MV Review Monday Ep 4: Taemin vs BTS

~Welcome to Kpop Cubed~

Y'all better get ready because it's about to get hot n' dangerous in here!

/wink wonk/

So, since I like BTS more I'll be reviewing Bangtan Boys' Danger

OKAY THIS KILLED ME LIKE STOP WITH YOUR BODY ROLL INTRO PLEASE I CANT HANDLE THIS THIRTY OR WHATEVER SECONDS INTO THE MV LAWD SWEET SHISUS ALMIGHTY

(I apologize for not having the usual amount of pics to go with this, my laptop decided to not have any jams today x.x)

So this MV made my feelings for BTS go from like to love in an instant. Their dance stole my heart because i believe it's quite a big improvement from their debut. (Which was still good by the way) In the beginning (their debut) they were all way too cocky and it was just slightly off putting. I like that they've turned that down just a bit and found the MV kinda interesting with how everyone had their own little thing going on.

(Oh and so apparently I kept spazzing over who I thought was Jin but apparently is Jongkook so OTL I'm so maknae biased again as always...)

J-Hope then stunned me with his rap and Suga killed me (THAT RED HAIR UNF) with his rap. I kept watching this like every day after it came out for a week or two, I love this song and it's MV.

So Maknae's Rating:

5/5 Meopins for the dance

5.5/5 Meopins for the rap

5/5 Meopins for lyrics

5/5 Meopins for song

+1 Meopin for Suga's Hair :P

That makes a 108% Meopin Maknae Approval~

Our little maknae is all grown up! *sniffles*

You're well done and b*tch, I'm rare~

When I first saw the teaser, I'm sitting here like 

"WHAT JAEJOONG MICHAEL JACKSON YOU PULLING, SM?" 

Anyway~~

When it comes to the MV, there was some stuff that was totally redundant. The swinging microphones of death, for example.

It would've been much more interesting if he was running through them because he would be in "DANGERRRRR".

The dance was a bit of a letdown to me, it really wasn't much compared to the other things Taemin has done with SHINee. It was just so tame and very stationary. His actual singing is much better on the album songs like Ace or Wicked. In this song, it just isn't as impressive as I would've expected; he's practically mumbling in most of it. But the song is fairly catchy and really cool!

Singing: 2/5 I love you, Taemin, but I wasn't feeling this.

Dance: 3/5

Concept: 5/5 it really felt MJ-esque but I can't name why...

MV: 4/5 I like watching it despite the majorly jank nose-ear thingy. Ew.

Overall: 14/20 strawberries~

Sorry for the short post, I'm on mobile! Also, tomorrow we are writing on bias in group popularity so check back in soon!

MV Review Monday Ep 5: AYE MAMACITA NAEGA AYAYA~

~Welcome to Kpop Cubed~

This is Meopin Maknae here for this week's review of Mamacita by Super Junior

/SCREECHES/

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS COMEBACK FOR LIKE FOREVER YO

MY GORGEOUS OLD MENS ARE BACK

/MANLY WEEPS/

(SUBAK SARANGHAE~!!)

I love this MV so much. It's both catchy and hilarious, because of SuJu's natural tomfoolery. I was jamming to this and laughing a little up until the point where Shindong reminded me that this is SM with his English OTL. "Close your lips. Shut your tongue~"

(Eunhyuk your hair... no... keep it short please...)

I couldn't find a pic/gif of it so enjoy their what I assume to be a poster of sorts XD

(At dawn, we ride...)

I also love that when leader Teukkie came back they made him the main character of the MV and made him a thief rather than the angel we know him to be~

XD and that Shisus is the sheriff...

Anyways, I think the dance is pretty groovy and fits the song really well (that beat though like yaaaassss). As for the English, oh my god stop SM please...

(Amber, Jessica, Krystal, Kris, Henry, & Key should teach everyone in SM how to English just saying...)

So as for the rating, I give this MV...

5/5 Meopins for dance

-1/5 Meopins for English

3.75/5 Meopins for appearence

5/5 Meopins for concept

+2 Meopins for that beat

-1 for Eunhyuk's long hair in photos

+3 for Kangin's love of subak

All for an overall score of 16.75/20 Meopins

That makes an 84% Meopin Maknae Approval

Feature Friday EP 2: F.CUZ!

Welcome to Kpop Cubed! Today's feature is a group that I love soooo much, F.Cuz (pronounced as 'Focus').

This group has had some member changes. Started out as four, lost one, got two more. But these guys are insanely talented and I'm so pleased with their newest mini-album, Bargaining For Love.  Above is their most recent comeback with Cha-Ga-Wa (I've been told from around the web that it's 'Cold' in hangul, they just wrote it weird in Romanized...).

Here's their 2012 song, No. 1!

What's Wrong Wednesday EP 3: Popularity Among Group Members

Heyo! Dalki-horong here to give you another trademark rant or just insert my thoughts on a certain topic. 

A lot of groups have that one or select members who have many other side activities. Myungsoo and Suzy both act and model, Lee Joon acts and models and is on variety shows. These can be beneficial sometimes by bringing the group some popularity, but in some cases, it doesn't.

It's a tad unfair, in my opinion, that a small number of members from a group get to do promotions outside of the group while others are kind of sitting around and waiting for a comeback. At least have them MC or model or something!

There's also other groups where the members each seem to have their own individual activities going on. Most of BIGBANG, for example, seems to be doing solo activities be it acting or working on solo songs. MBLAQ all seems to be doing other things as well. 

Who knows? Maybe one of these days idols won't have to do so many side activities to get more money. /le shrug

That's all my thoughts for now!

XOXO,

D-H Hyung

Throwback Thursday Ep 2: BoA's Only One

~Welcome to Kpop Cubed~

Meopin Maknae here to take you all back to July of 2012

THAT'S RIGHT, BEAT OF ANGEL

B TO THE LITTLE o TO THE CAPITAL A

I personally love the dance version more than the drama version because dancing wins over my soul, it's what I pay most attention to in any MV.

Anyways, BoA rules the Kpop kingdom with her amazing choreography, leading all her male background dancers because she owns the dance floor. Everyone should watch this because the movements are just phenomenal, I could spazz all day about BoA's dancing but I won't xD  

(With Rain of course because RainBo for lyfe <3 font="">

Well enjoy your beautiful BoA thursday

Thanks for dropping by, leave comments anytime if you like~

-Admin Meopin Maknae

What's Wrong Wednesday: Big 3 Rookies vs Non-Big 3 Rookies

D-H Hyung here bringing you a thing that seems to be a debate since, well, EXO debuted, and maybe before that. Do rookies from YG, SM, and JYP have an unfair advantage of being from larger companies?

Over 200 groups have debuted within the past 2 years, but there are few that stand the test of time and popularity. I can only name about 10-20 groups that debuted within 2 years, let alone 200. Many of these groups simply don't have the one special thing that brings them to the top or they disband due to members being unable to get along.

Recently, people have been upset over the fact that EXO has been sweeping up awards and why do they think this? "SM rookies are given everything on a silver platter and are talentless." is the common statement. Why do big 3 rookies seem to get the most hate simply because of the company they're under? No rookie group works more or less than any other. Some EXO members, Suho for example, trained for years; to call them talentless is unfounded. 

But also, keep in mind the several other groups that debuted with little to no attention. Does anyone know or even remember Kiss&Cry's Domino Game? No. But people do remember Red Velvet's Happiness. It's true rookies from bigger companies tend to have an advantage because that company has the money to push them out and promote them more, but at the same time, these groups are worked harder because of tighter schedules (EXO has tours, variety shows, more tours, CFs, dramas and they are looking tired as hell now) and they have an expectation to be good or to be bad based on their label.

However, a rookie under a big 3 company is there for a reason. Keep in mind that several thousand young people audition for these companies every single year, meaning the competition is stiff. Why would they choose someone who has absolutely no talent or looks or anything over a person who has at least talent and personality? They're chosen for their potential (and looks do play a part) so they can be trained to become better and stronger. Same goes for smaller companies.

So all in all, there are benefits and downfalls to coming from a big or a small company. If I had to choose, I would choose a medium sized company with a good record, probably Jungle or AOM or Jellyfish would be my top three.

So now I'll leave you with B.I.G's debut song Hello xD

What's Wrong Wednesday EP 1: Double Standards (originally written in August....)

One is sexy, the other is slutty?

Welcome to What's Wrong Wednesday coming late-- or early(?) due to tech problems.

This rant, may upset some people, but I'll try all my power to keep myself tame.

There is this ridiculous double standard in kpop that seems to make it okay for a guy to be shirtless, body rolling, crotch grabbing and hip thrusting but if a girl shows her legs, tummy, curves, opens her legs, twerks, or anything more than simply standing still and singing, they get slut shamed for it. I don't understand.

Majority of the kpop fandom is made up of females, yes, but there are men out there too who enjoy these sexier sides of women. There are even other girls who enjoy the sexiness of other women. Of course, what one may interpret as sexy may not be someone else's cup of tea. However, just because a girl group shows some legs, does one hip thrust, does not automatically give them the title of a slut or a whore. I, personally, find concepts like Kara's Damaged Lady sexy. They all looked fierce in those suits with their hair up. I also consider BoA sexy because she oozes confidence. If you're going to do a sexy concept, do NOT look like a 12 year old trying to be 22. You have to own it with confidence!

Unf-- my feels~

This is in no way a post to bash on male sexiness, because I can appreciate men being sexy just as much as women. 

And the fact is, women have more parts to show off per say that are sexy. They have boobs, butts, legs, tummy. Guys have arms and abs and crotch-- mainly the latter two. 

Moral of the story: Can we please stop this stupid double standard? Let the women and men be sexy as equals! However, there is a difference in sexy and slutty, but that'll be covered at a later date.

Stay sexy, glam, and fab!

Dalki-Horong Hyung

PS: At the time this was written, I had forgot I saved this post in draft mode, so enjoy the two rants this week!

MV Review Monday Ep 3: So Good & The Promise by Jay Park

~Welcome to Kpop Cubed~

Admin Meopin Maknae will start us off today with So Good (because ballads aren't my jams) [maknae ain't got no jams.../giggles]

OKAY FIRST OFF...

JAY THERE IS WAY TOO MUCH GREASE IN YOUR HAIR LIKE HOT DAYUM DID YOU SQUEEZE A BURGER INTO YOUR SCALP?... (Oh and I see you've been working on that golden Asian summer tan~)

(I swear this chick is taller than Jay and they keep trying to angle trick us into thinking he's taller...)

Now at first I was told this video was going to be all cute like Joah so I got excited because Joah is so cute and happy and lifts up my soul man. So, i expected it to be a typical song that i could wave my arms around too like the crazy person I am XD.

Then I saw this jacket and was like wait wait wait wait wait.... HOLD UP.... IS THAT...?

(One dance break later...)

OH MY SHISUS IT IS!

And then I proceeded to be hyper and happy because of this amazing MJ style MV.

JAY YOUR MOVES I CANT... JUST PLEASE KEEP ON DOING WHAT YOU DO BECAUSE IT'S DANCERS LIKE YOU THAT MAKE THE GIFT OF SIGHT A THING IM MOST GRATEFUL FOR. (/proceeds to spazz in the corner/)

(I stopped videos at a lot of perfect moments, but this is one of the best I'm sure <3)

So getting back to the more serious review stuff... I absolutely loved the dance, the lyrics are catchy-ish so I'll probably be singing at least a chunk of this around wherever I go. The MV was perfect, I love the concept, the energy, almost everything about it. I say almost because JAY YOUR HAIR... WASH THAT S*** AND GET BACK TO ME (still loves you though)
Anyways, I'm not sure really where I stand on the whole nose stud thing. Like, sometime it looks good, and then there are other times... (when you scrunch up your face those billions of times) BUT, I'll let it slide just this once because I sarang you so much. /insert heart here/
/goes into ahjumma ahgi mode/ don't you go gettin' anymore of those weird piercin' though!
/waggles finger disapprovingly/ 

So yeah, I give this MV

6/5 Meopins for the dancing

4/5 Meopins for the song

5/5 Meopins for the outfits

-3 for grease

+5 for MJ

That makes 17/15 Meopins total

So overall you get 113% Meopin Maknae Approval

Dalki here, reviewing my ballad-y, summertime (shhh, it's still technically summer), baby making song. What's up with the sex this summer-- oh yeah, summer is the Korean mating season...

As soon as the song starts BAM you are hit with that piano and you can feel this is going to be a wonderful ride with your captain of the love making train, Park Jaebeom! 

At first, I wasn't too engaged with the black and white and simplicity of the video going on. I'm so used to seeing him surrounded by girls or his boys or seeing his adorable smiling face, but this time was all serious. He didn't have greasy ass hair, no fancy dancing. Just him, partially shirtless, nose stud and all, sexing you with that chocolate RnB voice of his.

DAYUM SON.

Chocolate abs for days and days and days- UNF

(OTL)

This song is a complete opposite of "So Good" and I love this more than the latter. It's more mature, showing a different Jay, in contrast to his cute or his party hard thug lyyyyfe MVs. And that high note he hits around 2:50-- SOMEONE CALL 911 WE GOT DEAD FANS. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY.

I think that's a new hand tattoo...Jay, you need to be stopped. YOU CAN ONLY TATTOO SO MANY PARTS OF YOUR BODY BEFORE IT GETS FREAKY, BRO.

With all that in mind, let's wrap this up~

Song: 3/5 - It wasn't as catchy as "So Good" and the piano was a little too strong

Clothing (or lack thereof...): 5/5 - A man in a suit (jacket) can kill anyone, right?

MV: 4/5: The MV isn't super flashy and bright. It really fits the song well.

Overall, I'd like to applaud Jay for being very versatile when it comes to his style of music. He can pull off singing ballads, upbeat pop pieces, or nitty gritty hip hop style. BONUS STRAWBERRY.

Final tally: 13/15 strawberries!

Closing remarks...

Dok2 and the boys left me...

Do I really have to say something for this...?

(This, is how you put on the jacket -Karate Kid)