Red Velvet are, for me, one of those groups I am CONSTANTLY close to stanning. Every time they come back, and with every new song they release, they keep getting better and better in my eyes. And to be honest, I feel like they called this repackage 'The Perfect Red Velvet' for a reason, because this is honestly my favourite song and concept of theirs to date. Yes, I loved "Peek-A-Boo", and I loved "Russian Roulette" as well, funnily enough. But "Bad Boy" is just on a level of its own.

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I've always been more of a fan of girl crush concepts in K-Pop rather than cutesy ones, so I was immediately into this as soon as I heard it! I did see a few people saying that the members couldn't really pull it off, but I couldn't disagree more. They all seemed so confident in the live stages, and with a song like this, I don't blame 'em. I would be too. And that English version they revealed at KCON NY?! FUCKIN PERFECTION.

Also, she may be my bias, so I'm a little biased. (Duh.) But Seulgi was born for this concept. That is all.

CLC have always been a group I see undeniable potential in. Every single member has so much goddamn talent and charm, and they certainly did find their niche after a while... I just wasn't a fan of the bubblegum pop (even though I did like "Pepe" quite a lot). Then "Hobgoblin" happened. AND I LOVED IT. They were basically a mini 4minute! Which does make sense, since Hyuna had a big part in the production and styling. Unfortunately though, not everyone else seemed to agree, or... necessarily like it. So CLC went back to a more "au-naturale", ballad style, with "Where Are You?" sounding like something that'd be played at a school dance while all the couples make out in the middle of the dance floor. So yeah. I found it a bit disappointing.

But THEN, "Black Dress" happened. And hoooooolyyyyyyyy shit. I am back on board with being a Cheshire again. I was really nervous for CLC when I heard they were going back to a more badass concept, because I wanted it to be good. But it wasn't good. It was fucking great. So now we're here! And I really do hope CLC continues this with type of concept for a while; it really does suit them to a T. I am more than okay with Yeeun and Sorn continuing to slay me with their existences. Let's make that a thing please.

So it may be the only boy group song on my list, but HOLY MOTHER OF FUCK THIS SONG IS AMAZING.

Ever since Hit the Stage (which we dESPERATELY NEED A SECOND SEASON OF), Ten's been my bias in NCT. And I've always been a fan of Taeyong's voice when it comes to his rapping (let alone his singing!! which he sounds so good doing!!!). So this was already going to be a good enough song. But then someone in SM decided to make it (strangely enough) really sexual, but also really catchy. AND IT WORKS. 

I've seen/heard a loooot of people, including some of my friends, comparing this song with NCT's "Whiplash" in terms of the lyrics (heh, I wonder why). But this just... outclasses it in every damn way. I don't think I can remember another time I fell in love with a K-Pop song this fast. This is Bond film-level classy. Yes, the lyrics are pretty raunchy, but that doesn't take away from the crazy addictive song itself, as well as the pure and utter charisma Ten and Taeyong have as a subunit. Like. bOIS. YOU TWO NEED TO CHILL OUT BEFORE YOU KILL US ALL WITH YOUR GODDAMN WHISPERING. THANKS.

HYO (효) [HYOYEON (효연)] FT. UMMET OZCAN - SOBER (ENGLISH VER.)

The English and Korean versions of this song give off completely different vibes. I don't know how, but they do. The Korean version, based on what I've heard, is much more wistful and solemn; it's more like G-Dragon's "Crooked" - it's an upbeat song with some fairly sad lyrics. The English version? It's full of confidence and recklessness, with Hyoyeon fully admitting that she only loves the person she's with when she's sober; when she's drunk, she couldn't give a shit. All she wants to do is party. And when I compare the two... the English is just so much better. That sort of carefree tone isn't something seen very often in party songs like this, and it's a really refreshing thing! Confidence is always nice. Plus, I feel like the vocals in the English version are mixed way better, especially coming up to the end? They just sound a lot clearer and less distorted than the Korean version.

I'm also INCREDIBLY impressed by Hyoyeon's vocals and pronunciation. The fact that she's struggled with English pronunciation for so long, and yet here she is doing a full English version of one of her songs?! That's beyond admirable, and deserving of an awful lot of respect. And it helps that the song is great too! Outside of K-Pop, I've always been a huge EDM fan, so this is right up my alley. It certainly didn't blow me away as much as, say, Amber and Luna's "Wave" two years ago, but nothing's ever blown me away like that since. So this is pretty damn good. Well done, Hyoyeon. Or, Hyo. Whatever your new stage name is now. You're still awesome.

Be warned: we're getting into bias group territory. 

*inhales*

Seriously. If you aren't listening to Dreamcatcher by now, what the actual fuck are you doing?! Every single song they've come out with sounds like a badass anime opening, the styling and concept they go with is heavily horror-inspired, their choreographies are complex yet beautiful, their music videos all have an overarching story... I could go on and on. But between the two songs Dreamcatcher have released this year so far - "Full Moon" (the song for their 1st anniversary) and this? "You and I" won out. Purely for the adrenaline.

I mean yeah, "Full Moon" was pretty awesome. (Of course it is, it's Dreamcatcher.) But it didn't have the same sort of cinematic feel and bombast that "You and I" has. It's a pity they're wrapping up the little story they've had going on in their videos, but I think this was a pretty damn good way to end the arc. Even if the video did leave me a little confused. But that's the fun of it all, I guess. 😃 Long story short, they haven't disappointed me yet. I was worried they wouldn't be able to keep up the rock/horror concept when they debuted, but over a year later, I'm not worried at all anymore. I'm just in love with it all.

Also, Dami is a certified magician.

LOOK AT THIS SHIT MAN. THAT'S JUST PLAIN AWESOME. SHE AIN'T EVEN MY BIAS. 

(I made the gif, by the way. Just in case anyone thinks I stole it. I didn't. I'd feel horrible if I did.)

Hoo boi, we're back into bias group territory and oHHHHHH SWEET JESUS THIS MIGHT BE MY SONG OF THE YEAR.

BLACKPINK. IT'S ABOUT FUCKING TIME. These girls went and released a song - and a mini album, actually - that shows off the potential I've seen in them since the day they debuted. The comparisons between BLACKPINK and 2NE1 really are valid, and this song shows off why - BLACKPINK mean business. They're not just some wannabe girl group that are going to disappear overnight - they really are going to shake things up. And hell, if this song's placing on the Billboard Hot 100 doesn't show that, what will? Not only is this my favourite concept for BLACKPINK so far, it's by FAR my favourite song of theirs. Until now, I've liked their stuff an awful lot - enough for me to stan them fully. But I've never quite loved it like I have with "DDU DU DDU DU". I'd say "PLAYING WITH FIRE" is the closest they got.

The minute this song started up, I actually shed a tear. No joke. I started crying. I was so fucking proud of how far these girls have come, and now they're really starting to find their groove in K-Pop. (If Papa YG would actually let them release shit now and again to keep the momentum going, that would be nice.) The improvement is insane - ESPECIALLY with Jisoo, cause holy fuck she's improved in the dance department - and even then, they were already impressive as hell when they did debut! "DDU DU DDU DU" is extremely catchy and addictive (from my experience, anyway), the dance is pretty sharp and clean, the lyrics are slightly generic but interesting enough to keep my attention, and the viDEO. OHMYGODTHEVIDEO. I'll talk about this in another post I have planned, but... I've been addicted to it. For many reasons. Not just to fangirl over how beautiful they are & be the pansexual nerd I am. That's not why at alllllll.

TAEYEON (태연) - SOMETHING NEW

This... was not what I expected from Taeyeon. But I love it. I feel like this is the sort of concept only someone with her experience could pull off as effortlessly as this. For the record, I've loved most of her solo efforts so far. Girls' Generation were the reason I got into K-Pop in the first place, and Taeyeon has never been one to disappoint when she does go solo - "I" was great, "Why" was (and still is) a summer bop, and "Fine" and ESPECIALLY "I Got Love" were so damn impressive. There's still a part of me that desperately wishes Taeyeon would release a full solo version of "Devil's Cry", but I know that's never going to happen. But so long as we get something like this every now and again? I'm alright with that, actually.

This song is kinda similar to "Baby Don't Stop" in terms of its Bond film-esque vibe, but it's just so goddamn funky. I'm 110% certain this song has the best bassline in K-Pop in 2018. Fight me. And yet there's so many other elements to this that make it amazing - the intro with the multitracked vocals gave me chills the first time I heard it, not gonna lie. Even the fact that Taeyeon isn't trying to do anything overly impressive vocal-wise is a nice change. She's one of K-Pop's top power vocalists, for sure, but it's nice to just put the brakes on that every now and again - to try "Something New", if you will. 😉 All of these different little elements and quirks come together to give us this, and considering how samey the rest of the K-Pop industry can often feel, it's... extremely refreshing to say the least.

MOMOLAND (모모랜드) - BAAM

Yeah, I'm picking BAAM over Bboom Bboom. I'm a rebel, I know.

But yeah, even though this song has just come out, it's already a standout for me. IT'S THE SECOND COMING OF 2012 T-ARA AND I LOVE IT. It's just as funky and upbeat! Not to mention, the dance is addictive as fuck with all the shuffling. Now I know a lot of people are going to whine about MOMOLAND not really changing things up too much from Bboom Bboom, but if you had a song that was as successful as BB was, I bet you wouldn't change much either! If it's not broke, don't fix it. Plain and simple. It's another EXID scenario, and I think MOMOLAND are doing pretty damn well for themselves.

There's something about this song that's so much more addictive for me than with BB. Maybe it's the synth line, maybe it's the reduced amount of repetition in the choruses, maybe it's because Nancy's green hair is blinding me and obscuring my judgement. Who knows. It's probably the saxophone line, let's be real - that shit is fuuuuuunky. If MOMOLAND are good at upbeat, catchy dance songs with a catchy hook and a good sax line, then I say we keep them on that path! It's clearly working out well for them, and I really do hope they just continue to flourish from here on out. They've got the success, they've got the catchiness and charm - and they've got some damn solid music to boot.

They've also got memes. Lots of them. To the person who decided to have the dance to Dame Tu Cosita as part of this choreoraphy: YOU ARE MY HERO.




Welp, I guess that's that! At least now it can be known that I'm girl group trash. :,)