A Pink is back with their 2nd mini-album, ‘Snow Pink‘, picking up exactly where they left off. The question is, is this as bad of a decision as we’d immediately think it to be?

The “cute concept” is something that is both reviled and accepted among the international K-pop community – reviled for its lack of creativity where all it takes is a flowery background and “innocent” looks to pull it off, and accepted because of the simple fact that it’s everywhere. So it stands to reason that when A Pink released the concept for their second mini-album, many K-pop fans cringed at the thought of yet another aegyo-packed music project.

But here’s the thing: A Pink managed to surprise with their take on ‘cute’, and in a way that wastasteful.

I’ll be explaining why after a run-through of all five tracks in ‘Snow Pink’.

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The album opens with “He’s My Baby“, which sounds like your typical SNSD filler track. It’s a bit of a disappointment considering that their last mini-album ended so promisingly with tracks like “Wishlist” and “Boo“, two interesting productions that sounded like ‘Owl City meets K-Pop’. Luckily, most people don’t expect much from the first track, knowing that gold lies in the second or third.

But there’s one thing that “He’s My Baby” did well —  it successfully introduced the ‘theme’ of the album, which in this case, established that A Pink would be continuing with their bubblegum-pop sound.

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Fans of S.E.S. will experience a major flashback with A Pink’s “My My“. It’s like hearing a reincarnation of S.E.S.’s classic track, “I’m Your Girl“, but with a slightly faster BPM to make it platable to modern tastes.

“My My” sounds like something S.E.S. would’ve or could’ve done, and that’s really the charm of this track. This ’90s sugarcoated R&B/pop jam stays true to a classic sound that’s rooted deep within K-Pop’s core. While it’s manifested itself in other forms with great success (see: SNSD’s “Gee“), “My My” gives K-Pop fans old and new a chance to hear that old-school style in its original state.

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The EP quickly picks up with “Yeah“, arguably the closest thing to a striking production in ‘Snow Pink’. Underneath all the cute melodies and playful arpeggiated chords lies a dubstep/dnb-influenced percussion. The influence is subtle and falls slightly short of being innovative, but moments like these separates A Pink from being just another cute girl group falling under the shadow of SNSD’s former image.

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“Like A Dream” sounds a lot like the Koreanized version of “Take A Bow“, a song produced by Ne-Yofor Rihanna back in 2008. While it acts as a breather from the other uptempo tracks in the EP, “Like a Dream” is hardly memorable and lacks the lyrical substance to keep our attention. There isn’t much to say, except that it’s the obligatory album ballad.

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Finally, the EP closes with “Prince“, a fast-paced dance pop number that reminds us of somethingGirls’ Day would’ve wanted to release. It commits to A Pink’s elegant and fairytale-like sound palette, which wraps up this album quite nicely.

One of the advantages of using the same sound palette throughout an album is that it makes it cohesive, meaning that the album flows smoothly track by track, regardless of track order. That is exactly what we’re hearing here, and while there’s a threat of listeners getting bored of an album like this, A Pink utilized just enough variation in their EP to keep us entertained.

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Unlike many other girl groups today, A Pink isn’t relying on catchy hooks to keep them relevant in the industry. They’re utilizing sweet, grounded melodies, which at one point was the very foundation of K-Pop.

One thing we have to note about K-Pop is that although it goes by trends that switches up every minute, it also supports songs with a pleasant melody and production. This is actually the beauty of K-Pop — no sound ever really expires. You can call some things you hear dated or cheesy, but when done right, it becomes a good pop song loved by everyone.

Sure, there’s nothing innovative or avant garde about A Pink. But just like how we all seem to advocate inventive K-Pop music, we should also appreciate and encourage those artists who keep the music we love listening to relevant and alive. It just makes the whole K-Pop listening experience that much more fun.

I tip my hat and bottle of Snapple to you, A Pink, for bringing us the old with the new.

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On November 10th, 2NE1 was selected as ‘Best New Band In The World 2011′ by MTV Iggy.

Their article contained background info on these four ladies and recounted 2NE1′s hit tracks, which allowed them to become one of the biggest names in K-pop today.

Congrats to 2NE1, all the blackjacks are celebrating with you!

admin : Asna Naoki

The Wonder Girls have enlisted the help of some big figures for their comeback. In addition to havingBeyonce‘s “Freakum Dress” choreographer, Jonte on their team, the girls also have designer Johnny Wujek, the fashion stylist for Katy Perry, backing them as well!

One official confirmed, “For the Wonder Girls’ latest comeback, we have been working with Katy Perry’s outfit stylist, Johnny Wujek.”

Katy Perry’s known for both her sexy and cute charms, as well as her quirky, but fun style. We’ve seen black and white cuts of their teaser concept so far, which raised the bar of anticipation for many.

The Wonder Girls will be making their return on November 7th for about a month of promotions before they head back to the States.

On October 28th, MBLAQ‘s Mir showed off his sleeker V-line through Twitter, drawing a mix of praise and concern from his fans.

Attaching a selca to his tweet, the idol wrote, “For all of my Japanese A+, Korean A+, people all over the world, and to all my A+ in outer space, [I'm] sharing one selca.  This is what you call a V-line.”

It’s been a while since his last update, so fans were surprised to see a world-wide (if not galatic) selca dedication. Since Mir drew attention to the V-line himself, fans immediately began to debate whether he looked good, or if he looked gaunt.

They commented, “Your jaw looks very sharp, I feel like you could cut me with it”, “Looks like you lost a lot of weight. Health is more important than looks,” and “Please send us more updates!”

In related news, MBLAQ released their second Japanese single and rose to 2nd place on the Oriconchart.

On a recent recording of KBS 2TV‘s ‘Secret‘, Brown Eyed Girls‘ Miryo admitted that she got cosmetic surgery for double eyelids.

She, along with Kim Jong Min, Mighty Mouth, Huh Kyung Hwan, and Yang Bae Chu, played a small game where the loser would be forced to reveal their secrets. Miryo lost, and so her formerHoney Family member, Joora, made a surprise appearance and revealed that Miryo was insecure about her monolid eyes and so she eventually went under the knife.

Miryo, who was a little startled by Joora’s sudden disclosure, confessed, “I wore glasses until my early 20s“.  Viewers burst into laughter when Miryo also mentioned that her glasses looked exactly like Kim Tae Won‘s big round shades.

On the same day, the other Brown Eyed Girls members shared their own personal secrets, which shocked many spectators.

Don’t miss the show when it airs on October 29th at 5:15 PM KST!