Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Due to the start of baseball season, I actually only got around to listening to K-pop releases this week. While there was some listenable stuff, I didn’t feel like I missed out on a standout.
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Kim Nam Joo (Apink) – “BAD”
It’s extremely similar to Ariana Grande‘s “Problem“, to the point where I’d probably just listen to that instead. The song that “BAD” is a ‘homage’ to executes better across the board, especially with its whisper/spoken hook and flourishes. That said, Namjoo showed more potential as a soloist here than I thought she had in her, so that’s promising.
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THE BOYZ – “Nectar”
Surprisingly safe and subdued, this lack of peaks and valleys sorta makes this a soothing fansong more than anything. That’s fine, but it’s mostly amazing what the recent trends can do to even them.
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DAY6 – “Welcome To The Show”
I should like DAY6 more, but too often I feel like they come with this kind of softer and safer rock stuff, even when it tries to be anthemic. Guess I wish it was actually more anime-theme sounding, though the biggest problem is I didn’t find the chorus engaging.
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PURPLE KISS – “BBB”
Big fan of PURPLE KISS‘s discography and they absolutely do not deserve to be struggling in sales as bad as they are given their output, but this is hard to endorse. Decently bouncy verses, but with a repetitive hook that’s mostly … there. I blame everybody else for not blowing up their good stuff.
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Super Junior D&E – “ROSE”
The kind of ballad that is all too common and thus makes me say I’m not a fan of ballads, in general. Just … uninteresting.
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TNX – “FUEGO”
Really enjoyed their last comeback with “Kick It 4 Now”, so of course they scrapped that entirely and return with typical posturing boy group verses with a chorus that’s a lot of nothing.
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YOUNG POSSE – “XXL”
I actually think it’s cool that they’re carving out their own niche in K-pop, and enjoy that they seem to be having fun with it. The main problem so far is that said musical niche is largely not for me. “XXL” is a “Come Back Home” kind of ‘homage’, which itself is a Cypress Hill ‘homage’. It’s not shitty or anything, but like with “BAD”, I’d much rather just listen to the original(s), I guess.
Every time somebody in K-pop does a "Come Back Home" tribute it's just funny as like an extension of Cypress Hill universe in K-pop.
— Asian Junkie (@asianjunkiecom) March 22, 2024
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Probably have something short on SEVENUS coming.
