Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Honestly wasn’t gonna bother to do a catchup for like the month I missed, but I had some stuff to say on releases and it gives you guy a chance to discuss it. A ton of heavy hitters released a ton of stuff I don’t care much about. Plus, because holiday releases are here, it really only felt like a couple weeks anyway.
Note: Also, I guess literally everybody capitalizes their name now.
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Taeyeon (SNSD) – “Letter To Myself”
Sort of a rockish ballad that relies on the hook to get it somewhere, but it’s not all that sticky. The most surprising thing is the public seems to agree, as “To. X” is still on the charts but neither this or “Heaven” really is.
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MEOVV – “Toxic”
Feels like it wants to be an emotional songwriting-focused gem, but comes off dull and pitched weirdly.
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A.C.E – “PINATA”
This sucked, but I did find the backlash from international fans to this ironic because it’s not far off from what some of their fave boy groups release. It’s nice to know when I ask myself “Am I out of touch or is it the kids who are wrong?” regarding this type of track, even fans agree it’s the latter when it’s not their groups on the line.
— Asian Junkie (@asianjunkiecom) November 22, 2024
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ROSE – “Number One Girl”
“APT” has grown on me even further since its release, and then it’s ubiquity has made me want to stop hearing it for a while. It’s also very different from what has come after it, unfortunately. I liked the lyrics here and I love how ROSE’s voice is immediately identifiable, though it’s a bit musically drab and comes off something like a B-side dedicated to fans.
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G-Dragon (BIGBANG) (Feat. Taeyang & Daesung Of BIGBANG) (It’s Just BIGBANG) – “Home Sweet Home”
Still the #1 song in Korea and I still find everything but the sung parts grating more than anything. Or at least certainly not something I will seek out.
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WONHO – “What Would You Do”
WONHO is back from the military, returning with something generic and listenable. That’s not intended as a diss either, as at least I could see myself letting it play through if it did come on, more than I can say for most.
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TWS – “Last Festival”
A Seo Taiji & Boys remake with Afrobeats, though without any element to really latch onto it sorta fades into background music.
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IRENE (Red Velvet) – “Like A Flower”
I didn’t expect much musically, so it’s whatever even if the trendy, synthy Afrobeat track doesn’t really fit her well. Regardless, it’s also the correct kind of song for her solo career, as production can carry and it mostly requires her to just not do anything egregious.
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TWICE (Feat. Megan Thee Stallion) – “Strategy”
They look amazing and I like Megan (she fits this production a lot better), but ignoring the hype beyond the collab, this would be a below-average TWICE single.
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ROSE – “Toxic Till The End”
Impossible to not compare it to Taylor Swift, and it’s extremely Western and generic in that sense, but Rose’s popularity and distinct vocal gives it a bit of a chance. Perhaps fittingly, the most noise I’ve seen for this release is speculation on who her ex was rather than enjoying the song.
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Dbo (Feat. Dok2 & Okasian) – “POP IT UP”
Ending this on an amusing note with this. Goodness. Again, the kids are wrong.
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I guess I’ll re-evaluate this year in the future, but in the moment, this has felt like a thoroughly mediocre year for releases compared to even like … a few years ago? The title tracks have been lacking, but more than that, I’ve listened to the B-sides and they are just not as good, straight up.
I think I might just gear up for 2025 coverage unless some surprise bop releases because it’s the cliched ballad time of the year.
All the Christmas-themed K-pop releases vying to be the next holiday classic is understandable, but 99.9% of the time it just leads to completely skippable weeks.
— Asian Junkie (@asianjunkiecom) December 16, 2024
