Things are a little bit chaotic in the Kpop world as popular boyband 2PM’s leader Jaebum left the band unexpected, but releases remained just as steady. The same goes for the J-pop world, and here are the updates for this week. Enjoy!
K-pop
8eight Lee Hyun – 30 Minutes Ago (mini album)
8eight’s main vocal, Lee Hyun releases a solo mini album for the fans who just can’t get enough of his silky smooth vocals! The title track “30 Minutes” is a gorgeous ballad featuring another singer, J-lim, who compliments Lee Hyun’s voice rather beautifully. Other songs in the album, such as “The Day We Love Again” and “Because Heart Doesn’t Know” are reminiscent to the first track, but rest assured that they are just as lovely and soothing. This is another good album to chill out to, and will make the fans to want more of Lee Hyun’s exceptional voice.
SHU-I – Bomb Bomb Bomb (digital single)
SHU-I is the a new 5-member boyband who just debuted earlier this week, with their digital single “Bomb Bomb Bomb”. The title track is a catchy dance pop number that while it might not showcase the boys’ vocal abilities, it is strong and will catch anyone’s attention. The second track, “Please Help Me” is another dance-influence uptempo number, and will certainly gets you up and going. The boys might be unknown to the public eye now, but with this digital single, it will definitely give them attention they deserve as it is a rather strong debut for a boyband.
Loveholics – In The Air (album)
Popular band Loveholic returns to the scene! After the departure of their main vocalist Jisun, the band renamed their name to “Loveholics”, and “In The Air” is their first album using the name. The band is famous for inflicting hope, despair and hurt in their songs, and songs included in “In The Air” is no exception”. “Hurt” featuring Jang Eun Ah, is the primary song for this album, and it is a brilliant taste of Loveholics’ sound – raw, sad and yet so beautiful rock-driven songs. Other noteworthy songs here include “Sour, Secret, Comfort” featuring Woo Ji Min, which is a great soft acoustic number, and “The Wind Is Quite Strong” featuring Whale, which is an upbeat pop-rock number. Jisun might have left the band, but Loveholics is going strong, and it is evident with this enjoyable album.
Ryan – Learns to Love (single)
Ryan of the boyband Paran makes his solo debut with the single “Learns to Love”. With works from Brown Eyed Soul’s Jung Yup and also ECO Bridge, this single is sounding to be a hit among ballad lovers, and the primary song “I Love You”, is adding up to the statement. “I Love You” is a smooth R&B number that is just very soothing to the ears, and is a perfect song to Ryan’s vocals. Ryan might be known to the masses as the pretty boy from Paran, but this single really proves that he is the pretty boy with a talent to boot.
J-pop
Thelma Aoyama – Emotions (album)
J-urban singer Thelma Aoyama drops her second full-length album! Consisting of 12 new songs, this album is a pleasant one to listen to. “Wasurenai yo”, the second track, is a catchy mid-tempo number that incorporated her voice rather excellent, while “Happiness” is a fun pop number that really exudes happiness from the listeners. The album might be a miss if you’re not a Thelma Aoyama’s fan, but give this a go, as her voice really shines here, and contains just the correct amount of sweet, while not giving away her edginess. Thumbs up!
Miho Fukuhara – Let It Out (single)
Miho Fukuhara’s latest single is her first tie-in song with an anime series (particularly, “Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood”). This pop-rock number is starts out being slightly acoustic, and grew out stronger reaching the chorus, giving the listeners a nice surprise. This song also accompanies Miho Fukuhara’s rather matured vocals brilliantly, and shows what a winning combination it is. This is another one of Miho Fukuhara’s excellent work after her last single “Hanabi Sky”, and if this is the pace that she is going right now, the future is surely looking bright for her.
MiChi – You (single)
MiChi returns with another single! This time around, it is a ballad entitled “YOU” and it is a pleasant one. “YOU” just exudes the feeling of peacefulness, and MiChi’s soothing voice helped contributing to that factor. On the other hand, the B-side to the single, “YOY” is a complete turnaround from title track, it is upbeat and has electronica elements. MiChi’s full-length album, “UP TO YOU” is coming up at the end of the month, so watch out for that one if you like this single.
The Pillows – Ameagari ni Mita Maboroshi (single)
Veteran rockers The Pillows are back with a single! “Ameagari ni Mita Maboroshi” is their latest single up-to-date, and this alternative rock number sounds like a true The Pillows song – it is hard but not too much with just the right amount to be catchy without sounding annoying. Chances are, if you’re a fan of The Pillows’ previous works, you will also like this single as it is slightly reminiscent to their other releases.