I think that would be the mildest way of saying it.
It was actually bloody hard.
But I got through it, and now have to face Christmas and New Year - always one of my least favourite times of year.
Things have been extremely challenging, both mentally and physically. And there was far too much real life for my liking, which has cost me a lot of money and is going to cost a lot more in the new year (hurrah, something to look forward to 🙄).
So, sorry for no post last month, and no playlist, although I did make one - I just haven't had the chance to listen to it and of course it's one of the longest of the year. If you're interested, it's in the links to the right.
And now we're well into December and I haven't even got around to opening my advent calendar yet. Crazy, right? I mean, it's just clicking on a link every day but I just can't do it.
I will get there eventually, although even EXO-CBX taking part in a Christmas song hasn't boosted me yet, and I'm still trying to get over the duet between V (from BTS) and Bing Crosby - yep, him, the guy who's been dead for almost 50 years. To be fair, it's better than I expected and puts my tally of V songs I can listen to up to 3 - he released a song last month with my beloved Park Hyo Shin(and I was so disappointed because I really didn't like it). But then at the beginning of this month, they released the Silent Carol version of it, and it's much better.
I am so far behind on music listening that it isn't even funny anymore. I still haven't sorted my top 3's for August, let alone any of the following months. I got a quarter of the way through the November playlist when life hit and it's too overwhelming to go back to. I have started the December one and will endeavour to get my EOY done a.s.a.p. around the new year. No doubt, there will be a bit of corner-cutting but as most of my real favourites were in the first part of the year anyway, I think we should be okay.
Spotify Wrapped came out at the end of November - annoying as it misses a whole month of music from this year and includes December from last. It was interesting to see how my tastes have changed again, although I think we all know who was number 1, right?
of course it was EXO 😂
So, the full top 5 artists and songs are as follows (The KingDom were in 6th place):
Yes, my beautiful hubby made it all the way to second place
I listened to 28,731 more minutes of music this year than last, and almost 75k more minutes than the first year that I really started taking notice of Spoify (2021) and both Top 5 lists were filled with EXO and their offshoots.
Anyway, here's the December playlist with several Christmas songs already, enough that I think I'll be able to do at least a Top 10 for my EOY list.
I borrowed this from Google. Pretty, isn't it? Although, poor record
When opening the blog, I noticed my entry for the Yoworldcreepy Halloween costume competition was the last post I made. I'm pleased to announce that my entry won, one of five that did so, and I got 25 Yocash for my trouble. It was the first time in the 16 years I've been playing the game (I started back in 2008 when it was Yoville) that I've ever won anything.
Before I go, I want to share 2 MVs, both by Chinese-Korean artist Bii. They were released for his new album, which came out this month. They tell a beautiful yet poignant story and you don't need to speak the language to understand what he's saying. These are probably my favourite MVs of the year, although ONF's Bye My Monster is a strong contender still.
In case I don't blog again (quite likely with the current mood) I want to wish you all a very happy and healthy holiday season (whichever one you do or don't celebrate).
EXO wish you a Merry Christmas
Even if EXO-CBX's idea of a good Christmas is the destruction of the world by an asteroid!
Before I forget, which I will, you know I will, I'm here to add the new playlist. I honestly cannot believe we're already in October - how is this possible?
I'm now really lagging with my top 3s. I'm still working on August, but with September having another 1200+ tracks, and only on day 4 of the new month, I could already do a top 3 albums for both Korea and Japan with what I've heard, I feel like I'm sinking.
I mean, I could have not listened to B.I's entire discography and instead sorted out my top 3 Korean albums. But I needed to hear him, especially as we're going to see him tomorrow night (I can't wait!), and it's not my fault he has so many banger songs.
Anyway, I will try to post again, once I get a moment. I also still have to reply to Su, who sent me another email to check if I was alive 🙈. I am such a bad friend.
I did find time to enter the Yoworld creepy costume competition, though. I think my entry is pretty good. What do you think?
I'm heading off as it's way past my bedtime, but before I go have a Yuta (from NCT127), who dropped an excellent debut solo album yesterday called Depth. This is the lead track, Off The Mask.
But is this the thing I'm latest on? No . . . that would be the letter I owe my friend Sue from the beginning of July 🙈 - sorry Sue, I will get to it one day soon, I promise.
The eagle-eyed among you will have spotted that I updated the monthly playlist earlier in the month, but I was in a rush and didn't have time to write a post to go with it, thinking I'd come back to it later. 🤣
Today is finally that day.
I'm very much behind in music listening thanks to a mixture of work, illness and real-life problems - I finally finished the July Top 3s yesterday and haven't even made the playlists for August yet, although that's on my to-do list for today. I had, somehow, managed to listen to all the songs on the September playlist, but am now about 100 songs behind again.
I am trying to listen to at least a few songs every day but it isn't always possible, especially as I've been in a drama-watching mood recently. I'm not sure if this is a need to retreat from the world in a way that music just doesn't provide or what, but I've been spending far too much time on it. Fortunately, most of them have been worth watching.
So, having checked my list so I could do a "quick" (that means spending hours doing the synopses) rundown, it turns out that I've watched/am watching over 40 dramas since I last reviewed the ones I'd seen in April and May 😱 and over 20 of them were since the beginning of August 🙈. So here is my top 10 (as at the current time) with the rest listed below in descending order because I got fed up with looking up all the information and the post was getting way too long 😂.
The Top 10
My Sweet Mobster (2024 - Korea - 16 eps - 15+)
Seo Ji Hwan (Uhm Tae Goo), an ex-gangland boss with a murky past turned CEO of a food company that offers a fresh start to convicts falls for Go Eun Ha (Han Sun Hwa), a popular but struggling children's entertainer whose show is inspired by her childhood friend, Hyeon U. Also vying for her affection is prosecutor Jang Hyeon U (Kwon Yul), who is suspicious of Ji Hwan and uneasy about Eun Ha's relationship with him. The three of them cross paths as they pursue the truth about a missing ex-con and encounter Ji Hwan's rival gang.
This is one of the sweetest romance dramas I've ever seen, with a hilarious set of side characters. Also, the lead male's voice was so gravelly I almost passed out every time he spoke. This may well be my favourite romance K-drama ever.
The Auditors (2024 - Korea - 12 eps - 15+)
This corporate drama is based around the audit team at JU Construction, where 2 brothers (the president and vice president) are fighting for control of the company following an accident that put their older brother in a coma. The team is comprised of a hard-nosed and untrusting new team leader, Sin Cha Il (Shin Ha Kyun), brought in to sort out the rampant fraud within the company, a pleasant, easygoing and trusting rookie, Goo Han Soo (Lee Jung Ha) who has little interest in auditing and only joined to use the position to get a transfer to the Florida office, and another rookie, Yoon Seo Jin (Jo Aram), who is studious and career-minded, but has a relationship with the vice president, Hwang Dae Ung (Jin Goo), that she keeps hidden.
This was an interesting story with strong performances from the main cast and it built well over the weeks. I don't think the outcome would have been much of a surprise to anyone who watches these types of shows regularly, but it was well made and was a nice break from all the romance dramas.
Blossoms in Adversity (2024 - China - 40 eps - Not rated)
The story follows Hua Zui (Zhang Jing Yi), the youngest daughter of the Hua family who, following a tragedy which sees their family forfeit their assets and the men forced into exile, steps up to lead the women and children of the household to avoid starvation and danger through various endeavours. She is assisted and eventually falls in love with the feared Commander of the Security Bureau, Gu Yan Xi (Hu Yi Tian).
This was one of those rare dramas that treated the lead couple as equals who actually talked to each other. So many romance dramas create tension because of stupid misunderstandings and it's really frustrating because you know if they had just talked it would be fine. Hurrah for mature scripting!
Twinkling Watermelon (2023 - Korea - 16 eps - 15+)
Eun Gyeol (Ryeoun) is a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) and also has a brother who is deaf. With a passion for music, he is a studious model student during the day but secretly plays guitar in a rock band at night. When the chance for stardom conflicts with his duties towards his family, he stumbles across a strange music store, which sends him back in time to 1995. There, he encounters his father, Ha Yi Chan (Choi Hyun Wook), as a high schooler. But his father has a crush on an icy cellist, Choi Se Kyeong (Seol In Ah), not his future mother, Yun Cheong Ah (Shin Eun Soo). In a bid to put things "right", Euhn Gyeol joins a band fronted by his future father. But will this be enough to help him bring his future parents together . . . and will he ever get back to the 2020s?
I put off watching this for such a long time despite it having both actors and idols I like in it and rave reviews from every drama watcher I know, and I have no idea why. When I finally watched it was a delight. Not without problems as time travel plots are always difficult, but it was an excellent coming-of-age tale with lots of music and a fantastic friendship/found family plot.
Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale (2024- Korea - 10 eps - 15+)
Shin Jae Rim (Pyo Ye Jin), living an impoverished existence, takes a job at a social club whose speciality is the facilitation of relationships for the wealthy and high status, hoping to find her own Prince Charming there. She immediately clashes with the CEO, Moon Cha Min (Lee Jun Young), an arrogant man who intensely dislikes women who dream of having a Cinderella-like fairytale romance. By working at the social club Jae Rim develops her independence and grows to accept her life, realising she doesn't need to find someone to rely on and gradually softening the heart of Cha Min, her polar opposite.
This was a short drama and was perfect for the mood I was in. It's a love story, pure and simple and it does exactly what you want it to without needing more, which is often the problem with short drama series.
Melody of Golden Age (2024 - China - 40 eps - Not rated)
Yan Xing (Ancy Deng), an exceptional investigative official in the Ministry of Justice, dedicated to uncovering the truth and upholding justice, has to take her sister's place when she flees an imperial marriage bestowed by the Empress Dowager, with Shen Du (Ding Yu Xi), the widely-feared head of the imperial guard. With neither wanting to be married and both initially disliking each other, they agree to divorce after 3 months. The couple join forces on several mysterious cases and as they work together their relationship deepens. Along with their companions, they uncover a shocking conspiracy and work to protect the peace and justice of Xiang'an City.
Sometimes you just need to see pretty people falling in love. That's not to say the story wasn't entertaining; the mysteries were interesting and I was hooked enough to want to know what was going to happen next. Also, the bad guy was excellent and thoroughly evil so it wins for that, too. My only gripe was that Yan Xing seemed to lose her critical thinking ability when it came to her romantic relationship, which considering how smart she was the rest of the time was a bit jarring.
Good Partner (2024 - Korea - 16 eps - 15+)
Cha Eun Gyeong (Jang Na Ra) is the star lawyer at Law Firm Daejung, specialising in divorce law. She strongly believes that the firm and her client's interests come first, no matter what. Rookie lawyer, Han Yu Ri (Nam Ji Hyun) is completely different and won't tolerate injustice, so the pair disagree on everything. While dealing with various cases, including Eun Gyeong's own divorce, they get the chance to work through their differences and both experience a big change in their lives.
This was an interesting drama, which explored marriage and careers from different angles, and tackled what are probably the most relatable reasons for divorce in a sensitive way. It took me a couple of episodes to warm up to it because both women are pretty unlikeable in their own way at the beginning and it didn't help that it stopped airing for a month for the Olympics. However, it's definitely one worth persevering with.
The Spirerealm (2024 - China - 38 eps - Not rated)
Ling Jiu Shu (Huang Jun Jie) finds himself inexplicably thrust into a mind-bending reality dictated by an enigmatic Virtual Reality game where he must pass twelve doors to escape. The catch? Each door initiates new mysteries to solve and conditions to abide by and the danger lurking behind them can have an unexpected impact on the real world. He is assisted in his travels by a mysterious figure, Ruan Lan Zhu (Xia Zhi Guang) and his associates.
I originally chose this as it was advertised as horror fantasy, and there aren't anywhere near enough Asian horror dramas. It was definitely more fantasy than horror, but it was an excellent show with both funny and heartbreaking moments. It's one of those shows that those who've seen it all loved, but it's nowhere near as widely known as it should be.
The Double (2024 - China - 40 eps - 15+)
Xue Fang Fei (Wu Jin Yan), the daughter of a well-off country magistrate, narrowly escapes death following a malicious plot to topple her family. She is rescued by Jiang Li (Yang Chou Yue), the daughter of the Secretariat Director, who has been imprisoned for a decade for a crime she didn't commit. Following Jiang Li's murder, and vowing to get revenge for her and clear Jiang Li's and the Fang Fei's family's name, as well as fight injustice to protect the common people, Fang Fei takes on Jiang Li's identity and returns to the capital. Assisted by Duke Xiao Heng (Wang Xing Yue) and a group of companions with whom she shares similar values, she embarks on her mission against formidable odds.
This was a good drama with both a slow-burn romance and excellent and vicious villains. I was particularly impressed with Lian Yong Qui as Fang Fei's horrible husband, Shen Yurong, who played his role magnificently.
Shinai naru Boku e Satsui wo Komete(The Killer Inside) (2022 - Japan - 9 eps - Not rated)
Urashima Eiji (Yamada Ryosuke) appears to be an ordinary university student but he hides a dark secret; he is the son of a notorious serial killer. As if that wasn't bad enough, he often suffers from memory blackouts, which seem to be getting worse. Believing he may be sharing his life with an alternate personality, Eiji's fears escalate when a new murder takes place, which exactly matches the style of his sadistic father. Terrified that he might be turning into his father but determined to uncover the truth and prevent further tragedy, he teams up with the victim's closest friend, Nami (Kawaei Rina). But can they find the truth before there is another murder?
You know I think Japanese shows tend to be a bit strange, and this one absolutely fit into that category, but it was so much fun despite the subject matter. I've seen Yamada Ryosuke a few times before, usually playing a cute or fluffy character in romance dramas, but in this show I thought he did an excellent job and I will definitely be searching out other works of his in hopes there are more like this.
The Rest
Yong An Dream (2024 - China - 24 eps - Not rated)
The Atypical Family (2024 - Korea - 16 eps - 15+)
Bitter Sweet Hell (2024 - Korea - 12 eps - Not rated)
Wedding Impossible (2024 - Korea - 12 eps - 15+)
A Female Student Appears at the Imperial Academy (2021 - China - 30 eps - Not rated)
A Robot in the Orange Orchard (2022 - China - 30 eps - Not rated)
The Unexpected Marriage (2024 - China - 24 eps - 13+)
The Midnight Studio (2024 - Korea - 16 eps - 15+)
The Frog (2024 - Korea - 8 eps - 15+)
Bossam: Steal the Fate (2021 - Korea - 20 eps - 15+)
Lovely Runner (2024 - Korea - 16 eps - 15+)
Business Kon: Suki ni Nattara Rikonshimasu (Business Marriage) (2024 - Japan - 9 eps - Not rated)
My Military Valentine (2024 - Korea - 12 eps - 15+)
You Are My Hero (2021 - China - 40 eps - 15+)
Nancheng Banquet (2024 - China - 24 eps - Not rated)
Serendipity's Embrace (2024 - Korea - 8 eps - 16+)
Snowfall (2024 - China - 24 eps - Not rated)
I also re-watched several dramas, either because I was in the mood for something specific, or because reactors I follow were watching them. These included:
New Life Begins (2022 - China - 40 eps - 13+)
A Korean Odyssey (2017 - Korea - 20 eps - 15+)
One Hundred Days My Prince (2018 - Korea - 16 eps - 15+)
The Guest (2018 - Korea - 16 eps - 18+)
Marriage Contract (2016 - Korea 16 eps - 15+)
EXO Next Door (2015 -Korea 16 eps - 13+)
Of course, there were several dramas I started watching and dropped for various reasons:
Knight Flower (2024 - Korea - 12 eps - Not rated) - the plot was so ridiculous I just couldn't continue with it.
Queen of Tears (2024 - Korea -16 eps - 15+) - I managed 1 episode and disliked all the characters so much I couldn't bear to continue. Everyone tells me I should give it another try but I don't think I can. Maybe I need to be in a particular mood for it.
LTNS (2024 - Korea - 6 eps - 18+) - A comedy with an adult storyline was what was promised but it fell flat and I lost interest halfway through.
Eye Love You (2024 - Japan - 10 eps - 15+) - To be honest, I only watched this for the Korean lead male as I've enjoyed his dramas before and it looked cute. But the lead female was so pathetic, even for a Japanese romance drama, that I couldn't continue.
Missing Crown Prince (2024 - Korea - 20 eps - 15+) - I was interested in this both because Suho (EXO) was starring and because it was apparently a side-story to Bossam: Steal the Fate. Unfortunately, it turned out to be an almost mirror version of the first story and was slow to get going. I decided to leave it until all the episodes had dropped as watching weekly would have sealed its fate, but I haven't felt the urge to return to it yet. Unless I'm suddenly in the mood for that sort of show, I'll probably wait until one of the reactors I follow picks it up.
Yes, I know you didn't really believe that when I said I'd be back with the 6-month music review, it would actually happen within a week or so. But here I am with a whole load of links for your listening pleasure.
The first 6 months of 2024 was a busy one for music. From a relatively quiet start with only 863 songs in the January playlist, by the time we reached June, the monthly playlists alone totalled 7,081 songs.
According to my trusty Last.fm stats, I listened to 17,628 songs between 1 January and 30 June, covering 2,141 artists, which is about 3,948 different albums, EPs and singles.
So I did a quick spreadsheet thingy, which shows the breakdown per month of the various types of media I logged - and goddamn do the Asians love an OST 😱. They're not included in this breakdown, and I have to admit I'm not looking forward to trawling through them all at the end of the year. I'm so glad I thought to make a note when I really liked a song this year - I wonder if there will be 20 by December and I can just choose those ones 😂?
According to Recieptify my top 10 artists for January-June were:
EXO
The KingDom
Pentagon
Lee Junho
WayV
Ten
Stray Kids
INI
Chen
sodagreen
Given how much I talk about them, I doubt the top 3 are much of a surprise to anyone.
So, onto the lists.
Before we start, just a quick reminder that as always, they are split into the 3 categories that Spotify uses - albums, EPs, and singles - I may not always agree with the categorisation but it's not me that decides where they sit.
I also categorise collaborations etc. (i.e., featuring other artists) under bands rather than as soloists because it can get tricky to work out how much of a collaboration there is between multiple artists, so anything over a single artist is treated as a band to save the hassle.
As we're only at mid-year, I'm just doing the major lists, not splitting down into the various languages etc. I have been keeping the top 3 playlists up-to-date for all the different languages (see sidebar for links ➡️) but that's only 18 entries per category, and I really haven't got time to go trawling through everything else to find the other 2 for each category when the July top 3s and August listening still awaits.
I'm not going to list all the winners, as you can see them for yourself by clicking on the relevant link (I did do a spreadsheet like 2023's end-of-the-year one to help me sort out the lists but as it's not the full thing I'm not publishing it), but I will mention the top 3 for each link as they deserve it. I'm also not linking to all the artists like I normally do, because there are too many and this post is already taking up many hours of my time. But I'm sure you can follow the links I have supplied to get where you need to go. So, here we go . . . .
These are all the various language, band and solo categories rolled into one to create my tip-top favourite albums from the first 6 months of 2024.
The winner is Ineffa Lucas's amazing album wotecomb, which gripped me by the throat the first time I heard it and is showing no sign of letting go even now.
🥇 - Ineffa Lucas - wotecomb
In second place, is DK (from iKON) with his first solo album, the sublime NAKSEO (戀). His voice is the reason I bias him and is also what makes this album so special.
🥈 - DK - NAKSEO (戀)
Trailing not very far behind, in third, is Vanillare, a band who have featured heavily in my lists for years. This year's offering, Smoking with the Angel features everything I love about the band in a full album format.
Well, obviously the top space has been taken by Vanillare. This is followed by a couple of bands I hold close to my heart, Youth Chapter 1: YOUTH DAYS by EPEX and EVERLASTING by E'LAST. I love both albums a lot and can't decide which is the better of the two - they switch depending on mood - so they both make it to the number 2 spot.
Given the above, it's not hard to work out the top 2 places for this category (Ineffa Lucas and DK respectively, in case you have as short an attention span as me). Third place went to EXO leader, 수호 (SUHO), with his third solo offering, 1 to 3. And yes, I know what you're thinking, of course a member of EXO made it, but I should point out that so far this year 4 of the 9 members have released albums or EPs (with at least another 2 or 3 still to come - Xiumin please release X2 before Christmas 🙏🏻 - the last 2 are currently enlisted), and this was the only one that troubled the top 3. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy them all, I did, but this album really is a special one, showcasing Suho's more playful side on tracks like Cheese (f. Wendy from Red Velvet), while his vocals give you a warm hug.
Of course, just because I love the album overall, it doesn't mean I'm necessarily as fond of the title track, although as luck would have it both Vanillare with Alive and DK with Groovin' came top two in this category too. Third place was taken by BOYNEXTDOOR with their crazy Earth, Wind & Fire, which has the most amazing rap section - and a fun MV to go with it - go check it out.
As everyone knows, the B-sides of albums are where the gold is found and this batch of B-sides is no different. However, given my great love for the albums, it's probably not surprising that my top 3 tracks are by artists all previously mentioned. Ineffa Lucas (f. Hash Swan)'s Just For You is my number one, followed by DK's LTNS (another incredible MV - he's so ethereal in it), and coming third is 수호 (SUHO)'s Moonlight, although picking one favourite track from his album was sooo hard.
Once again these are all the various language, band and solo categories rolled into one to create my favourite EPs from the first 6 months of 2024. This is a huge category compared to albums as a lot of K-Pop is 'mini albums', which are EPs (we've had this discussion before - especially the fact that they cost as much as a full album to buy - then again, so do 'single albums', which are actually just singles).
I have to point out here that despite my best efforts, there are 21 EPs on this list. This is because those occupying the bottom two places (LEE JIN HYUK's NEW QUEST: JUNGLE and KIM WOOJIN's I LIKE THE WAY) are unable to be parted from each other. I had this problem when I chose the Top 3 for their month so added them both, and even now I still can't decide which one I prefer so they both make number 20.
The winner is, and considering last week's post probably won't be much of a surprise, I.M (from Monsta X)'s third solo EP, Off The Beat. I.M has grown up and it definitely shows as this is one of the sexiest EPs released ever this year, and his beautiful deep voice is to die for, as are the classy MVs he filmed for most of the songs. I am never going to stop listening to this EP ever.
🥇 - I.M - Off The Beat
In second place, and giving I.M a close run for his money in the sexy stakes, is TEN (from NCT U,WayV and SuperM), with his first solo eponymously titled EP. Completely different from the first place EP in every way, but every bit as wonderful.
🥈 - TEN - TEN
Third, and anyone would think I was a bit thirsty by now 😂, is the Chinese unit of NCT, WayV, with their 5th EP, Give Me That. We all know that WayV are the saucy minxes of the NCTverse and while this EP maybe not quite as blatantly sexual as previous releases they still live up to their title with this banger of an EP. Plus, of course, there are vocals to die for.
I don't think you need to be a genius to work out that WayV won this category. Coming in second is ONF, who had just discharged from military service (they all chose to serve together to get it out of the way) and gave us one of the best EPs of the year in Beautiful Shadow. Completely different from their pre-service era work, it is best described as glorious, with all the lush instrumentation. I fell heavily and deeply.
For third place, I had a lot of trouble trying to decide whether Enhypen's excellent DARK MOON SPECIAL ALBUM <MEMORABILIA> qualified in this category before deciding it had to be there. The reason it caused such an issue is that my knowledge of Enhypen up to this point is pretty sparse. Although I've heard most of their songs, they've never really been a band that I've desperately wanted to know outside of their music, so I was unaware that they have several webtoons, which utilise characters based on the members of the band.
These webtoons often produce OSTs (which is why there are so many of the bloody things on my list). In this instance, this whole EP is actually an OST to one of the webtoons (not sure which one as that's far too much like hard work). Therefore, the EP should go under OSTs rather than normal EPs. As there are rarely OST albums/EPs produced, if I come across one I generally just take the title track and put it in with the other OST singles. But in this instance, I had fallen in love with the EP and put it in my Top 3 for the month well before I discovered its status as OST. And because there won't be an OST album/EP list (where it would definitely be number 1), I decided to treat it as a normal EP.
Yes, I.M and TEN are my top 2 solos, thank you for asking. Of course they bloody are!
In third place, and it had a hard fight to get there is JUNNY with his second EP, dopamine. I love this EP so much. It's just fantastic and it was lovely to finally get another album from him after several excellent singles, albeit a short-form one rather than the dozen or so tracks I really want from him.
I do want to mention the fourth-place EP this time because I spent so much time going back and forth between the two, so it's close enough to tie for third. It's Lim Hyunsik'sThe Young Man and the Sea. As expected from a member of BTOB, he has the vocals of an angel and it's such a soothing and relaxing album - with yet another incredible MV that needs to be seen (it was filmed underwater).
When I say this was a particularly hard list to decide on, I'm not even joking - I mean, EXO member D.O. came 20th! I could easily put the top 5 tracks as number one, but in the end ONF's completely amazing Bye My Monster took top place. I love everything about this track and the MV is cinematic in its scope. The use of Rachmaninoff's Symphony No.2, Movement 3 is absolutely perfect, and the song is heartbreaking.
In second place is I.M'sLURE, a suave and sophisticated title track that sets the tone for the rest of the EP. In third place, is TEN'sNightwalker, both because it's a wonderful track and yet again the MV is top class.
If you thought the last list was hard, it had absolutely nothing on this one. D.O. did make it to mid-table this time, and considering it's one of his best tracks ever (IMO), that shows how tough it was to make the decision. But at the end of the day I.M's Skyline, TEN's Water and JUNNY's figure8 reigned supreme and won the top 3 spots. But on another day it could easily have been WayV's Might as Well, Lim Hyunsik's Deep Blue Sea or AB6IX's ILY (I LOVE YOU).
This is always a tough category purely because of the sheer volume of songs that need to be considered. I have a pretty eclectic taste in music, so most of what I listen to I like. This makes choosing 3 singles from between 30-150 songs per category (depending on language) each month a real chore, especially when a lot of the songs sound very similar - some soloists love to release more than one single a month (why can't you just release an EP?), and there are a lot of very good singers out there.
Sometimes I get lucky and a song grabs me and won't let go, as is the case with this Top 3. I think I listen to all of them at least once a day, probably more. Yet again, all of them could be number 1, but at the time I made the list, they came out in this order.
Number one is Corbyn, an old favourite from last year's list, with his haunting 3-track single, of which Before I is the title track. It's such a beautiful song, I just want to listen to it forever.
🥇 - Corbyn - Before I
In second place is LUCY with their fantastically rousing track The knight who can't die and the silk cradle. This song is over 4 minutes long (a rarity these days), and the MV is an anime-style cartoon of the knight and child from the cover running through the four seasons with lots of little easter eggs for fans of the band. I literally cannot get through the day without hearing this at least once because it's such an energy giver.
🥈 - LUCY - The knight who can't die and the silk cradle
Last but not least is a track I was surprised had a place in any list of mine, let alone making it into the top 3 of my favourite singles. The singer isn't one I usually enjoy listening to as his vocal tends to be toward the lighter, reedier tones. I have heard all his previous solo songs, and they're not unpleasant, just not something I would choose to listen to and, for me, totally forgettable.
So when FRI(END)S by V (from BTS) came out, I honestly expected it to be like all his other songs, but it really isn't. Somehow, it's the perfect blend of a wonderfully written song combined with a slightly deeper vocal than he usually deploys. I was hooked immediately, and more so once I saw the entertaining MV that goes with it. In fact, I was so impressed that I revisited his other work in hopes that I had missed something equally brilliant the first time around (it does happen very occasionally). Sadly, I still don't like any of his other songs, but I live in hope that his next release also has a bit more oompf in his vocal tone. Until then, I'll just play this to death.
So, yeah, LUCY and their massively titled song clearly takes top place - how can you resist a band with a violinist?
In second place, is 1000 YEARS, a collaboration betweenTablo (leader of the hip-hop band Epik High) and Taiwanese singer and rapper, J.Sheon. I'm a sucker for a sad song, and this fits the bill perfectly.
In third place are FTISLAND with their album pre-release track, BURN IT. The song takes them back to their hard rock roots and is an explosion after the more melodic outings they've released in the last few years. The album this song was taken from (Serious) was released in July, and I'll be surprised if it doesn't make it into the end-of-year list, as it's a banger.
I think you know the drill by now. Corbyn and V take the top two places because they have to. I love them so much.
In third place is YOOK SUNGJAE from BTOB, who released his latest 3-track single titled EXHIBITION: Look Closely, which contains 3 diverse tracks - the title track, BE SOMEBODY which isa nice upbeat song, Without You, a song that puts me in mind of boy bands like McFly (disclaimer, I'm old so it might not be them but you'll know what I mean when you hear it). The last track is . . . well, you'll be hearing about that one shortly.
In these days of digital streaming, most singles released are either solo songs or just have an instrumental version - the days of a 7" vinyl disc containing 2 perfect tracks (or some weird experimental bollocks on the B-side) are long gone. However, sometimes you get a multiple-track release (especially if they want to sell a hard copy as a 'single' album) and some fine tracks have been released in this category in the first 6 months.
Taking first place is YOOK SUNGJAE'sTheGhost. You'll know it already as I raved about it in June and posted the video of him singing it live. I often see new releases being touted as 'Song Of The Year' (SOTY) when they drop, but I think this really might be the one for me as it hasn't been out of my top 3 songs since it dropped in early May and I'm pretty sure it will still be there by the end of the year (It's currently #1 for August). I honestly think this might be my favourite song ever recorded, I love it that much (big words, I know, but possibly true, at least at the moment). I heard that Sungjae fell in love with the song when he heard the demo back when BTOB were still with Cube. He bought it with his own money to ensure no one else would sing it before him. If it's true, it was a fantastic decision and I love him for it, and even if it isn't, the song is still perfection and I love him for singing it.
The second-place track is Wolf by PICKUS. This came as something of a surprise, as songs by debut bands are usually pleasant, cute and occasionally go hard and are generally designed to appeal to as many K-pop fans as possible to draw them into following the band, but are rarely memorable enough to bypass songs from more established bands. The PICKUS release Little Prince has 3 tracks, of which the title track is eponymous and (as far as I can remember) fits perfectly with my description of debut songs. There's also a third track, A-CHA!, which I don't remember at all. However, the second track is pure gold and is exactly what I'm looking for from a K-pop song and it beat off all challengers to take the silver medal.
What could a rookie band knock into third place, you ask? Well, that is a tricky one as it could have been any of about a dozen songs (no, really, it could). But eventually I gave the place to LUCAS (ex-NCT, ex-WayV, SuperM) with Dip It Low, the B-side to his excellent (and top 10 reaching single Renegade). This track is sexy, of course it is, Lucas was in WayV after all, but it's also a banger and his deeper vocal tone, which I can listen to all day, just clinched it (sorry Key).
And so, inevitably, we find ourselves at the final category, my top 20 favourite songs of the first six months. It will be interesting to see how many of the current favourites remain in the top 20 at the end of the year.
I was going to list the top 3, but you already know what they are after reading the rest of this horrendously long post (thank you so much if you made it all the way here, I really appreciate it), so instead I'm going to put videos so you can watch them for yourself.
🥇 - Yook Sungjae - The Ghost (live)
🥈 - Corbyn - Before I (official MV)
🥉 - LUCY - The knight who can't die and the silk cradle (live)
It's going to be interesting to see what comes out over the next 6 months, and whether it will be of the quality of some of the music that has already been released.
I do know of several upcoming releases that I'm really looking forward to, including the long-awaited (and I mean long, like a decade-long) first solo EP by multi-talented musician, singer and rapper, Chanyeol (from EXO, of course). It's not like he hasn't released solo stuff before, he has. It's just that we all wanted him to flex on solo albums, and it's always been singles. Finally, our prayers have been answered, and although I would have preferred a full album, I'll take what I can get.
As if he wasn't already the most versatile member of the band, Chanyeol's also appearing in a new Netflix drama dropping on 23 August called The Frog (he's the sniper with the rifle in case you don't know him). It looks like an interesting thriller, so I'm sure I'll watch it sooner rather than later.
Right, that's it from me for a while, probably. I need to go work out what my July top 3s are (I did manage to get the Korean singles down from 134 to 35 while writing this post - only another 32 to lose 😭) and keep up with the August playlist. I may post again, but 🤷🏻♀️. Eventually, the tracks will go in the top 3 lists, so you can always check there.
What were your top 3 favourite songs, albums and/or EPs of the year so far?
So, since the last time I blogged, we've passed the longest day of the year and are now moving towards darker nights again (and Halloween and pumpkin spice 🥳). Only a couple of weeks on and I've already noticed it, although maybe that's just because the weather's been so crappy. It's been hot and humid and horrible but also cloudy, so maybe it just seems like it's getting darker earlier. My mother tells me it's noticeable in the morning too, but as I rarely rise until well after dawn breaks I'll have to take her word for that.
Although I never got around to posting further last month (again 🙈 - this has become a bad habit, sorry), I have been really busy putting together my top 20s for the first 6 months of 2024, and listening to the July playlist, which still managed to pass 1,000 tracks (I thought it was supposed to be a quiet month).
I shall do a separate post for the half-year lists as there are a few links and I've already got more than enough links going on in the sidebar without adding them too. I'm about ready to start on the July Top 3s, but with over 100 Korean singles alone to sort through it's going to take a while (yes, I know I always say this but it's true).
July's listening stats are out, and for the first time EVER since I started checking out Receiptify for my music, there is no EXO or Pentagon (or their members) anywhere on the top ten list of artists 😱. I obviously had to make up for this grievous error immediately by listening to my EXO 'Essentials' playlist (which contains what I consider to be the single essential track from every release that EXO and its members have released and runs to almost 13 hours) and will listen to my Pentagon playlist tomorrow to ensure that something so shocking doesn't happen again.
As you can see from July's last.fm stats, I.Mfinally succeeded in his bid to take over my listening, both because his music is fantastic and because we were supposed to be seeing him live last week. Unfortunately, illness derailed us and we had to cancel, so I was reduced to chasing videos on social media to make me even more sad about what we missed out on. The concert was sold out, and everyone clearly had an amazing time, so I'm hopeful that he'll come back to the UK with yet another incredible album and tour soon.
We did, however, manage to get to the Stray Kids (SKZ) concert at BST Hyde Park earlier in the month. The weather was extremely kind to us as it stayed dry, albeit a little too warm for me (hurrah for the hat and sunscreen I remembered to take), as it had rained all week, and resumed the following day too. Overall, it was an interesting experience, with SKZ providing an excellent set that was well worth attending. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for some of the support acts, a couple of whom didn't seem to be a very good fit with a K-pop band, even ones as bad-ass as SKZ.
The organisers had cleverly scheduled the other Asian acts right at the beginning of the day to ensure people didn't turn up late and would spend lots of money on expensive food and drinks (for instance, an ice cream was £10!!!), with a Taiwanese artist I'm rather fond of called Kire opening the day at 2pm. I really wanted to support him, so despite already knowing it was going to be a bad idea, we tried to get there in time to see him and just about managed it as we arrived halfway through his set.
We just got there and Kire was already on stage.
Unfortunately, this meant we then had a 6-hour wait for SKZ, with music that was not to our taste at all (and used up all my goodwill with Quincy; not helped by the concert being on the same day as the Euros final for which England had (unexpectedly) qualified).
The K-pop girl group NMIXXwere next up. As you will have noticed I'm generally not a follower of female artists, so I didn't really know them outside of their performances I've seen on award shows and can only rate them against other girl groups I've seen at festivals. I thought they did a pretty good job, but I couldn't help wishing they'd been on first so I didn't miss Kire.
Next was an artist I'd never heard of (as I rarely listen to much Western music outside of my favs these days) called Alec Benjamin. He was okay, as he reminded me a bit of Passengerand other similar singer-songwriters that I used to listen to about fifteen years ago, but as there was no seating we had to sit on the plastic flooring put down to protect the grass, which wasn't at all comfortable and didn't help to increase enjoyment of the performance.
The act that followed, which was also the one that preceded SKZ, was easily one of the worst artists I have seen in a long time and, we decided after quite some conversation about it, is probably the third-worst opening act out of all of the concerts we've ever attended. We seemed to be sitting on the same side as all the parents who had accompanied their kids to the concert and weren't really that interested in any of the music - some of whom were commiserating with each other and Quincy about missing the football.
The one thing this artist did achieve, was unite us all in wishing she would disappear and leave us in peace. While the first song wasn't too bad (considering), her entire set seemed to be songs about boys she couldn't go out with or boys who dumped her, and the quality of her more recent songs was no better than the ones written when she was sixteen. As people around us fell asleep or complained loudly about how terrible she was, I kept thinking she needed to talk to a good psychiatrist to get over her addiction to romantic relationships and learn to enjoy being single; she doesn't need a boyfriend to define her. I still have no idea why she was chosen to be the opening act for SKZ. It was also at this point I was told by Quincy that the next time I decided I wanted to see an opening act that was many hours before the band we had paid to see were on, I should think again and not do it.
SKZ are here!
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, and with Quincy by now watching the football on my phone (I had charged it so she could watch as I felt guilty for the 6-hour wait), SKZ took to the stage and 30 seconds later Quincy announced that Felix, who until that moment she had never before seen in her life, was hers. I was happy to cede him as Bang Chan has always been my bias - although I'll admit that I.N wrecked me really badly both during the concert and with the videos for their new album, ATE(released on the Friday following the concert) that have come out since.
Thank goodness for big screens
As expected, SKZ were incredible live, so much so that Quincy only occasionally looked at the football (this is a massive compliment to them). But their set was so short, especially considering the amount of time we had spent waiting for them (and the cost of the tickets). It was great to finally see them live, though, even if they didn't treat us by playing any of their new album in advance.
Shortly after the release of the album they announced a new world tour so with any luck it won't be too long before they come back to the UK, and I will be watcing the first concert in Seoul on livestream on 1 September.
Several people I know online were also there but were on the other side of the park. They all ended up with COVID, so I'm glad that we didn't do more than a cursory attempt to find and meet up with them as we were okay.
Apart from Stray Kids, I've seen two concerts live online; the first was FTISLAND, on their Pulse tour, which was actually at the end of June but I completely forgot to mention it in the last post. It was mainly showcasing their fantastic new album Serious, which is an absolute banger of an album, although it also included several of their classic numbers too.
Jaejin, Hongki and Minhwan looking fine
Somewhat surprisingly, I received the above photocards free for attending the concert, which was a nice touch - you can usually buy merch for online concerts but it's rarely given away. It came as something of a surprise as I wasn't expecting it, especially when the sleeve containing the 3 cards turned up in such a huge box 😂.
Such a massive box for such a tiny package
I would love to see the band live, but as I'm not sure they've ever toured outside Asia since their debut, and have only recently scheduled an upcoming concert in Manila for the first time in about fifteen years I think the chances, unless I go to South Korea or Japan, are pretty remote. Although, in the excellent recent video below where the band sing various songs while travelling in a car doing 250 km/ph and skid pan driving, Hongki did mention that the experience was something they could tell their audience about when they do their world tour, so not all hope is lost (although, obviously to many K-pop promoters the world only seems to consist of Asia, the US and LATAM - Europe is just a mysterious land mass in the map that they seem not to notice). The other concert was last weekend and was the final Seoul concert in Baekhyun's Lonsdaleite tour, which he'd been doing for four months and in various places (sadly none of which were outside Asia). Once again, it's unlikely to come West, although he did announce a new album for September, and he also mentioned something about a world tour, presumably to support that, so once again I'm crossing everything and hoping. I mean, the Suho tickets finally went on sale for September, so at least some EXO members know where London is.
The KingDom have also announced a tour, which is only going to the US again (at the moment). I know that they did say they were going to come to Europe this time, but so far there's been silence on when it will happen. The same is true of Ateez, who are currently touring the US - there's nothing I hate more in 'world' tour announcements is US and Asia dates and the dreaded 'more to follow' because sometimes the more never materialises.
Finally, for this post, today is the 10th birthday of EXO-L (엑소엘), the official fandom for EXO. When the band were launched they were split into two teams - EXO-K, who promoted in Korea and EXO-M, who promoted in China. EXO-L (short for EXO-LOVE) was chosen as the fandom name as K + L + M make up the band and fanclub's slogan "WE ARE ONE"
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