Video credit goes to CrazyCarrotNew210.
Boyfriend - "Don't Touch My Girl"
Well I guess their vocals are that much better than they were yesterday, but their vocals have no punch, and the song is lazy to start with, so it does nothing to hide that fact. I almost fell asleep while watching this, I'm afraid.
B1A4 - "Beautiful Target"
We'll talk when all of you go back to actually singing, B1A4.
Orange Caramel - "Shanghai Romance"
When the Taekwondo back-up dancers rolled onto the stage, I LOL-ed. When they just disappeared after a while, I LOL-ed again. That was probably the best part of the entire performance.
Infinite - "Paradise" + "Be Mine"
I will say this until your ears bleed, but I was on the Infinite bandwagon before everyone else, and I'm so proud of how far they've come, music-wise! Of course there are still members who can't sing, like their maknae, but the members who *do* sing, have gotten miles better, and really, as performers they really deliver. They have the material, some of them have the voice, and they have that unity on stage. The makings of a great band - it's all a matter of time. And more better material.
Secret - "Love is MOVE"
I admit that I was never the biggest fan of this song, nor was I jumping for joy over the video, so I never really bothered watching their live performances. I was dead wrong through, because this song is made for the stage. Secret's vocals have become increasingly better, and very consistent, which makes it even better to watch live. Even if their material has strayed from what I personally like, they pull it off well, they can sing, and they know what works for them.
U-Kiss - "Someday"
I believe that, once again, I predicted a post-album single. However, I do not have the honor of predicting that their live vocals will be a complete and utter disaster. Gorgeous song, but my God, what kind of vocals are those, U-Kiss, seriously. You've been around as long as SHINee, and they can sing something like this without batting an eyelash (and Jonghyun screaming his way though, but we'll save that for another time). I mean that guy in the glasses is fine, and the guy singing at the chorus (who I assume is the guy who has a throat problem so he can't sing that much) is great, so is the guy who does the middle 8, but everyone else, which is like, more than half of the band? Yeah, NO.
Davichi - "Love Oh Love"
Oh Davichi, you two are brilliant as always. Even if you get double-tracked like hell at the chorus you still push through and fight the stupid idea. YAY. Flawless performance, pretty song, why isn't this winning anymore. Oh right, because this is a popularity contest. I'm sorry, I forgot.
SNSD/Girls' Generation - "The Boys"
Apart from the fact that the entire intro was mimed and Jessica's mic didn't work until much later, I CANNOT BELIEVE MY EARS AM I HALLUCINATING OR SOMETHING. Because SOMEONE has finally gotten the levels on an SNSD performance right. This is how they should sound, and believe me, if they sounded like this all the time I wouldn't hate them as much as I do. I understand that their previous blunders had a lot to do with stupid sound guys behind big, shiny equipment they probably don't know how to use, but nothing is an excuse for bad singing, and if you are talented you will find a way. But the past is the past, and now you can actually hear their voices over the excessive bass! Best music show performance of this song so far.
In UKISS - Guy in the chorus is indeed Soohyun of the vocal nodules, guy who does the middle 8 is Kevin, guy with glasses is AJ.
ReplyDeleteWhat's worth noting is that Soohyun formerly trained under JYP, Kevin is a former member of XING (it's a rotational group under different management, and all five members of DGNA are also former members, along with the rapper from Beast and a few members of X-5 and other random people), and AJ is a former member of Paran (which is another group under the same label as UKISS . . . that debuted in 2005).
So basically, my conclusion is that NHMedia has no clue how to train anyone to sing, they just convinced a few decent singers to switch labels and hoped the rest would learn by osmosis. Which explains the lack of progress.
As for SNSD - that's the reason I only pay attention to them for Seohyun. She's the only one who is consistently good live despite all impediments.
I missed these so much, i'm glad you did them this week! ^^
ReplyDeleteB1A4 is too preppy for taste and boyfriend is....not comment. So i'll skip them altogether.
But, by god! Shanghai Romance! I knew this was the type of song that orange caramel would release. I was sure if i should cry or laugh because its so bad. Seriously, Pledis should go back to the drawing board on this one. The costumes are terrible, the vocals sound bad with this cutesy music, and the song sounds cheap. They should make a Jung Ah and Gahee duo, or better yet, let Jung Ah have her solo album. I can easily stamp a fail sticker on "Shanghai Romance."
YAY!! INFINITE!! I LOVED BE MINE!!!! :DDD
Secret, I actually kind of liked this song, its so fun and energetic! With the live performances, they really aren't trying too hard because this song calls for a cheerful performance. The girls look like they're having a great time on stage. They're cute (Without trying to be), fun, sexy, and it all looks natural.
Davichi always blows me away, i really liked their album but those vocals are so powerful! i get goosebumps listening to them and i feel like crying because its SO BEAUTIFUL!
SNSD: ugh, I didn't like this song. Its like they're trying to be "american" sexy but PG-13 at the same time...it looks kind of awkward. Plus, Jessica's high notes in this song make me cringe. AND WHY THE HELL DID YOONA GET ALL THESE LINES?!? seriously that was a mistake on SM's behalf. Yeah, she is sounding decent again, but even Yuri and Sooyoung could have pulled it off better. If any other group debuted with this song then they wouldn't achieve an "all-kill status" but because this is SNSD then yeah they're selling a lot. Furthermore the rap/chanting sounded so weak and forced. Only Afterschool has pulled off chanting and made it sound "KA-POW!
The only nice thing i can say is that their lives are getting stronger, Seohyun sounds great, Sunny looks hot with that blonde hair, and they do look nice.
If i had it my way, SNSD would only have Tiffany, Seohyun, Taeyeon, Sooyoung, and Yuri. (but mind you they wouldn't be as popular as 5 as opposed to 9)
I'm convinced that Orange Caramel is never meant to be taken seriously anyway so I just watch their performances for the lulz. And yeah, they should keep the Taekwondo dancers and these outfits too -- Street Fighter in my kpop is definitely forever welcome. I still kind of think they're not putting as much effort into these perfs. I mean, if you're going to go all campy and lulzy (and maybe borderline racist) for a concept, you should go all the way XD
ReplyDelete...as performers they really deliver. They have the material, some of them have the voice, and they have that unity on stage.
All that stuff about Infinite, I wholly agree with, especially that bit about the stage unity. Being in sync is more than just dancing together -- it's about timing and having a cohesive performance. Infinite shines because they know each other so well and are very united (maybe 18 hours of practice together does that to people). Also, IA about the maknae's (and the other guy who barely gets lines) singing. He's quite unstable, which is a pity because I think his voice is pleasant to listen to. I hope this can be fixed with practice so they can emerge as a top tier group with A+ vocals from ALL the members (I love the rappers' voices SFM BTW, ever heard them sing? :D)