open discussion

Open Discussion (May 8, 2022)

Posted on by 98 Comments

Open DiscussionIt’s Sunday, which means it’s time to end the week with an open discussion post!

To keep things civil, there are a few rules:

  1. Be kind and respectful to one another. Any harassing language will be deleted.
  2. This is not a place to state what you don’t like about me and/or my blog. Move elsewhere, trolls.
  3. Video/gif/image embedding is totally fine. Just try to limit yourself to a couple per comment. Otherwise my moderation filter goes crazy.

Each week, I’ll open with a question to get the conversation going. Feel free to chat about anything, but if you’re not sure what to write you can use this question as a starting point.

This week’s question:

It’s time to uncover some buried treasures! Share an underrated title track (500k views or less on YouTube) and/or a killer b-side that no one ever talks about.

Let’s fill our playlist with songs that need a little more love!

98 thoughts on “Open Discussion (May 8, 2022)”

  1. I’ll share two title tracks, one that I’ve written about on the blog and one that I haven’t:

    DEMION – ASK HER OUT
    This features Chaser-esque brass over an absolutely killer chorus. The guys never released another single ☹

    NEWUS – LOVE PANIC
    Both of these songs remind me of Infinite. The jagged guitars here are similar to Come Back Again. This banger currently has just over 35k views despite being released nearly a decade ago.

    The Most Underrated K-Pop Song of All Time

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  2. Okay so I can not just choose one!

    1. Bohyung/Keembo – Reflection
    -best ballad of all time

    2. BoA – Not Over U
    -super interesting production, sounds like a better version of Rihanna Only Girl in the World

    3. SNSD – Talk Talk
    -Phrygian mode pop music!!

    4. 100% – Better Day
    -Insane singing and chorus

    5. BEG – Mystery Survivor
    -Half Britney Spears, half Vogue ballroom club beat and chords

    6. Ga-In – Truth
    -Tango+KPop

    7. Stellar – Insomnia
    -why was this never a title track??

    8. Dalshabet – B.B.B.
    -better version of Eurythmics

    9. Fei – Fantasy
    -one of the vibiest songs ever

    10. BEG – Drunk on Sleep
    -early work of their, gorgeous upbeat balladesque song featuring their amazing singing

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    • Shit, accidentally posted this.

      One of my absolute favorites from the group! And a song I think should’ve earned title track treatment from the group (A Lie is also quite the legendary song from them). This could’ve acted like a good sequel to the anthemic What’s Happening! but it had to be relegated to a killer album track instead.

      B1A4 perform the absolute hell out of the song, the vocals here are heavenly! The instrumental is pure unrelenting drama, I mean…that guitar? phew! And it makes for an incredible climax. A knock-out key change leading to an impeccable guitar solo.


      Listen to it!

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      • To people who are new to B1A4. This ain’t the only good song from them, they’ve churned out some absolutely stellar songs.

        I recommend starting out with Tried To Walk or What’s Happening and dive in their discography for some more. They’ve released some of the best albums in K-pop and you’ll see what I am talking about when you see the melodic magic which happens in their works.
        Their works range into powerful pop anthems to hazy r&b works and melodically-rich ballads!

        For singles, here are my recommendations:
        What’s Happening
        Tried To Walk
        Rollin
        Lonely
        A Lie

        And for albums, you need to hear:
        Good Timing
        Solo Day
        In The Wind

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  4. Honorable Mentions:

    Guess 100% – “Better Day” (which you covered here) is over the threshold but still this song should have a million views at the very least by now. It’s absolutely one of my favorite K-Pop songs ever, that gliding chorus melody is everything.

    Also Snuper – “You=Heaven” (which you also covered here) just barely went over the threshold at 508k. (Half of those views being mine.) It’s still my favorite Snuper song ever. It’s just such a shot of serotonin. The song builds and builds, in tempo and pitch, and it’s exhilarating.

    N.O.M – “Mega Punch” is well within the threshold but you covered it so it feels wrong because many readers will already know about it.

    Everyone knows that Dreamcatcher – “Starlight” is my SotY frontrunner at the moment. “Maison” is great too but I’ve just been obsessed with that one.

    Anyway, within the parameters set: I’ll confess I’m bad at identifying title tracks that are within the threshold. I don’t know any. I’ll just talk about some B-sides I really, really like instead.

    GWSN – “Night Aviation (The Interpretation of Dreams)”

    If their deep house sound and aegyo vocals aren’t for you (they aren’t really for me) their B-sides are still very much worthwhile. This is one of their very best, giving me Velvet-side Red Velvet vibes:

    Everglow – “No Good Reason”

    This featured on one of Nick’s B-side battles recently. Yeah I know “Untouchable” is everyone’s favorite and it’s a great song but even as much as I am retro synthwave trash I honestly prefer this one. Gorgeous vocals and gorgeous chorus.

    N.Flying – “Say Goodbye”

    Yeah I just talked about this recently but. Sure they’re not exactly obscure anymore if they ever were but not many people know that N.Flying used to get heavy. They rarely do these days (except for that killer “Gurenge” cover they did not too awfully long ago) and I kinda think that’s a shame.

    And a live version with Seunghyub growls for the metalheads.

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    • On the topic of N.Flying I should mention Hweseung’s OST. OST songs mostly miss with me (not my type of music) but I adore this one.

      And the three Hweseung version with harmonies? Even better!

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    • Wow. I don’t know much about N.Flying but I certainly did *not* associate them with pure rock like that. My third eye has opened, thank you! Do you have any similar recs by them?

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      • Ohoho. As one of the resident N.Fia here, I am happy to share some of my favorites. Not all of them will go as hard (“Say Goodbye” is a bit of an outlier in their discography) but they definitely have a few stompers in there.

        Their predebut singles have a bit more edge to them than their current material. Damn shame they’re so hard to find these days and aren’t anywhere I can download/stream them officially. :/

        Their debut single, “Basket.”

        Here’s “Oh Yeah” from their second single, One And Only. (At the time, Hweseung hadn’t joined the group.)

        There’s their Korean debut, Awesome. It’s not quite as much of a stomper, but it definitely oozes with attitude and Seunghyub teases a growl there too. It’s quite a different side of N.Flying. And that riff!

        For stuff Hweseung was on:

        “Fall With You” off How Are You? is a pretty rocking stadium-ready anthem.

        “Lupin” off their Japanese album Brotherhood. The guitar tone is a bit digitized (the production on this album has always been one of my sticking points with it) but this goes pretty hard.

        And then there’s the “Gurenge” cover I mentioned, which is sadly not obtainable afaik. Hun playing a seven-string is a dream come true.

        (I apologize in advance to Nick, but I am a diehard N.Fia and am always too happy to share their music.)

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        • That Gurenge cover is incredible. I always come back to it. The mix is absolutely perfect. Vocals are far enough back to emphasize a certain feeling of struggle and loneliness. Drums are huge and punchy. The tone of each guitar is immaculate and compliments each other to a tee. Such a beastly wall of noise, which makes the bridge contrast beautifully against the rest of the song.

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  5. I’m still very unfamiliar with the J-pop world, but… uh… I think this song deserves some love! This is a song by a Japanese soloist, Rui. It does follow a lot of familiar beats, but this song gives me enough satisfaction that I’m happy to loop this. The build-up all the way to the chorus is really nice.
    Fun fact: Rui used to be part of the now disbanded K-pop group CODE-V)

    If you guys enjoyed this, then go check out his latest single the groovy ‘Chain’ which is similar in genre. The chorus is also great (if not, even more fun than ‘Satisfaction’!).

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  6. This is one of the best Kpop songs of all time but nobody really talks about it cause well… kpop fans aren’t usually familiar with CSJH. The whole album is great (I could’ve linked Girlfriends) but this song in particular blew me away the first time I heard it. Idk if it’s the kind of thing Nick would like but it’s a musical style I really miss

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  7. 4Minute’s “Ready Go” is technically well over the 500K limit and technically was not a B-side (it’s one of their Japanese singles) but I love it so I’m going to mention it here anyway. Similarly with Purfles’s “Bad Girl”: I have no idea how many views it got since the original MV seems to have been pulled (here’s a fansubbed copy), but it deserves its shot at immortality.

    But I’m going to piggyback on this whole open-thread idea (thanks, Nick!) to tell the other Eaglez lurking around here that I’m giving my beloved Ninety One the full Infinite / Golcha treatment over on my Tumblr, reviewing every song they’ve put out so far. Their new single is going to drop any day now; I’m not quiiiite sure yet, from the teaser, how it’s going to stack up, so I’m trying to shove their entire discography into as many faces as I can first.

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    • Whenever a song imprints on me, it establishes a feeling that is unique to that song. Whenever I here that song again, it triggers that “feeling” and I’m happy to experience it (the song & the feeling) again. That may sound weird, but that is how I relate to music.

      When I first heard Purfles “A Bad Thing”, I instantly took a liking to it. I remember listening to it and experiencing a feeling similar to another song I really liked. The two songs aren’t that similar, but both recorded a feeling that is very close to one another; again, not sure I’m making much sense.

      Anywho, the other song is Gummy “There Is No Love” (2010, “Loveless” mini-album). Now, whenever I listen to one of these songs, I instantly think of the other. It’s not often that two unrelated songs trigger each other with me. “A Bad Thing” just happens to be one of them.

      Reference: Gummy “There Is No Love”
      Ref (G:TINL): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzCfFtjblGs

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    • bcuz my brain is shit i accidentally posted this reply on somebody else’s comment so fuck

      anyway im reposting it here bcuz im angery 😡

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  9. i know dkz recently got their big break (through a BL, may i add) but their earlier songs are criminally underrated compared to, lets say, ‘lupin’ or their newest song ‘cupid’! in particular ‘blockbuster’ is just a fun blast of campy halloween fun and i also recommend seventeen-lite ‘all i need is you’ ^^

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  10. I think I sometimes give others the impression that I only like upbeat dance tracks so instead, I’m gonna use this chance to highlight a couple of underrated bands (one Korean, one Japanese) and their respective songs which continue to have insane longevity on my playlist :>

    South Club – Rock Star

    For those who may not know, South Club is fronted by Nam Taehyun (former main vocalist of WINNER) and his voice really shines with this kind of gentle, shimmering indie-rock jammer. It’s honestly such a vibe!

    AliA – SLIDE SUNSET

    This is just one of those uplifting anthems that never fails to put me in a good mood. 5 minutes of pure heartwarming melodies coupled with a standout bridge and capping off with a feel-good singalong finale. I’d love to play this one out loud if I ever get the chance to go a road trip one day.

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    • Not exactly underrated but here are some great j-tracks

      Akuma no Ko by Higuchi Ai- Such a compelling ballad with its soaring melodies and thundering chorus.

      Runaway by Dios- It’s a band and that chorus is so frantic and great.

      Confession by Taichi Mukai- A low key, whispery midtempo with a plucky instrumental

      Fly High!! by Burnout Syndromes- Gives you that rock kick and uplifting vibes

      Meguru Meguru by Kami wa Saikoro wo Furanai- Incredibly relentless and that chorus brings goosebumps

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  12. I don’t if I’m allowed to recommend a non-Kpop song but lately I’ve been enjoying this Kylie minogue song
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=2S6TwjFFzJ4 (Say something)
    Man the funk guitar and a choir had such a good experience listening to this

    Jessie Ware released this single back in 2020 I think?

    I feel it’s a lot more laidback than a I usually listen to but hey who doesn’t love a modern house inspired song 😌

    And finally probably but favorite of all the song I recommend today

    The remix to free woman from lady Gaga’s chromatic album featuring Rina sawayama
    And also remixed by Clarence clarity
    The Same person who produced Rina’s debut album (which is FANTASTIC!!)
    This version features “metal-edge” and also This version has influences of metal with wailing riffs and drum fills

    Just listening to it makes me feel like a badass bitch 😭😅

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    • Oh wow, that Free Woman remix totally elevates the song!

      As for as Jessie Ware, I’ve been listening to Soul Control a lot lately. It scratches my itch for new Janet music.

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  14. Oh, I know EXACTLY who I want to talk about. Ryu Jisu! She’s an amazing artist, and she’s extremely underrated- she literally only has 709 spotify monthly listeners. She doesn’t have any music videos, but her music is REALLY good! Some of my favorites include:
    – Would I ever (OST vibes, traditional korean instrumental music, is really pretty!)
    – Emergency (is upbeat and gives me cinematic orchestral vibes)
    – Yet (it’s a duo collab, and it has really pretty harmonies)
    – I’d rather (slower, I”m pretty sure it’s supposed to be a sad song, is really pretty)
    – Say you hate me (acoustics, a really epic chorus)

    She has non-ballad songs, ballads just tend to be the type of music that I tend to prefer. If you like ballads, then you’ll probably like a bunch of her songs (even though I say she’s a ballad singer, none of these songs are boring like some ballads are, at least in my opinion)

    Here is the link to her spotify:

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    • Thank you very much for the sampler. She has a charming voice with a lot of personality. I’ll need to bookmark your list and give her some attention when I have time.

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  15. My pick is gonna be FAVORITE’S “you’re my favorite” or “with all my might”. This is such a hard song to search for I can’t even put a link

    Since others have bent the rules I will pick SNSD’s “trick” aswell.I don’t actually know how well known this track is or isn’t, but I’ve never heard anyone rave about it, but it deserves it.

    Berrygood’s 1 to 10 is also a song that has endured my playlist for longer than I would’ve ever expected.

    Alright I’m done bending…

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  16. Even though I haven’t been feeling like commenting on the website, I still have been regularly checking it out and I feel like chiming in with a few tracks from 2022 that have been surprises to me. They aren’t bombastic or SOTY contenders but I do enjoy them on a somewhat regular basis.

    ROVXE – Noob

    No idea who ROVXE are but I like this song, even if the rest of their discography isn’t much to my taste. It’s rap over a pop-punk instrumental but it’s energetic, fun and with a little attitude.

    noahjooda – Love Over Hip Hop, Money Over Love (Feat. Basick)

    Also no idea who noahjooda is but this is a somewhat comedic take (lyrics wise) on R&B and Rap that has a catchy melody and that for a while after it came out, stayed in my rotation.

    Rad Museum – 4D (feat. Miso, Loco)

    This dude is fairly popular on the indie scene and the title track of this album featured Dean so I believe most people that are fairly deep in the kpop/krnb scene will have heard or seen it somewhere (it’s called “Off-Line”).This is another funky, groovy track from Rad Museum. I haven’t spammed it that much because I prefer the title but it’s fun if you enjoy this style of music.

    Jaeha – cali 2 paris

    Jaeha was a rapper in one of the High School Rapper seasons and has released a couple of songs, including features with other similarly known artists in the indie rap scene. This is the only track of the album that I enjoy and it’s mainly a pop driven song with a catchy chorus and a few rap verses. Nothing amazing but I went in with 0 expectations so it ended up surprising me.

    ICHILLIN – La Luna

    The title track wasn’t reviewed on the blog so I’ll take this oportunity to plug this B-Side. The title wasn’t particualrly good and after i heard “La Luna” I was baffled as to why they even decided to not use this one as the title track. It’s an electric guitar driven pop song with a few synth touches but the chorus is quite the sleeper hit. I’ve found myself singing this chorus out of nowhere and for now it has a pretty solid place on my rotation. Quite the surprise given the title track.

    Sorry for the big post. Hope someone finds a song they enjoy!

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  17. Honest by Cotton Candy is one that I thought of right away. Cotton Candy is not a real girl group they are from the 2021 drama IDOL: The Coup. There are real kpop idols in the group though, including Hani from EXID, and EXY from WJSN.
    Honest is currently one of my favorite songs anyway, it has a retro sound and there is singing throughout, with no beat drops or unnecessary raps.
    It is kind of sad that we won’t be getting any more music from them. TT

    I dont know how to embed videos so here is the link. I would recommend listening to the song without the mv though.

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  18. For some reason I get Berry Good’s Angel first thing in my mind. I’m surprised it isn’t that talked about. I see it in so many underrated lists and it was one such list that led me to find that song 🙂 And it seems it HAS beem reviewed on this site long back with the exact reasons why I loved it so much as well 🙂

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  20. I have a work in progress playlist called “mostly forgotten kpop songs that i love” that works for this week! It’s not like they’re all super unknown or anything, but they definitely deserved to be bigger deals than they were. There’s some under the radar stuff in there, plus I had to plug Samuel’s discography because I think he has a lot of potential and would love to see him come back with more music.

    Here’s the link if anyone wants it: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/40pwBa8Fw8qHcRsTNbXQnx?si=556df40ef06845a9

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  21. The harmony work in this James and Sooyoung track is outstanding:

    For some rock bite, check out this year’s Sonic Stones The Beginning of the End. It barely has any views but will probably be in my top 20 this year:

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  22. My favorite girl group song of all time is WJSN’s Hola from their Neverland album. It’s a behemoth of a song and no one ever talks about it. The fact that I cant even find a live stage for it is down right criminal. The entire Neverland album is pure gold and I really like Butterfly, but the fact that Hola has be relegated to ignored b side status is maddening.

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  23. My list has 3 songs, including one non-Kpop song I am currently in love with.

    1) Bad at Love by Tempest. I think their entire debut mini album is solid, but this one stands out to me. It’s straightforward and fun, and sounds like it could’ve been a candidate for a Title track if they did a Spring/Summer comeback. It also makes me think of song WINNER or MCND may have done as a b-side at one point.

    2) All Day All Night by SF9 – This is a BRILLANT song. The production on this track, along with SF9’s approach to the vocals, made this an repeat worthy song as soon as I heard it. I would have loved to see live performances for this song.

    3) Must Be Nice by Joyce Wrice ft. Masego – Joyce has been on my radar for a minute, but I finally listened to her 2021 Overgrown album a few weeks ago. The entire album is great and has 2000s R&B influences without sounding dated or unoriginal. I also like how D’Mile (who handled most of the production on Overgrown) found unique ways to make the album interesting such as making vocals and adlibs sound as if they were embedded in the instrumentals of the tracks. It also shows how important having consistent producers across a project can make a great body of work.

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  25. Well for artists that have less 500k views and deserve way more attention you can’t go wrong with UZA her stuff is so amazing bar none.

    I’d personally recommend everything on her album Banality of Evil but the one song you should not skip is S.O.S. Brilliant little tune and everything I hoped the 80s Synthwave trend would be. But literally every song of hers is so amazing.

    Plus shout out to Rockit Girl who’s brand of pop rock is both genuinely sweet and legitimately kicks ass. I assume that Little Cat is the most popular of their songs but I’d also recommend My Love and their ass kicking cover of the military song We Go To The Front.



    As for underrated bsides I’ve always had a soft spot for WJSN’s Babyface from their least representative project Happy. It’s got this light funky almost catwalky quality to it and hooks for days.

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  26. some songs i’m genuinely shocked u havent featured as buried treasures:

    fl!pping a coin – billlie
    the production in this is INSANE like exactly the kind of thumping club stuff u like….also suas rap is so >>>>>>>

    salty – tbz
    i definitely agree with u that reveal is a weak album compared to tbzs other stuff but salty is a big highlight for me….i love the british house influence and the song overall is just so smooth

    lou – tbz
    EASILY my fav track theyve ever put out like its so funky so upbeat and that CHORUS goddamn

    (theres so many more tbz bsides u havent covered i could put here but yeah i also love back 2 u, hypnotized, scar, 36.5*, shine shine, make or break, got it, water and einstein)

    royal – ive
    total catwalk jam and its also SOOOO funky my god….also reminds me a lot of tbzs prism

    oh (yes i am) – loona
    i feel like this is loonas answer to tbzs salty (which i talked about earlier) but a little more slowed down…either way funky as hell

    satellite – loona
    i ADORE the spacey wjsn-esque vibe of this song….and the chorus makes me feel some type of way

    you and me together – loona 1/3
    i LOVE the new jack swing influence in this track….also the vocals remind me a lot of red velvet

    ok – nct u
    i remember u mentioning that u loved saturday drip bc of how much dumb fun it was so im surprised u didnt say the same abt ok…..like u can really tell the neos were having so much fun recording it. also ten and yuta are incredibly underappreciated vocalists

    fool – nct 127
    i love how funky this track is (especially with that keyboard riff throughout the song) and the conversational feel of the lyrics are really fun to listen to

    designer – onlyoneof
    ANOTHER catwalk jam!!! its not as hard hitting as some of their other tracks but that acoustic guitar riff + mills rap is just gold

    bamboleo – red velvet
    i know how much you love tracks ripped straight from the 80s so im flabbergasted u didnt write abt this….could have easily been a song from wonder girls’s reboot

    honorable mentions (meaning that the album its from already has a buried treasure feature/it came out before the blog opened and u havent reviewed it):
    mist – ateez (aka WOOYOUNG FINALLY GETS LINES)
    134340 – bts
    paldogangsan – bts (hands down their most underrated song)
    intro:the invitation – enhypen (ill never forgive belift for not making this a full song)
    attention please – enhypen
    hide and seek – loona
    whiplash – nct 127
    back 2 u – nct 127 (the best song any nct unit has ever made….like TAEIL/DOYOUNG???? GODDAMN)
    angel – nct 127
    another world – nct 127 (the SECOND best song any nct unit has ever made)
    fire alarm – nct dream
    leftover – oneus (aka oneus trying on ateez’s clothes)
    ultimate bliss – onlyoneof
    dynamite – shinee
    romance – shinee (kibum’s “TREMENDOUS!” >>>>>>>)

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  27. Literally hundreds of songs that populate my library are woefully under recognized. I won’t post a huge list, as I’ve done in the past. Instead, I’ll list the first song that popped into my head when pondering this question. This is a song that proves to me that the world really needs to get its priorities straight.

    Lee Hi “Love Is Over”: Released on May, 30, 2019 on the “24°c” mini-album. No music video. The official YouTube song link only has 214,867 views (listens).

    Ref (LH:LIO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrolKUnEdhM

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  29. I feel like I could airdrop the entirety of Wonder Girls’ debut album here BUT I will settle for So What:

    and I wanna:

    Also, justice for Alice/Elris’ ‘Miracle’ which should have been their debut title track:

    As well as Weki Meki’s ‘Iron Boy’, which ALSO should have been their title instead of Lalala:

    And, lastly, Hayoung of Apink’s ‘do you miss me’ which ALSO should have been the title track:

    there are many more but I don’t want to drive myself bonkers

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    • Yup, those Wonder Girls tracks are so awesome! I think there was a lot of cool bsides in the same vein coming out of JYPE at that time.

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    • Accidentally skipped over Iron Boy but toally agree it deserved to be a single. I like the other bsides on that album Metronome and Color Me a lot too.

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  30. Ive been listening to a little bit more khiphop lately so I’ll recommend the lovely electronic number called 60 BPM by the collective HEARTCORE.

    Also member, Swervy, has some great solo stuff as well. Big fan of Art, Money, Gang.

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  31. very nice question, Nick….for some of my suggestions, the groups have disbanded, but good songs nonetheless….

    Spicak “Break Away”
    (i know it is a little over 500-thou, but what a near-perfect remake, and those vocals….damn!)

    Limhara – “Scratch”….a very good song

    Prism – “Chok”

    The Legend – “Nail”

    SHINee – “Love Like Oxygen”

    Brave Girls – “Don’t Meet”

    Spica – “Since You’re Out of My Life”

    Rania – “Breathe Heavy”

    Everglow – “No Good Reason” (this should be a damn lead single!)

    AOA – “Time”

    i have a lot more, but….i’ll stop here….maybe i’ll add a few more in another post….

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    • Another person with fantastic taste in this comment section.

      SPICA: Lee Hyori did a marvelous job assembling those 5 for her project. That “Break Away” performance stills provides goosebumps. …and Park Narae? The candle is still lit…

      You listed a few that flew under the radar way more than they should have (e.g., Prism, Rania, etc.). …and a couple that had their moments in the spotlight, but not everything they released got the attention they were due (e.g., SPICA “SYOoML”, Everglow “NGR”, AOA “T”, etc.). Since you leaned into the soulful side of K-Pop, may I suggest:

      ICIA “Sad Heel”: Yeah, they were an iffy group because they got their start being the Korean version of “racing queens meets go-go dancers”, but this song was fantasic.
      Ref (I:SH): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7XBBZ7WkFk

      Lee Hae Ri “Pattern”: As one half of Davichi, she has a fan base that more than likely contributed to multiple listens for her video. Still, this song is worth greater attention.
      Ref (LHR:P): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir3FAUY3zdo

      Kang Min Hee “It’s You”: Yes, that Min Hee from Miss $. “It’s You” gets me every time I listen to it.
      Ref (KMH:IY): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKr5kD3iWK0

      Then there’s drops from HA:TFELT, LUSH, Jung Key, Han So Hyun, Eun Ooh, and many more, but I’ll put a pin in it here.

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      • thank you for your thoughts and comments, fellow kpop-lover….i really miss groups like 9Muses, Sistar, AOA, etc….when Spica were active, they were my second-favorite female kpop group (only behind Girls’ Generation)….when i am done with kpop, GG will probably will always be my number 1 all-time favorite female kpop group, and Spica will probably be my all-time second-favorite female kpop group….Spica’s vocals were unmatched, in my opinion….i love most everything they made….

        thank you for sharing a few of your favs with me….i like them, especially the one by ICIA, “Sad Heel”….until you shared them with me, i had never heard of them….their song reminds me a lot of Stellar’s “Mask”….another song and group that i loved a lot and miss….

        here is another one of my favorite songs that did not get many views, which is crazy to me because it is a frickin kpop bop!….

        Wa$$up – “Stupid Liar”

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  32. This isn’t very underrated in terms of views at least but I really feel like no one talks enough about Mr Mr’s Do You Feel Me

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  33. Rocket Punch’s japanese debut mini album had some nice underrated songs. I never saw anyone talk about Summer Days. I think it’s really good (and to be honest, might’ve been a better title track than Bubble Up!)

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  34. OHHHH this is interesting.

    The first song that pops up into my mind is JBJ95’s Hey, Summer. I’ve already written about the song in-depth on my own blog (yes, that’s a shameless plug) but its still been a mainstay on almost all my nostalgic/melancholic playlists since it came out. It’s just such a gorgeous track.

    This one breaks the view limit rule by a bit but I almost never hear anyone talk about this song anymore. BIGFLO’s Upside Down is such a classic boy group k-pop song with a chorus to absolutely DIE for.

    On the other side of the world we’ve got Isaac Dunbar’s AMAZING Comme Des Garcons. It’s probably one of my all time favourite songs but apart from his fanbase, I feel like nobody really knows about it. The final minute is just so so so good.

    And finally, the perfect b-side. This is literally a flawless song. I have nothing else to say.

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    • Eyy! I remember reading your review on JBJ95’s ‘Hey, Summer’!
      At that time I haven’t heard of the whole Spark mini (apart from the title track obviously) and I can definitely understand why you love it. I already love ‘Spark’ a lot, and hearing that along with ‘Hey, Summer’ is just… nostalgia at its finest.
      Ah… How much I miss this duo. They deserved better.

      That BIGFLO song is really fun too! Good reminder to add that to my Spotify playlist lol

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  35. I have decided that I am highlighting a couple of PIXY stuff cuz they need it haha. First up, the WINGS remix. The iconic 5.5 from THEBIASLIST has a remix, and it’s all violin and piano with a lovely dose of rock guitar. Much less horror (or horrifying if you ask Nick), but much more ominous and dramatic in my opinion with the splashes of plucks of strings and the chorus feels more punctuated with a rock guitar and violin backing it up.

    Then we have my favorite PIXY b-side (Bewitched doesn’t count it’s a title track), Greedy, a classic pop song with my favorite raps from the group. It’s just so smooth and the chorus is infectious and well-crafted.

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    • Love the Wings remix. As far as I can tell, the vocal track is identical to the original, yet it’s completely re-contextualized under the softer, more theatrical instrumental. The raps become suspenseful, the chorus feels like a proper payoff, and the pre-chorus becomes a work of art. It would be hard for Pixy to top this, but I certainly hope they try.

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      • Honestly, barring an INFINITE’s The Chase-style track, I would love a song that sounded like this for the title track. The remix is incredibly gorgeous even if I love the original Wings too. The empty chorus gets filled with such wonderful guitar then drops into a violin to a scream. UGH PERFECTION. That orchestral rock sound just hits so hard.

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    • I remember when they debuted with “HUK” off of the “Once in a Lifetime” mini-album. There was a small amount of buzz when they debuted, but after seeing the “HUK” MV, I was a little put off. The song was fine; the video.. ..not so much. From poor camera work, to a bad overall flow throughout the video, and some really awful style and makeup, it ended up impacting my desire to continue following their progress. I know, shallow of me, but first impressions really are everything. They disbanded sometime in 2017, so I never game them another thought.

      UNICORN “HUK” (2015)
      Ref (U:H): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRP5wrxZ6TQ

      “Blink Blink”, on the other hand, is really good so thanks for bringing it to my attention. I need to track that down for my library.

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  38. Two by the Chain G. who put out two of my favorite songs last year over two cleverly made low budget videos that form kind of a story loop if you play them back to back.

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  39. If any of the more fortunate 4th gen gg had come out with Maka Maka’s “Burning Power”, it would rule Korean charts for months. Incredibly strong melody, light vocals, great production, just an overall joy to listen to. Should’ve been THE summer song of 2020:

    I know this is cheating, but Fanatics’ “Milkshake” is simply a flawless kpop song. The EDM topline is to die for and the girls’ delivery is perfect. The whole thing is reminiscent of a summer-themed video-game and I repeat, if a bigger group had released it, Korea would not hear the end of it.

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  40. 1TYM’s 1TYM…God knows every time I listen to that song it gets stuck in my head all day! I can’t help but think that if this was released today by one of the rookie groups it would be a hit.

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