daebakwhovian/ November 15, 2020/ ICYMI/ 0 comments

Taemin Gets A Big Idea

SHINee maknae Taemin released his third full-length album “Never Gonna Dance Again: Act 2” with the title track “IDEA”.

Review: The Chinese characters in the title track “IDEA:理想” can translate to ‘an ideal, a dream,’ and ‘perfection’- which is exactly what this album is. In “Act 1” of the theatrically-themed series the focus was on a fall from grace, losing control, and toxic relationships taking over every thought and action. By contrast, in “IDEA” he is in full control. The track is based on Plato’s Theory of Ideas, which states that ideas are the essence of all things, and the existence of objects in the physical realm are just imitations of these ideas. Throughout the MV we see him travel through numerous realms, from hell up to heaven, as he searches for self-enlightenment. In the end he succeeds; the dancers, representing external influences, fall away and Taemin alone is left standing, saying the final lines “The night that cut you out of me…I finally opened my eyes.” Even without the philosophy lesson, the music video has excellent visuals and design (2020 is the year of crop tops and I’m not complaining). The choreography shows why the title of the album is oxymoronic. At first glance the dance seems deceptively simplistic; there’s not a lot of large movements or flashy point moves. But it’s filled with smooth, isolated details and even when the entire dance crew is wearing the same outfit, Taemin performs in such a way that he still stands out. I do feel like this song is stronger with its performance than just by itself, but it’s by no means underwhelming. The track itself has an interesting structure. The first chorus only has the grand orchestral background mixed with a synth drop, and of course the legendary Boa’s ‘killing me’ line. The real chorus doesn’t come in until after the second verse, and that stuttered “my ee-dey-ah” has been circling around my brain all week. The album continues the introspective view started in “Act 1” and is especially reflected in the tracks in which Taemin contributed to the lyrics: “Heaven”, “Think of You”, and “Pansy”, an appreciation message to his fans and also a subtle reference to SHINee’s debut date. A deep dive into the lyrics of the songs also reveals a diary of an artist who truly understands his craft, and long-time fans will appreciate the many references to the artist’s career. Overall: *aggressively body rolls while learning philosophy principles while getting sentimental*

New Releases & Top Headlines:

• Six-member girl group STAYC made their debut with the single album “Star To A Young Culture” and the title track “So Bad”. This was a highly anticipated debut since they’re from High Up Entertainment, an agency started by prolific producing duo Black Eyed Pilseung who even if you’ve never heard of, you’ve definitely heard their songs (their credits include SISTAR’s “Touch My Body”, TWICE’s “TT” and “Cheer Up”, Chungha’s “Gotta Go”, and Apink’s “Dumhdurum”, just to name a few). And the hype was definitely worth it- this is one of the best, if not the strongest girl group debuts this year. The MV is light and colorful without being too cutesy (not that there is anything wrong with cute, it just wouldn’t match the song well). I love that the song actually highlights the lower register of the vocalists instead of many girl group songs that force the singers to sing way above their most comfortable range. The low-voiced rapper J is giving me serious Moonbyul (from MAMAMOO) and Dami (from Dreamcatcher) vibes, and she’s only 15! Clearly this group is very talented, the vocal textures and ranges match well, and they have already shown they can do a variety of styles. I’m an immediate fan.

• GFRIEND released their final album in the ‘回’ series, “回:Walpurgis Night” with the title track “MAGO”. I’m not a huge GFRIEND fan, but I love the more mature and complex sounds and looks we’ve been getting with this series of albums. ‘回’, which means ‘spin’ in Sino-Korean is an appropriate name since they’ve definitely come a long way since their debut (for a total head spin, watch their first track “Glass Bead” and “MAGO” back to back!). And yet, they still keep a ‘magical girl’ atmosphere throughout their songs. This could easily have been another throwaway retro cliche track made just to match the trends this year. But not only does it show a new side to GFRIEND, the catchy chorus and dreamy MV makes it feel like Sailor Moon went to the disco (and in case you’re wondering, “MAGO” means magician in Spanish). The sextet continues to put listeners under their spell (hehehe) with the rest of the album, with each member contributing to at least one song. Standouts include the funky “Love Spell”, the anthem-esque “GRWM” (Get Ready With Me), and the relaxing “Night Drive”. Hopefully some of that magic fairy dust will also help member Eunha have a speedy recovery, as it was announced that she would be sitting our from some activities after being diagnosed with corneal inflammation and suffering eye pain.

• You may know actor and variety show Lee Seung Gi, but do you know ballad singer Lee Seung Gi? The star made a comeback to singing with the single “The Ordinary Man”, which sounds like an OST to a drama that he could also be the main lead in.

• Jamie (formerly known as Jimin Park from 15&) released her new single “Apollo 11”. The MV is beautiful and calming, and her voice perfectly matches the lo-fi R&B track. Despite the laid-back style, the song is also really empowering, talking about chasing your dreams and moving forward “even if it’s only one small step/in order to look forward to my tomorrow.”

• The title track is named “Snooze”, but that doesn’t mean you should sleep on rookie band LUCY! The four member band officially debuted earlier this year (after being formed in last year’s JTBC show SuperBand) and caught my attention with this beautiful Korean Sign Language version of their song “Flowering”. Their songs are always so calming, and the violin in the nostalgic “Snooze” makes it sound like an epic anime opening.

• Rookie group E’LAST made their first comeback with the mini album “AWAKE” and the title track “Tears of Chaos”. I really like that they’re sticking with this lyrical, elegant style. One thing that caught my attention with their debut was the rich instrumentals and focus on their vocals. It feels like most of the tracks could be used as an OST or video game montage, and it also reminds me of the pop-ballads from a few years ago.

• Soloist NATTY (from SIXTEEN and Idol School, which formed TWICE and fromis_9) made her first comeback with the single “Teddy Bear”

• I could honestly just watch SEVENTEEN member THE8 read the newspaper and he’d make it look exciting and graceful. Thankfully, we get much more in this choreography video he released this week.

• TVXQ‘s Changmin (aka Max Changmin/MAX) released the single “All That Love”.

• Former WannaOne member Ha Sung Woon released the EP “Mirage” with the title track “Forbidden Island”.

• Soloist/producer LØREN made his debut with the single “Empty Trash”. He’s gained attention for being under YG Entertainment sub-label THEBLACKLABEL. There’s also been some rumors that he is the son of the mega-company Naver’s owner, which sounds like it was taken straight out of a K-drama. We do know that he was the mystery man in BLACKPINK’s recent “Lovesick Girls” MV, can play multiple instruments, and contributed to the lyrics for several BLACKPINK songs.

• TXT released a MV for their B-side “We Lost The Summer” and it’s so relatable that it has me crying in my (Zoom-version, socially distanced) club.
• *Screams in Gucci* EXO‘s Kai is finally making his long-awaited solo debut! His first solo album “KAI (开)” will have 6 tracks and drops November 30.
• The producers behind the idol-making competition show Idol School pleaded not guilty after being tried for vote manipulation…but also admitted to vote manipulation? Two former Mnet employees were charged for obstruction of business and fraud after it was discovered that they weighted paid votes for the show differently than what was presented, which changed the contestant ranking. However, their lawyers claimed that while there was no excuse, “his actions do not legally constitute a crime.” So basically, ‘we did it, but we don’t want to be punished for it.’ I didn’t know you could do that, so I’ll save that for the next time I do something wrong.
• Umm, this is an awkward announcement? OnlyOneOf‘s agency announced that member Mill will be suspended from promotions for ‘violating group rules’. Of course, they didn’t let us know exactly what rules he broke. It seems odd that they didn’t simply say ‘for personal reasons’ and instead left fans at best wondering and at worst speculating bad reasons. Weird.
• BOL4‘s Ahn Ji Young will be taking a hiatus to focus on her mental health. Her agency announced that she’s been receiving treatment since earlier this year, but due to worsening symptoms it was decided that it was best to postpone activities.
• RBW announced that MAMAMOO member Wheein is being treated for muscle pain after experiencing pain in her neck and back. The diagnosis didn’t seem too serious, but we still don’t know if she will be sitting out of any more upcoming activities.
• This group just cannot seem to catch a break. Black Swan (a revamp of disbanded group RANIA) member Hyeme was accused of fraud and is facing a lawsuit over about $44,800 after allegedly borrowing that amount from the defendant and ‘disappearing’. Hyeme and Black Swan’s agency, DR Music made a statement that they would also be filing charges, and that the original reports were exaggerated and filled with false details. Black Swan just made their debut last month, and this negatively hurts the group’s image even though Hyeme was only promoting with the group for their first album.
• What Is Love? Both artist’s agencies confirmed that TWICE‘s Jihyo and soloist Kang Daniel have broken up due to busy schedules and wanting to focus on their careers. Although I really liked them as a couple and I’m sad to see them part ways, I wish the best for both of them.
• Big Hit Entertainment revealed its final lineup for it’s first full label concert. 2021 NEW YEAR’S EVE LIVE will feature performances from NU’EST; ENHYPEN; GFRIEND; TXT; Lee Hyun, BUMZU; and BTS (no SEVENTEEN due to scheduling conflicts). The concert will have in-person arrangements as well as online and will be presented by Weverse. More information on the streaming details will be announced later.
• Speaking of Big Hit, has anyone else went through withdrawal after the rhythm tap game SuperStar BTS shut down? Just me? After Big Hit Entertainment acquired the music game company Superb last year, we knew they’d be working on it’s replacement soon, and it’s finally here! The new game Rhythm Hive will feature Big Hit Label artists including BTS and TXT. The game is set to launch early next year. You can follow them on social media to get updates in the meantime.
• And in other game news, up next in the SuperStar series is SuperStar FNC. The rhythm game, which already has JYP, SM, YG, and other versions, will feature songs by FTISLAND, CNBLUE, AOA, N.Flying, SF9, Cherry Bullet, and P1Harmony.
• Watch out Weverse, there’s a new ‘verse’ in town (yes, that sounded better in my head). New fan platform “UNIVERSE”, developed by the game company NCSOFT, is set to combine new technology for fans to interact with artists. So far the artists with their own ‘planets’ are ATEEZ, Kang Daniel, MONSTA X, (G)-IDLE, THE BOYZ, IZ*ONE, with more to be announced soon. You can pre-register on the website here.

K-Drama Corner:

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• The School saga continues! Originally slated to premiere this year, the School 2020 team announced a name and channel change and provided more plot details. WEi‘s Kim Yo Han will star in School 2021 as the male lead who attends a specialized high school. The drama will air in the first half of next year on KBS2.
• Song Hye Ko (Encounter; Descendants of the Sun) might be making her drama-land comeback. The actress has been offered the lead role in the upcoming drama Now, We Are Breaking Up as a 38-year old fashion designer who is beautiful but cold-hearted. Although her last drama Encounter (which was 2 years ago) fizzled out a bit for me, she was absolutely stunning in the role.
• Man, I’m a sucker for pretty people in pretty hanboks. Upcoming comedy/mystery/historic drama Secret Royal Inspector, based on a real position in the Joseon Dynasty, released new stills of Kwon Nara (Itaewon Class; Suspicious Partner) and Kim Myung Soo (Meow, the Secret Boy; Angel’s Last Mission: Love). Kim Myung Soo plays a listless nobleman who as punishment for gambling is appointed as a royal inspector and teams up with Kwon Nara’s character, an inspector disguised as a gisaeng, to uncover corruption and work for justice. Secret Royal Inspector airs December 21 on KBS.
• Kim Seon Ho (Catch the Ghost; Feel Good To Die), who’s currently playing a popular character in Netflix’s Start-Up, is already receiving offers for his next drama. If he accepts, the actor will play the main role in Link, a mystery about a chef who starts a restaurant in the same town that his twin sister went missing 20 years ago. And if that’s not enough intrigue for you, he suddenly starts experiencing random emotions which turn out to match those of a woman in the town. And if even that’s not enough, the drama has some of the same team behind I Remember You and Suspicious Partner. Link is set to premiere on tvN in the first half of 2021.
• Popular tvN drama Hospital Playlist is getting ready for a second season! Starring the same ensemble cast of  Jo Jung Suk, Yoo Yeon Seok, Jung Kyung Ho, Kim Dae Myung, and Jeon Mi Do, the season 2 will reportedly start filming early December. I hesitated to watch this due to my extreme dislike of medical dramas, but since it has such glowing reviews and is by the same team behind the amazing Answer Me series, I’ll probably be binge-watching it pretty soon.

What was your favorite headline this week? Let us know in the comments!