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.
December 2020 Overall Thoughts
It always feels like a bit of a comedown posting one of these monthly round-ups after weeks of year-end countdowns. But even though December is pretty barren when it comes to new music, its releases still deserve attention.
As expected, this month saw a flurry of activity during its first two weeks, followed by radio silence. The second half of December seemed particularly empty this year, which isn’t too surprising given 2020’s unique challenges. We got a couple of decent holiday tracks to add to the winter playlist, but other than that December wasn’t anything to write home about.
My top three consists of one rookie group and a bunch of legends. I’m quite fond of these three songs, and could actually imagine them being part of next year’s top 50 (unlike any of the songs released this time last year).
Perhaps more interesting is the fact that a certain someone is not part of my top three. One of my ultimate biases made a return this month. Unfortunately, I found both the song and album to be pretty underwhelming. Oh well. You can’t win them all.
In comparision, J-pop had a stronger month, unveiling a few fantastic tracks, including one of my favorite J-pop releases of the year.
Looking forward to 2021, I have some hope for January. My excitement has risen tenfold with today’s sudden announcement of a Golden Child comeback, and I’m also looking forward to U-Know’s impending solo. But as usual, the songs I end up loving most tend to come from surprising places, so I’m curious to hear what 2021 has to offer.
Month Cumulative Rating: 7.8
(compiled by averaging the scores of every K-pop review from this month)
C-Pop Highlight
WARPs UP – Cloud 9 (video)
J-Pop Highlights
Hey! Say! JUMP – Ookami Seinen (Wolf Youth) (review)
King & Prince – I Promise (review)
News – Chincha Umaka / Canary (video / video)
The Beat Garden – Marriage Song (video)
TOP J-POP SONG OF THE MONTH
Yurina Hirate – Dance no Riyuu (Reason For Dance) (review)
K-POP
Honorable Mentions
Brand New Year 2020 – Chandelier (review)
Jang Hyunseung – I Just Can’t Stop Loving You (review)
Kim Sungkyu – I’m Cold (review)
ONEUS – BBUSYEO (review)
The Boyz – Christmassy! (review)
Uhm Jung Hwa – Hop In (ft. Hwasa & DPR Live) (review)
TOP THREE SONGS
3. BoA – Better (review)
2. Rain x JYP – Switch To Me (review)
1. GHOST9 – W.ALL (review)
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of November 2020
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of October 2020
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of September 2020
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of August 2020
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of July 2020
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Better keeps getting… better and better.
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Ohhh somehow I missed your review for Reason for Dance. I just listened and I’m obsessed with the song and the MV aesthetics. Miss Yurina has my attention now!
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This month didn’t really have any highlights for me until a friend sent me Rolling Quartz’s debut single Blaze yesterday and I took one look at the k-rock and girlband hashtags in the title and was like. Oh. Is it a particularly innovative or knockout sort of song? Not really, but I love it anyway. It really scratches the all-female power k-rock band itch I’ve always wanted from Kpop. Dreamcatcher, but with very attractive drumstick flipping and bass playing. Speaking of Dreamcatcher, looking through my playlist has just reminded me that they released the awesome actually-an-anime-op Eclipse this month. Would probably be #1 on my list if they had a full 3 minute version.
Also in my playlist is the Heechul x Kyunghoon ft. BiBi/DinDin/Ateez as dancers hip-hopishhh single. What a funny little song. I’m still baffled on how they managed to make this meme song released for funsies actually kind of good. Also on the fact that Kyunghoon and Ateez even breathed the same air. They seem worlds apart to me.
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That is a solid rock song there. Well done, Rolling Quartz!
Also, I had scrolled right past the Heechul and friends song, and I am glad that you brought it up again. I don’t know how much I like it without the sageuk costume shop raiding visuals, but I was very entertained for 4 minutes there. It reminds me in a way of the “Charm of Life” single from a few years ago in its one-off crazy fun way. ‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9fSp5we6w4
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Better the album is such gem. Love it. I woud have added Panorama mas well, it´s really good.
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YESSSS! I loved Ghost9’s Wall as well. They are a rookie group to be reckoned with in my brain. I really hope they keep consistent with their sound and quality.
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