Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
If you thought this series was dead, you’d be right. Oops.
Self-deprecation aside, let’s get into it because I genuinely think this one has all wins.
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AQUA – “Log In”
AQUA is a temporary girl group project consisting of several rookie or soon-to-debut groups. This includes LIMESODA‘s Seunji and Hyerim, OAHSIS‘s (FKA SEEART) Sua and Hyunjoo, Sihyun who has appeared on both ‘Produce 101‘ and ‘MIXNINE‘, and Haesol who appeared on ‘Produce 48‘. Ok, now that we got that over with, this song is actually one of my favourite releases as of late!.It’s so ridiculously catchy, and I’m sad this is a temporary group project because I think these girls work so well together. At least we got this bop. (They also have some eSports concept, and as a gaming lover and verified nerd, I stan.)
Maywish – “Hello”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJbd-Ocj6OQ
This is Maywish‘s debut track “Hello“, and while I don’t think this is incredible by any means, what I love about this is the unexpected genre blending. The instrumental has a kick-ass bassline with a funk guitar, very much disco inspired, but the chorus melody is unexpectedly reminiscent of the OST-like melodies that we saw come into heavy popularity with groups like GFriend. I dig it, even if the overall effort just winds up as ‘okay’ in my book.
DONGKIZ – “Nom”
Apparently this is DONGKIZ‘s “pre-debut” song, and I really can’t wait until this “pre-debut to the debut” trend dies. “Nom“, whether pre-debut or debut, definitely reminds me a bit of the theatrical musical like tracks Seventeen ditched for whatever reason. I don’t think it’s quite as perfected, but I enjoyed this regardless. Looking forward to their actual debut, or whatever.
DOO – “Love Always”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_cGp3qcNqY
“Love Always” by DOO is such an adorable debut song. It’s mainly successful because of the arrangement, much like Pentagon‘s “Shine“. I love how the piano shines equally with her vocals at certain points, and her voice really suits this kind of sound. Very much looking forward to hearing more from this singer-songwriter.
