Padd Solutions

Fanboy:

Currently one of our favorite rookie groups, Infinite recently released their comeback music video for their single album Inspirit.



After watching this video, I have realized that the Infinite boys are no one-trick-pony. I personally think they're some of the best dancers out there right now and without a doubt, one of the best rookies in this competitive K-Pop market.

For this MV, the boys toned down their intricate dance moves to suit a more pleasant song. Kind of like what Super Junior did for "No Other" after their aggressive "Bonamana" choreography. Despite the light dance moves, Infinite still brought it. These boys are almost always in-sync (Actually, come to think of it, I don't think I've seen them not in-sync). The music video did remind me of Super Junior's "It's You" (one of my favorite music videos) and how it was shot in one take. I very much enjoyed the direction of this video. It's unfortunate that they made member Sungyeol pretty much emo here, and giving him no singing parts to add salt to wounds. He got more face-time, I guess.

There was one part that really bothered me though. At 1:30 in the MV, rapper Dongwoo rapped, "I think about you all day long..." as he was looking at and grabbing Sungyeol. Hmm... let's just say that if this MV was released in America, Americans would get the wrong impression of the boys. Since I'm sort of used to seeing these sort of things in K-Pop, I've realized that this is a part of their culture. Sadly, not everyone understands that, so the trolls have expressed their thoughts on the YouTube video's comments. Sigh.

All in all, I enjoyed this MV. I very much respect Infinite and will continue to support them with the hope that they continue to rise in popularity. They deserve more attention than what they're currently getting. This music video is miles better than what else is out there in K-Pop. Easily one of the standouts in 2011. Props to Infinite!


Fangirl:

I really enjoyed this music video. It manages to be adorable but not cloying. The video also has an interesting homemade, artsy style that is almost unheard-of in K-pop. The walls of toilet paper rolls, corridors of white boxes, and the signs of cardboard and tape lend the MV a creative, child-like flair. If you watch closely, you'll see the first half of the video isn't actually one take, and in fact some of the cuts are quite jarring. This bothered me at first, but then I began to appreciate it for the weird, hallucinatory quality it adds to the video.

I have no idea what's going on in that final scene of the five remaining boys in the parking lot, but I love it. I wonder how planned out it was? It feels surprisingly authentic and spontaneous. And adorable.

Infinite is looking more and more like the next big thing to me. With their colorful SHINee pants and their fluffy mops of hair, I can see the noona fans falling for these guys like dominoes (maybe like bed dominoes?). They really are incredibly synchronized dancers - to the point where I wonder if their choreographer gets out a meter stick whenever they have dance practice. ("No Hoya, you have to lift your foot 5 cm higher!")

And speaking of wrong impressions, did anyone notice that tushy grab at 1:47? Yeah, I really don't have anything coherent to say about that, I just wanted to point it out.

Anyway! Yes, it's Infinite "Nothing's Over", nifty music video, watch it and then tell us -

What did you think of the music video?

With the increased popularity of K-pop worldwide, demand for Korean pop idols has risen too. Thus we have new K-pop groups have been debuting by the dozen. Here are our thoughts on many of the rookies groups that debuted in 2010, in order of debut date:


CN Blue
Boy Band - F&C Music
Members: YongHwa, JungShin, JongHyun, and MinHyuk
Debut Song: I'm a Loner

Fanboy: I like it when these boys are featured with other artists. Such as their duet with SNSD for the Kelly Clarkson cover "My Life Would Suck Without You" or at last year's Gayo Daejuns with FT Island, Onew, Luna, Junsu, and IU. It's a shame that rock bands aren't as prevalent in the K-Pop world.

Fangirl: I was so psyched when CN Blue exploded on to the scene in January 2009. A cute Korean rock group? Sign me up! But I have to admit my enthusiasm has cooled in the last year. I suppose in order to succeed in Korea, rock groups have to be more pop than rock (ex. The Trax) but that kind of music just doesn't interest me as much.


F.Cuz
Boy Group - CAN&J Entertainment
Members: Kan, YeJoon, Lee-U, and JinOn
Debut Song: Jiggy

Fanboy: I feel bad for this band. They're sort of known as the failure group in K-Pop. At least they're still around and really trying their best to succeed. Sad that the recent car accident set them back again. However, I feel that they need to put out better material. "Midnight Sun" was decent, but can also be considered sort of generic.

Fangirl: I didn't like "Jiggy" much, but their third promoted song "Midnight Sun" is appealing and pretty catchy. But unless this band manages to hit it off in their next promotional cycle, I'm not seeing a bright future here.


Children of Empire (ZE:A)
Boy Group - Star Empire Entertainment
Members: HyungShik, JunYoung, Kevin, KwangHee, MinWoo, ShiWan, HeeChul, TaeHun, and DongJoon
Debut Song: Mazeltov

Fanboy: I respect these guys' dancing ability, because I'm always a sucker for great choreography. As for their music, umm... not my taste. "Mazeltov" just didn't impress me. I can't get past the English. Sadly, I also think there are too many members in this group. It would take me a while to learn who's who.

Fangirl: It's hard for me to take this group seriously when they have such absurdly bad English in their songs like they have in Mazeltov. But I decided everyone deserves a second chance, so I gave "All Day" a listen, and thought "Yeah... I could get into this."


SISTAR
Girl Group - Starship Entertainment
Members: SoYu, HyoLin, DaSom, BoRa
Debut Song: Push Push

Fanboy: I first heard of these girls when Jo Kwon danced to "Push Push". "Push Push" is ok to me, but "How Dare You" is once again not my taste. I'm not a total fan of that "cute" image.

Fangirl: I've heard good things about SISTAR, but I've never properly checked them out until now. My conclusion? Good, but not amazing. "Shady Girl" is charming and "How Dare You" is catchy enough, but I'm hardly signing up for their fanclub.


Infinite
Boy Group - Woolim Entertainment
Members: L, SungJong, WooHyun, SungGyu, SeungYeol, Hoya, and DongWoo
Debut Song: Come Back Again

Fanboy: This group is easily my favorite rookie group out right now. They are, unfortunately, so underrated. But luckily, they're starting to pick up some steam. They deserve more attention. Why? Have you seen them wipe the floor with Teen Top on the dance battle against them? Or how about their Star Dance Battle this year with Justin Bieber's "Baby" and Far East Movement's "Like a G6"? Yeah, see what I'm talking about?

Fangirl: I frequently call this group "the most in sync boy band EVA!" for their incredibly synchronized dancing. "Come Back Again" was one of my favorite songs of 2010, but I was unimpressed with their live performance of the song. All the difficult vocal parts had been pre-recorded. Still, I'm keeping an eye on these guys. They've got something.


Miss A
Girl Group - JYP Entertainment
Members: Fei, Jia, Min, and Suzy
Debut Song: Bad Girl, Good Girl

Fanboy: Once again, I first learned of these girls from Jo Kwon when he and 2AM covered it at the Star Dance Battle last year. He really introduces me to these girl groups. :) Sadly, I found their cover to be much more appealing, because it was so hilarious. As for miss A, the group is decent, but girl groups these days just don't impress me as much as the male counterparts.

Fangirl: It's hard to believe this group has been around for under a year. They're just everywhere! I guess this shows how much it helps to have a powerful management company. I recognize the girls' talent, and the choreography for "Breathe" was refreshing, but I'm not exactly a fan.


G.NA
Girl (Solo) - Cube Entertainment
Real name: Gina Choi
Debut Song: Things I Want to Do When I Have a Lover (with Rain)

Fanboy: I found the Rain duet to be forgettable. Shame, because it's Rain! However, "I'll Back Off So You Can Live Better" is a fantastic song. It's one of my favorite songs from 2010. If she released an English version here in America, it would be a hit. Sadly, I didn't care for her recent "Black and White" song. Do I need to repeat that I don't go for that "cute" image?

Fangirl: One of the most promising debuts of 2010. G.NA is beautiful, talented and personable, and I only see her popularity growing in the future. Like Fanboy, I don't quite go for the cuteness of "Black and White" but "꺼져 줄게 잘 살아" was great.


Dalmatian
Boy Group - IS Entertainment
Members: Inati, Dari, Day Day, Jisu, YoungWon, and Daniel
Debut Song: Round 1

Fanboy: I don't have a whole lot to say about this group. They don't particularly "wow" me, but I found their two recent singles to be appealing.

Fangirl: Dalmatian's debut in 2010 completely passed me by, but since their mini album came out last month, they have been flying up my favorite list at an exponential rate. Each member is talented and they sound great live (Daniel's voice is to die for). If The Man Opposed perks your interest like it did mine, I recommend Dalmatian's live performance of Officially Missing You, which they remixed themselves.


Co-Ed
Mix Group - Core Contents Media
Members: SooMi, ChanMi, HyoYoung, HyeWon, Noori, KwangHaeng, YooSung, TaeWoon, SungMin, and KangHo
Debut Song: Too Late

Fanboy: Hmm... I like the idea of a mixed-gendered group. It's something refreshing. However, the execution of this group's stages is not what I envisioned. I would prefer that they take a different approach. I liked their music video for "Bbiribbom Bberibbom". That was sort of what I had in mind. Too bad their performances don't encompass that. The stages make me think of "Grease" or some kind of musical. Sigh.

Fangirl: I have no particular love for this group (I think the concept is way too gimmicky and many of the members aren't very talented), but I find their music constantly stuck in my head - especially Bbiribbom Bberibbom.

Fangirl:

So to start off, let's choose songs we think are underrated! Here's mine:

• Super Junior - Why I Like You - One of the reasons I think the Sorry Sorry album is so good. There are some stinkers on there too, but this song really elevates the quality.
• TVXQ - All in Vain - Many huge TVXQ fans have never even heard of this song, which is a great pity. It showcases some of Micky's best vocal work. I love the darkness and the jazziness, very usual for K-pop. It was part of soundtrack years ago~
• BoA - Bump Bump - Why didn't this song get more attention than it did? This is a great song! Dare I say... better than her American songs?
• Infinite - Come Back Again - I think this was one of the best songs of 2010, and from a rookie group no less. Seriously underrated.
• TVXQ - Love After Love - The harmony in this song just blows my mind, it's so lovely. The rapping... not so much. But still an underrated song.
• Taeyang - After You Sleep - Subject matter aside, I think this is just a really gorgeous song. I love how the beat kicks in around the 50 second mark.

Alright, Fanboy! What do you think of that?


Fanboy:

I love "Why I Like You". It is underrated. They only performed it like 2 times, and it's actually on my iPod in my car. So yeah, you're right, I've never heard "All in Vain". I like Micky in that genre more. He did well in "My Girlfriend". It had that nice throwback style that made it refreshing to listen to in this current age of pop music. My ELF friend is in love with Infinite. She wants me to do a video of them. Have you seen their recent dance battle? I was surprised at the Far East Movement and Justin Bieber dance. They really pulled it off. Very impressive. As a group, not just the song, they are very underrated. I get a lot of subscribers who are like, "I haven't checked out anyone after SHINee." BEAST is good too. There's some good rookie talent.

I didn't mind "Love After Love". It was a different sound and vocal approach for them that I once again found refreshing. Ok, BoA-bias Alert: One of things I always appreciated about BoA was the fact that she has experimented with SO MANY different styles of music. She has so many sounds, it's crazy. "Romance" - jazz ballad, "Rock With You" - rock, "Do the Motion" - some strange French sound, "Valenti" - sounds Latin to me, "Quincy" - sounds disco to me, haha. There's so many more to list. Now you mention "Bump Bump!", I'll be honest, I was never a fan of that song, but I appreciated the new sound she played with for that song. The trumpets and stuff. I preferred "Possibility" off of that album.

Here's my list of underrated songs:

• BoA - "Be the One". This is hands down my favorite song by her. This was her 4th single off of her "Love and Honesty" album in 2004, so it never achieved the same success as her previous ones. It's like that with all the albums in America (Unless you're Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation - 7 top 5 singles off of one album. Most for any album in America. There's some "A-Pop" facts for you, haha). The album had run its course, so the song never really got the recognition it deserved. But yeah, my favorite BoA song. :)
• SHINee - "Forever or Never". There's an English version of this song too by Cinema Bizarre. This is one of my top favorite SHINee songs ever. It's overshadowed by their popular hits and the popular tracks off the first album such as "SHINee World" or "Romantic".
• TVXQ - "Phantom". I wish they performed this song more. I like the choreography for it too. Again, it's overlooked by "O" and "Balloons" or even "Get Me Some" (I liked this song just by the title alone, haha). This song was one of the standouts to me off the album.
• f(x) - "Mr. Boogie". This was one of their promotional songs in 2010, but never got the recognition or popularity it deserved because fans were so angry that Amber wasn't there. *rolls eyes* It was always so annoying reading comments like, "I won't listen to f(x) until Amber comes back!" Personally, my favorite member is Luna. She's beyond talented. Her vocal ability is easily one of the best in the industry. The girl stole the show on SHINee's "Lucifer" remix at the SBS Gayo. And then the next night, she outdanced Taemin and Key (and Krystal) in the "Lucifer"/"Nu ABO" remix dance intro. A lot of people say she's the "next BoA," and she should have gone solo. She, as an artist, is highly underrated, sadly. She's overshadowed by Amber's androgyny, Victoria's beauty, and/or Krystal. Shame.

Fangirl:

I guess I gotta study up on my BoA. I don't know any of the songs you listed there >.< I really only know her most recent stuff. But I loved SHINee's Forever or Never! Something about that song just immediately hit all the right places. How have I not heard that song before? I guess I gotta study up on my SHINee too~ I agree with you on "Phantom" too. It's a really catchy song and I dunno why more people don't like it. Maybe it's just too old and new fans haven't heard it before?

Can't say I'm really feeling "Mr. Boogie", though. I generally don't like girl groups that much and f(x) is no exception. They haven't really caught my attention with anything. Luna seems talented, but she really needs to stop crying every time she's not the best singer in the room.


What do you think are underrated songs in K-pop?