Alex delivers twice the fun with his new single, "Saying Goodbye With a Smile"...

As much as I am a fan of pop and dance tracks, I'm also an avid listener of acoustic jazz. I've always thought of jazz as being the blood and soul of music --- where music loses form, and exists just to be the beautiful thing that it is. 

This is one of the main reasons why I'm such a big fan of Alex Chu, former male vocalist of the legendary pop-jazz trio, Clazziquai. I was in heaven when he released his last album, "Just Like Me". It was a treat to be able to listen to material coming from him (if you haven't listened to the album, click here to check out my review).

Alex is back to croon his way back into our hearts with a new single titled "Saying Goodbye With a Smile". 

Seo In Guk parties with the best of them with his new single, "Shake It Up"...

Filipinos love to sing --- and we're crazy in love with singing and singing contests. We have our good share of talent contests that catapault some virtually unknown person to instant stardom (that's if they manage to actually impress people... and it would take a lot to impress a Filipino when it comes to singing... at least I think so hehehe!).

That's why I got interested in featuring Seo In Guk in my blog today. Korea knows him as the first winner of 2009's Superstar K, one of Korea's own TV talent searches. Gifted with such a versatile instrument, it's no surprise that he won the prize during the first year of Korea's premiere talent search. Since then he has proven himself as a commercial success with the release of his albums and singles since he debuted.

          

He just recently released a new single titled "Shake It Up", which is a refreshing addition to his list of hits. His comeback was a surprise for me, but definitely a welcome one!

2AM's Jinwoon stretches his wings as he goes solo with his first mini-album, "Tried to Talk"...

I've always been amazed at how easy it is in Korea for artists in established idol groups to try their hand at going solo, but still remain part of their group. I think I've mentioned in an earlier post of mine that this isn't something that most people in the Philippines see with our local groups. Once a person decides to go solo, either the group disbands, or the group moves on with a new member in tow.

I was excited to hear that Jinwoon of JYP Entertainment's ballad group 2AM would be trying his hand in going solo. What's even wilder is that Jinwoon isn't going to do ballads... he's doing ROCK! It blew the heck out of me... a member of 2AM doing rock?!?!? Now that was something to look forward to.

Top of the Charts for August 2011 Week 1 (courtesy of Soompi.com)

Here are the top songs of the week, folks... courtesy of Soompi.com (http://www.soompi.com/) 

NOTE: A vid featuring a sampler of the top 50 songs are at the bottom of the post. The time tracks for where the songs are featured in the vid is indicated in the list below... just in case you want to skip to a song you're interested in listening to. If I have an existing review for any of the songs in the countdown, I'll be posting a link so you can read through my post in case you've missed it! 

Hwanhee returns to the spotlight with his first-ever full solo album!

When I was reviewing the list of new albums that came out a week or so ago, I saw the name "Hwanhee", and I told myself that the name sounded so familiar. I googled his name up and gave myself a facepalm for having forgotten that this guy used to be part of a very famous Kpop duo named "Fly To The Sky", where he was teamed up with balladeer Brian Joo. Both these guys are amazing singers, and have gone solo as early as 2009.

Hwanhee's self-titled album is a well-balanced combination of awesome R&B tracks and ballads. I kid you not when I say that this album is so well-produced that I had to ask for second opinions just so that I could finalize the list of tracks that I would be featuring in my article. Hwanhee apparently was set on making this album a success, and it shows in the final result.

Sunny Hill pushes the limit with their new single "Pray"...

The members of Sunny Hill (L to R): Jang Hyun, Misung, Kota, Seung Ah, and Ju-B

I first got to know Sunny Hill when I listened to their immensely successful mini-album, "Midnight Circus" (if you haven't read my review for that album, click here). "Midnight Circus" was a departure from Sunny Hill's usual spanking clean and wholesome image. It was a risk that paid off with a multi-chart hit that's still making waves until now.

I was surprised to learn that they came up with a follow-up track to their last single release. Their follow-up track and MV, "Pray", truly pushes the envelope on artistic expression, and expands their repertoire of cutting edge hits.

Infinite goes "Over The Top" with their first studio album!

The boys of Infinite (L to R): Hoya, Sung Gyu, Woo Hyun, L / Myung Soo, Sung Jong,
Seung Yeol, and Dong Woo

It's raining comebacks for male idol groups, and another one of my favorites has returned with a whole new salvo of songs for us to enjoy - INFINITE!

For those who were able to read my last review for Infinite's last mini-album "Inspirit" (if you haven't, click here), I was pleasantly surprised at how great these guys sounded as a group. What sets them apart from a whole host of male idol groups is that they have a great sense of musicality when they blend their voices during the choruses of their songs.

The title of their first full studio album, "Over The Top", speaks for itself. After listening to it, I'm convinced that these guys have truly stepped up as artists and have delivered gold this time around.

Teen Top's new album "Roman" shows a refreshing new image for our boys...

The boys of Teen Top (L to R): Chunji, L.Joe, CAP, Niel, Ricky and Changjo

I've been listening to Kpop for around 2 and a half years now, and I've seen lots of new groups debut, but only a few have impressed me as much as Teen Top has. This group came into the scene in 2010 with a strong and aggressive image when they first debuted with their single "Clap". What has sustained my interest in them is their ability to reinvent themselves (or maybe I should be giving a little bit of that credit to their agency, TOP Entertainment). Although they're relatively new to the scene, they have managed to establish a rather strong following in Korea.

They've just made a comeback recently with the release of their new mini-album, "Roman", last July 21. This time around, they aim to portray a playful, sentimental and romantic image with their new releases.

[UPDATED] Super Junior goes all-out-glam in their 5th studio album, "Mr. Simple"...

The boys of Super Junior (L to R): Sungmin, Shindong, Leeteuk, Kyuhyun,
Siwon, Yesung, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Heechul and Ryeowook

UPDATED - August 5, 2011 5:48pm GMT +8 
Replaced the subbed "Mr. Simple" vid with the full MV with English Subs. Enjoy ^^,

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm home!!! Got home from Canada a couple of days ago, and I needed some time to wind down from the trip. Yes... a ton of albums have come out, and I have my work cut out for me. Let's begin!

I'm a really big Super Junior fan... I really am (literally and figuratively). I literally gasped when I first saw the teasers for SuJu's 5th album, Mr. Simple, come out. It's been more than a year since "Bonamana", and the boys are more than ready for a follow-up.