pictured: Red Velvet, “7월7일 (One of These Nights)”
A post inspired by Melissa Johnson’s wonderful blog (The Mind Reels). But before I get into what I liked in k-pop this year:
Over the past few months I’ve had a Red Velvet reversal. Being a big fan of f(x), I was convinced RV were the harbingers of doom when Sulli announced her hiatus (2014, RV debut) and withdrawal (2015, debut album). I couldn’t help but think that SME was putting my favorite group on the backburner! MY FAVES!! You know, irrational fangirl feelings and what not.
Then “7월7일” dropped and I was shocked by the generally negative responses it got. Maybe because it was a slow R&B ballad and not completely suited for INSTANT popularity, something destined to be a b-side. For me though, it was perfect. It felt like Red Velvet found their niche (the “velvet” concept). Unfortunately they went back to a crowd pleasing poppier sound for Russian Roulette just as I started listening to more of the velvet themed stuff… at any rate, I hope they’re not scared to be experimental in the future because in the end, the music is what makes them interesting to me. If they’re like everyone else, it’s just boring!
Favorite Mini Albums & Albums
- Clazziquai Project – Travellers
- Lee Hi – Seoulite
- Jay Park – Everything You Wanted
- ELO – 8 Femmes
- WINNER – EXIT: E
- Beenzino – 12
- EXO – EX’ACT
- LADIES CODE – MYST3RY
- Taeyeon – WHY
- MAMAMOO – Melting
- Hoody – On and On
Favorite Songs
- Red Velvet – “7월7일 (One of These Nights)”
- Luna – “Free Somebody”
- TWICE – “TT”
- Yoo Young Jin, D.O. – “Tell Me (What Is Love)”
- DEAN – “풀어 (Pour Up)” (f/ZICO)
- Ga In – “Carrie (The First Day)”
- Jay Park, Kirin – “CITY BREEZE”
- Jung Cha Sik – “나는 너를”
- Wonder Girls – “아름다운 그대에게”
- Tiffany – “WHAT DO I DO”
- Henmi – “Nightmare”
- Jonghyun – “좋아 (She Is)”
- SEVENTEEN – “아주 NICE”
- PEEJAY – “Moonstruck (f/김아일 & 오혁)”
Anyway, there are some groups I still don’t care for (ahem… EXO and SNSD) and a lot of good surprises — everything from AOMG was solid and they really capitalized on their talents. The same can’t be said for YG, who seemed content to give up on WINNER (don’t get me started) and let Lee Hi sit in the basement for a while. They finally let her out though, and her album was a gift from up above. Overall, a nice year for k-pop.
You can also find almost everything on Spotify (save for anything JYP, so hateful! I just want to TT in peace).