[Album Review] RISE - TAEYANG; the sun has risen!

THE SUN HAS RISEN! Taeyang has brought a great start to the middle of the year with this album. It is flawless, and my favourite of 2014 so far. Thank you Taeyang, thank you.


  A wonderful start to the album. I love this song because it sets the atmosphere for the rest of the album. It's not too simple and not too complex. I like the lyrics, especially 'We're gonna be reachin' for the sky tonight / And we're gonna light it up / Rise tonight', because it feels like it's a subtle reference to Taeyang. I also like the lyrics, "Every time that people say it's the end / I will show I'm forever" and the way this part is sung. The beginning of this track is a sort of beating of a drum, which feels like, to me, it's Taeyang taking his holy steps to the highest stage where we will be able to worship him for everything that's about to come, because it's so good and he knows that.


The title track! The first time I listened to this song, I was watching the MV and was pretty distracted by Taeyang's spiky nipples, so I couldn't get the full feel for the song straight away. However, after I downloaded the album and listened to it a few times, I realised it is one of the best songs Taeyang has ever had. The emotion in this song is strong, and I can see that's why it was chosen as the title track. I really wish it had a better MV, but there's still two others to come out, so I guess it's okay. This track is one of the saddest I've ever heard; the line "it hurts so much, but now I’ll call you a memory." hurts me so much ㅠ_ㅠ. Don't hurt, Taeyang! Overall, this song is amazing and I'm going to listen to it a lot.

 새벽한시 (1AM) is a track that I had seen hyped up because of it's high quality, but I actually hadn't heard it until I listened to the album. The things I heard about how good this song was were not wrong &__&. I like the story that is told in this song about what happens when you're trying to forget someone: "That’s a lie, that’s the truth / I get confused thousands of times a day" and then "As if it’s nothing, I talk about you / But I just want you by my side right now". True feelings right there. Who broke your heart, Taeyang?! I will fix it for you! The random 'robotic' voice that appears in this song is a plus for me, it's awesome. I'll be listening to this song at 1AM every night as I do with U-KISS's 0330 at 3:30AM.

"Why I Hate 2NE1" - Some Things You Should Know About KPOP

Okay. Yesterday, I saw a post on some website titled 'Why I Hate 2NE1'. The post has since been deleted, so I didn't actually get to read what was inside, but I know there was a comment with something along the lines of 'Oh, SNSD are plastic aswell. You're just ignorant and I can't believe there are people like you around here.' Obviously, there was some type of argument going on -- and maybe people are ignorant, but sometimes they have nowhere to get their information from, so it's not really their fault. Because of this, I will post some of my thoughts. You may agree with them, you may not, but it's my opinion, and that's what this website is for, right?
    

1. Plastic Surgery

I don't know how to explain, but I guess you could call this a 'sensitive' topic... to international fans. Plastic surgery is extremely common in Korea; it has some of the best plastic surgeons. There are ads for plastic surgery in subways, on TV, the internet. I think what some people fail to understand is that plastic surgery is not necessarily bad. If someone has an extreme self-conscious point, or they're unhappy with the way they look to the point of depression, or if they just want to get something done because they want it, or if they're getting a medical issue fixed, well? Are you going to tell  them to not do what they're doing and stay depressed for longer? Are you going to tell them to shut up about their medical issue and suffer in silence? I've seen k-netizens criticise one person for getting plastic surgery and saying it didn't do anything beneficial, then praise another who did the same thing because they 'became prettier' -- the beauty standards in Korea are extremely high, if you couldn't tell. Of course, when people familiar with the kpop world think about plastic surgery, they might think of Park Bom. I love Bom, but it seems like she really does/did have an addiction to plastic surgery. Nobody knows if it's because of society's standards or because she just wanted to get it done -- nobody knows, but why are they so mean? Because everyone is hypocritical. Everyone. Maybe your least favourite idol did have plastic surgery. Maybe your most favourite idol had plastic surgery, too. Why does it matter? Does it really change who they are as a person? I don't think so.    

Get to know 15&!

Do you know Baek Yerin and Park Jimin (no, not the cutie from BTS! Still a cutie, though)? No? Well, you need to get to know them right now! Brighten up your life! 

Park Jimin and Baek Yerin were both born in 1997, hence the group name 15&, as they were both 15 when they debuted officially. 

Park Jimin, born on the 5th of July, is an outgoing, energetic, happy and sometimes crazy girl who likes to spread love and has a passion for singing. She won the first season of the Korean talent show, KPOP STAR, in 2012. 

 Baek Yerin, born on the 26th of June, is a shy, quiet, reserved girl who is kind and also has a passion for singing. She performed on Star King, becoming known as an 'R&B genius', and later auditioned for JYP in 2007.