MV Review | Lee Michelle - I Can Sing

The song

The guitar sounds good and groovy. I kinda like it. Her vocals were on point.

Now I don't understand why she didn't do a vocal performance thing on this song...you know, she says "I can sing" so that's what you could expect, a girl who would sing the hell out of this song, you know what I mean? 

Why did she make her "doom doom" part so short (from 1:25 to 1:35) ? THAT was the best part of the song to me, she was doing some RnB singing and I was like "yes, go ahead girl!" and then she sang the chorus and then rapped...you can sing girl, but why rapping? She's not bad at it, but c'mon, all of a sudden, a rap part...it didn't really suit the classy and groovy character of the song, in my opinion. 

This song was too soft, too "good girl" to me...when it could (should?) have been fierce and memorable.

It's a good song, but for the most part Michelle's songs sound too standard, too safe. They're not really exciting. But they probably sound like her, to be honest. She's said before that she's not adventurous or something like that. She's simple, and there's nothing wrong with that. But as a new artist trying to break into a saturated and highly competitive music industry (Kpop), you would expect her to show us something different in order to stand out, and be more visible in a sea of pale-skinned, thin sexy young women. 

Well, YES, she already stands out. She's thick, half black and doesn't show skin. She doesn't dance and she didn't dye her hair blond with blue contact lenses. Good. But still, music-wise her song is not outstanding; emotionally, vocally and visually.

She preferred to keep it cool and low-key, almost like an accoustic song.

The visuals

It's not a bad idea, it doesn't put Lee Michelle in the spotlight, you can see her but it's very subtle and sober with a playful light. I do worry a little bit about the reason being that she's not the "conventional Korean beauty"...which might be why they don't put day light emphasis on her face and body.

There are seats in front of her, but nobody is sitting to watch her sing. How sad you'd say, but that's interesting, she knows she's not super famous, she knows she has few fans and is just debuting as an artist. She's (still) introducing herself and proving herself.

I like that she doesn't look thin. She has nice legs. Her outfit is good but it kinda makes her look older or too serious. The necklace is great, the pants and shoes too. 

But it saddens me a little to see her hair like that. Korean hairdressers don't really seem to know how to handle kinky or frizzy hair (cf. Michelle's promotional pics). Now, she probably doesn't give a shit about that, she's probably fine with her hair this way, and if that's the case then I shouldn't say anything. 

MV Review | Cheetah - My Number

I wouldn't say that I was disappointed, I didn't have expectations to begin with and I'm not a fan of her. Still, I know she's a good rapper as I've watched Unpretty Rapstar.

What do I think of this MV?

Too Kpop for my taste. Flashy colors, pink, yellow, no story. The only good point was the Pinky Cheeks dancers. Oh, that and the "men use half naked women as props, lemme do the same but with men on my promotional pic". That's how I understood it (I kinda like this tongue-in-cheek thing) though I also get a feeling of usng drags as props as in a way to make a buzz and get more views...
The song is "meh", I'm not fond of the saxophone and it's not catchy as a whole, no hook. The lyrics are basic. Cheetah's flow was kinda boring too, not much energy in it.

It's funny how Cheetah's fans reacted to this...they're all like "But why didn't she show all she can do? Why does this MV look Kpop and not Hip Hop or badass? She can do better!"

Lol. I get you folks. But Kpop doesn't give a shit about badass female rappers. If so you would have already seen solo badass female rappers on the mainstream scene (which means Kpop) and on the charts. But that's not the case, right? No, CL is NOT badass. She SAYS she is. Nuance.
Kpop has a mold and it wants all of its artists to fit in with a certain image, a certain sound. It's all about toning down the strong ones so that they can still be palatable to the mainstream audience, and hyping up the weak ones so that they look decent and kind of talented.

No surprise here. Cheetah's no exception to Kpop's mold. Though I must say I was a little bit surprised  that she decided to start off with pop instead of Hip Hop. Usually Hip Hop artists do it the other way....like a natural "evolution" as an artist (which means getting a bigger fanbase). But the thing is, why would she be seen as an Hip Hop artist? Because she can be kinda badass in reality TV show Unpretty Rapstar? As a matter of fact, AOA's Jimin did too. And she's an idol, she's not Hip Hop.
So, unless Cheetah releases a full Hip Hop album, I won't consider her a Hip Hop rapper. She'll just be a Kpop rapper in my opinion. Which is fine. I'm not talking about talent here. But there's a difference and we shouldn't mix the 2. Rapping doesn't equate Hip Hop. Period.
And to those who are already calling her "Queen" and "at Yoon Mi Rae's level"...folks, get real. She has released like ONE Kpop song, where's her album? Just wait for her to show consistency before snatching Tasha's crown.

J-dramas - The suicide issue

Now I'm going to "rant" about something I noticed in a recent drama. A woman in her early twenties (she was probably a bit younger) was admitted in a hospital because she tried to kill herself. She doesn't want to be treated, she doesn't want to see a therapist so the medical staff gets mad at her and bluntly tells her that the hospital is for people who want to live and that if she really wants to kill herself again (which she does) she should find a way to not bother people in any way.
This was a very insensitive remark from a doctor, I don't like it. That and making the girl look like an immature and spoiled drama queen who just got heartbroken. Suicide is a serious issue in Japan, there have the highest (or close to that) rate of suicides in the world. Writting such a script is ridiculous and insensitive. I mean, their high suicide rate isn't all about mere heartbreaks, this is obvious. Why not talking about the more serious issues of the nation, right?
The collective spirit tend to prevail over the individual, especially in Japan it seems, which means individuals should think about the comfort of the group before their own. The thing is, it is impossible to not bother people. Impossible. Where can she die without bothering people ? In her appartment ? She'll make it hard for the landlord to sell it later. In the street ? She'll shock random people. Our mere own existence bothers those around us to an extent. If people really valued life and are against suicide, they would be more empathetic to depressive and suicidal people in order to listen to them and make them feel heard and non judged.

My selection of dramas

I like watching dramas but I've become very selective now.
Here's my top 15 for Korean dramas and Japanese dramas.

South Korea
1. The End of The World
2. A Wife's Credentials
3. Dal Ja's Spring
4. White Christmas
5. It's Okay It's Love
6. Bridal Mask (Gaksital)
7. My lovely Sam Soon
8. Daughters of Bilitis Club
9.The Queen's Classroom
10. History of A Salaryman
11. Vampire Prosecutor S1& 2
12. Misaeng
13. I Need Romance 1

Future special mention (probably): Oh, and...I've been watching "Yoo Na's Street" so I'll finish this drama in July and see if I add it to my top 13.


Japan
1. Saikou no Rikon
2. Kazoku Game
3. Mondai no Restaurant
4. Soredemo, Ikite Yuku
5. Woman
6. Kazokugari
7. I'm Home
8. The Queen's Classroom
9. Nodame Cantabile
10. Doctor X (the 3 seasons)
11. Kimi wa Petto
12. Otoko demo Onna demo nai sei
13. Othros no Inu
14. Dragon Zakura
15. Date

Special mention: "Hirugao" and "Sutekina Taxi". They were entertaining and had a clear concept but not that great. I did like the creative theme (you know, when they pause the drama in the middle with the theme song), as well as the characters :) I enjoyed these 2 dramas, especially "Sutekina Taxi" because of the ending and the message, as well as the acting of the lead actor who was quite funny.
I'm going to watch "Iryu"...so be prepared for a future addition to my Top 13 :)

Not exactly in that order, but I really like all of those in that list.

Is it me or J-dramas have more of an emotional growth focus than K-dramas?

K-dramas are all about showing strong emotion: anger, jealousy, revenge, bitterness, humiliation, love, greed, worry, frustration...
But most of the time they don't openly focus on the emothional growth of the character... in romance genres and sometimes revenge genre too. It's like the Charming Prince will come our way and fix everyting just by being handsome and rich and clingy-stalkerish.

What I also like with J-dramas is that they don't always shy away from broaching some "delicate" topics...a serial killer couple that kills families, a family actually falling apart, moms cheating on their husband, feeling like your spouse is a stranger, sexism in the workplace, a woman who stock her years-old trash all over her house, a woman who hits her child, a female teenager who sleeps with middle-age men for money ...

What I also like is the novelty in choosing unusual personality/life experience types (a tall thin woman who's an overachiever who doesn't care about dating nor in love, NEET, Otaku, orphan, a girl who was born without a gender, a young mother who has cut ties with her mom, etc).
It doesn't happen all the time, but sometimes it does and it's refreshing.

As for K-dramas, I like the intensity when it's positive or well-conveyed. I also enjoy the little things displayed between a couple...like everyday life, it's cute, funny and relatable.

I do think that J-dramas kinda have this rigid, perfect recipe taste, it tastes good but not passionate (even if it tries to) nor very natural in general (though my Top 5 Jdrama list does have passion and rawness in my opinion). While K-dramas have an addictive taste that have strong (emotional scenes) and very bland flavors (OST, Chaebol memes, and unnecessary scenes) at the time, which makes you feel conflicted: bored, irritated and excited.

These days I've been more into Jdramas, maybe because I'm less patient and want to watch slightly less conventional dramas.