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| Me after finishing writing this shitty list |
This is a list of KPop songs that I liked in 2020 gathered all in one place, so that I could easily find them in the future. The numbers are not set in stone and possibly will change with time in my head. There are shit ton of videos embedded. I hope my laptop doesn't die when I open this post, haha.
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SM makes good choruses when everyone sings together, but everything else can be whatever. For instance, here out-of-place pre-chorus is a vocal bullshitery as well as breakdown. It doesn’t matter that they try to make it sound pleasant, the verses are some lukewarm bs too.
Saying all that, this is just a serviceable filler go-to song when I get tired of everything.
73. MAMAMOO – TRAVEL
I think I missed good alternative rock songs this year unlike in 2018-2019. For example, 2Z’s 25 is decent until that shit chorus comes in. Their cheesy My 1st hero was a bit better because of not totally shitty chorus and great rap part at the end. The Solutions’s Run – cool edgy guitar and that’s it. I don’t even remember what their title track sounded like.
This soft rock is not the best and I don’t listen to this song too often, because of the sad undertones, but it’s ok for occasional listening. The verses are decent in this song, but I like bass drum in the chorus the most, windy sounds – not so much.
71. BASSAGONG – GO FIRST
Lovely wholesome guitar melody here. Pre-chorus is kinda lame with whiny singing. The singing in the actual chorus, though, is much better.
70. PINK FANTASY – SHADOW PLAY
When big KPop companies delve into “non-American” pop sound, they often come up with some weak ass bullshit. They do sometimes make fun stuff, but that’s when a group’s whole sound itself is an outlier. Small companies, on the other hand, are a bit different in their approach. Such heavy exotic sound from a group of seemingly thicc girls is a breath of fresh air sonically and visually.
69. WEKI MEKI – COOL
For some singing in this song might be a turn off, but not for me. I feel cool while trying to sing along, haha.
68. N.O.M - I'M NOT BUT
A rare KPop song where rap parts are better than the chorus. This hard gay sexy boy shit is so fascinating to look at and listen to.
67. BEWHY – ALGORITHM
Korean JayZ/Kanye East’s English rap sounds quite impressive to me since I have an atrocious accent while speaking English and it’s way harder to rap in a non-native language. The chorus, however, is the worst part.
66. SWINGS – MENTAL OF WINNER
Starts @ 22:06.
I don’t think Swings’ redemption arc will last long. Soon he’ll get back to his usual crazy antics, y’all. In meantime, I’ll enjoy this song, that Swings recorded while smiling with his usual clear flow, when it’s frolicking around with meme flute and when it’s not Lil Tachi’s part. I keep coming back to this song for the “Fuck a flow, fuck your motherfucking trendy shit” line, haha.
65. QM – MONEY
Flaunting shit phony rappers don’t own that QM briefly talks about in the song is a common thing in the rapper world. Starting from the bottom and making tons of dough in the process of hard work &/or luck and boasting about it, I understand it, but showing off shit you don’t really own is pretty lame. In reality, there’re a lot of cases where idols and rappers like QM who have to have several jobs just to be able to put food on the table and keep doing what they love, because music is a commodity and it’s hard to sell.
I like QM. It’s dope when rappers put souls into their bars. The lyrics elevate the song.
64. LILBOI, YANU, TAKEONE – MOVES
SMTM ruined a whole generation of boys as can be seen in the MV and I seem to be one of them, because I don’t dislike this song. I’m here mainly for lil boi. His rhythmic “inconsiderate raps” and chorus over the non-existent beat carry this song. I need to have bullshit rap songs like this in my playlist to feel like I’m dope while I’m taking a walk, haha. I don’t feel strong about the last filler rapper.
63. JUNOFLO – BONEZ
I may be a third world chigga, but everyone sounds dope to me here, haha. Interesting how Jay’s and the other guy’s English sound considering Jay spent a large part of his life living in Korea and $tupid Young didn’t.
61. LEE SUHYUN – ALIEN
This song is so sticky like a bubblegum. I listened to it once and now I can’t get it out of my head. Help.
60. LEE BADA – EMPTY ROOM
Lee Bada in general has decent songs hard-carried by her honey vocals. This pleasant song is no exception. The verses might be slow, but the chorus picks up with drum beat and occasional uplifting brass.
59. LEE HI – HOLO
I hate ballads and RnBullshit songs, but sometimes I like an occasional song of these genre. Organ instrument, cool opera adlibs, powerful soulful chorus and pleasant Lee Hi vocals is a good mix.
58. SE SO NEON – MIDNIGHT TRAIN
I feel very anxious while listening to this song. So Yoon’s unique androgynous voice adds to the sad atmosphere of the song. In addition, the intro reminds me of SIMS 2 OST for some reason. This emotional connection is probably why I like this song. It might be a bit depressing at the start, but it starts to rock with hi-hats and plugged in electro guitars towards the end.
57. WONHO – OPEN MIND
While I don’t care about most of the song and I don’t find Wonho attractive, this song showed me that I need to keep an open mind towards people of his kind. Hulks want to have casual sex just like regular homo sapiens and want to proclaim the desire through their songs. Hulks have been learning the art of music production for quite some time. “Open Mind” is a first successful example of such efforts. Better groovy melody and deep electro strings in the chorus help this song a lot.
56. PH-1, GOLDEN, BIG NAUGHTY, JAY PARK – OSCAR
This year was not that good for AOMG/H1GHR/etc when not the strongest song like this makes it into myshitty deluxe playlist. The nostalgia
did the heavy lifting here. Sentimental 2000s sound with occasional brass has
this vibe that songs from my childhood had even though I can’t name any at
the moment, haha. The best part of the song is the young dude. I keep
repeating his “Oh oh oh 잠깐만이여. Oh no oh 잠깐 wait me up. 어 아 음 길을 물으려. 하는 건 아냐 사실 할말이 있어서” part the most. Meanwhile, mister CEO himself had the
shittiest part.
I bet Golden expected to be given quality songs to resurrect his career when he signed with H1GHR instead of whatever forgettable bullshit he was getting instead before removing himself from the label. You will be missed, G-Soul.
55. LAYONE – OH TAE SIK
I like Layone’s catchy staccato sing-songy almost trot-like flow that he displays here.
Also wanted to note his other song from the same album as an example of a 2000s-ish Hip-Pop style, that isn’t made anymore.
54. BOA – L.O.V.E
While “Better” brings back some aight early 2000s vibes, I enjoyed this conservative retro throwback more. I can’t help liking this upbeat disco track with Boa’s chick pop vocals sitting on a groovy ass bass.
53. NATURE – GIRLS
To think this is the same group that debuted with the surprising “You'll be mine”. The new direction the girls took this time is alright The breakdown is whatever and trap post-chorus is silly, but Timbaland ehs along with tense intro melody loop and seemingly natural vocals in verses are quite good.
52. LUCY – JOGGING
Reminds me of JPop songs that utilize similar sound. I don’t know if it’s achieved through the usage of violins or keyboard, but it’s cool and it’s the highlight of the song.
51.B1A4 – TONIGHT
Just a simple slick pop with a catchy chorus involving Sweetune-ish fast-paced guitar in the background. It’s cool there’s no slow show-off singing in the breakdown, but instead sing-along approach like in BAP’s “Go” is used.
50. DRIPPIN – NOSTALGIA
This song remembers old KPop where bands with dumb names were releasing songs in which decent chorus overpowered the whole song.
49. SUPERM – ONE (MONSTER & INFINITY)
Funny how NCT 2.0 say, ‘Watch me deliver every time’, and semi-deliver only once with this song. I would have placed WayV’s “Turn Back Time” here instead, if the other parts of that song besides “minute by minute” chorus weren’t so utterly forgettable. If I were to represent both songs via graphs, “One” would be a more flattened version of “Turn Back Time”.
Out of some happy inoffensive songs from 2020 (fromis_9’s “Feel Good”, MOMOLAND’s “Ready Or Not”) I liked this disco number the most. What was particularly notable to me in this song is that I liked practically all of the vocal lines. I often don’t like how vocal parts or voices sound in verses (more often) or choruses (less often, EXID comes to mind) in many KPop songs. The minus of this song, however, it’s that it doesn’t have high replayability factor and can get boring with time.
Bonus point for diversifying an already established girl group by including a male member.
47. HWASA – I'M BAD TOO
I don’t know if it’s my DPR Live bias or Hwasa bias clouding my ears, but I found this “live” performance very feel-good kind of experience.
46. RICH BRIAN & EAJ OF DAY6 – LOVE IN MY POCKET
It’s a retro repetitive pop I listen to from time to time. Adding Jay from Day6 was an ok choice, the second verse isn’t as repetitive now as in the OG version before the best part in the form of Rich Brian’s rap comes in. The fun-edited MV full of meme spirit is pretty fun to watch.
45. ITZY – TING TING TING
It’s a decent club pop where ITZY girls don’t suffocate me with their screamy at times vocals in the chorus. This should turned into a test where the objective is to guess who sings what line Red Velvet style. Or better yet – additionally mix up the pictures of the girls to mislead the watcher. I’m pretty sure I’ll suck at both – identifying the girls by their names and by their lines, haha.
44. FAKE DYNAMIC DUO – GO BACK
I feel attacked how this show mocks my potential future rapper career, because if I was a rapper I’d rap exactly like that, haha.
This trappified clown version of Dynamic Duo’s “Go Back” is of course inferior, but I’m grateful that Adibas SMTM pointed out the existence of that great song in the first place, that’s why it’s here. If the original version came out in 2020 it’d be the first on my list or my-fave-KHip-Hop-songs-of-all-time list, no doubt. The OG song brings back comfy & honest “Home Made Kazoku” and “Bone Thugs-n-Harmony” Hip-RnB vibes.
43. SUMIN – ZAZA♡
I like the 8-bit windy sound that you can hear in old Sega games. Makes me feel sentimental.
41. CL – POST UP
Yep, CL came back doper than ever, wearing even more ridiculous high fashion that only she can pull off. Dope rap. Dope dance. Dope metallic drum beat. Dope windy whistle sound at the end like in good ol’ Hip-Hop.
40. JACKSON WANG & GALANTIS – PRETTY PLEASE
Didn’t expect this kind of Hong Kong films aesthetic from the MV for this type of song. Either way, the song is weird and catchy.
39. SUNMI – PPORAPPIPPAM
Another noice song of Sunmi who found a consistent formula that works for her. The verses are a bit too depressing (I’ve felt the same with “Noir”) for my tastes and the sudden pre-chorus is too sudden, but the chorus is really comfy with that fast-paced funky guitar and magical flute.
38. DREAMCATCHER – SCREAM
It took me a while to get used to this song, because I wasn’t that fond of the guitar riff in the chorus at the beginning. Maybe Devil signs that the girls perform in the MV manipulated me into eventually liking this song. Or dope red dance scenes. Or not-Dami rap. Or orchestra singing. I don’t know.
37. JACKSON WANG – 100 WAYS
Passable Westaboo verses saved by the awesome metallic bass chorus, catchy lyrics and cool deiton ninjutsu techniques. If only Bort was as cool as this.
I showed this to my older brother who is not into KPop and he also liked both the song and the dance.
36. ITZY – WANNABE
I nearly dislocated my shoulders attempting Ryujin’s cool looking shoulder dance simultaneously making this bratty song grow on me in the process of repeated viewing. And I’m not the only one.
I would rate parts of this song this way: 1st verse, rocking chorus: part 2 [“I don’t wanna be somebody. I wanna be me…”], intro > pre-chorus > chorus: part 1 >>> 2nd verse >>>>>>>> empty breakdown.
35. LOONA – WHY NOT?
This song is so weird. There is too much fucking around, but when it gets good, it gets good. I got used to childish singing in the chorus. Pseudo raps are fine to me. The 2nd verse stays shit, tho.
Sorry, Suga, you might have looked really hot in the thumbnail of “Daechwita” and made me even remember a film about gay samurais for some reason, but I prefer this cool Outsider spitting fire over fast-paced traditional beat. Hope he continues to rap over modern dope beats too.
33. DPR IAN – SO BEAUTIFUL
Nice whistly tune, decent from start to finish, but can get boring with time. I don’t know why this song also made me remember fangus zombies in TLOU. I wish I had as much creativity as DPR team does.
32. ZICO – NO YOU CAN'T
To remind people that he’s also a rapper, Zico felt the need to include a rap song with a simple tough beat in his album for me to add in my playlist to feel dope, haha. Mind you, I didn’t hate the relatable “Any Song” or “Korean Anime” (how dare these normies translate “manhwa movie”
title to “cartoon”? Reeee!!!), but they were alright at best.
Zico makes the beat in this song more engaging with his bumpy flow and some funny English at the end.
31. NAFLA – GUCCI GIRL
I listened to this song a lot before C19 lockdowns while walking home from work. It reminds me of those songs from 2000s with that peppershaker beat and fade-out. nafla’s rap is catchy, especially in the 2nd verse.
30. K/DA – I’LL SHOW YOU
This song is on a generic side, reserved for times when I get sick of everything. I like “I’ll Show You” more than its counterparts (Elris’ “This Is Me” or Loona’s “Hide & Seek”) that have pleasant harmless electro pop feel with gentle vocals on top and whatever breakdown.
29. GFRIEND – APPLE
Everyone ejaculates over “Mago”, but for me, “Apple” is where it’s at. GFriend’s usual overabundant dying whale vocals in “Mago” just turn me off and the type of retro sound emulated in “Mago” is not my cup of tea. “Apple”, on the other hand, is one of the rare songs of Gfriend, where I could mostly stand the vocals, probably because they’re subdued so much here. Yeah, the mature classy sexy “Apple” lacks some oomf in the backing track, but “We o wow wow wow wow” does the job for me.
28. DPR IAN – ZOMBIE POP
Starts @ 0:50 after Ian’s intro spoken in a sexy Aussie accent.
Large part of why I enjoyed “Surf’s Up” comes from the songs that were used in that movie. “Zombie Pop” has this soft carefree ocean feel like the songs from that film. Combine this happy pop rock track with a beautiful scenery and you’ve got a nice combo.
27. OOHYO – BRAVE
Absolutely beautiful with pleasant bass line and occasional trumpets. It could be boring, but this polite uplifting bop is not.
26. DREAMCATCHER – BLACK OR WHITE
Dreamcatcher’s songs don’t seem to work that well on me, for some reason. Maybe it’s because I don’t understand commercialized “prettified” metal/normal metal in general, or their singing is the culprit. I don’t know. What I do know is that “Black or White” being one of their more accessible songs that is less on the metal side is pretty noice, ‘cos of cool guitar melody and orchestra bits.
25. BLACKPINK – LOVESICK GIRLS
It’s like YG decided to set this melodic Americaboo pop song driven by guitars free after it was hidden in YG’s basement all this time for some reason. That’s good since the same song that BP was releasing every couple of years started to become quite stale.
Great BP don’t sound like Sean Paul in the chorus, as it often happens in KPop songs when there are English lyrics involved. Singing in the chorus sounds dope to me since I’m not a fluent English speaker and I myself probably sound like Sean Paul when I speak in English, haha.
24. STRAY KIDS – BACK DOOR
This song starts so good and then the EDM parts and subpar auto-tuned Bangchan’s parts and Hyunjin “raps” significantly cheapen it. I wish more of that funk was present throughout the whole song.
23. STAYC – SO BAD
What a strong debut we have here that latches on an actual good retro trend. This is quite enjoyable tense cyber sugar rush, for sure. The vocal melody in the chorus didn’t go where I expected, but my initial slight disappointment with the chorus wore off with time. Deceivingly deep singing that is less common in KPop makes the song and the group stand out among STAYC’s peers.
22. ERIC NAM – PARADISE
This song grew on me, because of the brass instrument at the start. Tense atmosphere in the chorus followed by peculiar after-chorus instrumental with thrilling spiky hiccups in between is also the culprit.
21. STRAY KIDS – GOD’S MENU
Now this song is quite an aggressive fast-paced electronic Hip-Hop banger, but feels flatter every time I listen to it. 2/3 of 3RACHA are the best parts of this song. The worst parts – non-rapper parts. Felix is the exception with his majestic voice deeper than Mariana trench. Bangchan and Hyunjin’s “raps” are a miss for me, especially Hyunjin’s. Man, that “…하다면“ “rap” doesn’t sound good at all.
I remember hating checking out Leellamarz’ songs every week, ‘cos of his prolificacy the same level as Jay Park’s at some point in time resulting into me having to listen to his trendy at that time Hip-Hop/RnBullshit every week. His songs got a bit better with time, I guess, and even Beenzino started to like his songs something he of course had to brag about in some of his shitty rap songs (probably this one). Despite his senpai noticing him, none of his forgettable numerous songs following Zino’s respekt receival grabbed me enough until “629-6” came out with its great chorus and intriguing verses.
Groovy Room probably freestyled this beat on the spot while Justhis freestyled his rap. The resulting non-trap beat (thankfully) doesn’t steal the light from Justhis and his raw bumpy trademarked flow. Justhis drops some gold nuggets here dissing 80 % fake rappers and his own fans too, ‘cos why the fuck not.
It feels like the beat reflects the mood of an audience anticipating Justhis’ return. It almost like it says, “Look, Justhis is back by by by by by popular demand. Bow down, bitch” towards the end. Truly a climax to climax to.
18. HITCHHIKER X SOKODOMO – SUGAR
This is actually super catchy and probably the most normal Hitchhiker song there is. It’s really captivating from the start due to the dope magical sound mixed with heavy drum beat. Sokodomo’s colorful staccato up-and-down flow fits really well and makes this already engaging beat even more engaging. While “Sugar” is sure fascinating, it can get boring with time, because of its repetitive nature. Moreover, the parts where it slows down are kind of annoying.
17. 1THE9 – BAD GUY
I just didn’t expect the angsty tense chorus with big drum beat and appropriately dramatic not screamy singing. Apparently, it’s 1THE9’s last song. Better go out with a bang, I guess.
The dope intro grabs me every time with its deep bass and cool ass staccato guitar sounds. I’d rather the song ended by fading out than however it did.
15. BABYLON – NICE WEATHER
This is a rare minimalistic ballad driven by acoustic guitar that I don’t despise. I tend to hate songs from Crush clones, but sometimes, even they are capable of releasing something that doesn’t completely suck. If that curious guitar sound leading to nice chorus and great after-chorus didn’t spark my interest from the beginning I would have closed the tab in a couple seconds like I often do with shitty ballads at the first encounter. On the low point, the song is already short as it is and of course, Gaho poisons it by showing off his vocals in the breakdown. Idgaf how good you can sing, dude.
14. YOURA – SWIM (VIRUS EDIT)
It’s a pure bliss when Youra’s super catchy “Hey baby baby. Let's go swimming pool yeah” line over dope guitar in the chorus combines with after-chorus’ memorable jazzy melody at the end.
13. TAEMIN – CRIMINAL
Honestly, I didn’t give a fuck about Taeman’s mature songs. His go-to I-am-a-serious-dancer-ok-and-I-am-not-a-kid-anymore sound was very dull and I don’t even remember how any of his songs went. This was before “Criminal”, where he managed to change some of the bits so the result remained sultry, but was no longer boring. I love how this song gets stronger towards the end when the silky chorus full of synths meets Taemin’s powered-up vocals and dance.
12. NUCKSAL – AKIRA
VMC likes deep ass bass guitar and “natural” band instruments and tries to utilize them for every artist signed to them, but most of the time the result is boring to listen to. After several failed attempts, VMC’s in-house producers seemed to make the formula finally work, thus “Akira” was born. This time the beat is not boring at all and the MC is Nucksal, who unlike Deepflow is fun to listen to. The result is not too heavy, yet upbeat.
“Akira” lures the listener in with the addicting bass guitar melody. Constant Middle-Eastern/African drumbeat slightly hidden in the background makes the song feel full and busy. Piano that kicks in after the honest raw shaky vocal intro and piercing fast-car sound in the chorus give futuristic vibe to the song. Gaeko doesn’t rap in this song, but it’s ok. His (?) shaky at times singing is fine. I love the song ending on a happy note due to synths sounding like hope and future. Drum freestyle at the end is dope.
11. TWICE – I CAN'T STOP ME
Chasing after 80's rush Twice decided to rival other girl groups following the same trend, adding a pinch of familiar Twice touch to their interpretation, since they just couldn’t have competed with other girl groups’ dope 80's inspired come backs having a weak ass “More and More”. That’s why there’s a sense of urgency in the singing in the memorable melodic chorus and the background of the song. It isn’t the best song of its kind, but it’s still pretty great.
10. GOLDEN CHILD – ONE
Remember when Infinite started their career and every member looked different? Now all of them are undisguisable Sungyeol-Myungsoo copies wearing the same uniforms in newer Woolim groups. I felt similar about Golcha’s songs until Infinite’s descendants has finally shown something unique.
Even though I like some of Gray songs and I think he’s capable of producing really dope beats, I find most of his stuff kind of boring. Seems, he put more time/soul/effort into this track since it’s his first song for a KPop idol group. I really like the result. Most of the vocal lines almost sounding like they come from Gray himself are not annoying. In fact the vocals are very pleasant, especially the “소리없이 스며오는 넌 … 널 가질 거야 Never go back” parts. The awkward pre-chorus coming after that doesn’t work for me, however. It feels out of place and too-attention-grabby just like that girl in the MV. Thankfully, the smooth groovy chorus and the breakdown didn’t go the same direction as the pre-chorus.
Boycold, I’m waiting for your break-through into KPop idol music production next!
That blondie should replace a female actress in one of KANA-BOON MVs to create this cool ying-yang mirror effect, haha.
8. WOO – USED TO
I may be slobbing on Woo’s knob too much, but I think he’s the best part of AOMG at the moment. I expected a lot from pH-1 and sogumm, but their current work in AOMG is so-so. It’s pretty sweet that Woo makes his own weird melancholic abstract music in his own bubble trying to stay away from copypasta Hip-Hop trends. This song is reserved for times when I feel like shit.
7. TWICE – MAKE ME GO
Kikwang tried doing something sexy like this, but paid 99% attention to the choreography rather than the actual song. “Make Me Go” might be as “minimal”, but not as boring with those peculiar staccato clicking sounds, brief sax bits and “You make me go” Jihyo adlibs. Kikwang should learn from Nayeon how to make sexy head-bobbing songs.
6. LOONA – STAR
Who the fuck knows why Blockberry didn’t release this classy 80's interpretation as a title track, but what everyone knows is it’s a pretty damn good no bullshit song: there’s no silly pointless rap or overabundance of vocals in the breakdown or anywhere else, for instance. The whole song is delightful, but what draws me the most is a super catchy instrumental after-chorus, which appears from 2:19.
5. OOHYO – QUIET NIGHT
This is good kind of depressing, reserved for special mood. When I first heard the guitar melody I thought about how this song evoked similar emotions in me as “Feel Good Inc.” for some reason. I don’t know if this is right musically, but I wish hi-hats were more pronounced in the beat. One of those big-ass horns help boost the energy in the chorus and add a bit of romantic sentimental feeling to this song. The ending where louder distorted alien sounds accompanied by filtered echoes are introduced is absolutely ethereal.
4. EVERGLOW – LA DI DA DI DA SLOB ON ME KNOB, HATERS
Being so anti-hater and naturally pro-fan oriented “LA DI DA” caters to fans’ pleas for equal line distribution almost to its detriment. I don’t think anyone asked for that pace-breaking rap section in the 2nd verse or the weak breakdown, which slightly ruins a cool preceding guitar solo’s efforts. Even if I was a “Forever” (who the fuck thinks of these fandom names, bruh), I
wouldn’t give a fuck about line distributions. I can’t distinguish nor their voices,
nor the girls themselves anyway, haha. Thankfully, these weak parts don’t take
too much time and the awesome energy prevails throughout the song from the very
start. That isn’t to say vocals were awful or useless, absolutely not.
Expressive vocals worked in tandem with triumphant synth to create powerful
atmosphere in the chorus.
Everglow single-handedly saved KPop by commencing the trend of tough futuristic 80’s-esque songs with attitude. Even though songs of this style started to come out after Everglow paved the way, I think “LA DI DA” is the best of its kind among similar 2020s songs.
I think “Geronimo”, “No Rescue Needed” and a brief pop rock from “To Whoever” are the best tracks on the album and those that have MVs are the least enjoyable. Let me shine a light on my favorite one of the trio.
When I’ve first discovered DPR Live through Know Me, I was at low point of my life. I was graduating from uni at that time and I felt suicidal. There were always periods where I felt like this, but I haven’t felt as strong as at that time. Luckily (or not) my half-assed attempts didn’t lead anywhere and I still exist, apparently. I remember listening to “Know Me” along with Joyner Lucas’ “I’m Sorry” a lot at that time. This emotional connection further lifted my enjoyment of the already great “Know Me”, that I initially repeated non-stop at the first encounter.
I felt similar when I first heard “Geronimo”. Both, “Know Me” and “Geronimo” are kinda weird. I haven’t heard something like this in KPop before, which might be one of the reasons I am drawn to these songs. This song might start slow, but it picks up with every “There is no high” part. Waves of emotions rise inside me when I hear the last “There is no high” part when pulsating beat comes in and countdown begins. I like to blast this part at high volume. I don’t feel so strongly about the last rap. “I’ve got nowhere to run” parts, however, are ight, cool. The fact that “Geronimo” feels short and the best part is revealed towards the end makes me repeat “Geronimo” over and over again.
2. APINK – DUMHDURUM
Nu-Pink continue exploring retro style of “%%” while sounding as different from others. “%%” was a nice change for A-Pink’s music direction, but the small problem was – I didn’t like how most of the vocals sounded in “%%”. Dumhdumrum, however, doesn’t suffer from this problem. Pleasant vocals over groovy bass line richer than Rich Evans with a magnificent repeating instrumental melody in the intro and the chorus is a strong combo, not gonna lie.
1. STRAY KIDS – HELLO STRANGER
I don’t know all the ins and outs of music production, but if I were to imagine scenario behind the song’s creation, this is probably how it went.
I don’t know what happened next, but it seems 3RACHA were allowed to do it their own way after all.
“Hello Stranger” is punchy, melodic and is glazed with SKZ playfulness. There is such an infectious hype coming from the members in the chorus, it is impossible not to be affected by it. I’m a sad fuck in general and this song provides the good vibe energy that I seek.
76. BIBI – KAZINO
This cringy song grew on me, when I was rewatching the MV bunch of
times, because I found the story dope. I’d watch a film based on this MV. Tiger
JK already looks like a mob boss, so he should be in the movie too.
75. DKB – SORRY MAMA
75. DKB – SORRY MAMA
Utterly forgettable Hip-Hoppy verses are a waste of time here, but the
chorus grabs me for some reason. Them apologizing to their mamas for everything
else in the song being shit besides chorus is a plus.
74. WAYV – BAD ALIVE
74. WAYV – BAD ALIVE
SM makes good choruses when everyone sings together, but everything else can be whatever. For instance, here out-of-place pre-chorus is a vocal bullshitery as well as breakdown. It doesn’t matter that they try to make it sound pleasant, the verses are some lukewarm bs too.
Saying all that, this is just a serviceable filler go-to song when I get tired of everything.
73. MAMAMOO – TRAVEL
I think I missed good alternative rock songs this year unlike in 2018-2019. For example, 2Z’s 25 is decent until that shit chorus comes in. Their cheesy My 1st hero was a bit better because of not totally shitty chorus and great rap part at the end. The Solutions’s Run – cool edgy guitar and that’s it. I don’t even remember what their title track sounded like.
This soft rock is not the best and I don’t listen to this song too often, because of the sad undertones, but it’s ok for occasional listening. The verses are decent in this song, but I like bass drum in the chorus the most, windy sounds – not so much.
71. BASSAGONG – GO FIRST
Lovely wholesome guitar melody here. Pre-chorus is kinda lame with whiny singing. The singing in the actual chorus, though, is much better.
70. PINK FANTASY – SHADOW PLAY
When big KPop companies delve into “non-American” pop sound, they often come up with some weak ass bullshit. They do sometimes make fun stuff, but that’s when a group’s whole sound itself is an outlier. Small companies, on the other hand, are a bit different in their approach. Such heavy exotic sound from a group of seemingly thicc girls is a breath of fresh air sonically and visually.
69. WEKI MEKI – COOL
For some singing in this song might be a turn off, but not for me. I feel cool while trying to sing along, haha.
68. N.O.M - I'M NOT BUT
A rare KPop song where rap parts are better than the chorus. This hard gay sexy boy shit is so fascinating to look at and listen to.
67. BEWHY – ALGORITHM
Korean JayZ/Kanye East’s English rap sounds quite impressive to me since I have an atrocious accent while speaking English and it’s way harder to rap in a non-native language. The chorus, however, is the worst part.
66. SWINGS – MENTAL OF WINNER
Starts @ 22:06.
I don’t think Swings’ redemption arc will last long. Soon he’ll get back to his usual crazy antics, y’all. In meantime, I’ll enjoy this song, that Swings recorded while smiling with his usual clear flow, when it’s frolicking around with meme flute and when it’s not Lil Tachi’s part. I keep coming back to this song for the “Fuck a flow, fuck your motherfucking trendy shit” line, haha.
65. QM – MONEY
Flaunting shit phony rappers don’t own that QM briefly talks about in the song is a common thing in the rapper world. Starting from the bottom and making tons of dough in the process of hard work &/or luck and boasting about it, I understand it, but showing off shit you don’t really own is pretty lame. In reality, there’re a lot of cases where idols and rappers like QM who have to have several jobs just to be able to put food on the table and keep doing what they love, because music is a commodity and it’s hard to sell.
I like QM. It’s dope when rappers put souls into their bars. The lyrics elevate the song.
64. LILBOI, YANU, TAKEONE – MOVES
SMTM ruined a whole generation of boys as can be seen in the MV and I seem to be one of them, because I don’t dislike this song. I’m here mainly for lil boi. His rhythmic “inconsiderate raps” and chorus over the non-existent beat carry this song. I need to have bullshit rap songs like this in my playlist to feel like I’m dope while I’m taking a walk, haha. I don’t feel strong about the last filler rapper.
63. JUNOFLO – BONEZ
I may be a third world chigga, but everyone sounds dope to me here, haha. Interesting how Jay’s and the other guy’s English sound considering Jay spent a large part of his life living in Korea and $tupid Young didn’t.
61. LEE SUHYUN – ALIEN
This song is so sticky like a bubblegum. I listened to it once and now I can’t get it out of my head. Help.
60. LEE BADA – EMPTY ROOM
Lee Bada in general has decent songs hard-carried by her honey vocals. This pleasant song is no exception. The verses might be slow, but the chorus picks up with drum beat and occasional uplifting brass.
59. LEE HI – HOLO
I hate ballads and RnBullshit songs, but sometimes I like an occasional song of these genre. Organ instrument, cool opera adlibs, powerful soulful chorus and pleasant Lee Hi vocals is a good mix.
58. SE SO NEON – MIDNIGHT TRAIN
I feel very anxious while listening to this song. So Yoon’s unique androgynous voice adds to the sad atmosphere of the song. In addition, the intro reminds me of SIMS 2 OST for some reason. This emotional connection is probably why I like this song. It might be a bit depressing at the start, but it starts to rock with hi-hats and plugged in electro guitars towards the end.
57. WONHO – OPEN MIND
While I don’t care about most of the song and I don’t find Wonho attractive, this song showed me that I need to keep an open mind towards people of his kind. Hulks want to have casual sex just like regular homo sapiens and want to proclaim the desire through their songs. Hulks have been learning the art of music production for quite some time. “Open Mind” is a first successful example of such efforts. Better groovy melody and deep electro strings in the chorus help this song a lot.
56. PH-1, GOLDEN, BIG NAUGHTY, JAY PARK – OSCAR
This year was not that good for AOMG/H1GHR/etc when not the strongest song like this makes it into my
I bet Golden expected to be given quality songs to resurrect his career when he signed with H1GHR instead of whatever forgettable bullshit he was getting instead before removing himself from the label. You will be missed, G-Soul.
55. LAYONE – OH TAE SIK
I like Layone’s catchy staccato sing-songy almost trot-like flow that he displays here.
Also wanted to note his other song from the same album as an example of a 2000s-ish Hip-Pop style, that isn’t made anymore.
54. BOA – L.O.V.E
While “Better” brings back some aight early 2000s vibes, I enjoyed this conservative retro throwback more. I can’t help liking this upbeat disco track with Boa’s chick pop vocals sitting on a groovy ass bass.
53. NATURE – GIRLS
To think this is the same group that debuted with the surprising “You'll be mine”. The new direction the girls took this time is alright The breakdown is whatever and trap post-chorus is silly, but Timbaland ehs along with tense intro melody loop and seemingly natural vocals in verses are quite good.
52. LUCY – JOGGING
Reminds me of JPop songs that utilize similar sound. I don’t know if it’s achieved through the usage of violins or keyboard, but it’s cool and it’s the highlight of the song.
51.
Just a simple slick pop with a catchy chorus involving Sweetune-ish fast-paced guitar in the background. It’s cool there’s no slow show-off singing in the breakdown, but instead sing-along approach like in BAP’s “Go” is used.
50. DRIPPIN – NOSTALGIA
This song remembers old KPop where bands with dumb names were releasing songs in which decent chorus overpowered the whole song.
49. SUPERM – ONE (MONSTER & INFINITY)
Funny how NCT 2.0 say, ‘Watch me deliver every time’, and semi-deliver only once with this song. I would have placed WayV’s “Turn Back Time” here instead, if the other parts of that song besides “minute by minute” chorus weren’t so utterly forgettable. If I were to represent both songs via graphs, “One” would be a more flattened version of “Turn Back Time”.
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| “Turn back time, I need to dump on them before I get dumped on” the chart |
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| The pattern known by professionals as “The Bart Simpson Chart Pattern” |
The verses in this song are carried by Lucas selling his ridiculous
cheesy lyrics, Mark and Taeyon (I don’t get the hype behind the guy, but I
gotta admit the 2nd verse part when he was leaning back after
stomping looks cool in the MV). Breakdown where the song slows down so that
non-rappers/non-talkers could sing something is the worst part. Triumphant
chorus sung by everyone at the top of their lungs in usual SM fashion is the
best part.
48. GWSN – BAZOOKA!
48. GWSN – BAZOOKA!
Out of some happy inoffensive songs from 2020 (fromis_9’s “Feel Good”, MOMOLAND’s “Ready Or Not”) I liked this disco number the most. What was particularly notable to me in this song is that I liked practically all of the vocal lines. I often don’t like how vocal parts or voices sound in verses (more often) or choruses (less often, EXID comes to mind) in many KPop songs. The minus of this song, however, it’s that it doesn’t have high replayability factor and can get boring with time.
Bonus point for diversifying an already established girl group by including a male member.
47. HWASA – I'M BAD TOO
I don’t know if it’s my DPR Live bias or Hwasa bias clouding my ears, but I found this “live” performance very feel-good kind of experience.
46. RICH BRIAN & EAJ OF DAY6 – LOVE IN MY POCKET
It’s a retro repetitive pop I listen to from time to time. Adding Jay from Day6 was an ok choice, the second verse isn’t as repetitive now as in the OG version before the best part in the form of Rich Brian’s rap comes in. The fun-edited MV full of meme spirit is pretty fun to watch.
45. ITZY – TING TING TING
It’s a decent club pop where ITZY girls don’t suffocate me with their screamy at times vocals in the chorus. This should turned into a test where the objective is to guess who sings what line Red Velvet style. Or better yet – additionally mix up the pictures of the girls to mislead the watcher. I’m pretty sure I’ll suck at both – identifying the girls by their names and by their lines, haha.
44. FAKE DYNAMIC DUO – GO BACK
I feel attacked how this show mocks my potential future rapper career, because if I was a rapper I’d rap exactly like that, haha.
This trappified clown version of Dynamic Duo’s “Go Back” is of course inferior, but I’m grateful that Adibas SMTM pointed out the existence of that great song in the first place, that’s why it’s here. If the original version came out in 2020 it’d be the first on my list or my-fave-KHip-Hop-songs-of-all-time list, no doubt. The OG song brings back comfy & honest “Home Made Kazoku” and “Bone Thugs-n-Harmony” Hip-RnB vibes.
43. SUMIN – ZAZA♡
I like the 8-bit windy sound that you can hear in old Sega games. Makes me feel sentimental.
41. CL – POST UP
Yep, CL came back doper than ever, wearing even more ridiculous high fashion that only she can pull off. Dope rap. Dope dance. Dope metallic drum beat. Dope windy whistle sound at the end like in good ol’ Hip-Hop.
40. JACKSON WANG & GALANTIS – PRETTY PLEASE
Didn’t expect this kind of Hong Kong films aesthetic from the MV for this type of song. Either way, the song is weird and catchy.
39. SUNMI – PPORAPPIPPAM
Another noice song of Sunmi who found a consistent formula that works for her. The verses are a bit too depressing (I’ve felt the same with “Noir”) for my tastes and the sudden pre-chorus is too sudden, but the chorus is really comfy with that fast-paced funky guitar and magical flute.
38. DREAMCATCHER – SCREAM
It took me a while to get used to this song, because I wasn’t that fond of the guitar riff in the chorus at the beginning. Maybe Devil signs that the girls perform in the MV manipulated me into eventually liking this song. Or dope red dance scenes. Or not-Dami rap. Or orchestra singing. I don’t know.
37. JACKSON WANG – 100 WAYS
Passable Westaboo verses saved by the awesome metallic bass chorus, catchy lyrics and cool deiton ninjutsu techniques. If only Bort was as cool as this.
I showed this to my older brother who is not into KPop and he also liked both the song and the dance.
36. ITZY – WANNABE
I nearly dislocated my shoulders attempting Ryujin’s cool looking shoulder dance simultaneously making this bratty song grow on me in the process of repeated viewing. And I’m not the only one.
I would rate parts of this song this way: 1st verse, rocking chorus: part 2 [“I don’t wanna be somebody. I wanna be me…”], intro > pre-chorus > chorus: part 1 >>> 2nd verse >>>>>>>> empty breakdown.
35. LOONA – WHY NOT?
This song is so weird. There is too much fucking around, but when it gets good, it gets good. I got used to childish singing in the chorus. Pseudo raps are fine to me. The 2nd verse stays shit, tho.
While this is not the
biggest blue-balling disappointment of 2020, it’s a pity, “Why Not?” gets
down to real business abruptly before it ends when the weird cyber sound
combines with the chorus.
34. GWANGIL JO – KOREA
34. GWANGIL JO – KOREA
Sorry, Suga, you might have looked really hot in the thumbnail of “Daechwita” and made me even remember a film about gay samurais for some reason, but I prefer this cool Outsider spitting fire over fast-paced traditional beat. Hope he continues to rap over modern dope beats too.
33. DPR IAN – SO BEAUTIFUL
Nice whistly tune, decent from start to finish, but can get boring with time. I don’t know why this song also made me remember fangus zombies in TLOU. I wish I had as much creativity as DPR team does.
32. ZICO – NO YOU CAN'T
To remind people that he’s also a rapper, Zico felt the need to include a rap song with a simple tough beat in his album for me to add in my playlist to feel dope, haha. Mind you, I didn’t hate the relatable “Any Song” or “Korean Anime” (
Zico makes the beat in this song more engaging with his bumpy flow and some funny English at the end.
31. NAFLA – GUCCI GIRL
I listened to this song a lot before C19 lockdowns while walking home from work. It reminds me of those songs from 2000s with that peppershaker beat and fade-out. nafla’s rap is catchy, especially in the 2nd verse.
30. K/DA – I’LL SHOW YOU
This song is on a generic side, reserved for times when I get sick of everything. I like “I’ll Show You” more than its counterparts (Elris’ “This Is Me” or Loona’s “Hide & Seek”) that have pleasant harmless electro pop feel with gentle vocals on top and whatever breakdown.
29. GFRIEND – APPLE
Everyone ejaculates over “Mago”, but for me, “Apple” is where it’s at. GFriend’s usual overabundant dying whale vocals in “Mago” just turn me off and the type of retro sound emulated in “Mago” is not my cup of tea. “Apple”, on the other hand, is one of the rare songs of Gfriend, where I could mostly stand the vocals, probably because they’re subdued so much here. Yeah, the mature classy sexy “Apple” lacks some oomf in the backing track, but “We o wow wow wow wow” does the job for me.
28. DPR IAN – ZOMBIE POP
Starts @ 0:50 after Ian’s intro spoken in a sexy Aussie accent.
Large part of why I enjoyed “Surf’s Up” comes from the songs that were used in that movie. “Zombie Pop” has this soft carefree ocean feel like the songs from that film. Combine this happy pop rock track with a beautiful scenery and you’ve got a nice combo.
27. OOHYO – BRAVE
Absolutely beautiful with pleasant bass line and occasional trumpets. It could be boring, but this polite uplifting bop is not.
26. DREAMCATCHER – BLACK OR WHITE
Dreamcatcher’s songs don’t seem to work that well on me, for some reason. Maybe it’s because I don’t understand commercialized “prettified” metal/normal metal in general, or their singing is the culprit. I don’t know. What I do know is that “Black or White” being one of their more accessible songs that is less on the metal side is pretty noice, ‘cos of cool guitar melody and orchestra bits.
25. BLACKPINK – LOVESICK GIRLS
It’s like YG decided to set this melodic Americaboo pop song driven by guitars free after it was hidden in YG’s basement all this time for some reason. That’s good since the same song that BP was releasing every couple of years started to become quite stale.
Great BP don’t sound like Sean Paul in the chorus, as it often happens in KPop songs when there are English lyrics involved. Singing in the chorus sounds dope to me since I’m not a fluent English speaker and I myself probably sound like Sean Paul when I speak in English, haha.
24. STRAY KIDS – BACK DOOR
This song starts so good and then the EDM parts and subpar auto-tuned Bangchan’s parts and Hyunjin “raps” significantly cheapen it. I wish more of that funk was present throughout the whole song.
23. STAYC – SO BAD
What a strong debut we have here that latches on an actual good retro trend. This is quite enjoyable tense cyber sugar rush, for sure. The vocal melody in the chorus didn’t go where I expected, but my initial slight disappointment with the chorus wore off with time. Deceivingly deep singing that is less common in KPop makes the song and the group stand out among STAYC’s peers.
22. ERIC NAM – PARADISE
This song grew on me, because of the brass instrument at the start. Tense atmosphere in the chorus followed by peculiar after-chorus instrumental with thrilling spiky hiccups in between is also the culprit.
21. STRAY KIDS – GOD’S MENU
Now this song is quite an aggressive fast-paced electronic Hip-Hop banger, but feels flatter every time I listen to it. 2/3 of 3RACHA are the best parts of this song. The worst parts – non-rapper parts. Felix is the exception with his majestic voice deeper than Mariana trench. Bangchan and Hyunjin’s “raps” are a miss for me, especially Hyunjin’s. Man, that “…하다면“ “rap” doesn’t sound good at all.
The chief concept and the impressive dance elevates the experience more
than anything. I didn’t believe in negative calories concept, but after seeing
the dance, now I am certain a negative calories dance exists. SKZ kindly
demonstrates it here, haha.
There’s also a Japanese version, which sounds kind of weird and not as hard-hitting
to me. I found it so funny, how Felix’s cool “Cookin’ like a chef I’m a 5 star
Michelin” line was dumbed down to a “… five star Iron Man” line Harry Potter style
(“Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone” --> “Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer's Stone” in the US and India). And even more funny thing has just crossed
my mind. Imagine if those girls from “Food Wars!” were served meals by Stray
Kids. They’d come even faster than they already do without even touching the
food! lol
20. LEELLAMARZ, PANDA GOMM – 629-6
20. LEELLAMARZ, PANDA GOMM – 629-6
I remember hating checking out Leellamarz’ songs every week, ‘cos of his prolificacy the same level as Jay Park’s at some point in time resulting into me having to listen to his trendy at that time Hip-Hop/RnBullshit every week. His songs got a bit better with time, I guess, and even Beenzino started to like his songs something he of course had to brag about in some of his shitty rap songs (probably this one). Despite his senpai noticing him, none of his forgettable numerous songs following Zino’s respekt receival grabbed me enough until “629-6” came out with its great chorus and intriguing verses.
Thank god that instrument used in tropic jungle house or whatever that genre is called at the end isn’t all over the song and doesn’t slow it down.
Groovy Room probably freestyled this beat on the spot while Justhis freestyled his rap. The resulting non-trap beat (thankfully) doesn’t steal the light from Justhis and his raw bumpy trademarked flow. Justhis drops some gold nuggets here dissing 80 % fake rappers and his own fans too, ‘cos why the fuck not.
It feels like the beat reflects the mood of an audience anticipating Justhis’ return. It almost like it says, “Look, Justhis is back by by by by by popular demand. Bow down, bitch” towards the end. Truly a climax to climax to.
18. HITCHHIKER X SOKODOMO – SUGAR
This is actually super catchy and probably the most normal Hitchhiker song there is. It’s really captivating from the start due to the dope magical sound mixed with heavy drum beat. Sokodomo’s colorful staccato up-and-down flow fits really well and makes this already engaging beat even more engaging. While “Sugar” is sure fascinating, it can get boring with time, because of its repetitive nature. Moreover, the parts where it slows down are kind of annoying.
17. 1THE9 – BAD GUY
I just didn’t expect the angsty tense chorus with big drum beat and appropriately dramatic not screamy singing. Apparently, it’s 1THE9’s last song. Better go out with a bang, I guess.
The dope intro grabs me every time with its deep bass and cool ass staccato guitar sounds. I’d rather the song ended by fading out than however it did.
15. BABYLON – NICE WEATHER
This is a rare minimalistic ballad driven by acoustic guitar that I don’t despise. I tend to hate songs from Crush clones, but sometimes, even they are capable of releasing something that doesn’t completely suck. If that curious guitar sound leading to nice chorus and great after-chorus didn’t spark my interest from the beginning I would have closed the tab in a couple seconds like I often do with shitty ballads at the first encounter. On the low point, the song is already short as it is and of course, Gaho poisons it by showing off his vocals in the breakdown. Idgaf how good you can sing, dude.
14. YOURA – SWIM (VIRUS EDIT)
It’s a pure bliss when Youra’s super catchy “Hey baby baby. Let's go swimming pool yeah” line over dope guitar in the chorus combines with after-chorus’ memorable jazzy melody at the end.
13. TAEMIN – CRIMINAL
Honestly, I didn’t give a fuck about Taeman’s mature songs. His go-to I-am-a-serious-dancer-ok-and-I-am-not-a-kid-anymore sound was very dull and I don’t even remember how any of his songs went. This was before “Criminal”, where he managed to change some of the bits so the result remained sultry, but was no longer boring. I love how this song gets stronger towards the end when the silky chorus full of synths meets Taemin’s powered-up vocals and dance.
12. NUCKSAL – AKIRA
VMC likes deep ass bass guitar and “natural” band instruments and tries to utilize them for every artist signed to them, but most of the time the result is boring to listen to. After several failed attempts, VMC’s in-house producers seemed to make the formula finally work, thus “Akira” was born. This time the beat is not boring at all and the MC is Nucksal, who unlike Deepflow is fun to listen to. The result is not too heavy, yet upbeat.
“Akira” lures the listener in with the addicting bass guitar melody. Constant Middle-Eastern/African drumbeat slightly hidden in the background makes the song feel full and busy. Piano that kicks in after the honest raw shaky vocal intro and piercing fast-car sound in the chorus give futuristic vibe to the song. Gaeko doesn’t rap in this song, but it’s ok. His (?) shaky at times singing is fine. I love the song ending on a happy note due to synths sounding like hope and future. Drum freestyle at the end is dope.
11. TWICE – I CAN'T STOP ME
Chasing after 80's rush Twice decided to rival other girl groups following the same trend, adding a pinch of familiar Twice touch to their interpretation, since they just couldn’t have competed with other girl groups’ dope 80's inspired come backs having a weak ass “More and More”. That’s why there’s a sense of urgency in the singing in the memorable melodic chorus and the background of the song. It isn’t the best song of its kind, but it’s still pretty great.
10. GOLDEN CHILD – ONE
Remember when Infinite started their career and every member looked different? Now all of them are undisguisable Sungyeol-Myungsoo copies wearing the same uniforms in newer Woolim groups. I felt similar about Golcha’s songs until Infinite’s descendants has finally shown something unique.
While I was impressed how this song shapeshifted juggling different
elements from different genres without losing its plot, I
didn’t like all the parts of the song equally. For me the best part was
out-of-this-earth pre-chorus and incredibly catchy & funky 1st
part of the chorus, which overshadowed its main meat. Robotic Daft Punk bit in
the breakdown over deep bass guitar was cool. The attitude that the
constant intrusive electro sounds in the verses gave was aight too. On the
other hand, the less cohesive 2nd verse was so-so, but at least the
1st rapper didn’t rap in that airy Hoya/Seo Chul Goo flow, which
is not my cup of tea. Either way, due to this song possessing high
replayability factor, it’s easy to come back to this song for the best parts.
9. ONLYONEOF – ANGEL
9. ONLYONEOF – ANGEL
Even though I like some of Gray songs and I think he’s capable of producing really dope beats, I find most of his stuff kind of boring. Seems, he put more time/soul/effort into this track since it’s his first song for a KPop idol group. I really like the result. Most of the vocal lines almost sounding like they come from Gray himself are not annoying. In fact the vocals are very pleasant, especially the “소리없이 스며오는 넌 … 널 가질 거야 Never go back” parts. The awkward pre-chorus coming after that doesn’t work for me, however. It feels out of place and too-attention-grabby just like that girl in the MV. Thankfully, the smooth groovy chorus and the breakdown didn’t go the same direction as the pre-chorus.
Boycold, I’m waiting for your break-through into KPop idol music production next!
That blondie should replace a female actress in one of KANA-BOON MVs to create this cool ying-yang mirror effect, haha.
8. WOO – USED TO
I may be slobbing on Woo’s knob too much, but I think he’s the best part of AOMG at the moment. I expected a lot from pH-1 and sogumm, but their current work in AOMG is so-so. It’s pretty sweet that Woo makes his own weird melancholic abstract music in his own bubble trying to stay away from copypasta Hip-Hop trends. This song is reserved for times when I feel like shit.
7. TWICE – MAKE ME GO
Kikwang tried doing something sexy like this, but paid 99% attention to the choreography rather than the actual song. “Make Me Go” might be as “minimal”, but not as boring with those peculiar staccato clicking sounds, brief sax bits and “You make me go” Jihyo adlibs. Kikwang should learn from Nayeon how to make sexy head-bobbing songs.
6. LOONA – STAR
Who the fuck knows why Blockberry didn’t release this classy 80's interpretation as a title track, but what everyone knows is it’s a pretty damn good no bullshit song: there’s no silly pointless rap or overabundance of vocals in the breakdown or anywhere else, for instance. The whole song is delightful, but what draws me the most is a super catchy instrumental after-chorus, which appears from 2:19.
5. OOHYO – QUIET NIGHT
This is good kind of depressing, reserved for special mood. When I first heard the guitar melody I thought about how this song evoked similar emotions in me as “Feel Good Inc.” for some reason. I don’t know if this is right musically, but I wish hi-hats were more pronounced in the beat. One of those big-ass horns help boost the energy in the chorus and add a bit of romantic sentimental feeling to this song. The ending where louder distorted alien sounds accompanied by filtered echoes are introduced is absolutely ethereal.
4. EVERGLOW – LA DI DA DI DA SLOB ON ME KNOB, HATERS
Being so anti-hater and naturally pro-fan oriented “LA DI DA” caters to fans’ pleas for equal line distribution almost to its detriment. I don’t think anyone asked for that pace-breaking rap section in the 2nd verse or the weak breakdown, which slightly ruins a cool preceding guitar solo’s efforts. Even if I was a “Forever” (
Everglow single-handedly saved KPop by commencing the trend of tough futuristic 80’s-esque songs with attitude. Even though songs of this style started to come out after Everglow paved the way, I think “LA DI DA” is the best of its kind among similar 2020s songs.
I think “Geronimo”, “No Rescue Needed” and a brief pop rock from “To Whoever” are the best tracks on the album and those that have MVs are the least enjoyable. Let me shine a light on my favorite one of the trio.
When I’ve first discovered DPR Live through Know Me, I was at low point of my life. I was graduating from uni at that time and I felt suicidal. There were always periods where I felt like this, but I haven’t felt as strong as at that time. Luckily (or not) my half-assed attempts didn’t lead anywhere and I still exist, apparently. I remember listening to “Know Me” along with Joyner Lucas’ “I’m Sorry” a lot at that time. This emotional connection further lifted my enjoyment of the already great “Know Me”, that I initially repeated non-stop at the first encounter.
I felt similar when I first heard “Geronimo”. Both, “Know Me” and “Geronimo” are kinda weird. I haven’t heard something like this in KPop before, which might be one of the reasons I am drawn to these songs. This song might start slow, but it picks up with every “There is no high” part. Waves of emotions rise inside me when I hear the last “There is no high” part when pulsating beat comes in and countdown begins. I like to blast this part at high volume. I don’t feel so strongly about the last rap. “I’ve got nowhere to run” parts, however, are ight, cool. The fact that “Geronimo” feels short and the best part is revealed towards the end makes me repeat “Geronimo” over and over again.
2. APINK – DUMHDURUM
Nu-Pink continue exploring retro style of “%%” while sounding as different from others. “%%” was a nice change for A-Pink’s music direction, but the small problem was – I didn’t like how most of the vocals sounded in “%%”. Dumhdumrum, however, doesn’t suffer from this problem. Pleasant vocals over groovy bass line richer than Rich Evans with a magnificent repeating instrumental melody in the intro and the chorus is a strong combo, not gonna lie.
1. STRAY KIDS – HELLO STRANGER
I don’t know all the ins and outs of music production, but if I were to imagine scenario behind the song’s creation, this is probably how it went.
JYP’s assistant: “JYP-nim, we’ve received an offer for an original soundtrack for a drama. Should I call our music producers?”
JYP: “No need for that, A-ssi. Put me through to Bangchan. His team will do the job. I’ll let them eat a chicken breast as a payment later.”
[A few moments later]
JYP: “Bangchan-ssi, we need your team to cook a soundtrack for a teenage drama. Expeditiously. Here’re the guidelines for drama OST production to help you.”
I don’t know what happened next, but it seems 3RACHA were allowed to do it their own way after all.
Interesting, how Stray Kids went out of their way to release stuff in
varying styles this year not like other boys as always and here I am liking
this song the most instead, which is the least experimental out all of them.
While I thought “God’s Menu” and “Back Door” were aight, I enjoyed “Hello
Stranger” completely from start to finish, there were no parts that I thought
were deal-breakers. For instance, there were no cringy autotuned talk-raps from
Hyunjin or Bangchan. Seriously, why is there a need to do that, when there are already
two excellent bad-cop-good-cop type of rappers in SKZ?? Thankfully, Hyunjin was
given some brief “Na na na” parts, instead, probably to appease fans that track
the exact percentage of lines distributed between the members in every damn
song.
“Hello Stranger” is punchy, melodic and is glazed with SKZ playfulness. There is such an infectious hype coming from the members in the chorus, it is impossible not to be affected by it. I’m a sad fuck in general and this song provides the good vibe energy that I seek.
Bonus points for MV producers taking a note from SM and filming the MV
in the actual box with a dangling light bulb on the ceiling for cool lighting effect, haha.
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