December 2024 Wrap Up: 'Tis the Season

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삼가 고인의 명복을 빕니다.

It feels very weird to be in a little bit more of a "celebratory" tone given what's happened this month, and I'm caught between wanting normalcy and respecting my pattern, and wanting to be reverent. Which is part of why the posts slowed down a lot toward at the end there.

Still! There were things to celebrate, like a few debuts! NINE.i had their Japanese debut! I can't believe they turn three next March! I only covered one other debut, for Irubin, formerly of 1TEAM. Debuts, I didn't cover include Nakwon, T:EV, Dáff, Wish (formerly of ViV), A20 MAY (a Chinese girl group, but you may have an interest there as well), Lee Gwangseok (a former Build Up contestant), and KYSB. Most of these debuts were for soloists; only two were for groups. Although finding out that ViV is one of the first groups to disband that debuted this year is also rather disheartening. But, I also wish her luck as a soloist.

There weren't as many releases that I knew about ahead of their release as most of the releases this month I found out after the fact, and I'm only including the ones that I knew about before.

  • BANG&JUNG&YOO&MOON (B.A.P): I had this album pre-ordered quickly. I'm still waiting on it, but that's the price of pre-ordering. Also, I've decided I really like them and am impatiently waiting for Zelo to be discharged so the whole group can get back together
  • BTOB: Though I didn't know when exactly it would be released, it was going to happen. The healers have returned when they were most needed. The exact timing was...unfortunate, though
  • Bing Crosby/V (BTS): I swear I listen to more that groups that start with a b, but this is also one of my all-time favorite Christmas songs, and I adore V's voice
  • A.C.E: Any excuse to listen to their voices, I will take and run with it. And I always hope the song will show off their voices well
  • Treasure: I'm very glad YG has taken them from where they'd been put out to pasture (this is the daily reminder, or perhaps reveal of information, that my great-grandfather broke horses for a living and that is one of the reasons why I have and use a lot of ranching/farming idioms; in this case, it's a metaphor similar to "put in the basement", but less restrictive in connotation) and that we get a taste of what they'll be doing in 2025
  • The Boyz: The end of contracts stresses me out, regardless of the group, for obvious reasons, but I'm glad that they already have a new home and also glad that they got a farewell song
  • fromis_9: For the same reason, I was stressed about fromis_9, but am grateful that they also got a farewell song. Now, to wait to see if they end up somewhere, which I am very much hoping for

I got through four Greatest Hits posts this month: one first gen male soloist, two second gen girl groups, and one third gen boy group. So I'm pleased with the range and with the first of the submission form posts. 

By the time this comes out, I'll have added a fourth Battle of the B-Sides post, which will be included in this one despite the timing being mixed between Dec 2024 and Jan 2025. That makes it a first gen girl group, two third gen boy groups, and a fourth gen girl group. Again, the range is good across generations, although they all seem to have been pretty similarly toned.

  • fromis_9 "FLY HIGH": a duo from two of the members where they showed off their voices and their producing skills with a song that has obvious OST potential
  • B.A.P "Carnival": Much cheer! Much energy! Much finale-of-a-musical vibes! Also, the amount that they obviously love the song themselves
  • IN2IT "Young & Dumb": simultaneously soft and crisp, featuring more than enough harmonizing and ad-libs to satisfy vocal enthusiasts
  • Fin.K.L "To My Boyfriend": I'm finally getting to do an OG song! 

Feel free to check the Monthly Review Page for any of the other releases for this month. There will likely be a couple more added after this post is released.

Top Releases of the Month:

  • Stray Kids "Walkin On Water": You know what? This one has grown on me. I actually listened to this song the most out of all other songs this month by quite a lot, which wasn't what I was expecting, but I'm not actually displeased by this fact. The solo songs from the album are also incredible, and despite the fact that rap is not my preferred style or genre, Changbin's Ultra is a complete masterpiece. I kind of want someone to recommend this one as a BBS post so that I have an excuse to yap about how flipping incredible it is.
  • Forestella "And spring": Even though the bass maknae is still in the military, they still have such a full sound even with just the three of them. It's beautiful. It's peaceful. I'm honestly not surprised by this given how much I love this group in general. I have nothing else to say other than I simply want to bask.
  • Bing Crosby/V (BTS) "White Christmas": These two sound so good together, I actually feel the urge to give a prayer of thanks for their voices and this collaboration every time I listen to this song. Their harmonizing. The low timbres. And the music video! You guys! This is practically a perfect song. I think it's actually supplanted my love for the original, because I found myself disappointed every time I heard that version.
  • A.C.E "The Last Regret": In true A.C.E form, we got both the Korean original and an English version to match. The whole group is singing. And if you're noticing that a lot of these are the same genre or style, well, I just really enjoy singing. I always have. It comes out a lot, especially during this month, but the vocal layering during this song is simply incredible. I'm so impressed when they pull out songs like this.
  • BTOB "Hi Beautiful": This came out at the end of the month, but had it been released earlier, it probably would have had a chance to fight with Stray Kids for the top position. Easily. BTOB are the healers of K-Pop, and you can never have too many places to rest and be comforted. And with when it was released, with promotions and related content postponed, I really appreciate the gift and the little I've been seeing of it, I think the sentiment is echoed a little. Also, Peniel sings! It's absolutely precious!
  • BANG&JUNG&YOO&MOON (B.A.P) "Christmas With You": Slather me with jelly and slap me on a piece of bread. This song scratches the "Christmas jazz" itch that I've been having since the beginning of the month. White Christmas is incredible and does well for that as well, but I just want to bask in their beautiful, amazing, gorgeous voices that have spots of some absolutely amazing harmonizing. And I absolutely love the music video. It makes me want to cry a little bit when I listen to it. 
  • Onestar "A Song For You": This wasn't on my 2024 Bingo Card, but holy guacamole, Batman! There are few songs that have come out since I started this that have been so unbelievably cinematic. It's actually baffling how incredible this song is. And his voice! Oh, he's amazing.
  • L5ST "Free Fall": I think almost every song on this list was a ballad this time around, which makes sense because ballads are a good winter genre. Free Fall is a little bit faster than the standard ballad, but every time I listen to any of the handful of songs they're released so far, I'm reminded so much of BTOB that a thrill goes down my back at the addition of a potential healer group. The rapping in the song even reminds me a little of Ilhoon, so there's that as well. I also won't stop shouting about them because people should know who they are and at least try them on for size. They're incredible.

    Honorable Mentions:

    • Seventeen's "Monster": This was one of the biggest surprises in my top listens of the month. This beat out all of the Christmas songs to come in second behind Walkin on Water. I must have listened to it at work, because I don't remember listening to it enough times this month to allow this, unless I had it on repeat at work. Also, it's one of my favorite Seventeen songs, and the sole reason I started listening to the hip hop unit because of how incredible it is and how much I love the song.
    • Kim Jonghyeon (NU'EST) "I'm so dirty, How can I love you": Another surprise contender because I couldn't tell you when I was listening to this one It's not a bad-day-at-work song. But it's easily my favorite song that was released this year. JR wanted the song on his debut album but he didn't think his voice was good enough for it, so he took vocal lessons so as not to disappoint the fans. And JR has that delicious rapper rasp to his singing voice that makes me want to roll in it. I'm so proud of his hard work. And I'm including the performance video for his concert that was the first time I ever stayed up to watch a concert because my sweaty JR deserves to be seen during the performance, and I'm not entirely sure that's all sweat on his face.
    • The KingDom's "COUP D'ETAT": This one I know was the result of a bad day at work, but it's incredible anyway, and the music video is phenomenal. The lore! The references to their other songs! That fierce, angry beat that makes me feel better about the fact that I can't lose my temper at work! But their voices are still very, very good even if it's this style of song. "Rise up, you better run, run, run". It's probably my third favorite of the title tracks, but if I wanted to have a coup, this would be one of the anthems. "It's time to dirty up your halo."
    • Stray Kids "Christmas EveL": I'm not sure about how much explanation this song needs. I actually listen to it all year long, because it is an incredibly catchy song, but during The Season it actually belongs to? You bet your top dollar that I'm going to listen to it a lot. I love this song. The amount of times I just start singing "I can feel the evil coming but Felix never bad" with no warning and very, very little prompting is both alarming and understandable.
    • NCT U's "Misfit": I'm sure you can take a guess about why this is on here. The songs I listen to are pretty clearly delineated between the songs I listen to at work to combat the screaming in my head from who I get to deal with and the songs I listen to on my own time and for my own pleasure. Even the English just gets filtered out when I listen to it but it's very soothing as an outward expression of the internal screaming. Let's go!


    And because this is December and part of my wrap up, the Christmas Caroling 2024 Edition can be found here.

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