It's that time again . . .

And no, I don't mean me sneaking in to link the August playlist without posting anything else, or trying to gaslight you into believing that I haven't repeatedly promised to post the review on the Japanese/Thai dramas, which I never got around to. 

No, it's time for something far more interesting (for me, anyway)

🥁🥁🥁

The Quarter 2 (or 6-monthly if you prefer) music stats!!!!

I hope you are as impressed as I am about how quickly this came together (shame it took me 4 days to actually write the post 😂). I've written before about how my new methods of recording, etc., were working well, and it's been proved with the speed at which I've managed to get this all done, despite being busy with other stuff.

And I mean completely done, not just a quick overview of the best bits for the first half of the year; I mean everything, including debuts, Christmas songs (yep) and even the drama category.

For those of you still hoping for that drama update - it's coming, one day, and maybe soon, as my Netflix sub has run out so I'm not desperately trying to catch up with all the series I'd missed in the short time I had available. Never fear, though, I'm not completely without drama as I renewed both my Viki and IQYI subs (honestly, why doesn't everyone do annual subs, it's so much easier), but I've been focusing on the music, hence getting this finished so quickly.

So, onto the breakdown. 

A quick reminder before we start: all categories are decided by Spotify, not by me; any song containing more than one artist is classified as a group because it's easier; and it's all boy groups 'cos that's what I like.

Finally, and most importantly, obviously all the music mentioned is my personal taste and might not be to yours. This means your favourites might not be in there at all, or even if they are, I might prefer something else more. This is why the world is so wonderful; we can all enjoy different things and sometimes the same things, but still remain kind to each other. And if you’ve not heard of any of the artists or even if you know them but haven't listened in a while, give them a try. You never know you might like them (as I discovered with the group mentioned on the Miscellaneous page 👀).

You can see the whole thing in this Excel workbook full of many pages - there's also a summary towards the end of it with the Q1 & Q2 lists if you're interested in a quicker overview or want a comparison.

As always, there is a link to the playlist in the list of links as Q1 have been updated to Q2.

So, let’s start with that old favourite: 

20 Favourite Songs Overall (Q2 – Jan-Jun 2026)

How many of the top 20 from Q1 are still in the list? The answer is 8 (10 if you count the 2 artists for whom I changed their songs - this happens a lot because sometimes I love so many songs on the album I can't decide which is the best, and by the time I come back, it's changed - HYDE's changed 3 times in Q1 alone).

Big Ocean are the only ones from the Q1 top 3 who are still there, and although HYDE and jo0ji are still in the list, they have been overtaken by current favourites. 

ZEROBASEONE's TOP 5 is cute, nothing particularly deep, but for some reason it always makes me feel happy when I hear it. 

THE 8 & VERNON have a lot of entries in the Q2 stats because they released an absolute banger of an album, V8, and it will be interesting to see if anyone else releases anything to beat it for the rest of the year. The first time I heard girlsnboys, I fell hard, and even now every time I hear Vernon saying 'I'm miserable, I can't lie', my heart beats a little faster, and I know I'm in for a good time.

Big Ocean retained their third place with Cold Moon because the song is so catchy. As with the other two above it, I often find myself singing it out of nowhere. All three are real earworms.      

WOODZ had the biggest increase, and a change in song from CINEMA (still a brilliant song, mind) to GLASS. This is entirely related to me seeing him live back in early June and hearing him singing GLASS live. He was incredible; the whole evening was amazing, and some kind soul recorded the whole concert and posted it on YouTube, so you can go check it out for yourself.

20 Favourite Albums Overall (Q2 – Jan-Jun 2026)

The best solo and group albums mashed together in one beautiful list.

And here they are, THE 8 & VERNON and their fantastic album heading up the list of favourite albums. It's EDM, it's fun, and it took me straight back to nightclubs and raves of the 90s and early 00s - a time when I could dance for hours without pain, or worrying about energy levels the following day. V8, I ♥️ U.

HYDE and EXO shifted downwards, but are still hanging in there because they are such good albums.

20 Favourite EPs Overall (Q2 – Jan-Jun 2026)

The best solo and group EPs poured into the perfect listening list.

EPEX, a band whose work I have loved ever since their debut, made #7 in my albums for 2025. Youth: Epilogue, the fourth and final work in the 'Youth' arc, not only completes the artwork the physical albums have been building towards but also provides my favourite EP of the year so far. 

They had a close run, though, as SHINee released a fabulous EP with Atmos, and my beloved ONEW is hanging on because his vocals are flawless. 

20 Favourite Singles Overall (Q2 – Jan-Jun 2026)

Singles, favourites, honestly they could all be in the top 3.

So, there was a shake-up in the top 3, with both HYDE and NIve moving down the list this time around, while BLUE PONGTIWAT and TEN moved up. I do still really love the E'LAST song, and it might end up at the top again. Who knows what Q3 holds?

I'm currently becoming more and more enamoured of the Japanese band RYOGUJO, who first caught my attention about a year ago, when I happened to catch one of their MVs, which involved them dragging a coffin across a beach - just my sort of thing - and they turned out to be every bit as interesting as I'd hoped. That song was called WALTZ, but the one at the top of my list is translated as Love Crazy (or Lovegurui). Yes, it sounds like the opening to an anime series, and probably is, or will be one day, but I love it, and them. Their last album made my top 20 (see the list above), and their new EP, from which this is one of two pre-release singles, stands a good chance of making the list next time. Fun and a little bit crazy (just like me), they are definitely a group to check out.  

In case you really don't want to check out the full spreadsheet, but are dying to know what should be in your Christmas in the middle of Summer playlist, here it is:

Now, obviously most of these were released just after the new year, so were too late for last year's list. But some people (and yes, I'm looking at you BLACK ON*) feel that July is the perfect time to drop a few Crimbo tunes. 

Anyway, either enjoy, if that's the sort of thing you like, or ignore it until I update the list at the end of the year - I'll try to do it for the beginning of December (and we all know how good I am at sticking to my deadlines 🤞🏻).

*who is, at the same time, both one of my most beloved and also one of the most frustrating artists ever - for god's sake, man, leave your albums alone!

And so, we move into Q3. Already, there is some great stuff released in July, and WAYV are releasing their new EP, Vision Wings, on 10 August. 

I can't wait to see what the next few months brings (hopefully, not more BLACK ON Crimbo songs, although you know I will still listen to them).  

Finally, again for the drama folks who are feeling a tad underserved, here are my favourite dramas so far this year. As I said earlier, I got Netflix again for a couple of months to catch up on some of the big dramas I missed from previous years, and also watched some stuff that I'd had on hold forever, so apart from the 2026 list, I've also done a top 10 of the dramas from previous years too. I was tempted to mix them all in together, but I think it's better this way. I've also included the non-Asian series as they were worth mentioning. 

Because we're at that midway point, some of the dramas in the lower places on these lists will definitely change by the end of the year, but there have been some really enjoyable dramas so far, some of which I wasn't expecting to enjoy that much. Also, Netflix will be re-subbed as soon as Department Q season 2 drops - yes, it really is that good. 

And I think that's it for now. Thank you, as always, for staying until the end. Please feel free to tell me the music or dramas you've been enjoying this year.

Until next time . . . .