End of Month List: November
Thoughts on the Month
Sorry for the late publishing of this post, the last few days have been hectic.
After an underwhelming October (where I gave way more 9s than needed at times), November was a return to form. J-Pop had its best month since August, K-Pop had another strong month, while Chinese, Indian, and Western music showed strengths in bursts. In fact, one of my top songs is from one of those three worlds of music. There were some solid (and terrible) music videos this month. But surprisingly, it was an underwhelming month for albums. Despite a large number of albums to come out this month, only a few stood out to me, and those barely. Also, 4 of the original TVXQ members made a return this month (all except Yunho, who was the one whose return was announced the first), and TVXQ released a single near the end of the month. In the end, only two solo singles stood out. Also, there was a lot of junk singles this month, just ask Treasure and NCT U. Both singles I linked to were terrible at first, but have just gotten worse ('MMM' is now around a 4.75, and 'Work It' is around 5.75/6). I would also like to note that aespa's debut has actually grown on me. NingNing's solid vocals really have me looking forward to the future, and while I stand by every single word of the review, I want to bump up the score personally to an 8.25 or 8.5. This is mostly due to the 'SM the Stage' version, where the live bridge really gives those vocals K-Pop needs right now. The track is still middling in the studio version, though.
It was a really close competition to make it into my top 5 songs this month, with several fine tracks missing out a well-deserved spot. Some songs that barely missed a spot include Secret Number's 'Got That Boom' (just fix the verses and the post-chorus, and it would have been in contention for the top spot), Sandaime J Soul Brother's 'Rising Soul' (it actually made it in the top 3 for most of my initial drafts), and Jaejoong's 'Breaking Dawn' (just not played as much as it should have been), and Lucy's 'Snooze', which was the closest to making it in. In the end, the shocker arrival of one song near the tail-end of the month pushed many worthy songs just out of the top 5. I decided to count the Lucy song as from this month, despite it having been released earlier. Also, a song which I gave a middling positive review rose into the top 5, so keep an eye out for this artist! So in the end, enjoy my lists!
Nice list! Such a diversity to see here, my list is:
ReplyDelete1. ENHYPEN - Given-Taken
2. BAE173 - Crush On You
3. TXT - Your Light
4. BTS - Life Goes On
5. StayC - So Bad
Very weird indeed, but I seem to have repeated these songs forever! I hope 2021, is going to be a great year for music. I feel 2021, something might happen in the industry and it is gonna be exciting.
Those are some nice and catchy tracks!
DeleteIf I only counted K-Pop songs, my top 5 would be:
1. Xia - Pit a Pat
2. TXT - Your Light
3. Kai - Ride or Die
4. Kai - Nothing on Me
5. Lucy - Snooze
Sorry for the late reply, the last few days have been CRAZY for me.
Oh, and FYI, I voted for your award show!
DeleteI am so happy Craxy get nominated, I loved their debut album, and am sad to see them getting no love.
May the best nominees win!
Oh thanks, very much! That is my final award show and the most with 51 categories. It is really very hard work finding those quality songs. Especially in the Alternative/Indie genre. I am planning to send it now to well-known youtubers and music critics to vote. If you have time you can share it too! Thanks again! What are your additional thoughts about the show?
DeleteI loved the amount of Dreamcatcher and ONF, as I loved their music. I was surprised at the amount of Hyukoh, but maybe I just need to listen to their music again. I was surprised that actually my favorite K-Pop song and album of the year were nominated!!! Of course, I won't tell which ones are they, for I probably will mention them in the future :)
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