Song Review:: Chanyeol (EXO): Upside Down - Happy Accident {Pre-Release}

-

  • Release date: 2025 August 25

  • Album tracklist: Upside Down, Back & Forth, Ocean Drive, High & Dry, Happy Accident (feat. Sole), 123 Dance 

  • Album runtime: 18 minutes

 Yes, the album is already out, but I wanted to get to this one first because if he gets a win for the album, a win on this one will likely come first. Also, I thought the present he got from Kai, I think, was so sweet. I love that. Wholesome support from the members.

Ooh, that's some smooth and swanky R&B. That's actually really nice. It's slow and mellow, but it's not flimsy. The beat is really pronounced, though unhurried. This is an early Sunday morning kind of song, or perhaps a Tuesday night kind of song. Slow dancing in the kitchen to a song only the two of you can hear. Domestic and comfortable, but at the same time the amount of sheer, undiluted love wafting off this moment could probably power the room. 

Chanyeol has such a good voice. I mean, the entire group is incredibly skilled and talented, but I'm not talking about the whole group right now. Even if he stays in a pretty narrow band of notes, the emotion in his voice touches each note, so that each note is distinct. It's actually really impressive that he can do this. I'm not hearing as much vibrato as I'd like to, but I do get to hear quite a bit from Sole.

 This feels like a slice of life music video, which matches the song really, really well. There's a distinct home video vibe to it without matching or mimicking the aesthetic fully. It's nice. I like this.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Battle of the B-Sides: Jin (BTS): Heart on the Window

-
Image
 My first BBS request! I just saw some of the memes being made about their performance and the amount of space between Wendy and Jin, and I just have to say that they're hilarious and the amount of trolling I'm seeing from the fans gives me life. The timing is actually really helpful for me to get into fan mindset. This request comes from a user on Reddit, who simply said there was too much, they were obsessed, and then linked me to an appreciation post they'd done. This is what I like to see, and it gave me a very good place to start: Jin and Wendy's voices. As a side note, Jin really does have the perfect trot voice. This isn't even in that genre or anywhere approaching it, but that honestly doesn't change this fact about him. If he's willing to give us more trot or trot-adjacent, I'd be a happy camper and eat it up. Heart on the Window comes from Jin's debut album and is the fifth track between a soft rock ballad and a full fat ballad. With the t...
Read more

Battle of the B-Sides:: IN2IT: Young & Dumb

-
Image
 So this lovely group left their company after a little over two years, founded their own company, and are now going by the name Skye as of 2023. So, yes, technically IN2IT is disbanded, but it's more of a B2ST/Highlight situation. I also found out that they did a cover of SHINee's An Encore  a few months ago, which delights me to no end because that's my favorite SHINee song, and they did a great job. This one was also recommended to me, and because I've never heard of this group before, I'm genuinely delighted by the idea that I get to cover a group I haven't heard of. And the only group I've covered in one of these posts, going by some of the numbers, that's smaller is the ill-fated Chocolate, which I also hadn't heard of before I started looking into them.  Some brief background on them. They debuted in 2017 as an 8-member project group from the survival show BOYS24 under what is now WAKEONE and left at the end of their contracts in 2020, which m...
Read more

Battle of the B-Sides: LABOUM: 빛이 되어쥐 (Be the Light)

-
Image
 Unless I do The Roulette Wheel, I obviously can pick which of the suggestions I've gotten that I'll write posts for. I also have a spreadsheet where I have my posts organized by generation and boy group, girl group, and co-ed. The co-ed groups definitely need more attention, but I'm taking these last few Specialty posts to focus on the girl groups because they're not my natural inclination, and while the Roulette Wheel is weighted equally, I don't like that it's uneven. So, I ignored my normal addition of the B/G/Co-Ed Wheel spin and just did it for a girl group, and I ended up with LABOUM. I'm not sure I've heard of them, so this will be exciting.  LABOUM is a third gen girl group that are younger sisters to U-KISS and Brown Eyed Girls, which is wildly hilarious considering the last GH post I did was in fact for BEG's song Abracadabra . So, that was unintended. 빛이 되어쥐 , or Be the Light  as I will be calling it through this because while it would be...
Read more

Song Review:: Taemin (SHINee): Eternal- Sexy in the Air

-
Image
Release date: 2024 August 19 Album tracklist: G.O.A.T, Sexy in the Air , Horizon , The Unknown Sea, Crush, Deja Vu, Say Less Album runtime: 21 minutes      As the inaugural review for this new blog, I had to go with Taemin. I know this is a few weeks late, but better late than never and it's at least still in August. Hello, and welcome!      As his first album under the new company, I'm sure most fans approached it with mild or moderate hesitation.       Luckily, I don't necessarily think we need have worried too much.       The song opens with some grindy electric guitar, an element I have to admit I'm a fan of in general. It reminds me of a science fiction dystopia film at night in the rain during a chase, which is a specific image for me that isn't at odds with the music video.      The verses lose that guitar, turning into more of a generic trap sound that unfortunately loses my attention, but turns...
Read more

Music Show Wins: Week of 11/27 - 12/03

-
Image
Aespa got the triple crown on Inkigayo this week! ATEEZ and WayV got their first wins with their new songs. There were no performances on either Show Champion, nor MCountdown, nor were there any wins for either program. Jay spent a lot of time singing on ASC, and there wasn't an MC Challenge, which I'd be upset about, but he sang so much that I can't be upset. Also, he did a quick cover of Mariah Carey's Christmas song, and his vocal runs and the quality of his tone just makes me melt a little inside.  Just as a reminder, the links in the chart go to my reviews, and the link down on ASC is for the full hour program. And I include the stage for the music shows, unless the winner didn't perform it on that day, in which case, I pull usually another live performance. Show Champion: N/A MCountdown: N/A Music Bank: ATEEZ "Ice on my Teeth"  (note: I don't think they're still promoting, so have the performance from 20241115) Show! Music Core: aespa "W...
Read more

Music Show Wins: Week of 10/16 - 10/22

-
Image
This week is apparently dominated by the soloists, as we have both a member of BLACKPINK as well as a member of aespa taking home wins. Karina's required to me do a review on the song, which is fine. I'm happy to do it.  Show Champion, Inkigayo, and The Show  did not have shows and no winner was announced. Also, Billie was the guest on After School Club this week. The links in the table, by the way, are links to my reviews for each win. I don't know if I ever said that. Show Champion: N/A MCountdown: Jennie "Mantra" Music Bank: The Wind "Hello, My First Love" Show! Music Core: aespa (Karina solo) "Up" (note: I couldn't find a performance for it from this music show, but here is another performance of it.) Inkigayo: N/A ASC Performance: Billie The Show: N/A
Read more

Song Review:: ODD YOUTH: Best Friendz- Best Friendz {Debut}

-
Image
Release date: 2024 November 01 Album tracklist: Best Friendz , THAT'S ME Album runtime: 5 minutes  So, last night, I was looking up what the members of Shinhwa have been doing lately, because I would love to see them release a new album, but I'll likely have to wait for another anniversary album. Which is fine. Anyway, as I was looking in to them, I found out that the maknae, Andy, has been busy with groups! (Also, it wouldn't surprise me if he named the company after their first financial success, which is a fabulous song and I love it). He had both TEEN TOP and UP10TION, which is super exciting for me to discover because I like both of those groups. Why do I bring them up? Because ODD YOUTH is the latest group to debut from one of the OGs of K-Pop and join their older brothers, MCND, as one of the active groups under TOP MEDIA. I do have to decide on if I can listen to this group, if I end up liking them though, because yes, the maknae is 16 and yes, they don't have m...
Read more

Music Show Wins: Week of 01/08 - 01/14

-
Image
  It looks like we may be getting more music shows back up and running if this week is any indication, but the most exciting news of all is that this week was a group's first first place on a music show! Congrats to n.SSign! Took about a year and a half, but I'm so happy for them. G-Dragon also got the Triple Crown on Inkigayo this week, which opens the trophy back up to someone else for next week, and that's without promotions. On After School Club, Allen and Taeyoung were absent, so Jayn Lee, former leader of TO1, joined Aron as co-host for n.SSign to come out and play a little. And in a both funny and adorable moment, Aron complimented them on smelling good. So if you're a fan, at least one of them smells really nice. Both of the hosts struggled a little with the MC Challenge, which remains my favorite segment, and the members had some interesting insights for the Question Corner. Show Champion: N/A MCountdown: Stray Kids "Walkin on Water" (note: I think I ...
Read more

Song Reviews:: BE BOYS: BE:1- I'M SO SORRY, BUT I LOVE YOU {Debut}

-
Image
Release date: 2025 June 18 Album tracklist: I'M SO SORRY, BUT I LOVE YOU ; if i ain't got you; CLOVER; BE There Album runtime: 13 minutes  This group has the first North Korean to debut as an idol! His name is Hakseong, he was a finalist on MakeMate1 (which I watched and was sad he didn't debut in NouerA , but couldn't be happier that he gets to debut now), and he has a gorgeous voice, you guys. And, best part, is that the whole lot are full adults except for the maknae, who turned seventeen less than a week ago, so the group passes both of my criteria. I actually would have been really sad if one of the two didn't pass because I fell so far head over heels for one of the b-sides. I'll talk about them later. Because I'm giving this group a little special attention. I'm rooting so hard for this group.  That guitar is loud and in front, very much a seventies sound. Actually I'm reminded of one of the songs from Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed soundtr...
Read more

Song Review:: Stray Kids: KARMA- CEREMONY

-
Image
Release date: 2025 August 22 Album tracklist: BLEEP, CEREMONY , CREED, MESS, In My Head, Half Time, Phoenix, Ghost, 0801, CEREMONY (Festival Version), CEREMONY (English Version) Album runtime: 32 minutes  Congrats to my Baby Stay friend who has graduated to Toddler Stay! Whoooo! And the fact that they spent the tour giving spoilers and no one noticed. When they revealed that, I had to blink and sigh. It's fine. I'm just being clowned this year by my groups.  I could swear, I can feel that drum or bass in my bones, but I'm not even listening to it in a way that would allow me to feel it in my bones. This song doesn't feel like it's as long as it is, which is both weird and a shame. We've got kind of an Indian vibe to the whole thing layered over the top of the bass and the drums that is just satisfying to hear, you know? Also, the siren alarms is a very nice addition. This is going to be a really good performance song, which is good considering K-Pop in general i...
Read more