#wait not two songs featuring specific luxury car names on this list......yea ok im a car guy fine i admit it!!!

[sanstropfremir]

ok it's a bit overdue but are you ready? it's...

best stylings of 2022, part two!

once again, this covers comebacks that came out from july 1st to dec 31st, if you want to read the part that covers the first half of the year, it's here! there i explain the criteria that i use as well.

best overall

guerrilla - ateez

oh you think i'm over this? no i refuse. in fact i am STILL losing it over the fact that hanya and i managed to call a metropolis reference a YEAR in advance. i have a contentious relationship with the ateez stylists bc they have produced some very......questionable work (ketchup packet seonghwa), but then sometimes their affinity for ugly hits just the right spot like it did with guerrilla. not only is the styling an excellent blend of the best of ugly skater punk and revolutionary counter culture, but the mv is full of art references that perfectly balance the idea of starting a revolution in a dystopia where art and emotions have been made illegal.

stages: mcountdown 220804, music core 220806, music bank 220729, inkigayo 220731, inkigayo 220807, show champion 220803, music core 220813

bsides: sector 1 - mcountdown 220804, the show 220802, music bank 220729

+

2 baddies - nct 127

wrote an extensive post about how much is happening in the 2 baddies mv, it's already appeared on my fave choreos list, i am going to be a 2 baddies apologist until the day i die and there's nothing you can do about it. clown me all you want but this is one of the best designed nct mvs since probably wayv's regular.

stages: inkigayo 221002 (includes faster), music core 221001, k-909, music bank 220923

bsides: faster - k-909, music core 220924

+

gasoline - key

i have some...complicated feelings about gasoline that i'll get into in an extended post eventually, but i went back and watched the mv again for the first time in a few months and despite my complicated feelings, kibum gets it. the visual cohesion of this album is so interesting and unusual and there's so many ideas that i do love that it would be a betrayal to not have it in my top three. from the album design to costuming to all the promo material that comes out, kibum has such a strong eye and excellent ability to work with his team and i respect it so much.

stages: mcountdown 220908, mcountdown 220901, music core 220903, music bank 220902

bsides: bound mcountdown 220901, villain inkigayo 220904

+

panorama - lee chanhyuk

one half of akmu, chanhyuk had his solo debut and he went whole hog on doing something very holistically conceptual, down to the types of performances that he did. the album tells the story of a coma patient, and i highly recommend it as a listening experience, but the performances of panorama are exactly what i mean when i want idols to be fucking around with form. there are not that many so i'm actually going to give a brief description of each of them, because if there are any links you click on from this post, it should be these ones:

mcountdown 221020: he does the entire performance standing still with his back to the camera, including the ending fairy

music core 221022: does the entire performance with his back to the audience, staring into a mirror that is being held up by his manager

k-909 - eyewitness account: this is of one of the bsides, does the entire performance holding a glass of wine that he then dumps down his front halfway through the song

k-909 - panorama: honestly the most 'normal' of the bunch, but you can see the consistency in how he's performing and what type of aesthetic markers are acting as a throughline

inkigayo 221023: has a barber shave his whole head on stage in one take while he's singing

+

girls - aespa

i love aespa's techno nonsense. girls has all the flavour of a pre split tvxq mv but in a higher resolution. girls is purple line's daughter in a different colour scheme. i am not taking any criticism i'm right and you know it. the only thing it's missing is cunty yunho and honestly you could put him in there as he currently is and i wouldn't even bat an eye.

stages: music core 220716, mcountdown 220714, inkigayo 220724, studio choom be original

bsides: illusion - mcountdown 220714, music core 220716

+

nerdy - purple kiss

yea yea obligatory purple kiss entry, i love them and while memem wasn't a hit for me nerdy MORE than made up for it. once again they had almost a month long promo period and they managed to hit a variety of different looks from reimagined alt school uniforms to overly large sweaters. nerdy is probably tied for zombie from last year for me for best styling they've ever had. also rbw stylists are the only valid stylists for knowing how to dress someone who isn't a size zero.

stages: inkigayo 220814, music core 220806, inkigayo 220807, music bank 220729, show champion 220803, mcountdown 220811, music core 220820

+

sparkling - chungha

i love the idea of combining bird imagery and ocean imagery. it makes zero sense logistically if you give it an ounce of thought BUT the combination of feathers and sparkles and iridescent sheen with coral and lots of bright colours are such a lush visual experience that who even cares that birds don't swim. or fish don't fly. whatever look at the sparkles.

stages: music bank 220715, inkigayo 220717, the show 220719, mcountdown 220714, music core 220723

+

doom du doom - p1harmony

honestly i had a bit of struggle deciding on if i wanted to include this song or back down, because they both have really fun and creative mvs, but doom du doom won out in the end because i liked the stage styling more. the mv and its broke grimy street urchin olympic theme is so weird and charming and i love that they just have a guy hanging out in the background of all the shots just to be the guitar player. the choreo's fun af and actually uses their members' skills (see my choreo post), and it's a great touch that they had a couple of different flags made and they rotate them occasionally.

stages: music core 220723, music bank 220805, the show 220802, show champion 220803, inkigayo 220731

+

hair cut - xdinary heroes

like with the p1harmony entry, i had to decide which one of their two cbs from this half of the year i wanted to include, and it was TOUGH. i loved the styling for test me and admittedly it scratches my personal itch for punky shit, i like the ideas happening in hair cut more. plus the promo material from hair cut is just chefs kiss. so many jype groups went for an alice in wonderland theme in their cbs this year and personally i preferred xh's version because at least they threw in a lot of other references that offset it from being a direct one to one concept. the edward scissorhands themed concept photos were probably some of my favourite concept photos of all time. and they also produced a very cool and fun medley film for their album highlights that really loops all their thematic references together and has some great outfits.

stages: inkigayo 221120, music core 221112, music core 221119, show champion 221123

+

smartphone - yena

alright girlies pack it up, we got the definitive quirky girl fusion y2k cb, i don't wanna see anymore! i'm not a super avid follower of yena, but i really liked smiley and i like that she's got a consistent visual flavour. smartphone is a really fun blend of 00s references and retro gaming that gives it a different flavour then a lot of the y2k revival stylings that we've been seeing over the last year. although i'm not gonna lie, this cb makes me feel extra haggy, especially when she takes 'selfies' with the flip phones (for the young'uns, they did not have front cameras), but it's still very cute and fun.

stages: inkigayo 220814, the show 220809, inkigayo 220807, music core 220806, music bank 220805, mcountdown 220804, music bank 220812,

bsides: withorwithout music core 220806

+

runners' up

ok to start off: i have to make a category within a category, and that category is 'boy groups that vomited colours and fabrics all over the stage for three minutes', because no joke there where THREE separate cbs that had nearly identical stylings (there where actually more. i almost included bae173 here) and i honestly could not pick between any of them which i liked more. so here's the shortlist:

can't stop shining - tempest // the ogs, it was bad news that started this trend in the first place. i actually think the css styling is better than bad news, but i gotta acknowledge her trendsetting nature and also the competition was TOUGH in the back half of the year. highlights: the mv, mcountdown 220908, inkigayo 220904, show champion 220907

party rock - cravity // i was ready to be disproving bc nothing will ever be party rock anthem but the kids won me over. every single stage is just. what is happening. 10/10. highlights: music bank 221028, inkigayo 221009, inkigayo 221002, music bank 221007

drummin' - to1 // while i don't love that they booted two members (only for them to appear on boys planet), the rebrand for to1 has been really successful for me. drummin' is a fun dorky retro concept with some great choreography. they had the most themed styling of the three, which occasionally had some fun marching band inspired outfits. highlights: the show 220802, music bank 220805, mcountdown 220728

ok now that's out of the way, here's the rest of the runners' up:

play - lucy

i did actually talk about this mv briefly already, it's one of my all time favourite mvs from this year and maybe even one of my faves from the last several years. it's so stunning and heartfelt and deserves like 50 million more views.

+

halazia - ateez

honestly it was a toss up if i wanted to include halazia here or save it for the 2023 list because i wasn't sure what the stages were gonna look like, but now that i've seen a couple of them i'm confident this is the category i'd put it in for 2023 if i waited. i don't love the stage stylings but oh my fucking GOD the mv itself is a fucking masterpiece. the hala scarecrows...............

+

birthday - ten

screaming crying throwing up etc etc we all know, it's only in this category bc he didn't get to promote it other than on k-909.

+

forgive me - boa

screaming crying throwing up etc etc part two. the dinner table, the hats. the bloody stage. she's the queen for a reason. also only here because she didn't promote.

+

door - ftisland

i am not going to let any of you forget that this is a hag appreciation zone!!! also this is a great mv; it's fun, it's got great outfits, the production design is pointedly minimal. only in this category bc it's a jpn release.

+

hit the bass - blitzers

they went abroad and filmed in literally some of the MOST gorgeous locations i've ever fucking seen, which is what you should be doing @ kpop companies!! i'm tired of seeing stuff shot in la!!!! go to pakistan you cowards!!! they didn't make my choreo list this year but you should watch their studio choom to watch sya EAT the intro. ok here's a few stages with good styling too i guess: inkigayo 220724, the show 220726, the show 220802, mcountdown 220728

+

eyes on you - kangta

yea i know i'm the only kangta fan left on this webbed site and i don't care!!! this is a great mv with lot of great lighting effects and also a fantastic choice for the backup dancers costuming to include reflective taping. costume design that interplays with lighting is one of my specialties and i gotta shout it out the rare times it happens. also i'm pimp the og 90s it boy stage again, because i can and also it's a galaxy brained styling choice for him. and it has gorgeous set design.

+

pose - kino

gorgeous pink velvet suit, gorgeous mv that utilizes one of the most diffifult but most beautiful times to film: golden hour. he did do a stage in the pink velvet suit, but the mv is soooooooo pretty that it had to be on here.

+

458 - cix

for being produced with like $100 and however much it cost to rent that hawk, 458 is a fantastic bottle mv and definitely takes one of my top spots for having the most interesting combinations of imagery this year. there's a very obtuse connection to be made with the travels of dante through the circles of hell and motorsports and i wish they had played more into the idea of having driver/guide bc that could have been fun. also they should have called hajime kinoko and got hyunsuk strung up properly. it wouldn't have been that hard, he does commissions. just saying.

+

nabillera - hyuna

not my favourite of hyuna's showings, but she's still insane enough to make the list. love that she always greases up either herself or her dancers, or in this case, both. i'm gonna include some stages here bc the outfits are good, even though she didn't do that many: mcountdown 220721, inkigayo 220724.

+

birthday - red velvet

didn't love all the stylings, but the mv is a blast and the graphic design and all the concept and promo materials are soooooo good. my fave outfits are the 'candy' encrusted ones from music bank 221202.

+

standout element

mood trailer: awakening - trendz // this imagery literally never appeared anywhere else but this mood trailer is extremely cool.

28 reasons album trailer - seulgi // i wasn't expecting the mv to follow up on how good this trailer was, especially since it was for the album and not the mv, but damn it's good. it's so good. much better than the more half baked fairytale ideas that ended up in the mv proper.

i scanning film - nine.i // do i know what the hell is going on here? absolutely not. but the vfx are fucking CRAZY and i love how it's the intro song for the album.

--

you might have noticed that the standout element sections have been on the slim side this year, and that's because i'm actually gonna do a bonus post this year! since i got extremely hamstrung by the tumblr post limit, i wasn't able to showcase some of the music show stages that stuck out to me for whatever reason, so i'm going to make a post that's just dedicated to them. it won't necessarily be just stylings i thought were good, it will include good performances or nice set design or anything else that i didn't cover somewhere else. i know a lot of people don't watch music shows for whatever reason and therefore i think they miss out on a lot, so this is gonna be a fun post to highlight some of the stuff that i think is worth watching.