User:Diplomat's Son/sandbox

Background and release
In 2009, T-ara made their debut amid an influx of girl groups on the Korean pop music scene. The group was formed by Core Contents Media CEO Kim Kwang-soo, and prior to commencing their activities as a sextet, two members bowed out after contributing "Johuen Saram" to the Cinderella Man soundtrack–citing creative differences. The label brought in three new members

A writer for weekly magazine SisaIN remarked that the trot influence of T-ara's debut single, "Geojitmal", did little to appeal to core consumers of the girl group market; those who found nostalgia in 1990s groups like S.E.S. and Fin.K.L.Nevertheless, the music video received over a million clicks in two weeks through the GomTV music video service, and the song reportedly topped several online music charts.

In November 2009, it was first announced that T-ara would be releasing their first EP. The next week, it had been changed to a full-length album and was released in digital format on November 27, with the physical release following on December 4.

Composition
Absolute First Album is primarily a dance-pop and electronic record. Its lead single, "Bo Peep Bo Peep", is billed as a "trendy" dance song with a "funky rhythm" and was described as "robotic" by Spin magazine. The album dips into "retro" territory as evident on "Choeum Choreum", which employs 1980s influences, and "Geojitmal", which is reminiscent of trot. Member So-yeon remarked that adult listeners would be at ease with songs like "Apple is A" and "Neo Neo Neo"

Critical reception
A columnist for Sohu Music marked Absolute First Album as a "clear improvement" over their debut single, yet criticized its lack of identity when compared to fellow girl groups. Nevertheless, the reviewer picked "Falling U" as a standout track

Absolute First Album
180-transformation http://sports.donga.com/3/02/20091202/24511243/1

GENERAL ALBUM INTERVIEW http://www.kbmaeil.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=144669

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/entertainment/2009/12/07/1104000000AKR20091207080000005.HTML?audio=Y

"Lie"

debut + image contrast http://news.donga.com/3/all/20090807/8764481/1

trot influence http://k-pop.or.kr/metadetail2014/artist/artist_main.jsp?swhere=Allsearch&skeyword=&aid=133959&main_role_id=&main_role_name=&startRootFileName=directory_year.jsp%3Fyear%3D201

http://news.joins.com/article/3928794

debut description, "retro" http://www.genie.co.kr/detail/albumInfo?axnm=79938059

GENERAL album dscription http://www.breaknews.com/sub_read.html?uid=115868 (like the first time retro dance)

Bo Peep Bo peep, outfits http://www.arirang.co.kr/Tv2/TVCommon_NoStaff_Archive.asp?PROG_CODE=TVCR0102&MENU_CODE=101790&view_seq=13112&Page=38&sys_lang=Kor

!!!!!!!!! ORIGIN STORY http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/art_print.html?med_id=lady&artid=201011051356011

angry boyfriend lyrics http://www.breaknews.com/sub_read.html?uid=115868

music video actors http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2009112712571860958

Album recommendation https://music.bugs.co.kr/recomreview/best?date=20160115&page=5

like the first time descriptor in-depth, "falsetto", "sensuality" http://enews.imbc.com/News/RetrieveNewsInfo/7229

+ "seductive", "high popularity" online http://bntnews.hankyung.com/apps/news?popup=0&nkey=201001111103453&c1=04&c2=03&nid=04&mode=sub_view

cancelled appearances http://news.joins.com/article/3992254

Hook songs analysis (BPBP + like the first time) http://h21.hani.co.kr/arti/culture/culture_general/28101.html

sociological http://koreabridge.net/post/korean-sociological-image-37-virgin-james-turnbull

https://thegrandnarrative.com/2011/01/14/like-the-first-time-t-ara-lyrics-english-translation/

reviews?

http://korea.sohu.com/20100308/n270657982.shtml

http://music.yule.sohu.com/20100309/n270681372.shtml

http://ent.sina.com.cn/y/2009-12-11/18322807390.shtml

Chartered
Chartered (stylized as chartered) is the debut and only album by Japanese pop group Dos. It was released on September 25, 1996, through Omurok Records. Dos was formed by Tetsuya Komuro through the talent search series Asayan, with Komuro aiming to create the "Japanese TLC".

Produced in its entirety by Komuro, Chartered is primarily a dance record with lyrical contributions from Dos member Taeco, and Maeda Takahiro among others. The album features compositions by frequent Komuro collaborator, Crazy Kubo.

Chartered was preceded by Dos' debut single "Baby Baby Baby", followed by "More Kiss" and "Close Your Eyes" later that year. The album debuted on the Oricon charts at number three.

Background and recording

In 1996, Tetsuya Komuro

CRJ4 tidbits of interest
Song with Batmanglij written in a day https://www.gq.com/story/rostam-is-ready-to-move-but-not-necessarily-move-on

To archive...
http://web.archive.org/web/20020804201023/http://www.j-pop.ne.jp:80/review/avx/avcd-17048.htm huma-rhythm review

http://web.archive.org/web/20020617080159fw_/http://www.cddata-mag.com:80/artist/hitomi/05.html#20020205 humarhythm further

http://web.archive.org/web/20010410203425/http://www.bymyself.net:80/htm/newhtm/ hitomi fansites

The album is notable for nearly half of its tracks appearing in various media uses, largely as CM songs to commercials that Hitomi featured in. Aside from the singles, "Open Mind" was used by Yanase to promote the Opel Vita car. the Aube cosmetics line in promoting the Luster Dew Eyes and Rouge Transpure products, featuring "Samurai Drive"; Mitsubishi Electrics for the Digital Mova D503iS Hyper cellphone with "Innocence", and later the Mova D504i model  with the B-side "Plastic Time Machine (8・2・1version)" from her "Flow/Blade Runner" single.

Self Portrait (stylized as SELF PORTRAIT) is the second greatest hits album by Japanese singer and songwriter Hitomi. It was released through Avex Trax on September 4, 2002, coinciding with the video album, Hitomi Live Tour 2002 Huma-Rhythm. The two-disc compilation spanned Hitomi's eight-year career at that point; the first half showcased material from Thermo Plastic (1999) onwards, whereas the second half featured new renditions of her earlier work.

Two singles were released prior to the album, both of which performed modestly on the charts. "Understanding" and "Flow/Blade Runner", though of the latter, only "Flow" appears as a live recording. Both singles charted moderately on

Self Portrait debuted at number one on the Oricon Weekly Charts. It went on to become Hitomi's longest-charting album at twenty weeks, 636,000 copies in total and becoming twenty-first highest selling album of 2002.

Background and development
In February 1999, Avex Trax released Hitomi's first greatest hits album, H. It chronicled her work with music producer Tetsuya Komuro, whose managerial role dissolved the year prior as Hitomi sought greater creative control over her career. Her subsequent albums would match the prior success she attained under Komuro, which "[laid] to rest fears that she would struggle without her onetime mentor."

In July 2002, the website ''Yeah!! J-Pop! reported that Hitomi would be releasing a new best album'' (ベストアルバム), then-untitled, on September 4, 2002. Hitomi developed the compilation after a period of reflection, stating:

With the introductory half structured in the vein of a traditional greatest hits, Hitomi focused on developing disc two of Self Portrait with rerecording and rearrangements as she thought it would be "boring to just release an ordinary best album this time," noting that "little time" had passed since H three years prior.

http://web.archive.org/web/20040929084917/http://musicfinder.yahoo.co.jp:80/shop?d=c&cf=10&id=avcd17158

http://web.archive.org/web/20020804050742fw_/http://www.j-pop.ne.jp:80/flash/0207/f0711_2.htm<- Release info "[hitomi] 8年間の軌跡をたどる2枚組のベスト盤と最新ライヴ映像作品を同時発売"

In an interview with Beat Freak, Hitomi explained that

Composition and material
Self Portrait is presented as a two-disc release, delineating Hitomi's career into two distinct periods. Whereas the second half of Self Portrait is distinguished by Hitomi's early work under music producer Testuya Komuro, the introductory half chronicles her collaboration with Zentaro Watanabe

The first disc contains nearly every single from Thermo Plastic (1999), Love Life (2000), and Huma-rhythm (2002), bar "Inner Child", "Wish" and "Made to be in Love" from their triple A-side release with "Kimi no Tonari" (君のとなり). The singles "Maria" and "Kimi no Tonari" are rearrangements found on their parent albums, with the latter being a first press bonus track. Furthermore, the disc includes the album tracks "Fat Free" and "Why?".

The second disc is a selection of singles from Go to the Top (1995), By Myself (1996) and Déjà-vu (1997), otherwise known as her Komuro era. Each Komuro song was re-recorded, though new arrangements accompany "Candy Girl", "Busy Now" and "In the Future". "Go to the Top" is a "duet" between Hitomi's original and newly-recorded vocals. In addition, the second disc features a live recording of "Flow" performed at the Nippon Budokan, and new song "Vibes".

Release and promotion
Details regarding the compilation emerged in early August 2002; a summary of its contents and its September 4, 2002, release date appeared as a news bulletin on the Musicnet website.

The album artwork was photographed by longtime collaborator Hidekazu Maiyama in Sicily, Italy; a photo book chronicling the ten-day shoot was published two months later with the same cover. The concert DVD Hitomi Live Tour 2002 Huma-Rhythm, whose release coincided with the Self Portrait compilation, utilizes a similar photograph.

Hitomi made extensive TV promotions throughout August and September 2002, including a performance of "Flow" on the August 26, 2002, broadcast of Hey! Hey Hey! Music Champ, and subsequent appearances on NHK ''Sokuhō! Uta no Daijiten! (速報! 歌の大辞テン!) on September 11, and NHK BS2 Hits on! Live'' on September 19, 2002. The compilation was further supported by a two-day concert at the Yoyogi National Stadium; entitled Hitomi Count Down Live 2002 Self Portrait, it was held on December 30 and 31, 2002, in the venue's second gymnasium.

Singles
"Understanding" was released on February 14, 2002, two weeks after Huma-rhythm.

HTM: Tiartrop Fles
HTM: Tiartrop Fles (stylized as HTM〜TIARTROP FLES〜) is a compilation album by Japanese singer and songwriter Hitomi. It was released on October 16, 2003, through Avex Trax. Promoted as a companion to Self Portrait (2002), the album collects B-sides or coupling songs (カップリング曲) that were not previously included on Love Life (2000), Huma-rhtyhm (2002) or Self Portrait itself.

Its last four tracks make earlier appearances in other forms, with "Plastic Time Machine (8・2・1 Version)" and "Innocence (Regenerated Version)" being rearrangements, "My Planet" appearing on the Song Nation (2002) charity album, and "Elephant Love" on Doppler (2002) by Atami. "Blade Runner" is technically one-half of a double A-side single. Ironically, "Inner Child" and the original version of "Flow" do not appear across the Self Portrait releases despite its coupling songs being selected for inclusion.

Tiartrop Fles charted for five weeks on the Oricon, peaking at number nineteen.

Tracklisting
After Love (Korean: 후애, Hu Ae) is the third studio album by South Korean singer Uhm Jung-hwa. It was released on March 1, 1997 through Orange Popular and Samsung Music. Three singles were released from the album: "Rose of Betrayal", "After Love", and "Three-Way Face-to-Face". "Rose of Betrayal" was a breakthrough success for Uhm,

Background and development Uhm Jung-hwa's agency contacted then-rookie songwriter Joo Young-hoon and requested two songs, one of which became "Rose of Betrayal". Joo drunkenly met Uhm and remarked that he would see her soon, and the next day he received a phone call from her representatives—to his surprise. Joo had looked up American singer Madonna's videos, and after hearing her 1990 single "Vogue" he thought, "This is it, I need to do music like this." He later recalled: "When I saw Uhm Jung-hwa, the only thing that came to mind was Madonna. I thought, 'I should make the Korean Madonna.'" Shortly after promotions