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What I’ve Been Listening to During K-Pop’s Boring Months (aka: Some Epic Music to Add to Your Playlist)

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What I’ve Been Listening to During these Boring K-Pop MonthsAs I mentioned during yesterday’s monthly K-pop round-up, the past two months haven’t been exactly thrilling when it comes to K-pop. So, I’ve taken the time to dive back into some old J-pop favorites and discover some artists I’d never listened to before.

I tend to embark on these deep J-pop dives each winter as K-pop’s release slate slows down. This year, I’ve been all over the place and want to share a few artists and songs that have been on permanent rotation. I hope you’ll love them as much as I do!

Predia

Over the past few months, I’ve been listening to Predia’s entire discography like it’s a new religion. I adore their robust, dramatic sound and powerful vocals. I just can’t get enough of their music. I’m posting some favorite singles and b-sides so you can get a taste.

K-pop fans of groups like GFriend and Dreamcatcher will surely find something to love here!



This video is super cringe with its weird sexualized water pouring, but the song absolutely slaps:

This one’s epic:

And this is bonkers-brilliant:

This one kinda out-Dreamcatchers Dreamcatcher:

PASSPO – Next Flight

God, I love this song. It’s the perfect blend of 80’s rock and J-pop attitude. Those melodies are perfection.

Girl Next Door

I’m obsessed with Girl Next Door’s big synth sound. It feels like an updated version of Every Little Thing’s late-90’s hits. The music just brims with life and I’m having a blast exploring their tirelessly upbeat discography.


Genic – Supersonic

I’ll probably write more about Genic later because I’m head over heels for this group, but for now I’ll share a fantastic b-side that a lot of K-pop listeners would probably enjoy:

FEMM – Whiplash

This is all kinds of awesome — the sort of ballsy showstopper Avex pulls out of their back pocket from time to time like it’s no big deal at all.

Da-iCE – Time Is Life

I’ve followed Da-iCE pretty closely since debut, but I’m not sure how I missed this punchy pop b-side. It makes me wish for summer!

22 thoughts on “What I’ve Been Listening to During K-Pop’s Boring Months (aka: Some Epic Music to Add to Your Playlist)”

  2. Oh, there’s some really great stuff here… definitely going into rotation on the daily playlist. I fell in love with JPop (specifically the pastiche synthpop beats of Tommy February 6) walking around Tokyo’s bright lights in late Winter 2002, and JPop just keeps providing a wonderful canon to dip into and discover some fabulous artists and tracks

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    • It’s really become my go-to place. There’s such a well of treasures throughout J-pop history and it helps that you have to work a bit to uncover them. I’ve always loved the thrill of the search!

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      • oh believe me im only a VERY casual fan (i dont even play the game LMAOOOO) i just have friends who r rlly into it so its kinda rubbed off on me…..also yeah i just rlly love some of the music/characters

        also ik u like idol series so if u can check out the anime adaptation bc the lore behind this game is WILD omfg (also disclaimer there are some semi important bits from the game story that got cut out in the anime but as is its a pretty good intro to the series/way to get to know all the characters)

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  5. ive been doing a deep dive into this group called BiSH, and i love their j-rock sound already

    songs i recommend:
    non tie up
    paint it black
    stereo future
    promise the star
    distance
    my landscape

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    • I really wish I could get into BiSH. I do like some of their songs (Non Tie Up, especially), but overall the sound is a bit abrasive for me. That’s their schtick, though, and I respect it!

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    • Never thought I’d see a WACK group mentioned here lmao, it’s a shame they are disbanding in June since they have probably been the most stable of the WACK groups *only 3 graduations iirc*

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  6. I really enjoyed all the MV’s. I’ve always been a B-side listener. Femm’s WHIPLASH doesn’t fit in the typical J-pop mold which has opened my eyes/ears to an incredible bounty of great music. But Predia is just next level. The track SHADOW kills it on all levels.

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  9. The Japanese artists I used to listen (and still do) to were Melt-Banana, Ghost, High Rise, Boris, OIOIO, and Boredoms. But in ‘21 I stumbled on Higedan upon NCT Doyoung’s playlist and Capsule because one of your readers posted a song in the comments. I discovered a lot of artists last year when I thought January was disappointing (ahahahahaha). A rock ‘n’ roll Facebook group recommended Atarashi Gakko! And I found a lot of favorites by looking occasionally at Spotify’s Dance Pop: Japan playlist like Ayumu Imazu, Da-ICE, the many Exile Tribe deals, iri and many more.

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