Since the start of The Bias List in January 2016, I’ve always looked back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists each month. Now, it’s time to look even further into the past, one month at a time. And, yes, the top three rankings count toward The Bias List’s personal artist scorecard!
Which month do you want to see next?
September 2015 Overall Thoughts
Coming off of a very strong (but comparatively barren) August, September was jam-packed with comebacks and debuts. It was another excellent month, and one in which many idol groups released songs that would later become signature hits.
Huge debuts came in the form of DAY6, iKON, DIA and UP10TION, with all four coming out of the gate strong. Musically, September was incredibly diverse — much more so than is common nowadays. The trends we’re now tired of (tropical, deep house, future bass, trap) are all but absent, making for a refreshing palette of influences. We’ve got funk pop, new jack swing, disco rock, soaring balladry, chirpy synth pop, and much, much more.
It was difficult to decide a top three for this month, and some excellent tracks had to fall into “honorable mentions” territory. Dumb Dumb and My Type are definite standouts that probably would have placed higher with less competition. But when it came down to it, I can’t deny the strength of the three songs that led this month for me. They all come from 2014/15 debut groups, as the new generation of K-pop began to take shape in convincing fashion.
Honorable Mentions
Ailee – Mind Your Own Business (video)
CNBlue – Cinderella (video)
DAY6 – Congratulations (video)
DIA – Somehow (video)
iKON – My Type (video)
Lim Chang Jung – Love Again (video)
Lovelyz – Shooting Star (video)
Monsta X – Rush (video)
Park Kyung – Ordinary Love (ft. Park Boram) (video)
Red Velvet – Dumb Dumb (video)
Super Junior – Magic (video)
UP10TION – So, Dangerous (video)
TOP THREE SONGS
3. GOT7 – If You Do (review)
2. Lovelyz – Ah-Choo
1. Seventeen – Mansae
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Wow, Ah-choo ranking above ‘If you do’… certainly wasn’t expecting that (even though I love both, If you do still remains one of my favourite kpop songs of all time)!
Wow x 2, I never knew that so many blockbuster comebacks used to happen all in one month considering the state we are in right now!
P.S I was wondering when you would get around to doing that one post about previously reviewed songs that you now view as Legendary status?
LikeLike
Pre-2017 K-pop was a very different beast, and I can’t wait for that level of quality to make a much needed comeback.
About that legendary songs post… it’ll happen eventually but I haven’t begun drafting anything yet.
LikeLike
.
I’ve got
Super Junior KRY “Dorothy” > everything else on the same SuJu repackage album including “Magic” > Seventeen “Mansae” > Red Velvet “Dum dum”
LikeLike
I didn’t realize that this month had so many phenomenal songs! Literally all of these are so, so great, and I’m having a tough time ranking them. If I had to choose based on what I enjoy the most, though, I think that I’d have to go with:
3. My Type
2. Like You Do
1. Ah-choo
Would I be myself if Ah-choo wasn’t my first pick? 😉 Lovelyz may be my favorite girl group, but this is a song that’s truly deserving of its praise. The instrumental, the bridge, and even the pretty harmonies in the background create this perfect example of K-pop. I absolutely recommend the whole Lovelyz8 album, too. Rapunzel captures that ’90s girl group sound perfectly, and it’s also from the composer of SHINee’s Love Should Go On and Super Junior’s Way for Love!
LikeLike
Ah-Choo is a masterpiece of its fizzy-synth genre, and it’s not even my favorite Lovelyz track!
LikeLike
i literally just got shivers down my spine while scrolling through all those honorable mentions (Ailee’s “Mind Your Business”?? RV’s “Dumb Dumb”, arguably my favorite song from them????)…. and then arriving at the top three. literally no arguments. good GOD was this a stacked month.
LikeLike
AHHH YES! My favorite year along with 2013! Almost every month had at least one or two masterpieces. I miss 2015. I remember being blown away by Dumb Dumb and If You Do. They will always stay on top of my lists.
LikeLike