Board Thread:Off-Topic/@comment-29512888-20190317211425

Hello everyone! Welcome to the second episode of Best K-Pop Songs of the Month! Sorry for being very late, I had to postpone it because of real life, and also because writing these posts takes quite a lot of time :P

Introduction
After the disappointment that was January, February decided to make up for its lack of interesting songs and filled me with quality. There are still a few songs that I don't like as much as others do (such as Hwasa's Twit), but it's still an improvement from January so I'm satisfied.

Honorable Mentions (a.k.a. I can't find lyrics to these songs except Allure but they still sound good so let's recommend them anyway)
NOTE: the songs I can't find the lyrics of always appear behind the songs I've found the lyrics of, even though I often like the former ones more than the latter ones. I didn't know acoustic guitar riffs could sound sexy, but well... now I do! Most South Korean indie artists waste their time with crap ballads or jazz-like background music for restaurants, but not all of them. The rollicking guitars and the catchy ad-libs make this song an exception to the rule. As a die-hard K-Pop fan, I'm the first person to admit almost everything in K-Pop is inspired from the West, with the exception of one genre that only exists in South Korea: trot. Here's a really good example. Although I occasionally follow J-Pop, I don't listen to it that much because it's very hard to find translated lyrics (or the song itself on Spotify). It's a shame, because I love this one and it would be very welcome in my library if I could find out what the heck this South Korean rock band is saying. The same applies to this one. It's no U Um U Um but I can still enjoy it. I think of it as a better version of Suzy's Sober.

10. The Pink Lady - God Girl
After talking about a few comebacks here and there, we finally get to the second 2019 debut I liked (after Valkyrie). I have no idea who these girls are, but what I do know is that this song gives me loads of early Mamamoo vibes with it funky production filled with brass riffs and lyrics with seductive attitude - after all, Mamamoo are great, and getting influenced from them is usually a good idea (unless you copy that horrible joke of a song from two years ago). As much as I love Mamamoo, I can't deny their initial retro concept was better, and I wish they could come back to it.

9. (G)I-DLE - Senorita
The moment has finally come: after a couple cracks, (G)I-DLE have a good song! I swear, LATATA and Hann (Alone) (and the entire I AM album for that matter) were so uneventful that I thought they would have forever been "the most average group in K-Pop"! Thankfully, I don't have to worry anymore, as they're proved me wrong. K-Pop has tried to make Latin-influenced songs for a while and, although it's nowhere near as epic as Egotistic, it's still a good result with its incredibly sexy atmosphere, which accompanies the performances very well. I admit I didn't expect a Latin trend to start in K-Pop but, as long as it doesn't copy reggaeton, I'm fine with its existence.

8. Wanna.B - Leggo
You know? It's been a while since I last went to dancing lessons. I would love to continue, but you know... school exists. I guess the producer of this song has just read my thoughts, because this is exactly what I need to get back to doing exercise: it's tough, punching and catchy as hell. Who wouldn't run or punch a boxing sack while blasting this in their headphones? It's no Eye Of The Tiger, but it still gets its job done as an inspirational workout track.

7. Loona - Butterfly
My favorite K-Pop group are back and, although it's not my favorite song in their repertoire, I'm still happy as hell. Butterfly grabbed me since the first second with its clever use of future bass, which builds a mystical atmosphere with its thudding drums and whirring synths. Then, right when something special is about to happen... something special actually happens, as a chaotic beat drop with pitch-shifted voices takes things to the next level! I admit the drop is not as great as everything else, and those whistle high notes get a bit annoying after a while, but all these elements still fit. I can't wait to see what else they have in store and, for now, remember: STAN LOONA!

6. SUV - Cheer Man
Those who followed K-Pop in 2017 might recall Marry Man, a collaboration between Super Junior member Shindong and South Korean 80's-fanatic duo UV that was absolutely great. Now, they are back with Cheer Man, and it's the exact same song, with all the best parts of Marry Man intact: awesome new wave production all over the place, reverb vocals and cheesy lyrics, all of this topped by enjoyable amounts of dorkiness. It's impossible not to smile at it and imagine to be in an old cathodic tube with MTV-like effects. Cheesy songs are something that should exist more in K-Pop, especially now that Orange Caramel and Crayon Pop have vanished from the spotlight, and I'm happy someone has fulfilled my wishes.

5. Z-Girls - What You Waiting For
K-Pop fans really love to find something to talk about, don't they? When this song came out, everyone complained about the members not being Korean and the song being in English - yeah, because nationality and language is MUCH more important than talent, isn't it? *rolls eyes* Why don't we talk about this song being really good instead? I've immediately loved it because it sounds a lot like 2000's pop and, since I was born in 2000, influences from that year are something I'd definitely love to see, although that rarely happens (not just K-Pop, but in general). Oh well... at least here's one more example.

4. Huta - Tonight (With Melody)
Everyone was all over Huta's abs last month after he debuted with YA and, while it's definitely not bad, it still didn't impress me enough in spite of all the hype. Luckily for me, he made up for that by releasing this other song from his Hutazone album as a single in February and boy, am I happy! I didn't really expect his goofy side to work more than the mature one from YA, but that simple beat really made me change my mind. It's pretty much nothing but a bunch of guitar licks and percussion, but that doesn't mean it's not enough, and it indeed puts a smile on my face when I listen to it. Bombast is good and all (especially when you realize half of your favorite genre has been taken over by toilet ballads), but sometimes a bit more subtlety is what you need, and this song does it really well.

3. Saturday - Wi-Fi
And then there are cases where a song is the copy-paste of its predecessor yet it doesn't matter because it's still great. If you have already heard the name "Saturday" in K-Pop, you might recall Mmok Jji Bba (or maybe not, but then it's not your fault - seriously, why did their agency call them "Saturday"??? Now they're doomed to unpopularity because no one will find them on Google :', and Wi-Fi is literally the exact same song with a slightly different melody and a brass riff that is more similar to BBoom BBoom's, but the combination of all these elements leads to the exact same result: infectious catchiness. If you are sick of BBoom BBoom because of all the overplay, this might do for you!

2. Dreamcatcher - Piri
Staying on the topic of "copying or not copying", Piri falls somewhere in between the two previous songs in the list: it obviously follows the formula of every preceding Dreamcatcher single, but there are also new elements thrown in the mix, such as the darker tones in the chorus and, most of all, that fantastic flute riff. I didn't expect a traditional instrument to be here, but I'm glad I've found it and I'd love to see more attempts at playing one in a song (other songs in this category are Hitchhiker's $10, which uses a sitar, and BTS' Idol, which mixes Korean folk music with trap). After all, K-Pop is all about being unique (or at least it should be), so why not go all the way?

1. Taemin - Want
Well, there's no way you couldn't see this coming. I've already said many, MANY times how much I love 80's influences and K-Pop is not exempt from that, so did you really think I would have not loved this? Not only that, but HOLY MOTHER OF EARTH, is Taemin charismatic as hell or what? Most K-Pop idols who start a solo career don't stand out that much when they are taken out of the group, but this guy just owns everything he makes with his Michael Jackson-infused style of performing, it's like the doctors injected MJ's blood in his veins when he was born. Of course it doesn't hurt that he's also quite hot and he knows how to flaunt his charm without coming off as a sleazeball, so all the potential this song has is immediately turned up to 100% and everyone wins.

Recommendations
The 80's throwbacks never stop! What a bop, I really wish JYP had released this instead of that awful Cheer Up song. In most cases, the feature track is the only good song in a K-Pop album while everything else is filler trash, but exceptions to the rule are always welcome in this world, especially when the feature track is as bad as Cheer Up. Oh. My. God. Not only is it a ballad, but it's also an album filler track that mostly consists of an acoustic guitar as is actually good! Good luck getting that chorus out of your head lol. We end this month's episode with this amazing piano ballad. Thanks everyone! 