ICYMI IN CASE YOU MISSED IT / DECEMBER 14 - DECEMBER 20

[Lilac]

DECEMBER 14 - DECEMBER 20


Hello Hallyuplussers and welcome to another great week of In Case You Missed It! It's less than a week before Christmas and we hope that you're just ass excited as we are! A number of things happened this week such as Taeyeon coming back to bless us with her final release of 2020, as well as various online concerts and award shows happening or set to happen in the coming weeks, now with that said, we hope you enjoyed the week while we jump into one of our last remaining articles of 2020!

BY BEEFY & POLARIS_TAE


MONDAY:
#1- VIXX's Hyuk and soloist Jukjae will be releasing a collaboration single titled '동백꽃' on December 22nd; then all artists under Yoo Hee-yeol's label, Antenna Music will be releasing numerous Christmas carol covers until the end of the year starting on December 20th! We are looking forward to all of these future releases!

#2- Thankfully, trot singer Lee Chan Won has tested negative for COVID-19, this comes after his positive result earlier this month. We are happy to hear about his recovery, and hope he's perfectly fine!

#3- It's been shared that 2PM's Chansung will be officially discharged from the military on January 5th following his final vacation holiday. We cannot wait for his return!

#4- It looks like it's time for some holiday-themed concerts and fanmeetings! Jamie held an online concert, 'Jamie's Cozy Concert' on December 19th, then Yoon Jisung will hold an online fanmeeting on December 25th titled '동,화 (Christmas story)'! Will you be tuning in to see either show?



TUESDAY:
#1- Unfortunately, UP10TION's Xiao has tested positive for COVID-19, joining his still positive group member Kogyeol. Their fellow group member Bitto has, thankfully, recovered from the virus and was recently discharged from the hospital. We hope Xiao and Kogyeol will have speedy and healthy recoveries!

#2- The sequel to 2018's 'The Witch' will star Kim Da Mi, Jo Min Soo, Park Eunbin, Jin Goo, with a special appearance by Lee Jong Suk. The film will also be the debut of rookie actress Shin Si AH, who beat 1,408 other applications to take on a lead role in the film! We're really looking forward to this film's release!

#3- NCT has released remixes of their tracks 'Make a Wish' and '90's Love' through the project 'iScreaM'; the producers Wuki and SQUAR participated in making both remixes! Have you given these new releases a listen yet?

#4- In continuation of the Christmas-themed fanmeetings, EXO's Kai held his online fanmeeting, 'Merry Kai-mas' on December 20th. Then, soloist Jeon Somi will be holding her own special live event, 'SOM ALONE' on December 23rd! With such cute and creative names we know we'll be in for a treat!

#5- The 35th Golden Disk Awards have revealed exactly who their MCs are for this year's show! on Day 1 Park Sodam and Lee Seunggi will take on the role and on Day 2 it goes to Lee Dahee and Sung Sikyung. We are looking forward to all of their appearances!

#6- (G)I-DLE has been chosen to be the upcoming models for the fashion brand LIPHOP! They were chosen based on their confident music and visuals that will surely appeal to both domestic and international fans of their age group. We congratulate them on gaining such a role!



WEDNESDAY:
#1- Suda Anna and Yurino will be graduating from their company LDH on December 31st; this means the duo will be leaving Happiness and their subunit Sudannayuzuyully will be disbanding. With their departure, group member Yuzuru will be focusing on her new girl group with LDH Europe and Happiness will continue as a five-member group. We wish both of them the best with their future endeavours!

#2- Now for releases, Pentagon released a new digital single on December 18th titled '불꽃'; then later this month on December 28th Huh Gak will release a special album in celebration of ten-year anniversary! Soloist Jeong Sewoon will release part 2 of his first full album '24' on January 6th. As for drama OSTs, GFRIEND's Yuju released a remake of The Nolan's 'I'm in the Mood for Dancing' for TVN's True Beauty on December 17th; and JTBC has revealed their OST lineup for Run ON, it includes the artists Baek Ji Young, Mamamoo's Solar, GFRIEND's Yuju, Lovelyz's Kei, Monsta X's Jooheon, The Boyz's New-Hyunjae-Sunwoo, and many more!

#3- Rookie actress Kim Yi Kyeong, known for her role in the web drama My Fuxxxxx Romance, has signed an exclusive contract with sidusHQ. Continuing with news pertaining to actresses, Gallup Korea has announced their Top 10 actresses/actors; Kim Hee Ae takes #1 on the list. Other iconic names, such as Park Bo Gum, Hyun Bin, Park Seo Joon, Son Ye Jin, Suzy, and Jeon In Hwa also placed on the list! Make sure to check out the thread for the full list!

#4- One Ok Rock's Taka made a special appearance on Arashi's Diary Voyage as Matsumoto Jun's friend, the two discussed Arashi's journey into the western market before their hiatus. For the full episode, you can visit Netflix, find episode 21, and enjoy!



THURSDAY:
#1- More new comebacks were announced on Thursday. Both UKISS & TVXQ's Yunho announced comebacks for January! Yunho announced that he would be coming back on an unspecified date this January. Meanwhile, UKISS will be returning as a unit group consisting of Soohyun & Hoon on the 27th of January with 'I Wish'. Which comeback are you most excited to see?

#2- The 2020 SBS Entertainment Awards, which was held on the 19th of December announced their performance lineup earlier on Thursday. Performers included Park Jinyoung, Sunmi, Jessi, Lovelyz & more. Did you catch any of these great performances? Meanwhile, M-countdown has revealed that their Christmas Eve episode will include a collaboration stage consisting of LOONA's Heejin, Cherry Bullet's Jiwon, Rocket Punch's Yeonhee & Weeekly's Jihan. Will you be catching this performance in anticipation for the lead up to Christmas?

#3- It has been sadly announced that BLACKPINK has had to postpone their upcoming virtual online concert — which was set to be held on the 27th of December — to the 31st of January, 2021 due to the recent increasing number of Covid-19 cases in South Korea. We hope we will be able to see them perform again in the near future.

#4- Everyone's favourite girl group, SNSD announced that they have joined the social media platform, BLIP. Hurry up and follow them today!

#5- Following the outbreak of Covid-19 across the Kpop industry, it has been sadly announced that Golden Child's Jaehyun has tested positive for the virus. We hope he gets better soon.



FRIDAY:
#1- A slew of comebacks were announced on Friday! Laboum will be making their return this month on the 24th of December, 10cm are set to make their return one day prior on the 23rd of December, while VICTON has announced the new date for their much-delayed VOICE: The Future Is Now album. The album will release on the 11th of January, 2021. Meanwhile, BRAND NEW MUSIC has announced that they will be releasing a project single album on the 21st of December with participation from a number of their signed artists, set to include: AB6IX, Lee Eunsang, Bumkey, Kim Minhee & more. Gugudan's Kim Sejeong released an OST for the OCN drama, The Uncanny Encounter on the 20th of December. Which releases are you anticipating, and if they've since been released, which was your favourite?

#2- The Show Me The Money 9 finale was held on Friday and included contestants collaborating with artists including Jay Park, The Quiett, Loco, Gray, Jamie and more. Ultimately Lilboi came out as the overall winner of the series. Congrats!

#3- Great news for fans of A.C.E! The group has signed with the agency, Asian Agent in order to expand their US-based global promotions and strategy.

#4- On Friday, it was shared that Boa was questioned by prosecutors following a violation of drug import regulations due to careless customs clearance procedures related to the importation of sleeping pills by a foreign branch of SM Entertainment. What's your opinion on this?

#5- On Friday, Up Up Girls held their final concert as five as four of the group's original members graduated from the group, while Sekine Asuza will be remaining with the group but has changed her designated colour from orange to red and seven new members will join her in the group.

#6- Japanese actor, Ozawa Ren has apologized to his agency for rebuttal tweets directed at his agency that terminated his contract following domestic violence allegations levelled at him by Bunshun Online.



SATURDAY:
#1- The boy group brand rankings have been released for December! Bts Jimin has once again dominated the list at #1, who BTS' Jhope & Exo's Kai round out the top 3 at #2 & #3 respectively. Did any of your biases make the list?

#2- Suzy has sadly announced that her upcoming 10th-anniversary online concert, 'Suzy: A Tempo' has been rescheduled to January following a resurgence in Covid-19 cases within South Korea.

#3- It has been announced that all members of SEVENTEEN & MONSTA X have tested negative for coronavirus. Let's hope that they can continue to be in good health.

#4- Former Morning Musume member and current singer-actress Ai Kago has launched her personal YouTube channel. Have you subscribed yet?

#5- Former AKB48 member, Atsuko Maeda has been chosen as one of Slant Magazine's 'Top 20 Movie Performances of 2020' making her the only Asian actress on the list. Congrats!

#6- LiSA's new song has been chosen as the theme song for the Japanese film, Natsu e no Tobbira: Kimi no Iru Mirai e.



SUNDAY:
#1- The December girl group brand rankings have been announced! BLACKPINK's Jennie has taken the top position for this month, while MAMAMOO's Hwasa & Oh My Girl's Arin round out the top three. Did any of your female biases make the list?

#2- Jung Hyungdon has announced his intentions to return to the entertainment industry following his short hiatus due to an anxiety disorder relapse. Welcome back!

#3- Japanese actor Arata Mackenkyu has announced that he will be leaving his agency TOP COAT and temporarily halting his Japanese activities in order to focus on global promotions starting in 2021.

BY BEEFY


#1- TAEYEON - WHAT DO I CALL YOU
Queen Taeyeon made her third official Korean comeback of the year with 'What Do I Call You' from the mini-album of the same name; this comes two months after her Japanese single collaboration with Chanmina '#GirlsSpkOut'. For this new release, she continues with a simple and subdued sound which can be heard in her previous title track 'Happy'. However, despite both these songs' similar sound, they appear to be on opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to their moods. 'Happy' fits the upbeat nature of Spring, while 'What Do I Call You' matches the bitter Winter. We start the song with an acoustic guitar melody and a subtle reggae-like beat, the verses stick with these two elements before launching into the chorus. The chorus is then brought to life by bringing the beat into the song's forestage and dropping the guitar completely. This portion of the song is also very catchy as Taeyeon's breathy vocals suit the melancholy subject of adjusting to no longer being in a relationship and missing your past lover. In the second part of the song the chorus smoothly transitions into its bridge, which takes on a carefree attitude with the addition of a new melody and lyrics "Da da da da da da da da". The song is a short bittersweet treat, that perfectly captures the feelings of dealing with a breakup. It also fits perfectly into its mini-album What Do I Call You, which keeps the song's sombre mood and sound throughout its entirety, making it an extremely cohesive album. Some standouts from the album are 'To the moon' and 'Playlist' which are slightly more upbeat tracks. Overall, this was an amazing release from Taeyeon and we are looking forward to seeing how her sound will continue to develop in the future!





#2- KIM SUNGKYU - I'M COLD
Infinite's Kim Sungkyu has made his return since finishing his military service with 'I'm Cold' from his third mini-album Inside Me. It's been about three years since his last album 10 Stories and we're so glad to finally have him back. Sungkyu takes on a new sound for this new release, leaving behind his rock-oriented tracks written by Nell's Kim Jong Wan, and taking a step into a richer mid-tempo r&b sound. "I'm Cold" starts off with a deep and solemn organ, this organ melody instantly sets the mood for the rest of the song, which is one of anguish and deep regret. The song, however, picks up a bit of life in the pre-chorus with the introduction of an acoustic guitar and brighter synths. All of the built-up bright energy is soon released in the chorus, which highlights the artists' powerful and emotive vocals thanks to its subdued instrumental. These elements make the chorus extremely strong, capturing the song's sorrowful tone with a catchy and slightly upbeat melody in accompaniment. The lyrics of the song focus on the regret of letting someone leave and comparing these feelings to being frozen both physically and in time. There are some powerful lines in the song that explain the anguish in Sungkyu's voice such as "Don’t know what pain is, don’t know what happiness is" and "I’m sure you’ll just throw me aside". The rest of the mini-album is calm in nature like 'I'm Cold'; there are some outstanding tracks like 'Climax' which takes on a warmer and carefree sound and 'DIVIN' which is a laidback r&b track. So if you're looking for an album that perfectly fits the mood of the winter season, we highly suggest giving Sungkyu's release a listen!





#3- TWICE - CRY FOR ME
TWICE has decided to bless us with the official audio release of 'Cry For Me', making it the first digital single from the group. The group originally performed this special single as a surprise and gift to fans at the 2020 MAMAs, and was only officially released due to popular demand. 'Cry For Me' takes on a darker sound for the group's usual promoted tracks, going towards territory similar to their b-sides 'Make Me Go' and 'Hell In Heaven'. However, this track sets itself apart with a dramatic and theatric sound, starting off with a beautiful string melody before throwing us right into the verse first. We are met with a dark and deep instrumental with sprinkles of quick string plucks to highlight the member's words. Throughout each part of the verses and pre-chorus, the member's each serve a lot of attitude and character into their parts making an extremely fun listen. The chorus sticks to the song's overall tone but with the addition of the group's gripping vocals, the song increases its dramatic nature. Thanks to the lyrics "I want you to cry, cry for me" and others, the song creates an addictive chorus that will most likely be stuck in your head after one listen. Finally, the bridge puts focus on the group's vocals by dropping the instrumental sans some delicate piano notes while the chorus is passionately belted out. Then to finish the song off we are hit with the iconic line "I want you to die for me" as we fade into a final silence. TWICE has delivered a dark and dramatic track that was enjoyable from the beginning to the end. We can confidently say we'll have this release on replay for a while!





#4- AKINA - GRAVITY
Faky's Akina released her second solo single 'Gravity', which comes after her official debut as a soloist in November with the single 'Touch'. For this release, Akina collaborated with producer Yaffle to create her first publicly released self-written song. The new single is a mellow yet powerful indie pop song, that describes the suffocating and heavy feeling of being in a toxic relationship. A sombre piano melody greets us at the beginning of the song accompanied by Akina's full and rich voice. Soon the piano is dropped in favour of a soft and droning synth which continues for the rest of the song. The chorus takes on a new and unique layer of synth in its instrumental adding to the song's complexity and character. The subtle addition of new synths to the instrumental is one of the song's many strengths and adds to the richness of its sound. During the bridge the utilizes making the instrumental emptier to draw attention to the song's heavy lyrics and Akina's charming vocals, dropping out just in time for us to hear her sing "why do I feel like this?". The music video is shot entirely in black and white as it depicts Akina eating an apple and standing in the ocean; both are symbols of the song's title 'Gravity' which adds quite a bit of meaning to the video's visuals. Overall, 'Gravity' is a powerful yet calming track, making it a great follow-up single. We are excited to see what else her solo career has in store!





#5- JOLIN TSAI - SWEET GUILTY PLEASURE
Jolin Tsai has returned with the music video for "Sweet Guilty Pleasure" from her most recent album, "Ugly Beauty". The song is a trap-infused track that talks about being drawn to her. The song is also a track that gives us an entertaining experimental instrumental to appreciate together with her. The video opens via an exposition piece by two video creators — presumably for Bilibili, China's answer for YouTube — telling the story about a legend involving mermaids and how a young woman (played by Jolin) fell in love with a dolphin. We then move on to the main story of the music video. Following a strange encounter with a dolphin, who subsequently saved her from the killer jaws of a shark, we later see her become infatuated with the idea of dolphins only to keep this fact a very closely guarded secret due to 1. living in a small town that largely relies on the hunting of sea life & 2. because who in their right mind would approve of a relationship between a human & dolphin. Later, she finds herself invited to an event that is essentially celebrating the death of hundreds of fish through a harvest festival. She later leaves the festival early only for her friends and fellow villagers to discover her dark secret and her lover — in the form of a dolphin — to be killed. Nine months later, she gives birth to a dolphin/human hybrid, a mermaid of sorts. Thus giving us another exciting take to the mermaid origin story. Throughout the song, we see her talk explicitly about sweet guilty pleasures while also claiming back her sexual freedom. One of the most prominent themes within her most recent album, Ugly Beauty was to empower her female audience through the message of feminism. This can be seen in the track, 'Sweet Guilty Pleasure' as well as other tracks on the album that further develop the message of feminism. I would personally highly recommend 'Wxmanly', 'Ugly Beauty', 'Karma' & 'Lady In Red' as songs that perfectly exemplify this aspect of empowering storytelling throughout the album. If there is one thing that I would recommend you do this week, it would be to listen to Ugly Beauty, which is, in my opinion, one of my favourite cpop albums in recent history.

BY NARA


#1- TWICE's 'Eyes Wide Open' enters #72 on Billboard 200 and this is their highest entry on the chart, surpassing More & More which entered at #200! They join BLACKPINK and 2NE1 as only Korean female acts to enter this Billboard chart. Congrats to them on this massive achievement!

#2- Congrats to BLACKPINK for their YouTube milestones this week as their MV for 'How You Like That' has surpassed whopping 700 million views! In addition, their dance practise video for 'Lovesick Girls' has reached 100 million views!

#3- NiziU's「Step and a step] MV hits 50M views on YouTube! Congrats to the group and their fans, WithUs for this milestone!

#4- Congratulations to TWICE for achieving 1 billion streams on Spotify this year! They're the third girl group globally to mark this achievement.

BY POLARIS_TAE

Here are all the awards that were added to the system this week! You can request them here (don't forget to follow the instructions in the OP)!

Our Events Team Member, Astan is continuing with their 'Gift It Forward' event, with the submission phase where for each letter or gift that you submit you can win 5 elite points each, while also donating to a great cause!

Shop+ fans, Our Shop+ Team was busy stocking our shelves with even more great items again. Here are all the items that were added this week!

The Social Media Team published one article this week!

Polaris_Tae gave us a PlusDays article on the topic of 'International Tea Day'.

The Translations Team was busy fulfilling your requests yet again this week!

Vanilla Cupcake gave us a translation on an article about a fan noticing SNSD's Taeyeon calling out SM Entertainment and their management.

Our Japanese translator, Lurkette was really busy this week! Giving us a slew of Christmas themed translations including: Shiritsu Ebichu Chuugaku's 'Ndenaa Christmas'; Takoyaki Rainbow's 'Alone on Christmas ONE DAY!!' & 'Naniwa mo Jingle Bells'; 3B junior's 'Very Merry Christmas'. But that's not all! They also gave us some translations for E-GIRLS 'So Many Stars' & Shiritsu Ebichu Chuugaku's 'Winter Love'.


+

Hallyu+ is actively recruiting for staff. If you want to contribute to the forum's growth and join our amazing team, don't hesitate and apply now!
We are searching for new members for the following teams GFX, Public Relations - Video & Outreach Divisions, Translations and SM Team - Multiple Divisions.



We've finally reached the end of this week's In Case You Missed It. Both the Press Team, as well as SNS will be taking a one-week break next week, and as such there will be no ICYMI on the 27th of December. SNS will be back on the 28th of December 12:00 am KST, while the press team will look forward to meeting you in the new year! Have a great Christmas break and we hope that you're holidays are spent having fun with family and friends!





GFX BY @mocha
PROOFREAD BY @Polaris_Tae
FEATURED ARTISTS Yoon Jisung (Ex-Wannaone), Jolin Tsai, Sunggyu (Infinite), Yurino (Happiness), Chansung (2PM)​

 

[Dragon of the West]

Thank you to the amazing social media team for the update

 

[kimsguardian]

taengoo's new song really such a bop. i hope everyone will have great holiday~
thank you for your hard work!

 

[Polaris_Tae]

here's to one of the last 2020 ICYMI articles! Hope everyone has a great Christmas! This year was fun!
aside from covid ofc

Thank you to the amazing social media team for the update

owo, Dragon you're back?!
Welcome back! Hopefully school went well this semester

 

[demasta]

Thanks for the updates

 

[UMJI MOODS]

Many thanks as always for an excellent look back at the week. I hope that everyone will have a wonderful and well deserved break.​

 

[Dragon of the West]

owo, Dragon you're back?!
Welcome back! Hopefully school went well this semester

Yupp! The semester went down pretty well surprisingly enough.

I'm only here for a couple of weeks though because I'm starting work in mid-January.

 

[Stannie]

Thanks for including the superior Cry For Me

Thank you to the amazing social media team for the update

Welcome back, Dragon!!!

 

[anh]

thanks for the updates!

 

[Happy]

Thank you very much for the updates!

 

[grainy]

Truthfully, I really, truly, cannot understand your team's proofreading process, nor can I understand why the research is quite so deficient for cpop. Of course, I cannot judge for kpop and jpop since I don't follow them.


"Jolin Tsai has returned with the music video for "Sweet Guilty Pleasure" from her most recent album, "Ugly Beauty". The song is a trap-infused track that talks about being drawn to her.

The lyrics are translated by a professional translator, for you, right there in CC. So I assume you are only using such language because you want to keep this minor-friendly. Fine.

The song is also a track that gives us an entertaining experimental instrumental to appreciate together with her. The video opens via an exposition piece by two video creators — presumably for Bilibili, China's answer for YouTube — telling the story about a legend involving mermaids and how a young woman (played by Jolin) fell in love with a dolphin.

These "video creators" as you call them - can you not look into them given that they are the featuring artiste? FYI, they are YouTubers who average millions of views per video, Lao Gao and Xiao Cai or Mr and Mrs Gao. They now live in Japan. They are known for being storytellers, they share about mysteries and the such. That is why they were picked for this MV.

We then move on to the main story of the music video. Following a strange encounter with a dolphin, who subsequently saved her from the killer jaws of a shark, we later see her become infatuated with the idea of dolphins only to keep this fact a very closely guarded secret due to 1. living in a small town that largely relies on the hunting of sea life & 2. because who in their right mind would approve of a relationship between a human & dolphin. Later, she finds herself invited to an event that is essentially celebrating the death of hundreds of fish through a harvest festival. She later leaves the festival early only for her friends and fellow villagers to discover her dark secret and her lover — in the form of a dolphin — to be killed. Nine months later, she gives birth to a dolphin/human hybrid, a mermaid of sorts. Thus giving us another exciting take to the mermaid origin story.

Why talk about the MV plot instead of the song? Why talk about the MV plot instead of the more special characteristics of such an MV? It's as if she released a typical MV with no innovative or interesting features at all, which is hardly the case here?

Throughout the song, we see her talk explicitly about sweet guilty pleasures while also claiming back her sexual freedom. One of the most prominent themes within her most recent album, Ugly Beauty was to empower her female audience through the message of feminism.

Kudos to you for reflecting on the meaning of the song, but I would like to add that on the English Wiki page for this album, ""Sweet Guilty Pleasure" was written by Taiwanese songwriter Adia, Swedish songwriter Olof Lindskog, Hayley Michelle Aitken, and Swedish songwriter Johan Moraeus, and it speaks about love game and incorporates bounce beats. Tsai described: "Knowing your body is also knowing your own desires, the society has to tell everybody such concept, so people will not hurt others due to curiosity"". By the way, the English Wiki page for this album is basically a review of the album and covers the timeline and concepts.

This can be seen in the track, 'Sweet Guilty Pleasure' as well as other tracks on the album that further develop the message of feminism. I would personally highly recommend 'Wxmanly', 'Ugly Beauty', 'Karma' & 'Lady In Red' as songs that perfectly exemplify this aspect of empowering storytelling throughout the album. If there is one thing that I would recommend you do this week, it would be to listen to Ugly Beauty, which is, in my opinion, one of my favourite cpop albums in recent history."

I don't know who proofreads, but you let this writer down by not doing your job properly. You should have been able to help them level up this last paragraph linguistically.

I had hoped that your team improved its reviews of Cpop, but perhaps it was because the previously-selected songs that I caught did not have sufficient depth, I did not realise that you still half-ass things. It's one thing to lack basic research for lesser-known singers, or singers without a solid English fanbase. This is Jolin Tsai. Not only did she translate every single one of her songs in her MVs for Ugly Beauty, she has a strong English fanbase that also translates information. Furthermore, she is big enough to be reviewed in English. This time, it's really inexcusable for your team to spread misinformation.

I am being overly harsh on whoever wrote this review. But please understand that this is my harsh review for the entire team, and not for whoever wrote this review alone. I simply don't know how else to show your team how you cannot skip all the legwork for some cpop songs because of their complexity, since my earlier corrections and recommendations have not gotten through to the team leads/editors/proofreaders, whoever they are. Music should be interpreted by the listener. But I still think the artiste who has poured her or his energy and thoughts into the album should be respected, especially for albums that have been so painstakingly planned, like this one, which is why we are getting an MV for this song 2 whole years later. We can say what we think, but if they have made very clear what they wished to express, then if we are coming from a reviewier's perspective, we owe it to them to at least mention what they want to convey, in their words. If you wish to review music under an official title, please do not show respect to your favourites and biases only.

 

[Chococo]

I am on Press team, so I feel like I also have to say something about this. I love Press team. My post is not aimed to criticize any of my fellow members and please don’t feel bad because you feel like you are not contributing much. Every single one of you is doing something even in little bunches and you are a part of our team.

The reason why I joined Press team was that I love writing. Everyone who knows me they know that I am obsessed and I have so many characters living inside of my head. I am writing my own original story on the side. And I joined Press team because I wanted to help and I also want to continue improving my writing. It is one of the few teams which doesn’t generate a lot of interest in applications. We don’t get paid for anything we write. Some of the articles only get one or two comments. We can only expect that there are more silent readers.

First of all, it has been difficult for us. Most of our proofreaders are on hiatus due to holidays (and different curveballs real life loves to throw at us). But Polaris as a lead, she has always been kind. Trust me, as the lazy link of the team – I appreciate her patience and understanding when I need time off. She could be pushy. She could be demanding. And she could also hold it over our heads constantly. NO, she does not do that. She keeps extending deadlines without you even requesting it. That’s how great she is.

And she does so much for the team. She works on Twitter, she singlehandedly writes many articles ON her own. Sometimes she proofreads her own articles on her own. There are more articles coming in the future and currently sitting in the drafts... Honestly, she’s one of the best leads one can ever have and I can see how much she busts a sweat. She takes everything very seriously and she has always so many ideas. So everything we do is just a hobby and because we’re passionate about H+. We want to make this place so much more engaging and active. We always strive to improve ourselves.

Writing articles should allow room for creativity. Like my mom once said, “I love Russian songs, however there are some phrases that can’t be translated into our language because they lose their beautiful meaning”. And that’s how I find most of the Korean/Japanese/Chinese songs. There are some words that can’t be translated and can be only understood by the natives. She does know the meaning of the song and she can explain it. But how she sees the song – in form of her eyes, she bases it off of her own experiences and the way she relates to them. Like for an instance take two different people. Ask them to read lyrics to one song of your own choice and you will see how different they view that song. How they differently relate to it.

Take LOONAVERSE into a consideration, so many fan theories, and nothing has ever been confirmed by the girls/agency. We are left on our own to think of the story and find the narrative that looks the most interesting to us. LOONAVERSE is one of the most prominent stories for LOONA and their MVs should be taken into a consideration. I don’t see how is there something wrong with reviewing an MV alongside the song which can help us out. In Japan, there’s a reason why MV is being called a PV (which is short for promotional video). MV is used as a way to promote the song.

And suppose we also have to keep articles family friendly. This is a forum for everyone of any age. If the song or MV features more mature themes – we have to keep it low and intact, so no one feels offended.

We do our best a lot. We research as much as possible. As an example, when I was recently writing for Walpurgis Night - I wanted to make sure my comments don’t sound repetitive as Polaris. I would read the songs’ lyrics over and over again so I can grasp their meaning and in a way, I can relate to them. I would check out who wrote each song so I can bring it to the attention of how talented the members are. I will read any article. I also talked with fellow Buddy (UMJI MOODS) and asked him to read for him to help me out, so he can verify my thoughts or clarify some questions I might have. Wanted to make sure that I don’t miss out on anything if the album was discussed by the girls. But I realize this is not enough. I can’t research everything to 100%.

We can only strive each time to do better next time. And ICYMI’s releases are meant to introduce the releases that happened in the last week. Even the news are being summarized from one to a couple of sentences. We can’t talk about the whole album entirely in ICYMI. We have to figure out a way to catch a (future) listener’s attention. The list is only chosen so to make sure that they have not missed out on their fave’s release or to help someone find a new favorite. Sadly we have to pick out only one song to give their newest release a boost, especially if it is a really great album. And these articles have to be written over the span of a week.

Thank you for your comment, Grainy. Will definitely take some things into a consideration in the future. Hope you have lovely holidays!

 

[Saint Ren]

Jolin Tsai and a dolphin......mayhaps it's time to go and check her out.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year guys.

 

[Seriously]

Not at these essays on a simple update round up

 

[OutroTearTheFirst]

Omg Ukiss hags I’m rooting for them
Also had no idea about golcha’s jaehyun having COVID
Hope he has quick recovery and doesn’t suffer complications
I didn’t know of Akina or the Jolin Tsai song until now!
Thanks for the reviews and keeping me up to date! Great job guys !
EDIT: and happy holidays! Looking forward to reading these next year too !​

 

[Ackerman]

I want to thank the Press Team for always working so hard to bring content to this site and entertain our members.

I think constructive criticism is always something to take into consideration, but there is a fine line between constructive criticism and destructive criticism. All these articles, reviews, and summaries are all done from people who have a genuine interest in writing and entertaining the members of this forum. As the owner/admin of this site I welcome any personal messages regarding content you may not agree with or leadership you may not agree with. You can also contact our Community Manager - SM Maid

Please try doing so in the future, thanks.

 

[grainy]

I want to thank the Press Team for always working so hard to bring content to this site and entertain our members.

I think constructive criticism is always something to take into consideration, but there is a fine line between constructive criticism and destructive criticism. All these articles, reviews, and summaries are all done from people who have a genuine interest in writing and entertaining the members of this forum. As the owner/admin of this site I welcome any personal messages regarding content you may not agree with or leadership you may not agree with. You can also contact our Community Manager - SM Maid

Please try doing so in the future, thanks.

Gonna admit mate, I got overly frustrated because I've given constructive criticism to this team many, many, many times and this is one of the cases where the information is so readily available that I did blow my top. I will certainly contact you with my organised thoughts when I have some free time in a day or so.

 

[Mimi]

thanks for the updates

 

[grainy]

Alright, for some context, this isn't the first time I'm providing feedback to the cpop team. I am not sure if you are aware of that, but that involved a much longer conversation with several more points. That's part of why I got so upset, I felt that it was all lip service and no sincerity. I admit, I overreacted though. It was a build up for me.

I also don't have much spare time to respond to you, but because you are polite and you seem sincere in your approach to social media, I am taking the time to challenge some of your assumptions.

Writing articles should allow room for creativity. Like my mom once said, “I love Russian songs, however there are some phrases that can’t be translated into our language because they lose their beautiful meaning”. And that’s how I find most of the Korean/Japanese/Chinese songs. There are some words that can’t be translated and can be only understood by the natives. She does know the meaning of the song and she can explain it. But how she sees the song – in form of her eyes, she bases it off of her own experiences and the way she relates to them. Like for an instance take two different people. Ask them to read lyrics to one song of your own choice and you will see how different they view that song. How they differently relate to it.

Frankly, I completely agree with this paragraph and I agree that's how music should be understood anyway, it's personal. What I have a problem with is presenting it as the artiste's message when the artiste has very clearly stated their message. And they are so invested in this album, they have hired professional translators to sub the video so that their message stays true to their intention. So invested, they are releasing high quality MVs with storylines 2 whole years later.

This isn't, the curtain is blue, what does that mean? This is, "This album is the closest I have ever gotten to my emotions. This song is about how I dealt with self-loathing. This song is about how I feel about the death of a young LGBT boy. This song is about how I have evolved from the past..."

For more context, this time round I was really upset because this particular album was released in 2018, and so critically acclaimed and discussed that information is so readily available in English. This is the top hit, for example:

GMA 30｜Why Jolin's Ugly Beauty Is Album Of The Year - KKBOX

Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai was the biggest winner at the 30th Golden Melody Awards (GMAs), the Grammys of the Chinese music world. Last night, Tsai took home two major awards for《Ugly Beauty》— Album of The Year and Song Of The Year for Womxnly.Receiving the award onstage at the Taipei Arena, a...

www.google.com.sg

And why this grieved me so much is that if Jolin Tsai, of all people, with her active English-speaking fanbase and her effort in subbing videos, is not given the basic respect of cursory research, then I hold no hope for the others.

I would also like to add, my suggestion way back was, if you all have no time to research, then just don't write what you think the message is for that song that time round. Just talk about the song as music, what the music was like, what caught your attention in the tune. That's all. You don't have to do additional research if you are not going to present the singer's views.

Take LOONAVERSE into a consideration, so many fan theories, and nothing has ever been confirmed by the girls/agency. We are left on our own to think of the story and find the narrative that looks the most interesting to us. LOONAVERSE is one of the most prominent stories for LOONA and their MVs should be taken into a consideration. I don’t see how is there something wrong with reviewing an MV alongside the song which can help us out. In Japan, there’s a reason why MV is being called a PV (which is short for promotional video). MV is used as a way to promote the song.

I know Japanese music, I know PVs, I know MVs, I know the Loonaverse.

And I have also told your team, this is just not always possible in the cpop context. The reason being that MVs tend to be experimental, and go for moods. They are meant to add a further dimension to the song and if you wish to interpret them, then interpret them in that context. They cannot always be used as the basis for understanding the song, which is what the team tends to do and which I was informed is intentional.

A prime example, with another singer who ensured his writing was professionally translated:



In the case of Jolin, the summary of the MV and then the leap to feminism - I just, that was a completely weird portrayal of feminism, never mind the intent of the song.

And suppose we also have to keep articles family friendly. This is a forum for everyone of any age. If the song or MV features more mature themes – we have to keep it low and intact, so no one feels offended.

I have no issue with that, and I did say that in my original critique as well.

We do our best a lot. We research as much as possible. As an example, when I was recently writing for Walpurgis Night - I wanted to make sure my comments don’t sound repetitive as Polaris. I would read the songs’ lyrics over and over again so I can grasp their meaning and in a way, I can relate to them. I would check out who wrote each song so I can bring it to the attention of how talented the members are. I will read any article. I also talked with fellow Buddy (UMJI MOODS) and asked him to read for him to help me out, so he can verify my thoughts or clarify some questions I might have. Wanted to make sure that I don’t miss out on anything if the album was discussed by the girls. But I realize this is not enough. I can’t research everything to 100%.

Thanks for providing an example of good research for kpop. I appreciate that, and you have done a good job. That is also exactly what I suggested your cpop colleagues to do, earlier this year.

Here I believed (and believe) this legwork was not done because, well, just type "Jolin Tsai Ugly Beauty" into any search bar.

I am only asking that if the artiste talked about it, then write it in, if you are going to write about the meaning.

On a tangent, I actually don't react to social media posts when I see terrible misconceptions around cpop songs where the singers don't have a strong English-speaking fanbase and there are no official or maybe even no fansubs, an example was the review of SiS's Night Surfing. I fully understand it's really hard to do so in such circumstances, and that's the best that can be done.

The last few times I reacted, was because I personally translated not just the lyrics of the song but the relevant portion from the artiste interview. Because many of the most popular cpop artistes who shape the landscape have been around for 8-20 years, many of their songs have reached a point of maturity where their songs refer to society, history, poetry, politics, or even their lives and introspection. To have that reduced to the MV interpretation is just... painful, when the information is out there, and in English.

We can only strive each time to do better next time. And ICYMI’s releases are meant to introduce the releases that happened in the last week. Even the news are being summarized from one to a couple of sentences. We can’t talk about the whole album entirely in ICYMI. We have to figure out a way to catch a (future) listener’s attention. The list is only chosen so to make sure that they have not missed out on their fave’s release or to help someone find a new favorite. Sadly we have to pick out only one song to give their newest release a boost, especially if it is a really great album. And these articles have to be written over the span of a week.

Thank you for your comment, Grainy. Will definitely take some things into a consideration in the future. Hope you have lovely holidays!

I'll be clear here. I don't want nor expect any of you to write about albums. I literally just want you all to write about the song as a song if you can't figure out the meaning. There was, for example, nothing wrong with calling Sweet Guilty Pleasure a sex bop and treating it as such. That is my pain point, that misinformation might be spread about the song's message completely unnecessarily.

If you want to write about the song's meaning, then by all means, feel free to write what you feel about the song as well and what it means to you. I welcome it, I truly do. But I just cannot accept presenting the song as intended to mean something that it doesn't when it is a message the singer has worked for years to convey, because if you don't know what it means, you could very well be trampling over it. I only think this is an issue when the singer has clearly stated the message and talked about it repeatedly so it's clear that they are passionate about the message.

If you selected the song because it's a good listen, can't you be confident that it's a good song worth listening to without relying on purely sensational and untrue statements?

If you're confident in your selection process when it comes to the list, can't you be confident that you're providing a worthy playlist without having to rely on the visuals?

 

[Chomiczewska]

Alright, for some context, this isn't the first time I'm providing feedback to the cpop team. I am not sure if you are aware of that, but that involved a much longer conversation with several more points. That's part of why I got so upset, I felt that it was all lip service and no sincerity. I admit, I overreacted though. It was a build up for me.

I also don't actually have the time to respond to you, but because you are polite and you seem sincere in your approach to social media, I am taking the time to challenge some of your assumptions.


Frankly, I completely agree with this paragraph and I agree that's how music should be understood anyway, it's personal. What I have a problem with is presenting it as the artiste's message when the artiste has very clearly stated their message. And they are so invested in this album, they have hired professional translators to sub the video so that their message stays true to their intention. So invested, they are releasing high quality MVs with storylines 2 whole years later.

This isn't, the curtain is blue, what does that mean? This is, "This album is the closest I have ever gotten to my emotions. This song is about how I dealt with self-loathing. This song is about how I feel about the death of a young LGBT boy. This song is about how I have evolved from the past..."

For more context, this time round I was really upset because this particular album was released in 2018, and so critically acclaimed and discussed that information is so readily available in English. This is the top hit, for example:

GMA 30｜Why Jolin's Ugly Beauty Is Album Of The Year - KKBOX

Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai was the biggest winner at the 30th Golden Melody Awards (GMAs), the Grammys of the Chinese music world. Last night, Tsai took home two major awards for《Ugly Beauty》— Album of The Year and Song Of The Year for Womxnly.Receiving the award onstage at the Taipei Arena, a...

www.google.com.sg

And why this grieved me so much is that if Jolin Tsai, of all people, with her active English-speaking fanbase and her effort in subbing videos, is not given the basic respect of cursory research, then I hold no hope for the others.

I would also like to add, if you all have no time to research, then just don't write what you think the message is for that song that time round. Just talk about the song as music, what the music was like, what caught your attention in the tune. That's all. You don't have to do additional research if you are not going to present the singer's views.


I know Japanese music, I know PVs, I know MVs, I know the Loonaverse.

And I have also told your team, this is just not always possible in the cpop context. The reason being that MVs tend to be experimental, and go for moods. They are meant to add a further dimension to the song and if you wish to interpret them, then interpret them in that context. They cannot always be used as the basis for understanding the song, which is what the team tends to do.

A prime example, with another singer who ensured his writing was professionally translated:



In the case of Jolin, the summary of the MV and then the leap to feminism - I just, that was a completely weird portrayal of feminism, never mind the intent of the song.


I have no issue with that, and I did say that in my original critique as well.



Thanks for providing an example of good research for kpop. I appreciate that, and you have done a good job. That is also exactly what I asked your cpop colleagues to do, earlier this year.

Here I believed (and believe) this legwork was not done because, well, just type "Jolin Tsai Ugly Beauty" into any search bar.

I am only asking that if the artiste talked about it, then write it in.

On a tangent, I actually don't react to social media posts when I see terrible misconceptions around cpop songs where the singers don't have a strong English-speaking fanbase and there are no official subs, an example was the review of SiS's Night Surfing.

The last few times I reacted, was because I personally translated not just the lyrics of the song but the relevant portion from the artiste interview. Because many of the most popular cpop artistes who shape the landscape have been around for 8-20 years, many of their songs have reached a point of maturity where their songs refer to society, history, poetry, politics, or even their lives and introspection. To have that reduced to the MV interpretation is just... painful, when the information is out there, and in English.














I'll be clear here. I don't want nor expect any of you to write about albums. I literally just want you all to write about the song as a song if you can't figure out the meaning. There was, for example, nothing wrong with calling Sweet Guilty Pleasure a sex bop and treating it as such. If you want to write about the song's meaning, then by all means, feel free to write what you feel about the song as well and what it means to you. I welcome it. But don't present the song as intended to mean something that it doesn't, because if you don't know what it means, you could very well be trampling over it.

If you selected the song because it's a good listen, can't you be confident that it's a good song worth listening to without relying on purely sensational and untrue statements?

If you're confident in your selection process when it comes to the list, can't you be confident that you're providing a worthy playlist without having to rely on the visuals?

If you have so much problem with the fact that SM team doesn't write about your fave the exact way you want them to, you should write about them yourself, but I won't suggest you joining the team, because I doubt anyone would like to work with you