Happy Canada Day, for those of you in Canada. =) The next rotation will not be up until sometime this weekend (warning: it will probably either be a little late or smaller than usual, sorry guys) but here's a few songs in the meantime.
결혼해 줄래 (feat. BIZNIZ) - Lee Seung Gi (Please Marry Me)
Korean | Pop/Ballad
I generally dislike formulaic pop ballads, but Lee Seung Gi makes everything sound better. His voice just has so much warmth, adding a genuine and rich depth to the song. The generic, predictable instrumental didn't do much for me, nor did BIZNIZ's fairly standard rap verses (which, I will admit, did break the monotony of the song quite well), but the sweet melody and overall smoothness of Please Marry Me, elevated by Lee Seung Gi's gorgeous voice, makes for an enjoyable listen with replay value.
君の声を feat. VERBAL (m-flo) - Kana Nishino
Japanese | Pop/Ballad
A very pretty mid-tempo, piano-based ballad. I only recently discovered Kana Nishino, and had some reservations, expecting stereotypical pop songs by a mediocre or poor vocalist. However, Kana Nishino's voice is quite nice. It's strong but not overpowering. She can handle venturing into the higher rangers without her voice thinning out too much or becoming shrill. The rich R&B based accompaniment is enjoyable despite being somewhat bland, and VERBAL's rapping is good as usual.
she levitates - blanc.
English | Electronica/Pop
You may not recognize the name "blanc.", but it's Maynard Plant of Monkey Majik. He's released two solo albums so far, this is from his second, entitled "canvas". He also hails from Ontario, Canada, coincidentally. "she levitates" has incredibly sweet lyrics It could be near, it could be far - It don't matter, cause I'll try real hard, complete with blanc.'s warm, slighly synthesized vocals. I'm generally not a fan of distorting vocals, but it's well handled in this song and not taken too far. I think I'm going to end up recommending the majority of these songs, haha.
Mission No. 4 (feat.Kim Hyun Joong, Kim Joon) - Son Dam Bi
Korean | Pop
Didn't have high expectations for this song, not being a big fan of Son Dam Bi. If I recall correctly, this song was for Haptic Motion. It's a plunky, synthy song with a jerky beat that is at times appealing and at times just jarring. It's a cute song that has Dam Bi showing another side from her previous more mature, "sexy" image. I wasn't overly impressed by it, but I can stand listening to it.
Romantic Freedom - RAJ
Korean | Pop
A newcomer to the k-pop scene that I thought I'd try out. A slick, confident song with synthy trumpet riffs. I quite liked the feel of it, but RAJ's voice needs a little fine-tuning. It's a bit too thin and lacks any shape, sounding reedy and slightly out of tune when he hits higher notes. Still, I'm interesting in seeing how he develops.
HOT K-POP 2009 ~ special mashup pt. I ~ - mas4
Korean | Remix
A mash-up of roughly 20 popular k-pop songs. I'm generally not a fan of mash-ups, but everything flows perfectly and smoothly. Very impressive. You can find a tracklist of all the songs used & more about mas4 at his website, masaMIXES.com.
Labels: blanc., Kana Nishino, Lee Seung Gi, mas4, RAJ, Son Dam Bi
