Lovelyz: Hi~ 1st Repackaged Album Review

Just a few months after Lovelyz' debut with their full length album Girls' Invasion, they came back in March 2015 with the repackaged version of that album, Hi~ (안녕~). Sadly, Jisoo was on leave throughout the making of this album and its promotions, therefore it's just the other seven members here.

I ordered this album from the independent seller -importcds on Amazon.com, it shipped two days later, and arrived 9 days after shipment from Kentucky. I've ordered from this company before for my Infinite First Invasion album and sadly that time the packaging wasn't too great. This time, my album came in a much more sturdy cardboard wrap (it's not really a box) and arrived in great condition.

The album has a really delicate and girly charm to it with its Tiffany blue color, polka dots, and square box design. The album is over an inch thick, big enough to fit the lovely logo on the sides.

The backside is simplistic but intricate in its subtle details. You can kind of see these large, clear circles here; those circles are also on the front, though it's hard to see in the photo.

The white piece is a slip cover.

Underneath is a square box. (Sorry about the really crappy photo, it's really hard to capture the true color. It's more of an aqua color). The bottom is completely aqua with nothing printed.

The underside of the lid is just as pretty with the polka dot lining. There is a ribbon inside as well to more easily take out the contents of the box.

The contents of this album include, from top to bottom, the CD case, followed by the photobook, and then the random card set. I also included the photo of their spines to show the titles.

The front cover of the CD case has a fun image of Lovelyz.

Here is the back cover of the CD case.

Inside, the tracklist is printed on the left, and the CD is on the right. This album includes all the songs from Girls' Invasion, along with new title track "Hi~" and new side track "놀이공원." Despite only being the group's second main track, "Hi~" already sounds so much like Lovelyz' usual sound. And there always seems to be a song with Jiae's high-pitched, repetitive lines (which I personally think sound weird in these songs; it's sad because Jiae really does have a beautiful voice, but they make her sing these weird lines), like "비밀여행," "Bebe" from Lovelinus, and "놀이공원."

Here is the photobook. The back cover of the photobook looks exactly like the back cover of the CD case, but without the fine print on the bottom. There are 82 pages (it's nice how they print the page number on top).

The photobook includes three photoshoots. There are group photos and artsy photos spread throughout the photobook.

The first set of photos includes two pages of each member appearing young and pure in their delicate white blouses and pleated pastel skirts.

The next set also has two pages per member in their delicate, dark, lacy dresses.

The last set is definitely my favorite; there are two pages per member cutely blowing a bubble. Babysoul looks so adorable here!

The last section has a page for each song, two pages for the "thanks to..." and the credits.

Instead of simply having random photocards, this album comes with one of two random card sets. Both sets come with 13 photocards and are just as big as the CD case and photobook.

The card set came inside a paper frame, where the photos can easily slide out from the side.

Here is the backside of the paper frame. You can fold that flap to make it stand up.

My random set is of the photocards, while the other is a 2015 calendar set. I really like these photos; they look so artsy and I like how they include bts photos as well. These remind me of the photocards that come with the first press of L's Bravo Viewtiful.

The backside of the photocards are simple as well.

Overall, I love the packaging of this album! It fits Lovelyz' girly and innocent concept really well. I especially love the contents of the album, like the photocard set.

Infinite's 2nd World Tour IE in Vancouver Concert Experience, Part 2

I wrote more about the preparation and time leading up to Infinite Effect in Vancouver here, as well as the fansite merchandise I got in both IE in Vancouver and in LA here. In this post, I'll write about my fan account of IE in Vancouver. Note: I filmed the entire concert, so I'm going to be including a lot of detail (that probably no one cares about). I also finished my fan account of IE in LA here.

I entered my seat shortly after 7PM. I'm at Right Center Orchestra, Row D (which is the 3rd row, but the distance away from the stage is like the 4th row with the 1st row missing), Seat 62, the 3rd seat from the center aisle. I cannot get over my view! From 7PM until 8PM, they played the music videos. It was so fun fangirling over all the music videos with other Inspirits~ Then at around 8PM, they played the music video for "Back," Fans kept cheering because they saw people walking behind the stage on the right, but I couldn't really tell if they were Infinite or staff. Then the lights went out and they played the music video for "Bad." By 8:10PM, the concert was officially starting! They showed the intro VCR, with Infinite portraying the dramatic devil concept like in the concert teaser.

Infinite then made a dramatic entrance, with their silhouettes casted from spotlights. Suddenly the curtain disappeared and Infinite began with "BTD"! It is so amazing being able to see the scorpion dance live. After, Woohyun shouted "are you ready!" and they performed "Paradise," pictured above, followed by "Be Mine." Throughout the concert, there were sadly no fanchants, more of just singing along to the chorus.

Next was the intro ment. Sungkyu and Sungyeol introduced themselves in Korean while the others used English. Myungsoo said "I'm your boyfriend, L," Hoya said "what's up guys, I'm Hoya," and Woohyun said "hello, I'm sexy boy Woohyun." Dongwoo was really energetic and made for an amazing MC; he always got the crowd going with his cheery personality. He shouted in English twice, "do you want Infinite!" and then replied "I want Canada!" Then he spoke in Korean. Next Myungsoo spoke in Korean, and Dongwoo was just so energized throughout his speech that it was so distracting and entertaining! Hoya then spoke a long monologue in English (he said the same exact thing in IE in LA; though he memorized it, it's so amazing how Hoya took the time to practice his English and express his sincerity). He said how he's sorry to Inspirits that are always worrying about his injury, and how he's much better now because of his physical therapy and exercise.

After the intro ment, there was a dance break that started with Hoya and Sungjong (pictured), then Sungkyu and Dongwoo, and lastly Woohyun, Sungyeol and Myungsoo. Watching Hoya dancing and really giving it his all made me feel so proud of him, though I do hope he's truly fully recovered. This is his first concert from IE where he's not sitting on the side. Next was "Destiny" and then "Tic Toc;" clearly they're performing all their intense dance songs first to make a big impact on the audience.

Next was another ment, and again the lively Dongwoo spoke in English by saying "so very hot...we are already going crazy. Are you alright, Infinite?" Later on, Woohyun spoke in Korean "do you know our album Reality? What's the main title called?" We shouted "Bad~!" Then he continued in Korean, "What's your favorite song from that album?" He pointed to fans and aimed the mic to specific fans, repeating their answers (above).

The next series of songs Infinite performed was the three pop ballads from Reality, "발걸음," "러브레터," and then "마주보면 서 있어."  I cannot get over these performances; they're definitely my favorites of the night because they really showcased all the members' vocals, especially during "발걸음." Sungyeol's part was just breathtaking. Sungkyu also really owned the stage with his presence in "발걸음" and "마주보면 서 있어," which is one of the many things I love about seeing Infinite perform live. When Sungkyu held his note while Dongwoo rapped during "마주보면 서 있어," that was just absolute perfection that I never paid attention to while listening to the recorded version. During "러브레터," Woohyun really killed it with his notes too. I'm so happy to have seen these songs performed live.

Next was the second VCR, which continued the concept from the first VCR. Then it was Woohyun's solo! He performed his original song "Everyday," and it was so amazing to see and hear this song for the first time, and for it to be live as well. The song is very different from his other ballads and pop ballads, showing his diverse talent. And Woohyun really owned the stage. People also held up those yellow banners as Woohyun's solo support project, which he later pointed out during his ment.

Infinite H performed next with " 바빠서 Sorry" and then "예뻐." Dongwoo and Hoya got really close to the fans, and during the second song grabbed many fans' hands. It was cool seeing them dancing freestyle, and Dongwoo was break dancing!

Sungkyu performed "Kontrol," and it was so amazing. He only had his mic stand and stood in the center throughout the whole performance, but that was all he needed to really bring the song to life with the emotions in his voice. I followed his second solo promotions the most out of all of Infinite's comebacks, so I was especially ecstatic to see this stage live.

Infinite F performed last with "가슴이 뛴다" and "My Girl." I love the cheery, happy image they always show during F stages. They did a lot of fan service, touching fans' hands and waving energetically. I loved watching "가슴이 뛴다" and how the members are so playful, like Sungyeol and Sungjong joking around while Myungsoo sang his line "Don't know why" for the second time (I know this is part of the choreography, but it's still so cute!). During "My Girl," the guard gave up and didn't stop the mass of fans running to the front of the stage and to the aisles. This is really unfair, especially to the VIP seats in front of me that paid so much extra to be in the front, only to have people who are supposed to be behind us, come in front of us. I stayed at my spot despite the urge to run up to the front and touch the members' hands. Anyways, here the members threw stuffed animals into the crowd. It was so cute seeing Sungyeol throwing a whole bunch together in one full swing. And Myungsoo's note to end the song is just perfection. I've waited since OGSR to see Infinite F perform "가슴이 뛴다" live, and I'm so happy it has finally happened.

Next was the third VCR, which was the original music video for "Last Romeo" starring Myungsoo and Lovelyz' Jisoo! This MV was very different from the new MV's storyline, but it's so beautiful and I hope we'll get an official release of this MV on DVD. A side note, everyone is standing throughout the whole concert except during the VCRs.

Infinite then performed their new song that was first introduced during this world tour, "For You." Woohyun wrote this song as well, and the style is very different from any of Infinite's or Woohyun's previous styles; maybe it's like closer to heavy rock? The choreography included using the mic pole, and they looked so slick with their moves.

The next set of songs were filled with lots of fan service: "Nothing's Over," "맡겨," and "Cover Girl." The members took many selcas on fans' phones and were having fun performing on stage. During the end of "Nothing's Over," after Hoya's rap, Myungsoo took a fan's phone and was trying to take a selca, but then it was the very end of the song where the members walk to the back of the stage, so Myungsoo continued holding onto that fan's phone! Instead of Sungyeol and Myungsoo doing the heart at the end of the song, they look a selca together instead. Then Myungsoo gestured jokingly that he's taking the phone away with him. He gave it back at the beginning of "맡겨."

The fan service continued during "맡겨." I loved how Woohyun walked all the way to the very edge of the stage and waved, and also jumped on top of that box and cutely swung his legs while sitting up there. Sungyeol also took a fan's DSLR (I believe it was Sungjong's fansite, spring flowers?) and took photos of Sungjong. During "Cover Girl," the members tossed the paper airplanes and continued doing lots of fan service.

Next was the fourth VCR, which continued the storyline. Then Infinite came out in one of their "Bad" stage outfits and performed the remaining side tracks to Reality, "엔딩을 부탁해 " and "Moonlight," which have their own choreographs..

Then Infinite had another quick ment. Dongwoo opened up with lots of English like "make some noise!" He really energized the crowd well. The members talked about the solo and sub-unit stages. then Dongwoo asked the crowd in English, "Do you like hip hop? Do you like Hoya? Do you like Dongwoo~?" And he said his name so weirdly, like he was going up an octave at the end. Then he started singing the chorus of "예뻐." Dongwoo continued in Korean, saying how he and Hoya worked together for that song. Note, the translator usually always translates what they say in Korean (though sometimes it's embarrassingly wrong, like getting the song title wrong). Then Dongwoo said in Korean, "say something, Hoya." Hoya kept it short and slyly passed the spotlight onto Sungkyu. Then Hoya ended the ment by getting the crowd going in English with "People on the ground, scream!...everyone, scream!"

Next was "Back." It was really amazing seeing this performance with Hoya dancing since at TSC2 Hoya was sitting on the side. I was sad that no one did the fanchant for this besides me, and everyone just sang along to the chorus instead. Following this was "Chaser"; I love seeing this dance live, especially when the members do that diagonal escalator thing.

Then was another ment, where Dongwoo said in English that there is only one song left. He began singing "We are the World," and then Woohyun continued! The members gave quick thank you and goodbye speeches. Myungsoo showed his true personality by walking to the back of the stage where the band was, playing with his jacket, waving cutely to fans; he definitely was in his own world while all the other members were standing still and looking at the audience and paying attention to the others' speeches. Then Myungsoo walked to the very side of the stage and started playing with the curtain! He started to drag the curtain as he was walking back, but it got caught or something and he let go. It was all so adorable to see this with my own eyes!

Sungkyu also said in Korean that they traveled all the way from Korea just to see us, and that was really meaningful to me. I always feel sad every time Infinite mentions how they miss Korean Inspirits and how they'll be back for them after their international promotions, as if it's a burden for Infinite to do world tours. But having Sungkyu say this, like he made the huge effort to travel just so we can see him, that made me so happy.

Infinite finally performed "Bad." Afterwards, the members left and the screen turned black except for the concert logo which had these really cool flames and ember radiating from it. Again, I was sad that people didn't know the encore fanchant, and instead kept shouting "encore," "Infinite," or " 돌아와," which was close. It was just kind of chaotic and the crowd did not see like one. After a few awkward minutes, they placed the last VCR to the storyline, showing Infinite as angelic now. Soon enough, Infinite came back in their blue suits and performed "Come Back Again."

Then Infinite gave their real ending ments. Myungsoo first spoke in Korean, then he said in English, "Don't forget I'm your Romeo, L." Sungjong said a lot of cheesy lines in English, all the while Myungsoo went to the side stage again, twice, getting distracted. Hoya spoke entirely in English, and he really spoke from his heart (even if it is memorized, his words were meaningful). He said "I wish I could stop the time with you guys...," "I'll never forget this day so promise you won't too," and "When we come back, we'll be better in every way." Woohyun spoke in Korean about how he's happy to see Caucasians and males in the audience. Then he went up to a fan, knelt down, and told her to pat his head! Then he spoke in English, "I love you!" He replied to the audience, "Really? Really? Really? Thank you." He threw so many big hearts after that, and patted his own head. Dongwoo was next and in English said to Woohyun, "Are you done?" He continued speaking in English how he's visited Canada before. Then he spoke lots of Korean, and ended with his famous hand sign. Sungyeol spoke in Korean how he's grateful to be here since it's their first performance of the year, and that he hasn't spoken a single word in English in 2016 because he wanted to wait for this time to speak these English words here first: "If you ever cheat on us, I'll chase you until the end of the world!" Sungkyu finished by speaking in Korean "I came all the way to Canada because of you guys," and it just reinforced how happy I am that international Inspirits have made their presence known to Infinite, therefore they're able to come and perform here. He finished by saying in English, "Goodbye. Love you," and he said it just so coolly!

Infinite finished off with their beautiful ballad "함께." This was especially meaningful as the members wrote this song together during their first world tour, and are now able to share it with Inspirits as the closing performance during their second world tour.

The band extended the instrumental at the end to give Infinite time for their famous, long 90 degree bow. The members shook hands with fans. Myungsoo took a banner from a fan, and playfully put it around Dongwoo's neck.

Hoya kept throwing hearts, walked to the far edge of the stage, and pointed to the second floor and gave them eye contact. Hoya and Woohyun kept waving to fans after the other members had left the stage, and finally Woohyun was the last to leave. Afterwards, the credit VCR played and showed the behind-the-scenes of the members filming the VCRs for this concert. I don't know why, but mostly everyone left during this time (and I know that we have enough time to watch this VCR and still go outside to see Infinite leave). The concert ended at about 10:40.

After the credit VCR finished playing, I left to go back to the side stage door that I had scouted out before the concert. There was a luxury van parked out there and many fans were already lined up outside the door. The guard inside the building kept teasing us by smiling and opening and closing the door, as if he were letting Infinite out. Then we saw a figure with blond hair walking inside the building and then he turned away and left; we all thought it was Woohyun, but then we realized it was probably one of the band members. I foolishly waited for one hour, and various staff kept telling us that Infinite had already left, and they got these truck drivers to move their trucks to where we were standing to get us to leave. Eventually they said that it was fine if we waited, as long as we stayed safe. Throughout this time, we saw Woollim's CEO, Lee Jungyeop, walk out, but it seemed like no one knew who he was because no one made a big deal out of it. Later on, the band members also came out of this exit. Eventually, one of the guards came out and asked who wants the setlist, and gave it to a girl close by. She kindly let everyone take a picture of the setlist. I was surprised that this setlist was titled as the 18th version; I wonder just how different each leg of this world tour is.

That's my fan account of Infinite Effect in Vancouver! I'll be writing up about my experience at Infinite Effect in LA soon.

Infinite Infinite Effect Paper Frame Review

Sadly Woollim didn't sell any merchandise at their Vancouver and LA stops during Infinite's second world tour, Infinite Effect. Fortunately, I was able to find one official item from the world tour while I was shopping in LA. I stopped by Music Plaza in LA Koreatown, which I've blogged about here before, and was so ecstatic to find both the Mask OST album and the Infinite IE Paper Frame set! Here I'll only talk about the paper frames, and I'll blog about the album later on.

I bought this paper frame set for $17.99USD before tax, which isn't bad at all considering it was priced at 15,000₩ at IE in Seoul.

The back of the cardboard box lists the contents inside.

I don't like the new holographic sticker...it says "woollim" but with "sm" printed all over the background.

The photos and paper frames are stacked and held together by a clear plastic slip.

From top to bottom (and left to right), the products are stacked with seven small photos, followed by seven small frames, then two large photos sandwiched in between two medium-sized frames, and at the bottom are two large frames.

All the frames have the same design in the center and are blank on the backside. There are seven 3" x 5" frames, two 4" x 6" frames, and two 5" x 7" frames. The two middle frames are for you to put whatever pictures you want (ie. photos are not included with this set for these frames).

From top to bottom, the photos were Sungkyu, Sungyeol, Dongwoo, Sungjong, Woohyun, L, Hoya, group, then the logo. It's nice how the photos have that white border so you know if you still see that line when you put it in the frame, you should readjust the photo.

The backside of all the cards look the same.

To use the frames, simply slip the photo through the slit at the top of the frame. But go slowly when putting it in, you don't want to bend the photo!

Here are the photos in their frames! I'm not really sure what to do with these; I just have my paper frames from TSC2 displayed flat on my Infinite memorabilia shelf. I guess these IE frames can join them^^

Lovelyz: Lovelinus 1st Single Review

Lovelyz has had a very active year in 2015, releasing three albums. The latest album is the group's first single, titled Lovelinus after their fandom name, released on December 7th. I ordered this album from ktown4u.com on December 12th, it shipped the following day, and arrived 16 days after shipment. Because it comes with a free folded poster, my items arrived in a cardboard box with lots of bubblewrap.

Many aspects of this album reminds me a lot of Infinite's first single, Inspirit, also titled after its fandom. The front cover shows Lovelyz as fun, bright, and sporty, each holding a ball on top of their heads (matching Infinite's sporty photoshoot from Inspirit as well). I love how the members are all wearing Lovelyz-branded sporty outfits.

The back cover is simplistic, and has a pastel, geometric design.

The front cover is a flap that slips into a small slit. It's originally held together by a piece of tape, but you can slowly peel it off without damaging the album.

Opening the flap shows another cute picture of the members in their sporty outfits.

On the top is the CD case and on the bottom is the photobook.

Here is the front of the CD case. This image is also the digital album cover; I love this concept so much.

The backside is simplistic with its geometric pattern.

The inside of the CD case is very simple, with the tracklist on the left and CD on the right. I absolutely love the main track "For You," it's so bubbly and cheery. I especially love how labelmate Myungsoo also participated in Lovelyz' promotions for this song by taking the teaser photos and creating the "For You" logo (which also looks similar to Infinite's "That Summer Concert" series). Anyways...the second track, "Circle," is a nice pop ballad. Lastly, "Bebe" sounds really similar to "For You," but they had to make Jiae have a weird line again with that repetitive "baby...baby~".

The front of the photobook is also simplistic. I like how the Lovelyz logo isn't just printed on the cover, but it's a glossy overlay on top of the cover.

The back of the photobook replicates the front.

The first page of the photobook includes the photocards.

This album contains two random photocards out of sixteen different versions. There are two photocards per member, one from the sporty photoshoot and one from the Victorian-esque one (like the cover of the CD case). The sporty photocards have a white background and a pink logo while the Victorian-esque photocards have that pale blue background and a blue logo. I personally love the Victorian-esque ones, but sadly I got two sporty ones. I got Mijoo's and Jisoo's~

The topside is glossy while the backside is matte and has that member's cute printed autograph. Woollim has a thing for odd-shaped photocards; these are square and just under three inches in length.

The photobook includes 42 pages, with two pages in the middle dedicated to the lyrics and the last page being the credits. The first set of photos is of the Victorian-style photoshoot and includes two pages per member. I absolutely love Jin's haircut and it was her Lovelinus teaser photo that really solidified her as my bias.

This first set also includes six additional sub-group and individual pictures.

The second set contains the sporty photoshoot and has one page per member. Jiae's highlights are so pretty and she looks like such a doll! I don't really like this sporty concept, but Jiae really pulls it off well here.

There are also give group and sub-group pictures from this photoshoot. This second set definitely gives off a more fun and playful outlook.

Two pages are dedicated to each member's message to Lovelinus.

There are three types of external posters for this album, with dimensions about the same as their other posters. All have a nice monthly 2016 calendar display. The one I received is my absolute favorite; it's the same as the album cover art, as well as the cover of the CD case. The second poster is from the same photoshoot as mine, except there are four separate photos with two members in each photo. These are the same photos as pages 20 to 23 in the photobook. The last poster is a new photo from the sporty photoshoot; it's not included in the album.

Overall, I absolutely love this album, the concept, and especially "For You," which is different from their other main tracks yet it fits them so well. I cannot wait to see what 2016 has in store for Lovelyz!