I'm going to start a new feaure on my blog where I post pictures of my latest CD purchases. As you've seen already, Korean CDs are not like those you would find on the shelves in the Western world. They come in different shapes and sizes and lots of effort goes into the concept and design. So, from now on, whenever I get a new parcel - I shall post what I've recieved!

 So first up are two mini albums from 4minute. I already own their first full-length album (4 Minutes Left), but never bought their first mini albums until now! The packaging for Hit Your Heart is awesome! It features two photo booklets with awesome photos and overall, it's a large, heavy and solid pacakge. Next up is For Muzik, which came in this very odd plastic covering. The CD inside is very standard, and after cutting the silver outside off, I guess I just have to throw it away. Perhaps a pointless addition? If you want to look inside the CDs, write a comment and I'll review the entire packaging.

4minute - Hit Your Heart (2nd Mini Album)

4minute - For Muzik (1st Mini Album)

Next up is Super Junior-M's Perfection. This has awesome packaging. Although it's not very large, it's very thick and opens up on both sides. The photo book is really big too and has some awesome photos of the 8 members. This is the reapackage edition and comes with a DVD. Haven't watched the DVD yet, but I think it comes with the music video for Perfection.

Super Junior-M - Perfection (Repackage Album)

Now it's Brave Girl's first single The Difference. I bought this because it was on sale, and I'm really glad I did. Although it only features 2 full-length songs (which are great by the way), the packaging makes it worth it. It's a regular CD size but the photos and design are really cool and colourful.

Brave Girls - The Difference

Now the final CD I recieved is Koda Kumi's JAPONESQUE album. She's not a Korean singer -she's Japanese. This means that the album is just in a standard plastic case. But that's OK because Koda Kumi is one of my favourite ever singers, and with 19 tracks - JAPONESQUE is totally worth the money. Artwork is absolutely fantastic. A must have!

Koda Kumi - JAPONESQUE

OK! There you have it! I've already had another package shipped (whoops... I'm definately supposed to stop spending money and save for my Korea trip...), so I'll review that when it arrives! 

Check out this HILARIOUS video of a group of children (ranging from 7-13 years of age) who discuss K-Pop  music. They've never witnessed anything from K-Pop before and were shown 3 music videos from Girls' Generation, Super Junior and 2NE1, and were asked questions by an interviewer!

It's definately an interesting watch for non-K-Pop fans! Although some of the comments from the kids are highly negative (one even said K-Pop will takeover and cause the end of the world), there are also some really funny and positive opinions about it.

Take a look! 

Super Junior is by far one of my favourite Korean bands. So I was very excited when I heard that they would be releasing a special Christmas song and I eagerly awaited it. The single is part of their record company's - SM Entertainment - special Winter compilation: a festive and joyful CD with songs from SM's artists. Along with this Super Junior track - "Santa U Are The One" - the album also features other SM stars including Girls' Genration, SHINee, TVXQ and my personal favourite, f(x). 


What shocked me most about this compilation is that every single track - 11 in total - are sung entirely in English. This is great for international fans who don't understand Korean, but it's also strange hearing some of our favourite K-Pop artists sing an entire song in English.


Onto the song itself, Super Junior have not dissapointed at all. Their 2011 comeback - which included performances of "Mr. Simple", "Superman" and "A-CHa" - was all about being cool, confident and suave. "Santa U Are The One" may not be cool or suave, but it does tick the box of being FUN. 


This song fits in perfectly with Western classic Christmas songs - including Mariah's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" and Shakin' Stevens "Merry Christmas Everyone". They've done a great job at keeping with this festive tradition. And what they've done with this song, in a playful way, is thank the big, red man himself - Santa Claus! This song is a hommage to Santa and the lyrics are very sweet indeed.


As the song is sung in English, there are a few prononciation mistakes. But that's what makes this song extra special - we, the fans, don't want a perfect, americanised song that will set the charts alight. This song isn't meant to be a worldwide "smash". It's a gift for the fans to enjoy, and this song is too fun to ignore!


As for the video, I really enjoyed it and watched it a few times over. We get to see SuJu singing the song in the recording booths but the best parts are easily seeing the other SM stars in their festive get-ups. 


This song is warm and cosy and just what we need on these cold Winter days - like a lovely mug of hot chocolate by the fire!