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Super Junior – “Mr. Simple” Album Review: Sorry, Sorry Ver. 3.0… and it still works!

Early last year, I don’t remember what I was searching for, but on the right rail of YouTube’s related videos, I saw a black & white thumbnail titled “SORRY, SORRY” with a few million views. Being the curious net-savvy-always-exploring-new-music guy that I am, I clicked on it not knowing what to expect. It immediately dawned to me I was watching a music video for a Korean boy band with thirteen members in it! I laughed at the absurdity! I even wrote a post on it immediately after I listened to the song.

And then I listened to “Sorry, Sorry” a hundred times after that… because it was so catchy. After that, again, on the related videos columns again, was a colourful thumbnail with a cute girl’s face and the title “Gee“. Needless to say, I clicked on it… and I wrote about that as well — and that’s how I fell in love with K-pop!

Even though I knew of Rain, Se7en and the Wonder Girls, it was Super Junior that got me really hooked on K-pop with “Sorry, Sorry” and “It’s You”. And now, the biggest Korean boy band (screw A-Peace) are back with their fifth album titled Mr. Simple.

The early visuals SM Entertainment used to tease E.L.Fs (Super Juinor’s fans) we described as “uber~~gay~~sexual,” and I found them quite embarassing to look at.

Super Junior Mr. Simple new album cover members — What SM teased us with

K-pop is good at that, tease fans with photos and visuals for an upcoming release — but then flip it completely upon eventual release with something completely different.

Super Junior Mr. Simple video all 10 members — What they actually dress like in the MV (Phew!)

“Mr. Simple” – The title track, if you haven’t guessed from the headline, follows the same formula of music that made “Sorry, Sorry” a massive hit. They tried it again with “Bonamana” last year and it worked (even though I’m not a fan of that song). Yoo Young-jin, the producer behind those two songs surely worked on this album as well. “Mr. Simple” has a very catchy musical hook which got me swaying immediately as it began (“Because I naughty, naughty” ?), but unlike “Sorry, Sorry” and “Bonamana”, the tempo stays the same even as it gets to the chorus. Even the bridge sounded unconventional and a misfit to the persistent instrumental. But as much I hate to admit it, I find the song quite infectious! (Damn you Yoo Young-jin!)

Watch “Mr. Simple” music video here:

(Hmm, even a few of the dance routines look recycled)

The thing about “Mr. Simple” is how well it will appeal to international ears. Especially in South America and Europe, actually even the Middle East. The song would sound good even if the Korean was replaced with Indian languages and or even Arabic, because the music suits it just fine. Any language but English.

Super Junior Mr. Simple new song MV screencap members face closeup — 'Running fingers down face looking at camera' - An important lesson in K-pop training ^-^

“Blow your mind!” Mr. Simple screams, and while it didn’t blow my mind, it did suck me right in and hooked me until the very end of the song. With this track, Super Juinor’s international appeal will only grow. Smart move SM, real smart. – 4/5

Mini-review of the rest of the album:

“Opera” – The song that immediately came to mind on hearing this was Super Junior-M’s “Perfection“. Not a very original song then. – 3/5

“Be My Girl (La La La La)” – Come on, this is just “Run Devil Run” + “Womanizer” with male vocals! – 1/5

“Walkin’ ” – A song that supposedly recounts the members’ memories. A pure album filler in my opinion. – 2/5

“Storm” – The first power ballad of the album. Fairly generic. – 2.5/5

“Good Friends” – A very retro funk inspired song reminiscing about friendship. – 3/5

“Feels Good” – A good mid-tempo electronic track. – 3/5

“Memories” -The mood slows down now and here on we get more vocal-driven songs. – 2/5

“Sunflower” – Guitar-tinged, mellow and nice. It would be nice if SuJu performed such songs live. – 3/5

“White Christmas” – With a title like that, I expected a cheesy Christmasy song but instead of jingle bells, you get electric guitars and good vocals. This is a song you would normally hear from labelmates TRAX. Edit: Turns out this is a cover of Jinu’s hit from 1996. I must say, I like SuJu’s cover more. – 3/5

“Y” – Composed by member DongHae. Nothing special, at the same time, not bad either. – 2.5/5

“My Love, My Kiss, My Heart” – A heavy ballad with a thumping drumbeat sung with equal passion. Finally, the vocalists get to shine. – 3/5

“Perfection” – A bonus track, originally used for Super Junior-M. – 3.5/5

————

If you ask me who the best Korean boy band is, I will never say Super Junior. Despite their popularity, SuJu to me are more of a variety act than a conventional boy band. They themselves have stated in the past that they are a group of entertainers, who are not just a musical group, but one that can do everything from MCing, hosting radios shows and even acting. That said, it’s their songs that Super Junior will be known for the most.

“Mr. Simple” the single will win awards on music shows, no doubt. But despite what I think about the rest of the tracks, the album will sell very well. Only because Super Junior have such a massive fanbase. A rabid one at that. Ones who will buy the album to show their “support”. But just as wrote in my last album review, this is only counterproductive.

‘Mr. Simple‘ the album simply showcases what to expect from Super Junior musically, with the first half being the expected hook-driven dance tracks, while the second half lets listeners know the group does have some great vocalists amongst them.

My final rating: 3 out of 5 (Good)

INFINITE – “Be Mine” (내꺼하자): These guys just keep getting better!

I only write a post on K-pop when there’s something good out and it deserves the attention. Rest assured, rookie (are they still?) boy band INFINITE are one of those acts that always deliver something good, and a group I truly feel deserves the attention!

There have been quite a lot of new entrants in the Korean boy band scene the last two years. Like the (many, many) girl groups, some are good, and many of them… you’ll never hear of again after their debut single.

Infinite Over the Top album cover Korean boyband — The fashion? No comments

Woolim Entertainment‘s INFINITE falls under the category of ‘debuted well, and then kept growing stronger with every new release’. The boys hit the music scene last year with “Come Back Again,” a funky guitar-tinged single that was good enough to draw me in. The one thing that really struck me about INFINITE was how in-sync they are with their dancing! Just watch their live performances and you’ll know what I mean.

“She’s Back” came next and then earlier this year, INFINITE made a comeback with their second mini album Evolution. Though the title song “Before the Dawn” did well, the song from the album that I liked more was “Hysterie,” mostly because it was such a classic Michael Jackson inspired jam.

Two months later, INFINITE released “Nothing’s Over” (though, to me it sounded more like “Nothing Sober” :)). Regardless of their ‘Engrish,’ it was still a good fresh single accompanied by a unique music video. Their live performances of “Nothing’s Over” was a joy to watch. The release also included a remake of the song “Can U Smile”– and this song remains to me one of INFINITE’s best songs to date!

Inspirits (what INFINITE fans are officially called) didn’t have to wait too long for their idols to return to the K-pop charts. They’re back with another great track!

“Be Mine” is from INFINITE’s first full length album ‘Over the Top‘. The track is in my opinion their best single to date! Very hard edged with the guitar hooks (the group’s signature style) and yet, clearly influenced by dance pop from the 1980s. Whoever their producer is surely deserves a lot of the credit. Of course, the boys are the ones who do justice to the song by bringing to life. Can’t wait to see them perform “Be Mine” on the music shows!

Here’s a mini-review of the album ‘Over The Top’:

1. (Intro) – A 54 second teaser of what to expect from the new few tracks

2. “Be Mine” – Already wrote about it above. Definitely the best track on the album! – 4.5/5

3. “1/3” – Smooth track, but lacking in some ways. ~~Should have pushed this down in the track list~~ This track has grown on me in the last few days, and I like it a bit now – ~~2.5~~3/5 (I did say a ‘bit’ :))

4. “Tic Toc” – Mediocre and the chorus has bits of “Before the Dawn” – 2/5

5. “Julia” – The song sounds a lot like this song and I don’t know what the “A, I, O, I, A…” in the beginning is supposed to signify. – 3/5

6. “Because” – A solo track by Sungkyu. The English is a tad distracting and to be honest, it’s not a very good song. – 2/5

7. “Time” – Another solo track but this time Woohyun fully in charge of lead vocals. Sounds like one of those ballads that end up on the OST of a drama. Good voice though! – 3/5

8. “Amazing” – Decent track. One in which the rap, despite being brief, really stands out. Should have moved this higher up the album order. – 3/5

9. “Crying” feat. Baby soul – The song kicks off with a woman singing, while the boys slow rap the rest. Boring. – 1.5/5

10. “Real Story” – Take the beats out of of Chris Brown’s “With You” and overlay it with Korean lyrics and a slightly different tune, you get this song. – 1/5

Sadly, most of the songs sound very unoriginal and lacking any real inspiration. Had they replaced some of the songs I rated with a 1 or 2, with “Nothing’s Over” and “Can U Smile” (Remake), I would have easily bought the album. But instead, INFINITE’s ‘Over The Top‘ just feels like an album with an extremely good lead single, while the rest of tracks can be best described as album fillers.

My rating: 2 out of 5 (Poor)

Inspirits will cry foul and dismiss this review saying things like: “You are SO wrong!” “What’s wrong with you?!” and what not. So please note: this is my take on the album. It’s okay if you don’t agree with me. Trust me, I know good music when I hear it. And it’s not the first time this year I’ve been disappointed by a group that I like.

———-

I’m not the kind of fan who will support or praise an artist “no matter what”. Especially when they release mediocre songs. I’ve noticed K-pop fans (especially in S. Korea itself) who will outright defend their favourite group, ask for mass collective purchases of an album, all in the name of ‘support’. But you have to understand how damaging that can be for creativity. Fans like that only make producers of content lazy, and in the end, it’s those fans themselves who are being betrayed.

I’m not calling out INFINITE for “betraying” their fans. They haven’t. All I’m saying is, this being their first full album, ‘Over The Top’ could have been so much better. It should have been.

If there’s a boy band that isn’t from a major label (SM, JYP, Cube, or YG), that I believe is going to be big, it’s INFINITE. They have the musical talents to be the “next big thing”. So I’m not losing faith in these guys and I do hope this album makes Woolim Entertainment enough money to give the boys a bigger dorm.

What, you Inspirits thought I didn’t know about that? 😉

Edit (01/09/2011): INFINITE WON THEIR FIRST AWARD!

I’m so happy for them! I wrote this review on 27th July and on 1st September, more than a month after they released “Be Mine”, INFINITE finally won an award on Mnet’s MCountdown! They deserved this for all the hard work they put in to each of their performances. I knew Super Junior would steal the show(s) in August with “Mr. Simple” due to their immense popularity, but I’m so happy INFINITE finally got recognized! Edited this review with this news because… well, I felt like remembering the moment! 😀

Jay Park – ‘Take a Deeper Look’ album review: About time!

It’s finally here! Jay Park finally makes his solo debut!

2011 may only be into its fourth month, but with the deluge of idol groups hitting the Korean pop scene, the music has gotten pretty stale to me. Every time I heard the line “Check it out…” “…Brand new sound!” as the intro to some song from new idol groups, all I kept thinking was: “Nope, it’s the saaaame sound I heard yesterday from that other girl group who debuted!”.

There have been a few decent songs this year, but after being disappointed by the comeback offering from my second favourite girl group (first being SNSD), I had all my hopes pinned on Jay Park to actually bring something fresh to the K-pop scene.

I’ve been anticipating Jay Park’s solo debut for a while now. Ever since I heard “Demon” last year, I knew this dude was destined to be the next big star. Not a star like how Rain is popular as an ‘Asian star,’ but a star of Asian descent who will become a worldwide superstar!

For one, he has the advantage of being American (of Korean descent). Born in Seattle, Jay Park grew up dancing and performing, and his influences are deep in R&B and hip-hop — not cutesy idol pop. Not to mention his love for b-boying.

Since ~~leaving~~ getting kicked out of 2PM, Jay Park has been slowly whetting the appetite of his fans, a.k.a Jaywalkerz. A few YouTube covers later, he’s now out with his first album ‘Take a Deeper Look‘. He’s on his own now, so he has the freedom (I guess) to do the kind of music that he wants, not what ~~JYP~~ any labels wants him to do.

Which brings us to his first single “Abandoned”.

My review: “Abandoned,” if sung in English, would sound like a lot of the modern day R&B one would hear on radio. I love the chorus, the overall look of the sets, and the choreography by Andrew Baterina is slick! It’s not a ‘fresh new sound’ but a good track in the same vibe of many other good pop R&B tracks from artists such as Ne-Yo & Chris Brown. For a self-penned track, it’s a great effort — given how rare it is that K-pop stars make their own music. If I were to nit pick, it would be Jay looks so awkward from 0:05 to 0:07. Yeah he’s short, and quite shy in real life so I can imagine how awkward it may have been to do some of the scenes in this MV :). I hope he recorded an English version of the same. Or at least has a dance only version of the music video!

My rating – 4/5

As for the other tracks:

“Touch The Sky (Feat. The Quiett)” – Kicking the album off with a smooth hip-hop track, Jay Park straight away reminds listeners he can rap too. Love the beat and the retro loop music. (This track also reminded me of the late Nujabes) – (4/5)

“Tonight” – I’m guessing this was supposed to be the first single, but after BIG BANG released their hit “Tonight” a few weeks back, Jay Park and SidusHQ may have had second thoughts on pushing back this track for a second single release. It’s more fast-paced and only the pop-sounding track on the album. Not bad, but I’ll probably like it better with the video.

Update (11/05/2011): The MV is out!

Here’s my review:

I’m kinda disappointed :-/ When I watched the behind-the-scenes from a news interview a few months back, the concept seemed cool: dance all the way to a party. But seeing the final result, to me it comes off as a half-assed effort. Stepping out of the house, I would have thought Jay and the ‘public’ would be pulling off slick dance moves continuously and pulled along more people on the way to ‘the club’. At least that is what I thought the concept was. But instead, the dancers seem restricted by the set. Maybe, they should have stepped out and filmed this in the real world and on the streets. Another thing, it’s as though the camera cuts away every time the director felt Jay’s facial expressions (or acting) wasn’t good enough. (Jay’s really got to improve on his facial expressions!) Also, did Andrew Baterina work on the choreography for “Tonight” as well? Because some of the moves look recycled from “Abandoned“. Overall, it’s a cute video which his younger female fans will appreciate, but it really doesn’t improve the song much for me.

My rating – 3/5

“I Can’t Be Without You” (너 없이 안돼) – A slow-tempo R&B ballad. I don’t know, Jay’s vocals sound a bit off to me on this track. (2/5)

“Don’t Let Go” – Keeping the tempo, another smooth R&B ballad. Listening to the track, it makes you wonder if Jay writes a song in English and then translates it into Korean. (3/5)

“Level 1000” (Feat. Dok2) – Essentially a rap track with a gangsta vibe. Jay Park raps pretty well and is joined by his buddy Dok2, who also appeared on “Abandoned”. (3/5)

Update (14/05/2011): Even this track got a music video! (Although on a much, much lower budget)

“Bestie” – Essentially the Korean version of “Bestie,” an English track Jay Park released last year and performed at his fan meets. The chorus is concert-friendly and a fun track Jay performs with his AOM posse.

Listening to the album, you know Jay Park is striving to be a R&B star, and not a pop star per se. All the tracks, with the exception of “Tonight,” have a strong R&B/hip-hop vibe and I wonder if they would have sounded better had they been sung in English.

Overall, for a first mini-album, ‘Take a Deeper Look‘ is a solid effort from Jay Park. It’s not a ‘classic’ by any means. The production could use some improvement but regardless, you have to give credit where its due. Jay Park worked on this album by himself and his friends, mostly Cha Cha. Not with any industry big shots — and for that, ‘Take a Deeper Look‘ gets an overall rating of 4 out of 5 from me.

(By the way Jay, when is “Demon” getting an official release?!) Edit (05/09/2011): Well that just came out of nowhere! The “Demon” MV is released!

Hmmm, doesn’t look…erm, very good. Very poorly produced in my opinion. I know it has 3D sequences but anyway, even Jay himself tweeted about the MV:

Jay Park Demon MV tweet — Even he didn't know the MV was going to be released!

I agree with him. The sound in the MV doesn’t do the song justice. They should have just released the single.

(/end Edit)

Last November, I delayed my return journey from Bangkok just so I could see Jay Park live (you can read about my fan meet experience here). It was money well spent to see Jay’s talents at that stage in his career. He’s only going to get bigger now.

There’s still some awkwardness in his appearance, but I guess its got to do with his shyness and humble nature. He’ll probably grow more comfortable in front of the camera in due time. (Actually, act all hip & cool in music videos, I really get annoyed when people act like that in real life… so I hope he stays the same in real life). ‘Take a Deeper Look‘ is Jay Park’s first solo Korean album, but with his recent meetings with Will.I.Am and getting to perform as Ne-Yo’s concert opener, Jay’s slowly gearing up for his US debut.

I can only wonder how good his first English album will be!

I Can’t Be Without You (너 없이 안돼)