Rather than contain my “Risers and Fallers” feature to a single post in June, I’m going to share a bite-sized version at the end of each month. This will let me account for more songs and make a nice lead-in to the monthly round-up post.
I anticipate most of these ratings adjustments will be negligible: a 0.5 shift here, a 0.25 shift there. But, it’s a fun way to keep track of how my feelings on songs have changed over time – as well as which tracks currently have momentum on my playlist.
And remember, just because a song is marked as a “faller” doesn’t mean I hate it! Falling from a “9” to an “8.75” is no shame. 9+ rated songs occupy a totally different playlist in my music library, so I’m pretty particular about what qualifies. It’s a high bar.
This month’s feature covers the period from July 25th to August 22nd.
Lots of risers this month!
RISERS
BLACKPINK – Pink Venom
Rating: 6.75 → 7.25
The Boyz – Whisper
Rating: 7.25 → 7.5
from20 – Chemical
Rating: 8.75 → 9
Girls’ Generation (SNSD) – Forever 1
Rating: 9 → 9.25
INI – Password
Rating: 7 → 7.5
IVE – After Like
Rating: 9 → 9.25
TO1 – Drummin’ *Biggest Riser*
Rating: 8.25 → 9
Wonho – Don’t Hesitate
Rating: 8.25 → 8.5
FALLERS
Luminous – Engine
Rating: 8.25 → 8
TRI.BE – Kiss *Biggest Faller*
Rating: 7.25 → 6.75
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if the ending of pink venom wasn’t so boring, i would like it more, i really like the song as a whole, but the ending hurts my ear and doesn’t make me hyped at all.
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ive’s after like and golden child’s replay have gotten better with each listen, while forever 1 still remains my favorite song of the year
on the other hand, NOOOOOOOOOOOOO ELLA AND SATBYEOL 😭😭😭😭😭
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😭😭 I couldn’t believe it when I saw it either. I appreciate that the company did put out a “clearer” statement and that it was to do with health. But still it’s gonna hit Pixy really hard (especially the four members thing I guess) and they’ve been doing so well 🥲 I hope things work out for them all!
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sure i expected ella to leave because she was gone for quite a while, but SATBYEOL??????
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I agree with most of your list!
Honestly my biggest riser of this month may come as a surprise for most, but I genuinely felt so ‘meh’ towards it at release and now it is among my favorites of the month!
Forever 1 by Girl’s Generation
8 -> 9.5 (I wrote my own review of it where I rated it 8.75 and it has grown even better over the days T.T. I can sing the whole song the whole way through now.)
After Like by IVE
8.75 -> 9.5 (this song is insane T.T, it is so easy to play again and again and not get bored. I love the chorus and the prechorus especially, and I’ve mostly gotten over the rap which I’ve had reservations at first listen)
Cookie by NewJeans
7.5 ->8.5
I hate to say it but even with the issue of the lyrics, the song wormed its way into my head. Could actually rise further.
Pink Venom did not rise for me, mainly because I already rated it quite high initially. At the time, I had doubts on whether I should give it a high rating but with time, I felt more confident with it. Their performance of the song today sealed the deal for me.
This month has been incredibly strong, and I can’t wait to see several of the songs make its way to your end of year list!
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After Like for the win. My favorite parts are the chorus (of course!) and Gaeul’s second verse. That tiny rasp in her vocals in that part is so good.
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Well, it’s not really “rasp”. Her delivery is just so sassy and not too much smoothened.
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And her verse went viral! I knew it!
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BTW, BLACKPINK and EVERGLOW are the only girlgroups in these times that can actually devour the girl crush songs and concept.
Missing EVERGLOW. Pirate is a bop and a half.
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After Like is definitely up high for me now! Another song that did rise for me is Blank2y’s Fuego! 😀 Surprisingly I really liked it! The MV was already pretty fun but after watching the performance I’m loving it even more!
The performance video song by Trendz, ‘Clique” has also been one of my biggest growers really and I really like that song!
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Hard agree with Forever 1 and After Like! I loved both of them on release, but they really solidified into the top-tier girl group bangers they deserve to be known as. All the ifs and buts I had with those two songs at the time are pretty much gone now, which is awesome.
Also, I’m definitely on board the Replay hype train now 😇 Can’t say I had a good reason for why it didn’t fully click with me at first, but I’ve essentially gone from “pretty cool I guess” to “this kicks so much ass”. Thanks for opening my eyes (or ears? idk) on that one Nick 😅
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Pink venom rose for me. I love it’s verses, and the chorus is so bad it’s good, as IVE would say. RATATATA RATATATA RATATATA RATATATATA
I think the biggest riser though is KB’s be free from last month.
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100% agree on Pink Venom. Blackpink’s titles may not be great at first listen but they are always growers. Same thing happened with How You Like That back in 2020. People knack on the chorus but it’s catchy as heck, and chorus aside the rest of the song is better than a lot of their past title.
Disagree though on Kiss. Still a banger for me lol.
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I kinda thought Guerilla would be on here — I feel like I’ve heard you talk about it?
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I think because it was released on July 29 it just passed the limit for the cut. I bet that Nick has it around 9 now though, seeing that it made the top 10 for best Ateez songs despite being a very new release. Perhaps he will include it once he sees your comment? (as a special mention perhaps?)
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Nope, still an 8.5 for me
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hard agree on snsd EASY soty material……also if whisper grew on u then u BETTER have some growers on that new mini
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I am still catching up on a month of great releases but I will say that After Like (8.25 >> 9) has grown on me a lot. I still prefer Love Dive, but I get it now.
Pink Venom kind of, but with some caveats. First is that it was terribly low for me (I had it rated at like 6) so there was nowhere for it to go but up, and is still barely scraping a 7 at this point. The second is that my improvement of its assessment is that the chorus has latched onto my head, and the second verse lowkey slaps, but I would still not put the song in my ears. The song is okay when I’m butchering segments of it, but it is not an aural experience I would engage in. It’s the musical equivalent of the Morbin’ Time meme.
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This might be an unpopular opinion but I really liked tri.be -kiss. It seems to be getting a lot of recognition from Korea. Also they really know how to perform.
My biggest J-pop riser would be Xg- mascara
I think Forever 1 is slightly better than Ive – after like.
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I’m still stuck in the Yoosung’s ‘Begin’ and KB’s ‘Be Free’ phase. They’ve moved up to 10/10 for me. I’m really liking IVE’s ‘After Like’ which has gone up to 9/10 for me. CIX’s ‘458’ has also risen to 8.75/10.
I’ve tried liking ‘Pink Venom’ by Blackpink but I just can’t. I really really hate the chorus and ending. The song is getting worse with each listen.
Also thanks to this, I’ve been reminded that ‘Chemical’ by from20 exists. I guess I just got overwhelmed with all the great releases.
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Also ABTO ‘Monochrome’ has gotten better after listening to it a few times. That chorus has grown on me immensely. I can agree with your rating of 7.5
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Eh. None of these on the list have really risen, fell, or I listened to
Also, I dont know who approved cookie by Newjeans cause it was so bad I left before the chorus.
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My list would look like this:
Risers:
Yena – Smartphone (7.75 – 8.25)
Though at first I was left underwhelmed as the song doesn’t know what it wants, I came back to it a couple of days ago and it grew on me. The track’s late 00’s vibe grabbed me.
Kino – Pose (7.75 – 8.25)
It’s just because I love these Taemin-esque slinky dance tunes as hell.
IVE – After Like (9 – 9.25)
TO1 – Drummin’ (8.25 – 8.5)
It got better with some more listens, but I still consider that chorus to be a lil obnoxious.
from20 – Chemical (8.75 – 9)
I thought it would get cloying quickly because of the repetitive post-chorus hook, but instead I got the opposite effect.
Golden Child – Replay (9 – 9.5)
YESSSSS!!! Nick’s potion worked!😅
Youha – Last Dance (8.25 – 8.5)
The heavily processed vocal performance in the centerpiece became a hurdle to bump up the rating even more, but I dig this late 00’s sound a lot. It’s so damn refreshing.
Fallers:
Blackpink – Pink Venom (5.5 – 4.75)
The Boyz – Whisper (6.5 – 5.75)
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Ah, I forgot one faller!
NewJeans – Cookie (6.5 – 5)
Honestly, I don’t know why and how this song exists. A sleeping pill mixed with oddly provocative lyrics is literally one of the worst songwriting formulas.
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Hybe’s statement made the song worse for me. So yeah, hard agree
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Fellow Last Dance enjoyer 🤝 I was lowkey sad when Nick chose not to write about it lol. It’s a top four song of this month for me and only gets more captivating with each listen ❤️
Even the accompanying mini is pretty solid! Flower Rain in particular is like Abittipsy’s more contemplative night owl sister, good stuff.
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Excellent! I’m so glad I included the elusive essence of the mystical Goldenness in that potion. It always does the trick!
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Pink Venom unfortunately got even worse for me. I cannot bear hearing it. 😭
After Like grew on me a bit more although I already liked it.
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i agree, i figured it is BlackPink whateve they drop will be epic, i was underwhelmed…maybe because the current batch of groups are putting out good stuff—i have never liked so many groups at once
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Q
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Please delete this.
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Lol but it’s so mysterious!!
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It’s like I had the Boyz on my brain. Okay, leave it.
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Math is hard. So no numbers. These songs I liked better at the end of August
Up:
TO1 – Drummin like beatbox it needed more of its subject matter but it’s still a damn good song
Ateez – Guerilla its crazy convinced me – classic irritainment
Jaehyun – Forever Only
XDisposable Heroes of K-pop or whoever they are – Strawberry Cheesecake (this might have sold me on them)
These I did not.
Down
Cravity – Boogie Woogie
What was I thinking the first thing when I heard it? Rotten 70s throwback that would be rejected by Donny and Marie for being too sappy
Blackpink – Pink Venom
A missed opportunity at classic irritainment
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TO1…sounded great live at kcon, i am a fan of theirs now, same with Ateez now on my radar
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keren banget mantap
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why did Tri.be fall a full percentage point?
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My biasness probably seeped in but The Boyz’s Whisper went from like a 7.75 to 8.5. Idk but I enjoy it more after every listen. As I’ve mentioned in the comments in another post, 458 grew on me quickly when I initially was thinking certain sounds in the song reminded me of the sounds my bike was making. Golden Child’s album has been getting better after every listen though I’m starting to like the bsides more than Replay. Forever 1 kind of fell for me a bit. Just don’t go back to it as often as I did in the beginning.
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Snsd forever 1 & Ive after like is the most my favorite.
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