Brave Girls – touki REVIEWS

compilation review: Queendom 2 “FINAL”

I’m back!

After some false promises, and a bout with the COVID herself, I am back to give the children what they want! And I bet you have been waiting patiently for what I’ve been thinking about what’s going on in the South Korean pop music scene, with its insane amount of debuts and comebacks in the first half of 2022. There’s a lot to unpack!

So, speaking of comebacks, remember Queendom? You know, that Mnet program that had esteemed girl groups pit it out in a comeback war that had them pumping out amazing fan content all while trying to prove which one of them was worthy of being the “queen of all queens”? Well, if you were under a rock, Queendom had finally wrapped up its follow-up season, officially declaring a final winner – and let me tell you, it was a surprise, and one that I personally didn’t want, but it’s an Mnet program so… *cue shady backtrack*

With that said, I present to you my take on the final six tracks from the six girl groups of the program: “FINAL“. Perhaps there’s a slight ~*~bias~*~ but I’ll be as objective as possible; each group has brought a level worthy of the crown, but which of these six songs can Run the World?

mini-album review: Brave Girls “THANK YOU”

Well, Fearless, we’re back at another comeback from the girls!

Brave Girls returns to the K-pop scene with a new mini-album, and this time, the girls take on a retro disco concept that will have you screaming ‘2nd-generation vibes’. Titled “THANK YOU“, Brave Girls aims this comeback right to the heart of their success, the fans, otherwise known as Fearless.

Continuing in a release series (starting with “We Ride”) that will probably have you getting sentimental, Brave Girls wants to thank you (and me, and us) for everything; but will the fans respond back positively? Or will we be thankful we don’t have to listen to this mini-album after its first try? Let’s take a look…

the best of kpop 2021

Lo and behold! We are here!

Let’s put it short and simple: this is MY list of the best Korean pop songs of the year. What a year, though! While we are still on uncertain times, 2021 proved to be a period of refresh, with South Korean acts pumping out comebacks that were unique and fresh, debuts coming in left and right (with many more to come in 2022), and BTS continuing to dominate the world as we know it.

We’re going to take a look back at the fifteen of the year’s efforts, and yes, they are ranked. So, without further ado…

Here is my list of the best K-pop songs from 2021!

the best of kpop 2021 thus far

We’re so close to the end of the year… 2022 is only one month away!

As such, I’ve brought it upon myself to bring the sequel to my ‘best of kpop 2021 so far‘ list and add fifteen new songs as contenders for the overall ranking of the ‘best kpop 2021 songs’.

It really has been a journey in K-pop! A lot of debuts, some surprise comebacks, different tie-ins, and title tracks up the wazoo. 2021 has, thus far, been a very good year in K-pop, so it was really hard to find 15 songs that I thought deserved the title… there were just too many!

So, without further ado, here are the fifteen songs I’ve thought were the best in K-pop during the year!

single review: Brave Girls “Yoo Hoo”

Next up on the Brave Girls spotlight is a song that many people don’t actually know is part of their discography, hidden amongst their more recent releases. That song is “Yoo Hoo“, a summer jam that will have you thinking back to the fond days of when SISTAR and AOA ruled the charts as ‘summer queens’. Brave Girls, on the heels of their rolling success with “Rollin'”, has declared that they would like to be the next ‘summer queens’ to rule the charts, having already made waves with the almost-summery-like tracks “Rollin'” and “We Ride”.

“Yoo Hoo” might just be a precursor to the kinds of full-on summer tunes that Brave Girls will be releasing come the next few months, but is “Yoo Hoo” a knock-out track worth yoo-hooing too, or is it too cold for us to take a dip? Read on!

single review: Brave Girls “Deepened”

Up next on the artist spotlight for Brave Girls is the under-the-radar single “Byeonhaesseo”, otherwise known as “Deepened“. Before they were rollin’ up the charts and ridin’ the waves of fame, the four current Brave Girls were part of the seven-member line-up in 2016, having been introduced alongside Hayun as the second generation of the group. With original members Yoojin and Hyeran by their side, the group revamped themselves following a long hiatus.

“Deepened” is definitely Brave Sound in nature, but with its melancholic tone and R&B-like feel, is this track worth your love or do you deserve better? Let’s take a look!

single review: Brave Girls “We Ride”

You must know about Brave Girls now! If you haven’t already read my last review, you should check it out, but remember when I mentioned how Brave Girls had been receiving some hot attention lately? Well… it looks like that attention has skyrocketed them to incredible fame, going so far as to reach records and win their first ever music show trophy (with many more wins incoming).

I decided to take things up a notch with the reviews and put the artist spotlight on Brave Girls for the next few reviews, and there’s no other review to make than “We Ride”, the most recent comeback from the girls prior to the success of “Rollin'”. Being that this was their last effort before they made discussions about disbanding prior to their rise in fame, “We Ride” did not fare well on the charts initially but is now seeing a #WeRise of sorts. Following up after “Rollin'”, is this single worth the ride into Brave Girls’ discography, or are they simple just driving as a one-hit wonder? Read on!

mini-album review: Brave Girls “Rollin'”

Have you been in the K-pop know recently? Do you recall when a fancam video of Hani shot EXID to stardom? Then, have you heard about Brave Girls, and their recent becoming of a hot issue in the last few days of February?

Due to a compilation video uploaded by a Korean YouTuber, Brave Girls have become something of an anomaly; their 2017 track “Rollin’” shot up in the charts following the video’s viral release, featuring live performances of the track including a ‘military-version’ complete with chants from Korean men in euphoria to the sultry tune. Today we take a look at this track and the accompanying mini-album to see what all the hype is about… and if maybe I can join in on the fun!