U-KISS recently released a new Japanese album “Action”, which reached #1 on the Oricon! It may be one of my favorite U-KISS songs and Promotional Videos ever. The song is like an upbeat version of “Someday”, which is also one of my favorite songs. Both songs are about doing your best and looking forward to a positive future no matter how tough things get – a theme very appropriate to U-KISS, who just recently won their first Korean music show award since their debut seven years ago. Big congrats to my favorite group! They’ve come a long way.
The song is so catchy! I can’t get over the cutesy dance and Easter egg colored suits. Really, how are these guys so cute? I’d like to take this moment to point out that aside from the youngest, these guys are all in their mid-20s. Much respect to them for doing a song like this. It’s so happy~! I also like that the rappers get to sing in this song. The ending features cheesy English rapping by Eli, super-derpy dancing by Kiseop, and a ridiculously cute ending pose. ♥
U-KISS was never the most popular, but they have worked hard and really polished their skills and image. With their fun personalities, they put on a great show, and perhaps because of their struggles they’re always very appreciative of their fans. For us English-speaking fans, it also helps that two of their members are American, and three are fluent in English. I’ve always been a very visual person, and U-KISS has a lot of great dance routines as well as catchy songs. Here are my favorite U-KISS music videos:
NEVERLAND
NEVERLAND is my #1 favorite U-KISS song AND video. Perhaps because I grew up as a gamer, I’ve always liked music with techno and other electronica influences. I love the dance routine, and I think everyone looks good in this video. That’s a lot of eyeliner (not complaining). Also I have a thing for water stages. I want to dance in one someday~
Inside of Me
Inside of Me is such a romantic song, and I think the style perfectly complements Shining Idol Kevin’s sweet image. Maybe I’m biased, but to me this is totally a Kevin song. I would have liked the video better if they’d shown the dance routine (yes, there is one!), but the visuals work well with the song and it’s still one of my favorites. The song itself is definitely in my top five for U-KISS. P.S. Don’t let Eli wear trench coats.
Tick Tack
Tick Tack (Tick Tock… think Japanese pronunciation) was U-KISS’s first Japanese single, thus the first U-KISS video I ever saw. I became an instant fan. The music style and the cool dance and visuals are right up my alley. Also features a lot of eyeliner (it came out right after NEVERLAND). I liked this and U-KISS’s other Japanese songs so much, it inspired me to look up their Korean songs, which was my first step into the world of K-pop. I’d been a huge fan of TVXQ, but I still only listened to them in Japanese. This song is very catchy and has an addictive beat.
ALONE (Dance Shot)
The refrain of ALONE has the kind of Avex J-Euro sound that I love. This is my favorite U-KISS dance, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the styling in the video. Thank goodness for Dance Versions! “Is it Ace of Spades or the only Joker?”
Standing Still
Like ALONE, Standing Still is a dark song with a good beat and awesome dance choreography… but I’m not a fan of the styling (it’s similar to ALONE, and was released soon after). Unfortunately, there’s no Dance Version for this one. There’s a fair amount of English lyrics. A few people have told me this is their favorite U-KISS song.
Fall in Love
When I first watched Fall in Love, I didn’t think much of it. “That was a nice song. The video was well done.” But it didn’t blow me away — it’s not that kind of song. As I listened to it more and more though, it grew on me and I started thinking WOW, this is actually a really good song. U-KISS’s rapper AJ wrote this song (I’m impressed because it’s in Japanese!), and he really did a great job showcasing each of the member’s strong points. This is the kind of song that pulls at your heartstrings. Don’t be fooled — this song is not a love song, it’s actually pining over lost love, as illustrated with the bursting bubbles.
I could go on forever about U-KISS music videos, but those are my favorites!
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