#@ everyone who listens to music with lyrics while studying/writing: how. i would be endlessly distracted trying to understand the words | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bellaloona · 4 years

Text

My Top 19 K-Pop songs of 2019

(No one asked, but I’ll tell you anyway :) )

19. LOL - Taeyeon: I waited so long for Taeyeon’s new solo album to come out because her solo work has always really resonated with me, and I love the vibe she went for for Purpose. This is my favorite song from the album (along with Love You Like Crazy) because I love how soft the “ha, ha, ha” part in the prechorus is before louder, dramatic, sassy chorus comes in. It’s like an evil character’s song in a movie. 18. The Fifth Season (SSFWL) - Oh My Girl: It just sounds so pretty. Oh My Girl always sounds so pretty but something about this title track takes off when that chorus hits and makes you feel like you’re flying away in the true, whimsical, Oh My Girl fashion. They release nothing but good music, always. 17. Valkyrie - ONEUS: My favorite debut this year! Fun fact, Hwanwoong was my original one-pick in Produce 101 Season 2 and I was pissed he got eliminated so early and I was waiting for his debut ever since. Honestly, all of ONEUS’s stuff is pretty solid but this song is my favorite from them and definitely gave them a different sound than a lot of k-pop groups at the moment. Love the dance, love the guitar in the minimalistic part of the chorus into the EDM drop, and love my little man Hwanwoong :) 16. Baby You Are - EXO: This album took so long to come out that a lot of other groups caught my attention during the year and I wasn’t as hyped for their comeback as I usually would be, but immediately on first listen, this was my favorite song. ChanKai leading the chorus *chefs kiss* and I love the groovy vibe they went for and how this album went from intense songs to these lighter songs to the ballads. 15. Fun! - fromis_9: Exactly what you’d expect from the title of the song. They all looked great, sounded great, the choreo is cute, and I adore the spunky sound. The music video is really cheeky too! 14. Chronosaurus - Stray Kids: I was really unsure whether I would like Stray Kids because something about their debut stuff didn’t vibe with me at first but them Miroh came out and I was like oh??? And then I listened to this mini album and I was like OH???? THAT CHORUS! anyway we stan now 13. Dumb - BVNDIT: I was not expecting to like this song! I wasn’t the biggest fan of their debut because I was worried that they were going to have this group do the exact same style as Chungha, and while this comeback still has some of those vibes, I think the edginess of this song made it stand out to me. The choreography is one of my faves this year, simple and elegant at the same time and the girl that starts the second verse (Yiyeon?) has such a stunning vocal tone that really caught my attention. 12. Bing Bing - Red Velvet: not Red Velvet’s strongest year but this song and Parade stood out to me because it has that wacky classic “red” style that I like. The live performance is what pushed this song ahead of Parade for me, because they all look so sassy and confident and their runways walks ended ANTM’s career. 11. Happy Ending (JPN ver.) - Seventeen: is technically not a Korean song, and I know there’s a Korean version to it, but I’ve listened to this way too much for me not to include it. This song and Hit have my favorite choreographies of the year but I prefer how laid-back and acoustic parts of this song are despite how hard this dance goes. 10. Icy - ITZY: I wish I had just an ounce of the confidence these girls exude, especially Yuna when she gets her center time. Everything about this song is so strange yet done so right, and ITZY gets bonus points for being choreographed by my favorite choreographer on Youtube at the moment, Brian Friedman. 9. Lion - (G)I-DLE: I don’t want to like (G)I-DLE, because I hate how their concept is just cultural appropriation and the girls think it’s okay to use other cultures as an aesthetic or a costume they can put on whenever they want, and call it something like “ethnic hip.” But credit where credit is due, this group puts out some of the most creative, best quality music out there right now and Soyeon sure knows how to write a song. The power this song exudes.... amazing. Special shout-out to Blow Your Mind and Put it Straight from the Senorita album as well! 8. Spring Snow - Pentagon: Kino just knows what kind of music I like, and it is unfair that his song in every album is my favorite but here we are. This song just makes me feel endlessly happy, like the ending theme of a coming of age movie? They’re another group that put out nothing but quality music all year, and I also want to mention Sha La La which I feel deserved more love than it ever got. @ cube bring back Yanan please thank you 7. Highway to Heaven (Korean ver.) - NCT: I think I mentioned this in my concert recap but everyone was looking forward to Superhuman when the VCR for this song came out I immediately knew it was my new favorite NCT song.The MVs (for both versions actually!) are so simple and pretty and the song is so hopeful (in Korean......) and Haechan finally got his deserved high note, bless this song 6. We Must Love - ONF: my fatal mistake is not discovering ONF sooner, and it is also the mistake of literally everyone else who has not heard of them. because their viewcount is so LOW The melody in this song is so pretty and so dramatic and I LOVE THEIR MAIN VOCAL??? also this song made me fall in love with Laun literally 2 months before he left but I digress-- 5. LALALAY - Sunmi: I got so excited about this song that I learned the dance within the first week and that’s dedication right there. I love a good Lia Kim choreo, and I love the attitude and the energy Sunmi exuded. Also the stage outfits and makeup 11/10. 4. Devil - CLC: I want to put every song CLC put out this year on this list but I have no space so I picked my favorite. While I like CLC when they decide to go badass, I have a soft spot in my heart for songs like Pepe and No Oh Oh so having them give us that retro sound again was really refreshing. Sorn got lines! This was also another song I immediately learned the dance to. This was their BEST year by far and I’m looking forward to their album (hopefully, I’m tired of minis and singles) 3. You Calling My Name - GOT7: In all honesty, I haven’t fully liked a GOT7 comeback since 2015 (If You Do <3) which I feel awful about because they were one of the first songs I got into when I started liking k-pop that year. I kept up with their variety work and still liked the members and was waiting for another title track to catch my attention again and this one punched me in the face. I’ve listened to this song every day since it came out. Styling, on point, production, on point, and especially the CHOREO is on point. also jinyoung.....is very powerful..... 2. Rooftop - N.flying: I’M SO HAPPY FOR THEM!! I grew really attached to this group after subscribing to Jaehyun and Hun’s youtube channel (2idiots, best content out there lol) and I’ve been waiting for their big break because they’re all so nice and work so hard and it finally came! It amazes me how big this song got in Korea, and it’s so refreshing to hear. Hweseung’s vocals, ugghhhhh <3 1. DAY6′s entire discography Wanna Go Back - DAY6: wow I’m incredibly predictable aren’t I. I’ve been incredibly stressed with studying this year, and most kpop is too distracting for me to listen to while doing school work, but DAY6′s music has been really comforting and helping me to stay focused, which makes them my most listened to artist of the year. I struggled to pick a favorite song because they all are, but I settled on Wanna Go Back because it’s one of the only songs I know of that have made me cry on first listen. The lyrics hit too close to home, and it’s really meaningful to me that they put into words so eloquently.

Honorable mentions - %% - APINK, Hala Hala - ATEEZ, Satellite - LOONA, Colors - LOONA, Violeta - IZ*ONE, Mikrokosmos - BTS, Boy With Luv - BTS, Bloom Bloom - The Boyz, Picky Picky - Weki Meki, Movie Star (and the entire album that came with it) - CIX, 119 - NCT Dream, Bbyong! - Saturday, Blueming - IU, What Are You Waiting For - Anda, Get Loud -TWICE, Fancy - TWICE, Love Foolish - TWICE, Breakthrough (JPN ver.) -TWICE

In general, while I don’t think this is musically the strongest year for kpop, I feel like a lot of groups released music that was more true to their authentic selves and a lot of the songs that stood out to me are songs that just make me happy. As someone who loves kpop dances, the choreo this year was also impeccable. Here’s to more great music to come, and I hope everyone takes care of themselves into the new year!

#fun stuff

0 notes