Just A Little Fangirl Love

Release date: 2026 August 17 Album tracklist: World Wild Women Album runtime: 3 minutes  Looks like this is a full group song, so we're on Underage Protocol. It's a shame. I'm really glad that we've mostly moved on from the soft, floaty instrumental as a default trend and sound. The song has a good strong beat, with brief bits of rests to give some textural variation. It's strong without being overpowering, and it flows well. There's nothing that makes me catch my breath in delight, but it's still enough to have a bit of a presence. You know, I was watching a compilation video on YoutTube about songs with the hootin' and the hollerin', and another one about songs that have a member hit some seriously high notes (Angel by BerryGood was on both lists, and it's worth repeating that Angel has twelve high notes over the course of the song). I bring this up because I realized how few fifth gen groups actually have songs where the vocalists get to go ab...

Release date: 2026 August 19 Album tracklist: Ghosting , Tadaima Album runtime: 6 minutes  I'm going to get my backlog finished. The more I get posted, the faster I can get caught up on the Music Show Wins posts, because I use songs I've reviewed for the extra stages. Also, I know you can't see my handwriting right now (because I write these in a notebook and then type them up later), but the way I'm writing my g's has gotten weird and I don't know why. Whatever. I really like MJ's voice, so I'm excited for this song. Ah, his vice is good. For the instrumental, we've got a comfy rock song. The guitar and the drums take the most amount of real estate for the instrumental and when the vocals get all soft, so does the instrumental which is nice because then his voice isn't overpowered. But the entire song follows a good energy flow in a way that sounds very anime opening. If he had just a little bit more grit and vibrato to his voice, he'd have ...

Release date: 2026 August 19 Album tracklist: 3!4! Album runtime: 4 minutes  I see this particular song title and I immediately think of the song of the same title by Roo'Ra. That's probably just a me thing though because that song is almost as old as I am, exactly the same age as Hoshi from Seventeen, and certainly much older than every member in this group, which is on Underage Protocol until next year, unfortunately.  Okay, this is slow. Okay. Scratch that. This is the single most first gen sound to come out of K-Pop in recent days. It sounds so first gen that after I'm done with this song, I'm going to go see if it's a remake and if not, who the writers are because at minimum, whoever wrote this has been around for a long time and wrote for first gen artists. I'm a little annoyed by how first gen it sounds, not because it sounds first gen and I don't like it because I obviously do, but because that's all I can think about. There's a saxophone, wh...

Release date: 2026 August 24 Album tracklist: BORN DIRE , Diamond Hour, One More Time, Talk to me , OMG! , Good Life, WELCOME home Album runtime: 18 minutes  Congrats on the win! I'm so behind that we've had another music video drop for a track from this album. I'm deeply disappointed by the runtimes though because there's one that's exactly three minutes long and one that's slightly more than three minutes, but that album runtime is not it. Also, why is the last song so oddly threatening in the title? You know, just as I was thinking about how this song just went full tilt and didn't pause for a breath, it did in fact slow down a little. So that's good that we've got that variation. There's something missing from it to make this instrumental as eerily threatening as I think it wants to be, and I think what's missing is the fact that the song is in a major key. There's nothing technically wrong with it. It's got a lot of really good p...

Release date: 2026 August 21 Album track list: Two Fools, Stuck, Bad For You, Bloody Paradise , Checkmate , Highlight Album runtime: 15 mi nutes  They've gotten some nice wins with this song. Very nice. I'm genuinely pleased for them. Don't get me wrong about that. But. I need to point out that this song isn't even two-and-a-quarter minutes long. It's barely two minutes long. What is wrong with HYBE? We've got a nice Latin vibe to the song, which I appreciate, and that beat is heavy. There's something deeply unsettling about it as well, which as a concept is not overly surprising for the K-Pop vampires. But the amount of repetition in the instrumental doesn't allow for growth within the song. We do get a little bit, but not enough to actually change the sound of the song at any point. So much of the mumbling and whispering that pretends to be cool but tries too hard to be cool. It's fine. This as a trend in sound will move on eventually as did all th...

Release date: 2026 August 10 Album track list: Ever2Late!, Hey Hi, Pop Off Pop Off , SWEET SOUR, Candy Pink Magic Hole Flip Phone , Blue Hour Album runtime: 15 mi nutes  Well, they didn't get a win with this song, so I'll do a review of it because I'm so wildly behind and this way I have to while also being like "Here's this song! You should listen to it! Don't just take my word for it! Feel free to disagree with me!" I don't know what this sounds like yet. I just assume someone is going to disagree with me and that's fine as long as you can articulate why. They're on Underage Protocol, so I can't listen to it like I normally would, but as time marches on, eventually they'll be off it and I'll actually get to listen to their discography. I'm also late enough that I didn't notice that apparently another song from this album had a music video. I need to know what that song sounds like, so I'll be doing that one probably ne...

Release date: 2026 August 17 Album tracklist: After School , we're not the same anymore, Take My Time Album runtime: 11 minutes  I decided to do this song as one of the extra stages for a Music Show Wins post, so I need to do the review. Which works! It's fine! This is a good way to force me to do reviews I didn't originally get to. I don't think this is his official solo debut and it is an OST, but I'm not entirely positive about what all is going on there. I just know he performed this on Show Champion. I'm trying to decide what kind of song this sounds like. It's a very pleasant instrumental that doesn't have a lot of variation. But. There are some points of rest and little resets, but it's just pleasant and comfortable through most of it. But it's also the kind of song where the instrumental is very much secondary to the vocals by design. At least there's some weight to it, though. It's not a floaty song even with how soft his vocals ...

Release date: 2026 August 22 Album tracklist: We're Happy , We're Happy (Inst.) Album runtime: 6 minutes   I’d like for this group to get more recognition. They’ve had a couple of decently recognized songs, but I actually kind of like what I’ve heard from them. Which means I need to stay away from them so they don’t have an early disbandment. I know realistically that I’m not actually causing it, but I’m also superstitious enough that I don’t want to risk it. So, this comes with an instrumental-only track and that opened with vocals. That’s a choice.  It does seem like it’s a cappella, so it makes sense to include the vocals in that part just so listeners can get the timing of the song right if they’re wanting to sing the song without the accompanying vocals. This is a very summery track, very upbeat and bubbly, but it’s also very much a late summer song, which fits considering when it was released. I’m a little disappointed that there isn’t a big, key defining moment, but the...

Release date: 2026 August 03 Album tracklist: Dancing On The Moon , Dancing On The Moon (Inst.) Album runtime: 6 minutes  Okay, LEEBADA is an indie singer-songwriter. She's not to be confused with Bada Lee, the choreographer who did Guilty by Taemin, Maestro by Seventeen, and Talk Saxy by RIIZE, or Bada, the leader of S.E.S. I'm reviewing her song because I selected it for an extra stage on a Music Show Wins post, which I'm wildly behind with as I am in most things right now. But she needs the attention, which is why I'm giving it to her. I have not heard the song yet, though. I don't think I've heard any of her song yet, which will make this a fun experience for me. This instrumental is an odd combination of Disney Channel rock and Final Fantasy X-2, but the best parts of those two very different things, if that makes sense. The rock is the strongest part and it spent a lot of time there with the guitar and the drums as the most dominant instruments, but the...

Release date: 2026 August 07 Album tracklist: 5 Stars ; LA LA LA LUNE ; GET OUT ; Lemonade; OMW; Wonder Why; Medicine; At least, I tried; Forever Young Album runtime: 28 minutes  I am so behind with him. It's fine. It's fine. I'm including this song as an extra stage on a music show wins post, which is why I'm doing this now instead of trying to catch up with the October songs. But also this is my man Junhee. This sounds like something The8 would release, which is just fun. The instrumental is a little bit intense for how gentle the vocals are. It's not intense the entire time, which is good because the song does need it for the variation, but it's supportive, which is what we ask for from songs, even if it's a little overwhelming for the vocals. Junhee is getting very close to rapping here, which is delightful. He's got one of those voices that are incredibly distinct and while this song doesn't show off exactly how strong his voice is, it does show...

Release date: 2026 August 05 Album tracklist: PAGES OF US, CHERRY PIE , MOTTO, CAN'T STOP=NOT FOUND Album runtime: 16 minutes  This is one of the reviews that I do because I'm including a stage of this song for the music show wins post as one of the extra songs. Still, this is a smaller group that needs the attention, so I'm still fine with this, even though I already know I'm behind. It's fine. Oh, this is very pretty. This is a very pretty introduction with the whistling. I'm not going to lie that the instrumental reminds me of something a girl group would do (which isn't an issue, but it's just something interesting that I'm noting), but specifically a warm, summery sort of song from a girl group. It's a little late in the season for something this summery, but there's always next year to listen to it in the summer playlists. The whistling also reminds me of another song and I'm not sure which one it is, but I have a positive associati...

Release date: 2026 August 07 Album tracklist: RUN IT , THIS & THAT , After You, FARMING , I Do, Way Out, Back Then, This & That - (Festival Version) Album runtime: 25 minutes  Wow, I've managed to be so late in doing this one that they've dropped another single. I'm just perpetually behind. It's fine. I'm telling you, every time I'm not immediately enamoured with a title track of theirs, the b-sides hit me in the brain perfectly. Most of this song is balanced in such a way that the verses have a song instrumental, so the vocals don't have sound competition, the chorus gets a big burst followed by an even bigger burst. And it's very well-balanced. But then, there's a late stage complete tonal shift that sounds nothing like the rest of the song. That's where we get the experimental, Stray Kids patented noise music. It's brief and discordant and I find it very charming because it's brief. This works as a b-side very well. I think eve...

Release date: 2026 August 19 Album tracklist: BiiiG Album runtime: 02  minutes  One of the singularly best concerts I've ever seen. Full stop. Even my mom, who doesn't listen to them, said she'd absolutely see them again without hesitation. For the record, this absolutely sounds like a BIGBANG song and it doesn't sound out of place in their discography. It's a bit clingy with a simultaneously grungy guitar settled underneath the metallic clanging. But the entire song isn't that way. We've got variation and multiple sections, which is especially ideal given that this song is not even three minutes long. That's the least BIGBANG thing about this song. The introduction is interesting, before the squeal and scratch that heralds the start of the vocals, and it's also oddly James Bond. I don't know how else to describe it. Good news, they're not doing the mumble rap thing. Everyone sounds exactly like they should and Daesung has his moment where he...

Release date: 2026 August 03 Album tracklist: ABD, SUN KISS , Echo, Flip-Flop Girl, GRLS Album runtime: 15 minutes  I don't understand why HYBE didn't have this group debut at Pledis where HSS already is. Also, for all the news articles that mention him connected to After School, Seventeen, and TWS, I understand why you're not mentioning Pristin. They made a huge splash and are still angrily beloved, but they were short-lived. But NU'EST survived ten years and near disbandment just for y'all to erasure the impact they had? Really? I'm so tired of the NU'EST erasure. I actually accelerated my plan of when to post this because the backlog is large and in charge. But then I found out that this is almost a proper Pledis group and the company Pledis's first subsidiary after twenty years. The company has issues and I'm a little peeved over certain things that have happened recently. However. They are NU'EST's little sisters for all intents and purp...

Release date: 2026 August 20 Album tracklist:  WAVE (feat. Joohoney) Album runtime: 2  minutes  Y'all may not know him by his name, but you probably know who he is. This is Baby Shark Boy. It's funny that this song blew up like this. I remember being at Girl's Camp singing Baby Shark back in 2008, which was the same year that he was born. Wow, I suddenly feel old. This isn't actually his full debut because he debuted in a kid's group back in 2020 in something that in concept reminds me of the Mickey Mouse Club. But this is his official solo debut. Huh. I didn't realize Joohoney was involved in this. We've got a pretty mild, bubbly instrumental for most of the song with the "Baby shark doo doo" that made him famous popping up occasionally, which also provides much of the very bubbly sound to the instrumental. The shift and the key change at the end turns the song into an ending song from something like High School Musical. This is a very bright song...

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...

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...

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: 36 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 ...