At the end of each month, I look back at my three favorite title tracks by k-pop artists. I take my own ratings into account, but there’s a bit of wiggle room as certain songs tend to grow or fade.
April 2018 Overall Thoughts
In my mind, April represents the beginning of k-pop’s peak season. From this point until the end of August, we’re in the prolific late-spring/summer comeback rush that tends to peak in July. Knowing this, I continue to feel underwhelmed by what 2018 has to offer.
It’s not that this year has been markedly bad. It just feels like we’ve gotten a lot of “good” songs without many total standouts. For some perspective on this, I want to call back to the “messy verses” post I wrote back in March. If this structural issue was a burgeoning problem then, it’s blossomed into an all-out k-pop pandemic now. To be honest, I’ve felt more disillusioned by the state of k-pop this past March and April than any time in recent memory. However, I have a feeling that it will only take one or two outstanding comebacks to reignite my excitement. They can’t arrive quickly enough.
Because of this low enthusiasm level, my favorite 2018 tracks have tended to be those composed by producers with a proven track record. Sweetune have been a godsend during our current climate of anti-melodic trap/EDM/future bass — as has Woollim Entertainment, who are shaping up to be 2018’s MVP agency.
This month’s top three includes a pair of energetic, melodic pop songs tailored to my personal taste, plus a good old fashioned grower that eclipsed many higher-rated comebacks as its charms continued to present themselves. I’m not completely enamored with the strength of these top songs, especially when compared to the Aprils of 2016 and 2017, but all three have a classic appeal that feels like an oasis amidst k-pop’s modern trends.
One name noticeably missing from my list? Unfortunately, it’s Snuper, whose Tulips is my biggest 2018 disappointment so far.
Month Cumulative Rating: 7.8
(compiled by averaging the scores of every k-pop review from this month)
J-Pop Worth Your Time
B1A4 – Until We Meet (review)
EXO-CBX – Horololo (review)
KAT-TUN – Ask Yourself (review)
Honorable Mentions
EXID – Lady (review)
EXO-CBX – Blooming Day (review)
GFriend – Time For The Moon Night (review)
IN2IT – SnapShot (review)
NCT U – Yestoday (review)
Super Junior – Lo Siento (ft. Leslie Grace) (review)
Ten – New Heroes (review)
The Boyz – Giddy Up (review)
The Rose – Baby (review)
TVXQ – Love Line (review)
UNB – Only One (review)
TOP THREE SONGS
3. YDPP – Love It Live It (review)
2. Pentagon – Shine (review)
1. Lovelyz – That Day (review)
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of March 2018
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of February 2018
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of January 2018
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of December 2017
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of November 2017
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I figured Shine would grow on you a bit! That song has proven itself too infectious too ignore.
I’m also admittedly a little surprised Giddy Up didn’t make it to the top 3 since in my mind that song was the perfect, stand-out antithesis to the messy verse trend for the month of April. However I can see why you might’ve liked the three tracks that did make it even more.
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Giddy Up’s a weird one. I can’t figure out why it hasn’t stuck with me in the same way other songs have. Like you said, it really ticks all the expected boxes of what I’m looking for these days.
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