MIKEYxPOP

It’s been almost a year since Cube Entertainment darlings CLC’s last comeback with “Black Dress.” 

If you know anything about the K-Pop industry, you know that’s way too long. Often times even smaller groups will make two comebacks a year. It’s no secret that these girls don’t seem to get the treatment they deserve: their company seems to favor new rookie girl group (G)I-DLE, giving them three major successful projects last year. On top of that, their supposed late 2018 comeback title track was given to I*ZONE’s debut, the fact that “La Vie En Rose” was one of the biggest girl group songs of late last year seemed to be more salt in the wound of a talented but neglected group. After Cube’s biggest money maker HyunA was (stupidly) dropped after dating scandals, netizens were wary of what would become of CLC’s activities.

Luckily, this comeback is nothing short of a big, fat yes.

“No” off of the cleverly titled No. 1 follows the badass/girl crush concept that CLC has confidently taken on since 2017′s excellent “Hobgoblin,” fitted with a mature but fresh look and sonic aesthetic. Sounding like a EXID banger with a 4Minute edge. Before we delve into that, let’s just clarify a few things:

Red lip?

No.

Earrings?

No.

High heel?

No.

Hand bag? 

No.

Are there cats in Korea?

Yeah, there are cats in Korea.

Got it? Good. “No” kicks off with some stern kiss offs to your wardrobe staples. Black dresses only! Step aside, “I Like It” because this is the group’s sassiest track ever. Main rapper Yeeun shines on this track as she tosses her verses over the grinding synths and industrial bass, this was her concept to dominate for sure. Sorn looks as cool and unbothered as ever, really seeming to shine with this concept. Elkie and Seunghee’s vocals soar on the urgent chorus, recalling the best of EXID’s hook. “I love me, walk like me, come on try if you want,” bad bitch anthem to the max. Cut scenes featuring the members confidently strutting through flashing lights and quite literally burying feminine cliches speak for itself.

(P.S. - did anyone think anything in particular about the box of burning roses?) 

Innocent? Sexy? Aegyo? Next. No need to be boxed in as if your identity can be defined with a single word. The K-Pop market tends to want to label girl groups with an easily digestible summary, but while this is a far throw from a game-changer, it’s great to see groups explicitly break down that wall.

Oh, and pretending to be nice? A definite NO.

Mind you, this is still not their official debut, because of course not. This is merely a lead single to prep fans for the title track of their official debut. (In American - this is the buzz track before the actual lead single.)

Still confused? Loona is a k-pop girl group under indie label Blockberry Creative. The group is a multiple year long, multimillion dollar project. Each of the 12 members debuted beforehand with their own single (and often stellar b-side) and video. Every 3-4 girls would also become a subunit with their own single/video, mini album (EP) and rerelease, except for YeoJin... who’s lost in the forest. Keep up. Each song and video has woven an intricate backstory for the group in their own world(s): The Loonaverse. Which takes place on a Möbius strip with at least three different planes, some of the girls have superpowers, some of them can travel universes by eating fruit, some are gay as hell, and one of them is an android. Don’t get it? Doesn’t matter. What matters is that all of them are incredibly talented, have proven their capability as a solo star already, and are gearing up to kick ass.

Got that? *Grimes voice* Okay! Let’s goo!

Enter “favOriTe,” the first sweet taste of what the Blockberry Creative group has to offer. After 12 solo singles and five (plus some change) subunit singles, it seemed nearly impossible that the fully waxed Loona would exceed or even meet expectations.

HeeJin, HyunJin, HaSeul, YeoJin, ViVi, Kim Lip, JinSoul, Choerry, Yves, Chuu, GoWon, and Olivia Hye did just that.

That being said, it’s not a game-changer. Don’t come for me just yet, Orbit. “favOriTe” is by no means a #vers switch up bop like “Love Cherry Motion” or a eurodance-flavored discobanger like “Eclipse,” “new,” or “Egoist.” While nearly all of Loona’s predebut material is innovative, unexpected, and takes you on a twist, this lead single takes you on their biggest surprise yet: something classic. It still incorporates the early pop recalls of 1/3, the bossy girl crush of Odd Eye Circle, and the all-encompassing ultimate feeling of yyxy. It’s taking something that’s been done, and elevating it how only Loona can.

“favOriTe” is pure pop. It’s a sassy 90s throwback a la 2Jin’s “I’ll Be There,” with the brassiness of Chuu’s “Heart Attack” and the commanding presence of JinSoul’s “Singing in the Rain” with the oh-my-god-my-face-is-melting effervescence of Odd Eye Circle’s “Girl Front.” It sounds like the bold storming single a group like Girls Generation would come back with, or something a current girl group like Weki Meki could debut with, yet it sounds like none of the aforementioned at all.

Introduced with a spoken word intro that got “Gee” shook, horn blasts that Ailee would die for, and an attitude that left Blackpink wigless, “favOriTe” really doesn’t pull any punches. “Let’s get it,” declares HeeJin, and get it they did (Pristin V would be proud). Bells and whistles (the brrrrrrr-ah in the background anyone?) adorn the entire rollercoaster ride of a song. The verses and chorus stay punchy and the dance break raises the energy even more, but it’s when the music drops in the second prechorus and the bridge and allows the members sweet vocals to coo and charm the audience that really take the highs even higher.

The song has a bossiness that reads as androgynous, it wouldn’t be too much of a reach to imagine EXO or possibly Seventeen hopping on it, but the girls really do help it to shine. Each subunit’s debut girl of the month - HeeJin, Kim Lip, Yves - definitely takes a significant charge in vocal parts. Fan favOriTes JinSoul and Olivia Hye take a significant lead as well, and each has shown considerable growth from their debut. In fact all the girls have, pulling off one of the more interesting choreographies I’ve seen in k-pop girl groups. The large number of members is utilized beautifully, with great use of levels and formations. The dancing is, as HaSeul would rate, a solid 20/10. The confidence and commitment to every move is seen and it’s hard not to want to puff out your chest like a proud blurry faced crew member.

As we eagerly await Loona’s 11th girl and Twice’s first out of 20 comebacks this year, Sunmi, of Wonder Girls royalty, is kicking off 2018 triumphantly. “Heroine” is described as a prequel to her exhilarating 2017 single “Gashina,” but follows a much sweeter and familiar pop delivery.

Now that’s not a bad thing at all, the single finds it’s place as a mashup of The Veronicas’ post-”In Your Blood” transformation and Cheryl’s enduring anthem “Fight For This Love.” What does this mean? It mean’s Sunmi is a fucking gay icon. The lyrics, however, are nowhere near as cheerful.

“Even if that makes me hurt, even if it’s a sad ending, the show must go on,” Sunmi declares over a growing brass-pumped instrumental produced by veteran YG hitmaker Teddy Park, lamenting to an emotionally absent lover. With two effective verses and choruses, “Heroine” takes us on an journey from bitter resentment to disenchanted acceptance, interluded with a trop-house breakdown.

As “Gashina” suggested, Sunmi is no short of an absolute visual goddess, and this year she’s taking it to new heights. Between the rain-drenched bookends of the video, “Heroine” is an absolute feast for the eyes of color, fashion, and the singer’s unique performance style. It’s clean cut K-Pop choreo (with an homage to Red Velvet’s instantly iconic “Peek-A-Boo”), dramatic duets, and the return of Sunmi’s committed interpretive dance. As metaphoric as K-Pop always is, we’re taken through her performing vacantly for and with her man, while at the end she’s dancing on her own on a beautiful club-like stage. “You must go on,” she sings in the very end, as if singing to herself. It’s a bit of a heartshaker, if you will. 

Bruno Mars is one of those male pop stars that have great success with the charts because they make crowd pleasing songs but at the same time he kind of deserves it because it really is really great.

“24K Magic,” produced by The Stereotypes and Shampoo Press & Curl, follows Mars’ massive success with his Unorthodox Jukebox era and his 1.5 SuperBowl halftime shows, and feels like the perfect follow up to unstoppable reigns of hits like “Treasure” and “Uptown Funk,” featuring the same disco-funk sound that carried them to the stop of the charts. It’s the lead single off of the album of the same title, out November 18th, which is sure to produce probably at least 3 #1 singles.

The single, however, is way more unhinged. The same way Macklemore took the sound of “Thrift Shop” and blew it up into the larger-than-life “Downtown,” Bruno Mars took what everyone was expecting and allowed that idea to blossom into an explosion of gold. Featuring little to none of the raw vocals that have fans touting him as one of the best male vocalists on radio today (not a totally inaccurate statement), instead favoring spoken word that carries the song on high-octane swag alone and heavily-autotuned lyrics executed so well that it tips the song onto the right end of the tricky fence that determines whether a song is caviar or chum.

But Bruno Mars putting out this single wasn’t really a risk at all. The guy is somewhat of a mastermind in today’s pop scene that he knew exactly what he was doing. Everything was so smartly executed in this single that it’s more of a display of power, not only about Mars’ large bank accounts or name-checked brands, but on how he has the whole radio scene in the palm of his hands. He didn’t even have to make another quirky music video with expensive sets, rolling around the streets of Vegas is enough because he can steal the hearts of millions all over again on charisma alone.

Shout out to Piece of Me getting a cameo in this video though.

It’s 2016, the sound of the radio has taken a turn of late. While a banger can appear at the upper heights of the charts from time to time, audiences that once preferred dizzying club stormers are now stepping out for a breath of fresh air in the form of darker, moodier, and something more urban.

While Britney Spears has been a champion of radio time and time again, even she has to change up the formula in a time when attention spans are shortened to seven seconds. Enter “Make Me...”

“Fri-day, I’m dreaming a mile a minute ‘bout somebo-deh…” muses a little pop star lost in thought. Britney Jean promised a return of Vocalney that never happened, with most the album dripping in autotune with a few exceptions that saw the singer pushed a bit to her outer limits. “Make Me…” sounds like she’s absolutely in the zone, dancing through her lower range and purring into her falsetto with ease and confidence. “You’re the flame I can’t do without, the fire comes in, the sky falls down,” this is the Britney we’ve lost to phoned-in takes for almost a decade and it’s refreshing to hear someone so present in the music again. Those Louisiana-raised, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse-trained, and pop legend-famed voice is front and center with no bells, whistles, or Myahs to drown it out.

What do we have if not an army of bells and whistles then? Right off the bat, “Make Me,” produced and co-written by English DJ Burns, sounds nothing like a Britney Spears lead single. Ask most any person walking down the street, the voice is unmistakably familiar but the sound is uncharted territory. We’re led off with electronic keyboard and the distant electronic squelches scattered through radio today, it sounds like Sevyn Streeter’s breezy summer bop “It Won’t Stop” stepping into the territory of Justin Bieber’s Purpose and Selena Gomez’s Revival era. Then it’s almost as if Britney commands the production as she sings “I just want you to make me move, like it ain’t a choice for you, like you got a job to do” when the beat comes in and starts rushing.

“And make me oooh, oooh, ooooh, oooh,” truly something sensational. Surrounded by feathery synths and supported by a descending guitar riff recalling Mariah Carey’s “#Beautiful” that grounds the almost futuristic sounds, that hook is a ray of light in the form of a club remix waiting to happen. 

(Also amazing moment? That little “oooh yeah” before the first two choruses.)

Last year’s “Pretty Girls” release saw Britney diving right into DJ Mustard-lite sounds and attempting to replicate the success of collaborator Iggy Azalea’s success with “Fancy,” and it came across as way too obvious and unfortunately too trite. “Make Me…” is a return to form, we’ve seen her embrace slinky R&B before, but this single finds itself as a perfect crossroads of many elements that breathe new life into it. We even got a rapper upgrade! G-Eazy steps in for a verse referencing Vegas, Penelope Cruz, and a nod to Ariana Grande’s most excellent Dangerous Woman.

“Make Me…” is yet another cornerstone landmark in the ever growing legacy of Britney Spears, and while it isn’t telling us to dance till the world ends or work bitch, it’s not a surprise the queen of pop is still able to produce music that can make us “oooh.”

If you thought Selena was done with the club during the Revival era, you were incorrect: she’s just getting started. “Me & The Rhythm,” if the title doesn’t give it away, is yet another dancefloor anthem for the 23 year old starlet.

“Ooh, all the rhythm takes you over, takes you to a different place, a different space,” is an appropriate opening line for a song as infectious as this, but don’t confuse the heat of the song with the heat of anything else, this is a strictly #DontNeedNoMan jam penned by the dream team of Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter.

And everybody wants to be touched Everybody wants to get some But don't you play a song about love When I move my body I don't have to talk about none Let the chemicals do it's stuff 'Til the energy is too much

Stars Dance this is not. The promotional single sees the artist at her most musically sleek and mature. It’s Kylie Minogue meets Robyn, a pop vision of ecstasy. Up and coming Swedish masterminds Mattman & Robin’s production pours in like a smooth cocktail of disco lights and smoke, with pulsating synths and skipping disco percussion supporting her voice. In fact, Selena really has her voice on lock this era, despite the fact that I gave her a little flack for not so subtle background vocals on “Same Old Love,” when it’s undeniably Selena, she sounds great.

When former records saw Selena singing over Rihanna demos and belting to heights that her voice isn’t meant to reach yet, Revival looks like the singer has found the sweet spots of her voice. Vixen-like coos without falling into the trap of “indie girl voice,” and a sensual low register that doesn’t wander into the realm of boring. And whether that “all I ne-e-e-e-e-e-ee-ed” hook is edited or not, a hook is a hook and this one is catchy as hell and captures the explosive energy of the chorus perfectly. Top that off with a Janet-esque spoken word breakdown, you got yourself a new independence banger for your replay pleasure.

Revival is shaping up to be Selena’s most wild card, most mature, and most realized album yet. Each song released so far captures the theme of a spiritual and musical rebirth perfectly, and has fleshed out the campaign with new layers each time.

One more week now.

Following the reveal of the incredible Revival artwork (still having trouble breathing) and a fierce “Good For You” remix EP, the “Outlaw” star is really bringing in the big guns with her latest single “Same Old Love,” enlisting collaborators from Charli XCX to Benny Blanco to Stargate. The result we get isn’t really the same old electropop banger we would’ve expected from all four artists, which is not a bad thing.

The song draws back to “Bang Bang Bang,” a minimalist breakup number that became one of Selena’s most mature and praise-worthy singles, although this time the cool nonchalance is replaced with an impassioned bitterness. The electropop beeps are replaced with a sultry bassline and keys.

As for Selena’s vocal, well…

In a way, this is Ms. Gomez’s best vocal yet. On the other hand, there are vocal parts that are indistinguishable whether it’s being sung by Charli or Selena, especially in the chorus. Charli’s firey punk-tinged belts are so noticeable in the background vocals (that “o-o-oh” in the chorus might even be 100% her) that it ends up sounding like a Charli demo instead of a full Selena Gomez release.

That’s not to say the song isn’t still great. “You left in peace, left me in pieces / Too hard to breathe, I’m on my knees right now,” the singer laments weaving between a confident bark and her velvety breathy chest registers without any bells and whistles to drown her out. It’s a logical second step following “Good For You,” a sensual breakup jam that recalls shades of Tinashe (maybe a younger “All Hands On Deck”?) or even Queen Bey’s “Partition” with the vocals of your favorite Avril Lavigne or Paramore “fuck him” song.

Also, she literally says “shit” in the chorus which is something I really needed to hear today. Go Sel! It really is a formidable song in her career, let’s just take the time to record our background vocals alright girl?

The evolution of Selena is a little rocky but incredibly fascinating to watch and clearly still producing great jams.