Star Sparkle Blog

Sorry the 2nd post is later again this week. I normally post on Fridays or Saturdays (most often Saturdays) but sometimes I don't manage to get a post finished in time. I had a busy day yesterday, so didn't get this finished. :) Korean group KARD have just released their 1st album Where To Now? (Part.2): NOWHERE. Sadly it will also be their last album (or at least there are no current plans for more) since they are disbanding after over 9 years together. However, as fans have pointed out, the group may not be permanently disbanding. The contract with their agency has expired and they aren't renewing it. The members have said that they plan to concentrate on solo careers but haven't ruled out reuniting as a group in the future. KARD is made up of 4 members- SOMIN, BM, JIWOO and J.seph. As one of the few co-ed/mixed gender groups in K-pop (an industry dominated by girl groups and boy bands  when it comes to group music) they stand out. I've followed them since thei...

This week's video is Body So Tea by American singer Coco Jones . It's her latest single, following LUVAGIRL which came out in March.  Coco is currently working on her next album, (a follow up to her debut Why Not More? , released in April 2025, with a deluxe edition coming out last August) and has said that she had doubts over whether Body So Tea is a good fit for the upcoming album (she shared a video about it too). However, she went ahead with releasing it and the song has proven to be a hit with fans! :) Body So Tea was released on 10th July. It's a sexy R'n'B song and is  about beauty, confidence and self-acceptance . This is the visualiser.     Coco fan? Check out these posts:   Music video for LUVAGIRL: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2026/04/weekly-music-video_8.html Live Performances 2025/2026 (features live performances by Coco of her songs On Sight and Thang 4 U):  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2026/06/live-performances-20252026.html...

Sorry the 2nd post is later again this week. I'm working on one about music collabs but haven't got it finished yet. :) This week I'm sharing a couple more dance videos, following on from last week's  Dance in Public- Summer Vibes! post .   Hawaiian Hula In summer 2023 I shared a video 2 minute hula routine. It's taught by Lynn from iHula Hawaii and filmed on the beach in Hawaii. Watch it here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/08/2-min-hula-on-beach-video.html   Island Vibes! And in August 2024, I wrote a post called Island Vibes! featuring some island/beach inspired music and dance. Check it out here:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/08/island-vibes.html   PARTYFOUL- aue @ da beach Now here is a video from Hawaiian boy group  PARTYFOUL . Originally a 6-member and then a 5-member band known as CROSSING RAIN , they debuted in 2021. They disbanded in 2024 due to issues with their management, but 3 members went on to form the group PARTYFO...

Today's video if You're Mine by Japanese boy band  PSYCHIC FEVER from EXILE TRIBE . It's their latest single and from their 2nd album DIFFERENT, which was released on 8th July. If You're Mine is the lead single from the album (although I Got Ways was a pre-release single in May) and came out on 10th July. It's in the style of the group’s signature song  Just Like Dat  and  What's Happenin' and is described as a "modern take on the Miami bass / 2-step sound inspired by early 2000s R'n'B".  The song follows on from Just Like Dat and is about what happens after two people become interested in each other. It's a mixture of Japanese and English lyrics. Click "Subtitles/closed captions" on YouTube for English subtitles! :)    There's also a dance practice video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MO-Duwxg3s   Plus, check out the music video for I Got Ways:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHy5EvDsz50   And stream/buy DIFFEREN...

This week's video is Boom by Dani Enli . She is a Chinese-Australian artist from Perth, Western Australia and her music is a mix of pop, R'n'B, hip hop and Jersey Club . She launched her career in 2024, releasing the single used to it  in February that year. Subsequent songs I LIKE YOU and till the end of time went viral on Instagram. Her other singles include OVER NOW, LIFESTYLE, Light Work and Boom. In addition to being a singer, Dani is also a dancer. She originally planned to be a doctor but her plans changed after she  found out she had a rare medical condition in her final year of medical school and decided to concentrate on making music instead. Authenticity and creative freedom are important to her, as well as Asian representation in global pop . She has performed in several cities in Australia and has also opened for   Kenyon Brown , J.Tajor and Teo Glacier  who are all from New Zealand and/or Australia. Boom is Dani's latest single and was released on...

Today's video is Birds Eye View, the latest single by American singer Alina Baraz . It follows her recent single Take Care Of You which came out in May. Birds Eye View is a gentle pop/R'n'B song with dreamy vibes and the video matches the song. It was released on 26th June.     Also check out the video for Take Care Of You:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2026/05/weekly-music-video_0597442938.html  

In the past few years, I've written occasional posts about my current favourite songs. More recently, I've also done posts featuring my fave songs from the year as a whole (like my Favourite Songs of 2025 post ). So here they are for the first half of 2026! You can see my previous posts at the links below: June 2019: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2019/06/current-favourite-songs.html May 2020: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2020/05/current-favourite-songs.html April 2021:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2021/04/current-favourite-songs.html Feb 2022: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2022/02/current-favourite-songs.html April 2024:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/04/current-favourite-songs.html   March 2025: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2025/03/current-favourite-songs.html   Here are the songs I like at the moment. :)     The Kid LAROI- COME DOWN Back in January, I featured some new music by Australian singer and rapper The Kid LA...

Today's video is Goals by LISA ,  Anitta and Rema . The 3 artists have collaborated on the song for  FIFA World Cup 2026 , which is being hosted in North America this year (the US, Mexico and Canada). Thai singer LISA is a member of one of  the most well known K-pop groups  BLACKPINK and also has a successful solo career .   Brazilian singer Anitta is one of Brazil's most popular artists (having been nicknamed the  "Queen of Brazilian Pop" ) and has also expanded her career internationally, helped by her multilingual skills (she is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and English).  Nigerian singer and rapper Rema is successful in his native country, having risen to fame after his debut single Dumebi (released in March 2019) became a hit. He went on to became famous internationally, with the release of the single Calm Down in February 2022 and the remix featuring American singer  Selena Gomez , which came out in August 2022. In 2025 he became...

Occasionally I share live performances on the blog. Apart from one about Asian girl groups  earlier this year, my last general post was in October . So today I'm featuring some newer performances from 2025 into 2026. :)   Coco Jones - On Sight (Live Performance) First up is a live performance from American singer Coco Jones . It was the 5th single from her debut album Why Not More?, originally released in April 2025, with the digital special edition Why Not More? (MORE!) following last August.  On Sight was also released in April last year. This live performance (which took place in October) sees Coco accompanied by backing singers and musicians. It gives the smooth R'n'B song a slightly more mellow vibe, although it's already pretty chilled!  The video was directed by cinematographer and producer Joshua Libertine . Please note that the song contains mild swearing. :)      Watch the music video for On Sight here:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.co...

Today's video is Meet Me Halfway by British rapper and singer B Young . It's his latest single, following the previous one Playdoh (released in January). Meet Me Halfway is a laid back song in B Young's usual R'n'B and Afrobeats style. It has summer vibes, fitting as we move into summer. Although the heatwave we had recently (as mentioned last week ) has now gone and we've got colder, rainy weather! Meet Me Halfway was released on 7th May (although another audio was uploaded to YouTube in April). This is the official audio.     B Young fan? Check out this post: Music video for Playdoh (plus links to more music):  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2026/02/weekly-music-video.html          

This week's video is Blush by Filipina girl group BINI . It's their latest single and is from their new EP Signals, both on which were released on 9th April. It's been an eventful year for the group so far, after they became the  first Filipino act to perform at the 2026 Coachella festival in California, US, last month. It was also a milestone for  P-pop (Pinoy/Filipino pop ), which showed how the genre is becoming more popular internationally. The track is described as "an anthem for a summer crush" that "blends breezy pop energy with feel-good rhythm". It's about the feeling of excitement experienced when the person you like walks into a room, leading you to blush when they look at you!  BINI have become known as the "Summer Queens" of P-pop, due to releasing summer themed music and Blush follows in this tradition. It's also a good fit because of the early/pre-summer heatwave we're currently having in the UK! This is the official...

Today's video is Take Care Of You, the new single by American singer Alina Baraz . It's her first release since the EP Urban Flora: Lost Sequels with Danish music producer Galimatias , which came out last October. It consists of two tracks (More To Life and Blue) and was released to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their debut joint EP Urban Flora). Take Care Of You is a gentle song with Alina's usual dreamy, chilled vibes. Nice relaxing video too! It was released on 1st May.   Want more Alina? Check out this post: Official lyric video for More To Life from Urban Flora: Lost Sequels (also features links to the lyric video for Blue, plus more music):  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2026/01/weekly-music-video.html   P.S. This year's Eurovision was won by Bulgaria's DARA  with the song Bangaranga , the first ever win for the country. Congratulations! :) My favourites were Germany and Cyprus and I voted for them both (I also voted for Cyprus in the second semi-...

Today's video is Certified Lover Girl, the new single by Australian girl group H3rizon . It has been a while since the girls released new music. However, they recently appeared on Star Search   (the  American TV show which was rebooted at the beginning of the year on Netflix ). They went on to release  a cover of WHERE IS MY HUSBAND! by British singer RAYE (which came out last September) as a single last month.  Certified Lover Girl was released on 8th May. It's a laid-back R'n'B song and as people have mentioned in the comments on YouTube, it has early 00s vibes!   Want more H3rizon? Check out these links: Asian/Pacific Groups- Australian Girl Group + Hawaiian Boy Band (also features CROSSING RAIN/PARTYFOUL):  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/03/asianpacific-groups.html Audio for WHRE IS MY HUSBAND! cover:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vitTQ4Eq--0  

Sorry there wasn't a 2nd post last week, I was going through a bit of a stressful time and didn't manage to get one finished. :) This week's video is I CONDEMN by Australian singer and rapper The Kid LAROI . It was the first single from the deluxe version of his second album BEFORE I FORGET. The original album was released in January and the deluxe version came out on 24th April. It contains 9 extra tracks, including  I CONDEMN and latest single PIECES. I wasn't aware that there was a deluxe version until I saw that some new songs had appeared on Spotify! I like BEFORE I FORGET and my favourite songs from the original version are ME + YOU, JULY,  COME DOWN and RATHER BE featuring Australian rapper and singer Lithe . One of my fave songs on the deluxe version is QUIT YOU, and I also like HOLD STILL and I CONDEMN. The newest single PIECES came out on out the same day as the album. I CONDEMN was released on 17th April. As with the songs on the original BEFORE I FORGET, it...

Today's video is MURAL by American singers Swae Lee and  Jhené Aiko . Swae (one half of hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd , along with his brother Slim Jxmmi) and Jhené previously teamed up a couple of times before- first for the single/song Sativa in 2018 (from Jhené's album Trip; the single version features both Swae and Slim Jxmmi as Rae Sremmurd) and again for In The Dark back in 2021. In The Dark was from the soundtrack for the Marvel film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings .  MURAL is from Swae's debut studio album SAME DIFFERENCE, which was released on 3rd April. It's his  first official solo album (although he previously released one as part of Rae Sremmurd's triple album SR3MM in 2018). MURAL is the third single from the album, following FLAMMABLE and DON'T EVEN CALL featuring rapper  Rich The Kid (released in February and March respectively). It came out on 6th April and is a chilled hip hop song. The music video is somewhat "trippy" with Swa...

 Last month I started a mini series called New Generation Girl Groups, which features new girl groups. You can see the first post about American group GIRLSET here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2026/03/new-generation-girl-groups-girlset.html Now here is the next post in the mini series! Today I'm featuring American/global group fiveALIVE . :) fiveALIVE is a 5-member independent girl group, formed in 2023. They describe themselves as a global pop group and are also called an Asian American group because the members all have Asian heritage (Ciara is Eurasian).  The members are Jia (who is has Chinese and Vietnamese heritage), Ellie Park (Korean), Nini (Filipina/Vietnamese), Ciara (British/Filipina) and Bay (real name Bailey Park; Korean). All the girls are American and from California. They are currently based in Orange County, Southern California. Note: As mentioned in the comments on their  Kprofiles profile , I don't think that Ellie and Bailey are related, despite...

Today's music video is 2GOOD4U by Filipina singer Denise Julia . It's her latest single and was released on 11th April.  Denise's most recent mini album is Sweet Nothings (Chapter 2) which came out in November 2024. Last November she released an anniversary video for sweet nothings with popular Filipino singer Jay R , which is on the mini album. 2GOOD4U is Denise's first release of 2025. It's a chilled R'n'B song about moving on from a relationship. Denise uploaded a short visualiser to YouTube on 8th April. This is the official visualiser, which followed on the 11th. Please note that the song contains swearing. :)       Update 30/4/26: There's now an official video for the song. It premiered yesterday (29th April).   Want more Denise? Check out these links: Music video fo r bet (stand-alone single released in 2024): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/06/weekly-music-video_27.html Anniversary video for sweet nothings: https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Today's video is Nothing To Say by Nigerian American singer  Adanna Duru . It's her latest single and was released on 11th March. Her most recent EP was stuck in a record deal, which came out in September 2024. Nothing To Say is a stand-alone single. It's a chilled R'n'B love song. Please note that it contains explicit lyrics! :)       Want more Adanna? Check out these links:  Music video for Put It Down feat. Mannywellz (one of my favourite songs from last year):  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/02/weekly-music-video_21.html   Lyric video for WILL SMITH, with MNEK (released last Nov):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu_WIh5KTD4    

Sorry the 2nd post is later again this week, I didn't manage to get it finished yesterday. :) Last month I started a mini series called K-pop Comebacks, featuring the comebacks of K-pop groups during 2026. The first one was about BLACKPINK and you can see it here:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2026/03/k-pop-comebacks-blackpink.html Today I'm focusing on BTS (one of the most popular Korean boybands ). They debuted in 2013 and are a 7-member group, made up of leader RM, formerly known as Rap Monster (real name Kim Nam Joon), SUGA (Min Yoon Gi), Jin (full name Kim Seok Jin), j-hope (Jung Ho-seok), Jimin (Park Ji Min), V (Kim Tae Hyung) and Jungkook (Jeon Jung Kook). * Since then, the boys have been very successful, not only in South Korea but internationally. They are probably one of the most well-known K-pop bands worldwide.  In June 2022, the group took a break while the members served their  mandatory military service in Korea and have also been concentrat...

This week's video is LUVAGIRL by American singer Coco Jones . It's her latest single and was released on 23rd March. LUVAGIRL is Coco's first release of 2026 , following her debut album Why Not More? which was released in April 2025 and the digital special edition Why Not More? (More!) which came out last August. The track sees her in her "luva era" (as she describes it) after  getting engaged to American basketball player  Donovan Mitchell last summer. It's a love song reminiscent of early 2000s R'n'B . This is the official music video and there's also a lyric video.      Watch the lyric video here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lhs1WEjloo   Coco fan? Check out this post: Music video for On Sight from Why Not More? (released in April 2025), plus links to more of her music:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2025/05/weekly-music-video_21.html