Here are my song picks from the month of April!
Released: April 3rd
A few months ago, CLC unveiled the dark and fierce "Black Dress". Now the ladies are back with the second single from their album but they're wearing white dresses. Quite different from the former single, "Distance" is soft and subdued, which brings me to again point out how flexible this group is concept-wise! I'd like to believe that "Distance" is a sort of epilogue because of some of the visuals (like the lace blindfolds) in the videos parallel. "Black Dress" illustrates a girl trying to get a man to fall for her. Fast forward in time and "Distance" describes the aftermath of the relationship - the man no longer loves her.
Review: Song - 3/5 MV - 4/5
Review: Song - 3/5 MV - 4/5
2. Winner - Everyday
Korean
Released: April 4th
Winner returned with their second full album "Everyd4y" exactly a year after their charismatic hit song "Really Really". Really Really marked a new beginning for the group - it was their first release with the remaining four members and it favored a trendy genre over the group's usual alternative sound. Since then, Winner has continued using trendy genres for their singles, moving from tropical house to trap! "Everyday" is an autotune laced trap track with a summery vibe and serenading lyrics. Between the dances and music video scenes, it's quite far from what I expected the foursome to perform!
Review: Song - 4/5 MV - 2/5
3. Ten - New Heroes
Released: April 6th
SM Station 2 reached a wonderful finale with a solo from NCT's Ten. "New Heroes" is his second station track overall and like the previous, it's completely in English. The lyrics were written by Western singer-songwriters and feature some meaningful and reflective phrases. "Fought off the wolves in sheep clothing/Stood up for what I believed/ Turn my mess into messages/ Learn from the lessons/ And keep on keep on keep on..." Overall, "New Heroes" is quite a trendy work - it has an EDM/Future Bass composition and a music video with an artistic flair.
Review: Song - 3/5 MV - 4/5
Review: Song - 3/5 MV - 4/5
4. Super Junior - Lo Siento (Feat. Leslie Grace)
Released: April 12th
A few years ago, Super Junior incorporated a Latin flavor into their song "Mamacita." The group embraces the culture once again in "Lo Siento", which is a collaboration with Latin-pop artist Leslie Grace! Leslie provides vocals for much of the chorus, and sings in Spanish, while the members of Super Junior sing and rap mostly in Korean. The stellar aspect of "Lo Siento" is the intricate, dance-inducing instrumental - it includes Spanish guitar and loud synths. Apparently, a lot of K-pop fans and Latin music fans alike enjoyed this as it debuted a number 13 on Billboards Latin Digital Songs Chart (making "SuJu" the first K-pop artist to do so)!
Review: Song - 4/5 MV - 3/5
5. NCT 2018 - Black on Black
Released: April 18th
You may recall NCT's December 2016 MAMA stage, in which the group first performed a part of "Black on Black". They brought such great energy to the stage and it was my first time seeing all the NCT members perform together. Now over a year later, a revised studio version was released featuring three of the group's rappers: Taeyong, Mark, and newly debuted Lucas. Despite the fact that only a fraction of NCT appears in the song, "Black on Black" is very performance-based and includes all 18 boys clad in black (of course!) The dances are sharp and perfectly synchronized- exactly what I would expect from them.
Review: Song - 2/5 MV - 5/5
6. Meng Jia - Free
Released: April 26th
In March, Meng Jia dropped "Weapon" and it was announced that she is preparing to come back with a full album. A month later, Jia followed up with her second pre-release "Free". For this one, she brings out her airy, light vocals, which compliment the indie-influenced sound. The accompanying music video has breathtaking shots that were filmed in inner mainland China and I applaud the high-quality production of it all.
Review: Song - 3/5 MV - 5/5
Sources
* are screencaps I made myself
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