Songs I’ve loved in July and August 2020

Hello!

Sorry about posting a day late but I just couldn’t finish writing in time due to my schedule so I decided to post a day later instead of skipping and just posting next weekend.

So moving on to the actual post…

The last time I posted about a song that I’ve listened to was when I posted about “What You Waiting For” by Somi. From the time that I posted that until now, I listened to more Kpop song releases. So since I’ve listened to many songs and didn’t post about them around the time that I initially listened to them, I’ll just write about them together in one post.

“Make You Happy” by NiziU

Photo taken from Google Images.

I’ve listened to this song since it first came out in July and I’ve loved it since then. 

The group initially reminded me of Twice’s older songs and style. They also have the same number of members and were formed through a competition. So off the bat, since I saw some similarities with Twice, I already seemed to immediately like them.

So moving on to the song and music video… I think what made me love this song was how upbeat and cheerful it is so it kind of brings me good vibes whenever I listened to it. I think the title really captures the energy of the song because the song makes you feel happy. It’s just so upbeat and danceable that it’s kind of hard to be sad while listening to it.

Also, the brightness and the cheery colors used in the music video gives off this happy and cheerful vibe that it reminded me of fun and happiness. Plus JYP’s cameo and the look that Nina gave him when he fell down was really funny. 

I also love the Korean version of the song. It didn’t feel as off compared to when I listened to some Japanese songs translated into Korean.

As for the performance video, I liked watching it although the camera work wasn’t the best. I loved seeing their choreography. I think I actually preferred the performance video over the music video which is why I kind of wished they released it using the Japanese version of the song. But since I also liked the Korean version, I didn’t actually mind that much.

“Dynamite” by BTS

Photo taken from Google Images.

The song and music videos were released in August.

I was really excited for this release especially when I learned that it would be their first fully English song. I was really happy because I would be able to finally understand the whole song without needing subtitles.

And when it finally came out and I got to watch the music video and listen to the song, it didn’t disappoint. I immediately loved the song because it sounds so retro, fun, and youthful. It kind of reminded me of some older song from like the 70s or 80s. I also liked the aesthetics of the video because it looked retro but with a modern twist.

I’m also really proud of the boys because their English pronunciations really improved. While listening to the song, I noticed that while their pronunciations may not be a hundred percent perfect or sound American because their accent still comes out from time to time, I still loved the effort that they put into writing and singing a song in English so that they can also connect with their foreign Armys.

I also liked the two music videos for the song. One was like a more “professional” music video and the other one showed them having fun, Viking around, and making mistakes and just laughing. It was kind of like the two sides to them. 

I also listened to some of the remixes of the song but I think I love the original one the best. Although the acoustic remix is coming in a close second.

“More & More” English version by Twice

Photo taken from Google Images.

I had been looking forward to this release when I first heard about it. So when this song was released last August I got really excited.

I think this is Twice’s first time to release an English version for one of their songs so it made me think that they might be on their way to releasing a fully English song and not an English version of their existing song.

I liked the song because I was able to understand the full song without subtitles but I think I still prefer the original Korean version just because it seemed to sound better that way. But I really hope that they release an original fully English song just like BTS’ “Dynamite”.

“Not Shy” by Itzy

Photo taken from Google Images.

This song was also released in August. I wasn’t as excited for this comeback because the teasers didn’t really excite me enough. I just looked forward to it because I’ve loved all of Itzy’s releases so far so I was hoping that this release wouldn’t let me down.

And good thing that I didn’t dismiss it immediately based on the teasers because I ended up loving this song. I think I might like this song the most out of all of their releases so far. Although I didn’t really like the music video for this that much. I think I prefer the performance videos for this just because with Itzy, I love watching their choreography.

I also didn’t love their styling here that much. It really fit the whole Western cowboy aesthetic with a twist. It also looked a bit different from their previous styles but I think it only looked good because the girls are pretty and they were able to make the outfits work. 

“Ice Cream” by Blackpink x Selena Gomez

Photo taken from Google Images.

I had been looking forward to this release ever since I first heard of it because I initially didn’t like “How You Like That”. (FYI, I now love it. I guess all it took was for me to watch the performance video and play it over and over again.)

I think I really looked forward to this because at that time, I hoped that this would sort of be their “redemption” song for me because when this was initially announced, I still didn’t really like their last release. Also, since “How You Like That” showed their “black” side, I was curious how they were going to showcase their “pink” side with this song.

When I first listened to the song, I thought that it was fully in English. But when I listened after a few times, I noticed that one of Lisa’s raps was in Korean. It was only a very short portion so I think that’s why I didn’t notice it right away.

I’m also impressed with Jisoo’s English pronunciation here. Based on other English songs that I’ve heard her sing, I think she’s greatly improved. I hope she gets more lines in the future including in their collaborations with other artists.

I also thought that this song was more sexy and mature because of the lyrics. I think that the song kind of had sexy double meanings when you really try to understand the lyrics. Also, I’m kind of used to seeing Selena in sexy outfits but I was surprised of some of the outfits that Blackpink wore for the music video. It actually makes me feel glad that they have a new stylist now because we see them in a variety of outfits, hairstyle, and makeup looks.

I think all in all, the song had a cheerful and sexy vibe. I think it would have been a good summer song.

So to cap it all off, I loved all of the song releases this July and August. They really made me feel happy and excited for future releases.

That’s all for now, bye!

Thoughts: “Sour Candy” by Lady Gaga and Blackpink, “More & More” and “Fanfare” by Twice, “Stay Gold” by BTS, and “How You Like That?” By Blackpink

Hello!

From May to June, there had been a couple of releases from some of my favorite artists. I decided to put my thoughts about them together in one post because I’ve already written about them in my journal and I noticed that I have been behind in posting them here.

For some of these releases, I’ve been waiting for them ever since they were announced but for some, they came as a surprise just because I was unable to note down their releases or they were dropped without prior notices.

“Sour Candy” by Lady Gaga and Blackpink

Photo taken from Google Images.

I was kind of surprised about this collaboration first because I was unsure how their collaboration would go. Second is because, although I knew that they were going to have a collaboration released in May, I wasn’t able to pay attention to the date of the release so it surprised me when it popped up on my Youtube feed.

I was able to listen to the song on May 30 but I found out that it had been released two days prior which was on May 28.

I kind of had high expectations for this collaboration because I knew that Lady Gaga and Blackpink usually have really catchy songs and I was not disappointed. I thought that the song was really catchy although it seemed a bit too short for me. I hope someday they get to work together again because I think this song is good. I was also quite happy about this because I felt that it had been too long since we last got a Blackpink comeback so I think that at least we had this song to get us by while waiting for their latest comeback. (At that time, I was unaware that they will have a pre-release song that was coming out by June.)

Just a side note, I was slightly disappointed at the amount of lines for Jisoo because I thought that her voice suited this song especially because she and Lady Gaga had a bit of a deeper voice. As I recall, she only had two short lines for the entire song which was quite disappointing.

“More & More” by Twice

Photo taken from Google Images.

I was able to watch the music video for this last June 6 which was a few days after its release last June 1.

I felt that the intro prior to the song was quite long but I did like that it seems like they’ve tried a new style with lots of prints and a colorful nature feel. The song and the music video also seemed more mature which I think was a good move because they’re growing with their audience and they’re expanding their concepts. I think that this was a good way to show that they have range and versatility.

I thought that the song was very catchy and it seemed to me that it kind of had a summery vibe. I also thought that the music video style was similar to “Fancy” but more grown up.

I think this song exceeded my expectations because I thought that it might not be as catchy as their previous songs since it initially looked to me like a more mature and dark concept. I was pleasantly surprised at how catchy it was and how they were able to mix a more mature concept with a cheerful and fresh vibe.

“Fanfare” by Twice

Photo taken from Google Images.

This release also surprised me because I knew that they were also going to have a Japanese comeback after their “More & More” comeback but I didn’t pay attention to the dates again.

I liked that the intro actually sounded like a fanfare and that the whole song was cheerful and upbeat. It had a different feel from “More & More” which I think was a good choice because people might not like listening to similar songs released so close to each other and I think that a lot of Onces will listen to both songs.

There was just one set that I didn’t like which is the one with the piles of clothes because I didn’t think that it had the same aesthetics as the other sets. I also didn’t find it pretty to look at because it looked too cluttered and messy.

I also liked that the song seemed to be about cheering someone up and reassuring them that they are always by their side to cheer them on and support them. I think that by listening to the song, it just makes you have good vibes because it’s just so cheerful and happy.

“Stay Gold” by BTS

Photo taken from Google Images.

The release of this song also took me by surprise because I was just coming down from the high of the 2020 Festa. I also haven’t been able to keep track of their Japanese releases which is also another reason why this surprised me.

Although I had been aware of the song’s release prior to watching the music video yesterday, June 26, I never really got around to fully listening to it. Yesterday was the first time that I was able to sit down and actually watch the music video while listening to the song.

I actually liked the song because it kind of sounded like something you’d hear as an OST of a drama. I thought that it had so much emotion that it would have been a good part of a soundtrack for a series or a movie.

For some reason, this also seemed to me like they were going for a more mature concept. For some reason, the song kind of had that vibe to me probably because of how it sounded.

I loved the end portion with the beautiful trees and flowers landscape because it was so pretty to look at. It was so visually appealing to me with all of the soft and bright colors that seemed to fit the meaning of the song about not letting hardships dull your shine.

“How You Like That?” by Blackpink

Photo taken from Google Images.

I had been waiting for this song ever since I found out that they were releasing a pre-release single this June. So when it was released yesterday, I immediately watched it.

I actually had high expectations for this because they said that it is a part of their upcoming full-length album that they had been working on for some time now.

I think that they seemed edgier and more mature in this compared to their previous releases. It also sounded a bit different than what I had imagined it would be like based on the teasers. But I don’t think I like it very much especially compared to their previous releases. I didn’t think it was that catchy and I wasn’t as hyped about the chorus. I was actually kind of disappointed about this because I kind of expected more since it’s been about a year since their last comeback and their songs are usually bops. But this time, I felt like there was something missing or there’s something about the chorus that just doesn’t do it for me.

Although, I thought that their styling was good for this release. They all looked good and edgy and expensive.

I’m not sure if this song would grow on me if I listen to it more but I hope the rest of the songs in their upcoming album would be good. I’ll still keep my hopes up that I would love their other songs if I don’t grow to love this.

That’s all for now, bye!

Thoughts: Twice’s “Feel Special” music video

Photo taken from Google Images.

Hello!

So Twice has made another comeback this year with “Feel Special”.

I really like this comeback after what happened with myself and the group over the past few months. 

As I have written in my previous post, the past few months have been a bit rough for me and the song’s message was nice and relatable to me after everything that happened. The message really was spot on when it came to thanking those who made you feel like you matter when you were feeling so down that you weren’t seeing your purpose or value in life. Also, it was nice to remember those who have inspired you and touched your life when you were at your lowest and that was what the song made me feel after understanding the lyrics.

And then with the group, I think a lot of Onces know that the past couple of months have been kind of giving us mixed feelings because we were so happy for the girls when they won a lot of awards but at the same time, it was sad that Mina was on hiatus for those months because she had health concerns that needs to be taken care of first. To be honest, Mina is one of my favourite members and I actually felt sad when I found out that she had to sit out due to health concerns. At that point, I was thinking what would happen to them since she would be gone for an indefinite amount of time. And I was worried about what would happen to her knowing that she was diagnosed with anxiety disorder.

So moving on to my thoughts on the music video, I really loved it because Twice was complete in it. So I was really happy that we finally get to see all nine of them together after spending months seeing them incomplete.

Also, I wanted to point out that the sets for the music video really seems like it levelled up compared to their previous music videos. Everything from the sets to their outfits looked really expensive.

Another thing I noticed is that this comeback has an even more grown up concept than “Fancy” so it seems like Twice is really trying out new concepts. Which I think is good for them because I think that this would give them an even bigger fanbase and at the same time, their fans who were with them since the beginning would have something more to look forward to and would somehow be able to grow up with them.

All in all, I’m quite pleased with this comeback since I felt that it was very meaningful. Also, I got to see all nine of them together again even if it was just in the music video. And of course, since we’re talking about Twice, this was also really catchy.

So that’s all I have to write about. Bye!

Thoughts: Twice’s “Fancy” music video

Photo taken from Google Images.

Hello!

I have finally watched Twice’s “Fancy” music video.

I wasn’t able to watch it as soon as it came out but on the second day since its release, I’ve watched it.

Initially, I wasn’t sure how I feel about it. I thought that it wasn’t as catchy as their previous songs and it’s not really something that’s going to be easy to sing along to. I also thought that I didn’t like it because I didn’t immediately want to repeat listening to it.

But then, this morning, I re-watched it before writing this post so that I can refresh on some of the details of the song and at the back of my mind, I wanted to love the song as much as I love their previous songs. Anyways, as I was re-watching the music video, I thought that it wasn’t as bad as the first time I watched it. So I also started watching their stages. After that, I started to question why I didn’t like it in the first place. I really love the song now.

One of the things I noticed was that their music video for this song seemed more mature than their previous music videos. This is clearly seen in some of their outfits. With that, I think this will open them up to doing other concepts that may not be similar to their previous concepts. I think this will definitely be a good stepping stone for them to get into girl crush concept and other more mature and sexier concepts.

It also seems to me that with this comeback, they were branching out of their usual concepts. Their concept for this wasn’t as bright and cheery as usual. To be honest, I was actually kind of looking forward to this comeback because they mentioned during their appearance on “Super Intern” that they were thinking of trying out a different concept. Since seeing that episode, I was really looking forward to seeing if they will really try a new concept.

“Fancy” also seemed to have some sort of retro feel to it that I guess I wasn’t able to appreciate the first time I heard it. But later on, I noticed how different it was from their previous style but at the same time, I learned that the song is very pleasant to listen to. I still think that it’s not as catchy as some of their previous songs but it’s catchy in a different way. There is something about the melody that makes it catchy even if the lyrics are more difficult for me to remember.

So that’s all for now. Let me know if you have thoughts about Twice’s latest comeback in comments portion.

Bye!

Thoughts: Twice’s “Yes or Yes” music video

Photo taken from Google Images.

Hello!

So last November 5, Twice released their “Yes or Yes” music video. I was really excited for it after watching all the teasers.

So when the day came for its release, I watched it as soon as I could. So these are my thoughts when I watched it.

So during the first time that I watched it, I immediately thought that it was a catchy song. However, I didn’t love it immediately unlike some of their other songs. I’m not really sure why I didn’t love it immediately. Anyways… after watching it for the second time and a few more times after that, I really loved it. Certain parts of the song also gets stuck in my head.

One of the things that I really liked about the song and the music video was that it seemed that the lines were distributed more equally and that everybody seemed to have a good amount of screen time. In their previous songs, I noticed that there were some members who didn’t get as much lines or screen times but for “Yes or Yes” it seemed more equally distributed. I really enjoyed that and was excited by it because as a fan, I felt that they all got a fair amount of times to shine.

So I guess that’s all I wanted to say for now. I don’t really have much thoughts about it because the more equally distributed lines and screen times was what really got my attention during this comeback.

That’s all for now and I do apologize for the super short post and that it seemed really abrupt. I just wrote about this because I was super happy about that thought and because I do enjoy Twice’s music.

Bye!

Thoughts: Twice’s “Dance The Night Away” music video

Photo taken from Google Images.

Hello!

It’s a new month!!! Sorry I haven’t been writing even if I did mention in my last post that I would start writing more. A lot of exciting things just happened recently that I wasn’t able to write here. But that’s a story for another time.

What I wanted to write about today is that I have finally watched Twice’s new music video “Dance The Night Away”. 

Have you seen it already?

Maybe you have because I have been late in getting around to watch it. But I got so excited while watching and listening to the song because I thought that it was really good. I think that the song is really perfect for summer although where I live, it’s definitely not summer and it’s been raining hard lately. But nonetheless, the song is so cheery and fun and it really makes you feel good and cheerful.

Also, I’m not really sure why but I think that this is different from their other previous songs but at the same time it’s not. I just feel like this is them growing and maturing but at the same time, it still fits their concept. I don’t know maybe it’s just me.

Anyways…

I also liked how the music video showed them on a beach in the morning and then towards the end, it shows that it’s night time. I think it really shows a nice contrast to the overall aesthetics of the video and at the same time, it really showed them dancing the night away.

I’ve also watched the dance version and I thought that the choreography was so cool and it really fits the song.

That’s all for now, bye!

Thoughts: Twice’s “What is Love?” music video

Photo taken from Google Images.

Hello!

I have already watched Twice’s “What is Love?” music video!!!

I can’t believe that I was able to watch it a few minutes after it was released. I believe that I was so early that the comments couldn’t be seen yet. Also, it’s actually the first ever music video that I was able to watch within the first hour that the music video was released so I’m super proud of myself for that.

Anyways…

I was super excited for this music video because I’ve been waiting for it ever since it was announced that they were going to have a comeback this April. I really loved their previous music video releases ever since I became a fan so I was excited and really expectant that this music video would live up to that expectation. And they didn’t disappoint because I really loved this music video as well.

So…

One of the first things that really stood out to me was that they had a lot of movie references that I knew. Most of the movie references that they made were movies that I love or I’ve already watched them so I got really excited whenever I recognized which movie they were referring to.

Another thing that got my attention was that for some of them whose movie references involved having a partner, their supposed love interests were other Twice members as well. That was fun to watch because, as I recall, the first one who had a partner was Jeongyeon so I was surprised that her partner was Mina instead of a guy. After that, whenever they had scenes that involved a partner, I really watched out to who will play the partner. I don’t really know why I found that exciting though.

I also loved how upbeat and danceable (is this even a word?) it was. I also want to note how relatable the message is for someone who’s never been in a relationship because sometimes, I do think about those things. I don’t know if that’s just me but that was so relatable.

And lastly, they all looked so good in this music video. During parts where they had a solo shots, they really did look so stunning.  I also loved the chorus parts where they all wore gowns because they all looked so pretty. One thing that I think deserves a special mention was that I was quite surprised at how stunning and grown-up Dahyun looked in her individual shot (the one with the golden gown).

So that’s all for now, if you want to see the music video, I will also leave a link below.

Bye!

P.S. Here’s the link to Twice’s “What is Love?” MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0p1bmr0EmE

Thoughts: Twice’s “Brand New Girl”

Photo taken from Google Images.

Hello!

Have you seen Twice’s new music video “Brand New Girl”?

I realize that it has been out for quite some time as of this writing but I have just recently watched it.

Anyway…

I think that this is the first time that I’m writing about what I think about a Twice music video. I know that I usually write about Got7. In fact, I think this is the first time that I’m writing about my thoughts about a music video that isn’t Got7’s music video.

But to tell you honestly, this isn’t my first time to watch a Twice music video. I have watched all their other music videos before but I just wasn’t able to really write about my thoughts on any of them. But since I don’t really have much to do right now, I decided to write my thoughts about their most recent music video.

So here it goes…

As I have written in the beginning and as you can see in the title, the music video’s title is “Brand New Girl”. It’s a music video of one of their Japanese songs from their most recent Japanese album. I believe that this song is from the same album as “Candy Pop”. (Please correct me if I’m wrong though.)

I really enjoyed listening to “Brand New Girl”. I’m not really sure if it’s vastly different from all their previous music videos or songs since it seems a bit similar to me. Anyway, I think that this music video is really cute, fun, and bright because it seems to incorporate similar vibes to that of old school music videos and it uses a bit of animation. If you’ve seen the movie “Grease”, I think that the beginning and end parts of this music video is kind of similar to that movie. I’m not saying that it’s exactly the same because it definitely is not but the vibe I got from “Brand New Girl” reminded me of “Grease”.

I also noticed that the line distribution and screen time was a bit different from what I was used to. For example, one of the biggest things I noticed was that Momo had a lot of lines for this song so we are able to see more of her as well in the music video.

All in all, I really liked the song. However, I’m a bit disappointed that it doesn’t have subtitles because I couldn’t really understand anything and I really do wish to understand what the song is about. But I guess it’s okay since I could always look for translations.

I don’t really have much to say anymore so I guess that’s all for now.

Bye!