June 2015 in Review

I’m back! I missed you all! Living without K-pop for a month was difficult at times, but what I really missed was blogging! So here I am, summing up what I missed while I was away for Ramadan.

I made a note of all of the music videos that came out while I was taking a break from K-pop, and I’m not exaggerating when I say that I had almost 30 videos on my list – and that’s just from what I know. I’m sure there were more out there. However, I don’t think you all want to sit here reading a mile long post, so I decided to narrow the list down to my 18 favorite videos from the past two months and divide their mini reviews over two posts. One for June. One for July.

Sidenote: I said in my goodbye post that Ken’s duet with Hani would be the first song that I review, but I didn’t realize that it would just be a single without a music video! It’s not worth writing an entire review, but I just want to say that this is the perfect song for our cutie main vocal. Very Springy and cheerful. 🙂 I’m so proud of everything he has been accomplishing lately.

Big Bang “We Like 2 Party”

• Song: 4/5
• Story: 4.5/5
• Cinematography: 4.5/5

Now this is the kind of partying that I approve of (minus the alcohol 😛 ). This is such a light-hearted and fun video. It reminds me of the end of Big Bang’s Lies Music Video with their bloopers, something I always wished they would include in all of their videos. It is such a refreshing change seeing the usually swag-dripping members smiling and fooling around with each other. The video must have been staged, but everything about seems so natural.

Overall Final Score: 4.3/5

MBLAQ “Mirror”

• Song: 4.5/5
• Cinematography: 3/5
• Dance: 2/5

Ah, the image that broke the hearts of all of us A+’s. As I have said before, I am so happy that G.O., Seungho, and Mir are continuing MBLAQ as a trio after the departure of Thunder and Joon. Sentimental feelings aside, I wasn’t really feeling this video. The song is beautiful, but there isn’t a whole lot going on in this video. Nearly half of it is just them driving in slow motion. While I am happy that they are back, I will definitely be expecting more for their next comeback.

Overall Final Score: 3.2/5

2PM “My House”

• Song: 4/5
• Story: 4/5
• Cinematography: 4.9/5
• Dance: 3/5

This video is like a mix of Cinderella and Beauty & The Beast. Cinderella is at the ball, and once the clock strikes 12, she rushes to leave. However, the members of 2PM, all secretly beasts, use their charms to try to get her to stay in their “house.” The cinematography is really nice in this video with the elaborate set and perfectly characterized wardrobe, and I really appreciate the twist at the end. While they try to woo her with charms and cars, in the end, she leaves her slipper behind. If they really cared for her, they now have a way of finding her. Good for her. Make him prove his love. 😛

Overall Final Score: 4/5

Mamamoo “Um Oh Ah Yeh”

• Song: 3.5/5
• Story: 4.5/5
• Cinematography: 4.5/5
• Dance: 4/5

I don’t know why these cross-dressing videos are so popular in K-pop, but I am definitely one of those who absolutely loves them. This video follows a member of Mamamoo as she tries to get the attention of a guy, who ends up actually being a girl. The styling is incredible in this. Some of these girls actually really look like guys. Nice job, Mamamoo!

Overall Final Score: 4.1/5

Teen Top “Ah Ah”

• Song: 3.5/5
• Story: 3.5/5
• Cinematography: 3/5
• Dance: 5/5

Teen Top is back again with their crazy footwork! Teen Top is really proving themselves as a dance force with which to be reckoned. I am so impressed with this dance. It’s like Rocking Part 2! The story and appearance of this video is alright. Why is it such a trend in these music videos to have parties at a gas station? Maybe it’s just an excuse to include fancy cars around the set…

Overall Final Score: 3.8/5

AOA “Heart Attack”

• Song: 4.5/5
• Story: 3.5/5
• Cinematography: 3/5
• Dance: 2.5/5

It’s my first review of AOA! I really like this song a lot. It has that classic energetic K-pop feel. I am also a sucker for that really pretty singing in the chorus. The story is similar to Orange Caramel’s Lipstick, with girls on a sports team trying to impress the guys at their school. I found it rather disappointing in the end that the girls just used their looks and charms to beat the other team. It would have been epic if they came out as really skilled lacrosse players and actually beat the guys’ butts.

Overall Final Score: 3.4/5

BTS “Dope”

• Song: 4/5
• Cinematography: 4/5
• Dance: 4.5/5

Ah BTS. One of the few comebacks I was just heartbroken to be missing. In the end, was it worth the wait? …I regret to say that it wasn’t. The song, dance, and video are all pretty amazing. I love how the whole thing looks as though it is shot in one take. Honestly, I would have rated this video as one of the best of the year if it weren’t for the outfits. There is clearly a concept, but I think I just don’t get it.

To think that they were performing this within driving distance of where I live this past weekend and I couldn’t go… 😥 I thought I had made peace with not going… but then the fancams and fanaccounts came out.

Overall Final Score: 4.2/5

BTOB “It’s Okay”

• Song: 4.9/5
• Story: 5/5
• Cinematography: 4/5

This. This is what a story should have. BTOB pleasantly surprised me with this video. To accompany a beautifully soft song, each of the members took on their own stories of hardship and accomplishment. In just about six minutes, we witnessed seven characters struggle in their efforts to do their jobs. However, each story ended in a positive way, making this a very feel-good video. The best part about this is that nearly all of the happy endings actually made sense. Minhyuk’s was the only ending that I felt came out of nowhere.

After two previously disappointing videos, I am very proud of BTOB and CUBE for stepping up and giving us a really great comeback.

Overall Final Score: 4.6/5

Big Bang “Sober”

• Song: 4.5/5
• Cinematography: 4.9/5

Out of all of Big Bang’s comebacks this year, I think Sober is tied with Bang Bang Bang as my favorite. This is a really good video. The song is reminiscent of G-Dragon’s Crooked in both sound and meaning. The colors and imagery in the video are just beautiful. The song is about the members not being able to handle soberness, and the video shows images of them suffering while sober next to images of the carefree world they wish they could be in. I would have never expected Big Bang to give us such a visually appealing music video like this one.

Overall Final Score: 4.7/5

That’s it for June! Stay tuned for my July comebacks!

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