2023 K-pop releases (July to December)
Jan. 21st, 2024 08:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
forestsofpineHere is January to June.
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paradisediner has a poll going to determine favorite K-pop releases of the second half of 2023, and the choice of number one was a LOT easier for me than the first half of 2023. Taemin's "Guilty", of course!
Here's my thoughts on the other contenders.
⚠️ a lot of videos behind the cut; many have flashing, rapid cuts, and other potential visual triggers, and a few have content warnings - feel free to ask in comments for details!
aespa - Better Things
aespa is a group I keep trying and keep finding myself just not clicking with their music, but this might be my favorite song I've heard from them yet. Very pretty!
Ateez - Crazy Form
Didn't rewire my brain in the same way "Bouncy" did in June, but a fun song and a fun video!
Billlie - BYOB (Bring Your Own Best Friend)
Billlie is one of the many K-pop groups I keep meaning to check out more, but I did think this song was cute.
IVE - Either Way, Off the Record, Baddie
"I Am" in the first half of the year was one of my favorite songs of 2023, and I really enjoyed "Either Way" and "Off the Record" as well. I thought they were both quite pretty and had good hummable choruses, though of the two I seem to find "Either Way" in my head a little more often. Baddie was less to my personal taste, although the giant cats in the MV were fun.
I listened to a ton of IVE (both new releases and older ones) throughout the second half of the year, in fact - I think they're increasingly becoming my favorite 4th gen girl group.
Jungkook - Seven (ft. Latto)
The MV was hilarious and I liked the song, although I liked the MJ vibes in "Standing Next To You" enough that I might prefer that one overall.
Key - Good and Great
As I said in the January-June post, I pretty consistently love Key's solo music. "Killer" was 11th overall and 4th out of all 2023 releases on my top 100 songs on Spotify Wrapped, and 3rd overall and 2nd out of 2023 releases on YouTube Music, so it's definitely safe to crown it as one of my favorite songs of 2023. It's a great song, great choreo, great video... just objectively excellent in every way. "Good & Great" didn't wow me to quite the same degree, but it's a fun song and a fun video, and I loved Key's sparkly corset top, as well as the TikTok challenge he did with Minho and Taemin.
I liked CoolAs, too. Nobody in K-pop works harder for the gays than Kim Kibum.
NCT 127 - Fact Check
Someday I will get less intimidated by the number of members and sub-groups in NCT and pay more consistent attention to them. 😰 TBH, this one mostly landed on my radar due to Taemin killing the choreo in the Tiktok challenge he did with Mark and Taeyong, but it is catchy!
NCT U - Marine Turtle
I thought this was a pleasant song, but was disappointed that the MV contained no turtles.
NewJeans - Super Shy, New Jeans, Cool With You, Get Up, ETA, ASAP
"Super Shy" continued the string of NewJeans songs (see also: OMG, Ditto, Hype Boy) that got thoroughly stuck in my head (it's starting up again even as I type this) and I liked the waacking-inspired choreo; the rest were pleasant (the girls have pretty voices) but made less of an impression.
Red Velvet - Chill Kill
This is one of those songs that has a lot of individual elements that I like, but didn't quite cohere into something that made me want to listen to it again and again. Maybe if I did, it eventually would? Interestingly creepy vibes to the MV, though.
RIIZE - Get a Guitar
I really liked the funk vibes of this one! Fun choreo, too! I also enjoyed the cute Tiktok video some of the Seventeen boys did for it.
Seventeen - God of Music
My boys. 😍 This is such a feel-good song, and the video is super cute.
Stray Kids - Lalala
Not my favorite of theirs, but it was fine. As usual, I enjoy it when they make use of Felix's deep voice in their songs.
Taemin - Guilty
TAEMIN IS BACK, BABY! This was the comeback I was most excited for all year and it did not disappoint. I absolutely loved the haunting vocals of the song itself, the choreo was predictably incredible, and the MV was so intense. (I also highly recommend watching the trailer, which is more of a prequel and contains footage not seen in the actual MV.) God, he's just so good.
I loved the rest of the album as well.
The Boyz - Lip Gloss
Cute!
TXT - Chasing That Feeling
I really liked The Name Chapter: Temptation album in the first half of 2023 (several of the songs made my top 100 songs for the year on Spotify Wrapped, with "Devil By the Window" being the highest, and my fave off the album) and I liked their English collabs as well, particularly Back For More, so I was looking forward to this comeback quite a bit, too, and really enjoyed this song as well. It's super catchy.
Haven't Watched Yet
Hwasa - I Love My Body
Itzy - Born to Be
Jeon Somi - Fast Forward, Gold Gold Gold
Jihyo - Killin' Me Good
Kiss of Life - Shhh
Mamamoo+ - dangdang
NMIXX - Sonar (Breaker)
Odd Eye Circle - Air Force One
Oneus - Baila Conmigo
Siyeon - 시작
StayC - Bubble
The Boyz - Watch It
Viviz - Maniac
WayV - On My Youth
Woodz - Amnesia
Xikers - Do or Die, Homeboy
Zerobaseone - In Bloom
Other
Some July-December songs that didn't make it onto the poll atparadisediner (plus one from February that didn't make their January-June poll), but that I liked a lot.
As I mentioned in my Spotify Wrapped post last month, I loved DPR Ian's "Don't Go Insane" and have been listening to it a lot lately. I also really liked Limbo, which released on YouTube Dec 30 but sadly still isn't on Spotify. 😭
I read Kpopalypse, who is extremely and often abrasively opinionated (the man has scarcely met a BTS song that didn't make him want to vomit, as far as I can tell, and his track record with Seventeen is little better), because I find it fun to see where our opinions overlap and where I completely disagree with him. Loona is a group that's still on my list to check out more at some point, but he raved about Chuu's "Aliens" enough that I listened to it and ended up loving it, too. Very pretty song!
I also had to see what the Korean aunties were making such a fuss about and really enjoyed Lim Young Woong's "Do or Die".
A February release that I discovered late in the year in other people's "favorite K-pop songs of 2023" roundups (not Kpopalypse's, though it did make his list as well) and thought was quite catchy was "New Look" by tripleS.
paradisediner has a poll going to determine favorite K-pop releases of the second half of 2023, and the choice of number one was a LOT easier for me than the first half of 2023. Taemin's "Guilty", of course! Here's my thoughts on the other contenders.
⚠️ a lot of videos behind the cut; many have flashing, rapid cuts, and other potential visual triggers, and a few have content warnings - feel free to ask in comments for details!
aespa - Better Things
aespa is a group I keep trying and keep finding myself just not clicking with their music, but this might be my favorite song I've heard from them yet. Very pretty!
Ateez - Crazy Form
Didn't rewire my brain in the same way "Bouncy" did in June, but a fun song and a fun video!
Billlie - BYOB (Bring Your Own Best Friend)
Billlie is one of the many K-pop groups I keep meaning to check out more, but I did think this song was cute.
IVE - Either Way, Off the Record, Baddie
"I Am" in the first half of the year was one of my favorite songs of 2023, and I really enjoyed "Either Way" and "Off the Record" as well. I thought they were both quite pretty and had good hummable choruses, though of the two I seem to find "Either Way" in my head a little more often. Baddie was less to my personal taste, although the giant cats in the MV were fun.
I listened to a ton of IVE (both new releases and older ones) throughout the second half of the year, in fact - I think they're increasingly becoming my favorite 4th gen girl group.
Jungkook - Seven (ft. Latto)
The MV was hilarious and I liked the song, although I liked the MJ vibes in "Standing Next To You" enough that I might prefer that one overall.
Key - Good and Great
As I said in the January-June post, I pretty consistently love Key's solo music. "Killer" was 11th overall and 4th out of all 2023 releases on my top 100 songs on Spotify Wrapped, and 3rd overall and 2nd out of 2023 releases on YouTube Music, so it's definitely safe to crown it as one of my favorite songs of 2023. It's a great song, great choreo, great video... just objectively excellent in every way. "Good & Great" didn't wow me to quite the same degree, but it's a fun song and a fun video, and I loved Key's sparkly corset top, as well as the TikTok challenge he did with Minho and Taemin.
I liked CoolAs, too. Nobody in K-pop works harder for the gays than Kim Kibum.
NCT 127 - Fact Check
Someday I will get less intimidated by the number of members and sub-groups in NCT and pay more consistent attention to them. 😰 TBH, this one mostly landed on my radar due to Taemin killing the choreo in the Tiktok challenge he did with Mark and Taeyong, but it is catchy!
NCT U - Marine Turtle
I thought this was a pleasant song, but was disappointed that the MV contained no turtles.
NewJeans - Super Shy, New Jeans, Cool With You, Get Up, ETA, ASAP
"Super Shy" continued the string of NewJeans songs (see also: OMG, Ditto, Hype Boy) that got thoroughly stuck in my head (it's starting up again even as I type this) and I liked the waacking-inspired choreo; the rest were pleasant (the girls have pretty voices) but made less of an impression.
Red Velvet - Chill Kill
This is one of those songs that has a lot of individual elements that I like, but didn't quite cohere into something that made me want to listen to it again and again. Maybe if I did, it eventually would? Interestingly creepy vibes to the MV, though.
RIIZE - Get a Guitar
I really liked the funk vibes of this one! Fun choreo, too! I also enjoyed the cute Tiktok video some of the Seventeen boys did for it.
Seventeen - God of Music
My boys. 😍 This is such a feel-good song, and the video is super cute.
Stray Kids - Lalala
Not my favorite of theirs, but it was fine. As usual, I enjoy it when they make use of Felix's deep voice in their songs.
Taemin - Guilty
TAEMIN IS BACK, BABY! This was the comeback I was most excited for all year and it did not disappoint. I absolutely loved the haunting vocals of the song itself, the choreo was predictably incredible, and the MV was so intense. (I also highly recommend watching the trailer, which is more of a prequel and contains footage not seen in the actual MV.) God, he's just so good.
I loved the rest of the album as well.
The Boyz - Lip Gloss
Cute!
TXT - Chasing That Feeling
I really liked The Name Chapter: Temptation album in the first half of 2023 (several of the songs made my top 100 songs for the year on Spotify Wrapped, with "Devil By the Window" being the highest, and my fave off the album) and I liked their English collabs as well, particularly Back For More, so I was looking forward to this comeback quite a bit, too, and really enjoyed this song as well. It's super catchy.
Haven't Watched Yet
Hwasa - I Love My Body
Itzy - Born to Be
Jeon Somi - Fast Forward, Gold Gold Gold
Jihyo - Killin' Me Good
Kiss of Life - Shhh
Mamamoo+ - dangdang
NMIXX - Sonar (Breaker)
Odd Eye Circle - Air Force One
Oneus - Baila Conmigo
Siyeon - 시작
StayC - Bubble
The Boyz - Watch It
Viviz - Maniac
WayV - On My Youth
Woodz - Amnesia
Xikers - Do or Die, Homeboy
Zerobaseone - In Bloom
Other
Some July-December songs that didn't make it onto the poll at
paradisediner (plus one from February that didn't make their January-June poll), but that I liked a lot.As I mentioned in my Spotify Wrapped post last month, I loved DPR Ian's "Don't Go Insane" and have been listening to it a lot lately. I also really liked Limbo, which released on YouTube Dec 30 but sadly still isn't on Spotify. 😭
I read Kpopalypse, who is extremely and often abrasively opinionated (the man has scarcely met a BTS song that didn't make him want to vomit, as far as I can tell, and his track record with Seventeen is little better), because I find it fun to see where our opinions overlap and where I completely disagree with him. Loona is a group that's still on my list to check out more at some point, but he raved about Chuu's "Aliens" enough that I listened to it and ended up loving it, too. Very pretty song!
I also had to see what the Korean aunties were making such a fuss about and really enjoyed Lim Young Woong's "Do or Die".
A February release that I discovered late in the year in other people's "favorite K-pop songs of 2023" roundups (not Kpopalypse's, though it did make his list as well) and thought was quite catchy was "New Look" by tripleS.
