miss A Are Back As 'A Class' Singers

The girls of miss A (Fei, Jia, Min and Suzy) have just released their latest album titled A Class and with multiple teasers featuring each member with audio snippets of their title track Goodbye Baby, fans have been kept anticipated and wanting more before the official release of the album.

So it was not a surprise when the track reached an all-kill at various music charts in South Korea upon its release to the public. But coming from the famous producer JYP, miss A’s latest album is definitely not a letdown, though I must say that I expected more ‘new’ songs in the album as opposed to the inclusion of previously released songs from their prior albums.

The first track, One To Ten, starts off with a repetitive yet soothing piano melody which echoes throughout the entire song. Though it might sound like a ballad at first, the bass beats comes in and makes the song a little more appealing, and more like a miss A song. It’s a typical track which makes you feel good immediately and bop your head along.

Goodbye Baby, the second track, is the title track for this album. Showcasing a more mature sound, this song had me singing along at my second listen. That’s because the chorus is repetitive and easy, “Goodbye baby, goodbye”. There are so many things which I love about this track, firstly is Jia’s energetic rap which somehow fits seamlessly into the song, and also the inclusion of a member’s name in the song’s lyrics.

In the first verse Jia sings, “I figured it out when you called me Suzy on accident, when my name isn’t Suzy. I don’t know why I tried so hard to trust in you. (I knew what kind of guy you were) Don’t cry in vain. (I took out all of your things). The acting stops now”.

The story behind the song is about a girl who dumps her playboy boyfriend, which is partly depicted in the music video for the song. Gotta love the trademark leg dance at the start of the song though. Do check out the music video for Goodbye Baby here!

The third track, Help Me, is a mid-tempo ballad which shows off the vocals of the three members. However, the use of bass in the background is still notable, keeping the flow and overall sound of the album on the same wavelength.

Break It is a track which overuses auto-tune, not that the girls need it, but I supposed was to enhance the track. It has a bad girl feel to it, and harks back to their Step Up days.

The last of the ‘new’ tracks on this album is Mr. Johnny, which uses acoustic shuffle sounds in the background. Another catchy song featuring Jia’s impressive rap, and will get you singing along to “Hey Mr. Johnny, Johnny...” soon enough.

Other songs included in the album include Play The Music DJ, Step Up, Breathe, Blankly, Love Again, Love Alone, Bad Girl Good Girl and Silvermix version of Goodbye Baby.

All-in-all, it’s a notable release from miss A which sees them more matured and classier as compared to their previous works. Looking forward to their next album already!

The author has been anticipating the release of Goodbye Baby since the first teaser of Min was up on the internet. What an impressive video! Do check out the teasers for Fei, Jia and Suzy too while you're at it!

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Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Transformers had always been a little something from my childhood days, so watching the trilogy on the big screen is definitely a must. After watching the latest instalment, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the last movie of the trilogy, I must say I am left a tad disappointed at the lack of storyline and plot of the story. Nevertheless, the action scenes and magnificent soundtrack make up for its downsides.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon takes on the historic moment of man’s landing on moon, and expands the storyline from the point of “One small step for man, one giant step for mankind”. The producers made it dramatic from the start, but I couldn’t connect with the moon-landing mission to anything else but the movie’s title. Much later into the movie, it was revealed that the moon-landing team was actually sent there for another purpose.

Another thing that took me aback was the fact that Sam (Shia Labeouf) had a new girlfriend, Carly (Rosie Huntington-Whitely). I wondered what happened to Mikaela (Megan Fox), only to find out later after Googling that she was dropped from the cast after she made some comments about Michael Bay, the movie’s producer.

In this movie, Sam is a fresh graduate who can’t seem to find a job and ends up having to bunk in his super hot girlfriend’s place in Washington DC while he attends endless interviews. When he finally finds a job, it is mostly in the part of his eccentric employer, Bruce Brazos (John Malkovich) who persuades him that this job will be the job for him to get to his second job.

Another weird character in the office, Jerry (Ken Jeong) is involved in NASA’s plan to map the dark side of the moon (spoiler alert!) and recognizes Sam as the one who had worked with the Autobots in the past. He tries to enlist Sam’s help but was killed off by a Decepticon.

Optimus Prime discovers that a piece of Autobot’s gadget is in the possession of humans and demands to know the truth behind its discovery. It was retrieved during the moon-landing mission and was brought back to Earth by the astronauts. Optimus Prime heads to the moon, discovers a fellow Autobot barely alive in a spaceship, and revives him back.

The Autobot he saved is Sentinel Prime, a scientist who had discovered a way to save Cybertron when it was invaded by the Decepticons. In the war, he had run away, carrying with him the intelligence to save Cybertron, but was waylaid on the way to Earth and landed on the Moon instead.

Sentinel Prime is one of the key characters in the storyline of this movie and his actions will set the pace for all the action scenes in this movie. Look out for the amazing CGI effects in the battle scenes as well as the heart-stopping action scenes which will sure to keep you at the edge of your seats!

The author loves the soundtrack for Transformers: Dark of the Moon as it features favourites Linkin Park, Paramore, Goo Goo Dolls and Staind.

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2PM Is Back To Put Your 'Hands Up'

The boys of 2PM have released yet another album filled with dance tracks, and this time they are back with a more energetic and mood-uplifting sound as opposed to their previous which were mellower and darker.

The first track off the album is Hands Up, which has shot up to the top of various music charts upon its release. Addictive with a repetitive chorus, by the second time you play the second song, you’ll be able to at least sing along with the chorus part that goes “Everyone put your hands up and get your drinks up” and “Put your hands up, put your hands up”.

Wonder Girls’ fans will be excited to know that Sohee lent a hand in creating this track and also she had an ad lib somewhere around the 2:00 mark. Do watch out for it. Meanwhile, watch 2PM’s music video for Hands Up where they go clubbing!

The second track Electricity is a techno number which is slightly on the mellow side. Upon my first listen, I didn’t quite like it but after repeated listening, I came to like it even more. The opening lines in English are great and show how much they have matured, and it goes “Come here, come here, let me move your body baby”. I also love Chansung’s part where he sings “Ja shijak handa, Jashi jak handa, Jashi jak han da ja, One Two Three”. Fans of the drama Dream High would be excited to learn that this track was featured on one of the episodes of the drama before, but did not appear on the soundtrack album.

Give It To Me is a track composed by Junho is a ballad which showcases the vocals of the six members, providing a nice break from the two dance tracks. Followed by Just Like The Movies, the next track is a soft and slow number that shows that 2PM can also challenge other idol groups who are in the ballad genre.

Don’t You Know is very much a summer-feel song that harks back to their Fly to Seoul days. Sounding very much like K-pop material, this song gives off a happy and uplifting mood.

Hot is the last of the new tracks on this album, and is composed by Junsu. There are many elements of electro-twirls in this techno and upbeat song, and is the perfect song to dance away in a club.

Tracks on this album includes previously released songs such as Without You, I’ll Be Back, I Can’t, Thank You, Don’t Stop Can’t Stop as well as the remixed version of Hands Up and Electricity.

The author started listening to 2PM when members Taecyeon and Wooyoung were featured in the K-drama Dream High.

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