True talent reigns in "Immortal Song 2"...

Immortal Song 2 from KBS

There's a reason that I don't really write about each and every Korean album that comes out. For one thing, I don't really think it's nice to say (or write) bad things about artists. Like I said in my other post, artists are meant to be loved.

My other reason --- well, I go for vocal talent and musicality than hype. A lot of the idols that come out of the woodwork are either a product of tweaking (music editing and auto-tuning galore), and lots of hype. Unfortunately, the bad apples tend to spoil the lot, and even the artists who actually have talent are unfairly judged as well.

This is the reason why I love watching the show "Immortal Song 2" from KBS. It showcases live performances from some of the top idol vocalists in the industry. They're there to prove that idols are artists too, and that they got the stuff to make people believe that true talent does exist in the industry.

MBLAQ romances with latin flavor with their new album, "Mona Lisa"...

The boys of MBLAQ (L to R): Cheondoong / Thunder, Joon, G.O., Seungho,  and Mir

MBLAQ's been receiving a lot of attention right now because of the success that they've been receiving in Japan (who hasn't been to Japan in the Kpop world these days, right? hehehe!). After an immensely successful debut in Japan, plus a sold out concert, they're at the top of their game.

And what do people at the top do? Apparently, they don't stop! I mentioned in an earlier blog post for G.O.'s solo debut single, "Even In My Dreams" (if you haven't read my review for G.O.'s single, click here), that MBLAQ's been preparing for their comeback. Teaser after teaser was released to build anticipation for the return of the boys to Seoul. That anticipation ended today with the release of their new mini-album, "Mona Lisa".

It's G.O.'s time to shine with the release of his digital single, "Even In My Dreams"...

I love it when an artist in an idol group is given a chance to go solo --- especially if that artist is very talented and deserves the break. It's always a great opportunity to establish a musical identity separate from the group they belong to. In the Philippines, usually that would mean that either the person was moving away from the group, or that the band was going to disband. The experience of going solo seems to be very different in Korea, since it's a regular thing when idol groups go on hiatus.

I was very happy to learn that the lead vocalist of MBLAQ, G.O., was going to debut as a solo artist with the release of his digital single, "Even In My Dreams". G.O.'s a very talented vocalist, and has contributed a lot to the growth of their group under the mentorship of the one and only Rain (yes... the guy from "Full House"... hehehe!).

[POLL RESULT] Who's your favorite male idol rookie group?

AND THE WINNER IS...

BOYFRIEND

The quintet of Boyfriend, composed of Hyun Seong, Kwang Min, Dong Hyun, Jeong Min, Minwoo and Young Min, have been burning the midnight oil in promoting their self-titled album. All that presence and star power is translating into the kind of popularity that produces swarms of online groupies (as evidence to support my hypothesis, in my blog, they are the most searched group in my list of featured artists, and my review on their debut album is my most popular blog post ever since I've started this blog... beat that!).

Although these guys still have a long way to go musically. They're still stuck in newbie mode, so a lot of the material that they're doing is focused on dance and kpop cheese tracks... it's stuff that sells and builds a fan base, but it's not the kind of stuff that makes a defining moment in their career just yet. They're a young male idol group, and they've got a lot of growing up to do. Time will tell when they're really to shine as artists. 

Now... off to our new poll!

[POLL RESULT] Who won our most anticipated comeback poll?

AND THE WINNER IS... 2NE1

Yes, the girls of 2NE1 topped our poll for the past two weeks! Their return single, "Lonely", had been highly anticipated for weeks, and had been a quick hit as soon as it hit digital stores last week (the single apparently achieved an "all-kill" in all music charts in Korea).

Thanks to all the people who voted in the last poll! It was a neck-and-neck contest between 2NE1, 2PM and SNSD... it was good that a final vote came in hours before that broke the tie.

Post a comment... whose comebacks are you looking forward to?

But of course, it's time for another exciting poll from The Pinoy Kpop Fan!!!

And here it goes...

X-5 : An interesting and "tall" addition to the Kpop world

The boys of X-5 --- (L to R): Ghun, Sul Hu, Haewon, Taefung / Typhoon and Zin

Open World Entertainment had recently debuted a new male idol group named "X-5", with their mini-album titled "Xenos". This album has been around for a couple of weeks now since they released their first album last April 21. I've been reading about how many people have swooned over these boys because they're all so tall (apparently their average height is around 186cm, which is around 6ft 1in in the standard scale --- whew!). Image wise, the guys are always well dressed, and are being marketed as an idol group defined by classic chic fashion.

Of course, no matter how well polished a group's image can be, it's always the music that will determine whether they're going to fare well and build up a good fan base. Let's see how well these guys fare.