#ive never listened to kpop tbh

[octonomer]

the boops are so universal i just got booped by people from like 4 billion fandoms. hello homestuck, supernatural, star trek, comic book, team fortress 2, owl house, kpop, and furry fandom

[maximura]

I have listened to Babymonster's Sheesh so you don't have to.

NMIXX made AESPA sound like Mozart. Babymonster makes NMIXX sound like Vivaldi. It's not a compliment. I understand YG want lightning to strike twice and comparison is the thief of happiness but this is a budget Blackpink cosplay with none of the Teddy/Bekuh hooks, like at all. That was a very interesting choice.

Aespa were smart enough to realise that being BP 2.0 wouldn't cut it and worked on their own group personality. It's not all good but I think they have plenty of redeeming qualities. Prayers for Giselle to step up because her lack of everything is startlingly obvious when she performs with the other three.

IVE never played the same game with their concept or sound, even with the woefully unsuited 'Baddie'. Wonyoung's position as Thee IT Kpop Girlie has not had a worthy challenger for years. Hopefully Starship don't fuck this up but let's be honest, they probably will. Still, I look forward to their comebacks the most.

NewJeans started so strong but I am now losing interest. I'm not their target audience so I can't criticise them for how juvenile Supershy sounded to me. It's nice to see youthful music for a youthful group though and I like that they aren't trying to be mature too fast. It's just hard to vibe sometimes.

NMIXX are just strange. I don't understand them but I do see how talented they are. It's just a shame their skills are wasted on such polarising music. It takes some balls to knowingly deviate from the safe path just for the vision. I have to respect them for that tbh haha. I can see this group really maturing into something great in a few years, if they can keep relevancy. I said the same exact thing about NCT when they came out so maybe there is hope (and despair).

Le Sserrafim are a Jukebox Group. Their last albums sounded like covers of Tyla, Rosalia and Rema. It's very trendy music and I don't fault them for doing that but when I'd rather listen to the original over them? That's not really good. No amount of aesthetically pretty lore videos compensates for their current lacklustre music (and vocals). I feel like we're heading into 'great gowns, beautiful gowns' territory with them.

Now Babymonster. I have not been impressed by them at all. The much-heralded Ahyeon has apparently returned to the group like Lazarus and I was informed she would be Wonyoung's successor but she does not even stand out in her own group. I would not be able to pick her out of a line up. They get full points for effort and I do like Stuck In The Middle but I begrudgingly admit that for these girl crush concepts, Teddy is Teddy for a reason. Choice37 and Jared Lee just don't produce in a very impactful way that I like. Good luck to them but I have no desire to replay any of their songs.

(G)-Idle remain playing chess.

[torialefay]

Thank you for saying what ive been thinking omfg.

Chris does everything he can. There's very few people in kpop that exudes the vibe that they love music and making music as much as he does. Being an idol is what he worked so hard to get and im pretty sure hes implied time and time again and even explicitly said that he wouldn't want to live if he couldnt be an artist (and that bleeds into shy he loves the kids so much, but thats veering off topic). Im just constantly baffled how many people want him to throw it all away (bc idk how harsh jype would punish him), you know, just tossing out his reason to live, to talk about the war. Yes, absolutely. There are so, so many people dying because of this war, and its truly horrifying, but how many people screaming at him are willing to do what they're demanding of him and the kids? I always see people talking numbers and statistics, but rarely do i ever see someone talk realism. There are plenty of people who could spend their time going out to find ways to help Palestine instead of going online to yell at 8 men who got famous for their music and anyone who supports them. Some of yall have never listened to "antivist" by bmth and it shows.

Yeah, Chris looked so tired in that recent clip and just in general tbh (same for the rest of the kids). Everytime i see a clip of Chris when he said "im going to protect every single one of you" or when hes being super flirty and trolling or recently when he said he cant fix all of their problems, i just think "this man is going through what i went through, just 5 years later than i did." I literally have done all that, but instead of to a massive fanbase, it was to my friends, lmao. Being fiercely protective and wanting your friends to feel comfortable enough to lean on you, especially since they've been so good to you, but its turned into exhaustion bc you met some people who took mad advantage of your love and now youve gotta set some boundaries and limits. Unfortunately, he's an idol, so setting hard boundaries can be difficult without someone saying he's too cold and uncaring with fans or something bc we know just how fair the media can be when it comes to Chris🙄 i aint know him personally and never will, but if my interpretation of those clips are true and if this trend continues, he'll hopefully find peace and a decent balance with mental health in about 5 years time🥲

i really REALLY hope so. i'm not gonna lie, it surprised me like a week or two ago when chris said on bubble: "i feel like my enfj is slowly becoming intj hahaha". literally going from what is supposed to be one of the most expressive & involved mbti's to one that is most associated with being less interactive and more reserved/cold when meeting people. i don't want to say intj's are hardened, i don't think it's like that. but maybe that they just have a harder shell. which makes me really sad. it makes me think he's getting so burnt out by being the one that's always there for everyone that he's slowly needing to draw back to himself.

i hope that whatever happens, he's becoming his most genuine self. but i also hope that he isn't turning one way or another simply because of what's been expected of him. he's so good to us & it hurts to think that he'd have to change bc of stays. but if it's not due to that, then i'm happy that he's doing what he needs to do & i hope he can feel okay with setting boundaries for himself 🫶🏼

[hyunpic]

vilmaaa guess what. i had spotify on shuffle and it was playing some seori (my beloved) and then this mellow cute k-indie/rnb kinda song started playing and i was like 👀😮💘🤍 right away bc i liked the vocals + instrumental a lot but i was like. i need to wait and listen to more of the song before i check the artist and let that impact my thoughts. so i listened through the first chorus then checked and it was like ✨✨✨”miss you (hyunjin)”✨✨✨ and my heart just exploded a little liiiiike 🤍🤍🤍

i only got into skz recently + so i’ve mostly just listened to ate + past TTs. i’ve watched more videos and interviews tbh. outside of that i’ve really just listened to seungmin’s songs + music. so i truly and deeply was not expecting it to be him singing but it just made me soo happy. like even just over this brief time, i have so much respect for hyunjin as an artist/creative. and ik in his 1kr he mentioned that he’s really been dedicated to improving his vocals so i’ve been super interested in seeing his upcoming developments as a vocalist but tbh i didn’t have a strong baseline to compare against bc on the TTs he mostly raps yk. so it was suuuch a nice surprise!! i’m so glad i waited bc i was really able to appreciate and love the song devoid of anything else and then to discover that it was actually hyunjin literally made my heart squeeze i was so excited and happy.

i wanted to share with you bc i really like hyunjin sm i am super fond of him, and a lot of that is thanks to your posting about him. bc it’s so cool to see the side of him besides his stage persona. it’s such a fun and sweet experience to be discovering an artist + finding them in unexpected places + then loving them a bit more. those initial discoveries are some of my favorite moments of being a kpop fan + your blog definitely played a role in enhancing this experience so thank youuu.

hope you’re doing well + taking care!! wishing you the best always 🧡

ahhh HIIIIII the warm energy bubbling from this message is so so amazing to me… miss you such a sweet song, right? he made the song for his old puppy who sadly passed away.. it holds a special place in my heart since ive experienced that too and it always brings me a feeling of comfort whenever i listen to it. i always think about how hyunjin’s voice reminds me of the dawn, the first rays of sunrays that hit the earth when it’s still foggy, quiet and mellow outside. idk if that’s strange but that’s how his singing geeli like to me. if you liked miss you, i would recommend you to listen to his skz record “long for you” i especially love his vocals in this one!!! 😻💘

hyunjin is just the bestest. the thing you said about him wanting to improve his vocals.. i love that his drive and hunger for being better in all aspects of his life never stops. it is lovely to watch someone so passionate about his craft, cause it makes you so excited to see what’s coming in the future. there’s so many artists out there who just kind of give up on that when they achieve a certain point of fame, where they just stop caring about improving cause the fans just gas them up about how great they are and the stuff they put out starts feeling shallow. and i hope that fire of passion never dies within hyune.

im so happy you sent me this message, i hope you know it made my day 🥹🥹 i love when people get into skz and hyune and im glad i get to be a part of it with u. sometimes the kpop community feels so negative and it’s so easy to just get caught up on that but messages like these remind me that there’s so much love and positivity out there too 💘💗💓💕 pls have the bestest day <3

[onlyjaeyun]

I want to say as someone who only very recently got into enhypen (bite me era), but has been listening to kpop for a while, I was genuinely taken aback by the energy of the fandom. It's one of the few times that I've thought, do these fans even like the group they're stanning? I think it's because when I saw bite me I was absolutely in love with the song but also with the dance, I thought wow these guys are really doing something different and interesting. And then the whole protest truck thing happened and I was like ho boy. Obviously this kind of stuff isn't exclusive to enhypen, basically every group has crazy fans, but there does seem to be a pretty big emphasis on fan service over all else, which is a shame cause they're a seriously talented group with very good discography.

YOU AND ME BOTH BABY!!!!

ive been in the kpop fandom since late 2015 and when i tell you i never once wondered if fans actually like the ppl they stan until i started stanning enhypen. the more i got into the fandom the more i asked myself how some engenes can be so critical, petty and immature about everything the boys do like it's so not healthy anymore to both the group and the fandom. the whole bite me choreography situation was one thing but even before and after that so many times i looked at comment sections and thought "man do y'all even LIKE them??" bc i guess i get solo stans but those solo stans dont even like or appreciate the member they stan like make it make sense 😭😭 ngl some engenes are crazy but its just like that in kpop fandoms tbh

[halavibe]

i was tagged by @hils79! tags and post below cut

do you make your bed? - i make it and it kind of stays made for a long time because i just dont disturb it? so to 'make it' i really just have to straighten the covers from when i get out of the bed. so yeah.

what's your favourite number? - 9

what is your job? - full time student, currently studying web design/dev, but ive had just about every job tbh

If you could go back to school would you? - i am right now! its never too late but its always a challenge

can you parallel park? - yeah! im a pretty good driver

a job you had that would surprise people? - i used to drive semi trucks across the us

do you think aliens are real? - they have to be. theres just no way they arent. this take is more nuanced than i have the energy or space to type out right now tbh

can you drive a manual car? - yes! i do prefer them

what's your guilty pleasure? - if it brings me pleasure im not guilty about it (crayon by g dragon)

tattoos? - two stick and poke finger tattoos i gave myself at fifteen, and a quote on my left forearm

favourite colour? - purple

favourite type of music? - i am a listen to anything person but i love appalachian gothic and pop punk/emo. and obviously kpop

do you like puzzles? - depends on the puzzle

any phobias? - bees/wasps/flying, buzzing bugs

favourite childhood sport? - n/a

do you talk to yourself? - no, im pretty non verbal when left to my own devices

what movie(s) do you adore? - howls moving castle, spirited away, hunchback of notre dame, lilo and stitch, prince of egypt

coffee or tea? - coffee i guess but neither

first thing you wanted to be growing up - farmer, age five. so i could 'dig in the dirt'

as usual, consider this your tag to do it if you want to! also @wooyoungisbaby, @bunnakit, @vesvosmozhno, @ihavetoomanyfandomstobesane, and @chaoticcupcakeconnoisseur but i dont think hell do it

[kristailine]

Hello may I know more on which Kpop girl group or boy group do you stan or listen to? 😅

Since I found out you listen to IVE...just sharing that my fave title track song from them is Love Dive and my fave b-side is Holy Moly

OH I listen to a lot 😩 I listen more on kpop girl groups compared to boy groups tbh

So a list of girl groups I listen to:

- Kep1er (I also watched GP999 and voted for Mashiro everyday shes my baby, THEY HAVE UNDERRATED BSIDES TOO ILL GO AND RECOMMEND LVLY, Mvsk, Dreams, and Back to the city)

- IVE (THE ONLY KPOP GROUP WITH UNSKIPPABLE DISCOGRAPHY AND HAVE YOU SEEN THAT HOLY MOLY STAGE JUST RECENTLY WITH THE MERMAID OUTFITS REI AND LIZ ATE I-)

- KISS OF LIFE (STAN FOR CLEAR SKIN)

- (G)-idle

- Le sserafim

- New Jeans

- Blackpink

- Twice

- Red Velvet

- IZ*(g)ONE

- Itzy

- SNSD

- Loona

- WJSN

- Aespa

- Fifty Fifty (goodbye goodbye you were clearer than the blue sky 🤧)

Sometimes some STAYC and GFRIEND and some Brave Girls and some other nugus 😅

As for boy groups I think I listen to some Enhypen and Exo but that's it really. Not a fan of boygroups maybe because im a man hater (jk)

Thanks for the ask ahhhh feel free to hit me up on kpop ig since idk why i never expected myself to be a kpop listener fr

[azusaluvclub]

Hii, hope you are doing well. I was wondering if you have any jimmy bae head cannons? Thanks!

weak hero headcanons; jimmy bae

hi hi !! i do have some jimmy headcanons lined up for you :))) theyre pretty general, but i hope you enjoy !!!! and if theres anybody else you (or whoever else is reading) wants to see, lmk !!

⋆ is a suprisingly good dancer !! never took classes because his family couldn't rlly afford it, and now he doesn't have the time to commit to it, so p much everything he learned was from watching tutorials + kpop dance practices on youtube lolll :,)) he has fun w it tho !!

⋆ has a low tolerance for spicy food ;; tries to fake like he can handle it, but it's SO obvious in the way his face reddens and his nose starts running that he can't :,))) (that's how u know the food is good tbh-)

⋆ based on the fact he's a karaoke enthusiast, i 100% believe he's also a talented singer :DDD (idol material atp-) his voice is suprisingly,,, gentle, compared to how he acts ?? it's full, a little raspy from all the smoking, but overall really nice to listen to. jack keeps insisting that he should become a trainee or something and put his talents to use, but he's not so sure-

⋆ dealt w pretty bad acne in middle school;; its improved over time, and he actually does make an effort w skincare, but he still gets flare-ups here and there that he finds super annoying-

⋆ not a big fan of tv (other than the late night sketch comedys or dramas he watches w/ his granny), but he LOVES a good action film- was def into superhero comics and cartoons as a kid (still is, hes just more casual about it loll) so some of that still carries over into his current interests :))) makes it a point to drag jack w/ him to whatever action movie is currently playing, and spend the whole ride home talking about it~

⋆ speaking of,, i feel like he was the one who initially suggested getting their (bc yes it is a shared thing-) motorcycle, but jack is the one who's most invested in it (mainly because i think he would have a strong interest in bikes and cars and the like) :)) bc granny bae keeps getting on jimmy's ass about them driving it without a license, the two have been hitting the books to get theirs- they say they're doing it together, but are secretly trying to beat each other to getting one :,))))

⋆ struggles w bouts of anxiety, i feel like ?? for all his arrogance, he seems to battle w/ his confidence in himself and his position in the union (imo likely a big part of why he's got an ego, bc he's looked down on enough as is and is trying to compensate somehow- </33). a lot of his worries revolve around that, but he finds himself getting hung up over plenty of other things. doesn't usually confide in jack about this, 'cause he thinks it's dumb and irrational; but they've known each other long enough to pick up on one anothers tells, and so jack makes it a point to remind jimmy that he believes in him, even without actually saying it~ (cause what else are bffs for ???)

⋆ actually a decent student — when he applies himself lol :,)) his best subject is probably smth like phys ed, though i feel like he might be also be good at history ??? not like he actually gives a shit, i just feel like it'd be easier for him compared to other classes. worst is art ,, if that self-portrait says anything---

⋆ is trying to make it a habit to workout + take it more seriously, esp since his fight w/ doyoon. not that he didn't before, but it's given him an even stronger sense of determination to not lose again, however he has to achieve that- tries to visit the gym regularly, or do simple workout routines at home (probably has some basic dumbells and other fitness shit, fuckin' NERDDDD)

⋆ when he's passionate about something, tho, it really shows !! and it benefits him most of the time, when he puts that drive towards the right things :,)))

and thats all ive got !! lol

[minkkumaz]

kwkkwkw the xikers ask made me giggle a bit!! its a sign omi ><

speaking of stanning,, been getting into more groups recently.. sadly theyre not well known but their music makes me levitate 🙁❤️❤️

so!!!

my personal biases as my favorite nugu 5th gen songs !!!! whenever u get the time u should definitely give them a listen ^^

Keehos (p1harmony!!) brother is actually in 82MAJOR!! i love love LOVE sure thing! really reminds me of woonhak..

POW on the other hand, theyre so so SO talented :( like theyre criminally underrated.. Favorite just reminds me of debut yungyu hehe.. Dazzling and Slow Dancing makes my heart so so warm.. I can imagine domestic jaehyun just dancing in the kitchen late at night listening to Slow Dancing.. HAS ME IN SUCH A LOVEY DOVEY MOOD I SWEAR!

WOONHAK bnd: Sure Thing - 82MAJOR

MINHO 8turn: FIRST CLASS - 82MAJOR

JISUNG nct: Dazzling - POW

bonus!! 😇

YUNGYU: Favorite - POW

JAEHYUN: Slow Dancing - POW

how have u been btw!! been getting a bit busy with my studies.. may or may not be failing a class or 2..

-🍉

xikers is gonna come up and bite me soon (enhypen starts playing) :3

and omg i've never heard of 82major, but i've heard of pow! i actually follow them on tiktok and was planning to get into them soon! i love stanning 5th gen groups because its much easier to get into them yk? they're fresh and don't have as much content :,)

when i like something i always feel to be a pro at it LOL which is also why its hard for me to ult groups that have sm stuff already. with the exception of skz ofc since they made me get into kpop!

ALSO IVE LISTENED TO FAVORITE and the guitar on it? like bro it sounds actually so good it was giving pop punk a little bit. and idk if you know this about me but i went through the emo music to kpop pipeline LMAOO when i'm not listening to kpop i am getting crazy with some pierce the veil >u<

i added it to my yungyu playlist :3

and i've been good! been playing lots of games and just relaxing tbh :) school isn't that crazy right now but maybe i've just gotten used to the work overload. wbu :D

[the-strange-world]

Rating May Kpop Releases

Including prereleases and Japanese releases

Masterpiece (10) / Amazing (9) / Good (7-8) / Ok (6) / Meh (5) / Didn’t like (0-4)

UNFORGIVEN - LE SSERAFIM & Nile Rodgers - 10/10 - So good! I love the “unforgiven, I’m a villain, I’m a” part ~ fave bside (of the new songs) - No-Return (Into the unknown) and I liked some of the other songs too

Welcome To My World - aespa [prerelease] - 2/10 - I thought it was going somewhere and it never did

Wind And Wish - BTOB - 5/10 - it’s ok. Probably won’t listen to it much if ever

HYBRID - MAX CHANGMIN & Ha Hyun Woo - 7/10 - would be amazing as a musical montage at the end of an episode or something. Not something I would listen to much

U - iKON - 3/10

Heartbreak Club - Colde feat. LEE CHANHYUK - 2/10

THE POYZ BANANA CHACHA - THE BOYZ - 10/10 - Idc that this is a song made for kids. It’s a bop!

ERASE ME - ONEUS - 10/10 - loved it! ~ fave bsides - Unforgettable & ECHO

Spicy - aespa - 8/10 - i didn’t like it at first but as the song goes on it grew on me. Idk the song kinda gives me on uneasy vibe. It’s good tho ~ fave bside - I’m Unhappy

Ordinary Confession - Lee Mujin - 6/10 - it’s a nice song but I would listen to it again

NO LIMIT - CRAXY - 8/10 - I like how it’s like 2 different songs

Allergy - (G)I-DLE [prerelease] - ♾/10 - obsessed with this song! Might be one of my favorite songs this year so far

CHO - Feverse - 6/10 - I’m not sure what this is tbh. I think girl group members competed playing video games and the ones who won are the ones singing ~ fave bside - I Promise

BAD BOY - MIRANI feat. BIG Naughty - ♾/10 - Billie Eilish vibes (2 title tracks for this album) ➕

Candy - MIRANI feat. Leellamarz & Coogie - 8/10 - it’s chill ~ fave bside - Make U Mine

WAVE - IVE [JP] - 9/10

ALWAYS - XODIAC - 7/10

Shh - PENTAGON - 9/10

Kaze - YOUNHA - 4/10

Lovesick - SUNGMIN - 5/10 - not really my style of music

Fly Away - AB6IX [JP] - 3/10

Chemistry - THE7 - 9/10

Siren - ICHILLIN’ - 6/10

Bubble - AIMERS - 9/10 - it’s fun. There was one bside (Cherish) and I liked it

Yes! Love - J.UNA - 10/10 ~ fave bside - Stars

Queencard - (G)I-DLE - ♾/10 - obsessed with this song! It’s so funny and fun. The mv was everything! The dance battle? Iconic. I lost it when the surgeons started dancing. It ended well too! Some of the lyrics are unhinged/silly and some are really cool. They really came through with this comeback! It’s so good and unique as always with them ~ fav bsides - Paradise and Lucid but I liked All Night too!

My Ultimate First Love - 10cm - 5/10

Before the Petals Fall - CHEN - 4/10

Hare Hare - TWICE [JP] - 10/10 - it’s fun ~ I liked the only bside - Catch a Wave

MIDNIGHT SKY - XODIAC [Prerelease] - 6/10 - it’s calming

FANFARE - INI [Prerelease] - 7/10

STOP - KESSIA feat. Van Corso - 5/10

Crazy Like That - VERIVERY - 8/10 - it’s chill and different than the usual title track. I like it!

Movie Star - MIJOO - 6/10

WATERFALL - YOUNITE - 9/10 - a summer song!

GingaMingaYo (the strange world) - Billlie [JP] - 9/10 - I hate when kpop idols release a Japanese version of one of their songs as the title track. I want new songs and some of the bsides can be the Japanese version of one of their songs. But gingamingayo is one of my favorite songs ever so it deserves a 9 with one point taken off because it’s not a new song. Same with Everybody’s Got a $ecret. It was the only bside but I love that song so it’s my favorite

Ride For me - DeVita feat. DAWN [Prerelease] - 6/10

Naughty - DeVita - 7/10

LOVE YOU! - Kim Feel feat. Tablo - 6/10

Next to Me - ATBO - 9.5/10 - it’s very chill and I love the chorus. It’s giving a 90s vibe. It’s very different than the usual title track

Lie to me - AVOKID - 9/10 - fav bside - gravity (feat. 123)

Karma - BLACK SWAN - ♾/10 - THIS IS SO GOOD!!! ~ fav bside (there was only one on the album) - Cat & Mouse - I loved it! I could see it getting big on tiktok tbh

Blue Moon - N.Flying - 10/10

Bite Me - ENHYPEN - 9/10 - it’s so good. My favorite part is the “oh my, oh my god” I’m obsessed with that part! I wish the chorus was different ~ fav bside - Karma

FREEDOM - JOOHONEY - 10/10 - different than what I expect and omg it’s so good!!! It sounds like a soundtrack for marvel or something. I didn’t like any of the bsides tho

ICKY - KARD - 10/10 - the chorus is catchy! I didn’t like the bsides

Dream Walking - KIM DOAH - 5/10 - I like the nas at the end

BONVOYAGE - Dreamcatcher - 10/10 - I love this song! It’s a pretty song and a little different from their other stuff but still very them and still rock. I loved it! My fav part is the “I know you I know you” I did have it at a 9 after the first listen but had to change it to a 10! Didn’t like any of the bsides. All the bsides have been disappointing me lately

DOXA - SECRET NUMBER - 3/10

WONDERLAND (English Ver.) - TRI.BE - 6/10

Woo Woo - n.SSign - 10/10 - it has an older sound! It feels nostalgic. I like that they had an acoustic version on the album too. ~ fav B-sides - Beautiful and BOUNCE! I liked Need U too

Eyes On Me - HELLO GLOOM - 7/10

LOSER - AB6IX - ♾/10 - AMAZING!!! ~ fav bside - SUCKER

Save me, Kill me - CIX - 10/10 - it’s so good ~ fav bsides - Color and Back to life

Numb - E.SO - 8/10

Bloom - Yang Hee Eun & CHEN - 7/10 - the songs so pretty and I love when they sang together

SPECIAL LOVE - XODIAC - 6/10

Bad At Us - xooos - 8/10 ~ fav bside - Fabricated Love

Don’t Call Me - NINE to SIX - 6/10 - didn’t expect this at all but I love it! I wish there was more singing tho tbh. They both have so much talent. Real triple threats!!! ~ fav bside - Digital Love

Delicious - THE BOYZ [JP prerelease] - 10/10 - they did it AGAIN!!!

Diamond - Rothy - 5/10

Finale - DIAWINGS - 8/10

Columbus - The Deep & Mist - 5/10 - definitely electronic music

[n-agiz]

imma be honest - other than exo and got7 (mostly the 3rd gen bg's) boy groups nowadays aren't really my type. nct used to have an amazing array of songs, so much talent (especially with Mark and taeyong and ten, DONT GET ME STARTWD ON WAYV ARGHHH) but fuckkkk now with their new sound like sticker - it's driving me batshit insane. its just plain not doing for me unfortunately

usually when I hear a song, I prioritise coherence and good grammar, which most songs nowadays don't really have - new jeans, twice and stay c !!!!!!! arghhhh they really hit the nail so well !!!!! ALONG WITH G-IDLE TOO !!! GYU I MISS SOOJIN SO MUCH TBH !!!!! ahhh my kpop era was definitely a little cringy but auahahahah there were so many good memories there! 💗

waaaaah i agree with you on basically everything here wow ! i can't say much for got7 since i've never really taken the time to listen to their stuff, but exo reallyy has a superior discography idc what anybody says ! i've seen ppl compare them to bts and other groups and i'm always just like ? ? no hate to bts ! their older stuff is good ngl, but exo are literally on a league of their own lmao, there's no other way to put it yk.

and aaaaah i def get what you mean abt nct ! ! i've been a sticker + 2 baddies enjoyer since day one lmao but i have no problem in admitting that their discography has def seen better days ! ! nct as a whole has been so mismanaged lately it's insane :/ sungchan + shotaro debuted two years ago and are stil unitless. i think they're gonna debut soon in a new unit with the smrookies, but even then idk how much i actually like that idea bc although i really freaking want to see those two finally get under the spotlight, i can't help but wonder if a new unit won't just make everything worst ! mark + haechan haven't stopped since 2020 between dream & 127 schedules, nct 127 went basically one entire year without a comeback and had what ? two weeks of promotions ? once they finally got one ? i'm not even gonna talk about the fact that wayv haven't had any comebacks since early 2021 and we're still waiting to know if they'll continue as 6 or as 7 or what the heck is gonna happen with them in general. it makes me so mad seeing all these guys with so much potential and talent get left behind AND BY SM OF ALL COMPANIES ! you'd think such a big company would be exactly the one to be able to handle such a huge project but ig not.

boy groups in general but specially 4th gen ones i feel like have been leaning sm towards the noise music lane lately and although there's a select few that do it kind of alright, most of them are basically just making fans drift away from them. that's why i think all these girl groups have been doing so well ! their sound is experimental in it's own way and they all have their own vibe, but that just goes to show that you can do something new that will separate you from others while still producing good music. newjeans got where they are bc their sound was something new, (g)-idle try so many concepts and still manage to do amazing every time, ive, le sserafim, stayc ALL OF THEM have something unique that sets them apart but their music is still good and liked by most people, unlike what we've seen with boy groups yk — they'll have something that sets them apart but not for the best of reasons lmao.

kpop has been so insane lately and i honestly wonder why i haven't given up on it completely yet bc this industry is absolutely too much lmao. there's so many gems in it but companies nowadays only care abt money and, maybe without realizing, all they're doing is ruining their groups. we need more good music, not tiktok tunes and challenges AND VERY MUCH NOT US VALIDATION ! although i think it's great that 4th gen is so focused on making kpop a global genre instead of it having such a limited audience, i also think it's so stupid to have topping on the us charts as your main goal. idk maybe i'm wrong for this but it's just what i've been noticing as someone who has kind of been just listening to kpop and looking at it from afar instead of actually being super engrossed in the fandoms yk

[wooahaes]

If you're still in need of some EXO recommendations, I got you! Enjoy the following ask that definitely isn't way too long didn't take me way too much time to put togetherbecause I couldn't decide on just a few songs

(before getting to the list tho, I just wanted to say that I really enjoy your writing and it's helped me through some hard last weeks, so thank you for that 🥰)

So, first of all, fitting to this season, I can really recommend the whole universe album (I especially enjoy Fall), Sing for you and miracles in december, 10/10, always great

Then, we've got the classics - Baby don't cry, Mama (their debut, still hitting strong), Overdose

The title tracks obviously as well, but I especially really really love Tempo, the acapella part in the bridge is just out of this world good; also Lucky One is a really really good one (that I feel often gets overshadowed by Monster)

Now I could list a lot of side tracks, but I'm gonna try to keep it to two per Album ^^' and go through them chronologically

Playboy and Hurt, Promise/Exo 2014, Artificial Love and They never know, Can't bring me down, Boomerang, The eve (obviously, you definitely have to watch the dance practice too), walk on memories and touch it, ooh lalala and smile on my face, Jekyll and Groove, Paradise

Now coming to the solos and subunits, I'll just go for one each, because this is already way too long 😶

Baekhyun - UN Village

Kai - Nothing On Me

D.O. - Rose

Chen - Beautiful Goodbye

Suho - Starry Night

Xiumin - Brand New

EXO-CBX (Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin) - Hey Mama

EXO-SC (Sehun and Chanyeol) - What a Life

And last but not least: Lay - Lit this song is just so so so good, it's honestly one of my all time favourites

hii nonny! ive been meaning to get around to listening to all of these but im just gonna answer this one ask (since other ppl have suggested the same songs) and listen through rn!!

also tysm!! i'm glad i was able to help you through hard times. i hope things are better for you now <3 december has been weird for a lot of us i think, but we're getting through it. 2023 is just around the corner!!

i'm gonna go into this mentioning that the only EXO songs i know are love love love, tempo, baby don't stop, ko ko bop, and el dorado. there's probably more i've heard snippits of, but those are the ones i'm most familiar with >:3 (love love love was one of the first songs i listened to (outside of shinee) back in like. 2014-2015ish when i was originally into kpop tbh!!)

i'll come back to sing for you + miracles in december since universe has been a lot slower/calm winter vibes which is great but im admittedly in a weird spot rn ksdhfsdf but i do enjoy universe!! the winter vibes are great, just not what i need in this moment <3 (i'll def try to return to these later and give them a proper listen-through)

baby don't cry is like... oddly cozy in a way i can't describe? but ugh their voices layer so nicely here. also wait wtf this was 2013... how...

OH IVE HEARD MAMA. lets see how many of these songs i already know. it absolutely hits strong how the fuck is their debut??? some groups rly do just have debut songs that will always slap. also hehe they look like babies on the album cover. their vocals literally are so strong tho what da hell... how old were they at debut...

oh they were all upwards of 17. yeah that'd probably make sense.

know im also looking at songs on color coded and what the HELL kai's voice..... wack.

this answer is gonna be really long as u can tell.

OH ive also heard overdose. same album as love love love apparently :0 wack. overdose also slaps. i feel like im just gonna go through every song like "yeah this slaps" but tbh everything so far has slapped

im listening to tempo and im like wow. more guys <3 also the squeaking is the only cursed part of this song. i read a reddit thread once that mentions there was Someone who kept using the sound in songs??? the cursed SM era. song still slaps tho <3

i have reached lucky one. this one i haven't heard before! :D oh wait i lied. i was abt to be like 'idk where i heard it' BUT I'VE HEARD THE CHINESE VERSION.... probably in the rhythm smtown. im blanking on the name. but i do recognize the chorus lmao i was like hm why does this seem a lil off and its bc i've heard it in chinese lmao

good song tho!! its fun <3

OOO PLAYBOY IS ANOTHER I KNOW and love a lot. i mentioned once that i love the exo version but i always wished there was an official recording by jjong since both have different energies. i could go into it but i think jjong's live version he did once felt more... smooth? while the exo version feels a lot more playful and teasing. both are so good in different ways. it works so well with their voices imo but god i can only think of jonghyun when i hear it. it feels like such a Him song to write. i'll stop talking abt him but know that i do love the way EXO did the song.

hurt i don't think i know? we'll know when we hit the chorus. ok i dont know this. but :0 i have no idea how to talk about music despite taking classes for that lmao but!! the drawn out 'hurt' in 'you hurt me' just... flows so nicely?

can i say i rly do love baekhyun's vocals. like idk i think i usually notice his voice above the others at times. im saying this while listening to promise/exo 2014. also forgive me if its the wrong word but chanyeol has like... a slight rasp to his voice? its SO nice to listen to tbh idk if thats the right word but its like. texture. it scratches a brain itch.

ooo artificial love i also know primarily from the chinese version. it also slaps idk what else to say here sdfkhsdf it Does

they never know is another im unfamiliar with. i am repeating myself when i say i think everything slaps but there's something like... SO soothing abt this one while i can kinda bop to it as well? exo can do it all-

ok im gonna start making comments when i actually have them. if i don't say i dislike something, then assume its gonna be the usual 'this fucking slaps yo???'

OH YOO??? the like... contrast between "무너져 가는 Wall / 니 별은 이미 Fall" like. w wall and fall being much deeper? it is delicious. i am consuming this. its also in the different "down"s at the end of lines. tht contrast though UGH <3333 its so good

im gonna take a sec to mention that i really like the different exo album covers and like. the different way their logo is made. i just think its neat :)

im watching the dance practice for the eve. why are men hot. anon why would u do this to me. NOOO WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!!!!! I UNDERSTAND WHY U SAID I HAVE TO WATCH IT is this allowed. in my good christian minecraft server. i need to stress my 'why are men hot' was said within the first like 10 seconds.

ok i finally did something smart and just queued up everything else so i dont have to manually search.

walk on memories + touch it are both good! i don't have any real comments haha

have i mentioned i rly love how their voices mesh when singing together... bc i do...

jekyll slaps. i feel the need to mention it specifically. also groove is such a like. 180 from how intense jekyll was. 11/10 i love that.

ooo i rly like paradise :0 idk what abt it gets me but it scratches a certain itch and im into it

ok im gonna do the solo ones faster. baekhyun good and i already know this (i've heard some of his solo stuff and also his voice is just... so cozy. let him out of the military rn.

i put these out of order by accident so kai's song is after xiumin's--anyway YOOO I KNOW D.O'S SONG its on my lovey playlist hehe (the english version is i mean). solid song, makes me smiley <3

beautiful goodbye: makes me want to cry. good song <3

starry night: ooo... cozy. kinda sad. very pretty tho.

brand new: absolutely not what i expected ngl but im already into it. his voice reminds me of someone and i don't know who?? im boppin tho

nothing on me: kai is also someone who's solo work i've heard before--in terms of like... the big ones (mmm + peaches) and vanilla. his voice is so nice. idk how else to describe it, im running low on brain juice and im gonna make food after i finish out the last few songs

hey mama!: ooo this is fun <3 truthfully at this point i think if u tell me baekhyun is in anything, i'd probably listen.

what a life: ngl i wasn't sure if i'd be into it but the chorus slaps and i def enjoy it more after hearing the first chorus. random comment but i have to wonder if vernon has listened to this before. something about the way it flows, esp at the chorus, make me think of him and the way he makes music

lit: oh. oh. this gave me chills (in a v good way)

i'd give final thoughts but i think the general "exo fucking slaps" is all i can manage rn

ty for the long ask (even tho im getting to it a lil late) i hope u are having a good day <3

[deutoplasmic]

AWWW SHY SUKAI,,, i dont trust ruki with hot objects but maybe hes well practiced,,, and shion with a pencil scares me LMAODJDKDJS

yup we’ve got tons of languages!! i only know filipino though bc im from the capital city 😭 but yea we’ve been colonized by spain, the US, and japan its been rough for us. most of our precolonial history is gone and we’re still lowkey a US military asset so we’re real screwed if the US and china go to war

YEA CHINESE NETIZENS DID THE MATH ITS CRAZY the ones who allegedly got rigged in tend to differ depending on who does the math but pick i have who got rigged out is hiroto (who was in jo1’s season and also boys planet and will be debuting soon in nxd) but concerning age,,, cpop isnt too strict on that compared to kpop and jpop. theres still that age pressure ofc but cpop tends to praise people who actively go against the status quo (ie masculine female idols, lolita girls, idols like 胡烨韬 who are as androgynous as you can get) there was even a trainee in 创造营2019 who was born in 1985 and he made it to the finale. there was some criticism ofc but he was mostly praised for being brave enough to keep trying

PLSSS the only was i can justify kyosuke’s strength is that he used to sell wheelchairs lmao im sure lifting wheelchairs into cars takes some strength

junmin!! hes the oldest member of xikers (and one of the shortest lmao) hes so cute tbh hes a bit like a yorkie,,, yappy,,, tiny,,, agile,,, he sings the first chorus of do or die. his voice always sounds like that

yea unis is crazy lmao a lot of filipinos like them because they have filipinos but. other than hyeonju theyre all just so young to me

HFNDJDJDJ HONESTLY I GET YOU if i mess up that far down a project. thats between me and god now 😭 but thanks for the compliment hdnsjsjshsjs

and i gotchu if u ever need to either yap or listen!! i can do both 💪

LMAO our politicians do the same thing dw 😔

also unrelated but someone said rihi looks like wolfgang from animal crossing and now i cant unsee

listen. you can never know how old ruki actually is in this au. tbh he probably says he doesn't know but he damn well does, down to the day and all.... but ok fair :rofl: i cant remember can anyone in jo1 draw????? i can only think of rihito and hes not in jo1 LOL

that's still impressive as hell....!!!!!!!! not the colonising bit the knowing filipino bit :sweatdrop: i hear just about all that's left of old filipino mythos are just scraps which is super super sad.... and yeah no you guys are absolutely done for if that ever happens. prolly become cannon fodder or smth. yikes

DID THE MATHS LOOOOOOOL the one benefit to have been a victim of one of the world's most demanding academic systems :rofl: RIGHT i'm pretty sure china was all over 刘逸云 back in the day. but it's cool to see things like that! most of my knowledge with chinese girls in the entertainment industry are conventionally pretty feminine girls like angelababy and like 白鹿, so the more you know! also 胡烨韬 is SO PRETTY wOW??????? 1985 omg good for him :handshake: nice to see especially when the other parts of east asia think that youth is paramount lmfao.....

OFC and his history as a baseball club member. or hes just built like that. who knows. its his redemption for being in bottom 3 ini quiz score LOL

love a short king lmao and youre so right he DOES look like a mini dog. he's got a set of pipes LOL but i admit i can't really hear much about his voice bc of the distortion :sweatdrop:

wait omg i forgot about that LOL there's like 2 filipino members right. and speaking of the philippines. what is a jollibees ive heard of it but never known what it is

OFC if you cant tell its wrong that closely then theres nothing wrong at all full stop!!! average crocheting experience!!!!!

thank you !!!!!!!!!! multitalented fr !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and wow i think its a trend to have incompetent politicians thats crazy :rofl:

oh my GOD actually theyre so right............. wait..................... no way.................. its actualyl him omg

[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

hello kind internet blogger! i was just curious whether there are any recent/imminent debuts that you’ve been following or are excited about. for me, I’ve never really checked in for a debut before since I’ve only started poking around other kpop spaces in any serious way since bts’ hiatus. i’m catching up on tws’ debut since I liked their ep and think it’s adorable that they’re just a bunch of introverts who froze up entirely as soon as they were faced with fans, but I’m not much feeling illit’s so far (as an aside something about calling an album ‘super real me’ faceplants straight into inauthenticity to me). i followed a bit of vcha’s and just can’t do it rip. anyways just curious!

Hi!!! You're the kind one!!

Tbh, I never check out a group's debut unless someone asks for my opinion or I get curious. I think NMIXX was the last group I liked from the beginning. I'm more likely to check out Big 4 girl group debuts I guess, but not international or survival show groups.

I cannot keep up with 5th gen at all haha. And I feel weird about these groups since all the members are babies. I like some groups with minors, like IVE, Stayc, NMIXX, or LSF, but it took a couple of good comebacks for me to decide I like them, and it helps they don't have sexy concepts (LSF kind of do, I guess?).

Anyway, I don't get excited about a group's debut. I listen to groups I know and occasionally check out some newer ones. I'm a very casual kpop fan (correction: I'm a hardcore kpop fan who likes every group but BTS casually lmao).

I heard about TSW's debut! And I just saw them on the 3rd reaction video to V's Friends, and they were all babies! They definitely seemed shy, but rookies are often like that haha.

Thanks for the ask! Sorry I don't have much to say on this... But I love hearing about other fan experiences!

[ujuro]

A continuation of thoughts on ~avant garde~ albums from a rate your music list:

The Peter brotzmann octet- machine gun: how destroyed is my brain that I actually zoned out a little listening to this. Some of the most abrasive jazz ever made is normie background noise now. Fun. 💀

Captain beefheart and his magic band- trout mask replica: ok I’m skipping over albums that ive already heard but im adding this one here just to say that I’m a trout mask replica stan. Doesn’t get much better than this tbh

Ornette coleman- the shape of jazz to come: super accessible in comparison to all of the other stuff I’ve been listening to lately but it’s still amazing how accurate the title is. It’s impressive for being made in 1959 when jazz was getting, well, more free. Side note- for someone who has never been particularly good at playing or understanding jazz I have heard a lot of the classic jazz albums. It hasn’t made me smarter I don’t think

Coil- ape of naples: not perfect, but it would be impossible for it to be considering the circumstance of it being constructed from the past material of the act after the main member died. But it is still quite good. The last track in particular is amazing…I’m probably gonna go back to coil’s earlier discography at some point cause I bet I’ll like it more. Maybe one’ll make it in the very-large-and-full-of-kpop My Favorite Albums list. That list is a disaster

To be continued…

[bisexualnamjoonie]

Thank you for your input, it's nice to have a laid-back conversation about it. It's true that we shouldn't expect them to express any aspect of queerness in the same way western artists are doing. I think there's a part of me that is simply tired of the twitter side of fans who basically block any attempt at queerness in guise of "don't assume their sexuality" but will speculate about het relationships lol. I think I'm also tired, as a queer living in Japan, to not be seen so I'm projecting. (1)

(2) and reading your thoughts about it actually remind me to just enjoy things without thinking that much about it. Also, I agree that JITB and Indigo were... some of the most disappointing promos I've ever seen. I still think these albums are the most interesting ones out of them (with Yoongi's album) but once again, the blatant favoritism of the maknae line is showing. JITB was such an incredible album and such an experience, even visually. IT DESERVED BETTER. I'm still listening to it <3

It's always nice to have laid back conversations about things! Stuff don't have to be dramatic all the time, we should be able to talk openly about issues without it being draining emotionally 🥰

Listen ive tried twitter in the past, couldn't get into it anyways, but I never got into army twitter and it sounds like. the worst place 🤪 although I also see a lot of army tweets that are making jokes or memes / pointing out how gay they are so idk? There's still a minority of armies on there that are LGBT+ and will openly refer to the boys as being LGBT+ as well, I guess you just have to find them and block the rest 😂

And oh my god I completely get it!! I mean I might be mixed race but I still live in a western country so like, my experience of queerness and coming out and being outspoken as an artist about it is completely different from yours! It's more that like, in the western side of fandoms, there's this pressure to be out if you wanna be recognize as an LGBT+ artist? And I think that's a dangerous thing to impose on ppl (especially non western artists). But the situation for you is totally different! Obviously the fact that you'd want to have LGBT+ role models/celebrities you like who come from Eastern Asia is completely understandable 🥰 do you know Holland? He's a queer kpop artist and has been really outspoken about his struggles in the past!

JITB deserved SO MUCH better. In general hobi just always gets the short end of the deal tbh, even though in my opinion he is overall the most well rounded and talented one in the group (in that he is artistically very good at both rapping and singing, but also producing and dancing and writing. Like he has it all, he's not the golden hyung for nothing). But he's been sacrificing himself for the sake of maknae line since the beginning, even though musically and artistically he's shown so much more so far and has, in my opinion, a versatility that nobody else in the group has, and he's always been the lest favoured one by both big hit and the fandom. Like so many ppl claim to be ot7 but never give hobi the recognition he deserves and it makes me so mad lol 🤪 but yeah JITB is an incredible album (should have been longer tho 😂)