Music Videos

Music Recommendations For January 2023

Kpop, Music Videos / By

It’s time to share what I’ve been listening to lately. I have very eclectic musical tastes and listen to everything from the past 6 decades ranging from pop to kpop to rap and hiphop to rock and everything in between. No holiday music here. Holidays are over for better or worse. Let’s kick 2023 off with some great music! Tell me, what have you been listening to?

Stray Kids – Charmer

Might be my favorite song right now – no lies.

Stray Kids Charmer English Translation Lyrics:

[Verse 1: Han, Bang Chan, Seungmin]
There’s nothing lacking
I’m saucin’, livin’ in big Seoul City, without showing any modesty
I hang up the imitators on the laundry rack
If we do it, they all fall down like bowling pins
Shoulders held high like Mt. Everest
No chance of falling down, it is unstoppable every day
When I make it big, watch your heads
I’ll change the trend every day like refresh (Cling, cling) read more

Music – What To Listen To Week Of 7/31/22

Music Videos / By

It’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these posts hasn’t it? I’m actually going to a lot of concerts this summer. I just went to one a few weeks ago, which is kinda embarrassing – I didn’t know the band really – I knew one of their songs maybe – but I had no idea they were from Nickelodean – so there I was as a 40 year old woman watching a kid’s tv reality show band – ha… Oh well if anyone asked I could have pretended to have kids sitting down closer to the stage or something right. lol. For those wondering, the band was Big Time Rush – and actually I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am a big “boy bands” fan – Kpop or american pop or european boybands etc. I like how they all harmonize and dance in unison and also get their own little moments to shine. And well most of them are easy on the eyes. Not even sure if these boys were all over 21 lol. Oh well. 🙂 Haha. I’m not like a super hardcore fangirl, I don’t know all their names or favorite colors or foods or whatever – but I like me some boyband music. Well if you’ve read these posts before you know I like a lot of different genres, not just boybands. I’m a fan of 80s and 90s music and 2000s-today and everything from pop to country to rock to hiphop and everything in between. Here’s what I’m listening to this week – How about you? Drop me a link to your favorite songs in the comments below. read more

More Music For September 2021

Music Videos / By

I shared a lot of music last week over here. But Monsta X just dropped a new English language single called One Day and I can’t stop listening to it. It’s so good! Thank you for catering to your English-speaking fans. We love you. And “Maybe One Day I’ll See YOU” in concert that is if you ever come to Pittsburgh – Please 🙂

What else have I been listening to this week? Well how about this song by Dua Lipa with a new 80s-90s anime inspired music video – official, not fan made – that gives us vibes of Sailor Moon, Aishite Knight, Animal Crossing, Full Moon Wo Sagashite, Creamy Mami, and other Magical Girl old school anime. The song is pretty good – but the video is awesome! read more

Fall In Love With These New Songs For Fall 2021

Kpop, Music Videos / By

I sometimes like to just share songs I’m listening to. If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you know by now that my music taste is very eclectic. I listen to just about anything, from KPOP, American top 40, 80s, 90s, oldies, indie music, anime theme songs, covers, whatever.

Here’s what I’m listening to this week.

I am inspired to create this post today by my discovering TXT’s new English song “Magic”. – I previously shared TXT’s other English track “Cats and Dogs” – Their English was not very good – But I still love that song – but now, in 2021, they have been working really hard on their English skills – This new track is perfect. I can understand them just fine now. They’ve come a long ways! Their dancing is just too cute too. read more

My Music Recommendations For July 2021

Music Videos / By

It’s summertime. Time for road trips and happy summer songs. Here’s what’s on my roadtrip playlist. Let’s get summer started!

The song everyone is listening to right now with 130 Million Views in its first 3 days of release… It’s so catchy!!! And yes, better yet it’s even in English!

1.) BTS – Permission To Dance

2.) Arashi – In The Summer

Yes, I’ve shared this before – but what better time to listen to it than – in the summer?! 🙂

3.) Suu, Carlos Sadness – Barcelona Tropical

Honestly, I don’t speak or understand Spanish but I like the nice summer vibe of this song very much! read more

Music Review – What Am I Listening To This Week 6/6/2021

Music Review, Music Videos, Review / By

It’s been a hot minute since I did one of these posts. As you know from my previous music posts, I typically just embed a bunch of youtube videos of what I’ve been listening to this week. I warn you, I have VERY eclectic musical tastes. I listen to legit everything – even in languages I legit don’t understand – everything from country, to rap, pop, folk, house, r&b, kpop, indian stuff, jpop – whatever. I listen to everything from mainstream radio faves to current indie underground sleeper hits to 90s to 80s 60s even whatever. LETS DO THIS. lol. I’m just sitting here doing laundry and watching youtube like that. read more

Cats 2019 Movie Review

Animals, furries, Movie Review, Movies and TV Series, Music Review, Music Videos, Opinion, Review / By

I just watched the 2019 remake of Cats. I have watched the original on VHS when I was young, but didn’t remember much of anything. I do like some musicals, but I’m not a musical buff and I tend to prefer more modern musicals like Moulin Rouge. I went into this pretty blind, and afterwards, I looked up some information, and I see it has been called the worst movie of all time. The worst movie ever made. I disagree with that. And here’s why.

Ok I have a few complaints before I can get to telling you why I actually liked cats. Here are some things I really disliked about it. read more

What Am I Listening To This Week 8/3/2020 – GeekySweetie Recommended Top 20 Music Videos.

JPop, Kpop, Music News, Music Review, Music Videos, News, Review / By

Hey it’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these posts. Who’s ready for some more music videos? 🙂

Here’s GeekySweetie’s recommended videos for you this week. Check em out. Have a song you’ve been listening to this week? Drop it in my comments section so I can check it out too! 🙂

  1. Hello My Loneliness By Delaney Jane and Call Me Karizma – These are 2 really great indie underground artists who definitely deserve more love! I just discovered them today under youtube recommended videos which inspired me to create this post. The girl only has 15,000 subscribers and the guy has under 200,000. Let’s show them some more love!

2. Strumbella’s Salvation – I heard this in Sheetz ( a gas station), but only for a moment, and what struck me was the lyrics. I spent almost an hour googling the lyrics before I found the song – and this one came up and the begining didn’t sound like what I heard so I skipped over it at first, but after finally circling back to it, and listening to the whole thing, I’m like OMG that’s it. The beginning is different than the ending verse, even the melody changes. But the message is so powerful and so touching. My favorite lyrics, and the ones I heard in Sheetz say: read more

Monsta-X

What I’m Listening To This Week – Monsta X – Who Do U Love?

Music Videos / By

  1. Monsta X – Who Do U Love?

Monsta X released a new song last week, and they’re on US tour right now. I wish I could go, but it doesn’t look like they’re anywhere close by here. They go to Las Vegas this fall, and I do have family in Vegas, but I dunno if I will be able to take off work, because I might be planning some other vacations this summer.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGCFaZIeB3k[/embedyt]

2. Ariana – 7 Rings

This Ariana Grande Song is about 6 months old now, but I just heard it for the first time last night. It’s to the tune of “A few of my favorite things” from the Sound of Music, but the beat is more hip-hop/pop-y. It actually kinda has almost a kpop feeling to it, I could picture Blackpink singing something like this.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYh6mYIJG2Y[/embedyt]

3. Ariana – Thank U – Next

If you live under a rock, you might have not heard this next Ariana song lol. I’m pretty sure everyone knows it. But I just watched the music video for the first time and it’s like a parody of Mean Girls. If you’ve ever seen that movie. So even if you don’t like Ariana, you might enjoy this video if you love Mean Girls.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl1aHhXnN1k[/embedyt]

4. Jacob Lee – With You

This song makes me cry… It’s so beautiful…. I think it’s a perfect wedding song. He’s singing about how he imagines their future. The places they will go, and also how they will raise a family and how their life will change when their first child is born, and how they will fill her life with love and she will fill their life with love too.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuRZ42ExuHM[/embedyt]

5. Jacob Lee – I Belong To You

Jacob Lee has another excellent wedding song, which he sings at a wedding altar, with lyrics as if he’s singing to his bride on their wedding day.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtcBNdIq1ms[/embedyt]

6. Jordan Smith – Only Love

Wow I remember this Jordan Smith guy from The Voice on Adam’s team a few years ago. It looks like he’s made it Pro now. Good for him. I was always a fan, wanted him to win from pretty early in the season.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6DPyiE5e3M[/embedyt]

7. Kodaline – All I Want

This next video also moves me to tears, he has such a beautiful soul. There’s two parts but i think it’s the same song. I might have shared this one in one of my previous updates, but couldn’t remember, so here you can see it again.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtf7hC17IBM[/embedyt]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzuXZfKg2YM[/embedyt]

8. Cyn – I’ll Still Have Me

Youtube recommended this next video for me. It’s a little slow and soft for my taste, but I like her voice, it’s very unusual.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MZgtCp8mtc[/embedyt]

9. Lawson – Where My Love Goes

Youtube also recommended this next song for me, again I haven’t heard of this band. The video is cute, because the lead singer actually proposes to his real life girl friend while they’re filming the video. The beat and melody of the song is catchy too. I like it a lot.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xwr7Jw-dqM[/embedyt]

10. Daniel Schulz – Turn Back Time

Also hadn’t heard of this one until I stumbled across it today. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but by half way through it was stuck in my head. It’s very catchy.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFhsW0LxkOQ[/embedyt]

What I’m Listening To This Week 6/23/19

1 Comment / Music Videos / By

I didn’t share a music post last week because we were moving, and still been super busy. Here’s what I’ve listened to the last two weeks.

1.) HYO – Sober English Version.

This song is so catchy. I find myself singing it all the time now.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5-ovx56zjk[/embedyt]

2.) Troye Sivan – Fools

I first found this song via BTS’ Jung Kook’s cover but the original is good too. I think I actually prefer Jung Kook’s version more though.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxg222-hWWc[/embedyt]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwVbCIA1hgc[/embedyt]

The next 3 songs are by an artist named Amber. I really like her voice and the beat to all of these songs.

3.) Amber – White Noise

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBKzjuKBSTM[/embedyt]

4.) Amber – Count Down

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB0Bkll3fFs[/embedyt]

5.) Amber – Lost At Sea

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk4opcwRJAU[/embedyt]

6.) Rogue Rogue – Right Now

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7le8Q-jKnK4[/embedyt]

7.) Jay Park – Me Like Yuh

I love this song. It’s so catchy. Has a great beat.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hYP4rmRVKE[/embedyt]

8.) Jay Park – Aquaman

This song is really dirty lol, but it’s catchy too. I want a pink car with a hottub in it too LOL.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qSNMfm1rlg[/embedyt]

9.) Jay Park – All I wanna do

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxQUJlDx4pw[/embedyt]

10.) Dua Lipa and Black Pink – Kiss and Make Up.

I love Dua Lipa, and love Black Pink, so naturally I love this song too :).

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX3Bsiq-13k[/embedyt]

Black Pink

What Am I Listening To This Week? Still Not Tired Of Love Songs Or Kpop English Covers

Music Review, Music Videos, Review / By

It’s that time again. Time to share with you what I’ve been listening to this week. The first song on the list actually isn’t a KPop song. Are you shocked? lol. But I did discover it when I saw a cover of it by an Asian youtuber. So there is that.

Here’s the original non Kpop version

Lauv and Troye Sivan – I’m So Tired of Long Songs

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boUl0jPZMdg[/embedyt]

Here’s the cover I found. Not as good as the original, but still pretty decent.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcJU0DHJHQE[/embedyt]

2. BTS – Fake Love

This is one of my favorite BTS songs and there are a lot of great English Covers Out there. But first, here’s the original by our boys BTS

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C2z4GqqS5E[/embedyt]

My favorite cover is this one by Emma Heesters

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PSaFQr44UQ[/embedyt]

I also really like Elise Silv3rT3ar’s version. Her lyrics are different. I think maybe all the songs on the BTS albulm revolve around the story of Smeraldo? Because in Elise’s version she says “I grew a flower that could never bloom in a dream that could never come true” and in the song I shared last week, The truth untold it’s about the legend of the Smeraldo flower. And both songs are about hiding your true feelings.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV9iD3pCv90[/embedyt]

Last week I shared a few other covers by Ysabelle; here’s her English cover of BTS Fake Love.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TZWzYEv0xw[/embedyt]

Impaofsweden also has a Fake Love cover here:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSan3tYEk5g[/embedyt]

Shayne Orock has a ton of anime and Kdrama covers and he is just a young kid. He’s probably like Justin Bieber’s Age when Bieber was discovered by Usher on Youtube. And he sounds better than Bieber did at that age I think. I know he’s done some concerts in some Asian speaking countries – I’m not sure if he’s Korean? He looks different, bone structure wise than most Koreans, but maybe that’s because he hasn’t had much plastic surgery that’s so popular over there? His covers are great, Fake Love is one of his best covers in my opinion.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em-_dGEx-Ho[/embedyt]

Awhile back a contestant on the X-Factor UK also did an English Cover of Fake Love at Simon’s house.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0_94PRybYQ[/embedyt]

And later she went on to perform the song also at the live shows.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbNOkqueFKw[/embedyt]

Honestly, I don’t really like her voice that much, but she is only 16, and to perform that song on TV at such a young age, she is pretty incredible.

There’s even a heavy metal version… wtf? really? lol… really. Even weirder it’s in Korean still and performed by a bunch of young white kids… This is just too weird lol.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdjhmGNlKWs[/embedyt]

Even weirder… there’s a cover by an Asian guy in English, done in an R&B style – I actually, love this one. It’s so good. His lyrics are completely different. I like his voice.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDigR8WGQ5g[/embedyt]

Back to some normal sounding covers, here’s a cover by shimmeringrain

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3ax3uhc6Ms[/embedyt]

Here’s another version by Sybass – he needs to work a bit more on emoting more, having more emotion behind the words he sings, but otherwise, it’s really good. He just sounds a bit like he’s reading lines, instead of feeling the emotion behind the song.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSoDy0r70xY[/embedyt]

Astra King is a bit too auto-tuned for my tastes, but not bad either.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaRxCKRvf0g[/embedyt]

And the men love auto tune too. It’s a bit much, but sorta interesting lol – Is his name Teflon Sega? Why not, I guess right? I mean bands often put together random words for their names right? lol.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T94XHk-r-qc[/embedyt]

This one by Amy B is good because it uses real instruments which gives it a neat feel. Her English pronunciation isn’t very good though.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pl9NpkEH2s[/embedyt]

This one just posted about 12 hours ago as of June 6th when I’m working on this blog post. It only has 3 views right now. She’s pretty good, better than just “3 views good” lol.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtRogFe4LBA[/embedyt]

There are hundreds of other covers of this song on youtube, maybe the most covered song ever.

3. NCT Dream X HRVY – Don’t Need Your Love

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESVsbCkFvG4[/embedyt]

This is a brand new video, just uploaded 15 hours ago as of my writing this on June 6th. It’s mostly in English and the boys are cute and their dancing is great. It’s the 45th most trending video on Youtube and has almost 2 million views, probably much more than that by time you read this post.

4. Beautiful – Cover by Daryl Ong and Dea

Last week, I shared the “other Beautiful” cover by Daryl (the one from Goblin). I’d never heard of him before. But after exploring his youtube channel for a bit, I discovered he’s really talented and apparently was made internet famous by season 2 of the Voice (Philippines version)

This week I’m still listening to his cover of Beautiful from Goblin, and stumbled upon his cover of Beautiful (originally by camilla caballo).

Check it out here:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKIkwwSfH74[/embedyt]

5. Dancing On My Own – Cover by Daryl Ong

I love the original song by Callum Scott, so it’s no surprise I also love Daryl Ong’s cover.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2ZKq_Z9-mE[/embedyt]

6. Monsta X Shoot Out

Well, first I found this lyric version here, which is in English… and I think it’s Monsta X singing; we know they are fluent in English because of their first English song “Play It Cool” which I shared last week. But I can’t find like any official videos for this version, so maybe it is just a cover? It’s good though. This song in general is a bit “hard” for my tastes, I prefer more “pop” sounding music instead of rock, but I really like Monsta X. (even though I’ve only been a fan for like 2 weeks now lol)

Here’s the video in English.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyYPw07BNnU[/embedyt]

And here’s their official music video, which is mostly in Korean:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS10Zz49FHE[/embedyt]

7.) Ed Sheeran and BTS Collabs – Happier and Make It Right

So apparently there’s been 2 collabs between Ed Sheeran and BTS. The first is from last year, called Happier, I think BTS is singing backup on some choruses, and of course they’re featured in the official music video.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr3i509TPxE[/embedyt]

and more recently there’s a mostly Korean song called Make It Right – which was I guess written by Ed Sheeran? Not sure if Ed actually sings at all in this one. Maybe he’s playing his guitar

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVVs1loGEVg[/embedyt]

And there’s an english cover already here by Jeffrey Chang:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d3YbXFOGMA[/embedyt]

And another English cover by Huwe here:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PRi28YR9tg[/embedyt]

8. Blackpink – Ddu Du Ddu Du

This song has over 800 MILLION views on youtube… and it’s easy to see why. These girls are so fierce.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHNzOHi8sJs[/embedyt]

And like any popular Kpop song, there’s dozens of English covers on youtube too.

Here’s 2 of the most popular girls doing English Kpop covers, Ysabelle and Emma Heesters

Emma’s voice is perfect for this song I think. And Ysabelle can rap really well with her deep voice. This is my favorite English cover of Ddu Du Ddu Du. They have over 2 million views. You go girls :).

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq__8JoUyHk[/embedyt]

I can’t figure out this next video… uploaded by a user named rotschaa… The comments on this video seem to indicate that it is actually Lisa and Jennie singing – and therefore not a cover? Most of the people don’t like the lyrics. Someone pointed out that the lyrics are actually about rapping and making money, because all of the things are actually old-school rapper’s names. Ice-T, Hi-C, and OG, and “More Juice than Hi-C” means BlackPink makes more money. – The person who uploaded this video said the lyrics are “Bitch, I’m a star, but not Patrick” (spongebob reference), but someone said the actual lyric is “Bitch, I’m a star but not perfect” which would make more sense and be less funny lol.

Anyways, if that really is Blackpink rapping, and not just a cover, I would really like to see them release a 100% English version, because this is my favorite Blackpink song, and the girls have excellent English pronunciation. Aside from the Patrick/Perfect line lol.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROgYdp64zWE[/embedyt]

Shimmeringrain has a cover here, and her lyrics are pretty close to the original song too.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDdxbW-6leY[/embedyt]

Joytastic Sarah has a cover too. I feel like this song isn’t quite right for her, because I really enjoy a lot of her other covers, but this one is just lacking something in my opinion. Still better than anything I could do though lol so who am I to judge right?

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KozsTBalHI[/embedyt]

A new (to me at least) girl covering Kpop songs, Charlotte Hannah, tries her hand at a Blackpink cover here.

She’s using Joytastic’s lyrics from above. And this song suits her a bit more than it did for Sarah in my opinion. You have to be a badass chick to get the same attitude of the original Korean version.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2Y5oD14OQE[/embedyt]

And here’s a cover by Bricie

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsTvHZASyEk[/embedyt]

And there’s even men that are doing covers of Ddu-Du-Ddu-Du

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoCuplaPd-c[/embedyt]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXNBho4Hqw4[/embedyt]

Ah apparently the “English Rap Version” from way up above, is from the Japanese version, and is by the original Blackpink.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1aV8IUgP8Q[/embedyt]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ9lcdQeFTw[/embedyt]

Here’s another English cover by Emily Dimes

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRj2KsQVRtk[/embedyt]

Zhazah Chan’s cover is pretty good – her lyrics are different – I like when people write their own lyrics. She only has 700 views. Check it out below.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zlr76RAvSrk[/embedyt]

Alright, this is actually pretty amazing LOL. Someone just lowered the pitch of the original vocals… and now it sounds like a boy band, maybe similar to BTS….

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHR2WQVuyec[/embedyt]

Here’s another English cover, her pronunciation is a little hard to understand in some parts.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W69zQqkwXWY[/embedyt]

9. Flogging Molly – Devil’s Dance Floor

Just so you know, I don’t listen to “only” Kpop. I listen to literally everything. No lie. I’ve seen Flogging Molly 3 times live. The first time, my best friend had won 2 free tickets, and originally was going to take her then, at the time, boyfriend, but they broke up before the concert, so she let me go with her instead. I’d never heard of Flogging Molly before then – this was back late 90s/early 2k. I had never really been to a Punk Rock concert… and we had general admission… and the mosh pitt was crazzzzzzzzzzzzy. We tried to stay back against the wall to keep from getting trampled lol. My best friend knew another couple who were going, and the guy took off his shirt and rushed into the mosh pitt while we three girls just kept back lol.

Irish punk rock, is very interesting. … This is my favorite song by Flogging Molly. Check it out below.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPaz0p2dpEk[/embedyt]

10. 2 Less Lonely People In The World Tonight – Cover by Daryl Ong

I’d never heard the original by Air Supply, and just stumbled upon this cover by Daryl Ong. I really love the lyrics… I feel like it describes my relationship so perfectly…. 🙂 And I looked up Kita Kita, and it’s apparently a romantic comedy from the phillipines about a blind woman who has given up on finding love, but of course, falls in love through the movie. I want to watch it now.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEgV8p30kq4[/embedyt]

I went back and listened to the original by Air Supply and I actually prefer Daryl Ong’s version more. What do you think?

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRvrbDVYdAA[/embedyt]

What are you listening to this week? Share a link in our comments section below – Also if you do English Kpop covers, send me a link to your youtube channel, maybe I will feature your video in an upcoming blog post.

BTS

What I’m Listening To This Week – Kpop, English Covers, and Other Music

1 Comment / Kdrama, Music Review, Music Videos / By

I thought it might be fun to share like a weekly top 10 of songs I’m listening to each week. It can be a new feature on my blog. The music won’t always be new songs, it will be very eclectic.  Here’s what I’m listening to this week. I have been listening to a lot of Kpop, including some awesome amazing English covers from talented amateur youtube performers. Check them out below!

1.) Goblin – OST – Beautiful (Crush)

Ok so Goblin is one of my favorite Kdrama, like in the top 3 for sure. This is the opening song, and there are dozens and dozens of English covers of this song. Someone should make like a US version of this drama, and use one of these covers for the opening song lol. But I know it’d never be as good as the Korean version, but then I could get more of my friends and family to watch this show because it’s so good. Le sigh – lol. I seriously kinda want this song to be like my first dance wedding song. It’s nice and slow, and most of the lyrics until the last verse are appropriate. Even then, the last verse, although it is sad, especially if you’ve ever watched Goblin, even still taking it away completely from the context of Goblin, you could analyze the lyrics to be like either, you need someone when you have a sorrowful day, their love gets you through those days, or well sadly, life is cruel and in the end, you will be parted from those you love, because one of you will pass away first, leaving the other person with only memories, and since it’s the last verse, it could be after a long life together. Thus even though it’s sad, still symbolizes a life full of love and memories together. And the first few verses – depending on whose cover you’re listening to, have lines like “It’s a beautiful life. I’ll be the one to cherish you. Now and forever girl I’ll stand by you.” which definitely could apply to a wedding. And it’s just so beautiful – I tear up every time I hear this song.

So first I want to share with you the original korean version because if it wasn’t for that version we wouldn’t have any of these covers. Here is the original song from the Goblin Kdrama:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0cs6ciCt_k[/embedyt]

Next, I just found this English cover version on youtube when I was searching for the other cover(s) I’d been listening to, and this one has almost 11 million views… His lyrics are different than the covers I’d been listening to this week. He’s very talented. Check it out. This cover is by Daryl Ong. I just subscribed to his Youtube Channel.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUo9WMPmEpE[/embedyt]

And onto the English versions which I’ve been listening to all week. So good.

I started with Eric Nam’s cover here.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx-BBq4LQu0[/embedyt]

Then I discovered this beautiful duet with Eric Nam X Somi which is my favorite cover of this song.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KIyxXrZbdE[/embedyt]

And this very talented young Korean girl. Her English pronunciation is good and her voice is so emotional. Her lyrics are also a little different and I really like it!

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogLCIVGc1eg[/embedyt]

And this version by another Asian girl. Her voice is so pure and strong too. Her lyrics are a little bit different, sadder I think.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpZl2FMqG4g[/embedyt]

2. Goblin OST – Stay With Me

So why not another Goblin song to take the number 2 spot. Again let’s start with the original Korean version. The English covers just can’t compare for me, the original one is so much better. I love the girl’s voice, and the guy’s voice is so deep, and they both have so much emotion and great chemistry singing together. Perfection.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcKR0LPwoYs[/embedyt]

And now some English covers, Because it’s always fun to have a version to sing along with:

This girl has that cutesy high pitch mariah carey thing going on.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDGc7Ch1ICk[/embedyt]

This next cover is by Ysabelle Cuevas – I am a fan of a lot of her Kpop covers, especially some BTS covers which I’m going to be sharing shortly. I think she has such a unique voice. Kinda deep and raspy for a girl. She also sings some parts in Korean. I can’t tell if she is Korean with a hispanic name, or half and half, or hispanic, in which case she’d be singing in 2 non-native languages. My favorite cover by her is The Truth Untold. I have listened to it probably 20 times. lol.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxTVvkgV7LQ[/embedyt]

This version is by Jason Chen. Uhm why is his dog walking on his computer desk? lol. I like this version but it’s only about like 30% English, and the other 70% korean.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUxWN0cDSms[/embedyt]

And this version is so good too, it has a duet and full English rap version too. Also great chemistry and high production values, just like the original! This is probably my favorite of the covers. The lyrics are completely different from any of the other covers. The girl’s voice is so good. She could be a professional singer, seriously.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MU8yN98HWs[/embedyt]

I can’t tell if this is the exact same version as the one above… I think so… It has the rap and the girl’s voice sounds very similar. Which means someone is stealing/plagarizing and since I dunno which one is the real artist’s youtube channel, I’ll just put both of them here and let you decide. This one has many more views and subscribers, so I’m assuming that this is the real version.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLAAYJiGZyI[/embedyt]

And while doing this blog post and seeing what other covers of this song are out there, I found this young man, and it might be my new favorite version of this song (aside from the original of course). Were you as surprised as me when he started singing? I wasn’t expecting such a deep and powerful voice.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo9fhiDiIEY[/embedyt]

I don’t know about this next cover. Completely different lyrics. I do like that it’s a duet. And they even tried to recreate the official music video from a visual sense. But I feel like their timing is off or something. Or maybe it just lacks the emotion of some of the others. Something doesn’t “sound” quite as nice in this version. I like the rap parts which very few of the covers have.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaMVDppkzHk[/embedyt]

This girl is not very popular, with only 500 views, but I really like her voice. She claims the song is too high for her, but I think she did a great job.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0UFHPdGVNY[/embedyt]

And another talented young woman also with only 500 views

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTwf4g5zcFU[/embedyt]

And this last one, is not English, but I accidentally stumbled across it. It’s a Tagalong version. She does a great job even though I’ve no clue what the lyrics actually are. She has a beautiful voice.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD9PxhtPQCU[/embedyt]

3. Regular – NCT 127

I discovered this song, and this band, a few weeks ago and can’t stop listening to it. It’s so good! By the way it’s in English so even if you don’t like Kpop, you might like this one!

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj-VU9oK2Yo[/embedyt]

4. We Go Up – NCT 127

This one sadly isn’t in English, but it’s still good. Very catchy. I feel like the chorus parts could be a one direction song LOL. These boys are way cuter than 1D though and they’re more edgey – with lots of rap parts.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV1Es22E0RI[/embedyt]

NCT 127 is just so cute. They seem to have a lot of chemistry and a lot of fun together which makes them fun to watch on or off the stage. Here are some more candid interviews. And most of them speak like PERFECT English, without even an accent. These interviews are in English.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54WNkruOIJY[/embedyt]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6UErI23gY8[/embedyt]

Cute right? lol. For having just found this band, I’m already a big fan. I hope they do more English versions too in the future!

5. Monster – Henry

I also just discovered this guy. This video is a year old now with over 4 million views. It might be one of my favorite Kpop songs ever. It’s so good. I prefer the English version because obviously I can understand the lyrics and sing along. But the Korean one is good too.

It’s very interesting how different the lyrics are. It completely changes the whole meaning of the song. In the English version the character singing is a good person in love with a person who treats him poorly. Lying to him, leaving him, hurting him, not listening to him, etc. In the Korean version, the character singing is trying to apologize to someone he loves (and who has been loyal to him) for having hurt them (maybe physically? that’s the vibe I get, but it could be emotionally too) and begging her to forgive him and take him back. So it’s completely flipped from the English version.

I have no idea which version is the original one. They are both by Henry, and neither of them are covers. If i had to guess though, I’d say the Korean version was probably first. He has a great voice. The first time I discovered this song I think I played it about 6 times in a single day lol.

Here are both versions of the song below. Which one do you prefer? I love both of them so much!

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfeEwt5_jsQ[/embedyt]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQ3EVAR5EA4[/embedyt]

6. Play it Cool – Monsta X & Steve Aoki English Version

This song has such a great beat, as to be expected from Steve Aoki. This is the first time I’ve heard of Monsta X, but I love them, they’re all so cute! 🙂 Great dancers and singers too.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7IXKQzmpK4[/embedyt]

7. Waste it On Me – BTS & Steve Aoki

And then since I heard that great Kpop Collab, I had to re-watch Waste it On Me. I remember hearing this song on Sattelite Radio Hits 1 last year, and liking it, but it wasn’t til a few weeks later when I looked up the video that I realized it was BTS and a Kpop song. (kinda one of the sad things that happens to digital radio, you don’t have DJ’s for most of the stations so you don’t hear who the songs are by anymore. – But I also don’t like Talk radio and the commercials and so on, so overall I think Sattelite Radio is amazing. I cancelled my subscription recently which actually is what has led me to exploring more music on my own this week. There are lots of alternatives to get your music, such as spotify, pandora, youtube, amazon music, google music, apple music, the list goes on and on. But I think this was the first ever English Kpop song I’d heard, especially one so popular on American radio stations. The music video is so funny too!

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIv16itYi_0[/embedyt]

8. TXT – Cat and Dog

Ok excuse me while I geek out for just a minute…. I literally just now as I type this… just now… discovered there is an English version of this song… It’s not a cover… it’s the real deal. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am freaking out right now. I can’t handle this cuteness!!!!!!!!! I just discovered the original Korean version a week or two ago… and now THIS!!! They just put the English video up 4 weeks ago and it already has almost 7 million views. I am geeking out soooooooooooooooo much. This should actually be number 1 on my list, because it’s that good. It’s SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :squeals:

Ok though after watching it… I still have no idea what they’re saying like 30% of the time lol. Maybe it’s too fast and their accents are throwing me off a little. Or maybe some parts of it are still in Korean? lol. Maybe it’s just me? My hearing isn’t that good anyways. I still really like it though 🙂 I came on here just to share the Korean version with ya’all, so I was so shocked to see an English version. Even if I can’t understand a third of what they’re saying lol.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvO17uPanBY[/embedyt]

Here’s the original Korean version.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaKrke1EL1A[/embedyt]

9. Eyes, Nose, Lips – Taeyang Originally, and Lydia’s Answer, and some covers.

So this one actually has a REALLY interesting story behind it. Taeyang was dating his manager (I don’t know if Lydia is his manager or if she’s just doing an English cover of the manager’s version of this song… but I digress… for the purpose of this blog post, let’s just say they’re one and the same…) Taeyang then cheated on her with another famous Kpop artist. Taeyang regretted his bad decision and wrote this song to try to apologize for his behaivor and hopefully get back together with his manager. His manager then released a cover of his song, which she changed the lyrics, and posted it to youtube and got more views and more positive feedbacks than Taeyang, basically telling him to screw off. Some comments said things like “When the manager sounds better than her band”. And then the song became very popular because of the sad drama/history behind it and spawned a lot of covers, including an English cover by Eric Nam and this really great Korean duet on some show that must be similar to American Idol, like a Korean version, that has even more views than Lydia’s version. All I can say is, the story is crazy, and the song is good. I love all the versions, but I think Lydia’s is my favorite. Check out all the versions below.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjm920Fyo34[/embedyt]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRs_B_O2ZbU[/embedyt]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5IlECpDJ-g[/embedyt]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxMvQkcdPl8[/embedyt]

10. BTS – Truth Untold ft Steve Aoki

I hinted at this song up above when I shared some of Ysabelle’s covers of Goblin’s OST. So I thought it only appropriate to end with this song. It may be the saddest song of all time. First, the original Korean by BTS.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JVytJm8X2g[/embedyt]

And now Ysabelle’s Cover, it’s so good. I love her lyrics and her voice.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugYWg9d_dTE[/embedyt]

There’s also this cover by Emma Hesters. It has a lot more views, I suspect part of the reason why is because she’s a pretty blonde girl. Although she does have a lovely voice too. I just prefer Ysabelle’s version more, but my grandma likes Emma’s voice better and disagree’s with me which one is better. What do you think?

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0ycjuNCiyE[/embedyt]

There’s a lot more covers of this song also on Youtube.

This one by Michigopyon doesn’t have nearly as many views, only 20k, but I think her voice is really soft and sweet.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yABzzTg7Krs[/embedyt]

The lyrics to this one are different. Her voice is deep and unusual too.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Nc0D1gJ2c[/embedyt]

Another one with completely different lyrics. I like when people write their own lyrics instead of just using Ysabelle’s lyrics, although Ysabelle’s is still my favorite. It’s neat to hear other people’s works.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zakP3Wjy1WA[/embedyt]

I really like Joytastic Sarah’s version and her lyrics that she wrote seem to fit the song super well – She has a lovely voice too.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP-LP75p8rw[/embedyt]

This one by a girl group is interesting… I like the lyrics they wrote. I always wondered why Ysabelle’s version changed sandcastle to “mess of thorns” 3 syllables. Sand Castle is also 3 syllables and closer to the original korean version which uses the korean word for Sandcastle. I also also thought (and sing when I sing along) that the line after “Don’t smile at me” should be “Lie to me” instead of light on me – although light on me is the same as the korean version, but Lie to me just sounds better in English – even though its in English in the korean version too. Anyways this is a great cover 🙂 Props to these ladies.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOQIAj3JNP4[/embedyt]

And some more covers:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lAQGxggS-8[/embedyt]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t68_PCzfUPI[/embedyt]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdn42tke_tQ[/embedyt]

Men are even getting in on covering this one –

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7alGNQQJS8[/embedyt]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hJZQE27DSI[/embedyt]

I did not know the story behind this song. I had never heard of this Italian story. Recently also a map has been discovered, and it was at one time a real city. La Cita De Smeraldo. It may be the true story that led to fairy tales such as Beauty and the Beast. There was a duke who fell in love with a gardener’s daughter, and bore a child out of wedlock. Because he was born out of wedlock, the duke sent the child to a far away place. The child was also rumored t

o be extremely ugly, and wore a mask at all times and locked himself away in his castle. One day a girl breaks into his garden and steals a flower. He is very angry and so he wears a disguise and follows the girl and discovers that she is very poor and stealing flowers to sell in her village in order to survive. He immediately feels bad for the girl, and he again locks himself away in his castle in order to research new flowers that will sell for a higher price that he plans to give to the girl. But the girl never returns to his garden. After some time, the boy returns to the village and discovers that the girl has died. He feels regret for never telling her his true feelings, but because he was ugly, he felt that the girl could not accept him as a man. He returned to his castle where he died alone. A very sad, and apparently true story. read more

Soompi 13th Annual Kdrama and Kpop Awards

Vote for Your Favorite KPOP and KDrama Stars in 13th Annual Soompi Awards

Featured, Kdrama, Kdrama News, Music Videos, News, TV and Film / By

Rakuten Viki Joins Forces with Twitter for the 13th Annual Soompi Awards as Voting Opens

Big Hit Entertainment’s BTS and Globally Acclaimed Series ‘While You Were Sleeping,’ and ‘Goblin’ Lead Nominees from Korean Television and Music

SAN FRANCISCO – January 24, 2018 – Soompi (@Soompi), a division of Rakuten Viki and the leading source for Korean pop culture news and fandom, today announced the nominations for the 13th Annual Soompi Awards, a yearly celebration of the best and brightest television and music that emerged from Korean entertainment this past year. This year’s Awards will also mark the first collaboration with Twitter, which will include both the highly popular #TwitterBestFandom Award and the first-ever Twitter emojis tied to Awards-related hashtags during the voting period from 23 January to 20 February 2018 PST. read more

idolmaster million live theater days

Idol Master Million Live Theater Days Japanese Rhythm Game Review

1 Comment / Android Phone, Anime, Apple, Card Game, Casual Game, CCG, Cellphone, Collectibles, Decisions Matter, Dressup Games, Fantasy, Fashion, Featured, Game Review, Girly Girl, Ipad & Iphone, Kawaii Cute, Kawaii Review, Mobile Game, Music Videos, Raising Sim, Review, RPG, Shoujo, Simulation, Slice of Life, Videogame / By

Title: Idol Master Million Live Theater Days

Genre: Rhythm Game with Visual Novel elements

Publisher: Bandai Namco

Release Date: June 28, 2017

Where to Get: See Below:

Itunes (Japan Only): https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/…

Google Play Store (May also be Japan Only – not Sure) https://play.google.com/…

How to Get: You can check out my review of Aikatsu Photo on Stage to learn how to get free Japanese Itune items by creating a free Japanese Itunes account. In Aikatsu Photo on Stage, I was unable to help android users locate the game as it does not run on Bluestacks (or any rooted devices). I do not know if the same holds true for Idolmaster Theater Days as well. If so Android users may need a VPN Tunneling Service, which I know nothing about. Sorry.

Also in the case of this game when registering for a new account, be sure you select Japan as your country. This cannot be changed later. You can leave “English” as the language, but this only affects emails Bandai will send to you, and does not affect the language actually in the game – which is sadly only available in Japanese. Later, if Bandai ever releases the game in North America and in English you will have to make a new Bandai account to play the English versions of the game. But we’ve never received a single IdolM@ster game, despite success of their Love Live series which is very similar, so I don’t think the chances of English localization are very high! 🙁

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Overall: 66/80 83% B “Very Good Game for Girls”

Overview: 10/10 – I have a new obsession, as anyone who follows me on Instagram may have noticed this past weekend. Idol Master Million Live Theater Days may just be my new favorite mobile game of all time. It takes what I enjoy about Love Live, Aikatsu Photo on Stage, and Idol Master Cinderella Girls and smooshes them all together.

Graphics: 10/10 – The best part about Theater Days is that the girls are rendered in Live 2D just like Ensemble Stars, Dream Girlfriend, and countless other anime games. This technology allows for very lifelike anime renders. While 3D would feel stiff and 2D would feel flat, Live 2D finds a balance between these two. I can’t get enough of these Live 2D games!! In fact I wish to see the technology used even more, not just on mobile games, but PC and Console Games as well. I don’t know if this technology was used on Nekopara, but the result is VERY similar. The models look more clean than the cel shading technologies used in Catherine and School Days. Live 2D is the best thing to ever happen to anime games. More companies need to take notice.

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Not only do they look great, the girls appear on stage as full bodies, not just a tiny face in a circle like in Love Live School Idol Festival. Aikatsu Photo on Stage also has full bodied — but static — images (which kinda “bounced” up and down at times on the screen). But here, in Theater Days, thanks to Live 2D, the girls dance and sing on stage with unique dance routines choreographed for each song and each singer; and it’s just so incredibly cuuuute!!! I can’t stop playing, watching, and taking like a bazillion screen shots, seriously! Just check out my instagram account lol.

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Music 10/10 – Aikatsu Photo on Stage seemed lacking in the quality of the music compared to Love Live, but Idol Master Million Live Theater Days is at least as good, if not even better, in music when compared to Love Live. The songs are seriously addictive. I really like some of the earliest tracks like “Brand New Theater” and “Sentimental Venus”, but all of the songs I’ve heard have been good. I’ve played and watched the music videos (in game after beating the song at least once), over and over, all weekend. The music is so good, and the girls’ dancing is so well timed with the music. It feels so real, like you really are at a concert. The lights on the stage, the audience, the movement, the emotions, omg. It’s indescribable. There’s also excellent voice acting in the story scenes as well.

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Gameplay 8/10 – And like Aikatsu Photo on Stage and Idol Master Cinderella Girls you can dressup your girls in different outfits. I haven’t figured out how to do this yet. I’ve won, what looks like white, wedding dress, looking rewards from several songs, but can’t figure out how to use them or equip them. But I do see that we can change the uniforms for each member of our party, I just don’t have anything showing up when I go to this menu to change their outfits, except the starting red/white/blue outfits they are given at the beginning of the game. Perhaps the white dresses are materials or tokens to draw new outfits or something else useful and related to outfits. I just know there are costume changes, and the costume changes will be represented on stage when playing or watching / listening to the songs.

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There are also visual novel like elements to the game. I can’t read Japanese, but luckily there is only 1 response / option to select. I’ve only found 2 instances where I’ve had to make a “choice”. The first time was when choosing which starter card I wanted. I picked the girl in the pink sweater with side pony tail. The other time that the game asked me to make a choice was shortly after that, when a new girl is introduced, she has very short hair, sometimes in short pigtails with red ribbons and a green dress. — I think the main girl I had drawn already was jealous of the new girl, I think based on their facial expressions / interactions. My “main girl” and 2 other “starter girls” were in another room talking about something/one when the “new girl” overheard them, and they apologized and got embarrassed. I was presented an option, probably something encouraging the girls to get along. Whatever I picked seemed to surprise the girls. Story went on for a bit, then they all sang together, after the performance, my “main girl” came to me and asked something of me. There were 2 options, and the one I picked seemed to make her happy / satisfy her a bit.

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There will be other chances to interact with your girls, any time you are logged in, you can move around different rooms, and find your girls randomly going about their day. Sometimes they will have an “!” or a “…” bubble above their heads, when tapping on a girl, you can listen to what they have to say, which usually doesn’t even require any feedback from you – and rewards you with XP and the rare/summoning currency.

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You rank up as a producer by completing these “quests” and of course by putting on live performances which is where the majority of the gameplay comes from. You assemble a team of 6 girls. They have different attributes such as Princess, Fairy, and Angel. The song attributes change every day. For example, yesterday the songs wanted Princess, and Today they want Fairy. On my first day of play they wanted “All” which I guess would require a balanced approach. You can have several different teams built and saved up and switch freely between them. It also seems you can have it build the teams for you by hitting the pink “recycle” looking icon, and then choosing the attribute you want. For example, Princess would autofill your highest scoring Princess cards into the team. This doesn’t mean that only Princess members would appear, because you might have a fairy or angel who has high Princess points too. This probably all sounds familiar if you’ve played other titles such as Love Live School Idol Festival.

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