What's been going on???

I've been super, SUPER MIA these past few days because as most of you know, I'm also a writer for a kpop news site and I had a little crisis with my grades this week (don't ask.) which all lead to me not being able to do any blogging here. That 'elements of a perfect Christmas song' might not go on as at the moment, I have no time to post anything during school days. It's hard enough trying to write one article a day over where I'm writing news, what more if I add in PRN. Apologies and I assure you, by mid-December at the latest everything will be back to normal.

So what the crap has been happening since I last did some writing? A LOT. Ugh. Here's a quick sum-up of everything I think is worth writing about. It'll be super, SUPER opinionated because over at omgkpop I have to remove all opinions and just do facts - I have to let everything out! I seriously miss being able to write like this. Hahah.

• Lady GaGa's Fame Monster was leaked and everyone freaked out. Well, almost everyone. I listened over to the album because everyone seemed to be adoring it thinking it would work like how Leona's Echo did but it didn't - I'm one of those few that thinks opposite the rest of the blogging world. (I believe I'm in this together with Paul!) I just don't find her music interesting. Yeah sure her clothes, her image and everything about her that doesn't have to do with music is a gigantic spectacle to the eyes but I don't care one bit about image - I don't like the songs, they just don't appeal to me.
• A few days ago I tweeted about Glee covering Jennifer Paige's Crush (I cannot stand people who only think Crush is by David Archuleta. PLEASE.) and although I'm not falling over my feet for the version, it's good seeing the song covered because it's so damn good! No really, as a kid I constantly heard it and a few years ago when I was re-acquainting myself with 90's pop I came across her again - brilliant song.
• Nick Jonas (credited as Nick Jonas and the Administration) has a new album slated for release and he's performing at the Grammy Nominations Concert. I should care because? Hahah.
• JoJo. There are tracks leaking almost every day and I'm sick and tired of seeing them - JUST GET THE DAMN ALBUM OUT ALREADY! Hahah.
• Is the Adam Lambert album any good? I mean, will I like it? Because I'm still debating on whether or not to spend time listening to it. Oh, and any new albums that you think are worth my time?
• There's a new Agnes track called You Rain from a repackaged version (is it the US one?) of Dance Love Pop and dammit, it's gorgeous. No really, absolutely stunning. I may have to change Agnes' entry on my year-end countdown - dammit, another round of organizing and UGH. Hahah.
• EDIT: I like the new Alicia Keys song. Hahah.
• The world of kpop has been very interesting lately. Start it off by the state of my beloved DBSK and you already have an entire roller coaster to deal with. Three of them got sued for fraud and are openly defying their talent company who also forged their signatures. They also have a Japanese single out January next year. Interesting? My article on that is here. Fans are at their toes trying to figure out what'll happen next - we thought things were gonna be OK when they released a clip of their upcoming Japanese single but apparently, they're not. Dammit.
• The big year-end awards show, The Mnet Asian Music Awards, although without SM artists (Super Junior, f(x), SNSD, 2 of DBSK) and Korea's Britney (Lee Hyori), are looking promising. No one knows for certain if this repackaging of the MKMF will work but yeah. Hahah.
• Anything else I missed that you think I should know about? I've been so out of the loop lately - apologies.

This weekend I start writing and scheduling the posts for my year-end countdown and it starts on December 1 with the rules and format of this year's countdown. Haven't compiled the November songs yet but yeah.

Top 20

Picking up where we left off with the last non-'special' top 20, here's this week's chart! Yay. B2ST take the top spot. Why? Because the song might not be the best in the world and they might not have drop-dead gorgeous vocals but dammit, the performances are outstanding for a band of this caliber. So yeah. Hahah.

20. 2PM - Tired of Waiting (NE)
19. JLS - Everybody In Love
18. Big Bang - Let Me Hear Your Voice
17. f(x) - Lachata
16. Hwayobi and Sleepy from Untouchable - Kiss Kiss Kiss
15. DBSK/TVXQ/Tohoshinki (Jaejoong and Yoochun) - COLORS~Melody and Harmony~
14. SHINee - A.MI.GO.
13. DBSK/TVXQ/Tohoshinki - Bolero (NE)
12. Simon Curtis - Delusional
11. The Saturdays - Ego
10. IU - 기차를 타고 (NE)
9. SM Town Winter 2006 - Snow Dream (NE)
8. SHINee - Ring Ding Dong
7. The Saturdays - Denial
6. Amy Pearson - Butterfingers
5. Super Junior - It's You
4. Girls' Generation/SNSD - Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)
3. Leona Lewis - Denial (NE)
2. DBSK/TVXQ/Tohoshinki - Survivor
1. BEAST - Bad Girl (1 Week)

The perfect pop Christmas song: 1. Bells

You can't go wrong with bells. Christmas = Church = Bells. If you take history as an example, we were told that when the Spanish took over the Philippines they used religion - you're identified to a city if you can hear the church bells from your house. Thus, Christmas = Bells. In a good Christmas song you have to have bells somewhere in between all the other things and it has to be heard. Why? Because bells are one of the few things that one, sound like Christmas and two, you can actually put into a song because different bells make different notes and different sounds.

No matter how much pop elements you have in a song - computerized drums, generic beats, guitars and PROCESSING, you cannot have a Christmas song without the bells. A Christmas song without bells is like an acoustic-y song without a guitar part - wherever you are in the world, it just doesn't happen and no one over thinks of a song without it. Bells are one of the main reasons why Christmas songs are Christmas songs! Heck, you can put some bells into any random song and it would most probably sound a little like the season.

Here's exactly how you turn a song Christmas-y by simply adding bells. The chords and melody are identical and the arrangement is pretty much the same - the only different are the lyrics and the fact that one is for Christmas and one isn't but they're not basic musical elements so yeah.

The bells are heard the most during the chorus of the 2nd song and that's the main, MAIN thing that actually makes it Christmas-y.

The original song

(not very Christmas-y but I don't know why one of the dancers has a Santa hat on. Whatever - it sounds less Christmas-y than the second video):

The Christmas-ized song:

What makes the perfect pop Christmas song????

It's almost December. December means Christmas in most parts of the world - time to cash in on the holiday. Or not.

Last year I just put a bunch of random Christmas songs together and called it my playlist for that year. This year I'm older with a lot more brains to think of what to do, I think. What has this mind of mine come up with?

The elements of a perfect pop Christmas song.

Every year pop acts make special Christmas EPs and/or albums just to cash in on the season but what's in all of them and why do they sound like Christmas even if they're a bunch of studio-produced tracks? It can't be just how it 'feels', there have to be at least a few elements that make it what it is. That's what I tried to find out and I think I did a pretty good job.

The vocal commentary special will be put on hold until January next year - I'm doing WAY too much to even think of sitting down for an entire afternoon and just watching videos, listening to tracks and writing ONE post. So that'll have to wait but I promise I'll finish it. Hahah. So over the next few days starting tomorrow, in short until December comes along and I have to start counting down the best songs of the year, I'll be enumerating what I think makes the perfect pop Christmas song. Hahah.

One of the many reasons why I cannot stand stupid people.

(watch before you read, just so you know what I'll be talking about)

This is the new single from IU, one of the kpop artists I featured during the special months back.

WHAT THE EFFIN' CRAP DID HER STUPID TALENT AGENCY DO TO HER?!?! Boo was bad enough and You Know was a small step towards going somewhere far away from cutesy but really, this girl has a much, MUCH more outstanding and competent voice than this song is reflecting - see this:

I featured it back during the kpop special and I said that that was the reason why I liked this girl so much - she sounds her age. She doesn't sound like she's 40 and she wasn't made to sing crappy songs, she was treated like every other female solo singer but she had a voice her age - a voice that will grow with time and eventually become beautiful.

In come the stupid executives at her talent agency and ruin everything I ever liked about this girl. The first video is horrid, the song doesn't even deserve to be called music and this crap cannot be released - it's a disgrace.

Really, IU has a voice - she's PRETTY DAMN GOOD. But all these stupid people see in a girl with a voice that's actually her age is the cutesy side of it. She was doing well with Missing Child but apparently, it didn't sell. SNSD can get away with the cutesy thing because they're not exactly known for strong vocals but this girl deserves artistic dignity and A DAMN GOOD SONG. She cannot be stuck with stupid capitalist-made crap that 'sell'.

Relatively short - just had to let this out! And if you've been reading me on omgkpop (am writing as nikki_), how do I fare? Hahah.

Top 20: Special.

This is a special top 20, mainly because just last week (can't believe it's only been a week - it's like so much time passed!) I was freaking out of DBSK and the possibility of them splitting is still high. I and everyone else who has ever liked a DBSK song hope that they don't dissolve into history like dust but something has to happen at the end of this and it's better to be ready to face the truth than be blind to what MIGHT happen. I'm not saying they're split but as of now it's 50-50 - either they split or they don't and either one can happen.

Even if I wasn't a gigantic fan I'd still be doing this because what's happening to the guys now is a reflection of what and where the pop music industry is now - it's run by stupid people who nothing about music and has to be saved before these stupid people do anything even more harmful than what we're already seeing.

EDIT the night before this got published: That was written before the announcement that SM would be revising their contracts. No one knows if they were telling the truth and if this is really a win for DBSK but either way - this special chart still stands with the same purpose! Hahah. AND this was certainly written way before the announcement that DBSK would be pursuing solo activities that one, had nothing to do with DBSK and two, nothing to do with SM. Oh dear.

ANYWAY. Here's the (special) top 20 for this week - time to reveal why exactly I think DBSK are brilliant.

20. The Way You Are

19. Whatever They Say

18. One

17. Rising Sun

16. You're My Melody

15. COLORS ~Melody and Harmony~ (Jaejoong and Yoochun)

14. Flower Lady

13. Crazy Love

12. 9095

11. Choosey Lover

10. Sky

9. O Jung Ban Hap

8. Purple Line

7. 忘れないで

6. Step By Step

5. Tonight

4. Mirotic

3. Love in the Ice

2. Proud

1. Survivor