B-Side Spotlight: May Edition

Hello again, it’s me, the playlist goblin. There were…a lot of idol releases during the month of May. Like, a lot. June is probably going to be even more absurd, and I had to think long and hard about a lot of things I’ve included this month. Here are my top picks – hope you all enjoy!

Baekhyun – “Ghost”

Before anyone points out that a lot of people really like this song off the album, I know. It was a close match between this and “Love Again” off the “Candy” mini, but this one won out because of that gorgeous falsetto during the bridge.

Honourable mention: R U Ridin’?

Astro – “SOMEBODY LIKE”

So this is one of those times where I do think that the choice of title track is the correct one – I like “Knock” a lot, and it’s a much more obvious choice for promotion because it has the necessary drama of a performance piece. But, I like “Somebody Like” for its easy playfulness, and I do recommend listening to both it and Astro’s 7^th mini as a whole.

Nu’est – “Firework”

“Firework” is for Nu’est what “Somebody Like” is for Astro – the title track that was chosen feels like the right choice, but this track is a totally different mood to “I’m In Trouble” so it feels like a good complement where it sits on the mini.

Day6 – “STOP”

For someone who has never really managed to become a Day6 fan, I really had a hell of a time picking tracks off their most recent release. I kept switching between this one, “Love Me Or Leave Me”, and “Tick Tock” for so long that I had to sit myself down and just make myself go with “Stop” on the grounds that it was the first one I added to my playlist. So listen to their new album in its entirety, is what I’m saying.

TXT – “Drama”

I just…really have no idea why this isn’t the track TXT have been promoting.

OnlyOneOf – “designer”

In fairness, there are three tracks on OnlyOneOf’s latest release, so my hand was slightly forced when it came to picking a b-side in this case. I do really like this song though, and OnlyOneOf have been so consistent for me ever since they debuted.

Ken – “So Romantic”

When Ken’s mini came out, I was a bit worried it would be a whole album full of ballads…because I’m just not really into ballads. I would have listened to it anyway though, because Ken has always been my soft spot in VIXX. So I was happily surprised by just how much I loved his solo album, and then when I couldn’t decide between several tracks.

Honourable mention: “With All My Heart”

NCT 127 – “NonStop”

I’m gonna be blunt: “Punch” was a mess and I didn’t like it. This song is much better. That’s all.

BVNDIT – “Children”

This song is light and breezy and sweet, and kind of everything I like from a girl group, so I promise to pay more attention to BVNDIT in the future.

Ryu Su Jeong – “CALL BACK”

Ah, time for me to ring my *should have been the title track* alarm again. You know me; I’m easy for dreamy things.

Honourable mention: “NA, NI”

MONSTA X – “It Aint Over”

Imagine my relief when this album came out and Monsta X finally sounded like they were back on their loud, chaotic Monsta X shit. Admittedly I’m not the massive Monsta X fan I once was, but I enjoyed this album a lot.

DKB – “Curious”

This track was the last addition to my b-side playlist this month, but it very quickly became my favourite. It got stuck in my head so badly that I’ve been just humming this song to myself a lot the last few days.

Honourable mention: “Fondue”

And that’s it! Feel free to leave anything you think I missed in the comments, and I’ll see you next month for another round of idol b-sides. Look after yourselves and each other.