daebakwhovian/ July 19, 2020/ ICYMI/ 0 comments

EXO-SC Grooves With New Album “1 Billion Views”

EXO sub-unit duo EXO-SC (members Sehun and Chanyeol) released their first full-length album “1 Billion Views.” Sehun and Chanyeol contributed to composing of all the songs on the album.

Review(daebakwhovian): With a year filled with noise pop anthems and bubblegum dance tracks, “1 Billion Views” is chill in the best possible way. EXO fans have received a lot of solos in the past months, and it’s interesting to see how each member branches off and uses different colors of genres that contribute to the EXO discography. Suho’s “Self-Portrait” leaned toward pop-rock, Baekhyun’s “Delight” pulled from R&B, and “1 Billion Views” explores lo-fi hip-hop, funk, and fusion influences. The title track, described by Chanyeol as ‘a retro disco hip hop track’ sounds like it was made for summer (and for TikTok). The pair’s sung-rap and harmonies really match the groove of the song. I had never heard of R&B singer MOON (문), but her husky and soulful vocals were a perfect bonus for the bridge (check out her Instagram account here). I am definitely not an expert on song production, but for some reason the mixing really stood out to me on this entire album. Everything was perfectly balanced to make the vocals stand out while at the same time being able to isolate the different elements of the backing tracks, making it very easy to replay without getting sick of it. Although I shouldn’t be too surprised; with producing credits including Gaeko from Dynamic Duo and AOMG’s Gray, the album was bound to sound amazing. Other stand outs on the album include the island-vibe plea for a confession in “Say It” (feat. rapper Penomeco), “Jet Lag” which expresses the regret from being a distance from the one you love, and “Fly Away” ft. Gaeko which is about not living up to expectations (and sounds a lot better than when the trio revealed it during a drunken Instagram live broadcast. Shout out to SM). And although some fans have been disappointed in the lack of promotion for this release (Sehun revealed that he had to fight to include his solo track on the album and had to introduce streaming sites to the B-side “Telephone” himself), we did get music videos for Chanyeol’s “Nothin’”, Sehun’s “On Me”, “Telephone”, and a lyric video for “1 Billion Views”. Overall: Sit back, relax, and groove to the entire album. And try not to drop your phone doing the dance challenge. (If you want to try it, here is the link to download the display video and here’s a step-by-step tutorial by Sehun and Chanyeol. Fighting!)

Other Headlines:

  • GFRIEND released their mini album “回: Song of the Sirens”, the second in their series. The title track “Apple” is about confronting your temptations. I don’t know how I feel about this comeback. On one hand the chorus is catchy and hypnotic like, well, a siren song. But it does get a bit repetitive by the end of the track. That being said, the music video is gorgeous with the right amount of creepy, and the group looks stunning in their white gowns and graceful choreography. The rest of the album gives off a totally different vibe, with notable B-sides including “Eye of the Storm” which sounds like you just defeated the final boss in a video game, “Creme Brûlée”, a nod to GFRIEND’s cuter side, and the album ends with the sentimental rock ballad “Stairs in the North”.

  • Apink’s Jeong Eun Ji released her fourth solo mini album “Simple” with an MV for the title track “Away”. I’m a Jeong Eun Ji fan not only for her acting skills (Answer Me 1997 will always have my heart) but for her pure vocal style. Her unique tone really shines in a way that you may not be able to appreciate in many Apink tracks. “Away” is fun and refreshing, but the songs I keep replaying are “Stay” and “A Slow Child”, which made me cry into my ramen.

  • Multi-talented R&B/hip-hop singer-songwriter and producer Crush released a digital single “OHIO”. I’m absolutely in love with the upbeat jazz influenced title track. The other track on the release, “Let Me” goes full 90s R&B if you’re into some nostalgia.

  • Mamamoo’s Hwasa released a beautiful music video for “LMM”, a track from her recent first solo album “Maria” (and also my favorite from the album). Check out our track-by-track review and analysis of the album here.
  • Rookie soloist AleXa released the digital single “Villain”. The track is a pre-release single for her upcoming August comeback.
  • Fresh out of the competition show Road To Kingdom, recently debuted boy group TOO released their second mini album “Running TOOgether” and a MV for the so-bright-you-have-to-squint title track “Count 1, 2”.
  • BTS released their Japanese album “Map of the Soul:7~ The Journey~”. The album includes the new tracks “Stay Gold” and “Your Eyes Tell” which was co-wrote by member Jungkook and will be featured on the soundtrack of a Japanese film by the same name.
  • I suppose Mnet just can’t help themselves- the network (who is also responsible for the Produce series and its rigged voting scandals) has announced yet another audition/idol-making show. The series “CAP-TEEN” is currently accepting applicants until the end of August and will air in October. (Source)
  • FNC Entertainment announced online concerts for SF9 and band N.Flying titled “NOOB CON” (honestly not even the worst name I’ve ever heard translated into English). Originally schedule for July 5 (N.Flying) and August 8 (SF9), they later announced that SF9’s performance will be postponed due to Rowoon’s injury which prevents him from participating in choreography until he is fully recovered.
  • IMFACT’s agency announced that eldest member Jeup will be enlisting in the army on July 27.
  • The 26th Dream Concert will be held online this year on July 25-26. The event, “CONNECT: D” will include performances by EXO-SC, Red Velvet, Oh My Girl, ASTRO, Golden Child, AB6IX, ONEUS, CIX, Mamamoo, The Boyz, Stray Kids, ITZY, Rocket Punch, and others. The concert will be streamed on The K-POP YouTube channel and tickets cost less than $5.
  • In other online concert news, “Beyond Live”, the same SM Entertainment/Naver platform that has already hosted several SM virtual concerts, will next team up with TWICE for the online concert “World In A Day” on August 9.
  • MONSTA X announced rescheduled tour dates for the US and Canada starting in April of 2021. Have I mentioned how much I miss concerts? Like, in-person ones?
  • GOT7’s Jackson Wang recently launched his fashion brand Team Wang Design, a culmination of 3 years of planning. Although, after checking out his online store, I see that it would take me more than three years to save enough money to actually buy an outfit from there.

K-drama Corner:

  • Forest of Secrets (also known as Stranger) released a new trailer for its second season, which starts in August.
  • OCN has released posters for Missing: The Other Side, a mystery/fantasy about a town inhabited by the souls of missing people, and the group of people who try to find out what happened to them when they were still alive.
  • The former PD (producing director) of the long-running variety show Running Man will be returning with a new variety show on tvN titled ‘Sixth Sense’. The ‘nation’s MC’ Yoo Jae Suk is confirmed to star with reports that he will be joined with actress Jeon So Min (Running Man, Top Star Yoo-Baek), actress Oh Na Ra (SKY Castle, My Mister) and hip-hop artist Jessi. The cast is hilarious on their other variety show appearances and I also enjoyed the PD’s other recent show Village Survival, The Eight so I’m excited to see what he has planned. Filming will begin in August.
  • MBC drama When I Was Prettiest released a teaser. The romance will star actress Im Soo Hyang (Graceful Family, My ID Is Gangnam Beauty) caught in a love triangle between brothers played by Ji Soo (My First First Love, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon) and Ha Seok Jin (Something About 1%, Your House Helper). I just hope this means that Ji Soo’s character will finally get the girl this time around. When I Was Prettiest starts August 19.
  • Currently Watching:
    • It’s Okay To Not Be Okay: Still loving basically everything about this drama. I love how the bonds between characters are being drawn and strengthened naturally and how we’re getting to know every one gradually, just like you would in real life. I’m thoroughly invested in all of the characters now and their happiness. Which I know will lead me to heartbreak, since we’re around the halfway point and that’s usually when bad stuff starts to happen in dramas.
    • Was It Love?: I’m enjoying Song Ji Hyo’s acting in this drama so far. Even when I don’t agree with all of the choices her character makes, I can relate to how she portrays being at her wit’s end and how that influences her actions. I also like how her daughter has inherited her mother’s spunk and is determined to find out the mystery behind her father’s identity by herself (with a little help from the friendly(?) mobster’s timid son). I could deal with a lot less cliche wrist-grabs and there’s some awkward pauses/directing choices that affect the pacing at times, but overall I’m still finding this enjoyable.

What did you think about this week’s headlines? Let us know in the comments!

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