K-pop Half Time Show 2013 Debuts

I have noticed that with the creation of this blog I know a lot more about rookie groups. I am paying more attention to everything that is happening in K-pop and I am so glad for that! There are all of these great rookie groups that I would have never known about otherwise had I not searched for them. 

There is so much going on in the K-pop world that it is hard to become big when there are so many other established groups out there. There is so much talent coming from small companies that get crushed by other companies like SM, YG, and Cube, it is easy to over look some of them. Don't do it though! Go love the little people who sing these songs!

Comebacks      Solos and Sub Units

Debuts 

Girls 

Heyne "Dalla"

I am kind of obsessed with this song right now. The first time that I heard it I wasn't sure how I felt about it because she has a very cute voice, it's almost at a J-pop level just to give you an idea. The video is also very cute and collectively all those things are totally not me. But now, for some unknown reason, I absolutely love this song. There is a comment on Youtube at the moment that says "Her voice is the sound of honeybees, candy, baby animals, and rainbows all having an orgy" and I completely agree with that statement. It just makes me really happy and I think that it is a really good song to be listening to right now that summer has come upon us.   

~ Alora

GI (Global Icon) "Beatles"

This debut was picked by Becca and I have to say that I agree. I was excited to see them debut because they seemed to have quite a different concept from most girl groups; especially girl groups this year because it is all about "sex sells" right now and this video showcased their vocals and dancing without wearing next to nothing. Sure it was a little heavy on the auto tune, but listening to their debut stage shows that they aren't just a bunch of cute faces. I hope that they stick with this concept and it isn't just a gimmick to get them popularity in the beginning. 

~ Alora  

Most awesome bad a** female debut - Becca

Boys  

Never Mind "Shooting Star" 

I am super obsessed with this group right now. They are just so wonderful and my life is better for discovering them. They have a really interesting sound for K-pop because they don't sound like a K-pop band; they sound like something that I would hear over the American radio, aside from the fact that they are singing in Korean, of course. To make them even cooler, they write, compose, and arrange all their own music! Please excuse me while I commence drooling over them. Bands are very unrepresented in the K-pop scene and I hope that these guys do really well because I will probably buy everything that they put out. These guys have one other video called "Hoi Hoi" go check it out!

~ Alora

PURE "I Still Love You" 

I love a good piano track and this music video delivers just that. The only problem with this group, and it is a problem, is that they do sound just like any other group and that makes me sad because they do have strong vocals. Hopefully in the future they can create a more solid sound because I would like to hear more from them.

~ Alora

 BTS "No More Dream"

The fact that I love this song so much baffles me because it is totally not my style. I don't mind some rapping, but I need a melody line to keep me happy. This doesn't really have one, but the first time I heard it I just wanted more. I am excited to see what else that they put out in the future. Something that I wonder about is if they will ever do a cutey boy concept because I have seen some pictures of them being really cute. Rap Monster being cute.......cue the goosebumps.

~ Alora 

LC9 "MaMa Beat"

Oh man this song, or should I say this video? After I watched the video I was in a state of shock and I realized that I had no idea what the song sounded like because I was so caught up in what was happening before my eyes. Once I listened to it again, without watching the video, I realized that they did sound pretty good. I am also kind of in love with King and his ridiculous hair, also, that boy can sing! They recently did a cover of Nelly's "Just a Dream" that I am still drooling over and it totally focuses on their vocals so you can get a better feel for all of their sounds. 

~ Alora 

Most disturbing music video award - Becca 

History "Dreamer"

This song doesn't really do it for me, so I'll just let Becca be happy about it, don't tell her

This song is so freaking good, please give me more award - Becca 

Airplane "So Pretty" 

This song came out on January 6 and these boys have been MIA since and it makes me really sad. I like that they are a smaller groups since lately the trend has been to produce these monster groups. It is easier to hear all of their vocals this way, and man do they have vocals. They voices are all very clear and they do seem to seem to have a sound down that is their own, unlike another group that I have mentioned. The video was also pretty funny, but who puts on half a face of make up and then leaves the house? 

I like this song, but it seems like maybe you fell of the face of the earth... that's too bad award - Becca

Mix

MFBTY "Sweet Dream"

I put this here slightly tentatively since all of the people in this group have already made names for themselves. This group is a new thing though and that is how I justify putting it in the debut section. One of my favorite things about these people is that they are so diverse and they are making a large impact on the music industry by doing something different. I also think that it is really cool that Yoon Mi Rae and Tiger JK are married and have a kid and you can see how much that they love each other when they are together. 

~ Alora 

K-pop Half Time Show 2013 Comebacks

It has been a busy year in the K-pop industry and there have been a lot of comebacks and a lot of debuts. With all of those songs there is going to be a lot of wonderful things happening, but there is always the chance of disappointment. When a fan is waiting for so long for their favorite group to come back, and when they do and you finish the video you just sit there thinking, that's what I've been waiting for? We will not be talking about those sad moments in K-pop though, these are some of the songs that we thought were the best ones that have come out this year. These are the songs that came and whispered sweet nothings to us and then proceeded to have a love affair with out eardrums.

Debuts    Solos and Sub Units 

Comebacks

Girls 

Tiny-G "Minimanimo"

This was the first song that I heard from Tiny-G and I absolutely loved it. They are all just so petite looking, I just want to put them in my pocket and take care of them. I liked how they incorporated that into the video by making them appear like they were in a Honey I Shrunk the Kids movie. This song is crazy catchy and after I listened to it I was singing (or at least trying to sing) the chorus all day. It goes a little like "Nanananana Minimanimo" and repeat. Oh yeah, I'm good. 

~ Alora

Why am I so embarrassed to say I love this song award - Becca 

Rainbow "Sunshine"

This song is so fun, it was a nice addition to other summery type of songs that are coming out to welcome the season. Another reason why I liked it is because the girls are cute and sexy, but not to the point where I am uncomfortable watching the video, which is happening quiet often. The song and the video matched very well to create something lovely and happy. I talked about this song for a K-pop review so go read it if you want to know more about what I think. 

~ Alora

Sunny Hill "Darling of all Hearts" 

I know that I recently talked about this song, but I really like the sound and the message it has. Sunny Hill is one of those groups that is really good but isn't one of those super top groups that people drool over, at least I don't think that they are..... am I wrong about this?

~ Alora

Boys  

MBLAQ "Smoky Girl"

This song was so smooth and loungy sounding. It was pretty different from what they have done in the past and it was welcomed. The chorus was repetitive, but that can be forgiven because it was so good. I've already written a whole post about this, so let me direct you this way!  

~ Alora

Sexiest suits in a music video award - Becca 

B1A4 "What's Happening?"

B1A4, how I love you are your craziness. This music video still creeps me out a little, but I have come to accept it, kind of, Baro still murdered Ken. This song was so funny and strange and it did really well in the combining of different song sounds into one giant song. I hope that they can get more recognition because they are quite talented. I also wrote about this song and created my own tragic story to go along with it, what do you think?

~ Alora

Most appropriately named music video award - Becca 

BAP "One Shot"

Becca chose this video, but to be perfectly honest, it didn't really do it for me. Not that it is a bad song, I just wasn't really feeling it. I have the same issue with "Power" it's an okay song, but far from my favorite thing BAP has put out. I am in love with BAP's new song "Coffee Shop" though, so that is definitely my favorite BAP song of the year thus far. 

~ Alora 

Most surprising music video ending award - Becca 

 

Nu'est "Hello"

You know why the girl is mad at Ren in the video? It's because he's prettier than her. That girl got some serious Nu'est action though, holy crap. I'm not really a fan of Nu'est, even though this song is quite good. I'll just leave this one for Becca. 

~ Alora 

I like your song, but your music video gives me anger issues award - Becca

BAP Coffee Shop

 How's the song?

I was totally planning on doing Roy Kim's "Love Love Love" this week because I have totally fallen in love with him, forgetting that BAP was coming out with this song. I am not always a fan of BAP's sound so I was waiting for these songs to have a battle to the death. I figured that Roy Kim would either bludgeon them with his guitar or BAP would go all "Warrior" on him and my problems would be solved. Unfortunately, these songs decided to be friends and mock my indecision and love for both of them.

I then decided the ask for aid from my friends who ignored my request to help me choose, so here I am writing two posts because I can't smack people that are 1000+ miles away from me. Hey science, get to work on aparation, okay? Since I was hoping for help I waited to write these and now I have half as much time as usual two write two posts. Thanks guys.........Expect for Mindy, but she decided to be helpful on Tuesday and that is way too late.

Anyways, jazzy piano music, yay! Then a drum set comes in and beautiful sounds commence to come out of my computer with the added voices of BAP. This song is so far removed from anything that they have done and they nail it. This song is just so smooth and very cohesive. The lyrics match the sound, which matches with the video, it's just kind of perfect. 

How's the video? 

Everything was very complimentary in this video. The whole concept was very relaxed even though it was shot in these big cities cities. I don't think that the feel of the song would have been as powerful if they had been in rooms because the lyrics are talking about how everything is moving, but they fell like they are stuck in the same place. What better way to covey that then putting them in these cities that never sleep?

One of my favorite shots in the video is at the end when the guys are all meeting at a coffee shop. It just looks so natural. It doesn't look painful and staged like some other "let's break out of the video box and pretend to be normal" videos. That's right B2ST, I'm looking at you. If I was in San Francisco and saw them all sitting outside of a coffee shop, besides the fact that I would probably think "gorgeous men alert!", I would just go about my business. 

Something else that I thought was funny, at least to me, when I was watching the video I kept thinking, look at all those real life props! We have real life street signs

And what K-pop video would be complete without a brick room? But the probability of this one being a real brick room is quite high

One last thing that I want to mention is the book that YoungJae is reading on the beach.

1) It's in English and I'm pretty sure that no one in BAP speaks English, especially enough to read a book.
2) Why the heck are you reading The Five People You Meet in Heaven? Is this just a continuation of the hipster feel, but that's super random.
3) I don't have a third issue, but I feel like there should be three things written down.

How's the styling?

Instead of just using the group shots of BAP I really wanted to use all of their individual shots because the shots are all so freaking artsy fartsy.   

YoungJae, dude, why are you wearing not one, but two, floppy women's hats? I know that you guys are all going for the hipster vibe, but that's not cute. I love the picture on the top right though. I would totally wear that, I don't even care that they are boy clothes, they look really comfortable and I am always down for a good sweater. 

Now for Zelo. A recent trend that I have seen in K-pop is the clothing brand FUKK. The first time that I saw it was in the BTS dance practice video, and here is it again in the top left picture. I thought that maybe this was by the same person who made the swear hats that Girls' Generation wore in the "I Got a Boy" video, but no, this is just another person making rude clothes. Other than that, the only other outfit I'm not totally sold on is the bottom left one. The beanie and those distressed jeans are just not doing it for me.  

Leader Bang! I have some mixed feelings on his outfits. Something that I have noticed about foreign people is they like to wear American flag pattered clothes which I think is a little odd. Shouldn't they wear clothes with their own flag on it or is that something that is not okay to do? The outfit that is my least favorite is the bottom left one. I don't like that big shirt with the skinny jeans. It makes him look short and top heavy, which he totally isn't. 

Daehyun is the only person who I have no issues with. I like his hair, I like his clothes, and he sings like an angel. Darn you, Daehyun! Why are you so perfect!

Besides the fact that I don't like the whole hair in the face look he's rocking on the bottom left, I really like all of Himchan's outfits. He's also my favorite member, so there. My favorite outfit is the top left one because, as I've stated before, I really like sweaters and I like how relaxed looking it is.

I think that Jongup had some of the coolest pants in this video but they were either out of the shot, top right, or really far away, bottom left. The pants on the top right look like a paisley explosion and I want to experience the full effect of them. I guess I will never know if they are fabulous of hideous, dang. I am also loving his hair. I wouldn't be sad if his hair was like this forever. 

Was the dance super amazing?  

No dance here, just walking and sitting and looking cool.

Who owned it? 

This song was very evenly divided which I liked because much of the time Bang Yong Guk and Zelo tend to be the stars of the show since BAP is predominantly a rap group. This song was definitely more suited for the singers though and if I had to pick someone as number one in the video, it would be Daehyun. Those high notes that he hit were so clear and beautiful; he was definitely in his element with this song. 

Did the English make your ears bleed?

The English was really good in this song. All the English words and phrases were used in context and the pronunciation was awesome. Especially Daehyun's because he had to say "coffee shop" and "coffee" in Korean sounds a lot like "copy" in English. He nailed it though which brought an added smoothness I feel because an "f" sound is a lot smoother than a "p" sound. 

What else is happening? 

If you want to know what's happening, go look at the Roy Kim "Love Love Love" post.

Roy Kim Love Love Love

How's the song?

My first Roy Kim song was "Bom Bom Bom" and I thought that that was fantastic. My initial thoughts about him when he began to sing was that he was like a Korean John Denver. When I heard that he was going to release another video I was really excited because I wanted to hear more of the beautiful sounds that came from his throat.

While it's not my favorite type of music, I like listening to folk and blu grass sometimes. It just has this really clean feeling that isn't heard a lot right now. Especially in K-pop, electric and dubstep is really popular, so being able to listen to a song that is about one person's vocals and their guitar is cool. Last week I wrote about Sunny Hill's "Darling of all Hearts" and I think that if songs were friends with other songs, these two would be hanging out a lot. 

How's the video? 

This video was so chill it was awesome. It's just Roy Kim walking around the city, playing in a park, and on the back of a truck while is fans adore him. It had a really natural feel, it's like he just popped up out of the ground and people started to fan girl all over the place. It is fun to see celebrities around their (non crazy) fans. You can also tell that Roy Kim is happy to be around them as he says hello and takes pictures.

Speaking of pictures, the amount of smart phones in this video was ridiculous! Everyone was just pulling them out and taking videos and photos of Roy Kim. They seemed to be predominantly Samsung phones too which I guess would make sense since I am pretty sure that Korea makes that model. I think.

On of my favorite places that Roy Kim was in, is when he is hanging out on the back of a truck, playing his guitar, and waving to people. He just seems so at ease with everything and I am in love with that pink chair.

How's the styling?

There wasn't really any styling in this video because all the extras were real people in their real clothes. I liked that Roy Kim was dressed like anyone else his age. I fell like these clothes could have come out of his own closet. They were age appropriate and fit with the sound of the song.

There is a hanging out at the park look

Slightly fancier park wear

And an evening concert outfit

Was the dance super amazing?  

No dance to speak of in this video, unless you count walking as a dance, and I don't, so there. 

Who owned it? 

Since Roy Kim is a solo artist I would hope that he would own his own video. Seriously, how cute is this boy?

There was a random girl that almost stole his thunder though.

The girl that was holding the 'L' kept showing up so I decided to count how many time she was in the separate shots. Only counting times that her whole face was in the shot, I figured about 32 times. Then in those 32 shots, she got two full face shots and one shot with Roy Kim, but she was the focal point of the picture. Is she suppose to be someone that I know or is she just super cute?


Did the English make your ears bleed?

The only English in this song is "Love love love" and Roy Kim, from what I have gathered, went to high school in America and was accepted into Georgetown University so that means that his English is probably pretty good. 

What else is happening? 

Sweet Sorrow "Just Get Away" - The video was BTS footage of something else they are doing, I'm assuming. The song made me think of a musical and I love musicals, so this song is okay with me. They also look like a bunch of dorks, which I also love.

4Minute "Is it Poppin?" - With the exception of the club scenes I think that this video is a good example of girls being sexy without being so sexy that I fell super uncomfortable. Is it weird that I'm saying that about 4Minute?

100% "Only U" - I love BTS videos so much. This song was also upbeat and  happy which matched with the informal style of the video. I also loved that black man who looked like he was going to pee himself at 3:12, K-pop knows no boundaries

Dynamic Duo "BAAAM" - This isn't really my stye of music but it definitely had me bobbing and grooving in my seat.

ICON "Rockstar" - That video was one giant acid trip and the music is a mix of rock and techno. I like rock and I have a soft spot for techno, so I'm pretty much in love with this song.

Xia "11AM" - So I'm confused if this is the actual video or not because it is the whole song, but it says "special clip" in the title. Either way, this was beautiful and raw and freaking fantastic.

John Park "Baby" - John Park's voice is awesome, combined with this cute video, it makes for a pretty good pairing. 

MR.MR "Waiting for U" - The song was almost there for me. I just needed more harmonies and I didn't like the falsetto singing that they did.

~ Alora

Word of the Day: Study Nose

Study Nose n. 1. In Korea, it is the commonly held belief that extreme mental and physical exertions will cause nose bleeds. 2. More specifically, the belief that studying super hard will cause a bloody nose. ex. Did you see her study nose? She must have been up all night.


This sounds weird right? I know, but I have watched a ton of Korean dramas and over and over again I've seen them write this into the plot. Often it occurs in an opening montage showing what a dedicated student they were, when all of a sudden...

WARNING! 

Do you faint at the sight of blood? 

Then Turn Away Now.

You have been warned.

 Now, where were we? Oh yes- flashback montage of main character studying, when all of a sudden... drop drop.

Is this blood going to be on the final exam?

 What!?! Oh no, my crazy dedication to studying has caused my nose to start bleeding! 

This is of course followed by the, "That couldn't possibly have come from my nose," reaction.

Before No En Sol could "Protect the Boss," she first had to crush the books... and the boys- look how crushed he is. 

Or possibly the, "How sweet for my crush to show up right now with a tissue," reaction.

Ah Jung, you can't "Lie to Me," about how hard you're studying.

At this point they usually cut away and move on with the story. Why? Because showing a 5 second clip of getting a nose bleed while reading a text book is shorthand in Korean culture for showing that the character is a dedicated student. 

When I first came across this, I was weirded out. Why do they keep getting nose bleeds? Is there something genetically different that causes their noses to bleed more often than other races? Why do the other characters not realize that this nose bleeding epidemic is unnatural!!!

But then, I came across this wonderful nugget from the drama, "Stars Falling From the Sky." Here, two characters actually have a conversation about this phenomenon.

Ok, the dialogue is disjointed, but you get the point. Koreans believe that exhaustive levels of studying can cause a bloody nose, hence the term "study nose." 

A few last points to make.

1.  All of this was corroborated by our Korean friend, Henry. While I admit that his English was not the best, and part of my question had to be pantomimed, he assured us that it is a commonly held belief. 

2. I have no way of knowing if Koreans' noses actually do bleed from studying, and if so, whether it is at a higher or lower rate than any other nationality or race. I only claim that they believe nose bleeds to be associated with studying. 

3. Maybe I am lame and never studied hard enough for my nose to bleed. It's possible, I'm pretty sure that I'm ADHD.

4. I have brought this up a lot to the other members of F4Plus1. I think I noticed it before they did and I have seen more examples of it, so I became slightly obsessed with it. But a few months back, one of our members, Alyson, told us that this happened to her. She was in the middle of her first semester as a teacher of Social Studies at a middle school. She was working super hard and geting very little sleep. After a few weeks of this unrelenting schedule, she noticed herself getting a spontaneous nose bleed. Weird. 

5. Lastly, as a reward for getting to the end of this article and dealing with all the icky pics, here is your reward.

I have this picture of Lee Jong Suk labeled under the category, "Pictures that Make My Ovaries Explode." 

You're Welcome. 

~Autumn