Big Bang’s G-Dragon and Taeyang to be featured in CL’s music video
It is confirmed that Big Bang members G-Dragon and Taeyang will be featuring in CL’s (2NE1‘s leader) first solo music video that is due to be released on the 28th of May. YG Entertainment artists are known for their great bond and support for one another. This tradition can be seen in G-Dragon and Taeyang’s appearance in JinuSean’s music video for Phone Number back in 2004. Recently Se7en, Teddy and Taeyang also did a cameo in G-Dragon’s music video for MichiGO.
It is reported that the genre for CL’s solo song is not easily heard within the domestic music industry, which is the ‘Dougie’ genre with a dub step sound and will be of the latest style in the hip-hop genre. For years, the Korean music industry emphasizes girl groups with a cute or sexy concept. However, as a female rapper, CL’s concept is the opposite of what the industry usually promotes and there is a lot of anticipation from her upcoming solo debut.
CL’s solo debut will be concurrently going against strong female solo singers like Lee Hyori, Seo In Young and IVY. Despite the intense competition, CL was given confidence and extra boost from YG’s president, Yang Hyun Seok‘s words of encouragement: “Even if you’re last, enjoy the moment with all your heart.”
This will be CL’s first solo venture since debuting as the leader of 2NE1 back in 2009. It is expected that her debut will amaze and impact the music industry.
Source : News & Photo- OSEN , CLTheBaddestFemale
Shinhwa tops charts with ‘This Love’
Shinhwa is back with a new album, The Classic, and a new chart topper This Love.
Last week, Lee Hyori rolled over the charts and scored an explosive Perfect All Kill with Miss Korea which went on to top the weekly Gaon charts with an impressive 38 million DA. However this week, she relinquished her lead to 4Minute and Roy Kim. The two artists have been battling for the past four days without anyone able to overcome the other but were however brushed away by the joint release of Seo In Young and Vibe. However it should only be a matter of hours before Shinhwa takes the lead with This Love. Their latest title-track is currently topping six real-time charts and well positioned on the other five.
While it is too early to call for success, it should be noted that very few male idols top multiple charts upon release. With six real-time charts topped, Shinhwa scored what some media outlets call an All Kill, though it should not be confused with Instiz certified All Kill when an artist has to top not only five charts simultaneously but all 22 existing charts (11 real-times + 11 daily charts).
Congratulations to the legendary idol group Shinhwa for the current achievement!
Seo In Young
2012 In Review: Part 5 – Best Dance/Electronica
[2012 In Review Series]
0. Prelude – Best Album Art
1. Introduction
2. Best R&B/Soul
3. Best Rock/Alternative
4. Best Rap/Hip-hop
5. Best Dance/Electronica
6. Best Pop/Ballad
7. Best Crossover/Miscellaneous
8. Best Original Soundtrack
9. Best Collaborative Work
10. Label of the Year
11. Rookie of the Year
12. Song of the Year
13. Artist of the Year
14. Album of the Year
15. Concluding Remarks
Welcome back to our 2012 In Review series! Today we’re looking at another perennially strong scene in dance and electronica. In recent years, the idol market has been a significant source of quality dance music, and that was no different in 2012. So idol music fans will see plenty of familiar faces. Apart from those artists, a diverse crop of indie musicians, DJs, and even a couple live-session bands round out the list.
Again, please remember that the Album of the Year and Song of the Year (and their runner-ups) are not included in the genre categories. That means that there could be a electronic (or any other genre) album that isn’t being honored on this page because it’s the album of the year. As always, honorable mention picks are sorted by alphabetical order of artist names.
Albums
Best Dance/Electronica Album 2012
eAeon – Guilt-Free
I mean no slight to any other artist when I say that this was perhaps the easiest pick to make in this entire series. No hesitation, no second-guessing. The fact of the matter is, eAeon’s attempt to create art out of nothing, to forge sound where there is none, is simply a greater level of achievement. Guilt-Free is a wholly synthetic album; apart from real bass in one song, not a single note in its ten tracks remains untouched by post-processing, and most of those notes are entirely programmed rather than physically played. As a result, the greatest joy of Guilt-Free is these fantastical and sometimes grotesque sounds that cannot exist in the real world. Impossible guitar strokes and dizzying, discrete string waves give 너는 자고 (While You Sleep) an unmistakable flavor, while strange bells and impenetrable static-infused synths are somehow packed into 5 in 4‘s irregular beats like an M.C. Escher painting fitted into two dimensions. This flawlessly detailed instrumentation already makes for a complete work (as evidenced by the instrumental version of the album), but it’s combined with a melancholia that permeates every melody and hook, as well as lyrics that express disturbing levels of emotions like anxiety, loneliness, and fixation. With that, Guilt-Free achieves the hallmark of great albums. It transports us to another world, one terribly twisted and deformed from our perspective – think Spicy Horse‘s rendition of Alice in Wonderland. Listen to the surreality of 무슨 일이 일어났는지는 아무도 (What Happened, Nobody)‘s slowly degenerating arpeggio melting into Kim Young-ha‘s avant-garde writing. There is plenty of beauty to be found if you look.
Runner-up Dance/Electronica Album 2012
F(x) – Electric Shock
This applies to several idol groups these days, but the great thing about F(x) is how consistent they are. After a string of high-quality releases (including last year’s Pinocchio, an honorable-mention pick in the 2011 list), theirs is a trusted brand among fans and critics alike. The five girls returned with their greatest work yet (and perhaps SM Entertainment‘s best in years) in Electric Shock, a short-but-sugary-sweet EP that went overboard with the quirky identity built up in the previous discography. Apart from Beautiful Stranger and maybe Let’s Try, there isn’t a track in Electric Shock that has “normal” lyrics. Creative (or stupid, depending on whom you ask) expressions of tired phrases, nonsensical connections, baffling imagery, and unpredictable sensitivity all abound in place of the cuteness or sex appeal peddled by other groups. SM’s production finally fully catches up to the insanity in this release, giving the girls a tightly-layered yet spazzy playground to claim as their own – the intense rushing sensation of Jet and the shouted chorus to Love Hate, among other moments, are absolutely tailor-made to what this group stands for. Randomness for its own sake does not make a good work, of course; the genius of Electric Shock is in its exemplary marriage of concept and sound, and a singular focus on making its randomness embraceable. As a result, Electric Shock is an album that only F(x) and no one else could have done.
Honorable Mentions
Casker – 여정 (旅程) (Journey) (read our review)
Even with the bevy of effects and tools, Casker’s music remains as graceful as ever.
Cassette Schwarzenegger – Gym With You
The stigma of a red-ocean genre is vanquished with clever instrumental choices and a healthy ear for melody.
Clazzi – Infant (read our review)
Another miss on my part. The cold, sterile urbanity here has a lot of legs.
G-Dragon – One of a Kind (read our review)
The culmination of an unbridled swagger and bold direction.
Kim C – Priority
This deep and moody bundle of dub paints volumes about the artist’s experience in Germany.
Neon Bunny – Happy Ending (read our review)
Our 2011 Rookie of the Year pick does a vitriolic, femme fatalist about-face.
Smells – Dance Wit Me [sic]
Evocative club-tune at its best.
Wonder Girls – Wonder Party
2011′s Runner-up Dance/Electronica Album winners add effortless attitude and beat-heavy sound to their game.
Songs
Best Dance/Electronica Song 2012
Heureun – Leisure Love
Heureun isn’t even an electronic artist by origin, but here she is, taking this thing home. That’s part of the genre’s appeal – it lends itself to talented artists from other fields coming in and doing something dazzling. Dazzling, by the way, is a pretty accurate way to label the folk/pop artist’s electro debut. From the slowly building momentum of the club-friendly (read: one-minute) intro to the suddenly expanding pads to the punctuating raindrop synths and sequencers, Leisure Love is constantly gripping. Its sounds are all so diffusive as to evoke aquatic imagery, and Heureun’s echoing vocals come in and out of audibility. The song flows with abandon, rarely even coming up for air, singing an ode to simple but profound happiness. What a moment.
Runner-up Dance/Electronica Song 2012
eAeon – Bulletproof
On the other end of the happy spectrum is… this. eAeon’s aforementioned synthetic sound is presented in typical deathly pale fashion in Guilt-Free’s lead single. The song’s technical complexity and melancholy appeal is apparent, but one especially notable characteristic is how inexplicably catchy it is despite everything. The artist sang a repeating hook and decided to have the melody follow a soaring and then resetting synth riff. The result is a memorable refrain that is effectively an auditory analog of the tangent curve. Ideas like this are found all over his album, but in Bulletproof it manifested in an especially big way.
Honorable Mentions
3rd Line Butterfly – 스모우크핫커피리필 (Smoke Hot Coffee Refill). Our first band to appear in two categories achieves nebulous nirvana with an instrumental approach to lyricism.
Big Bang – Bad Boy. The heavy rhythm is memorable, and the groove palpable.
Cassette Schwarzenegger – Super Hi Fi. I was going to write something… and then realized the title really sums it up perfectly.
Clazzi – Love & Hate (Featuring Yi Sung-yol, MYK). Yi’s reassuring voice gives weight to a bubbly track.
Eniac – Love Again. Remember those Cassette Schwarzenegger guys above? He’s one of them under a different name. The busy man makes liberal use of sports anthem-worthy thick synths in this one.
F(x) – 제트별 (Jet). The speedy chorus seems to only gain velocity as F(x) half-sings and half-yells the delightful lyrics.
Ga-in – 피어나 (Bloom). (Read our related review) Ga-in weaves an endlessly charming first-time story with deftness and taste.
Glen Check – Blood, Sweat & the Beat. (Read our related review) And here’s our second band to appear in two categories. They blend the line between rock and electronica more with each release.
G.na – 2HOT. The pounding piano and brass are great, but most impressive of all is G.na’s unexpected vocal seductiveness.
Hakdong Station Exit 8 – Hot Summer Night. Four vocalists and five instrumentalists make for a richer sound than you’d expect from a dance track.
Kim C – LOVE. Warmth exudes freely from Kim C’s affection.
House Rulez – New Day (Featuring Black Illumin, Another Saturday). Dizzying speed and split synths of all manner characterize yet another solid House Rulez track.
Infinite – 추격자 (The Chaser). (Read our related review) Sweetune hits another home run with that trademark brass spam (in a good sense); Infinite’s treatment of the chorus is satisfying.
Mascota Pacific House – Thrill Me (Featuring Lil Cham). More than the dubstep, it’s Lil Cham’s performance that drives the synergy effect.
Neon Bunny – 왕자님 (Dear Prince). Im Yu-jin’s myriad jabs and sarcastic potshots work precisely because they’re so hilariously mismatched with her voice.
Neon Bunny – 첫사랑 (First Love). In the same vein as the above, but overtly condescending this time.
Seo In-young (Elly) – Anymore. She made honorable mention in last year’s ballad songs category, but this shows Seo hasn’t forgotten how to work the dance genre.
SHINee – Sherlock. (Read our related review) Exhilarating chorus lines and snapshot lyrics lift this (literally) hybrid dance track to greatness.
Smells – Dance Wit Me (Featuring Mongu). I’ll just say it again: “evocative club-tune at its best.”
SNSD-TaeTiSeo (TTS) – Twinkle. Addictive melody, deliberate pacing, tasteful performances – this one has it all. The final minute shows promising possibilities for future work.
SouLime – Tonight (Featuring Bizzy). Tonight, we party in hazy synth-string hits and tantalizing vocals.
Space Cowboy – Circus (Featuring Horan, Peacedelic Su). The sounds are familiar, but a Sentimental Scenery-esque arrangement make Circus an enjoyable ride. (Pun unintended.)
Sunny Hill – 베짱이 찬가 (The Grasshopper Song). (Read our related review) Frenzied, schizophrenic atmosphere and piercing lyrics equal Sunny Hill’s best release to date.
What do your picks look like for this category? Discuss with us in the comments, and join us tomorrow for Part 6, when we’ll tackle the elephant in the room – the ballad scene!
Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the reviewer and not of hellokpop as a whole.
Sources: Photos – Covers from Bugs Music, Daum Music, Blogspot blog, Nate
B.o.B takes a picture with Seo In Young and K.Will
On the night of the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA), American hip-hop guest artist B.o.B was noted taking photos with two Korean attendees. B.o.B uploaded a photo of himself with Seo In Young (Elly) onto Instagram and posted:
“Just performed with the very lovely@Elly_iy !!! #MAMA2012.”
His arm hangs off of Seo’s shoulder and the two are seen showing peace signs. B.o.B and Seo collaborated to perform the singer’s hit track Airplanes at the ceremony.
2012 MAMA’s: Why wasn’t Jay Park invited?
In addition to Seo In Young, B.o.B also took a picture with singer K.Will after performing Nothin’ On You. They are seen posing comfortably for the camera while holding up sideways peace signs.
Sources: (News & Photos) – bobatl, @Thsm1
Seo In Young releases music video teaser for ‘Let’s Dance’
Seo In Young has officially released the music teaser for her second single entitled Let’s Dance. The track was co-arranged by DJ Soulscape and is described to have an electro-disco and post-disco sound that is suitable for dancing. Furthermore, the music video for the song displays a galactic and outlandish concept that features a DJ who is half human and half dog.
Check out the music video teaser for Let’s Dance below:
Sources: (News, Photo & Video): CJENMMUSIC (screenshot from video)
