Posts by Varenka

  • Rate Aespa’s Title Tracks!

    Quote from Taemin-Identity

    Wow Supernova is last :pepe-back-away:

    Why didn’t you like Supernova?

    I actually drafted an initial list and then listened to each title track again before editing it and posting. "Supernova" was at the bottom both times. I find the chorus to be quite uninspired even annoying, and whenever I hear the song, I have the sense of waiting for the song to end rather than enjoying the song as I listen. I don't enjoy the sound of it, and I don't enjoy songs similar to it. It's a huge miss for me, but "Armageddon" saved the release.

  • IMHO NGDA by Taemin is the best album of all time among all K-pop soloists’ releases!

    I can listen to the rest of the songs you linked later today, but I'm okay with most genres and styles of music. I just didn't like the first three linked too much.

  • IMHO NGDA by Taemin is the best album of all time among all K-pop soloists’ releases!

    I listened to the first three songs and didn't like them. "Black Rose" started strong but then flopped for me. I agree with odhuk that Sejeong's Door is better. I'd also throw in Chungha's Bare&Rare, Pt. 1.


    Off the top of my head, my favorite soloist album of all time (in K-pop) is Heize's She's Fine.

  • Nugu comebacks / Debuts / Music Shows


    I had this recommended to me by Spotify about a month ago. It instantly went into my Favorites. Not in my top 100, but this song caught my curiosity. "Hurricane" isn't bad either. Looking forward to see there evolution as a group, but their start is good. I need to see them break past this sound that I feel like many failed groups have already tried though.

  • 2024 has been such a shitty kpop year

    Yeah, 2024 has been a let down for me as well. It's given me time to look into the generation's soloists and revisit older idols though. There's always a good song from heize, Cheeze, and Suryeon around. I've even had some time to finally catch up on my first gen backlog.


    And, of course, you can always explore other countries too. Once you dip your foot into foreign industries, it's quite easy to jump around. I also started adding J-pop and J-rock artists from my teenage years and more recent times onto my playlists during the slump, so I've been going back to catch up with High and Might Color, Ayumi Hamasaki, and Angela Aki while looking to others like Zutomayo. J-pop is never-ending, so if you're bored from K-pop, hop over there and get your fill.

  • Do you double or even triple message?

    Double or triple message? Like sending two or three texts in a row?


    Yeah, I do. I do that with family and friends. I also would do that with someone that I'm interested in speaking to if I want to set up a date or something. It's not really something to be embarrassed about. The issue isn't double or triple texting but with texting over a long period of time. If you send a texts between a few days, it's not so bad since the other person may just be a bad texter, but doing so multiple times over a week should indicate that they are very bad at texting (if you already know them) or they no longer want to engage (if dating). Of course, some people should just have the courtesy to be upfront, but some people don't have the manners to just be clear about it, so you have to guess sometimes.


    But yeah! Double or triple? A bit often, especially with people that I already know. If someone is ghosting you, it doesn't really matter if you double and triple without a reply. Accept it and move along.

  • What is the last thing that you spent cash on?

    I bought some acrons to buy some badges. I actually thought each badge was 500 acorns, but they turned out to be only 250 each, so I bought some extra badges that I can't use. I'm not sure what to do with my remaining acorns. But if I'm posting here, I may as well liven my posts lol

  • When dating in your country do you split the bill or pay full?

    In NYC, the guys usually pays. You'll often hear, "the one who asks the other person out pays," but the person asking is usually the guy anyway (dynamics differ in same sex dates obviously, but I can't speak to those). There are may foreign students and workers, and they also hold onto the traditional "guy pays." If you are dating a friend, then things can be flexible, but the man is expected to pay. I recently went on a date and the woman did offer to split, it's not a serious attempt since she actually also expected me to pay. It was just a friendly gesture. If I decided to allow the split, then there wouldn't have been a second date :kittea:

  • The best female soloist song this year

    In 2024? I liked the recent "Loop" by Yves


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    Seola's "Without You"


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    Siyeon's "Start Over"


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    Jini's "Starlight"


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    Hyuna's "Q&A" is probably by favorite so far


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  • What are characteristics of boy group marketed towards men?

    While I'm a big Gen 2 stan, I am not a big variety stan, and I'm not sure lots of men would be like that either. When I think of activities, I don't think seeing men doing physical activities alone would be an answer. From the male acts that I follow in the west and in J-pop, I don't actually know any activities that they do. They seem more low-key. They just make music that I like, which is why I like also why I follow the girlgroups that I do.


    I'm looking through my playlists: Eminem, Drake, Kanye, X Japan, Sunset Swift, Alejandro Sanz, Aqua Timez, Asheru, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Aventura, etc: I don't know any shows that they did. They just made good music, and they had their music played, and it was good. They made enough good music, I followed them.


    This may ruffle some feathers, but bg members just come off as feminine in how they are presented. I'm sure many are traditionally masculine and put on the act for the jobs, but they just come as more feminine in their styling: they would be called "pretty boys." A lot of artists popular with males wouldn't be described as such. They may be attractive, but they wouldn't be called a "pretty boy."


    I think a lot of guys wouldn't want to be known for following pretty boys because they may not want to be pretty boys. They want to follow "cool guys." Guys that exhibit traits that they would want, that talk about things they want. Thinking about it, I don't think activities would do anything? I don't know any activities that male singers do. They just make music.


    For what it's worth, women also just make music for me. I don't follow any activities besides music releases. I just asked some people that I know if they listen to singers of the opposite sex and why, and they all said because I like their music and their tones. Nothing to do with activities.

  • What are characteristics of boy group marketed towards men?

    I'm a guy, so maybe I can chime in. I mostly listen to female artists, but I do like some boygroup songs. Firstly, sonically, they're sounds need to appeal to men. I think this can easily be done and that there are songs that already appeal to men in terms of sound. A long time ago, a female worker tried to sell me on BTS, and the that she chose was BTS's "Mic Drop":


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    NCT U's "The 7th Sense" also works:

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    Or maybe Big Bang's "Bang Bang Bang"?


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    The songs don't need to sound like this exactly, but they can't sound like Seventeen's "Maestro":

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    I would even say P1Harmony's "Killin' It" is bordering on not too appealing:

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    Secondly, I wouldn't really try to use a boygroup, or at least I wouldn't call them a boygroup. Their activities need to fall in line with what men enjoy. There's nothing wrong with them looking good or even pretty, but their attitude and charisma need to be something that guys probably want either emulate or find appealing to follow along.


    Good music works too, but you need to give them a reason to stay really become fans. Like, I like some songs by Taylor Swift, but I wouldn't call myself a Taylor Swift fan. I just like a select few of her songs, but nothing else she does make me want to wait for the next release or even seems marketed towards me. I guess I would be a casual listener more so than a fan.


    And the messages in their songs need to have a more universal appeal, or at least target men in some way.

  • Is Kpop fading away in the west?

    It was always going to end up as a niche. Similar to the Chinese boom in the 80s-90s and the Japanese boom in the 90s-00s, where a lot of media from those areas surged in popularity. While Japanese video games managed to retain a foothold in the west, music from those countries faded away, though anime's following still keeps some ani-songs to mind.


    K-pop was never going to have sustained, lengthy popularity like Spanish-language music has in America at least: there are simply way more people into Spanish-language music here than there are k-pop fans even if it doesn't seem like it in day-to-day life, and that population that listens to Spanish-language music is rising. What k-pop needs to do is find a niche and retain enough fan support for it to still make sense to target the west. K-pop will always have some popularity with the generation that grew up during the fad phase, but it needs to find keep enough of the population engaged once that group of fans that initially got caught in the wave diversify their interests.


    Their biggest challenge is that their songs are primarily in Korean. They have things going for them such as have a system that breeds engaged fans among a sought after demographic that companies want to capture when they have more disposable income and social media to try and catch viral trends, but it was probably going to always remain a niche just because of the language barrier. Being niche isn't bad though as long as it makes financial sense to keep investing in that niche. That's an issue for Korean companies and stakeholders to think about. I-fans can still enjoy k-pop even if they stop focusing their marketing efforts in the west.

  • Fifty Fifty teasing new members

    Quote from atropos

    So it's true? Not sure if it's a good decision tho.....

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    If you're not debuting from the Big 4, then Fifty Fifty is probably one of the best situations you can debut in. Large base of people that already listen to "Cupid" on Spotify and YouTube will have their newest release recommended to them, so more ears will be tuned in as opposed to debuting in a complete nugu group.