rolling kpop 2022

like, what the hell is this going for

As usual I'm pro kitchen sink in kpop. The shift is even harsher than aespa's recent genre mixes but.. why not!

it's not bad but i don't know if it's good either yet, it's a lot to take in. like those sort of clashing shifts are nothing new in kpop but totally eschewing any sort of repetition in its structure is pretty distinct. definitely in favour of it existing at least

late i know but ufo i really love that STAYC track.

enjoyed this too
BILLLIE - GINGAMINGAYO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9At2ICm4LQ

best & most ambitious red velvet single in quite some time, probably since "sappy"?

love this
my fav since russian roulette

the whole mini is great too. so good to have them back in form

new debut i think

XG - TIPPY TOES

i really like one of the sounds in this but not completely sold on the track

SOLAR - HONEY

and a swerve away

YULEUM - HERO'S DISEASE

technically he’s no longer kpop but I don’t know where else to put this. Jackson Wang’s solo career just keeps getting better and better:

“Blow”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCZHarOQvc4

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

kwon eun bi - "glitch"

That’s a good track, but like so many other kpop songs this year, i feel like it’s missing… something. Same with the red velvet track - I admire it but don’t love it. I don’t know if I’m just cranky but I haven’t liked a lot of kpop this year at all, everything either sounds stale or trying too hard and no one seems to be having any actual fun.

meanwhile Big Bang coming back after four years with a boring rock ballad is disappointing, but not a surprise - feels like a calculated move to get them back in the good graces of the S. Korean public. As one of the rare boy groups that can actually pull off a ballad though, this is just goddamn lazy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN5mG_yMDiM

did enjoy TOP being Donnie Darko on the moon, bless him for staying weird

Yeah not really enjoying that track aside from the la la la la bit, but great video - love the pirate ship overgrown with weeds.

It’s a very pretty video.

A lot of fans are speculating that it’s a farewell single which makes me see it in a kinder light, but it’s still a nothing song. Surprised there were no shots of all of them together.

posted on the 2NE1 thread, but it belongs here too of course:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn0Bhp7ADy0

I miss them so much.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dJyRm2jJ-U

IS the pandemic over, I'm not sure -_- Anyway this is fun!!!!

And this is coming late but my take on the Big Bang track is it's an old one they pulled out of storage to make up for cancelling their Coachella set. There's rumors you can hear Seungri in the backing vocals on the second verse. Whether he's there or not it feels like something that wasn't good enough to put out the first time.

Hasn't hurt them on the local charts though - as expected, the Korean public loves the song. And after a month, PSY only managed to bump them off the top spot for an hour heh.

Liking this other PSY track with Hwasa: Now

Took me a few secs to locate it but "Now" is a cover of "When The Rain Begins To Fall" by Jermaine Jackson and Pia Zadora, a fine showbiz tradition for Psy to follow in.

can't fault his taste

Ah nice catch. Apparently it’s a cover of a cover: this 80s Korean remake of the Jackson/Zadora track.

"Feel My Rhythm" has really grown on me.

Some other stuff I've liked recently:

RoaD-B - Nonstop - Sweetune! I've missed their sound so much. The melodic arrangements, the sense of build and release, the DRAMA. RoaD-B (who I've never even heard of - apparently a reboot of a prev group) doesn't seem to have the vocal power that previous Sweetune collaborators like Kara or Infinite had, but it's just nice to hear this type of songwriting in kpop again

IVE - Love Dive - narcissistic, my god I love it

Dreamcatcher - MAISON - feels like everything they've done before has been leading up to this - a perfect distillation of their brand of anime soundtrack pop/rock. also finally (and deservedly!) netted them their first ever music show wins.  

iKON - But You: nice bit of synthpop even if it really doesn't fit their style at all, should've given it to Winner or Treasure instead heh 

oh "nonstop" is very nice, great to hear something new from sweetune. looks like they really haven't had much success of late and have been writing for a lot of no-name groups, that's a shame

I like this CRJ-ish Hyolyn summer jam

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

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

newjeans - "cookie"

really like NewJeans. Their first song "Attention" was good too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js1CtxSY38I

meanwhile, Girls' Generation are back. The "yay, we are all together" messaging is a tad corny but bless them for having a proper chorus (unlike so many other kpop songs this year):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpf26PtBXgo

speaking of good choruses, i also really like CSR's "Pop? Pop!", which miraculously sounds exactly like that title. didn't realise how much i've missed this kind of ultra-girly, light summer kpop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vbwpEc0EeA

"pop? pop!" is good but i wish it committed more to its weird little deviations from the formula, like the intro which has a ton of movement and the little "pop pop pop pop" etc. bits

Any recomMendations for a playlist ?

like a primer, or a general "what's new in Kpop" kinda playlist? if the latter, tbh spotify's own ongoing kpop playlist is decent if you just want to keep up with new releases - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX9tPFwDMOaN1?si=83e8cc4859a34b33 

not a playlist but The Bias List is a specialist K/J-pop blog that's pretty quick at getting reviews up on nearly every new song on the day of release (and has a broader scope than Spotify, which tends to only highlight releases from the major Kpop companies). I don't always agree with their takes but it's generally pretty good at telling you quickly whether a song is worth checking out or no - https://thebiaslist.com/

and it hasn't been updated recently but this playlist is very much relevant to my interests - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2XRebr6lVF3bmnOwT400dY?si=b37d801548c645df  

Thanks roz!

Top 9 on instiz now is all girl-groups! (including one girl group solo w Nayeon at #9 (#10 is also a female artist, solo singer KyoungSeo)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQlMMD8auMs

latest blackpink ("pink venom") is a total mess but not even in an entertaining way

It's fine but certainly doesn't sound like anything new and exciting for their long-awaited comeback.

Really enjoying NewJeans style, sort of effortlessly different from other groups. Hype Boy chorus is just great.

not gonna be interested in anything Blackpink as long as teddy keeps being in charge of their music. also it’s been like six years since their debut - even though it’s YG, feels like the girls should at least have some say by now in what kind of music they wanna make? Do they really wanna be putting out all attitude, nonsense catchphrase songs out forever? But I guess maybe they don’t care as long as their fanbase keeps eating it up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WyHtSlvHD4

well they are doing generic, weirdly dated EDM now too

thing about "pink venom" is the chorus completely fails at delivering the attitude, it's so goofy

I do KINDA like the chorus. The rest of the song is very Blackpink 101, at least it's doing something.

Also it's now the first Korean song to debut at #1 on Spotify global, so yeah, don't expect them to change too much.

IVE - After Like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0B7HDiY-10

The “I Will Survive” interpolation is hilariously jarring at first, but it just about works, I think. and yes I sound like a broken record on this but… needs a better chorus!

agreed

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

NCT 127 - "2 Baddies"

this is a few tweaks away from being excellent & feels fairly inspired in the current kpop landscape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1bjnyDqI9k

another baffling kitchen-sink suite from NMIXX

I admit to being a big fan of the kitchen sink approach.... but this is just noise, there are no dynamics.

this is just noise, there are no dynamics.

an apt descriptor for so much kpop released this year :/

don't really like "2 baddies" either, although the group rap chorus does remind me of early EXO

Blackpink's "Shut Down" is slightly better than their other recent singles (mostly because I can't resist a violin loop), but it's still yet another badass pose disguised as a song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POe9SOEKotk

yeah "dice" isn't at all good but it is fascinating which is why i posted it

the blackpink album was pretty bland and terrible, doesn't have anything going for it at all.

thanks, was considering giving it a cursory listen even though i knew that was likely going to be the case

not 2022, but just got introduced to The Boyz's "Prism" off their Japanese release last year and it's the best thing I've heard in Kpop in ages - massive SHINee-esque dark pop house with impressively understated vocals (it does build up to a high note on the bridge, but it's completely earned). there is hope!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFtowsG7hiE

an apt descriptor for so much kpop released this year :/

I like most of the songs people call out for that, tbf. It's been a good year for new and new-ish girl groups. Just not this NMIXX attempt.

liking Seulgi - "28 Reasons"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_BYjnopO6U

Is Hype Boy the best song of the year or just the best k-pop song

it's neither when "feel my rhythm" exists

I'll agree that feel my rhythm is the best classical music-sampling kpop single of the year, in a year with quite a few high profile ones. but not quite the #1 overall

of the NewJeans tracks, i prefer "Attention"

not sure if i have a fave k-pop song this year. Maybe IVE - "Love Dive"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyf8cbqyfPs

le sserafim's "antifragile" is pretty good, is a k-reggaeton wave on the way?

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

kep1er's "we fresh" is the fun sort of kitchen sink song

KARA showing the kids how it’s done. “When I Move” isn’t as good as their classic Sweetune tracks (a very high bar), but boy do they sell the hell out of it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwcK-twSXB4

Excellent medley of their greatest hits at MAMA too - these songs sound as massive as ever a decade on:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g3voeqIJpM

i don't really understand what the point of a kara reunion single is if they didn't get sweetune to produce it. it's fine but what could have been...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut1OzEVUiM4

new red velvet "birthday" is just fine

IVE - Love Dive - narcissistic, my god I love it

not sure if i have a fave k-pop song this year. Maybe IVE - "Love Dive"

absolutely loving the joyously silly Gershwin refix of "birthday" perhaps in spite of myself, very embarrassing to bounce around to

It's cool to see SNSD and KARA be successful with better-than-expected comebacks

from last month but Nature - "Limbo!" is great - feels very classic kpop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEwIlxtw9w4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V37TaRdVUQY

pretty clearly the best newjeans track yet!

Yessssss love that

really like the side a/b video concept as well, very beautifully done

Very vibe-y track - might have to vote for both that and Hype Boy come year-end

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr-325mclek

catching up on various things i missed, kep1er's "up!" is quite cool

idk what will make my eoy list beyond "feel my rhythm" and "ditto" though which are such standouts

haven't decided which NewJeans track to vote for, I was going to nominate "Attention" too but didn't want to vote split (though maybe it might encourage people to check them out idk. i did nom the EP as well fwiw)

I'll prob vote for "Love Dive" and "28 Reasons", maybe "Antifragile" too. "Feel My Rhythm" grew on me, but I still don't love it that much ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

NewJeans starting 2023 off right: rolling kpop 2023