Genre categories go out the window this year and I considered blending the Kpop and World Countdown lists. + Japan cosplays the West via Korea via the West+ Pan Asia shows up in English + CiaraXG - ...everythingXG might be my NewJeans for 2023. Bringing more quality than expected and doing very little wrong. We are really not sure who the audience is though."Left...
+ Kpop crossovers and english language releases make headway in the mainstream+ More 90's vibes+ Remixes, always+ Feeling ho-hum about a lot equals contrarian track picks+ Countdown (Kpop and World) with the least boys and most self affirming lady businessThe CountdownJung Kook - "3D" ft Justin TimberlakeI honestly don't know if this is Kpop anymore but it makes me feel nostalgic, especially once...
Post Malone (ft. Doja Cat) - "I Like You" (A Happier Song)Pink Sweat$, P1Harmony - "Gotta Get Back"Eric Nam - "Lost On Me"Wizkid - "Bad To Me"SZA - SOS Album"Kill Bill", "Blind", "Gone Girl", "Special", "Shirt"SZA channels the messy intricacies of soul crushing female subjectivity through wounded aggression, delusional pop fantasies and chillingly urban production. CTRL was warmer, orbiting a more traditional R&B performativity,...
I prioritized travel and uw photography at the beginning of this year, and never got around to posting my yearly kpop list! Here it is now without revision, but with some hindsight commentary. Le Sserafim - "Antifragile"Reggaeton gets the kpop treatment with a sea sawing hook (after another hook), stuttering into a bad bitch anthem. The choreo is fire."AnTi T T T. Fragile. Fragile"Also...
Kyary Kyary Pamyu - "Dodonpa"THIS IS GENIUSBoys World - "Relapse"King Bitch - "Queen Bee"Silksonic - "Leave the Door Open"Troye Sivan - "Angel Baby"Justin Beiber - "Peaches"See Also: "Die for You"Rema - "Bounce"gareth.t - "boyfriend material"Zion.T & Gen Hoshino - "Nomad"Bree Runway ft. Missy Elliott - "ATM" Balming Tiger - "Just Fun"Silica Gel - "Hibernation"4s4ki - "Sugar Junky"Remi Wolf ft. Dominic Fike - "Photo ID"Hebe...
"Same same but different" is the key phrase for 2021. So much music, overwhelmingly competent and listenable. Lots of familiar motifs, at worst, sparking deja vu. At best, transcending the sense memory with some kind of twist and/or just plain excellence on the theme. The first 3 on this list "Cinema", "Cerberus", and TXT are definitively the cream of the latter.Cix - "Cinema"The...
Buck Tick - "Moonlight Escape"Nothing else on this list is ranked, except for this one. Number 1.Ariana Grande - "34+35"Descending melody and echoing melisma patterns at verse 2. Rico Nasty - "Lightning" Disclosure, Aminé, slowthai - "My High" Dua Lipa - "Hallucinate" Morgan Wallen - "7 Summers"I cried. 2 Chainz ft. Ty Dolla $ign, Lil Duval - "Can't Go For That"I'm here for the Hall...
After the emotional ups and downs of 2020, where a new dumpster fire seemed to erupt every week, trying to appreciating the small wins in life means that taking a walk around the neighborhood starts to feel like going to Disneyland. While gratitude and nostalgia shaped my 2020 Kpop Countdown list in a spirit of inclusiveness, the best songs truly nailed or created something new...
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