K-Pop Suggestions PART TWO

Hello everyone! I promised I'd get this one written and out before too long, so even though lately I've been on a Doom Metal kick, here I am reviewing some K-Pop again! It's K-Pop Suggestions Part Two!

Wonder Girls - Why So Lonely

It still surprises me how much I like the new Wonder Girls. I keep wanting to ask myself "How?" as in "How did they get so good??". I covered that in my Reboot review though (the whole actual instruments and letting them write thing), but I just have to keep reminding myself.

So I obviously like this song too. Let's dissect a bit.

Reggae? In my K-Pop? It's more likely than you think. Out-dated meme's aside, Reggae influence on pop music has been a thing for a decades, but the last handful of years have seen the rise and popularity of a particular type of Reggae/Pop crossover genre in the American charts. Look no further than Rihanna as an example of this.
Anyway, of course with this trend in American Pop music, it makes sense that Korea would get around to it as well, like ya do.

What I love about K-Pop taking influence from various different places is that instead of just copying the style wholesale, or doing the American Pop thing and taking the interesting idea and smooshing it into the already established Pop, they put their own uniquely Korean spin on it. Example, Wonder Girl's Reboot as late 1980's dance music (I will never shut up about that album), or Secret's Shy Boy as Bubblegum Pop. Very much of its genre, yet with a very K-Poppy element to it as well.

Why So Lonely is that, but Reggae. Very groovy, very chill. The music video seems to take place in a the pastels of a cheap motel in Miami in the early 90's. Super reggae. And yet, the vocals, the particulars of the instrumentation, the subject matter, and again that music video are all very Korean in style.

Long story short, the song is rad and I'm super excited to see what comes next. Reboot was phenomenal, and if whatever album Why So Lonely is half as unified in theme and execution, it too will be a good pick. Maybe I'm showing bias, but it's easy to give this a 5/5.

Primary - Don't Be Shy

And check it out, more K-Reggae-Pop! Neat!

So, basically everything I liked about Why So Lonely is here as well. I think WSL was a bit more poppy, and Don't Be Shy here is more chill. I dig it. I think the inclusion of a male voice for a verse works well. It's kind of a standard in Pop music across the board, but it's done for a reason. It provides a different sound to compare and contrast with the female leads, with the intent that your brain tends to respond positively to the different input, and mine did.

I gotta be honest though, I have no idea what is going on in this video though. Weird occult magic? Tearing up barbie dolls? Pokemon cards?? I could try to come up with an interpretation, but I feel like I'd just embarrass myself.

Overall a pretty good song. Makes me want to listen to more Primary, if just to see what else he's got going on. 4/5.
Oh wait what? He's? Yeah, apparently Primary is the dude who sings that brief verse. The main female vocalist is Choa from the group AOA, and I believe the other two girls in the video are also from that group, as they sung background vocals. Yeah, what a trip. Primary is primarily a producer, and often has other vocalists as leads on his songs. Threw me for a loop when I looked all this up.  I honestly didn't plan this, but this is a neat segue for what's coming next.

UV - I Want To Live With Her

I SAID NO BOY BANDS COURTNEY. No seriously though, despite these being dudes this is not the type of boy-band I was talking about. Interesting though, the connection with Primary being a dude and a producer, and now here UV being two dudes (and often a guest artist) that make comedy music.

This video is just hilarious. Great parody of melodramatic K-Dramas.

I have to thank "patturn" on Youtube for putting this so succinctly when he commented "it seems like a joke. but musically it is actually good."

What else can be said? Hilarious, actually kind of catchy. Again, remembering that review scores are both personal opinions and ideally a rating of how well the thing achieved what it was trying to achieve, I think I have to give this a 5/5, right? It hits all the right notes, its on point with the humor and the level of parody, I mean having Yoon Do-hyun play a vacuum cleaner? Come on. It's perfect.

UV - Itaewon Freedom

Okay, I think the comedy here probably doesn't translate as well as I Want To Live With Her does. Or maybe that's just me thinking this is less funny? I dunno. Either way, its still good, but less so.

Astute listeners who have read my previous reviews and listened to the songs, who don't already know who JYP is, will note that the JYP who says "JYP" here at the beginning of the song is indeed the same JYP who says "JYP" at the beginning of the Wonder Girls's incredible I Feel You. He's the CEO of JYP Entertainment, the record label that the Wonder Girls are on, and a musician/performer in his own right. I honestly don't particularly like any of the songs of his that I've heard, but he's responsible for the modern Wonder Girls existing, so he can't be all bad.

Anyway, woo, got off topic there. The song itself is alright. Overall 3/5.


So that'll do it for K-Pop Suggestions PART TWO. If anyone wants to suggest any more K-Pop for me to review, leave a comment or hit me up on Twitter or Facebook.

As for my next review, well, that's going to have to be a secret for now, mostly because I haven't started working on another one that I want to post yet.