#these verses were actually the starting point for the mv for me because it is soooo them

[horse-surgeon-barbie]

anyway I'm gonna ramble about that runs in the family edit I made because I have a lot of thoughts about why I made it (obviously it is on my Beth Playlist so like duh but now with detail)

So like the verse(s):

they'd never forgive me - Rick and his guilt mostly for what happened to his original family AND for how he treats the current family (mostly Morty and Beth but some Summer and Jerry too I guess)

they'd say that I'm crazy - this one is sooooo ABCs of Beth to me ok because like the main climax of this ep is the "scary fucking kid" argument which is always so crazy omg Beth 100% needs to hold herself accountable for what she does to Tommy (which she does not do, bless her heart 😔) but the way that scene changes when Rick says that and deflects to her being a "crazy" child ,,, like her facial expressions are soooo good in that scene she's clinging to desperation as she decides to go save Tommy (only to have proven Rick right,, she truly is her father's daughter 😭)

but they would say anything if it would shut me up - Mortyyyyy. SO Morty. Morty, the 14 year old boy who is neglected, abused, and manipulated constantly by his family esp by Rick (so much so that there is literally the Marta ep and the line about how Mortys are "bred for forgiveness") and that Planetina scene really just holds all his frustrations about his role in the family

[andy-wm]

3D by JK (feat. JH) - my take.

Ok, unpopular opinion maybe, and I might get my ass beaten for this (not in a good way 🤣)

Feel free to disagree RESPECTFULLY.

Disclaimer: If anyone comes at me with that cancel bullshit I will block you, because we all get to have an opinion.

If my post enrages you, scroll past until you can be civil, then come back and talk. Or block me. I dont mind.

And don't tell me that because I don't love this song I have to hand in my ARMY card... I'm not going to.

🙂💜🙂

I'll start by saying I love JK so, so much. Adore him. Will always support him.

But for me, 3D is a misstep.

My feeling is Hybe should have reconsidered releasing it as it is.

JK's lyrics are fun and sexy. The innuendo is on point. The melody is great and the chorus has excellent sing-along value. Even though I'm not a huge pop music fan, I like the vibe.

The MV dancers are awesome, and I got a kick out of the fire hydrant metaphor.

And in that jacket with nothing under it, JK looks hot enough to melt asphalt.

However....

Including Jack Harlow's rap IMO is a mistake. It sucks, frankly. Not in a good way.

It not only misses the mark on the tone of the rest of the song but his lyrics are really just offensive. Misogynistic. And racial refrences are just... not cricket. It's 2023 not 1995, regardless of what his hairstyle tells you.

His lyrics sound like an incel bragging about their sex life when all they've ever done is watch porn. From his words, I doubt he knows how to please any person but himself.

His message is gross, but its still just... generic. Like he went to urban dictionary for spicy language and then googled how to treat women like shit. There's nothing original about what he's saying. He's not even being gross in an intersting way. It's gross AND boring.

(Jack, if you're reading this, sorry my guy you gotta do better.)

I've been army since 2018 and this is the first BTS song I have tried to find merit in and given up.

I honestly tried to be into it and i just... can't. It doesn't sit well with me.

This is a new experience for me because even when BTS release something i don't immediately love, i still stream and watch and let it sink in, or I work on figuring out what I am missing and why it's ACTUALLY good even if i can't grasp it.

This... it's just... not good, in my opinion.

I have to clarify here...

It isn't about explicit content, i am totally down for that. If anyone read my post on Seven, they will know my response to that song. In a nutshell, I believe all adults who want to, should happily and shamelessly be doing ALL the horizontal tango. Every type, every day, in every way. With anyone and everyone they fancy as long as all parties are informed and consenting adults who are equally enjoying the experience.

Yes. I am all about getting down.

That doesn't mean treating your partners like a body count or using and abusing them with no consideration. That's not cool.

**PSA: please be safe and use protection. Get tested regularly if you have multiple partners. Don't do anything you don't feel good about and dont stay with partners who harm or manipulate you 💜**

Now, back to the smut.

Some criticisms i saw of Seven were about how dirty it was. A few people were upset because JK said fuck, and because he sang about how and when he liked to fuck. But more criticism was levelled at Letto. Why?

It seemed like it was because she's a woman, singing about sex.

Letto totally owns her sexuality and she knows what she wants. I snorted with delight at how deliciously filthy her lyrics were. Some very clever wordplay made her verse so visceral, and pretty shocking to the pearl-clutchers, without her ever saying anything directly. I really enjoyed it.

She was telling us straight up how good she is in bed. Good for her. She totally rocks. And she wasn't disrespecting anyone. She didn't need to do that to make herself cool AF.

The difference between Letto's rap and jack harlow's is that jack sounds like he's just looking at the women he's singing about as a hole to stick his dick in. Women have fought for long enough for equality and respect. They don't need this bullshit. You can sing about getting down, and you can be absolutely filthy and nasty and wild, and you can do it without degrading your partners.

I did read a theory about this song being social commentary on toxic masculinity. You can find it here and you can read it below:

Its not bad as a theory. At least it wouldn't be if Namjoon or Yoongi or Hobi - or Jungkook himself - had written the song. If that were the situation we'd see some inkling of self awareness in the rap, and maybe a hint of character development. But there's none.

Sorry ARMY, this is not the class of lyricism we have come to expect.

If jack is trying to make a social statement^*, or play a character, he is not succeeding in showing any growth or humanity at all. He's really just that stereotype.

In the last few lines, after he offers to fly his victim from Korea to Kentucky, he says "and you ain’t gotta guarantee me nothing I just wanna see if I get lucky."

How considerate...

All I see is zero care factor about the actual person he's trying to get with. Which is quite different from JK's lyrics, which show awareness that he's interacting with a conscious, living human being, not a piece of furniture.

jack follows with "I just wanna meet you in the physical and see if you would touch me"

Ugh. Not with a ten foot pole, douchebag.

And how about, in his first verse "All my ABGs get cute for me"

Good god, really? Is he seriously saying this?

So its a no for me.

The ONLY saving grace is that there's an alternative version which is pretty fun. It's almost as if Hybe knew we would hate the version with jack harlow. Wow, such insight!

Now, i know that's not the only reason they made an alternative. They needed a clean version for US radio play (let's be real, what possible other purpose can this song serve? *°)

But they could have censored jack's... actually they couldn't. The rap verses can't be salvaged. They genuinely have no merit, the only hope for the song is totally removing them.

What does that tell you?

ARMY will no doubt still chart the main track but personally, I would feel morally compromised if i supported that version. So I'll stick to the alternative and hope for better things to come.

------------

^* Stylecaster doesnt think so either. I visited their website to check thr lyrics. They said, of D3, "Meanwhile, Jack Harlow brings the cool with his two verses as he raps about all the women he could pull"

Uh, really? I hope that's intended to be ironic.

*° The MV had only 4.5million views after 12 hours. And we know what brilliant strategists Hybe employs. I am travelling in Korea right now. There was no promo visible here. And it was no accident that it was released at lunchtime on Chuseok - the biggest famiily holiday of the year - when relatively few people in Korea would be available to engage with it. THEY KNEW IT WAS A STINKER.

[sizzlingpatrolfox]

A review of set me free ?!

- hey if u watched the mv what were ur thoughts?

---

HAVE I WATCHED IT!!

(I took all these screenshots and everything last night but then fell asleep before I could finish it).

There's honestly so much to be said about this song, about every single aspect of it. It's so good. POP IS BACK!!!!!!!!

I was taken aback at first. I don't even know why because I said in one of my last posts that it would be a song very much in line with what boy groups have been doing lately, that it would be sharp and dark. I thought I knew what was waiting for me, but when the song actually started I still needed more than a moment.

It was what I expected and so much more too.

The beginning feels and looks like a controlled chaos. The formation, the "screams", the way it starts in a narrower part of the set than opens up behind them. Many people have described it as eerie and it's exactly what it feels like to me, too. To whoever's into zombies and apocalyptic movies/shows, it almost depicts that moment where the living dead are about to attack. I could describe it as so many things, actually. I also see vines twisting and turning. I see the Devil's Snare from Harry Potter.

The intro is about rearrangement. It's the beginning of change.

Watching MVs like this for the first time, MV's that I've waited for a long time, it's usually too overwhelming and I fail to really pay attention. The first time I watch without subtitles, and I did the same yesterday too. First time I watched it was without subtitles, and it sounded so big. It was a lot to take in, just from the sound aspect of it.

I have to mention it just because it's such a center piece in the song even though at this point I think everyone understands it, about the autotune being such a poignant, conscious stylistic choice.

I personally don't like that much autotune as they used in the verse where he shows up shirtless. I had to listen to it a few times to really get used to it. It's not that I didn't or don't understand how it was used, it's just a matter of what one's ear is accostumed to (in 2020, I wasn't that into black swan at first because of the autotune either, for example). In the end, autotune is a stylistic choice and people will like or dislike it because that's what styles are about. Shakira's song, one of the biggest songs in the world right now, is autotuned through and through. It was used in a different way than Jimin used it, but the song is still heavily autotuned. It's a tool, it's a style, it's something that's "in" in music, too. Because trends are also a thing in music, it's literally the reason the "80s, 70s, early 2000s" exist. Because there's a sound that differentiates them.

It's such a sad thing that the hate becomes so unavoidable everytime Jimin so much as breathes but I have to say there's something abnormally sinister in the way people are so fucking vile towards him for absolutely no reason. But that's a conversation for another time.

Moving on. This time, however, it went beyond the use of it stylistically; in this song I think it has actual significance. There's so much autotune in black swan, dynamite, but you see the difference there and now in SMF2 how Jimin used it to show progression and different voices throughout the song.

The use of autotune in fact gives me the impression that there's more than one person in the song. I think this could be done to try and portray a "conversation" between Jimin and Jimin, or also like I've said, to show progression, to make it seem like the song is actually moving, changing, it's not at a standing still.

Musically, it's fantastic, it really is brilliant. The choir, the (real) instruments, the beat, the background vocals. It doesn't seem like there was anything left to chance; everything served a purpose and it was thought through and there's so much detail everywhere. I've talked before about Jimin and his thing for details that make up an entire composition by themselves. There's a lot of that in this song and MV, too. The details feel huge and significant because they're so specific and polished.

It's funny because the part that I like the least of the song, seems to in fact be the climax of it. That moment he shows up shirtless, bare, where he sounds like he's screaming at the top of his lungs, moving the fastest he moves in all of choreo, the most frenetic verse: that's the peak of the song. That's the climax the song has been building up to until that moment.

This is the last shot right before he shows up shirtless and that frenetic verse starts:

He's in front of the camera but the dancers push him back and take him back into the formation.

One of the first things I thought of when I saw him with the writing on his chest was of idioms like "wearing your heart on your sleeve", "an open book". You're bare and you're being read.

I thought he would be dancing more. I mean, he's never still at any point but I thought he would be doing more choreography like the dancers. However, what I see is that he's actually dancing to his own beat. The dancers are a monolith of people dressed the same, moving the same way, even making the same sounds; but except for a few moments here and there, Jimin is moving a different way than the rest of them. I love this aspect particularly because he's never not involved; he's always part of the formation, he's even the center of it at all times and he's moving alongside them, but not with them. Many people see it as him being the commander, as the one leading the dance. I see it as the dancers representing that thing, or one of the things he's breaking free from.

He stands out from formation not because he's dancing in front of them, leading, which is usually the case when having backup dancers; but precisely because he's not dancing with them.

At the end of the most intense choreo moment (the shut up fuck off verse), this happens again:

This whole segment of the choreography starts and ends the same way: with him being dragged back into the dancers circle.

This time to be pointed at, singled out, recriminated. Judged.

(How cool is it that every single moment of the MV looks like a movie or even a painting? I keep thinking to the chiaroscuro technique).

Speaking of chiaroscuro, there's a whole theme of clashing elements in the song and in the MV. Well, not so much in the MV itself as in the cinematography of it, but in the song, as far as sound goes and in the choreography. I guess for me this "clash" that's most obvious in the song is the use of a choir in a song that's been autotuned like this. You don't really expect to hear a real human choir and real instruments in a song where there are elements that are computer-made. There's this sense of what genre am I exactly listening to???

I think the set is perfect for the message the lyrics are trying to convey. Having Jimin in different locations and sets wouldn't have actually delivered a feeling of being trapped. It had to be done like this because it's that place he's trying to leave, to escape. I also think it's really, extremely fucking difficult to have only one set in a music video and not make it boring.

If I had to choose, my favorite part of the whole thing is the choreography. The dancers really did a superb job, and I love that Jimin literally puts them in the spotlight. You want to watch the dancers as much as you want to watch Jimin, you can't help but watch them.

I said movie but it doesn't feel like one either. It has that flare of a contemporary dance play, actually. When the second teaser was released I thought it had the dramatics that only theatre can deliver. And it is theatrical like that.

The end gives me goosebumps everytime.

I also loved the reference to BTS songs. A line from ON, and "butterfly, fly away." I don't think any other member respects and truly embraces what it means to be a BTS member as much as Jimin does and that's a hill I'm willing to die on. And look at the results! So far, he's showing to be everything that was good about BTS. The best of BTS, that's Jimin.

It's not mine but I really love this take on the "butterfly, fly away" lyrics, too! I wish we'd know if this was his intention or not.

(I mostly think everything in this song/MV was intentional, but I also believe art can be interpreted differently, and as long as they're respectful, all takes are valid).

On the same note of things that could be intentional but also worked really well even if they weren't, this:

Which in turn relates to one of my very personal takes on the whole thing. The sense of repetition. There's the line "again, I repeat" but it's everywhere. Repetitions in the lyrics, the choir, the lines on the ceiling, the patterns of the wall. And that for me changes the whole idea from being imprisoned to being stuck and trying to break cycles. Set me free from this maze, from this constant wandering and circling back to the same thing again and again.

Well, I don't really know how to end this 😂 I wish the album and like crazy would come out tomorrow already. I wonder if like crazy will be a continuation of this, if it will represent the before or after, I mean will it be a consequence or a reason for set me free to exist. Or it could be not that related.

[married-2-the-music]

K-pop Discography Deep Dives: Chung Ha

Chungha first debuted in 2016, through the temporary group I.O.I., which also launched the careers of soloist Jeon Somi and actors Kim Sejeong and Kang Mina. As a soloist, she debuted with Why Don’t You Know in 2017 after I.O.I. 's disbandment.

Here are my credentials: I’d consider myself a casual fan of Chung Ha, who I know mainly through her friend Sunmi. I’ve heard a decent amount of her title tracks, and a few b-sides, but I’m looking forward to hearing more of her songs and forming a more accurate opinion of her work as a whole.

Why Don’t You Know is surprisingly chill with its acoustic guitar and lighthearted whistling effects, but has a calm kind of tropical summer catchiness that’s honestly pretty effective. It’s not an instant classic, as it does sound a lot like other tropical-inspired songs, but I did like it, minus the rap, which felt a bit too harsh for a song like this. (Also, can I say, I love that yellow, green, and red cardigan she wears in the MV! It’s stunning.)

From the EP, Hands On Me is a jazzy little opening, and I wish it was longer. It reminds me of a 9Muses track in the best way possible. Make A Wish continues that jazziness with a self-assured, smooth Chicago-esque showmanship that I really appreciated. It’s definitely a shoulder-dancing song, if you know what I mean. Cosmic Dust is a pretty traditional ballad, but provides a nice showcase for Chung Ha’s vocals.

Roller Coaster is pretty minimalistic at its beginning, and I was a bit worried that it’d be boring, but it turns out that those worries were unfounded. By the chorus, it spirals into an engaging dance floor bop that had me nodding my head. My only gripe is that I wish it took its high points a little higher, with perhaps more vocalizing or more of a cathartic point at the end of the chorus (a la TXT’s Chasing That Feeling), but overall that’s a small critique.

From the EP, Offset, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Do It at the beginning but I grew to appreciate its energy. I liked Bad Boy a lot, though I enjoyed the fast-paced verses and pre-choruses more than the chorus. Its last minute got me, though, and it became a solid hidden gem of mine. It was a bit of whiplash, though, to go from the fun of Bad Boy to the abject heartbreak of Remind Of You, a good lesson that not every album necessarily needs a ballad if it doesn’t fit in.

Love U is a song that I hadn’t realized I’d actually heard before, since I’d only heard the chorus. The opposite of Roller Coaster, its intro starts with a hard-hitting trap beat, while the song itself feels more like Why Don’t You Know with its bright summery energy. I enjoy the background vocalizing and the underlying drum beat too, though I feel like the chorus is a bit too empty for me to like as much as I did Make A Wish or Bad Boy. From the EP, Blooming Blue, I enjoyed the bright call-and-response of “I’m in love, I’m in love” from Cherry Kisses and the bass guitar contrasted with Chung Ha’s high voice in Drive.

Gotta Go is a single, and intrigued me right from its unique flute-meets-trap sampling, that matches with Chung Ha’s signature synthy background. The chorus is very interesting, because it both is and isn’t an anti-drop; it doesn’t exactly release the tension of the song, but it doesn’t let it fall away either. Instead, it’s a little like a Taemin track in that the tension never really goes away. I do like the high note before the last chorus, though I wish that there was more of a bridge. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this one. It’s not a favorite, but I don’t hate it, and I don’t think I’d skip it if it showed up on my shuffle.

Snapping picks up similarly to where Gotta Go left off, with a beat in the middle of a lot of k-pop; not a super invigorating one, but not boring by any means. I’m glad that the anti-drop was left until the end of the chorus, as if it was the entire thing, I would be disappointed. I do really like the “now I let you go.” As is, I don’t mind this one, and I wouldn’t skip it, but I wouldn’t search it out either.

From the EP, Flourishing, I had a clear standout in Chica. Clearly taking influences from Latin Pop and some Spice-Girls-esque feel-good-you-can-do-it-babe Girl Power, it’s hard not to smile when you hear it, especially at the “chica, chica, see you’ve got it all; chica, chica, see you’re beautiful!” All in all, it’s a delightful addition to my playlist. I also liked the song Flourishing itself, especially its pre-choruses.

Now, we start Chung Ha’s 20-song epic Querencia, which has four sides, Noble, Savage, Unknown, and Pleasures, and each has a title track. Side A, Noble’s, is Bicycle, a sing-talk track that leads with a trap-beat background and melds K-pop girl crush with Ariana Grande-esque lyrics. I…really do not like this song. I have a very low tolerance for “I’m cooler than you” music in general, but when it’s pared with such an empty chorus and feels like a recycled Blackpink b-side? Yikes. Sorry, Chung Ha. From Side A {Noble}, I liked the subtle Latin-pop influences and interesting percussion of Masquerade and the great, chugging beat that’s so great at leading Flying On Faith (a rare completely English song that I loved).

Stay Tonight is Querencia’s second single, and thankfully returns to her signature synthpop. The verses had me nodding my head—a huge improvement from Bicycle—and had me excited for the chorus. But, after the great high note in the pre-chorus, the chorus itself didn’t feel like enough of a payoff, instead feeling more meandering and unengaging. While I absolutely liked it more than Bicycle, it’s not in my top 10 of her singles.

From Side B {Savage}, I enjoyed the way-too-short a-capella section at the beginning of the choruses and the “don’t make me, don’t make me dream of you” in Dream Of You (another English language track I enjoy). I also liked the breathy vocalizations in both Bother Me and Chill, Chill especially.

Play is the third single, and embraces a more playful and upbeat sound that harkens back to Why Don’t You Know, Love U, and Cherry Kisses. Though the subject isn’t that different from the other two, the genuine fun that its chorus is when it explodes and the excellent interpolation of reggaeton (in both the beat and the choreo) and brass makes this one something special. The chorus here absolutely delivers, with several parts all coming together to form a very satisfying payoff. Definitely my favorite single so far.

Demente is also a single from this side, and shockingly, it’s all in Spanish. It’s not unusual for K-pop idols to release songs with Latin pop inspired beats, or even in different languages, but this is definitely a rarity. Demente (which means “crazy” in Spanish), is honestly a really solid, catchy pop song, and (though Spanish isn’t my first language) if I didn’t know that she wasn’t fluent in it, I wouldn’t have guessed. As I’ve mentioned on my blog before, I’m a linguistics major, so this was a delight to listen to. Genuinely, kudos to Chung Ha, and to Guaynaa, the featured artist, who has the distinction of having a rap that I thought really added to the song. From Side C {Unknown}, my hidden gem was the acoustic guitar and piano led, comfortingly slow Byulharang.

X is the final single from Querencia, and is a more emotional, stripped-back performance that Chung Ha dedicates to her mother and the work that they both put in to achieve her dreams of becoming an idol. Filmed entirely in black and white and featuring an enormous, Godzilla-like Chung Ha wandering through a tiny, closed-off city fighting against her, it’s a great example of why soloists should write their own tracks. It’s imbued with a lovely sense of pathos and feels like a fitting way to end a magnum opus of an album. From Side D {Pleasures}, I liked the restful album closers in Everybody Has’ traditional ballad structure, the calmly catchy Comes N Goes, and the instrumental Querencia.

Killing Me is another single, and while it’s similar to Gotta Go, it feels sleeker and more streamlined, focused on achieving the goal that is its chorus. Because of this, it’s quite short–under three minutes–and, though it’s not the best of her singles, it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Another perfectly fine track that I wouldn’t skip but wouldn’t search out.

Sparkling feels more like Roller Coaster than anything from Querencia, which had me excited right away. It has, well, unsurprisingly, a sparkling quality to its instrumentals, and would be right at home on a dance floor. It’s delightfully bubbly, tip toeing and tap dancing all over the place with delight, and that energy is infectious. As always, I wish it had a more defined chorus, but I really like the lead-in in both the bridge and pre-choruses.

From the EP, Bare & Rare, Good Night My Princess caught my ear immediately with a sense of warmth that’s unusual for a ballad, and I loved it even more when I found out that Chung Ha wrote it as a thank you for all the sacrifices her mother made for her to be able to grow up and pursue her dreams, similarly to X. The song features Chung Ha’s voice at its most lovely, and it made me tear up a little, if we’re being honest. I also enjoyed Bibi’s feature and the excellent sense of drama in Crazy Like You, the celebratory mood in Louder, and especially the crying-on-the-dance-floor vibes of Love Me Out Loud (which gets more addicting with every repeat).

I’m glad I did this! I enjoyed Chung Ha’s work more than I thought I would, although I shouldn’t be surprised as a big fan of Sunmi and synthpop in general. I learned that she writes many of her own songs, and that she speaks some English and a little Spanish, so color me impressed. I found a bunch of songs I enjoyed—mainly b-sides—that I added to my playlists. So I’d say you could consider me at least a fan now!

My Top 5 songs are Play, Love Me Out Loud, Chica, Cherry Kisses, and Flying On Faith, with Good Night My Princess as an honorable mention. Chung Ha gets an 8.25 out of 10 from me, which is about what I expected. I think that where her songs often falter for me are the choruses, which unfortunately is one of the most important parts. When she pulls it off, she’s made some excellent tracks. But more often than not, I find myself loving the buildup but being disappointed by the pay-off. There were very few tracks I didn’t at least enjoy, and this isn’t me saying that I think her work is bad. But with just a few changes and a greater sense of pay-off, she would have a pretty unbeatable discography.

Next time, we’ll be starting a two week series on a pretty huge girl group, and we’ll be having a boy group supplemental next week. Tschüss!

[gaymer-hag-stan]

Daily reminder that while Hwayoung is in no way innocent and was actively an asshole to Core Contents Media staff members and playing coy about whether she was actually bullied or not, she is absolutely not the sole reason for T-ara's downfall and should not be painted as such.

I want to clarify some misconceptions people seem to have about the situation. At points I will be using other groups as reference points (NOT to pit them against T-ara) and also using my own opinions and speculation at certain points, which I will make clear to point out from the actual facts of the story.

For all intents and purposes, yes, Hwayoung is a nepo baby. Her father is rich and he was also friends with Kim Kwang-soo, the CEO of Core Contents Media, T-ara's old company (now known as MBK)

Hwayoung wanted to be an actress but Kim Kwang-soo thought it would be better to be part of an idol group to gain popularity first and then launch her own acting career easier. It is not unusual to use idol groups as a launching point for later solo music projects or acting so all makes sense up to here.

It should also be noted that T-ara had already worked hard to make a name for themselves. They released Bo Peep Bo Peep and Crazy Because of You, two massive hits that both sold over 3M digital copies and were on the rise to become one of the most popular groups of their generation. They faced fierce competition, having debuted alongside the likes of 2NE1, f(x), 4Minute and After School (2009 was such a strong year) and initially faced severe backlash for their debut performance of Lie. They even had to literally perform in the streets outside of malls during Bo Peep Bo Peep promotions to get people to listen to their song. The internet wasn't what it is now back days so they also couldn't rely on their fans spamming everyone online to listen to their songs or artificially increase views by watching the MV again and again.

So the original six girls had built a strong bond by training together (Jiyeon, Hyomin and Eunjung at least, Qri, Soyeon and Boram were kind of last-minute additions after Jiwon and Jiae quit) debuting and promoting together for a year and facing backlash and severe working conditions together. I imagine Hwayoung being added after they worked to make themselves known might have been a "yeah ok I guess" moment for OG T-ara. K-pop fans seen to be easily annoyed by constant lineup changes too so adding or losing a member after the group has already become famous is never a good thing.

Like I said, Hwayoung wanted to be an actress, but for the most part she played along with the idol part. That being said, I fee like CCM never made an effort to present her as an actual member of T-ara in their songs, the title tracks at least. She always felt like a featured act to me or a backup vocalist, not an actual member. You could argue Qri and Boram also got very few lines, but it's not just that, Hwayoung was supposed to be the new rapper or whatever so that Hyomin and Eunjung could start getting more singing lines now that they had someone else to do the raps but... In the first two singles Hwayoung participated in, What's Wrong and yayaya, Hyomin and Eunjung are still mostly doing the raps and Hwayoung gets a few adlibs, basically... So what was the point of making her the "rapper" then 😬 And then after that Hyomin and Eunjung stopped doing the raps completely but Hwayoung was still only doing adlibs and 2sec raps in the bridge. In Roly-Poly all the girls have mostly equal parts. Even Qri, Boram and Hwayoung, who usually got very few lines have the same amount of lines. But while Qri's and Boram's parts are actually memorable (Qri has the intro and the start of the second verse and Boram sings in both verses) while Hwayoung, who actually sings in both verses and the bridge, is still only doing adlibs and 2sec raps. In contrast, let's take 2NE1's I Am the Best, that released around the same time. CL actually sings more than an entire minute of the song, but because the parts of the other three are still memorable, it doesn't feel like she's hogging the entire song. Each of them has their moments.

But like I said it's not just about the amount of time you sing, Bora was consistently the most popular member of SISTAR and she, basically, got the same type of lines as Hwayoung after 2011. Hwayoung's styling and stage presence also fell off. She's taller than the entire group (I don't remember if Eunjung is taller than her but I think she's not) and she wasn't a very skilled dancer so it showed on stage. On top of that, her outfits, hair and makeup always looked like shit to me. But then again, the stylists and staff members said she was a nightmare to them so maybe it was intentional after all lol. But my point is, if you have a member that's not good at singing, dancing, is the rapper but doesn't actually rap and is dressed and styled worse than the rest of the group, when in theory she's the daughter of your friend, you're essentially making her yourself to look like the outcast.

What's ironic is that by 2012 things seemed to have been slowly changing? Her styling looks considerably better, she actually got sizeable parts in Day by Day and she was even picked to be a part of the We Were in Love collab with Davichi, where she also got lines and it became a hit so maybe if she hadn't started slacking things would have improved for her?

Then again, as I said Hwayoung had zero interest in being an idol, she wanted to be an actress, an she was literally the only one that CCM never booked an acting gig for. All the others (sans Areum) were acting. Even predebut Dani, who was supposed to become T-ara's ninth member, got to act in Day by Day's MV, so I'm not sure how important to her the fact that she got decent raps that lasted for more than 2secs in two songs would be. Not to mention, that she actually got back to sharing the raps as, in the unreleased version of Sexy Love, she's only doing the rap in the bridge and has to share it with Areum. Maybe Shinsadebt Tiger just hated her 🤣 I'm betting that if she was still in the group by Number Nine she would only get the "I'm addict I'm addict parts" 🤣😭

Now, it's also worth mentioning that T-ara were BIG in 2012. It was the peak of their popularity. They were the third most popular girl group in Korea, behind only Girls' Generation and 2NE1, and the third most popular K-pop girl group in Japan, after Girls' Generation and KARA. Jiyeon was winning popularity polls against Yoona. Yoon. A. They were still going strong and might have even overtaken 2NE1 too, especially considering how YG stopped promoting them properly around that time and with CCM wanting to turn them into a nine-membered group they were, essentially, declaring open war against S.M.. They had five different singles sell over 3M digital copies (Bo Peep Bo Peep, Crazy Because of You, Roly-Poly, Cry Cry & Lovey-Dovey, I actually think maybe We Were In Love did too?) which, before 2012's SK Music market inflation prices, was considered an astonishing feat. For reference, the only other girl group to have ever had five singles sell over 3M digital copies is 2NE1.

Take all this into account along with the fact that they were constantly flying back and forth from Korea to Japan to keep up with their extremely demanding schedule and, honestly, I can't really blaming Hwayoung for finding an excuse to weasel out of a few performances, we all would, be honest.

The thing is, that the Budokan performance wasn't just any performance. It's a very prestigious Japanese venue and even it it wasn't it's still a concert that people paid money to see. Idols may occasionally half-ass or lipsync performances on music and other TV shows but concerts are where they give it their all (or at least second gen idols did 👀) and all the other girls actually wanted to be idols so, maybe it wasn't a big deal to Hwayoung, but the rest of the girls had every right to be pissed about it.

Shading her on Twitter, while hilarious, was probably not a smart idea, because it was essentially the beginning of the end. Before that no one was really paying attention to Hwayoung's relationship with the rest of the group, and if she was actually being such a menace to the stuff, sooner or later someone would speak, and even if there were doubts about whether OG T-ara and Hwa were friends or whatever, no one would really question a possible expulsion from the group and company if it was a known fact that she was being rude to the staff.

And that was actually the official line by CCM. Hwayoung has been fired because she can't work well with the staff. But because of the Twitter thing and Hyoyoung, Hwa's twin, also (kind of) directly antagonizing T-ara online and Hwayoung agreeing with her, people started speculating and finding previous "evidence" of bullying.

CCM's silent approach didn't work. I get that maybe KKS didn't want to publicly announce that his friend's daughter was as asshole and a liar and the rest of the group was kind of done with it but why on earth would you literally throw your main (and let's be honest here, only) moneymaker under the bus like that? Why shoot yourself in the foot? I don't get it.

To Hwayoung's defense, she literally said "they didn't bully me, stop harassing them" at first... Before settling for a conveniently vague "I was going through hard times" line every time she gave an interview afterwards, but the first time she actually outright said she wasn't a victim of bullying.

But people didn't really care about that. T-ara's fall from grace was never in defense of Hwayoung. Hwayoung was not a very popular member to begin with so it's not like her individual fans were actively campaigning against T-ara, this is in no way a Jessica's individual fans vs. OT8 SONEs type of situation. They definitely lost a lot of the more "casual fans" and lost a lost the general public, but Sexy Love and Number Nine still charted within the top 10, so their core audience was still there.

My personal opinion, which is half fact and half speculation that is still based on facts, is that while they probably did not create a rumour, companies like S.M. and YG whose profits were being reduced by competition from CCM could have easily influenced it's spread. We all know how S.M. treats their former artists and YG also tried to block coverage of 2NE1's Coachella performance to reduce its impact and didn't they literally force Naeun out of Apink? Is it a stretch to assume they might have been a little too eager to help remove competition? But maybe they didn't even have to involve themselves personally.

Misogyny in the K-pop community was at its PEAK in that era. SONEs and 2NE1's fanwars with constant slut and body-shaming of the rival group's members, S.M. associate producer, Teddy Riley, LITERALLY calling the Wonder Girls flops and saying SNSD are better, Krystal and Sulli's and Amber's individual fans CONSTANTLY at war with each other, HyunA and Suzy's fans trashing the rest of 4Minute and miss A.... Need I go on?

Like I said, T-ara were on the top with GG and 2NE1, and their respective fans did not miss the chance to throw them right off when the opportunity presented itself in the form of a fabricated rumour. What's worse is that this is not even the... Worse fabricated rumour. SONEs started a rumour that HyunA left the Wonder Girls because of a PREGNANCY... She was FIFTEEN... Luckily this did not affect her career in any way.

So, next time you want to talk about T-ara's "bullying scandal", do remember that it was a combined effort of misogyny in K-pop, enforced by entertainment companies and fans alike, Korea's obsession with idols having squeaky clean images and never doing wrong (the women at least, a boy group would have EASILY gotten away with all of that), gross mismanagement by Core Contents Media and Kim Kwang-soo, nepotism, Hwayoung taking advantage of a tricky situation, and Hyomin, Jiyeon, Eunjung, Soyeon and Boram (because remember, like Switzerland, Qri was neutral during the War) deciding it was a good idea to ratio Hwayoung on Twitter after not wanting to sing "I likey likey this, I likey likey that" for the nth time.

[lee-minhoe]

OKAY MEL BUCKLE UP YOUR SEAT BELT BC THIS IS GOING TO BE A RIDE ! also ik i have 9203402849 potential love letters i could write but there is one that truly warrants a long explanation because all i've ever written is hate mail about him to you... yes this is about lee fucking jangjun of course it's about lee jangjun 🙄

ok but i swear i'll try to actually write nice (🤢🤮) things unlike my one lino letter LOL

your favorite thing about them  he is sUCH an entertainer!! ofc he's funny and high energy and very much an enfp (the synergy of him with other enfps is insane LMAO) but also he does put in effort to be prepared when he goes on variety shows (vaguely all i know is that he does research beforehand especially if he's meeting other idols, prepares some jokes or stunts or props, idk maybe thats standard but at least it's not lazy)! besides him being absolutely deranged for entertainment purposes, i do love watching him on variety shows he really does the whole entertaining idol gig thing with such ease with his very mc-host way of speaking, his comedic timing, and the way he puts people at easy by ironically catching them off-guard with his irreverent jokes, etc. etc. honestly it's an especially great skill bc he's interacted w a lot of dongsaeng/rookie groups while hosting ssap possible and idolympics.

when you Knew TM they were your bias  LMAO the way u literally watched my realization in real time... okay but i don't actually remember what exactly cemented my coffin. i started noticing his rarer soft / calm / cute moods (instead of his obnoxious parodies of aegyo) and that he just happens to be good at everything. OH I REMEMBER NOW. SOMETHING SOMETHING HE IS GOOD AT COOKING ASDKFJLSJDFLKSDFL!!! lmao fuck why is it cooking that always gets me! also that was around the time i learned that he won 10 medals at isac 2018-20. and can do like 5 hurricane kicks in a row while singing. oh and he went from being literally tone deaf (or so he claims) when he auditioned to making it past several rounds on king of masked singer. okay but even tho he's good at everything he failed kindergarten <3 we stan having capabilities that can't be assessed by a standard education curriculum and being successful anyways 🤪

your favorite looks on them  jokes on you i don't look at him. ok just kidding u got me. honestly i rly haven't watched that that much content to be super familiar with his full range of looks/fits but i'll give you my top 3 from my jjun tag: 1) the white hoodie outfit from one of the ssap possible episodes with curly brown hair just got me i think he was super sleep deprived that day bc he was very subdued and sleepy the whole time it was very cute 2) pink jjun from the rata tat tat mv was insane w the givenchy tank and silver necklaces and and arm band... 12 dead 47 injured. 3) glasses + leather jacket from dream radio!! okay i couldn't even see half his face bc of his mask in this radio special but it was a great outfit so i had to give it a shout out. he did lower it at once point to show off his side profile ! 🥰🥳💕 ... did i mention men's health magazine nov 2020? haha forget i said anything what.

your favorite verse/chreo they do  the entire poppin' song he did with sungyoon!! some highlights w timestamps: - he has a pretty high pitched voice so i'm easily impressed by how he manages to pitch it down pretty low for the chorus. - also his verse after the first chorus is so addicting, there's something about the pitching and tone and varying emphasis of that verse that is so funny and satirical - my favorite part is the one singing line he gets lol a rare commodity as for choreo idk why the only thing i can think of rn is that time he danced w weki meki LMAO

your wish for them (solo stuff, being in a drama,  a nap maybe  lolo) to me he's honestly up there with seungkwan and baekhyun as born-entertainers so i hope he sticks around the entertainment industry for a long time 😃👍

anything about them !!!!  THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN TOO MUCH ABOUT HIM. and i've already spoken so much about him to you in the past month LMAO i swear i also love golcha joochan and jibeom dearly too :( anyways i shall leave you with a picture of jjun in a soda can and we shall never talk about this post ever again 🤫🤐

surprise ! <3 my gift for u for making it to the end ily 😘

i was CACKLING WITH GLEE WHEN I SAW THIS WAS ABOUT LEE JANGJUN HAHAHAHAHAAH

no you're right though, it's a skill to be such a great entertainer and mc like not everyone can do it! and to put people at ease and read the room and research guests beforehand, it takes work!! (and from the jangstar videos that you sent me to watch, mad respect to him for it cuz i would open the video thinking that i'd only watch the timestamp you sent but then end up watching the whole thing lmao)

LMAO i remember watching your realization happen in real time, it went from "no way jjun is gonna become my bias" -> "oh no i think he might be my bias....." -> final acceptance of the fact 😂🤣 oh but the cooking explains why you also bias lino hahahahaah i agree that gets me as well (although, mark cant cook eggs to save his life so idk). also jjun FAILED KINDERGARTEN LOL love that <3 he's so good at everything else

okay but the DREAM RADIO OUTFIT omg....he looks so good even with the mask on and with the glasses too (lol i guess how it's the cooking that gets you, for me it's the glasses) and then sunoo's fckin cute smileeeee omgggg 😭😭 the pink jjun with the tank and arm bands though 😳😳😳 and mens health ok bestie dont need to pretend you didnt mention that because i remember you mentioning it to me so i already know exactly what youre talking about and yes i will torture you

okay moving on to poppin, his verse after the first chorus really is so addicting and so good, he nails the satirical tone well there (and then sungyoon's part after it omg). THE WEKI MEKI DANCE IS SO FUNNY?? the way he just turned it on and started dancing like he's always been a part of weki meki LMAOOO he got really into it

(blurry af pic of jjun dancing to the song fabulously)

the soda can jjun is so cute 🥺

also i cANT BELIEVE YOU SURPRISED ME WITH THE LEE KNOW PIC AT THE END YOU HIT A SPECIFIC WEAKNESS i literally have that pic saved in my pinterest.....he's so hot....i had to stare at that pic as i was typing up this response and i was in PAIN and the ROLLED UP SLEEVES WITH THE WHITE BUTTON DOWN omfg this is literally one of my WEAKNESSES okay clearly you can tell i am now spiraling, this is what lee minho does to me 😐😐😐 i blame you

tell me why you love your bias!

[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

Part 1/? of me catching up on kpop reviews... There's something coming out every day, I have to hurry.

Anyway, let's start with Itzy.

First, Algorithm:

Algorithm - it's a pretty good song, very Itzy. Love the MV a lot, and the choreo is nice. 8.5/10

No Biggie - I actually like this song more. I like the chorus a lot, and how Ryujin says "Like you always say, no biggie". 9/10

Overall, it's a strong EP. Itzy's weaker tracks are usually the bsides on their longer albums. These songs are very Itzy, and would do better than their last Korean releases if they weren't in Japanese. People like refreshing and preppy (but not childish like Sneakers, though that song is a bop, idc) more than girl crush or whatever Untouchable is.

Their Ringo album came out last year, but I don't remember talking about it so:

Ringo - fun, strong track, very Japanese Itzy. I like kpop Japanese songs - I like how upbeat and busy the instrumentals always are; the songs tend to be very exciting and in your face. The chorus "Ringo, ringo, ringo" is almost too much, but the song is a bop. 9/10

Sugar-holic - It's pretty. I like the verse "Take it, take it slow, take it easy" because "easy" sounds like "Itzy". 7.7/10

Playlist - not bad, but kind of annoying. 7/10

Style - okay song, sounds very dated. 7/10

Voltage - like it, especially the chorus. 9/10

Spice - cute song, slightly annoying. 7.5/10

Blah Blah Blah - nice song, I like Lia's vocals here. 8.5/10

Can't tie me down - this song is my style, love the bridge ("I burn in the black fire") but every single one of these songs would be much improved with better vocals/vocal tones. 9/10

I think had already reviewed all the songs after Style, but it made sense to look at them again.

The thing with Itzy, and why I personally can't see them suddenly having a moment, is because they don't sound trendy at all - their songs, from their vocal tones (high pitched and very in your face, except for Lia) to the instrumentals (too hyper pop), their styling (boring, dated, has been the same in years), choreos (good, but no point moves, they don't stand out, aren't memorable, don't highlight their skills), their MVs (very average and conventional). Listening to Itzy feels like travelling back to 2019. And since 2019, we've gone through a pandemic, so 2019 might as well be 2010, and Itzy in particular are more 2010 than 2019. Everything about them is extremely outdated. The girls might has well be 40 instead of 20.

I know Itzy has a distinct style, but they need better production and a different creative direction. And even then, I think the members' voices are too loud and shrill, with the exception of Lia. Idols these days have softer vocals. Itzy's vocals have always been a weakness of theirs, but now they stand out even more against newer groups. Itzy have also lost a lot of what made them stand out, thus struggling even more getting people's attention. They used to be known for their dancing, but there are other groups now, like LSFR, with a strong dance line and way more appealing choreos and songs. Aespa, for example, are weaker dancers than Itzy but their choreos are way better and actually stand out. Itzy were also known for live vocals, on top of energetic choreos, but you have Stayc and NMIXX, for example, who sing live too and have better vocals. IVE sings live just as well as Itzy..

JYPE in general needs to get with the times. Twice don't change much either, but they're Twice, so it works way better for them. Same with SKZ.

[what-if-nct]

hi hi hi today's reminder is i listened to fact check today and I'm surprised how much i love it. 127 hasn't been hitting too well these last few comebacks but this is perfect for me. my main problem with a-yo and 2 baddies is it feels like they were pushing too far to prove a point because all the new boy groups are going for their original sound, but this feels like them finally saying "fuck it we inspired them, now watch us do it best" rather than trying to one-up them, which is great. some stray observations:

- taeyong rhyming motion with emotion i would die for him

- haechan climbing "up" a clearly horizontal surface cracks me up every time i see it

- i wasn't expecting taeil (because i believe they only finished up filming a couple weeks ago) so I'm overjoyed to see him as much as we did

- Johnny starting off with just random English ad libs (who's surprised?) but i figured that would be it so I'm SO glad he has actual lines and he's scattered throughout the song, i think it'll make for a really fun stage

- yuta has a whole verse!! yuta!!! has a whole entire verse!!!! more than just three seconds of leading the chorus!!! and he fucking killed it!!!! i know 127 is overrun with great vocalists so i can't expect that they'll use yuta as a vocal but it is such a shame for how nice his voice is

- Johnny+yuta being together so much is definitely a choice based off us constantly crying about those two specifically never getting any lines but i LOVE them back to back

- what is Mark wearing with that v sparkly outfit how much does that weigh like he can pull off a lot of things but that… is a decision for sure

- love love love the art heist vibes. the mv as a whole didn't feel super cohesive to me, it just felt like they were jumping from set to set with no real connection, but the first verse looked so good

- the pre chorus HITS

- the SCALE of dozens of dancers on an empty bridge… it's so sexy how expensive it is (despite the eh CG in the city bits but oh well)

Hii, yes I knew I'd like it just from the chorus and like it's so good and they really are giving NCT in its truest form. And the visuals and looks, like Doyoung finally letting the NCT take over with his outfits this year, the greatest choice. And it's just such a taeyong line it's perfect. And I was so happy to see taeil!!! Like I wasn't expecting to see him but he was there. The little guy was there doing what he does best, and that's all I could ever wish for. Yes, yes Yuta has his own verse. Like and he looked so good, I can not say what I said to my friends but it is an honor only he deserves cause I refuse to ever ever do it again but I would do it for Yuta. And like Yuta's really been getting everything he deserves this year and I'm so happy for him. Speaking of hearing Johnny all throughout the song. And like with Ay-yo Yuta and Johnny are the dream team and it's all I could ask for. Just the whole mv was so aesthetically intriguing with my weird little brain it loves that much overstimulation. Sounds can get overwhelming but there's no such thing as too much visual stimulation. And everything was so good.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

I read your opinion on J-Hopes new song and I would like to share some of my own opinions and observations, if I may. Overall I agree that the concept for the MV with this song is...a bit higgeldy piggeldy. I believe that the visuals were probably more catered towards a 'vibe' to fit the rock genre and while visually and technically it was still a good MV, it's true in terms of the general Kpop genre it's weak. And with that I want to segue into the actual song a little bit. Again, in terms of how we know kpop to be structured musically they have different way of structuring their music, which is why lots of people in the west often find it quite jarring in the beginning, since they're used to the way we structure our songs in the west. And that's the thing with this song...which I think might also be influencing your opinions on how this song is not as much as it could have been. After listening to it a few times, I actually think this song is very western in structure. Because otherwise production wise and from the flow, this is a great song, the genre blending from a technical standpoint is so good. It's so hard to do successfully without sounding either really kitschy or jarring. The mixing is so good, the wall of guitars. Urgh. The production. So good. The verses are so punchy. The starts are so on point. Though sometimes it's hard to tell where you are in the song, but it kinda works with the whole feeling of the song. The beat is pretty simple, but it helps with the blending too. I wish I was half as good at that when I work on audio projects.

(Maybe I'm just really excited that rock is making a comeback, I've been hoping for this to catch on in popular music again since harry styles first solo album and the nods to the early 2000s pop-rock coming out of olivia rodrigo? rhodrigio? maybe I'll finally be inclined to listen to chart music again instead of just observing the market and production trends)

But yes, either way, I wasn't expecting a rock genre to come out of J-Hope and I am actually pleasantly surprised. At the very least it's a nice change from the very very very bland pop we got from the past 2 years. It may not be groundbreaking. But let's be honest...they may not be fully mainstream, but by now they are mainstream enough (in the west I mean, well kinda, I mean it's still niche but I think you get the point) to get themselves trapped in the pitfalls of mainstream music production. Especially with how much western market value is on the line at present. I don't want to speculate but who knows, maybe HYBE had a say in how far he could take it. For my part I am excited to see what the rest of the album has to offer so I can form a more rounded opinion. So sorry for the rant, I'm not sure it's fully coherent I feel a migraine coming on. Fucking weather is throwing me for a loop. Hot, cold, thunderstorms, hot again, cold, rainy, hot, thunderstorms. I feel like a 70yo with rheumatism. Either way, I'm interested to read what you think.

Hi anon! Thanks for adding your thoughts in terms of technical aspects. That's quite helpful in trying to understand how the song is created, what works and what not. You were coherent enough, no worries. Yep, this weather is a bitch. It's so hot that I struggle as well to write a text that makes any sense or even start at all and then I just choose to lounge.

You made a good point about the song being actually more western in terms of sound and production wise. It's definitely different than how a K-Pop song is made. The flow really is different. And while I do think it was an interesting choice for Hobi and perhaps he thought that given what he wants to express with his music as a solo artist from now on, this would work better, I still think the flow doesn't work. Now, I know you said it does and you explained why. Obviously you're more of an expert in this field, but for me as a listener, it just didn't work. It felt a bit all over the place, too fragmented. I mean, I listen to punk, I'm familiar with just noise and some screams for 3 minutes, so the genre is not the problem. Perhaps the song came across to me like that because this is not something that Hobi is well versed in. It doesn't sound like a song made by a musician that knows his way around the genre, but more like a kid in his bedroom who really wants to sing like those rock bands he likes, but he barely has any experience, so the first song doesn't come out very good.

But anyway, I also think it's important to listen to the entire album to form a more rounded opinion, but this single also set the tone for what's to come so it's important to have that in mind as well.

[parkers-gal]

Hi! How are you?

First I wanted to say that I love your writing and I wanted to ask you if you could write something about Tom and maybe the boys reacting to the 34+35 remix mv please? It's okay if you can't

Thanks and have a good day or night 🙃

love youu <3

requests are open

—

“Didn’t Doja leak her verse a few months ago?”

You’re seated on a loveseat facing a large TV that’s planted on the wall. Harrison and Harry have taken the couch, Tuwaine sitting in an armchair after bringing out a few beers. Tom is rubbing the back of your hand and your knuckles with his thumb.

It’s release night. Again.

Tom won’t tell you why he’s so excited to see this music video, because it’s merely just another collaboration with powerful women. But, he loves your positions era. He loves how comfortable you are with being sexual in your music and in your videos. He also knows that the entirety of this video might just be you in lingerie, an opportunity he can’t pass up.

Currently, you’re watching your Q&A countdown, which was pre-recorded with Tom in the room. He’d nearly laughed a total of seven times during your takes. Needless to say, it took longer than expected to film.

“Did you go searching for leaked shit?” Harrison replies with a scoff, Harry’s eyes widening. Tuwaine and Tom gasp dramatically, and you try not to laugh at the encounter.

It’s a rule now, to not go online to find leaked content. Last time it happened, Harrison had stayed up until three in the morning searching youtube to win a bet. He’d lost miserably after the news broke that he cheated.

“No! But it was all over my timelin-”

“Yeah, sure.” Sam sneers at his twin, and they end up slapping each other on the arms. Tom chuckles deeply, the sound reverberating through the air, and you can’t help but join him.

Before you know it, the video countdown has officially reached zero, and your voice rings through the air. A scene is displayed on the television: you’re laying on a lounge chair by the pool, and suddenly Doja and Meg are beside you too. You’re wearing sexy clothes, and Tom just knows you’re powerful in this one too.

When the luggage carrier scene comes, you hear Harry gasp. You laugh at his expression, and you can tell he’s probably trying to focus on how the camera is moving and focusing, rather than the girls twerking.

“I cannot believe you actually got to sit on one of those things.”

“Yeah,” Harry agrees with Tuwaine, rolling his eyes. “Last time we tried that, we got kicked out of the hotel.”

You blink in surprise, but laugh nonetheless.

“This is- this is the scene from your Instagram post!” Tom cheers excitedly at the staircase scene where you’re laying there, just as you were in your pictures.

“Yeah.” You laugh.

“I can’t believe you got to work with the Megan thee Stallion.” Harrison gruffs in his seat as he watches her twerk again. You can’t help but laugh, but you have a surprise for him, so you won’t tease him too much.

“Is somebody jealous?” Tom grins, shoving his shoulder jokinging. Harrison grumbles a “no” in response and the two of you birth laughter, loudly.

To everybody’s surprise, Harry starts rapping with Doja Cat. He’s watching her, of course, but he’s hitting every word with a rasp in his voice. Tom’s jaw drops below sea level, and you laugh, still impressed.

“Damn, Harry!” Tuwaine raises his glass of beer. “Show off.”

Just as the verse ends, your hand comes into the shot, and you hear Tom’s breath hitch. You’re speaking into the call-machine, and the mention of baked Alaska makes him blush with a chuckle.

“I cannot believe you actually included that.”

“What was that?” Sam inquired.

“We were in a restaurant,” You started sharing the story, and Tom groaned in response. “And I was talking to the waiter about baked Alaska, but I'd obviously forgotten what it was called. And Tom was so sure he knew, that he yelled ‘baked Alabama.’” When you finished the story, Tom’s head was in his hands in embarrassment.

Your attention is turned back to the TV when Tom gasps. It’s the scene he’s most looked forward to: the bed & room service scene. You’re eating licorice and dancing on the bed while Meg sings her part.

Harrison points at the TV in shock when he sees you sitting on the vintage television. Harry’s mouth drops wide open when he sees Meg in the marbled bathroom. He’s internally freaking out, and externally getting redder by the second. You have a feeling him and Harrison are really big fans, so you make a mental reminder to give them their gifts later. You’d gotten them personally signed records, courtesy of Meg of course.

“Aww,” Tom pouts. “That was so cute.” He’s visibly softening as he watches you and Meg sing “34, 35 we can sixty nine it.” You giggle, head tilting in thought.

“Really?”

“Yeah.” He smiles. “You’re really pretty, y’know.” He’s cheeky but shy about the compliment, and you bring him closer for a goofy hug.

“That’s a lot of champagne, you know.” Sam eyes you and the TV with a knowing look.

“Yes, yes, thank you for hooking me up with it.” You give him credit. The chef of the family he is, so you were sure to jump at the opportunity for some local help. It made work during the pandemic a little easier.

“Yeah yeah.” He smiles, waving you off. You’re grateful, though, even if you play it off coolly.

“And thank you, mister.” You hug Tom tighter as his brows furrow.

“For what?”

“For telling me which set looked best.” You smirk at him, and he rolls his eyes.

“Don’t out me like that.”

“Gross.” Harry sticks his tongue out, sipping a beer in disgust at the couple.

“Don’t ‘gross’ me,” You sass him. “I have a present for you, but if you’re gonna be a brat about it-”

“No, no, no, no.” He rushes out, setting his cup down as he leans forward. “What’d you get me?”

“Well…” You reach behind you, grabbing a bag before two vinyls emerge. They’re the first and only copies, as you had not planned on releasing a vinyl copy for the remix. “They’re personally signed.” You carefully hand one to Harrison and one to Harry. Each has a message from both girls, and Harrison and Harry squeal in delight.

“Where’s my present?” Tom pouts. What comes next only makes him grow redder.

“I’m wearing it.” You smile cheekily. “Think you can wait a few hours?”

His eyes go wide as he nods feverishly. Luckily, he doesn’t have to wait too long.

[insomnihan]

han’s Entire Thoughts & Feelings on Dreamcatcher’s “BEcause”

WE ARE F UCKING UNDER ATTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

there are no read mores here so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

ALRIGHT SO-

THE SONG WHERE DO I START WELL- I SAW A COMMENT SOMEWHERE THAT WAS LIKE ‘THIS HAS GOODNIGHT CREEPINESS WITH RED SUN ESSENCE’ WHOEVER THAT WAS YOUR BRAIN IS GINORMOUS™ AND WRINKLY- IF YOU LISTEN TO IT THE SLIGHT SUMMER VIBE IS TOTALLY THERE YET THE PIANO AND THE HARP (MAYBE I DUNNO BUT WHAT I DOONO IS THAT IT SLAPS) THE PRE CHORUS BUILD UP FAST AS HELL THE DRUMS ARE FAST AS S HIT THE CLOCK IS SO CREEPY THE GUITAR IS JUST ASDFFJGHLHKL;;’ THE DOUBLE TIME DURING DAMIS RAP THAT WAS LITERALLY™ AN ATTEMPT TO TAKE MY LIFE (they were this 👌 close istg) AND THEN THE BRDIGE…………………… SOMEONE TAKE THE WHEEL-

AND THEN THEIR VOICES POWERFUL AS ALWAYS AND THAT F UCKING DISTORTION S HIT DURING ‘FOREVER LOVE AND FOREVER MINE’ IS ACTUAL DR*GS- i dunno what it is but the instrumental being like that and then (to me anyway) theres such a sweet undertone (???) in how they sing and then knowing the lyrics likE I KNOW THEYRE OBSESSED- B O I DO I MISS A FAST DAMI RAP P L E A S E I FEEL LIKE SHES THREATENING ME I LOVE THAT PSYCHO NOISE B ICYJ- THAT BRIDGE IS F UCKING CRAZY SIYEONS AND HANDONGS AND YOOHYEONS GENTLE VOICES AND THEN S U A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOUREALLYGOTTACOMEOUTOFTHELEFTGODDAMNFIELDWITHTHATICANTSTANDYOUHOWDAREYOUJUSTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hello hello for the dance section i will be using THE mcountdown performance yEAH THE ONE POSTED BEFORE THE ACTUAL MV/ALBUM DROP- FIRST OF ALL THE INTRO sorry i have to talk about this theyre so creepy and doll like and jiu is so menacing lIKE WHAT THE F UCK IS THAT (someone answer me what iN THE F CUK did she feed yoohyeon)- NOW ANYWAY I HAVE THINGS TO SAY ABOUT THE ACTUAL DANCE-

OFF THE BAT THE MIRROR INTRODUCTION IS *CHEFS KISS* and then gahyeon choking jiu?????????? LORE????????? IN CHOREOGRAPHY?????????

LISTEN. L I S T E N. ALL OF THEM LIFTING YOOHYEON AT 1:29 LIKE THATS INSANE AND SO FITTING FOR THIS SONG AND VIBE plus yknow………………… handong doing a lot of the lifting………… 👉👈

this specific video doesnt show it during suas verse (which is like Rude™ but fine they show it elsewhere obv) but when shes singing and the rest of them are dropping down slowly………………… yeah-

THE CHORUS EVERY👏SINGLE👏F UCKING👏TIME👏 LIKE THE POSE THEY DO FOR ‘BE’?????????????? THE POWER AND THE GENIUS™ OF IT??????????????????????

DAMI UNHAND ME UNHOLY DEMON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the bridge…………… the rocking from side to side…………… whatever the f uck handong and yoohyeon are doing…………… it was almost like sua was controlling everyone right like deadass im scared-

THE DANCE BREAK PLS LET ME BREATHE

the ending with everyone bowing but gahyeon…………

BICTH……………… BICHY- THE VISUALS JUST KEEP LEVELING THE F UCK UP THATS LIT RALLY INSANE I LOVE THAT FOR THEM- the moment that mystery code was revealed and we were getting demented creepy carnival i waS V I B R A T I N G™ WITH EXCITEMENT the creepy scenery of the  dark hotel lobby and the rundown carnival with the merry go round and teacups AND WITH A CULT and the hallway with the mirrors and the lights (like the use of SO much red and green……… the symbolism………) JUST EVERYTHING IS SO F UCKING ABANDONED AND S HIT- THE LITERAL MIRRORING AND DIMENSION S HIT WHAT THE F UCK!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT CREEPY ASS ROOM WHERE THEY KIDNAPPED GAHYEON IN AND SIYEON WAS ACTING ALL TWITCHY OR WHATEVER WHAT WAS THAT-

TIME TO SHOW WHICH SCENES I LIKED

THE WHOLE GODDAMN THI-

(jk ☺️)

OFF THE BAT GAHYEON MAIN CHARACTER I KNOW THATS RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

…………………… i just wanted to put this here-

i just wanted to put this here too-

HOW DID YOU EVEN GET HERE

id like to think that the real handong is one getting dragged away and the one standing is the doppelganger (for Plot™ purposes)

W H A T T H E F U C K

I DUNNO WHAT TO SAY OTHER THAN IM SCARED-

G OD WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE THIS PART WAS SO WEIRD WHAT DOES THIS MEAN WHAT DOES IT MEAN

HELLO??????????????????

yeah sure let me take this apple from this broken mirror where another me lies within the walls of this creepy hotel anD EAT IT

W E L P-

………………………………… F-

T H E M

I DUNNO HOW IM BREATHING RN-

JIU

whaT IN THE F UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS SCENE IN THIS SCREENSHOT IS ALREADY A LOT the way she looks seemingly unassuming and harmless in that reception desk that brown and white outfit (is her hair in like………… pigtails???) and then the smile to the instant glare you jusT KNOW youre gonna d*e in that place- MAAAAN BANGS OR NO BANGS SHES STUNNING EITHER WAY AND THATS SO RUDE………… the white dress and those red ACTUAL TALONS will be the d*ath of me

SUA

if i counted correctly she had three (3) different outfits??? outside of the dance ones??? white and red then black and purple then that green and black one??? i think of all of those i really like the red and the green one theres SOMETHING ABOUT THEM i think the green one with the big puffy sleeves more NOT BC ITS MY FAVORITE COLOR I SWEAR the green looks silky and then she also has the thing on the side of her face the pearls in her hair- AND THEN THAT RED ONE with the white sleeves and the frilly collar dude whAT THE F UCK LIKE I KNOW WE SAW IT A LOT BUT I WANNA SEE MORE THO……………

SIYEON

OKAYOKAYOKAY LOOK- THIS OUTFIT IN THIS SCREENSHOT I FEEL LIKE I SHOULDNT LIKE IT YET I DO????????????? two completely different looking patterns that animal print and the strips and then that big ass belt (???) around her waist like this shouldnt be like a GOOD look i dont think……… truly only She™ could make this look work 😔😔😔 i got A LOT A LOT to say about the red and orange plaid crop top and skirt with the different colored clips in her head but the only thought going through my Dumb of Ass Stupid Brain™ iS HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

HANDONG

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY NATURAL BLONDE BELOVED this white dress and the BLACK BOOTS AND THE CHOKER SHE BETTER S TOP- AND DO NOT I REPEAT D O N O T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SPEAK TO ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ON THAT SHORT WHITE DRESS WITH THE WHITE BOOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHOEVER STYLED HER YOU DONT CARE ABOUT ME AND THE OTHER HANDONGISTS YET I ALSO LOVE YOU SO MUCH the one with the pink dress dont talk to me dont approach me donT EVEN F UCKING LOOK AT ME IM GOING THROUGH A LOT RN

YOOHYEON

im really Dumb of Ass™ i thought that one pink and (maybe???) super light blue dress had a clock on it- BUT MOVING ON FROM THAT the space buns and whatever those accessories those are and the pink makeup this is sO- then the white dance outfit with those (mesh??? lace??? i just know that its see through-) sleeves and those big ass earrings THAT LOOK AT 2:24 the boots (yeah i gotta mention that first since i just ALWAYS have to mention them) the white blazer all those pearl long ass necklaces and whatever that is on the side of her face why do her visuals HURT SO BAD-

DAMI

bicth…………………………………… B I C T H- WHAT HAS THIS WOMAN BEEN DOING??????!!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!??!??!?!?! THIS OUTFIT IS SUCH AN ATTACK I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT IS ON HER FACE THIS WHOLE LOOK IS SOMETHING ELSE™ her tattoo 🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵 that bottom part of her hair is kinda clapped tho honestly- the pig tails?????? braids?????? in the dancing part on the black and white tiles IM DOWN YALL IM DOWN SO BAD AND ITS F UCKING RUDE™ THAT WE DONT SEE S HIT OF THAT DRESS AT THE END-

GAHYEON

IM GONNA SAY IT AGAIN LEE👏GAHYEON👏MAIN👏CHARACTER👏I👏KNOW👏THATS👏RIGHT👏👏👏👏👏👏👏!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS RED HAIR IS A BLESSING (especially in that high ponytail i-) SHE IS ATTACKING ME BUT YKNOW WHAT THATS OKAY- im SURE theres a plot significance to her two different dresses the mostly black and the mostly white but my brain can only register WOMAN PRETTY that white one in particular…………… the choker with her hair up and those boots…………… i saw it clear as day and im d wording over it-

BONUS TIME: B-SIDE TRACKS (thoughts and parts i liked)

Intro

i usually expect the intro to be like SUPER HYPE AND INTENSE yknow which it kinda is! however it is consistent that it fits very well and captures the overall vibe of the entire album the calm beginning with the bell like were walking into an establishment and at the halfway point it picks up its intriguing and the ‘i like you’ adds a subtle eeriness that adds just enough to make one wanna continue listening its v good 👌

Airplane

LISTEN……………… LISTEN- this is the VERY LAST genre i expected out of this group YET im not even a little bit shocked that they did this like this cutesy izone-esque summer bop of a song is a DREAMCATCHER™ song……………… YALL- THE AMOUNT OF SEROTONIN THAT ‘AIRPLANE LALALALALALA~~~~~~~’ BRINGS IS SOMETHING SO PERSONAL THIS SECOND GENERATION SUMMERY ASS INSTRUMENTAL WHAT IN THE F UCK- I FEEL LIKE IM RUNNING ON THE BEACH I FEEL THE COLD WIND OF THE WATER BUT THE HEAT OF THE SUN AGAINST MY SKIN AND IM PLAYING WITH A DAMN BEACH BALL WITH A COCONUT DRINK (I F UCKING H*TE LEAVING MY HOUSE) JIU AND DAMI SOUND SO F UCKING PHENOMENAL

Whistle

im pretty firm on believing these b sides represent different times of a summer day and this is the late evening or twilight like not nighttime but CLOSE- i thought i wasnt gonna like the whistling part but that only makes it catchieR THIS SONG IS MAKING ME YEARN AND TRYING TO RECALL LOVELY MEMORIES I DONT EVEN HAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! then again……………… theres always usually a song on their albums that make me unlock and feel hidden emotions………… THIS SONG GOT ME MISSING A PERSON THAT ISNT REAL this is such a mellow yet so powerful in the way they sing and express each syllable- they all did so good on this song but i gotta mention dami again for her part like oH mY gOoOoOooOoOOOooOD

Alldaylong

JIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the way this song was inspired by a hug jiu got from yoohyeon…………… THIS IS NOT A JOKE she said ‘i wanna try city pop’ anD SHE DONE DID IT- i have NO IDEA how this song managed to hold so much joy and light happiness in every word and instrument used in this but im :ccccccc i literally wanna hug someone after listening to this 😔😔😔 this also makes me yearn for something but at least this one isnt unrealistic or unobtainable i dont think! there are some songs out there that make me cry from its lyrics and its sound but THIS ONE the lyrics and just how happy this song is bro reading the lyrics im about to cry for like the fifth time- they who im love so much… :ccccccc doesnt it make you just wanna hug someone and tell them you love them????????? that you appreciate them??????????

해바라기의 마음 (A Heart of Sunflower)

i knew FOR A FACT FOR👏A👏FACT👏 that they were gonna have a ballad for this album bc road to utopia didnt have one i will admit i was one of the 🤡 that thought jiu would be credited on this song 😬😬😬 ANYWAY- AGAIN WITH THE DAMN YEARNING FOR SOMETHING BUT THIS TIME IM F UCKING SAD AS S HIT why must this song be so powerful to make me emotional before i even got to read the lyrics to fully grasp it……………………… now im truly yearning in the Sad™ way and waiting for some imaginary person who i dont even know will even come back…………………… those damn adlibs are pretty as hell it was sua (and i have to mention dami again okay shes really killing it on this she woNT LET ME LIVE-) who got me feeling this the most like yeah…………………… i am a fool…………… im a fool for loving and missing someone who just disappeared from my lifE G O D D A M N IT-

LIKE this is COMPLETELY surprising album BUT IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE as its described it really is a ‘special’ album as while the title track still has their music style and sound theres still an element of summer (a very Terrifying™ summer BUT a ✨Summer✨ album nonetheless) like the b sides are SO different and COMPLETELY caught me off guard when i listened to the highlight medley YET this group of seven amazing and talented women pulled it off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its extremely obvious at this point that their steady and organic growth has grown VERY HIGH this time and (although im still very confused by how everything was released and announced BUT i digress) this different kind of method in performing the song the day before seemed to work?????????? I DUNNO WHAT TO SAY ANYMORE this section could literally be summed to just I LOVE DREAMCATCHER SO MUCH 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

IN CONCLUSION: LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM BECAUSE ITS BOMB AS F UCK

AND AS ALWAYS

[jeongjaebae]

❗️Warning: another long essay ahead!❗️

sfdlsdjflksj yes I am a new Deobi now - the surest sign of this is I literally just started a new sideblog for them 😭😭😭 (going to shamelessly plug that it's @l33hyunjaes and setup is a work in progress - and yes, I know I said before that Juyeon was probably my bias but like ... I reallllyyyyyy like Hyunjae HAHAHAHAHAHA and also it was too difficult to come up with a sideblog name for Juyeon that hadn't been used LOL)

I am so not surprised that footballer!Juyeon went viral with Christmassy hahaah the whole MV was truly something out of a fanfic!

I watched the 210812 Thrill Ride MCountdown performance and just!! all the arms on display!!!!!!! And those dang singlets ... (Hyunjae also does a 'call me' gesture and winks at the end and I may or may not have just passed out) and I watched the behind video too and it's just A LOT! But Eric's loose singlet with nothing underneath is doing nothing to help my biaswrecker list haha Also! Hyunjae has very nice arms 👀

Yeah I think Hypnotized is my fave from the Maverick album! There's just something super special about it hehe Nuuuuu that interview with vampire teaser for Drink It??!! What are you doing to me!! Also actor!Juyeon RISE! And yeah Sunwoo's whisper in that! And also in Thrill Ride!! They don't know what they do to me~ And the Maverick and Thrilling albums just keep getting better the more I listen to them! I've also been really enjoying Wings, Spring Snow, Prism (every time they say 'baby girl' I break down huhu) and Clover!

And yep, I watched Kingdom for SKZ - I got into them in late 2020 so still a relatively new-ish Stay, I guess. I apparently have this thing for liking massive groups - first SJ, then SEVENTEEN, then SKZ and now apparently TBZ too! Just counting active members in each group, that would mean that I like 10 + 13 + 8 + 11 = 42 guys ...😭

SJ was the first KPop group that I reallllyyyy actively stanned - there was a school performance for 'International Day' in 2012 and a group of students danced to KPop songs including Sorry Sorry and Gee, and I told one of my friends that I liked Sorry Sorry (she was always saying how much she liked KPop), then she gave me some other song / MV recommendations, and I liked Kyuhyun and Ryeowook's voices a lot. But it wasn't until I watched a KDrama with Donghae that I actually became and ELF and very much Donghae-biased (as of June 2013)!

Oooh yes well, SSTBZ is going well! Currently in Bronze II and I'm managing a total weekly score of about 10m as well. Don't really have many LEs because it's just too hard lol but I am trying for this week's event LE - I've always been a strictly F2P player but I've saved so much money over the last 2 years from working from home during the pandemic that I have decided to splurge a bit and see how paying for event LE packs goes haha. Ommgggg OOC in hard mode ... is awful ... I always just end up spamming! I just searched up OOC hard mode on YouTube and some dude FSPd both verses??????? 😱 Just watching it makes my head spin 😫 Ooh but you seem to be doing pretty well with your card collection! I literally have only 14 R cards right now haha And yep, because I play a whole bunch of other SSRGs, my screentime is always ... way too much lol

You're spot on about Younghoon's rocker voice in Drink It! I think I really like it when he uses the voice with a bit of a rough edge to it hehehe I also watched a vlog of his with Bori and it's just!! so cute!! He's sooooo affectionate and I'm just here wondering when someone will love me like that haha

Omg I was watching Hyunjae, Juyeon and Q on the Netflix Korea YouTube channel and Hyunjae mentioned how cute Juyeon was when he's 'angry' Also, Juyeon mentions The Social Dilemma - WAS THAT MAYBE WHERE YOU GOT YOUR INSPIRATION FROM FOR YOUR REGULAR DILEMMA FIC?! Also Hyunjae was very cutely embarrassed at one point in that video~

And also! The one for the Hyunjae 'Bad at being bad' fic - were Chan's lines about Hyunjae being handsome inspired by that one vlive Chan did? I saw a post about it a few days ago and was like wait! That sounds familiar! Lol I've been rereading some of your fics and I can honestly say they hit different when you become invested in the boys hahaha

Oooooh I also watched an interview with Juyeon and Hyunjae when they did a photoshoot for W and !! Hyunjae's blond (?) hair!!! It was a look ™️

I have no idea if I have a type when it comes to biases lol but I've noticed Eric (one of my current biaswreckers) looks a bit like NCT's Jeno (I like him and Jaemin best there), who looks a bit like Donghae lol Hm I don't really think I have a clear type when it comes to picking biases though ... although I'd be interested to hear what you think? My main biases are SJ's Donghae, SVT's DK and SKZ's Lee Know! (TBZ bias still to be officially confirmed lol) It's a bit funny because I'm currently seeing Juyeon as an objectively handsome guy, and Younghoon seems super sweet, and Eric is really funny but when I see Hyunjae? Kind of thinking that he's the type of guy I want to marry HAHAHAAHHAHAAH 😂😂 Sorry, I'm being very delusional here but YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN

I'm glad you enjoyed my performance recs for SEVENTEEN! LOL yes they looked like little babies back in 2015-16 hehehe I know SEVENTEEN has a pretty big discography, but are there are songs which have really caught your fancy?

GIRLLL all i see is you posting about mr lee hyunjae??? i feel like we have a winner here 👀 though it seems like most deobis follow a consistent bias pattern - if you bias one of a certain "line" within tbz then your bias wrecker will also be from that line.... safe to say we're both trapped within the bermuda triangle here LOL (does that happen with svt too? i have yet to choose a bias but everyone has their own charms so idek where to be looking haha). aaand i may or may not be guilty of hogging a few of those juyeon and hyunjae related urls HAHA

right?? footballer ju was a dream :') all the sports outfits tho, have you seen their seasons greetings pics? hyunjae as a hockey player... think you'd enjoy that hehe. but yes thrill ride era literally made it a hot boyz summer!! i'm surprised eric did all those ab reveals LMAO and yes ofc all those...... arms from hyunjae 👀 WAIT THE BEHIND VIDEO. they finally subbed that omfg i gave up on it long ago but lemme just go watch it now i guess :''')

ohh i see you've explored most of their discography already!! prism is a popular one haha. and yeah i hope we can see more tbz members acting!! so far it's just been younghoon who was in love revolution and one the woman (if you watch love revolution............ that boy will shoot right up your bias list.......), and idk what's going on with hyunjae's and hak's projects 😭 omg i don't even see 10 as a massive group anymore :') definitely see the appeal in having more people, both for variety shows and choreo formations though. like i'm not sure if i've ever laughed as hard as i did for some gose eps!

oooh 2012 huh i recall gee and sorry sorry being HUGE back then :') but that's pretty similar to when/how i got into kpop! omg did you have the phase where all the people around you were playing taeyang's wedding dress on the piano? bc i lived through that 🤡 got into kpop in early 2011 bc of a different bigbang track tho LOL

are you... a gamer.... ngl i had to search up some of these terms LMAO. right so f2p, yes i would fall under that type!! i get bored of games so fast that i feel like it's not worth spending money on them when i'll probably quit the next month or something :') but yes treat yourself!! it's so funny how tbz members are the ones topping the world records for some songs (or at least at some point)?? i'm in silver II and have like low 17mil rn though i'm sure you'll catch up soon haha. omg i also watched that video for out of control... it's actually insane 😩 i think the second verse is doable in theory but i get so overwhelmed and freeze up sometimes aldjkfal

YOUNGHOOOON is the cutest 🥺 the final chorus of drink it... ugh i get shivers listening to him. but yes you're so right, the way he kisses bori ahhHhh also he speaks so lovingly in pms 🥺

ju is indeed so cute when he's angry omg but have you seen hyunjae whining?? idk why this compilation makes me feel some type of way but i just think it'd be so much fun annoying him HAHA. and yes my fic was inspired by juyeon's love for the social dilemma!! it was a originally an old fic i wrote for a diff fandom back in the day but a moot requested a juyeon version of it so i revamped it LOL. ooh did you see how hyunjae has the habit of hugging people or hiding behind them when he's embarrassed???

AND YEAH chan talking about how hyunjae's so good looking HAHA that was SO FUNNY??? he asked why there's no one like that in skz but like.... lee know is Right There?? ah you just made me realize that the fic inspo i get from real life is mostly dialogue 🤔 oh true fics do hit differently when invested in the boys, maybe it's time i revisit some svt fics i read a while ago since i know them now!

ahh blonde hyunjae during reveal era!! it's so funny how jumil are always doing very... sexy photoshoots together yet filming the maverick mv is the thing that made them awkward with each other 🤡 but like, yeah i can see why ALDKFA

wait wait wait for someone who has a side blog named chaeunw00s i'm surprised that there's no mention of him as a bias??? AND WHAT YOU WANNA MARRY HYUNJAE??????????????????????? BUT WHAT ABOUT JUUUUUYEON?? hmm based on the people you listed.... pretty boys who have can make you laugh and are unpredictable enough to keep you on your toes 👀 does that sound about right? LOL

oooh ok yes i do have a bunch of svt songs i like!! my faves are fear, light a flame, and good to me, but also really like ready to love, rock with you, anyone, and to you 🤩 generally like darker songs haha (which is kinda sad bc..... tbz hardly have any...) OH and i liked bittersweet by mingyu and wonwoo ft lee hi!!

alsooo if you ever open your asks i have a whole pic dump of hyunjae ur fave(s) hehe

[atinydise]

Ateez doing a YouTube video with their s/o

❦ Genre: Fluff/Crackhead.

❦ Pairing: OT8.

❦ Word count: 13k5.

❦ Masterlist.

HONGJOONG - Make-up video

You looked at Hongjoong. He was staring at you as well. Without saying anything. After this long silence, both of you laughed out loud. “Stop staring at me like that!” You ordered him playfully. “But it’s weird! We never did this together!” He giggled. “Yes, true.” You smiled. “Anyway! Hello guys welcome back to my channel! Today as a special guest we have…” You pointed at your boyfriend. “Kim Hongjoong! Yaaay!” “This is weird.” He laughed. “Just say hi idiot.” “Hi guys this is Kim Hongjoong!” He introduced politely. “Today, he will do my make up,” you smiled and clapped enthusiastically. You sat down on the chair you brought and tied your hair on a messy bun. Hongjoong was standing in front of you, choosing a foundation. “It’s going to be terrible.”

“Come on… you’re an idol, you put a lot of make up!” “Yes, but I never did it on myself than imagine on you.” He gulped. Your boyfriend applied carefully the first layer of make-up. “You’re doing pretty good.” After that, he looked for a concealer and an eyeshadow. “Gosh, how many palettes you have?” “Just choose 2 or 3 shades.” You pointed at the peach one. “Okay okay, I think I’m doing well.” He complimented himself. “I’m impatient and scared to see the results.” You laughed. “Stop moving!” He scolded you, “I can’t apply it correctly.” You giggled, seeing your boyfriend so focused, “then don’t be so harsh! I feel like my eyeball will roll on the floor!” Few minutes later, Hongjoong claimed that he was done. “Really? You forgot the lipstick.” “I don’t want to.” You stared at your boyfriend, “why?” “Because when I kiss you it goes on my lips.” You chuckled shyly, “okay I got it. Then can I see the final result?” Hongjoong hide his face on his hands. While you grabbed a mirror. “Oh wow. This is actually really good.” You said surprised. “Ah really?” “Yes! You did pretty good.” You stared at your reflection. “Mission accomplished!” You giggled and turned back to your camera. “Well, I hope you enjoyed the video and hit the like button if you want more videos with this boy.” You pointed again at your boyfriend. “See you in another video!” You waved with Hongjoong.

SEONGHWA - Mukbang video

“Hey hey hey*!” You greeted, waving at the camera. “Are you an Itzy member?” Asked Seonghwa. You looked away, ashamed by his joke. “I’ll cut this part out.” He smiled widely, proud of him. “Hello guys! I hope you’re doing well!” You looked at Seonghwa, “we are here today for a Mukbang** video!” He showed all the food in front of you. “I guess that you’re hungry because you forgot to introduce yourself.” “Oh yeah sorry! I’m Park Seonghwa, Y/N’s boyfriend.” He bowed politely. You giggled softly, “So as I said, we are going to do a Mukbang! Of course, we won’t just eat. Seonghwa will talk about his idol life and why not revealing few secrets?” You glanced at him. “I have no secret.” He replied. “Yes, sure. Liar.” You started. He shook his head. “So, what do you want to eat first?” You asked. “Oh, and yeah! Everything here is spicy guys.” “Nice! Let’s start with Ttoekbokki***.” Both of you started to eat, slightly minding about the spiciness. “So, tell us something about your life?” You initiated. “Hum… it’s a totally different lifestyle that I had before. Thanks to KQ, we have our free weekends, except during promotions, but the week is totally full and exhausting.” He wrapped his arm around you. “So full that I can barely see this cutie.” He pouted. “Yeah true.” You ate a piece of meat. “But there’s good points of course. We go on tour all around the world and we have so much people supporting and loving us unconditionally.” “Yeah,” you added grabbing a piece of chicken this time. “Are you listening to me? You’re only eating!” He laughed. “You talk… I eat.” You replied, your mouth almost full of meat. Seonghwa continued to talk about his career and his dreams, picking food sometimes. “So please continue to support us!” he smiled, thumbs up. “Oh my god… I’m full.” You complained, rubbing your belly. “Of course, you are. You ate 60% of the food here, by yourself!” You stuck your tongue out at him. “Anyway, guys this is the end of this Mukbang with Seonghwa.” You pouted. “But like and subscribe to Y/N’s channel if you want more content like this!” He added. “Wow you’re doing pretty good.” “Why are you surprised? We have a YouTube channel too.” He said. “Oh yes, with your failed ASMR.” You teased him. He started at you, outraged. “How dare you!” “Bye bye!” You waved at the camera.

*Reference to Icy intro by Itzy.

**Mukbang: It’s a YouTube trend from South Korea. It consist to eat loads of food while narrating and interacting with their audience.

***Tteokbokki: is a Korean traditional food which has sticks of rounded rice cake as the main ingredient.

YUNHO - Rate My Outfit

Yunho crawled slowly in front of the camera, showing his big forehead. “You look like a thumb.” You claimed behind him. “A what?” He laughed out loud. “I’m sure they will think about this too.” You giggled. “Introduce the video before I quit!” he teased you. You turned to your camera and claimed. “Hello beautiful people! Today I will do a ‘Rate my outift’ with my boyfriend Yunho.” You clapped at him, happily. “Hello guys!” He waved at the camera. “Are you ready?” “More than ready.” He replied. “Okay let’s go.” You went to your room and wore the first outfit you prepared for the video. It was a casual light and long dress. You added a matched shirt underneath. “Close your eyes!” You placed in front of him, posing a little bit. “Open it now.” “Oh! You’re cute with this. It reminds me our first date. You wore something similar.” “Aw, I’m surprised you remember this.” You smiled cutely. “But rate my outfit.” “7/10, I don’t really like the pattern of the dress. Something else will fits you more.” “Okay…” you said a little bit disappointed. “Then 2nd outfit!” You rushed back to your room to wear a blue pants, a light purple top and white sneakers. “Open your eyes.” You hopped impatiently. Yunho stared at you intensely. “I’ll give it an 8,5/10.” “Better than the first one.” You shrugged. “I would like this outfit a little bit more with heels. You would look so good!” “Oh, why not, I didn’t think about that.” “That’s why I’m here.” He added proudly. “Okay another outfit.” This time, you decided to expose more skin to surprise Yunho. You took a tight black dress slightly opened on the right. You added 3 necklaces to decorate your V-Neck. You hesitated to wear heels but finally you did. “Okay…. Open your eyes on 3…2…1” You stood up in front of him. “Now!” You immediately saw the he was shock. And completely froze. “So?” You turned around. “10/10?” “0/10.” He stood up in front of the camera, blocking the view. “What are you-” “No one except me can see this outfit! You’re exposing too much skin young lady!” “Yunho,” you chuckled. “Thank you for watching this video, it will end earlier than excepted! Bye bye!” He waved at the camera, still hiding your body.

YEOSANG - Ateez Answer MV Reaction

“Hi guys! Here’s another video with a special guest to-” you started. Yeosang stared at you, “This is so cliché.” “Here’s another video with a special and annoying guest: Kang Yeosang!” You introduced your boyfriend. “Hello,” he simply greeted. “Hello? Just hello?” “You already introduced me.” You looked at the camera, “Annoying was the good word I guess.” Yeosang smirked lightly. “Today we are going to react to ATEEZ new comeback!” You shouted happily. “Are you exited?” “Not really. I know I’m handsome.” “Oh my god this boy…” you rolled your eyes. “I’m done with you.” “I know.” He smiled proudly. “Anyway, let’s go!” You played the video and waited impatiently. “You don’t ask me why it’s called Answer?” he paused right away. “Why it’s called Answer?” “I don’t know, let’s go.” He played again. You scoffed, “idiot…” The MV started, you were already immersed by the set. “Who’s this?” You asked when you saw the guy in white. “No idea.” He lied. “Wow San!” You clapped happily. “Shouldn’t you clap only for me?” He asked. “There’s no reaction rules.” You tickled his chin. The music video continued, you were already jamming to Mingi and Hongjoong’s rap verse. “This is so good!” Yeosang nodded, proud of his members. “The choreo! Please! This is awesome!” You claimed at the chorus. Just after that, Yeosang had his part. “Look at my man!” You hyped him. “So gorgeous! Visual for sure!” “I know I know… I snapped.” Both of you were focused on the rest of the MV. You were shock when you saw the scene with the real and fake ATEEZ. “How did they do that?” “No idea, but it’s so cool.” You clapped when the MV ended. “This is a BOP! Guys! I’m so proud of you.” “Thank you. I’m proud of us too.” “And the set, the outfits, the choreography, are just incredible.” “We all did a good job but I’m the best.” You looked away, ignoring your boyfriend, “anyway! I hope y’all loved the video. You should really check out their new MV by yourselves!” “Don’t forget to like and subscribe. And give love to us for this comeback. Love you Atiny!” He made a cute heart in front of the camera. “So cliché,” you giggled.

SAN - FAQ (Frequently asked questions)

“1…2…3” you counted. “Hello everyone!” San and you shouted together. “Here a couple FAQ video!” you started. “With San!” Added your boyfriend. “You were a bunch asking me some question about my relationship with San.” You said. “If you guys don’t know, someone uploaded a video of us while we were on a date.” San claimed happily, “so now that it’s official, we can do this video!” You smiled at your boyfriend, “Yes! Let’s start with the first question.” San grabbed your phone, “Okay, who did the first move and why?” You pointed at him, “completely San. I would never flirt with an idol. Or anyone else.” “To be honest, I noticed her a bunch of times at our fansigns. She was always so happy to see us. One day I slipped my phone number on her album.” “Too much charm for you huh?” You smiled widely at him. “Okay next question.” He ignored you playfully. “Who is the most jealous one?” You stared at him. “Don’t look at me like that because you are the jealous one! I can feel your stare on every girl who’s looking at me.” He laughed. “I hate seeing them looking at him.” You confessed. “Your thoughts on couple outfit?” Asked San, reading the question. “Hum… we never tried yet but we bought the same sneakers last month.” You replied. “How the members reacted when San introduced you?” He read. “They were pretty happy for me.” Replied your boyfriend. “They found Y/N really nice and cool.” You smirked proudly. “Who loves each other the most?” You read the question. Both of you stared at each other. “Both. Or maybe me.” Replied San. “What? No!” You turned around to face him. “You can’t even imagine how I love you.” He whispered, giving you this smile which made you melt every time. “Aaw…” was everything you could say. “This is too cute.” “And it’s the truth.” He grabbed your chin to kiss your cheek. You giggled slightly and focused back on the camera. “On these good words, we will end this video for today!” “We hope you enjoyed this video and if yes, then subscribes and like this video.” Said San thumbs up. “What a pro,” you chuckled.

MINGI - ATEEZ album unboxing video

“Do you want to introduce the video?” You asked your boyfriend, sitting on the couch next to you. “Sure!” he replied enthusiastically. “Hello everyone. We are back today with your favorite YouTuber… and Y/N!” he added. “Why are you rapping?” you teased him. “I don’t!” “I’m kidding big baby.” You pinched his cheeks. “So we are back and for an unboxing video!” You grabbed the album on your shelf. “Say hi to ATEEZ new physical album.” Mingi clapped next to you, “it’s so pretty.” You opened carefully the album, “Wow… this is so cool.” “Let’s go straight to my pictures!” claimed your boyfriend. “No! I want to see other members’ pictures too!” You slapped his hand. “Then look at the photocards.” “No! Why are you so impatient?” You laughed. “I want to see if they chose the best pictures.” He stomped. You turned the pages slowly, looking at every member. “Wow look at Yunho! He looks so good.” You showed at the camera. “Yes, yes…” muttered your boyfriend. You continued until your man’s pictures. “Should we skip your pictures and look at Wooyoung and Jongho?” You teased him. “No!” He almost ripped the photobook of your hand and turned the page. “Look how lucky you have this beautiful boyfriend!” he stared at you, proud of himself. You simply shrugged, “yes I guess.” “Yes I guess? That’s all you have to say?” he looked at you. “I’m kidding.” You laughed out loud. “You’re handsome!” You continued to turn the pages, with Mingi who was claiming that he was the prettiest one. “So, for the photocard… we have…” Mingi drummed on his laps. “Tugutugutugutugu-“ “Mingi!” You giggled. “Really?” He grabbed the photocard. “Kidding, it’s Hongjoong.” “I hate you… you’re always mean with me.” “Love you too Princess.” Mingi pouted, “I’m going to ask KQ to put more photocards of me.” “Sure… anyway, it’s the end of this unboxing video. Like & subscribe for another video like this-” “I won’t comeback because you are bullying me.” He looked away. “Big baby…” you waved at the camera, ignoring him.

WOOYOUNG - Jelly Belly Challenge

“I’m scared…” laughed Wooyoung holding the pack of Jellybeans. “Me too, it’s probably a bad idea.” You said. “Let’s do it,” started Wooyoung. “Hello everyone! Welcome back to my channel! Today we are going to do the Jelly Belly Challenge!” You introduce the topic. “For people who ignore what is it, it’s a game where you can get a good taste as peach or a terrible one as vomit…” he explained disgusted. “Let’s go!” You claimed happily but a bit anxious. “Let’s turn the wheel.” “Not white please, not white.” Prayed Wooyoung. “Green!” You shouted. “Pear or grass… not too bad.” You picked 2 green beans and gave one to your boyfriend. “Ready?” “Not at all.” “Go!” Both of you shoved the bean in your mouth. “PEAR!” You shouted. Wooyoung grabbed the bottle of water in front of him, “grass.” He sipped disgusted. “I forgot how unlucky you were.” You laughed at him. “This is disgusting how did they do that?” he asked. “Okay, the next taste.” “Red one,” he said, looking at the wheel. “Strawberry or dead fish.” “Oh gosh…” Once again you gave a candy to your boyfriend and ate it instantly. “Strawberry!” you danced happily. “Straw-“ his expression changed immediately. “DEAD FISH!” Wooyoung rushed to the trash can off camera. You couldn’t stop laughing at him. “I don’t want to play this game anymore.” He yelled from the bathroom. Sadly for him, you had a dozen of rounds after that. Wooyoung was the one who got the most of terrible taste. “Okay last round: peach or vomit.” You said seriously. Without thinking twice, you ate the bean. Unexpectedly, both of you got: “VOMIT!” Wooyoung spitted the candy on the trash again, drinking water while you ran to the bathroom, probably to throw up for real. “What is this game!” Shouted Wooyoung, drinking your bottle as well. “Are you okay Y/N?” He asked, still disgusted. The only sound he heard was you flushing the toilet. “Well. See you guys in another video! Subscribe-” he almost threw up. “and like! And please don’t play this game!” he warned before turning off the camera.

JONGHO - Playlist of my life

“Hello everyone, welcome back to my channel!” You greeted and waved at the camera. “Today, with Jongho we are going to play, ‘compose the playlist of my life’.” You said. “Y/N is going to give me 6 songs and I’ll tell her if it’s on my ‘On repeat’ playlist.” Added Jongho thumbs up. “I think I’ll fail. I don’t even know Korean songs who aren’t K-pop.” You started. “It’s okay, 6 should be okay.” Reassured Jongho. “Okay then let’s go!” You shouted at the camera. You thought a bit of which songs he was listening to these days, but you couldn’t remember even one. “The Weeknd… Blinding lights?” You tried. “Correct!” He said. “I think this is the only one that I will get.” “Just try come on! The one that I listen to every morning.” He gave you a hint. “CANDY! By Baekhyun!” You shouted. “See! You’re doing good.” He smiled. “This is my all-time songs right now.” “Oh wait! I just thought about this one! Grenade by Bruno Mars.” Jongho crossed his arms, “wrong. But nice try.” “I’m sure there’s an ATEEZ song but which one I don’t know…” you bite your lip. “2nd hint… there’s 2.” “Star 1117.” “Correct.” “Say my name?” You hesitated. “Wrong.” “Oh gosh this is too hard.” “Earlier than Say my name.” He gave you another hint. “OH! Treasure!” you exclaimed. “Correct.” “I should have thought about it.” “2 lasts songs.” He smirked. You stared at the camera, desperately. “I wish you could help me guys, I’m pretty sure Atiny would end this game in 2 minutes.” “You can do it. If you guess the 2 songs before the end of the video, I’ll buy you a Boba.” “Lauv! I like me better!” You guessed immediately. “Correct!” “Okay last one… BTS?” You waited for a hint. “Yes.” “Friends?” “Wrong! But it’s in the same album.” “My time!” You shouted sure of your answer. “Yes!” “Yay!” You stomped happily. “I’ll get a Boba after this hard work,” you said, laying lazily on the couch. “See, this wasn’t so difficult.” He smiled. “You listen a bunch of OST too, but I can’t remember even one title song.” “Shame on you,” he pouted. “Hope you enjoyed this short video guys! If you want more videos like this give us a like and subscribe!” You waved at the camera. “Bye bye!” Jongho made a whole heart with his arms. “So kitschy,” you chuckled.

[sole-cuore-amore-e-droga]

Bulgaria brings a mentally reassuring anthem to Rotterdam 2021

I’ve said so that VICTORIA herself sort of agreed to have done “Tears Getting Sober” if she was allowed to, but for one I have to thank that EBU said that the artists can’t have their 2020 songs back? You’ll see why when I get to the review after two boring paragraphs of text with technical info, for the country that is Bulgaria!

ARTIST & ENTRY INFO

Victoria Georgieva (or VICTORIA, but I can’t be arsed to continuously capitalize her name so I’ll just say Victoria from now on) was born a singer, for she started to sing at the age 11, went to a specific school of angel voices (no really that’s what it was called), and tried to go to the X Factor while a liiiiiittle too young until realizing that she needed to wait for a few years, and wait a few years she did, and went on to the X Factor again.

She didn’t win, but she still got to sign a contract and sing some stuff in Bulgarian before she decided to rebrand, started singing in English, and completely decided that ballads is her style. She cannot really do upbeat most of the time. So you can’t really have a bop from her in the future. (Well except that there’s a couple of songs in her discography that I personally classify as “bops” but they’re more like... idek sad bops?? but they can be danced to, but I get her, she doesn’t do anything that’s more loud and upbeat and clubby and summery kind of - in short, nothing you can go “YAAASSSS QUEEEEEN” over to.)

The entry she ended up singing, “Growing Up Is Getting Old”, is what I can describe to be about overcoming the emotional twists and turns inside of you as you grow older, because as it turns out, it ain’t what you thought it would be - but if you push just a little further, you realize that if you’re growing up, maybe the life isn’t so bad, afterall - you are able to get up. Somehow. It was written as part of Boris-Milanov-led songwriting camp held during summer, and a lot of people seemed to be a part of it because multiple different folk have songwriting credits on the potential Bulgarian entries this year.

REVIEW

Let’s get this out of the way immediately. I prefer “Growing Up Is Getting Old” to “Tears Getting Sober”. The former sounds a lot less irritatingly underwhelming and a lot more positively overwhelming you with warm emotions and sunglow. “Tears Getting Sober” was a song I could never really connect with - maaaaybe the last chorus is much better on there, but it doesn’t do much for me either, I guess.

Their 2021 forray however is a much different kind of thing - once again, going for lyrical non-cliches, Victoria tells a tale about her inner turmoils and continuing in life, in a way that’s personal to her and also kind of relatable to all of us. We all have these moments of fear and anxiety and nervous systems aching. If only there was someone who’d tell us that we’re worth saving... thanks a lot Victoria, you’re the MVP. Filling in the void that Netherlands from last year had brought us but not anymore - another personal song about getting old and having those kind of feelings inside - and doing a great job at taking the baton in the right way (even with featuring the word “grow” in both of the titles, neat coincidence).

Not only the lyrics feel like a hug, the song just emulates ray of sunshine and golden glitter coming down from the sky, Molly Sanden style. The violins in the G major key playing so precisely, building up momentum throughout the entire song, slowly but surely - starting with the ticking clock in the first verse that may have subtle violin in there; and the first chorus is just so simple piano, and then the second chorus has a tinge of electronic something, and the last chorus goes full in with the backing vocals boosting the song, after Victoria performs the quite magnificent bridge... now I don’t have synesthesia but I associate music keys with colors, and to me G major would always come across as something yellow or orange - “Growing Up Is Getting Old” is a perfect example of why’s that for me. And obviously, Victoria’s love for harmony-humming (even if there’s just one instance of it after she sings “star crossed soul”) complements the song to a T.

And it turned out to be a much better choice than last year’s. Maybe finally a female ballad I am getting behind.

Now I wanna know why the bookies don’t appreciate THIS entry as much as last year?

Granted, now it’s 2021 and the environment is so much different, and the songs have changed, and the dynamics have changed, and now there’s suddenly more competition at stake. And for Bulgaria it fares quite much more underwhelmingly - well, at this moment they’re like 6th, which isn’t bad, but there’s a lack of sung praises coming its way, not quite a feat that “Tears Getting Sober” actually achieved, being the bookies fave right before the cancellation of last year. In general the year has been pretty dry for the previous winner picks like Iceland, Lithuania and this, but I can’t say that the previous winner bets from 2020 are all that dead either? Though I gotta say that Bulgaria wasn’t gonna win 2020 anyway, so it’s a lose-lose in this case.

Also I just can’t at that music video being a little dramatic at the beginning, with the cancellation of Eurovision being presented as if it were a worldwide disaster during which we all shall lock ourselves into bunkers and wait until the better days, eventhough the panini is not war and war supplies kit is not just enough to survive it. But it seems like that the world is quite literally falling apart, as evidenced by Victoria going through all kinds of pathways away from her living room, meeting a  (presumably) mini version of her somewhere in between, and literally surrounded by the shaking environment by the last moments of the song

before we realize it was just reality recursing from the TV’s point of view that Victoria was watching all along, and then she leaves the living room again, but in her world, everything is normal and she could just go wherever she wants by car. Even I can’t come up with a storyline ending that’s somewhat intertwined and all plot-twisty and more confusing than that. But props to her team I guess

Approval factor: Let’s say I somewhat approve this message. Follow-up factor: For the sake of argument let me just say that Bulgaria is moving on a great path, eventhough the former entry leaves me cold, at least the current entry keeps me warm at all times, like a cup of cocoa and a good blanket. Please Bulgaria, never run out of sponsors. Qualification factor: I’ve seen one or two people throw around the “surprise NQ” tag for this song and I don’t get why??? There’s no way that the tense atmosphere of semifinal 2 would sure-fire-ly kill Bulgaria, even if they have a lot less chances to win this year than they had the last one. There can be some shock NQs indeed though, and if there are, I am paging... uhhhhh Finland? Idk why but you might see what I mean if I ever get around to reviewing “Dark Side”. Bulgaria? Never. It may not win the semi but it will cradle around the top 7 somehow.

INTERNAL NF CORNER

That’s right, Bulgaria managed to do both.

At the time when one other of Bulgaria’s songs got released, within the *Special* Eurovision September 1st-onwards range, people naturally succumbed to their primal instinct of asking whether that’s her Eurovision song... only for Vic to probably announce this early on that no, it’s just *one* of potential ESC entries she’s harbouring. And the remaining potential ones were all on her debut EP. Who actually got a more well-orchestrated schedule for everyone to follow, and yet, people were much more keen to cling on the first EP song out of the gate, “Imaginary Friend”. Now I get that the fans of that song were super upset at the revelation that IF is not going, but it is a technically strong song for the sake of being a technically strong song, and I don’t want to think that Victoria is only forced to choose the songs that can win for her, so she’s such a sweetheart for gravitating towards a song she could dearly care about. So props to her team saving the initial winner for last to be revealed, lol.

Though wasn’t her personal favourite a Billie-Eilish-lite-upbeat-kinda-track Phantom Pain?

Which was also my personal favourite?

Look, I know that favouring the only non-ballad in the whole lineup (well “Ugly Cry” is also not quite a ballad but its beat is kinda so-so, so I tend to ignore it) is kinda sus, also, y’all are sick to death to Billie Eilish comparisons, but I do believe that Billie would never be able to do an “Imaginary Friend” while Victoria could do a “Lovely”. This makes me remember the cover art of Billie’s debut album where she sits on her bed, dressed in white, and so is Victoria on this very MV, with strange shit going on behind her in the mirror. To the mirror, her reflection acts creepy, back again.

The other 2 I don’t feel like caring about enough, sure they got their cred, sure there’s one entry properly crediting Milanov (who seems to not have an actual entry this year that’s purely attributed to *him*, as opposed to 3 last year, 2 of which were performed by acts that returned this year????), sure there’s the funny thing about having a funeral song where out of this and Finland only Austria managed to send a quote unquote “funeral” song, but I think the funeral song would’ve sounded better if the pre-section of it on the “Phantom Pain” video was THE “funeral” song itself, and not whatever was that other funeral song.

In between there was a public sort of survey where people could submit feedback and positive words to Vic’s choices to help her decide - I didn’t get to vote but I feel fine with the winner eitherway, and that counts for something! And the end result was revealed at the very end of Victoria’s very own rooftop concert.

The colors on the circle thingy of this, they were meant to symbolize all Bulgarian entries up to Victoria’s 2nd one, in pictograms that kind of reminded me of Coldplay attributing every song on ‘Mylo Xyloto’ its own little symbol.

The concert was not only full of music and also adverts for the inaugural sponsor iCard (that also included some element of foreshadow in between the suspense, you’ll see why), but also the Bulgarian folk talking before each song, saying all the positive nice words they can for Vic; that she’s talented, and that they were so excited that Bulgaria was doing well in the odds last year prior to cancellation, bla bla bla... also some people were proud of voting for Bulgaria outside Bulgaia, and they made puns about the forthcoming songs on the concert that they were introducing, and so on, and there was also someone called Dara, whom I really want to be sent by Bulgaria one day to show off that they’re not afraid of doing trashy-esque bops that don’t necessarily win

Also they reminded me that Lucy from No Angels (aka the sole reason Bulgaria 12′d Germany in 2008) still exists.

Also Azis.

There was also an intermission where Eurovision 2021 acts could say all the nice words to Victoria on their own part. And several artists chose to... how shall I put it... use up their several seconds rather interestingly. Like how The Roop would say something real quick only to delve into more of their usual “let’s dance, let’s discoteque! *hand scissors* ;P” self-promo, and Senhit carelessly being allowed to say whatever she wants in Italian without subtitles <3 Sorry sis, they’re only given to people from another white-green-red flag-color country.

About the iCard foreshadow... so there’s their advert about Victoria waiting in the line to get something in the Soft Vocals Store, and people ahead of her giving her money the standard oldfashioned way, and the old lady at the counter is... slow, to say the least. After a good amount of time spent waffling around, Victoria finally pulls out the iCard application and pays for the imaginary items she wants, then narrates some stuff about said application, and a Eurovision entry of hers plays when the old lady is at home, spending time in front of TV enjoying the music. Before the concert, the song that played was “Tears Getting Sober”. The advert played once more before Victoria’s big entry decision and entry MV reveal, and in place of the 2020 entry, “Growing Up Is Getting Old” was the one that sounded out loud... Now you may think that there were attempts at some sort of spoilage here, but after that ad before the concert EP NF result, there was this other advert starring Victoria that played “Imaginary Friend” at the end, a last-ditch effort to trick viewers into going “see? just because that ad played the chosen song doesn’t mean it’s the chosen song!! this song could as well be a chosen song as well!!” yeah no shut up GUIGO IS the chosen song kthxbyebye.

ANY LAST WORDS?

Having said all that praise, I actually have “Growing Up Is Getting Old” fairly low on my ranking. It’s just because the year is so damn good and I have a lot more songs to care about more than this, but I appreciate the gesture that this singer is sending very much. Good luck on your road to conquer Europe, Victory-ia, I’m sure you get the best of the experience and all, because you would deserve it.

[aconstantache]

MY FAVOURITE ROMANCE NOVELS OF 2020

HM: The Minute I Saw You by Paige Toon; Fair As A Star by Mimi Matthews; You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle 

10. Take A Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert - loved, loved, loved these MCs. They were both so well-realised and multi-faceted. Zafir may be one of my favourite heroes ever and the depiction of a South Asian family here is also an all-time fave?? No boring, tired, sad diaspora vibes? No overused tropes re: Muslims? MIRACULOUS. So Zaf is a romance novel-reading lover of love and Dani is Not About Relationships. Unstoppable force meets immovable object etc etc.

9. Two Rogues Make A Right by Cat Sebastian - the ultimate in hurt/comfort decadence. Literally the entire plot is one person is really sick and the other person spends the entire rest of the book looking after them. LIKE, MAYBE THAT IS THE ONLY THING THAT HAPPENS?  It takes a bit to get into it but also the sick one is kinda villainous and the one looking after him believes there’s good in him despite all evidence to the contrary. V good dynamic! 

8.  Wild At Heart by K.A. Tucker - I read and LOVED The Simple Wild last year and was so happy the author decided to write a sequel. I would read ALL the books about these two characters just living their life in this universe. I know Tucker is branching out and writing about other characters in the ‘verse and: eh. I only want to read about Calla riding snowmobiles and Jonah telling her how competent she is I’m sorry!!! Wild At Heart focuses less on romance and more on Calla getting used to Alaska but it’s still satisfying seeing them work out how to compromise and start a new life together. 

7. Beach Read by Emily Henry - I love when a romance novel has a lot of hype and it lives up to expectations (see The Roommate for the opposite, ugh that book was bad.) Honestly I get off just on the blurb of this book: he writes pretentious literary fiction! she’s a bestselling romance author! they help each other write and slowly fall in love at the same time! It also deals with slightly heavier themes and there is focus on a recent death and some other stuff which I know a few people struggled with but there’s plenty of humour and light-heartedness so it all works imo

6.  A Dangerous Kind of Lady by Mia Vincy - It is so rare for me to like every book in a Historical Romance series but Mia Vincy’s Longhope Abbey is 3/3 atm. I loved the first two (as mentioned last year) and this one is an A+ addition (ngl I have qualms about the fourth book but I think MV has won some trust at this point so.) We originally met these MCs in the first book when they were introduced as very happily married and devoted so rewinding to them being conflict-stricken and angst-ridden youths was great.

5. You Say It First by Katie Cotugno - So I simultaneously adored this and also found it irritating. This book focuses on ‘liberal’ Meg who has progressive values and is very involved in things like voter registration phonebanks. She ends up on the phone with Colby who is her age and struggling with his family’s lack of money, his dead-end job, etc and has no time to discuss how the electoral system could help him. From a political point this had the potential to be really interesting but I think it’s pretty mishandled by the author. I think she could have done a much better job at writing a character who has no faith in the political system for valid reaons but like, some of Colby’s opinions are just nonsensical? Also Meg often feels ‘liberal’ in a way that is twee and annoying and superficial. Why did I place this so high when I have such a list of complaints??? Despite all this, the relationship between Meg and Colby is so sweet and satisfying and well-built. Most it it takes place over the phone and I love that liminal space that exists just for the two of them. It managed to outweight my negatives!!!

4.  If We Were Us by K.L. Walther - I know people have had qualms with this book but I still loved it. The boarding school vibes; the friendships; the siblings. Quintessential YA things done well! Sage and Charlie are best friends and would be perfect together (valedictorian types) except Sage is far more into Charlie’s twin brother (v not valedictorian type) and Charlie isn’t into girls at all. Two good, satisfying romantic relationships found here folks!

3. Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall - FAKE DATING EXCELLENCE. I think every year I need something new to fill this particular category and Boyfriend Material is a really stellar entry. That being said, I don’t think there’s much actual fake dating going on in this book apart from premise-wise but we move! Luc and Oliver have a good mix of awareness and conflict so you get the Good Stuff TM of them being together and sweet and wonderful while still having to wait for their climactic Get Together.

2. Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon - I’m obsessed with “I’ve hated you all along! Wait... have I?” narratives and it’s executed so perfectly here. Rowan and Neil are two massive nerds and competitive rivals who end up spending their last hours of school together. There is very little plot to this book - it is almost 100% relationship development and hangout time - which is almost always all I ever want from romance.

1. Mix Tape by Jane Sanderson - I read this all the way back in January (what a completely different time in the world!) so it’s a testament to how good it is that I still feel strongly enough about it to give it pride of first place. This is the kind of book - because it’s not reeeeally genre fiction - that seems destined for a sad or, at the very least, ambigious ending but (HA!) it provides a warm, wholly satisfying happily ever after. Anyway if you’re into second chances after decades and decades apart and people communicating through songs and yearning and never being able to Let Go - this is for you!

[pxrkjihxxn]

thoughts on the treasure cb

so, i’m home. situated. have watched the mv several times. let’s talk. 

let’s start off with the song - personally, it’s my favourite from treasure so far. don’t get me wrong, i loved both boy and i love you, but i’ve been a sucker for slower, sensual (this feels like a really wrong word to use considering half of them are minors, but i will get into that) hip hop rather than the in-your-face, “i get hella hoes” sound. 

it’s a song completely based on contrast, and it’s genius. not just because every section by itself is musically completely new except for the repeating buzz motive, but from the way the producer chose who sings each line. it’s not a coincidence that junkyu and mashiho sing the same parts of the song - they both have bright, resonant voices that contrast perfectly with the switch up in the second part of the prechorus, and with yedam and asahi’s smooth, velvety vocals in the first part of the prechorus. 

i like that despite the drastic change in genre, they’re still consistent with their song structure. it’s still the yg-esque intro + verse + 2 part prechorus + catchy chorus with beat switch up + verse + 2 part prechorus + catchy chorus again + weirdly long bridge that transitions into a dance break/outro. it’s what they do with blackpink, as well, and i wonder if they’re going to stick with it or go down another route now that the first step series is over.

i’ve seen it get compared to nct 127′s music, and while i do see it, i don’t think it’s something bad. it’s obvious they’re experimenting with their sound to see what fits them the best, and they’ve done all of them justice. 

all in all, i’d give the song a solid 9/10. i would’ve loved if they’d softened up the edm drop a bit, but considering it’s their thing, i didn’t deduct too many points because of it. (for reference, i love you and boy both sit at a comfortable 8/10, so they’re not far off)

i’m not gonna go too deep into choreo bc i’m not a dancer and i have zero fucking clue what’s tough and what isn’t, but it looks fucking cool and i’m obsessed with it. moving on.

i actually appreciate the simplicity of the music video. boy and i love you were very flashy, “look at how much money we can spend” music videos, and i like that for this one they decided to keep it simple. well, as simple as yg possibly can. don’t get me wrong, it’s still a fucking expensive music video, but you could definitely make at least two more of these with the budget boy had. the camera movement’s sick and whoever did the lighting on set from the preformance teasers is a fucking mad man.

now comes the icky part. there are three issues i wanna talk about, and i hope y’all haven’t gotten bored by now and stopped reading, cause i’m a bit pissed.

1) what the fuck is hyunsuk’s hair. what. the. actual. fuck. here’s a link to an e-mail template you can use to spam yg’s fucking mail inbox because why the fuck would they do our boy dirty like this. they’re obviously fucking clip ons. it’s embarrassing. they could’ve so easily done the entire thing without them, but no, they had to be racist.

2) am i the only one EXTREMELY uncomfortable with junghwan and haruto being centers during the chorus? they’re fucking kids and i do not need to see slow motions of junghwan’s “seductive” face and i’ve seen haruto’s tongue more times than i’ve seen my best friend in the last month. it’s concerning. 

3) while i’m so fucking happy for asahi and yoshi and their increasing amount of lines, this is slowly getting ridiculous. doyoung is basically a hype man at this point with the amount and type of lines he gets. he’s supposed to be one of the main dancers but is nowhere to be seen during the dance break??? sure, jaehyuk owned i love you, but i barely saw him this video???? where is he???? i’ve already talked about jihoon, but let me talk about him again because what in the WORLD? i am very well aware that artistry should come before a fair line distribution, but folks, who are we kidding here? it’s obvious yg has bitten off more than they can chew and their producers don’t know how to work with more than seven people. 

all in all, fuck yg, stan treasure. the boys did an outstanding job once again, their company just doesn’t know what the fuck to do with them. hopefully they figure it out soon.