Since I actually made an effort to watch debuts this year, I thought I’d make a rookies list. The Top Ten will not be particularly shocking…These are my fave MVs from rookies, sometimes the debut, sometimes not. I found this playlist on youtube of eighty (80!!) debuts this year, so in an attempt to bring attention to more poor wee bb groups/ppl, this will be a Top 20 list so I can include both my absolute faves (which you’ll probably know) AND some debuts I just found interesting. I don’t know anything about most of these groups btw except that I like their MVs.
ok, honestly I like Fanci more as a song, but I can’t watch that MV (bc fast cuts) so S.O.R.R.Y. it is! This is very different from Fanci, but still good. I like Medic Jin and Sun J. It’s very summery!
My top 5 boybands and male solo artist MVs this year, in no particular order – I decided to exclude BTS bc they’re obviously my #1 favourite artist, and yes I stuck to just 5 and a couple of honourables rather than 10 – I wasn’t feeling boybands this year nearly to the same extent I was into girl groups.
My fave boy with my fave mini of the year. I loved every single track off this. I listen to it all the time. Easy choice and yeah it’s obvious but I am who I am ok?
This on the other hand took me by surprise. Such a fun, catchy, throwback homage to rock’n’roll and Hollywood musicals – with a guest appearance from Anda, who I adore.
MY FAVE UNDERRATED BOYBAND will they ever get the recognition they deserve sob. I love the choreo in this, it’s so slick, and this comeback definitely belonged to the maknae line – get it Chani.
Again, not a surprise! It was wonderful watching them rise and keep rising this year. I just love my Jupiter Ascending space villain boyband that also loves kitties and is terribly, terrible sweet and awkward SO MUCH. ❤
The more sombre companion to I’m Not Afraid, this has a melancholy and urgency to it that really drew me in and the dancer is beautiful. Also, y’know, massive kudos to Holland for coming out and taking a stand for lgtbqi rights in a place where that is far from easy.
This whole mixtape was just beautiful and this MV is a work of art. This is maybe more genre-crossing than the others so I’m sticking it in the honourables.
And this is definitely not at all kpop but I had nowhere else to put it and I really wanted to mention it! This gave me Flaming Lips vibes, that rising swell of music. Great song, great band.
I’ve already done my best kpop choreography 2018 on twitter (here’s a link if that’s something you are into). But I’ve been thinking about my best kpop songs of 2018 list a lot. For a while thought I wasn’t going to do it, for a number of reasons, including the fact that I didn’t really listen to anything other than like 3 SHINee songs for the first few months of the year. But I’ve really loved reading everyone else’s lists, so I thought for 2018 I would just put up a baby list. I’ve left off some of the big hitters that I enjoyed but didn’t have much to say about, I assume everyone’s heard them anyway.
so here are some songs/music videos that have recently fed my all-consuming love of retro vibes:
“beautiful (digging club seoul ver.)” – stella jang.
this song & music video filter are the epitome of #aesthetic.
“thank u soooo much” – yubin.
i did not expect yubin to be the ex-wonder girl who would become the most committed to building on their group’s aesthetic, but i’m glad she did! it suits her well.
“i love you” – exid.
in between that addictive hook & a classic exid chorus, my favorite part of “i love you” is that sultry second verse which highlights hani’s lower register perfectly.
“gravity” – exo.
exo at their funkiest, i love it.
“koriga” – ultramodernista.
uhhh, no one look at me as i edit this post in real-time because i’m a parody of myself and there’s too much content.
Continuing the end-of-year list madness with the male artists that I consistently loved throughout the year, whether that was over one album or across multiple comebacks.
First up, because you know it’s coming:
Monsta X
I have shed many a tear (well, metaphorically anyway) over MX’s hard climb so this year has been a lot of vindication for my favourites. Following on from the highs of their first music show win ever for Dramarama late last year, they’ve had a phenomenal 2018, backed by really really great musical output. From Jealousy to Shoot Out (with FOUR #1 wins omg!), not to mention their banging Japanese releases (Spotlight, Puzzle and Livin’ It Up), they’ve confirmed that they really don’t have a bad song in their back catalogue. In short, I love them and I want all the good things for them, kthxbye.
popliar 