Posts by centen

SNSD's Japanese discography is so strong that even for a decent bop, this is on the weaker end of the spectrum for me.

My favorite's actually a Japanese release:

They left their Korean company, but are still signed to their Japanese one. They've put out a couple of albums in Japan since. Here's another recent-ish song:

Just shy of 11 years. My friend was into kpop and I agreed to listen to a couple songs just to make her shut up. I didn't really like the first couple, but then she shared Lucifer and I agreed it was pretty good.

Fell into a rabbit hole with SHINee, discovering FT Island, MBLAQ, Big Bang, etc. and since there's always new music to check out, I'm still here!

Him listening to KARD's Gunshot is what made me give it a second listen, and now I'm addicted. So good!

Miserably hot. We were supposed to get rain yesterday, but it sprinkled for maybe five minutes, and that was it. 102 F (39 C) today, so just chilling in front of the vent.

I don't like super hot days; they make me feel sleepy.

Quote from sanas-armpits

Because actual musicians make music that’s interesting enough to stand on its own without all the glitz and extras like choreography

Artists like Kanye or Kendrick have more talent in their pinky toes than 99% of idols, even if they don’t dance.

As for soloists like Lizzo or Adele, their voices are strong enough to carry the entire performance even if they’re not moving. Idols are not the same.

And even for vocalists, they can still PERFORM.

Even with a full stage, you just want to look at Lizzo. Girl slays.

The number of idols who spend years trying to learn what she has in her bones.

Eh, it's not really apples and oranges, because most kpop idols need to be passable enough at most things, whereas a western soloist has to be all the things. Dua Lipa sings the entire song, is the face and visual, and dances/performs. A basic idol just has to be cute enough, dance well enough, and sing or rap well enough for their 20 seconds in the song (if that). If they're lacking, the others in the group cover... which is all the more apparent when they go solo and you can see how many of them really can't stand on their own.

I think the fandom's just quiet because they haven't had a full comeback since 2019. When they come back and slay again, there will be buzz here too.

What you say? I don't recall~

Agreeing with the others, but to comment on something different: very surprised at an idol couple that went through a major scandal and somehow came out the other side of it with way more support. (Hyuna & E'Dawn) I'm sure it would have turned out differently if they were dating more casually and broken up, but they've really gotten people to root for them.

Usually, at best, you get fans that are either indifferent to the scandal in the first place (e.g. SJ's Shindong) or the idol releases an apology and then just... kind of ignores it as best they can.

Yeah, I've thought about selling off my physical collection, because neither my computer nor my car have a CD disc drive anymore. I even asked about getting a CD player in the car, and was told they don't make them standard with one anymore.

Unfortunately, the reality is that, these days, they have to come out of the gate very strong, or they'll just get lost in the chaos of how many groups there are.

I am chuckling a bit about some of the examples of groups who didn't "debut on a high level." NU'EST, for a very long time, had the most viewed boy group debut MV, and KARD's Oh Nana was very popular right away, arguably the most successful co-ed kpop group ever (certainly internationally).

Quote from Pearl-Iris

Yup, in TXT, hyung line is more chaotic while maknae line is chill hehe

What content of theirs have you watched? Considering you know about Yeonjun's competitiveness

It was some clips from After School, I think? There was one where they had to play a game by shouting their name out (so how I know who Yeonjun is, lol), and Huening Kai seemed content to let the others panic at trying to win.

Quote from Pearl-Iris

You mean Huening Kai? he's our maknae.

Yes! He definitely didn't give me the standard "evil maknae" vibes, but I didn't watch that many videos, so if I'm wrong!

I like some of their songs. I don't really dislike any of their songs, though Magic is probably my least favorite song they've promoted. It's a little disappointing to me that it's pushed so much when I Know I Love You is my favorite promotional song they've ever released and it's just all going on at the same time, ahh~

I don't have strong opinions on the members. I've seen a few clips in YouTube recommendations, and the gist I've gotten is that Yeonjun is very competitive to an annoying degree, and the guy who currently has blond hair seems kind of reserved. But that's about all I've gleaned.

Oh, a good set of songs, this is hard. I'll go with: Fancy > Psycho > KTL

I generally think:

1. They're people, so they will make mistakes and their mistakes will probably look different from your mistakes; every fact that you know, you have learned at some point, even if it was so long ago you don't remember it. I try to be cautious about faulting for someone for "not knowing" something that "everyone knows." Relevant comic.

2. People can act differently with people. It can be both true that Idol is a jerk to PersonA and is a nice person to PersonB. Just because PersonB says that Idol never acted like that with them and they "can't believe it!" that doesn't discount PersonA's experiences. And given that I don't actually know any of the people involved, it's not my place to make commentary on what someone is thinking in their head; I can only comment and judge on their acts.

2A. It's generally good to learn that no one knows what's going on in your head and people can only observe and judge the things you say and do. You may have a narrative about yourself that no one around you would agree with (positive or negative; maybe you go around telling yourself how worthless you are, but other people would say you're amazing and helpful).

Dang, this year is just zooming by. This feels a couple weeks old, at most.