Week of 11/8 – 11/15 (26 votes)

Well when I first posted up this poll, I kind of regretted it ’cause I thought it was pretty stupid, plus I just ended up paring up any two groups that I had thought would blend well together. I’ll try to make better polls from now on. xD

The best mash-up would be…?

1. Amuro Namie + Koda Kumi: 50% – 13 votes
2. 2NE1 + 4minute: 21minute: 15% – 4 votes
3. Utada Hikaru + Hamasaki Ayumi: 12% – 3 votes

I Don’t Care (Reggae Mix ver.) is 2NE1’s 3rd digital single and it was released on September 3rd, 2009.

♠Tracklist♠

1. I Don’t Care (Reggae Mix ver.)

Due to the huge success that the girls had performing I Don’t Care with a live band, they decided to release it digitally as the Reggae Mix ver. Personally, I think this is a great alternative to the original. The song is indeed a lot more reggae than the original and uses lighter beats, drums and jazz instruments, giving the entire song a more playful, softer feel. The chorus is great as all the instruments come together and deliver a jazzy, soulful performance. The girls also re-recorded the vocals for the song, giving it even more flavor, playing around with the melodies a bit and CL having additional rapping and singing lines.

♠Digital Single Rating♠

I Don’t Care (Baek Kyoung Remix) is 2NE1’s 4th digital single and it was released on September 28th, 2009.

♠Tracklist♠

1. I Don’t Care (Baek Kyoung Remix)

This second remix of I Don’t Care originated from a live performance they only did once of the song. The Baek Kyoung Remix, in my opinion, gave the original song an even more K-Pop sound. The vocals are the same but the instrumental is completely changed. It opens with a very pretty piano melody(which maintains throughout the entire song) and then adds synth and beats once the verse begins. I thought the combination was very unique and blended nicely with how the song was originally portrayed. What I also liked was how at the first half of the second verse, the song goes back to its original instrumental and then switches back to the remixed one. It adds some variety to it and flows nicely. The song, once again, has an abrupt ending, one which could have easily been fixed with ending the song with the same piano that it started with.

♠Single Rating♠

Bling Bling is JQT’s debut digital single and it was released on October 15th, 2009.

♠Tracklist♠

1. I Fell For You
2. No No No

I just love the cutesy, upbeat music of I Fell For You. I thought it would be a song similar to 2NE1’s I Don’t Care from the name but it’s really all the opposite. JQT sing very cutely in the song, even the rapping having a cute touch to it and the music is just so easy to fall in love with. Let’s not forget the VERY catchy hook of the song which is used in about every line that isn’t the chorus and squished in between each melody. I was impressed that the girls were able to pull this song off so good, it’s just too bad they didn’t get noticed very well.

The b-side, while still on the cute train, is a little less energetic and not quite as great. The synth used in No No No sounds pretty good, and the girls do a great job of harmonizing during the chorus but the song is missing something to make it as near as great as the title track, maybe some type of hook or maybe some rapping(which it is completely null of).

Once again, another debuting girl group has managed to catch my attention. While most groups these days are focused on a more sexy, mature style, JQT sticks to the cute sound(not the uber cutesy stuff though) while actually making it as catchy as the rest of the competition.

♠Digital Single Rating♠

♠Favorite Track♠

I Fell For You

KISS KISS KISS is Suzuki Ami’s 32nd single and it was released on October 28th, 2009. It reached #28 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and has sold 2,448 copies.

♠Tracklist♠

1. KISS KISS KISS (Japanese Version)
2. aishiteru…
3. KISS KISS KISS (Extended Japanese Version)
4. KISS KISS KISS (Extended English Version)
5. aishiteru… (extended)

Compared to her last a-side, KISS KISS KISS is a much safer approach to the house/dance genre. Instead of the bipolarity that Reincarnation was filled with, this song is a lot more linear with a safe arrangement. Although some might find the repetitiveness of the chorus annoying(she repeats the song title constantly), it just sounds good enough to me to maintain me entertained. I really also like the piano in the song, which while not prominent is still noticeable and combined with the acoustic guitar, beats and(in the chorus) looping synth make for a great instrumental.

aishiteru… reminded me of what A token of love was in the ONE single. It has a more of an electropop sound to it and some gritty, loopy synth. Ami’s is sort of whispering during the verse and she sounds pretty good, though not as good as other vocoding I’ve heard done on her. The chorus doesn’t arrive until a second verse is done, thus it kicks in during the half of the song. The music gets stronger and Ami’s vocals louder(at yelling level, but not like Reincarnation). While the song’s arrangement is unique, I thought her voice could have been manipulated better and the chorus given more work.

Next are three remixes of the previous two tracks. I’ll go over them briefly as the changes are pretty small.

• The Extended Japanese Version of KISS KISS KISS uses the same vocals form the a-side, except it adds around two minutes worth of instrumentals at the beginning and end of the song. Very unnecessary if you ask me.
• The Extended English Version has the same instrumental of the previous remix, except with Ami’s vocals being in English. Personally, it was hard enough for me to understand the Engrish chorus of the Japanese Version and having the entire song in her confusing Engrish is just too much.
• The extended version of aishiteru… goes through the same changes as the last two, 30 seconds of new instrumental at both ends of the song.

Eight months after the release of her last single, Ami just managed to satisfy my urge for her electronic music. The a-side, while very safe for her, was an addictive song although might not be for everybody. I was hoping more from aishiteru… but it’s still a nice addition. Hopefully she’ll return to working with Nakata soon as that’s the best music she has released in her career.

♠Single Rating♠

♠Favorite Track♠

KISS KISS KISS (Japanese Version)

T.T Dance is HAM’s debut digital single and it was released on September 23rd, 2009.

♠Tracklist♠

1. T.T Dance
2. T.T Dance (Inst.)

I’ve read that HAM’s debut song T.T Dance sounds a lot like something that could come out of H!P. I’m actually quite surprised to hear that, cause even though it isn’t your typical K-Pop song due to its cuter, rockier arrangement, it surely doesn’t sound like Hello! Project arrangement. The verses might have reminded me of Momosu’s The☆Peace! simply due to the marching sound it has(along with the clapping) and with a rock sounding arrangement but the chorus is just full-blown pop. While the rapping is a bit lukewarm, the song is still really catchy and different from the auto-tuned and synth-filled stuff released these days.

HAm took a risk releasing a song like this to the K-Pop industry and unfortunately it didn’t manage to catch on too well. If they do have future releases, it’d be nice if they maintained this style but found some better producers.

♠Digital Single Rating♠