean/chinese Shi Shi and her great voice before, and now she has returned with the emotional "Guilty(內疚)". 

5. Pinokko may turn some people off, but her song debut "Trend" also has elements of ASMR and it  IS a fascinating video.

6. Kpop girls Dreamcatcher's niche is adding some metal guitars and sounds together with more dark themes than is usual for kpop. New "You & I" is typical and a good example of the kind of drama they go for.

7. Taiwanese Emma Wu had her korean debut with the song "Sugar Rush", and the korean production values is kind of obvious in the sugar sweet video.

8. Dance ballet & jpop group Color Pointe really should have had their own post, but instead you get their otherwordly beautiful "Mahoroba kanrakugai" from last summer.

9. Crossgene has a song that swings between soft and catchy in Dandelion(달랑말랑).

10. UNB gives us really nice up-tempo kpop in "Feeling".

This and that:

• The youngest member of 2PM has debuted in Japan with the funky "Treasure".
• sony & JitteryJackal has a indie hit in "Diorama Tokyo (ジオラマ東京)"
• Uni.T returns with a dance friendly song "No More".
• Ok, OK! Lovelyz "That Day" is seen for its 4K resolution eye candy glory...
• Honey Popcorn debuted with OK song "Bibidi Babidi Boo", but instead the center of attention was on the fact that the members had a background in the japanese AV industry...

East Asian pop update Nov 2017 - Feb 2018

It haven't been sustainable for a long while to do individual reviews for a long time now, but I still want to share some of the stuff I find good so here's a general update of what has passed the last few months, the best or the funniest.

Kpop:

General:

• Momoland - BBoom BBoom (뿜뿜). Maybe THE kpop hit of 2018, and the definite break through for the girls. For sure a viral hit with its dance moves and refrain, but with an catchiness that lasts.

• BoA - One Shot, Two Shot The best of the newest releases
• BoA - Nega Dola  Another great track by the queen of kpop

• OLNL (오르내림) - Kokiriko (코끼리코). He has a distinct style that is very and unexpectedly likable

• Gugudan - The Boots  After the decidedly weird (but great!) Chococo comes this more classic take on kpop.

Trot, ie old style korean music:

• Hong Jinyoung (홍진영) - Good Bye (잘가라). Miss Hong is back with another great video.
• Yoyomi (요요미) - Who's that guy (이 오빠 뭐야). A debutante. 

Jpop:

• BoA - Jazzclub  AND she releases great videos in Japan at the same time!
• Wednesday Campanella - Gala. Why the japanese make THE BEST commercials...

• Oresama - Meteor Shower (流星ダンスフロア)

• Sakanaction - Midnight Daydream. This is a cooperation with two fashion magazines to showcase a collection. It is in truth like a musical sweet daydream perfectly suitable to the sound of Sakanaction.

Chinese:

• Cosmos People - Bon Bon Bon Bon. After Hello Princess, another super likable song in a very Taiwanese pop style.

• Namewee ft. Meu Ninomiya - Tokyo Bon 2020 / Makudonarudo The Malaysian comic/musician is back with another catchy song.
• Dragon Pig - All About You  This kind of laid back (and non-cringy) R&B is actually rather unusual in the Mandarin music sphere.