Yeah,
so I'm bad at remembering to write these out for whatever reason, so expect that these are going to worse and worse in quality as we get close to the end.
Ever since the group was announced, I've been in Week Meki's court. Doomed from the start, I was the only one who liked their debut track, I Don't Like You Girlfriend, as it was critically panned by literally everyone. Their first comeback La La La fared no better in the eyes of the public. Crush, however, was a leap forward for them, even if it came at the cost of almost all originality. I can't believe that that's a good thing, but it is.
There's really nothing super exciting about this song; it's a generic pop song that literally any other group could sing. It's saved from mediocrity due to Yoojung's great rapping; she really makes or breaks the track.
In general, this song benefits from having a great hook in the chorus. It gets caught in your head. Also the mixing of the entire song is really in your face. I also appreciate that there's not a huge in-your-face belt. I mean, there is a belt at the end, but it benefits from being pushed to the back slightly.
Again with the LOONA.
This song rides on another trend that we've seen this year, which is slower, coffee house songs. Stylish benefits from having a little bit more to it then your usual coffee house track, with it's electronic sounds, but still being on the smooth side of things.
There's some weird syncopations in this track (like Hyunjin's "Check it once, check it twice"), but it all works out in the end. Actually, some of the vocalizations don't seem to match the backing track at all, but LOONA isn't one to shy away from risks. I also find it interesting that they forgo a backing track for the first part of the chorus in favour of extreme vocal mixing.
I also really like the keyboard they're using in this track.
Another song that's just a nice pop song. I really don't know what to say about this song other than the fact that I like it and it has replayability.
What this song does have going for it is electronic marimbas; because everything is better with marimbas, even if they're electronic (though even the are probably xylophones, but my heart ca dream).
My original ride or die. I was so happy to see her get some love this year with her solos. I was a fan her tracks Mystery and Wannabe, but it's this year that she finally gets to perform something that actually and truly fits her. Sober is meant to be a tropical house song, but it's actually good. Unlike other songs in this genre, the beats are not airy; the beats hit you hard, and have a little bit of a lasting twinge to them.
Again, this is not a song that's really anything to write home about, but it's super good to listen to. Hyoyeon is finally on a track that suits her voice. I'm not a huge fan of tropical house, so I probably would have never given this song a second listen if I hadn't spent my first year of being a kpop fan being solely a SONE with a Hyoyeon bias.
We won't talk about the horrendous pop edit, however.
Any song that starts of with "LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE" is a good song in my books. This is another Brave Sound track that proves to me that Brave Brothers remembered how to make good music.
While the instrumental follows late 2000's - early 2010's pop patterns, it's the vocals that really go off here. I want to give a special shoutout to Hyunjoo here; her voice never really fit in with the rest of April, but she figured out how to use the high-pitchness of it in a meaningful and effective way on this track. The entire track is full of speed-talking rather than singing (or true rapping) on the verses, and it really gives a vibe of just having fun and talking to your girlfriends. I absolutely adore it.
Of course, a group with NC.A should not have a song without her belting somewhere, and belt she does. Her voice is everywhere during the chorus, and she finally gets her big chance to shine at the end of the bridge.
Now this is a song that I hadn't anticipated being so low on the list. When envisioning this list in my mind I figured that this would easily be top 10. I wasn't expecting there to be 24 other songs that I liked more than this.
The final member of LOONA, Olivia Hye managed to have one of the most fantastic solo tracks of all the girls. The song is dark and broody and really sets a mood for her place in the Loonaverse. The song utilizes something that I've been gushing about this entire list: lower female singing voices. If Olivia was in a choir and I was the director I would make this girl an alto in a heart beat. She never goes into some of the insane octaves I've heard girls sing into, and this song definitely doesn't need it. While the message of the song is overwhelmingly hopeful, the song itself is not, and making her sing to high would ruin the theme.
I do think this song is ruined by Jinsoul's rap breakdown in the second verse. I'm generally not a fan of stripping away all melody for the sake of having someone tonally talk over a bass line, and this is no exception. I don't think it adds anything to song. All it does is take the momentum away from the fantastic instrumental after the first chorus and kill it immediately. I feel the song could have been stronger had the second verse just been cut short and only Olivia's lines from that verse used. Due to the length of the dance break, the transition back to the chorus so soon would have been remarkably less jarring than the rap.
I feel like this was the track I was waiting for a boy group to do all year. Boy groups tend to have ultra dramatic mood themes, but Black Heart is just insanely fun. It gives me mid 90's inspiration (even though I barely remember the mid 90's), and it just makes you want to move. Also, the piano player on this track is clearly having the time of their life. Pure brilliance.
Let's talk about the vocal percussions going on here. Not giving Marco an actual rap and instead making him do some strange pseudo-jazz scat thing was a move of pure genius. That shit gets caught in your head. Kijung was also pretty decent at it. Also having Marco just scream "HEY" in the back also really gets the mood of a dance battle going; he's become the ultimate hype man for this comeback.
I am a bit concerned about Chan miming playing a guitar in the bridge when there's no guitar but rather a piano though. Who thought that was a good idea? Was there something in the lyrics I'm missing? Why?????????
Mamamoo was killing the latin pop game this year. I actually didn't take the time to listen to the full song until 2 months after it was released, but when I did I was pleasantly surprised. Mamamoo tends to other put out bops or flops for me, so it was nice for me to listen to something this good. I'm actually surprised this was a winter release, because to me this sounds like something that could be released in summer and no one in the kpop community would bat an eye.
Something that I really like about this song is the stripped down pre-chorus. It's a great way to add momentum to a track that could otherwise be very one-note. Also, I love the repetitiveness in the actual chorus. Keeping it simple was a great way to keep the emphasis on the fantastic verses.
Also in the verses: Moonbyul's raps are integrated seamlessly. I bet you've been able to tell that I have a problem with poorly integrated raps. But here they really work. They're little short bursts of fire, but are ultimately super effective in the long-run. This song also has my constant issue with Mamamoo: the fact that the singing goes way over the top. That's to be expected from a super intense vocal group though. Starry Night is not the most egregious of examples of this in their discography, which is wonderful.
Whoo boy, the words I have for this song.
Firstly, it's nothing like what we've heard from gugudan before, and nothing that we expected to hear from the group at all. This is the ultimate in "in your face" vocals, and it fucking works. They are commanding attention this comeback.
I really appreciate how there's really nothing but tonality going on in the verses. It allows the vocals to glide over them. This is then built upon with brass samples for the pre-chorus, before all hell breaks loose instrumentally during the chorus. All that momentum then disappears completely when the verse comes back, and it only works because it's a variation on a theme. Absolutely wonderful and I'm angry that I like it.
This has one of the tightest drum samples in kpop this year. The producers on this track have opted for a softer snare, which is a nice contrast from the loud vocals and bass.
Brilliance.
I'm honestly surprised that this track is so high up, but here it is.
The first thing that you'll notice about this track is that it mimes an orchestra. For many key moments, a synth is being used much in the way a violin would, especially in the verses. There is an actual string section used, which is very noticeable in the chorus. The entire thing is used to create a sense of whimsy.
Strangely, this is one of the tracks that I think that Lovelyz didn't bring their all vocally. The vocals fall flat, and are sort of lost by the backing track.
So yeah, this song is high on the list because of an under-utilized instrumental.
Also the beginning of this song is a huge bait and switch. It makes you think that you're going into some huge electronic track, but, nope, it's just Lovelyz.
I will not be posting part 4 tomorrow. I don't have it all written up and I'm going to go drink a lot of wine with my friend for New Year's. Sorry y'all, that's just how it goes.
so I'm bad at remembering to write these out for whatever reason, so expect that these are going to worse and worse in quality as we get close to the end.
30. Crush - Weki Meki
Ever since the group was announced, I've been in Week Meki's court. Doomed from the start, I was the only one who liked their debut track, I Don't Like You Girlfriend, as it was critically panned by literally everyone. Their first comeback La La La fared no better in the eyes of the public. Crush, however, was a leap forward for them, even if it came at the cost of almost all originality. I can't believe that that's a good thing, but it is.
There's really nothing super exciting about this song; it's a generic pop song that literally any other group could sing. It's saved from mediocrity due to Yoojung's great rapping; she really makes or breaks the track.
In general, this song benefits from having a great hook in the chorus. It gets caught in your head. Also the mixing of the entire song is really in your face. I also appreciate that there's not a huge in-your-face belt. I mean, there is a belt at the end, but it benefits from being pushed to the back slightly.
29. Stylish - LOONA
Again with the LOONA.
This song rides on another trend that we've seen this year, which is slower, coffee house songs. Stylish benefits from having a little bit more to it then your usual coffee house track, with it's electronic sounds, but still being on the smooth side of things.
There's some weird syncopations in this track (like Hyunjin's "Check it once, check it twice"), but it all works out in the end. Actually, some of the vocalizations don't seem to match the backing track at all, but LOONA isn't one to shy away from risks. I also find it interesting that they forgo a backing track for the first part of the chorus in favour of extreme vocal mixing.
I also really like the keyboard they're using in this track.
28. Roller Coaster - Chungha
Another song that's just a nice pop song. I really don't know what to say about this song other than the fact that I like it and it has replayability.
What this song does have going for it is electronic marimbas; because everything is better with marimbas, even if they're electronic (though even the are probably xylophones, but my heart ca dream).
27. Sober - Hyo
My original ride or die. I was so happy to see her get some love this year with her solos. I was a fan her tracks Mystery and Wannabe, but it's this year that she finally gets to perform something that actually and truly fits her. Sober is meant to be a tropical house song, but it's actually good. Unlike other songs in this genre, the beats are not airy; the beats hit you hard, and have a little bit of a lasting twinge to them.
Again, this is not a song that's really anything to write home about, but it's super good to listen to. Hyoyeon is finally on a track that suits her voice. I'm not a huge fan of tropical house, so I probably would have never given this song a second listen if I hadn't spent my first year of being a kpop fan being solely a SONE with a Hyoyeon bias.
We won't talk about the horrendous pop edit, however.
26. I Mean - Uni.T
Any song that starts of with "LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE" is a good song in my books. This is another Brave Sound track that proves to me that Brave Brothers remembered how to make good music.
While the instrumental follows late 2000's - early 2010's pop patterns, it's the vocals that really go off here. I want to give a special shoutout to Hyunjoo here; her voice never really fit in with the rest of April, but she figured out how to use the high-pitchness of it in a meaningful and effective way on this track. The entire track is full of speed-talking rather than singing (or true rapping) on the verses, and it really gives a vibe of just having fun and talking to your girlfriends. I absolutely adore it.
Of course, a group with NC.A should not have a song without her belting somewhere, and belt she does. Her voice is everywhere during the chorus, and she finally gets her big chance to shine at the end of the bridge.
25. Egoist (feat. Jinsoul) - Olivia Hye (LOONA)
Now this is a song that I hadn't anticipated being so low on the list. When envisioning this list in my mind I figured that this would easily be top 10. I wasn't expecting there to be 24 other songs that I liked more than this.
The final member of LOONA, Olivia Hye managed to have one of the most fantastic solo tracks of all the girls. The song is dark and broody and really sets a mood for her place in the Loonaverse. The song utilizes something that I've been gushing about this entire list: lower female singing voices. If Olivia was in a choir and I was the director I would make this girl an alto in a heart beat. She never goes into some of the insane octaves I've heard girls sing into, and this song definitely doesn't need it. While the message of the song is overwhelmingly hopeful, the song itself is not, and making her sing to high would ruin the theme.
I do think this song is ruined by Jinsoul's rap breakdown in the second verse. I'm generally not a fan of stripping away all melody for the sake of having someone tonally talk over a bass line, and this is no exception. I don't think it adds anything to song. All it does is take the momentum away from the fantastic instrumental after the first chorus and kill it immediately. I feel the song could have been stronger had the second verse just been cut short and only Olivia's lines from that verse used. Due to the length of the dance break, the transition back to the chorus so soon would have been remarkably less jarring than the rap.
24. Black Heart - UNB
I feel like this was the track I was waiting for a boy group to do all year. Boy groups tend to have ultra dramatic mood themes, but Black Heart is just insanely fun. It gives me mid 90's inspiration (even though I barely remember the mid 90's), and it just makes you want to move. Also, the piano player on this track is clearly having the time of their life. Pure brilliance.
Let's talk about the vocal percussions going on here. Not giving Marco an actual rap and instead making him do some strange pseudo-jazz scat thing was a move of pure genius. That shit gets caught in your head. Kijung was also pretty decent at it. Also having Marco just scream "HEY" in the back also really gets the mood of a dance battle going; he's become the ultimate hype man for this comeback.
I am a bit concerned about Chan miming playing a guitar in the bridge when there's no guitar but rather a piano though. Who thought that was a good idea? Was there something in the lyrics I'm missing? Why?????????
23. Starry Night - Mamamoo
Mamamoo was killing the latin pop game this year. I actually didn't take the time to listen to the full song until 2 months after it was released, but when I did I was pleasantly surprised. Mamamoo tends to other put out bops or flops for me, so it was nice for me to listen to something this good. I'm actually surprised this was a winter release, because to me this sounds like something that could be released in summer and no one in the kpop community would bat an eye.
Something that I really like about this song is the stripped down pre-chorus. It's a great way to add momentum to a track that could otherwise be very one-note. Also, I love the repetitiveness in the actual chorus. Keeping it simple was a great way to keep the emphasis on the fantastic verses.
Also in the verses: Moonbyul's raps are integrated seamlessly. I bet you've been able to tell that I have a problem with poorly integrated raps. But here they really work. They're little short bursts of fire, but are ultimately super effective in the long-run. This song also has my constant issue with Mamamoo: the fact that the singing goes way over the top. That's to be expected from a super intense vocal group though. Starry Night is not the most egregious of examples of this in their discography, which is wonderful.
22. Not That Type - gugudan
Whoo boy, the words I have for this song.
Firstly, it's nothing like what we've heard from gugudan before, and nothing that we expected to hear from the group at all. This is the ultimate in "in your face" vocals, and it fucking works. They are commanding attention this comeback.
I really appreciate how there's really nothing but tonality going on in the verses. It allows the vocals to glide over them. This is then built upon with brass samples for the pre-chorus, before all hell breaks loose instrumentally during the chorus. All that momentum then disappears completely when the verse comes back, and it only works because it's a variation on a theme. Absolutely wonderful and I'm angry that I like it.
This has one of the tightest drum samples in kpop this year. The producers on this track have opted for a softer snare, which is a nice contrast from the loud vocals and bass.
Brilliance.
21. Lost N Found - Lovelyz
I'm honestly surprised that this track is so high up, but here it is.
The first thing that you'll notice about this track is that it mimes an orchestra. For many key moments, a synth is being used much in the way a violin would, especially in the verses. There is an actual string section used, which is very noticeable in the chorus. The entire thing is used to create a sense of whimsy.
Strangely, this is one of the tracks that I think that Lovelyz didn't bring their all vocally. The vocals fall flat, and are sort of lost by the backing track.
So yeah, this song is high on the list because of an under-utilized instrumental.
Also the beginning of this song is a huge bait and switch. It makes you think that you're going into some huge electronic track, but, nope, it's just Lovelyz.
I will not be posting part 4 tomorrow. I don't have it all written up and I'm going to go drink a lot of wine with my friend for New Year's. Sorry y'all, that's just how it goes.
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