#if taemin had a song like this i would say the same

[peppertaemint]

Jungkooks song isn’t that bad. I know he’s trying to break a stereotype of him being the youngest and wants to be seen more mature but that guy was not a need for this song 😭 and I don’t get the hate towards jungkook cuz his lines were fine it’s just Harlows….

I'm gonna be real with you. I think that even though Harlow's lines are egregious and charmless and pretty much offensive, I don't think that Kookie comes out much better.

The song itself is about having some sort of relationship, whatever that is, with someone online in 2-D, i.e. video film, pictures, and wanting to bring that into 3-D, which is in person. That in itself is a not an issue; I've been there - seeing someone in person is exciting for the 3-D action, LOL.

My problem is that the song is so focused on the sexual act/encounter like a science experiment. You add the womanising and the objectifying, and it doesn't come off right for me. 

I'll contrast the song with Rod Wave's Turks and Caicos featuring 21 Savage. This is another sort of innocuous song about "player" behaviour. The chorus is the girl girls girls all over the world blah blah blah. But it still has charm, and it paints a portrait of a woman as a person to an extent. They talk about the girl being a vibe and bad bitches you better grab one. It's not just a list of "I have these chicks and I want to fuck them and I wanna see what it's like to fuck in person". That feels so clinical and there's a distance there, and it feels objectifying and gross.

I do think this song is charmless and sexist and pretty boring. Overall disappointing. 🤷‍♀️ and I do think that Kookie trying to make it sound like it's about monogamy in press/PR just doesn't work.

[tomuchabotme]

The way that armys have these 'official' opinions that everyone is supposed to follow is so annoying. Can't they just let people have their own opinions? Cause what do you mean people are not allowed to say Jimin is the best dancer in the group because the 'official' answer is supposed to be J-Hope and you're going against army's rules if you have the 'wrong' opinion?

And I call it 'official' because it's coming from the group itself. The group has these set answers that they always give and their answer to anything dance related is to say "J-Hope!" over and over again as if Jimin is also not a main dancer. That's why there's this misconception that Jimin is only a lead dancer, because with the way the group talks you would think J-Hope has a superior dance position in the group than Jimin and since people know J-Hope is a main dancer they then assume that must mean Jimin is just a lead.

And this all bullshit because these set answers are not even the real opinions of all the members. From example, Jin is supposed to be the answer to any visual related question but some members have talked about finding other members more good looking. And when it comes to vocals we know Jungkook is supposed to be the right answer but Yoongi has admitted to preferring Jimin. But it doesn't matter if they have different opinions, they still stick with these same answers they've been giving for years.

Them acting like J-Hope is a more important dancer to the group is annoying in the same way that Jimin being constantly threatened to be kicked out of the group only to debut as lead vocalist and main dancer is annoying. Because for someone that is not the most important dancer they sure like to give him all the most difficult parts in their choreographies. They sure love to rely on him to get people's attention and given him more center time than J-Hope.

Also for someone who's treated like he's the inventor of dancing, J-Hope sure doesn't dance a lot does he? Cause why does he refuse to dance to his own music? Not once has he had a full choreography for any of his solo songs. Even Jungkook has some, but Jimin is the only member who you can always trust to have a full choreography. If you went to a BTS concert Jimin was the only member that you would get to see actually dance outside of the group songs. He was also the only member people got to see dance live at MMA 2019, since he was the only one who did it live instead of pre-recorded.

And speaking of Korean shows like MMA, Jimin was also the member that would most often participate in dance performances separate from the group. Like when he danced with all those idols at SBS 2016 or when he danced with Taemin at KBS 2017. Just in general he participated in dance performances more than either J-Hope or Jungkook. He did a solo dance to 'Butterfly' at KBS 2015. Did 'Lie/Boy Meets Evil' with J-Hope at MAMA 2016. Did the coming of age ceremony with Jungkook in 2016. Did a 'Black or White' and 'Youth' dance cover with Jungkook and J-Hope respectively, both in 2018. And then there's all of Black Swan. The solo dance in the MV, the other solo dance on MOTS ON:E, and the intro at MMA 2020 that they all participated in but he (and to a lesser extent Jungkook) was definitely the focus of. Jungkook and J-Hope would occasionally be part of these performances but Jimin is the only one that would always be there. It's either all three of them, Jimin and J-Hope, Jimin and Jungkook or just Jimin by himself. But not matter which one, Jimin is always there.

You have all of these things: him having the most difficult parts of their choreographies, him being the member that participates in dance-only performances the most, and him being the only one to always have full choreographies for his solo songs. You have all of these yet I'm supposed the believe that J-Hope is the real main dancer of the group and Jimin is basically just a lead? All because the group keeps acting like that's the truth?

Well, you see, the problem is that if you pay attention you'll notice that BTS's words and actions don't always match. Like, they can say that all members are equally talented and equally valued, but then you listen to their music and watch their performances and you realize that some members are consistently given way less than others. Am I really supposed to believe that they actually think Jin is as talented as Jungkook? Cause it sure doesn't look like that when every line in a song they could give to Jin they decide to give to Jungkook instead and on stage Jin is gonna spend 90% of the performance behind everyone else while Jungkook is always in the front. But sure, they're both equally valued in the group, 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦.

The truth is that BTS will sometimes say things that don't match reality. And a example of that is their insistence in acting like J-Hope is a more important dancer than Jimin despite the fact that when you look at it you'll notice that Jimin is the one actually doing all the dancing. And people notice that. Armys can go online and say J-Hope is better but we all know who everybody prefers. The same way we know people prefer Taehyung's visuals over Jin's. The same way armys will say rapline's music is the best then proceed to not listen to it. It's all juts talk. Cause every single time Jimin and J-Hope have danced in the same stage Jimin is the one everyone was looking at and talking about.

What do people remember from the times Jimin and J-Hope did a dance-only performance at the same place? MAMA 2016? Jimin dancing to 'Lie' while blindfolded. MMA 2018? Jimin's fan dance he got an award for. MMA 2019? Jimin's 'I Need U' dance where only he did it live. And what about J-Hope? Did anyone care about the supposed 'best dancer'? How many people outside of his fans (not even armys, but his own fans) remember what BTS song he used for his MMA 2019 solo? I looked it up and it was everyone's favorite song that is perpetually close to a billion streams 'Fake Love'. But do you remember what that performance looked like? Probably not. But we all remember 'I Need U'.

Do you remember what J-hope's performances of 'MAMA', 'JUST DANCE', 'EGO', 'MORE' and 'ARSON' looked like? Or how much dancing was even in any of them? But even if you're not a Jimin fan, you'll remember 'Lie' (as will all the dozen of idol that covered it), 'Serendipity', 'Filter' (which made everybody lose their mind with only two online performances), 'Set Me Free Pt.2', 'Like Crazy' and 'Who'. And that's because 'Face-off' was robbed of a live performance and I'm convinced the reason Jimin didn't perform 'Be Mine' live is because he's waiting until he can has enough time to give it a choreography, because Filter's younger sister deserves nothing less.

I think J-hope's allergy to dancing to his own songs shows a clear difference between him and Jimin. It's not that he can't dance, and he did technically dance for his latest album, but that was only in the documentary and I doubt any of the songs will have actual choreos when he performs them. No, I think the problem is that for J-Hope his dancing and his songs are separate and he doesn't know how to combine them. But unfortunately for him, combining songs with dancing is one of the most important things in k-pop, and he's still part of a k-pop group performing to an audience of k-pop fans. And that's why his dancing is not as liked as Jimin's, because even if you wanna say he's technically a better dancer that Jimin (which is debatable), that still wouldn't matter because Jimin is simply a better idol.

They're not in a dance competition performing to a panel of judges, they're in a idol group preforming to people who mostly don't know about the technicalities of dancing. People don't care about who's technically better, they care about who's dancing looks better and more interesting. And Jimin's dancing has always been more captivating. He always fully embodies the mood and meaning of the songs, no matter how wildly different those songs can be. He let's the music speak through his body and puts a lot of emotion behind it. He adds his own little flairs to the choreographies and has a distinct style that's very different from the rest of k-pop. And he also always gives it 150% percent, regardless of if that makes it look like he's outdancing the other members.

And all of that is why people prefer Jimin. And armys can say J-Hope is better and complain about how it's not fair that Jimin is the most popular dancer in k-pop because "Jimin already has so much more than J-Hope, why can't J-Hope have this one thing?", but like armys themselves like to say to the fans of other groups, this isn't charity, if we can give Jimin everything we 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 give him everything.

🎯🎯

[solarwynd]

I'm curious where people get the idea that the members even want to prioritize their solo careers. Outside of the rappers and jimin, I kind of get the impression that most of them pushed out solo work because it was expected (and probably in their contract) during "ch. 2".

I don't dislike the other members music so I don't mean this in a shady way, but its not like they seemingly felt the urge to talk about deep things they couldn't talk about in group music or be more heavily involved than they could be in group releases. JK was mostly dicking around during ch. 2 until he had to make his comeback, which then he wasn't super artistically involved in and to me, just kind of felt like him going through the motions of "main popstar boy" that BH wanted from him. TH felt like he was mostly fulfilling his artsy/jazz/persona. And I think its pretty clear with how fast the turn around was for jin, that he was pushing to get this album out too. Not to say their music isn't "them", just that I don't think they were feeling some deep artistic need to say something in their work the way the rappers or jimin were. For example, I feel like I could've picked one song from each of their solo works and used it as a solo track on a group album and that would have sufficed rather than a full length album.

I also kind of think solo worked knocked some of them on their ass a little bit. Like I'm sure it was a wakeup call for any members who care about numbers or chart performance that none of them except jimin and JK performed up to the level of the group as a whole. I also think it was probably a lot lonelier and more work to do solo activities too for the members who had never had to do solo promotions before. In general, I just think most of the members work better in a group setting. Like I don't think jin is blowing smoke up army's ass when he says about his relationship to music always being in bts, I really do think he prefers to promote as a group and i think that's the case for all of them.

Even with jimin who genuinely seemed to want to do solo work for the artistry and growth part of it and having his own things to say and was incredibly successful at it, I don't know if I'd say he preferred or wants to do more extensive solo work, at least for a while. Like there's a reason he was one of the last to leave the dorms and went to see all the members during their promotions (even when they couldn't be bothered to go see him...), I think his personality enjoys being part of a group.

I think they'll probably focus on group stuff, but still have solo releases for the members who want them like before ch. 2, maybe with non-music solo activities thrown in there as well just so each of them can build up individual reputations. I guess we'll see how they are post-military, but that's just my impression as of now. I was a shawol and mostly just follow taemin now, but the comparison is interesting to me because shinee's relationship and dynamic has always come off different than bts' to me. The members of shinee were solo stuff for yearsss outside of group work and they also weren't shy about their dynamic mostly being coworkers. I just wouldn't really compare them personally or expect the same outcome.

Not that they want to prioritize their solo careers, just that there is a possibility that after this next comeback and tour, they’ll lean into them more. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be them pursuing music. Cause like you said for the rest of vocal line, making an album seems like it was a one off thing. (though JK could release one down the line.) They could all go into other ventures of their choosing.

With Jimin, He said at that fan meet last year that he was planning on writing even more songs and touring in the future. So saying that he might not want to do “more extensive solo work” isn’t true. Saying his personality enjoys being in a group doesn’t make sense to me either. Because yes he loves the other members and is supportive of them in and out of the workplace (which is what any good friend would do) but that doesn’t signal that he would be better off in the group because of that reason. He can still do exactly what he’s always done even while pursuing solo work, it’s not gonna infringe on that. And yes, while I agree that there are members who do work better in a group setting (some have even said this outright) Jimin just liking to be with BTS is very different than members saying that making music/singing is hard solo or some of the members just not being compelling as soloists in general.

BTS could come back and stick it out as a group for the next decade. Put out multiple albums and resume full fledged group activities. Then it would just be what it is. But me personally I’m standing behind whichever timeline allows Jimin to utilize his talents to the fullest extent without being reduced to a couple lines in a group song and where he has space to fully develop his creativity without compromise.

[nso-csi]

240820 ELLE KOREA D Edition September 2024

Q. We met you on your birthday on the 18th of July and time has passed this fast. T. It was even more meaningful to be meeting TASAKI on my birthday. I was able to feel the beauty that a pearl holds throughout the shoot.

Q. How would you have spent your birthday if there wasn't a shoot? Even though you went straight to dance practice on the shooting day T. I will probably do a commemoration birthday live with my fans like I always do yearly. Though I didn't have the time to do so on that day as I ended my practice a little over midnight, I will usually spend time with my family or my friends after I am done with the live

Q. New mini album released on the 19th of August, your solo world tour, and up till your survival program MC challenge! Are you spending your time busily on purpose? T. No, I'm a person who wants to go about my daily life being relaxed and slowly getting ready (laughs). I debuted at a young age, and it's also because I have come this far not being able to make any decision myself, without resting. However, right now, I just have lots of things that I need to do (laughs).

Q. How was KCON LA you went to at the end of July? You were the main person at the 'Dream Stage' where you did a stage with the fans. T. America holds the biggest music market, doesn't it? I garner a sense of anticipation and greed every time I go. I usually don't go and search for each and every reaction to my stages but for the stage this time, as it was also trending on SNS, I felt a sense of pride. I think that I will need to personally go and meet the fans that have supported me for so long. It's actually really not something easy for one to buy a plane ticket and fly over to another country to see the artist you like.

Q. You had your fan meeting mid July too. You did 4 shows altogether including the additionally added show. T. This is just my personal thoughts but I feel like I am especially close with my fans. I was really young when I made my debut so it was hard for me to say anything but at some point, the seal seemed to have just came off. 
 Q. Other than getting more comfortable, is there anything especially different as time passes? There was a stock of Pansy, which is also the title of your fan song, appearing in your 5th mini album's trailer and that really touched your fans. T. As much as Pansy is the birth flower of the very same date as SHINee's debut date, its flower language means 'the moment of debut' which holds the meaning of revealing oneself to the outside world for the very first time. I wanted to convey the meaning along with the birth flower that no matter where I belong, I will be working with the identity called Taemin and it would be nice if there would be no prejudice present at my start.

Q. Despite being in your 17th year since debut, do you know that you have lots of new fans coming in? T. If that’s true, it will be something I am very thankful for! I want to make it impossible for them to get out (laughs). Thinking that there aren’t a lot of teams that can promote for so long regardless if it’s as SHINee or as a solo artist, I want to be the real memories of others. The song released this time may be a memory to people 10 years later too.

Q. Your mini 5th album title means 'Eternal'. On the other hand, you are starting your world tour titled at the end of August. They both have a totally opposite meaning and that's interesting. T. You will remember the name, won't you. I chose the word 'Eternal' for the album name with the desire to leave a record like a proper noun despite the change in generation. I have lived a life where there's no guaranteed anonymity ever since a long time ago and I have thought a lot in regards to this. I know it's a thankful life but I wonder what will be a difference if I am not exposed to the public's view, when I think of the unnecessary misunderstandings that inevitably accompany me, I think about 'Gaze' itself. However, that gaze itself will be very different depending on each person and the one who recognizes the eyes that people have on will be me. If I don't recognize it, it will eventually be nothing. That's why, I decided on the tour title to show it on stage.

Q. Your resolution for your first solo world tour that starts at the end of August is… T. They say that SHINee is 2nd generation idol, right. However, as much as we are actively promoting right now, I want to be a symbolic existence and not be forgotten. Substitute someone, the industry likes to use the word 'Substitute'. I know that people can express it that way and it's not something said wrongly but because it made it sound like (we are) products, I don't like it. I want to continue to open up myself and my possibilities through an even wider market and stages abroad.

cr. iheartshinee_

[ateez-himari]

LXST; RECORD ONE

[NEW UPLOAD FROM ATEEZ]

LISTEN TO 'ADDICT' NOW ON YOUTUBE

Liked by dovecameron and 2,038,019 others

ateez_official_ LXST; solo project

#ATEEZ #애이티즈 #HIMARI #히마리

View all 1,339,371 comments

donatella_versace Never in my lifetime have I seen someone this hypnotizing 💛You are truly one of a kind, the diamond of this generation

no1likehim hear me out, she could very well be a real life siren because personally if I was out at sea and seeing her out in the water like THIS...idc I'm jumping in 💅🏾

mitosglass.es Wait omg she was saying she'd perform a new song later in the tour and that the outfit was dangerous 😰If she comes out in this in Toronto I'm actually gonna lose it, I'll be in shock, you'll never see me again

mochimochimari stop because LUST is the title of this project?! (don't try to hide it, we know) she has insane musical duality bc wdym she's written the most heart wrenching songs but then is gonna sing about wanting to get freaky-

sansatori is this the ATEEZ naked era 🫣first the sleeves magically disappear from their shirts, then the shirts start disappearing on stage, now we have MIN HIMARI coming out of the water like this?? pls i would do anything for this woman to even look at me

himarry.me Mingi pls give me a chance with your girlfriend...he literally stole the most beautiful woman from us how are we supposed to cope now 😭also we won guys, we had to beg her to release her solo project and it was so worth it, we blessed humanity💪

31 July 2024 • See Original

Industry Reactions

When asked about the industry's current aces in a live broadcast, second generation artist Taeyang responded with this statement; 'The first one that comes to mind is Himari from ATEEZ, people call her the second Hand of Midas for a reason. 'Addict' was created using her voice in various ways instead of relying on instrumentals and it came out like an angel call. It's almost entrancing whenever she sings, almost like a siren song.'

Taemin obviously had to boast about his protegee and posted this on his story; 'From creative direction of this music video to having only her name in the credits, there really is nothing she can't do!❤️I'm so honored to have such a talented artist by my side, go stream this song everyone, quickly!'

Former B.A.P leader Bang Yongguk posted the music video link with this comment underneath; 'i've been listening to this on repeat ever since she sent it to me and it feels like I'm being transported to heaven (even though the lyrics are far from holy ㅋㅋ) her voice really is on a whole other level, it could lead sailors into the water'

Twice leader Jihyo could not seem to stop praising their former trainee; 'I can't believe ATEEZ took this angelic artist from us 🥺The dancing is as mesmerizing as watching a ribbon flow in the wind, the vocals sink deep into the soul, the visuals make you fall in love...I could go on. I'm so proud of you Himie, we all are!'

Netizens Reactions

@/himaswife on X 'If i was a six foot tall rapper with a deep voice hearing this song that was definitely made about me...imagine such a stunning woman singing about how infatuated she is with you 😳 I would kiss and marry her on the spot (i'm not jealous at all why would you think that-)'

@/yeosangiecookie on X 'she definitely chose to do it in English for a reason and she was right, it's so sensual but innocent at the same time that you just can't stop listening to it. i thought it would be provocative from the project title but the lyrics were just suggestive enough to make you think about the possibilities but not picture anything, truly a masterpiece from our maknae as always 🙌'

@/ateenypresent on X 'the way you can tell these lyrics are genuine because it's things we point out every time, especially the "These things I'm thinking when you're looking in my eyes". if you don't notice the way her and Mingi make eye contact you must be blind...look i'm delusional and reaching but yk how in Work he says "ride [with] me"?? and how she said "fuck it i'm still riding"?? 😳'

@/yunhosbuckethat on X 'i NEED to see her performing this live, I don't even care if I have to watch it through tiktoks or a low resolution youtube video. the choreography was so beautiful, i love when she incorporates classic and contemporary stiles into her dance, it just suits her so well. plus imagine how good it would sound echoing in a stadium 🫠'

Min Siblings Updates

Hanzo on Instagram 'My wife woke me up this morning telling me that my sister's new song was so good that she'd been playing on loop for ten minutes now...first of all I'm mad that I didn't get to hear it first. More than anything though I'm so proud of her, 7.3 MILLION views in not even 24 hours for a SOLO project that was announced the day of release is genuinely insane🥹I LOVE YOU MY LITTLE TIGER 💕(I'm so playing this to the whole team before practice, the rest of you GO STREAM IT WHAT ARE YOU DOING'

Yoongi on Weverse 'There are no words to accurately describe how divine my sister's song sounds, it's so delicate yet powerful, I wouldn't be surprised if every speaker in the country starts playing it. Without a doubt I can say that she's one of if not the most talented producer of this generation, who else can manipulate vocals and instrumentals so perfectly as to transport you to another world? Our Hima, you did well, I love you ❤️'

Translated from Korean by Google

[sanstropfremir]

best choreos of 2023!

not gonna lie, this year was a rough one for choreos. like with the actual music itself, this year was profoundly complacent and very few choreographies were truly inspired and willing to do something original. i was actually afraid for a bit that i was not even gonna be able to fill out a top ten list, much less having any runners' up. so here's a list of runners' up:

new dayz - trendz

spotlight - yunho

wormhole - n.ssign

neverland - nine.i

baggy jeans - nct u

koong - xikers

vuja de - yunho

bouncy - ateez

journey - woodz

and my favourites:

circle - onew

i have a bit of a love hate relationship with the circle choreo bc on one hand i LOVE it, the imagery and idea is beautiful i think it's one of the few choreos this year that actually embodies what the song and the cb were trying to say. but on the other hand, as a contemporary dance enjoyer it is.........let down by the fact that kpop is a predominantly hiphop based genre and the backup dancers are not up to snuff for this type of choreo. kaspar did a pretty good job choreographing it but hiphop and contemp/modern are notoriously hard styles to slide between for dancers, and i really think they should have actually got a modern choreographer and a modern troupe. it would have significantly upped the quality and given the stages that extra gut punch.

grl gvng - xg

honestly you really could sub in any xg choreo from this year here bc they were all stellar, but the commitment of grl gvng clinched it for me. the costuming, the makeup, the style of movement all tell such a clear story that i would have included it on my list regardless of what the album was, but the transition from hesonoo to xgene to grl gvng is fucking UNREAL. it's so refreshing to see a gg actually commit to a concept that isn't pretty bubbly straightness and to not compromise on it regardless of how much people bitch, right down to the choreo. there's something immensely satisfying about seeing a choreo about how these girls are alien cyborgs and have it actually LOOK like they are alien cyborgs, the intentional clunkiness and 'offputting' movements and all. i've been begging for an actual real concept like this for years and finally. finally it has been delivered.

chrome arts - onlyoneof

its not a choreo list by me if there isn't an ooo one, and once again they came right out of the gate at the beginning of the year with something batshit insane. the knee walk move is crazy. i love it 10/10.

killer - key

unlike a lot of the other entries on this list, i don't think killer has as concise of a concept other than "the 80s", but the great thing about it is that you absolutely can successfully pull off a more abstract concept if you do it well. this is such a strong choreo with good images and composition, plus a lot of 80s references in the moves themselves, and sometimes that's all you need if you put the right care into it. this is actually one of the few choreos that i've seen that correctly capture the feel of an mj choreo from the 80s, which seems to be a real challenge for a lot of idols. i will say that i think it would have made more sense to me if this had been a repack to bad love, bc it has the same vein of nostalgia vibes and a very similar feel in the shapes of the choreo, but really they're all part of his retro series so it's not a substantive complaint.

the rizzness - taemin

don't speak to me don't look at me i'm literally never recovering from this in my entire life. i cannot fucking believe he made me say with full conviction that ""the rizzness"" is one of the best taemin bsides but also of fucking course he did. this is black rose but eviler (complimentary). it's so interesting to see how versatile taemin's style is and where his true strengths lie. obviously his title track choreos are perfectly tailored to his body and his abilities and they are all unreal choreos on their own. but there's something about the way that he carries himself when he does more hiphop based choreo that has such a natural power to it. it's so clear that this is the style that he started learning dance in and especially now that he's become much more settled in his body since he got back from the military, it's so obvious how much love he has for this song and this way of movement that i don't think any of his title tracks will stack up in the same to it in my eyes.

don't call me - dkz nine to six

insane. insane insane insane. i love everything about this. it's weird its creative it had very clear imagery that supports the song, it says fuck capitalism, what more could you possibly want. honestly one of the best choreos of the last couple years. i'm also gonna include nod here too bc it was the bside they promoted and it has crazy choreo also, and highly recommend ppl listen to digital love, the other bside. very strong release from dkz this year despite all the shit they went through.

--

here's hoping 2024 is better!

[boysplanetrecaps]

Thoughts on Jonghyun, End of a Day, and Donghyun and Sunyoul's Performance

Hi, fam. In this post, I’m going to talk a bit more about the song End of a Day by Jonghyun, and what it means in the context of Sunyoul and Donghun’s performance on MNET’s Build Up. Along the way I’m going to be hitting some pretty serious topics, so don’t feel obligated to read this one if you’re not able to. It’s pretty sad. TW: suicide, mental health issues

This is Jonghyun.

He loved music from the time he was a child, and was scouted by SM Entertainment when he was only 15. He debuted as a member of SHINee in 2008, when he was 18. He was handsome, charismatic, and talented, with a unique and strong singing voice and great stage presence. He wasn’t just a singer and dancer and leader -- he also wrote songs for SHINee (Juliette), EXO (Playboy), bandmate Taemin (Pretty Boy, Already), and Lee Hi (Breathe). He was a gentle, sweet man, who stood up for social justice issues, including LGBT rights. He also was suffering, as we can tell after the fact, from mental health issues. 

A lot of what he was feeling comes through in his songs Breathe and End of a Day. 

Here’s a selection of lyrics from Breathe:

Take a deep breath Until both sides of your heart get numb Until it hurts a little Let out your breath even more Until you feel like there’s nothing left inside It’s alright if you run out of breath No one will blame you It’s okay to make mistakes sometimes Because anyone can do so Although comforting by saying it’s alright Are just words

Someone’s breath. That heavy breath How can I see through that? Though I can’t understand your breath It’s alright I’ll hold you You really did a good job

Here’s a selection of lyrics from End of a Day, which people say was inspired by his dog:

Your small shoulders, your small hands Become my cozy blanket at the end of a tiring day You did a good job today, you worked so hard I hope my shoulders and my thick hands Will become cozy comfort For the end of your tiring day as well I want to naturally sync my breathing with yours

Like water in a bathtub that wraps around you With no space left I want to warmly hold you without any space left At the end of my day, filled with awkward mistakes You, my prize, are waiting for me

I can’t cry all I want or even laugh all I want At the end of a tiring day but still, if I’m next to you Like a child, I can whine and then laugh Till I run out of breath I’m not used to seeing myself like this

You did a good job today, you worked so hard You are my pride

This preoccupation with wanting to do a good job, with wanting others to recognize that he did a good job, comes back in the worst possible place. 

In December of 2017, Jonghyun lost his life to suicide. It was something he obviously had been planning for a few days at the very least. In his note, he said he was “broken from the inside,” that his depression was “devouring” him. He spoke of wanting someone, anyone, to notice how much pain he was in, or to give him a reason to live, or just meet him where he was and empathize with him. He also spoke of feeling like he was going against the world, and ended the note by saying:

“It wasn‘t my path to become world-famous. That’s why they say it‘s hard to go against the world and to become famous. Why did I choose this path? It’s quite funny now that I think about it. It‘s a miracle that I endured through it all this time. What more can I say. Just tell me “good job.” You did great. Tell me I suffered enough. Even though you can’t laugh right now, just don‘t send me off blaming me. Good job. You suffered a great deal. Good-bye.”

To whom was he speaking, when he said “Good job. You suffered a great deal”? I think he was talking to himself. He was saying to himself what he wished someone would say to him, the same thing he said to himself in the lyrics of the songs he wrote. Good job. You did well. 수고했어 Sugohaesseo.

And that’s why this whole segment with Donghyun and Sunyoul on Build Up completely broke my heart.  

We already saw Donghyun’s reaction to being selected as Top Tier in the first round of performances. He almost broke down, saying he’d never been chosen in first place for anything before. His overwhelming desire for praise and recognition made the judges a little uncomfortable. But even when he’s top tier, he and Sunyoul still feel like that. When they have to choose someone to sing to when they’re singing Jonghyun’s song, they need to sing to themselves. They have to tell themselves Good job. You did well. 수고했어 Sugohaesseo.

When they lose the 2 vs 2 rival battle to the other team, after laying all their vulnerabilities on the line, Sunyoul thanks the the judges for the praise, saying he was “hungry” for those words. They told him he did a good job. But Donghyun, who got mixed results from the judges, takes it really, really hard. Sunyoul tries to comfort him by saying the magic words: Good job. You did well. 수고했어 Sugohaesseo. But the words fall into a bottomless pit in Donghyun’s heart. Did he do well? He didn’t do well enough to beat the other team. There is no good enough to fill that pit. 

After Jonghyun died, Lee Hi sang a song as a memorial performance at an end of the year award ceremony. She sang Breathe, the song he wrote for her, the song that was a wail of his pain, and she couldn’t quite make it through it, falling silent for almost a whole verse.

I found an article about that, and when I scrolled down a little, the very next article was about netizens attacking f(x)'s Sulli for something she did that they didn’t like. An article about an idol who felt pushed to take his life because he was never good enough for the public, followed by an article about another idol being attacked by the public -- an idol who also lost her life in the same way not too long later. 

Where does this end? I don’t know. 

Am I feeding this machine, by being a fan of this industry that chews people up and spits them out? Am I being too heartless to the people on this show by pointing out when their singing is pitchy, or nasal, or out of tempo? Should I just say 수고했어 sugohaesseo, you did well? The words that they all want to hear? The words that Jonghyun said in his note that he wanted to hear? The words he wrote to himself to soothe himself at the end -- his last thoughts on this earth?

수고했어.  

수고했어. 

At the end of Our Page, the song that the surviving members of SHINee wrote to honor Jonghyun, you can hear Onew saying  수고했어 in a soft voice. Did that reach Jonghyun, wherever he is? Does it reach anyone? 

Jonghyun, 수고했어. You did well.

Sulli, 수고했어. You did well.

Hara, 수고했어. You did well.

Moonbin, 수고했어. You did well.

And while they’re still here to hear it, I want to say it to everyone on this show, too. Donghyun, 수고했어. Sunyoul, 수고했어. 

And you, dear reader. You also. You are doing well. You don’t owe anyone anything. You don’t have to be productive or useful or what other people want you to be. Be kind, be open, be happy. You are doing well. 수고했어. 

Click here to go on to the next recap Click here to go back to the Build Up main post

[blingblingbubbles]

i have been thinking about Jonghyun a lot lately, i think in the beginning of this month i saw a tweet from a baby shawol talking about how they wished they had been there earlier to witness their entire journey or more parts of their journey and honestly my first thought was "i wouldn't wish it upon a person to get through what shawols who were already there back then went through" but honestly i still wouldn't want it to be different for myself. like i am glad i got to cherish him and his music while he was still alive. he is so much more than his death. and we are saying this so often but i also get that some people might forget that bc they only found shinee after the fifth spotlight became empty. he deserves to be celebrated every single day for his music, for his character, for how well spoken he was, for how vocal he was about things, for how talented he was, for how he made a little revolution in SM with him producing his own work, for how he was able to comfort all of us.

but it also made me think about me six years ago. i turned 19 a few days after he died and now i am turning 25 in a few days. back then i did not really struggle with my mental health. so while i understood that he was suffering, it was really abstract for me in a way. until i started to struggle with my own mental health just a few years down the line and while jonghyun was always a comfort for me through the tough times, i actually started to rely on his music even more than before. to this "only one you need" is my alarm bc it's easier to get out of bed. and "end of day" is the song i end my hard days with.

you know when i was about to 19, 27 seemed so far away and tbh everyone in their mid to late twenties were like proper adults to me. i was a baby adult still figuring out the ropes. but i thought when you were in your mid to late twenties, you got it, you knew things, you got life figured out. i knew that he was so fucking young, i knew 27 was young. of course i knew. but still a 27 year old seemed so far away age wise for a 19 year old. and well now i am turning 25 and i think it only really hit me how young he was. like i am about to turn 25 and there are so many things i still ask my parents or my siblings for. so many things i still need to google which i thought i would have figured out by now. and it puts things in a very different perspective.

i don't know where i want to go with my rambling but i just needed to let that out. i still miss him so much. it sometimes still hits me that we won't get new solo work from him, that we won't get new pictures. sometimes taemin sounds really similar to him and i get so proud and so heartbroken at the same time. he should be here today. it shouldn't have ended that way. but we can't do anything but celebrate all the beautiful gifts he left behind.

[ask-serendipity-sky]

Yeah maybe Tae's voice improved. Taemin is a heavy smoker and can still sing probably better than most of BTS members. But still, it's harmful af for one's body. And idk why JK, out of all, who preaches about taking care of your health, will do it.

Now I get why Jimin did a sigh, had a sad face and said he hopes JK is taking care of his body. JK also said it to JM while he was working for FACE but it was because he was working day and night making each every aspect perfect and ate a lil. Now JK is obviously not like that, only thing he has to do is sing the songs they gave him and practice few dance steps. But still Jimin looked so sad while saying that in his live.

Hello,

Oh, Taemin? Let's listen to one of my favorites.

My feelings about today summed up, actually.

I think Jk is being judged harshly for this when it's something that doesn't concern us at all.

Perhaps Jk says that because he's being kind to fans?

Jk has been smoking for years now and Jimin hasn't had a sad face the whole time. Im sure they care about each other's health, though. But perhaps Jimin wasn't saying it in a sad way but more of a nostalgic way since it was a birthday wish.

Jikook wouldn't just say "be healthy" over weverse and not do anything about it if they saw the other was in a dangerous situation. Like back when Jimin would diet and Jk would do the same so Jimin would stop. Or when Jimin ran across the stage because he thought Jk was throwing up.

I'm sure they continue to take care of each other like that.

Hope that helps!

[glasshcvse]

I always thought Stupid Cupid would be on the same level as Red Velvet in terms of popularity! In your opinion which real group would you assign for your fic groups in those terms?

AINE ! ⠀ › ⠀ SAYS. omg you're being too nice anon!! i think red velvet is wayyy up the scale when looking at stupid cupid's popularity– took me a hot second to cook something up, but under the cut, you'll find all of my important groups / ocs ( including both npc & under co. groups! ) and their popularity based on irl kpop groups!

first, we have lilypad, aka the saviours of glasshouse! i'd definitely say that they're on par with kara! they've been releasing bops from the getgo, and have been doing so until their unfortunate ( or fortunate in this case ) disbandment, so kara would be the best group to mention in this case, especially when back in 2009, glasshouse only had crumbs and a handful of trainees to go with.

next on the list is raevil, aka the dead women walking! raevil = twice, and you can't prove me wrong!! the fact that each member comes from a different country just goes well with the public ( international more than domestic, bc we all know how knetz are about these types of things ), and they for sure know how to charm people to at least listen to their songs occasionally. their popularity grew as time passed, so raevil being on the same scale as twice right now would be a plausible answer!

sorry to disappoint you, anon, but stupid cupid's popularity goes lower than red velvet's– i'd say ive or kepler would be more of an appropriate answer, especially because everyone can clearly see the favouritism in stcp ( looking at tomie ). it's a good thing that their discography is full of mostly cute songs, otherwise, i don't think stupid cupid would've been supported this much if it their concept was anything else... i imagine them being compared to lilypad a lot if they had a different concept, and they'd kind of flop. yeah, their fandom is definitely smaller compared to raevil's, but they have some crazy ass fans out there ( think orbits during that twitter era )–

at the beginning of their career, i surely saw nextone go hand in hand with stray kids based on popularity, especially because prdx had a different concept from any other artists from the company, were their first bg and they were promoted a lot during their pre-debut era by stupid cupid. however, after the whole scandal happened with one of the members and they went on a hiatus for a year, the hype kind of died down, so now i'd say they're kinda like monsta x / the boyz!

hero is 4th generation's taemin! of course, his popularity slowly grew as he went through a shitty survival show, but once he actually debuted as a soloist, the fandom significantly grew, and it's still growing as time goes by. there's a reason why he's called an all-round and ace of kpop! although, if you asked him, he'd deny being that popular, but the receipts don't lie, nor do his album sales that get sold out after every comeback!

and last but definitely not least, we have crystyle! && just like everyone expected, i imagine them to have the same popularity as got the beat! they also have some similarities; as they're both project groups with members from different groups ( or are soloists ), so saying they have the same popularity as got would be true. not only that, but each member has their own fandom that just combined in the end to support the girls as a group!

and that's it ( for now )! come back later if there are any updates to this~

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

"When people have the skills and experience, they know what to say."

I mean Taemin hit the nail on the head about each and everything he said about Jimin. On the other hand, Yoongi who I felt would have a more astute view on music, ended up saying they're musically very similar which I don't agree with at all.

They look similar, they both have gender neutral styles, and they're both great dancers and artists imo but similar musically? I don't really see it at all. I think they're both very good but in different ways. I was surprised when Yoongi said that because that's the sort of thing I expect to hear from someone who has a very shallow view of both Taemin and Jimin.

Look, I don't have a particular problem with Yoongi, but what I noticed is that at least in a show format like Suchwita in the episodes that I've watched, his input is sometimes on a surface level, which is what happened in the episode with Taemin as well. It becomes more obvious when the other person is more articulate. I don't doubt Yoongi knowing his trade, but the level of depthness is what we usually see in any Bangtan content so it may be because he's accustomed to that. Entertainment comes first and we saw that when Jimin showed up and they started bickering.

Indeed, there are similarities between Taemin and Jimin, but musically I wouldn't say it's the same case. Lie would be the only song that sounds like something Taemin would do, but that's it. Also, Jimin only had a few solo songs within the group and only this year released his first album. He's still experimenting in finding a style and thankfully he took an interesting path. Meanwhile, Taemin has been releasing solo albums for the past 10 years. The comparison is not exactly fair.

[vlovers19]

“I like him as a person”… I wonder if “as a person” was put here by the editor just like RM is always adding something about “what a good friend” lmao

Idk it seems to me at least Jimin was in love or something. The dumpling incident and the way he was with Tae at that time and later… All shy, then tender, then strained a bit… ya can’t imitate that. The only alternative in my mind is that they were told to “play soulmates” narrative by company, which is honestly… a bullshit? They said no to some songs, so they would say so to something like that.

The question is was the feeling reciprocated? Because I don’t get their dynamics now at all: at times I think they look like soft type of brothers with all these stories about fights and jokes (and scenes like when they imitated a kiss while rehearsal of simple and then grimaced and smiled — that’s smth like “haha sooo funny we’d never really kiss hahaha” to me) and rumors about Tae (hard to not fall for that shit), and at times when something extremely soft happens I feel…gaslighted lmao because jeez I wouldn’t do many of the things they’ve done in 2016-2022 to my siblings, because it feels a bit cringe. There are times of this weird tension idk.

What a weirdly beautiful duo. Sry, just a pure reflection here, because I miss vmin blogs soooo much. Borahae!

Let's be honest. Some of the things in the book are changed to suit the readers. There are various people who will read the book so they would do what they can to satisfy every audiences curiosity but at the same time try to tone things down but just enough to keep you wanting more. It's what they have been doing for so long.

But I want to ask? Why do you feel like this? People have what they call a sixth sense but many choose to ignore it. A lot of people feel something's off with Jimin and Taehyung out of everyone else in the group. This weird dynamics you all are just noticing now because they are in their solo era is something I had noticed a long time ago even while they were in the group but unlike a lot of people, I don't ignore my sixth sense.

Now, we haven't seen the members gathered in one place for a long time but no one questions Jimin and Taehyung's bond with other members. Yet, question their bond with each other even when they see them being close. Even when they call each other soulmates? Even when they try to disprove the rumors around them in their own way. It's not like a full on hate against them. It's more like this boundary most of the fandom has created for them. Almost like a silent warning; we know you are soulmates and all but don't go past that. We don't want to know.

So the sixth sense about whatever might be going on about them is shut off. Most people will rather believe that they are enemies than to reason with that thought nagging at the back of their minds that something is off or weird about them.

Jimin and Taehyung both value friendships. Taehyung is known for even keeping contact with his high school friends. Jimin is more private with his friends but we all know the kind of soul he is. How selfless he is for the people he cares about. Unless a deep betrayal occurred between the two of them. Something neither can forgive each other for then such a thing can happen. Even drifting apart shouldn't be considered because Taehyung wouldn't let that happen. Looking at how close he is with Jungkook who people thought he had drifted apart from should be proof to you. Taehyung loves to mantain relationships and trust me the last person he would want to loose connection with is his fellow 95 liner from Bts who he debuted with, lived with, grew up with, had lots of memories with both the good and bad ones. He hasn't drifted apart from others. Out of everyone in his life, it's Jimin he would rather cut off ties with. Jimin!

Jimin likewise who mantains long term friendships with those close to him like Soonyoung, Taemin amongst others. Out of everyone would choose to be distant from Taehyung while still mantaining friendships with others in the group.

Why are things so different with them? What is up with the two of them? Did they date and break up? Did one of them steal the others beloved? What's with all the secrecy?

But it's none of those things because we can still see even though many choose to ignore it that they have a good rapport with each other but they won't behave like the usual friendships or the usual ship just to satisfy our cravings. They won't do vlives or post their personal pictures for our enjoyment even though they know we desperately want that. They won't let us into that world. They will keep that to themselves no matter what people say about them. Especially now when they will be entering the military, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't want the attention on them.

People shouldn't bother about what they will be doing now. They should rather be interested in what happens after their military service because that to me is when the real fun begins. We will really know what's going on. For now, believe in them. Even though people don't want to see them as anything other than the friends they are but at least we should acknowledge the bond they subtly try to show and stop belittling every thing they do because they aren't showing off like typical friends do. I have said enough. Have a great day everyone and let's try to focus on our own lives as well.

[katrinawritesthings]

Jonghyun/Taemin; just chillin; PG

You ever just be hanging out writing a song with your babe

Also for @rollercoasterwrite and @summerofshinee jjongsmonth last month : )

Jonghyun feels like he's reaching the point of listening to two different versions of the same 10 second clip of a song that he can barely tell the difference between them anymore. He sighs heavily through his lower lip, feeling the air fluttering his bangs, and tries to get himself to focus. Just on this last one thing and then he can take a break. He plays the version with the chimes in the background and then the one without. Chimes or not. Chimes or not. 

He needs a distraction. He needs–

A knock on his office door. Jonghyun pulls his headphones off of one ear, surprised. He glances at the clock and is even more surprised when he sees the time. It's already 6. No wonder he's so out of focus. The last time he checked it was barely past noon. 

 "Yeah," he calls, and then Taemin is there, black hair poking out of his beanie and just barely falling into his eyes. His cheeks are flushed pink from cold and he doesn't so much as wave with his hand as much as a fist balled up inside of his sweater. Just looking at him has Jonghyun smiling. "Welcome home," he says, turning more in his spinny chair. "How was work?" he asks.

"It sure was," Taemin says, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind him. "I brought you food." He holds up a fast food bag, opening it and taking out a carton of chicken nuggies for himself before handing it over. "I texted asking if you wanted anything like 3 hours ago and you didn't reply so I figured you were in here forgetting that you had human needs."

"Correct," Jonghyun says, reaching out eagerly for his food. He gets a burger and fries and even more nuggies. Nice. 

"Are you busy?" Taemin asks as he pulls out his burger to unwrap it. Jonghyun glances at his food, at his computer with all of the song editing software still up. 

"Yeah," he says. Taemin's face falls; it's just a small thing, almost imperceptible except how Jonghyun would recognize it from him in a heartbeat. It's the lowering of his eyelids just a twitch, the shift from his neutral resting face to something with a tiny bit more lower lip. Jonghyun smiles and asks, "why?"

 Taemin taps his toe on the ground, fiddles with the collar of his sweater.

"Is your lap busy?" he asks. 

And that alone is enough to make Jonghyun's heart melt. 

He puts his food on his desk so he can turn fully in his chair and hold his arms open.

 "Too busy for you?" he asks, smiling from his heart. "Never." And now Taemin smiles back, stepping forward with his arms out. He sits down on top of Jonghyun's thighs, sitting himself perfectly into the chair with him on the first try. His arms go around Jonghyun's shoulders and his face nuzzles into Jonghyun's neck. As soon as it does, Jonghyun jumps, hissing at the contact of Taemin's skin against his. 

 "You're so cold," he pouts, trying not to pull away as Taemin's cold nose drags goosebumps to his skin. Taemin presses more of his face against him, smile printed against his skin.

 "Someone let me play with their puppies on the walk back from the bus stop," he says. Jonghyun gasps softly. Lucky. He's jealous. 

Taemin's right hand slides around to his front. He rubs up against Jonghyun's stomach through his sweater, and then slides it down to his thigh, and then brings it back up to the hem of his sweater. Jonghyun realizes what he's going for just in time and gets his own hand down there quick as lightning to wrap around Taemin's wrist.

"Do not," he says sternly, squeezing and tugging Taemin's hand away when he still feels his grubby cold little fingertips trying to find a way under the sweater.

Taemin laughs into his neck, his most obnoxious gremlin laugh, little heh heh heh hehs, but he also puts his arm back around Jonghyun's shoulders. Jonghyun hears him rustling around with his chicken nuggie box back there, and then eating noises directly behind his ear. He guesses it’s food time, then. He picks up his half unwrapped burger eagerly and gets to work.

Two-thirds of his burger and a couple of nuggies in, he feels like he is sufficiently rejuvenated and distracted enough to get back to work with a clearer focus. He puts his headphones back on over his ear and hits play on the clip he's been trying to figure out. 

Another nuggie later he realizes that he just has the same problem but now in HD. Sighing, he rolls his eyes and takes off his headphones. He puts them on Taemin instead, popping them onto his head and adjusting them over his ears. 

"Tell me what you think about this," he says, and plays the clip without the chimes. 

"Um," Taemin says, mouth full of nuggie."It's nice. I like it."

"Okay, and, what about this?" Jonghyun asks, playing the one with the chimes.

"Better," Taemin says decisively. "The other one feels kind of empty compared to it. This one feels smoother. I like it." 

"Okie dokie then," Jonghyun smiles. That's Taemin's opinion and that's what it's always going to be. He grabs the file without the chimes and removes it from the project. Taking his headphones back for himself, he continues editing with his left hand and eating with his right.

It's regular enough work–rearranging, mixing, testing what sounds good and what doesn't–that he doesn't have a problem multitasking. Every now and again he gives Taemin his headphones and asks for his opinion again, and every time Taemin gives him a short, honest answer that clears up any indecision he's been having. It always is nice to have an extra pair of ears around while he's editing.

After a while, there are more nuggie box noises and then one big, sharp movement from Taemin. Then a beat of silence, and then the sound of a little cardboard box bouncing off of the rim of the garbage can and clattering across the floor. Grinning, Jonghyun hums, "mmm, did you make it?”

"Yeah, totally," Taemin replies, grin just as obvious in his tone. 

"Good job," Jonghyun praises, patting his back a little bit. 

"Thanks." Half of the word is taken over by a yawn, which is then turned into Jonghyun's neck. It gets him all warm and moist, but he doesn't see how he can complain when Taemin rubs his cheek into it next. Taemin's arms slide down, too, under Jonghyun's and around his waist. His hands are still cold. Jonghyun can feel their chill through the back of his sweater. Taemin flattens them out, pressing them between Jonghyun's back and the chair.

Jonghyun leans back just a little bit. Just enough to press them a little more firmly into his chair. Just so they warm up that little tiny bit faster.

[sternbilder]

Ranking my favorite 2023 K-pop comebacks

I feel like 2023 was a year where I followed kpop comebacks especially diligently bc of my newfound interest in dance, and since it's 2024 this means an entire year has passed now of This

here's a list of my 10 personal favorite title tracks this year, happy new year all!

The Top Ten

1. Monsta X - "Beautiful Liar"

listen. when I said

in january of last year I meant it with my whole ass and I stand by it an entire earth year later. this song fucks So hard

firstable Yes I'm sad this is their last cb with most of the group in a while but also jesus what a banger to go out on

I love the guitars, the looks everyone is serving, the funky little twist in the song structure after the second verse, plus thinking always about lovemelovemelovemetellmetellmetellme + the chains + kihyun with a literal goddamn whip + the gunshot sound effects punctuating joohoney's verse. chefs kiss

2. Taemin - "Guilty"

god taemin is back and you can just feel the catholicity through the screen. the haunting vocals. the delicious string textures throughout (the way the arpeggios shift to pizzicato for the second verse!). the 6/4 time (the only choreo I learned this year that was not to an 8 count). the fucking through the shirt grab. the bridge which they extended in the MV specifically to squeeze in Even More Yearning™.

this is a perfect cb and I will say the rest of the album is also flawless and my favorite out of this list. honestly this probably would have been first if not for the fact that I personally just liked beautiful liar so goddamn much. thank you taemin. no notes.

3. SHINee - "HARD"

aka the song I previously described as "2 baddies, but Good" (no really, they have same key signature & near identical song structure. listen to them side by side with HARD on .95 speed if you don't believe me)

anyway, like 2 baddies this is SM-flavored af but I love the old school hip-hop vibes in HARD soooo much. I've had some people tell me they found it weird and off-putting but to me it's effortlessly cool but also earnest and just. fun? (not only the music but also the visuals? hello? the fashions in this MV) def gotta be one of my most played this year

4. Lee Gi Kwang - "Predator"

ok now for a dark horse pick. I feel like in the borderline 5th gen landscape nowadays older groups are often forgotten (even though hello! 2nd gen bgs are back from the military now and are having a Moment) so people perhaps understandably overlooked this one but god this song is a bop.

is it just criminal by taemin part 2 but less sexy and with a lower budget? yes. but the song is an absolute bop and the choreo slaps in its own right so imo it's a very worthy homage especially given it captures its exact gender of "pathetic sadboy making horny mistakes and needing to dance abt it" so so perfectly,

5. Exo - "Cream Soda"

tbh not what I was expecting from an exo comeback and I was surprised that I ended up liking this so much given I didn't really care for the prerelease tracks, but the more I listened the more this grew on me?

ofc it's an exo track so the vocals are 100 emoji but the chorus and melodies are simply addictive and the choreo for this one is also just a ton of fun (the sexy little head swipe,)

also I love the outfits in this MV (everyone keeps saying this is the Weed aesthetic but honestly? with korea's whole Thing? this is exo's macklemore-style thrift shopping and/or raiding grandma's attic for hidden midcentury treasures phase. to me.) but thank u @ the universe specifically for giving us back silver haired baekhyun. bless.

6. VIXX - "Amnesia"

another underrated release tbh! this initially gave me guilty vibes w/ the abundant use of pizzes since they were released around the same time but I also just independently love this song

I feel like it's a very mature song that takes itself seriously but not in an overly self-absorbed or cheesy way (another comparison I might make is to leo's losing game from last year), the chorus is poignant and hits hard because it's so earnest—maybe especially so since they were down to 3 with this cb—but man that melody is just so gorgeous, like it haunts me

7. Dreamcatcher - "Bon Voyage"

ok if I'm gonna be real it wasn't a great year for my faves—while I liked OOTD and reason they weren't top 10 worthy for me, mx had 1 excellent release before having most of its members yoinked by the military, and I didn't love either of oneus's cbs this year

that being said! I did still like bon voyage! while I preferred the first 2 in the trilogy it still felt like a good and fitting finale, bittersweet and full of equal parts regret and hope

in many ways it feels like a harkening back to classic dreamcatcher with the Big Anime Opening Vibes™ but more somber and grown up, an unexpected summer anthem from these queens,

8. TXT - "Sugar Rush Ride"

it's been a busy year for txt and while I'm not super familiar with them and their releases are sometimes a bit hit or miss for me, when they do hit they HIT

I actually considered chasing that feeling for this list too but despite adoring the take on me-ness of it I ended up nixing it after adjusting for recency bias

sugar rush ride though, I feel is a bop that stood the test of time with its catchiness and surprisingly dark undertones, and is also one of my favorite choreos I learned this year by far like. come on. it's the epitome of Boy Group Hot.

9. Taeyang - "Vibe"

this song lived rent-free in my head for MONTHS, god it's so catchy

I actually missed when my local studio taught this song but I liked the choreo so much I learned it on my own which, predictably since it literally features 2 main dancers, was not easy but extremely worth it bc just like the song itself it's just really fun

other than that what can I say. the MV is nothing special but otherwise it's just a really solid song with Big feel good energy.

10. Kiss of Life - "Shhh"

ok,,,,,,,I don't really follow rookie groups that closely bc generally I don't feel like I'm the target audience but. out of this year's new groups I did especially like kiss of life's debut!

the MV doesn't do much for me tbh but musically it sounds uncharacteristically mature to me, in a good way—it has a subtle confidence about it that I like plus excellent vocals, and is (possibly hot take?) what I was hoping to get from newjeans this year as a continuation of their debut last year tbh

Honorable Mentions

Jungkook - "Standing Next to You"

this one just felt like cheating bc it's technically an English single and there's probably some recency bias here but I can't not mention it bc I simply love this track. I'm not even a BTS stan but it's just a jam with great vocals and instrumentals (the big band notes and MJ influence! please!) and the choreo is also SO ridiculously fun, both the chorus and the dance break

BTOB - "Wind and Wish"

this is just a wholesome song that makes you feel good, like is it a lil bit cheesy? yeah, but it's also Good Vibes Comma the Song, wearing its entire heart on its sleeve in the most endearing way. it's nostalgic and mellow and full of love for its friends and a zest for life

also special shoutout to the bridge, which in such an otherwise lowkey song did not have to go that hard and yet it Did?? that harmony gives me chills, 100% certified vocal kings would cry again

Shownu X Hyungwon - "Love Me a Little"

this is a pathetic meow meow song in the best possible way and was sadly beat out by the other slightly better pathetic meow meow songs on this list (guilty, predator, amnesia) bc it was just a really good year for them but I still think it deserves a mention bc first of all yea boi @ my mans shownu being free from the military but also the instrumental/dance break at the end is dark as hell and also SO fucking tasty

Infinite - "New Emotions"

another 2nd gen group that quietly had a renaissance this year! this song is simply a bop and while the song itself is not as memorable as some in the top 10 the choreo is actually really fun

also myungsoo looks really ridiculously fine as center in the first chorus and that's the last thing I have to say about this song,

Key - "Killer"

honestly I really liked both of key's cbs this year but I feel like killer was slept on somewhat, it's got a hint of sadboi but it's tempered by the upbeat 80s pop style, plus the grungy mullet and beret outfit from the MV was a fucking Look and a Half

And my favorites per month

January: Monsta X - "Beautiful Liar"

February: Purple Kiss - "Sweet Juice"

March: Onew - "O (Circle)"

April: Lee Gi Kwang - "Predator"

May: Dreamcatcher - "Bon Voyage"

June: SHINee - "HARD"

July: Exo - "Cream Soda"

August: MAMAMOO+ - "dangdang"

September: Key - "Good & Great"

October: Taemin - "Guilty"

November: VIXX - "Amnesia"

December: TVXQ - "Down"

[what-if-nct]

hiiii today's reminder is film major Choi Minho saying fuck dance-y music videos I'm here to make bitches cry (the bitches in question being me, alone in my room). just my favourite boy all sad and bloodied up and impossibly hot, all with that STUNNING voice?????? kinda unfair how much i love him, even considering he's talked about the world cup more than this album this week lol

also like. this is definitely the Minho equivalent of Key's gasoline. i dont know how to explain that exactly, but both music videos have the same amount of drama, just one in the bollywood fight scene direction and the other in the bollywood dance number direction

Hiii, Music Video was so beautiful, he wanted to tell a story and he did and as an emotional bitch, I was almost brought to tears, wow the first day in two weeks I haven't cried and I actually had a logical reason to cry. Like the coloring, the story line, it was absolutely heart breaking but beautifully done. And oh my goodness is voice is beautiful and I want to preface this by saying that this isn't exactly my kind of music in kpop, I can listen to Lana Del Rey all day and have. But with kpop it has to be mid tempo or high energy, so basically most of exo's music. Just not a ballad girl. With that said I absolutely love the song, like I can actually see myself listening to it more times. Something about his voice and the music really just blending so well together and you can feel his emotion in the song. Just beautiful, he did so well. Yeah Minho would care more about the world cup, I remember the shinee vacation series forgot the name and Taemin went to Switzerland and Onew was just enjoying his life somewhere tropical with Pinee and Minho went to England to watch Soccer. Honestly forgot where Key and Jonghyun went. I paid more attention to Taemin, Onew and Minho's adventures. But of course Minho remains on brand.

[mangosmoothiepussyv3]

the time has come for me to ask my favorites questions so i can know them better 🖤

1. do you have a favorite scary movie or horror franchise?

2. what color do you wear to feel the most sexy?

3. what country do you want to visit the most & why?

4. what would you consider your kindred animal?

5. is there a music album that you think is perfect from start to finish?

6. what interests you more: undiscovered space, undiscovered oceans or undiscovered icy tundra?

7. if you had to describe yourself as a flower or plant, what kind would it be & why?

absolutely no pressure to answer, beautiful! i hope that you have a fantastic day 👻💋

ohhh this is so much fun!!!

1. hmmm id have to say 'us'! that one left me thinking about it for like. 3 days afterwards lol

2. either a forest green or black!

3. japan!! fun fact, i used to live in japan! okinawa to be specific! but i was a lil bab so i dont remember everything. so id like to go again as an adult so that i can really explore and see all the sights and stuff like that!

4. black cats!! ive always loved cats, especially black cats. and i wanted to become a cat girl with black cat features....tho ngl i do have like. an oc and a self insert that are black cat girls DJDJJSJJJDJDJR so i never really grew out of that dream

5. ive gotta say wasteland baby by hozier. theres only one song on there that i dont vibe with and thats it! i love the album sm its one of my fave. honorable mentions are teen age by seventeen and move by taemin!

6. undiscovered ocean!!! i love aquatic animals so much!! the deep ocean kinda scares me but interests me at the same time! id love to go scuba diving but uh. i dunno how to swim-

7. wisteria! bcus in flower language it means kindness and i too like to think that im kind!! well im trying to be anyways!

ahhh this was so fun!!! thank you so much!!!