2023 K-pop releases (January to June)
Jul. 15th, 2023 06:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
forestsofpineI was in the mood to ramble, and while casting about for something to ramble about, I saw this poll about favorite K-pop releases of the first half of 2023 at ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
paradisediner and couldn't decide which three to pick, so I'm going to ramble about that and see if it helps me decide.
β οΈ a lot of videos behind the cut, most have flashing, rapid cuts, and other potential visual triggers, some have content warnings, feel free to ask in comments for details!
Agust D - People Pt 2 ft IU/Haegeum/Amgydala
I do like BTS but more as a casual fan so I'm not up on all the lore being referenced, nor am I as emotionally attached as more serious fans of the group. I like Yoongi's deep voice, the speed with which he can spit out words is seriously impressive, and the videos were cool. 'Haegeum' was my favorite of the three.
Ateez - Bouncy
This is a FUN song and a fun video, despite me not knowing much about the lore. I went mildly feral over the San/Wooyoung bit of the MV, as mentioned in my fanfic recs post for June, which is more than half 'Bouncy'-inspired boxing AUs. π³ Some comments on the MV:
0:20 - As I said, I don't know a ton about the lore except it involves some sort of dystopian government they're fighting against (I think?), but Mingi looks freaking incredible here
0:33 - I'm curious about why the goat is in this MV, haha
0:37 - Seonghwa is so unearthly beautiful he always looks like some kind of alien prince, but here he looks almost vampiric with the sharp, glinting teeth, and then the red streaks as they ride off, it's pretty cool
0:53 - this shot of San getting punched and Wooyoung peeking over at him and going back to counting his money is where I sat up and leaned in on this part of this little story within a story
1:15 - despite my obsession with San and Wooyoung's parts, Mingi is for sure the main character of this MV and this whole part with the spinning and the slow-mo is π₯
1:28 - especially this bit, such a cool shot with the pyrotechnics and Mingi's pose
2:10 - asdfghjkl San collapsing and the water overflowing and running out of his mouth and down his neck, the blood, the whispering, San's face contorting, the dismissive little shoo, the determined look, the kick, the freeze frame on Wooyoung's shocked face AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
2:29 - conga line! esp like the little poses Mingi and Hongjoong hold as they go by
2:42 - San as center for the chorus choreo, and the shot of him and Wooyoung grabbing each other as they celebrate π³
2:45 - Mingi's hip swivel π΅
2:48 - San's goofy, bloody grin
2:59 - another great facial expression from Mingi, he really must have had fun with this video
I liked the rest of this album, too, especially 'Django', to the point that I finally got motivated to check out more of ATEEZ's back catalog. 'Halazia' and 'Say My Name' are some initial favorites of their earlier releases, but I still have a bunch more to try.
BSS - Fighting (feat. Lee Young Ji)
This was a great video, very funny. Especially liked the moment where Youngji tossed away her coffee cup and Seungkwan dived to catch it - if you're not familiar with Seventeen, Seungkwan's love of iced Americanos is infamous. I liked the song, too, but haven't felt compelled to listen to it on repeat the way I did for some of the others in the poll. It's a good hype song to get yourself pumped up, though, and BSS's performance of 'Fighting' and 'Just Do It' at the Circle Chart Music Awards was SUCH a blast. They turned it into a giant party with half the industry joining in. π
Enhypen - Bite Me
I liked 'Bite Me', but preferred 'Sacrifice (Eat Me Up)' of their 2023 releases. I've also been listening to 'Drunk-Dazed' from their earlier releases a fair bit this year.
Fifty Fifty - Cupid
A very cute song, and the girls have pretty voices. I haven't been following the issues they're having with their company very closely, but am rooting for them.
(G)I-DLE - Queencard
Listened to this because Key from SHINee kept dancing to it. π It has a lot of pop culture references, which aren't my favorite type of lyrics, but it's fun and I do certainly see why Key likes dancing to it.
IVE - I Am
I really liked this one! Of all the songs on this list, it's one of the ones I listened to for the first time most recently, so I haven't listened to it as much as most of the other ones I liked the best, but certainly will be more often going forward.
Kai - Rover
Getting earwormed by a song that opens with the line "come on and hashtag me" is frankly embarrassing, but oh man, did I ever get earwormed. Kai's tiny waist and slinky hips doing that choreo also caused me psychic damage (positive). Whoever stuck him in this croptop was clearly trying to kill us. I wish he'd been able to do a TikTok challenge with Taemin for this one, though. π₯²
Some commentary on the MV:
0:10 - whyyyyy π©
0:11 - the con artist angle is kinda fun though
0:31 - the choreo right here at "take a ride with me" is why whoever stuck him in that croptop should probably be arrested for attempted murder
0:41 - Kai should probably ALSO be arrested, his smirk when he's doing the come hither gesture is definitely some sort of crime
1:26 - I like the intercutting in this part between the ballet dancers and the regular backup dancers
1:49 - I like the dramatic irony in the video from this point on as the lyrics remain kind of bold and unaffected while he starts looking tired and defiant instead of confident and self-assured and the dance becomes more disjointed and frantic as he loses himself more and more and the walls start closing in
Speaking of slinky hips and pretty waists, Ten's 'Birthday' came out last year, but I didn't hear it until this year and it's another one I've been listening to a lot this spring and summer, so I'm gonna toss it in, too.
Some quick highlights for the 'Birthday' MV:
0:02 - this song sets the mood instantly by zooming in on Ten sitting on a table with his legs spread so it looks like he's looking down at you kneeling between them
0:06 - I am kind of a sucker for interesting head tilts in dance, so Ten wrapping his own hands around his head and jerking it sideways was an immediate sit up and take notice moment
0:25 - the way it looks like he's levitating here π―π
0:35 - definitely understand why they used this as the cover image for the MV, he looks amazing in this veiled hat
1:09 - the angle here is also π΅βπ«
1:12 - another good head tilt. Ten is a beautiful dancer in every sense of the words, and from this point on I get kind of lost in the choreo honestly. So don't take the fact that my notes end here as a sign that the rest of the MV is boring - on the contrary.
Key (SHINee) - Killer
I really enjoy Key's solo stuff in general and this one was no exception. It's one of the songs in the poll that I've listened to the most, and even one of the songs in this post I've listened to the most. The video was great, too.
Although I like 'Killer' as a song as much or more, the Key MV that gets me the key-smashiest is last year's 'Gasoline', so as long as I'm doing timestamp notes on some of these and since I didn't last year when it came out...
Here's some favorite moments:
0:04 - I've never read up on the backstory or symbolism of this video, so I'm not sure what the statue or the cube signify, but the visuals are instantly compelling
0:06 - the rapid flailing of the backup dancers around him contrasted with Key's graceful poise in the center is one of those moments where you kind of relax and settle in knowing it's gonna be good
0:10 - and the slow walk in silhouette gah
0:18 - another indication that this MV is going to serve absolutely astronomical levels of cunt
0:44 - I can never decide which of the many incredible costumes in this video I like the best, but the black and silver one with the face chains is one of the top contenders just because of how amazing they look in motion, especially with the little head jerk at 0:49
1:07 - "try me now" on his throne, and I also love the intercutting between alien emperor(?) Key and face chains Key in the bit that immediately follows, especially the "shot" at 1:19 ("shoot my gasoline")
1:54 - the drop down to the camera with the face chains swinging is another of my favorite bits, the chains look so cool and Key's expression... π³π³π³
1:59 - fun transition with the splash to the cage
2:03 - the backup dancers appearing in whiffs of smoke is another cool little moment π¨
2:42 - less of a head tilt and more of a head swoop, but π₯ whatever you want to call it
3:01 - this shot still DOES STUFF to me, haha - the angle and the eye contact and the burning sun lighting up his eyes and the gold in his costume gah
3:06 - π₯π₯π₯
Le Sserafim - Unforgiven/Eve, Psyche and the Bluebeard's Wife
Both these songs were pretty catchy (as Le Sserafim's songs tend to be in general, imo), but I thought the lyrics of 'Unforgiven' were a little too repetitive. This might be a case where too many English lyrics hurt the song for me? I liked 'Eve, Psyche, and the Bluebeard's Wife' better, except for the grating "girl wanna have fun" bit.
Lee Chaeyeon - KNOCK
The 'Knock' and 'Super' challenges Chaeyeon did with Dino from Seventeen snagged my interest and I actually ended up listening to this song a lot this spring. It's fun and catchy, and I've watched the 'Knock' challenge with Dino a nearly embarrassing number of times - he's one of my Seventeen biases and one of my favorite dancers in the industry, and I love the way they move together.
Monsta X - Beautiful Liar
I haven't listened to a ton of Monsta X yet, but I liked this one.
NewJeans - OMG
I think the NewJeans girls have very pretty voices, but SPEAKING OF EARWORMS!!! I think every single one of NewJeans' major releases has earwormed me. This is... somewhat frustrating because Hyein is literally 15 and I'm uncomfortable with kids being debuted that young so I don't want to stream their music and support that, but I also keep hearing the songs elsewhere (half of Seventeen loves them, for one, and keeps doing TikTok challenges with them) and getting them intractably stuck in my head, aargh.
'OMG' was the most persistent of all. It's been starting up in my head anytime I hear someone say "oh my god". π΅ Oh my oh my god, oh my oh my god.... π΅
elmofire.gif
Somehow Jisoo's 'Flower' didn't make the cut for the poll, but as long as I'm talking about earworms, I got pretty badly earwormed by that one as well, especially after what seemed like the entire K-pop industry did TikTok videos to it. As a bonus, she's nearly twice Hyein's age.
Seventeen - Super/FML
'FML' is another song that I liked fine, but haven't felt compelled to listen to on repeat.
I have listened to 'Super' (aka 'μμ€κ³΅') quite a bit, though. The MV for it was also great. The setting and the large number of backup dancers gave it a really epic feel. My complaint with the song is the cheesiness of "I love my team, I love my crew" as a chorus, but it's a very Seventeen sentiment and there's so many fun moments in the music and choreography to make up for it. Here's some of my favorite moments from the MV:
0:04 - Starting off strong with the cool lighting of the background and the beam revealing Woozi on his "throne"
0:20 - Wonwoo's "I always win" instantly became a meme among carats
0:28 - GAH. π₯ Mingyu is my main SVT bias, so I am, indeed, biased, but this part really suits his voice and the choreo also suits him really well. Especially when he does it in a sleeveless crop top. His arms... π΅π« I like how he throws Jeonghan forward for his part, too
0:50 - You always know you're in for a good time when you have the maknae line (Seungkwan, Vernon, and Dino) back-to-back-to-back. So proud of Dino for having his part be the TikTok challenge, too
1:51 - Love the bit where the backup dancers pull Dino, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, and DK through their legs to pop up behind Joshua as he's finishing his part
2:00 - Hoshi's stripey butt always distracts me at this part, lol, but it IS Hoshi, world's biggest tiger fan
2:01 - It's only a momentary distraction, because next up is the awesome transition from DK to Minghao. Minghao was still recovering from a collarbone injury while they were filming the MV and he didn't have his normal range of motion yet, but they still made him look so fucking cool.
2:30 - Jeonghan looks SO GOOD in the traditional clothes and hairpin π΅π«
2:51 - PING! Woozi's entire ending part gets me so hyped.
3:14 - They're so good at the ripple effects. I highly recommend watching the choreography video for this song as well, because there's lots more cool ripples and interesting formations and things going on in the background that the official MV doesn't capture because it's zooming in closer on their faces. Some particular standouts for cool background stuff imo are behind Wonwoo's part starting about 0:32 in the choreography video, behind Mingyu starting about 0:46, and behind Joshua starting about 1:56.
ANYWAY, haha. Fun song, fun video, I liked! I've also been listening to 'Don Quixote' a lot this year since they premiered choreography for it back in January.
SHINee - The Feeling/Hard
'The Feeling' is funny because I was a bit meh about the MV when it came out, but then when I was listening to the full album later on, I kept being like, "oh, that's pretty good, which one is that?" and then checking and realizing it was 'The Feeling', haha. 'Hard' also took a little bit of time to grow on me, but I ended up liking it, and imo the entire album is a solid no-skip listen. The 'Hard' MV was pretty trippy, but although I like both songs a more or less similar amount, I've ended up watching the performance video for 'Juice' more. It's sadly missing Onew, but the dramatic lighting and large number of backup dancers worked well for this song just like they did for 'Super'.
A few notes on some favorite parts:
0:56 - I really, really like the chorus
1:16 - Something about the little weight shift they do here (and again at 2:24) drives me crazy, esp in this stage with Key doing it in that fit (similar timestamps as the official performance video)
1:36 - The footwork in Taemin's part that starts here.... π
1:51 - They go so hard in all the pre-chorus and choruses, gah
2:50 - This one, too π₯ This isn't news to anyone, given how long they've been performing and what reputations they all have in the industry, but all three of them have stage presence that's absolutely top-tier. It makes their videos and stages such compelling watches.
It's so sad that Onew's health is preventing him from participating fully in the comeback, but Minho in particular is contagiously enthusiastic and clearly thrilled to be back with his members, and Taemin has been practically glowing with how happy he seems, as well. Even Key looks happy in spite of himself, haha. It's been really good to see them together again. π
Stray Kids - S-Class/The Sound
My initial thought about 'S-Class' was that it was a bit too chaotic for me and didn't have a coherent through-line that I could settle into, but this is a common reaction to Stray Kids songs for me and I did like the pre-chorus and chorus enough that it might grow on me over time, as a number of their songs have.
'The Sound' did have a more coherent sound on first listen, but it's another case where it was fine but just didn't hook me to the same degree as some of the other songs in the poll. I've listened to a decent amount of Stray Kids this year, but more of their older stuff, like 'Maniac', 'Thunderous', and 'Red Lights'.
TXT - Sugar Rush Ride
I actually preferred 'Devil in the Window' and 'Farewell, Neverland' slightly to 'Sugar Rush Ride', but I've listened to this entire mini-album quite a bit. I especially liked the dreamy yet unsettling vibes of those three songs, but I liked 'Tinnitus' and 'Happy Fools' a lot, too.
I've also been listening to TXT's '0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You)' a lot this spring and summer. One of their older songs, but a goodie, imo.
Haven't listened yet
Top Three
Oh gosh, did this help me decide or not? Top three is haaaard. I feel like I probably listened the most to 'Super', 'Killer', 'Bouncy', 'Rover', and 'Knock' of the songs actually listed in the poll, but I've had the entirety of the albums of Hard (SHINee), The World Ep. 2: Outlaw (ATEEZ), and The Name Chapter: Temptation (TXT) on repeat a lot, too. I'm not sure it did help me decide. π
paradisediner and couldn't decide which three to pick, so I'm going to ramble about that and see if it helps me decide.β οΈ a lot of videos behind the cut, most have flashing, rapid cuts, and other potential visual triggers, some have content warnings, feel free to ask in comments for details!
Agust D - People Pt 2 ft IU/Haegeum/Amgydala
I do like BTS but more as a casual fan so I'm not up on all the lore being referenced, nor am I as emotionally attached as more serious fans of the group. I like Yoongi's deep voice, the speed with which he can spit out words is seriously impressive, and the videos were cool. 'Haegeum' was my favorite of the three.
Ateez - Bouncy
This is a FUN song and a fun video, despite me not knowing much about the lore. I went mildly feral over the San/Wooyoung bit of the MV, as mentioned in my fanfic recs post for June, which is more than half 'Bouncy'-inspired boxing AUs. π³ Some comments on the MV:
0:20 - As I said, I don't know a ton about the lore except it involves some sort of dystopian government they're fighting against (I think?), but Mingi looks freaking incredible here
0:33 - I'm curious about why the goat is in this MV, haha
0:37 - Seonghwa is so unearthly beautiful he always looks like some kind of alien prince, but here he looks almost vampiric with the sharp, glinting teeth, and then the red streaks as they ride off, it's pretty cool
0:53 - this shot of San getting punched and Wooyoung peeking over at him and going back to counting his money is where I sat up and leaned in on this part of this little story within a story
1:15 - despite my obsession with San and Wooyoung's parts, Mingi is for sure the main character of this MV and this whole part with the spinning and the slow-mo is π₯
1:28 - especially this bit, such a cool shot with the pyrotechnics and Mingi's pose
2:10 - asdfghjkl San collapsing and the water overflowing and running out of his mouth and down his neck, the blood, the whispering, San's face contorting, the dismissive little shoo, the determined look, the kick, the freeze frame on Wooyoung's shocked face AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
2:29 - conga line! esp like the little poses Mingi and Hongjoong hold as they go by
2:42 - San as center for the chorus choreo, and the shot of him and Wooyoung grabbing each other as they celebrate π³
2:45 - Mingi's hip swivel π΅
2:48 - San's goofy, bloody grin
2:59 - another great facial expression from Mingi, he really must have had fun with this video
I liked the rest of this album, too, especially 'Django', to the point that I finally got motivated to check out more of ATEEZ's back catalog. 'Halazia' and 'Say My Name' are some initial favorites of their earlier releases, but I still have a bunch more to try.
BSS - Fighting (feat. Lee Young Ji)
This was a great video, very funny. Especially liked the moment where Youngji tossed away her coffee cup and Seungkwan dived to catch it - if you're not familiar with Seventeen, Seungkwan's love of iced Americanos is infamous. I liked the song, too, but haven't felt compelled to listen to it on repeat the way I did for some of the others in the poll. It's a good hype song to get yourself pumped up, though, and BSS's performance of 'Fighting' and 'Just Do It' at the Circle Chart Music Awards was SUCH a blast. They turned it into a giant party with half the industry joining in. π
Enhypen - Bite Me
I liked 'Bite Me', but preferred 'Sacrifice (Eat Me Up)' of their 2023 releases. I've also been listening to 'Drunk-Dazed' from their earlier releases a fair bit this year.
Fifty Fifty - Cupid
A very cute song, and the girls have pretty voices. I haven't been following the issues they're having with their company very closely, but am rooting for them.
(G)I-DLE - Queencard
Listened to this because Key from SHINee kept dancing to it. π It has a lot of pop culture references, which aren't my favorite type of lyrics, but it's fun and I do certainly see why Key likes dancing to it.
IVE - I Am
I really liked this one! Of all the songs on this list, it's one of the ones I listened to for the first time most recently, so I haven't listened to it as much as most of the other ones I liked the best, but certainly will be more often going forward.
Kai - Rover
Getting earwormed by a song that opens with the line "come on and hashtag me" is frankly embarrassing, but oh man, did I ever get earwormed. Kai's tiny waist and slinky hips doing that choreo also caused me psychic damage (positive). Whoever stuck him in this croptop was clearly trying to kill us. I wish he'd been able to do a TikTok challenge with Taemin for this one, though. π₯²
Some commentary on the MV:
0:10 - whyyyyy π©
0:11 - the con artist angle is kinda fun though
0:31 - the choreo right here at "take a ride with me" is why whoever stuck him in that croptop should probably be arrested for attempted murder
0:41 - Kai should probably ALSO be arrested, his smirk when he's doing the come hither gesture is definitely some sort of crime
1:26 - I like the intercutting in this part between the ballet dancers and the regular backup dancers
1:49 - I like the dramatic irony in the video from this point on as the lyrics remain kind of bold and unaffected while he starts looking tired and defiant instead of confident and self-assured and the dance becomes more disjointed and frantic as he loses himself more and more and the walls start closing in
Speaking of slinky hips and pretty waists, Ten's 'Birthday' came out last year, but I didn't hear it until this year and it's another one I've been listening to a lot this spring and summer, so I'm gonna toss it in, too.
Some quick highlights for the 'Birthday' MV:
0:02 - this song sets the mood instantly by zooming in on Ten sitting on a table with his legs spread so it looks like he's looking down at you kneeling between them
0:06 - I am kind of a sucker for interesting head tilts in dance, so Ten wrapping his own hands around his head and jerking it sideways was an immediate sit up and take notice moment
0:25 - the way it looks like he's levitating here π―π
0:35 - definitely understand why they used this as the cover image for the MV, he looks amazing in this veiled hat
1:09 - the angle here is also π΅βπ«
1:12 - another good head tilt. Ten is a beautiful dancer in every sense of the words, and from this point on I get kind of lost in the choreo honestly. So don't take the fact that my notes end here as a sign that the rest of the MV is boring - on the contrary.
Key (SHINee) - Killer
I really enjoy Key's solo stuff in general and this one was no exception. It's one of the songs in the poll that I've listened to the most, and even one of the songs in this post I've listened to the most. The video was great, too.
Although I like 'Killer' as a song as much or more, the Key MV that gets me the key-smashiest is last year's 'Gasoline', so as long as I'm doing timestamp notes on some of these and since I didn't last year when it came out...
Here's some favorite moments:
0:04 - I've never read up on the backstory or symbolism of this video, so I'm not sure what the statue or the cube signify, but the visuals are instantly compelling
0:06 - the rapid flailing of the backup dancers around him contrasted with Key's graceful poise in the center is one of those moments where you kind of relax and settle in knowing it's gonna be good
0:10 - and the slow walk in silhouette gah
0:18 - another indication that this MV is going to serve absolutely astronomical levels of cunt
0:44 - I can never decide which of the many incredible costumes in this video I like the best, but the black and silver one with the face chains is one of the top contenders just because of how amazing they look in motion, especially with the little head jerk at 0:49
1:07 - "try me now" on his throne, and I also love the intercutting between alien emperor(?) Key and face chains Key in the bit that immediately follows, especially the "shot" at 1:19 ("shoot my gasoline")
1:54 - the drop down to the camera with the face chains swinging is another of my favorite bits, the chains look so cool and Key's expression... π³π³π³
1:59 - fun transition with the splash to the cage
2:03 - the backup dancers appearing in whiffs of smoke is another cool little moment π¨
2:42 - less of a head tilt and more of a head swoop, but π₯ whatever you want to call it
3:01 - this shot still DOES STUFF to me, haha - the angle and the eye contact and the burning sun lighting up his eyes and the gold in his costume gah
3:06 - π₯π₯π₯
Le Sserafim - Unforgiven/Eve, Psyche and the Bluebeard's Wife
Both these songs were pretty catchy (as Le Sserafim's songs tend to be in general, imo), but I thought the lyrics of 'Unforgiven' were a little too repetitive. This might be a case where too many English lyrics hurt the song for me? I liked 'Eve, Psyche, and the Bluebeard's Wife' better, except for the grating "girl wanna have fun" bit.
Lee Chaeyeon - KNOCK
The 'Knock' and 'Super' challenges Chaeyeon did with Dino from Seventeen snagged my interest and I actually ended up listening to this song a lot this spring. It's fun and catchy, and I've watched the 'Knock' challenge with Dino a nearly embarrassing number of times - he's one of my Seventeen biases and one of my favorite dancers in the industry, and I love the way they move together.
Monsta X - Beautiful Liar
I haven't listened to a ton of Monsta X yet, but I liked this one.
NewJeans - OMG
I think the NewJeans girls have very pretty voices, but SPEAKING OF EARWORMS!!! I think every single one of NewJeans' major releases has earwormed me. This is... somewhat frustrating because Hyein is literally 15 and I'm uncomfortable with kids being debuted that young so I don't want to stream their music and support that, but I also keep hearing the songs elsewhere (half of Seventeen loves them, for one, and keeps doing TikTok challenges with them) and getting them intractably stuck in my head, aargh.
'OMG' was the most persistent of all. It's been starting up in my head anytime I hear someone say "oh my god". π΅ Oh my oh my god, oh my oh my god.... π΅
elmofire.gif
Somehow Jisoo's 'Flower' didn't make the cut for the poll, but as long as I'm talking about earworms, I got pretty badly earwormed by that one as well, especially after what seemed like the entire K-pop industry did TikTok videos to it. As a bonus, she's nearly twice Hyein's age.
Seventeen - Super/FML
'FML' is another song that I liked fine, but haven't felt compelled to listen to on repeat.
I have listened to 'Super' (aka 'μμ€κ³΅') quite a bit, though. The MV for it was also great. The setting and the large number of backup dancers gave it a really epic feel. My complaint with the song is the cheesiness of "I love my team, I love my crew" as a chorus, but it's a very Seventeen sentiment and there's so many fun moments in the music and choreography to make up for it. Here's some of my favorite moments from the MV:
0:04 - Starting off strong with the cool lighting of the background and the beam revealing Woozi on his "throne"
0:20 - Wonwoo's "I always win" instantly became a meme among carats
0:28 - GAH. π₯ Mingyu is my main SVT bias, so I am, indeed, biased, but this part really suits his voice and the choreo also suits him really well. Especially when he does it in a sleeveless crop top. His arms... π΅π« I like how he throws Jeonghan forward for his part, too
0:50 - You always know you're in for a good time when you have the maknae line (Seungkwan, Vernon, and Dino) back-to-back-to-back. So proud of Dino for having his part be the TikTok challenge, too
1:51 - Love the bit where the backup dancers pull Dino, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, and DK through their legs to pop up behind Joshua as he's finishing his part
2:00 - Hoshi's stripey butt always distracts me at this part, lol, but it IS Hoshi, world's biggest tiger fan
2:01 - It's only a momentary distraction, because next up is the awesome transition from DK to Minghao. Minghao was still recovering from a collarbone injury while they were filming the MV and he didn't have his normal range of motion yet, but they still made him look so fucking cool.
2:30 - Jeonghan looks SO GOOD in the traditional clothes and hairpin π΅π«
2:51 - PING! Woozi's entire ending part gets me so hyped.
3:14 - They're so good at the ripple effects. I highly recommend watching the choreography video for this song as well, because there's lots more cool ripples and interesting formations and things going on in the background that the official MV doesn't capture because it's zooming in closer on their faces. Some particular standouts for cool background stuff imo are behind Wonwoo's part starting about 0:32 in the choreography video, behind Mingyu starting about 0:46, and behind Joshua starting about 1:56.
ANYWAY, haha. Fun song, fun video, I liked! I've also been listening to 'Don Quixote' a lot this year since they premiered choreography for it back in January.
SHINee - The Feeling/Hard
'The Feeling' is funny because I was a bit meh about the MV when it came out, but then when I was listening to the full album later on, I kept being like, "oh, that's pretty good, which one is that?" and then checking and realizing it was 'The Feeling', haha. 'Hard' also took a little bit of time to grow on me, but I ended up liking it, and imo the entire album is a solid no-skip listen. The 'Hard' MV was pretty trippy, but although I like both songs a more or less similar amount, I've ended up watching the performance video for 'Juice' more. It's sadly missing Onew, but the dramatic lighting and large number of backup dancers worked well for this song just like they did for 'Super'.
A few notes on some favorite parts:
0:56 - I really, really like the chorus
1:16 - Something about the little weight shift they do here (and again at 2:24) drives me crazy, esp in this stage with Key doing it in that fit (similar timestamps as the official performance video)
1:36 - The footwork in Taemin's part that starts here.... π
1:51 - They go so hard in all the pre-chorus and choruses, gah
2:50 - This one, too π₯ This isn't news to anyone, given how long they've been performing and what reputations they all have in the industry, but all three of them have stage presence that's absolutely top-tier. It makes their videos and stages such compelling watches.
It's so sad that Onew's health is preventing him from participating fully in the comeback, but Minho in particular is contagiously enthusiastic and clearly thrilled to be back with his members, and Taemin has been practically glowing with how happy he seems, as well. Even Key looks happy in spite of himself, haha. It's been really good to see them together again. π
Stray Kids - S-Class/The Sound
My initial thought about 'S-Class' was that it was a bit too chaotic for me and didn't have a coherent through-line that I could settle into, but this is a common reaction to Stray Kids songs for me and I did like the pre-chorus and chorus enough that it might grow on me over time, as a number of their songs have.
'The Sound' did have a more coherent sound on first listen, but it's another case where it was fine but just didn't hook me to the same degree as some of the other songs in the poll. I've listened to a decent amount of Stray Kids this year, but more of their older stuff, like 'Maniac', 'Thunderous', and 'Red Lights'.
TXT - Sugar Rush Ride
I actually preferred 'Devil in the Window' and 'Farewell, Neverland' slightly to 'Sugar Rush Ride', but I've listened to this entire mini-album quite a bit. I especially liked the dreamy yet unsettling vibes of those three songs, but I liked 'Tinnitus' and 'Happy Fools' a lot, too.
I've also been listening to TXT's '0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You)' a lot this spring and summer. One of their older songs, but a goodie, imo.
Haven't listened yet
- aespa - Welcome to My World/Spicy
- Billie - EUNOIA
- Dojaejung (NCT) - Perfume
- fromis_9 - #menow
- (G)I-DLE - Allergy
- Holland - Number Boy
- Huh Yunjin (Le Sserafim) - I ≠ DOLL
- KARD - Icky
- NCT Dream - Broken Melodies
- NMIXX - Love Me Like This
- Purple Kiss - Sweet Juice
- Twice - Moonlight Sunrise
Top Three
Oh gosh, did this help me decide or not? Top three is haaaard. I feel like I probably listened the most to 'Super', 'Killer', 'Bouncy', 'Rover', and 'Knock' of the songs actually listed in the poll, but I've had the entirety of the albums of Hard (SHINee), The World Ep. 2: Outlaw (ATEEZ), and The Name Chapter: Temptation (TXT) on repeat a lot, too. I'm not sure it did help me decide. π
no subject
Date: 2023-07-18 02:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-07-18 02:56 am (UTC)I saw you do poledancing - how cool! I unfortunately am prone to vertigo and have to be careful with anything involving inversions, but I have a friend who does it and sends me clips sometimes that are jaw-dropping. So much strength and balance and grace!
no subject
Date: 2023-07-18 03:21 pm (UTC)among thai BL dramas, i really liked sun/mork from Dark Blue Kiss (i pretty much fast-forwarded the rest of the drama and watched just their parts) and right now i'm watching Be My Favourite (it's currently airing). my all-time fave is the shipper the series, it's absolutely wild and does something to my suspension of disbelief. i also quite enjoy Korean BLs on Viki!
i don't have vertigo but inverts were scary at first! it took me several classes for me to get used to my first invert. i love seeing poledancers pull moves that i can dream of! i upload clips on instagram too, as a record of my progress. i love how poledancing reintroduces a sense of wonder to me. and it's a beautiful art.
what about you? what are your faves?
no subject
Date: 2023-07-18 09:26 pm (UTC)My daughter went through a K-pop phase when she was younger and I ended up listening casually to various groups (most often Blackpink) for years before accidentally falling headfirst into the carat life with a friend who independently got into Seventeen about the same time I did. Since then, I also got much more seriously into SHINee, which is one of the groups I was listening to more casually back then. I'd say those are my two favorite groups now (and Taemin and Key are also two of my favorite solo artists), but I still listen casually to many more and enjoy discovering or rediscovering both recent releases and classics.
Oh, Dark Blue Kiss is actually really high on my to-watch list! I've consistently loved Aof's dramas and want to see more TayNew before the Cherry Magic remake starts airing. I'll have to bump it up more. π I watch some Korean and Japanese BLs, too! Semantic Error is my favorite from Korea, but I'm currently watching The Eighth Sense and it's really good so far as well, and Cherry Magic and Old-Fashioned Cupcake are my favorites of the ones that I've seen from Japan.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-20 06:27 am (UTC)taemin and key are among my favourite solo artists too! my other favourites are woodz and chungha.
i liked semantic error a lot too, and i'm currently rewatching it with a friend! i haven't watched much bl from Japan yet.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-20 11:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-07-21 09:50 am (UTC)