Continuing to catch up, this time with February's best songs. For kpop, at least, this is the calm before the storm that is the month of March. For other genres, it's business as usual, though with some particularly outstanding entries from the world of Korean hip hop.
π - Kpop
π€ - R&B
πΆ - Hip hop
πΉ - Ballad/vocal
π - Soundtrack
π½ - Electronic
πΈ - Rock
π΅ - Indie/alternative pop
These icons look terrible on night mode btw
#50 to #26
50. Chen - Make It Count (Touch Your Heart OST Part.1) π
49. Mr. Hong - Just a Little (ft. Summer Soul & City Girl) π΅
48. Trei - Gravity π
47. JayMin - Bad Tonight π€
46. Carmine - It's Okay π€
45. S2REN - No Where? Now Here! π΅
44. 7th Street - Life Goes On π΅
43. Leni - City Lights π΅π½
42. 5HOME - Dont π΅
41. Nana Mellie - Let Me Love π€
40. ClaD - Old Trail π€πΆ
39. Yeseo - Take Flight! π½
38. Infinite - Clock π
37. BRWN - Star (ft. 29thofmay) π΅
36. youra - Dance π΅
35. The Pink Lady - God Girl π
34. Younghertz - Show Me Love πΆ
33. CHS - Soul Overload πΈ
32. Yukika - Neon π
31. Wayout - Coward π€
30. The Poles - Sun Shower πΈ
29. Chawoo - Sad π€
28. UZA - So XXXXin What π΅
27. slchld - my insecurities, not yours π€
26. jiinko - Slow City π΅
#25 to #1
25. Rosy - Red Herring π€
24. Jang Dong Woo - News π
23. 9Muses - Remember π
22. eSNa - Spoon π€
21. Brandy - Alright π€
20. PUP - Uh Uh Um πΆ
19. SOMA - Betty π€
18. uju - Night in Seoul π΅
17. U Sung Eun - Deep π€
16. Jisook - Big Dipper π΅
15. (G)I-dle - Senorita π
14. Hail - flu πΉ
13. Dreamcatcher - Piri π
12. DALsooobin - Katchup π
11. Aseul - Joke π½
10. Sikboy - Rapman πΆ
9. Meego - Freeze (ft. Summer Soul) π΅
8. OA - I Will Be Your Tree πΉ
7. Hwasa - Twit π
6. xion - Your Song (ft. Leebada & Rick Bridges) πΆπ€
5. Shin Hae Gyeong - Dreaming of You (ft. Kim Sawol) πΉ
4. Junoflo - Icarus πΆ
3. Yayyoung - Look At Me Now π΅
2. Fred - Haze πΆπ€
1. Loona - Butterfly π
ARTIST OF THE MONTH: 9Muses gets the nod for putting the finishing touches on a nine year journey filled with far more downs than ups for a group that has had such consistently good music, good vocalists, good rappers, standout visuals, and everything else that should have made them much more successful than they were.
DISCOVERY OF THE MONTH: Fred. A rare example of when r&b and rap combine to make a whole that's greater than the sum of its parts. If you have any love for Korean hip hop, or if you can only give one of these tracks a listen, it should be Haze. Honorable mention for Sikboy, another gifted rapper I hadn't heard of before.
GENRE OF THE MONTH: Hip hop wins this month on the strength of Fred, Junoflo, Sikboy, xion, PUP and Younghertz, with two entries in the top 5 and four in the top 10. As someone who hasn't been particularly kind to Korean rappers, I was pleasantly surprised by these tracks, and I will happily let these artists continue to prove me wrong for sometimes being a bit dismissive of this genre as a whole.
What is this? My entirely subjective, unscientific, and unbiased ranking of the top 50 new singles and title tracks each month from all genres of Korean music. The top 25 songs are posted with videos and the rest have links to their MVs, and there are awards for artist, discovery and genre of the month. Every three months I will also include a quarterly list ranking the top 100 songs of the year.
Why do this? To scratch an itch for obsessing over lists, to force myself to not slack on keeping up with new releases, to point people at some good songs they might have missed, and to give attention to some of the great Korean music out there beyond the bubble of kpop.
Where do I find these? Mostly Youtube channels like Poclanos, 1theK, Genie, Stone, WLK, Danal, Mirrorball, Super Sound Bugs and danielions, as well as smaller channels, channels for specific record labels or artists, and a bit of Bandcamp and Soundcloud.
Why is this weird? I use the earliest date recorded for a release or MV, so you may see some songs appearing in a different month than expected. It's just a way to stay consistent, but it can yield some strange results, for example, the MVs for N.Flying's Rooftop and Chungha's Gotta Go being dated 12/28/2018, making them technically ineligible for this year's rankings.
If you want to be tagged for future posts (or removed) just let me know. If I already tagged you, you've either shown interest in the wider world of Korean music, or I just wanted to bother you.
Why do this? To scratch an itch for obsessing over lists, to force myself to not slack on keeping up with new releases, to point people at some good songs they might have missed, and to give attention to some of the great Korean music out there beyond the bubble of kpop.
Where do I find these? Mostly Youtube channels like Poclanos, 1theK, Genie, Stone, WLK, Danal, Mirrorball, Super Sound Bugs and danielions, as well as smaller channels, channels for specific record labels or artists, and a bit of Bandcamp and Soundcloud.
Why is this weird? I use the earliest date recorded for a release or MV, so you may see some songs appearing in a different month than expected. It's just a way to stay consistent, but it can yield some strange results, for example, the MVs for N.Flying's Rooftop and Chungha's Gotta Go being dated 12/28/2018, making them technically ineligible for this year's rankings.
If you want to be tagged for future posts (or removed) just let me know. If I already tagged you, you've either shown interest in the wider world of Korean music, or I just wanted to bother you.
π - Kpop
π€ - R&B
πΆ - Hip hop
πΉ - Ballad/vocal
π - Soundtrack
π½ - Electronic
πΈ - Rock
π΅ - Indie/alternative pop
These icons look terrible on night mode btw
#50 to #26
50. Chen - Make It Count (Touch Your Heart OST Part.1) π
49. Mr. Hong - Just a Little (ft. Summer Soul & City Girl) π΅
48. Trei - Gravity π
47. JayMin - Bad Tonight π€
46. Carmine - It's Okay π€
45. S2REN - No Where? Now Here! π΅
44. 7th Street - Life Goes On π΅
43. Leni - City Lights π΅π½
42. 5HOME - Dont π΅
41. Nana Mellie - Let Me Love π€
40. ClaD - Old Trail π€πΆ
39. Yeseo - Take Flight! π½
38. Infinite - Clock π
37. BRWN - Star (ft. 29thofmay) π΅
36. youra - Dance π΅
35. The Pink Lady - God Girl π
34. Younghertz - Show Me Love πΆ
33. CHS - Soul Overload πΈ
32. Yukika - Neon π
31. Wayout - Coward π€
30. The Poles - Sun Shower πΈ
29. Chawoo - Sad π€
28. UZA - So XXXXin What π΅
27. slchld - my insecurities, not yours π€
26. jiinko - Slow City π΅
#25 to #1
25. Rosy - Red Herring π€
24. Jang Dong Woo - News π
23. 9Muses - Remember π
22. eSNa - Spoon π€
21. Brandy - Alright π€
20. PUP - Uh Uh Um πΆ
19. SOMA - Betty π€
18. uju - Night in Seoul π΅
17. U Sung Eun - Deep π€
16. Jisook - Big Dipper π΅
15. (G)I-dle - Senorita π
14. Hail - flu πΉ
13. Dreamcatcher - Piri π
12. DALsooobin - Katchup π
11. Aseul - Joke π½
10. Sikboy - Rapman πΆ
9. Meego - Freeze (ft. Summer Soul) π΅
8. OA - I Will Be Your Tree πΉ
7. Hwasa - Twit π
6. xion - Your Song (ft. Leebada & Rick Bridges) πΆπ€
5. Shin Hae Gyeong - Dreaming of You (ft. Kim Sawol) πΉ
4. Junoflo - Icarus πΆ
3. Yayyoung - Look At Me Now π΅
2. Fred - Haze πΆπ€
1. Loona - Butterfly π
ARTIST OF THE MONTH: 9Muses gets the nod for putting the finishing touches on a nine year journey filled with far more downs than ups for a group that has had such consistently good music, good vocalists, good rappers, standout visuals, and everything else that should have made them much more successful than they were.
DISCOVERY OF THE MONTH: Fred. A rare example of when r&b and rap combine to make a whole that's greater than the sum of its parts. If you have any love for Korean hip hop, or if you can only give one of these tracks a listen, it should be Haze. Honorable mention for Sikboy, another gifted rapper I hadn't heard of before.
GENRE OF THE MONTH: Hip hop wins this month on the strength of Fred, Junoflo, Sikboy, xion, PUP and Younghertz, with two entries in the top 5 and four in the top 10. As someone who hasn't been particularly kind to Korean rappers, I was pleasantly surprised by these tracks, and I will happily let these artists continue to prove me wrong for sometimes being a bit dismissive of this genre as a whole.
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