(Exceedingly Excessively Belated Post)
ATEEZ: THE ATINY EXPERIENCE
- Swagger on "Work" (Kelly Clarkson live) and then Swaggier "Ice on My Teeth"
- Golden Hour b-sides; "Shaboom", "Siren", "Deep Dive", "Selfish Waltz", "Arriba".
- Bone meltingly sultry "It’s You", with San, Yeosang, and Wooyoung
- Mingi and Seonghwa doing respectable position swaps for "Youth" and "Matz"
- Solo ballads from maknae, Jongho "Everything", and resident bestest boy, Ateez of San "Snowflake"
- Ateez killing it on Dingo Killing Voice
- San showing range on Lee Mujin Service
- Copious videos from Coachella's fire live
- Oakland Towards the Light: Will to Power Concert and first Halazia stage
- Cinema version of Will to Power with fellow Atiny
- Endless cornucopia of official social content, including some astronomic fashion highs from San and Seonghwa
INCOMPARABLY SWOONY
PLAVE - "Way 4 Luv"
ONF - "Bye My Monster"
Cinematic angst in the footsteps of Ryuichi Sakamoto's score for last emperor meets Korean melodrama. Infinite-coded chorus foreshadows devastating spiritual dissolution through Rachmaninov's ravishing Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27 Adagio that follows. This song is such a journey. Let it overwhelm you.
BEST NEW STRAWBERRY - BOYSENBERRY EDITION
POW - "Valentine"
Aegyo tempered by bright beats. The pouty delivery is key here.
Zerobaseone - "Feel the Pop"
Lun8 - "Whip"
DANCEFLOOR POP
Le Serrafim - "Crazy", "1-800-hot-n-fun"
Aespa - "Whiplash"
Twice feat. Megan Thee Stallion - "Strategy"
TXT - "I'll See You There Tomorrow"
The Deep - "Bow Wow", "Love is...", "Sad Girls Club"
G-IDLE - "Wife"
Runners Up:
Class:y - "Psycho and Beautiful"
StayC - "1 Thing" (Performance), and bonus K-Pop ON! "Fancy" Cover
Kep1er - "Tipi Tap"
SURPRISES
Boynextdoor - "Earth, Wind & Fire", "Sweat"
Stray Kids (Puth) - "Lose My Breath"
82Major - "Stuck"
NexZ - "Ride the Vibe"
STRAY THOUGHTS + HONORABLE MENTIONS
CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED (by me), P1Harmony has been on my radar since "Scared", which is one of my favorite Kpop releases of all time and a track that I replay often. Despite keeping a keen eye on them, somehow the group never makes my list. I beg serious pardon to Keeho, whose unique timbre, musicality, and astounding vocal nimbleness (Watch him on Lee Mujin Service!!) make him a standout singer in Kpop. Furthermore, there is no one in the group that needs a hard carry. They are all clean on stage, both sonically and physicality, plus they are meme kings and super accessible online. Here they are at KBS Song Festival, "Killin' it":
Jin - "Running Wild", "I'll be There", "Super Tuna"
In a surprising twist, Jin's versatile vocals thread through sharp conceptual left turns in a solo so lighthearted and quirky that it brings out his shine.
Balming Tiger - "Buriburi"
- Ultimate STRAWBERRY Strawberry = TWS - "Plot Twist"
- Suddenly AMA Piano = Seventeen - "Spell"
- Kpop Kate Bush = Ive - "Imaginary Friend"
- Kpop Jpop = Itzy - "Algorhythym"
