Friday Night Post. I missed this.

Two guys for tonight's offering - Swedish and Korean. Hmm.

Darin - You're Out Of My Life

OK, for those who've been reading the blog since it's earlier days aka my pre-kpop era, you'll know that I absolutely ADORE Darin. Like, he's one of my top Swedish pop stars - as he is for a lot of my blogger friends (I'm talking to you, PPG).

This new single was his entry to this year's Melodifestivalen (has anyone won yet? I've been so un-updated on these things) but damn, I THINK I'M IN LOVE WITH THIS SONG. It sounds like something my beloved Kevin Borg would have absolutely no problem covering but I LOVE how epic the song is.

The entire song screams SWEDISH - I can't imagine any other country masterminding this in terms of arrangement, melody and production. I love the string section and I love the heavy, 80's-like percussion with that hint of electric guitar - makes it like a pseudo-rock but not rock piece.

In short, it's got all the makings of my favorite song. Done deal.

See: Ken's review.

4.6/5

Brian - In My Head

Brian used to be in the duo Fly To The Sky with Hwanhee (whose single I ADORED), and honestly, he's the less talented one of the two. BUT, he's a mile better than a lot of boyband members nowadays AND he knows what he's doing on stage - he's pretty good.

His previous single, My Girl, took time to grow on me but over time I've come to appreciate it - now he's 'back' with a cover of Jason Derulo's In My Head.

To be completely honest with you, I listened to the Jason Derulo version again today and taste-wise, I like his delivery of the whole thing better. I dug up a live version and I loved the actual band behind him, you guys know I like bands. HOWEVER, even if I personally like the original version better, Brian's cover on it had a different vocal delivery - he "made the song his own", In My Head sounds like a Brian song.

For that, you gotta give the guy at least SOME credit.

4/5 for the song, 3.7/5 for the cover.