Hello Hive and Music Community !
From comebacks that completely captivated me, songs that grew on me, and releases that weren't what I expected, this week in kpop has been strangely curious and quite the roller coaster of emotions, so without further talk. Let's get started!
1) Chung Ha –Sparkling
Ahora, luego de cientos de lanzamiento con estas vibras “Retro” por fin he hecho las paces con el hecho de que este género y estilo seguirá siempre vivo y resurgirá cada cierto tiempo en el kpop y no me ha quedado de otra que disfrutarlo (Y con canciones como Sparkling es más fácil hacerlo, la verdad). Esta canción se siente como la descripción perfecta de darle el primer sorbo a una bebida efervescente; burbujeante y fresco. “Sparkling” es fácil de disfrutar, y Chungha tiene un carisma que complementa realmente bien a esta canción; realmente disfrute del efecto que añadieron durante el coro (Precisamente es el clásico sonido que hace una lata de refresco al ser abierta) fue algo que le añadió bastante personalidad a la canción, por otra parte no soy la mayor fan del pequeño segmento “trap” después del coro, aunque no logra sentirse tan fuera de lugar y la transición de nuevo a lo que veníamos escuchando al comienzo sucede de manera clara por lo que es un detalle pasable. Definitivamente de mis lanzamiento favoritos en este mes!
Chungha is one of the most recognized Korean solo artists in kpop, and no wonder, with an undeniable talent for dancing and singing she has known how to earn her place in this ever-changing industry, and has managed to consolidate a pretty solid discography. After several months without any promotional releases he has decided to dazzle us with a refreshing summer song "Sparkling".
Now, after hundreds of releases with this "Retro" vibe I've finally made peace with the fact that this genre and style will always be alive and well and will resurface every so often in kpop and I've had no choice but to enjoy it (And with songs like Sparkling it's easier to do so, really). This song feels like the perfect description of taking the first sip of an effervescent drink; bubbly and fresh. "Sparkling" is easy to enjoy, and Chungha has a charisma that complements this song really well; I really enjoyed the effect they added during the chorus (Precisely the classic sound a soda can makes when opened) it was something that added quite a bit of personality to the song, on the other hand I'm not the biggest fan of the little "trap" segment after the chorus, although it doesn't manage to feel so out of place and the transition back to what we were hearing at the beginning happens neatly so it's a passable detail. Definitely one of my favorite releases this month!
Calificación / Rating
8.7/10
2) Apink (CHOBOM) –Copycat
“Copycat” cae como anillo al dedo a lo que suelo disfrutar más que nada en el kpop estos últimos meses, aunque he de decir que no estaba tan convencida en un comienzo. Copycat es una propuesta relajada, a pesar de este concepto tan curioso que nos proponen no hay nada escandaloso o muy movido ocurriendo con este lanzamiento e incluso me da algunas vibras “R&B”. En un principio dude del potencial de esta canción ya que me parecía aburrida (Similar a lo que me paso con Fearless de LE SSERAFIM), pero cuando la escuche casualmente en mi inicio de twitter quede bastante enfrascada con el coro y desde allí “Copycat” no hizo más que crecer en mi, incluso su parte más rara (y fuera de lugar) logra encajar bastante bien para mi gusto.
Apink is one of the groups that have captivated me musically for as long as I've been into k-pop, and with their new sub-unit "Chobom" featuring members Chorong and Bomi, I can't help but be excited to hear more from this group.
"Copycat" falls right in line with what I've been enjoying more than anything else in kpop these past few months, although I have to say I wasn't so convinced at first. Copycat is a laid back approach, despite the curious concept they come up with there is nothing outrageous or hectic going on with this release and it even gives me some "R&B" vibes. At first I doubted the potential of this song as it seemed boring (similar to what happened to me with Fearless by LE SSERAFIM), but when I listened to it casually on my twitter feed I got quite caught up with the chorus and from there "Copycat" just grew on me, even its weirdest (and out of place) part manages to fit quite well for my taste.
Calificación / Rating
8.6/10
3) SF9 –Scream
“Scream” es una pista de baile movida y con un ritmo agradable, recordándome brevemente a la canción que revise la semana pasa “I Love U” de WINNER en ese sentido, aunque considero que Scream parece una propuesta más solida ya que su composición no parece estar enfocada tanto en el verano. El coro es pegadizo, el rap fue fácil de disfrutar y en general parce un lanzamiento al que me veo volviendo una que otra vez aunque dudo que logre crecer mucho en mí. (La cantidad de doble sentido enmascarado que tiene esta canción aquí y allá es bastante gracioso, gracioso de raro, lol)
I feel like summer is the only time of the year when I can listen to more than 2 male bands and manage to like the proposals they bring for this season, probably this is because it gives them a perfect excuse to do something different from the classic "masculine" and "strong" experimental style, and I appreciate it, because sometimes it can be too much for my taste.
"Scream" is a moving dance track with a nice beat, reminding me briefly of the song I reviewed last week "I Love U" by WINNER in that sense, although I consider Scream seems like a more solid proposition as its composition doesn't seem to be so much focused on summer. The chorus is catchy, the rap was easy to enjoy and overall it seems like a release I can see myself coming back to again and again although I doubt it will manage to grow on me much. (The amount of masked double entendre this song has here and there is pretty funny, funny but weird, lol).
Calificación / Rating
8.2/10
4) ITZY– Sneakers
Más que un lanzamiento musical de verano, “Sneakers” se siente como una forma descarada de promocionar una campaña publicitaria (En este caso las miembros de ITZY son modelos para Adidas por lo que esta canción se vuelve aun más sospechosa) y en general no puedo evitar pensar en cómo la existencia de esta canción gira en torno a esta y eso me molesta por alguna razón. Aunque “Sneakers” podría ser fácilmente un éxito de verano, su coro parece deshacer cualquier posibilidad de llegar a dicho potencial. Con un inicio divertido que posee aires de “hip-hop” y con un pre-coro que me atrapo por completo, siento que tenían una base solida para hacer un gran hit, pero el cambio entre el pre-coro al estribillo se sintió simplemente fuera del lugar, parece haber un espacio sin llenar entre esa transición, y los versos repetitivos del coro aunque llegan a ser pegadizos, los sentí pesados al escuchar la canción varias veces. “Sneakers” no es una mala canción, quizás no sea lo mejor en la discografía de ITZY, pero es una propuesta divertida y disfrutable hasta cierto punto.
ITZY is one of my favorite bands of all time, it's inevitable, I'm already too engrossed in them to let them go, although Sneakers seems to freak me out a little bit.
More than a summer music release, "Sneakers" feels like a blatant way to promote an ad campaign (In this case the members of ITZY are models for Adidas so this song becomes even more suspect) and overall I can't help but think about how the existence of this song revolves around this one and that bothers me for some reason. While "Sneakers" could easily be a summer hit, its chorus seems to undo any chance of reaching said potential. With a fun start that possesses "hip-hop" airs and a pre-chorus that completely grabbed me, I feel like they had a solid foundation to make a great hit, but the change between the pre-chorus to the chorus felt simply out of place, there seems to be an unfilled gap between that transition, and the repetitive verses of the chorus while becoming catchy, felt heavy as I listened to the song several times. "Sneakers" is not a bad song, maybe not the best in ITZY's discography, but it's a fun and enjoyable proposition to a certain extent.
Calificación / Rating
7.6/10
This week was quite... interesting, although none of my favorite groups have met my expectations in terms of their main songs, they have known how to win my heart with their b-sides (Itzy with Domino and RAC3R, and aespa with Illusion, a song that finally grew on me) and now with STAYC's comeback next week, and with the returns of Twice and BLACKPINK in August, I feel that my illusions are still high. Thanks so much for reading!
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