Following a tradition first established in 2020, I’m celebrating the holidays today with the opening of gifts. These packages come in the form of seasonal K-pop tracks not yet reviewed on the blog.

Like last year, I’m either keeping the gifts or planning to return them. Nothing this year is objectively bad, but I only have so much room on my holiday playlist so I have to be a bit picky.

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A.C.E. – Christmas Love

This is actually jauntier than I would have expected it.

Verdict: Keep

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Apink – Pink Christmas

This ticks off a lot of the boxes you’d expect. It’s nothing amazing, but I’ll take it.

Verdict: Keep

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BOL4 – Snowball

I prefer a more festive Christmas. This is a bit too moody for me.

Verdict: Return

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CLASS:y – Winter Bloom

Oh yes, here come the sleigh bells! Other than that, this sounds like a typical fourth-gen girl group track, but I’ll keep it. The chorus is good.

Verdict: Keep

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Fantasy Boys – Christmas Day

I like the sleigh bells, but there’s not much of a song here.

Verdict: Return

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Hwang Chi Yeul – Beautiful Winter

The melody has strong Sweetune vibes. I’m digging it!

Verdict: Keep

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IVE – Payback

This was already included on their most recent album. It’s an above average b-side that works well for the season but could also be played all year long.

Verdict: Keep

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Jeon Somi x Big Naughty – Ex-Mas

This isn’t for me.

Verdict: Return

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Lucy – Over The Christmas

I’m keeping anything Lucy gift me, but this is kind of dull.

Verdict: Keep, but rarely use

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NINE.i – Back To Christmas

I like this festive kind of sound. The melodies could be stronger, but I’ll add this to my playlist.

Verdict: Keep

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Palmtree Island Artists – My Christmas Wish

I always love these agency holiday tracks. This is so cheesy but that’s kind of what makes it fun. It’s very Disney sounding.

Verdict: Keep

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PLAVE – MERRY PLLIstmas

Yep, it takes a Christmas feature for me to finally write about PLAVE. Surprisingly, this is one of the stronger tracks in this round-up!

Verdict: Keep

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Rocky – Christmas Dance

This is fine but doesn’t really do anything for me.

Verdict: Return

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Ryeowook – Lingering

Nice mood music that would fit right alongside the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack. I’d rather listen to that, though.

Verdict: Return

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Xodiac – First Snow

The jaunty parts are good. The song drags a bit in the middle, though.

Verdict: Keep (but just barely)