Showing posts with label exo. Show all posts
End of the Era: Girls' Generation ft. Taeyeon & Baekhyun
Girls' Generation has gotten themselves into a whole bunch of dating rumors this year however, this one gave them their biggest blow yet. Despite all the little 'ranters' guessing that Jessica or Yuri will be the next one in Girls' Generation to come out with dating news, it was actually Girls' Generation's leader, Taeyeon, who we all thought would, if she did end up to be dating, come out with it gracefully... as she is the leader, after all. But alas! She did not! And as we all probably should know by now, her relationship with EXO-K boy, Baekhyun, gave both groups a painful blow, fans feeling betrayed (as usual) but also the general public being sickened by the lovebirds' actions, similar to INFINITE's Myungsoo casual but painful use of Twitter to communicate with his then girlfriend. Regardless, both groups are popular however, Taeyeon's group has been around for nearly a decade when Baekhyun's has been for only around three years yet with both sides getting the hate, I want to decode the reasons why people are viewing this one differently than the other Girls' Generation dating scandals.
1. This scandal busted Taeyeon's act
Remember the post I did a few months ago about how I was scared for Taeyeon's well being? She seemed like she was about to crack at any moment! On all kinds of Girls' Generation appearances, Taeyeon did not seem like her usual idol self... which is seemingly nothing different than the rest of Girls' Generation's recent behaviors as they are now starting to realize that no matter what they do, they have a group of fans who will be with them (read the article about how idols should not treat fans like crap for some reference) therefore, different from back in their debut days, they now give bored, gloomy and tiredsome faces. However, Taeyeon's was different, as she constantly complained about loneliness, making people sympathize the fact that idols were not supposed to date. But, just like Sooyoung how literally the day before her own dating news came out, she complained about how she was lonely in response to YoonA's dating news, fans felt kind of betrayed that they were fooled into thinking that she did not have a significant other and that she was getting depressed because she did not have a significant other. I mean, I actually feel a bit betrayed, too, because I usually don't even show empathy but I did for Taeyeon's case and I'm not even a Taeyeon fan!2. Taeyeon acted immaturely being the fact that she is the senior & Baekhyun betrayed his already betrayed group
Despite the first one being my own sentiments, this one seems to be more of the general public's feels as they believe that Taeyeon should have acted more 'maturely' for her age being that she's ten years into the music business while he's barely even touching his second. She should have taken into account that EXO is just rising in popularity and that they are still in the midst of a scandal in which people were sympathizing Baehyun for. ¿¡Why would Baekhyun, during the midst of the Krisis (Kris vs. SM Entertainment scandal), even think about doing stuff that is remotely human?! Why would Baekhyun go out and do the naughty with Taeyeon when he should be remorseful in his dorm as the public is sympathizing him and his other ten group mates and should take advantage of the situation to get more popularity and fans (this one is actually a serious question)? And why the hell make it so. damn. obvious? Taeyeon should have acted different instead of making it so obvious, different from the other girls, being that she's the leader and should be the most responsible. Taeyeon should have realized that Baekhyun's group is in a situation right now that should not have scandals towards the remaining members of the group and realize that Baekhyun is a rising star. Baekhyun should have realized that the lie about being '35 years old before dating' really hurt gullible fans being that he was the first in EXO to have such a scandal. No one was really expecting him to wait till 35 but he was the first so it put a bigger blow.3. They messed with their fans
Taking this all from Netizenbuzz, long story short, fans feel betrayed. Instagram, by Taeyeon's definition, was a way to communicate with fans. But instead, she fooled fans and communicated with Baekhyun in numerous posts as did Baekhyun. Fans dug out a lot of places where they communicated/made their relationship obvious (summarized from the same Netizenbuzz article. The astericked ones are ones that I'm somewhat iffy about correlating to dating):a) Baekhyun and Taeyeon's similar Instagram IDs.
Baekhyun had put on his Instagram, ExO, not EXO like the others. Why? E and O in English look like the first letters of the first syllables of Taeyeon's name ㅌ and ㅇ in Korean. Because he naughty, naughty.
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| "I like you. Can I like you?" |
She put that fugly doll in the picture as a distraction/excuse. She's asking if she can like him because she realizes they're both celebrities and this going to the public can ruin them both.
c) The trip for my dreams, Pikachu!
Long story short, after Kris left the group, fans made the slogan 'This is the beginning' to give the guys strength. He put the picture on Instagram of the slogan as well as, as translated by the same Netizenbuzz article, 'This is the beginning! For my dream! The trip for my dreams! Pikachu! This is the beginning!'. Fans were gullible into thinking this was starting a new and the guys found strength but in actuality, before, Taeyeon wrote 'This is my beginning now for my dream~ The trip for my dreams pikachu'. aka they dun fucked
d) Baekhyun posted 'Euri'.
Taeyeon later posted 'Very eurieurie shikye drink! Euri #Euri'. If you don't know, Euri doesn't mean shit in Korean but it must be an inside joke for the two.
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| You're eating sugary snacks?! You're betraying us! |
Okay, I don't really understand this one that much/correlate it with the scandal. Taeyeon received a special made Starbucks cup from her fans. For saying thanks, she said 'Taeng kyung very mang ching'. Everyone is blowing shit up since Taenggo is her nickname for fans and Baekyung is his therefore, she must be making a couple name.
f) The famous oreos*
Taeyeon posted, a day before the news, oreos. Baek means black and Hyun means white in Korean. Oreos for Baekhyun, by fans point of view... or maybe Taeyeon was just hungry for oreos.
g) Birthday se--flowers
On Baekhyun's birthday, Taeyeon posted birthday flowers as well as a heart.
h) They went to see Seohyun's musical.
Suho saw Seohyun's musical the day before, but apparently being that Taeyeon was going, Suho went again the next day with Taeyeon in clutch.
i) Taeyeon posted a picture of light.*
Taeyeon posted a picture of light when she went to the beauty salon on Instagram. We all know Baekhyun's power in EXO is light. MUST BE A CODE FOR BAEK DICK.
j) Kyahing
Kyahing means nothing, just a cute thing for Taeyeon to say to fans. However, Baekhyun was seen using Kyahing when talking to his fans on EXO's 2 year anniversary.
Though there are other more subtle reasons (fans just mad cause they're dating), these seem to be the most prominent. People are getting testy with the Taeyon and Baekhyun kissing picture (apparently, Hyori mentioned that when pictures go out to the public and the company admits to the dating, that means there are pictures far worse than revealed to the public. This has to be one of the most 'sexual' images for a idol dater to reveal... a kissing image... therefore, if they are kissing in a car and if Hyori's claim is true, who knows what more they could have done in that hot and steamy Benz?), people are feeling betrayed just because they don't like idols dating... all in all, a bunch of negativity for the two, people were also getting mad because with all the dating controversy in Girls' Generation, they felt like Taeyeon was the last source of singleness that they had left (since apparently, they don't want Seohyun, Yuri, Sunny or Jessica). And although I would be happy and all for the two dating, there's something inside me that actually understands were the betrayed people are coming from (probably because I feel a bit betrayed, too).
Likewise, I just want to bring light on my old articles that I wrote when Tiffany's dating scandal was revealed, asking if Girls' Generation is on decline as well as my hypothesis for Girls' Generation's future and how long it would take for them to disband/who would still be famous post-disbandment. Now that this scandal broke out what do you think? Is Girls' Generation on decline and how long do they have left? Comment below and don't forget to vote!
Keeping Up with the Krisis (Kris's Lawsuit)
Probably the biggest thing going on in the K-pop scene recently: EXO's Kris is suing SM. EXO's Chinese group's very own leader, Kris, has filed a lawsuit with the Seoul Central District Court to terminate his contract with SM Entertainment. This news hit everyone, including myself without notice and up till now, many fans are still in denial of what happened. News on the lawsuit first broke out on China's Sina around 9am on 15th May and speculations were made, with most blaming it onto Sina for confusing Kris with a China artiste Chris.
However, later in the afternoon, Korean news sites TV Daily soon chimed in with a response from SM, confirming that Kris had indeed legally filed for contract release. Other news sites such as Korea Herald, Nate, TV Report, and Daum followed suit with similar announcements. Details as to when the lawsuit was first filed, what the lawsuit demands are, and Kris’s reasons behind it, however remained unknown to public. Hankyul Law Firm has released a statement that affirms their representation of Kris. Fun fact, Hankyul Law Firm is the exact same law firm that handled Hangeng's lawsuit.
SM seems to be caught off guard as reps responded to be unaware of the lawsuit and are surprised to find out about it. The exact reasons behind the filing of the lawsuit is still unknown (there has been claims of Kris having 'myocarditis' when he eats the food that SM Entertainment gives, which, for people uneducated in medical terminology, this basically means inflammation of the heart muscles) , however fans and various news websites are speculating that this is about SM's slave contract again. Kris, has had financial difficulties despite his tremendous workload because SM Entertainment exploited him financially, according to sources close to him on Thursday.
“SM (Entertainment) controlled him like a pawn or a control-target rather than offering him opportunities as a celebrity,”an undisclosed source supposedly close to Kris told Yonhap News.
I am EXO member Tao. The things said on Weibo and Instagram are by me. I have nothing to hide.
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then going along and saying later that his phone was not taken up when EXO fans have said that Tao in fact possesses an iPhone however, the post was made by an Android phone."Thank you for this big award. Thank you to all of those who love us. It's the day of the mentor today so I'd like to thank Lee Soo Man. We won't forget your kindness. The EXO members genuinely apologize. Our team slogan is 'we are one' and so like our slogan, we promise to become an EXO that belongs not to the individual but to ourselves and one that thinks of our fans. We will work hard. We are one. EXO, I love you."
And also talked to Osen saying:
"All the members had a conversation. We don't understand Kris' actions at all. Everyone was caught off-guard and have mixed feelings. I think Kris' actions are irresponsible and show that he's not thinking about EXO at all. Our members and agency have no issues. What Kris needs to do right now is take back the lawsuit and apologize to the members and company."
Even more speculation goes with their words wondering if SM Entertainment is forcing them to say this or not. It can also be noted that EXO's Kai collapsed on stage recently when performing Overdose, adding on to the SM hate.
SM Entertainment has responded to questions about the upcoming concert from May 23rd to 25th and it is set to happen as planned. Tao also confirmed this via his Instagram account, and it seems like Kris will not be joining the rest of EXO for this concert. According to a representative from MBN star, Kris was supposed to arrive at Gimpo Airport today but he cancelled his flight ticket and continue to stay in Beijing, China.
Earlier this week, Kris also posted on his Weibo a picture of his handwritten message which roughly translates to"I made a rash attempt to do what is far beyond my ability. I'm alright, I wish you all the best, and that things will be even better for you guys. Thanks to all of those who support me, thanks for all your voices of support. Wu Yi Fan will always be here!"
As a fervent EXO fan myself, I'm still in absolute shock and I'm surprised to see yet another lawsuit supposedly coming out of the reason of unfair contracts and mistreatment. Hasn't SM Entertainment learnt anything from the past times their idols tried to sue them? This is an upsetting event for every single fan in the EXO fandom and especially for the boys themselves. Nevertheless, I wish all the boys good luck for whatever is to happen in the near future. And to Suho, I just want to say the entire fandom is massively proud of you for keeping it all together on M! Countdown 140515.
A gentle remainder to all: please be cautious and thoughtful of what you post on the members' Instagrams and online, for the sake of Kris and the other members. Please also take whatever you read online, may it be the posts on EXO's Instagrams or Weibo, including this post with a pinch of salt. Nothing other than the fact that he is indeed filing a lawsuit is officially confirmed by SM Entertainment or Kris himself, this is more like a run-down of what is happening. There is nothing confirmed and honestly, the only people who know what is really going on are Kris and SM Entertainment. This is a difficult time, please act responsibly.
And now to you, what are your thoughts and opinions on this lawsuit? Why did he resort to this move despite the upcoming concert and recent comeback? What is going to happen to EXO after this? Leave your comment down below!
Also, vote here to who you think is at fault!
(Herald 1,2), Sina, TV Report, TV Daily, Nate, Daum)
EXO Overdose is Actually My Style
As you all may or may not know, I have recently been getting into EXO since their song, Growl, in which the boys showed their inner animal. Now, EXO has released another music video, Overdose, in which the boys release their inner... bad boy (gosh, I hate saying 'bag boy', to be honest). If you haven't noticed by the title (only cool people get the reference), this comeback is definitely something that I enjoy, only adding on to my EXO fanship... even though I kind of don't want to be a fan of EXO. If you haven't watched the video, watch it below.
The song is intriguing. I mean, it is probably their best EXO song however, it's not that mind-blowing or life-changing that I simply will listen to it everyday for the rest of my life... Iggy Azalea's Fancy already stealing that position. Nevertheless, it's obvious that SM is giving their newest cash crop, EXO, the time of day with this track. What I was really impressed with was their English. It wasn't SM's usual, shitty English in which Super Junior has experienced to much of. Not only were the phrases not entirely irrelevant or incomprehensible, but also, the pronunciation was actually... pretty damn good. Not to mention, the rap actually was not half bad nor was the constant 'too much'.
Score: ✮✮✮✮☆
The music video however...? Let me get this straight. The dance was fantastic. In fact, after the let-down Mr. Mr was in which the girls didn't even show their full potential in dance and just posed a bunch (save the dance break), I actually felt a extremely satisfied with this dance. Regardless, the camera was getting on my nerves. Sometimes the rampant changes in angles and zooming was appropriate then other times it was just kind of... annoying? redundant? stupid? It was cool and need to emphasize some of the dance moves and add extra effect but to be honest, some of the times, there was nothing to really emphasize. They just wanted to raise the viewers chances of getting a seizure even more, which I really did not enjoy.
Score: ✮✮✮☆☆
To sum pretty decent comeback, if I say so myself. I recommend you watch and listen to both the music video and the song (take caution with the music video, though) because it definitely won't be a waste of time. SM Entertainment finally did a great job with this one and I applaud the EXO boys for being so life-genic... especially Kai's hair.
Score: ✮✮✮☆☆
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| This witchcraft voodoo shit I like |
To sum pretty decent comeback, if I say so myself. I recommend you watch and listen to both the music video and the song (take caution with the music video, though) because it definitely won't be a waste of time. SM Entertainment finally did a great job with this one and I applaud the EXO boys for being so life-genic... especially Kai's hair.
Album Review: Miracles of December
Merry Christmas to everyone! Here’s a late album review of EXO’s Miracles in December.
EXO has had an extremely busy year with first Wolf, then repackaged Growl and now a christmas gift for their fans Miracles in December. (Though I’d like to think it as SM-making-us-think-its-a-christmas-present-but-its-just-more-money-for-them).
Miracles of December is a mini album, with 6 tracks including the orchestral version of the title track, Miracles in December. It is a pretty solid mini album, mostly ballads, showing off the vocal talents in EXO. All of my EXO bias aside, this album basically proved that under all that choreography and howling and growling, EXO is also able to deliver soulful performances as well.
Miracles in December
The title track in this album is sang by the vocal line, (Baekhyun, Chen, D.O for Korean and Baekhyun, Chen, Luhan for Chinese). This song is definitely my favourite in the entire album, and it deserves all the hype it is getting. The song builds up and explodes into a gorgeous mess of beautiful instrumental and flawless vocals. The harmonization is beautiful and goosebumps inducing, and these 4 vocalists do deliver the perfect sad song in Christmas. Stunning masterpiece from EXO.
Christmas Day
Christmas Day follows after Miracles in December and it is a sweet track that describes the girl as Christmas Day, telling her that "you're just like Christmas Day". The song starts off with a slow, slick beat and towards the chorus, the song takes a turn and becomes a soft, gentle love song. I personally think this is the most christmasy track on this album, with the choir-like background vocals in the chorus and the actual mention of Christmas. A stellar track as well, and EXO does life performances of this song, making it a lot better than it already is. Check the performance out!
The Star
The album picks up pace from the previous two tracks with The Star, which features a little more of EXO's rappers.This is a pleasant change from the slow moving ballads. Though not very christmasy, it does fit in nicely with the album and according to EXO themselves, the star in the song is actually a girl and she's described to be the star on top of the Christmas tree, so I guess it makes sense. And props to SM, for finally having a rap sequence in English that actually makes sense. Well done.
My Turn To Cry
My Turn To Cry brings the album back to the smooth ballad side with melancholic lyrics and soft vocals. I do think this is a continuation from EXO's previous song, Baby Don't Cry. The twinkling throughout the song adds a nice touch to the song and the soft echo-y vocals gives it a nice holiday feel. The slight pauses between verses is also nice and allows the vocals to set in beautifully.
First Snow
The last track on this album is First Snow, which is a sad song disguised under the merry tune to it. The song starts off slowly, leading up to a more upbeat chorus. One of my favourites as well, First Snow is addicting and the distinctive chimes of bells make this a very suitable song for Christmas, if you overlook the lyrics. Great example of a pop-ballad done right.
Miracles in December is probably one of the most well-produced album EXO has had so far, with the songs all fitting in nicely with each other and centered around the Christmas concept. I can tell you for sure this entire album is a hit in Korea, as it was played on loop everywhere during my trip to Korea this month. I don't know about you, but for me, this album is going to be on replay for the rest holiday season.
Crazy EXOtics Pull Yet Another Rediculous Stunt
Tiffany: I really have nothing to say to this whole scandal cause frankly, I'm tired of EXO and their crazy ass fans appearing in the news every single day. It's sickening, it's frightening but for the love of all that is Bang Yong Guk, it's tiring. And I know all you secret EXOtics in the comments are going to be like "dun genaralizeee oui r nawt al da saym" but I tell you, after you see a few people who are bad in the fanclub--and gosh, 400,000 signatures is by new means "a few"--you start to think of the whole fan club as a bunch of batshit apes who lost their way to the empire state building and fell in love with a human (King Kong reference for all you dip shits who don't understand). As stated before, I'm exasperated at the EXOtic fan club and seriously, at this point I could give less shits of what I say. EXO should just disband cause nothing else will help this 12 year old girls who just got their periods other than a nice glass of ass whoopin'... which EXO managers haven't been doing much of (weird cause most SM managers are eager to get a good handful of sasaeng face). Come at me, EXOtics. I'm ready for your shit.
Andi: I agree with Tiffany when she says that EXO should be disbanded. They've been receiving a lot of attention lately that isn't necessarily good and it's all because of their fans. I personally would like for EXO to stay together and continue performing because they really are all quite talented and I like a lot of their music. Unfortunately, with such a great amount of stress being put on them like this, I doubt they can last for much longer. However, a small beacon of light may be leading us out of the darkness and that light is EXO Planet. For those of you who don't know who they are, they are the EXO's official fan club. Just recently, they released a statement saying that they were never involved with the whole petition deal and refuse to sign it out of support for EXO. They have even gone as far as to say that they will take legal action if this shit goes any farther and I'm betting it will. Let's just wait and see how this war turns out.
Jeana: To present a different view, I do not think that EXO should be disbanded. While truth be told that they have indeed been infamous for their mindless fans, I do agree with Andi in that their tremendous talents and (pardon me) beauty as a group should not be forgone because of something so unworthy. Previous EXO sasaeng incidents were questionable, but I find this particular one to be plain wishful thinking on the part of those crazy EXOtics, much to the point of absurdity. As per Wikipedia, "Conscription, or mandatory military service or compulsory national service, is legislated in South Korea...". In other words, military service is not optional and all men in suitable condition have to enlist. So do those EXO fans really think that they can influence the government with that petition of theirs (please don't start any attempt to convince me of the possibility that EXO could appear on the list of exceptions for military service)? Honestly I really don't know what anyone should do besides taking legal action (or perhaps taking legal action is all there is to do) as mentioned by Andi, but for me, disbanding EXO is definitely not the answer.
What do you guys think? Comment below!
Batshit Sasaengs Ruin "Baekhyung's" Wedding; Why Are They not In a Mental Ward Yet
Little did they know, they were wrong.
Spouts of crazy EXOtics sprang from no where just to be able to see the guys, crashing a wedding and ruining a once in a lifetime opportunity that the newlyweds will never get back and having no remorse for their selfish deeds.
I really just can't right now. Nearly every single day it's in the news of yet another incident with an EXO sasaeng yet this one has got to be the worst by far. Not only are they targetting the guys but they're also targetting the guys' family members on the most important days of their life, this getting way too far. At this point, I just really can't think of any other solution for the sasaeng infestion than:
1. Laws against Sasaengs,
2. SM takes matters to their own hand and are harsh fucks or
3. EXO disbands. I kind of feel bad since with barely even starting their career, they're already getting hated and stalked but well, there's nothing else left to do.
What do you think of the sasaeng wedding crashers and EXO's future? They're not gonna get rid of the sasaengs anytime soon so how do you think SM should handle it? Comment below!
Analysis: EXO Drama Music Videos
EXO MV Drama Episodes 1-2 Review
So here is a new addition to K-Pop Ranter. I Jaemin am recently learning video/audio producing. I have been watching so many videos my past four years and it time to set the experts up, to set ourselves thinking about music videos a different way. You may agree with me and you may not. Comment below and tell me what you think of my critiquing.
SM Entertainment has released 2 EXO music video drama episodes by far. 2 episodes is definitely not sufficient content for me to chew on and give a verdict. But as of now, while I can't say that the drama was anywhere near captivating, it wasn't horrendous either. Since none of them have ventured into acting yet, let's cut some slack on their acting skills and concentrate more on the plot. I wouldn't think that this music video aims to provide a visual aspect to EXO's title songs, which most drama versions of music videos do. Rather, I would think that the purpose of these drama episodes is to show a different side of EXO to us through their acting, and at the same time, promote some of their songs beyond the title tracks. And to some extent, it worked.
SM Entertainment has released 2 EXO music video drama episodes by far. 2 episodes is definitely not sufficient content for me to chew on and give a verdict. But as of now, while I can't say that the drama was anywhere near captivating, it wasn't horrendous either. Since none of them have ventured into acting yet, let's cut some slack on their acting skills and concentrate more on the plot. I wouldn't think that this music video aims to provide a visual aspect to EXO's title songs, which most drama versions of music videos do. Rather, I would think that the purpose of these drama episodes is to show a different side of EXO to us through their acting, and at the same time, promote some of their songs beyond the title tracks. And to some extent, it worked.
Recap of Episodes 1-2A quick summary of episodes 1 and 2 first. Luhan is the new student in class, and gets to meet a bunch of new buddies (yes, the EXO members) and a beautiful girl (the female lead) as his classmates. They play together, and get involved in gang fights with a group of masked guys too. But during one of the fights, something happened to him that confused him and drove him to attack one of his buddies. It is found out to be due to a symbol on his hand, and while the symbol eventually disappeared when it came into contact with the girl's tears, it was that very same symbol that appeared on the hand of Kris since the beginning, who is finally shown to have bloodshot creepy eyes. We know that the 2 of them are related because they had a face-to-face encounter, and have a photograph of the 2 of them together in the girl's house, but how?
Comments on Plot
There are many layers to the drama already revealed in the first 2 episodes, but not sufficiently delved into as of now. Some of the more prominent themes would be the love triangle between Luhan, Kai and the one and only girl in the drama, the conflict between EXO&girl and masked gang, and most importantly, the intertwined mysterious pasts of Luhan and Kris which is the origin of wolf-spirit-in-human-body concept.
To first talk about the love triangle, we see that both Kai and Luhan have fallen for the same girl. Luhan protects her from the masked gang when she was alone one night, whereas Kai flares up at Luhan upon discovering that Luhan had been at her house. While Kai and girl seem to be an item (no other possible reason for Kai to flare up at Luhan in front of her simply because Luhan had been with her), her feelings are currently leaning more towards Luhan in the way she takes care of him when he is injured and cried when he was hit hard during a gang fight to rescue her. Little of this sort of two-way affection is present between her and Kai. But all in all, it is adorable how even when they are fighting to win the same girl, nothing changes the fact that they are ultimately best friends. They both strive to protect her when she is captured by the gang, but when Luhan was hit hard (as previously mentioned), Kai immediately rushed to him out of love for a fellow buddy.
The conflict between EXO&girl and the masked gang keeps recurring throughout the 2 episodes as well - Luhan chased by the masked gang as an individual from the start, and EXO fighting against the masked gang during 2 instances, one of which to rescue the girl. What do they have against each other, such that masked gang would even want to use girl as bait to lure Luhan?
As for the intertwined mysterious pasts of Luhan and Kris, I think that this is what is keeping many of us on the edge and is probably key to understanding everything that has been going on now, as mentioned in the summary.
Overall Comments
There are still many mysteries in the story that have yet to be explained - whether Luhan and Kris are wolves, how they are related etc. I do believe that these will be brought up in upcoming episodes so I won't consider them to loopholes in the plot. Rather, I thought the way cliffhangers were utilized at the end of both episodes was quite appropriate and effective. They slowly led us in into the wolf theme and kept us curious. Since the immortal-meets-human concept is typically seen in many dramas, I like how the pasts of Luhan and Kris gives texture to the otherwise potentially boring plot and gives us something to look forward to.
But what I didn't like is how these 2 episodes are completely centered around Kai and Luhan, with bits of Tao, Kris and D.O. here and there, and the rest of EXO having barely any scenes.
There were also many redundant and highly exaggerated scenes as well. They were ostensibly added in to depict EXO as macho men, by allowing them to showcase their stunts and moves. And well yes they may be cool, but they are unnecessary. Fighting scenes have never been easy to film, but given that much of the 2 episode involved fighting, more effort should have been put in. The intensity and ferocity of the fights wasn't well shown, and in addition to the fact that fighting scenes were centered around mostly Kai, Luhan and Tao hence the awkward shots of their faces in the midst of 'highly nerve-wrecking fights', I found the fighting scenes mildly amusing.
Because there are barely any said words, development of characters and plot can only be shown visually. In this aspect, I though that EXO's acting wasn't all that bad - the story line could be easily followed. Plot progression, though, felt kind of slow. Much revolved around the fighting scenes including the solo shots of Kai / Tao flipping their hair for exaggerated effect, but we barely know anything about the symbol, which should be central to the plot. As for the music in the background, I thought that it was mostly quite effective in creating the atmosphere and mood for the scene, even if the lyrics of the song didn't necessarily link to what was going on (e.g. Baby Don't Cry playing when nobody was crying). The only song I could find much fault in was Growl which really stood out, in a bad way.
All in all, the drama version wasn't disappointing, but there were its bad points too. Hopefully, I'll be back again some time to recap on future episodes.
Rant: SM gets it right twice
The Korean version of Trap was released quite a while back, but I only got round to viewing it when the Chinese version was released. Trap isn't a powerful, take-on-the-world kind of SM release as compared to, say, The Boys by Girls Generation, but it could possibly be the best way to kick start Henry's solo career path. The way Henry is revealed through the music video, especially with the piano introduction and this image fitting him to the T (as per Seoulbeats), completely trapped me. The song itself really gets on to you fast, and with Taemin and Kyuhyun being so carefully yet appropriately incorporated into the song, the trio thoroughly shone throughout equally. After all the mumble jumble regarding ONLY13, I'm glad that SM is finally giving Henry a chance and in the most suitable of ways beyond Super Junior-M.
But what impressed me even more would be Growl. I personally thought that this has got to be one of the best SM music videos in recent years yet. The song was neatly crafted, and the dance was phenomenal. It goes way beyond what any k-pop dance has ever produced, especially in terms of the novelty behind the group formations and the precision manifested in the subtleties - hat passing. Of course, there were several cute mistakes in the music video i.e. Kai dropping his hat in the Korean version and Sehun's foot being stepped on by a fellow member in the Chinese version. But the main point is that I really enjoy how SM is pushing the boundaries of k-pop dance choreography by experimenting on their resident versatile rookies EXO, and stretching them in impossible ways to pioneer in the industry. SM has clearly invested a lot of care into Growl (as well as Wolf), and their efforts mostly paid off. In the k-pop scene where groups are mostly cut out from the same dough, EXO is beginning to differentiate themselves greatly.
All in all, it is heartening how SM has given Henry and EXO the chance to rise up to make a name for themselves. It shows that SM doesn't have to rely on their established artists like Girls Generation to create waves in the music industry. Henry and EXO are highly capable as well. On another note, I do hope that SM helps to unleash f(x)'s potential even more as though they are winning in music shows and have made a name, I feel that f(x) is able to break even more boundaries than what they are doing now.
What did you think of Trap and Growl? Do share your comments in the section below!
What did you think of Trap and Growl? Do share your comments in the section below!
Photo Credits: www.fanpop.com
Web Surfing: Video of EXO-M's Twerk Team Leaked
First, it was Miss A's Min and then it was the group Wassup... but this time, EXO-M is taking apart of the twerk-alypse in a recent video that shows all their hidden secrets. With pimp daddy Kris as the leader, EXO-M's plan is to rule the world with their sub-unit that revolves around twerking. Watch the video to find out more:
Disclaimer: This is not real but it's funny. If you think this video is actually legit, you are a stupid fucker.
EXO's Getting Their Own Store?
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| Yeah, we're that famous. |
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| Talking to you, SM. |
I'm pretty sure we're all familiar with celebrities launching their own brand of perfume, shoes, and such-- but...a store? Okay... knowing SM, one t-shirt that says 'Naega Wolf' will probably cost approximately...123456789 won? I mean, their merchandise is already costly enough to suck their fans dry at concerts and they now seem to believe that most fans seem to not get enough of the 'bankruptcy', so they're putting it all in one place so that they can spend their parents money more frequently. SM cares so much for their fans. Got your allowance fellow EXOtic living in Seoul? Lucky for you, right around the corner there's a place where you can spend it all in one shot, regardless of how hard your parents worked for it.
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| Yeah that's right. And hard. |
I really don't get how far SM will go until they're satisfied. I mean it's one thing asking 60 bucks for a flimsy scarf with SNSD's faces 'skillfully' plastered all over, but it's another thing dedicating a store to a group who's only a year old--and on top of that, slamming the prices down as if money came as easily as water... well, apparently for you it does.
I'm really not feeling this. I slightly understand if it's someone like SNSD, SHINee, or f(x)- but like I mentioned before, a group you only debuted under your wing a year ago? Well, if they're that successful, I guess it won't hurt anybody. Hm? What's that I hear? Is that the sound of crying coming from a victimized parent?
I'm really not feeling this. I slightly understand if it's someone like SNSD, SHINee, or f(x)- but like I mentioned before, a group you only debuted under your wing a year ago? Well, if they're that successful, I guess it won't hurt anybody. Hm? What's that I hear? Is that the sound of crying coming from a victimized parent?
What do you think?
Let us know down below~
Review: EXO Growl
It hasn’t been long since the release of EXO’s train wreck of a song, Wolf. In the hopes of clearing up their
mistakes, they’ve returned with their follow up promotions for their latest
song Growl. If you haven’t seen it
yet, check it out below!
Korean Version
Chinese Version
The Video: Let us
all take a moment to growl in anger
(see what I did there) at seeing yet another
music video shot in another box
set. SM Entertainment’s artists seem
to be forever trapped in their tiny little boxes, never to see the light of day.
So as for the set, there is absolutely nothing to say. In regards to the dance,
it’s not as ambitious and interesting as the dance for Wolf but it’s still good
in its own right. It matches that groovy vibe of the song and there are quite a
few interesting points in the dance that caught my attention. One of them being
the dance where one member stands in the center while the others dance around
him. It happens twice, once for the rap where the other members danced on their
knees, and the other is for the chorus building up to the end of the song. Also,
if you pay very close attention to the members in the back of the dances, you’ll
see them stealing each other’s hats. The boys all look pretty good with the
exception of Luhan’s pink hair. You’d
think that they’d try to make him look more mature due to his unfortunate baby
face making him look like a twelve year old but they decide to give him pink
hair. Now, I don’t want to seem like I’m a Luhan hater or anything but the way
he stares at the camera near the beginning of the song is creepy. His pink hair just caused me to stare at him at so many
points in the video that I had a hard time focusing on anything else.  |
| I'm 23 years old! Promise! |
The Song: Part of
the reason I didn’t review this music video right away was to let it marinate overnight
to get a good feel for it. Because it is so painfully obvious that Growl is a much better song than Wolf, I didn’t want to go crazy and review
Growl as “the best song ever!!!” only
to regret it later. Right off the bat, I was pulled into the song with the way “sexy”
was whispered in such a smooth manner. The rapping was solid and so were the
vocals. However, nobody’s voice specifically stood out to me but I suppose I
could throw Luhan fans a bone (since I ripped on him so hard earlier) and take
a moment to appreciate how exceptional his singing was at the section where the
song slows down. There aren’t any unnecessary parts of the song that drag it
down and the song isn’t erratic and confusing like some of SM’s other deadly concoctions.
Overall opinion:
To my surprise, this is actually a solid song despite the music video is boring
and uninspired. I’ve listened to this song way too many times to count (for the
purposes of this review, of course) and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet.
