Dissecting Kara, DBSK and The Sugababes.

It's been a while, hasn't it? I guess you could call it a lack of inspiration but even if I had the ideas and theories, I couldn't write anything. Now I can - I AM BACK! hahah. Take note that I'm considering doing a review of the Ellie Goulding album, just to remind everyone that I haven't been completely converted to kpop!

So to get me back full-swing, 3 songs from 3 different territories - Korea, Japan and Britain. Go easy on me, OK?

Kara - Lupin/루팡

It's been a few weeks/days since the release of the song, but Lupin still sounds the same - mediocre, boring and nothing special.

Kara's back catalogue is pretty solid proof to me that one, there is no musical growth in Kpop and two, you don't have to be able to sing to be a singer. Stupid, I know.

There is no musical growth in Korea - just change. Growth is taking what you have, who you are, learning from your mistakes and altering who you are to make your material better. Change is like randomly picking a song from a hat. Lupin is serious, it's 'dark' (for kpop) and if their vocals were a gazillion notches higher, it would've sold the concept. What did they used to do? This:

See what I mean? This applies to most kpop artists, even DBSK. Not all, but most.

Lupin is catchy and I like the back beat but the entire song is just bleh, there's nothing about it that makes it stand out from all the other crap that's out these days. Yeah, sure you have this 'thief in the night' concept and to a certain extent it mirrors in the music but I'm not convinced.

3/5

The Sugababes - Wear My Kiss

Oh how I miss writing artists and song titles in straight English. lol.

I hated Get Sexy, About A Girl bored me to death and so I wasn't expecting a lot from Wear My Kiss.

I have one thing to say - it took a kpop addiction for me to appreciate how British pop is really at a different level in terms of production and musicality. The two fields are different and their creativity varies but in terms of being MUSICIANS in the pop industry, I still personally think that Britain is waaaay ahead. Hahah. I haven't lost it yet!

Wear My Kiss is one of those songs I would've loved a year and a half ago and to a certain extent I like the hook. The chorus is solid, the vocals are WAY better than most of the stuff I get in Korea (sorry, but it's true.) and the production is more my taste - rich, but crisp.

4/5

DBSK/TVXQ/Tohoshinki - With All My Heart

Before I start the review, I just have to boast about a few things. First, DBSK's Break Out! became the best-selling single by a foreign artist in Japan, selling over 350,000 copies. As if that wasn't enough, their GH package sold 300,000 copies in A DAY and reached more or less 400,000 copies in a week - making it the best-selling album by a foreign artist, breaking Bon Jovi's 14+-year record.

LSM has left SME. *rejoices*

And last but not the least, I'VE SUCCESSFULLY CONVERTED MEL (http://popdivalc.blogspot.com) TO ALMOST TOTAL DBSK FANGIRL-ISM. *dances around room*

ANYWAY. Let's get on with the review.

The first time I heard this song, I didn't hear the whole thing - all I had was a clip of the last 2 minutes - but that didn't stop me from completely FREAKING THE HELL OUT. I was spazzing all over Twitter, freaking out at anyone with ears, and I fell in love with those 2 minutes.

So then the whole song came out. If I was freaking out over the 2 minutes, I almost died (REALLY CLOSE TO DYING). Those strings, that melody, THOSE VOCALS.

The best part of the song is around 3:42 when Junsu SENDS ME INTO HYSTERICS OVER THOSE VOCALS and the whole song just explodes - string section, screaming and exploding drum lines. Then the song mellows down before just exploding and OH MY GOSH I'M SPAZZING JUST IMAGINING IT.

I might die before I finish this review so obviously it's a 5/5 and just listen to the damn song: