Showing posts with label f(x). Show all posts
CoKF: SM Entertainment's Controversy (Red Velvet & Sulli)
Not even a day into their debut and SM Entertainment's newest group, Red Velvet is in hot waters. Not only have they been in controversy with their name scandal (a K-Indie band entitled 'Red Velvet' who apparently did not buy rights to the name and therefore, had to kind of fight with the agency only to have both group's keep the name) and then this one, SM Entertainment having Red Velvet's own debut music video, Happiness, feature the Japanese Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb incidents as well as a reference to the United States' devastating 9/11 incident. Of course, SM Entertainment is now removing Red Velvet's music video until further editing out of the scenes however, us writers at K-Pop Ranter want to shed light of the scandal revolving this group and SM Entertainment's carelessness.
Tiffany: This is like... explosive carelessness. Not even using just one countries unforgettable moment but using two to simply make a point for this music video? It's seriously beyond my head as to what this company was thinking when they incorporated that in there. There is literally no respect for international fans that don't have a big enough market as SM Entertainment gets with China. None. And what's funny, to people who are defending this (yes, I have actually seen some commenters say that it's 'no big deal'), is that everyone would be up in arms if there was incorporation of, for example, the Sewol Ferry incident, in a music video because that was a tragic accident as were the other two for the differing countries. There's no reason for the defense and especially no reason to believe SM Entertainment's excuse that they didn't 'catch it'. They surely did. They incorporated those elements on purpose regardless of it being a different language. All of those newspapers behind Irene? All English however, all focusing on the Japanese atomic bomb incident. This clearly wasn't a 'let's just google English newspapers' ordeal. This was intentional. The only reason why they're acting like this now is because they were caught, red-handed.
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| SM's policy: Don't give a fuck til' the public gives a fuck then act as if you actually give a fuck |
Likewise, as we are focusing on SM Entertainment scandals, we wanted to bring forth the ongoing scandal between Sulli and what seems like the world, starting in 2013 with a full explanation of her scandals here and still going on towards the end of 2014, the scandal mostly revolving around none other than her relationship with Choiza. Because we have time on our hands, we can discuss both of these scandals that are brewing in the SM Entertainment headquarters and causing ruckus especially with f(x) who halted their Red Light promotions abruptly without giving much word as to why.Tiffany: There's this ping-pong effect over who's fault this whole controversy is. Obviously, f(x) halted promotions randomly. Obviously, Sulli was in controversy prior and during the promotions. Obviously, the controversy mostly surrounded Choiza. However, after seeing deleted pictures online of Sulli and Choiza's date/vacation with each other, everyone is now putting the blame on Sulli as if it's her sole fault. I truly believe she should be able to date whoever she wants as everyone should. But not only is SM Entertainment continuously denying the cold hard facts that they're dating/not even saying anything anymore (which really isn't much of an issue, in my opinion) but Choiza is just having a ball with this scandal. He's mentioning it everywhere, uploading pictures, doing anything he can to ensure that everyone knows that Sulli is taken by him. And though it's cute that he's claiming her as his girl, it's somewhat... unprofessional especially at this time where she's promoting and the scandal was just dying down. Him leaving his wallet? His fault. These pictures going around? His fault. And no one is realizing that. Sulli shouldn't be blamed for loving him. He should be blamed for acting like a brainless douche who could care less about Sulli's condition but more about his own happiness. I speak for Sulli who hasn't been speaking much at all when I say that Choiza is ruining his own image as well as Sulli's and should just stop.
Andi: I completely agree with Tiffany. In the world of Kpop, females are viewed more critically and are bashed more frequently and with more ease than males. Choiza should know and understand this especially when his girlfriend is busy promoting her group's latest song. This is when people are paying attention to them the most and here's Choiza, not giving a damn about neither his own or his girlfriend's reputation. Sulli has already been in numerous scandals as it is and if she's trying to make up for her mistakes she made in the past, Choiza certainly isn't helping her situation at all. SM Entertainment isn't helping either by continually denying it. By now, SM should just accept the truth that the two are dating and release an official statement to hopefully put an end to all this madness.
Review: f(x) - Red Light
When you first start the song, the beat they drop is undeniably inviting. I mean, I actually was starting to put off all the comments regarding how sucky this song was until around when Victoria was done rapping/singing/basically talking her part at around 0:50. Of course, it could have been a little cleaner, but for the most part, it was something I could get into with a few listens just like their other songs, especially their last comeback, Rum Pum Pum Pum. The hook came in, a slower tempo, but sounding like it was going to build up to an amazing, indescribable chrous, highlighting and explaining all that is life to the listeners, making us find another reason to love f(x), making us find another reason to know that our anticipation for this comeback was not wasted.
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| Fuck sense. |
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| When I time out of my day to even make a gif, you know I'm serious. |
Likewise, did no one else catch the recycling of 1984's Apple Macintosh Commercial's concept at approximately 1:53 of the video (approximately 0:34 of the Apple Macintosh video if you're watching it?). WELL, I DID!!1 If that's from a different commercial/video, I'm still in confusion about the implementation of so.
Anyway, after giving this song a go, I'm completely confused. However, I do realize that some parts of the song actually do sound...audible by themselves? I mean, it's not horrific. The beginning is tolerable, harmonizing part of the chorus actually isn't bad, the hook is good but the bridge is probably the largest saving grace of the song.
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| Elle Goulding... is that you? |
Anyway, after giving this song a go, I'm completely set to actually like this song a little bit. Just the opposite of what I did with PSY's Gentleman, I'm giving the song a go without the crazy video just to see if it eases the confusion. Aside from the Illuminati-like (fuck, I said it, beat me with a stick, you fucks) concept, it really did seem to add more to the confusion for me therefore, I wanted to give it a chance without it.
Without the video, and listening to it five times (the amount of replays it usually takes me to get to like f(x) songs) the song is more tolerable, but honestly, not the best. It's not something, for me, anyway, that's adjustable like Rum Pum Pum was. It's okay but still a bit... weird? I don't know, maybe because I actually don't like fifty songs in one but the worst part is undeniably the anticlimatic chorus after the building up hook. It's like a... lie, to me. I'm not going to shit myself about my feelings about this song just to get more likes and people not arguing about how completely right I am. I like f(x) but I just don't like this friggin' song. Some parts are insanely good and I wish they built on those individual parts (the hook and the bridge, especially) more than they did so this convulted jungle. I mean, it worked for their other songs but now, they met their quota.
A plus? Luna got much prettier. I don't know but she really did. She's really killing the mysterious, blue-haired elf look. Victoria on the other hand? The Russian con-artist bob cut isn't really working.
All-in-all, not that great of a comeback. The video was good on SM Entertainment video standards, at most, and the song was tolerable at most yet forgettable. If you want, you can watch the live version placed above but... not the best work done by f(x) or on SM's behalf.
Update: However, I just found a really great analysis of the video on Twitter. Long story short, it's about how society's standards are so screwed up and everyone is naturally okay in their own way but we keep striving to meet society's standards. We shouldn't really, though.
I'd put a score below but I really don't know what to put. Out of five stars for this comeback, what would you rate it? Put your comments on the section below!
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| This gif tho |
This Year is Definitely Not Cao Ni Sulli's Year
To start up the controversy about a month ago, f(x)'s Sulli was caught using Chinese profanity on the popular SBS television show 'Running Man', a show that's watched by a large demographic (both children and adults) and obviously didn't support that kind of behavior... or at least didn't support it when the media outlets blew up about it and the channel issued a warning for that small mishap. Later, during Rum Pum Pum Pum promotions, Sulli again was pushed into the spotlight for something negative, people giving evidence that her recent 'leg thinning' wasn't anything natural and instead the work of carboxy shots, her, nor her fellow group members being able to soften the blow when they revealed their supposed 'plastic bag' diet, netizens throwing shit at her for trying to cover up the procedure with a flimsy exercise. Now, only a day ago, Sulli is under heat again with her fellow, constantly-ridiculed-for-her-behavior member, Krystal, not only for being emotionless and 'fake' on the show Radio Star, but also for still not apologizing for her Cao Ni Ma swear, pretending like it was nothing especially when Kyung Min mentioned it (perfect opportunity for her to at least say something about it) and well, just not being that fun to watch.Identification
To start, it seems like Sulli didn't learn from her T-ara unnirs who waited a whole year to apologize for their bullying scandal only to see their group crash down in flames without anyone to believe them nor give them even an ounce of sympathy. Sulli and a little bit of Krystal seem to be taking the same course, leading f(x) into the hole of despair the Core Contents Media shining stars have gone down, simply with their actions--or lack of actions. Because SM Entertainment released a statement towards this saying that Sulli was simply "cracking a few jokes" with the Running Man cast which seems legit yet, most netizens more-or-less dwelling on the facts that she still didn't apologize, these wounds simply just grew larger and larger... unmanageable and unable to be healed at this point.Likewise, there's no path she can now take without even the slightest bit of hate--if Sulli apologizes now for the Cao Ni Ma incident, people will get at her for waiting too long, not giving a humble or genuine apology since she was being egged by netizens to do it, however if she doesn't, Cao Ni Ma will forever be implanted in her record, brought up with every single article mentioning her name like is being done now.
Honest Thoughts about It
Genuinely, I think SM Entertainment has pulled stupid moves however, this one has to be among the stupidest. Instead of fucking around, playing Starcraft in their office and providing weak statements, they should have just made her apologize from the get-go like they made SHINee's Onew do when he casually and nonchalantly flipped the bird on Younha's Starry Night radio broadcast. In fact, I feel like the quicker it's apologized for, the faster people forget about it, me, actually not remembering both of Onew's mishaps (motherfucker hat a few days after his middle finger scandal) until sitting down and writing this article. At this point, there's no going back for the group (i.e. f(x)) especially being that people already somewhat dislike Krystal because of her never-ending attitude scandals and now, the face of the group growing distaste and being added onto the roster of f(x)-members-we-don't-like. Both of them have among the largest fan followings in f(x) and with their mistakes are most likely losing or at least prohibiting not only them as individuals but the whole group from gaining more.
What Should She Do to Fix It?
Is there anything to be done to fix it completely? People never forget (most I-netizens try to say it's only K-netizens but let's be honest--we're all human beings with long-term and short-term memory) and especially now that she waited so long to cover up the wound, it's simply getting worse and worse. I think the only reason why she's getting dug into so many scandals are due to the root scandal and her lacking in signs of regret. What actions I feel like she actually should take right now are apologizing (it's kind of too late to soften all the blows however, it'll at least let people to know she has a heart), covering up her obvious carboxy shot scars and then going on variety shows and being the best damn Sulli she could possibly be, smiling as 'real' as possible, laughing as 'real' as possible and well, avoiding any words that are negative or derogatory because... well, we all know how that goes.
Review - f(x) Rum Pum Pum Pum
It’s been about a year since the release of f(x)’s Electric Shock and after SM Entertainment endlessly teasing us for several months about f(x) eventually making a comeback this year, they’ve
finally returned with their new single Rum Pum Pum Pum. If you haven’t seen the music video yet, check it
out below!
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The Video: The
video takes place in SM Entertainment’s signature
box sets. There isn’t much to be said about it due to the fact that it’s reminiscent
of every other box set their artists record in. The only remark I have about it
is that at the part where they’re walking around, pointing and grabbing at
flowers floating in the air, I’m reminded of the video for Electric Shock. At least this time they’re actually looking at
something rather than touching all over the wall in amazement. Now, onto the
girls. Krystal and Luna look damn good with their new
styles. Though Luna has rocked the long, black hairstyle before with Chu, it’s the style that looks best on
her so far. Krystal’s new hair caught my attention when the first teasers were
released and I think I’ve found my new bias in f(x): Krystal’s maroon colored
hair. Victoria almost always looks good no matter what the stylists do with her. However, Sulli and Amber aren’t
looking too hot in the video. Amber’s hair is way too blond and Sulli only
looks good half of the time. The dance is relatively simple and easy to
duplicate, much like dance for Electric Shock. It follows the beat nicely and
looks like it would be fun to attempt at home but nothing about it really stands
out to me except the upside down, hand clapping maneuver
The Song: The
first time I listened to the song, I was extremely surprised that they sung in
a round to lead up to the first chorus. It’s a risky move and you don’t
normally see rounds utilized in pop music. At first, I thought it wouldn’t work
out so well but I was proved wrong when they managed to blend it in with chords
that are pleasing to the ears. The chorus has a way of getting stuck in your
head, much like other f(x) songs. Another thing that stood out about the song
was the lack of f(x)’s usual heavy electronic synth sound. This time, they
opted to go for a more string instrumental type of song. Despite this change,
you can still tell that this is an f(x) song. And finally, we move onto one of
the more integral parts of the song (but not really): Amber’s rapping. Finally, we get to see – or rather hear – a clear
improvement in Amber’s rapping skills. It’s not as awkward as before and she
seems a lot more confident this time around. I’m not saying she’s now the best
female rapper out there or that it’s an actual good part of the song. It’s just a lot better than before. I’m
still on the fence as to whether or not I actually like the rap in the song but
they do a good job of leading up to it instead of surprising us with a random rap
break like we’re used to seeing.
Overall opinion:
I honestly wasn’t expecting much when it came to this song. SM Entertainment has been pumping out
some really terrible songs this year with the exception of SHINee’s Dream Girl and Henry’s
Trap (I’m not going to include BoA because she’s been working on her music
on her own) so you can imagine my
surprise when this song actually turned out to be good. The chorus has a way of getting into your head despite the
lack of a random English hook for international fans to scream out loud at
random, unless “rum pum pum pum” is somehow applicable to everyday life. Overall,
I’d give this song a 4 out of 5.
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f(x) on American Comedy "Funny or Die"
It seems like nowadays, everyone wants a "piece of the world star pie" after PSY's success with Gangnam Style and are taking any opportunity at advancing in America regardless of the consequences (I'm looking at you, JYP). And if you're well updated with K-Pop's recent foreign advancements, you would be well aware that f(x) has recently filmed on a shocking American comedy called 'Funny or Die' with Pitch Perfect's star 'Anna Kendrick' available to be watched here.
After watching this skit probably twice, I'm cut through the middle at my opinion of it.
This skit wasn't that bad... I actually chuckled a bit here and there. I liked Amber's f(x) dominating role in the skit as well as Luna and Victoria's Engrish.
But Krystal's acting was unbelievably obvious and unnatural and Sulli seemed like she was the just a shadow and didn't even get a single line (probably because her Engrish was too bad to understand, but even so...). Not only that, I actually like Anna Kendrick however, there were some times in it where she was just... awkward? out of place? trying too hard? maybe even all three?
Also, in this, it talked about K-Pop and even had that Anna girl sing in her bad Korean and learn the Electric Shock dance, it really didn't capture the elements of K-Pop nor really showed what it really was about. It sort of just teased it a bit rather than made it sound appealing to a non-K-Pop listeners view. Lastly, I noticed that whenever the 'Electric Shock' music video , they only played the English chorus part rather than the Korean words... again, not really showing K-Pop's elements.
Though there's more negatives listed here than positives, I really did enjoy this clip. It was a good laugh in less than five minutes and it made me somewhat interested in more f(x) comedies. Nevertheless, Anna Kendrick is a great person to work with however, I really did which this show showed more of K-Pop rather than the short clip of Anna Kendrick, Amber, bad acting Krystal, the Engrishing 2 and their shadow.
