Most Shocking/Disappointing/WTF Asian Music Moments of 2013

Promising J-Indies Favorites Disband
I thought it would be excessive to give each of these bands their own entry as there's not much to say other than I'm sad I won't be seeing much of them, if anything, in 2014. Some were bands I've followed in the beginning and sad to see their journey end when they were reaching their peak: otogadead, cocklobin, and Eat You Alive. Some were new discoveries, but sadly faced their end when I was about to jump on the bandwagon of greatness: Called≠Plan and 2the DISCOLAND. I hope at least they find something else to join and continue on their musical journey.

Angeline Jolie Casts Miyavi
If you haven't heard the news, then I'll let you know that this isn't a rumor or a typo. I couldn't believe it myself, but apparently it's true. Angeline Jolie is directing a movie and Miyavi auditioned for it. I have no idea how his acting abilities have changed since Oresama, but I really hope he doesn't try to overwhelm himself with outside work like his pal Gackt. To make the situation even more amusing was his appearance in a tabloid claiming that Brad Pitt was jealous of Miyavi because he resembled a former lesbian lover his wife had. Don't you love tabloids~

Gisho and Hakuei Reunite
I must admit that this whole Litchi Hikari Club thing is a bit hit and miss and a little confusing to me. I don't understand its purpose anymore, unless there's an epic anime series coming out soon based on the manga. Anyway, as a casual listener of Penicillin, I was surprised to see Gisho reemerge to join Hakuei's side for the project. I don't know if it's a permanent addition, but whatever. Hakuei's way of working has always confused me.

Rubik's Kei Fired
Normally I would leave news like this off, especially since I'm not super into this band nor do I know enough people that even know of their existence, but I couldn't resist the vagueness of the news. I do like this band and they make good music too. Among all the band member departures, I think this one won the best of the best. Kei was apparently fired for "inhumane acts". What does that mean? No one knows and I doubt anyone will tell what those "inhumane acts" may be, but it was amusing to see what other people come up with as to what it may be.

ALSDEAD's Setsua's Departure
I think these member departures hit me harder after seeing them live and interacting with each other offstage. It's really weird. You believe everything is well and then bam! member departure or disbandment. It makes you wonder what happened between then and now to make someone leave or decide to break up the band. Anyway, I hope Setsua gets to fulfill everything he wants musically.

Signal's Controversial Disbandment
I thought about adding Signal to the disbandment entry, but there was something more going on with their story. I'm not sure how many people are familiar with them, but they are another talent j-indies band that sadly ended before they reached their peak. I was saddened by their shorten journey and disappointed to find out that their bassist embezzled money before their final live. I never understood the reasoning behind a member betraying their band, especially financially. Fyi, these visual kei bands don't really make much and most have to pick up another job or two to support themselves.

KARA Member Departure(s)
I'm not really a KARA fan, but I do like a couple or so of their songs and my favorite member is Nicole. I was aware that the group, or at least 3 members, had some contract issues with their label DSP Entertainment. Fortunately, things got settled and KARA has been one of the most successful kpop groups in Japan. Toward the end half of the year, Nicole and Jiyoung contemplated letting their contracts expire and leave KARA behind. Nicole made up her mind without hesitation and decided to let her contract expire, while Jiyoung takes the remaining few months at the beginning of the year to think things over. I think KARA is one those brave kpop groups that has a firm grasp of their individual futures and how business works in some way. Since I only have a bit of an attachment to Nicole, I hope this isn't the last I see of her in the public eye, but I want her to be happy with her freedom as well as whatever Jiyoung's decision may be on her own future.

Wonder Girls Hiatus
It all started when Sunye announced that she was getting married and it kinda seemed out of the blue. Of course, a lot of people assumed that she had a bun in the oven and worried about the future of Wonder Girls. Well, she did give birth and probably extended the group's hiatus as she adjusts to motherhood and married life. There was hope, but then Sohee decided to let her contract expire to pursue acting and modeling. I'm curious as to what is going to become of the Wonder Girls now. Will they pick up another member? Form a sub-unit or conduct solo careers in the mean time? I suppose we'll find out eventually.

SE7EN Scandal
Rain had a rocky check out of the military and SE7EN decided that he was continuing the celebrity military scandals when he began his 2 year service. Normally I would make fun of how big of deal South Korea made of SE7EN's trip to the massage parlor, but I can understand the fuss. Aside from ruining his dignity as a South Korean citizen serving his time, he also committed infidelity on his long time girlfriend. The interesting thing is that this scandal may change the system for male celebrities serving their mandatory military time. I guess something about it causes their hormones to go crazy.

BORN Accused of Starting Bizarre "Trend"
Overseas media love picking up bizarre "trends" that aren't really trends at all. Sure, Japan can be weird, but most things westerners think is weird they think is weird too. Eyeball licking happens to be one of those things. Although this viral "epidemic" was proven to be a hoax on CNET, BORN gained some views for "Spiral Lie" and of course some humorous commentary on the situation. Most long time fans of jrock are familiar with the late hide and Zi:Kill's TUSK's short film Seth et Holth and mentioned that, if anything, they would be the ones to start the "trend" of eyeball licking among visual kei. Nonetheless, everyone had a good laugh while it lasted.

Piggy Dolls Revamped
Piggy Dolls was a group that not many people knew about that possessed massive vocal talent and charisma. They started off with a bit of controversy with their image and name, but they embraced it and joked about their appearance while delivering powerful and confident performances. They were silent for a while, but I was happy when they returned with their first album. Unfortunately, more weight controversy arose when the girls lost weight. Whether it was the label's decision or they really did work their asses off literally, no one will know. Piggy Dolls went silent once again and returned with another controversial comeback: the original members were replaced. This upset me as well as other Piggy Dolls fans. Something I enjoyed about the group was that they stood out from the stereotypical imagery of kpop, but most of all they had mesmerizing vocals. Their replacements were quite vanilla and their debut was very bland. In short, I gave the new girls a chance and decided to abandon this new direction.

T-ara Ruins CEO's Competitive Plan
It seems like the overflow of drama has made it to 2013 with Kim Kwang-soo's initial plan falling apart before his eyes. Although we'll never know the truth behind Hwayoung's departure and relationship with the other members, we do know that new addition Aerum left before any serious attachments formed, but is said to possibly have a solo career in future. We also know that Dani will probably never be part of the main group and remain in T-araN4 as long as that exists or until she follows the same path. Either way, the line-up remains as six as it should've been in the beginning.

-OZ-'s Disbandment
As mentioned in my entry about Setsua's departure, I had the same feeling toward the announcement of -OZ- disbanding. They were an indies band that I felt would be producing music for a long time as their quality seemed to improve with every release. The band had amazing chemistry on and off stage and they were very consistent with everything. I hope the members find some projects to participate in because they are very talented, but nothing will replace -OZ-'s powerful energy.

AYABIE Member Shuffle
I've gained some enjoyment from this band after a few releases and seeing them in person. I still might not get over the whole name thing, but I learned to look past it enough and simply enjoy the music. Some time passed and Taito was announced to be part of the band as keyboardist. Later, KENZO stated he was leaving the band and I was really surprised, but it was nice he was working with Nightmare's Hitsugi on a side project called GREMLINS. After releasing a new single after his departure, Yumehito and Intetsu announced that they would be departing at the end of year. It looks like the band will continue with a new set of members to the existing and I'm really curious how that's gonna go.

Koki Tanaka Gets Kicked Out
I've surprisingly enjoyed KAT-TUN more and more over the last year and I know my younger self would be surprised that I would pick them over Arashi now, but I still have a soft spot for MatsuJun. Even though I'm not a hardcore fan, I was shock to see that Koki was getting the boot from Johnny's for violating the rules. After leaving, he was rumored to be offered to write a book about the scandalous underbelly that goes on in Johnny's Entertainment, which caused Papa Johnny to make a move to silence him. It didn't seem like Koki cared either way and went about his busy conversing with his fans on Twitter and working on his restaurant.

Dir en grey's Kyo Becomes Super Active
After recovering from vocal issues...again, Kyo decided to be more interactive. He opened a Twitter and Facebook account, had his photos featured in a gallery, created a website for his solo endeavors including some fictional characters he drew up, and lastly put together a band called sukekiyo. As much as I worry about Kyo's health, it is exciting to him open up more to his fans and try new things. Unfortunately, you have to deal with these crazy fans who think Dir en grey is breaking up. To those people, please calm down and reevaluate everything.

Block B vs. Stardom Entertainment
Block B has been through a lot of ups and downs as a rookie group, well somewhere in between rookie and veteran. They recovered fairly well after the mistranslated Thailand incident and soon the contract dispute began. I really wish companies would stop taking advantage of young talent (and their parents). The struggle was over their contract and not being paid what was due to them. According to sources, their parents contributed to the group's funding as well and the group never received what was promised to them. Fortunately, Block B made a true comeback under Seven Seasons and a new mini-album.

Rain Returns
Some of you may know that Rain is my ultimate kpop bias and the reason I even know what the heck kpop is. I've already expressed my excitement when I watched MAMA 2013 and watching him perform on stage like a boss. I remember holding back just a little when I heard the announcement of a new album for 2014 and a documentary/reality show. The more Rain the better. I'm obviously not complaining and can't wait to hear and see and feel everything for this man.

Ailee vs. AllKPop
Some of you may know I really dislike AllKPop and that I don't understand why people rely on them for news because they're as poor, reliable, and unbiased as Fox News and CNN. Most people know the story, AllKPop posted some nude photos of Ailee and everyone went crazy over it. I never really voiced my opinion on the actual situation of who was right or wrong, except for a class assignment, but I don't think I will be changing that anytime soon. Although, I still thought the "boycott" was stupid. Fans will continue using the site and continue to bash Ailee.

Gackt Scandal Part 2
Congratulations, you made the list twice and stayed consistent with being the spotlight of scandal! I thought things would settle after the financial and possible illegitmate child news and then we would get new material. Well, Gackt has been super busy throughout 2013 as an actor, judge, and musician, but he didn't avoid the scandal boat. As much as I wanted to rant about the fan commentary presented on the matter, I didn't make the time for it and I kinda wanted to avoid certain aspects of it. In short, a woman went to a tabloid and exposed her sexual exploits with Gackt. She accused him of sexual assault and the story went all twisty turny. As I want to still maintain my opinion on the whole situation toward the comments a secret, I'm not surprised that Gackt continues on by gearing up with several singles for 2014 without a moment's hesitation.

Pay money To Pain's K Passes Away
Only a few days after posting 2012's list and mentioning K's mental health, it was announced that the vocalist passed away. I wasn't expecting such news to occur so quickly when there was so much hope for recovery and new material for the coming year. With two new songs on the compilation album to hold us over, they did a fine job honoring K's essence with their last album.

Second Chances: KAT-TUN

Surprisingly, it took me some time to like and accept Japanese pop music. I enjoyed a handful of jpop songs, but when it came to Johnny’s Entertainment, I was enamored by Jun Matsumoto through his acting and cute face. I looked into his group Arashi and labeled myself a fan, although I was extremely casual about it. Later I got involved with KinKi Kids through Domoto Koichi’s acting and handsome features. Both of these groups I stuck by because of the music. There wasn’t a purely shallow connection for me.

I remember talking to one of my former role play partners about her love for KAT-TUN. Similar to MBLAQ, I kinda teased her a little about it and, I believe, her favorite was Kamenashi Kazuya and in return she teased me for picking Arashi over KAT-TUN and the slightly contagious MatsuJun love. For the longest, I could not understand KAT-TUN’s massive appeal other than their good looks and Jin Akanishi and Kame’s acting. At the time, I only knew their skill set in Gokusen Season 2. Later, I developed an attraction toward Kame over Jin through a drama called Suppli. Before Jin left the group, I was addicted to “RESCUE”, a track used for Yuichi Nakamaru’s drama with the same name. If you were part of Muddy Cult since the beginning, you would have seen my first music video comparison between KAT-TUN and DBSK, before the split.

One day, I decided to give the group another chance as the title suggests and slowly their music and charm grew on me through “Love Yourself”. I wasn’t able to listen to LANDS, but I tried to listen to as much of Jin’s solo work before his major involvement in the U.S. I still kinda regret skipping out on his first solo tour in the U.S. It was saddening that his stops on the second tour consisted of only locations on the usual west and east coasts. Like everyone else, I mused myself with the fanfiction-like reports concerning him and his wife Meisa Kuroki. As for the rest of the group, I casually follow them. I even developed a love or attraction toward the other members over Jin. A strong emphasis on Koki Tanaka and Ueda Tatsuya somehow.
I’m not sure whether Jin will recover from his slump, but it’s interesting to follow both sides. I don’t think I’ll be a hardcore fan of KAT-TUN’s, but I have found the appeal of these young men. I might even like them a little more than Arashi.

Quick Music Review

KAT-TUN - RUN FOR YOU (2011, Japan) Rating: 3/5
Favorite Tracks: RUN FOR YOU, COSMIC CHILD

Something happened and I've grown to like this group more than before. "RUN FOR YOU" is a super catchy dance track with loads of good moments and the video isn't half bad either. Sadly, this has become one of my favorite KAT-TUN tracks. Damn you! "COSMIC CHILD" has a dramatic opening and almost confuses you into thinking this track will go some different direction than the opener, but it keeps a smooth, electronic sound. It's a great marriage between orchestral elements and electro-pop. "DIAMOND" brings in hint of rock to the group's electro-pop song. It's a decent track, but it feels like everything's going a bit downhill from the title track. "& FOREVER" is a sweeter song and shows off the guys' impressive harmonization to some emotional electric guitar work. "SWEET CHAIN" leans more to a ballad sound compared to the previous track and pulls the vocal work forward more.



Cinemaglam - LOVE AVANT-GARDE (2011, Japan) Rating: 4/5
Favorite Tracks: サディスティックラブ, I've no name

"LOVEコレクション" mixes old rock elements and happy song elements you would probably hear from a jdrama opening or something. It's an interesting combination, but it definitely keeps you in to hear more from this debut mini. "サディスティックラブ" has the same feeling as the first track, but I'm more impressed with the melody and guitar work in this one. It maintains that feel good emotion from listening and keeps you hooked in to continue forward. "I've no name" reminds me of a present day Beatles track in some ways. I really like the vocalist's voice and the song definitely sticks easily. "君に愛された理由が分からない" displays a good partnership between acoustics and bass. It's an easy song to listen to and it's almost relaxing in some ways. "愛ヲ持テ進メ" picks up the tempo some and wakes up our bodies to move a little. "愛の罪人" completely shifts the mood to something almost haunting, but beautiful at the same time. It has strong musical elements and the vocals are pretty impressive. Sadly, not much is known about the artist/group, but I'm looking forward to more.



miss A - A Class (2011, South Korea) Rating: 3/5
Favorite Tracks: Good-bye Baby, Mr. Johnny, Breathe, Love Alone

I've been looking forward to an album from these girls, yet I feel conflicted by the title of it simple because it's similar to Miss $'s album name. "하나부터 열까지" opens with an almost different, tame sound from the girls. It has a nice piano melody that repeats in the background and it's dancy, but sadly not a strong opening for me. It feels a bit strained. "Good-bye Baby" was the promo song for this album and this is what got me interested to what they had to bring to their first album release. It's really catchy, powerful, and somewhat stays true to the girls' sound. Although, in some ways I'm reminded of the Wonder Girls. "Help Me" combines electro-pop with R&B elements. It does spotlight the girls' vocal talents nicely, but it's not a track I would listen to a lot. "Break It" was featured on the girls' first single and features simple beats and autotune. Never was a fan of this track and still am not. "Mr. Johnny" brings back my interest to this album and I can listen to this repeatedly. It's fun and dancy and doesn't take away from the girls' vocal abilities without the overuse of autotune. Once "그 음악을 틀어줘요 DJ" popped up, I thought my iTunes skipped to a T-ara track or something. I don't think this style fits miss A's style. "Step Up" doesn't quite transition that smoothly from the previous track, but the song's decent. It was featured in the last single release from the girls. "Breathe" was also featured on the same single. Sure, we've heard this song already, but this track still remains great and memorable. "멍하니" is R&B ballad track that almost falls victim to those boring, generic kpop ballads that annoy me, but the orchestral track saves it barely. "다시 사랑" was one of miss A's debut songs. It still remains a good song, but it pales in comparison to the growth of "Good-bye Baby". "Love Alone" jumps in as another promotional track from the album. It has an electro-pop and R&B sound which somehow makes it replayable for me. Although, I wish the music video was better though. "Bad Girl Good Girl" was the song that put the girls in the spotlight and even though it's not as polished and mature as the previous track, you can still tell that these girls have talent from the beginning. Lastly is "Good-bye Baby (Silver Mix)" which slows things even further and strips away the melody. In the end, I'm pleased with what they've put together and I'm looking forward to more growth.



Infinite - OVER THE TOP/Paradise (Repackaged) (2011, South Korea) Rating: 2.5/5
Favorite Tracks: 내꺼하자, 3분의1, Paradise

Like miss A, I was anticipating an album from this group as well and I strangely feel conflicted with it too. "OVER THE TOP" opens the album with a positive feeling that this album is going to be great. It has minimal, but dramatic snippets from the next track. "내꺼하자" took me a while to like, but it's a pretty good song. It's not as strong as "BTD (Before the Dawn)", but it still shows the guys' vocal chemistry. "3분의1" has become my favorite track from the album. It has an effortlessly vocal tone to it yet it remains in your mind for longer than 10 seconds. "Tic Toc" opens with a little orchestral sound and minimalistic music arrangement. "Julia" has more of an arrangement and it reminds me of a weak Backstreet Boy ballad when they were a five member group. It has nice vocals, but nothing interesting for me. There's a couple solo songs featured on this album as well. One is "Because" sung by Sungkyu. It's okay and has some good moments, but nothing super interesting. Next is a ballad by Woohyun called "시간아" which automatically doesn't keep me in for long. "Amazing" brings all the members back together for the remainder of the album. It has a nice piano arrangement and the guys sound good, but it's not a powerful track. It's a very safe N'SYNCish pop song. "Crying" intertwines pop and R&B elements together. This song isn't that bad, but nothing I'd repeat very often. Baby H takes over a good portion of the song and I wonder how it would sound without her. "Real Story" keeps the easy pace steady and closes out the album. If you bought the repackaged version, then we have 3 more songs to cover. "Paradise" brings violin and nostalgic 80s synth-pop together. This song also took me a while to like. It's not great, but at least it's on the same level as "내꺼하자". "Cover Girl" kinda throws me off on what direction Infinite is trying to go and, honestly, this track seems a bit of a joke for what they're working with talent-wise. So the fans requested a remix of "내꺼하자". I bet they didn't expect it to turn out like this. I really like the original more, but the guitar work is decent. Overall, the music is way too dramatic. Sadly, I'm disappointed with the final work, but I'm still cheering for them to rise up to their talents.



the GazettE - VORTEX (2011, Japan) Rating: 2/5
Favorite Tracks: UNCERTAIN SENSE

"VORTEX" sucks you in like the song title. It's a bit wild and goes in and out of old Gazette and new sounds with a hint of autotune. It's not particularly strong, but it's not extremely boring either. It gives the listener just enough. "UNCERTAIN SENSE" also has a musical arrangement that matches the title. It goes back and forth to the band's generic rock sound to an effortless vocal flight before tugging you back in for a couple yells and guitar punches. "BREAK ME" almost reveals a different side of the band that almost seems completely borrowed from someone else. It doesn't quite fit their skill set and teeters on the edge of boring. I bet you guys are waiting for me to praise the GazettE. It'll happen one day~


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DBSK "Survivor" vs. KAT-TUN "Rescue"

Before I start this comparison post, I must make a few notes. First, I am not a fan of either DBSK and KAT-TUN, so please don't attack me if I'm overly critical or don't know all of the guys' names. Second, this is a totally unbiased opinion, despite the fact I have a couple friends or so who listen to DBSK and one or two who like KAT-TUN. As mentioned before, I'm not a fan of either...I'm more of the outsider (i.e. Arashi, KinKi Kids, H.O.T, Backstreet Boys).





Song
I'll admit, I do like a few DBSK songs, and it kinda threw me off when they used the same little pitter-patter effect as they did for "Purple Line", but was quickly disappointed at the slight circus-like sounds and cheesy voice distortions. They really could've left that out. I did enjoy the harmonies and everyone's voices were on point, but I honestly thought of Duffy's "Mercy" once they hit the chorus. In my opinion, not one of their best songs.

Visuals
We have light versus dark, then we have the rubble with few lights against a technologic, pure white world. I suppose that's a bit creative. I like the darker setting more than the clean cut white set up, since it looks natural and kinda fits the mood of the song, but I could be wrong. It is interesting seeing these two worlds cross into each other with the flashes of white light brightening the darker area and the red lights tainting the white scenery.

Choreography
This isn't the best choreography I've seen from these guys. It seems kinda boring, a bit forced, and possibly some over thinking while doing the steps. At points, I swear they're not dancing together, but otherwise, I was disappointed again in this area as well. Perhaps they won't half ass their moves or just get a new choreographer altogether.

Overall Presentation
On a positive note, I thought the concept was an interesting choice and I also will give it credit that it was a clever one as well. The song is pretty decent, but I've heard a lot better and it's not good if I randomly want to listen to a Duffy song, especially since I don't listen to her in general. On the other hand, the video is kinda dull and the choreography is very boring and lacks passion.





Song
Honestly, I wasn't expecting to like this song at all, like most KAT-TUN songs, but I thought I'd give it a try anyway. I wasn't anticipating the singing during the intense heartbeats and the usual boy band harmonies, but the introduction definitely peaked my interest and I actually ended up liking the song. I really like the harmonies and the sectioning they did with the guys' voices. The music is ridiculously catchy and I like how smoothly everything just meshes together. I sadly had to rush to download the song, even if it had a cheesy rapping section and occasionally comical beatboxing in it.

Visuals
I like the black and white contrast to actual skin tone colors in the whole video. Just the whole lack of color was a clever choice for this song. It's definitely dark just like the DBSK video and even the wardrobe is black. I think they put a lot of thought into the environment and incorporating a few little elements from the drama, "Rescue", that this song is for, which is also a smart move.

Choreography
Even now, I still kinda think the choreography is just as cheesy as the DBSK video. At points, I didn't think it was neccessary to have the back up dancers and other times I thought it was interesting to watch, seeing the members and the dancers chemistry. During their individual dance moments in the video, the choreography ranges from cheesy to pretty decent, but it was better than what I was expecting.

Overall Presentation
Despite the fact that the choreography had it's cheesy points and the rapping and beatboxing sections made me giggle, I liked the scenery and concept of the video. It was a good representation of the video and the lyrics, from what I understood, were nice. It definitely made me want to keep an eye on these six talented men in the musical area and not just their acting abilities.

In conclusion, I think KAT-TUN won this fight. It's the first and only song of theirs I enjoyed. I liked the harmonies and how smoothly the music meshed with the mood of the overall concept. As long as Kame doesn't get that weird perm hair again, they can have the win this time and I might actually watch the drama this is for too.