It's A Hot Summer For K-pop!

Summer time has come and with the release of the single and repackaged album Hot Summer by f(x) it looks like this season is going to hotter than ever!

Finding love in the summer sun!

After winning performance after performance on various Korean TV music shows and racking up award after award, f(x) has released their repackaged album Hot Summer. Available both in Korea and on itunes in the United States it contains all of the songs from their first full album Pinocchio and also two new songs Hot Summer and ...Is It Ok?

Fans will also be overjoyed to see previous singles La Cha Ta and Chu♡ on the repackaged release as well seeing as the singles were originally released a year ago.

The previous single Pinocchio (Danger) was just released on April 18th and f(x) has been touring with SM Town which recently played a concert in Paris, France. Despite the fact that none of the acts have ever released any music there the concert still managed to sell out 14,000 tickets in just two days. You can watch the live f(x) performance here.

Fashion, fun, great vocals, and slick dance moves

While the song Hot Summer is a cover, the original of which was done by German band Monrose, fans don't seem to care much and the video is quickly earning more and more views on YouTube after being released just yesterday June 17th.

f(x) has already done two live performances of the song on Music Bank and Music Core. All while dancing and wearing heels that would make most music stars scream for mercy. Well except for Amber Liu who's tomboyish looks favored a pair of stylish sneakers instead.

It's good to see SM Entertainment giving more attention to fans overseas and releasing songs from their artists on itunes.

I already have my copy so go out and get yours today!

1st Album Review: Pinocchio by f(x)

Korean girl group f(x) has gained fans all over Korea and all over the world thanks to their unique look and unique combination of singers. With the release of their very first official album f(x) is performing and winning awards left and right, but how do their new songs stack up to all this hype? I'm a huge f(x) fan and was extremely excited to get this album into my hands. So here we go.



Pinocchio is here!


The album Pinocchio opens with their single Danger. This edgy pop song is quickly gaining views on YouTube and the video has a great style as well as a bright background to highlight the girls changing fashion styles. Its a great song and while it may not be stuck in your head for days, its still worth buying. Some might view the lyrics as redundant but I feel that this factor helps to add to the songs appeal.

Luna's voice really shines through on the song, but its lacking in that Amber doesn't rap more than one line. Her rapping would have helped the song stand out more, instead it falls somewhat flat since she doesn't get a singing part the way the other girls do.

After that is the song Sweet Witches. This very upbeat tone doesn't do much to lift your spirits and the opening synth beat just feels way out of place. f(x) carries a very urban pop feel but instead this song delivers a sugary sweet pop feel that just doesn't fit in with their look, much less their vocals. We really could have done without this song.




f(x) is ready to add a little Danger to your life


Third on this album is Dangerous. This song is more upbeat and less edgy then the title would have you believe and the first verses could easily turn you off, but give this song and chance and you'll find yourself singing along and driving around town like a super spy out on a mission. The high pitched singing voices the girls churn out do seem a little off putting at times though. Listen to it a few times, however, and it proves itself to be a good song. Not great, but good.

Fourth is the song Beautiful Goodbye. As one of only two ballads on the song it doesn't quite reach the same emotional heights as Sorry (Dear Daddy) from the first mini album. However, it does a good job of showing off the girls great singing voices and proves that there are kpop groups out there that can sing instead of relying on overly auto tuned song lyrics. Beautiful Goodbye is a soothing rhythm that shows you how good these girls really are when it comes to singing. The combination comes together beautifully on this song.

Gangsta Boy is up next but instead of the edgy tune in the same flavor as Mr. Boogie it is actually a rather stripped down song with a simpler melody then the first song Danger. I wasn't a fan of it at first but after listening to it a couple times I think its a great song although Luna's staple high note seems a bit unnecessary and the cheesy final bridge/verse will make you bust out laughing rather than actually enjoy the song. The ending ruined it a bit for me my taking the sugary sweet tone that is so out of place with the style f(x) portrays.

f(x) is out to win the Love of their fans

The 6th song Love. It may be sweet with a few sprinkles on top but for the first time on this album it actually works out pretty well. It brings back a little bit of the pop feel that f(x) is supposed to have and while it's not the best song I've heard from my girls at f(x), that doesn't mean it isn't worth playing.

Stand Up! falls into the same category as Sweet Witches. It's trying to showcase how cute and pretty the girls are without much success. Its so sweet you can barely stand it. Just skip this one.

Almost to the end of the album we have the funky song My Style to help round out the album. As a reminder of some of their past songs this one is actually a favorite of mine. The verses and chorus are perfect and the girls vocals all make this song a great one. Amber switches things up by rapping entirely in English this time and that gives this one that extra kick it needs to stand out.

As the last ballad on the album you'll find that the song So Into U is one of the best songs off the album. Amber actually gets a chance to sing on this album instead of just showing up to rap a few lines towards the end and then disappearing again. Her part is towards the beginning and will certainly shut up anyone foolish enough to question her singing abilities. Not only can Amber hold a note in tune, but she does it very well. Luna's high note seems thrown in just because she's good at it, but aside from that this is a great song. Not quite at single status but it tries hard to get there.

f(x) is winning performances left and right

Finally we have Lollipop featuring boy band and label mates SHINee. Actually this is the Korean remake of the same song that f(x) did with Chinese group MIC. Much as I love my boys from SHINee Lollipop actually might have been a better song without them. Onew has a great voice and his part is the best part of this song, but the others' just don't quite come together. That said this song is going to be stuck in your head for some time once you listen to it and your finger will keep itching to hit the replay button.

f(x) is a great group that is overflowing with potential, unfortunately this album doesn't do much to prove that. SM Entertainment is known for mixing things up, but they should have stuck with the style that made f(x) popular in the first place.

Overall this album gets a 3.5 out of 5. Pretty good album, but it certainly could have been better.

New Releases of the Year Part 1

It would seem that this is the year of the music. Tons of artists around the world either have or are preparing to release new songs, singles, or full length albums. From the United States all the way over to South Korea the music charts are being dominated by talented young stars.

First up is Lady Gaga.


Lady Gaga is the new Queen of Pop


Her real name is Stefani Germanotta, but now legions of "Little Monsters" know her as Lady Gaga, or just Gaga as she prefers to be called. After joining Streamline Records and writing songs for fellow label artists, she was signed to Akon's label Kon Live Distribution. It was in 2008 that Lady Gaga released a record her own titled The Fame and emerged on the scene with her first smash hit Just Dance. The rest as they say is history.

Following up with The Fame Monster in 2009, Gaga then went on another worldwide tour. When it finishes up this May it will have run for over one and a half years. Now we have the latest single of her new album called Born This Way which sold 1 million copies in just 5 days making it the fastest selling single in iTunes history. Today her fans were surprised with an early release of the next single Judas and Gaga's next full length album is scheduled for a May 23rd release.

Continuing the pop line up is are some girls that have shown us all what it really means to be a fan. Naturally we're talking about fans of the Korean girl group f(x) who nearly started a revolution when one of the members, Amber, disappeared off the radar due to a sprained ankle.



These five girls are gonna rock the kpop scene all over again!

After months of agonizing wait, fans around the world will finally get the comeback they have been dying for. While a teaser video for their new single Danger has been released the full video will be posted to the official SM Entertainment YouTube page on April 18th followed by the album release on April 20th.

The alternating rapping style of Amber combined with the sweet pop vocals of the other girls Luna, Krystal, Sulli, and Victoria provides a unique twist on the all too familiar girl group that idea that is currently overflowing in the Korean pop market.

Already the teaser is generating tons of interest and fans are more excited then ever to see their girls back in action with the same strong pop sound and fashion sense that made them popular in the first place. If fan dedication and parodies are anything to go by then the girls of f(x) are on their way to even greater stardom and popularity.

Now lets move on to Japan.

Electropop rock doesn't come in any flavor other then LM.C

Another upcoming single release is by the Japanese visual kei group known as LM.C. Playing a mix of rock and electronic pop, all you have to do is listen to any of their songs to see just what it is that sets them apart from all the other bands. Its hard to define their style exactly but Maya and Aiji, the main part of the group, have labeled themselves New Century Electrorock

After posting the video for Super Duper Galaxy to their Facebook page for several days the video was taken down leaving fans eager to get their hands on the new song. Originally set for a March 30th release, the next single Super Duper Galaxy was pushed back to May 18th after the massive earthquake in Japan.

This is just a small sample of some groups that are releasing music this year. We have plenty more bands to cover so look for Part 2 and possibly a Part 3 coming this weekend.

New Blood: f(x) is Back!

When they first appeared on the music scene known as Korean pop it would have been easy to dismiss them as just another girl group.

After all "k-pop", as it is more commonly known, is a heavily saturated market filled with boy and girl groups singing their hearts out and dancing to slick electronic beats in front of their fans. Some are better than others and there seems to be a new group practically every month.

Then came f(x) with their debut video LA chA TA.


f(x) is ready to take the Korean pop scene with a vengeance! 

Sure they had the looks, but they clearly had the dance moves as well as the vocals to back up their wonderfully executed video and music. These were not overly auto-tuned notes that so many more established groups were using.

The one thing that really caught people's attention was... the boy dancing in the background? Wait a minute here!



This is no ordinary girl group

Second glance shows never to judge a book by its cover. That's no boy dancing there in the background. It was none other then the tomboy known as Amber. This girl wasn't just a singer... she was a rapper and a darn good one at that as this video of her freestyling shows.

Now these girls really had something really special. It's not every day you see a girl group with a rapper in it after all. Much less one as good as her.

Alone they would have been successful, but look at any f(x) music video and you'll see dozens if not hundreds of comments about Amber.

Clearly more handsome then beautiful and certainly more boyish then the other girls, Amber makes up a significant part of why this group is so successful. Not only does she stand out, but she also fits in with the other girls and they all work together to form a group that certainly deserves all the attention they have received since their debut in September 2009.

Their second single was the song Chu and helped show off their unique style and cohesion as a group. They were certainly on the right track and they also did a cover of SNSD's song Chocolate Love which doubled as a promo for a cell phone.

Finally there came the song NU ABO. The title implied "new blood" since ABO refers to the various blood types. Combined with the lyrics the song was meant to signify that f(x) was here to put some new blood into the k-pop industry and this single was by far the most stylish and captivating beat yet.

When you first watch it and hear the song its very different from other k-pop songs and you can't help but watch it through to the end. All of the girls shine through in this video and with nearly 4 million views on YouTube it's certainly doing pretty well.

It is the first video listed when you search for their name on YouTube and this video really helps to highlight the girls singing, dancing, Amber's rapping and the fact that they really are infusing the saturated k-pop industry with a fresh sound and different look.

But things took a sour turn when Amber hurt her ankle during a performance and went back home to the USA so she could recover and regain strength. These things happen and no one would have thought much of it... except that it took so long for news of her recover and return to the group to come that fans started to worry.


Is f(x) even complete as a group without Amber?

Worry soon turned to irritation and then to outright outrage. Amber's fans demanded to know where she was and what had happened to her. It shouldn't take months for a sprained ankle to heal should it?

The fact that their label SM Entertainment put out videos showing the other four girls, minus Amber, did nothing to reassure them. Weeks turned into months and then nearly a year as news trickled out at a maddeningly slow pace. Even after it was announced and confirmed that Amber would be returning there were few pictures or videos of her aside from a promo shoot for K-Swiss.

http://www.allkpop.com/ even put out an "Amber Alert" article about the situation that highlighted everything f(x) fans were currently agonizing over.

SM Entertainment finally squashed the rumors once and for all when all five members were featured in the latest edition of Maire Claire magazine. Classier then ever and a bit more mature they looked ready to take on the music world once again and a new album is set to debut sometime this spring or summer.



It's a new year with new looks, but f(x) is the same group as before.

Finally fans were assured that their favorite rapping tomboy was still in the group and that all the girls were sticking together. It's hard to make a splash in the k-pop industry considering how many pop groups their are. Yet the claim f(x) made of infusing some "new blood" into the music industry wasn't just proud boasting after all.

These girls have got talent and it only took one of them to cause an outrage of massive proportions among fans.

All of f(x)'s fans eagerly await their new music and keep our their group title in mind as well. That (x) is a variable. It represents the different talents of each girl and the way their sound may vary in the future, but no matter what happens their fans will stick by them with a tenacity unseen with any other group.

The first mini album by f(x) is currently available on itunes.