Happy 30th Birthday Jennie Kim

Hello everyone,

It has been at least about 6 months to half a year since I have posted anything new on here. Being that it is still January 16th where I live in California, U.S.A., I wanted to wish Jennie Kim a happy 30th birthday!

                                        

Birthday graphic designed with Grok AI by xAI (https://grok.x.ai)

Note that I understand that it is already the 17th in South Korea as South Korea is about 17 hours ahead of California this time of year, I feel that it is not too late to mention her birthday since the date is still close.

I find that 30th birthdays are very special, especially for K-Pop stars and what it means for their career. This is what I understand after having followed K-Pop in my teens (probably 2009 or the early 2010s) with Girls Generation and SNSD

With respect to the other three members of Blackpink (who I also enjoy their singing), Jennie is perhaps my favorite of the four tied with Jisoo. Jennie is my favorite member because she shares the same birth year as me (1996) and I think she is very cool. The other three members are also great and talented singers.  

In my personal life I have been very busy, this is my first post in a long time and the first post of 2026. It is probably not going to be the last or only post of 2026. Here is to another fun year of blogging and reaching my old audience along with a new one! I may post similar posts this year or may change my posts at least slightly. 

I also wanted to thank you all for thousands of views according to Blogger view count (almost 10,000 so far) and at least several hundred on Google Analytics.

For now, let's continue to enjoy K-Pop, J-Pop and other cool Asian music.

See you guys later!

2025 J-Pop Song Review: NiziU - YOAKE

This July has been very eventful, I just recently graduated college with an English degree in May and am currently working towards a Master's in Education this summer. Over the past several weeks or so I have been wanting to write another J-Pop review because it has been over four months since I specifically wrote about a J-Pop song (f5ve's MAGIC CLOCK to be specific). Thus, I am glad to be getting back to J-Pop reviews by reviewing NiziU's "YOAKE".

For every review, I always want to focus on similar aspects yet mix up what type of aspects I discuss. So for this video, I will take a look at all of the scenes in the music video and simply tell what I thought of it. 

The Intro

For this music video I enjoyed the ambiance and the captivating energy of the intro, it did very well in drawing me into the feel of the song . The combination of the background music, dance poses, blue outfits and harmonizing voices made me want to continue watching until the end. The mellow melody during this part also served to draw me into the song- perhaps most of all out of all the aspects of the intro. It really made me feel tempted to start to sing along especially with the chanted refrain at the beginning (JYP Entertainment, 2025).

First Verses  

The scenes during the first verses were very unique and fun to watch. The birthday party scene synced well with  the background music, lighting and ambiance. The pool party afterwards was a great contrast to the bright lights of the birthday party and really seemed to emphasize the members' friendship in the music video (JYP Entertainment, 2025). 

Pre-Chorus

The pre-chorus begins with a cinematic and artistic scene of Maya gliding through the night sky which is followed by Mako anxiously pounding on a door. Next, before major dance scenes we see Miihi with a tearful expression. All of these scenes along with the music and dancing add the emotional feel that I believe was the goal behind the story and message of the song (JYP Entertainment, 2025).

Chorus

This is my favorite part of the music video. The musical build up to this part flowed very well and I thought that members like Riku, Miihi and Nina harmonized very well while Ayaka, Rio and Maya led the melody. The song is unique and relaxing because of how it is sung here which is a big plus for me as a J-Pop fan. The shift between the first chorus scene (during the chorus) back to the pre-chorus and first verse scene was a way to get me into the vibes of this song and the meaning of the title "YOAKE" (夜明け), which means "dawn" or "daybreak" according to Jisho.org. It makes sense for the first chorus to end here and shift to the second verse of the new morning because of this poetic J-Pop idea (JYP Entertainment, 2025).

Second Verse

The mood changes here where we see Rio place a CD in a CD player and then Ayaka playing soft, careful notes on the piano. This short verse in the song was a dreamy shift to the increasing musical energy shown in the second pre chorus (JYP Entertainment, 2025). 

Second Pre Chorus

In this part, the atmosphere of the music video changes and we see the full story begin to take shape of what the music video is trying to convey to fans about the powerful symbolic storytelling (JYP Entertainment, 2025). 

Second Chorus

This time we have more emotion intertwined with the song than before and we see Maya glide through the sky, this time as day break is beautifully coming on. All members run in a field before the interlude begins, this part of the music video is quite lighthearted and I happen to enjoy it a lot in J-Pop videos (JYP Entertainment, 2025). 

Interlude 

All members climb to the rooftop to the cloudy/sunny yet gorgeous weather in the background. Ayaka leads on the piano as other members start to individually harmonize. This was an exciting moment to watch because of their music talent and the lead up to the final chorus (JYP Entertainment, 2025).

Final Chorus

Unironically, based on the song's title and the vibes of the song, this part of the music video is literally the sunniest and all NiziU members delivered a satisfying close to the song that also had the proper length (JYP Entertainment, 2025).  

Bonus: The Group

One prevailing aspect of listening to this song that was very interesting to me was learning about their group through the song and their profile in this link : NiziU Members Profile (KProfiles, n.d.).

Closing Thoughts

YOAKE overall was a fantastic music video to watch and listen to. I was happy to listen to and review NiziU, a J-Pop group that I have never reviewed before. This is one of the few music videos that I would give a perfect score all around to because I enjoyed it so much.

Final Scores

Intro: 10/10

Verses: 10/10

Pre-Chorus: 10/10

Chorus: 10/10 

Interlude: 10/10

Closing: 10/10

Overall: 60/60 or 10/10

References:
Jisho.org. (n.d.). 夜明け. Retrieved from https://jisho.org/search/%E5%A4%9C%E6%98%8E%E3%81%91

JYP Entertainment. (2024). NiziU "YOAKE" Official Music Video. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt72RL5dOO0

KProfiles. (n.d.). NiziU Members Profile. Retrieved from https://kprofiles.com/niziu-members-profile/

Author's Notes: This is my personal opinion on NiziU's J-Pop song, YOAKE. All music video and song rights belong to their respective creators.

Celebrating My 29th Birthday with 1996-Born K-Pop & J-Pop Stars: TWICE, BLACKPINK, Nogizaka46

Hi K-Pop and J-Pop fans! Many of you may not know, but today, May 14th, is my 29th birthday! 

I want to thank you all so much for reading my fairly new blog over the past few months since January. Even though the first 21 posts of this website were made for a college class project, I still plan on creating fan-centric content for you all to enjoy throughout the upcoming months. The reason I do it is because I care about you guys and want to connect with you about the fandom because I am a big fan of K-Pop and J-Pop like you! 

Since my birthday is a bit close to the middle of the year (end of June), the time spent on the spring posts has given me the perfect reason to create this post further into my blogging career. 

Favorite K-Pop Artists With the Same Birth Year as Me 

Hirai Momo - Momo was born November 9th, 1996 [Wikipedia]. Her dance moves are very engaging. I love her energetic dance moves in TWICE’s music videos like “Moonlight Sunrise.” Being that she is my favorite dancer of the group, I would consider dancing like her but with a style suitable that would be fitting for me of course.

Minatozaki Sana - Sana was born December 29th, 1996 [Wikipedia]. She is known as a major TWICE dancer and vocalist, often shining in songs like “Cheer Up” [Soompi]. To me, she's always one of the funniest in the YouTube shorts. Additionally, I always get excited when it’s her turn to sing and dance just like Momo. I think my form of joking/humor matches hers the most.

Yoo Jeongyeon- Jeongyeon was born November 1st, 1996 [Wikipedia]. She is the closest in age to me from TWICE. Her role in the music video “TT” was very iconic and memorable in my view, with her quirky role as Pinocchio [Koreaboo]. 

Kim Jennie - Jennie was born January 16th, 1996 [Wikipedia]. She is the most stand out member of BLACKPINK to me because we share the same birth year. Second after her would be Jisoo (but she is born 1995). Jennie’s fierce rap in “Solo” is one of my favorites [Soompi]. 

Favorite J-Pop Artists With the Same Birth Year as Me 

Nakamoto Himeka - She was born April 13th, 1996, and was a former member of Nogizaka46 from 2011 to 2018 [Wikipedia]. Before writing this I think, I knew she became a mental health counselor after leaving the group, but I am not 100% sure whether I knew that or not to be honest [Anime News Network]. 

Ito Marika - She was born February 20th, 1996, and was known for being a creative member of Nogizaka46, having joined them in 2011 as well [Wikipedia]. I love that she’s now an actress and illustrator, which shows her artistic side [J-Pop Fandom]. 

I have been a fan of Nogizaka46 since 2019, their choreography was always well synchronized to watch with both their older and newer members.

Personally, I don’t know that much about both Marika and Himeka, but the reason I still include them here is because I know a lot about Nogizaka46. Their music and performances are so engaging, and I hope to know more about them in the future! 

Kaede (from Happiness) - She was born January 11th, 1996 [J-Pop Fandom]. Like the other two, I don’t know that much about her, but I’m familiar enough with her name and music that I can say she is one of my favorite J-Pop singers. Her dance skills in Happiness’s songs like “Holiday” are awesome. 

K-Pop and J-Pop Artists With the Same Birth Year as Me That I Don’t Know That Much About Yet 

These are K-Pop and J-Pop singers that are not associated with any group that I like and that I have never heard of. Maybe next year they will appear on the new promised list if I listen to their music more. Out of respect for them, I mentioned a small amount of information I found about them. 

Seunghee (from OH MY GIRL) - She was born January 25th, 1996 [Wikipedia]. She is the main vocalist of her group, and her group is said to have some similarities with TWICE, especially related to their performances [Kpopmap]. 

Yujin (CLC) - She was born September 14th, 1996 [Wikipedia]. She is the leader of CLC and could share similarities with Tzuyu from TWICE in her singing style and dance skills [KProfiles]. 

Miyuu (Happiness) - She was born August 16th, 1996 [J-Pop Fandom]. She is from Happiness like Kaede, but I only know of Kaede outside of Happiness. I think she is said to have a similar singing style to TWICE. 

Nao Furuhata (SKE48) - She was born September 15th, 1996 [J-Pop Fandom]. She is a member of SKE48, a sister group to AKB48. Being a fan of Nogizaka46, I thought I’d include her on this list to explore more J-Pop music. 

Next Year 

Next year on this day, I will be 30 and will make a new post instead of adding to this one. By then, this list may grow because there may be more artists that I discover and find that I like for both categories. I look forward to sharing next year’s list with you next year, haha!

2025 K-Pop Song Review: New Jeans- Pit Stop

NewJeans is a K-Pop group that I have heard of in past years, but have not started listening to their songs yet. After viewing their newest song, "Pit Stop", I have decided that they sounded sleek and vibrant. So much so that I thought it was a good idea to write a new post about their song. Let's see how well I thought they did in their music video.

The Intro

Before the first verse, the intro did well to draw me into the song. The idea of them getting ready to be filmed like they are on a movie set was very meta and cinematic. As the background music played during the buildup, Minji, Hanni, and Danielle turned their heads to look at the camera for the beginning. This type of intro was very enjoyable to watch because it centered on the members and their big moment!

The First Verse

The first verse after the intro is very fun and energetic to listen to. What stood out to me was how well they harmonized. Not only that, but I thought their voices sounded similar in this song in a good way. Their hairstyle was also very similar, which is uniform for their group in this music video. This part feels like a very casual and hip beat to listen to. It is a bit of a contrast to what I discussed about Mark in my last two posts because his songs felt more autobiographical or story-based. This song gives me the vibe of listening to it while chilling out in my room instead of being deep in storytelling. It should be noted, though, that there is a story about their group, but this song's vibes seemed to be more fitting for relaxing after a hard day's work. And for that, both types of songs (NCT's Mark and NewJeans) are awesome!

Pre-Chorus

It had a great transition in terms of its emotional intensity and suspenseful effects. Like many great pre-choruses in songs, this one has a perfect tempo and rhythm that carried the song into the chorus very well.

Chorus

According to the color-coded lyrics video by Color Coded Lyrics, Hanni and Danielle are the lead singers during the chorus. However, Minji's harmonies, Haerin's subtle vocals, and Hyein's pristine voice contributed just as much to the song's performance. I believe fans must really enjoy watching this moment and hope for more moments like it in their future songs! I certainly do!

Remaining Verses

They had the just-right amount of energy for modern K-Pop songs. In fact, they felt so energetic that I had difficulty distinguishing it from the chorus sometimes. That is how smooth this song is, which is very positive.

Outfits

The fashion was very fitting for the music video. I particularly liked the part roughly in the middle of the song where Danielle takes part in leading the chorus and on. The outfits they wore, especially during the second half of the song, were very fitting for their K-Pop performance.

Pre-Chorus: 9.5/10

Verses: 10/10

Chorus: 10/10

Outfits: 10/10

Final Score: 9.85/10

For those who are new to my posts, my past reviews usually focused on story driven songs like NCT's Mark or dramatic/epic songs like my The Top 10 Most Emotional and Powerful Anime Intros  and Anison Music Review- Eir Aoi, angela and Aimer posts. It was both fresh and cool to focus on a relaxing song to listen to like NewJeans' "Pit Stop".

So as we can see, they are a pretty awesome group! Being that I am a new fan of theirs, what NewJeans song do you all recommend I write a review about next?

Disclaimer: This blog post is a personal review created for commentary and educational purposes. All names, images, and music referenced are the property of their respective copyright owners.

Reaction to Mark's The Firstfruit Album: Did It Meet Predictions?

Happy Thursday, loyal followers! This week we are back to discussing Mark's album, The Firstfruit. Instead of this being a review, this is a look back on predictions from over a week ago seeing if the songs were going to be as others and I have anticipated. 

The Tracks That We Knew Would Be Connected to His Autobiography:

1. "1999"

After watching the music video, I would say that it meets or exceeds expectations as a K-Pop fan. It is more than a song, but an introduction to a life story. When I watch it with a different mindset, focusing only on the singing, these are the type of vibes that I feel through the lyrics. The dancing was cool and a standard practice in K-Pop videos, but I didn't expect that their was going to be references to late 90's computer culture with the bulky CRT monitor computers. What I did see coming though, was the hockey reference at the end. That is known as a very important sport in Toronto and Canada, and it makes sense that the producers would include that information about his birth city. I'm curious to know what others were excited about to see and listen to in this lead single of his. It is a fun an energetic music video, but it is not my favorite of Mark's music videos to listen to compared to some down this list because I prefer to listen to songs that evoke emotional, nostalgic and dramatic feelings. You should see my The Top 10 Most Emotional and Powerful Anime Intros   post to see why. Really glad that I watched his music video to see how it was going to turn out (SMTown, YouTube, 2025).

2. "Toronto's Window"

Yes, this song met expectations. The instrumentals and the lyrics were the key part of this song that struck an emotional chord in my heart. It is very moving and awesome to listen to and I like the Christian like message and the tie to his origins in Toronto, there were no disappointments here. This is my favorite of the album so far because of the depth of storytelling, the ties to Christian faith and the engaging instrumentals in the background. The song is enjoyable both for the fact that I am a Christian K-Pop fan and it has a deep and nostalgic story in itself. It makes the listener not only want to get into this song, but the whole album (and perhaps his other music with NCT) because of his storytelling talent (NCT, YouTube, 2025). 

3. "Raincouver"

No disappointments here! Like "1999" this song has a more playful and fun vibe, but takes a bigger focus on storytelling vs other elements such as dancing. Concerning fan engagement and the amount of views this music video has compared to "1999", it does seem significantly lower at day 10 of being out. Maybe people are more into dancing with some slight over-the-top elements shown in "1999" vs autobiographical storytelling. Neither are better than the other. It just all boils down to one's preference. Sometimes I may prefer upbeat songs like "1999" on some days and "Raincouver" on others. Again, not a review but rather an analytical look at trends in viewership. It's really interesting to see what fans like the most and how it compares and contrasts with my likes (NCT, YouTube, 2025).  

4. Fratktsiya 

This music video is about how I expected it to be. Before posting on the 6th in PST, I did not know that Lee Young Ji was going to be featured in the music video. I must have missed that when searching up the sources telling what the song was going to be about.  The music video was "about" how I expected it to be due to it hitting harder than I originally expected. It is the most viewed video of the soundtracks of his mentioned on this list so far and it has a lot of epic beats. It is no wonder it is more mainstream than "Raincouver" because these type of tracks tend to reach wider audiences. Finally, I want to say I like the name, it has a Russian or Slavic sound in my opinion. It makes it feel very mysterious to why the name was chosen and how it relates to Mark's story (SMTOWN, YouTube, 2025).

The Tracks We Originally Didn't Know That Much About

1. "Flight to NYC"

Looking back at the prediction post, I was wrong about this track on some parts. It was not how I expected the video to be like, and that is not at all disappointing or bad, it just means I was wrong! KPopStarz was right though that it was under two minutes, which Mark, the management and production team did such a good job on presenting to fans Mark's story (Source: KPopStarz). I also really liked the piano and hip hop beats, it made the video feel more dreamy and relaxing, I was wrong to think it would feature NYC itself (NCT, YouTube, 2025). 

2. Journey Mercies

It was expected that there was going to be a connection with Christian faith which I saw when watching this video. What I did not expect was the sound effects that went with his voice. Also, I did not expect that it was going to have a story board on the left. The music video met my anticipation and was very satisfying to listen to. It one of the most creative songs I have ever listened to (NCT, YouTube, 2025). As fans, we are wishing Mark well on his journey!

Conclusion

Well there you have it folks! This concludes my look at some of Mark's songs from The Firstfruit (I didn't talk about all songs from the track). It was interesting to note that the videos of his on SMTOWN got far more views than on NCT. I think that is because of non-NCT fans watching it because they are SMTOWN subscribers. Maybe they prefer faster, upbeat songs to story driver songs as well.

If there is a certain song of his you would like me to discuss that I did not on this list, please leave a comment or reach out to me at my blog email. In the next post, I may return to a formula from the past, add a short post or add in something new and creative that I never tried before. Thank you all so much for reading my update post about NCT Mark's The FirstFruit!

Mark’s ‘1999’: NCT Rapper Drops His Solo Anthem—Here’s Why It Will Be a Great Success

Greetings to my current and new blog followers. There is exciting news coming up in the K-Pop world that I am sure many of you are aware of. Mark, rapper from NCT is coming out with a new album titled The Firstfruit featuring his lead single, "1999" named after his birth year. What's especially interesting about his upcoming album is that it's essentially like an autobiography of his life growing up in Canadian cities such as Toronto and Vancouver (Source X: @joyfulmarkly).

The Tracks and Their Connection to His Autobiography:

First, let's take a short look at some of the tracks that we know will be connected to his life story. 

• "1999"- this is an obvious track that connects to both Mark's birth year and his birth city of Toronto (Source X: @soompi ). If you have not watched the teaser yet, I embedded it below. It is a very interesting preview of his upcoming album and I really like his message at the end. The guitar in the background adds to the excitement of the upcoming single and album because it makes it feel like we are in for a compelling narrative as fans in addition to the rest of the approaching smash hits (NCT, YouTube, 2025). 

• "Toronto's Window"- this is going to be the first track of his album. Though it is the first song, it is not the flagship track of the whole album. In contrast to "1999", this track is probably going to be more instrumental courtesy of Code Kunst's piano skills (Source X: @joyfulmarkly). "1999" seems more like it will include both pop and rap elements in it.
• "Raincouver"- as the sixth track of Mark's album, "Raincouver" will touch on his pre-teen years (perhaps other parts of his childhood too) growing up in Vancouver before moving to Seoul in 2012 (Source:Kpopmap X @cry4lmk). We know so far that it will contain soft beats to match with the reflective vibe of the song in addition to fitting in with the weather of Vancouver (Source: X @joyfulmarkly). What a creative and descriptive title to give to a song! It sounds like it will be another reflective hit in the album!
• "Fraktsiya"- this is the fifth track that will take a different focus compared to the previous three mentioned. In "Fraktsiya", Mark will tie in many hip hop elements, 808 bass and synths; but what I am especially excited for him tying in some Christian undertones in the song because I know that he is a Christian and I am a Christian fan of K-Pop and J-Pop (Source: Genius.com, X @r/NCT). This is overall very exciting news.

Tracks We Don't Know That Much About Yet

• "Flight to NYC"- this is the third track of the album and so far there are no sound clips or teasers. The skit that was done for this song hints that it may be shorter than two minutes (Source: KpopStarz). It could be about a literal or figurative trip of his to New York City. In many K-Pop and J-Pop music videos, I see many of cityscapes in the background, so for this music video, I am expecting it will be about the flight and show a lot of details of his experiences in New York City. I expect this to be a quieter song compared to "Fraktsiya".
• "Journey Mercies"- this is the eleventh track of the album and we know less about this song than we do about the others (Source: X @markfcore). We can guess based on the name that it is about his journeys in life such as overseas to Seoul or around Canada/the U.S.. We can also guess that it will tie in more about his Christian faith because of the word "Mercies". Since we do not know that much about this song yet, it makes me very excited to listen to it when it comes out soon.

Why "1999" and All of the Tracks Will Be a Great Success

So a recap on "1999", just based on the video and the information that Mark presented to the audience about his faith and life story, we can predict that it's going to be very successful. The video has over 300k views since March 23rd showing that it is trending in the K-Pop world (NCT, YouTube, 2025). The hype and suspense brought about by all of the tracks (including the other five I listed here) is going to make fans want to listen to the album as soon as it drops (Source: X @xneojunx). For those who follow NCT as a whole or those who are big K-Pop/J-Pop fans, but have not heard of or followed Mark's music yet, I think that many of them will be interested in this album just based on the quality of its story telling, singing and background music. 

My hope also as a Christian K-Pop fan is that Mark's music influences them to draw closer to Jesus. What are you all looking forward to in Mark's soon to be latest album? What song or beat do you think you will like most? Feel free to voice your excitement in the comment section below either before or after the album comes out. If after, you can just simply write which song you liked the best. Head's up everyone, Mark's The Firstfruit album will be out April 7th, at 6:00 P.M. Korean Standard Time!

Three New Songs from BLACKPINK'S Jisoo That You Cannot Miss and Why

Hello fellow K-Pop/J-Pop followers. Tonight I thought I would do an informative post to bring to light some of the newest of BLACKPINK's Jisoo's songs.  

1 Earthquake

The reason I like this music video so much is because I was drawn to it by seeing Jisoo play the part of an office worker in the thumbnail. It was incredible to see her play that part and develop the emotional and empowering feel of the song for the audience related to the metaphors that the song represents. Jisoo's voice sounds very mature and well-fit for this song and makes it very satisfying to listen to. Additionally I like the choice of black for her costume as well as the dancers, it matched with the mood of the song very well. All of that together makes "Earthquake" a very entertaining song to listen to and fans will miss out on a must-hear experience by not listening.(JISOO, YouTube, 2025).

2. "You're Love"

Similar to being excited for "Earthquake", I was amazed listening to Jisoo's voice in this song due to her impressive singing talent. What blew me away and made me feel satisfied as a fan was due to both how well she sang and how the background singers contributed to the overall quality of the song. I particularly enjoyed the pre chorus and chorus the most because those were the most emotive parts of the song where Jisoo used breathy vocals that in turn made the song sound ethereal and angelic. "You're Love" is the perfect song to add to your K-Pop playlist if you have not already (JISOO, YouTube, 2025).

3. "Hugs & Kisses"

A very satisfying solo song of her's to listen to. What stood out most about it was her innovative way of singing by switching between casual and confident tones in her voice throughout the song. The lyrics were perhaps some of the best I have heard from her so far and the beat drop (which I explain more about beat drops in Popular K-Pop & J-Pop Terms Explained Using Song Examples) was phenomenal. The funky baseline was also a great addition to the song. I very much so recommend the song because it is very replayable in my opinion (JISOO, YouTube, 2025)

What are your favorite solo song's of hers so far? Please let me know in the comment section below.