Just A Little Fangirl Love

Release date: 2025 June 18 Album tracklist: I'M SO SORRY, BUT I LOVE YOU ; if i ain't got you; CLOVER; BE There Album runtime: 13 minutes  This group has the first North Korean to debut as an idol! His name is Hakseong, he was a finalist on MakeMate1 (which I watched and was sad he didn't debut in NouerA , but couldn't be happier that he gets to debut now), and he has a gorgeous voice, you guys. And, best part, is that the whole lot are full adults except for the maknae, who turned seventeen less than a week ago, so the group passes both of my criteria. I actually would have been really sad if one of the two didn't pass because I fell so far head over heels for one of the b-sides. I'll talk about them later. Because I'm giving this group a little special attention. I'm rooting so hard for this group.  That guitar is loud and in front, very much a seventies sound. Actually I'm reminded of one of the songs from Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed soundtr...

Release date: 2025 June 9 Album tracklist: Dear , Be Happy, #QWER, OVERDRIVE, D-Day, Yours Sincerely Album runtime: 16  minutes  That is a Fall Out Boy level of album title. I like it. I also hope that's a literal translation from the Korean title because very little would bring me more joy right now. QWER is a fantastic band, and, actually, my first introduction to them as it were was from someone on Instagram talking about what Koreans were listening to and QWER was on that list. And then I started doing this and got to review and understood the hype. This track is surprisingly understated. It's got a lot of quieter spots, and even when the instrumentals are loud, they aren't at a full, knock-you-down blast. They just sound louder because of the quiet, and that's what we call effective sound design. I'm not fully enamored by the instrumental track, but I also suspect that will change within a month or so. I like it. Don't get me wrong. But even though I'm ...

Release date: 2025 April 9 Album tracklist: Mess , Mess - Instrumental Album runtime: 5 minutes  Do I have to do the title track for his new mini album? Yes. Will I get to it soon? Yes, because Episode  has been getting wins on music shows! Yay! I'm slowly getting my backlog worked on, and I wanted to do this one. However, I'm deeply disappointed by the runtime. I mean, look at that. But this is Kang Daniel, and I've come to realize how good his voice is.  There's something very old about the instrumental track. I can't decide if it's the plink of the high notes on the piano or if it's from the slightly staticky overlay to most of the song, or maybe it's both, as both of those elements are found in music from the thirties. Although, to be fair, the one isn't necessarily on purpose but rather from the degradation of the recordings. The rest of the instrumentals aren't from the thirties. We've got the underwater echo that I love so much, but it...

Release date: 2025 May 24 Album tracklist: JUMP OFF, DREAMING , MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS, HYSTERIA 444, ONLY U Album runtime: 16  minutes  Yes, the title of the debut album for the brand-new rock band duo is "Debut". I chuckled about it. I also had a bit of a difficult time finding anything about this duo. I had to go into the song credits to get names, and then I had to hunt them down individually. It turns out that the duo consists of E Hyuk, who originally debuted in 2003 with the band Open Head but didn't hit his stride until 2005 with Norazo, and Jungmo, not to be confused with the Cravity member and who debuted in 2004 in the band TRAX or TraxX. So you get information I didn't have when I started writing the review, but it should give you some expectations for the song. And there's only one song that isn't over three minutes, and it's still closer to three minutes than some recent title tracks. So I'm all about this. It was a struggle to focus down...

Release date: 2025 June 19 Album tracklist:  at last , a millisecond, Movie, Weightless, Break Away Album runtime: 15  minutes  Sungjae's first mini album since his enlistment five years ago has finally dropped. It's a short one, but at least (pun only a little intended) the majority of the songs are over three minutes. I'm a little surprised he didn't put LIE onto this to make it at least a six-song mini album, but it's fine. If he does promotions, which I assume he will, I'm anticipating his group to be very excited if promotions for BE SOMEBODY  are any indication.  It's been a hot minute since I've been able to say that a song's instrumental is clearly designed to highlight and support vocals. But listening to that first verse, that's exactly what's going on. Of course, then we go to a soft rock ballad from the full ballad it starts off as. It's a very nice progression of sound, logical even. I wouldn't necessarily call it a full...

Release date: 2025 June 12 Album track list: Tell Me Why Album runtime: 2 mi nutes  These guys are a pretty recent debut . But I'm super into supporting this group in general that I'm more than happy to recap. All three of them are experienced idols, two of which debuted back in 2012 in the group C-Clown. So they're full adults with some actual maturity to their voices. I don't know who else besides me really likes to hear the more mature voices, but I'm super into it, even if all three of them are younger than me. I don't like the runtime, though. That's not what I'm here for. So at some point in my life since I started paying attention to movie soundtracks. there was a movie trend where songs like this were always featured. And because time is a soup, I can't be positive with it, but I think Spy Kids may have been one of them. I can't recall any specific song from that movie, nor do I remember when it came out, so this is possibly the least hel...

Release date: 2025 June 17 Album tracklist: It's Okay, Glue stick (Feat Hoody), Shall We Dance, You Call My Name, Scenario, Interlunar , Mine (Feat. Kirin), Set Me Free (Feat. Gaeko), Unconditional, Sweet Like - Interlunar Version Album runtime: 29  minutes  A lot of the GOT7 members have been pretty active lately, which is absolutely delightful. They've released a group album and now they're back to solo until their next group release. I'm a bit disappointed by the runtime, but to be fair to it, most of them are three minutes or close, and there are only two songs that round to two minutes.  I was pretty sure that this was standard trap, but there was a delightful energy shift in the middle that caught my attention in a good way. Throbbing bass makes up the majority of hte song, but that section where we don't get it gives the song such a necessary texture. Without it, the song would be on the repetitive side of things, dully stimulating but somewhat monotonous. Bu...

Release date: 2025 June 18 Album tracklist:  어쩌면 Album runtime: 4  minutes  NINE.i have released new Korean music! I couldn't be more excited, even though this does come at a bittersweet moment, and it's really kind of a double whammy for me. First, my bias Jewon, enlisted the day before this dropped. Which I knew was going to happen because that's just what my life is now because of the number of boy groups I listen to and also his age and the non-popularity of the group (which deeply saddens me because their entire discography is incredible). Secondly, the sweetheart Seowon, who was the first one I knew by name, face, and behavior because of his time on Boys' Planet back in 2023, has left the group and the company and is also participating on Boys' Planet II. Please support my dude. He made it almost the end on the first one, the entirety of ZEROBASEONE seems to love him, and he got adopted by my man, Hui of Pentagon. So even though it's a bundle of very mixed...

Release date: 2025 June 9 Album tracklist: Girls Will Be Girls , Kiss & Tell, Locked N Loaded, Promise, Walk Album runtime: 14  minutes  I'm starting to get really excited about ITZY having new releases, which is the effect GOLD has had on me. Might need to add them to my list of girl groups I actively listen to, which isn't a long list, but I am always on the lookout for more to add. There's only one song on the album that's longer than three minutes, which I don't like, and one that's under two-and-a-half, which I also really don't like. So the runtime? I want more🎶. (The use of emoji is because there's no other way to indicate that I'm referencing a song here. I'm still a real person.) Ooh, the song has a section designed for audience participation clapping. Nice. Love that. We've got an EDM dance break as well, so sign me up for that too. I love EDM dance breaks. I'm really trying to ignore the lyrics and vocals, but I'm pret...

Release date: 2025 June 17 Album track list: ICY BABY Album runtime: 3 mi nutes  My girl, Moonbyul! I didn't actually see that this was being released until a few days before it was, and then finding out it's a pre-release caused all the emotions. I fear I still haven't actually moved on from Is This Love? , so I'm worried about my acceptance of the new album. But, you know what? It's good for me to have to accept a new song, and if MAMAMOO isn't releasing new music as a group right now, then I'll be looking forward to their new music as soloists. We've got some retro video game vibes to the instrumental, which is interesting to be hearing. I like the vibes. I just wish the different sections were a little more strongly distinct. With the exception of the intro and the first verse immediately following it, the skittering beat goes through the entire song and kind of takes over the instrumental track Even in parts where he rest of it settles into somethin...

Release date: 2025 May 19 Album tracklist: Chocolate , Elevator , Lemonade, Love Comes Back, No Problem, Black Dreams, Late Night Calls Album runtime: 20  minutes  Yes, I'm finally getting to this one. Yes, I'm doing the pre-release instead of the title track. But this has been sitting in my drafts for ages and it's finally bothered me enough to do it. I would however like to report that I have about half the members of EXO that I can identify by face and name. My goal is to get all of them down before Sehun is discharged.   The song is remarkably consisten, instrumentals-wise. It's so steady that even when the science fiction warbling is occasionally popping in, it's unsurprising, as though that was the only option available to the song. Even when the vocals above are doing fairly interesting things, the instrumentals are reliably solid. That does mean that the song has fewer variations than I like to see, even with the three minute runtime, but the style is such t...

Release date: 2025 June 9 Album track list: Wake From The Dark, Memory , Be My Light, First Step, Just Friends, Luminous, Still, Sonnet, Sand Box, Eternity Album runtime: 37 mi nutes  Doyoung! The last thing I reviewed with him was, I believe, a submission for Perfume , which was an absolute delight. I know none of us want to think about it, but he is going to have to enlist this year. The sooner they go, the sooner they come back. Although it's possible that both Doyoung and Jaehyun will be discharged before Jungwoo enlists, so I don't know if that's something to look forward to or not for the NCTzens, but it is a possibility. In other news, I'm in love with the album runtime. That's almost four minutes per song. You go, Doyoung. You go, dude. Memory  has a delightful ebb and flow to it with the energy levels alternating between the softer, almost ballad-y soothe and the more energetic rock bursts with the only sometimes gentle guitar tying the two parts together. ...

   I fully count Seventeen TV (AKA the green prison) as a survival show sort of, which makes every win this week from a group that was in a survival show. Exciting? Absolutely. Two first wins for songs this week as well, so that's super exciting as well. Lots to celebrate, you know. For the After School Club re-run as they're still on hiatus, it's 2014 MBLAQ being all manly, with Eric and Kevin as the hosts. I really enjoyed getting to know the group a little bit considering I've done both a BBS post as well as a GH post on them. Show Champion: Seventeen "Thunder" MCountdown: Enhypen "Bad Desire (With or Without You)" Music Bank: Seventeen "Thunder" Show! Music Core: Enhypen  "Bad Desire (With or Without You)" Inkigayo: Enhypen  "Bad Desire (With or Without You)" ASC Performance: 20140401 MBLAQ "Be A Man" The Show: izna "Beep"

Release date: 2025 June 12 Album tracklist: Click Clack, Only One Album runtime: 6  minutes  I actually wrote the other sections of the review first and am now typing it up. I didn't initially see a birth year for the maknae, so I put this on Underage Protocol just to be safe considering the age of the second youngest and their 2024 debut date. Turns out, I needn't have done so. Renewed sniffing around has revealed a birthday in February of 2007, which makes him eighteen right now, so we are good to go and I can move this song out of the playlist it's in and into the proper playlists. Spoilers. This is a genuinely bright and cheerful song. There isn't a whole lot of strong and distinct variation despite the three minute runtime, which is a little bit of a disapppointment, but the song does have a tonally distinct section. I'm not going to grumble too much over the song, although there isn't a whole lot of things that make me a little grumpy. To be fair to the le...

Release date: 2025 June 2 Album tracklist: Lady Marmalade Album runtime: 4  minutes  This will not be an overly long review as this is a cover. But after having discovered CREZL, I'm not about to pass up an opportunity to share how amazing their voices are. If I can convince even one more person to start paying attention to them, that will be good enough for me.  The instrumental of the track is somethow less interesting than the vocals, even though the instrumentals are richly textured by big guitar riffs, and the whole thing feels like jazz, but if the jazz was actually rock, which are two of my preferred genres to have as the underpinning for the song. My top favorite genre is unlikely to show up with any real representation, but Jin did manage it a little. He came close. The song has an intro with a single instrument, and it doesn't sound out of place because the intro still feels like the same genre as the rest of the song, which is something that I appreciate. Howev...

Release date: 2025 May 29 Album tracklist: Radar  Album runtime: 3  minutes  Congrats on your solo debut! This guy is incredible. Also, fun fact, I was rewatching Produce 101 S2 a couple of months ago because I wanted to see who else I recognized other than my NU'EST boys and I wanted to actually pay attention to the future members of Wanna One and who did I see? This dude. I may have squeaked in surprise, and after his performance on R oad to Kingdom: Ace of Ace , I think he's got a lot of potential as a soloist. I get one of my favorite sound effects! The echoey underwater breathing! It's definitely because of my love of FFX, but I do love it when that sound shows up in songs. Radar actually has a lot of interesting things going on in the instrumentals because we also get something like a telephone ringing to join the driving bass and the occasional science fiction warbles. It's also got a substantial section where the bass, which is basically the entirety of the ins...

Release date: 2025 June 9 Album tracklist: Beep, Beep - Japan Edition Album runtime: 5  minutes  I'm hoping this gets added to a later album, both versions actually, but it's an interesting strategy to bundle their Japanese debut with their new Korean single. Is it their Japanese debut proper? I don't know. What I do know is that I'm actually really excited for this. I'm kind of annoyed about the runtime because I'm not sure what the actual point is to having a single that is so far from being six minutes long that Spotify is rounding down for it. I'm sure you're all tired of hearing it. I'm tired of having to say it. But I will continue to point it out in the hopes that enough people realize how much of a problem this is and speak up about it.  If I had to describe the instrumentals in two words, they'd be "fairy dubstep." Which is a weird combination of words to use, but I really can't think of any words that describe the vibe of ...

  Almost a clean sweep for Seventeen. They're just missing out on The Show  now for this comeback. I actually like that N. Flying got that instead, because as proud as I am of the Carats for coming out for Seventeen like that, I also like the variation. So much DK in the thumbnails. Since After School Club is still on hiatus, it's also time for the weekly rerun. It turns out that if you go back far enough on After School Club, you run into a theme song. This week's rerun if episode 005 from all the way back in 2012 with the girl group, 9MUSES. I didn't know a whole lot about this group if I'm going to be honest, but I actually kind of like this song. And 9MUSES were such a tall group! They were apparently the girl version of SF9 (gorgeous and tall). There was also a guest appearance, sort of, by B1A4 with another song I was delighted to learn about and a music video that is exactly as I'd expect from this era. Show Champion: Seventeen "Thunder" MCountd...

Release date: 2025 May 28 Album tracklist: Songbird (Korean Ver.), Everlasting , Rise Again, Love You Like That, Love In Memory, Still You, HAPPY ME!, Born To Be, Run Like This, Moebius, LOG, Stand By Me (Korean Ver.)  Album runtime: 39  minutes  I think this might be my first review for these guys, which is fun because I've got a few of their songs in my one beloved playlist because they just generally hit my brain right. 2015 debut and if you were looking to get into them, now would be the time as this is the first release with the entire group post-military.  Strings are here! That's it. I'm sold. Amazing song. One of my top releases for the month. It's a little funny that I'm so easily pleased, but I really am a simple Fangirl at heart. Good news is we don't just have the strings. We've got my favorite triumvirate as well, with the piano, guitar, and drums, which is kind of requisite for a band. I really like how the intro and outro mimic each other with...

Release date: 2025 June 5 Album tracklist: Flashover, Bad Desire (With or Without You) , Outside, Loose (Korean Ver.), Helium, Too Close, Bad Desire (With or Without You), Loose Album runtime: 21  minutes  Eight songs. Twenty-one minutes. I was actually tentatively hoping that HYBE was loosening the reins on the abysmal runtimes they've been making their groups and artists do, but this one clearly dashed those hopes. I doubt this will be the last time I comment on the runtime, but, for now, I do generally like Enhypen's sound and I do look forward to seeing what they have for us each time. I am a touch concerned about their possibly being overworked, but I think things have settled down a little on that front? Doubtful because once groups start getting overworked, it's difficult to get the companies to slow it down. But, the standard remains TS Entertainment. As long as the company is not like them, there's hope. This very much sounds like an Enhypen song. That bass is ...

Release date: 2025 May 28 Album tracklist: Sacrifice, 2 Months , Attitude, Good Luck Album runtime: 11 minutes  First subunit from my girls, Dreamcatcher, one of the active girl groups that I listen to! For the record, I am always on the lookout for other groups like them! I keep finding girl groups I really like, get all excited and then the excitement deflates because I read the "d" word. Sadness. But! I'm very excited for this first subunit from them! There is a hollow echoey quality to the instrumentals that in a different song would be delicate and fairylike. This is not that song. It's also got a pretty strong afrobeat with a decent amount of variation to keep my currently uncaffeinated brain focused on the instrumentals when this isn't exactly my favorite style of song, but that's okay. It's a little bit too disjointed for my taste but there is a lot of texture, which is something that I do appreciate. This is the kind of song where it could be quit...

Release date: 2025 June 13 Album tracklist: Killin' It Girl (feat. GloRilla) , Killin' It Girl (Solo Version) Album runtime: 4 minutes  Another day, another J-Hope single. I for one am hoping that he'll put all of these singles into a possible upcoming album so that they can all be in one place. It'll make things a lot easier to find, and I think the fans would very much appreciate having them consolidated. Or maybe that's just me with my love of things being orderly. Either way, I've heard good things about this song, and I'm sorry that it's lateish. I do however kind of really dislike that runtime, though. I'm quite annoyed. That is proper hip-hop. It's got a hood strong beat with higher city-energy beats over the top of the driving beat.  While it doesn't ever really give the song a chance to rest, the relentless drive of energy does a remarkable job of keeping the song going even when no one is rapping. The shifts to the instrumentals are...

Release date: 2025 June 13 Album tracklist: Lemon Drop , Masterpiece, Now this house ain't a home, Castle, Bridge : The Edge of Reality Album runtime: 14 minutes  The runtime. Also, sorry, everyone, for dropping off the face of the planet there for a bit. Had to get new glasses and it was this whole big thing. But, here we are finally with GOLDEN HOUR : Part.3. I have my writing snacks on hand. And I'm a little scared of that music video, but it's fine! Let's do this! The vibes of the instrumentals are Ice On My Teeth, without that glorious violin and a little more tropical leaning. The three title tracks of the trilogy are certainly related, even if they're flavored differently, which is pretty satisfying. The mellowness is deliberately controlled, not effortlessly smooth, but right now it's not something that I'd call predator-lying-in-wait. There aren't any dramatic bursts of energy; rather the energy shifts are in the other direction. It does make me...

  Well, well, well. Another week, another batch of wins. This week is another nearly clean-sweep, this time for the young group, RIIZE. Also, fun win for Jin, which makes it his second win (the first on M Countdown in 2022). All in all, I'm pleased. If the performances show up, then I'll make sure to add them. The After School Club re-run I present to you is fromis_9 from 2018. I hope you enjoy that one. I'm a little impatient for them to have their next comeback under their new company, but I'm waiting.  Show Champion: RIIZE "Fly Up" MCountdown: Jin (BTS) "Don't Say You Love Me" Music Bank: RIIZE "Fly Up" Show! Music Core: RIIZE "Fly Up" Inkigayo: RIIZE "Fly Up" ASC Performance: 20180613 fromis_9 "LOVE BOMB" : The Show: N/A

Release date: 2025 May 19 Album tracklist: Odyssey, Bag Bad Back , Ember to Solar , Fly Up , Show Me Love, Passage, Midnight Mirage, The End of the Day, Inside My Love, Another Life Album runtime: 29 minutes  I've been putting this off because I'm still so deeply angry with SM over their handling of the situation, and I don't think I'd be nearly this angry if they'd just dropped him from the group rather than the bait and switch they pulled. Just dropping him, that's what SM does. Fine. Whatever. But announcing his return and then almost immediately going "Just kidding!", it leaves a bad taste in my mouth and makes me feel so bad for the group and the fans, and him most of all. Anyway, this is their first full album, which normally would be something to celebrate. Whoo. Congrats. More enthusiasm for the wins though! I'm putting this review on Underage Protocol. I'm so annoyed by this song because it's so stinking good. The instrumentals are...

  This introduction is going to be a bit shorter because I need to ease myself back into this (and also I forgot to publish this on time...). This week was a pretty clean sweep, which was exciting for the group and the fans! Whoo! For the After School Club rerun, it's one from 2023! Mirae was very cute talking about how the entire group has bad eyesight, but they're generally a pretty fun group if this is any indication. I don't know a whole lot about the group, but from this? I could like them. Show Champion: tripleS "Are You Alive" MCountdown: BOYNEXTDOOR "I Feel Good" Music Bank: BOYNEXTDOOR "I Feel Good" Show! Music Core: BOYNEXTDOOR "I Feel Good" Inkigayo: BOYNEXTDOOR "I Feel Good" ASC Performance: 20230731  Mirae "JUMP!" (note: if you're looking for the MC Challenge, that can be found at 20:46 ) The Show: N/A

Release date: 2025 May 27 Album tracklist: Can I Love You, Can I Love You - inst. Album runtime: 7 minutes  I love this pair, and not just because they literally made me cry when I watched Peak Time because they performed Hello by NU'EST for their first round. Full-blown tears. I had to pause it while I recovered. I'm such a sap. Anywho, I'm pleased to be hearing from them again, because they need and deserve all the love and attention. They really do. I'd also really like to hear them live to gauge if they're as good as I think they are, but that's on a third list of goals based on the likeliness of that. I'm absolutely being spoiled right now. Guitar is the leading lady of the instrumentals, although the piano spends nearly as much time in the spotlight but it's not as loud about it if that's the correct word. The song is soft and gorgeous, with my favorite trio of instruments: guitar, piano, and strings. I'm genuinely really happy about the fa...

Release date: 2025 May 27 Album tracklist: Red Sneakers, Never Ending Story, October 4th, Last Scene (Feat. Wonstein), A Beautiful Person (Feat. Balming Tiger), Square's dream Album runtime: 22 minutes  I'm trying out something different with writing these because I actually have a tried and true method for my writing that I haven't been using for the last ten months or so. I write faster and more easily when I can handwrite things. Also, airplanes (as long as someone isn't wearing a cologne or a perfume that makes me nauseated) are an excellent time to write these. Apparently, I've never looked at IU's homepage on Spotify because I didn't realize how often she's worked with BTS or BTS members. Huh. That's pretty cool. I mean, I thought she was pretty cool before this, but I also  really just like it when there are collaborations of people I recognize. The runtime makes me very happy.  Wow, this is incredibly Disney-esque. I think I heard both "...