[UPDATE] My two favorite groups! Perfume and F(x).

Hi everyone, I hope you are having an awesome school/ university holiday day, or an awesome summer break. So why the Update? Well this update is related to my latest posts about Perfume's new single and F(x)'s new album. Firstly, Perfume has been having more awesome promotional activities for their 20th single [Cling Cling] which will be released on the 16th of July. And F(x) HAS released their 3rd studio album [Red Light] which was on the 7th of July.

I just wanted to share my findings on both topics, fulled with pictures, videos, music and even a quiz!! I also wanted to discuss some problematic issues I and/or fans have had with these releases, in terms of controversy or the way in which promotion is handled.  Also if you only like one group and not the other, feel free to just read up to their section in this post. :3 So let's get started!

Perfume: Cling to your Chest

So Perfume is due to have their 20th single [Cling Cling] release on the 16th of July (only 5ish more days to go!), with 4 awesome new tracks and TWO limited edition CD's rather then the usual one limited and one regular.

Firstly, it's cool to have these two limited editions. It means everyone can get their hands one a tasty CD filled with music and visuals. However, to my despair, despite pre-ordering last month, by the time I went to order from CDJapan they had already sold out of the limited box edition! But it just means it cheaper for me to get the standard limited edition, and I personally prefer the poster of the standard one anyway. The only thing you really miss out on is a video clip of the Perfume’s Spice and 9nine’s Shining Star performances from Perfume FES!! 2014, featuring Nishiwaki Sisters. Which would be cool, but will probably (or is already) on YouTube if you really want to see it.

Limited edition poster      Standard limited poster

Which poster do you prefer? :3 

Another interesting thing about [Cling Cling] is that it nearly has a music video all of the songs, excluding [Ijiwaru na Hello]. While not all music videos will be released on the CD, [Hold Your Hand]'s music video is asking for the collaborations of it's fans to contribute to the video. Why I think it's not going to be on the CD is because firstly, the video most likely won't be done before the CD is released. Secondly, by sharing it on social medias and YouTube it keeps it free for the fans. :3 

But wait there's more! Along with their new single they are also launching a new site project called 'Perfume World'. At the moment it is acting as a countdown for the release of [Cling Cling], but it also features a little house, a letter box and trees, being circled around while messages from twitter float around.

Screen shot of the website 'Perfume World', isn't it cute?! :3

So if you want to follow the countdown until the release of [Cling Cling] and the discover true purpose of Perfume World, here is the link. Perfume World.

I find this development quite interesting. As I saw in the comments below Perfume's post of this news on Facebook, someone commented 'Add more motion data!'. If you have followed Perfume in the past, you would of known that they did have some motion data of the girls dancing so that fans could take the data and make videos using it. This resulted in many awesome videos of animated animals, anime versions of the girls and even Miku Miku dance videos of a Perfume song along with a Perfume dance being created. So to have more motion data would be awesome. Another thought was that, the name for this project 'Perfume World' mostly comes from their first Asian tour were the start the show saying 'Welcome to the Perfume World'. Isn't that cool?! I like how a lot of things in the Perfume universe are linking up to become bigger things. (phew all that passion, time to turn it down a notch.)

   

Lastly, Perfume has been posting on Facebook and Twitter with a little Perfume quiz about the up-coming single where fans can pick the answer by either sharing the post/re-tweet or liking it/ favorite! What a great marketing tool to spread the hype. Along with this quiz, the Universal Staff have been giving out prizes to two people per day, over the course of 10 days. They are currently up to the 10th question, so there are still a chance to win some Perfume goodies! I'll post the questions they have had so far so you can test yourself, also a link to the current question after the struggle section, so you can try win yourself some goods!

The Struggle

The hardest part I find about Perfume's releases is that there is so much time between the announcements and the actual release. Also most of the releases are for singles which normally content 2 songs (A side and B side), and one music video (normally for A side song). Waiting such a long time for just two songs can be quite painful, but being a huge fan I enjoy the collecting as much as the release it's self. However this time around with [Cling Cling], news of a new single was leaked as early as March! This was due to the drama poster that the song [Hold Your Hand] will be in, had credited the new Perfume song. So due to the leaked, Perfume staff had to confirm the new single. It's a shame that it happened this way, but I feel that Perfume and staff are really making up for it with 4 new tracks, two limited edition CD's, fan participation in a video, online quiz AND new website! (phew!)So I guess this struggle worked out for the fans this time around. :P

Perfume Quiz! 2014

Question one: 
"Cling Cling" is Perfume's "__th" single counting from "Linear Moter Girl"!

19th or 20th?

Question two: 

What is the beginning phrase of the lyrics of "Cling Cling"?

'Cling Cling' or 'Kimi no Atashi no"?

Question three:

What color shoes are Perfume members wearing during the dance scene in the music video of "Cling Cling"?

Red or Blue?

Question four: 

When was the cover of Perfume Facebook last changed?

May 21st or May 22nd?

Question five:

What is the color of gem stone on the kaleidoscope from "Cling Cling" music video?

Orange or Blue?

Question six:

What is NOCCHi holding in her right hand in the music video of "Cling Cling" when the lyrics go "Okki Hako no Naka"?

Chopsticks or a book?

Question seven:

If you look at the cover of "Cling Cling" very carefully, you will see people in the background. Is this the first time non-Perfume member appeared on the cover of Perfume single?

Yes or No?

Question eight:

Fill in the blank!

On the CD "Cling Cling", "Ijiwaruna Hello" is __th track.

3rd or 4th?

Question nine (current question):

On the teaser website of "Perfume World", you will see tweets swirling around the screen and get sucked into something. What is sucking in the tweets?

Mail box or chimney?

Question 10 (current and last question):

On the cover of "Cling Cling", who is not sitting down?

Kashiyuka or A-chan?

Link to current question on Facebook: Try win some Perfume goods!

The answers are relatively easy and can be found either from watching the [Cling Cling] music video (short version), visiting the Perfume Facebook page, or visiting the Perfume disco website, which is my personal favorite for catching up with Perfume news.

For now the answers to past question are here.

Answers: 20th, Cling Cling, Red, May 21st, Blue, Chopsticks, No, 4th, mailbox, Kashiyuka.

I will be reviewing this single as soon as I get it! I'm so eager. Are you still excited for Perfume's new single? And what do you think of the 'Perfume World' website so far? ^^ Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments!

F(x): The Five Cats

Now for the five cats from Korea, that surprised us and released a summer time album! F(x)!

F(x)'s members: Amber, Krystal, Sulli, Victoria and Luna.


So as many K-pop enthusiasts may know, F(x)'s new album [Red Light] was released  the 7th of July (this month), with many comeback stages on shows such as M! Countdown, Music Core, Music Bank and Show Champion.

[All Night] performed on Show Music Core.

The concept is dark, mysterious and sexy. The girls all look amazing (I personally feel Luna really shines, along with Krystal). The dances are awesome and powerful, and the music....wow. The lyrics are quirky and weird (not necessary a bad thing considering the lack of translation at the moment.)And a killer music video with book burning and a laser light show. Overall, I'm impressed and feel the wait was worth while.

The Struggle

Despite loving the the photos, dances, music and videos. Other issues made me love and hate this album even more.

About time for a comeback!

Firstly, the feeling that SM towns's(F(x)'s company)lack of attention towards F(x). While the girls are happy doing tv shows, filming dramas, partaking in musicals and fashion shoot, many fans (myself included) felt that F(x) was starting to be neglected. Many of us fans know about a little certain group called, EXO, a 11 member boy band, that debuted AFTER F(x) but has exploded in popularity, bring in the money. What I liked about F(x) is their willingness to be different and experiment with other concepts, sounds and styles. Next to Girls Generation, Super Junior, 2PM and SHINee, F(x) was really the only group that filled the gap in SM town had in it's musical styles. I had been waiting for an F(x) comeback since [Pink Tape], which was about a year ago, and EXO just happened to have their comeback this year before F(x). While I'm not surprised about EXO's comeback (and kinda like [Overdose]), I was worried that Super Junior would comeback before F(x).

Can't get mad at those faces. :3

However, due to the over flow of content after it was reported that F(x) was next due for a comeback, the teasers were never ending, making the hunger for new F(x) very real. Also the attention to detail, the quality of the images, concept, along with releasing another album, made the ill feels subside. I was both surprised and excited at the news of a new album for F(x), despite having just released one before. It's so bad ass that it's cool, haha.

Change of lyrics

Another struggle with F(x)'s [Red Light] album was the lyrics on the song [Red Light], which KBS deemed unappropriated, and needed changed before F(x) preformed on their show, Music Core. KBS deemed the lyric 'Caterpillar' in the song [Red Light] unappropriated due to it's resemblance to the big truck company by the same name.

Caterpillar, known for it's big yellow trucks.

SM has changed the lyrics to the Korean word for caterpillar tractor which can also mean 'unlimited orbit'. Kinda cool, but was it really necessary? I mean free advertisement on Caterpillar's behalf! And after looking at the lyrics, it seems to relate closer to a caterpillar insect rather then a truck...

SM's 'creativity'

Lastly, SM's buying power has caused me to feel a little disappointed. While caught up in the hype for this album, I was searching around for as much martial as I could, when one of my friends found this:

https://soundcloud.com/phrased-differently/red-light-maegan-cottone

So this is an English version of Red Light? Nope, it was posted about 1 year prior but the beat is the same. So did SM rip off these people? Nooooo, as my friend explained to me, SM is known to buy music, which it's cool that they pay rather than stealing and it's good they are reaching out for ALL sorts of music, but is that really okay? The problem I find with this version and f(x) is that this version packs more of a punch, also if you listen to F(x)'s version the chorus sounds so out of place upon the first couple of listens. The lyrics in this version are more raw and make more sense, but if KBS is going to pick on the song for having Caterpillar, they would have a field day with theses.

However, as a song, this version is clearly not finished and as it says in the title it's a demo. Another thing is the f(x) version is a full package, with good sound quality and the break down after the chorus a second time, is really nice. You don't get that with this version. This is not the first time F(x)'s songs have some from other source( for example [Danger] and [Hot Summer]), but at least SM is not trying to hid and claim it as their own, and if they have brought it, it is theirs.

The A and B version of the [Red Light] album, one called 'Sleepy Cats' the other 'Wild Cats'.

Grim stuff aside, we got a new f(x) album and more then we could ask for, for now. :3 Well I can't comment much on the album it's self because I don't want to listen to it online until I receive my copies. But as soon as I do I'll review both the A version and B version of the album. ^^

Until then here is a video of the full album, of course you should support the group and buy their album but for now, enjoy the tunes~

So, sorry that this post as slightly ranty and thanks for reading if you got to the end. What do you think about the struggles I mentioned? Most were resolved one way or another, but were you effected by it too? Leave your thoughts in the comments and I'll see ya next time, hopefully with some CD's to review! :3

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