Red Hot or Cool Blue? After School's got everything for you!

After School (although this picture wasn't taken when their
sub-unit groupings were finalized)
Top Row - Kahi, Uee, Joo Yeon and E-Young
Bottom Row - Raina, Jung Ah, Nana and Lizzie

When Bekah announced her graduation from After School, the group was evened out at 8 members in total --- Kahi, Jung Ah, Joo Yeon, Uee, Raina, Nana, Lizzy and E-Young. Having just released their last full-studio album, "Virgin", a few months ago, I wasn't really expecting After School to make a come back any time soon (if you haven't read my review for "Virgin" yet, click here).

I guess Pledis Entertainment didn't want to have the girls stay away from the limelight too long since After School is definitely back --- and this time as two seperate sub-units, After School Red and Blue.

Some new digital releases I listened to on my way to Canada...

Artists in today's new single feature:
(Row 1) Bekah, Brave Brothers, (Row 2)  GP Basic,
(Row 3) Jang Hye Jin and Yesung,
(Row 4) BGH to, and Goo Ji Sung

I'm currently writing this blog in my Aunt Rodel and Uncle Carl's home in Mississauga, Canada. I took two weeks off from work so that I could attend a family reunion that my dad's side of the family had organized to help everyone reconnect, share and pass on stories (especially for the younger ones). When I received the invite, I took it as a sign for a well-deserved break from work.

The great thing about being on a vacation is that I'm also able to listen to take some time to listen to music --- especially some new singles that have just recently come out.

A crazy day with new releases --- SPOTLIGHT on 2PM and After School!

Album jackets for 2PM's "Take Off" and After School's "Virgin"

It's another crazy day in Kpop-dom, and it seems that a lot of the agencies just chose to drop a lot of their new songs and MVs this week! It's always a welcome problem to have new stuff to listen and watch to, right? I'm sure the fanboys and fangirls are just going nuts with all the new stuff coming out one after the other... hehehe!

This time around... we're going to focus on a new song and an MV release.

From who? Why 2PM and After School, of course!

The school bell rings... After School is back!

 

The ultra-talented girls of After School: L-R (Row 1) Kahi, Bekah, Jung Ah
(Row 2) Nana, , E-Young, Lizzy (Row 3) Jooyeon, Raina, Uee

When you hear female idol groups, a few come to my mind when you talk about certain characteristics. If you talk about pure over-all popularity, SNSD and Kara are definitely in it for the win --- both groups are very popular both in Korea and in Japan! If it's about style and fashion, 2NE1, f(x) and T-ara are the first ones in my books. When it comes to ballads and romantic singles, I usually look up to Davichi.

Ok... I know some of you might not agree with what I've mentioned so far... but I know most Kpop fans will agree with me that when it comes to a good balance between good music and awesome dancing, it would be fair to say that After School is a good fit.

And the girls of f(x) are back!

It's been a week more or less since I've last posted since I've been preoccupied with a class that I've been handling since early April. Apart from that, it's Lent (if you're Catholic, you'd know that it's an important time of the year).


It's been an interesting time too for Kpop, considering that we've been bombarded with a whole lot of group debuts and comebacks. Lots of good music coming out of the woodwork... sadly, I don't have that much time on my hands to review every single thing that comes under my radar. There are days when I wish that someone could just pay me for blogging all the stuff that I'm into... hahaha! Wishful thinking, right?


To make up for the lack of content this past week, I've decided to do a coup... three reviews for two interesting groups that have recently earned my interest --- f(x), and B1A4. I'll be posting my review for f(x)'s new album "Pinocchio" first... I'll try my best to post my review for B1A4 before I go to work tomorrow!


~ D

The lovely ladies of f(x) --- Amber, Krystal, Sulli, Victoria and Luna

Although they've been around since 2009, these gals have been on hiatus for an entire year. I first encountered f(x) when I was watching one of my favorite reality shows - "We Got Married". Nickhun of 2PM is a personal fave of mine (who doesn't like him, right? hahaha!), and he was paired off with Victoria of f(x). That got me googling to check out who Nickhun was paired off with, and I found out about the five incredibly lush ladies that make up this group.

In an industry dominated by cheeky, sugary electro-pop cheese that Kpop songs are known for (which, trust me, isn't an entirely bad thing hahaha!), f(x) brings a refreshing take of Kpop fare that isn't overloaded with too much vomit-inducing "aegyo" (cuteness). Their first full-blown album, "Pinocchio", is a very good example of that.