hell all! welcome back to another
edition of #BRT !! we are here yet
again to give you some of our recs
so please enjoy reading !!
[ sania ] - loona ‘ppt’ by the kult crew
For this edition of BRT, I decided to talk about two covers but not of K-pop idols covering songs/creating choreographies - but K-pop fans who covered K-pop songs. The first cover I wanted to talk about is by The KULT Crew; a dance crew based in Adelaide, South Australia. I have ired them for some time, and really wanted to just take this moment to really appreciate their talent because their cover of LOONA's "PTT" aka "Paint The Town" was just a masterpiece. When it comes to dance covers, I feel as if I tend to have higher expectations because most K-pop choreographies tend to be on the difficult, charismatic and artistic side - especially ones that LOONA releases. As a result of that, I was a bit worried because I was not sure what the level of execution would be like because when I watched the choreography practice video - there was a lot going on. There were a lot of quick formation changes, a lot of emphasis on all limbs (especially the arms and legs) and a lot of key points that had to be executed perfectly - otherwise the choreography would not be up to standard. I feel as if a lot of people tend to really underestimate how difficult dancing actually is because you have to be able to convey emotions through the combination of your body and facial expressions - something which is not easy at all. The KULT Crew, on the other hand, just nailed this dance cover. Firstly, the outfits. My goodness- I loved every single one of the outfits because instead of going for similar ones - the individuals just chose to wear the same colour and express their own style freely; Jay (who covered Yves’s part) really stood out to me with his ripped tros and shorts combination - he really made them work. Secondly, the setting where the cover was filmed - perfectly in the middle of what appears to be outside of some type of business district/mall in Adelaide. It’s a great ideal location - especially if you’re wanting to grab attention; clearly what the dance crew are trying to do.
Thirdly, the choreography highlights. My god- certain parts of the choreography were done so smoothly that I just fell in love with this video. Especially at 0:59, which is the beginning of the chorus. I know the movements look simple, but in reality - there is a lot of energy being consumed, especially around the stomach and legs so I cannot imagine how much the must have practiced to execute such a performance. And then that transition into the squatting- The amount of strength and power that needs to be incorporated to execute that movement is not easy, so I really cannot help but ire the individuals for their performance. 2:03, I died. I genuinely died. Instead of being like your typical dance cover where you just cover the choreography, they decided to incorporate their own parts and I love that. The KULT Crew’s choreography inclusion looks more difficult than the original, especially that sudden squat and kick - Wow. I love it when dancers incorporate their own style into covers, instead of solely relying on the actual choreography - it just adds that level of excitement, you know? If I had to rate this cover, without a doubt - it would get 10/10. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend watching their other covers because they do not disappoint - no matter which group and song they are covering.
[ sania ] - dreamcatcher ‘because’ by reborn
The minute the choreography for Dreamcatcher's "BEcause" was released, I honestly was just so fucking excited for the dance covers because Dreamcatcher covers have always just been well done. To describe the vibe of this choreography, I feel as if I have to use the words elegant, mature and classy - it's quite different from what we've seen from Dreamcatcher in the past, but still just as powerful. As a result of this, I do think that individuals would struggle more with this choreography because during certain parts - you have to be careful with how much energy you are putting in your movements and if you put too much or too little, it could mess up the whole thing to put it bluntly. When I saw that Reborn had released a dance cover for "BEcause" - I actually had no idea who they were. I had never seen their videos before, but discovered that they are a Russian dance crew based in Moscow and are fairly new compared to other crews - probably why I didn't hear of them until not that long ago. The thumbnail instantly pulled me in because of the outfits- it's honestly been so long since I've seen a dance crew full-on imitate/recreate the outfits of the original performers with such preciseness and detail. It almost felt as if they were exactly the same outfits that Dreamcatcher had worn - I was so thoroughly impressed and had high hopes because if there was so much effort being put into the efforts, then the actual performance had to be on the same level to create that equilibrium. After watching the video, I genuinely regretted not getting into this dance crew sooner because the charisma of the , especially Chiba who executed Gahyeon's part, were just off the scale. I found myself being captivated by each individual, because they all stood out in their own way. Their facial expressions gave me goosebumps because the vibe I was getting was of someone who had experience in the entertainment industry - no one looked awkward and knew exactly when to look directly at the camera, and which expression to make; matching the aura of the song perfectly.
I honestly don't even know which parts would be classified as the highlights because the whole cover is a highlight, due to how good it was. The camerawork was so eye-catching and alluring because whoever filmed this video, they knew exactly what they were doing. They knew when to zoom-in and zoom-out, without being excessive with their actions and knowing when to focus on the and when to focus on the scene around them; so we are able to see the crowd's reaction too.1:29, Chiba honestly- She really captured the same vibe that Gahyeon gives when she performs. The power, the energy and that eyebrow-raise- it's like she literally stepped into Gahyeon's mindset when performing. 2:19, Olya also really captured Yoohyeon's energy too - I also want to compliment her and the other individuals because they really did a good job at lip-synching. It's the small things that can make a huge difference and I love how comfortable she looked when she performed; she just looks like she's having fun and I strongly ire that because that's what art is about. It's about having fun too. 3:15, I have to talk about the dance breakdown with Senny (who took on SuA's role in this cover) because I love love LOVE the energy. Each member just put in the same amount of energy and emphasis on their movements, and it just felt so satisfying to watch. Wow. I am speechless because of how good they are. If you haven't already, I highly recommend watching REBORN's other covers - especially for "Tail" by Sunmi. If I had to rate this particular cover, it would get 10/10 with no hesitation. I enjoyed every second of it.
[ sania ] - penthouse
TW: This series contains a lot of dark themes such as suicide, death, mental health, abuse, corruption etc. please watch with caution.
This series- It is extremely deserving of the first two seasons it has run for, without a single doubt. My god- So, the primary topics of this series are definitely common with the South Korean entertainment industry - but the way the producers and directors brought everything together- It was just a masterpiece. I honestly don't think I've ever seen such a drama which made me super happy, super angry and super emotional in one go. This series was just so good that I cannot even put it into words - it reminded me a little bit of the Spanish series "Elite" but infinitely times better, and I'm not even biased. You simply cannot compare the two, because Penthouse was on a completely different level and lives up to its title "War In Life" because it really showcased those words beautifully, and how individuals are willing to do anything for power and greed. I just finished season 3 the other day and really want to rewatch this series because it's not your typical cliché South Korean series that many of us will have seen in the past. There are undeniably scenes and characters which/who are super infuriating, but the way they were executed is just phenomenal; leaving you wanting more, even though you want nothing more than to throw your device out of a window. I don't even think I could name my favourite character/s or talk about which actor/actress stood out to me the most because each individual stood out in their own special way; which is why I want to give props to the director for doing such a great job at choosing such a widely-ranged cast. A lot of people said that they were not the biggest fan of season 3 and to an extent, I can agree with them but that does not mean it was not enjoyable to watch. In fact, I thought all 3 seasons came together well; despite having minor areas where the storyline did feel a bit scattered - but in a good way.
The OSTs- Oh my goodness, they were just beautiful. I honestly cannot get enough of how intense some of these OSTs were, especially Kim Jun-seok's "Penthouse" - that beautiful orchestra combined with the choir gives me goosebumps no matter how many times I listen to it. It perfectly combines the virtues and sins mentioned in Dante's Puragatory. We even had Jung Sae-rin producing OSTs and she is one of my favourite South Korean composers of all time - her OSTs in particular stood out so much to me, and I enjoyed hearing them. OSTs are just as significant as every other aspect of a series - which is why they're one of the things I look at when considering what to watch. "The Penthouse: War in Life" is a South Korean series starring Lee Ji-ah, Kim So-yeon, Eugene, Um Ki-joon, Yoon Jong-hoon an Park Eun-seok. This story revolves around a real estate and education war, a desire to be number one. It depicts the revenge of women who turned to evilness to protect themselves and their children. Shim Su-ryeon (portrayed by Lee Ji-ah) is a wealthy woman with a tragic past - she later discovers that her husband is hiding a secret from her. Oh Yoon-hee (portrayed by Eugene) comes from a humble family background but has had bad blood with Cheon Seo-jin (portrayed by Kim So-yeon), a famous soprano whose father is the head of Cheong-ah Arts School. They get involved in a love triangle relationship with Ha Yoon-cheol (portrayed by Yoon Jong-hoon). All of them have grand ambitions and desires for their children, and would do anything for them. However, their lives begin to crumble once a young mysterious girl named Min Seol-ah falls to her death during a party. Whilst the Hera Palace residents try to cover up the murder, they cannot help but suspect each other - embarking on a journey of betrayal, turmoil and lies.
If I had to give this series a rating, I would give it a 100/10. I just- I cannot get over the beautiful writing and cinematography conveyed in this series. Yes, there are a lot of dark themes but the way they were conveyed in the series - I would not complain at all. Obviously for entertainment purposes, certain parts were exaggerated but I still found myself enjoying this series which is why I highly recommend it.
[ sania ] - happiness
TW: Mentions of COVID, Zombies, Death etc.
Now, I know that there have been a lot of zombie-based, apocalypse-themed films and dramas being released nowadays - but this one is one that I didn't really feel was cliché and had a more realistic approach to the situation compared to other ones that I've seen; which is why I wanted to talk about it in this edition of BRT. The disease that is widespread in the setting of this particular series shared a lot of similarities with COVID-19 and I feel as if the producers did a great job at creating a series based around it, whilst also talking about the difficulties - it just gave a realistic approach to the series, and I love it a lot. The fact that the series seems that it'd be really sad and melodramatic, but the title of it aka "Happiness" just creates that nice contrast - it leaves you wanting more. When I first heard of this series, despite loving the two leads, I was not really excited because South Korea has been releasing a lot of apocalyptic-themed content and although they have been produced well - there just hasn't really been an apocalyptic-themed series where I've been like "Wow, this is the best of the best" but when I watched "Happiness", I feel like I had to talk about it. The main genre of the series is thriller, but there is a lot of action, some romance, horror, dark themes etc. that really make me want to rewatch the series again - it's not your typical South Korean thriller series, and that is what really stood out. I feel as if during certain times you could easily predict things, but towards the end - there were many loopholes which both make you think and stare at your device in shock because you weren't really expecting it. If I had to compare this series to something, I would say that it is a combination of "Sweet Home" and "Train To Busan" but in a refreshing way.
It was not disappointing at all - just like with any other series, there were undeniably improvements that could be made but overall? I honestly wouldn't complain because it was only around 12 episodes long and do think that the producers did pretty nice job of incorporating the story in such a short amount of time. "Happiness" is a South Korean series starring Han Hyo-joo, Park Hyung-sik and Jo Woo-jin. It is an apocalyptic thriller that takes place in a time period where infectious diseases have become the new norm and aired for 12 episodes in 2021. The release of a failed drug called "Next" has caused a worldwide pandemic known as the Rita virus, aka "mad person disease". The individuals affected by the virus first experience insanity and bloodlust, before completely going into a zombie-like state. The series is focused on the characters of Yoon Sae-bom (portrayed by Han Hyo-joo) who is a decisive, determined and smart individual and is part of a Special Operation Unit police squad and Jung Yi-hyun (portrayed by Park Hyung-sik) who is a honest detective and has had feelings for Sae-bom from the time they were in high school. In this series, the two embark on a very tear-jerking journey full of hardships and are forced to make sacrifices to protect those who they love. It was honestly just- I love the chemistry between Hyung-sik and Hyo-joo and you can really feel their connection when watching the series. When my favourite OST of the series aka "Pain" by Isaac Hong played during that one scene - I felt super emotional because it matched perfectly with the scene. It really gave me that vibe of being both hopeful and hopeless at the same time, super bittersweet. It's definitely a series that I would love to rewatch again; hence why I would give it a 8/10.
[ miri ] - mama 2019 2020 monsta x
the main focus is on their mama performances from 2020, but i couldn't leave out the intro from 2019. i mean besides only having performed this and 'follow', because mama is afraid of the insane power they hold. my boys did absolutely amazing. it's a three minute intro which is filled with so much charisma and high energy while it starts with joohoney as well as changkyun rapping. so like of course it's absolutely mind-blowing. no, but like the whole performance gives me chills while their confidence combined with such intriguing facial expressions hit so different. both changkyun and joohoney deliver some breathtaking lines while the others coming in while dancing in such a powerful and sharp way is so mesmerising. i also love how they first have two solos with kihyun and minhyuk, followed by hyungwon and shownu together while it ends with all of them dancing together. they're honestly by far the best performing group i've ever seen while all of them are individually so strong.
moving onto 2020 and them performing love killa as well beastmode. at first their title track which in itself is already so fierce yet in an elegant and delicate way. but like the way they fill this completely empty stage with their high energy and insane charisma is so irable. i love how they don't need a fancy stage or background dancers to deliver a perfect performance. i mean like it's just them, the very attractive suits and their unmatched confidence combined with their mesmerising facial expressions. and honestly that's all i need, especially because i always feel so speechless whenever i watch this. i also know that they have other performances with actual props such as that table and changkyun standing on top of it, but i love how much they shine without any of that.
plus i don't even know how to properly describe their facial expressions, but they're literally pierced into my body considering how memorable they always are. i also can't get over the suits they're wearing and how they look so graceful as well as stunning in them. especially changkyun and shownu walking around with an unbuttonend shirt is unnecessarily dangerous. onto 'beastmode' which is actually so sad to watch, considering it's the second time in a row that they've been treated horribely by mnet because they couldn't even give us a full performances of this.
however they as always left behind such an unmatched impact, because of everything i've mentioned above while their walking in the intro already is so eye-catching and mesmerising. they just truly know how to catch someone's attention with their constant focus and clear voices as well as mature and charismatic facial expressions. and once again they manage to own such a big stage with just a bit of fire and background dancers which says a lot about how skilled and ionate they're. also they haven't went to mama for 2021 which might be obviously, but i do want to leave the performance from mma 2020 here which i mentioned above. this shows how it looks like when they get treated right while being able to perform an intro and use props such as this table. anyway i in general can just completely recommend to watch performances from them while no one has the right to possibily call them bad or anything like that
[ miri ] - sf9 ‘enough’
to be honest the mv is with a touch of simplicity to it even though i guess that some people could easily find it boring, but honestly this calm and rather dark aesthetic makes it so intriguing. like the colours combined with that main location in the beginning reminds me of something dusty and rather dark yet not messy. that's actually rather difficult to explain, but i just love how they managed to combine such an interesting aesthetic with an amount of elegant details to it which kinda creates a contrast between shapes and colours. plus their outfits also add to this graceful and gorgeous feeling i get from the shapes and few bright colours which they've added in some parts. i also find the brown and red outfits next to the other ones so beautiful while the chorus part looks so mesmerising. that's because it seems to be colourless at first, but there's actually the brown colour to their outfits coming through when they used different angles and that's so interesting. besides that they've added a blue lighting as well as sun beams whenever they didn't completely had light scenes and i just find the combination so well done. it actually creates a collected and focused feeling whenever there aren't many crazy transitions or colours which points out how unique this mv to it. also a highlight of this mv are definitely the many mirrors which are either big and fading away or not necessarily in the focus, but ing close-up angles from around the . on top of that they included water which also acts as a mirror in this case and i it's so captivating how they're alway surrounded by them. plus i love the variety they used combined with the different angles while they represent the lyrics. that means that they talk about beauty with this song while it indirectly deals with taking a look in the mirror to appreciate yourself.
lastly the mv only consists of dance scenes or the standing and moving a little in front of these mirrors, but the way everything has been put together leaves me speechless. and the ending with chani standing in front of a shattered mirror. i just truly recommend everyone to check out this rather simple yet extremely aesthetic mv which is all about the different layers as well as details to it
[ eve ] - bambam ft. seulgi ‘who are you’
Even though I never really listened to Bambam’s solo work and didn’t know THAT much about him, I was quite surprised when he dropped a ballad together with Seulgi from Red Velvet. “Who Are You” is very deep and sentimental compared to his earlier release Ribbon which was a rather bright and uplifting track. While he is known to be the rapper of Got7, I was shocked by how well he can sing and how much his lower suits to ballads.
Starting off with the teaser, I how everyone on twitter speculated who the female feature could be. But no one expected SEULGI to be the one which might be the case because collaborations between girl groups and boy groups always seem too risky for companies. I personally think that the teaser was GENIUS, they didn't just reveal her but made it look so powerful in the way she turned his face and appeared right behind him. It’s just perfect. What I also really like about the song is that it's not that kind of feature where the female singer only does the falsetto to make a few highlights, oh nah. This is a DUET, she is SINGING her soul out together with Bambam. Their voices really complement each other and I went straight to heaven as soon as I heard the “If you’re gonna say what I think, go ahead and say it already” together with the CRAZY beat drop. Not did they only manage to make me cry, they also made this song “collab of the year” worthy.
Talking about the music video, I think it’s kinda sad that the main focus was on Bambam considering the fact that they let her sing that much. Maybe it’s because of covid, maybe because of the busy schedule but seulgi had this one set up while bambam had tons of different ones. Still, it was beautiful to watch. I love how he begins the music video with mirroring himself and ends the music video with a similar shot, making a statement with the title being called “who are you”. Something that I must praise the editors & the director for is that they were brave enough to film the performance parts black on black. It’s always a big risk as you barely see the outlines of both of them but it still makes sense somehow. Seeing not their full bodies but just how they move gracefully, pulling off one of the best duet performances I’ve seen in a while while having the heavenly vocals in the background creates an almost melancholic atmosphere. After checking out the performance video, which is unfortunately not with seulgi, I was even more in awe. So if you couldn't get enough of the choreo in the music video, I’d recommend you to check it out!
Overall I just think that bambam did not disappoint us at all. As far as I’ve heard, he wrote this song years ago and could finally make it a thing after going solo. The lyrics are pretty deep and the acoustic guitar just gives a great introduction into the song. While I absolutely adore it and have heard it too many times, I’m thankful for both fandoms not having fan wars or shipping them etc. It’s great to see female & male idols collect and I honestly have a good feeling about this perhaps winning the collab of the year title of 2022. :heartbeat:
[ antonia ] - enhypen ‘blessed-cursed’
today i will recommend my no. 1 song of 2022 aka 'blessed-cursed' by enhypen. i know, i know we are only in february but i am pretty sure this will be my favourite song of 2022. if not it's definitely in the top 5 ksjskz. i am so obsessed with this song, it's not even funny anymore. i still listen to it at least twice a day because i just can't get enough of it. the only bad thing about it is that it's too short :persevere: :broken_heart: . tbh when i first listened to it i already knew that i would like it and i was actually really surprised by how the song sounded. it a positive way though. it's so different from what we've heard so far from enhypen but i'm so so in love with it. i actually really love those guitar parts in songs and that enhypen put that into the song was a very very good decision in my opinion :heart_eyes: . alsoooo their vocals in this song are incredible and honestly left me in awe. i was immediately in love with all the 'oOOOoOO' parts especially in the chorus. now that i've mentioned the chorus, I AM OBSESSED. i really can't put into words how much i love it.... honestly the whole song. there's literally no part that i don't like. they are all slaying with their vocals in this song. it's such a good song to sing (or scream) along to. i especially love listening to this song while driving. it's just so much fun and it always puts me in a good mood :sunny: :revolving_hearts: . i could actually write a whole essay about how much i love each member's parts, the mv, the choreography but i don't want this section to be too long kshsjsk. but can i just say that i'm so so in love with jake's voice in the first verse, oh my lord :flushed: :cupid: . since i'll be going to the kpop flex festival where enhypen will also perform i really hope they will perform this song (if they don't it's also find because i like all of their songs kshsj). anyways if you haven't listened to this yet, please do so you will not regret it!!! and even if you don't like it the first time you listen to it, just listen to it again.
this song just gets better and better everytime you listen to it, trust me 🤲🏻 :heartpulse: . a few days after the release i was actually like 'maybe i overreacted a bit when i first listened to it' because i immediately liked it but then suddenly i felt kind of underwhelmed by it? i actually don't know but something was holding me back from listening to it and i was more focused on other songs that i was mainly listening to back then BUT then i listened to it again and I WAS OBSESSED :heart_eyes: . like i've mentioned before now i can't stop listening to it and we'll see if it's really going to be my no. 1 song of 2022 :eyes: :two_hearts:
[ seo ] wjsn chocome ‘supper yuppers’
supper yuppers is the first comeback by the wjsn subunit chocome! this high energy, cute, and very unique group finally had a comeback and it was swept over the world, everyone who’s on social media is doing the dance and talking about how addicting and fun this song is! i have to agree 100%, supper yuppers was a great addition to their discography, following the footsteps of orange caramel with the unique, out of pocket concepts, they released a song that quite literally revolves around being a super hero, saving the world, being there for anyone who needs it. it’s a very fun concept that isn’t shown a lot at all in the industry, and chocome literally took over the entire kpop world and even non kpop fans found the addicting tune and dance to be fun!
when i first listened to the song i was immediately captured by the upbeat synth almost video game style music, it just sounds like it would be the bgm of a hero movie of game, and that just completes the entire song. i think if it lacked those specific sounds it wouldn’t be as effective in portraying the concept, and of course the amazing vocals of chocome, they really all are such good vocalists and all have a different unique color to them. together it sounds very put together but also differentiates them enough to have their own stories within the concept. also, cant talk about supper yuppers without mention h dayoung me iconic amine voice proclamation for e bridge, it’s probably the most legendary moment in any kpop song i’ve ever heard! it not only was a nice touch to the concept but it trended so much when every one heard it. no surprises there, it’s just so fun to imitate this specific part! the dramatic anime tone and style dayoung does is perfect for her, she was literally made for chocome and it’s concept!
i cant wait for more releases from them since i adore all of them so far, super yuppers is such a good song and i have it on repeat time again and again! 10/10 hands down!
thank you all for reading this
blog ! we hope you liked our
recs this week! stayed tuned
for the next edition soon! #brt
![amino-[gone] ⁷ kpopphileᴹᴱᵂ-62fe3b27](https://image.staticox.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpm1.aminoapps.programascracks.com%2F7537%2F298b42ef18eecdb5b716e6a427fa19a930791c9fr1-1920-444v2_00.jpg)
Comments (3)
Jooheon and kihyun :heart:
Hello, i love the content
Seeing Happiness being recommended just put a smile on my face 🤩
As always, everyone did such an amazing job describing their respective sections. So many bops and interesting things being mentioned.. we love to see it 🤩