Spica - I Did It

"I don't care what you want me to be"

Here's a nice little oddball that neatly bridges this blog's English-language history and my newfound love of K-pop. Spica is a successful Korean girl group, though I admittedly am not too familiar with them myself, and they've decided to record an English language album for the Western market. The only other k-pop artist I remember releasing a full-length was BoA, but I'm sure there have been others. The thing about this language shift is that it usually results in pretty sucky music. This might be the single that turns the tide. The production, melody and (multiple) hooks are on point, sounding like a nice crossover between West and East. I still kind of wish it was sung in Korean, but the English lyrics are not bad and the pronunciation is pretty spot-on. Wouldn't it be exciting if this was a big success?



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Buy their music here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Dami Im - Gladiator

"Gonna fight for your love"

What a voice Dami Im has! I'd go so far to say she's my favorite X-Factor winner ever, but a lot of that is going to depend on the material she's given when it's time for that all-important debut album. After being initially underwhelmed by her last single, Super Love, I found my affection for it growing each day. I hope the same thing will happen with this song. On the surface, Gladiator seems way too trendy and melodically familiar, but that special essence that Dami brings to a song should push it over the edge for me. If someone like Demi Lovato was singing this (and honestly, it sounds like one of her dirgy self-empowerment anthems), I'd probably dismiss it outright. And if I'm being completely honest, I still want more from Dami, because she's better than this kind of soundalike material. But it's still Dami, and she can make even a mediocre song special.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Buy the single here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

HyunA - Red

I love a little troublemaking in the otherwise well-oiled K-Pop world. HyunA is part of girl group 4minute, but she's really become a huge solo star on her own. Red is her new single, and it's a ridiculously catchy, bratty piece of pop. The images in the video are reminiscent of Miley Cyrus's recent party girl transformation, and HyunA's delivery certainly amps up the bad girl charisma. The lyrics themselves are your standard bragging about how sexy and cool she is, and the chorus borrows from an old Korean kid's playground rhyme (or so I'm told). Of course, most people reading this blog won't be able to understand the lyrics anyway. You'll be too busy freaking out over the beat and that wickedly melodic bridge leading into the spazz attack of a chorus.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Buy the mini-album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.