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Weekly K-pop faves: July 31 – Aug. 6

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k-pop playlist faves songs kpop august july 2017

The first week of August was filled with a lot of truly great releases from the K-pop industry, raising expectations for the month. In this week’s playlist, KultScene’s team liked new music by the rock boy band The Rose, girl group CLC, and GOT7’s JB from his solo on JJ Project’s new EP.

“Sorry” by The Rose (Released Aug. 2)

The song starts strong right off the bat with power vocals from guitarist Woosung, who sets the tone for the rest of this beautiful, moody song. His voice balances out very nicely with the other vocalist of the band, Dojoon, who plays the keyboard, and though they have unique and vastly different tones, the pair blend together to create great harmonies which really intensified the emotions of this rock ballad. The song feels like a cross between DAY6 and Jung Joon Young’s music style, but as a fan of both these artists, it’s pitch perfect to me. The music video featured gorgeous cinematography and visually striking sets as well, giving the band a very classy yet diverse image. This was a very promising debut for the band and if they keep churning out such tunes, they definitely have the potential to go far and make it big in the industry.

—Anna

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“Where Are You?” by CLC (Released Aug. 3)

Of the new generation of girl groups, very few people (nobody?) would consider CLC to be a contender. I wouldn’t have either until their most recent comeback with “Where Are You?” I have always liked them, but they remained firmly below a number of groups. What makes them stand out though, is their total disregard of an identity. Many use it to criticize them, but in an environment where groups like Blackpink and GFriend are totally redundant, it’s so refreshing. Especially so with a song like “Where Are You?” which brings the recent Japanese city pop revival trend to Korea for the first time. Produced by Armadillo, “Where Are You?” is a shimmering laid back track perfect for a relaxed summer evening. Its retro synths and saxophone are deployed to perfection alongside their best vocal performance to date. Sorn gets a special shoutout for her part in the chorus. It’s the chorus in general where the girls sing together is the detail that really makes this song work.

—Joe

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“Fade Away” by JJ Project (Released July 31)

Being an IGOT7, the thing that made me stan JB was his buttery smooth vocals and my faith in his ability to pull off an R&B song, if JYP ever gave him the opportunity. My belief was validated when the singer uploaded a few tracks to his SoundCloud account earlier in the year, displaying the smooth crooning that he doesn’t get to properly show off with his group. A JB solo is far fetched at the moment, so when the JJ Project comeback was announced, I was ecstatic. Verse 2 is a solid album, but the track that won me over is hands down “Fade Away.” On his solo song, JB brought the emotional rawness of his SoundCloud songs into the album. R&B is pretty hard to pull off in K-pop, but I’d argue that, in terms of idols (and excluding Taeyang), JB is the only vocalist able to do the genre justice. I don’t know where this man is pulling all these emotions from (it’s only imagination, right? *sobs*), but it’s quite refreshing in a scene that dribbles with the robotic. I just wish they’d bring some of this into GOT7’s music — or at least give JB the damn solo he’s always deserved.

—Alexis

”One Last Time” by Girls’ Generation (Released Aug. 4)

While there are many nice listening experiences on <b>Girls’ Generation</b>’s anniversary album <em>Holiday Night</em>, it’s “One Last Time” that kept drawing me back in. While not as epic as Ariana Grande’s single of the same name, the Girls’ melodic b-side is sheer pop perfection. The melancholic song has a pretty basic, and honestly simplistic, melody, but it’s the soaring vocals and beautiful harmonies that keep me coming back for more. I’m a sucker for a heartbreaking love song, and with “One Last Time” Girls’ Generation’s definitely achieved that; even if you don’t understand the language, it’s obvious that the eight women are expressing pain and heartbreak through the wailing, soaring expressiveness of their verses. (Also make to check out “Fan” on the album, if you’re looking for another great b-side!) 

—Tamar

What was your favorite K-pop release of the week? Tell us what you think in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.

Weekly K-pop faves: July 3-9

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k-pop songs kpop playlist faves july 2017 17 red velvet le exid super junior

Each week, the KultScene crew look back at their favorite new K-pop songs and performances of the past week. In the first full week of July, we liked new music from Red Velvet, and older versions of songs by EXID’s LE and Super Junior.

“Cream (Solo Version)” by LE (Released July 7)

When EXID’s Street album came out last year, a clear stand out for me was the b-side “Cream.” And while they never released it as a single in Korea, they did a Chinese version to promote themselves in said market. Being the queen of suggestiveness and double entendre, LE wrote this song about eating cream and it ruining their bodies because they get fat. It’s been said that cream stands for some other creamy substance, and with this solo version, she’s basically proving that theory right. And I’m living for it. Just by the English lyrics, “I love the cream cream cream/ All over my body” and “Baby boy love me up all night” at the chorus, we get a clear picture as to what’s she’s singing about. But lyrics aside, this stripped down version and the fact that she also sings makes the version more sensual. “Cream” solidifies my thought that LE needs *clapping emoji* a *clapping emoji* solo *clapping emoji*. Like, yesterday. Move over CL and Hyuna (who she actually taught how to rap and has written for, by the way), LE is the baddest queen in K-pop.

— Alexis

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“Red Flavor” by Red Velvet (Released July 9)

Over the years, Red Velvet has become that group in the K-pop industry. With quirky outfits and infectious hooks, the group has, throughout the past year, delivered addictive music and markedly unique stylings with impressive consistency. “Red Flavor” is trademark Red Velvet, but with tighter production than that of their previous release “Rookie” (at least in my opinion). While this release is very reminiscent of their past two promotional cycles, the electro-pop is notably smoother at some parts of the song, specifically the prechorus sung by Wendy and Seulgi, calling back to their first EP’s title track “Ice Cream Cake.” Still, the chorus preserves the brash, loud quirk that the group has pursued most ambitiously with songs like “Dumb Dumb” and more recently, “Russian Roulette” and “Rookie.” Overall, “Red Flavor” is a valuable addition to the group’s repertoire, albeit slightly exhaustive. This release makes me wonder how much further they can pursue this kind of concept before it wears down. As great as “Red Flavor” is, the song makes me want to see something new from RV, and hopefully their next comebacks will make that a reality.

— Kushal

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“Sorry Sorry & Bonamana” by Super Junior (Performed July 8)

There’s something incredibly sad about watching Super Junior appear on stage with only three members as they did at last night’s SMTown. Even when a fourth member, Heechul, appears mid-way through “Sorry Sorry,” there’s something disheartening about seeing what was once a revolutionarily large group be driven down to only a handful of people. (But don’t even get me started how they have nine backup dancers to get things up to SuJu’s original OT13. Or how Henry and Zhoumi could and should have most definitely been part of the performance, and Super Junior in general…) With the recent protest by fans against Sungmin, Kangin still on hiatus after the second drunk driving incident of his career, plus the rest of the members in the army, Super Junior’s available four members still delivered energetic performances, with the four —Leeteuk, Shindong, Heechul, and Yesung— stepping up to fill in the void left by the loss of the Super Junior’s mass of members. It’s not my favorite Super Junior performance by far, but seeing them persevere in spite of the virulent outpouring of hate they just received makes this one of their most memorable lives of all time.

— Tamar

What was your favorite K-pop release of the week? Tell us what you think in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.