AlphaBAT "Attention" (2014)

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02/15/21 • 9 min

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An Album a Day is my exploration into the Korean music scene. This podcast will cover mainstream, indie and some underground artists within the scene and provide both factual and opinionated commentary. The biggest benefit to sharing my thoughts this way is that it will hopefully expose you to more great music and exploration of your own.

It’s the middle of winter in North America and the covid-19 pandemic experience is almost a year old in the United States. Through your support of the show -- both through reviews, listenership, and in some cases, financial contributions -- the pandemic bumped A3Day around a bit but didn’t end. Thank you! Being the host of this podcast is a true joy for me and a true energy drainer while juggling responsibilities away from this microphone. Therefore, there will be a long break between this season and the next.

During this time, I will be participating in guest spots on other shows, mentoring, supporting the development of a brand ambassadorship program within the podcast community, researching and developing episodes for Season 6, and preparing details for the potential return of the podcast festival my team hosted in 2020. Most importantly, I’ll be resting. It might not sound like it, based on what I just shared, but know that I’ll be basking in rest.

We aren’t finished yet, k-pop fans. First, our final idol group of Season 5, the men of AlphaBat, right after the drop.

You’re tuned into An Album a Day. Show start.

Hey y’all, in 2012 two young men were set to debut as AlphaBAT under an agency called YUB Entertainment. By the time the group made its debut in 2013, one fully departed the scene while the other, Shin Selin, changed his stage name to Iota -- the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet -- and was joined by eight other young men, all named after letters in the Greek alphabet. You would think that he would be the leader since he was an original member, but that belonged to the member who went by Beta. “Alpha” was reserved for their fandom.

Allow me to break down the name of AlphaBAT’s members, past and present:

Ji Ha Yong, aka Beta
Yoo Yeong Jin aka Epsilon, the older brother of Ricky of boy group Teen Top
Lee Yeon Woo aka Lambda
Lee Yong Hun aka Kappa
Kim Jun Su aka Gamma
Kim Sang Hun aka Code, whose name isn’t in the Greek alphabet and who almost made his debut with EXO
Choi Yeon Soo aka Delta, who almost made his debut with boy group BOYFRIEND
Lee San Ha aka Fie (Pi)
Seol Jun aka Heta, another almost-EXO-member
Shin Se Lin aka Iota
Kim Su Yeob aka Jeta (Zeta), and
Cho Gyu Min, who went by his first name and left the alphabet alone

This was during the time when double-digit groups were the way to play, trying to compete with the behemoth that is... was? ... the original EXO lineup, numerically brought to us by the efforts of Super Junior. We’ll learn more about these groups later down the line.

After leaving YUB Entertainment, AlphaBAT made their home at Simtong Entertainment and technically made their debut on November 12, 2013, with a performance of “AB City” for Arirang: Simply K-pop. I say “technically” because their label at the time selected November 14, 2013, as their official debut date. This is also the day that they performed on M! Countdown for the first time and just what was the reason for rejecting the Arirang moment? Is it because that’s South Korea’s premier English-language television network? Who knows, but things went well, apparently. The positive reception sent them into the release of their first studio album, “Attention,” released February 25, 2014.

I remember the debut single’s video. I was tickled by the refrain of the English alphabet and overwhelmed by the size of the group. I found them somehow by way of another large boy group called Topp Dogg, but that’s a story for another time. What tickles me now is the fact that “Attention” is a studio album but has only four new songs and one instrumental on it. The rest of the album is made of adding their pre-album singles to round it out. If you look at this information solely from good ol’ Wikipedia, you’re bound to be confused. I had a moment before listening where I said to myself, “Every time I believe we’ve definitively sorted out the difference between an EP and a studio album, something like this comes along and destroys my understanding of it all.”

Nevertheless, the album is a product of its time, staying true to the percussive choices and in-your-face audio aggressiveness that was popular during that time in K-pop. You were either R&B heavy or one 8-count away from potentially getting into a shoving match, reasons be damned. I particularly enjoyed their song “Always,” as it was a mellow transition from the energy of the other songs on the album. The production is smooth ...

We aren’t finished yet, k-pop fans. First, our final idol group of Season 5, the men of AlphaBat, right after the drop.

You’re tuned into An Album a Day. Show start.

Allow me to break down the name of AlphaBAT’s members, past and present:

Ji Ha Yong, aka Beta
Yoo Yeong Jin aka Epsilon, the older brother of Ricky of boy group Teen Top
Lee Yeon Woo aka Lambda
Lee Yong Hun aka Kappa
Kim Jun Su aka Gamma
Kim Sang Hun aka Code, whose name isn’t in the Greek alphabet and who almost made his debut with EXO
Choi Yeon Soo aka Delta, who almost made his debut with boy group BOYFRIEND
Lee San Ha aka Fie (Pi)
Seol Jun aka Heta, another almost-EXO-member
Shin Se Lin aka Iota
Kim Su Yeob aka Jeta (Zeta), and
Cho Gyu Min, who went by his first name and left the alphabet alone

Previous Episode

Almeng "compoSING of Love" (2014)

Unexpected. It’s the first word that comes to mind when reflecting on today’s group, co-ed duo Almeng. The “little eggs” (the meaning of the group’s name in Korean) are K-pop Star 3 alumnus who combine hip-hop and R&B with an unexpected approach. Their short discography, right after the drop.

You’re tuned into An Album a Day. Show start.

Hey y’all, the Goodpods app takeover is tomorrow, February 10, 2021. I need your help in helping the Black into K-pop Coalition gain at least 25 group members on the app! Goodpod’s mission is simple -- making it easy for people to find great podcasts by following their friends to see what they’re listening to and for podcasters to grow their audiences through word of mouth recommendations. It’s a social media platform exclusively for podcast content. How cool is that? Download the app, follow my profile, Multifacetedacg, and check out some of my favorite podcasts outside of the Hallyu Wave.

Last thing before we get started. BKC wanted to let you know about an awesome giveaway we're doing right now to uplift Black podcasters in the K-Pop fanbase. We're giving a one hundred dollar Amazon gift card to one lucky listener. All you have to do to enter to win is to head to Podchaser and leave a review for any BKC podcast (or an episode of their podcast) in the month of February. We've made it really easy for you with a list of all the BKC podcasts. Just go to podchaser.com/bkc and start leaving reviews to enter. Again that's podchaser.com/bkc and you could win!

Onto the music!

Almeng consists of two members -- miss Choi Rin and mister Lee Haeyong -- born in October in 1990. Unlike our most recent co-ed duo, these two are not siblings but met during their days in college. An Internet search of images of the group gives you no idea what type of music you’ll hear. Even more cleverly, stereotypical expectations will make you believe that once you hear the first few sounds of their music, you know who’s bringing what type of vocal experience to the table. Unless you were consumed with interest from K-pop Star 3 in 2013 and 2014, you’d have no idea that Choi Rin soars in rapping and Lee Haeyong’s grainy singing voice is wonderful. Although these lanes occasionally cross on their October 12, 2014 debut album, “compoSING of Love,” both members know where they excel.

“compoSING of Love” was released with YNB Entertainment and features six tracks, making it a lovely EP. Choi Rin can sing but the woman has range when rapping. Her tone is intriguing and her cadences are worth a rewind, language comprehension doesn’t even matter. Lee Haeyong takes the theme of the album, love, and convinces you that it’s essential to a life well-lived with his gorgeous vocals. And both members joined hands in writing, composing, and producing their debut album, making it a true reflection of their ages and style. They once joked about this, stating in an interview with Korean publication News 1 that because Lee Haeyong had already served in the military, his writing brings more to the music process than similar duos because of life experience, acknowledging their entertainment seniors AKMU in the process.

What I enjoyed most about this album is the fact that they sound mature. This is not a jab at other artists and I don’t want it to be mistaken as such. These artists were already in their early 20s when they made their debut and each single they’ve released since “compoSING of Love” reflects a progression of maturity that comes along with aging. Now in their early 30s, their music resonates most with my personal preferences and similar, more recent experiences. This might not be as enjoyable for a person just entering university or a passive listener to R&B, but it works for older fans.

K-pop fans on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being essential listening and 1 not worth mentioning, the A3Day rating for this album is 5. I’m a bit frustrated that they’ve only released singles since this album, but at least they are still active. Continue to check out the #A3Day Highlights Playlist on Spotify, as it features tracks from today’s albums and past episode’s artists, and I’ll catch you in the next episode, bye y’all.

There’s sponsored ads and social media hashtags but this show is truly supported by the efforts of my MACGoalas, the most amazing fan base a lil’ entertainer could ever have.

Special shout out to my Patreo...

Next Episode

AOA "Angels' Story" and "WANNABE" (2012)

Hey y’all, it’s good to be back. This is the longest season break I’ve taken and it was well worth it. Since we technically never closed Season 5 with AlphaBAT, I’ll finish them for Season 6. Please anticipate -- there’s better organization this time, despite my lack of improved recording habits. This season is going to be fun and I’ve got some things to announce, right after the drop.

You’re tuned into An Album a Day. Show start.

Welcome back, welcome back listeners! I’ve two announcements to share but I want to get into this music first. Before 2020 came to its highly anticipated end, it took a few K-pop groups down with it. None crashed and burned as hard last year as Ace of Angels, better known as AOA, particularly because they haven’t technically disbanded. With a former lineup of eight ladies now whittled down to a trio, it’s likely only a matter of time. We aren’t starting at the end, however. Let’s go back to their debut year of 2012.

AOA is an FNC Entertainment group that honestly had a good thing with their intended plan. When the octuplet was created, the women were promoted as both a dance group and band. Their summer 2012 debut established their teasers and news that theirs would be a group who could play live instruments and dance their buns off, calling it a “transformer concept.” Additionally, FNC Entertainment called 7 of AOA’s members “full angels” and one as half-mortal and half-angel. This created what some of their fans and media would refer to as a 7+1 group. As mentioned earlier, there’s only three contractually bound members at this time: Lead dancer and vocalist Kim Seol-hyun, the face of the group; Shin Hye-jeong, lead vocalist, lead dancer, and visual; and lead rapper, main dancer, and vocalist Kim Chan-mi, who’s also the maknae. So who was in AOA?

There’s former leader and lead guitarist Shin Ji-Min, whose distinct voice made her rap unforgettable. Park Cho-a, former main vocalist and rhythm guitarist. Let me just say, this tiny woman can sing. Cho-a can SING, her voice is incredible and she’s definitely a favorite of mine in the industry. Be forewarned, I’m going to talk about what she brought to the group often. There was drummer Seo Youkyung, the +1 angel/mortal who only performed when the ladies were in band mode. Main vocalist and keyboardist Seo Yu-na, whose voice is so delightful with its feminine flair. There’s an inherent longing in her delivery that we’ll talk about. Finally, former lead rapper, vocalist, and bassist Kwon Min-a deserves all the love and extra protection possible, as she continues to use her platform to bring attention to bullying and depression.

Before we talk about discography here’s the first announcement.

Thanks to your support, A3Day’s been nominated in the Quill Podcast Awards. How cool is that? This is its debut year and will award top podcasts and brands in various categories for their production, innovation, and hard work. I really appreciate the nominations. Even if I’m not selected as a finalist, this is still a huge accomplishment. This feels as good as when I was nominated for a Shorty Award I attempted to originate years ago! You can continue to nominate An Album a Day at quillpodcasting.com/quill-podcast-awards until May 26, 2021.

Across 1 group and 3 subunits -- AOA Black, AOA White, and AOA Cream (the latter being my favorite) -- the group released 3 studio albums, 1 compilation, 19 singles, 6 EPs, and 4 promo singles. They also released 21 music videos and I’ve seen more of them than I realized over the years. I became interested in the group in 2014 so not only was I still super eager to consume everything available in K-pop, I was also eagerly seeking more girl groups to love and support.

Their debut project, “Angels’ Story” was released July 30, 2012, and consisted of 4 tracks: title song “Elvis,” “Love is Only You,” and a ballad called “Temptation” are all original songs, while the final track is a live band version of “Elvis.” Random fact: the group’s fandom used to be called Elvis but now go by Ace of Elvis. Why that name? If you lurk around the Internet long enough, you’ll find forums and conversations that seem to believe that FNC Entertainment thought that AOA would have rock band longevity and chose an idol who symbolized that to them, thus Elvis Presley.

This album is about as long as an A3Day episode and is enjoyable. Cho-a owns the chorus of “Elvis” and Jimin’s voice can’t be missed. Everyone else blends together well and creates a solid sense of musical synergy. This emotion increases with the October...