PS! K-Pop Song Recommendations

[aegii]

The PS! K-Pop Room's

~ Song Recommendations Thread ~

Art by PokeArt2004♥, thread approved by nya and Teclis

안녕! Welcome to the K-Pop room's song recommendations thread! This thread is inspired by the wonderful thread that The Studio created, and is where K-pop fans can leave recommendations for songs that we love!

Every month, the K-pop auth will introduce a theme for that given month along with a thread post containing all of our picks. Then we open it up to the rest of the community to recommend songs for the theme as well, but anyone can recommend any song they like, whether it fits the theme or not!

When leaving your recommendations, please include the following:​

#1: Your PS! Username (or Smogon Username if you don't use Pokemon Showdown!)
#2: The artist and title of the song you're recommending in the format of: "Artist - Title"
#3: A link to the audio of your recommendation (Can be provided on any platform (Soundcloud, Spotify, etc.), but YouTube should be the primary one)
#4: An optional description to go with your recommendation. These should consist of why you like the song, your favorite parts, etc.

Recommendation format template here!

• PS! Username:
• Song:
• Link:
• Description: (this one is optional, only paste if you're leaving one)

​

We look forward to seeing your recommendations!​

 

[oaklies]

April Song Recommendations
To introduce ourselves, our first theme will be our all-time favorite song. Get ready! :)

[# Room Owners]
aegii
Song: IZ*ONE - FIESTA
Year: 2020
Description: this song was the light in my time of darkness, the path when i was lost, i still miss them

Citadark Isle
Song: T-ARA - Sexy Love
Year: 2012
Description: It's 2012. Over the last year, T-ARA have released hit song after hit song, (Roly Poly → Cry Cry → We Were In Love → Lovey Dovey → Day By Day → ...), and risen alongside KARA, Girls' Generation, Wonder Girls, and 2NE1 as one of the Korean pop girl groups with both incredible musical impact and a ginormous fandom. In just a few days following their biggest concert yet, however, the messy departure of one of their members due to a fabricated bullying incident, (which wasn't disproven until 2017), lead to plummeting numbers in their domestic fans and overnight T-ARA became the most hated K-Pop group in Korea. Still, T-ARA's musical quality did not dip, and they released in September what I fear is their magnum opus (and let me tell you, having a favorite from this group is tough, as many consider their discography flawless [their 2009 debut album repackage Breaking Heart is often named one of the most cohesive and highest quality in K-Pop.]) Fitting, too, is it that my favorite Pokémon is Forretress, as recited near the song's end is a lyric rapped by member Areum: "Let's make a bomb." And this song is a bomb, of sorts. An electronic dance pop number written by Choi Gyu Sung and legendary producer and composer Shinsadong Tiger, Sexy Love from start to finish elicits desire. Press play and close your eyes—suddenly you are transported to a dark club in Itaewon; and all around you are strangers who are a little too close for comfort. Your drink of choice, the third of the night, is spilling from your glass as the bodies throttle you around the dance floor. But, illuminated by the red, blue, green and silver beams of light, you make out the face of someone truly beautiful. Your entire body is possessed by the intoxicating beat and simple lyricism of T-ARA's Sexy Love as you make your way over to them, and it is truly unforgettable.


[@ Room Moderators]
beedrillmega
Song: Heize - HAPPEN
Year: 2021
Description: groovy baby

[% Room Drivers]
MK
Song: SEVENTEEN - GAM3 BO1
Year: 2021
Description: we need more k-(hyper)pop

oaklies
Song: T-ARA - Roly Poly in 코파카바나
Year: 2011
Description: an iconic song, dance, and group, and they do it so effortlessly too...

starlight lovesong
Song: IVE - After Like
Year: 2022
Description: I initially hated this song but it really grew on me quickly and it turned into my favorite song ever. The I Will Survive sample goes hard o7

[+ Room Voices/Alumni]
pisx
Song: Berry Good - Angel
Year: 2016
Description: my fav!

rien
Song: Brave Girls - Rollin'
Year: 2017
Description: THE quintessential summer song

skies
Song: Vernon - Black Eye
Year: 2023
Description: put a muzzle on me i’ll spit in ya mouth margot robbie dancing.gif

sluffy
Song: CHUNG HA - Comes N Goes
Year: 2021
Description: The song feels sad and dreamy. It's about missing someone and not knowing if your relationship will last. It talks about meeting by chance and being afraid sometimes. Even though the connection is temporary, you want to hold onto it tightly. The lyrics compare the relationship to an old fairy tale that comes and goes, here for a little while and then disappearing again.

Art by the wonderful Ciran :)

Thanks for stopping by - see us next month for more K-Pop!​

 

[AtlasNeo]

Not a rec, but glad to see that K-Pop has its own thread now! Looking forward to see the recs come through!

Also Aegii the goat

 

[aegii]

Hello K-poppies!

Just so there's more content I've decided to make a post for the K-pop room's Spotlight of the Month!! If you haven't visited the room before (please do) we run a poll at the start of every month featuring songs that were released in the previous month, and visitors can vote on the poll to decide which song is featured in our roomintro for the month!

The spotlight artist and song for April 2024 is ILLIT - Magnetic!

​

ILLIT (pronounced I'll-It) are the newest girl group by HYBE Labels, home to K-pop mainstays such as BTS and SEVENTEEN. The group was formed from the survival audition program R U Next?, and has 5 members Yunah, Minju, Moka, Wonhee and Iroha. They officially debuted not more than a few weeks ago, on 25th March 2024 with the album SUPER REAL ME. Its title track is the featured Magnetic, as well as 3 B-side tracks in My World, Midnight Fiction and Lucky Girl Syndrome. I highly recommend giving the album a listen on Spotify or other sites!


Alongside our main spotlight, we have additional spotlight recommendations! While these are usually the B-sides to the album of the spotlight track, since ILLIT are a relatively new group with not as many songs, we've also included some recommendations from their labelmates!

♪ ENHYPEN — Bite Me

♪ Tomorrow X Together — Blue Hour​

♪ fromis_9 — Stay This Way​

♪ LE SSERAFIM — Eve, Psyche and the Bluebeard's Wife

♪ ZICO — Any Song​

♪ NewJeans — Hype Boy​

♪ SEVENTEEN — Super

♪ BTS Jungkook — SEVEN and rien insisted i include the yves cover too so here​

 

[wind]

haihai! starlight lovesong, room driver, also best known as wind or windingsss, reporting to drop some kpop recs from my recent discoveries and playlists

me as I type this post

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ 1. Kiss of Life - Midas Touch

Kiss of Life is such a talented group!! I wasn't really sold on them before but their recent comeback and title track, Midas Touch, really convinced me. They woke up and chose to SERVEEE mama, and overall I think this is an amazing song, with amazing choreo and an AMAZING MV. Definitely give it a shot! I've fallen in love with it.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ 2. tripleS LOVElution - Girls' Capitalism

As silly as the title might sound, this song I think is really powerful and an absolute bop. The girls look STUNNING from head to toe and this track is just such a vibe; the "la-la-la-la heart~" and "call me beauty" lines have been stuck in my head for weeks now. Also, there's something about this song that is just kinda mean-girls-gossip-girl-coded (in a good way) that I enjoy so much.

๋࣭ ⭑⚝ 3. Le Sserafim - We got so much

Overall, I think the "Easy" era was perfect for Le Sserafim, however... this track is the standout for me! There's something so warm and familiar about it... It always makes me feel nostalgic when I listen to it. The vocals are on-point and I think its got a very catchy rhythm and chorus that you won't forget about for days to come. The EP as a whole is chef's kiss, but I believe We got so much deserves a special shoutout! Go listen to Le Sserafim's discography while we're at that, you won't regret it :))
​

This has been it for me this month! Overall, I wanted to go with soft (kinda LOL), vibey-songs that I believe anyone can enjoy. My dms are always open on discord (sweetrewind_) or PS if you wanna chat or get into the kpop wave! Enjoy these songs and remember, shine like jewelry! ⋆⭒˚.⋆

 

[skies]

☆ the boyz - bloom bloom ☆
​

this was the first song i had heard by the boyz, and the one that got me to become a huge fan of the group. to this day, i have accumulated a grand total of 17,010 scrobbles on last.fm from them... it's brainrot, really, but regardless of all that, this song is perfection. truly, i would go as far as to say it's one of the best kpop songs ever released. the brightness, the freshness, it's all so delectable. they are excellent at pulling off the boy next door concept, and i find that their dancing is some of the best in all of kpop. take this q fancam for instance; their choreography is always just so much fun to watch. they're such an unbelievably talented group, and although i do prefer their older music to their more current music, i think that they are undeniably slept on superstars in the realm of kpop. so, i humbly recommend bloom bloom to whoever may read this because it brings me so much joy, and i hope it does the same for you.

☆ seventeen - to you ☆​

seventeen was a bit of a different stanning process for me to be honest... i heard aju nice and was immediately obsessed. i heard some of their other stuff through recommendations of my fellow carat MK and was like alright cute. however, they released this song and i knew i had to file for a permanent stan card. seventeen is such an immensely talented group it's actually almost scary... this song is their magnum opus in my eyes. it's genuine pop perfection. the little bits of rock laced into it, the high notes, the build-up... ugh i'll never get over it. this song is so fucking good lois. i do think this is one of the best kpop songs ever released, and hands down seventeen's best song. is it my favorite seventeen song? no, i think that i would debate in my own head about that, but i would say it's their objective best. like, for non-kpop girlies, it's like how i see track 10 as charli xcx's best song, but i think delicious is my favorite song by her. hopefully that makes sense? also, i think vernon is one of the most talented and versatile kpop idols that i've ever seen. i'm a huge fan of his work as an artist even outside of the group and just a whole.

☆ topsecret - mind control ☆​

okay, so this is a sort of off-the-beaten path recommendation but i stumbled upon this song on twitter once and it literally never left my head. the chorus is insanely catchy, and it's so random because i don't know a thing about topsecret. couldn't name a single member. only know like one of their other songs. never seen the music video. never seen the choreo for the song. yet, it's still a song i'm going to recommend because the sheer charisma is off the charts... it's like if you heard the name sasha colby without seeing sasha colby – you'd be like "ohh that must be fantastic" and you just trust that it is. and it is! this is a really fun, upbeat song. it's straight electronic / pop and it doesn't hide anything. it's unabashedly fun as fuck, and it's really for the girls. very much a do some eyeshadow while this blasts in the background kinda song. so yeah i really like it hope you do too!

that's all that i have for now, because i am tired and don't feel like writing about random dudes any longer. i like kpop though and if you ever catch me online, my showdown username is skies too, and i'll talk your ear off about how hwall could've easily been this generation's biggest kpop star ever if he never got injured... anyways, take it easy everyone, and be safe this weekend. mwah. - skies

 

[aegii]

wake up people new IVE dropped!!

IVE SWITCH is the newest album from the group of the generation, who have already come out with the catchiest bangers that you may have heard such as Eleven, After Like and Baddie. I've had my first listen to the album and you should too :)

1. HEYA (M/V above) - 10/10 i love an anthem, this is an anthem, it's my favourite IVE title track and it's only my first listen! super super impressed.
2. Accendio - 10/10 holy shit the drop the prechorus and chorus are sooo addictive. the rest of the song is melodic and doesn't sound too noisy either which bumps it up so high in my list. and I'm pretty sure they're actually playing with L/R sound balance in the bridge?? which i absolutely LOVE because it's so underused in Kpop
3. Blue Heart - 10/10 Ive can't keep getting away with this how are all the songs on this album so good??? this one i love because it feels so nostalgic to me fsr like it's the type of song I'd have listened to at night to study to in 2017
4. Ice Queen - 8/10 this one has a similar sound to the previous Ive title tracks which i wasnt that big a fan of, but i enjoyed it nevertheless. seems a bit quiet on the vocals? it does fit the vibe of "ice queen" though.
5. WOW - 7/10 i wasnt particularly impressed by this but it's not terrible i guess. was prepared for something more hyperpop but that's unrealistic expectations based off just the title
6. Reset - 6/10 im not a very big fan of having ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ in the actual lyrics of a song, the writers overcooked this one imo im sorry

overall album 9/10 rare 4th gen album i actually like on the first listen

 

[oaklies]

May Song Recommendations
Continuing introductions, this month's theme is the song that got us into K-Pop.

[# Room Owners]
aegii
Song: K/DA (Jaira Burns, Soyeon and Miyeon of (G)I-DLE, Madison Beer) - POP/STARS
Year: 2018
Description: While I heard songs like SNSD - The Boys and Gangnam Style before 2018, I never really got into K-Pop until League of Legends pulled the feat of getting Miyeon and Soyeon (before their debut, mind you) to feature in their first virtual K-Pop group that has since inspired virtual copycats like MAVE and to a smaller extent aespa. This was my gateway song that led me down the rabbit hole of (G)I-DLE -> TWICE -> Red Velvet -> Fromis_9 -> IZ*ONE -> almost every other 3rd gen group, JYPE groups, etc. etc. (and here we are now.) Riot Music managed to create this masterpiece making K-Pop accessible to me and then were still able to follow up with an EP of all things with ALL OUT where they even managed to bring in TWICE of all girl groups to feature in a B-side (like holy moly TWICE?? in my American-made music?!??!) and this also opened the door to many very funny collabs between K-Pop and esports where we see your favourite idols playing video games (Sakura playing LoL with the LoL world champion, LSFM playing Overwatch 2 with their release of Perfect Night, literal gamer streams from IZ*ONE) this song really started it all

Citadark Isle
Song: T-ARA - Bo Peep Bo Peep
Year: 2009
Description: Unknowingly, I heard this around 2011 or 2012 in the background of a Vocaloid MMD video on YouTube shortly before I fell victim to PSY's Gangnam Style craze, my first cognizant K-Pop song. Little did I know that full circle by 2015, K-Pop would be about pretty much the only music I resigned myself to and T-ARA would soon become one of my favorite groups of all time. I had devled into their earlier discography to discover that this song, Bo Peep Bo Peep, was actually not a vocaloid J-Pop song but rather a catchy K-Pop bop from 2009. One of the many hit tracks from T-ARA's acclaimed Absolute First Album, I can't do much more for you but let the music and the 480p music video speak for themselves!

[@ Room Moderators]
beedrillmega
Song: Orange Caramel - Catallena
Year: 2014
Description: heard a few songs starting around 2009/2010, but it was only in 2014 when this song caught my attention and made me want to find out more about the group behind them. disco baby

Pacific Marill
Song: Crush - Sometimes
Year: 2014
Description: A really chill korean r&b song by one of my favorite artists in the genre.

[% Room Drivers]
MK
Song: Wonder Girls - Nobody (English Ver.)
Year: 2009
Description: I believe the first K-Pop song I ever heard was Nobody (the English version) by the Wonder Girls, which I didn't actually know was by a K-Pop group until years down the line after I became a K-Pop stan. However, that "I want nobody, nobody but you (*clap clap*)" line stood the test of time in my brain and once I connected the dots that this legendary JYP girl group was behind the memory of me hearing that song during my childhood, that's when I truly realized how monumental they were to Hallyu (the Korean wave) at the height of their popularity.

oaklies
Song: DIA - Will You Go Out With Me
Year: 2017
Description: a friend sent me several k-pop songs and this became my favorite for years. it's always been a comfort song, and in retrospect, it was the perfect segue into 4th gen. love u chaeyeon & cathy <3

starlight lovesong
Song: Mamamoo - HIP
Year: 2019
Description: My best friend at the time was (rightfully) obsessed with Mamamoo and so she introduced me into this amazing, legendary bop. Great lyrics, catchy rhythm, and the talented Mamamoo girls were the ingredients for this song and I've listened to it more times than I can even remember. Such a good song it made me wanna stay in the kpop sphere and here we are today.

[+ Room Voices/Alumni]

rien
Song: Billlie - GingaMingaYo (the strange world)
Year: 2022
Description: when i got into kpop around late 2021 i mostly listened to loona (not recommending a loona song bc i'm boycotting blockberry creative) but ig this is my first real foray into k-pop outside of loona - i stumbled across tsuki's viral fancam (currently at 13 million views!) and instantly got hooked. gingamingayo is just a really fun song - it's quirky, campy, energetic, and a breath of fresh air in a genre that often takes itself a bit too seriously.

Art by the wonderful Ciran :)

See you in June for more recs!​

 

[whoshallnotbenamed]

Hi everyone! First of all, I'm very thankful that we have a Kpop chatroom and thread now here in Smogon. I figured out there's definitely some overlap between Pokemon fans and Kpop fans, so it's about time this conversation is made! Anyways, I would also like to share some recommendations, and I plan to highlight artists that are generally outside the idol-sphere but still Kpop--Korean music that is trying to be popular-- to add variety to our lists!

Without further ado, here's my recommendations for the month!

1. PRSNT - Take That Back (2022)

This group has former 4minute's Jiyoon here, now a vocalist in a 3-member EDM/synthpop group! The song's in the synthwave genre with very singable topline, ughhhh so good.

2. Band UNI - Blue Night (2023)

This band also has former AOA drummer Youkyung (and yes AOA had a "rock band" phase before). This is a very well-produced pop rock track with an anthemic chorus, fit for playing on concerts!

3. OOHYO - Butter Chicken (2019)

I'll just describe this as slow, ambient, melancholic synth pop. Definitely an experience!


I hope you give these a listen! Still have a lot more songs to share to everyone. Cheers!

 

[aegii]

oh hello, it's the K-Pop Room's Spotlight for May 2024!

This month's spotlight is KISS OF LIFE with their song, Midas Touch!

To those who don't know who KISS OF LIFE are, they're a relatively new group that debuted in 2023 with their eponymous album and the title track Shhh. Also known as KIOL for short, the group is made up of 4 members - Julie, Belle, Natty and Haneul. Some of you older fans might recognise Natty in particular, as she was a contestant on both Sixteen (2015) and Idol School (2017), the audition survival programs that led to the formation of superstar groups TWICE and fromis_9. Another interesting tidbit about the group is that their creative director is Lee Hae-In, who was a contestant of the original Produce 101 as well as the previously-mentioned Idol School. Follow this group closely as they are one of the more mature groups to debut in recent years, which opens them up to much more daring choreography where they show off their charm and synergy!

Here are some other KIOL songs that everyone should check out!
KISS OF LIFE - Shhh
KISS OF LIFE - Nothing
KISS OF LIFE - Sugarcoat (NATTY solo)
KISS OF LIFE - Countdown (BELLE solo)
KISS OF LIFE - Kitty Cat (JULIE solo)
KISS OF LIFE - Play Love Games (HANEUL solo)

Last but not least, if you missed it, check out the other songs that were on this month's spotlight poll in this YouTube playlist!

 

[oaklies]

June Song Recommendations
The theme is Camp for Pride Month!

[# Room Owners]
aegii
Song: JYP - Fever
Year: 2019
Description: JYP in a nutshell is when your dad does something cool and it immediately becomes uncool.

Citadark Isle
Song: DIA - 내 친구의 남자친구
Year: 2016
Description: If you don't like this song you're a hater loser flop who deserves multiple life sentences

[@ Room Moderators]
beedrillmega
Song: Norazo - Bread
Year: 2020
Description: let's get this bread baby

[% Room Drivers]
oaklies
Song: Orange Caramel - BANGKOK CITY
Year: 2013
Description: b b b bangkok city, i can't stop *korean* (but fr this is one of the most iconic songs and videos ever)

[+ Room Voices/Alumni]
Pyro
Song: Orange Caramel - Catallena
Year: 2014
Description: No description needed.

rien
Song: OH MY GIRL BANHANA - Banana Allergy Monkey
Year: 2018
Description: Invented camp

skies
Song: TOMORROW X TOGETHER – Cat & Dog (English Ver.)
Year: 2019
Description: it's no coincidence it's a kitty-incidence

Art by the wonderful Ciran :)

As a reminder, this thread is open to all :) Stay healthy and safe <3​

 

[aegii]

Happy June! The vote for the room spotlight has ended, and the K-Pop room spotlight for June 2024 is:

aespa - Armageddon

​

aespa released their 1st full album with the title track Armageddon, bringing the end of the world as we knew it. The 4-member girl group first debuted in 2020 with Black Mamba as SM Entertainment's answer to rival company JYP Entertainment's ITZY. One of the powerhouses of the 4th gen Girl Groups, they consist of Karina, Giselle, Winter and NingNing, and according to the lore, 4 other virtual characters named æ-Karina, æ-Giselle, æ-Winter and æ-NingNing, and recently nævis, the AI that helps their aes appear in the real world, made a debut in Welcome to My World. Alongside this lore, the girls showcase a great variety of vocals, with bangers such as Spicy and Drama, while also excelling at ballads like I'm Unhappy and the previously-mentioned Welcome to My World. Their dance is also not to be understated, and who could forget about the amazing visuals that this group has? I strongly encourage everyone to check out their discography - in fact, here's some of their songs!

aespa — Supernova
aespa — Drama
aespa — Welcome to My World
aespa — I'm Unhappy
aespa — Spicy
aespa — Forever
aespa — Iconic

Other than aespa, many other wonderful songs were released in May! Check out the K-pop staff's picks in this YouTube playlist - the other songs that didn't win the poll!

 

[nd_]

Hey everyone !! It's pride month so as a queer person myself I felt that it is my duty to share with you all some of my favourite songs in this month's theme of camp !!

Cignature - ARISONG (2020)

Description: I could put half of cignature's discography here honestly but this song is just the embodiment of camp. Jeewon said to J9 entertainment that she wanted to make history and that's what this is.

FANATICS-FLAVOR - MILKSHAKE (2018)

Description: They really said cow concept and I live for it. This song personally saved me and everyone else who listened to this song from osteoporosis as it made sure we were getting our daily dose of calcium from drinking milk. Also I will forever support anything my fav kim doah does ever in her career #streamdreamwalking.

Gugudan - Chococo (2017)

Description: Can someone please tell me why this song not only did not go viral but also why people were HATING on this song when it released??? Anyway this song is nice juicy camp goodness but as always the girls in gugudan gotta sing so you also get a nice slice of good vocals to go with it. Also I will forever major beef with Jellyfish Entertainment for letting these talented girls down.​

I have a lot more songs that I could had added but I decided to keep this brief, hope you all enjoy !!

 

[whoshallnotbenamed]

Hi all! I'm back for my monthly recommendations! This time, we'll be doing nugu girl groups!

So as you may all know, in Kpop, girl groups are always superior (yes, this is a fact, no debate). But aside from the hits from Twice or Blackpink, there are also songs from lesser-known girl groups that are on the same calibre, or even better! Of course there's many songs to mention, but for this month I'll only share 3. Without further ado, here's my recommendations for the month!

1. Dorothy - Purple Lips (2016)

This group is so nugu, that their former agency decided to erase their existence in history by deleting their official MV, so I had to link a fan upload for this write-up! Apparently, they were really just used to promote those artsy backdrops that can be seen in the MV. Anyways, this song is a well-written circle-of-fifths track along the lines of Sistar's "Alone" or miss A's "Touch".

2. 4TEN - Severely (2016)

Song's like a less dramatic version of KARA's "Pandora", and if you're among the vocal's-obsessed group of Kpop fans (*rolls eyes*), you might like the A5(?) high note at the bridge-- your faves could never.

3. BESTie - Love Options (2013)

Among the groups in the list, BESTie is probably the less nugu of the three, and I kinda feel bad grouping them among the other two, because back then, they had their moment in the spotlight, ya know. But since most of you here apparently got into Kpop around 2018-2019, you probably might not have heard of them. Anyways, this song is among the many "love options" of great songs that we had back then, back when Kpop was not as mainstream and did not take itself seriously.


That's all! Hope you enjoy these songs! See you next month for another batch of Kpop greatness!

 

[oaklies]

July Song Recommendations
Hope you're enjoying the warm weather ☀ July's theme is summer songs!

[# Room Owners]
aegii
Song: SF9 - Summer Breeze
Year: 2020
Description: nothing says summer more than dancing in the warm breeze and.. gun violence, apparently?

Citadark Isle
Song: Hyolyn - See Sea
Year: 2018
Description: Just a warm, humid, vocally exquisite summery jam which you could repeat hundreds of times without getting bored.

[@ Room Moderators]
beedrillmega
Song: Tur-v - bbaji go
Year: 2019
Description: water is refreshing in the summer baby

[% Room Drivers]
oaklies
Song: JJ - Fly High
Year: 2011
Description: summer at home (literally)

[+ Room Voices/Alumni]
rien
Song: Cherry Bullet - Aloha Oe
Year: 2020
Description: unfortunately i already recommended the ultimate summer song (brave girls - rollin') a few months ago but my current hyperfixation also happens to fit the theme. this is such a fun summer bop and my favorite track from chebul's discography

Director X
Song: Twice - Dance The Night Away
Year: 2018
Description: The music video itself is funny at certain points. They used a shot from a Behind The Scenes where Dahyun scared Mina and Nayeon as a prank and it was used for the final video. Some say Dahyun got revenge on Nayeon because Nayeon freaked out when there was a bug earlier and startled Dahyun. Also found it funny how there was a rescue ship at the end but they just went back to sleep. Overall, just a very fun and good sounding song, Mina's vocals in the middle were very good.

Art by the wonderful Ciran :)

Stay cool, and remember your sunscreen!​

 

[aegii]

Hey everyone! You guys have voted, and the K-Pop Room Spotlight for July 2024 is:

NAYEON - ABCD

The lead singer and eldest member of superstar girl group TWICE once again returns to the stage with her 2nd mini album! Nayeon is already well-established in the K-pop scene with her incredible vocals, which shine as bright as ever in the title track ABCD, accompanied by her excellent dance and mesmerizing visuals. She first debuted in 2015 with TWICE and quickly gained recognition with the group, often opening their title tracks. She then became the first member of her group to debut as a soloist in 2022, with POP!. To bring us back to PS!, did you know Nayeon's favourite Pokemon is Squirtle ? She also thinks she looks rather similar to the water-type starter.

Have a listen to some of Nayeon's other songs here!
♪ NAYEON — POP!
♪ NAYEON ft. Wonstein — LOVE COUNTDOWN
♪ NAYEON — SUNSET
♪ NAYEON — Butterflies
♪ NAYEON ft. Julie of KISS OF LIFE — Magic
♪ NAYEON — ALL OR NOTHING

and if you missed it, here's the playlist for all the other songs on the poll!

 

[nd_]

It's currently winter in Australia but yay summer song recommendations let's go !!

Weki Meki - Tiki Taka (99%) (2019)

Description: Both Weki Meki as a group and this song deserved better, the 99% is the amount Fantiago didn't care about promoting them.

April - Now or Never (2020)

Description: Unfortunately their disbandment song and I fear nowadays April is only remembered for that one scandal when they really should be remembered for constantly releasing bops. I will be a Chaekyung stan until I die.

Fromis_9 - Stay this Way (2022)

Description: Their last comeback before becoming Fromis_8 and its a summer bop! Also this album is really good, if you haven't listen to rewind I highly recommend.​

That's all from me, stay cool (or warm) and have a lovely day :)

 

[oaklies]

August Song Recommendations
It's 'Ask The Audience' August! The theme with the most votes was Collaborations/Features, submitted by tommy ege!

[Audience Recs]
tommy ege
Song: Yoo Jae Suk & EXO - Dancing King
Year: 2016
Description: I don't really listen to EXO songs, but this song is still a bop and it's crazy that it only came to be due to a punishment on Infinite Challenge. The top boy group at the time with the number one MC is a powerful combination. The time and effort Yoo Jae Suk put in to keep up with the EXO members clearly shows in their collaboration stage as he fits in seamlessly.

wooper
Song: IVE & Saweetie - All Night
Year: 2024
Description: i've been listening to IVE since their debut in 2021 and theyve yet to disappoint! i was pleasantly surprised to see they had a collab with an american rapper when this dropped because i didnt realize that they were that successful enough, but a hit is a hit! the sample of the iconic song all night by icona pop really just makes for a fun kpop song, and they know it--when i saw them in concert, they closed out the show by performing the chorus SEVEN times in a row!

[# Room Owners]
aegii
Song: SEULGI, SinB, CHUNG HA & JEON SOYEON - Wow Thing
Year: 2018
Description: when they talked about the world's greatest crossover in 2018 they weren't talking about Avengers Infinity War

Citadark Isle
Song: Baek Ji Young ft. Taekyeon of 2PM – My Ear's Candy (내 귀에 캔디)
Year: 2009
Description: Just another club banger, enjoy x

[@ Room Moderators]
beedrillmega
Song: Luna, Hani, Solar - HONEY BEE
Year: 2017
Description: (obligatory) BEE

[% Room Drivers]
oaklies
Song: Brown Eyed Girls & PDIS - Hold The Line 08' Remix
Year: 2008
Description: Brown Eyed Girls team up with producer/rapper duo PDIS for a remix on their 2006 single Hold The Line. The remix offers a fresher beat and sound that make it a gentle club banger. It's classy and timeless, and it is also my favorite Brown Eyed Girls song :)

[+ Room Voices/Alumni]
Director X
Song: NCT DREAM & HRVY - Don't Need Your Love
Year: 2019
Description: Great song overall, the vibes fit and their voices blend well together. Also just find it really funny from a behind the scenes moment when Jisung discovers that people can naturally have blonde hair without dyeing it.

rien
Song: JI SUYEON & Moon Bin - Language
Year: 2018
Description: released as part of fantagio's FM201.8 collab project. really lovely duet featuring my biases from 2 groups i really appreciate. forever rest in peace moonbin ❤

SheepGoMoo
Song: BoA, WENDY & NING NING - Time After Time
Year: 2022
Description: SM refuses to let us breathe with some of their best vocalists - each girl shines beautifully on the track, and it’s a must listen

Art by the wonderful Ciran :)

Big thanks to everyone who shared ideas for this month!​

 

[nd_]

This month's theme of (collaborations/features) seems like the most appropriate time for me to talk about some of Starship's weird Pepsi ad collaboration thingos that they do every once in a while.

WJMK - STRONG (2018)

Description: This song eats but ALSO why did Starship and Fantiago bless us with a Weki Meki and WJSN collaboration just for it to be a Pepsi ad and also not even having Yeonjung on the track for a mini IOI reunion? Despite that, I actually do really like the members that they chose because obviously Yoojung, Doyeon and Seola are going to eat every time but Starship choosing Luda is amazing and helps to slightly make up for the mistreatment she would get in the lines department for the rest of her time in WJSN.

SOYOU & IZ*ONE ft. pH-1 - ZERO:ATTITUDE (2021)

Description: This was one of the last songs IZ*ONE released and it's,,,, a pepsi collaboration that doesn't even have all the members and also there's a MAN here. Regardless this song still eats and Soyou mothered so hard here, and all things considered the man's verse isn't THAT bad. I always found it weird though that Starship clearly chose what IZ*ONE members were on this song and they didn't chose Yujin?? Did they not want to promote the members actually under their company? Strange.

OHMYGIRL Arin, HyoJung & IVE Wonyoung, Leeseo & CRAVITY Serim, Jungmo - BLUE & BLACK (2022)

Description: So this fever dream of a collaboration is, strange, and I feel that people do not talk about it enough for my liking. I do appreciate that they visualed-up this lineup of members (at least, the girls, I'm sorry I have no clue if the Cravity members are visuals) but in general I feel like the Cravity members are afterthoughts in this collaboration and I genuinely have no idea why they are here. For whatever reason whoever shot the music video for this song only really shot scenes with the four girls in them so when you're watching it you have to constantly remind yourself that the Cravity members are here, to the point that the ONLY scene where one of the Cravity members is seen with one of the girls is near the end where Jungmo and Leeseo do this like, dance off thing but even then it easily could been simply cut together in post production. Starship we want a COLLABORATION would it had been that hard to put all six of them in a room at the same time?? Song still eats though.​

Anyways just wanted to shed some light on these collaborations because they definitely exist !! The songs are great but I do wish that Starship would do more collaborations that are not Pepsi advertisements but I guess we should be grateful for what have. Thank you for reading and I hope you have a great day :)

 

[aegii]

You have voted, and the winner for August's Spotlight of the month, with a very narrow margin, is:

(G)I-DLE - Klaxon!

​

(G)I-DLE hit the spotlight with their latest bop Klaxon! CUBE Entertainment's 5-member group led by the prodigal producer and lyricist Soyeon returns with another earworm that will never leave my head :'c The group also includes the members Miyeon, Minnie, Yuqi and Shuhua, though earlier songs would also feature Soojin, who left the group in 2021. One interesting fact about (G)I-DLE is that they currently have more international members than Korean members! Soyeon and Miyeon are the only two Koreans in the group, while Minnie is Thai, Yuqi is from China and Shuhua is Taiwanese. They first debuted in 2018 with Latata, but some people like myself first heard about this group from Soyeon and Miyeon's feature in the League of Legends virtual K-pop group K/DA which debuted with POP/STARS barely 6 months after Latata released. It's no wonder that group and its members have found success worldwide, with Yuqi being a regular cast member of Keep Running, a variety show broadcast in China, and Minnie showing off her acting in Netflix's sitcom drama So Not Worth It. Do listen to some of (G)I-DLE's songs which I've linked below!

♪ (G)I-DLE — Last Forever
♪ (G)I-DLE — Bloom
♪ (G)I-DLE — Neverland
♪ (G)I-DLE — Queencard
♪ (G)I-DLE — Nxde
♪ (G)I-DLE — Oh My God

And if you missed it, check out the other songs on the poll for the Spotlight Song for August on this YouTube playlist!

 

[oaklies]

September Song Recommendations
Make some noise for Soloist September!

[# Room Owners]
aegii
Song: Gyubin - Really Like You
Year: 2024
Description: i have no idea how this girl, with a debut single, made me feel like ive been listening to this song 1000 times.. and it's a song that i will happily listen to 1000 times more

Citadark Isle
Song: Hyomin – Sketch
Year: 2016
Description: Alongside the lead single 'Sketch' from one of the best EPs in the K-Popsphere, T-ARA's Hyomin allures with an explicit music video fully capturing the essence of wanting to be sketched by her lover. I can't overstate enough how good the EP is that this song comes from. The co-promoted track 'Gold', especially, is a masterpiece I would eagerly recommend.

[@ Room Moderators]
beedrillmega
Song: Rothy - Happy End
Year: 2024
Description: great chill song for the summer

[% Room Drivers]
oaklies
Song: Lee Jung-hyun - 수상한 남자
Year: 2010
Description: an icon. allegedly gaga was introduced to her music by her korean friend before gaga debuted and was heavily influenced by her sound & style. gaga could never tho sorry but i have to slip that in. lee jung-hyun has another hit too :D

[+ Room Voices/Alumni]
Director X
Song: Chungha - Play
Year: 2020
Description: just a song that has great vibes

rien
Song: Yves - Loop
Year: 2024
Description: I swear she will never let me down

SheepGoMoo
Song: Yena - Wicked Love
Year: 2023
Description: Giving 2000’s pop girlie! Yuehua, why was this not the title track???

Playlist for this month's recs!

Art by the wonderful Ciran :)

We look forward to hearing your favorite soloists! Look out for some more recs from me this month too:)​

 

[nd_]

As someone who is very good at staying solo, here are my solo song recommendations for Soloist September!!

DALsooobin - Sign (2021)

Description: Didn't even have enough budget for a proper music video but she knew that she had to come and serve the house down boots. For those who do not know, this is Subin from the 2nd gen group Dalshabet, and she is so incredibly talented so please check her stuff out if you have a chance!!

YOUHA - Last Dance (2022)

Description: Youha is the type of artist that the general public doesn't really know about but those who are really into kpop are OBSESSED with because her music is just THAT good. She's been releasing bops her entire career but this is my favourite by her, it's a bit more mature a bit more dark a bit more seductive which is rare to see in kpop and I would love to see more of (from adults please though). Also yes this is the girl that was in Future 2NE1.

KIMDOAH - Dream Walking (2023)

Description: Had to promote my girl of course. You may recognise her from Produce 48 or from Girls Planet 999 or maybe from her flop group Fanatics (I hate you FENT entertainment) but yeah this girl has been through quite a lot but she is so incredibly talented. I really like this song and hilariously it was far more successful than I thought it was (8 million views on youtube!) so hopefully we will get more solo stuff from her but it has also been more than a year so maybe not.​

Thank you so much for reading as always, I hope you all have an amazing day! Also shout out to aegii for recommending really like you by gyubin because that song EATS!!

 

[aegii]

aegii comin back because i had some more soloists in my playlist that i thought yall shouldn't miss out on!!

of course first off we can't do a soloist september without mentioning the queen of Kpop herself, IU

i honestly dont know how we missed out on her. while IU is more known for her ballads and superior vocals, I like Coin the best because of its groove and the attitude IU gives in the song and MV (you go gamble goddess). All in all a great song with a great beat with a great message to end it off (the house always wins)


I'm also going to recommend U-KNOW!

U-KNOW is an older idol; he's the leader of the iconic 2nd gen group TVXQ, who you may know for their song Mirotic. While he's not that active these days this song caught my attention when it released and has been on my playlist since.

Third I'll recommend another song you guys definitely would've heard before..

It's ZICO's Any Song! ZICO and 안무노래 was truly the pioneer of its time; I firmly believe that this was the first Kpop song Challenge to go viral on TikTok and thereby giving rise to literally every other TikTok challenge out there.

Outside of these there are so many more talented soloists out there; a few on my playlist that I didn't mention are PSY, K.Will, Taeyang, Taeyeon, Sunmi and BoA, whom I also strongly recommend checking out!

 

[oaklies]

period, aegii's post is the perfect segue into my BoA Appreciation Post !!! :D I will highlight 5 huge BoA hits, and 3 are from her severely underrated & underappreciated english/american debut era.

1. Control (2009)

omg. literally one of the best songs ever, but i'm still heartbroken at how there's no music video or live performance for it. having this song in your discography is such a flex like y'all don't understand...

2. I Did It For Love (2009)

this song is kinda trippy where it sounds slightly different every time i hear it. the end where she sings the hook 8 times makes me ascend.

3. Adrenaline (2010)

in my opinion this is her best korean song. it kinda sounds like the other songs here combined.

4. Energetic (2009)

we're back to english :P this song gives rihanna, just a fun club banger and the video eats :D those moves are timeless.

5. Hurricane Venus (2010)

another korean hit <3 i just love her sound so much​

BoA is truly the goat of k-pop and i don't think anybody has songs in their discography that can compete with these 5 hits. obviously just my opinion tho but thanks for reading and I hope you check these out if you don't know them already!

 

[aegii]

September's Spotlight of the Month shines on fromis_9 - Supersonic!

The room goes from Su su su supernova to Super super, supersonic supersonic this month with fromis_9's newest comeback! The group that debuted after the Mnet audition survival show Idol School originally promoted under Stone Entertainment, but over time, had been managed by Off The Record Entertainment (alongside IZ*ONE), then Pledis Entertainment, which was bought over by HYBE Labels, formerly known as BigHit Entertainment. The group initially had 9 members (Saerom, Hayoung, Gyuri, Jisun, Jiwon, Nakyung, Seoyeon, Chaeyoung, Jiheon) but lost a member when Jang Gyuri left the group to focus on an acting career. While the group struggled to gain traction with the public at the beginning of their career, they slowly gained popularity after they released Love Bomb in 2018, to getting their first music show win with Talk & Talk in 2021.

As fromis_9 was one of the groups that I loved when I first got into K-pop, I am especially happy to see them winning in the room as well :)

Here are some of their hits, as well as B-sides from the Supersonic album!
♪ fromis_9 — Beat the Heat
♪ fromis_9 — Take A Chance
♪ fromis_9 — LOVE BOMB
♪ fromis_9 — DM
♪ fromis_9 — WE GO
♪ fromis_9 — Stay This Way
♪ fromis_9 — Feel Good