At the end of each month, I look back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists. I take my own ratings into account, but there’s a bit of wiggle room as certain songs tend to grow or fade.
October 2021 Overall Thoughts
When I averaged all my song ratings of October, I was surprised to see how high the number was. Honestly, I’ve felt very uninspired by K-pop this month. For whatever reason, the sounds and concepts just felt monotonous and unexciting. I tend to go through these slumps a couple times each year, and they always turn around eventually. But, I’m fearful that 2021 is becoming 2020 in reverse, with the first half being quite strong and the second half dragging its feet.
Here’s the thing about October. It was packed with releases — more than any other month this year. And, there were a lot of solid tracks. But, nothing stood out in a way that made me want to hit replay a dozen times. The best K-pop months are highlighted by a couple of anchors: songs so exciting they raise my opinion of every other track released in the same time frame. Apart from WOODZ’s excellent b-side Chaser (which would’ve been my song of the month had it been paired with a music video), nothing fit that category. So, we end up with a super weird top three. Two of the songs weren’t even originally released this month, and one is an album track that just so happened to get a music video right in the nick of time. I can’t remember another monthly round-up like this… especially with so many other comebacks to choose from.
There were a couple of strong albums this month. I’ve probably played WOODZ’s Only Lovers Left and ENHYPEN’s Dimension: Dilemma the most. Unfortunately, there was also one huge disappointment. Golden Child’s DDARA barely made my honorable mentions — a first for my current bias group. Come to think of it, this underwhelming comeback probably set my current slump into motion!
With so many releases in October, I sometimes felt like I was writing about the same song over and over. The K-pop industry seems to be on cruise control right now, with everyone trying to be NCT, ITZY or BLACKPINK. I’m still excited about the current retro trend, but I long to hear a more diverse series of comebacks. Because of this, I found myself listening to much more Western pop music this month. In fact, my favorite October release didn’t come from Korea at all. Instead, I’ve been enamored with Agnes’s stunning Magic Still Exists album.
J-pop was fairly dull this month, though my top track is probably my favorite Johnny’s single of the year. Looking forward, I’m curious how 2021 will wrap up. My end-of-year lists are just around the corner, but there’s still one month that will be eligible for those countdowns. I can’t say that any recent teasers have piqued my interest, but I remain hopeful that some hidden gem will pop up and reignite my excitement.
Month Cumulative Rating: 7.9
(compiled by averaging the scores of every K-pop review from this month)
J-Pop Highlights
Tomohisa Yamashita – Beautiful World (video)
TOP J-POP SONG OF THE MONTH
King & Prince – On The Moonlit Night, When You Fall In Love (review)
K-POP
Honorable Mentions
aespa – Savage (review)
bugAboo – bugAboo (review)
Chancellor – Midnight (ft. Gaeko) (review)
CRAVITY – Veni Vidi Vici (review)
DreamNote – Ghost (review)
ENHYPEN – Tamed-Dashed (review)
EPEX – Do 4 Me (review)
Epik High – Face ID (ft. Giriboy, Sik-K & JUSTHIS) (review)
Golden Child – DDARA (review)
LIGHTSUM – Vivace (review)
NCT 127 – Favorite (Vampire) (review)
Pink Fantasy – Tales Of The Unusual (review)
Seventeen – Rock With You (review)
Sunmi – Go Or Stop? (review)
Twice – The Feels (review)
WOODZ – Waiting (review)
Woohyun – Calm & Passion (review)
Youngjae – Vibin (review)
TOP THREE SONGS
3. Pixy – Bewitched (review)
2. ATEEZ – Eternal Sunshine (review)
1. TXT – Frost (review)
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of September 2021
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of August 2021
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of July 2021
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of June 2021
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of May 2021
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
This may be a trashy month for you (I, for one, personally found it good!) but HEY! At least this is the first time both ATEEZ and TXT are entering the Top Three Spots in a long time!
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Also…weren’t we promised for a new comeback by OnlyOneOf? It’s been a whole month!
or was that ballad the comeback?
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I’ve given up trying to figure out what’s happening with them and their messy agency…
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lyOns used to be the most funny and saucy fandom. This broke them. I personally cannot figure out why this is happening to them after they made such an iconic, powerful title track and album. Wait, it’s the music business. Never mind.
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Mid-October I was also a little concerned about this month, but this last week or so it’s been one playlisted track after another, a new favorite gg debut, great music show performances, and some MVs I actually want to return to and share with people. I playlisted a ton of non-idol content this month (almost a third of the list went on my R&B playlist), but even limiting it to tracks reviewed here, I’m honestly having a really hard time picking a top three, so I’m just going to leave it as an unranked top seven. Looking at those, 5 out of 7 have had really strong performances (and I know Pink Fantasy won’t disappoint if they promote live), which frequently leads to my developing additional good feelings towards a song. I don’t think it’s going to be enough to get JUSTB playlisted, but we’ll see. The girl groups were really on fire this month, which makes me very happy as I’ve struggled to connect with much girl group content this year. Apparently I didn’t feel strong enough about Tri.be’s “WOULD YOU RUN” to comment on the review, but it’s grown on me in a huge way and is the current banger blasting on repeat in the car.
That said, it was a somewhat disappointing month for the bangers playlist thanks to the boy groups kind of falling asleep at the wheel: “WOULD YOU RUN”, “Go or Stop?” and “GHOST” were great additions, but not a single boy group title track made the list. ENHYPEN’s “Attention Please” is great, and “Blockbuster” is pretty good. LEE JIN HYUK’s “Dunk!” made the list, but just barely in spite of being undeniably obnoxious (a good quality for a banger in my book). “MUDMAX (Seosan)” from Woodie Gochild off of H1GHR MUSIC’s “Feel The Rhythm of Korea, Pt. 1” compilation technically came out last month but I missed it until now and I love it when a hip-hop track is also a banger. I need to find a better place to follow hip-hop releases, because I also missed CAMO & Dakshood’s “TYT” featuring the queen of being everywhere, BIBI. Not a banger, but I’m a sucker for BIBI.
New to me this month: a whole bunch of tracks from CNBLUE, INFINITE, and Speed, the newest additions to my “honorable mentions” bias list for groups who have disbanded, are largely inactive, or no longer release music I care for. I’d never even heard of Speed and they’re already gone, alas. I still have a bunch of INFINITE to go through – I got maybe a third of the way through a deep dive before health issues interfered. I discovered South Club through an amazing It’s Live cover of “Next Level” and they’re pretty solid. I finally gave B.A.P a deep dive and was pretty shocked that I didn’t find much of anything I liked – from everything I’d heard I expected to fall head-over-heels, but “What the Hell” is the only track I playlisted. Sad. I guess I like groups that sound like B.A.P more than I like B.A.P.
Total Playlisted October Releases: 87
Top Title Tracks:
BLITZERS “Will Make a Mistake”
bugAboo “bugAboo”
DreamNote “GHOST” + “NIGHT”
EUNHYUK “be”
Pink Fantasy “Tales Of The Unusual”
SUNMI “Go or Stop?”
TRI.BE “WOULD YOU RUN” + “LOBO”
Top EPs/Albums:
Ailee “AMY”
BLITZERS “SEAT-BELT”
N.Flying “Turbulence”
SEVENTEEN “Atticca”
WOODZ “Only Lovers Left”
Top Ballads/R&B:
BOL4 “Butterfly Effect”, “Space”
Chancellor “Broken Wings”, “Runaway with me”, “Angel” [Demo Version]
Lee Young Ji “Day & Night” (feat. Jay Park)
MONIKA “Silhouette” (feat. Kursor)
Owell Mood “Picky Baby” (feat. BIBI)
Zitten & Shin Ji Hoon “You can say everything”
88rising & BIBI “The Weekend”
Top Hip-Hop:
F.HERO & MILLI “Mirror Mirror” (feat. Changbin of Stray Kids)
GIRIBOY “You Turned Around”, “That’s How We Ended Up” (feat. Seori), “What A Mess”
Huh! “MBT”
Top Indie/Rock:
Amber Liu “BAD DECISIONS”
Bandage “Youth21”
eldon “Back to you”
HEABIN “hometown”
Rothy “COLD LOVE”
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Anyone who liked EUNHYUK’s “be” should check out MONIKA’s “Silhouette” (feat. Kursor). She’s new to me but is a former member of Badkiz and has a pretty solid run of solo releases. This one has a similar hazy, ambient vibe as “be”, and the MV is one of those “cheap but really effective” videos and features a fabulous dancer.
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This is really good. Definitely has that hazy feeling to it. Love her deeper voice as well. The hook minimal but effective. Gonna have to check out more from her.
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One of the Golcha boys went as her for Halloween I learned.
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Hah, there was a prominent dancer on SWF, which was apparently HUGE in Korea, also named Monika (I think she led one of the crews) so I’d bet that’s who he was referencing. That sentence is structured so bad but I’m leaving it, sorry.
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I definitely agree with your sentiments on this month. Frankly, for about 2/3 of the month it felt like most releases just kind of came and went for me. If the month would have ended about a week ago, I genuinely don’t even think I could have mustered up a top 3 at all. If I did, It would have probably been DDARA, Savage, and Waiting which while not bad…isn’t my ideal top 3. BUT the last week or so (more specifically the 25 & 26) have gifted me with a few songs that I do love and a weak month was saved kind of.
1. DreamNote – Ghost…Easily my favorite girl group title of the year thus far. Admittedly, the bar isn’t super high given that girl groups have been a bit underwhelming this year but this is still a really great song IMO. While the whole song is phenomenal with its gritty, commanding Halloweeny production. THAT HOOK is where the song goes from great to an absolute favorite for me. Everything from the production during it to the girl’s performance creates such a showstopping moment. The bridge is also amazing and leads into the hook in such a satisfying way. That small 3-second break before the final chorus begins…chefs kiss.
2. Bugaboo – Bugaboo…While Ryan Jhun making a fool of himself not too long ago probably sucked some of the hype off this group, their debut song was great. As a lover of everything brassy and funky in kpop, I knew I would love this from the first few seconds. Luckily it only went up from there. Specifically loved the hook even the “bugaboo bugaboo bugaboo bugaboo bugaboo hey” part. Rather they had done without the “bug to the a to the boo” part but it’s whatever.
3. Pixy – Bewitched…Released earlier in the month but JUST got it’s own music video. It’s pretty good. Don’t love it as much as the other two but that glitchy, industrial electronic sound is right up my alley and it’s pretty effectively in Bewitched along with the whisper vocal delivery to create a pretty eerie atmosphere. Good music right here.
Special Mention to WOODZ’s Chaser btw. That song has been getting played nonstop from me.
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The live stages and Halloween video even sold me on “bug to the a to the boo”. The one with blond hair and bangs could literally sell me anything.
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i’ll admit that im not as sold on dreamnote’s ghost as much as others are, its a really boring song that puts high notes over actual melody
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Hmm can’t say I fully agree with you on that one, but I can see where you’re coming from.
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this opinion didnt age well lmfao
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October didn’t feel noticeably worse for me, but since I don’t have any sort of system to rate songs the way you do, I guess I don’t really have a true gauge on that 😅. Though now that I’m trying to come up with a top 3, I am struggling a little bit…
I think the only title tracks this month that I’ve been regularly playing have been Twice – The Feels (which did get them on the Billboard Hot 100, for those of us who were speculating back when it dropped!) and Seventeen – Rock With You. If we were to include B-sides however, I’ve been playing Yeppi Yeppi nonstop, it’s just way too fun! And though Eternal Sunshine and Frost got MVs, I still don’t think of them as October releases, but I enjoy both as well.
Looking forward to Twice’s upcoming full album in November 🙂
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I often wonder how I’d perceive a month like this if I just listened to the handful of releases I enjoyed as a casual fan, rather than write about each and every one in detail. Looking at things with a critical lens can definitely dampen the joy from time to time, but I also think it makes me love the great stuff even more.
When it comes down to it, I’ve been keeping up with K-pop releases for almost a decade now, so it’s natural not to be excited about everything the way I was when it was all new and shiny. I’ve definitely grown more jaded about things!
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Oh yeah those are good points. Sometimes I consider starting rating songs for myself as an experiment, and I’m pretty sure it would be quite satisfying for me too, since I like organized systems like that. But then, like you said, I worry that it could take some of the fun out of listening. It also definitely makes sense that after keeping up with K-pop for so long you’d be a little jaded – I’m still a relatively new fan, so I guess I might still be riding the initial excitement 😂 but it’s definitely faded for me too.
Either way, I definitely appreciate all the work you do in writing full reviews for all these songs! It’s a nice way for me to get recommendations for songs I wouldn’t check out otherwise, and also I really enjoy reading what you have to say for every song ^~^
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I actually decided just yesterday to start adding star ratings to my iTunes library, but I’m trying to do it as much on instinct as possible to try and avoid the loss of enjoyment issue – I’m adding ratings as I do other things while listening to whatever playlist I’d normally listen to under the circumstances, assume anything on one of my playlists is at least a three (okay) and then am letting my gut tell me if I like it or love it without thinking about why. I’m actually super curious to see how things sort out. I’ve already noticed my personal bias where it comes to some of my favorite artists – anything performed by A.C.E or BIBI, for example, seems to be getting an extra star just because I love their voices so much. Prominent guitar and sung harmonies seem to be working the same way.
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Without thinking about why in advance, I mean. In hindsight is part of the point!
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My life is pretty much dictated by iTunes star ratings! I have hundreds of playlists that rely on them and take way too much pleasure organizing everything 🙂
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I have always found playing with data related to my hobbies to be an important part of my enjoyment of the hobby itself, right along with sharing my enjoyment of said hobby with others. Most people understand the latter, but I’ve gotten some weird looks when I say things like how my idea of a nice evening is sitting at a bar with my iPad updating my personal artist ranking spreadsheet to account for new playlisted tracks over the last three months, which is what I did last night. I’m not even close to done but one thing’s for sure: JUST B will not be maintaining their spot in my top twenty once I get October’s data in.
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I liked this month personally 🙂
Top 7 in no order(since 5 is too little this time for me):
Golcha Ddara (I’m surprised you have such a low opinion of it actually. I love this so much! ✨It didn’t hit me much in the MV. But they really popped in the live vocals with all their layering of harmonies and choreo. Also I have a suit fetish XD)
Seventeen Rock With You (Too Good 💎The first song from them after Home Run that hit me so well!)
Pixy Addicted (Honestly they have given me my fave collection of gg raps of the year! 🔥On stage they are pretty much giving me Ateez vibes and I love that)
Tri.be Would You Run (Chorus. Stage. Choreo. ❤️)
Lightsum Vivace (I love it. Especially chorus. Especially how that one vocal part cuts in between. I’m not joking. I seriously love it.😅 This might be what gets me into Lightsum)
Kingdom Black Crown (A little bias but mostly catchy chorus and great performance! 🤗)
Cravity Veni Vedi Vici (My fave song from Cravity so far.Chorus is Heaven! ❤️)
I’m planning 3 more to round it off to 10 but need some more time to get through all the songs and let them sink in. Contenders :
Enhypen Tamed Dashed (awful mix but the song itself is amazing)
Dreamnote Ghost (probably will make it❤️)
Need to listen to Pink Fantasy and Somi. Also need to listen to live stages of Epex, Secret Number, JustB and TXT. Usually TXT gets me with the live because right now I have absolutely ZERO feelings about Frost 😅. I think I have way more feelings about NCT’s Favorite (Vampire) – another contender really 🤭
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I loled at suit fetish – I watched a few stages and the guys are great, and I certainly don’t mind a nice suit, but I thought they all looked like they worked at a high end men’s clothing store. Given your list for the month, I’d strongly recommend checked out at least one stage of “bugAboo”, even if you didn’t care for the songs. I haven’t seen demon eyes that powerful since ATEEZ. No suit version (let me just get an email off to 1theK about that) but this one’s good if your fetish is… fetish gear.
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Ooh I actually really liked Bugaboo on my first listen! The girls are really charismatic! It had the kind of cute but also cool and funny vibe and it definitely kept me engrossed throughout! Haven’t had much time to check out any live stages recently – but I’m pretty sure most of my final picks would be settled based on how much I enjoy those! 🙂
And lol by suit it pretty much means most kind of classy formal wear which very few groups pull off 😉 I have a feeling my suit fetish is probably what made me love a whole bunch of songs from Seventeen Home Run to MonstaX Gambler to BTOB Outsider XD But I’m not complaining…. Suits are DASHING ✨✨
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Suits are dashing as hell, for sure! When everyone and their cat were doing “My House” covers, the list who were able to pull off the styling was pretty short, and correlated pretty well with which groups seemed to understand that they were not taking you to their house to play video games. A.C.E did an excellent version but the clips have been all pulled down for copyright. Very sad. At least the bootleg fan cam of Wow doing it on MixNine appears to be safe since it’s been up for three years.
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This year has still been a crazy strong one for K-pop. So many 7.9 averages, whoa!
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Glad to see Savage made it into in the honorable mentions for you, it truly is a great track.
Also, talk about a weird top 3!
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Yep, the live performances sold me. I still don’t *love* it like I do Next Level, but I appreciate its craziness.
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Rock With You is my favorite title of the month, & the longer I listen to it, the more I like it. The bridge is really a highlight (the transition is so clean, & I love the combination of Dokyeom’s voice, the synth, & the BGVs). They also released a 007 version with a different mix which a lot of people said they preferred. The vocals are clearer, & the guitar & BGVs are more prominent so it feels more “rock”. I definitely recommend checking it out if you wanted more energy from the original.
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Ooh, thanks for this! Yes, I do prefer this version. It’s funny what a couple minor changes can do to a song. It just feels so much more dynamic.
Now get those weird bed squeaks out of the pre-chorus and I’m sold!
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As Nick said, the small versions make this much better.
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This version is so much better.
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Same here! Haven’t loved a TT by any group this much since ages,
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Same here! Haven’t loved a TT by any group this much since ages,
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I like the original fine, but this version would have made my top title tracks list for sure.
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I too think that Woodz’s Chaser is probably the strongest song I’ve ever heard this month. Only Lovers Left is also a solid collection of love songs where first half is the sweet, wholesome and playful love and the second half is the fiery, passionate and desperate love. His performances of Waiting and Chaser during a music concert solidified this strength it as well. This already sounds like a Woodz appreciation comment but i do think he’s the standout act this month.
I cannot exactly choose a top 3 but if I were I would say it’s
Waiting
BugAboo
Frost
Honorable Mentions:
Savage
Ghost
Midnight
Rock With You
Tamed-Dashed
The Feels
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I agree with all those choices 🙂
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Thank you!! 😄 Love your blog! 💯
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Thank you! 😄 Love your blog! 💯
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1. TXT – Frost
TXT’s album is my favorite of this year, and the only album I’ve ever listened to more than twice (I wasn’t really an album person until then. I only checked out the album after the repackage). Frost, No Rules and Dear Sputnik were my favorites, and while over time the latter degraded and No Rules stayed the same, Frost thrived. Coupled with a music video that looks awesome but can’t understand anything about, gives it an easy first place in a weird month. (9,9,10,9 – 9.25)
2. ATEEZ – Eternal Sunshine
I honestly like this more than Wave or Dreamers really, which means yay for happy ATEEZ! Deja Vu hasn’t aged the best, I’ve hardly returned to it. (10,8,9,9 – 9)
3. Seventeen – Rock With You
Pretty unexpected seeing it received as the best of the month, but only make it to the honorable mentions, it’s done nothing but grow on me during the month. Have to agree, though, that the version CB attached above is much, much better. (9,8,9,9 – 8.75)
4. NCT 127 – Favorite
Not my favorite direction for NCT, I’d rather them do glitchy electro-pop or rock-hip-hop than hip-hop ballads, but that chorus is just really good. Even the verses aren’t half bad by now. I think the performances had a huge part in making this grow so much on me. (9,7,9,10 – 8.75)
5. bugAboo – bugAboo
I feel like I should place this higher, but I think I overplayed it just a little too much. Still the best 2021 GG debut by far. (9,9,7,9 – 8.5)
And, I only remembered while watching the music video for this, but where is GHOST9? Shouldn’t they be pouring out content during Halloween?
6. DreamNote – Ghost
While everyone is comparing this to Dreamcatcher, I honestly like this more than anything Dreamcatcher gave us through 2021. Again, I feel like I should place it higher, but about now I’m tired of having to select and change the numbers all over again on mobile (sigh). (9,9,8,8 – 8.5)
7. ENHYPEN – Tamed-Dashed x BLITZERS-Will Make A Mistake
Aged better than their past two title tracks, and being paired with a great album helped a lot. I almost don’t mind the distortion on their vocals by now. (9,9,8,8 – 8.5)
It tied with Will Make A Mistake because while objectively speaking Tamed-Dashed is better, I have a soft spot for rock guitar that isn’t distorted to death. This one was a lot more playful than their debut, but could use some better hooks to brighten it up. (7,9,9,9 -8.5)
8. Golden Child – DDARA
This last month has been a small deep dive into Golden Child, and I never realized that I did actually like them ever since I was introduced to them with (Nick review of) Pump It Up, which I didn’t think much of at first, but is on continuous rotation right now. On the song, I feel like I do like the song a lot, but something about the music video kind of degrades the song a bit. I checked out all their track videos for Game Changer though, and now I have a lot of Golden Child playlisted. I think I should check out the Miracle album Nick reviewed recently, I’ve never seen him rate so many songs on an album so high. (9,8,8,8 – 8.25)
9. Epik High – Face ID
I like the groove on this song a lot, but that chorus is a big, fat, missed opportunity. Especially when Do Hanse did a similar style, only better. (7,9,9,8 – 8.25)
10. Youngjae – Vibin’
I like the song, but sometimes there’s just way too much falsetto. Also, it hasn’t aged the best. (8,9,7,8 – 8)
11. aespa – Savage
I kind of love this, especially with the extra-adlibbed final chorus and the dubstep break, but there’s two reasons why this is placed so low here – One, being my bias, that I’m basically rigged to not like a non-melodic chorus, and save for Next Level, I wasn’t really looking forward to this. Secondly, w..what do you mean by saying “Naevis, we lOvE you” in the most most cloying way possible, that too addressing a robot(?). It takes me out of the song every time just to pause the song and wonder what the lyricists were thinking for a few seconds. (7,9,9,8 – 8.25)
12. Twice – The Feels
I though this had been released in September, but happens not to be so. It’s weird because October felt both long and short a the same time. About the song, yes, I like it, and a few weeks ago I loved it, but I guess I overplayed it a little too much because I don’t feel like I need to listen to ever again. I like the choreography though.
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I checked GHOST9’s official YT and they did post three Halloween-related videos, but other than that they only have one post since losing two members. I’m really hoping their agency spent that time thinking about how to make sure the remaining members are happy so they can get back to making music. I feel like there were rumors of a full album next?
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wait…..they lost two members?
Then..what’s going to be their group name then? GHOST7? GHOST9-2?
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Yeah, the official statement in early September was “mutually decided to part” – if there’s been any gossip beyond that about the split or name or new members I haven’t heard it, but a three month gap in official YT uploads makes me think there was some sort of scrambling going on.
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I’m actually rooting for them adding a couple new members (after addressing whatever prompted the other two to leave, of course) because I really love their choreos and that style really wouldn’t work as well with fewer members.
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This month was quite lopsided with some releases I really loved and others not.
Ddara grew on me though it feels very forgettable and I haven’t given it much listens either. Enhypen’s album was great and frost from txt was an instant highlight already and I’m just disappointed we haven’t got any of those long form art films from hybe this year.
I still remember how (stupidly) I rated next level in the low 7s and it grew on me insanely. I still feel dumb. However, even though on first listen this ep felt a little jarring, I was hooked instantly. The entire mini is gold. Definitely one of my favourite eps this year.
NCT’s title was fine. I really like the second part of the chorus and even though I’m totally not into eternal sunshine (guess wave’s shadow looms large), I can’t deny it’s a good track.
Woodz’s album is so good and was also my most awaited release of the month and did not disappoint. Tamed-dashed is great though it exhausts its appeal after a while.
Bol4’s releases and loona’s remixes of not friends were also great. Mybrainisonfire’s recommendation, silhouette was really well made and I enjoyed Eunhyuk’s be that had a similar vibe too. Hynn’s and rothy’s songs were enjoyable.
Overall, I guess we’ll be slowing down after this but yeah, who knows what lies ahead. Jyp’s new boy group is coming along with twice’s full album and I’m really hoping for a release from BTS that finally gets me interested again.
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.
I’ve got
Woodz “Sour Candy”, moreso than “Waiting”
Pixy “Bewitched”
Eunhyuk “Be”
Do Han Se “Take Over”
The last one is technically late September, but whatev. There are so many interesting turns of rhythm buried in it – It sounds like its all sixteenth notes, but it isn’t, in the same way as the REM song “Its the end of the world” song sounds like all sixteenths and isn’t. I don’t know any of the words, but its fun to scat along with, just riff a riff with nonsense words and stretch the language in weird ways. Just like he pronounces it “tag over” and I have warped it to tay khover and tag cover and tay yover and a dozen other variations.
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Tae gover and I love that song too.
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“Take Over” is a strong contender for my top ten list of the year. I showed the video to my spouse last week and he had me replay it four or five times. I love it so much I’m still struggling to get into the rest of the EP because it’s so different, although “Public Enemy” has grown on me.
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I feel like this is the year our Kpop tastes have really diverged! Apart from a love of all things Shinee of course. Next Level hurts my brain, from its lack of coherance to annoyingly propulsive guitar like instrumental, I will be happy to please never hear it again! I’ve drifted well and truly into gentler, more ballad style music. Happy for the return of 2AM and still praying for another growing pains from D&E. My top pick for october was Davichi’s First Loss.
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Mine. I didn’t get into Seventeen and some others as much as I wanted because of issues elsewhere.
Not in any order.
Twice – The Feels
Kingdom – Black Crown (instrumental) I’m liking the vocal version better, but this instrumental reminds me of some of those old Alan Parsons set pieces, and I love it.
Enhyphen – Tamed-Dashed
TXT – Frost
NCT 127 – Favorite
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I like the vocal version of Black Crown better than I did. I still think the instrumental is better.
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Seventeen just released a live band version of Rock with you! I like it even more than the version from the 007 special video. But it also leaves me wondering why they released the original version if they knew they were capable of making it even stronger with just a few small changes? Anyway, here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx9LezLlD8s&ab_channel=SEVENTEEN
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My two cents are that they wanted to make a public-friendly song and judging by the song’s reception, they have achieved their aim overwhelmingly. I wasn’t as much sold on the 007 version as the original because it appears less ‘fuller’ if it makes sense. The live band version though is fanstastic.
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This month was really for aespa IMO. Savage grew on me like crazy and now I love the bridge and the “gimme gimme now dsu-dsu-dsu” parts. Also the entire song, which excites me and feels very novel. I also listened to Yeppi Yeppi A LOT and I like the whole mini (none of the other songs stand out, but as a cohesive work it’s quite good).
I also was obsessed with The Feels by TWICE, which I liked much more than Nick and which I listened to a lot. IMO one of the best English songs in that the lyrics actually mostly make sense and it still feels like a TWICE song. It’s pretty addictive and I appreciate actually being able to sing along for once.
End of the month has been a mix of Seventeen and Bugaboo. The Bugaboo hook will not leave my head and the song is quite good. I wasn’t as sold on the DreamNote or Pixy songs as others but I think I might just need some time for them to grow.
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My Top Songs (No Particular Order)
(TXT’s Frost could beat all of these songs (except maybe Rock with You) but it’s not really an October release so I won’t count it.)
Twice- The Feels
Ok this grew on me a lot. I’m not a ONCe, and I almost always hate English Kpop songs first listen but the chorus makes me want to jump up and do that hip dislocating bounce move over and over.
Seventeen- Rock with You
I loved it first listen, and it just seems to get better every time I come back to it. Thought it could use some (minor) tweaks, it’s still amazing.
Enhypen: Tamed Dashed
This grew on me in spite of the mUshY vocal processing, and I still like some of the album’s b-sides better, but it’s definitely not a bad song.
Honorable Mentions:
Aespa- Savage
It’s not Next Level, but it’s not NCT 127’s Gimme Gimme either, so it’ll pass. I still think Yeppi Yeppi should have been the title track tho.
Woodz- Waiting
This song is really good, but I keep forgetting to listen to it.
Pixy- Addicted
One of my favorite Pixy songs.
Go or Stop- Sunmi
Eunhyuk- be
This was REALLY good.
Ghost- DreamNote
Favorite (Vampire) -NCT 127
Knockout chorus but the rest is mehish. I also don’t really care for vampire concepts.
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I was wondering if you could maybe do a burried treasure or something else about Lovelyz since the group is no more..I know you wrote quite a lot about them but it would be a nice goodbye 🙂 They had so many great songs.
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What a meh month. It feels like the bulk of the comeback songs this month were just perfectly and forgettably average or a hair above average. Most of the big names failed to deliver. The best songs not only came from less popular and:or new groups but also ones whose past releases I’ve never particularly loved or even liked.
(Only Korean title tracks first released in October)
1. DreamNote – Ghost
(aka the only standout title track this month)
9, 10, 8, 10 = 9.25
I could see this growing on me even more. I love it’s structure and the fleshed out melody. The vocal mixing is fantastic. The overall vibe is uplifting and energizing with the underlying feeling that something just isn’t quite right and unsettling.
2. aespa – Savage
8, 10, 7, 10 = 8.75
I loved this right from the start, but all of the ad libs and vocal acrobatics get exhausting on too many repeat listens. My cats happen to hate it and will leave the room when it plays lol.
3. bugAboo – bugAboo
9, 9, 8, 9 = 8.75
Fantastic debut. I’m so curious as to what direction they will go in the future with Ryan Jhun as a producer… will they trend hop or develop a core sound? The group members are Gemma with charisma and confidence to spare.
Honorable Mentions
Pixy – Bewitched
Pink Fantasy – Tales of the Unusual
Seventeen – Rock with You
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Extremely Unrelated but…
Ah yes, the moment where I crowned ONF my favorite group currently..This happens. Let’s hope the moment they come back, they’ll still be with Hwang Hyun and their return will be EPIC! Just like SHINee’s!
I’ll just wait and wait until the group which is right for me arrives…I guess…
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