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ATEEZ Sparks Fireworks In Zero: Fever Pt. 2
The desert pirate kings are back with their latest mini-album “ZERO: Fever Part 2”. This album release couldn’t have better timing, with the group soon to appear in Mnet’s idol competition show Kingdom and hopefully will be able to ride the ‘Wave‘ of activity to success (see what I did there?).
ATEEZ is known for their anthem-esque title tracks and performances, but “Fireworks (I’m the One)” felt a little bit different than usual. It borrows heavily from trap music, which personally I’m not a huge fan of. Unlike other ATEEZ title tracks that build up and explode into a catchy chorus, ‘Fireworks’ didn’t really go anywhere melodically or gradually build up the energy so it felt a bit flat. That being said, it’s not a bad song just not as addictive as some of their past releases. The styling for this comeback is absolutely on point, and I liked that the MV even with the Mad Max vibes. The choreography also has some nice highlights, although I flinch every time San leaps over the members’ heads at this part (for the love of guyliner and Jongho’s long coats, please don’t land awkwardly and twist your ankle!). I’m also impressed with how well leader Hongjoong has been able to sub in for all of the rap parts in live performances, since the other rapper Mingi is still on hiatus ( 😢 at least we got to hear him on the album). Another shout out for member Yeosang. When the group first debuted, he seemed a lot more shy than other members, but his stage presence has continued to be more significant with each comeback.
The other songs on the album are a bit more my style. “Time Of Love” leans more into city pop, and the saxophone solo takes you straight back to the 80s. I also really liked the more soulful feel-good track “Celebrate“, complete with Jongho’s trademark high note at the bridge.
Final Thoughts: Not as compelling as their other releases, but still makes me want to change my professional user names to ‘Choi San’s pink hair’.
Comebacks & Releases
- It’s Raining! Legendary artist RAIN made his comeback with his third Korean mini-album “Pieces By Rain” and the title track “Why Don’t We” feat. Chungha. I don’t know whether I’m more jealous of Chungha getting to perform with Rain or of Rain getting to preform with Chungha but either way it was the collaboration we didn’t realize we need but definitely did. (Though I think with that level of skill, the choreography could have been even more challenging and epic.) Speaking of collabs, the album is full of them including GOT7‘s Jackson Wang in the b-side bop “Magnetic” (who co-wrote the song and the upcoming MV because he’s an underachiever) and his former boss JYP in the pre-release “Switch To Me”. In a very smart publicity move, there’s a a feature from members of Rain’s upcoming rookie boy group Ciipher (set to debut March 15) on the track “Come Over”. There’s not a bad song on the album, though my favorite might be the first track “Aurora”. It just goes to show that it is indeed possible to age like fine wine. In the meantime, I will continue eating candy bars to get chocolate abs like Rain. Wait- is that not how it works???
- iKON released the digital single “Why Why Why” and it is definitely not what I was expecting. I feel like iKON is sometimes viewed as limited to heavy hitting bangers like “Rhythm Ta“, which they do incredibly well at. But they’re also capable of mellow, uncluttered ballads like “Don’t Forget Me“. The music video is also simple, pastel colored and beautiful. I can’t wait to see what performances they have in store in Kingdom.
- VERIVERY released the single album “Series ‘O’ [Round 1: Hall]” with the title track “Get Away”. The song and dance are catchy, the MV is a bit enjoyably confusing (reminds me of EXO and their evil clones), and if you’ve every read any of my previous posts, you already know I instantly approve of MV that feature suits and sparkles in the hair.
- Rookies MCND released a music video for the b-side “Not Over” from their mini album “MCND Age”. Is it bad that I actually like this better than their actual title track?
Yukika 
Park Jihoon 
Demian 
G-reyish
- ‘Soul Lady‘ and city pop queen Yukika released the pre-release single “Lovemonth (애월)”.
- Park Jihoon released the single “Call U Up” featuring Lee Hi. The release is exclusive to the fan platform UNIVERSE, but you can listen to it on YouTube here.
- Singer-songwriter DEMIAN released his single album “A Blue not Blues” and an MV for the title track “LOVE%” featuring DAWN (formerly E’Dawn of PENTAGON).
- Four-member girl group G-reyish released their first mini album “M” with the title track “Blood Night“.
Top Headlines
GOT7’s Bam Bam 
ONF 
Day6’s Sungjin 
SF9
- Sometimes things get clearer with time, and sometimes things get messier. Amid the mass of bullying and school violence allegations during the last few weeks, some have already been proved false or resolved with the alleged victims, but a few have continued to stand out:
- After netizens claiming to be former APRIL member Hyunjoo‘s brother and friend accused the original group members of bullying Hyunjoo until she left the group. APRIL’s agency, DSP Media, issued a statement denying the claims, but the original poster replied back with several counterarguments to DSP’s statement including the extent of the bullying and agency mistreatment which he claimed led to thoughts of self harm and other health issues. In response, DSP issued another statement saying they tried to resolve things through discussions with the family, but have decided to take “strong legal action in both criminal and civil lawsuits against Lee Hyunjoo, as well as her family members and acquaintances who have spread these allegations online”. This seems especially odd to me since as far as I know, Hyunjoo herself has not publicly said or posted anything about the situation, most likely because she is still under DSP Media. Although it’s always best to neutral until you have all of the details from both sides, this definitely makes DSP look even sketchier than before.
- Actor Jisoo posted a handwritten apology letter following serious bullying and school violence allegations, including claims of sexual harassment. Later however, his agency released an official statement denying accusations of sexual violence/ coercion and announcing that he would “immediately halt all scheduled activities as an actor and take time to seriously reflect on himself.” It was later announced that he would be enlisting in the military as a public service worker after receiving his draft notice in December, and according to the agency, in a move “unrelated to the recent controversy”. Jisoo was starring as the main lead in the currently airing KBS drama River Where The Moon Rises, but the channel announced that his scenes would be edited/re-shot and he would be replaced by actor Na In Woo (Mr. Queen; Mystic Pop-Up Bar).
- Actress Park Hye Soo posted a response to bullying allegations on her Instagram. Not only did she deny the claims, she said that she was actually the victim of bullying and the original poster was part of the problem and a former friend. Due to the allegations, her drama Dear M., also starring NCT‘s Jaehyun in his first TV acting role, has delayed the premiere date originally set for February 26.
- CUBE Entertainment announced that (G)-IDLE‘s Soojin would be going on a hiatus from group activities following allegations of school bullying. Previously and online poster alleged that Soojin bullied her younger sister during middle school. CUBE and Soojin herself released responses, Soojin even admitting that she had argued with her classmate and wasn’t a model student but firmly denying all allegations of bullying. According to the official statement, it seems that the agency wanted to meet face to face with the alleged victims, but they were unwilling. (G)-IDLE will continue to promote with five members for the time being.
- Oof, this kind of news always hurts even if you don’t know the group well. Forest Network announced that the group Seven O’ Clock would officially disbanding on March 2. The group debuted in 2017 and also appeared in the reality show Under 19.
- Woollim Entertainment announced that INFINITE‘s Sunggyu has decided to leave the agency after his contract expired. The group’s leader told fans in a Vlive that although other member’s contracts are also set to expire soon, INFINITE would continue as a group.
- In some happier news, ONF had their first music show win since their 2017 debut! The six-member group won on The Show with their title track “Beautiful Beautiful“.
- Grammys, are you ready to light it up like dynamite? BTS is confirmed to be performing at the upcoming Grammy Awards along with a star-studded line-up. Although they performed last year in a part of the Lil Nas X song “Old Town Road”, this will be their first time performing by themselves with their own songs. The Grammys will air March 14.
- In a surprise Vlive, Day6 member Sungjin announced that he was enlisting in the military on March 8. And by surprise I mean he was literally on the way to the training center sporting a buzz cut. He also said that he had already completed his parts for the group’s upcoming album, previously said to be released in April.
- Who doesn’t love underdog stories? You may have seen this viral video edit of Brave Girls‘ “Rollin”, which caused the 2017 track to top charts ahead of big name acts like IU, BTS, and others. Originally debuting in 2011 and again in 2016 with the current lineup, as recent as a few weeks ago, the members were thinking about disbanding. But this week their agency Brave Entertainment announced the good news that the group is preparing to appear on music shows to perform the viral hit. I really hope the agency takes advantage of this rare opportunity and releases a new comeback ASAP.
- FNC Entertainment announced that all nine members of SF9 have renewed their contracts with the agency. The group debuted in 2016 and will appearing on Mnet’s upcoming idol group competition show Kingdom.
Though technically the most viewed Korean music video is still “Baby Shark”.
- Skrrt Skrrt! GOT7‘s BamBam has officially joined Abyss Company. The agency is also home to SUNMI, Urban Zapaka, and Park Won.
- Happy International Women’s Month! 2ne1‘s CL was featured in Google’s celebration video “First of Many — Women’s History Month 2021” along with along with other female rappers including Missy Elliott, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, and others. #FirstButNotLast
K-Drama Corner
Jeon Yeo Bin 
Recipe For Youth 
Song Ji Hyo 
Goong
- Jeon Yeo Bin (Vincenzo; Be Melodramatic) is already in talks to star in her next drama. She’s been offered the lead for the upcoming Netflix show Glitch. Penned by the writer behind Extracurricular, the series is about a woman who teams up with UFO watchers to search for her missing boyfriend after he disappears in a flash of light.
- Wow, this came out of nowhere: Super Junior‘s Heechul and Moon Ga Young‘s (True Beauty; Find Me In Your Memory) web drama Recipe for Youth finally announced it will be released on March 14. If you thought you were a procrastinator, don’t feel too bad- the series was originally set to be released in 2016. Heechul plays a dating coach and Moon Ga Young stars as an undercover entertainment reporter. Recipe For Youth will premiere on BbangyaTV and will have 10 episodes.
- Upcoming TVING drama Come to the Witch Restaurant has confirmed its main cast and had its first script reading. Song Ji Hyo (Was It Love?; Lovely Horribly), Nam Ji Hyun (365: Repeat The Year; 100 Days My Prince; Suspicious Partner) and Chae Jong Hyeop (Sisyphus: The Myth; Hot Stove League) will star in the novel-based drama about a down-on-her-luck regular woman who starts working at a restaurant with a witch whose food grants wishes. The drama has the same director as Forest of Secrets; 100 Days My Prince; It’s Okay To Not Be Okay and is set to premiere this summer.
- Ah, 2000s-era K-dramas. The hair. The ruffles. The hair. Now we get to live it all over again. Comic-based 2006 drama Goong (Princess Hours) is set to get a remake with the same production company as the original, who is also behind hits like Boys Over Flowers and My ID Is Gangnam Beauty. The original K-drama was a huge domestic and international hit, with other adaptions including a novel and a musical. The plot takes place in an alternate reality where Korea still has monarchy. The female lead is a commoner who ends up in an arranged marriage with, you guessed it, the crown prince (hey, it was 2006 so it wasn’t a cliche yet). I wasn’t a huge fan of the originally, since it felt a bit dated by the time I watched it years later. But I’m interested in how a modern remake would handle it without destroying some of the magic and nostalgia important to fans.
Currently Watching
- L.U.C.A. The Beginning
- It was between catching up on this or watching random SHINee videos on YouTube. Guess which option won.
- Sisyphus: The Myth
- It’s still fun, but I do hate it when otherwise smart characters make really dumb decisions just to move the plot along. Like, the guy from the future specifically told you not to go to the study and not to go outside. So what do our leads do? Stroll into the study and waltz outside to get taken out by the sniper. That he just told you about. Anyway, I liked the idea of making Tae-Sul think everything was a dream so much that I almost wish that the lie had gone on just a bit longer. But who cares about that, our boy Sun (the delivery guy I thought everyone forgot about) came through in a big way! I’m more than willing to let this show drag me along with all its twists and turns, I just hope it doesn’t get lost in its own storytelling.
- Vincenzo
- I’m not caught up, but still enjoying this. I thought Cha-Young was a bit too over the top sometimes in the premiere week, but she seems to have toned it down a little and I really like the dynamic between her and Vincenzo so far. I just really hope they continue to balance the justice with the romance and don’t try to rush into or force lovey-dovey moments in awkward pacing. I also like evil Tacyeon (I always forget his character’s name, I just call him Taec especially with all the 2PM references) more than I thought I would. Though I do wonder what his motivation and larger goal is in acting undercover. Ya know, besides simping over our female lead.
What were your favorite releases or headlines this week? Let us know in the comments here or on our social media!