Rolling Kpop 2021

new year new ((G)I-DLE)

((G)I-DLE) - (HWAA)

here's a boy band for balance

VICTION - What I Said

that should be VICTON, no extra 'I'

m83ish shimmery gloss pop, love it

YOUHA - Abittipsy

That Youha song is so good!

Yubin's "Perfume" is excellent too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7C3RyiZfYs

I much prefer broody gloomy Oneus cf twilight, a song written easily, come back home, to be or not to be. Also i really disliked their song from last month but the new one is okay and the visuals are on point, plus they always have great facial expressions (oh and no it's NOT a cover version)

Oneus - No Diggity

New Dreamcatcher: Dreamcatcher - Odd Eye

Really like the chorus to this - am a sucker for big orchestral synths used for light, spring melodies: AB6IX - Stay Young

IU's lyrics are always so beautifully evocative, even when translated into English (turn on captions): IU - Celebrity

I like the IU

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsupPp6UcAETSDz?format=jpg

IU track is nice

weirdly, LOONA have made it to the top 40 of the US pop radio airplay chart with "Star"

g-idle album is p good

Do kpop artists usually chart on the airplay chart?

it's pretty rare, they're only the 4th group to. the previous ones are BTS (of course), Monsta X (with "You Can't Hold My Heart"), and Blackpink (with "Ice Cream"). the Monsta X and Blackpink tracks were deliberate crossover attempts in english backed by US labels, but this was just LOONA putting an english track on their album and fans requested it so much at radio that it caught on beyond that somehow, without a US label pushing it.

is the (g)-idle album worth listening to if i didn't care at all for "hwaa"

i can't even remember track titles tbh sorry!

i found it nice background music for my walk yesterday

xposts thanks for that IU preview abcfsk, that's lovely.

is the (g)-idle album worth listening to if i didn't care at all for "hwaa"

yes, it's a six-song EP - nice and short. Love "MOON".

this is really nice for a pre-debut song, they have great voices Purple Kiss - Can We Talk Again

oh yay, K-boy groups have discovered Troye Sivan: CIX - Cinema

new chung ha CHUNG HA - Bicycle

new group TRI.BE - Doom Doom Ta

always been meh about but finally caved KANG DANIEL - Paranoia

listened to all the songs posted so far today and while I liked most everything (big thumbs up for LOONA’s “Star”), there was only one track that really stood out for me: “Can We Talk Again” by Purple Kiss. it has that 90s poppy r&b girl group/r&b-ish pop girl group thing down pat.

fun K-pop/Latin pop crossover track with Chung Ha singing a few bars in perfect Spanish: Chung Ha x Guaynaa - Demente

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6OoY6xneI0

Shinee comeback with a YYJ/Kenzie joint, this is that classic playful SM sound

oh this is excellent... love how woozy that sounds

new sunmi

SUNMI - TAIL

love the beatbox-y/trampoline-y underpinning of large parts of “Don’t Call Me”

i like "cinema" and "can we talk again," both seem distinctly less eager to please

uh. lost a bunch of tracks i was listening to and now i know why.
https://www.soompi.com/article/1456887wpp/kakao-m-releases-statement-explaining-that-spotify-was-the-one-to-end-their-licensing-agreement

Spotify, Kakao M: Can we talk again?

okay https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/spotify-k-pop-kakao-licensing-dispute-1234927727/

from a couple of weeks ago

Wonho - Lose

also really like Rose's solo debut where she semi channels her inner ldr.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKZvWhCqx1s

yeah it's good, the way the chorus synth riff fits with the rest is cool. easily my favourite blackpink thing in years

So many kpop tracks seem rock-inspired now, I wonder why...

Anyway I'm popping in after 84 years to let you guys know that I enjoyed the chromatic jazz scales on this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz_sDoOhzK0

Also i realize this is last year but... god bless you JYP

Switch to Me

Also I wish the chorus on this (i'm beautiful, etc) was stronger because the rum pum pum pum pum parts are so fun! Especially the acapella version in the bridge!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pwBFTUJBzQ

ALSO ALSO... U-Know's "NOIR" album rocks, y'all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylUX9pfdBbs

If you guys remember TVXQ's, it's in that mold... jazzy soundtrack music with really modern drum track production and the SM layered harmonies. Hell yeah!

On the other hand, this should 100% have been a SHINEE song... Key woulda done that "Eeny Meeny Miney Mo" part justice :(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gvbKJYWaRA

I meant to say it's like TVXQ's Something... though Something's stronger I think, more of a big band sound.

But give the other title track to SHINEE!

And a random collection of other songs I enjoyed this month.. just pop music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCsLikmxhV0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReJH1psuB1Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1scbHXpB6OM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-4Z21Lar2Y

(Disappears for another 84 years)

good picks, i really like "eeny meeny", "beautiful beautiful", "good girl" and "only you"

I'm really into Thank U... without the lyrics on screen it sounds like one of those gratitude songs idols put out with behind the scenes footage thanking their fans for supporting them...

Thank U for This / Thank U for Life / Thank U for This Life

But with the lyrics on screen, you realize it is actually...

Thank U for Dis / Thank U for Like / Thank U for Dislike

In other words, a fuck the haters song, which is exactly where I'm mentally at right now wrt the socials.

getting strong block b energy from this lot

MIRAE - KILLA

chung ha with the latin vibes

CHUNG HA x GUAYNAA - DEMENTE

jessi being jessi with a p generic song but she has a certain energy that i always fall for

JESSI - WHAT TYPE OF X

forapper, you've been missed! lots of good songs this year imo though I haven't had much time to post lately

WOODZ - "Feel like" - that BASS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2KMxSb4GIo

From last month, RAVI's "Tiger" featuring an incredible chorus from a traditional Korean folk choir:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XvGaLdtcJk

I don't like this as much as "Can We Talk Again?" but "Ponzona" is another good track from Purple Kiss, who are def coming for MAMAMOO and (G)I-DLE  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8M_n7olIqM 

speaking of rock-influenced tracks, this is fun: Pentagon - "DO or NOT" 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU6cnHHX4LM 

MIRAE's Killa giving me late 00s Ed Banger flashbacks

really like "beautiful beautiful" and "crush" too

catchy chorus club

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfVuRQX0ydQ

oooh that's nice!

Also that woodz song is sooooooo nice, spring is my favorite season for music

okay, and the pentagon song is WONDERFUL. sorry to split this up into so many messages, but this is exactly the kind of song we come to the ILX kpop thread for.

I also wanna point out that Super Junior's House Party is actually a PSA to wear masks, social distance, and avoid parties:

House Party

lol i wanted to post abt "house party" but after all these years, i still have trouble mustering up any kind of enthusiasm for SuJu

SURAN's "Sunny" is exquisite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eHt9deQJqg

C-pop but likely only popped up in my recommendations because of K-pop. Don't know much about Didi other than he's a member of Chinese boy group ONER but "Rebellious" kinda sounds like if Taemin was produced by Disclosure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rTV1HkCAI4

city pop/disco is a good look for IU

IU - "Lilac"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7bnOxV4jAc

IU - "COIN"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86BST8NIpNM

and a dnb remix of SHINEE, cause why not?

SHINEE - Don't Call Me (Fox Stevenson remix)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZYfyjT0Bso

Oh man, I just recently started actively listening to BTS, and it made me miss all of my favorites when I was in high school. TVXQ has gone through SOME STUFF, but I'm glad that at least a few of their members are still making music! Glad to see Hyuna still in the game also! Wish I could say the same for 1TYM, OneTwo, and Co-Ed School...but I saw a few people saying that there's rumors of a Girl's Generation comeback!

It's such a trip to see who is still around from SM Town 15 years later.

finally looked up what the deal is with brave girls promoting "rollin'" again on all the music shows 4 years after its original release and apparently a video compiling performances of it they did for the military went viral early this year and it somehow became a huge hit right when they were already about to disband so they started promoting it again??? bizarre

was a classic 4 years ago and is still a classic now, peak tropical house

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cZrxpK2EAQ

still baffling that the original video for it had the concept "sexy dancing in a gloomy house" when it's such a summer jam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MthLgPs7oU4

the 2018 remix is also fantastic

The most impressive thing about Rollin is that Minyong can really hit those notes on the chorus live XD.

Some Korean TV show I was watched about this said that when Rollin was released the first time, soldiers in the army weren't allowed to have phones and couldn't vote in the music shows. But now they are, and can, so this is a 100% domestic resurgence.

BTW Brave Girls have been around for about 10 years but it's not really the same group anymore... Brave Sound did a complete revamp in 2017, there's not a single original member in the group anymore.

Hmm the link doesn't work.. here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB2W4vFmogk

slick and shiny

G.E.M - Superpower

really only love this for the bit that appears in the first 7 secs and recurs throughout, the 'bumbabadumdum' bit

3YE - Stalker

also really like WEEKLY-'YUMMY' but no m/v i don't think.

GEM is C-pop rather than K-pop again no? I like it though.

Haven't been bowled over by any recent K-pop sadly but there's been lots of K-pop adjacent stuff that's pretty good! Like this Jackson Wang track "LMLY", with really nice MV tribute to 80s/90s Hong Kong cinema

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIMihDOXMpY

I do kinda like BAE173's "Loved You" though but only because it's such a shameless rip of mid-period Big Bang lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LP6tSdAVyI

people seem to go crazy for their song 'given taken' at the start of the year but i much prefer this new one especially the vocal manipulations in the chorus

ENHYPEN - DRUNK-DAZED

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt-jP2l2v4A

hot issue - "gratata" is probably my favourite kpop single so far this year

wouldn't go quite that far but i really really like it

still love them

ONEUS - BLACK MIRROR

feeling this right now, feels v 80's soundtrack to me tho

HIGHLIGHT - NOT THE END

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TWR90KJl84

new aespa track "next level" is so deeply confused i'm kinda impressed. apparently it's a cover of a track from a fast & furious soundtrack by a$ton wyld who's an artist who currently exclusively makes music for film/tv/commercials at the moment? i didn't even know that was a career angle you could have. and sm's producers shoved an entirely unrelated bridge in there and it's bizarrely disjointed even by kpop standards

lol yes. was going thru today's releases earlier and watched that video and was like "what in the world?"

I like it - I'm a sucker for anything OG SM sound with YYJ at the helm, of course, and I think the backing track is a bit besides the point - the fun is in the various vocal diversions.

was gonna say that taemin is in his imperial phase but then when isn't he?

TAEMIN - ADVICE

kinda fun

TRI.BE - RUB-A-DUM

20% of the time i think bibi is too minimalistic for my tastes and 80% of the time i think she's a genius

BIBI - BAD,SAD AND MAD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMweEpGlu_U

oh the new BTS single is decent instead of insufferably bland like most of their post-western breakthrough stuff has been. still totally unambitious but like i'll take this over "dynamite" easily

"rub-a-dum" is quite fun indeed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3RA7bi5FUM

that's pretty good, production in the second verse especially fun

oh wow dreamcatcher are playing primavera??? wild

love that everglow

and rub-a-dum is such a jam!

some recent stuff i liked:

Easy by WJSN THE BLACK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG0o2RWTKh0

Bonnie & Clyde by YUQI (from g-idle)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE8yKldv_oo

Ring Ring by Rocket Punch - has some old school Sweetune vibes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_SmwQ06TQE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d74cH816kFQ
lightsum - "vanilla" is fun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWEkeqJ2djM
twice go for comically tropical vibes on "alcohol-free" but somehow pull it off? by all rights this should have been unlistenable saccharine nonsense but it's actually quite enjoyable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQMg8-Ku3JI

eternity - "i'm real

this is totally baffling, i think the concept for the group is their faces are all generated with AI tech or something? but the end result there is really bad lol. and the music is bizarre, an uncanny valley of a pop song to go with the video? everything about it is just slightly off in a fascinating way

been a couple of months since anything caught my ears.
liked this tho

DPR LIVE - HULA HOOPS(ft Beenzino, Hwasa)

also

E.SO - ORGEL

THE BOYZ - THRILL RIDE

WEEEKLY - HOLIDAY PARTY

ROCKET PUNCH - BUBBLE UP

yeah there were a few months where it seemed like there were no good songs at all, but now everything's sounding great again! Really like that Weeekly track, and "Bubble Up" reminds me of early Twice.

Love this AKMU song with IU, bit of a departure in sound for both the group and YG: NAKKA

Members of SISTAR continue making awesome summer jams post-disbandment: HYOLYN & DASOM - Summer or Summer

SF9 keeping my k-pop garage house dreams alive: SF9 - Tear Drop

Just a fun track: HYO - Second (feat. BIBI)

xposts to ufo

i finally watched that eternity video and oh my, that is terrifying but yeah weirdly compelling at the same time. I feel like there's a semblance of a decent song in there but the vocals/visuals are all wrong lol

that's a terrific group of tracks. love the beat drop in the sf9, and the hyo is glorious as well. i am a bit of an iu agnostic but am feeling that akmu collab.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9RzZpV460k

new red velvet is fun, not their most exciting but it's solid

the whole mini is really good

"Queendom" was a bit disappointing I thought, but will check out the mini.

I ended up listening to the AKMU collabs EP, and it's pretty decent if a little bit all over the place, stylistically. They always have such lovely melodies. And amazed that YG allowed them to shoot videos for every song lol.

Like this one: Hey Kid, Close Your Eyes (feat. Lee Sun Hee)

found 'queendom' the track to be meh, but enjoyed the mini.

stray kids' new one is a tad disappointing in that it's basically a retread of "God's Menu", but it's still pretty good. they definitely have settled into a signature sound: maximalist horns (helpfully telegraphed here by the lyric "horns get louder and grander, honk honk"), nonsense punctuating sounds, shifting tempos, intensity dialed up to 11.

also, their new album is titled "NOEASY" in case anyone suggests they aren't self-aware.

STRAY KIDS - Thunderous

new brave girls is nice and catchy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIZECe-55HY

yeah it's fun

I really like the Red Velvet mini! Pushing and Pulling is maybe their most openly spicy track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYNU9D3mV68

Personally I like Knock Knock the best, Red Velvet are so good at RnB, that track really plays to their strengths as vocalists I think:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1VghRUV508

I do like how even in Queendom, which is like mostly straightforward pop, they throw a couple jazzy chords in a short chromatic run on the chorus (on that "Bling Bling" part). This is just what kpop is like now.

I really like the Brave Girls track! Finally a worthy follow up to the viral hit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3FVZNbm31w

i love it...

the guitar hook sounds vaguely familiar, it's probably from a popular song right?

but they just did such a good job with this!

also don't think anyone posted this, but it's probably the got the hook that's been stuck in my head the most this summer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzOjwL7IP_o

And just catching up, but that AKMU track is incredible!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMwJtMJLXE0

lol the CL album is apparently finally coming out in october after what, 6 years? this actually plays to her strengths for once

that's better than her previous tracks but still don't love it. lol @ her roping in John Malkovich for this though

Yeah i'm not too into this. She sounds good but the lyrics are like... already at the level of BTS Butter reaching for the most casual listener when she hasn't really broken into the market yet outside out the kpop and industry circles. If that makes sense.

Like way too obviously aware of the mainstream listener.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLlnf3dVzWU

thank you youtube recommendation engine

4 member vers of BTOB

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-rD_vr_2xQ

the instrumental bridge at about 3min is really cool!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja0MZQOWl1w

stayc - "stereotype"

one of the stronger girl group singles this year

a change of pace, v beach house/snow patrol to my ears

NELL - BEAUTIFUL JEOPARDY