Nine's Top Kpop Songs of 2018 (Part 1)

Look here it is the post no one was waiting for.

I've had this list assembled for about a week now, and I've just been too lazy to actually write out the blurbs for every song. Like last year, there will be 50 songs, and therefore 5 posts. I'm still debating on if I want to put my 10 honourable mentions or not, because honestly this list could have been a top 60. We'll see. This list will be updated daily over on my twitter as well.

Before I begin, I just want to say a few things:

1. I am working on a new LOONA theory, but it's taking awhile. I'm about 2000 words into it and only about an eighth of the way through the whole planned thing. 
2. I am the mod over on the jbj subreddit, and would really appreciate some more active users, since I can only do so much and the sub is so dead. Yes, I'm kind of begging but whatever. If anyone who reads this is a Joyful I would greatly appreciate the help. 
3. I am planning on this blog actually being active more in 2019. Those are probably famous last words but honestly I don't give a shit. 

With all that out of the way, let's get this party started! 

50. I'm Fine - BTS

I'm gonna be real with you all, BTS hasn't blown me away this year. I wasn't impressed with Idol, even though it eventually grew on me, and I really, greatly disliked Fake Love. It was sort of an accident that I heard this song at all, since I usually don't go out of my way to listen to the album if I'm not feeling the title track. For that reason, this is the only BTS song that has ended up in my top 50. 

Firstly, I'm kind of in love with the nod to Save Me at the beginning of the song. I often feel that Save Me is underrated as a BTS track, especially by casual listeners, so it made me incredibly happy to hear it on this track. 

Secondly, I love the pacing of the song. It starts off very innocuously, with even RM's rap in the first verse being a little more subdued. This is completely turned on it's head, with the build-up into the first chorus. The chorus itself is actually quite frantic instrumentally. While this intensity remains throughout the track, the second verse tones it down a fraction, before the intensity completely dies down for the bridge. This makes the final verse even more bombastic when it hits. What this does to the listener is take them on an emotional journey of sorts; you want to know where the song will go, and the song keeps blasting you forward. 

Thirdly, I love the lyrics. That's not usually what I listen to kpop for, and often if I want lyrics I'll listen to an English or French song, something that I can actually understand without looking at a translation. When I first heard this song, I heard it while reading the lyrics. I've been going through a lot of things this year in regards to my self-confidence, and I greatly appreciate that this is, in the end, a song about hope. It really makes me feel good listening to it. Even without knowing the lyrics, the english lyrics are enough to make the point. 

Lastly, I'm super thrilled that the rap line has something interesting to do in this track. The past few years it's felt as if they're pushed to the side, despite the fact that BTS has one of the strongest rap lines in kpop currently. Suga in this track goes especially hard given the instrumentals and theme, and I absolutely live for it. 

49. FavOriTe - LOONA

It's no secret that LOONA is one of my favourite groups right now. The vast majority of my posts this year have been about them. Perhaps FavOriTe's place in this list feels a little low to some people, but that's mostly because I'm pretty sure I only like it so much because it's LOONA and I'm so invested in the group. 

That's not to say that the song doesn't have some great musical elements to it. I absolutely adore the consistent, brassy synth rift that drives the song forward. It has a very specific timbre to it, though you can definitely tell it's an electronic beat. 

The percussion is also great. And, yes, this will likely be my most constant reason of praise for songs again this year, but it's true. The snare sample in this song is very subtle, but utilized very nicely. There's also a very distinctive drum kit during the chorus (listen at 1:58), which is used for a very nice effect. It's dropped in the second chorus, but replaced with an interesting electronic rift instead, which mirrors the effect. 

FavOriTe plays around with dropping layers in order to create the effect of the tempo increasing and decreasing, though the BPM never actually drops off. This is an effective move for this type of dance-pop, and you can hear it very easily during the bridge and the dance break. Additionally, each chorus is slightly different, and this is all done with moving and dropping layers in the backing track. 

Another weird point that I'd like to make is the song structure, because it's not a normal one. Most pop songs follow the classic ABABCB format, with two verses that sounds thematically similar, 3 choruses, and a bridge. The structure in this song goes ABCADBCEFBC. Yes, it's that frantic and there's that many theme changes. I gave the dance break it's own part for emphasis, but it's really just a play on the chorus. 

48. Save Me, Save You - Cosmic Girls (WJSN)

WJSN is one of those groups that relies heavily on an electronic sound. Save Me, Save You is actually very interesting because the more I listen, the more I'm sure that there's not a single live instrument on this track. While I usually appreciate a live instrument, I feel as if there is little need for it here. In fact, I think this song would lost almost all of it's impact if a live instrument was used. 

What Save Me, Save You mostly does is continuous the fantasy theme of WJSN, which was momentarily lost in 2017. 

Besides the underutilization of  Exy and Yeonjung, there's not much more to say here. I just like it. 

47. Love Bug - GFriend

Another song with not much to say about it; it's just good. It's a delightful track that would have been perfectly in place with GFriend's early discography. It's pure, good fun. This is the type of song that their lighter voices (Eunha and Umji) really excel at, and it was nice to hear Sowon get to do something. 

This was a great step forward for GFriend in my book, and this is only a B-side. Overall this year has been awesome musically for me, and I strongly believe their Time for the Moonight mini was one of the best albums this year. What a great step forward after last year, which I believe to be GFriend's worst year musically. 

46. One - Samuel

One of Brave Sound's finest these past few years. Structure wise, it's actually a pretty basic song, but it sounds so fucking cool. Like these are electronic beats at it's pop music finest. It invokes the feeling of a sci-fi movie, which in real life I would hate, but it works with the song. The song also fits with the video, which is futuristic in itself. I mean, Brave Sound could have not tried to make an actual and literal teenager look my age, but that's just the name of the game in kpop. 

BtoB's Ilhoon has a feature on this track and it's...interesting. The beat completely drops during his verse, which unlike tracks like FavOriTe, it just doesn't quite work. The electronic effects are still cool, and it definitely sounds like it's meant to be in the same song, but it doesn't sound cohesive. This is of no fault of Ilhoon, who sounds fantastic and the rap is tight, but it just feels disjointed when looking at the whole. 

Above all else, the song is catchy. The electronic voice repeating "one" over and over again is addicting and gets caught in your ear. The is the type of track that works best for Samuel, considering that he doesn't really have the strongest voice. This track allows the instrumental to be bombastic, and Samuel's voice be more like a descant on top. Kudos to him though; his voice is sounding thicker and fuller since his (solo) debut, though this likely has more to do with puberty over anything else. 

45. Latata (G)I-DLE 

What a way to debut. 

First things first, let's talk about how bomb-ass the percussion is. There's no real drum on this track, but there's an electronic pulse (it kind of sounds like a less hollow marimba I don't know how else to explain it), but it's constantly beating throughout the track. It really draws you in. This entire track is very consistent instrumentally up until the bridge, and it's oddly satisfying. 

I also want to talk about the use of harmony in this track. Again in the electronics, there's a lot of harmonies going on. I'm real bad at recognizing intervals, but I believe that chords alternating using the third and the dominant are used? Please correct me on that. But the main melody in the instrumental is comprised of these, and it sounds fantastic. 

I love how sparse this song is. There's honestly not much going on instrumentally, and only marginally gets fuller in the chorus before completely dropping in the bridge. It's absolutely fascinating. Everything is very deliberate and so unlike the standard kpop track. 

Vocally it's great. The girls all have very strange voices for kpop, to be honest, especially Minnie and Yu Qi. Yu Qi in particular has a very deep and mellow singing voice, which isn't ideal on a pop track. It's the closest I've actually heard to my own singing voice, depth wise, so it's really satisfying to listen to.

Seoyeon takes front and centre in this song, which makes sense considering a good portion of (G)I-DLE's hype came from her post P101 fame. It's well deserved, because even her voice is so goddamn charismatic. 

Overall, it's a smooth and satisfying song. 

44. Baam - Momoland

At one point I planned a post about how Momoland was just the second coming of Crayon Pop, except packaged into a more consumer friendly package, and I scrapped it. Listen to this song, however, and imagine Crayon Pop singing it, and you'll understand what I mean. 

This song only continues on with the ultra-electronic trend that kpop saw this year. It's not meant to be so musically interesting that you fall off your seat; it's meant to be a catchy pop song. And it's a good one. 

The major standout of this song is how staccato it is. It's incredibly jumpy. This is mirrored from the percussion, to the melody, to the vocals. The repetition of words is incredibly effective when looked at in this angle. 

Nancy's green hair is a travesty and I can't believe she sat down and let her company ruin her head like that. 

43. Fermata  - Girls' Generation OH!GG

Slowing us down are the queens of the genre. This is a very simple, acoustic track that focuses more on vocals than interesting effects. The lyrics talk about how it's fine to take a break every once and a while, and that theme is definitely reflected in the song as a whole. The girls allow their voices to be more breathy and relaxed, which is a great thing for Sunny, Yuri, and Yoona, who shine when allowed to be on a slower-paced track. Taeyeon's full voice and Hyoyeon's huskier voice act as a nice textural contrast. 

I wish I had more to say about this song, but honestly I just like listening to it. It truly is a calming song. Even the few electronic features in the song are light and very much in the background. This is another song that relies on the use of harmony, and it's present in both the instrumental and the vocals. 

There's also a rather impressive bass line in this track, which should be out of place but it really isn't. I know it's an electronic bass, but it's still so lovely. 

42. Blooming Day - EXO-CBX

I kind of think it's bad when a group's sub-unit greatly surpasses the main group musically in a year. Like BTS, this is the only EXO track on this list. Usually EXO is a group that I can rely on for music (I even liked Ko Ko Bop for fuck's sake), but this year was just a travesty. Luckily CBX is here to save the day. 

This is another smooth track, and the bass line is absolutely killing it. It's groovy track with a relatively simple instrumental. There's no real break down, and it absolutely doesn't need it. In fact, my major issue with this song is that the vocals are too much, which is absolutely ridiculous to say about a group with both Baekhyun and Chen in it. The song is the most enjoyable at the beginning, before layers upon layers of vocals and ad-libs are added on. 

For contrast, please listen to Horololo, which is a completely different kind of track by CBX, but is still fantastic and would have been on this list if it wasn't in Japanese.

41. You and I - Dreamcatcher

After hitting three home runs for me last year, giving them the top 3 spots on this list, I was disappointed with You and I. This song kind of reminds me of all the good Canadian pop-punk bands of the mid 2000s who are currently releasing good, but comparatively mediocre tracks. I wanted this song to be so much more than what it is. 

Honestly, the only reason why this song is so low on this list is because of personal disappointment. All the elements that I loved about their first three tracks are here, from the guitars to the percussion, but for some reason it just fell flat for me. And all the elements are really fucking good. It's my own fault that I expected more. 

In comparison to other girl groups, Dreamcatcher's tracks have been incredibly consistent, and this song is much better than a lot of girl groups out there right now, and is probably better than a lot of the songs on this list. 

For a super good Dreamcatcher track, please go listen to Full Moon. It was originally supposed to be on this list (and was sitting pretty at #4 on my original list for the half year before I scrapped the list due to redundancy), and I forgot to put it back on before compiling the full list. I then became too lazy to redo my work and add for another song. That's just the nature of laziness, children. 

Please join me again tomorrow for another exciting list. 

Yes, it will be just as bullshit as this one.