After a wave of underwhelming debuts and comeback stages in the Korean music scene of late, we have been holding out hope for something truly bombastic. And we got more than we bargained for when Super Junior’s Mamacita dropped from the heavens less than a month after leader Lee Teuk’s discharge from the army (Ed’s note: talk about efficiency - some bands can certainly learn from this).
Following that, Girls’ Generation sub-group TaeTiSeo announced a new mini-album release, Holler and boyband-who-went-MIA (missing-in-action), 2PM, rounded off the list of comebacks with a new groovy title track ‘Going Crazy!’ after more than a year of non-activity. Finally.
1. Super Junior with ‘MAMACITA’
Fans of the
group can breathe easy now that leader Leeteuk is back from the army
and dove straight first into getting Super Junior back into the music
spotlight. Changing their sound
and even music video style to one that not many others will be able to
pull off, Super Junior cemented their Hallyu kings status with six out
of six possible wins on Korean weekly music shows before halting
promotions prematurely ahead of Super Show 6 in Seoul.
2. TaeTiSeo with ‘Holler’
Girls’ Generation sub-group TaeTiSeo (Taeyeon, Tiffany & Seohyun) wowed fans with their debut release Twinkle way back in 2012. Between then and now, the main group has released their own material and two out of the three have been revealed to be in relationships. The maknae (youngest of the group) might not be in a public relationship right now, but she has noticeably grown the most both musically and image-wise. Cue the I’m-feeling-so-old-right-now vibes.
Girls’ Generation sub-group TaeTiSeo (Taeyeon, Tiffany & Seohyun) wowed fans with their debut release Twinkle way back in 2012. Between then and now, the main group has released their own material and two out of the three have been revealed to be in relationships. The maknae (youngest of the group) might not be in a public relationship right now, but she has noticeably grown the most both musically and image-wise. Cue the I’m-feeling-so-old-right-now vibes.
3. g.o.d with ‘Chapter 8’
First-generation idols g.o.d went their separate ways before announcing early this year that they would be reuniting with both a concert and an album for their 15th anniversary. Given that their last group effort was in 2005, a pleasant wave of nostalgia washed over fans and old-souls of the K-Pop craze alike. At their two-day concert in Seoul, numerous second-generation idols such as Donghae and Ryeowook of Super Junior were seen fanboying over their sunbaes (seniors). It’s nice to know that we’re not the only ones who record ourselves singing along to concert hits.
First-generation idols g.o.d went their separate ways before announcing early this year that they would be reuniting with both a concert and an album for their 15th anniversary. Given that their last group effort was in 2005, a pleasant wave of nostalgia washed over fans and old-souls of the K-Pop craze alike. At their two-day concert in Seoul, numerous second-generation idols such as Donghae and Ryeowook of Super Junior were seen fanboying over their sunbaes (seniors). It’s nice to know that we’re not the only ones who record ourselves singing along to concert hits.
4. T-ARA with ‘And & End’
T-ARA faced scandal after scandal, with Jiyeon being accused of being involved in a webcam-stripping scandal and Hyomin allegedly being a iljin (over-the-top bully) back in her school days. Even more glaring was the departure of then-member Hwayoung from the group, with numerous allegations of the rest of the group bullying her out of the way surfacing. While that was over a year ago, T-ARA’s public image has taken a definite hit, which has in turn brought about extra scrutiny on their latest offering, And & End. Bringing EDM (Electronic Dance Music) to another level, the girls grooved to the infectious beat with title track ‘Sugar Free’ but whether or not they will be able to survive in the industry is a question that has yet to be answered.
5. Block B with ‘H.E.R.’
If there’s something missing from the new-gen of idol bands today – it’s their inability to own and brand themselves by a unique sound and image. That missing trait is seen in Block B, however, who continued to surprise us with another strong comeback with ‘Her’, following the release of Very Good last year. The rambunctious earworm kicks off with an impressive baritone-sounding acapella opening, before bursting into a full-fledged pop-rap tune. It’s a rambunctious earworm but ain’t that what summer tracks are supposed to be?
6. 2PM with ‘Going Crazy!’
‘Going Crazy!’ is the type of sound you’d expect to hear from a suppressed Korean boyband, deprived of a proper music outlet to showcase themselves for the past year or so – a.k.a. 2PM, whose last party hit was ‘Hands Up’ in 2011. Known for their brand of pop-fused-R&B music, ‘Going Crazy!’ is a fun disco song unlike any others they’ve done before – colourful, psychedelic and absolutely catchy, plus it comes tagged with a set of crazy motorocycle and flailing squid-like dance moves. Hilarious. The boys broke out of their prim and proper idol personas and went cray-cray with this song – let’s hope it reaps some success for them.
B2ST: Coming soon
Few idols are capable of producing, composing and writing their own songs, and if there’s one thing to be excited about for B2ST’s upcoming comeback in October – it’s their ability (most notably, Yong Junhyung) to do just that. It’s a pity the group’s works tend to fly under the radar, due to the lack of sufficient and appropriate A&P (advertising and promotion) by their mother company, Cube Entertainment. We’ll be keeping an eye (and ear) out for the group’s 5th anniversary comeback on Oct 17 and to see which musical direction they would be heading for this time.
Epik High: Coming soon
Something’s brewing with these hip-hoppers and we learnt, at the YG Family Concert press conference last week, that a new (and long overdue) album is due to drop soon. Details of their new album are kept safely under lock and key now, but if their past works and recent collaborations are anything to go by, it’d be good.
BIGBANG: When is it coming?
When we did an email interview with BIGBANG last year, prior to their performance at the Formula One night race, the boys said that it was work-in-progress, with promises of a summer 2014 comeback on the horizon when G-Dragon hinted of it in January this year. Fast forward to a whole year later and the album is still in its incubating phase… Things are progressing at glacial pace BUT at least we know something good is gonna come out from all the waiting.
T-ARA faced scandal after scandal, with Jiyeon being accused of being involved in a webcam-stripping scandal and Hyomin allegedly being a iljin (over-the-top bully) back in her school days. Even more glaring was the departure of then-member Hwayoung from the group, with numerous allegations of the rest of the group bullying her out of the way surfacing. While that was over a year ago, T-ARA’s public image has taken a definite hit, which has in turn brought about extra scrutiny on their latest offering, And & End. Bringing EDM (Electronic Dance Music) to another level, the girls grooved to the infectious beat with title track ‘Sugar Free’ but whether or not they will be able to survive in the industry is a question that has yet to be answered.
5. Block B with ‘H.E.R.’
If there’s something missing from the new-gen of idol bands today – it’s their inability to own and brand themselves by a unique sound and image. That missing trait is seen in Block B, however, who continued to surprise us with another strong comeback with ‘Her’, following the release of Very Good last year. The rambunctious earworm kicks off with an impressive baritone-sounding acapella opening, before bursting into a full-fledged pop-rap tune. It’s a rambunctious earworm but ain’t that what summer tracks are supposed to be?
6. 2PM with ‘Going Crazy!’
‘Going Crazy!’ is the type of sound you’d expect to hear from a suppressed Korean boyband, deprived of a proper music outlet to showcase themselves for the past year or so – a.k.a. 2PM, whose last party hit was ‘Hands Up’ in 2011. Known for their brand of pop-fused-R&B music, ‘Going Crazy!’ is a fun disco song unlike any others they’ve done before – colourful, psychedelic and absolutely catchy, plus it comes tagged with a set of crazy motorocycle and flailing squid-like dance moves. Hilarious. The boys broke out of their prim and proper idol personas and went cray-cray with this song – let’s hope it reaps some success for them.
B2ST: Coming soon
Few idols are capable of producing, composing and writing their own songs, and if there’s one thing to be excited about for B2ST’s upcoming comeback in October – it’s their ability (most notably, Yong Junhyung) to do just that. It’s a pity the group’s works tend to fly under the radar, due to the lack of sufficient and appropriate A&P (advertising and promotion) by their mother company, Cube Entertainment. We’ll be keeping an eye (and ear) out for the group’s 5th anniversary comeback on Oct 17 and to see which musical direction they would be heading for this time.
Epik High: Coming soon
Something’s brewing with these hip-hoppers and we learnt, at the YG Family Concert press conference last week, that a new (and long overdue) album is due to drop soon. Details of their new album are kept safely under lock and key now, but if their past works and recent collaborations are anything to go by, it’d be good.
BIGBANG: When is it coming?
When we did an email interview with BIGBANG last year, prior to their performance at the Formula One night race, the boys said that it was work-in-progress, with promises of a summer 2014 comeback on the horizon when G-Dragon hinted of it in January this year. Fast forward to a whole year later and the album is still in its incubating phase… Things are progressing at glacial pace BUT at least we know something good is gonna come out from all the waiting.
Source: xinmsn
