It's been two years since K-Pop girl group SISTAR introduced us to their subunit made up of powerhouse vocalist Hyorin and rapper Bora. "Ma Boy" was a major hit and with their main group they had an even bigger success with "Alone." Now the reformed duo have released their comeback single, "Gone Not Around Any Longer" produced by Brave Brothers, who produced both "Ma Boy" and "Alone."
Loving it!A slower, more emotional version of the group's single "Alone" but I feel that this is better. Hyorin seems to have a lot more parts on the song than Bora, whereas on "Ma Boy," they were pretty fair about the parts. The song loosely translates into regret about breaking up with a former lover. The saxophone driven beat really gives it that extra emotional kick. Other than the fact that Bora is left out to dry, it's a great piece of music. Predictable, but still great. Final Grade:B
The music video is a combination of the "Ma Boy" and "Alone" videos. We see Hyorin having some serious relationship withdrawal. The choreography from the "Alone" video is even modified to fit the song! Coincidentally, they worked with director Joo Hee Sun, who also directed SISTAR‘s “Alone." I guess if it isn't broken don't try to fix it.
UK rap duo Rizle Kicks give their fans a freebie with "Earl Grey" (like the tea). Harley has a lesser role in this one while Jordan lays down some deep rhymes about being a celebrity, racism, and being judged by society. I hope they maintain this sound and lyricism for their next album, because it suits them a lot and show s how much they've matured since "Down With The Trumpets."
Punk rockers Cartel have released one of their songs that will be on their upcoming album "Collider", one of the ones that the blog highlighted as one of the most anticipated releases of 2013. The song, "Uninspired" was revealed Monday via Absolutepunk.net.
The song is a bit on the uneven sounding. Maybe because I'm used to fast paced, uptempo punk rock from the band. They did what I wanted them do though, which was go against their mold of typical punk and try to be a bit more different. Like Paramore did with their recent single, "Now" the song is written about the band's personal turmoil, now that they are independent from their former label. The song is kind of an oxymoron if you think about it, as it seems if it was more inspired than uninspired. Final Grade:C+
Another left field music video from Ellie Goulding. This time, it's the video for the apparent fan favourite, "Explosions," which will act as the third single from her album, "Halcyon". I never knew how much people liked the song until it somehow skyrocketed up the UK iTunes and Ellie made note of it herself. The music video is a black and white conglomeration of Miss Goulding touring the US and performing at different venues. I like the idea behind it, but they could have did some live footage and some filmed parts, especially for a song this epic. She still has a few songs left that could be possible singles so maybe she is saving her coins for then?
BoA released "Only One" her first album since 2010's "Hurricane Venus" to great response and promoted her self-composed title track with amazing choreography. I assumed that she would take this time to tour, go on another break and release a follow-up in another two years. Nope! Yesterday, the idol of idols released a music video for her song "Disturbance" featuring SHINee's Taemin, who danced with BoA on some her comeback stages last year.
BoA takes a step into the R&B realm with this one. Some funky guitar, organ for good measure. Reminds me somewhat of the early 2000s or a more upbeat version of Diane Birch's "Nothing But a Miracle." The girl's vocals are as strong as they ever been, she even goes and hits some diva like high notes towards the end. That being said, the vocals weren't as strong or as vunerable as "Only One", which gave the song more of an effect. Final Grade:B+
In the music video, Taemin and BoA play a couple (ex-couple I'm assuming), reminiscing about the past and lots of crying (very good crying if I may add) by Taemin. It looks as if it was shot concurrently with "Only One". They actually make a lovely on-screen couple and I wouldn't be surprised if they started dating after this. Also, there are two endings to the video!
The Infinite subunit have released the full music video for their song "Without You". One of the better (if not the best) cut from the duos mini album, "Fly High," the video is more toned down than the one for "Special Girl" The fashion is more sophisticated and Dongwoo, Hoya and Zion T (the featured artist) show a more subdued yet sensual side of themselves, with splashes of color. Watch the video below.
I never thought I would be saying that Nicole Scherzinger would be working on a second solo album. She hasn't really had the best track record when it comes to solo material with her first album "Her Name Is Nicole" being shelved. Europe seemed to embrace her and she released "Killer Love" over there with a string of successful singles. Now she promises more uptempo cuts this time around and "Boomerang" is definitely uptempo enough. Produced by will.i.am, it's one of his better productions since becoming more electro-based. The song will be released in the UK March 10th. Enjoy below.
