Narsha – NARSHA

1. Fantastic
2. 삐리빠빠
3. I’m In Love
4. Queen B
5. Radio Star
6. 맘마미아 (Preview)
7. 삐리빠빠 (Inst.)

Narsha is a member of the group Brown Eyed Girls. In my opinion, she has a better presonality than GaIn, better voice than JeA and better image than MirYo. So, she is the best BEG. How will her solo debut fare?

The album opens quite spectacularly with the song ‘Fantastic’. A thumping dance track, it rivals the Mr. Boogie’s and I My Me Mine’s of the K-Pop world. Her vocals have no autotune on them, she sounds natural against the soft beats and gentle synth. The chorus is addictive, as is the bridge. She has made a song which is fun, danceable, exciting, but not fake like most of the dance songs in Korea today.

After this song, soft popping sounds open the lead single 삐리빠빠. (How do you romanize this song like Jeez. One translator says Bbi-Ri-Bba-Bba, one says Bbi-Ri-Bop-A, one says Bbi-Ri-Bop-Bba, and another one says Ppi-Ri-Ppa-Ppa. I choose Bbi-Ri-Bop-Bba.) The video caused immediate religious controversy due to several scenes in the video. I love this song to death, becuase of the soaring chorus and beautiful bridge. Her English is particularly good, especially the Begin the showtime, Be in the red sun line. The song soars, and I just love the repetitiveness.

As a contrast to the previous song, the only digital single beore the album follows, an acoustic ballad named I’m In Love. This showcases Narsha’s vocal ability, and she sounds gentle and beautiful. One of my favourite songs ever.

Queen B is a fun, energetic song. (Son Dam Bi’s mini was originally titled ‘the queen B’, this may be the reason why it is now ‘the queen’). It is a fun, energetic song which makes me want to dance whenever I hear it. It is actually pretty beautiful as well, showcasing her vocals just as well as the previous song did. Love this.

Radio Star is a latin influenced song with a more laidback attitude than all of the other songs (excluding I’m In Love). It is a beautiful song (once again), and in the bridge, she is so cute! She leaves a message for GaIn, JeA and MirYo. So sweet! This song is so beautiful. I have to say that this is making Narsha one of the most heartfelt singers ever!

맘마미아 (Preview) is a preview (duh) of the Brown Eyed Girls next song. I thought this was sweet of Narsha to include this as it proves she thinks about to other girls.

I loved this mini album, I thought it was great and it proves that Narsha succeeded in becoming a solo artist.

Can’t wait for GaIn, JeA and MirYo’s solo debuts. They are coming.

alan – Kaze ni Mukau Hana

Tracklist will be at bottom.

alan. alan, alan, alan, oh alan. Why. 5 editions, all with different tracklists. Ich. make the fans go batshit crazy, alan. But, anyhow, this is alan’s 13th single, titled ‘Kaze ni Mukau Hana’, or Flower Facing the Wind for us English people. It has 5 editions, with different tracks. Let’s get started with this single.

Kaze ni Mukau Hana is your standard Voice of EARTH-era alan ballad. Yes, sweeping orchestra arrangements, and OMG YES, wails included. I really love this song, even though it can tend to drag slightly towards the end. If you like wail/ballad alan, you will love this. It is a good song, you just have to be harsh to be fair. Koko ni Iru is a dramatic change to the previous song, it is a lighter Swear, with more life in her vocals. It has a gentle pop beat, few synths and alan’s vocals are nice in comparison to the flat, boring, lifeless vocals of that shitastic song called Swear. Thinking about it, if this was Kuu, she would slut it up and turn it more dirty (yesh, it’s true). But, alan sings this, so I may as well shut my gob.

Version B includes 3 live versions of Gunjou no Tani, Megumi no Ame and Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~ from her voice of you concert. Yes, she is good live, but what else can I say about it? And Natsukashii will give you goosebumps.

Version C is pointless unless you live in Japan (and then it is still pretty pointless). It includes Chinese versions of Nobody knows but me and my life. If you are a halfway decent alan fan, you will already have had these because you would have downloaded the Lan Se minialbum, OK?

On Version D, you get 2 ehru songs. The 1st is a cover of Nada Sousou (talk about dragging the old horse out, eh?). It is very nearly all alan×acoustic guitar until halfway through, then the ehru plays. However, the following song, Kizuna, is haunting. It is all ehru, with nothing else in the background. OMG it is beautfiul. I am in love.

Version E has Kaze ni Mukau Hana, Koko ni Iru, and a cover of Momoe Yamaguchi’s song Ii Hi Tabidachi. It is nice and all, but to be brutally honest, I prefer Chihiro Onitsuka’s adaptation (Ii Hi Tabidachi • Nishi e).

Yes. This was a BIG review. Jeez. The 2 main songs (Kaze ni Mukau Hana×Koko ni Iru) are good songs. The live versions are haunting. The 2 Chinese versions are good, but they are already on Lan Se. The ehru on Kizuna is amazing, Nada Sousou is so-so (pun intended). Ii Hi Tabidachi is nice, but it is not amazing.

Basically………..I reviewed an album. XD.

★★★★☆

ALL TRACKLISTS

Ver. A:

1. 風に向かう花
2. ココニイル
3. 風に向かう花 (Instrumental)
4. ココニイル (Instrumental)

 Ver. B:

1. 風に向かう花
2. ココニイル
3. 群青の谷 (alan 1st concert -voice of you- version)
4. 恵みの雨 (alan 1st concert -voice of you- version)
5. 懐かしい未来 ～longing future～ (alan 1st concert -voice of you- version)

 Ver. C:

1. 風に向かう花
2. Nobody knows but me (Chinese Version)
3. my life (Chinese Version)

 Ver. D:

1. 風に向かう花
2. 涙そうそう （二胡version）
3. 絆 （二胡version）

 Ver. E:

1. 風に向かう花
2. ココニイル
3. いい日旅立ち

Son Dam Bi – the queen

1. dB Rider
2. queen
3. Beat up by a girl
4. can’t u see
5. Super Duper
6. queen (Inst.)
7. can’t u see (Inst.)

What do I love about Son Dam Bi? Is it her femininity, her sexiness, her dancing skills or her voice? Or is it all of them combined? I love everything that she releases, as it is a tried and tested formula that works amazingly with dB.

dB Rider opens the minialbum with a speech about darkness forces. The song then opens into a sexy song, with dB’s fierce vocals half-singing, half-speaking through the verse. Then, the beat turns to disco, and her vocals go up an octave. This part is so glorious that it makes me shiver. She then goes to the hook, in that robotic, sing-talk style, saying ‘dB Rider’, sounding more like deeb ride. Another verse, then the soaring chorus, then the hook. But, the hook is repeated again, with a slight twist on the dB part. The song closes with a man speaking ‘This is dB’. A great way to open the album.

The title song to the album and dB, queen is a magnificent, if not best K-song of the year, song for dB. She speaks through the verses, naming killer heels, pink lip glo-loss, bling bling and over denim loo-looks. After saying that you’re so cool, she then sings about a girl so sexy and Mr. Smarty. The chorus is invigorating, with the catchy WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE, WAKE UP! Then confusion runs amock with the phrase ‘Atilli Ssai’, as it sounds like ‘Until You Decide’. Yes, people thought it was mispronounced, but a performance on Music Core proved it wrong. A dance break follows the 2nd part of the chorus, then she has another singtalk verse. The same you’re so cool phrase is followed by the girl so sexy part. She sings the WAKE UP part twice, then the 2nd part closes the song. This song drew comparisons to Ke$ha’s ‘TiK ToK’, then it was announced that it was a Easten version of the said song.

Beat up by a girl is another fiesty song, with electric guitars. I love this as dB shows so much attitude. It is a beautifully constructed song, with many layers to the straucture. A song which I loved instantly at first listen.

This song was released digitally a week before the release of the mini. can’t u see is a first for dB, a song which recieved a teaser but not a full video. I loved this at first listen, as it is an emotional piece of music, and it gives her the chance to shine. The chorus is beautiful, especially the ‘Our love won’t fade away’ line. The bridge is gorgeous, sparkling and her voice is like pure magic. The lyrics are heartbreaking, sad and emotional. Amazing.

Super Duper is the closer, sounding like a better Britney song or something. Not a big fan of this song as her voice in this song is very high and quite grating, but it is an excellent closer.

CONCLUSION: FANGASM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, this is an amazing minialbum (no doubt helped by the fact that I think she is the goddess of all music ♥), and I just love everything about it. From the PV to the cover. I love it. Thank you Dam Bi.

★★★★★

G.NA – Draw G’s First Breath

1. 꺼져 줄게 잘 살아 (feat. 용준형 of 비스트)
2. 애인이 생기면 하고 싶은 일 (With 비)
3. Supa Solo (feat. Swings)
4. Loving You
5. 소문났어요

G.NA is a newcomer to the K-Pop scene. She was originally a member of the undebuted & disbanded group Five Girls, then signed up with Cube Entertainment as a trainee. It was announced that she would make her debut in the Summer of 2010. And here she is. And what a debut it is.

The minialbum opens with the lead single, 꺼져 줄게 잘 살아 (I’ll Back Off So You Can Live Better) which features BEAST’s charismatic rapper Yong Jun Hyung. This is a beautiful R&B pop number, touched with bittersweet lyrics. This shows off Gina’s beautiful vocals, strong and emotional. This song has been on repeat for several weeks now, and this song truely shows how talented this female is.

애인이 생기면 하고 싶은 일 (Things I Would Do If I Had A Lover) which features popular singer Rain, was released as a digital single a week before the release of the album. Gina’s vocals are beautiful, complimenting the gentle music. Her voice is calmer and quieter than in the first track. Rain comes in to sing the 2nd verse & second chorus, and his voice complements Gina’s perfectly. They sing the bridge as a duo, and then a final chorus sung together, then G.NA speaks english at the end.

This song surprised me. Supa Solo is a fierce R&B/hip-hop song, and G.NA’s voice sparks attitude. The beat is very strong, and the tempo is not too quick. The synths in this song, mainly the chorus, have attitude and tons to spare, and the ‘Sing lalalala’ chorus is good. Swings appears in the song in the last minute, then G.NA brings the chorus back. This is a good song, but the first two songs definately beat this one.

Loving You is track 4, it is a gentle ballad. Her voice is gorgeous, as usual, and it sounds like she says ‘Arigotou’ in the chorus, lol. G.NA gives off a convincing performance again. It is a gentle, beautiful song, very catchy and one which I love.

Final track of the mini is 소문났어요 (There’s a Rumor), which is a ballad. It has gentle beats, a prominent piano and gentle guitar. G.NA comes in with her beautiful voice which meshes with the music perfectly. Her voice is beautifully emotional. The performance, again, is convincible, which brings a great close to the mini album.

CONCLUSION: G.NA’s debut minialbum is a stunning one. From the first notes of the first song, you can tell she is a force to be reckoned with. She lets up on track 3, but pulls back up for the final 2 songs. An enjoyable minialbum, with emotion, beautiful voices, talent, convincing performances and brilliant music

★★★★☆

Hi!

Hey guys! This is Alex here. Yep, I started an Asian Music Blog. Jeez. But anyway, add me to ur blog reels etc. etc. bye!