Kpop highlights #5 - June

As always, I’m extremely late with this summary of my June favorites. I felt a bit weird posting it when everyone’s already moved on from summer but I want to keep doing my own thing (isn’t that the number one advice given to content creators?), so here’s what I liked in June, I guess!

I started my new job in June so that’s another reason why I can’t seem to keep up with these articles. A lot of work goes into compiling everything, organizing my thoughts, finding the best videos, and creating a playlist and a cover image. I just didn’t have the mental capacity to do all that but I did work on it sometimes during my commute.

Honestly, what keeps me going is the people who tell me they learned about an artist or a song from here and they became a fan because of my recommendation. If you like anything in this list or have any thoughts about any of the below, do let me know in the comments because that’s the best feeling and my fuel as an aspiring culture writer.

As always, you will find a playlist of all the mentioned songs at the end of this article. And of course, if you know anyone who’d enjoy this post or my blog in general, don’t hesitate to spread the word 💜

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ACE - Supernatural

I’ve talked a lot about my love for A.C.E here already but honestly, I’ll never shut up about them. One of my main goals with this blog is to get at least one new stan for them 😂 They’re chronically underrated and they shouldn’t be! They’re a 7-year idol group, all five members serve god-tier vocals, dance skills, and visuals, they speak English, care a lot about their international fans and never put out a bad quality track. Their English songs are especially good, which is not extremely common in the kpop world: Down, Effortless are good examples, and now Supernatural can join this list too.

I would describe it as a carefree, groovy summer track centered around love and attraction but in my opinion, it is the choreography that makes it stand out. This is their first comeback as a full group after their maknae, Kang Yuchan completed his service!

By the way, this song has like 40 different remixes too, in every possible genre 😄I liked a lot of them but they were not earth-shattering like some memorable remixes. It might be worth checking out if you already like the song though.

ARTMS debut

I mentioned ARTMS almost every month since I started doing these highlight posts so I don’t really need to introduce them again. We (former LOONA stans, forever Orbits) prepared a lot for this debut. The four pre-debut tracks built up anticipation and it is a momentous occasion because these five members are finally back under their original mentor, Jaden Jeong’s wings. We expected them to put out music that would be a worthy continuation of LOONA’s legacy and boy, did we get that.

I realize that liking the LOONA/Jaden Jeong/Modhaus sound is a niche interest within kpop and it’s a lifestyle in itself. I live and breathe it and can never get tired of it so I eat up everything that tripleS and ARTMS/Odd Eye Circle put out.

The <Dall> album is no exception to that rule. I’m in love with the virtual/divine/celestial/cosmic vibes, both visually and in the soundscape. If I had to choose one kpop vibe to live inside, I’d choose this one 💜

I can’t even say which songs I like the most. I’ve already heard (and reviewed here) Birth, Flower Rhythm, Candy Crush, and Air, all of which are amazing. The title track Virtual Angel is a beautiful crownpiece of the album, but all the other B-sides are on the same level! If I MUST pick a favorite out of them, it would have to be Distress but I refuse to rank the rest!

Another fun fact is that the title track MV has two versions at the moment, the regular one (some fans call it the Angel Eyes version), which is so full of flashing lights, quick movements, and cuts that it’s almost unwatchable and even has a seizure warning. The other one (linked above) is the Human Eyes version which does not have the aforementioned issues and is just a very pretty, hyper-aesthetic MV. Since everything about LOONA has been highly conceptual since the very beginning, a lot of fans theorize that the original version of the MV is for ‘inhuman’ or ‘virtual’ eyes or it’s made that way because they’re angels according to the concept and humans are unable to look directly and for too long at angels.

WayV comeback

As far as I know, this is the first time the Chinese branch of the NCT franchise, WayV, gets a proper Korean promotion period. The album itself has several Korean songs, they did variety show appearances, and music shows which they even won once! I’ve been a long-time fan of Ten but I didn’t know much about the other members. Thanks to the extended promotions, I discovered that they’re a really fun and hilarious group so I got inspired to listen to their whole album (I usually just listen to their title tracks).

My jaw dropped though because it’s a near-perfect album, I think I added all the songs to various playlists. The title track Give Me That surprised me with its grooviness and hip-hop mood because I knew WayV as a group that always puts out monumental, dramatic music. I appreciate that genre too and a lot of their older songs made it into my playlists but I found that I reach for songs with a cinematic value a bit less in everyday life. In contrast, I listened to Give Me That a lot since its release.

My B-side highlights are She A Wolf (what’s with kpop’s obsession with wolves?) and Might As Well.

TREASURE comeback

TREASURE occupies a special place in my heart but I wasn't immediately sold on this comeback. The only problem with this group is that they're under YG (competing for the spot of my least favorite company with SM) and I'm getting tired of the company’s formula. Their producers love repetitive, nonsense phrases as the chorus (see Blackpink’s discography), loooove cultural appropriation, and basically all title tracks have the same sound. With that said, the TREASURE members are such stellar performers and vocalists that they can make me like anything. I got around to enjoying this song, even though we have seen them shine a lot brighter in way more imaginative songs like Going Crazy, Darari, I Want Your Love, and B.O.M.B. I didn’t need much convincing to enjoy the choreo and the performance though!

BADVILLAIN debut

I like that some groups take it upon themselves to keep the girl crush concept alive and that there are more and more hip-hop-focused girl groups these days. BADVILLAIN joins this wave of 5th gen kpop with their debut and I’m quite excited about what else they have prepared for the future.

It's also cool seeing small to midsize companies coming into their own and debuting groups with potential and a proper budget (although BPM just signed Taemin which might as well launch them into the big league).

BADVILLAIN has four songs so far and all of them have some kind of MV or performance video. I linked my two favorites, Hurricane (which reminds me of XG) and +82 which has more of an old-school vibe. While I don’t know any names yet, the girls all have distinct visuals and some of them already caught my eye so I think it will be easy to remember them.

Kep1er album, last comeback as 9 members

How bittersweet is it that Kep1er released the best album of their career when they were supposed to be disbanding? It turns out that none of the girls' companies, except for Mashiro and Yeseo (who will likely join LIMELIGHT), had plans for them so they extended their contracts and will continue as seven members. It's still sad af that this group was mistreated a lot by their company and they only got it together for what was supposed to be their goodbye. It's like finally getting something you wanted all along in a romantic relationship, but it's already the breakup. Luckily we've gained some more time with most of the members but I'm still worried for their future since WAKEONE obviously hadn't planned for this turn of events when they seemingly didn't even plan their actual career so far. 

I just hope the girls are happy with this and I'm glad they're getting more time on the stage, especially Yujin who's already considered old at 28 (which is ridiculous, of course). 

This title track sound and MV aesthetic are what fans have been requesting all this time: a dreamy, feminine space concept with proper line distribution, so that's at least satisfying.

My favorite songs besides the title track Shooting Star are Last Carnival, Curious, Double Up! (an absolute banger), and Problem.

ONE PACT mini album

I was looking forward to what ONE PACT would come back with this time and was really hyped for this mini album. I wish there wasn't the cultural appropriation aspect to their MV but I won't linger on it too long, they obviously realized their mistake, tried to correct it, and hopefully, they won't do it again. The song and the MV are absolutely amazing when you look past that issue (I didn’t embed the MV here but it’s worth checking out for its artistic value). Tag and Yedam are pulling out all the stops vocally in the absence of Jay. Tag is a brilliant producer, his songs are unlike anything else currently in kpop and so visceral. I’m still maintaining what I previously said about them: they remind me of BTS in their nugu era with how they’re producing their own music that goes against current trends and popular expectations and has really deep and beautiful lyrics. They also have A LOT of angst.

I’m just sad that they got Jay Chang on board, one of the best vocalists of their generation, but he's currently absent from their comebacks because of his activities with a project group. It is painful but hopefully, it really is temporary.

I highly recommend the title track Fxx Off and Deja Vu but the slower-paced Period is nice too.

Nayeon NA album

It wasn't on my 2024 bingo card that Nayeon would release one of my favorite albums of the year! She is my Twice bias and I enjoyed her solo debut too (POP! is such an icon) but I think this style fits her even more. The dance break in the title song MV is totally unexpected but she killed it!

I'm all for the early 00s pop/R&B revival currently going on, it's the sound of my childhood after all. This album is so good, in fact, that I decided to buy the limited edition color vinyl when I can. I really can’t even begin to explain how much I played this album on repeat, especially when I struggled during the first month of my job.

All the songs are flawless in my book but my favorites are the title track ABCD, Magic (which features Julie from Kiss of Life!!), and Butterflies.

As a side note, Nayeon looks so pretty in this comeback, she’s totally my girl crush 😍

RIIZE first full album

I'm glad that RIIZE finally came out with their first album after a year of singles but I don't fully vibe with this tactic where a group only releases singles and the album ends up being just a collection of those. I liked all their songs individually, especially Love 119 and Impossible. And of course, Get a Guitar rose to the status of a legendary song last year. The only brand new track here is Boom Boom Bass which I feel builds on what worked so well for them in Get a Guitar. The chorus sounds like something SHINee would have put out ages ago and the choreo is so impressive (I admit to perusing Wonbin's fancams for the killing part quite a bit).

EVNNE comeback

EVNNE quietly came out with one of the best albums of the year and it's sad that most kpop fans will never know about it because the group is still mostly in nugu territory. Their first two title tracks, Trouble and Ugly were hard-hitting, more on the aggressive side but it was time to change things up a bit and show a new side. And they executed that task spectacularly. Badder Love is sentimental and angsty in the way that an anime or a high teen drama is; you imagine people riding their bikes angrily, only to be stopped by a passing train, late nights in the city and bonfires by the sea, first love and first lovesickness. And I keep talking about EVNNE's superior vocals, they are leaders of their generation in this department for sure.

The B-sides are just as good, I keep going back to all of them. The highlights are I <3 U, XO, and Boom Bari, so basically almost all the songs.

Jeonghan x Wonwoo This Man album promotions

Everything about this SEVENTEEN subunit surprised me! The combination of members, the concept, the scale of the promotions, the budget and aesthetic of the MV, and then finally, the sound of the song. You know I love a good worldbuilding and lore-filled comeback and Last Night scratched that itch. The story is so intricate and sad and beautiful. There's even a 40-minute audiobook accompanying the comeback which was read by Jeonghan and Wonwoo themselves and written by an acclaimed Korean author. I wish they published the graphic novel they show in the second video though, it’s straight out of a collector’s dream!

Even though I didn’t expect Jeonghan and Wonwoo in a subunit, they work really well together. While the former has an airy, soft voice, the latter has a more rough timbre. I think their visuals present the same duality. I wish I watched more content where they explain what this song and the album mean to them so I’d have something to add about their artistic vision.

The song threw me for a loop at first because I truly didn’t think it would have this Latin guitar sound based on tracks Jeonghan and Wonwoo usually participate in. The teasers and the MV visuals also suggested a very different vibe! But I enjoy the stark contrast between the dark imagery and the brightness of the song. The synth part of the post-chorus unearthed a long-forgotten memory in me: the melody kind of reminded me of what I heard from Peruvian street musicians who used to be ubiquitous in Hungary during my childhood! I wish someone who knows more about the technicalities of music could tell me what this association might be based on.

The mini album contains one solo song as well by each member. Both are good but I prefer Jeonghan’s track because unfortunately, Wonwoo’s is the exact kind of ballad that I don’t normally enjoy listening to. It’s a fun change up for him to have tackled this genre and it is objectively a good song, just not my cup of tea.

KEY Japanese single

Key does in this two-track single what he does best. Both songs are very groovy and synth-heavy and are elevated by Key’s signature vocal tone. The MV also has his typical quirkiness and flamboyance but you can see that the scale is much smaller due to it being a Japanese release. Of the two songs, I actually prefer the B-side Fresh. This single is mandatory listening for Key stans!

TripleS - Inner Dance

TripleS has finally boarded the single train as well, to my chagrin. At the time of writing this article, they have released two singles, each with one song only. Since they've been steadily releasing albums for the past year, it's a bit of a disappointment but I guess it’s also understandable. They need to follow the trends after all. I really really like Inner Dance though, it was one of my go-to songs during the summer.

If you watch the performance video I linked, keep in mind that most TripleS members debuted after a very short training period and they are a bit unpolished still. I kind of enjoy this about them, it’s refreshing to see in the kpop industry where perfection seems to be the only acceptable way of existing.

NewJeans Japanese single

Another single but at least we're used to that from NewJeans. These two songs are just as amazing as the other tracks they released a month earlier.

Supernatural is a funky mixture of city pop and New Jack Swing, both are genres very dear to my heart so this was going to win me over from the start. I love how the MV has these 90s VHS vibes and incorporates some sci-fi elements and futuristic fashion. And the heavy hip-hop choreo, also inspired by the 90s, is just so cool. There are actually two versions of the MV but I embedded only Part 1 because I liked that one more.

Right Now is a total earworm, I can’t get it out of my head! The genres for this are supposed to be liquid drum and bass and contemporary R&B which seem to fit, as far as I can tell. Drum and bass is another genre that I can’t get enough of in kpop so that might be the reason why I’m addicted to it so much. The MV here is a highly saturated, cartoonish, comic book dream, centered around the experience of messaging a guy with your best friends around. It’s really really fun and has a lot of original ideas!

I’ve mentioned this in an earlier monthly highlight too, but a reminder might be needed as things have started to heat up once again: I will not be talking about the controversies surrounding HYBE’s girl groups on this blog. I firmly believe that this is a fight between the executives and it’s all about greed and power, the various idols involved are just caught up in it and they are the victims. So I will keep enjoying the music of all of them without hating on anyone and the rich people trying to control them can just solve their own problems.

Red Velvet Cosmic album

I like most Red Velvet releases but it’s been a while since one of them really excited me (it was probably Feel My Rhythm and the accompanying album). With Cosmic, I feel like I’m finally getting there again!

I love it when they do this delicate pastel concept but it's still creepy, I got Midsommar vibes from the MV but I was like “they wouldn't”, and I can't believe they actually did, it says so at the end of the MV that it was the inspiration!! That’s all kinds of wild for kpop.

Both the song and the MV are somewhere between Psycho and Feel My Rhythm when it comes to sound and atmosphere. But it’s also groovier than both, especially at the beginning and during the verses. The chorus is very different but very Red Velvet, it’s a cathartic melody which conveys the feeling of a bright, wide space opening up which goes well with the title Cosmic.

However, the real stars of the album are the B-sides for me as it is often the case with Red Velvet. The ones I especially liked were Last Drop, Love Arcade, Bubble, and Night Drive. They all have the soft, glittery, synth-heavy electronic sound with R&B vocals which is my go-to choice as a listener.

Kwon Eunbi single album

I feel like Kwon Eunbi is a hidden gem of a female solo singer, most people are still sleeping on her! She releases banger after banger and didn’t miss with Sabotage either. The song itself is a very summery piece with strong dance and euro house influences and it might not be groundbreaking but it’s extremely fun. She gave me the vibes of a young Uhm Junghwa in this and I hope she becomes an icon like her later, she totally has the potential. I also like how she’s started to cultivate an image of herself where she’s the kind of female idol who interacts with male dancers, male actors in MVs, and other male idols in a suggestive way and people just go along with it because she does it so confidently.

Out of the two B-sides, Unnatural is a fun R&B track and Bad Blood is heavy on Latin music and I totally adored both of them.

HAN - Maybe

Finally, I can include a hanpop in my list! For anyone wondering, this is what we affectionately call the songs produced by Han of Stray Kids because he has such a distinct style that it could be its own genre.

He’s been dropping his songs almost every month now but for some reason, it never occurred to me to add them here even though I obviously want to spread the word about them. The only downside is that these songs are not on streaming platforms yet so I can’t add them to my Spotify playlists.

I love that he's experimenting with new genres! I don’t think he released anything so far that had this shoegaze, alt-indie feel to it. Of course, in Korea, it just belongs under the generic label of ‘easy listening’ which means everything that’s not aggressive, maximalist, powerful, or too hip-hop. The whole vibe of this is immaculate though.

Favorite of the month

ATEEZ comeback

ATEEZ is one of those groups where you never have to worry about whether their next comeback would be good - they consistently overdo their last release, even when that seems totally impossible. I thought they already reached the top with Bouncy but it turns out they still had Work up their sleeves. It came out just as I landed my new job so that was perfect timing! At least I had a song to keep me motivated.

I linked the performance of it too because I’m always in awe of ATEEZ’s live singing skills, given how intense their choreo is.

The entire album is heavily Latin-inspired musically, which I believe they feel safe to explore due to how large their Central and South American fanbases are and how positive the feedback is whenever they do so. It’s certainly not the first time they've tried this sound (most notably, they had Arriba in the last album) but here it seems to be more of an overarching theme.

My favorite B-sides from the album are Blind, Shaboom and Siren.

The MV is also very interesting from an artistic direction point of view. It draws influence from many different sources, most notably inspired by LA culture and two of the city’s most iconic populations, Mexican and Korean-American. Some old western/gold rush imagery is also used. And there are so many random references I can’t even list, to GTA and the myth of the golden egg, etc.

My current prediction is that Work will definitely make it onto my year-end list, it’s the kind of song I can never get tired of. I really hope it did well in Korea, it had the viral potential of Bouncy, but even more so in my opinion.

I also had to include their appearance on Killing Voice. I’m just emotional that they’ve already reached the legendary idol tier where they even get invited to a show like this! I can’t even think of another 4th gen male idol group that did it. Going through the highlights of their discography (even though I missed many personal favorites) and witnessing their vocal prowess made me so proud of them and I’m really honored to be able to call them my idols.

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As always, if you’ve gotten this far, I love you and you’re the reason this blog can continue to exist 💜

Let me know in the comments what you enjoyed in June out of these!