[Album Review] EXO - XOXO

* This has been in my draft bin for sometime now. I figured it was time to complete it.*

Where Have I Been?

Hello fellow readers,
If you have noticed (or haven't been paying attention) how sparse this blog has been since oh I don't know...4 months ago well I'm about to tell you the reason. First off, I moved and transferred to a school over 4,000 miles away from home and took the time away from the blog to get settled into another school year. Because of the move, school and lack of interest in blogging, I decided to put it on hold hoping a nice break would end my writers block. Well here we are 4 months later and I still have writers block! While I have not been blogging about dramas that doesn't mean I've stopped watching any. In fact I've watched a couple that aired this year and boy were there alot of disappointments. Most of the popular dramas I skipped and only read the reviews which turned out to be a great idea judging from the majority. So I'm gonna do a quick drama review for each one that I watched. Some dramas that I watched this year were already reviewed so they won't be on here.

Doctor Stranger: 7.5/10

What a great drama that wasted its potential mid-way through the series. DS suffered from not knowing what direction or genre it wanted to be.This has to be Lee Jung Suk's worst drama and I won't even mention his leading lady.

Bride of the Century 8/10

This was a very cute drama that I wasn't expecting to be so good. It had a nice plot that was different from the usual dramas and it kept me entertained. I've been a fan of Lee Hong Ki since You're Beautiful, and he wowed me once again.  

Marriage Not Dating 8.5/10

I've never watched a drama with any of the leads and so was apprehensive about watching this but once again I was surprised by how well they did. Han Groo just earned herself a new fan. Her comedic timing is on point and she had great chemistry with both leading men.

My Secret Hotel 7/10

After watching Queen In-Hyun's Man, I was looking forward to seeing Yoo In Na take the lead role again but unfortunately this drama suffered mid-way as well. MSH was suppose to deliver suspense and romance but failed heavily in the suspense department. Instead they focused on keeping the lead couple apart most of the drama and with out spoiling anything, the ending wasn't satisfying.

Secret Love Affair 9.5/10

I avoid Yoo Ah In's dramas since he doesn't stand out to me in the acting department but I'm glad I took the chance for this drama. Secret Love Affair was amazing and unfortunately I can do it no justice talking about it. This is a must see drama. The drama is about the love affair between a genius pianist and his teacher, its not just about the affair but how music can connect two souls together in ways most people couldn't understand.

Vampire Flower 7.5/10

Vampire Flower caught my eye because it was getting fanfare on one of the sites I frequented, and since I was looking for something short and sweet it fit the bill. While it didn't have the most amazing plot, the story was cute even though some of the special effects weren't up to usual par. The main lead wasn't too bad as a idol-turned-actor and of course the ever so lovable Kim Ga Eun was such a great fit for this.

You're All Surrounded 8/10

Lee Seung Gi finally returned to dramaland and I can say his chemistry with Cha Seung Won was perfect. They play off of each other very well and so did his co-stars. YAS was a nice drama that stayed consistent throughout.

I Need Romance 3 7/10

Sung Joon!!! Seriously he has one of the best jawbones. I Need Romance 3 was a great disappointment. Again, like alot of dramas lately, it started off well-off but suffered the middle slump where everything Kim So Yeon's character did irritated me. And when the lead character starts to become annoying it messes up the entire drama. The romance was the only reason I kept watching and the other side storylines were boring, except for Park Hyo Joo's part. She needs more roles because outside of the leads, her scenes were the ones I looked forward to the most.

Song of The Moment~BTS~Danger

Bangtan Boys are back and better then ever! Literally the first couple seconds of this video had me speechless. Not only do they all look good but the group plays bad boy really well. Or I should say, jilted ex-lover very well.

"Danger" is a very aggressive song that explores the end of a relationship that has become one-sided. The other person has lost interest in maintaining that relation and stops trying altogether. Clearly, BTS isn't having it and hashes it out with the girl through their words and dance.  Everything from the dance to the verses scream the internal feelings of anger and hurt. I like how they continued the storyline from "Boy In Luv" which showed the first feelings of falling for someone. Through "Danger" we see the gradual fall of the relationship and what went wrong. BTS put in alot of time and patience to make this work but the girl constantly rejected their love and instead used it against them. I find one of the lines from Jungkook's rap to be pretty ironic.

"Whenever I turn sulky you ask me “Are you mad at me?”
  Have you ever really done something to me?
  You are a sweetie! But I’m just a poor boy"

Instead of taking the blame for not giving parts of herself, the girl turns it around on BTS. Making her the mature one in the relationship when in fact, she's the reason behind their problems. The more I listen to the song, the more I get how personal it really is. Once again, the Bangtan Boys give me another reason to fall for them.

As always I love every member's contributions in this song but my standouts were J-Jope, V, Jungkook, and Suga. We are used to seeing J-Hope always smiling and just being a happy guy onscreen but in this MV, you could feel the anger during his rap verse it was very well done. Suga, as always, was perfect. I could say more but that would be showing my fangirl side which honestly would take over this entire post! V & Jungkook were awesome! Jungkook isn't a bad rapper, he has the right vocal flavor that it works for him. They are starting to give V bigger parts which is great because he has a nice, distinct deep voice that works for them. My overall opinion was that this was a great comeback single. Can't wait til the album comes out!


Danger

BTS "Dark & Wild" Comeback

The return of BTS is here folks and I for one am uber excited!! Their comeback is slated for August 20th, with an even darker concept than before. After the school concept, they seem to be taking it a step further in delving into what happens after "Boy In Luv."

From the first teaser video released, BTS is delving into the territory of a broken relationship. With their last single "Boy In Luv," the boys dealt with the initial emotions of a first crush, and the feeling that come along wit it. Well from this teaser, it looks like they've come back down to earth and this time it won't be as pretty. After listening to Rap Monster's rap monologue, it's safe to assume that the album's focus will be on the events following Skool Luv Affair.

Who else is ready for some more of BTS!?

New Writing Gig at Asia 24/7

For the past month or so I have been part of a writers program called The K-Pop Writers Workshop, specifically catered to writers/bloggers interested in K-Entertainment writing. Through this workshop I was given the opportunity to work on a article that had the potential of being published on one of their affiliated websites. Well, after the workshop ended I was asked to join the Asia 24/7 team where I am now one of their main writers!! So I mentioned all of this because my piece was just published today!! I reviewed the classic "Haru Haru" by Big Bang. If you guys want to check it out here is the link http://asia247.wordpress.com/2014/08/07/throwbackthurdsday-review-haru-haru/ .

30 Day Asian Drama Challenge: Day 11

To say that I am wayy past the 30 Day Challenge is a understatement, things got in the way so I never got around to finishing it off. It also works better this way since I've watched tons of dramas since then. Now onto the challenge!

Name A Drama That Disappointed In The End:
Nice Guy

Song of The Moment~ Taeyang~ Eyes, Nose, Lips

Finally he is back with a fabulous ballad!! I've missed listening to Taeyang's ballads like "Wedding Dress" as those were the songs that drew him to me the most. While "Ringa Linga" was great I was awaiting this comeback just to see what else he had made while on hiatus and "Eyes, Nose, Lips" did not disappoint. It's the perfect break-up song showcasing Taeyang's vulnerable side and the lyrics are raw and moving. The bouts of symbolism splattered in the song, like the burning picture of the ex-girlfriend, were a pretty fitting tie-in with the words.

"But like a burnt out flame,
  Burnt and destroyed
  All of our love
  It hurts so much, but now I’ll call you a memory."

The chorus is my favorite part, taking the simplest features of a person, to paint us a picture of his heartbreak. I'd say that's pretty ingenious.

"Your eyes, nose, lips

 Your touch that used to touch me,
  to the ends of your fingertips.
  I can still feel you."

This was a very serious relationship that clearly Taeyang wasn't ready to let go of and I am really glad he used the loss of that to write such a beautiful song.

Vocal-wise, I feel this is the best song Taeyang has ever sung. His voice captures all the right emotions and that smooth falsetto he does at the end of the chorus is perfect.

Eyes, Nose, Lips