A K-pop act’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. Sometimes, b-sides deserve recognition too. In the singles-oriented world of K-pop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve.

I hate when I look at the runtimes on an album tracklist and the title track stands out as the only song that’s unnecessarily short. This confirms that song length isn’t dictated by what the song actually requires but by some stupid algorithm that says listeners have increasingly short attention spans for music that’s promoted to them. Lee Chaeyeon’s solid No Tears On The Dancefloor could certainly use the extra thirty seconds that all the other tracks on her album are allowed.

On the plus side, the album’s best b-side clocks in at over three minutes. I’m Waiting unfolds at a comparatively leisurely pace, allowed to open with a beautiful synth solo before its verse comes chugging in. Shimmering synths continue to build as we near the chorus, forging a jubilant 80s sound that’s completely timeless. The chorus itself is pretty simple, but climaxes in an instrumental break that lends the track satisfying drive. It has the magical quality of a great Carly Rae Jepsen song, and that’s high praise indeed.

Grade: B+