Current Events > K-Pop Spring Topic 2023

(+) Yeah! (+)

Chris Pratt is a confirmed NewJeans and PINKBLACK fan.

Kek

Huh, Hitomi and Nako are being rumored to join this Queendom Puzzle thing and Mnet didn't concretely deny it in their response, I guess it IS about time that rumors start flowing about who might be participating in that

Wow Moonbin from ASTRO died this morning of an apparent suicide

https://www.soompi.com/article/1581349wpp/breaking-astros-moonbin-passes-away

I don't know much about him, but he was just on Fearless Kkura and they had a lot of fun. He was also gonna be in the next Dream Concert.

It's been an exciting 2023 so far for K-Pop as a whole, but that news was just soul crushing to read.

It's just sad and instantly pulls me back to the sick feeling I had when we lost Jonghyun, Sulli and Hara.

RIP

KainWind posted...

I don't know much about him,

Kinda was biting my tongue as I'm the same. Not that I don't care, but that to me crosses as a thought of the industry and also the society as a whole these artists are in. RIP

KaZooo posted...

Kinda was biting my tongue as I'm the same. Not that I don't care, but that to me crosses as a thought of the industry and also the society as a whole these artists are in. RIP

Not to mention I can't imagine how his sister, Billlie's Moon Sua is feeling atm. RIP

So far it looks like only members of disbanded/inactive groups will be on Queendom Puzzle so that's probably a good thing.

Some songs of course I don't care for to start, but they arranged and executed this really well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMt4d0smjds

One thing I like about performances like this is Rose usually has to detract from her nasally voice at some point and sounds even better.

Lisa imo really kept at further improving her stage presence (even if I hate her solo songs) in terms of both visual and vocals. If you just isolate her, and didn't know about Blackpink, she'd probably be more likely to be assumed as some kind of western artist as opposed to someone that started in K-Pop. I think that's where there's this contrast with her, Jisoo, and some of the songs in between.

Jisoo seems out of place with some songs like Pretty Savage and Pink Venom. Not a bad thing necessarily, although I do think to a degree she's never been a really good dancer.

Jennie is just solid. For being a such hot/cold focal point of the group to the public, she's always got a handle on stage.

It's love/hate for me. Been hating a lot of BP songs over time, but they know how to run a stage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKSyuwhVMvY

It's still crazy that a legend like Nile Rodgers is not only featuring on Unforgiven but the fact that it wasn't even originally planned to have him feature or contribute and it was he himself that asked HYBE/BangPD to jump on the track after hearing the demo and liking it so much

Unforgiven's presumed chorus kinda rings like Antifragile. Going into the verse sounds good.

KaZooo your video is private

I'm really excited for Unforgiven. It's the first kpop album I've ever bought.

Oh dang, they did restrict it. Sucks because while the isolated performances seem to be getting uploaded, seeing it as a whole was cool.

Why are LSF album intros so damn good? Hydra was a fantastic opener, and now I'm loving Burn the Bridge

meanwhile Aespa and their promotions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfW6dJHKtIA

I'm rooting for them too but eh.

YamaChan posted...

Why are LSF album intros so damn good?

It's a little weird, because if you read out the creative/production team on that teaser, it's not like they relied on any outside western talent. Sometimes I think it's just everyone else is stuck in their ways while HYBE's labels put in their due diligence in building up a thorough product. Dare I say it boils down to more effort. That's not to say this is short of impressive (it's awesome really), but the contrast in practices make it stand out even more.

LSF and NJ's creative teams found this happy medium where they don't create some lore that requires vested thinking not even a plot but also maintain some type of cohesion for at least the album concept.

First confirmed members for Queendom Puzzle are:

Chaeyeon (ex-IZ*ONE)
Yeeun (ex-CLC)
Haein (Laboum)
Jooe (ex-Momoland)
Kei (ex-Lovelyz)
Shiroma Miru (ex-NMB48)
Hwiseo and Riina (H1-KEY)

They confirmed at least 1 Weekly member is going as well but didn't say which one(s).

Chaeyeon going for her 5th survival show, clearly her company is not impressed with her solo results but I don't see this helping in the long run. Surprisingly Miru makes a return to Korea, her post 48 solo career hasn't been all that fruitful. Hitomi and Nako have been confirmed not participating

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da3zzMOC9Os

KaZooo posted...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da3zzMOC9Os

If this guy covers your song, I KNOW that you've made it big. So happy for 5050

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFnAuiklEug

like it don't love it. It's cool seeing certain artists in a light that separates them from having to carry the whole "idol" branding. The whole thing about me not eating this up, though, is it doesn't bring anything new. It's cool that they can work into a more western style of music, but it's maybe too much of that imo. Large point of why I listen to this genre is for something different.

Ahead of Unforgiven, a Chaewon vocal compilation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilX8sji8YQo

Here's to hoping they didn't pick any offensive outfits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJbiQCPHPMg

Ruddager posted...

Chaeyeon going for her 5th survival show, clearly her company is not impressed with her solo results but I don't see this helping in the long run.

I'm not sure what can help her at this point.
Generally a solo venture never seemed like strong ideas for her and the other IZ ONE members did so.

Yena isn't entirely short of her own success, but I still think adding her to Everglow would've helped both sides. Granted a new group is entirely at the mercy of how well its put together.

knock is doing relatively well rn, so that's nice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJbiQCPHPMg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJAt3SfnA3w

Revealed nearly a full minute of the song on Knowing Bros today too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW5X3QUk41s

Sakura got pretty much none of that first verse

But the switching in parts is so smooth. Yunjin doing the pre-chorus bent back being a Kazuha-lite is a cool touch.

KaZooo posted...

Sakura got pretty much none of that first verse

Based on the camerawork it looks like she only sang the "now now now" line but you can see that she sings the line right after Kazuha's first part and after Chaewon before the chorus kicks in if you look closely, so its more than it seems at first but yeah still very little, what else is new. If thats indicative of the full song though (plus the fact that we've already seen the entirety of the b-side they will be promoting and she barely sings in that one as well) it'll be interesting to see the sales of their next album (and the longevity of the sales for this one) because her Chinese fans arent shy about talking with their wallets and they bought like 25% of the total copies of antifragile that were sold.

Anyway, liking what I've heard so far of the title track so far, expected the guitar to stand out more what with it being by Nile Rodgers and all but maybe he purposefully made it more subtle or theres another part we havent heard where it goes off. Apparently a couple of the b-sides are the standouts from this album though according to a bunch of critics who had a listening party already

stan Pixy
go see Pixy
take selfies with Pixy

I've only listened a couple times, I can't pick a favorite yet. I feel like I have a new fave every listen.

https://youtu.be/UBURTj20HXI

Right now I'm looking at the album as the sum of its parts. It hasn't quite made the hard impression like past albums but continues to build on them. Unforgiven runs like an obligatory lead single. Much of it reminds me of Antifragile, being just very upfront with the tempo and trying to instill the era's concept. I'll admit in that sense/approach, it feels repetitive - though I don't have any dislikes so far. The quality of their sound is still very distinct.

I'm indifferent about the re-recordings. We knew they existed. Just a matter of what they'd be packaged in.

All the new songs are great, but my favorites are

UNFORGIVEN
Eve, Psyche & The Bluebeard's wife
Fire in the belly

I like how they put effort into the intro even outside the dedicated trailer. I know Antifragile had a noticeable investment, but man they were thrown a lot for this showcase.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDTQO6QTPZI

Unless my internet instantly got better, I don't recall other stages loading 60fps.
Zuha's top is pretty cool, and her vocals are able to take up the pre-chorus well.
The bridge is done really well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIBZ7UcQmDU

They do really well selling B-sides. I found it decent just from the audio when listening this morning, but the visual completes it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_g5k0_y8kQ

There was probably some help in the vocal backing, but I like how Sakura had some prominence here. Also generally cool how they made something of the "mess in distress/best dressed" bit without it seeming like an empty shoe-in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-AlVUXUrew

Rest found here. Flash Forward is a VCR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRF8sTP0I9U

I'm a little mixed about how much gets invested into production. Makes a great/amazing product, but it sets a bar that's probably too high for other companies to compete with imo. Only thing that beats that is relentless staning, like BP fans.

Unforgiven just passed Born Pink for most first day sales by a girl group. They are the only two to break a million.

KainWind posted...

Unforgiven just passed Born Pink for most first day sales by a girl group. They are the only two to break a million.

Maybe I overestimated BP stans. :o

And, what timing SM has:
https://youtu.be/0xdB_vo4r2c
It doesn't help that we're aware of the album/comeback delays, but this feels a bit improvised.

KainWind posted...

Unforgiven just passed Born Pink for most first day sales by a girl group. They are the only two to break a million.

I should say it's on Hanteo because I'm not entirely sure what that is or what it counts.

KainWind posted...

I should say it's on Hanteo because I'm not entirely sure what that is or what it counts.

Hanteo has certain affiliated retailers that report sales to them (granted it's a lot of retailers around the world and basically all the most popular ones). They are the only one who track and publish sales on a day to day basis so whenever you see people talking about first day or first week sales it's always quoting numbers from them.

The other chart you'll see people quote for physical sales is Circle (formerly Gaon) who releases numbers monthly and technically don't report sales but shipments

1M+ in a day (and the new record) is certainly crazy but I think HYBE/Source Music just have a crazy efficient distributor, I wouldn't expect Unforgiven to touch Born Pink on total sales when all is said and done. BP moved 1.01M day one off of a reported 2M+ stock preorders whereas LE SSERAFIM moved 1.02M day one off of a reported ~1.4M stock preorders

Ah okay thanks. That explains why the number kept creeping up so late too.

Believe this was just a quick take (track video afterall)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL0Uxth2Edg

This has a more substantiated direction, though I am distracted by the fake freckles thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC7OrEx5H4U

Lmfao someone literally put their baby on stage during NMIXX's showcase in Seattle

https://www.reddit.com/r/NMIXX/comments/136coan/230502_please_do_not_put_your_baby_on_stage/

Least deranged kpop stan

That's crazy. Kyujin is like 16? And has to try to tide over that situation?

In all I guess that baby's life wasn't in real danger, but that's a stage disruption in bad taste.

KaZooo posted...

That's crazy. Kyujin is like 16? And has to try to tide over that situation?

In all I guess that baby's life wasn't in real danger, but that's a stage disruption in bad taste.

Not to mention wtf was security and also how the hell did they get a baby into a concert setting, especially without any ear protection

Also I looked it up and wtf you're right. I had thought she was at least 17 with Jiwoo turning 18 recently.

Did a quick listen to the TripleS KRE album.

Early impression is it's ok. I can kinda appreciate they didn't forcefully do something different. However it does sound (unsurprisingly?) a bit like something that would come from LOONA.

Tri.be is touring the US next month. Feels like a lot of groups want to come over.

https://youtu.be/FtnfCyza8KY
I wouldn't say the mashup was done perfectly (I think because the vocal pitches dont go with each other) but Unforgiven was loosely reminding me of Not Shy.

Eh, another that's been out since Hyperline
https://youtu.be/i0RCcSBPjuU

I can't say I didn't want them to try a different direction.
Little old for what looks like an HS concept.
But the change in makeup style is kinda interesting as their take on more western style.
Getting in quite a bit from their LA/SoCal trip to make this album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUusUqBiWlc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnWUmg6fEIw

It's a little more cinematic than the bonus comeback cut that was recorded in 4K/60 FPS, almost didn't need both. Nonetheless, impressive to see how much detail they're not trying to hide with all the closeups.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8yllhAe2BE

They are/were in SoCal, and someone on their creative team introduced GTA SA to them.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wsMfXIgMBdM

but of course,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sJxE2az-Q0

https://youtu.be/Os_heh8vPfs

Song grew on me a bit. I think it's a heavy production, but with a questionable direction.

They played Giselle with that OS jersey under the jacket, and on the opposite spectrum gave Karina a Clueless and U Drive Me Crazy era Britney looks.

The FIFTY FIFTY journey continues

Only kpop GG to break into UK's Official Singles Chart Top 10.

Now they just thit 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. And I think they JUST started getting radio play recently.

Super crazy. So happy for them.