Talking a walk...

Another Nine Muses content! Should I revive this blog or what?

Former Muses Moon Hyuna and Pyo Hyemi are going to release their first (or should I say one-off?) single "Walking" tomorrow, May 10 2020. Since leaving Nine Muses in 2016 (for Hyuna) and 2019 (for Hyemi), Hyuna has released a duet single with another former Muse Euaerin (real name Lee Hyemin) in 2017 as well as guest-starring in the concert of yet another former Muse Ryu Sera in 2018. All these and the up-coming single are conducted by her own agency, Daynite Records. I'm still counting on her to bring a full-fledged Nine Muses reunion (with all 13 former Muses if necessary, not the just the 2013 line-up) hopefully in the near future. 

A sneak peak at "Walking"...

Looks like it will be a city pop tune? I'm still in need of a remedy for....

This. Whatever this is. I'm not saying the song's bad, it's just not my cup of tea. Some people wouldn't even categorize this as a proper song and I don't blame them, as it's more suitable as background music of a travel documentary or something like that. By the way, the official video somehow isn't available for linking on Blogger. 

Another premonition (sort of) coming true

Alive and well, guys. Still in the same job. Just surviving for now, can't complain.

Remember an entry I posted on November 19 2016 about Moon Hyuna leaving Nine Muses and setting up her own label called Moongom House? I mused in that entry that Hyuna should bring together all the ex-members of Namyu under her agency.

Since her departure, Hyuna has released four singles including the very latest one on August 11 2017 with fellow ex Muse Euaerin (real name Lee Hyemin) called "Doong Doong", under Daynite Records. Now I can't prove that Daynite Records and Moongom House are one and the same, since some sources mention that Daynite Records is partially owned by the 30-year-old, but the fact that she's teaming up with Euaerin now sparks hope that she'll bring along more ex Muses on board. I personally hope it's gonna be Ryu Sera, whose music style post Nine Muses is actually starkly different from Hyuna's.


Celebrating freedom from uniform stage costumes and synchronized choreography...

On the possible resurrection of Nine Muses

Earlier last month, Star Empire announced that Nine Muses member Moon Hyuna had officially left the group, making her the third member to depart this year following Park Minha and Euaerin (real name Lee Hyemin.) Hyuna was one of the group's main vocalists alongside Pyo Hyemi, Lee Keumjo and Park Kyungri.

Hyuna's departure only added fuel to the already on-going rumours that the girl group was disbanding, now that there are only five members left, four of whom are in a sub-unit called Nine Muses A which released an mini album titled "Muses Diary" back in August.

It's been three months since the release of "Muses Diary" and no one really knows the fate of Son Sungah, the only remaining member not included in the sub-unit. Hearsay has it that Sungah's contract will expire next year and she has already decided not to renew it. If it's true, disbandment is very likely inevitable, after six years of seven mini albums, one full album, a concert and a sub-unit album.

In a turn of events, just this week Hyuna announced the launch of her entertainment company, Moongom House, and that the company will release Hyuna's photobook (titled "Sweet Remedy") and a mini album of self-composed songs. Mines everywhere rejoiced over the news, mostly hoping that Hyuna will recruit the former muses especially Ryu Sera, who's started to gain wide recognition as an indie artist (although in my humble opinion it's unlikely that Sera would want to do that, and neither would Minha who's debuted as an actress under J-Wide Company) In other words, fans are hoping that the golden line-up of Nine Muses will reunite under Moongom House, even if they don't get to use the name "Nine Muses."

While entertaining these hopes, one is reminded that even with such an underrated girl group that's never won a single award there's a chance they would be able to pull a Shinhwa. For those uninitiated, Shinhwa is the epitome of K-pop longevity, debuting under SM Entertainment in 1998 and since 2011 has released albums and appearances under their very own company named after themselves.

Nine Muses in the analogy of Infinite

I've been playing that song for five days straight, since its release on November 24 2015.


"Ticket", the second Nine Muses song that got me hooked on the band after "Figaro", which I've already put on this blog twice. If you happen to be Indonesian and remember the '90s Indonesia, don't you think it sounds a little bit like the disco dangdut genre that was popular at that time?


If you're a Nine Muses fan (henceforth a "Mine") who also happens to be an Inspirit, you should notice by now that Park Minha is like the Lee Sungyeol of Nine Muses. Both are considered the "dead weight" of their respective groups, not as talented as the rest of the group in terms of singing and dancing. While some fans argue that Minha is the visual member of Nine Muses just like some Inspirits consider Sungyeol Infinite's visual member, there's no denying that Park Kyungri is the most famous member of the eight-member girl group. In other words, whether or not Kyungri was meant from the start to be the visual member just like Kim Myungsoo was set to be so for Infinite, she attracts people into Nine Muses just like Myungsoo lures girls to become Inspirits. And let's not forget the fact that both Kyungri and Myungsoo are pretty decent vocalists with more lines than Sungyeol and Minha combined.

And after the departure of Ryu Sera, who is herself a legit all-rounder (a super gorgeous multi-instrumentalist who writes songs, danced well (though not as well as Park Eunji, also a former Muse) and served as one of the main vocalists), a lot of Mines have stated that they stay because of Moon Hyuna. Hyuna is another main vocalist who's turning 29 in January 2016 (international age) and one of those bonafide 'vampire idols' alongside 2NE1's Sandara Park and Super Junior's Choi Siwon. In short, she's the Kim Sunggyu of Nine Muses.

A 'dead weight' member is totally nothing new in K-pop bands. Almost each band in the genre has one such member, another example is Juliane Alfieri of the now-defunct girlband Chocolat. As with the history of all girlbands and boybands anywhere in the world, K-pop bands are formed mostly, if not entirely, for commercial purposes. Visual members are there to attract people to their bands, a duty they share to varying degrees with the main dancers, while main vocalists are usually those that make fans stay. All in all, each member has their own reasons to shine and each has more or less equal amount of chance to become favourites among fans. But what about the dead weight members? Do they serve other purposes besides backing vocalists? Are they there to...make young teenage fans with low self esteem feel as if they have someone to relate to? You tell me.

The best scenario...

This is the best self-penned songs by Ryu Sera so far.

Long story short, Sera left Nine Muses in June 2014 and actually since before her departure became known she's been releasing cover songs and self-penned ones on her YouTube channel, Ryutube. However, if Wikipedia is to be trusted (I have yet to find more credible sites that back this up), Sera hasn't left Star Empire, Nine Muses' recording label.

Nine Muses, as any K-pop enthusiast is aware, is known for their sexy image from day one. As you can see in the video, Sera seems to be channelling her inner Morticia Addams - wearing a black mini dress and a choker, hair down and minimal make-up. She's almost a far cry of her Nine Muses self - skin-revealing clothes, full make-up and hairstyle always changing with each comeback. And needless to say she's also free to experiment with her song writing and mixing skills.

The best scenario for her career would be staying with Star Empire (the day this is confirmed would be one of the best in my life), which allows her free time until she finds her own signature sound. Once she's ready, she's set to come back as a solo artist, with a mini album full of six songs that she composes herself. Or better still, she can mix her signature sound with that of Sweet Tune or one of those Swedish songwriters...Star Empire really needs a solo artist on its roster, and one already with a fanbase is perfect to fill that void.

On Nine Muses' comeback...

After much anticipation, Nine Muses is finally back, having hibernated for one year due to the painful loss of three members: Lee 'Leesem' Hyunjoo, Park Eunji and Ryu Sera. That's rapper, main dancer and main singer respectively. And they're back with two new members: Jo Sojin, who previously appeared in the sub-unit Nasty Nasty with another Nine Muses member Park Kyungri and ZE:A member Kevin Kim, and Lee Keumjo.

It took me a long time to decide what to focus on regarding Nine Muses and their comeback, but I finally decided to focus on their new single "Drama" and Sera's decision to continue her showbiz career apparently as indie musician.

In light of their comeback in mid-2003 with the single "Wild", Sera released a cover of Joss Stone's "Karma." It was professionally shot though it was very low-budget, filmed on the set of "Wild" music video. It kept Mines on the edges of their seats, as promises of her solo career seemed to be looming.



Sera released a couple more cover videos courtesy of Star Empire, but no actual solo career materialised, until news broke that she 'graduated' from Nine Muses.

Now fast forward to January 23 2015 when Nine Muses released a new single titled "Drama." Take a look.



Eldest member Moon Hyuna just celebrated her 28th birthday on January 19. Yes that's her international age, which means in Korean age she's 29 years old. Anyone with any real musical talent and self respect would want to stop prancing around pulling aegyo and looking every bit manufactured past the age of 25. Since her departure, Sera has been very active on her own YouTube channel that she calls RyuTube, releasing cover songs and songs that she writes herself. I guess it was the same reason for Jessica Jung, who left Girls' Generation in October 2014 to focus on her fashion line, Blanc & Eclare.

Crap real '80s and awesome pseudo '80s

Hi kids!

As I grew up in the '80s, I'm familiar with the "Dance Club Barbie" and "Barbie and The Beat" ranges. I have both their cassettes - the "Dance Club Barbie" cassette I bought in 1989 and "Barbie and The Beat" cassette I obtained a little later, maybe 1991 as the songs on the "Barbie and The Beat" cassette were my third grade jam. "Barbie and The Beat" range itself is believed to have come out in The US also in 1989.

After years of perusing through YouTube to find songs from "Barbie and The Beat", I finally came across this.



One of the comments is from a girl who said the songs drove her mother crazy because they sounded like they were "recorded in the garage." Honestly I can't agree more. The songs are probably '80s at its cheesiest. The vocal alone is weak and if you listen carefully, there are parts where the vocal is not well-timed. And don't get started on the rap...

Sick of this at the first listen in 23 years, I found remedy in one song that I always play when I don't know what song to play on YouTube. The one song that sounds VERY '80s yet was actually released in 2011.



Yes, this song again. Isn't it ironic that the video reached one million views only very recently, after the departure of Leesem (real name Lee Hyunjoo) and Park Eunji...

K-pop stars and the Pacific Ocean experience

I'm aware that a lot of my visitors stumble on my blog after typing in "Son Sungah, Fiji" on Google. Obviously you're trying to find out whether it's true that Sungah of the girl group Nine Muses did indeed live in Fiji. Well, wonder no more, for the lady herself confirms that she once lived in Suva, the capital city of Fiji, here.

Lately, rumours have been swirling that Sungah is dating Jang Intae (I'll refer to him by his stage name Inati here) from DMTN (formerly known as Dalmatian.)

It's interesting to note that Inati attended Rotorua Boys' High School in New Zealand.

Before taking the plunge the world of K-pop, Inati lived in New Zealand and Sungah lived in Fiji. Those are unusual backgrounds in the K-pop realm as most overseas Koreans in there are from USA or Canada. If it's true that the two are dating, most likely the fact that they lived in neighbouring Pacific Ocean countries plays a significant part in their chemistry. I wonder what they talk about when they get to hang out, when they're not practicing, performing and touring? Very likely it's their experience being Koreans amidst a huge Pacific Islander population...

To Inati, from one New Zealand-educated Asian to another: Kia ora, mate! I totally dig "Safety Zone" - keep up the good work aye!

On Nine Muses' third comeback...

Hi guys!

So excited that Nine Muses is back with their THIRD comeback of the year, this time with a FULL album titled "Primadonna." The last time I heard about a K-pop group releasing a full album was Girls Generation releasing "The Boys" in late 2011...

I was so excited as well about the teaser of their first single for this comeback, as it shows the girls experimenting with a bluesy sound. One of the reasons I'm a Mine (that's their fandom name for those uninitiated...their unofficial fandom name was "Strutter", which was derived from the girls' background as models, which I like better...) is that the girls have been known for experimenting with an array of sounds while sticking to their trademark of vintage feel music. All the songs from their "Sweet Rendezvous" mini album sound 1980s, while "Dolls" boasts a 1960s jazzy sound.


Yeah I was wondering what Nine Muses' brand of blues would be like...

And on October 14, the full song came out. In all honesty, I was a bit disappointed. A lot of reviews have concluded that the ladies "play it safe" with their usual dance tune, and I can't agree more. While "Gun" is a decent song, still true to the Nine Muses signature vintage sound ("Gun" reminds me of 1980s action TV series (Hawaii Five-O instantly comes to mind)), but seriously why another dance track? ALL of their singles that were made into music videos since their 2010 debut have been dance songs. I really wish that they had promoted "Living Person", of their mini album "Wild", which has a slow R&B sound reminiscent of the mid-90s.


Doesn't it also remind you of Girls Generation's "Hoot"....

Another English announcer for Nine Muses?

Just a quick stop-by before I get back to the daily routine which includes work (preparing teaching material, teaching and marking), freelance work (mostly translating) and studying for journals and Ph.D research proposal.

Still on Nine Muses.

Just heard rumors that the latest Muse Son Sung Ah grew up in Fiji. If it's true, most likely she can speak English well and therefore be Nine Muses' second "English announcer" after Canadian born and educated leader Ryu Sae Ra. It's good for a Korean band to have more than one "English announcer." If you haven't noticed already, a typical Korean band has a leader, "the face of the group" (or "visual member", one who's considered the best looking), main dancer, main vocalist, Japanese announcer and English announcer. English announcers are usually those who were born and raised overseas, but in several cases it's members who were home-grown who teach themselves English either because their managers appointed them to be English announcers or they plan to expand their (usually solo) careers overseas - or both (Big Bang's Taeyang comes to mind.)

A different kind of marketing ploy...

Happy new year everyone! And congrats on surviving 21/12!

I didn't get to fulfill my 2012 resolution of posting 45 entries. Eleven years down the road, I've lost most of the drive to blog. I have some entries that I meant to finish and are still in the draft right now, but I'll probably end up deleting them.

Anyway, I opened 2013 with a bang that is a new job. Starting January 3 I teach Cultural Diversity to first year International Relations undergraduate students at President University. This is my first experience teaching university students and, not gonna lie, I took the job because lecturers have more opportunities to win overseas doctorate scholarships.

Anyway, just found out that there's a documentary about Nine Muses, a not so well known Korean girlband I wrote about a few entries ago. The doco, titled "Nine Muses of Star Empire" (Star Empire is their record company), was released in November 2012 and premiered at 2012 Melkweg Music Documentary Competition in The Netherlands. The documentary shows a far less glamorous side of K-pop that many are unaware of, where wannabe stars are treated more like possessions than human beings.

What ticks me about it is that the documentary was released in November, a month before the scheduled comeback of Nine Muses. Many wonder why Star Empire has allowed Suk Kee Lee and Min Chul Kim, directors of "Nine Muses of Star Empire" to release a film that sheds light on the dark side of today's biggest sub-culture that is K-pop. One wonders if the doco is just a publicity stunt leading to the girlband's comeback, which is postponed to January 24 with the single "Dolls"? Hmm...

Here's a trailer of "Nine Muses of Star Empire" for your vieweing pleasure.

When K-pop does '80s...

Wussup guys! It's been forever since my last post. My GPA is 3.44, which is below the perfect 4.0 I aimed at. Hahahah. But considering how messy the process of my thesis and my defense were, things could've been worse, not just my GPA. So can't really complain there.

I'm currently crazy about Nine Muses, yet another Korean girlband. Not a ridiculous, over the top one this time. Debuting in 2010, its oldest member at the time, Kim Ra Na, was 27 years old, which was probably like 100 years old in Korean girlband age. Now that Ra Na has left, the oldest member now is Moon Hyun Ah, who'll turn 26 in January. Yes, Nine Muses have always been marketed as a mature girlband with real women as members, and these ladies indeed have a modelling background as they're all over 170 cm tall.

Anyway, check out this single.



Overall this single, which was out last year, have won favorable reviews from many K-pop fans out there, but one review particularly has bugged me and eventually inspired this post (I won't post the link of the review out of respect to the website owner). The review actually puts "Figaro" under the same light as Dal Shabet's "Bling Bling" and T-ara's "Roly Poly", just because all three singles are styled in the 1980's fashion. "Roly Poly" and "Bling Bling" sound playful and the videos don't look as sophisticated as "Figaro", so the two formers are definitely aimed at a younger audience. You just can't compare "Roly Poly" and "Bling Bling" to "Figaro" or even put them in the same sentence since '80s pop has a lot of subgenres, just like music of any decade.

And speaking of Nine Muses' mini album "Sweet Rendezvous", which was out earlier this year, the album features four songs that have 1980's sound. This album too has won good reviews, with many concluding that Nine Muses have finally found a niche. Looks like that niche is an older audience with a taste for 1980's music (most likely because they remember the period), and with the ladies' comeback which is rumored to be in December, I wonder how they will do 1980's sound next if they decide to stick to it...