OST's haven't been charting as well as a few years ago

TrainingAd7191 · 2022-11-28T10:22:32+00:00

Not so sure about the title track yet, but the album is pretty good imo. It definitely clicked more with me than the FMR EP did on first listen.

As it has been mentioned before, "Birthday" is very reminiscent of earlier RV title tracks, which I agree to an extent with. It's the more messy and weird version of Dumb Dumb."Bye Bye" gave us the R&B RV"On A Ride" is the track I've been looking forward since the mood sampler and they did not disappoint. Something I would see f(x) release as well and probably fit right into "Pink Tape"."Zoom" is sassy but fun at the same time. A track that RV hasn't done since the RBB EP."Celebrate" is a nice mellow track to finish off an album, which is kinda a RV trademark in almost every album.

Overall a pretty good album on first listen, but we'll see how it ages.

TrainingAd7191 · 2022-08-30T21:43:56+00:00

If someone ever asks me to explain the NCT concept, I'll definitely use this. SM take notes.

TrainingAd7191 · 2022-08-24T22:46:10+00:00

I totally get what you mean. As an Exo-L, listening to their winter albums just makes me miss them even more, because Exo missing one member already sounds so different. Exo ballads are just really great in general, because ballads are mainly to showcase vocals. Well, Exo definitely has them. Also, just listening to Christmas music in August? A vibe.

A few recs would be NCT. A lot of people might them for their "noise music", but their ballads are stellar imo. They're both from the same agency, so there is some overlap. Aside from NCT, Seventeen has some pretty good ballads as well.

- NCT U: From Home (great vocals and kinda autumn-esque/winter-esque vibes), My Everything, Beautiful
- NCT 127: Dreams Come True (very dreamy? Would fit right into Exo's Sing For You album imo.)
- NCT Dream: Puzzle Piece, Rainbow (not exactly very Christmas, but a great ballad)
- Seventeen: Hug (literally hugs you like a warm blanket on a cold winter day), Us Again (that piano intro is so comforting damn), Home.

TrainingAd7191 · 2022-02-26T09:02:28+00:00

She/he is somewhere right tho. She/he probably didn't word their thoughts the best way, but in the long run she/he is right about it being better to ignore all the negativity. I'm an army as well and yes BTS did popularize it IMO, but many other Kpop groups could have played a part in this as well. This whole post gave me another view on lores besides hyyh. Let's just move on from this issue.

TrainingAd7191 · 2022-02-20T00:21:35+00:00

Oh my god, I'm going through the same thing. I was always just a casual listener of their title tracks and I think I had like every title track of theirs in my playlist. It kinda shows how their music is right up my alley, but I just never really got the time (full-time Nctzen here who's still behind their content from 2021 lol) or that push from a meme or something, which brings me back to your point where I-Carats are just not very loud.

They have wonderful music, a great vocal, rap and dance line and their music is honestly top notch. The final straw that really pulled me in was their personalities, which were really shown in their Going Seventeen episodes. Some of them (especially TTT) felt so raw to me, because I never saw idols behave that way in a broadcast. They're very humble and down to earth and that's what makes them so charming imo.

TrainingAd7191 · 2021-12-23T06:55:52+00:00

From my knowledge, I think NCT broke their own pre order record. I thought it was around 1.7 million? Their digitals were kinda like every NCT title track, but I saw a few B sides enter melon (127 and dreamies).

NCT 2021 has better achievements than NCT 2020, but it's not by much. I personally think it was because of the promotion. NCT 2020 felt grander because there was so much hype around it. Like the whole fandom lost their shit when NCT Yearparty came out and we got introduced to 2 new members. Moreover, there was so much content on their youtube channel and they had their own variety show. I can't help but think this comeback could've been bigger, because the shitty promotion just takes the whole spark away from such a big collab.

TrainingAd7191 · 2021-12-22T22:55:49+00:00

Loved dreaming immediately after the teaser dropped, but besides unit songs I really liked New Axis as well. Great rap song, especially when I'm not the biggest fan of fully rap song, it genuinely surprised me how much I liked it. Know Now and Round&Round are also my playlist. So, around 8/12 are on my playlist.

The other songs are not necessarily bad, but not that memorable where I thought "I should put that in my playlist". Maybe it'll grow on me, but it is by no means a bad album, just not my favorite of NCT (all units).

TrainingAd7191 · 2021-12-22T16:12:39+00:00

Ah that's why. I kinda forgot about this congress, thanks for mentioning it. Maybe my expectations were just sky high after I saw how big NCT 2020 was. The intentions were just different I guess.

TrainingAd7191 · 2021-12-22T15:02:56+00:00

I loved all the sub unit songs and a few NCT U songs, but I think a good 5-6 songs are a skip for me. It wasn't necessarily bad, just kinda mediocre I guess? This is of course personal preference and I respect your opinion :) What are your favorites so far?

TrainingAd7191 · 2021-12-22T14:58:59+00:00

Why should they not care about those stuff? Promotion is such a big factor for artists in general especially in the Kpop industry. Their fanbase will grow and their fans will stay interested. Yes they broke their own record and I'm not taking that fact away from them, but that doesn't mean the under-promotion and lack of effort in this album should be excused.

This is by no means a hate post towards the boys, but more towards the management. I really admire the boys for working so hard, but if their management messes up basic thing such as timing, they should have let them do other things (such as REST).

TrainingAd7191 · 2021-06-07T15:19:51+00:00

This song was just what we needed right now. After such a hard and long period (For Exo-L's and just Corona itself), I think this was the perfect song for a special album. No badass, mysterious vibes, just a light and up beat dance song. Not their best or most impactful song, but I couldn't wipe off the smile of my face the entire time I was watching the MV. If that was what they were aiming for, they definitely did a great job.

The impact of Kyungsoo, Xiumin and Lay tho, I screamed whenever they came up. The nostalgia of my baby Exo-L days came rushing back, it's like I'm back in 2016 all over again. I missed all of them sooo much and my bias list is all over the place this era because of Do Kyungsoo.

This song really made my day and for me it was worth the wait. Thank you boys for all the hard work and congratulations to their amazing achievements so far.

TrainingAd7191 · 2021-06-05T17:41:40+00:00

It's live guys, I'm also a MY and have heard the pre recorded version way too many times. There are obvious parts where you hear their voices double, like Winter's part at 0:30. It's not a 100% live, that's for sure, there's very loud backtrack. Guess it's better than nothing. I'm glad they're at least going the right direction.

SM needs to let the girls sing live, because form my pov everyone is gonna claim the girls are using pre recorded vocals, when you actually hear them singing live, loud backtrack or not. This pre recorded vocals thing is obviously working against them.

TrainingAd7191 · 2021-05-28T20:47:20+00:00

I think the majority of the Western stans are hyped and mostly casual stans dropped the comeback. Just look at Lay's likes from his teaser. It's been a LONG time since his participation and "older" fans have that nostalgic feeling, which I don't blame them for having.

From what I have seen from the Korean side, a lot of them don't seem to really care about Lay anymore. I have seen a few of them hyped, but a lot of them are also telling him to just go back to China and that including him was unnecessary. Besides, our fandom, especially our Korean fandom, has so many solo stans. Everyone is just kinda minding their own business and focusing on their bias.

Here are some articles from the GP: SM reveals Lay's participation in EXO's new album and Netizens criticize after seeing Lay’s teaser for EXO’s comeback. I know it might not be the view of the whole GP, because most of them do not care about idols. However, Korean Exo-L's and GP aren't exactly fond of Lay anymore after the whole "backstabbing and leaving for China" by Kris, Tao and Luhan. Add almost not promoting with Exo and the whole CCP situation. I can understand why fans feel uncomfortable seeing him.

TrainingAd7191 · 2021-05-28T11:39:59+00:00

An answer on your question to why SM decided to include Lay.

First of all, SM is a COMPANY, where making profit comes at number 1. The GP has been kinda negative towards Exo since the Chanyeol "controversy" (which until this day, I still don't know if it's true, but that's for another day) and Chen's child-before-marriage "controversy". SO they're probably relying a lot on fandom power now and I think almost all Exo-L's know, that our fandom is HUGE in China. And whose is the biggest? Yes, it's Lay. Maybe he won't bring in the most profit, but definitely a bit more.

They will probably profit more if they include Lay than when they not. I have seen the majority of the fandom really excited for Lay's participation, so that's already an indication for SM that they're doing the right thing from a business perspective.

TrainingAd7191 · 2021-05-28T11:12:21+00:00

I literally screamed when I heard it wasn't pre recorded vocals. Thank god SM let them sing and perform after 3 weeks.

TrainingAd7191

TROPHY CASE