Just A Little Fangirl Love

Release date: 2026 August 03 Album tracklist: Surfin' Boy , Hot Girls Cold Vibe, Orchestra, Hula Hoop, Hawaii Album runtime: 15 minutes  Congrats on the win! I was trying to delay listening to this until I got around to the review, because I'm so behind, but now that it's finally time to post the Music Show Wins that this got a win on, I get to enjoy the summer album from the third gen summer queens. I love their velvet concepts because most of them are just spooky and I love that. But their red concepts are some of my favorite hype songs. Call me crazy but this sounds like a minor key. Which fits then that this is a velvet summer per the album title. Well named. There's something odd about the instrumental that I've been trying to put my finger on for a couple of days now, which is why it's taken me so long, but I have to because it got a win. Not that I wouldn't anyway. It almost sounds like a preset on a midi keyboard, or at least like that's the base...

 Okay, everyone! Back to my September of groups that deserve more attention because they shouldn't be forgotten! This isn't even the newest group that we're going to be talking about this month because the next one is even younger, but I think they have survived technically longer. I've actually got a couple of HOT ISSUE's songs in one of my playlists already, though this is not one of them. I just decided that I wanted something a lot more upbeat than what I was going to get from S#arp. So. The reality is the group lasted less than a year, which is even worse than the three year average for girl groups. But the song doesn't know that. HOT ISSUE debuted in 2021 as a seven-member group under S2 Entertainment, a company that was set up by one of the founders of Cube Entertainment, which automatically tells me that this group has some vocals on them. It also makes sense that I found them and added songs to playlists despite their less than a year of official activi...

I'm not super familiar with most of their discography and even though Sangyeon was on my enlistment wall (I've got a softness for him because his birthday is near mine), I wasn't initially planning on doing a discharge post for him. Then, to my surprise, I got this request in The Form from someone who just found my little blog from a post I shared on Tumblr, asking if I'd do this song for Sangyeon's discharge. Naturally! Discharge posts and anniversary posts are two of my favorite kinds of posts to do because they're just happy times usually. And I'm excited to do this specific one because while I've heard a couple of songs from this album, I haven't actually heard this one, so you're also introducing me to a new song. I also find it slightly satisfying that I'd already planned to do a song by a group from this company (sort of) this month, so I'm very much not opposed to including The Boyz here because they too have languished under a ga...

  I'm only a little under a month behind now. It's fine. We're getting ourselves caught up. As always, the links below in the spreadsheet go to my reviews. Show Champion: NouerA ".exe" MCountdown: Jennie "Less than a Lover" Music Bank: NouerA ".exe" Show! Music Core: RESCENE "Pretty Girl" Inkigayo: N/A ASC Performance: N/A The Show: Kiss of Life "Sweat" The Extra Stage: ARTMS "Blue Blood"

Release date: 2026 August 07 Album tracklist: From Wings To Soul, Born Stunner, Blue Blood ,  Icarus Gang, Hyper Crush, Pixel Memory Album runtime: 14  minutes  This is not the pre-release. This is actually the title track, which is shocking that I'm doing this one first, I know, but I saw that this was performed on the The Show and decided to include this song for my weekly music show wins posts that I'm wildly behind for. Will I do the pre-release? Maybe, especially if I have time in November and December once award show season starts up (if you really want me to, drop a request either as a comment or in The Form and I'll definitely get to it).  We're a little techno here in places. It's a good addition to the song because it guarantees the song has a couple of different zones to play around in and increase the amount of range going on here. I also don't have to sit through a song that only has a repeated instrumental and drives my brain to distraction becaus...

Release date: 2026 August 04 Album tracklist: SWEAT , WHAT! Album runtime: 5 minutes  I haven't seen any more issues from them, so I'm going to probationarily pull them off Underage Protocol for this song. Also, congrats on the win!  This song is delightfully on the dramatic side of things, but it's not fully theatre kid dramatic, if that makes any sense. It's cool kid drama, which isn't as fun but no less engaging. I'm almost positive the song is an afrobeats song (maybe tropical house? I'm still not positive on some genres), which I am squinting over a little bit because of their previous situation, but it's not something that would immediately qualify them for being put back, especially since none of the members had a hand in the composition. I'll also say that the decrescendo immediately made it qualify for my favorite releases of the year, then when it goes back up to tempo, it feels so much faster. It's the quiet principle in tempo form, wh...

  I am behind again! I was so close! As always, the links down in the spreadsheet go to my reviews! Show Champion: fromis_9 "Vitamin ME" MCountdown: Jennie "Less than a Lover" Music Bank: fromis_9 "Vitamin ME" Show! Music Core: fromis_9 "Vitamin ME" Inkigayo: N/A ASC Performance: N/A The Show: N/A The Extra Stage: LUN8 "Sneakers" The Extra Extra Stage: HEART OF WOMAN "TEA"

Release date: 2026 September 10 Album tracklist: Devil Youth Club , Beat Don't Stop, Hot Stuff, She Got That, Devil Youth Club - Instrumental Album runtime: 15  minutes  Oh, good. Their company isn't completely useless. I've actually really enjoyed how much their younger sisters have been getting to do, but I've been getting a little worried since they hadn't released anything for two years. But I'm glad to see this, even if it's short. I'm even happier to see an instrumental on this so that I can just enjoy the instrumental part of the review without having to try to ignore the vocals. We've got some kid voices in here, which fits the name of the song. And if my ears don't deceive me, we've also got a spooky Halloween scream in two places. Is this the season's first spooky title track? Have I missed others? Probably. There's something a little bit jarring about the instrumental in places with the screeching that interrupts the comple...

 If you've never heard of this group, don't worry. You're not alone in this because they're a first gen group that hasn't released an album since 2003 and they're not one of the names you regularly hear about as being a representative of the first gen line-up. Although, to be fair, even when you do run into one of the big names of first gen, I've found that many people outside of Korea don't know them as well as they should since they're foundational to what we have now. Our second and third gen (and fourth gen now) favorites got to run and be global superstars on the paths that first gen walked down first. You may also have noticed that when it comes to first gen coverage here, I've been focusing on the B-Sides. Part of that is because out of all of the generations of K-Pop that we have so far, first gen has the greatest wealth of b-sides as they were before the mini albums and singles were popularized, so they released full albums. The other pa...

Release date: 2026 September 15 Album tracklist: A Story Like A Movie; Four seasons, and you ; Nameless Star; Evergreen Album runtime: 15  minutes  My cat's bias is pulling out the Latin for his album title, I see. I'm not kidding. I'm actually glad that Changsub is in a different country from me because there's no risk of him ever meeting T'Challa and T'Challa deciding he loves Changsub more than me. In more serious news, this morning I saw the vocal challenge that Jongho did of this song and I about swooned. Partially because of the Mayfly crumbs, but also because even without hearing the original, Jongho and Changsub have such similar timbres that I think Jongho could actually and properly do justice to one of Changsub's ballads. Which he obviously did for the vocal challenge.  Also, nearly four minutes a song. I love this man. It looks like the entire mini album was written by the same people, which is fun. This is a fascinating instrumental. It actually...

 Someone looked at one of my posts using a Linux operating system in the last week. Wow. My eyebrows are raised and I'm a little bit delighted by that. Hello, Linux user. I don't know if you'll see this, but I'm giving you a thumbs up. Hello, everyone else! Welcome, Champions! I know I'm wildly behind with the plan for September, given that it's almost halfway through and I'm only now getting to those posts, so I'll have to move one of my planned August posts to November and one of my originally planned September songs to December. You will get that first gen song this year. September is going to be reserved for the smaller groups. We had big moments in August, and now we're going to get a little bit of a quieter month with smaller groups. Well, metaphorically because this was a nine-member group. Mostly. Sort of. Hence the name. Kind of what it says on the tin. 9MUSES debuted in 2010 under Star Empire as a nine-member group. Again, hence the name. T...

Release date: 2026 September 18 Album track list: Open Your Eyes Album runtime: 3 mi nutes  It's partway though September and I don't think I've reviewed a song from September yet. Starting with Close Your Eyes and their song called "Open Your Eyes" feels a little bit funny for me. Which is why I'm doing it. Also, the maknae turns eighteen at the end of the month, so this is the last time I'll probably need to bring up any of their ages. Not that I have been because I haven't needed to. But still. This makes it official. Why does the instrumental sound like the preset on a keyboard? There are a lot of instruments going on in here and it's a little distracting with exactly how much is going on. Jaunty little tune, though, despite how discordant it is. But it's very jazzy at the same time, so discordant is sometimes the name of the game anyway. But goodness, there are a lot of instruments. As an instrumental-only, I would absolutely be jamming ha...

Release date: 2026 July 22 Album tracklist: SNEAKERS , TO THE MOON, BACK, If I could Album runtime: 11  minutes  I decided to pick this song for an extra stage, since I've been so haphazard with literally everything the last little bit and I'm so far behind, so I'm going to do a review of this one. It's a good way to force me to do it. I almost was lazy and picked a song I know I did a review for, but since that song has gotten wins, I would rather point out the smaller groups. Although I will also point out how nauseating the runtime is. Less than two-and-a-half minutes. There's still something slightly pastel-like about the song, but it's kind of a daffodil yellow. This is a very bright song without too much weighing it down, but without a strong sense of playfulness that I wish that I could hear. It feels like the song wants to be playful but was forced to be a bit more constrained. The whistling and the little woops in the background help a lot, but instead...

Release date: 2026 May 28 Album tracklist: ALIVE, SHOW H.O.W, Told U So, TEA , My Vision, Skit.exe, Lost in Proof , ($.$) , Close To Me , One Beat, Dive With Me Album runtime: 28 minutes  I decided to drop this song as an extra stage, which means that it needs a review. We're not on Underage Protocol and I'm going to stop saying that as soon as I'm done with all the songs they've done stuff for from their debut album. And I love the strategy the company has for them. Yes. This is good. This group is not immediately unemployed after debut (Cough...Pledis...Cough...). I also just realized that I missed another b-side, and considering that this is a younger group and needs attention, I'll add it back to the ever-growing list of backlog. This is a fun build of an instrumental. Instead of throwing the skittering beat at us right from the start, it layers the plinking and the playfulness in first. Then we get the piano there during the bridge to give a similar melody, but...

Release date: 2026 August 20 Album tracklist: Tonight , Echoes of Us Album runtime: 8  minutes  Ah, I'm so late with this. I'm glad that he's dropping new music because his voice is gorgeous and it's important to the ecosystem of K-Pop that he continues to release music. But I'm also starting to get a little concerned about the girl group he's got at his company. The boys have been getting a lot of attention lately, which as fresh debuts, is their due, but the girls are due for a comeback and I've heard neither hide nor hair of one. Unless they're getting a full album. In which case, carry on. Take a few more months. Stunning runtime on both the single and the title track though. I love that. This is such a retro rock song from the 80s that the instrumental sounds like something my mom would have listened to as a teenager. We've got the good elements of a rock song: drums, a sick guitar solo, delicious synthy goodness, and a little bit of a keyboard ...

Release date: 2026 August 19 Album tracklist: MIXIN' THANGS - FLW$ Version, V.V.$, $TAY THE NIGHT - FLW$ Version ,  A$K, BOTTLE$ - FLW$ Version, COUNT IT UP, DA$H, Y.O.U,  BOTTLE$ , MIXIN' THANGS, VAMO$, $TAY THE NIGHT Album runtime: 16 minutes  Well, this is an interesting development with this group. They're now independent, which is curious enough, but they're independent with their former CEO serving as their creative director and main producer. That part has me raising my eyebrows and tilting my head. Curious. Very curious. On top of that, one of the members has left the group. She's the main vocalist of the group, so that's a blow to the others and they'll have to step up. I'm fully supportive of the decision to leave as she decided she didn't like the idol lifestyle with the training and the hours well-enough to stay, which is completely fair. I applaud her for realizing it fairly early and bowing out. And we're on Underage Protocol until ...

 The final song of my little triptych of Sober songs to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of BIGBANG's debut, and I went with a contemporary soloist. Girls' Generation is only a year younger than BIGBANG and occupies much the same role as BIGBANG does in the canon, just on the girl group side. So it really worked out that there is a soloist from Girls' Generation that has a song with the same name as Sober because that also gives us a different texture to look at. Plus, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that the impact Girls' Generation and its members have had on the industry cannot be hyped enough, especially when their activity has slowed down a little and I've seen younger or newer fans mistakenly dismiss them just because they're not pulling the streaming or release numbers like the streaming farms for some of the other groups. But that's why I do the research and hand y'all the results: to make the context around the last 30...

Release date: 2026 August 19 Album tracklist: can't go back , Happy Album runtime: 5 minutes  My girls! If you're new here, I absolutely adore this group and the day I stop yelling about them is the day I need a wellness check. If this is not new information for you, are you as excited as I am? Hot Chicken and Spooky are still my favorites from them and I'm always happy to add to my collection of songs I love from them. Which is most of them, if I'm being honest, which is why I hunted down a poster of the group. I love how bright and energetic this song is, and it's positively brimming with second gen energy, which is delightful to be hearing. I can hear the Apink and the Girls' Generation and the Sistar and the Orange Caramel influence going on in this song, and it's got me toe-tapping to its summery brightness. It's got a couple of spots where it leans on the synth and the EDM of the elders, but there's also a little bit of the snare drum going on ...

Release date: 2026 July 16 Album tracklist:  Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter Korean ver. , Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter Japanese ver. Album runtime: 10 minutes  With DK now enlisted and Mingyu about to enlist, which tells you when I'm writing this regardless of when it actually gets posted, I'm feeling emotionally fragile, so I'm going to do this now. Since we're actually really close to getting him back. And this was for his birthday, which makes me happier. There's a violin. Instant approval. And five whole minutes of song. I love him. I love that he gave us this as a gift. The instrumental is softly cinematic with very distinct sections that allow for enough variation that it can actually move and flow. The piano is the most delicate instrument of the bunch, but it carries the weight of supporting his vocals more than any of the others. This is such a pretty instrumental, and I love that. You know how amusing it is that the deep-voiced rapper of Seventeen and their ...

Release date: 2026 May 04 Album tracklist: MOON , CHOOM , I LIKE IT , LOCKED IN Album runtime: 12 minutes  Last one of their b-sides to get a music video, I think. While I still can't technically listen to them because of the whole "they had a fourteen-year-old at debut" thing, this has been very handing in letting me hear basically the whole album, and let me tell you, there have been some of these I added to y playlist of song I can't listen to yet because the group is on Underage Protocol. Fingers crossed that this is another one. Oh, and also, as of the time of writing this, this was #92 globally on YouTube music. Oh, this is a slow and grindy instrumental. Even when more elements get added at the end, it still has a very heavy quality to it, and it never really gets more energetic. But the progression from the sparse opening to the not-overpopulated ending moves at a good pace and it's a logical progression as well. There aren't many big surprises here, w...

Release date: 2026 August 28 Album tracklist: FALLEN ANGEL , HEAVEN, Less than a Lover Album runtime: 9  minutes  Congrats on the wins! I forgot I needed to do this one! I think this is a pre-release, which is why I'm labelling it like I am.  One of my big complaints about a lot of songs lately is that the instrumental isn't particularly distinct, because so many of them, including this one, are largely two or three beats layered together through most of the song with very little variation. This one at least has the benefit of water plunks and plops, and I cannot express how briefly excited I was about twenty seconds from the end, but it just wasn't enough to overcompensate for the repetition. Now, I'll be the first to admit that R&B doesn't really do it for me normally because a lot of the modern R&B does an excellent job of having the kind of sound that lulls me a bit too much into drowsiness. This song is no different. Between the slow beat and the amount...

Release date: 2026 August 18 Album tracklist: Frequency Album runtime: 3  minutes  Hello, everyone! You all know how I feel about the debuting groups! There's so much hope and potential going on with them that I just want to throw them at people and say "WOULD YOU LIKE ANOTHER GROUP?" with all the aggression that the caps-lock implies. In this instance, before I've heard this song, I'm fully on board with supporting them because the maknae turns twenty this year. So we are good to go. The actual debut date is unknown for them, but hopefully we can get them a little bit of traction before they debut. You can help me out with that right? This instrumental has a very ZEROBASEONE vibe to it while also being oddly lo-fi elevator music. It's a bit of an interesting combination, but it's actually pretty mild through most of the instrumental, although we do have a late-song kick up of its heels where it pretends to be more energetic, but it's also got a drop r...