#yukika my city pop queen

[hakyeonsmonstercock]

ok gonna make a masterpost rant on my thoughts / hopes for #hakyeonsolodebut bc he’s coming back soon and i know hwang sejun follows me personally so 

1. pre-release digital single

option 1: summer

song: ok i know someone at that fuckass company is gonna be like “omg you should totally do a ballad” so i thought what if we didn’t have to suffer and it was just a little teaser for the album like dream and free tempo and hyuk’s songs were and not the main song? if we have to get a slow song, rather than a ballad i want something soft and sweet like choco chip cookie.

outfit: a mix of the ceci photoshoot and big issue, oversized shirts but less pink and more.. sparkly? i’m seeing stickers on his skin and glitter on his hair but idk that might be a vision for another time. anklets if we’re doing a beach thing. hair curly and parted so his eyebrows show a little (put some glitter on them like aoa cream king) maybe even some novelty hair clips

m/v: aesthetics..... the overused 3:4 aspect ratio solid color background with some objects in front omg.. but i’d eat it up for hakyeon honestly if it was more pastel and told a story. cutesy nostalgic with a girl maybe so he can trend for being boyfriend material again. balloons, very colorful, sunny summer-like, 

option 2: autumn

song:  i know vixx generally don’t do trends (thank god they never did beat drop chorus noise /barf) BUT, and hear me out, CITY POP is kinda on the rise and his #aestheticcore ass would GO ALL OUT. yukika - neon is like, representative intl stan choice but it is actually amazing. i can see hakyeon going upbeat retro but in my mind the prerelease single is a slightly faster ballad over a vaporwave/futurefunk/citypop instrumental (can you tell i don’t listen to that cringe shit). i can also see some trot elements being thrown in that suit fit hakyeon’s voice 

outfits: imagine this picture but with highwasted brown pants instead and a much flowier white/blue shirt with like puffier sleeves? maybe an extra button undone. then a beret (!), huge fucking dangly earrings, and his hair styled wavy like for the big issue magazine. black shoes with a high heel because fuck you or whatever these shoes are called because fashion. 

m/v: yeah i want it melancholic and rainy and dark and him singing to a stand mic late at night reminiscing.... the night sky.. stars.. starlights.. get it?

2. title track

option 1: sexy

song: if hakyeon went for a sexy concept, and i could totally see him do cunt very well, bass down low and heavy, something like shinhwa’s first love (!!!), hashtag’s freesm, sujeong’s tiger eyes, OR something with a western pop influence: poison, give it up to me, or even hara’s midnight queen

but the ideal? this song is everything i could ever want for hakyeon’s solo debut. the jrock-pop-dance-edm influences are brilliant, it’s fast paced and hot and leaves plenty opportunities for what hakyeon does best, and that’s stare at a stage camera seductively. 

dance: mm a lot of hip work and some flowy arm movements. a little contemporary dance break for hakyeon to flex. female and male back up dancers falling over him/fighting for his attention/serving as his chairs (which he did already lmfao). also that thing where one person moves from stage left to stage right and the dancers behind them copy and freeze in various poses/wave choreography. ALSO there’s a smirk and panting and a growl in this song... if no one got me i know hakyeon’s facial expressions got me!

outfit: THIS gay ass shirt is the ONLY choice wtf!!! taemin move promotions inspired but with higher wasted pants to suit hakyeon’s body type. no necklaces either, maybe gloves, dr martens... the highlight of this outfit would be his arms and lipoma <3 in an ideal world id ask for a little red gradient lip too but whatever, the eye makeup can go crazy instead

m/v: literally let’s bring it back to 2012 give me a box set and 50% dance shots 50% head shots i don’t give a fuuuck!

option 2 / follow up promotions (maybe featuring a female idol): i didn’t ask to be born latina

song: k hakyeon is canonically latinx so his debut song should have a lot of latin dance or even bollywood influences! i’m thinking if solo: koda kumi shake it, , tomochin’s loca, enrique iglesias’ bailamos or if he wants to be quirky he can plagiarize ACCHA ACCHA (get it????)

and if he invites one of his bitches shakira’s la tortura, cocosori’s mi amor, enrique iglesias’ takin back my love . he already covered havana and choreographed it and put his girls in those flamenco dresses soo... we know you want to king

dance:  i trust hakyeon to make troublemaker the 2nd most controversial performance in recent history. honestly just want him to do this to shake the table a little bit if he decides to go for a feature.

but if it;s a solo song... belly dancing!!! hello?????/ literally unfulfilled potential all up in this bitch! when he starts feeling ethnic >> he’s gonna be my cousin shakira said my hips don’t lie... 

outfit: RED! hello?? arguably his best color? when we put him in a sinfully tight shirt and add lace details and a huge leather corset-like belt and a deep v neck cross with long wide sleeves with details on the chest so it’s borderline a figure skating costume and HELLO WHEN WE CONVINCE HIM TO WEAR A CROP TOP AND BELLY DANCING PANTS AND THOSE SEQUIN SEE THROUGH SKIRTS AND DANGLY ACCESSORIES AND SOME INTRICATE WAIST CHAINS ohHoHHohhhpdhp yes it’s all coming together *brain fuckng explodes* also she should grow out his hair kinda like taekwoon hyde era? embrace your heritage king

m/v:  a whole storyline set in like the 50s in which hakyeon is a bartender/cleaner at a cabaret club and he stares wistfully at all the performers on stage and imagines himself up there and practices and then the climax of the song has him receiving standing ovations and as the song closes he’s like jolted from his daydream :’)

OR one of those stereotypical man having an orgy with a bunch of women mvs

4. pussy eating anthem

stellar - vibrato imagery. nuff said.

3. ft. yikyung

obviously this is just wishful thinking but since yikyung’s pretty active rn and has a whole song it’s not too far fetched? what’s far fetched is how close they are irl but i don’t doubt hakyeon will get a lot of his friends to feature, whoever they are. 

5. ballad

6. ft. vixx

aww in my light fashion i do think hakyeon would all but force vixx into the studio to do a cute little gift for the fans song <3 i don’t doubt he’d try to include h*ngbin too in some way. i don’t have concrete ideas for this one cuz fan gift songs suck but he’d probably be involved in the production/lyrics <3

[publicurination]

I am listening to nugu/nuguish groups entire discographies and I want to make a post detailing my opinions on each (I already liked a lot of these groups songs so I’m just re-listening to their discographies for some of these)

I may make another one of these

ELRIS

I really enjoyed everything Elris has released especially their debut EP. You and I really stands out to me on that EP. Also their “Elris? Here I am!” Thing is so cute I could put a hole through my wall. I really like how they have different music but it all sounds very ‘Elris’ if that makes sense? I will definitely be following along with them granted they are let out of the basement. Would enjoy another cute concept from them

Favorite Songs:

You and I

POW POW (this is my favorite MV as well)

Like I Do

Least Favorite

Intro (on the ‘Jackpot’ EP)

Member that catches my eye

Bella (jackpot hair just too iconic)

NATURE

I actually don’t know much about Nature girlies but they all have gorgeous voices. Like literally perfect for ballads (which must be why they have quite a few lol) there’s one blemish on their discography imo like I genuinely couldn’t finish listening to the song because it was so awful. One song is no big deal tho because they certainly made up for it with the rest of their music. I kinda wish they were more solid with visual concepts for their albums. Their single album ‘Nature World : Code M’ feels very Nature to me in visuals and music and I love that sort of concept. Idk maybe I’m just not good at spotting and naming concepts lol.

Favorite songs

Allegro Cantabile

A Little Star

Drinkin’

Least Favorite

MORMOR

Member that catches my eye

Saebom

GWSN

I LOVE THEM!!! I’ve been following them since Pinky Star. I love magical concepts like these. Cute(ish) magical concepts are always a plus as well as I am a huge fan of cute concepts. Also their music videos are so good as well. I’m really glad they recently had this comeback because I was really worried disbandment was knocking on their door. Also I think they have some of the best B-sides out there, especially their ‘Park in the Night’ series I own all three albums in the series I love it so much.

Favorite songs

Recipe ~ for Simon

Puzzle Moon

YOLOWA

Literally the entire ‘The Other Side of the Moon’ EP

Least favorite

Red Sun (sorry 😔)

Member that catches my eye

Seokyoung

Yukika

Yes I know she isn’t a group but I love her so much. She needs to blow up in Korea soon for real like she’s never missed with any of her music. Especially Soul Lady like seriously it’s the perfect album to me I feel like nothing bad could happen to me while I listen to this album. Her voice is just so fucking perfect for City Pop and not only that she is so gorgeous. Especially her fit in Neon mv so gorgeous I love her so much.

Favorite songs:

Neon

What’re You Doing Tonight?

Yesterday

A Day for Love

No least favorite she’s perfect <3

Yukika 🥺❤️❤️

Honey Popcorn

Yess I love them I like their cute concept and their message wish we got more music from them tho because they’re basically disbanded as they’ve been inactive for a bit. Love the music they put out tho not much to say because I feel like they couldn’t do typical idol stuff because of the controversy but would be absolutely delighted if they released more music (especially with the cute concept)

Favorite Songs

Violet

Bibidi Babidi Boo

Pretty Lie

Least Favorite

De-Aeseohsta

Member that catches my eye

Yua

( no good honey popcorn gif so enjoy yves break 😌)

SATURDAY

Saturslay cutie girls I love their concept but I hope they can have a chance to really show off more of their strengths more. I do love them a lot I was a huge fan of MMook JJi Bba when it came out and I think I will keep supporting them! Love them doing OSTs booked and busy queens

Favorite songs

MMook JJi Bba

Only You

BByong

Least favorite

In Your Eyes

Member that catches my eye

Sion (former member)

From_is9

Another group I am a big fan of. They don’t really seem that nugu to me but they kind are 😭 I don’t really see people talking about them that much. Nugu but not to the extent of like Nature. They have so many good songs like I haven’t heard a song from them I didn’t like especially their newest comeback I really thought it would shoot them more into mainstream 😰 anyway love them and I want them to succeed so bad

Favorite Songs

We Go

Dkdk

Coloring

Least favorite song

Dancing Queen

Member that stands out to me

Hayoung

Cherry Bullet

Another group I’ve been following for a while!! I honestly didn’t realize they were nugu for a while 😭😭 they’re so good and have a such a cool concept I think they could be HUGE inside and outside of South Korea. They have really good B-sides too I love them I can’t wait for them to take off (if they release another song as good as ‘Love so Sweet’) I’m sure they will

Favorite songs

Ping Pong

Love so Sweet

Hands Up

Least favorite song

Keep Your Head Up

Member that stands out to me

May

Woo!Ah!

I have mostly mixed feelings about these girlies, feel like the nugu version of ITZY, where as in every song sounds like a car accident but I love it. I don’t particularly care for their newest release but I’ll still stream 🙇‍♀️. Also I’m a little surprised they didn’t get more attention after one of their songs got popular on tiktok but what can you do! Hopefully they can get a bit more attention and release another bada bada bing bada boom type song lol

Favorite songs

Round & Round

Woo!ah!

Bad Girl

Least favorite song

Purple

Member that stands out to me

Sora

Purple Kiss

Omg I was so absolutely obsessed with their pre-debut songs I love their aesthetic. Plus all such good vocalists like girlies go crazy!! And the fucking teaser for ‘Crown’??? So good I was hyped forever!! I’m really excited to see more of these girls I think they could be huge

Favorite songs

Can We Talk Again

My Heart Skip a Beat

Hello

Least favorite song

Ponzona (sorry 😔)

Member that stands out to me

Dosie (and also Swan)

[aeneozen]

hii i'm the anon who asked about wjsn, loona etc. and here are my recs!!

wjsn has a space, cosmic, sci fi type concept (their name is literally cosmic girls) and the songs that show that best would be Dreams Come True, You Got and Secret. i also strongly suggest Luckitty Cat (the production is INSANEEE and exy is a crazy good rapper) if you enjoy campy crayon pop orange caramel type music, check out HMPH by their subunit Chocome!

now for Loona.. well, for context, loona has 12 members and 3 subunits (1/3 - 4 members, 1 member with no subunit, odd eye circle - 3 members, yyxy- 4 members). each member also has their own solo

the best solos are, in my opinion: around you, egoist, heart attack, eclipse, new

heart attack has a cute mv with a sapphic love story!! and new's mv also has sapphic themes. yeojin's solo, kiss later, is a cute & catchy song that surprinsingly has lyrics about consent and boundaries

1/3 has ballad music that reminds me of a romance anime opening. my recs would be love & live and sonatine.

odd eye circle has an unmatched discography, it has yet to be bested in ALL of kpop. they have this dreampop, d&b, nostalgic sound to them, every song is a masterpiece. i suggest love letter, girl front, loonatic, uncover, sweet crazy love, and puzzle

yyxy is the last subunit, and i would suggest their title track love4eva and their bside frozen, rosy, d-1

some ot12 songs: hula hoop, hi high (both electrifying and unforgettable) the entirety of # album, colours, where you at, heat, satellite

sorry, i get really passionate about loona lol

as for fromis: if you liked odd eye circle, you will like glass shoes. glass shoes is just incredible. we go sounds like an h&m commercial in the best way possible (feel good too). fun is, well, fun! and love bomb is just insane. it's too good (and it reminds me of klee ^_^)

also you did say you would like more music to listen to, so if you don't mind.. i'll add a few more

yubin - lady. just wow. perfume and game over too (game over is more chill than thise other 2 tho lol

yukika - insomnia and neon. city pop queen!

youha - abittipsy and island. she is such an underrated soloist

you've probably listened to sunmi, but incase you haven't... noir, siren and tail. that's all you need to know.

9muses, the most criminally underrated 2nd gen gg- figaro and ticket. they have a golden discography (more 2nd gen songs, BBB by dalshabet and love options by bestie)

and from gwsn - melting point, starry night, heavy clouds but no rain, tweaks

i know this is super long, so i apologize for that. but if you like any of them, please respond and lmk! i'm very curious to see what you enjoyed

NO ANON youre so hot for sending all these it was a whole essay on kpop AKAHAKA but i appreciate it so much and its so nice to see people getting excited over what they love <3

okay for wjsn i thinm my favorite is secret especially the start with the music and beats and the mv + chorus was all really cool !!!!

LOONA OKAY SO i really liked heart attack its so good imo kiss later is pretty good too IT WAS SO CUTE and i think it trended on tiktok or smt right ?? and if i had to choose a subunit i would pick yyxy and their d-1 song is pretty cool too but honestly i feel like im not really into those calm vibe songs if that makes sense i prefer the noisy chaotic types but its refreshing to listen to calm songs once in a while heart attack is going into my playlist that shit is so good

fromis … im gonna be biased but if herin debuted with them i wouldve stanned but their songs are pretty good tho !!!! WE GO AND LOVE BOMB IS SO GOOD ?? WTF it does have that klee vibe

OKAY FOR THE ONES THAT YOUVE LISTED THAT ARE NOT GROUPS I LOVE YOUHA’S SONGS OMG IM- GONNA CHECK OUT HER OTHER SONGS HOLYSHIT THEYRE SO GOOD

but thanks again anon hehe (///▽///) i had fun listening to them and im still speechless over youha ;-; RECOMMEND ME MORE IF YOU WANT TO OKAY it doesnt have to be kpop anything is fine !!!!!

[icy-hxt]

i saw you used to be an army, is there any other kpop group you like or were you just a bangtan fan?

I always listened to a bunch of groups casually, so I like an enormous amount of music and there's no way for me to list here every single one of the groups that I listen or used to, but I can tell you my favs

currently (read: for the last four years) my absolute favorite group is LOONA, I think that they bring something new to the industry, and even tho I'm not really into the super badass girl crush vibe that they are going for their last korean comebacks, their old stuff have this beautiful dreamy sound and their current b-sides still almost always slaps and their japanese debut was amazing

I also really love SHINee, they were the first boygroup that I fell in love with, all five of them are so talented it hurts, their discography is full of bops, and I always loved how they are not afraid to try new things, their solo careers are also incredibly support kibum new album coming out in five days

my forever favorite girlgroup is SNSD, the legends, the queens, the icons, they are perfect, their discography is awesome, not a single bad song, they could step on me and I would thank them

I also really like NCT, but like with LOONA, I'm not into most of their super noisy title tracks, but their b-sides are gems and ❤💕yuta💕❤

to be honest I like pretty much every SM artist, lee sooman please give me a reward,

as for soloists I really love Jaejoong, he was my first bias ever, and besides being the prettiest man to ever set foot on earth, his discography has a vibe that is hard to find in kpop and that I appreciate a lot

Yukika is someone that I got to know this year and man this woman only releases good songs, she sings mostly city pops and her sound feels really nostalgic to me, I always feel happy listening to her

and IU, my angel, she's perfect, doesn't have a single bad song, I could only listen to her for the rest of my life and still never be tired

lastly but certainly not least I need to talk about my ult WOODZ (or maybe you know him as Seungyoun or Luizy), I got to know him because he's a member of the group that is forever in hiatus UNIQ *cries*, (he was also a member of X1 that already disbanded because mnet fucking sucks) and honestly he's the most talented man I ever saw in my life, he can dance, he can sing, he can rap, he can compose, he can produce, his personality is great and his songs are bangers, from his slow songs, to his happy songs to his ✨aesthetic✨ songs to his badass rap tracks, he's literally the full package and he deserves better so you should give him a chance

[pomegranitestate]

47??

yukika’s neon!! my city pop queen.... 

[funfactory-moved]

i've been obsessed with yukika's debut i even bought the album (it's really pretty and the lyric book is designed to be a cute little passport 😔💌) i can't wait to hear what the releases next 💞 our city pop queen

wait that sounds so cute!!! i haven’t heard many of her songs (i’ve heard her titles and a bside called pit-a-pet which is my fave yukika song) so so u have recommendations????

[monstress]

                       Favorite 2020 Korean Album Releases

disclaimer: hey yall, there were a lot of great music this year and i simply cannot choose only nine so i added a cutting room floor category just for albums that could’ve make it during weaker years and are still worth checking out. album titles will be linked to spotify. enjoy, happy holidays and have a safe happy new year!

penten - mélodie bourgeois, mélodie proletariat

one of my fave alt-rock albums of the year! the vocalist has such a wonderfully rich voice and carries the songs with such panache. the tracks are soaring, hopeful, and has a large soundscape. think: oasis champagne supernova. ‘trapezoid’ and ‘fade away’ are my choice tracks from this album.

uza - banality of evil

the last thing i expected from half of the bubbly uza&shane duo is a dark narrative 80s electronic full length album. the percussion drags you under its depth, the synth melody is absolutely haunting, and uza’s delivery has palpable spite. ‘faust’ and ‘personality type 2′ are my faves. it’s tense, it’s aggressive, and it’s so good.

samuel seo - unity ii

me @ myself putting another album of his on a year end list: hoe, not again!

me: ...............😏

baek yerin - tellusboutyourself

i still have her 2019 releases on constant repeat that when she announced a new release, i thought there’s no way it’s gonna be a full album. welp. a departure from the typical singer-songwriter instruments of guitar/piano, this album draws inspiration from british garage and deep house. while her clearer singing style is opt out for more mumbling delivery (perhaps a way to evoke more casual late night talks after a few drinks), yerin’s lyrical talent is much sharper, especially in tracks like Ms. Delicate. this is gonna be a comfort album in the future for all the girlies and theydies.

soul lady - yukika

city pop perfection. what are you DOING if you haven’t listened to this album. for those of you have not, i’m giving you explicit permission to close this browser and open your preferred streaming platform and listen to this album. do it right now!

ok for those who have and agree that this is album of the year, do i need to elaborate anymore to you? for an album with 12 tracks, it manages to not overstay its welcome by interspersing slower tracks between the traditionally upbeat city pop while making each track stand out on its own. the 2:21 mark in ‘Yesterday’ is THE best usage of a pause this year.

cherry coke - every flower you gave me

this is quickly becoming a r&b house staple in my playlist with absolutely no skips. cherry coke kept it fresh with each new track: from deep house to 90s r&b ballad, this album slices and dices between genres while cherry coke’s nasal delivery stays airy and nonchalant, like she’s above it all.

ahn dayoung - antihero

from uza’s banality of evil to stella jang’s smash single ‘villain’, this has been a great year for female artists indulging in being a little sinister, as a treat. a rock album arranged by both ahn dayoung and producer glowingdog, the lyrics are surreal and have an inclination to the imagery of hands (my fave type!), especially in the track ‘Fingerprint’. the mv for ‘usual person’ is also one of the best art pieces i’ve seen this year.

e sens - marigold tapes

there are only four tracks but this album is k-hip hop at its finest. flow, beat, production are immaculate. there are no notes from me, director. keep doing your thing, e sens!

wave to earth - wave 0.01

this album’s beachside rolling rock accompanied with a little bossa nova has one of the clearest production i’ve heard all year. the tracks are romantic, feel-good, and has amazing build-up. ‘bonfire’ and ‘purple lake’ are jams. if you love this, do check out their second installment ‘summer flows 0.02′ for something even mellower.

 Cutting Room Floor:

BOA’s better - the queen of kpop is back with one of the best kpop releases of the year cementing her legacy as THAT BITCH. honey & diamonds is the best kpop b-side cut of 2020.

lydia lee’s the house that i live in - a r&b jazz mini that is *chef kiss*

coremagazine’s titbit - cool ass rock album

jackingcong’s dress code - highly underrated r&b album

oohyo’s silence - when oohyo said “put an end to all of this” in the track ‘2020′? i felt that. also the 0:30 mark in ‘quite night’ is the second-best use of a pause this year.

onthedal’s ℃ dal - crystal clear production, some solid bops in this one.

code kunst’s people - a mammoth of a studio production. pick and choose your fave tracks from this album.

cosmic boy’s love in summer - an entire album collab with george??? u got me!

aseul’s slow dance - another beautiful electronic album with her signature ethereal soft voice

ye ram’s nature - a solid folk album. check it out if you like a similar styling to kim sawol

mt. fred’s escape from the cage - fun tracks with great direction

Honoroble Mentions: so!yoon! & phum viphurit’s wings, cifika’s HANA, se so neon’s nan chun, sogumm & oh hyuk’s yayou hoi, stray kids’ back door, YELLA’s maybecolorful, summer soul’s junkfood, eunoo’s 2020 singles especially door man, jack’s 2020 singles especially BOSH, ovcoco’s 2020 singles