DAY6 - 좋아합니다 (I Like You)
DAY6 officially closed out their year-long project, Every DAY6, with a stunning, emotional rock ballad. It's been such an impressive feat for a K-pop band (or any musician) to consistently release new music every single month for a whole year. Even more, the band also met their ambitious goals of releasing additional b-side tracks, a music video, and held a concert every month for the last year!
As usual, this final track, "I Like You," stands out with good instrumentals, while their soaring vocals really send me into a feel-good state. And, although this might be the end of a great project, it marks the beginning of DAY6's new year with two full full-length albums and a dozen music videos under their belt. As My Days already know by now...the show must go on.
- Julie
GOT7 – Teenager
"Teenager" is my favorite song off GOT7's album, 7for7. And now it's the title of their repackage album, 7for7 PRESENT EDITION. This means "Teenager" finally gets the music video it deserves!
The choreo for "Teenager" is one of my favorites from GOT7, so I'm loving this music video focusing on the performance. If I had to sum it up in three words, they'd be: Dab Kings GOT7.
And make sure you check out my review of 7for7!
- Laura
BTS – Crystal Snow
BTS is back with their latest Japanese original single, "Crystal Snow." (The group also released Japanese versions of their hits – "MIC Drop" and "DNA.") Fans have been categorizing this soft, yet soaring, pop song as the 'perfect OST for an anime.'
"Crystal Snow" shows a much more vocally-advanced side of the boy band, with each member's voices sounding stronger than ever before. The song includes some innovative layering, a treat for listeners with a musical ear. A memorable moment is eldest member, Kim Seokjin's triple-high notes during the outro of the song. A year ago, Seokjin would not have been able to do that. Of the rapline, J-Hope especially blew me away. "Crystal Snow" showed me, more than anything, how much the members have developed their skills.
I don't know if BTS plans to release a music video for this song. The title track, "MIC Drop," did get a music video. I won't get my hopes too high, but I'd love to see an MV to match this gorgeous song.
- Laura
DPR LIVE - Martini Blue
DPR LIVE dropped “Jasmine” earlier this year as a single, which we all loved here at WKP. On December 7th, he released his first mini album Her, which includes ‘Jasmine,’ as well as a new MV for the song "Martini Blue."
Since LIVE is a member of the production company DPR, we get a beautiful, purely visual video to accompany ‘Martini Blue.’ The camera tracks LIVE alone, as he strolls through a seaside town and lounges on a yacht. Each shot constantly moves, panning over the stunning landscape, jumping in and out of slow motion. On the ‘mm mm mm mm’ in the chorus, the camera jitters back and forth, following the beat like choreography. With no other person in sight, the viewer focuses solely on LIVE, his lyrics, the surrounding scenery and the camera work. The beauty of this MV lies in the simplicity.
- Kerry
KARD - Trust Me
On December 6th, KARD unexpectedly released a music video for “Trust Me.” It is described as the prequel to their latest title track, “You In Me.”
The story of “You in Me” is unsettling, ending with the girls cradling the corpses of BM and J.Seph while promising to never let them go. “Trust Me” is a less creepy, yet still melancholy song. It addresses an unbridgeable void that can so often appear in relationships, in which each party feels distant from their partner. The girls appeal to their significant other to ‘trust me,’ to open up and reveal what is being hidden. The boys respond, in an eerie mirror to the girls’ verses in “You in Me,” saying their love is forever, whatever may happen.
“Trust Me” is mournful, with a thrumming bass line and kick clearly influenced by 80’s synth pop, a style that has been creeping into K-pop recently. KARD has really turned their musical focus with their latest mini album, exploring darker themes and different song styling. “You in Me” was a teaser for me, offering a little bit of this new side to KARD. “Trust Me” has fully brought me on board and I’m ready to see where we’re off to next.
- Kerry