Welcome to the first installment of what I’ll be doing instead of Kpop highlights. It’s basically a monthly playlist with my favorites and a few accompanying sentences for each (because it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t write anything). I named this series simply ‘playlist’ because I thought maybe I could share other playlists in addition to my monthly favorites 🤔 Making kpop playlists along different themes has been my hobby for a while, so maybe it would be fun to share some of those here.
As for January, in the first half of the month, so many singles were released that I felt like going crazy. Can't anybody just drop an album these days without a pre-release single?
Also, there was a kpop-related sadness in me that I didn't know what to attribute to but it might just be that three of my top groups, BTS, SEVENTEEN, and TXT’s contents are kind of on hiatus? BTS is still releasing solo content only, SEVENTEEN is touring, and TXT is on an actual 2-month break. When I zoom out a little and look at it from a non-kpop perspective, 2 months is nothing but in this world it's pretty much unheard of that a popular group just goes on break for months, just to rest. They need it and deserve it and it makes me so happy but I also find it a bit hard to cope!
I could tell that January was sort of a warmup and February will be much busier. But above all, it was a great month as a 3rd gen kpop stan with BooSeokSoon, GFRIEND, and GOT7 all gracing us with new music 💜
BOYNEXTDOOR: my obsession with them continues into the new year, this song is amazing!
GFRIEND: I cried through this promo period, I can’t believe we got them back! I hope this proved that they could continue coming back every few years, like GOT7.
XLOV: fascinating debut, one of the best I’ve seen for YEARS! Two of my favorite Boys Planet boys, Wumuti (the first Uyghur idol, to my knowledge) and Rui are back 😭I love how they officially went for a genderless concept. Mandatory to check out for anyone who appreciates androgyny in men ✨
BooSeokSoon: Their songs improve my quality of life by 300%. They literally fill me with energy and motivation which I’m very much in need of these days. BSS might be one of my favorite subunits of all time!
ZEROBASEONE Japanese album: Most of the songs from this were already released upfront, like the title track which is a weird choice, to say the least. Now or Never is a great title track though, so sentimental! Out of the B-sides, I love love love Firework.
ZEROBASEONE Doctor! Doctor!: this song is the pre-release for their Korean album coming next month. It’s such a banger, I love this style the most for them.
&TEAM Yukiakari album: basically a December release but Deer Hunter promotions started in January and it’s the choreo of the year already for me, so I let myself include it here anyway. I knew they were a visual group but this promotion just made me realize that they're going to grow up to be some of the sexiest men in kpop! The album is full of god-tier songs and I only included the more upbeat ones that fit my style. Check out the album for some emotional, slower pieces, they have those too.
KickFlip debut: I was INVESTED in this group, and waited for their debut for 3.5 years since the audition show LOUD. The sound had to grow on me, I love Umm Great now but I'm still not fully there with Mama Said. However, they're definitely going for something unique, I'll give them that. The B-sides are fabulous, I had to include most in the playlist.
ONEUS: As much as I love them, they haven’t put out anything since Luna that touched me really deeply. I like Ikuk and Devilish Love from the new album but I’m still waiting for a track that will blow my mind.
Seulgi & Kim Wansun collab: This was so unexpected but Seulgi always has the coolest collabs! Love seeing Kim Wansun, the legend, back and they even performed on music shows! I love the 80s vibe of this song.
GOT7: We finally have them back 🥹 I wasn’t even surprised they put out another flawless album, just like the last one. Their music never misses! This was an emotional comeback for me, they made a few appearances on Korean shows and I reminisced about the old times along with them.
Minnie: Both the pre-release and title are great, though quite different! Some of the B-sides also made a lasting impression on me. I was pleasantly surprised by the songs in general, not that I underestimated Minnie but the solo debuts of idols so often feel like they’re checking something off a list these days. You can tell Minnie had genuine ideas and a clear concept in mind.
CIX: They’re really brave to continue without Baek Jinyoung, their most popular member by far. I enjoyed the title track and one of the B-sides and will keep rooting for them. The album seems like a big departure from their previous style and concepts and it’s not bad but I hope they’ll stick to what we’ve come to love them for. Off the mini album, I only liked two of the songs while CIX releases used to be no skip albums for me.
Jeonghan - Better Half: hearing Jeonghan's voice in a new song is like a balm for my soul ❤️🩹
And a few video recommendations because I can’t help myself:
This MV by Jennie, the song is not on streaming services yet but it’s so cool:
This performance video of Deer Hunter by &TEAM, it’s such a huge step forward for them as performers:
It’s really worth watching the dance practice for this masterpiece, they’re unreal:
GOT7 Killing Voice, similar feels to GFRIEND the month before:
Talking of GRIEND, we got Me Gustas Tu band version after all these years 🤧
Have a dose of BooSeokSoon happiness:
A choreography and a performance video were desperately needed for the beauty that is Moonstruck and we finally got it:
Look, I’m not a ballad person but Angel in A.C.E Kang Yuchan’s performance is something else:
A new variety travel show by Le Sserafim’s Kazuha and Yunjin that I’ve been really enjoying and the episodes are just 10 minute long:
BOYNEXTDOOR wasn’t promoting their song anymore when they won their first M Countdown trophy. Since leader Myung Jaehyun was there as MC, he performed the whole song alone in the encore, with his co-MCs hyping him up. What an ace and an emotional moment for us ONEDOOR:
ZEROBASEONE member Park Gunwook wrote, composed, and arranged this song for his birthday and it’s a pretty good one from a rookie idol!
I’m not like this usually but this performance on Moving Voices by Suzy and ATEEZ Jongho made even my heart flutter:
How do you like the new format? I admit, it’s much friendlier to my readers’ time and energy. And mine, as well 😅 While I enjoyed getting out all my thoughts about comebacks that the previous format allowed me, it is much more realistic that I won’t fall behind again if I continue doing this new one.
What were your favorites in January? Did you discover anything promising in my playlist? Let me know in the comments, feedback means the world to me!
I like the format and it definitely seems a lot more manageable for you! But I do love that you've kept in a little bit about your thoughts for each artist, as that's always so interesting to read.
XLOV had a fascinating debut for sure, and the boys seem really fun too (I loved their part-change version - I think it was at a fansign or something haha). I'll be interested to see what they do next!
Ooh, I spy ONEUS 🤭 I did like the album but Rupert's Drop remains my fave on it, I think, and that was a pre-release. None of the other songs stood out to me enough for me to add to my 2025 playlist. 😅
Obviously , Got7's comeback was my favorit in January. I realised how much I missed them. JayB has been my bias since the day I stan them, but this time Jinyoung had all my attention. Like ALL my attention (I mean OBSESSED !!) and it felt good. I'm always getting surprised !
Didn't knew nothin at all about XLOV, but you got my attention by mentionning their androgynous vibe. I sure will check that in the next days !