Showing posts with label SM Entertainment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SM Entertainment. Show all posts

October 15, 2016

K-Review: EXO's Lay Goes Solo With 'What U Need?' MV

1:43 PM


Just to belatedly celebrate this awesome person's birthday and his gift of talent for everything beautiful, I just need to do a post about it! Yes! How about we talk about Lay? Yes, you Lay! Zhang Yixing the beautiful unicorn man with the power of healing!

EXO's Lay is the first ever member of the idol group to debut as a solo act. He had early on promised to the fans that he would be making a solo album in the same year (and if I remember that was during a music awards ceremony when they won?). It seemed quite far-fetched just thinking about SM Entertainment and Lay being the only Chinese member left, but you know, Zhang Yixing keeps his promises. What he says, he does. And look how he made his solo act possible!

Anyway, if you come watch the music video below, you'll see what I am talking about. This boy has the talent. His dancing skill is such a killer, the video is too adorable you will surely put it in repeat until you memorize the cute butt-slapping step he does in the clip! I must also comment SM for making sure he has a quality MV for a first and that the song is truly catchy. I don't know about the rest of the world, but right now, surely, this is my kind of jam.

Watch Lay's What U Need? MV below!


October 14, 2016

[SM STATION] 'Runnin' with Henry x Soyou

1:57 AM

Henry is the next SM artist to star in a collaboration with Sistar's Soyou!

So far, this is SM Entertainment's first attempt into doing partnership with Starship Entertainment (Sistar's agency) and surely it has peaked fans interest, mainly because it was a collab between the two agency's very talented artists.

The track, titled Runnin', is a feel good song that mixes Henry's light, easy going voice with Soyou's sweet and sometimes emotional one. It brings out an RnB feel, with a nicely arranged background music that will surely make you fall in love. 

The song comes out as a sweet serenade song in the 21st century that you will undoubtedly put on repeat on your playlist for the rest of the day. Surely, the beats are addicting and something you would want to sing and dance along to while in the kitchen and cooking your loved one their morning meal. 

And in total, rating the song, Henry and Soyou's voice combined is a total heaven. It blended so well I might really ask for a part two.

Anyway, Henry is part of Super Junior's sub-unit SJM and already had his own solo albums released previously. He is known in the group as a great composer and lyricist of his own songs, not to mention his plausible talent for dancing. He gained popularity through his activities with the group, but became more well-known through his appearance in Real Men. Soon after that, he was given gigs on variety shows to showcase his talent and later on starred at a couple of small screen dramas where he showed both his adorable side and talent in serious acting.

Meanwhile, Soyou is known as one of the members of sexy girl group Sistar. She has had in demand collaborations in the past that made her rise to fame as an individual artist, one of which is the song 'Some' with Junggigo which became a sensation in the year 2014. Soyou has been known for great collabs and this fact made this new piece from SM STATION something to look forward to on a Friday.

SM STATION is the weekly project playlist that SM Entertainment started in 2016. It has showcased various collaborations from their artists with producers and artist from other companies in the music industry.  The project, for a while, seemed too ambitious for SM, but I guess with a company like that with great talents can make anything possible.

How did you find the collab so far?

Tune in for more of my blog updates here! :)


June 6, 2016

The EXO Chronicles: Me's Theory on EXO (from MAMA - Lucky One & Monster)

11:10 AM

Everyone's out there typing down their own version of the story of EXO--I mean the characters, not the real life people. So, here I am laying down my own EXO theory. I am not that great with deduction but I love doing it. It makes me feel like this little fan detective whether it's a story or something like this I am trying to deduce.

Anyway, I speak in general terms. I haven't been that little detective who went into finding the smallest, probably most helpful clue in every MV or concept. I will just write here based on what I remember. I haven't skimmed the lyrics of their songs again so I am simply guessing (or probably already making a fan fiction out of  this. lol).

Well, here goes nothing:

I am not very keen about EXO in the beginning (take in consideration that I am from a different fandom), but for as long as I am watching their MVs and following them (last year I had this point when I watched all the MVs almost every freaking day *insert toothy grin here* and I am already following EXO for about one and a half year), I think I can say that the story of EXO originated from MAMA. Nothing is told backwards. The MVs, albums, and concerts are told in order of succession.

First, this marks the introduction, the beginning, to EXO--the LEGENDS;

all of this started from that story in MAMA, where they are some kind of legends with supernatural powers. I am not sure but because their world is threatened to be destroyed or was already destroyed--remember how their first tour is called 'The Lost Planet'?--they're sent to earth to do some sort of mission/preserve themselves/find if this world is a potential world to live in peace at (I have no clue what I am talking about, honestly). But then they will find this change in their life a little mocking, because life in this world isn't easy after all--what with all their powers vs. normalcy in this planet. They will see themselves as threat to the world and in What Is Love MV it is either 1) they are already here on earth travelling around to find clues on how to go back/do a mission/at least know why they are here; or 2) that was the time they're in their planet/world and that was them before their world was overcome by darkness.

In Growl/Wolf--suddenly they are a bunch of wolves/ wild beasts?!. But I guess it is just some sort of metaphor, like the powerful boys being compared to the kind of beast that they can be while holding such great power. In this time, yes, EXO probably knows about their power but they don't know yet how to control their powers well. It's either it comes when they lash out or not at all. They can't control it in their own will. 

And if you remember the EXO Drama MVs, we see Kris leaving and Luhan deciding not to come with him. Well, this is how I see it happen: the rest of EXO decided to live like a normal person although they know their nature (this is either because they found living in this world a nice thing or they just accepted that from then on they have to get used to the kind of life they have that they lived like how a normal human would) while Kris is determined to live it in another way, the savage kind of way, since he knew better that they can never have a normal life. 

And Luhan is a great friend, undecided in the beginning, but after meeting this human girl, saving her, he decided he can still have a purpose or that there is still some good in him that will stay and will help him suppress the powers in him. He transfers to the school the boys attend, and their bond strengthens. But then some shit happens, and Luhan wouldn't be able to control himself and lashes out, hurting Kyungsoo in the process. This will make EXO feel betrayed since Luhan's control couldn't be trusted, and they saw him, after all, as a threat to the normal life they are living. But then, something happens to Luhan and he needed their help, after all, so the gang comes to his rescue. And eventually they will still accept Luhan. 

At the end of the MV, we see his hair turn black (a normal color) after a tear from the human girl drops to where he wears his symbol like a tattoo. This can translate to his body finally realizing his power and that, actually, in can also be controlled. Then Kris, lashes out in the end, because he knew what happened to Luhan (it was like, by his body's acceptance, their bond crashes) and it's like he saw it as some sort of betrayal in the end, but he knew he couldn't do anything at that point. 

I actually have another theory about this, but it doesn't just make sense to me as of now, so let's skip that.

In Miracles In December, it is actually when we see them adjust to the life here. At that time, EXO must be well adjusted to the life here: they can do whatever they want, enjoy a normal life, find something or someone to love, but then, they just couldn't embrace all of this fully well because they know that this isn't their own world and they are far from being humans. They could try to be human, but they can never be one--and that is sort of an impossible problem. And it frustrates them, finds it quite unfair that they aren't human, that they are different, Then, we see Tao control time, stop it--he is the only one who uses his power mainly because all of them tried their best not to use their powers (if not use it to a minimum) in this world, and then we see those wistful looks on their faces, and them crying--their eyes filled with something like sadness, hope, love, a mixture of bittersweet feelings. It is winter, probably even Christmas, a meaningful day because it is probably one of the firsts they had here, and they are praying for a miracle--something like changing for the better, being normal, but of course, they know it is only wishful thinking that all they could do was to relish in the feeling of that moment.

In Overdose, we see them having those looks—the looks of someone under addiction (however you may want to call it). Listen to the lyrics connect it to the concept. It must be that one way or another each of them found a kind of love in this world, but because they know they are different, can never have the life they wanted so badly, can never be with this love because they could hurt them—the poisonous kind of love (because it keeps hurting them, and yet they keep looking for it, wanting it), it hurts to the point of self destruction that they wanted to call someone for help to repair them, to be normal—'someone call the doctor...' remember the lines?

Then EXODUS era--Call Me Baby/Love Me Right--comes. All I can guess about this, is that this must be the turning point to EXO. The time they are to choose what path they are to take--that they try to do everything to find a way to completely change themselves, of course, through their own interventions. I won't elaborate on this since I can't. Haha. This is the hardest to dissect for me, actually.

But let's focus on the Pathcode teasers :). Those are quite cryptic teasers. All of us tried to guess about them, for sure. And well, we noticed that the boys are in different places and seems like they lost their abilities or something. It's probably because, in my own theory, they decided it best to separate after Overdose, to lie low, try to control their powers. They don't want to be together because it is only much dangerous if they are together. By that time, people must already know about them--their true nature, that's why they are in different places anyway. They went to places where nobody knows about them--to conceal their true identity to the rest of the world, and it is after quite a long time afterwards that signs reemerges and the powers that they thought were gone/their bodies had forgotten about/didn't recognize anymore, tried to remind their owners of their existence in them, that they are perfectly still present. That after that, they go back together in the very place where it all started from.

Sing For You; they come back, try to be subtle and live in the shadows, without people knowing. But then fights/doubts/misunderstandings will happen among the members mainly because they know they aren't safe in the place where it all started from. But seeing the end of the video, EXO will probably come to an agreement, and will have decided on a final move that they thought will free them from the torture their powers and the people's unfair scrutiny brought upon them through all these years (which leads to Lucky One).

That in Lucky One, we see them in a lab. This is probably because while people already know how different they are, some of them—the doctors/scientists—either wants to experiment on them/know why they are much stronger than normal people/wants to kill them/or use them as some sort of subjects to create a serum that'll match their strength or will counter their strength or will make them weak/will determine if they can be of significant value ( a machine of destruction), that they will eventually come to EXO and convince them that they could turn them into humans—which is what EXO has been wishing to be after having a taste of this world. Only that, they are lying and just saying those to bait EXO for their own benefit. EXO of course, takes the bait, having this strong greed to change, this lust for a human life. But then of course, while in the facility, some of them will probably learn about the doctors' real intentions and they will try to escape. Some will do. Some will not—they might have been already experimented on. And Kyungsoo either doesn't know about this that he looked calm in the teaser or he knows but still wants to undergo the experiment.

Finally, in Monster, EXO will be able to escape, this will probably cause an uproar to the people though and they will try to fight EXO (or this maybe a simulation to test their ferocious strength). The boys, of course, tired of all the people's tricks, betrayal, cruelty, fight back and defeat the many people who tried to kill them. Again, Kyungsoo seems to have a cryptic character. We don't know if he was there watching because he has been transformed or he was just entertained to see the killings. We see Kai on top of the pile of bodies, signifying his morbid victory. For some reason, I find his character befitting since some hints were already dropped in the other MVs that Kai can be the most uncontrollable legend and this is him unleashing the uncontrollable savage in him. The mad beast. The unforgiving beast.

Also, in the Monster teaser, we see the screw, on their new logo, loosening. You probably are curious as well, why. I think it just only goes to show that after this fight, EXO will remain victorious, and that the screw represents the final thing holding them together, keeping them harmless to the world. And in it's loosening, EXO unleashes their real powers, their real monsters.

And if you will try to connect that concept to the title of their 3rd concert tour, The Exor'dium (I have read that it means beginning), you will realize how strong the connection of each is to one another. In Monster, we will see them unleash their powers, they will become much stronger after all that they had been through before (this gives a double meaning—to their real life story and the story line of their characters as supernaturals). And through the revelation of their strongest form is the start of something much powerful from the group. Something much explosive. Havoc. Chaos. A promise of something more powerful from the legendary beasts. Our monsters.


There! All of this will probably look stupid to you as you read them, but it's fine. I am just trying and well entertaining myself by doing some deduction. This may really sound stupid compared to all your theories, but I did it anyway. lol. Not to have lots of views but to stop myself from itching to share something that has been piling in my brain and is about to burst out if I don't write it down. 

This made up story may change after I watch the two MVs on June 9. Haha. But I'll probably re-write my deductions after a year, lol, Just to be sure.

See you on my next blog post!





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