Stray Kids
Stray Kids released their first repackaged album “IN 生 LIFE” with the title track “Back Door”. Their first full album “GO 生 LIVE” was released back in June.
Review: I might be in the minority, but I’m not always a huge fan of repackaged albums. Although I’m glad for more content, I think that it makes it inevitable to compare tracks/concepts instead of just enjoying the standalone album on its own. And I couldn’t help but compare the new release “Back Door” with it’s predecessor “God’s Menu”. “God’s Menu was much more hard hitting and iconic (I still have the line “Cooking like a chef, I’m a five star Michelin” pop into my head randomly throughout the day). But there’s still a lot to like about “Back Door”. I like how they used the beat-drop in the chorus and the seductive bass lines in the intro and outro. The choreography was also interesting (it’s like a more aggressive version of SEVENTEEN’s iconic “Home” dance). I’ve noticed JYP choreography tends to have a really good way of connecting the dance to the lyrics of the song, and I have a soft side for dances that involve teamwork and the members interacting with each other. As for the rest of the new songs, I’m glad they included unit-based songs. And while Stray Kids is known for their edgy and loud concepts, I always appreciate hearing some of their softer songs such as “Ex” and “My Universe” (with members Seungmin, I.N featuring Changbin)”. Overall: Not as hard hitting as “God’s Menu”, but at least we have directions for how to get into the clubs. You know, whenever they are open again. (*cries behind a mask from 6 feet away*).
Other Headlines:
- I guess when you’re the baddest queen around, you don’t even need a full two minutes to get your point across. Legendary queen of K-pop and former 2ne1 member CL dropped a video for “+POST UP+” after a series of teasers on social media. The way she effortlessly code-switches back and forth between English and Korean and can set up her rhyme patterns in the middle of a phrase is so impressive… and this is just a pre-release, with a full comeback to come in October, nearly a year since her last album “In the Name Of Love”.
- YG Entertainment’s rookie group TREASURE made their first comeback with the single album “The First Step: Chapter Two”. The title track “I Love You” has a lot of similar elements, but I think their debut song “Boy” back in August was a much stronger track. There were a lot of different styles and genres in this, which is a interesting idea that has been done before (example: Girls’ Generation’s iconic “I Got A Boy”). But I’m not sure if everything blended as well as it could have, so it felt a bit disjointed. It’s still a pretty decent song though and it’s definitely a good idea for a rookie group to show different sides of themselves.
- This has got to be one of the cutest music videos this year. American artist MAX released his long-awaited album “Colour Vision” and a music video for the track “Blueberry Eyes” feat. Suga of BTS. Max and Suga recently worked together for the track “Burn It” on Agust D’s (Suga’s solo alter-ego) second album D-2 (read our full review here). Originally, Suga was supposed to collab on a different album track, but he didn’t feel like it was the right fit and ended up choosing “Blueberry Eyes” to write his verse. While Max wrote the song to tell his wife how she changed his life (I know, it’s adorable), Suga’s verse also includes the way love and support from friends and fans can bring a light to your life. Bonus references to Max for including a cat to reference Suga and for learning the Korean so the couple could lip-sync to it in the video. The rest of the album is equally as good, including the especially catchy “Working For The Weekend (feat. Bbno$)” and “Love Me Less (feat. Quinn XCII)”.
- fromis_9 is back! The girl group formed from the competition show “Idol School” had their first comeback in over a year with the EP “My Little Society”. (And K-drama fans might recognize member Jang Gyuri as one of the nurses in Psycho But It’s Okay.) The entire album is honestly just fun to listen to, especially the title track “Feel Good”. The choreography is also really impressive and highly synchronized, which makes it even sadder that after all this time member Lee Seo Yeon won’t be able to participate in promotions due to an injury. I hope she recovers soon, but in the meantime I’ll be listening to this ridiculously addicting song.
- I honestly don’t know much about the group KNK and this comeback almost fell off my radar. Fortunately, the opening choreography went viral because it’s impressive and unique. I mean, he’s levitating! The title track “Ride” is the most memorable on the album and given the group’s rough history (management issues, a long hiatus, etc.), I hope this comeback can bring them some more attention.
- ASTRO members Moonbin and Sanha made their unit debut with the mini album “IN-OUT” and the title track “Bad Idea”.
- Looking for some soothing vocals with no frills? Check out the underrated vocals on VAV’s “Made For Two” and their album of the same name.
- Who says K-pop isn’t educational? SM Entertainment announced that they have partnered up with Jongro Haneul Education (which agreed back in 2016) to create SM Institute (SMI). The school will be offered to local and international students and include education in different languages, influencing management, fashion, and basically anything else you need for the industry. Since many who want to become idols miss out on their schooling, SMI promises ‘to support students so that they don’t have to give up on their education to become global stars.” The school plans to begin accepting applications next month and open in March. If only this was a K-drama, I could dress up and pretend to be school-age again. *remembers high-school* You know what, never mind.
- After seeing a lot of courts siding with companies, this is so refreshing: SONAMOO members Nahyun and Sumin won their lawsuit against TS Entertainment to terminate their contract due to lack of payment, removing them from their dorms, and more. TS Entertainment already has a bad reputation with many fans (it seems like they are always getting sued, and older fans may remember how they seemingly stopped B.A.P. from having a lasting global career), but has already filed an appeal for the ruling. Is it so hard to either pay your artists or let them leave?
- Meanwhile in another court, former BIGBANG member Seungri had his first hearing in a military court where he denied all but one of the eight charges against him (including purchase of prostitution services, embezzlement, gambling, etc.) After announcing his retirement from the industry, Seungri enlisted into the military in March. (Read more about the case and background here.)
- LOONA’s company announced that member Haseul has decided not be a part of their upcoming comeback so she can focus on her health. Haseul has been on hiatus since January after being diagnosed with recurring anxiety. The 11 other members will be back on October 19 with the mini album “12:00”.
- In some good news, PENTAGON released a video featuring member Yan An, who has been on a hiatus from the group since last year. The group is getting ready for a comeback next month.
- Singer/rapper/OST regular Heize officially joined Psy’s company P NATION. She’ll be joining artists Jessi, HyunA, Crush, and DAWN.
- Speaking of Jessi, she and singer Lee Seung Chul will be judges on the upcoming Mnet reality show CAP-TEEN. Since Jessi moved to Korea while she was only 15 to pursue her career, it’ll be interesting to see what insights she can share with the teenage contestants. CAP-TEEN will premiere in November.
K-Drama Corner
Coffee Prince 
Kim Hye Yoon; Jisoo 
Sung Hoon
- Upcoming SBS historical drama Joseon Exorcist is in talks with its potential lead cast. If accepted, the drama may star Jang Dong Yoon (Tale of Nokdu, School 2017), Lee Yoo Bi (A Poem A Day, Scholar Who Walks the Night), Kim Dong Jun (Chief of Staff, About Time), Jung Hye Sung (Pegasus Market; Manhole), Park Sung Hoon (Memorials, Psychopath Diary), and Kam Woo Sung (The Wind Blows, Should We Kiss First). The fantasy/action sageuk (historical drama) will tell the story of the undead who return to life after being killed by the royal family (which, based on other sageuks is probably going to be a lot). Joseon Exorcist will premiere next year.
- JTBC confirmed the cast for its upcoming drama Law School. Kim Myung Min (The Miracle We Met, A New Leaf) Ryu Hye Young (Reply 1988) and Kim Bum (Boys Over Flowers, Tale of the Nine Tailed) will star as professors and students with different backgrounds in a prestigious law school who come across an unusual case. Law School is set to air in the first half of next year.
- Cue the nostalgia: MBC released a teaser for their upcoming documentary about the hit 2007 drama Coffee Prince. The program will follow the cast as they revisit the cafe and reflect on drama thirteen (seriously, it’s been that long?!) years later.
- This drama is going to be big. Snowdrop, the upcoming drama starring BLACKPINK’s Jisoo, Kim Hye Yoon (Sky Castle; Extraordinary You), and Jang Seung Jo (The Good Detective) is in talks to add actress Yoo In Na (Goblin; You Who Came From The Star) and actor (A Piece of Your Mind, While You Were Sleeping) to its star cast and and production team. The drama is set to start filming this year.
- Actor Sung Hoon (Level Up; My Secret Romance) has been confirmed for the drama Marriage Story. He will be reunited with screenwriter Im Sung Han, who cast him in the actor’s first drama and is know for writing makjang (soap-opera, exaggerated plot lines) dramas such as Princess Aurora. The drama will air next year.
- Currently Watching:
- I-LAND: *Spoilers* We finally reached the debut finish line! I’m not starting a conspiracy theory, but I think it’s fairly obvious that the show editors have been pushing some candidates since the first episode. So most of the final line-up wasn’t a surprise, especially if you compare their screen time with others. But I was surprised at the voting ranking and that Sunoo and K weren’t much higher based on their popularity. And I was even more surprised that the producers didn’t pick K to debut. He’s the oldest trainee, so I feel especially bad for him. But I’m hoping we’ll hear from him and some of the other contestants soon in another group. And I’m excited to see what the new group ENHYPEN will bring (though I’m not completely sold on that name). Overall, this was an entertaining and unique (if not always completely fair for all fans) show, and if there’s another season featuring girl trainees (which seems likely), I’ll probably tune in.
- Record of Youth: This may have had a bit of a slow start for some viewers, but I love slice-of-life dramas like this (reminds me of acclaimed dramas like the Answer Me series, Hospital Playlist, and Be Melodramatic). I like how it’s showing the complicated sides of relationships and family. Hye Jun’s (Park Bo Gum’s character) family does love him, but his father’s fears and worries have monopolized their relation to the point that they can barely understand one another (and his older brother can just move out, I’m sort of sick of him). I’m always up for a well-written bromance, but I can already start to see possible cracks in the friendship that may happen down the road, especially when the truth comes out about his friend’s meddling mother. Jeong Ha’s character (played by Park So Dam) intrigues me the most, because at first glance she seems like the cliche hardworking ‘candy’ female lead, but I sense that there’s more there than meets the eye and she’s hiding some sort of hurt. The directing is great at showing the little charged moments between the leads, and I like how they are starting off as friends instead of insta-love. But all this talk of military enlistment has me missing Park Bo Gum already.
- Do You Like Brahms?: This drama is like chicken noodle soup for the introvert’s soul. Our leads are still adorable and awkward, but with each other they can reveal their true selves. They’ve already (mostly unintentionally) seen each other at their most vulnerable moments, and have an automatic response to look out for each other. I like how although they can both seem a bit hesitant in their behaviors, neither of them are wishy-washy or weak-minded. We finally have a lead who clearly tells the second female lead that he wants nothing to do with her. I want to feel more sympathy for Jung Kyung, but she’s so focused on her own insecurities and goals that she’s seriously hurting those around her. But after seeing her grandmother’s (the chairwoman) claws finally coming out, I guess I can see why she’s so sour-faced all of the time. Also, shout out to the team leader, who always goes into protective mama-bear mode whenever anyone goes after Song Ah.
- The Sixth Sense: I really like the concept for this variety show! The cast seems to have clicked with each other really fast, and that makes it even more entertaining to watch (even though all the guests so far have been a bit overwhelmed and outnumbered by the antics of the majority female cast). The idea of the show is to guess which location and concept is fake in each episode, and I’m amazed at the amount of work (and budget!) that goes into transforming and creating the space for each episode; I’ve been tricked each time. I’m not sure how long they can keep this concept going (again, the budget for each episode must be pretty hefty), but I’ll enjoy it as long as it lasts.