An Album a Day

Starting off with 2NE1, the former YG Entertainment CEO revealed that the group would be officially reuniting for a global tour that will kick off in Seoul this October. The tour, which is in celebration of their 15th debut anniversary, will take place in Osaka in late November and Tokyo in December before continuing through 2025. 

SOURCE: msn.com

Watch the announcement on YouTube.

My name is Ashley and this is An Album a Day, an English language podcast promoting commentary on South Korean pop music. This podcast will cover mainstream, indie and some underground artists within the scene and provide both factual and opinionated K-pop 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.

Youre tuned into An Album a Day. Show, start.

Hey yall, when we began Apinks discography in 2023, it was during the time of their fourth anniversary celebration. Towards the end of April last year their label, IST Entertainment, announced that contract renewals resulted in only one member staying with the label. Despite the others departing the label, Apink would continue activities as a group, which is a common practice for many idol groups in recent years. 

Late 2011 was a busy time for Apink. Within seven months of their debut, they landed a track on a dramas official soundtrack. (Hereafter referred to as OST forevermore! Theres a language all its own in Korean entertainment consumption and I wanted to do a dictionary of some sorts on my podcast website but thats time consuming. Theres already websites and physical books that have done it, too. What I need to do, is an episode on A3Day Sister Show to expound on this and make sure Ive got key terms in the show notes. Always something to do!) Where was I? Oh yes, they landed an OST track, recorded a reality TV show with boy band INFINITE called Birth of a Family, and finalized todays album in the in between. I know a thing or two about packed schedules and I can certainly see this as a challenging time. Of course, they had their trainee days, but its nothing compared to the pace of your debut year. Youre working hard to establish your unique colors from the tens of dozens of other groups and Apink had their hearts set on making a strong impression.

So, filming a reality show with a popular senior boy band, participating in a planned promotional one-day event that was a cafe experience with fans, auctioning off personal items, and gathering the proceeds from this event to give to a South Korean welfare organization? They were intentional about making an impact. Did I mention that Apink prepared and served the food and drinks at their cafe event, too? It sounds like it was unforgettable for their fans, but how was the music? 

Apinks second EP, Snow Pink, was released November 21, 2011. The album has five tracks and clocks in at just over 17 minutes of play time. The album sold over 25,000 units and reached number seven on the Gaon album chart. For this review, we will be using the English title translations of the songs.

Aesthetically, I like this albums cover more than their debuts, which came out three months prior to Snow Pink. The ladies are wearing white dresses with variable-length tutu-like plumes. The outfits are accented with black, blue or white accessories, and different sneakers and boots, allowing each member to express their personality. It looks soft yet playful, which is exactly whats conveyed in the production choices for the album.

The production is quintessential South Korean pop, in that the music is heavy on string instruments, mainly with the piano as the focus, and production machine percussion. The most catchy thing about the song is the chorus, and not because the phrase is said in English. Its an earworm and probably was a hit during school talent shows. 

The late Shinsadong Tiger had a habit of making bonafide hits and this was no exception. The music calls back to early hip-hop refreshingly, there is no rapping that takes place. I enjoy rap but to hear a song in K-pop with a group thats not ballad-focused without rap was enjoyable. At most, Apink would intersperse some English delivery, similar to the introduction to SNSDs Gee. The dance break in My My is so tame compared to what was coming down the road for some girl groups. I especially love the fact that, regardless of if you knew who Apink was or not, youve definitely seen the outfits from this video used in social media posts and K-pop event promotional materials. The staying power of the look is undefeated all these years later!

This track sounds the most like it belongs in a video game, perhaps an adventure one? It also was the least memorable for me, despite the chorus being catchy.

Pulling from the popular production style of Norwegian-established production duo Stargate, the song is a true reflection of its time. That familiar boom-cat drum and guitar combo, reminiscent of Beyonces Irreplaceable, Rihannas Good Girl Gone Bad, was everywhere from 2006 until late 2011. Random fact: the sound was kicked off with So Sick by American artist Ne-Yo, who went on to pen several hits with Stargate and this production sound. 

I enjoyed the vocal composition of this song quite a bit. Apink were able to individually and collectively sound lovely. They used another Stargate-type beat but it doesnt overtake the song or its sweet lyrics. 

Ranking

K-pop fans on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being essential listening and 1 not worth mentioning, the A3Day rating for Snow Pink is a 4. There were attempts made with trying different pop approaches but it didnt feel as cohesive as the productive or theme of their debut. The youthfulness is there; however, it hasnt aged well. Even the innocence of what theyre singing about isnt similar to how crushes and young love is talked about now.  I feel confident that it was a fun listen at the time of its release, nonetheless. As with the previous album Snow Pink will likely be appreciated by those who seek older K-pop songs for retro musicality or nostalgic listening.

Season 7 of An Album a Day: A Review of Every Album in K-pop is hosted by Ashley with media research provided by AJ. 

Special shout out to my Patreon supporters who keep my vision of becoming your favorite foreign Korean music historian, exploring all the industry from A to Z a real thing. Check out this episodes show notes to connect with me on social media and learn more about becoming a sponsor on Patreon.

Tell other K-pop fans you enjoy this podcast and let them know that I am a proud member of the ALIVE! Podcast Network, where they can download the app and enjoy past and upcoming episodes on Apple and Android devices. Thank you for listening and Ill catch you in the next episode. Bye yall.

• updates on where, and how, she has been since taking a 9-month hiatus
• messages from friends in the industry
• ALIVE! Podcast Network press release
  
• Genius Korea [OFF-RADAR] introduction, and more

In this episode, we begin digging into the discography of Apink days before their 12th anniversary. Their debut EP, Seven Springs of Apink, was released April 19, 2011, and marked an entry into an arena filled with some of the most fierce female-group competition at that time. Their origins, right after the drop.

When you have a lot of companies involved in the success of an act, theres likely a lot of interest before they hit the big stage. In Apinks case, their founding in 2011 was chronicled in a reality show called Apink News. The cable show chronicled their launch process for three seasons with second generation K-pop idols as the hosts, such as members of BEAST, MBLAQ, and 4MINUTE.

Then, on April 19 of that year, members Son Na-eun, Park Cho-rong, Oh Ha-young, Jeong Eun-ji, Hong Yoo-kyung, Yoon Bi-mi, and Kim Nam-joo made their debut with their first extended play, Seven Springs of Apink.

Featured music by MsBlink

"An Album a Day" | "Multifacetedacg Theme"

Connect with A3Day online

Learn about (the) K-POP Museum, located in the Gyeongju Bomun Complex, in this episode. The museum specializes in pop music and has permanent and planned exhibitions of rare original music albums released between the Korean Empire period when pop music started until present day.

Featured music by MsBlink

"An Album a Day" | "Multifacetedacg Theme"

Connect with A3Day online

View photos from K-POP Museum taken by Ashley

In this final episode of Season 6, host Ashley gives her final discography ranking and provides context to one of the most haphazard season to date of the K-pop discography review podcast.

All featured music is produced by MsBlink.

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