Ordering My Lovelyz Once Upon A Time Albums

Lovelyz has come back with their 6th mini album, Once Upon A Time. The album was released digitally on May 20th, 2019, and physically on May 21st. There is a limited version and a normal version. Usually I would buy just one copy of each, however this time Woollim cleverly released 9 versions of the normal album (one group and one per member) that has a different front cover and spine where when all are placed together create the latest Lovelyz logo. Because the spine is what I display on my shelf, it would look incomplete if I only have one normal version...so my plan was to buy four copies of the normal version, all from different sellers in hopes of not receiving duplicates, and hopefully buying the remaining ones I'm missing later on.

Pre-Ordering

I pre-ordered the limited version and one normal version from Music Plaza and chose the cheapest shipping option (USPS Media Mail Parcel), totaling to just under $56. I had such an excellent experience pre-ordering my Woohyun A New Journey albums from here that I confidently chose to order from Music Plaza again. Despite me raving about the super fast shipping last time, this time my package from Music Plaza took the longest to ship, on May 26th PDT.

I pre-ordered one copy of the normal version from Choice Music with USPS Media Mail Parcel for just over $21. I was dissatisfied with my previous order from them for Golden Child's Wish albums because they took a very long time to ship out, but I figured because I'm ordering the same album from multiple vendors, I don't mind testing them out again. My package shipped out on May 23rd PDT.

I pre-ordered one copy of the normal version from Kpoptown with Small Packet Service, which doesn't include tracking, for just under $22. My package shipped out on May 22nd PDT.

I pre-ordered one copy of the normal version from eBay seller "worldbiggeststore" which stated that purchases here count on Hanteo and Gaon charts. My order was just over $20 and doesn't include tracking. My package shipped out on May 20th PDT.

Delivery

My Choice Music package arrived first, on May 28th. My one album was secured in bubblewrap then placed inside a flat cardboard box that fit my album perfectly. Unfortunately there was a small scratch on the back of my album, but other than that, the album arrived in good condition.

Choice also provided a "Choice Music" sticker and to my surprise, an unofficial Kei postcard! These are the postcards that Choice would give for free when making a purchase over a certain amount, and when I went in April they didn't have any freebies for Woollim artists (other than Eunbi and Chaewon). My random special letter and photocard were slipped in between pages 32 and 33.

From Choice Music, I pulled the Kei cover, Mijoo special letter, and Jin photocard. I'm so happy to have pulled Jin; I rarely have luck pulling my bias; the only other time I pulled Jin was for the cover strip from A New Trilogy.

My Kpoptown package arrived second, on May 29th. My album arrived in perfect condition, secured in bubblewrap and then placed in a waterproof envelope. My random special letter was slipped in between pages 32 and 33 and the photocard in between 22 and 23. From this album, I pulled the Jisoo cover, Yein special letter, and Jisoo photocard.

My "worldbiggeststore" eBay package arrived on May 30th. My album was wrapped in many layers of bubblewrap and then placed in a waterproof envelope, and arrived with a scratch on the front cover and one corner with a dent. My random special letter was slipped in between pages 10 and 11 and the photocard in between 28 and 29. I pulled the Mijoo cover, Mijoo special letter, and Kei photocard.

My Music Plaza package arrived on May 31st. My two albums came in perfect condition; they were loosely bundled in large bubblewrap and then placed inside cardboard box. My order came with an unofficial card of Loona and G-idle. My random special letter was slipped in between pages 30 and 31 and the photocard in between 22 and 23.

I pulled the group cover, Mijoo special letter, and Kei photocard.

Pulls

Each normal album comes with one special letter out of eight and one photocard out of eight. These designs are different from the limited album. Above is what I pulled overall.

In all, for the random cover, I pulled the group, Jisoo, Mijoo, and Kei.

Here are how the spines look like when putting my albums together.

For the special letters, I pulled 3 Mijoo (!!!) And 1 Yein.

For the photocards, I pulled 1 Jisoo, 2 Kei, and 1 Jin.

Overall, I really love this era. The photoshoots and albums are so gorgeous. I've blogged about the normal version here and the limited version here. I'm also open to trading my duplicate Mijoo special letter and Kei photocard for any member I'm missing, or crosstrading with other Infinite or Lovelyz photocards. And now to ponder if I should stop here or collect all 9 versions of the normal album...

Lovelyz Official Lightstick Review

Shortly after the announcement of Lovelyz coming to the US, I knew I had to get an official Lovelyz lightstick! I found one available on eBay from seller grapemusiccd on March 8th, however it was sold just a minute before I confirmed my order. The same seller then put up two more Lovelyz lightsticks for sale the following day, and I made my purchase on the 9th. Woollim last sold Lovelyz lightsticks at the Lovelyz in Winterland 3 concert series in Seoul from February 14th to 17th for 30,000₩. I purchased mine for $37.99 USD plus $11.99 shipping, but added a note to the seller that I would like faster, tracked shipping. The seller replied the following day that DHL would be an additional $23 and he sent me a PayPal invoice for that amount. I paid the additional fee and he shipped out my lightstick on the 10th. I received my package on the 12th!

The lightstick box was loosely wrapped in one layer of bubblewrap and placed in a cardboard box just slightly bigger than the lightstick box.

Here is the lightstick box! The box is mainly pink with a light mint green for the accents and top and bottom. For reference, I'll occasionally have my other lightsticks in the blog too.

Sadly the top flap of the box is a little bent, as if someone had previously opened the box. Furthermore the seal had been removed, with only the sticky residue outlining the seal left behind. Perhaps it was opened to ensure the product was in perfect condition.

The box is matte with a clear overlay of mini hearts, diamonds, circles, and stars. The words "Lovelyz Official Light Stick" are also made of the clear overlay on the front, back, and top of the box. The front also states the members' names, though I'm still trying to figure out in what order they're all listed. Both sides of the box have generally the same design.

The back also lists the product information in English and has the holographic Woollim sticker.

The lightstick is protected by a makeshift cardboard top.

Removing the cardboard top reveals the lightstick, which is wedged in a cardboard platform. There is also a strap and a manual (placed underneath the platform).

Here are the contents of the lightstick! The strap comes in a resealable plastic bag. The strap is made of shoelace material, with "LOVELYZ" printed on both sides. At the top is a string (like a cellphone charm) to be slipped into the end of the lightstick.

The backside of the manual lists the same product information as the box.

The inside of the manual details the instructions in Korean.

The lightstick is run on 3 AAA batteries. The mechanism is pretty straightforward: unscrew the bottom of the stick to reveal a plastic container to house the batteries, then place the container back in the same orientation and screw back on the bottom and the batteries should be secured inside.

The bottom also has a hole for you to easily slip on the wrist strap.

The exterior top half of the lightstick is made of transparent plastic with many sides and edges.

Inside the top half is a hexagon with "LOVELYZ" cut out on both sides that glows when turned on. Inside of the hexagon is a transparent piece with the original Lovelyz logo printed on.

The backside looks basically the same as the front, except that the center logo is backwards. The base of the top half also has "LOVELYZ" embossed on both sides.

Here is the lightstick! The handle is curved like a hyperbola, making it ergonomically correct. I hope you can use my hand as reference for the size. It's slightly taller than Infinite's lightstick and is about the same width.

Here is how the lightstick looks when turned on. There are lights at the base of the top half, and lights inside the hexagon.

At certain angles, the illuminated lightstick gives off pretty shadows.

I made a quick video of the lightstick in action. The lightstick has 3 modes: fast blinking, slow blinking, and on.

Infinite's yeobong and Lovelyz' lovebong are so similar, they really do feel like brother and sister lightsticks! I love how the two designs are so elegant and I feel proud owning these and showing my support with these beautiful lightsticks.

And I can't leave out a photo of the Woollim family lightsticks! With all my unboxings I always say I'm so happy to have this in my collection, but I genuinely especially mean it with this lightstick! A lightstick is very special and connects the group with their fans, and I'm so happy I can be supporting Lovelyz at their first US performance.

Lovelyz: Muse on Music Album Review

Infinite became the first Kpop group to release a completely instrumental album, with The Origin 4 years after their debut. Hoobae group Lovelyz is following Infinite's footsteps with the release of their own instrumental album 4 years after their debut with Muse on Music on September 10, 2018.

I pre-ordered this album from Ebay seller goods-store01 for $37.90 USD. I had previously pre-ordered Lovelyz' Healing album from this seller and sales from this seller counts on the Korean charts. They notified me that they would ship the album out on September 12-14, but never confirmed when the album actually shipped. Regardless, my package arrived on September 25. My album came in pristine condition within a waterproof plastic envelope and wrapped in 4 layers of bubble wrap.

The packaging for this album looks very luxurious with its metallic royal blue and gold color scheme.

All the gold lettering on the exterior casing is embossed. The sides have the new logo and album title listed.

The topside also has the new logo.

The backside lists the album information. The album is thicker than I thought; the dimensions are 6" by 7.75" by 1.5".

The design is a sliding box where you can use the vinyl handle to slide the contents out from the bottom.

Removing the exterior packaging unveils the contents of the album inside the box.

From top to bottom (pictured here as left to right), the contents include the book of music sheets, the CD case, and at the bottom are the card and guitar picks. Luckily there is nothing random included in this album.

The book of music sheet looks minimalist yet royal with its gold accents.

Here is the back cover.

The book is broken up into 3 sections: Dawn, Day, and Night, ie. the title of each disc.

In each section, there are 2 pages dedicated to the song credits of the 11 tracks from that disc. The song titles look like they're handwritten!

Following the song credits are the music sheets. There are about 1 to 3 pages per song. The music sheets are really cute; they also look like they're handwritten! And though the size of these music sheets are quite small, at least it's much bigger than what was included in Infinite's The Origin.

The album credits are printed on the last page of the book.

The front of the CD case matches the design on the front of the exterior case.

The backside of the CD case mirrors that of the exterior case.

The CD case has a tri-fold design with a matte finish.

Opening the first flap reveals the tracklists of all 3 CDs.

This album contains 33 instrumental tracks, broken up into "Dawn", "Day", and "Night". Below are the tracklists for all 3 discs, exactly as printed on the CD case. If you would like English translations for the subtitles, please feel free to ask! The tracks on Dawn and Day are more upbeat and include Lovelyz' title tracks and pop ballads, while Night contains Lovelyz' softer songs and slow ballads.

#	DAWN	DAY	NIGHT
01	Destiny (나의 지구)	안녕(Hi~)	어제처럼 굿나잇
02	비밀여행	Candy Jelly Love	남보다 못한 사이 (Feat. 위성, Babysoul Solo)
03	놀이공원	Ah-Choo	너만 없다 (JIN Solo)
04	이별 Chapter 1	Hug Me	작별하나
05	풍당	그대에게	Circle
06	Wow!	1cm	책갈피
07	슴바꼭질	Cameo	세벽별 (Babysoul & Kei & JIN)
08	Aya	Emotion	첫눈
09	그냥	지금, 우리	Night and Day
10	졸린 끔	종소리	FALLIN'
11	비밀정원	삼각형	인형

This instrumental album includes a selection of songs from Lovelyz' debut album Girls' Invasion from November 2014 to third mini album Fall in Lovelyz from November 2017. Unfortunately Lovelyz' latest mini album 치유 from April 2018 and digital single "Wag-zak" from June 2018 are not included in Muse on Music.

The album also includes a guarantee card and 2 special guitar picks. The design of the card has "Lovelyz" printed in various fonts. The guitar picks have the girls' printed autographs, 4 signatures per pick.

The backside of the card states that this is a "Certificate of Authentication Card" and has a statement in Korean and a place for you to sign the card. There is also an individualized serial number at the bottom. The backside of the guitar picks have the album logo printed.

Overall, even though technically the members of Lovelyz don't have much to do with this album, I'm proud of Woollim for releasing another instrumental album as it's not common in Kpop. The packaging is absolutely beautiful and the tracks are great to listen to as background music. I'll be waiting a few more years until hopefully Woollim releases Golden Child's instrumental album as well!