Another month is at its end which means another month of new K-Pop to check out. So I’m giving my quick takes on all of the debuts and comebacks we got this month!
I’m only sharing the debuts and comebacks I actually paid attention to and not every single one that happened in the month. So if a favorite artist of yours isn’t in here, tell me about them in a comment and I’ll check them out!
Debuts
Yummy Yummy by QueenzEye
There are parts I like and parts we’ve seen too many times before. The song and concept are not unique, but I do think they have potential as a group.
Carnival by ABLUE
It’s fine, but nothing new. I don’t think it is a strong debut since it doesn’t really highlight their strengths very much. I’d really give them 2.5 hearts, but I’ll kindly round it up.
Mi Deh Yah by CocaNButter
This just popped up in my YouTube recommendations and since I didn’t recognize them, I checked it out. Apparently, CocaNButter is originally a dance group that gained popularity when they competed on Street Woman Fighter. And now their company debuted them as a music group. You can tell that their strength is dance and performance and not vocals since the video doesn’t invest too much time into focusing on their singing.
My main complaint is the addition of the unnamed rapper, which I just don’t see the point of besides the fact the members couldn’t do it themselves. It all just seems odd, and maybe they should just be a dance crew.
28 Reasons by Seulgi (Red Velvet)
I have no idea what I feel or think about this. I find it fascinating I guess, and I appreciate how different it is from the trends and norms. But I can’t specifically say if I liked it or not. So I’m just going to keep my rating neutral.
The Astronaut by Jin (BTS)
You can tell that Coldplay is involved in the production for sure. The whole song screams Coldplay, which isn’t a bad thing at all. It suits Jin really well musically, and his voice sounds so nice. Overall a very pleasant listen.
Comebacks
Long Live The King by Kingdom
Kingdom has one of the most interesting concepts in all of K-Pop and I always look forward to what they’re going to do. Long Live The king doesn’t disappoint. It isn’t my favorite title track of theirs, but it is still a solid song that fits their discography well and you can’t deny the aesthetics are amazing. I do want to see their title tracks branch out musically a little bit so they don’t get repetitive.
Hello by Treasure
It’s fine. Nothing brilliant or special, just fine. At least YG gives them different concepts and sounds, unlike their other artists.
Sugarcoat by AB6IX
The song is pleasant and has some uniqueness which is nice. The sugary concept however has been done a lot recently and I can’t say I find it very interesting. It feels like the easy route when songs have “sugar” in the title.
Case 143 by Stray Kids
Okay first off, I’m a little obsessed with how 143 fits with this song, which you don’t even fully realize until the very end when they stylize it a certain way. Second, I am 99% sure they told the editors to just have fun with the video because oh my god it is so chaotic but entirely fitting. Like, it is ridiculous in a good way. My biggest praise goes to the song because, while this could be said to be a departure from what we usually get from Stray Kids, it is also a song only Stray Kids can pull off.
Uh-Heung by DKZ
Not going to lie, I got a little distracted because the first verse had a very familiar guitar instrumental that I was trying to pinpoint where the sample is from. Besides that, I enjoyed it. DKZ is always a group I forget about until I’m browsing a comebacks list, but hopefully, with this newfound energy, they’ll get noticed more and grow.
ILLELLA by MAMAMOO
I have a hot and cold relationship with Mamamoo’s music. They are undeniably very talented, just some of their songs don’t resonate or fit my tastes. But I do enjoy Illella, which makes sense since it is similar to other songs I enjoy from them like Egoistic. Is it the most brilliant song ever? No, but still enjoyable.
Vision by Dreamcatcher
I don’t have strong feelings about this one. I appreciate that musically it is a little different than previous comebacks, but I feel the same way about Vision that I did about Maison which was that this is good, but I prefer their earlier music better.
Beautiful LIE by TAN
I like the song and don’t really care for the video. It’s not super innovative, but it is a fun song so it doesn’t hurt to exist.
What if Love by UP10TION
I’m glad that the song didn’t go exactly how I expected it to, but still flowed nicely and sounds like a cohesive track. The chorus is calmer than I initially anticipated, but it works really well. I still think it is missing that little something to push it above a 3-heart rating though.
Underwater by Kwon Eunbi
I like how I won’t know for sure what I’m going to get from her. Every comeback has been unique and highlights her skills differently, which I love. I do think this is the most mainstream she has gotten with a track, but I still enjoy it. The visuals are also stunning.
We Fresh by Kep1er
The song is chaotic and their line distribution is still awful. Moving on.
Don’t Regret by Wonho
I think this is one that I’d have to listen to a few more times and ruminate on it to formulate an opinion. I think the video throws me off, not because it is bad or ill-fitting, but because it influences my opinion to hear the song a certain way. I can say that I do think this is a fitting song for Wonho and at least a little bit of a departure from previous comebacks.
NXDE by (G)I-DLE
I don’t know what I feel or think about this one. I don’t love it, but I respect their commitment to the Marilyn, Moulin Rouge, and Banksy references. There are some parts I like, but as a whole, not a fan. I think I can best describe this as an acquired taste.
Antifragile by Le SSerafim
This is going to sound shady, but they look much better as a fivesome. However, the line distribution seems really off, and in general, it looks like the focus was mostly on Chaewon who honestly stole the show. As for the actual song, I do like it. I think it is unique in comparison to everything else we’ve been getting and fits their overall concept and sound well.
Spray by WEi
We’ve seen this concept so many times already, so I just push the video aside because it isn’t special in any way. I like the song, but it isn’t that special either, to be honest. So I say it is a good but predictable comeback.
Youth by Kihyun
I like this one a lot more than Voyager, which I did think it was good. But I was immediately pulled in and swaying along to the song with this one. It also highlights Kihyun’s voice nicely.
Hymn to Love by Epex
This didn’t really capture my attention at all. It isn’t bad, but just whatever to be honest.
Tick Tick Boom by CLASS:y
The overly dramatic intro is so unnecessary. Especially for the song it then transitions into. And the only purpose of that intro is to explain the video’s story it feels like, which is unnecessary. Everything following the intro is fine, and I like the song, but the inclusion of that intro lowers my liking.
Zealous by CLASS:y
What does Black Friday have to do with any of this? Nothing is the answer, that intro was yet again just another bit of explaining the music video story, which was completely unnecessary and was also barely there. These stupid intros really ruin songs for me, because I could have liked Zealous, because I found the use of the word refreshing, but it was all drug down by me having to try and figure out what Black Friday has to do with anything.
Attitude by ATBO
I’ll give the track credit for not going how I was expecting it. I was anticipating it to build up to the chorus and then go hard like most boy groups do. But it actually doesn’t, instead keeping with its more mellow and cool vibe. I appreciate that choice, and it makes me ultimately like the song more. Lyrically though, it sounded like “That’s my attitude” was just repeated over and over and over again, and any other parts were incidental.
Lululu by mimiirose
The instrumental is what really makes this song interesting and unique. I understand why this wasn’t their debut track because I don’t think it has enough to pull you in, but this song makes me even more interested to see what they’ll release in the future.
Boys Like You by Itzy
This is a song I’d probably love back as a high school freshman fourteen years ago. That’s the whole take honestly. I can’t tell if I like it more or less than Sneakers though, but I’m leaning towards less because I at least finished the video for Sneakers unlike this one.
Amazon by TFN (formerly T1419)
Is it just me or do they put no energy into this song? The choreography in particular feels like it is done lazily, with half of their energy. It had potential too, but they just didn’t go 100% into it.
Birthday by TEN
This isn’t as much of a quick take as other tracks because I heard a portion of this song months ago when Ten was promoting in China and performed a piece for it on a TV show. I loved it then and I love it now, and I’m happy that SM listened to fans for once and gave us the full song. Now I just need Ten to have a proper solo debut instead of SM Stations because he more than deserves it.
What new music have you been enjoying this month, K-pop or not? Tell me about it with a comment!
I’ve only seen the Dreamcatcher and (G)-Idle comebacks out of these (so far… gonna watch many/most of these now 😉 ) and I liked the Dreamcatcher one fine and I only remember the Tinkerbell costume from the other, but not how it sounded or anything so…. forgettable, I suppose. Now to watch/listen to more of these…..
Okie dokie…. went through and hit a few that I thought looked interesting or were from groups I’ve seen before that I liked well enough. My incredibly short thoughts:
Queenzeye – Yummy Yummy — It was ok. If it came on the radio I’d leave it playing, but I wouldn’t seek it out either.
CocaNButter – Mi Deh Yah – Not my cuppa tea
Seulgi – 28 Reason — Not my cuppa tea either
Mamamo – Illella — This one was pretty good
Kwon Eunbi – Underwater – I enjoyed this one a lot
Kep1er – We Fresh — This one had a decent beat, so I found it enjoyable to listen to, but it’s another one like Yummy Yummy — I’d leave it playing if it came on the radio, but I wouldn’t go looking for it either
Mimiirose – Lululu – this was all right. Another “leave it playing” one
Itzy – Boys Like You – For the sound itself, it was fine, but the overall concept was somehow offputting to me