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#girlgroups

2 posts2 participants0 posts today

🧵 1/3

Every Sunday I look back at the preceding week in kpop and pick out a music video or performance that I have particularly liked. This week I have chosen STAYC – Bebe.

I’m not too sure about some of the vocals, but on the whole this is a piece of dance music I find most appealing. In spite of some significant musical differences, “Bebe” reminded me in both sound and looks of aespa’s club banger “Whiplash”; I’ll append a
stage of that song as response to this post.

I will also append a picture of STAYC in the outfits they wore for today’s Inkigayo. If I were to say which set of outfits I like better in general, I would pick those of Inkigayo -- Yoon in those gloves! – but I have chosen to highlight the Show stage because I think those outfits suit the music so well.

youtu.be/ETLu7WiAeUc?si=Ci_i2_

#Kpop #KpopOfTheWeek #STAYC #Bebe #aespa #Whiplash #KpopStyling #GirlGroups
@kpop@fedigroups.social @kpop@a.gup.pe

Replied in thread

@Erzbet

Thank you for setting up #KpopMonday with this rich but also (reaches for hankie) saddening theme of #WantUBack

I've posted songs by April before, but never - I think - "The Blue Bird".

It's an e.one production. So many of the April e.one songs appeal to me as wonderful examples of Christian Horse Girl Music, a Kpop genre I adore, even though I am neither Christian, nor equestrian, nor a woman. In the words of Say My Name's current comeback, "Thank you Jesus, I'm so lucky!"

April's listeners might have been blessed with some great music, but the members themselves were cursed to fall out in the most horrible way, with accusations of missed rehearsals, lying, theft, and bullying. Disbandment followed. How elusive the blue bird of happiness proves to be!

#Kpop #April #TheBlueBird #eone #ChristianHorseGirl #GirlGroups

youtu.be/Uh_6PY9am_0?si=KZ717T

Every Sunday I look back at the preceding week in kpop and pick out a music video or performance that I have particularly liked. This week I have chosen ILLIT – Almond Chocolate.

So much Kpop has caught my attention in the past week that it has been difficult to choose a single song or stage. I ended up going with “Almond Chocolate” because I love the strings, synthesizer, and girl group vocals combination. It’s a song in the same space as early Lovelyz, and it’s a sound I adore. Just like almond chocolate, it’s sweet with a little bitterness too.

The song was originally in Japanese and will be used in a Japanese film. As I’ve noted before, we shouldn’t underestimate the importance and complexity of the Korea-Japan dimension in kpop.

I chose this stage because I like the coordinated but not identical white outfits. Minju (braid, skirt, long sleeves, ending fairy) is adorable!

youtu.be/DDzxfRX1FFE?si=8TJyRJ

#Kpop #KpopOfTheWeek #ILLIT #AlmondChocolate #GirlGroups
@kpop@fedigroups.social @kpop@a.gup.pe

Replied in thread

@Erzbet

Thank you as always for setting this up and choosing a fun theme; you make every Monday fun!

I have not played any video games since staying up into the small hours playing Space Invaders decades ago, so I am not well informed about video gaming in more recent years.

Nevertheless I think I'm right in saying that the video gaming shown in Cherry Bullet's six year old "Q & A" was very retro even then, and must look positively paleo to younger gamers now. It's all part of the delight that the makers of Kpop MVs show in incorporating older technologies such as landline telephones or cathode ray television sets into videos.

I like "Q & A", and I think it's a shame that Cherry Bullet and their bright bubblegum pop were not more successful. Thank goodness that YouTube and the internet in general continue to give us access to these treasures of pop culture past; I worry that some point YouTube/ Alphabet /Capitalism is going to say "Game Over -- Insert More Coins To Continue".

#Kpop #KpopMonday #VideoGame #CherryBullet #Q&A #GirlGroups

youtu.be/5LCGn9UFNAY?si=_R4CKX

Every Sunday I look back at the preceding week in kpop and pick out a music video or performance that I have particularly liked. This week I have chosen STAYC – Beautiful Monster.

Although this concert took place more than a week ago, this video has only recently been uploaded. The song itself is much older, being a title track from two years ago. I haven’t looked at the sales figures, but I do know that it was less successful than their previous title tracks. Perhaps STAYC were overshadowed by the emergence of New Jeans, or possibly the group’s breaking with the “teen fresh” sound explains the relative lack of success. I love it; like so many pop songs I enjoy, it has a bitter sweetness to it. Yoon has said it remains a favourite with the group themselves.

I find the song well suited to live performance, because the electronic aspect of the production not absent, but what stand out are the distinct acoustic elements like the guitar and flute. In addition, the vocals carry an emotional weight for which a live stage is appropriate. I remember criticism of Yoon’s singing, but I love her distinctive voice here. I also thinks she looks so stylish in those flared pants and boots.

youtu.be/UYxXwnqu3i8?si=gsvVpG

#Kpop #KpopOfTheWeek #STAYC #BeautifulMonster #GirlGroups
@kpop@fedigroups.social @kpop@a.gup.pe

Replied in thread

@Erzbet

youtu.be/WEWtyTm2foM?si=LRe2EK

Lovelyz are singing about - I think - the stage that come after the hurt and rage stages of a break up - the actual letting go. Not all of us get to that stage, or get to it easily at any rate, so here are Lovelyz looking and sounding wonderful to help us on our journey.

🧵 1/2

A20 follow in the tracks of Sarah Connor and TVXQ.

I'm not quite sure how to classify A20. They're produced by Lee Soo-man but are not #Kpop; even though the members are Chinese and Chinese American, I'm not sure that they count as #Cpop either.

They're being marketed as #zalphapop, but this is the first time I've heard this generational label, which seems to me less helpful than a regional or national tag. Perhaps they should just be tagged as #AsianPop .

Whatever the tag, I like them.

Look at how tall they are!

#AsianPop #A20 #UnderMySkin #GirlGroups

youtu.be/GioJ0KPZADg?si=mSMQuV

Wake up music today- more Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. I've kinda been obsessed with this song since I was a kid, when I'd hear the original Shirelles version on the radio. And to me, this will forever be the best cover version of it. Does it incredible service while putting a new spin on it. Nothing will ever be as good as the original, but this is a great, bombastic tribute.

youtube.com/watch?v=T7PRSXC87S

#punk #PunkRock #PunkCovers #MeFirstAndTheGimmes #TheShirelles #GirlGroups #60s #60sMusic #1960s @Defiance

Every Sunday I look back at the preceding week in kpop and pick out a music video or performance that I have particularly liked. This week I have chosen RESCENE -- Crash.

I enjoyed the title track on the "Glow Up" album, but this is my favourite track. I love not just the vocals in themselves but also their arrangement. "Crash" is absolutely my Kpop cup of tea! I hope they release a performance video in the next few days.

RESCENE make me so happy...

youtu.be/8kRucJDItlQ?si=Q-Hsmc

#Kpop #KpopOfTheWeek #RESCENE #Crash #GirlGroups
@kpop@fedigroups.social @kpop@a.gup.pe

This is almost certainly the last stage ever of fromis_9. No wonder members of the audience and of the group are in tears. I will miss them!

Nevertheless, this was a good stage on which to end. Even though "Supersonic" is not my favourite of their title tracks - I prefer "Feel Good" -- it's still a good song. I also liked their styling; the choice of elegant boots and heels, as opposed to the chunky and clunky, was inspired.

#Kpop #Fromis9 #Supersonic #KpopStyling #GirlGroups

youtu.be/N7mZmPxiB00?
si=TzUg8vCQRVTnjTGn

Every Sunday I look back at the preceding week in kpop and pick out a music video or performance that I have particularly liked. This week I have chosen BBGIRLS -- Love 2.

I was looking forward to this BBGIRLS release and was not disappointed by the city pop sound, the urbane midtempo maturity of which suits this group so well. There was so much to love about the outfits here too, not least the colour coordination. I just wish the song were longer!

youtu.be/zG5xQjW8sx8?si=Ve7RpR

#Kpop #KpopOfTheWeek #BBGIRLS #Love2 #KpopStyling #GirlGroups
@kpop@fedigroups.social @kpop@a.gup.pe