Kpop Weekly Bops

Since I'm not as busy now that I am done school I am back here to continue this blog! Starting with weekly (hopefully) bop blog posts. These posts will mostly have songs that just came out in the prior week but may also mention older songs as well! Unlike before I am not gonna have a limit on the number of songs that are gonna be mentioned but just whatever is currently on my mind old and new!

This week seems to be a girl power week because every song in my head is by the females! 

So let's start!

Number 1 bop in my head this week is *drum roll* 

Chungha's Snapping!

This song is such a bop! The English parts are so catchy, the video, choreo and singing are all just perfect and amazing! Also can we talk about that long haired backup dancer cause if you watch the choreo version of this...that little dance duet is just soooooo fire! I think this song will be in my head for a while to come!

Number 2 on the list is....

(G)I-DLE's Uh-Oh

Ok so this song isn't a hundred percent my style but it is honestly cool that you can see this group is doing music inspired by music around the world. This is a great throwback to the 90s and it's cute. Their outfits are also soooo cute (also Shuhua has lines!), my only complaint is that the real catchy part for me is at the end and then song is done! This is just a single but I can't wait to see what else they come out with this year!

Honorable mention:

Red Velvet's Zimzalabim

This song wasn't really my thing but I always gotta support these girls! 

Past Songs still in my head!

CLC's Me

I LOVED this song a couple weeks ago so I had to mention it here after I started these blogs again. Also I'm so proud at where they've come!

Somi's Birthday

This song is not what I expected from her and I still stand by the fact that I don't think she will do well solo but this song is quite catchy and I'll support her nonetheless.

Everglow's Bon Bon Chocolat

The music video is great and some of these girls were from produce. The song is really catchy and a great debut! I hope they keep going on to greater things. The video above is the dance choreography. The MV can be found on youtube.

Produce X 101

Produce X 101 has just released it's eighth episode and I thought it was the time to do my yearly who do I want to pay attention to list. This year there is quite a number of them.

Name: Kim Yohan
Age: 19
Label: OUI Entertainment

Lots of potential and is very charming. He also seems to be very well-mannered and hard working. He is surprisingly good at rapping even though he considers himself a vocalist. After his NCT U- Boss cover, it is apparent he has talents in rapping. His singing is adequate and needs more training.

Name: Han Seungwoo

Age: 24

Label: Plan A Entertainment

He is a member of boy group VICTION and seemingly the most talented vocalist of this season. He also seems to have a very kind personality as he is seen mentoring others (Yu Vin) on singing. 

Name: Kim Wooseok

Age: 22

Label: TOP Media

He is a member of the group UP10TION. He has great visuals and seems to be an overall allrounder. He also displays some leadership skills.

Name: Kim Sihoon
Age: 19
Label: Brand New Music

He seems to be a skilled dancer, especially a choreographer. He has good rapping skills. I'll have to see more to tell with him.

Name: Lee Wonjun

Age: 18

Label: E Entertainment

Has good leader qualities. I noticed him with Jinhyuk for the x position battle. While many would say he wasn't really being a leader as Jinhyuk was doing most of the work, we have to remember that mnet might have edited out any instance of him actually leading to heighten the drama. When he did speak I felt he was very mature and Jinhyuk didn't seem to have any problems with him and more the other trainees. From his cover song stage he seemed to have some rapping skills and good expressions. I think he has potential but am worried he will be eliminated soon from lack of attention. 

Name: Ham Won Jin

Age: 18

Label: Starship Entertainment

He has good expressions and excels in the center position. He also seems to be a stable all rounder. I would say the only thing is I'm not fond of his attitude sometimes as he has a tendency to get a bit mopey but I will still keep an eye on him. 

Name: Nam Dohyon

Age: 14

Label: MBK Entertainment

He is a very talented rapper so I think he definitely deserves to have an eye kept on him.

Name: Song Yuvin

Age: 21

Label: The Music Works

He is a member of MYTEEN and a soloist. He has good vocalist and a caring personality.

Name: Song Hyeongjun

Age: 16

Label: Starship Entertainment

He is just so freaking cute! And he has been working hard since his fall into the X category and then rise again. 

Name: Lee Eunsang

Age: 16

Label: Brand New Music

His singing voice seems nice and he has good visuals so I'm keeping an eye on him.

Name: Choi Suhwan

Age: 17

He seems to have skills as a vocalist. Will keep observing. 

Others that I am observing but not as interested in include:

Keum Donghyun
Kim Minkyu
Tony

Kwon Taeeun

Moon Junho

Produce 48

I guess it's that time of year again! Time for Produce 48 and I'm starting with just watching the videos and choosing who stands out! I'll add photos once the show has started!

Yoon Eun Bin  - despite the cheesiness her dancing actually seemed to show some skill so she caught my eye!

Park Seo Young - I have to admit that is one heck of an entrance with the cutting of the pants! She's on the list just for a nice, creative, short vid!

Park Jinny - Her rapping was great! Again I much prefer the short, talent focused vids rather than super cheesy overexagerated ones.

Jang Gyu Ri - Naturally cute and decent at singing and funny too!

Choi Ye Na - Naturally very cute and not over exaggerated. Her singing was pretty cute but mostly the dancing caught my eye. Very sharp, very well done.

Alex Christine - OMG I remember when she won the soompi competition! This is so great to see her here. I know she dances well and sings well as well so I'm totally rooting for her!

Kurihara Sae - the Ribbon dancing was very new and very lovely!

Park Minji - sings lots of different songs and all with a very nice voice!

Kim Hyun Ah - Interesting and also good with dancing!

Nakanishi Chiyori - ok the AKB48 girls are much better overall in my opinion then the other Japanese groups. She seems the most natural in my opinion!

Oda Erina - The first Japanese contestant I actually liked the voice of and that's mainly because she sat still and sang properly. A lot of them tried to dance and sing, leading to very bad voice cracks

Takahashi Juri - Very nice voice. Not great pronounciation but that really doesn't matter to me :)

Takeuchi Miyu - playing the piano and singing was a wonderful idea! Her vocal is also deep which is so refreshing compared to everyone's high voice

Go Yoojin - very nice facial expressions and decent dance moves. One of the first to really make me go "oh she's pretty!"

Yoon Hae Sol - This was great! she showed off her singing abilities by impersonating other senior artists that are known for singing! I think this was fantastic!

Wanna One Highlight!

So just like the profile for IOI, this is a highlight of the members of produce 101 season 2's project group! Inroducing Wanna One!

Debuted: 2017
Group Number: 11
Company: YMC Entertainment and CJ E&M

Yoon Jisung

Birthday: March 8, 1991

Height: 175 cm

Weight: 63 kg

Position: Leader, Sub Vocalist

Notes: From MMO Entertainment. Birth name was Yoon Byung-ok but officially changed. 

Ha Sungwoon

Birthday: March 22, 1994

Height: 168 cm

Weight: 57 kg

Position: Main Vocal

Notes: Member of boy group HOTSHOT from Star Crew Entertainment (formerly Ardor & Able). Former SM and JYP trainee.

Hwang Minhyun

Birthday: August 9, 1995

Height: 181 cm

Weight: 67 kg

Position: Lead Vocal

Notes: Member of NU'EST from Pledis Entertainment. Can speak Japanese and play piano, writes music. Is allergic to salt.

Ong Seongwoo

Birthday: August 25, 1995

Height: 179 cm

Weight: 63 kg

Position: Sub Vocal, Main Dancer

Notes: From Fantagio. Has appeared in web drama Idol Fever. 

Kim Jaehwan

Birthday: May 27, 1996

Height: 175 cm

Weight: 61 kg

Position: Main Vocal

Notes: Appeared in Korea's got Talent and Vocal War: God's Voice. Former trainee of The Music Works and former member of ShelRock. Was an independent trainee in produce 101 but is now signed with CJ E&M.

Kang Daniel

Birthday: December 10, 1996

Height: 180 cm

Weight: 67 kg

Position: Center, Sub Vocal, Sub Rapper, Main Dancer

Notes: From MMO Entertainment. Birth name is Kang Euigeon but has been officially changed. Appeared on Her Secret Weapon as Cao Lu's backup dancer. Has been b-boying since junior high school. Has studied in Canada. 

Park Jihoon

Birthday: May 29, 1999

Height: 173 cm

Weight: 61 kg

Position: Sub Vocal, Lead Dance, Sub Rapper, Visual

Notes: Member of Maroo Entertainment. Known as the "wink boy". Former member of SM and Fantagio. Was a child actor and model. Enjoys popping and beat boxing. 

Park Woojin

Birthday: November 2, 1999

Height: 174 cm

Weight: 60 kg

Position: Main Rapper, Main Dancer

Notes: From Brand New Music. Former trainee of JYP. Appeared in Superstar K as a young TOP. Can b-boy, crump, pop and lock. 

Bae Jinyoung

Birthday: May 10, 2000

Height: 175 cm

Weight: 62 kg

Position: Sub Vocal

Notes: From C9 Entertainment. He is allergic to shrimps. 

Lee Daehwi

Birthday: January 29, 2001

Height: 172 cm

Weight: 53 kg

Position: Lead Vocal

Notes: Part of Brand New Entertainment. Former trainee of JYP. Was the centre of "It's Me" stage. Lived in US for 6 years and Japan for 2 years.

Lai Guan Lin 

Birthday: September 23, 2001

Height: 181 cm

Weight: 63 kg

Position: Lead Rapper, Maknae

Notes: Taiwanese member from Cube Entertainment. Can speak Mandarin, Korean and English. 

Unlike IOI, Wanna One is not permitted to participate in other group activities until they are finished with Wanna One activities.

Wanna One debuted on August 7th, 2017 with album 1x1=1 (To Be One). The title song was "Energetic" composed by Pentagon's Hui and Flow Blow. Lyrics written by Pentagon's Hui and Wooseok. 

They also released a music video for the song "Burn It Up" from the same EP.

On November 13th, 2017 they released a repackaged version of the debut album entitled 1-1=0 (Nothing Without You) with the title track "Beautiful".

On March 5th, 2018 they released the music video for a special theme track called "I.P.U. (I Promise You)"

On March 19, 2018 they released their second EP 0+1=1 (I Promise You) with the title track "Boomerang".

Produce 101 Season 2

So I'm obviously excited for season 2 but a couple of things have gotten me worried. The amount of already debuted boygroup members is going to make this season a little unfair. Sure having boys from some unknown groups is great for their publicity but groups like KNK and other reported groups that have a decent following is chalking up for what sounds like an unfair season. :/ Well, I'll be saving this post to discuss the show and see if mnet can make another hit group!

The 101 profiles of the new season's boys have been released! Let's have a look of them and just based on looks, background and the profile I'm gonna pick a couple that I am looking forward to! This will obviously change as time goes on and more episodes come out but this is just a first impressions and who I am attracted to physically!

Update: Time to update the profiles below with who I'm interested in and who I am not interested in any longer. I have watched up to Episode 4 at this point!

Name: Park Jihoon
Age: 19
Label: Maroo Entertainment

I think he's cute. Again don't know much about his talent yet, but he is certainly a nice visual. He was pretty cringey in his intro vid but also kinda funny and more natural. Wink Boy! I didn't know he was the wink boy but he's certainly gain a lot of fans from this! I still once again don't know much about his talents but I'm glad to see him shining despite the hate!

Name: Lai Guanlin
Age: 17
Label: Cube entertainment

Ok so I may be Cube biased, but I seriously looked at his pic and thought he was good looking and then was excited to find out he was Cube trainee. It's only been 6 months though so I can't say if he is talented or not. Hiss rapping seems decent. His voice is deep and very nice and he is a visual however, I don't understand his english when he raps. After Boys in Luv stage I can see he has amazing potential. He has a great, charismatic stage presence. His rapping still lacks as well as his dancing though so he is getting a lot of hate for being in top 11. We will see how things change.

Name: Jung SeWoon
Age: 21
Label: Starship Entertainment

I love this guys guitar usage for his introduction. Honestly, this has been the least cringey audition of them all. He showed his talent and his personality so I'm looking forward to seeing more of him.

Name: Ahn Hyungsub
Age: 19
Label: Yue Hua Entertainment

I chose him because he's definitely a visual and wasn't too awkward in his introduction video. I liked the sold out signs that was a cute idea. I don't know about his singing but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he was a little nervous.

Name: Kim Jae Hwan
Age: 22
Label: MMO Entertainment

This kid is talented, he actually sung in his intro and dressed really well. I liked his voice so he is here.

Name: Yoon Jiseung
Age: 27
Label: MMO Entertainment

He's been training for 5 years that's a mighty long time! His voice seems to be quite solid and lovely though so I am expecting a lot from him. Now he's become famous for his funny facial expressions and sadly people are calling him untalented. However, his voice did really catch me in the intro so I believe that he will do well!

Name: Joo Jinwoo
Age: 25
Label: MMO Entertainment

Another one being added because I like his voice. It seems MMO Entertainment is good with picking the voices. His looks are also quite nice!

Name: Lim Young Min
Age:23
Label: Brand New Music

Still someone that seems very talented and visually appealing. I don't see too much of him unfortunately but am expecting greater things.

Name: Kang Daniel
Age: 22
Label: MMO Entertainment

He seems to be an all-rounded talented guy and his bromance with Woojin is just sooo cute!

Name: Lee Woojin
Age: 15
Label: Media Line

Woojin, the maknae is so adorable and also talented. I really find him endearing. Not to mention I love his bromance with Daniel!

Currently watching Dramas! Goblin, Hwarang etc!

Well it's been a couple weeks since my last post again! School started and once again life became very hectic for me! But not too hectic for me to check out a couple of dramas!

The first drama that I've been checking out is none other than the Goblin!

I'm a huge Sungjae fan so I've been incredibly excited about this drama especially since Gong Yoo and Lee Dong Wook  are in it as well! The only thing that I was afraid about was write Kim Eun-Sook. I don't tend to like a lot of her dramas even if they are successful. She has the tendency, in my opinion, to write vary bland female leads. I've always found myself liking all the side character's stories or romances better than the main characters in her drama. Unfortunately, this is also true for Goblin. I'm not a huge fan of the lead couple. The redeeming feature is that I do enjoy Lee Eun-tak's interactions with the other characters in the story as well so I still love the drama. Plus, the mystery and supernatural elements are such a big plus! I love reading fan theories after an episode!
Don't forget about the bromance! I love myself some bromance and the grim reaper and goblin are the my ultimate favourite ship!

So far I'm rating this drama highly but let's see how it all ends first!

The second Korean drama I've been digging my claws into is the highly anticipated, Hwarang!

Now I will admit that despite the hype I was a little hesitant to get into this drama. It seems to be a lot of eye candy and that's it. Admittedly, that's what the drama seems to be right now. I did enjoy the sad elements at the beginning and the drama started off intriguing but now it is turning into fan service. I will have to watch more before ultimately deciding how I feel. I do tend to like period dramas though so maybe once the romance drama begins I will enjoy it more! My main issue with it right now is that it is highly predictable. It is fairly enjoying though but there isn't anything that makes me want to keep watching. I tend to watch it after watching Goblin and not having had a full drama fix.

The next drama on the list is actually a Chinese drama! I really love period dramas and this was floating around. It was 54 episodes long and I finished it very quickly! I fell in love with the actress and her role! She was also in a Korean-Chinese drama with Rain so I will definitely check that out! This drama was just great! Cheesy sometimes but a good addition of comedy. I really really did enjoy it and Weiyoung is such an intelligent girl! I absolutely love dramas where the main female lead isn't just a clumsy looker! The chemistry was fantastic between all of the actors as well! I found out that the main couple are dating in real life and I could totally see why! I was very pleased to hear this!

The next drama to mention is Perfect couple which also stars Tiffany Tang (from the Princess Weiyoung). I fell so in love with her that I had to go and watch some of her past dramas! This one is a hilarious rom-com and I am currently enjoying it very much! This time she has the role of a peasant who marries into a rich family. Her character is skilled in martial arts and isn't the intelligent femme fatale. Having said that I find her very charming in a different way in this drama. I love how the two characters are different and yet still share this bratty (in a good way) similarity. I can't wait to make my way through this drama as well!

December 15th, 2016

So it's been really hectic with work and so even though I have been sort of keeping up with Kpop I have not been able to keep up with the blog. Usually, I do a highlight of three songs but since it's been awhile I want to highlight a couple of new songs that I had enjoyed. So prepare yourself for a long list.

What Time Is It Now? - Viction

Viction is the new boy goup from company Plan A who houses Apink. They debuted this year with the cute concept song "I'm Fine" but I've always been a bigger fan of the bad boy image so I enjoyed "What Time is it Now?" a lot more.

Fanfare - SF9

SF9 debuted slightly before Pentagon and although I enjoyed both songs I liked Gorilla a little bit more because of how addictively catchy it was and the high notes. This is still a fantastic song though and that's why I have highlighted it here today!

Confession - Astro

One of the few cute boy groups that I actually like. This song is so adorable and still has great vocals.

Lollipop -IMFACT

IMFACT's comeback prompted me to check out their debut song. I wasn't expecting to like this song because I don't like cute concepts as much however, this song is not cute. It has a lot of sexual innuendos and topless guys and I can appreciate that as a straight member of the opposite sex.

Oh NaNa - K.A.R.D

This co-ed group that just released a song has a very good song and I like it. I'm interested to see where they go in the future. The video could have done with some more story though. Above is live performance.

Boombayah - BlackPink

And of course I can't forget YG's new banging group Boombayah! I like these girls they are pretty and cute and expect great things from them!

Ok that's all for highlighting some new groups today. Maybe I'll come back tomorrow and restart the three a day song posts!