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My take and commentary on popular (& good) music from South Korea

SNSD – ‘I Got a Boy’ album review: What the…

My first blog post for 2013, and what a great way to start the new year for me!

SONEs couldn’t ask for a better treat to usher in 2013 than to see their favourite girl group back with a Korean album. ‘I Got a Boy’ is SNSD‘s 4th full album, and after the rather disappointing “The Boys” from nearly a year-and-half ago — my expectations were rather high for some great new music from my girls!

Girls Generation comeback group shot — The girls get a bright and saturated look this time around

And today afternoon (January 1st in India), the music video to “I Got a Boy” released. Here we go!

1. “I Got a Boy”

Okay, this is going to be a long rant.

Upon first listen, I instantly guessed SM Entertainment followed the same formula they used on SHINee’s “Sherlock”. You know, that “two songs mashed into one” bullshit. But in Sherlock’s case, “Clue” and “Note” really sounded like “Sherlock” split into two. The song’s chorus alone made that song rock. “I Got a Boy” on the other hand is a mash up of godknowshowmany songs! It kicks off with Sooyoung and Yuri delivering a rap. Then the real crux of the song begins at 0:53 with the heavy piano hook. The verses are still an offbeat lead up to the chorus.

And then at 2:05, Tiffany puts it down another way! (She says so) 🙂

Just when you thought the song could possibly grow on you, the tempo changes to a faster bpm (beats per minute). At this point you’re wondering: “why did they do that?” or “was this really necessary?”. The chorus melody stays the same but the verses sound like they’re from a different song. Hyoyeon and YoonA deliver their rap during this bit.

Then at 3:37, the song changes pace once again. TaeTi~~Seo~~ has this section all to themselves.

Girls Generation I Got a Boy video screencap — “Hey, let’s dress up the girls in wigs and change the set for a 12-second sequence. ‘Cos… you know, we’re SM! Dollar, dollar bills y’all!”

By the 4-minute mark in the MV, the tempo returns to 140 bpm and Jessica soars into the bridge before the song ends with the repeated chorus.

At first listen, all I could think about was: “WTF SM!?” Watching the music video with all the weird mix of aegyo cuts in between the cool ‘gangsta-girl’ attitude was really messing up my thoughts. So I just looked away and listened to the audio alone to see if I could get a better opinion. I must say the initial weirdness wore off and the song did grow on me, but honestly the only bit that stayed in my head is the chorus. It’s catchy, no doubt.

As for the music video itself, the stylists went for a more f(x) (or dare I say, 2NE1) style — and I’m not sure the girls really pulled it off. Of course they look good, but then again, even if the members were dressed up in black garbage bags, they’ll still look cute and pretty! I hate Sunny’s look in this video, they really messed up her hair. Seohyun also seemed too cute to pull off the punk-inspired look.

If the girls themselves don’t enjoy singing the song, they sure will enjoy dancing to it. The choreography is kick-ass and it’s the one thing I feel the girls will have fun on stage with. And for what seems like an eternity since ITNW, the girls can finally dance in comfortable sneakers and not their usual heeled shoes. A relief for each one of the girls I’m sure!

But in the end, I still have mixed feelings about “I Got a Boy”. And ‘mixed’ couldn’t be a more appropriate word for this song.

2. “Dancing Queen” – The song that was rumoured to be the single in place of “Gee” – but couldn’t be released due to last minute copyrights issues.

Thank god for that! “Dancing Queen” is nothing but a Korean remake of Duffy’s smash-hit “Mercy“. So if you like the Duffy original, well, then you’d like this song too (I guess). I can’t imagine what SNSD’s career would have been like had they not released “Gee“! – 3/5

3. “Baby Maybe” – Originally a demo for British singer Pixie Lott titled “What You Do,” this Korean version really suits Girls’ Generation. Sweet, sugary girly-pop, and after the offbeat start to the album, we find ourselves in true SNSD-territory. – 3/5

4. “말해봐 (Talk Talk)” – If this sounds familiar, then you heard it first on Girls’ Generation’s second Japanese album as the track “Boomerang” — which was one of the better tracks on ‘Girls & Peace’. That said, by now I was hoping for some fresh material, and not more recycled music. – 3.5/5

5. “Promise” – The expected ballad finally hits. With its thumping beat, harmonious vocals and a good chorus, I really like this song. – 4/5

6. “Express 999” – When I saw the title, I couldn’t help but reminisce about the Japanese anime classic ‘Galaxy Express 999,‘ and listening to the ’80s-inspired sounds, I’m sure SM producer Kenzie imagined the same. Another great track! – 4/5

7. “유리아이 (Lost in Love)” – Really liked the soothing vibe on this ballad. It reminded me of the harmonies ballads from the ’70s and the early ’80s had. Another good track. – 3/5

8. “Look at Me” – Back to weird again. This track is another one that plays around with different sounds through its verses and chorus. It’s okay, but I found myself skipping it on repeat listens. – 2/5

9. “XYZ” – With lyrics penned by Seohyun and Yuri, this song isn’t a lesson in the ABCs. Instead, it’s a uptempo dance track the girls would have worked on while listening to a lot of Britney Spears records. (I can tell ;)) A good effort none the less, and a sign the girls’ songwriting skills are getting much better! – 3/5

10. “낭만길 (Romantic Street)” – The track featured in the ‘drama’ teaser SNSD dropped for “I Got a Boy”. It’s (if you haven’t guessed from the title) another ballad. But just like the other ballads on the album, it’s sweet and mellow. I find the ballads really stood out more in this tracklist! – 3.5/5

SNSD I Got a Boy MV members screencap — Normally I would have chosen a common theme for each member’s image. But with this comeback, it was hard to.

For all that I said about the comeback single, I actually think ‘I Got a Boy’ is a very likable album. Unlike many SM albums of the past where the lead single and maybe two other songs stand out, with the rest being nothing but filler material, there are many tracks on this album I would listen to far more than “I Got a Boy”.

It’s been a few hours since the MV came out (it’s midnight as I wrap this up) and the reactions to “I Got a Boy” have been just as how I felt when I fist heard the track. Except that by now I have grown to accept the varied sound — while thousands of others still seem to hate it! Many are disappointed with the comeback single, while the rest are trying convince them to give the song a few more listens. I could tell you to do the same, but I will be honest: those who have trouble accepting certain genres of music will find it difficult to like “I Got a Boy”.

It’s still not the great comeback single I had hoped for, that too after the mediocre “The Boys”. I guess it’s justified when people have high expectations from SNSD’s Korean comebacks. After all, gone are the days when the girls spent all their time in South Korea. Now with the girls making way more money in Japan, we don’t get to hear much new (and I mean really new) music in Korean. The Japanese singles have been great, but they just don’t feel as natural.

I am happy the girls are back on the screen though! At least during the promotional run, we can expect variety show appearances, new interviews and more fresh SNSD content. I’m at a phase where I’m watching older clips on YouTube because I have practically watched every funny piece of recording SNSD have appeared in!

That said, I really hope SM entertainment has a re-packaged album in the works with a real killer single as back-up — just in case the backlash for “I Got a Boy” is a tad too much. Heck, if SM Entertainment has such a tough time choosing the right single, just give me a call! 😉 I’m someone who listens to practically every genre (and sub-genre of music) from the ’70s all the way to present-day chart music.

I’m all for artists trying to challenge themselves and take the risk in trying something new. But even I had a tough time appreciating “I Got a Boy”. I’m curious to see how the fan-chants to this song are going to work. Anyway, knowing the rabid fanbase SNSD has, ‘I Got a Boy’ the album will still do well on the charts and the girls will rack up a few wins on the music programs (if not win all of them!).

But for now, tallying up the individual scores, my final rating for SNSD’s fourth full-length album is:

SM Town World Tour III – Live in Bangkok: An Indian SONE’s experience!

Date: 25th November 2012

It has been a dream of mine to attend an SM Town concert. For those who don’t know, SM Town concerts are a collective of all artists under SM Entertainment, performing in one night and for over 3 hours! Now considering you are seeing SNSD, TVXQ, Super Junior, SHINee, f(x), BoA, Kang Ta and now EXO all in one night, you can see why it’s an epic concert!

Being an ardent K-pop fan, I got to know of an SM Town happening in Thailand back in August itself. I just needed a confirmation and when it was formally announced, I couldn’t let go of this opportunity. The date worked perfectly for me as the 24th of November was the Yee Peng Lanna event in Chiang Mai. An event I’ll blog about later, but long story short, I now had two big reasons to visit Thailand a fourth time!

But unfortunately, my ordeal wasn’t as satisfying as the concert ended up being. First I had to get tickets. I was hoping Thai Ticket Major would be the usual website from where I could get tickets, but no. Instead, SM had partnered with mobile and cable operator True Corporation and the booking website to go to was webooking.com. They announced the date and time when tickets would go on sale and I waited for the day to come.

11am Thailand time, 9:30am in India, was when the tickets would go on sale online. I woke up at 9am on a Sunday and kept hitting refresh until I could see the ‘Buy Tickets’ button come up. At 9:29am it did. I knew I wanted one 5000 baht ticket in the A2 section. But when I clicked on the section and chose my ‘seat,’ (A2 & A3 were standing sections) I couldn’t buy it until the entire seat layout loaded. Yup, seat layout for a freakin’ standing section! And by now the servers were showing signs that it was getting hammered by traffic from K-pop fans just like me desperately trying to buy tickets. When I finally got the ‘Buy ticket’ button to pop-up, it then told me the seat had been taken! This same thing happened to me thrice! And when I tried a fourth time, all the ‘seats’ showed red. As in fully booked. Grrrh!

Frustrated and upset, I decided to try for a seat in the A6 section. And I got one there. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing I at least got something. But when I came back home after 4 hours and went to webooking.com just to check if the entire concert was sold-out, I was surprised to see it hadn’t. And guess what… when I clicked on the A2 section, 5-6% of the seats now appeared in white – as in, available and open for purchase! I was like: “Awww man, now what?”.

I then decided to go ahead an book a seat in the 5000 baht section. I figured, I could easily find a buyer for the A6 ticket I had – right? I wasn’t happy that I spent 9500 baht (Rs. 17,195/US$309) when I am still technically without a full-time job. But what to do. A Sone’s got to do what Sone has to do to see his favourite idols.

Sadly, my ordeal didn’t end there.

Upon landing in Bangkok, I wanted to collect the physical tickets so that I could easily sell the 4500 baht ticket I didn’t want. But when I went to the big True branch in Sukhumvit, they told me to check with another branch. I took the MRT to the Central Rama 9 branch. There I waited but was finally told by the staff to go to the Central Rama 3 branch. I took the MRT and a taxi to the branch with the webooking.com counter where after being charged a 20 baht service fee, I was told “no have ticket, come tomorrow”.

I told them I couldn’t do that because I needed to leave for Phuket that night and that I would collect it at the venue. I was very frustrated sitting in the taxi back. As if the 9500 baht wasn’t enough over-spending, I spent in excess of 200 baht going around for nothing! Waste of time and made my experience in Bangkok even worse.

Anyway, on the day of the concert, I chose to stay near Victory Monument because I read I could get buses to SCG Stadium (the concert venue) easily. After much directional pointing by locals, I found a long queue of young fans holding K-pop merchandise, so I knew they were all going for SM town.

Line for van taxi Bangkok — I joined the queue

Fortunately a girl in front of me spoke decent enough English and told me that this line was for a van taxis to Muang Thong Thani. She told me not to worry and just follow her. I sighed relief knowing I had a local who could help me 🙂

The venue was over 15kms from the Victory Monument area and took nearly 30 minutes to reach. Traffic was piling up so I was a bit glad I chose to leave early. Of course, that and the fact I had to collect my tickets and then sell the 4500 baht ticket before I could go in!

There were thousands of K-pop fans, stalls selling all sorts of K-pop merchandise and a big festive atmosphere all around. I held a piece of paper stating I had one extra ticket for sale. Once I got my tickets, I was approached by a few fans and touts. I just wanted to get my 4500 baht back but most were offering less. I didn’t want to sell to the touts because they were obviously going to sell it for profit. But seeing the thousands thronging inside the venue, I was getting restless. I finally gave up and sold it to a tout for 4000 baht. I was just desperate to get in and find a good spot.

Crowd outside SCG Stadium Bangkok — I was getting a bit claustrophobic as I hadn’t eaten a proper lunch in the hurry to get here early. Plus the heat and being surrounded by sooo many people… it was getting to me.

SM Town Bangkok crowd inside stadium — As if two security checks outside weren’t enough, there was one more inside the arena too

Muang Thong stadium SMTown crowd — Damn, the A2 section was already nearly full!

Continue reading “SM Town World Tour III – Live in Bangkok: An Indian SONE’s experience!” »

U-KISS – ‘Stop Girl’ album review: Smooth and sexy comeback

By Mithun Divakaran
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Sep 20, 2012
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Korean Pop, Music/Videos

After the disappointing “Dora Dora,” I was hoping U-KISS would make a comeback with a better track. Hopefully one produced by Ryan Jhun – the producer behind last year’s “Neverland” and “Tick Tack” – both of which made me really like the group. Thankfully, this comeback sees U-KISS return to form!

Here’s a track-by-track review:

01. “Imma New Thang (Intro)” – A thumping 30-second instrumental opening to the album

02. “Stop Girl” – Production duo Ryan Jhun & JD Relic team up again for this smooth mid-tempo jam:

For the first time in their nearly 5-year career, U-KISS has a contemporary, mature, slick lead single – instead of their tried and tested hook-driven dance songs. The teasers hinted “Stop Girl” would be paced a little slow and sexy, and it is. The vocals and rap fit beautifully, and although the first released MV is a ‘black & white’ edit, the choreography is good enough to be judged (the inclusion of female dancers is a welcome change).

The overall production is top-notch and the instrumentals feel really crisp. Definitely leaps and bounds over “Dora Dora,” but then again, I guess that’s difference you get with Marcan Entertainment‘s production. A really good song. – 5/5

03. “Time to Go” – An intro first heard in 2011, now extended into a full-fledged track on this album. The beats are thumping, the melody is consistent with the ‘dark and sexy’ vibe, but other than that, this feels so much like an album track. One that would have never had a chance as a single. – 2.5/5

04. “Remember (Acoustic version)” – A ballad originally featured on the OST of K-drama ‘Syndrome,’ the acoustic version gives an even better showcase of the power vocals within the group. Soohyun and Kevin prove they have the vocal chops to be taken seriously among idols (especially Kevin) and this ballad is otherwise a really good listen. – 3.5/5

05. “Sexy Baby” – Keeping with the sexy vibe, the last Korean track on the mini-album is a mediocre album filler. “You’re my sex-y babe-ay“. Erm, there’s little else I can say about that. – 2/5

06. “Stop Girl” (English version) – It was fairly obvious from the sound “Stop Girl” (most likely) was written in English first. And having two members fluent in English (Eli and Kevin), it would have been an opportunity lost if they had not recorded an English version. Sure, the native Korean members have accents that are easy to make out, but some members like Dong Ho ace their lines. Imagine if they could all sing in English, U-KISS could have truly been an international idol group. – 3/5

07. “Stop Girl” (Instrumental) – Not rating this.

Bonus mention: “Cinderella” – Released a few weeks ago as a digital single, this mid-tempo track has been on my mp3 playlist ever since! I don’t know why it wasn’t included in this mini-album as an album track. Although “Stop Girl” is a better single, “Cinderella” is a great track on its own. – 4/5

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With their seventh mini-album, and a member gone (AJ is studying in the US), U-KISS are still without a win on a music program in South Korea. Down to six members, the group still have the core essentials needed for an idol group and are doing well with each successive release – be it in Korea or Japan. And as much as their international fanbase remains loyal, I can’t help but pray “Stop Girl” nets these boys their first award. Heck, they deserve at least one after all these years!

‘Stop Girl’ the mini-album isn’t much of a compilation to speak off. One great single with a bunch of left-over remixed and thrown in. Still, reviewing it a whole, U-KISS’ latest effort – and probably the last one for 2012 (man, time flies!) – still gets a 3 out of 5 from me. That means ‘Good’.