okay, I'm running a bit behind but happy Throwback Thursday and let's get into it. First off, some new releases:
tripleS NXT - Just Do It
this is a new single from the four new members of the group (twenty in total now) under their own sub-unit called NXT. It's very much more tripleS-sounding music so if you've liked the stuff from them so far you'll probably like this one too.
ICHILLIN - Bite Me
Man, I would really like this group to do well, but tbh I don't care for this song very much and the video is pretty underwhelming too. I literally just feel bad for them.
Anyway, on to the throwback! I mentioned T-ARA during my 'best of 2023' list and this is the song I was referring to; it's a good song but the video is a bit hokey in spots, and also the resolution on Youtube is bad because it's from 2010. Good song though, check it out!
T-ARA - Like the First Time
Here's a new group that wasn't on my radar. They debuted today:
Geenius - Voyage
Apparently they were all trainees under BBC (Loona's former evil company) and left after their contracts expired. Now they're debuting under a newly formed company.
Geenius - Voyage
wow, this is actually pretty good. A bit all over the place but it's definitely fun to listen to. The song could stand to have a few more resolutions in the chord progressions.
ITZY - Untouchable
The full album, Born To Be, is also out now.
NMIXX - Run For Roses (Performance Video)
This is from the album that drops next week, so a pre-release I guess. I really like it; there's a part where all the instrumentation drops away except for one violin, it's kinda cool.
Oooh I like that. I'd forgotten they were coming out with something soon (it's been over a month since they released the first pre-release song for it), but this has got me excited for it again.
Happy Throwback Thursday everyone! But first, some new releases:
Limelight (MiU Solo) - Twenty Twenty
I like this song, it's not amazing but it's solid. I don't think it'll make any lists for this year but I wouldn't turn it off if it came on the radio.
Limelight - Ta Da!
Not bad, but I think their previous songs are a bit more catchy. Also, the title is not good, IMO, very much in the vein of their song 'Madeleine', it has nothing to do with any of the lyrics of the song. They might as well call it 'La La'. Whoever is in charge of naming songs over there needs to get fired.
Lee Chanhyuk - 1 Trillion
Definitely has that AKMU vibe. I miss Suhyun's vocals but I think this is still a decent stand-alone release for him.
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Okay, on to the throwback! I mentioned this group back in June of last year with their song 'We Don't Stop', and this is another song from them that was released earlier in the same year as that one. It's got a peppy beat and some great horns, and I think the group's vocals are really on display here too. FYI, the video has a long-ish beginning before the song starts, so jump to about 90 seconds in to get to the actual music. Please enjoy!
Fiestar - Vista
A few new releases out today:
NMIXX - DASH
Very nice title track. Their album Fe3O4: Break is out now. 7 songs including the pre-releases, Soñar (Breaker) and Run For Roses.
YENA - Good Morning
Another great song from YENA with new 4-track EP.
tripleS Aria - Door
New single from another tripleS subunit; Aria. Nice ballad.
Former subunit of Sistar reunites. Sistar19 is composed of Bora and Hyolyn.
SISTAR19 - NO MORE (MA BOY)
Happy Throwback Thursday everyone! We got a great one for this week, but first I'd like to highlight the debut release from a new solo artist that just dropped. Gyubin has been doing covers on Youtube for a couple years now and had some original pre-debut songs that came out a few months ago, but this is her official debut and it's pretty good! Kinda reminds me of Michelle Branch back in the day, but more upbeat. Check it out!
Gyubin - Really Like You
Other than that I think we're all caught up on new releaeses (thanks Tscott!) so let's get to the throwback. We're going back to the Girls' Day well once again; I really like most of their MV releases so this probably won't be the last time either, but I'll try to space 'em out as best I can. At this point the group is leaning away from their earlier vibes and into a more mature concept, but the song is the selling point IMO; the beat is really driving and the chorus has a nice hook. Please enjoy!
Girls' Day - Expectation
New music drops!
IVE - All Night (feat. Saweetie)
Not sure if I'm all in on this one. It's very repetitive except for the rap bits which have never been my bag. It sounds like a club track, which is what it's going for I suppose so that's fine if you're into that sort of thing.
H1-KEY - Thinkin' About You
I like this one more, but it feels off somehow. I dunno, it's all in English but that's not the issue, although there are a couple lines that could have had another pass on them from a native speaker. Just feels a bit plodding; it needs some more dynamic chord changes or something.
Woah, two English releases!
I do appreciate that IVE did a collaboration and filmed the video with the artist in person. So many collaborations with western artists make it pretty obvious that the artists were halfway around the world when they filmed their parts. It's different from what I'd expect from an IVE song, but it's fun and hopefully gets them more exposure.
And H1-KEY really showed off their vocals in this one. I don't know any names but the one with red hair really stood out to me, but they were all great. They've got some lovely little woo hoos and harmonies going on. I think this is one I'll enjoy for the vocals alone and ignore the lyrics.
(G)I-DLE - WIFE
This just dropped out of the blue. Their 2nd Full Album is due to be released on the 29th.
And H1-KEY really showed off their vocals in this one. I don't know any names but the one with red hair really stood out to me, but they were all great. They've got some lovely little woo hoos and harmonies going on.
That would be Hwiseo; she also ranked #1 on the Queendom Puzzle competition show and promoted with EL7Z UP for their first release. I assume more of that will be incoming but so far I haven't heard anything.
New IU pre-release MV! It's a bit sad so fair warning.
IU - Love Wins All
Happy Throwback Thursday! First, new music:
Weeekly - Stranger
Really liking this, and there's also an English language version so you can have your cake and eat it too. They just put out an EP in like November and they're already back with this single. Glad to see it, it seemed like they were kinda dormant there for a while.
Anyway, on to the throwback. This is song is from one of my favorite groups: Red Velvet! But very early Red Velvet, before Yeri was added to the group, and they were still leaning heavily into their concept of having 'Red' songs and 'Velvet' songs. The former being very bright and cute and the latter being more laid back, jazzy and sexy. This track is from the...well, you can probably figure it out. Please enjoy!
Red Velvet - Be Natural
VCHA - Girls of the Year
I dunno, it's good I guess, but it kinda feels forgettable somehow too. There's nothing hooking onto my brainmeats for some reason. Also, the lyrics are sung very rapidly? I dunno, maybe all Kpop songs in Korean are sung rapidly too but for some reason it sounds forced/rushed in English.
(G)I-DLE - 'Super Lady'
They're giving off strong 2NE1 vibes here. Their 2nd full album is out today.
Babymonster - Stuck in the Middle
Kinda liking this, although it is probably a bit too ballad-y to go into standard rotation. They're giving some nice ad libs without going too hard on it. Not what I expected next from them but I guess it is a pre-release so I suppose the actual main single will be more like 'Batter Up' in tone.
Happy Throwback Thursday everyone! We're gonna get right to it as I believe we're caught up on new stuff for now (although there's a big Twice MV premiering later today so keep an eye out for that). I'm featuring a group that I haven't done a throwback for previously and has only been briefly mentioned in the thread: Ladies' Code! They debuted in 2013 and, as you may know, were in a terrible accident the following year which sadly resulted in two of the members' deaths and then an understandably long hiatus until 2016. But this song is their debut and it's pretty good! It reminds me of some of Wonder Girls' more retro-inspired tracks in a few spots but without being too derivative, which was a nice idea; Wonder Girls was on hiatus at the time but public sentiment for them was still strong. Anyway, check it out!
Ladies' Code - Bad Girl
Ayy
TWICE - I GOT YOU
Another English pre-release. I like the vibe of this one.
ICHILLIN' - Demigod
I normally wouldn't go in for a song like this but for some reason it's working for me. The video is goofy fun but they could have just as easily went for a more serious tone based on how the song sounds.
Wow. That's surprisingly good. I've checked them out before but nothing's made it to my personal playlist. This is going to be added. It's the best I've heard from them.
In fact, are there any songs by ICHILLIN' that I should go back and listen to again?
In fact, are there any songs by ICHILLIN' that I should go back and listen to again?
I think 'Siren' is also good, and of a similar style to this song. 'Alarm' is pretty good too but the vibe is different so YMMV on that one. If you like both of those I'd just start digging into their Youtube channel, most of their back catalog is in there.
I don't normally check out Japanese releases but this is Billlie. Still promoting as 5 members, but I'm really enjoying this:
Billlie - DOMINO ~ butterfly effect
Also, Moon Byul released a pre-release song for her album coming out later this month:
Moon Byul - Think About
Happy Throwback Thursday everyone! No new releases on my radar today, so I'm gonna jump right in with another video from AOA. I talked about their song 'Like a Cat' in May last year, and this song was released earlier that year and was kinda their first real big hit. They had started as a group that was going to alternate between promoting as a band w/instruments and a more traditional girl group with just singing and choreo, but once this song came out the whole band concept was pretty much abandoned and the instruments-only member (Youkyung, the drummer) left the group shortly thereafter. This song was written and produced by Brave Brothers and they would go on to give AOA their next three singles (including 'Like a Cat') which were all very popular for the group and were, arguably, the best four songs the group ever released. I think there are some other gems in their discography, but that's for another day. Please enjoy!
AOA - Miniskirt
It's almost Valentine's Day and BiBi wants to cast us in her spell...
BiBi - Bam Yang Gang
And Chuu gives us a sweet treat...
Chuu - Chocolate
And now Chuu has released an English version of this song.
Happy Throwback Thursday everyone! Hoo boy, we got some tracks coming out lately, eh? Plus upcoming stuff from Le Sserafim, IU, TRI.BE, and probably some other ones I'm not even remembering right now. On top of all that, apparently (G)I-DLE just dropped another MV in case you haven't had enough yet. Also, it seems that it's age-restricted so you'll have to follow the link to watch it... 
(G)I-DLE - Revenge
Liking this one a lot; when the first chorus comes around and those guitars kick in, that's good stuff.
Okay, time for the throwback. I'm featuring a group this week that I've never thrown back to before, mostly because I didn't really get into them until much later in their career. But their debut was actually all the way back in 2012, so I decided to go back and check it out and, tbh, I still like their newer stuff more, but this title track from their first album is kinda fun in it's own way and is really reminiscent of the era in which it was released. Check it out!
Apink - Hush
Sorry I'm linking this song again... but a "Special Present Clip" just dropped so now there's an actual video to go with the audio:
CHUU 'Chocolate' Special Present Clip
Yeah... this is good...
IU - (Holssi)' MV
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