Just A Little Fangirl Love

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 May 06 Album tracklist: WE WANNA GO , WE WANNA GO (Instrumental) Album runtime: 5 minutes  You know, I would not have guessed that I'd be doing a review of a Wanna One song unless someone requested a review, but I definitely wouldn't have expected to do a new Wanna One song when I started this little blog. I have a bit of a complicated feeling toward the group, for some obvious reasons, but that doesn't mean that I'm not happy that most of them are back together. But it's less than three minutes. But it's a good thing that this is an OST otherwise I'd be very grumpy about this being less than three minutes. This sounds like a third gen version of ZEROBASEONE. There's a lot of bright energy to the song, an abundance of joy, as it were, which is probably the most fitting thing that I could think of for a reunion OST song, you know? This isn't an official comeback, so it's not dependent on declaring "We're back" with...

Release date: 2026 April 13 Album tracklist: Bubee Album runtime: 3 minutes  I didn't do this when the original Japanese version dropped just because if I remember correctly, there were a lot of releases at that time. Not that there aren't a lot of releases now, but if I skip the song again, I'll feel bad because ILLIT deserves the attention as well. Okay, we've got a skittering beat on this one, but crucially, it doesn't take up the entirety of the sonic landscape for the song. It's a really interesting choice, for reasons I'll talk about during the vocals, but there are actually quite a few different sections to the song, which makes me happy to have a good level of variety going on in here. We also get over three minutes of song, which means that there's room to have that much song. Thank goodness. It's very cute.  The cuteness does extend to the vocals, and there are a couple of spots where you can hear the fact that this song started off life as...

Release date: 2026 March 31 Album track list:  Black Star , Black Star (Instrumental) Album runtime: 10 mi nutes  I wasn't planning on doing any OSTs the next little bit, but then I saw that Nana, my girl Nana, dropped this one and  it's over five minutes long. Say less. I have absolutely no idea what this is for. Not a clue. Doesn't matter. The thing I love about OSTs is that we almost always get the instrumental attached. Well, that's just gorgeous. It has an obvious storyline, even without any lyrics. Starting off with just a piano, adding instruments slowly to let the song gently unfold and move with absolutely no rush, this song feels almost ludicrously indulgent with the amount of time it takes to just breathe. We've got piano and guitar and strings, and I'm absolutely in love with this. Just beautiful. Absolutely stunning. I'm so excited for the vocals here. Are you as ready as I am? This is such a high song, but even when she's breathy, you can h...

 Happy fourteenth anniversary, NU'EST! Happy discharge, JR! One of those has already happened, and the other will be happening in a few days! I cannot even tell you how much I am vibrating with excitement over JR's discharge. But as much as I love both NU'EST and JR, not everyone does, so I elected to do a post between the two events, rather than do one for both. I could have. I had a JR solo song selected for his discharge, although I might hold onto it for his birthday now that he'll be out. (Here's your friendly reminder right up here at the front that will be repeated further down at the end that I love doing posts for anniversaries and special events and I also love it when y'all give me songs to do for them). But this is a first for a couple of reasons: this is a fictional band, and it's also an OST. What does this have to do with JR? He was the bassist in the drama! So funny story about this drama. I watched it because of JR. I loved it. A couple of m...

Release date: 2025 December 12 Album tracklist:  시간을 건너서 Album runtime: 4 minutes  Y'all, I am excited about this. LOVEONE have been slow and steady with their releases, and I have no idea what this project of theirs is, but I am suddenly very excited about this. These are my girls! And this is an almost four minute song. So, excited. I highly recommend you go back and take a listen to the other songs that I've reviewed for them, which should be all of them that they've released. Seriously, this group is lovely. This is fairytale in a sound. It's solidly grounded in the beat, with some synthy goodness and lovely piano plinking. Rich, full-bodied. Honestly, this is an incredible song. You'll be seeing this one again at the end of the month as part of my "I love these songs" segment because it's mesmerizingly beautiful. And the best part is this isn't even the best part of the song. I know the above section was really short, but I wanted to get to th...

Release date: 2025 March 20 Album track list: Silent rainfalls , Ballad seems to be your taste, Stuttering, Convenience store girl, Twinkle twinkle, Boy, A person who can only think, In the phone, Conversation while drinking with Hangjune, Accept my heart, As you wish (Remastered ver.), Can't Sleep (Acoustic ver.), Silent rainfalls (Eng ver.), Ballad seems to be your taste (Eng ver.), Deli girl, Keep my heart, Shampoo, Nuna Album runtime: 61 mi nutes  Look, I've never heard of this artist before. But the album title? Obviously I'm going to be taking a look because that's hilarious. So for everyone else's awareness, Jang Beom June is a singer-songwriter, married to an actress and they have two kids. He debuted in 2011 as part of the indie rock trio Busker Busker and were also on Superstar K3, where they were the runner-ups. Though they haven't been active as a band in over a decade, I would like to mention that they did get a Daesang at the 2012 Melon Music Award...

Release date: 2025 January 30 Album tracklist:  Hollo , Hollo - Instrumental, Hollo - Drama Version, Hollo - (Drama Version) [Instrumental] Album runtime: 16 minutes  Do I have other songs I should probably be reviewing because they're actual title tracks and not OSTs? Yes. Do I have this and another set up to review instead? Also, yes. But, in my defense, I love Bang Yedam's voice now that I've discovered it, and also this is an OST for my boy Minhyun's newest drama, which I'm obviously going to support because it's Minhyun. Also, I have some options about what to review because this comes with multiple versions, but I think I'm just going to go with the vanilla version. Even though part of me is arguing quite loudly for the drama version instead. I would have been happy with just the piano, but the introduction of the other instruments takes what started off as an incredibly melancholic sound and turns it into something a lot more hopeful. Because the laye...

Release date: 2025 February 01 Album tracklist: Somewhere in This Universe , Somewhere in This Universe (Inst.) Album runtime: 9 minutes  Our lovely, lovely Seungkwan. Have I mentioned how excited I am by the list of the artists for the OST for this song? Because I should have. I'm very excited by this. Continuing with the same, "expanse of space" vibes from Jin's, which I am fully ready to attribute to the held notes underneath all the other things that are happening with the more melody-esque instrumentation going on elsewhere, the guitar use here lends itself to making the song acoustic ready. Oh, you're trapped on a space station with a guitar and your voice? Well, this one is easy to turn into an acoustic version. I almost wish this one had been more acoustic, but I also get the sense that this one is a full love song with the occasional "space" trappings, rather than the emphasis being on the space motifs.  Seungkwan is one of the main vocalists of...

Release date: 2025 January 26 Album tracklist:  Close to You , Close to You (Inst.) Album runtime: 8 minutes  I like OSTs. I do. An OST got me into K-Pop and is also the reason, by chain of events, why I am writing these words that you are currently reading. I also really like Jin's voice. Combining the two? Yes, please. I am all about that. Also, I am intending to watch this kdrama because it looks funny, but haven't yet.  The other thing I just generally enjoy about OSTs is that the single often includes the instrumental, which makes my life easier so I don't have to listen underneath the vocals and risk getting distracted. Beautiful tinkling of the piano to start it out, which does immediately make me think of both a lullaby and the stars. A space science fiction lullaby, if you will. Actually, this entire thing does an incredible job of mimicking the typical space lonely instrumentation. Between the held notes while other instruments wander around and the specific mix...

Release date: 2024 March 24 Album tracklist: Love You With All My Heart , Love You With All My Heart - Inst. Album runtime: 8 minutes  There's a slight lull in the releases right now, so I'm going to pop back to March of 2024 briefly to add in a review to help fluff that page out a little. Other than the OST for Goblin , I'm not sure that I've actually heard a Crush song sung by Crush, even though I've heard quite a few covers, so obviously the songs are beloved. I figure going with an OST is a good place to start in my listening to Crush songs sung by the original artist mission as I already love one. So, I genuinely and deeply love the fact that we get the instrumentals for this. There's something about them that have an underwater vibe to them, a tone or a quality. There's no sense of fierce drama. But there is a bittersweet ache to them of loss. I haven't seen Queen of Tears yet so I know neither when this song is used nor actually what it's abou...

Release date: 2024 October 26 Album tracklist:  Hello , Hello (Inst.) Album runtime: 7 minutes  This has been sitting in my drafts for about two months waiting for me to get to it. It's an OST, which makes it lower on my to-do, but also, I need something a little more relaxing after the rush of the season. I know I like his voice, and an OST will simply let me bask in it. This isn't one of the kdramas I've seen, either, so I don't know what kind of song I'm going to be getting here anyway. It doesn't matter though. I'm happy to have something nice and relaxing, as OSTs tend to be, even though I can't look at the title of the song without humming the song by the same name from NU'EST. I really love the fact that so many OSTs come with the instrumental version. This is such a dramatic track that I kind of want to watch the show because of it. Piano and guitar spend a lot of time together, just vibing, which is cool. The synth is also gorgeous, settled ...

Release date: 2024 December 13 Album tracklist: A New Chapter , A New Chapter (Inst.) Album runtime: 6 minutes  Just the simple fact that Lucy released a new single is enough for me to take notice. The fact that they did an OST? This delights me to no end. I love this band. They're incredible and another of my healers that I've been collecting.  The background vocals are actually included with the instrumentals, which means I don't have to feel guilty about including them in this section. You don't normally hear this much energy from an OST, even though there's still something ludicrously comforting about their sound. Apparently they've done quite a few OSTs over the last four years since they debuted, and I'm curious to know if they managed to bring this same energy each and every time. I don't understand how they do it. There's a long stretch where it's just the bass guitar and the drums, mostly just pulsing out the beat, but they don't go ...

Release date: 2024 November 03 Album tracklist: Such a Day - Male Version , Such a Day - Female Version, Such a Day - Male Version Instrumental, Such a Day - Female Version Instrumental Album runtime: 17 minutes  Since I've got a little bit of time this month, I'm going to use it to hit some of the OSTs that I made note of but didn't have a chance to review because there are so many releases almost on a daily basis that it's hard to keep up with the required songs, let alone the OSTs. And I've been incredibly vocal about the fact that I love Hui and his voice so much.  The song starts off with just a piano and some strings eventually get added, but the solemn piano is both backbone and primary instrument for the instrumentals, even after the percussion joins in and the strings become a little more pushy. I really like the electric guitar that shows up just to texture the song. It's incredibly pretty and soothing. There's something sad about the instrumentals...

Release date: 2024 December 08 Album tracklist:  Only One , Only One - inst. Album runtime: 6 minutes  Apparently BTOB is just going to town on the OSTs right now. First Hyunsik, and now Eunkwang? Yes, please. I will never say no to them.  A harmonica ? Seriously? A harmonica? Wow, it's been a long, long time since I heard a song with a harmonica. This is the most, soothing, rustic set of instrumentals. I know there was a song I recently reviewed that I said scratched the country music itch, but nothing like what this one is doing. I'm practically going limp. That acoustic guitar is a thing of beauty. Violin. Acoustic guitar. Harmonic. Piano. This is just lovely and soothing. It also reminds me a lot of Animal Crossing , but that's likely because of the harmonica. Don't mind me. Eunkwang's voice turned an incredible song into something that I'm one hundred percent adding to my "The Soothes" playlist. I likely would have before, but this cinched it so f...

Release date: 2024 November 30 Album tracklist:  See The Light , See The Light - Instrumental Album runtime: 6 minutes  I saw this while I was glancing through the new releases and internally sighed. I don't do a lot of OSTs, although I have done a few, but my mother wouldn't forgive me if I didn't, because this guy over here is her ult from her ult group. Yes, I did this to my mother. No, I'm not sorry about it. I don't disagree with her about his voice though. Wow. The inclusion of the instrumental means I get to ignore his voice for the time being, something I appreciate, because I know it'll be distracting. My first impressions of this are John Wick and Looper , both of which are very intense movies but for different reasons. I don't know anything about what this show is, but the ticking clock and the respirator percussion, not to mention the quietly intense vibes, make me think this isn't some cute little rom com. I'd almost call it a "last...

Release date: 2024 October 03 Album tracklist:  A World For Us , A World For Us (Inst.) Album runtime: 7 minutes  It was a slow day, so I picked a random October release, and it just happens to be the actor for the cousin on My Demon ! I absolutely love that show. That's currently the only thing I've seen with him in it, though a few more entries on his filmography are on my list to watch. I didn't know he could sing, though I don't know why I'm surprised. My first OST to review! I haven't seen the drama yet, it shouldn't matter overly much. Full disclosure though, I have a special fondness for OSTs because they were how I actually got into K-Pop.  Percussion! Strings! Piano! Three of my favorite instruments, even though any time I hear strings specifically more than any of the other possibility, I am so far into it that I couldn't argue with it even if I wanted to. This thing sounds majestically upbeat, while simultaneously being such comfort song that ...