Just A Little Fangirl Love

 Did y'all know I've written over 1200 posts now? And that's not counting the drafts of the reviews I've got sitting to be typed up. Those are just the ones that have actually been posted. I'm super behind on literally everything to do with this blog. But it's fine. June was a good month. Debuts! Debuts I covered were: NXON , Keyveatz , and V8 (Seventeen) . The ones I did not were HAT:Q , B.YOUR SIDE , A-1000 , for groups, HyunHaYo (Treasure) for a sub-unit, and some of the soloists were Renjun (NCT) , Evan (Enhypen) ,  Lee Jae Wook , Kaina , and Kim Dong Geum . I'd just like to point out Lee Jae Wook, because he is of course the lead actor for Alchemy of Souls , which is, of course, the reason that I'm sitting here writing these words in my present and you're sitting or standing or laying there reading these words in your present.  Songs I was looking forward to: SHINee: I love that even though they're not the most active of groups these days, ...

Release date: 2026 July 13 Album tracklist: Promise , SOLOVE, Bad Name (sung by Leeteuk), GODOGNAM (sung by Heechul), ONSAGMIRO, More Than Love Album runtime: 21 minutes  I love it when yearlings get their own subunits (looking at you, 90TAN). This one, I think, has been at least a decade in the making, although to be fair, I'm not super familiar with Super Junior dynamics other than their rather infamous fights they used to have back in the day. Still, I'm excited about this one and very curious to see what these two will give us. I'm always curious when the second gen idols do something. The instrumental sounds like either a children's nature show theme song or a really cheesy sitcom theme song from the 70s or 80s. It's fitting considering they're doing their subunit because they're the same age and they were born during the 80s, but it's just kind of amusing. The brightness of this instrumental is almost blinding in the most summery lemon-yellow kind ...

Release date: 2026 June 23 Album tracklist: Runaway , Defined, Chamomile Album runtime: 9  minutes  It's a single, but he's got a stunning voice. And congrats on the wedding last year, my dude! Ah, that's a strong guitar. It's easily the strongest and most prominent of the instruments going on here, but it's comfortingly country in a way that I personally really enjoy. I mean this is very country, but not honky-tonk, which is what I think a lot of people think of when they think of country music (I love honky tonk music, for the record, and you can pry Watermelon Crawl out of my cold, dead hands), but this feels more like your classic country love song. I'm fascinated that we're getting so many songs that have country music elements that feel like country music in K-Pop right now, because there's a very big difference between country music from someone who understands country and someone who knows what pieces should be included. Like, I could write a ro...

  The BigHit domination continues, with the one to follow BTS being their very own little brothers. It feels a bit like they were passing on the torch, which makes me smile. There was also a Grand Slam (still have not looked that up and no one is correcting me so we're assuming that I'm correct) this week, so congrats! Surprise! We got three extra stages this time: two from Show Champion and one from Show! Music Core . Obviously because TXT won, I had to add on an ALL'N performance (please refer to last week's wins if you're unfamiliar with their adorable meet-cute in the elevator). And interestingly, that performance has a surprisingly high number of views for a freshly debuted soloist not in a decently sized company or from a group, more so than some of the other stages I shared. The other two extras I shared, because I can share what I want, were Donghae and Be Boys. (Just to make it obvious what I'm doing in case you're new here and missed the irritati...

Release date: 2026 April 20 Album tracklist: ALIVE (SKIT), EAST COAST, Good Day (feat. Jay Park & 1iL) , HAErise , RACE, HELP, ROCKET, Goodbye (feat. Tablo), TOO LATE, FLOWER, TO YOU (SKIT), HBD, BEAUTIFUL Album runtime: 36 minutes  I'm going to stick with the second gen for a minute because I just want to settle before I get back to the younger groups who will have so many struggles and so many successes ahead of them. Congrats on the first album, Donghae! There's an interestingly modern version of traditional music at the beginning there. Actually, you want to know what this instrumental kind of reminds me a little bit of in some very specific spots? PTT by LOONA, though it doesn't get nearly as dramatic as that. It's a pretty steady instrumental with a few soft spots to add a bit of a different texture, but I'm not really feeling a strong climactic moment, which is a shame. The vibes are there, though.  We get a little bit of everything from here, which I lo...

Release date: 2026 April 14 Album tracklist: LOVE IS PAIN Album runtime: 3 minutes  This guy looks a bit like Hyunsik from BTOB. Or, well, I suppose Hyunsik looks a bit like him given that I'm assuming Kangin is older. Also, given past events, he probably should just stop drinking. It doesn't look like that's been going so well for him, and he got kicked out of the group because of the poor decisions he's made while drinking. That being said, I did have to dig a little to figure out if this was his debut single or not. It looks like he may have released that back in 2016, a decade after his group debut. I am, however, a little amused that he releases music every ten years. Group debut in 2006. Solo debut (possibly) in 2016. New music in 2026. Edit: I'm almost positive that this might actually be his debut now. So that's been updated. I love the almost gospel-sound to this instrumental. And I was sitting here on my first listen, just kind of absorbing the sound t...

Release date: 2026 April 20 Album tracklist: ALIVE (SKIT), EAST COAST,  Good Day (feat. Jay Park & 1iL) ,  HAErise , RACE, HELP, ROCKET, Goodbye (feat. Tablo), TOO LATE, FLOWER, TO YOU (SKIT), HBD, BEAUTIFUL Album runtime: 36 minutes  He was so funny at the concert. We got a lot of them talking about their upcoming solo activities, and spoilers in some cases. Donghae doesn't have a lot of solo songs out there, which does make this all the more precious, but this is a pre-release for a full album, which is very exciting for him and for us, and I'm very excited to be seeing what he's got for us there. I know who Jay Park is. He...technically debuted only a few years after Donghae did. And I don't know who 1iL is, so I'm going to look that up. And it turns out that he's a member of History! Wow. Okay. So that's Super Junior, 2PM, and History represented in this song, although only one of them is an active member of his respective group. That's a lot of ...

Release date: 2026 February 02 Album track list:  Godsaeng , Dancing under the Stars, Godsaeng(MR), Dancing under the Stars(MR) Album runtime: 12 mi nutes  It's so nice to be able to be properly creative again instead of administrative and editorial. You have no idea. So I'm going to get some of the songs I've been majorly neglecting done. It's a substantial list unfortunately, so I'm going to get some of the ones I have a good idea that I'm going to like out of the way first to minimize the mental load. And while I couldn't tell you which member Sungmin is right now because I only recognize five on sight and he is not one of them, I'm tentatively hopeful about this. (I am actually vaguely familiar with him as a name and what happened to him, but I didn't remember that until I started digging into the song a little.) I'm very intrigued about the whole MR tracks on this single, but I'll have to take a look at them when I'm done with this. ...

 I was so busy this month. Y'all. I didn't do a ton of the reviews, which is coming back to bite me in the butt now that I'm trying to get my year end post worked on. It's fine. Past Fangirl hates Future Fangirl, and it's completely fine.  July debuts! I only did a single review for a debut group this month, and it was for AHOF , who has been doing quite well for a rookie group. I may get 1verse reviewed because I still feel guilty about not reviewing them. Debuts I didn't cover: CrazAngel (girl group), Tomatomat (girl group), 1verse (boy group), 4X4 (girl group) and SEVENTOEIGHT  (boy group).   Big Ocean JJ (subunit of Big Ocean) also debuted. And Kang Yuchan , the lovely maknae of A.C.E, debuted as a soloist! Songs I was looking forward to: BLACKPINK: Look, this was their first release as a group since I started listening to K-Pop. Even if I don't listen to the group a lot (though I do have a few songs I really like, which is unfortunately a high perc...

Given my relative verboseness and frequent rambling, it would be understandable if you're expecting me to ramble about now as well. But I'm not going to! Yet. That'll come at the end. Instead, just enjoy the performances and the winners.  My little comments will show up at the end.  In the meantime, enjoy! performances Alpha Dive One (Intro + FORMULA) BABYMONSTER ( WE GO UP + DRIP ) BOYNEXTDOOR ( Hollywood Action ) Bumsup/Park Bo-gum (Ink Becoming Flesh) Enhypen ( No Doubt + Bad Desire (With or Without You) ) Hearts2Hearts ( FOCUS ) i-dle ( Good Thing ) IVE ( XOXZ + REBEL HEART ) MEOWW ( TURN IT UP ) NCT Wish ( COLOR ) Super Junior ( Express Mode + Mr. Simple + BONAMANA + Sorry, Sorry) Treasure (2025 Free + PARADISE + I WANT YOUR LOVE) TWS ( OVERDRIVE ) Yeonjun (Coma + Talk To You) match-ups Hearts2Hearts X NCT Wish TWS X MEOVV winners Fan's Choice of the Year (Daesang): Enhypen Song of the Year (Daesang): Rosé X Bruno Mars - APT. Fan's Choice Male Top 10 (B...

Release date: 2025 November 20 Album tracklist: Daydream; Like Our First Snow ; Goodbye, My Friend; Still in Memory; Compass Album runtime: 19 minutes  Do I get to start on my Christmas post already? I assume so based on the fact that we have a song called "Like Our First Snow" but it's also not even the first one of the season. Such is life. You think you're prepared for something and then the unexpected happens. But here we are. And as a side note, I'm thoroughly delighted that I understand the Korean of this title! But also, there's only one song that's shorter than three-and-a-half minutes. Bless him. Are you ready for me to squeal delightedly over this instrumental? Because you should. This is absolutely gorgeous. It's soft and slow, with the occasional weighty drum to hold the song down and give it depth. The piano almost makes me want to cry a little bit from how lovely it is. The plaintive guitar. And my favorite instrument for just about anyth...

 It's the most wonderful time of the year!  I'm back with a new selection of Halloween themed or generally spooky songs for you all! Have I spent the year looking for new songs for my playlist? Yes. Yes, yes I have, so if you have anymore suggestions for me, give me the creepy doll songs, the predatory wolfy songs, the haunting and the eerie. I love my Halloween playlist and I listen to it all year long, but October is the official start of when I don't get weird looks from people for listening to it. I am so excited. I get to pull out my Halloween nail polish and the glow in the dark stickers. It's a good time to be me, and also hopefully you as well. So the Halloween recs for you for the year 2025 are: Welcome To The Other Side by DPR Ian (C-Clown) Yes, he's Australian, but he was in the K-Pop group C-Clown, which is one of my beloved 2012s, so I'm counting him. Also, this song is super spooky with dramatic strings at the beginning and artistically applied au...

Release date: 2025 July 8 Album tracklist: Express Mode , Haircut, Air, Delight, I Know, Say Less, D.N.A, Finale, Stuck With You Album runtime: 28 minutes  Average runtime of over three minutes, which is aided by the four minute song, but there are only two that are under three minutes. This is all good. Congrats on your almost 20th anniversary, SuJu! The fun thing about this group is that the group and me almost share a birthday. Just as a fun fact, The Incredibles movie is almost exactly one year older than the group.  The introduction of this song is one of the funniest things I've heard in a while. Oh, my gosh. I thought I'd accidentally hit a radio somehow.  Ah, we've got a skittering beat. Good stuff. I'm a little amused that for what I'm assuming is their 20th anniversary album, they went more hip-hop than they normally go, but you know what? The second gen groups adapting to the times is a good sign. They are keeping it in the family, though, because it...

  Two triple crowns achieved this week! Congrats! Next week will definitely have some new songs by virtue of the fact that there were triple crowns, so I'm excited for that. I just like diversity amongst wins. I think this brings the total wins for this song up to nine. And Eunhyuk's pledge should he win, which he did, is one of the funniest sequence of events I've seen in a while. Donghae, the supportive member that he is, contributed to the hilarity to make it a perfect storm. Fastest retirement, right there. This was RESCENE's first time being on ASC, and they are an adorable group. There was a little bit of leader bullying going on, which brings me joy, and the realization of what they'd done was delightful. I'm really rather proud of this group, and once they get a little more comfortable in front of the camera, I strongly suspect that they'll be weird, little ducks. There was a bit of hilarity for Aron when one of the members mentioned wanting to do a ...

Release date: 2025 January 27 Album tracklist: A-yo, UP N DOWN , TRAP, You & I (feat. Kyuhyun), Step by Step, Second Chances, EMPTY - Special Track Album runtime: 21 minutes  The average runtime of this album would have been a lot higher if that first song wasn't only a minute long. Removing that one brings the average up to almost three and a half minutes, which is delightful. I also remember him saying something about this at SM Town a couple weeks ago, though I could be misremembering things. It was very late, and I was very tired. But what I am definitely for sure about is that this is his first proper album, not his solo debut, and it's been a very long time in coming. I thought this was going to be a bit more hiphop judging by that opening and the record scratching, but it's incredibly synthy, though, and funky, which I think makes it new jack swing. I have a post-it note next to my computer where I have a list of the genres that I've been encountering a lot t...

Release date: 2024 November 27 Album tracklist: Prologue, Unending Days , Journey, Universe, Bring It On, Last Poem, Nights Without You, Horizon, Wishes, One Spring Day Album runtime: 35 minutes  This is his first full album, yes? So that's cool and exciting. Also, even more exciting, all of the tracks except for one are over three minutes long and  more than one are almost four and a half  minutes. The average would be higher if Prologue  weren't just over a minute. I'm so excited for this. He's got a fantastic voice. The way that the instrumentals are deceptively mellow with that fantastic organ at the beginning and then go to full soft rock ballad with a fierce electric guitar gives me life. The best part is even though the energy generally swells up into the climax, it doesn't just continuously build. The chorus has the most energy, as it should, and there's an actual instrumental break and  a bridge, which feels ludicrously extravagant. If this weren't ...

Release date: 2024 November 21 Album tracklist: Ex Games , Ex Games - Chinese Version Album runtime: 6 minutes  As far as I can tell, he's still in the group, although I think he might only be part of their subunit Super Junior M, which is fine. SME seems to run on two models: all the subunits or absolutely no subunits. I genuinely don't know much about Zhoumi, and I'm not sure I've ever heard a Super Junior M song that I knew was a Super Junior M song, so I'm actually very curious about this. The tracks are just shy of 3 minutes. Why does this sound like a ballad the Backstreet Boys would have put out back in the 90s? If I didn't know this was Korean, I honestly would have thought from the sound that the song had been released about thirty years earlier. Wow, that just made me feel old. There are some delicious deep notes from the bass, grounding the higher skittering beat from the drums. Other sections of the instrumentals have a very underwater feel to them, ...