Hello friends, thanks for checking in! Anybody else feeling out of breath at how fast this year is going?? I know we are. February and March (so far) have been packed—drive by update to remind myself where we were at this time of the year. Hope your first quarter has been just as eventful! -k
The second and third month of the year have been full of good music—it has made me one very happy girl, the speed with which things are hurtling past me notwithstanding. So yes, some notes:
February
TWICE were in Mexico and Brazil at the start of February for the RTB legs there and my god the Violence: Jihyo staged ‘Closer’ for the first time, and jesus christ, the Mexico kalat with Sana is unmatched.
I GOT YOU M/V: At the same time, their video for their pre-release single ‘I GOT YOU’ finally dropped, and it was GLORIOUS. The entire song feels like a hug, and that animation break at Mina’s bridge is AMAZING. Still mad that ‘we were lightning from the start’ is not a line from my brain because it is so good. (as are the Momo-Dahyun vocals that sing it in the song, oh my.)
Since this dropped just before the concerts, they were able to stage I GOT YOU with live band in Mexico and Brazil. Truly, God has favorites but I do believe our ONCE friends in Mexico and Brazil deserved it!
Upon returning from these concerts, they immediately got their comm plan rolling re: their upcoming comeback. I GOT YOU’s album, ‘With YOU-th’, dropped on Feb 23rd. My favorite item from their hype comm plan is perhaps this Album Sneak Peek, where the POV is from a stan lmao they know IT WAS SO ACCURATE
ONE SPARK M/V: I’ll be real with you, I was afraid for the title track ONE SPARK because I GOT YOU as a pre-release was SO STRONG like. I was singing I GOT YOU’s hook for WEEKS. I really wondered how strong the title track should have to be to step out of I GOT YOU’s shadow. Anyway, happy to report that ONE SPARK TOTALLY CLEARS y’all it’s a bop, it’s sexy, it’s sparkly, it’s sticky, it’s everything. Also that Momo x Jihyo lead-up to the chorus??? MOLTEN. Also, what were we supposed to do with that Jeongyeon last chorus, really??? SO GOOD give us Jeongyeon’s solo already PLEASE anyway here’s the MV—
With YOU-th EP drop: anyway, the entire With YOU-th album is GOLDEN—twice’s 13th mini-ep does not disappoint. here’s my review thread for your reference. also: my favorite track is You Get Me.
They only did a week’s worth of music show promotions for I GOT YOU and ONE SPARK but man the INKIGAYO stages???
On a personal note: One of my godchildren celebrated her seventh birthday + one of my best friends from college celebrated her 40th so we attended their joint birthday slay + blessing of their farmhouse on the last weekend of February. Definitely a favorite memory from this month :)
March
We were in Singapore for Taylor Swift! March officially kicks off our year of international travel haha. Our hotel and tickets having been bought as early as June/July 2023, this trip has truly been roughly seven-plus months in the making.
However, we did book our plane tickets closer to the date/pretty late considering—we had way too many travels in between (to illustrate: between Taylor ticket purchase and actual show, we’ve been back to Korea twice (Aug/Oct), and Singapore once (Sept)—the insanity) and needed to pace our expenses jesus christ. Anyway we ended up getting a Cathay flight with a long-ish Hong Kong layover… which wasn’t bad, actually! We enjoyed our first time at the Hong Kong International Airport on a layover, and personally, I don’t mind doing it again if it meant saving a few $$$. (ps a brief postscript on our experience in Naia3 on our way out, for posterity and record purposes)
As expected, we fell in love with Singapore’s transport system efficiency T___T we stayed in the Bencoolen area at Hotel Mi Bencoolen, which was so near the Bencoolen and Bras Basah stations, and what was even cooler is that OUR MAYA CARDS WORKED ON THE TRAIN. how convenient was that. Singapore was hot, humid and RAINY, but considering that batshit weather, going around even without the help of Grab taxis was convenient, given the proximity to the trains. TRAINS! What a concept.
Aside from attending the Sunday edition of Taylor’s concert (during which we got Clean! as a surprise song, much to my delight!), we also caught the recently concluded New Eden exhibit at the ArtScience Museum, which showcased all sorts of fantastic sci-fi artwork from various women and Asian artists.
We also managed to catch the Taylor-themed lights show at Marina Bay (what a cute experience) ahead of the concerts, tried Bacha Coffee, ate kouign amann (I googled this) at Tiong Bahru Bakery (a must-try if you’re in the area) and bought a new work bag (I’m so proud and pleased about this purchase because of all manners of touristy discounts and tax refunds haha). In all, SG MARCH 2024 mission accomplished.
Work-wise, it was another successful disclosure PR round, and I’m really thankful to have teammates I could rely on since I was on leave during a critical juncture of its drafting—that I could go on leave at a time like that used to be unthinkable, especially during my days at the newspaper, and oh my god. How happy this has made me.
Anyway, for record’s sake as well, this was our view at Cat 2 in Section 140 of the National Stadium. Not a bad view at all, given our heights, plus the stairs were pretty wide and walkable (unlike Osaka’s haha).
Twice things in March so far:
Twice on Killing Voice! Hit after hit after hit—we’ve wanted this for so long and now we have it
Twice on Buzzfeed with PUPPIES—speaking of things we have wanted for so long oh my GOD THIS WAS SO CUTE PLEASE???
From the internet
“If you’re 25+ and unmarried, what the fuck are you doing??” god, concerts, of course??
obsessed with this jeongyeon edit to the boy is mine PS Ariana’s new album is SO GOOD. fave track: we can’t be friends (predictable)
*LE SSERAFIM’s ‘Smart’ playing in the background* “Is that SANA’s challenge or the CAT??? we’ll never know.
For the record, Sana’s Smart challenge with Chaewon and Sakura is mesmerizing, I could watch it for DAYS
Elizabeth Minkel’s article on WIRED about people illegally earning from unauthorized printing of fanfic on AO3 is equal parts grim and amusing. As an AO3 resident, I am appalled at the gall of these people to drive the likes of SenLinYu, author of Harry Potter fanfic Manacled (the work at the center of this controversy) off the platform.
Believe me, I have tried to steer clear of the entire Kate Middleton controversy altogether (a very hard thing to do when the name you share is on the top trending hashtags list every single day lmao) but when WIRES LIKE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS issued a kill notice on that photoshopped photo from Kensington Palace, SOMETHING MUST TRULY BE AFOOT. It’s a challenge separating conspiracy from verifiable facts in this space, but jeeez. Anything less than a Gone Girl twist may be anti-climactic at this point, but I do sincerely hope she’s okay??? It’s been a while.
LASTLY. Have you heard the new IU album? It’s great.
Anyway this has been a lengthy note-taking process. I hope my future self enjoys it, and I hope you have picked up a couple of useful things around here.
See you around,
XO,
K