Let's talk about July releases

July is coming to a close, and I thought I'd write a little about some of my favorite tunes from this past month.

There was a lot of talk about the girl group comeback war, but for the most part, it all was a let-down. There were some bright spots though...

9Muses came back with the amazing "Hurt Locker." It was much better than "Drama," and I hope with their recent promotions they gained even just a little more popularity. God knows they truly deserve the public recognition.

GFriend did it again with "Me Gustas Tu." Along with Awesome Baby, they're definitely my favorite group that debuted this year, and they do the "innocent" concept so well with good songs that they're not ridiculously boring. Attempts at discrediting them by claiming that they're copying other idols are made by turds who are just jelly that their faves don't have good enough jams.

As with the jam "Marionette," Stellar's "Vibrato" came with a very provacative MV that overshadowed a really good song.

I never gave a shit about Hello Venus, but "난 예술이야 (I'm I'll)" is a jam.

Goo Hara's solo debut surprised me. "Choco Chip Cookies" was boring AF; however, the rest of her mini album was actually pretty good.

"Ring My Bell" by Girl's Day wasn't that bad, in my opinion. Though Two X's "Ring My Bell" is far superior, and even that is like so bad it's good.

SNSD's "Party" was an okay summer jam, too. Nothing special, but still good. Very excited about the two other tracks they're coming back with.

As for male groups, I already wrote about how I enjoyed Super Junior's "Devil," but I also really really liked Infinite's "Bad." I was a fan from back during their debut, but their releases after "The Chaser" did nothing for me and I just kind of stopped caring about Infinite. However, I think "Bad" has won me back. I was also fairly impressed with GOT7's "Just Right." Since they debuted I struggled to find anything appealing about the group (well, apart from Jackson), but finally they put out a song that I could actually get into.

Primary's "Don't Be Shy" with AOA's Choa and Iron surprised me too. Solid laid-back jam~

My overall favorite song this month, though, has to be LeeSSang's comeback "주마등 (Kaleidoscope)." It's such a pretty song. It's so good, such a jam... I just really love it.

Hopefully August offers up a lot more quality jams~

Another 18 seconds of Jongmin

So for a new video for 18초 (18 Seconds) Jongmin got covered in Mentos...

And then he fell into a pool of Coke...

I didn't think Mentos and Coke was still a thing, but okay.

Check out the show's Facebook page and Twitter.

And more importantly like/fave Jongmin's videos for me (Facebook: 1 & 2; Twitter: 1 & 2).

Update! More videos came out while I was sleeping...

Facebook / Twitter

Facebook / Twitter

Facebook / Twitter

Facebook / Twitter

Facebook / Twitter

Facebook / Twitter

Just take a look at these real quick

Look at these adorable pics of Yoon Kyesang with his dog Gamsa.

The Matshot Episodes 1 & 2

Okay, so this is of course a little late, but ya know, better late than never.

So 더 맛있는 원샷 / 더맛샷, or as I will continue to refer to it as, The Matshot, finally aired its first two episodes over the past two weeks. As I was eagerly awaiting for this show to start, I, of course, have watched both episodes, and I thought it'd be a good idea if I tried to get more people to watch it as well.

If you are a fan of Moon Heejun, you need to watch the show. If you don't mind Heejun and Kim Taewoo (as I know they can be somewhat polarizing figures), the show is definitely worth a watch.

The first episode was absolutely hilarious.

The cast meets and are introduced to the chefs (white team chef Park Junwoo and black team chef Lee Jingon), then they decide what teams to split up in. For these two episodes, it's the white team (Suwon and Taewoo) vs the black team team (Heejun and Thunder).

When you turn around and find out you're stuck with Heejun...

They're also introduced to the food trucks...

Taewoo is of course a little too big for the truck...

The rest of the episode has them going to multiple spots to play games and sample spicy foods. But the funniest moments are found here.

As expected, Heejun is the ring leader, and he does not disappoint. He keeps the atmosphere fun and goofy and is not afraid to put himself down. At this point though Taewoo is seemingly the one who can keep up with his antics. Suwon is Suwon... and he's not known for variety antics, but he still tries. And Thunder is the odd one out, but I'm sure he's on this show to build up his variety show cred.

Check out these clips (they work, I just uploaded them directly to the blog)...

The second episode is more straight forward and focused more on the cooking/competition aspect.

I don't want to spoil it for anyone who wants to watch though, so I won't say who wins.

I know food/cooking shows have been doing well over in Korea lately, and I hope The Matshot is a hit.

If you're interested, head over to Dailymotion and check out episode 1 and episode 2.

More clips can be found here.

If you're not interested IDK why you're here...

Another Koyote post

While Shin Ji was prepping her solo comeback, it seems like Jongmin and Bbaek Ga were up to something stranger...

Shin Ji posted on Instagram about a Jongmin Facebook page that had a ridiculous video uploaded onto it...

Apparently, it is a submission for a new SBS show called 18초 (18 Seconds).

But I just love it on it's own.

LBR, I would love anything that involves a nude Jongmin.

Shin Ji solo comeback

Shin Ji finally dropped her trot song "두근두근 (Pit-A-Pat)."

It's pretty good. I mean, I knew I would like it, and I am definitely feeling it.

Shin Ji sounds great, though I have found her voice can be an acquired taste. Here, however, the song is easy to listen to, and there's no way anyone could complain.

Plus, she looks amazing in the MV.

Shin Ji is an actual goddess.

I'm fairly happy with everything, TBH.

New Cool jam

Cool dropped a cool new tune for the summer...

Sounds good to me B-)

Mini H.O.T reunion

I cannot BELIEVE I didn't post about this when it happened but anyway let's talk about it now...

On the 17th, MC DingDong posted a photo on his Instagram of him with Heejun, Tony, and Kangta, along with Kim Taewoo and Lee Jihoon.

This is amazing.

For one, it's been awhile since we have seen this trio together.

And of course, this should give us all maybe just a tad bit of hope...

Heejun is very active. Wooyuk and Kangta are still relevant and are crazy busy over in China. Jaewon has gotten back on to the Korean scene (unfortunately performing in a very horrible musical but still). And with Lee Soogeun testing the waters with his comeback, maybe Tony will feel comfortable enough to maybe also slowly make a comeback as well...

Since g.o.d reunited, I feel like anything could happen.

Let's talk about Super Junior for a moment

So Super Junior is coming up on their tenth anniversary and have released a special album for the occasion...

Super Junior has consistently been one of the more accessible groups for newbies on the Kpop scene. They have catchy songs and are known for their variety antics, and with so many members, it's hard not to find one guy you like. TBH, I am just going to put this out there, but I don't think I could truly ever be friends with anyone who didn't have a SuJu phase. Super Junior has just been such an ubiquitous presence in Kpop, you can't deny that there is something special about them.

Like many others, Super Junior was the group that got me into Korean pop music. That was all the way back in early 2009, but I have had a somewhat rocky relationship with the group over the last few years. Ever since "Sexy, Free, & Single," I've had a hard time being a SuJu fan. I did not like the direction they were going in.

With this comeback, however, I feel like I have been born again as an ELF.

The new album is amazing. All of the songs are quality~ "Devil" is a crazy good title track. It's very Super Junior and makes up for "Sexy, Free, & Single" and "Mamacita." My top two favorite songs, though, are "Stars Appear..." and "We Can." I usually can never get into songs like them, but there's just something about them that really touches me. 

I literally teared up while I was listening to this album. It really reminded me as to why I loved Super Junior in the first place and that they will always have a place in my heart. There's no use denying it. There's no use trying to stop it. I will always be SuJu loving trash.

Noh Yoomin on King of Mask Singer

After hearing a lot of hype for the show, I finally had a reason to watch MBC's 복면가왕 (King of Mask Singer). On Sunday night, Noh Yoomin, member of my favorite Kpop group NRG, appeared as a contestant, but unfortunately, he was eliminated after only one round.

I thought he sounded great. Very pleased that he sang Sanulrim’s “너의 의미,” as I love Sanulrim.

Plus, Yoomin got to show off his newly slimmed down physique, and more importantly, he got to remind people that he was a singer. He even said that he wanted to get back onstage and sing so the public wouldn't just see him as a comedian.

Check out these Yoomin clips~

The Matshot

Not that long ago, it was announced that a new cooking competition program starring Moon Heejun, Jang Suwon, Kim Taewoo, and, for some reason, former MBLAQ member Thunder would be airing sometime in July.

The new show is called 더맛샷 (The Matshot), which is short for 더맛있는원샷 (The Delicious One-shot), and it is the first show in Korea that will be based around cooking in food trucks. As it is a competition, it will also see two teams pitted against each other- Heejun and Thunder vs. Suwon and Taewoo.

Check out the show's Instagram and E Channel's Facebook page for photos, video teasers, and updates~

The Matshot will premiere July 16th on the E Channel.

My favorite songs for the first half of 2015

Of course this is all just my personal preference, and it should be known by now that I have a horrid taste in music, but nonetheless, here are my top 25 26 songs so far this year~!

1. Crayon Pop - "FM" - Crayon Pop returned this year and literally saved Kpop. Every thing about this comeback was so perfect- the song, the stage outfits, the MV... It's as though there is some sort of conspiracy keeping Crayon Pop from becoming the top girl group in Korea. ☆
2. GFriend - "Glass Bead" - I could care less about the whole thing about how they're copying SNSD or whatever group. These girls debuted with one hell of a strong song. ☆
3. Awesome Baby - "내가 왜 (Why Should I)" - Tony's girl group finally debuted with a killer song and it pretty much atoned for the sins of "Get Your Swag On." ☆
4. Crayon Pop - "하파타카 (HaPaTaKa)" - Crayon Pop can do no wrong. If you don't love Crayon Pop, I do not need you in my life. ☆
5. Crayon Pop - "RaRiRuRe" - After saving Kpop, Crayon Pop went on to save Jpop. ☆
6. EXO - "Love Me Right" - How in the in the world did EXO make it onto this list? "Love Me Right" was so crazy good. Though it reminds me of some song possibly from the 80s that I can't quite place... ☆
7. SHINee - "View" (actually the whole album deserves a spot on the list) - SHINee never disappoints. And I will always love me some SHINee. ☆
8. Pocket Girls - "Bbang Bbang" - This should be number one just because I still can't stop listening to it even it's a bunch of nugus who came out of like no where. ☆
9. Eun Jiwon - "What U Are" & "Trauma" - See this post. ☆ / ☆
10. Shinhwa - "Sniper" - See this post. ☆
11. Defconn - "Golden Future" & "프랑켄슈타인 (Dirty Rap City)" - It's a mystery to me as to why I loved Defconn's mini-album so much. These are still my jams. ☆ / ☆
12. Kim Taewoo - "Lonely Funk" - Super fun and catchy~ ☆
13. JJY Band - "OMG" - Despite the fact I'm really into 1 Night 2 Days, I have never considered myself a fan of Jung Joonyoung. This was the first time I actually got into one of his songs, TBH. ☆
14. Jessi, Cheetah, and Kangnam - "My Type" - I had no interest at all in Unpretty Rapstar, so it was pretty surprising that I really got into this song. ☆
15. KARA - "Summergic" - KARA had a tragic Korean comeback, but their Japanese summer single was so good. ☆
16. SNSD - "Catch Me If You Can" - I'm one of the few people who actually thought this was pretty good. These last several months reaffirmed the fact that I like shitty music, I suppose. ☆
17. AOA - "Heart Attack" - I'm still super puzzled as to why this has been panned. ☆
18. Rainbow - "Black Swan" - It's a shame that Rainbow still remains unpopular. "Black Swan" did not help with that. It was weird, but it was right up my alley. ☆
19. Sistar - "Shake It" - Definitely not their best, but I did not think this was as bad as people were making it out to be. ☆
20. 4Minute - "Crazy" - This turned out to be 4Minute's best song since "Volume Up." ☆
21. Gain - "Paradise Lost" - I loved this concept so much. It was so dark and sexy, yet considerably high-brow. I wish we got more Kpop comebacks like this. ☆
22. CLC - "Like" - I didn't care for "Pepe," but I really liked "Like." Ayy. ☆
23. EXO - "El Dorado" - Whoa, EXO makes another appearance. "Call Me Baby" was shit; if this was their title track, then maybe I would have actually cared about EXO earlier this year. ☆
24. Koyote - "Stop Love" - I love Koyote, but I love dance music Koyote best. ☆

Honorable mentions (in no particular order other than alphabetized by artist):

• 9Muses - "Drama" - I love 9Muses. They are so underrated that it's disgusting. But when they came back earlier this year with "Drama" I just really couldn't get into the song. ☆

• Amber - "Shake That Brass" - TBH, I actually found this to be surprisingly catchy and fun. ☆

• Bbaek Ga - "You Know" - I addressed his solo debut in another post... ☆

• Jinusean - "Tell Me One More Time" - Riding the ToToGa wave, Jinusean finally returned but their new song didn't really have much replay value after all :( ☆

• KARA - "Cupid" - As I said before, I love KARA. "Mamma Mia" was such a jam last year, and I was super pumped for a new Korean release, but "Cupid" was such a disappointment. ☆

• Rubber Soul - "Life" - These nugus released a pretty sweet throwback jam. Very nice 90s feel. ☆

• Shannon - "Why Why" - This was just pretty good, but it never made it into my regular rotation of jams. ☆

• Teen Top - "Ah Ah" - It wasn't bad, but I was barely feeling it. Much better than what Teen Top was up to last year, though. ☆

• Vixx - "Love Equation" - I also wrote about this previously... ☆

• Xiah - "Flower" - Junsu always puts out stuff that's hit or miss for me, but this was fairly interesting. ☆

And one last note...

Even though I figured it'd be considerably disappointing, I was surprised at how much I was not feeling the Big Bang return. Big Bang was one of my favorite groups back when I first got into Kpop, but I literally could not give a shit about them anymore, I guess.

Hang in there for another six months for my end of the year wrap-up~

2014: The year of g.o.d

[I wanted to have this published before the end of 2015, but it never happened, and then I kept forget forgetting about it. But it's been like a year since they actually came back, so I finished this for the occasion. Let's just pretend it's still like back in January...]

Back in 2013, it seemed rumors of a g.o.d reunion really started to swirl about, but the year came and went with no concrete confirmation that the first generation group had plans to get back together. Early on in 2014, I remember being asked if I thought that a reunion was actually going to happen, but to be honest, I did not have high hopes and would just brush off the rumors with a "I'll believe it when I see it." To my amazed surprise, g.o.d did come back, and that comeback was the defining moment in Kpop of 2014. As well as, let's be real, the defining moment of my life in 2014.

In early May of 2014, it finally happened- g.o.d finally returned with the single "The Lone Duckling."

Everyone was super pumped. After a decade of waiting, they finally were back. It was amazing.

But we had to wait until July for the full album, Chapter 8.

Chapter 8 was a very solid album and was worth the wait. While they did not actively promote it on music shows (however, they did get their own episode of Yoo Heeyeol's Sketchbook, which was fantastic), they did give us three pretty sweet music videos- "Sky Blue Promise," "Saturday Night," and "The Story of Our Lives."

g.o.d held their reunion concerts on July 12th and 13th, and it was clearly obvious to everyone that they were finally back for real.

Then they hit the road on their national tour, putting on eight concerts throughout August before coming back to Seoul for an encore concert in October.

Something ridiculously awesome then happened in November- g.o.d came to the United States for two shows, one in Los Angeles and one in Newark, NJ. For once, something had worked out in my life. As I live in northeastern PA, I was able to make it the Newark show. I wrote about the concert after it happened here on tumblr (more terribad photos can be found here too). Even now, months later, I still can't listen to g.o.d without getting emotional and remembering the concert. Every time I listen to "Stand Up," I am immediately transported back, and it's like I can feel the oppas around me again.

The concert was beyond amazing; they put on such a great show. It was beyond fun, and the boys were so precious and lovable. I couldn't have asked for a better time. It still feels like it was all a dream.

If you ever have a chance to see g.o.d, SEE THEM!

We'll meet again Danny.

g.o.d has a timeless feel to them. Their songs are such classics, and their hits actually do stand the test of time. Stuff like "Lies" remains fresh. With how they have accessible music and an image that appeals to a wide audience, it's no wonder that they are a "national group." I have seen them in real life, and they really do seem like actual brothers, so I'm confident in my belief that g.o.d is back for good.

I can't wait for what they have in store for us at the end of this year~

Variety shows

I watch a lot of variety shows. Usually it's just because one or more of my faves is appearing on whatever it is that I'm watching. I have a lot of faves though so I sit through many different programs.

Variety can be hit or miss, and for the most part, if it's not just some random show that I'm watching for the faves, the cast is what usually makes a show work. If I don't like the cast, then I have a very hard time getting into it.

And too often shows start with a good idea but then either show runners run out of ideas or just get lazy. Then the show fizzles out into a mess, and they lose their audience.

I'm going to use the KBS program Human Condition 2 to try to flesh some of this all out.

I originally started watching this show because Eun Jiwon was a cast member. The show at first was about a group of men staying in the countryside with next to nothing to get through several days. They stayed in an empty, run down house and had no phones or internet. They were given barely any money for food and necessities, and they had to be careful with how much garbage they accumulated over the course of their time there. It was a good idea for a show.

And on top of that, the cast was fantastic. I grew to love all six members, so much so that Jiwon wasn't even my favorite on the show. They all got along so well and were so funny together. Even though I barely knew any of the other cast members before I started watching this show, I have become a fan of the other five (Yoon Sanghyun, Bong Taegyu, Heo Taehee, Hyun Woo, and Kim Jaeyoung). This can be contrasted with another show I was watching at the same time, Shin Dongyup's Bachelor Party. Again I was only watching the show because a fave (Kim Jongmin) was a cast member, and the show had other issues besides the cast, but still, they fairly awkward together. I mean, there was even that whole incident between Kangin and N. The show really didn't give me a new-found appreciation for anyone except for like N.

Now back to Human Condition 2. Eventually, however, the episodes went further away from the original format. It would have been nice if the show was about living a simpler life-style and maybe focused more on reusing and recycling, but then they took the guys out of the red clay house and made them do weirder missions. The episodes that were about collecting old clothes were great since they exposed a somewhat serious issue, but then the episodes about books and the opposite sex didn't fit in with the rest of the season. Of course people stopped watching and KBS decided to end the season.

It was very unfortunate, but even though it ended, if you haven't watched the Human Condition 2, go watch it over on Youtube.

Moon Heejun concert

So after a couple years Heejun is going to hold a solo concert~

The concert is called 19: NINETEEN, which is in reference to it being nearly 19 years since his debut.

Heejun was involved in all aspects of planning this concert, so it's sure to be very Heejun-y.

A Jang Woohyuk interview from last month

I finally got around to reading this interview Woohyuk did back in June.

In the interview, he talked about working in China, running his own company, and, of course, H.O.T.

The piece was also accompanied by a few very nice photos...

Suwon made a cameo on a drama

For once, Suwon got to act as something other than a robot.

He made a surprise cameo this past Sunday on the SBS drama The Time I Loved You.

The scene he was in was like a flashback to the 90s, so he was definitely dressed for it...

It wasn't like he was bad or anything negative like that, but the scene was so short that he didn't really have the opportunity to flex those acting chops. I guess he also didn't get the opportunity to be awkward. He's still trendy and is associated with the 90s so even though it was nothing to write home about, the cameo made sense at least.

Hey, why not check out the cameo...

I actually thought about watching this drama since I like Ha Jiwon, but I cannot get into dramas at all these days.