Opinion

BI-MONTHLY K-BOPS (APR-MAY 2022)

June 7, 2022

Back with our favourite K-Pop single picks from recent times! We missed out reporting last month, but fret not we have complied our personal standouts from April and May in this post!

ILY:1 – LOVE IN BLOOM

Making their hot debut in April, ILY:1 delivered a slight throwback to the tropical house trend from 2017-2018 that all consumed K-Pop during the period. But with scarce singles of the genre nowadays, and the tend for girl groups to gravitate towards a teen or girl crush sound, it was so satisfying to get a slice of classic feel good girl group music. The summery instrumental is bolstered by a multi-part chorus that doesn’t rely on a drop as much of trop-pop did, and the sweet vocals, and rap bring the track to an infectious finish. Did we mention that almost all music stages they promoted on featured their clear live vocals?? Nothing more to say!

RYEOWOOK – BLUEBIRD

This groovy jazzy song is not rich on musical instruments which gives plenty of space to focus on RYEOWOOK´s amazing voice. The slowed down tempo of the electric guitar is just right for us to blend into the lyrics and enter the fantasy land the singer prepared for us. In this world, the singer reminisces of past love and passes his feelings of loneliness and loss to the listeners while not overshadowing them with sorrow or bitter taste.

JUST B – RE=LOAD

JUST B have been rookies to watch for a while since their monster debut with ‘Damage’ last year. With another comeback under their belt, this new track returns the group to a harder hitting and melodic sound. The song isn’t taking prisoners with its rock intro, but the boys’ more familiar rap tone and strong vocals soften the impact on listeners to invite them through the song’s journey. Its pre-chorus and chorus combo is absolute perfection in the balance of melody, beat, and catchiness.

LUMINOUS – WISH YOU WERE HERE

This song gives us a confidence boost and longing for someone to have while walking down the path of life, to witness all our falls and raises. The light-hearted melody and catchy chorus is just right to make this song a perfect track for your summer travels with friends. While the lyrics might hint loneliness as well it is wrapped in the sunny blanket of light melody and beautiful voice execution of the group members. Luminous are also scheduled to perform in Sweden next month, so we might expect this song to be performed LIVE during their KON convention stage.

KANG DANIEL – UPSIDE DOWN

Carving out his place as a soloist, KANG DANIEL released this moody piece. Maintaining its upbeat and fun nature, there is a sense of sadness or longing throughout the melody as it focuses on the heavier beats. The minimalist synth used in the verses builds beautifully to the chorus drop as even the singer’s voice sounds slightly drowned and assimilated into the looping instrumental; perfect for driving or walking down a chilly night.

ASTRO – CANDY SUGAR POP

This song is all we need for the upcoming summer! The upbeat track is filled with nicely fitted rap parts, catchy chorus as well as those little moments that just leave us in wonder. Astro went for the track we matched them with: bubbly, sweet and fuzzy. The colorful MV also has its performance version which presents us a full view of the fun and choreography and the amazing dancing skills of all members.

BRAVE GIRLS – WHISTLE

These past two months couldn’t go without mentioning the massive show that took over K-Pop Twitter, Queendom 2. Finishing at the very start of June, the finale saw all six participants release their comeback songs. BRAVE GIRLS stuck to their guns and along with Brave Sound, possibly released one of our summer bops of the year. Its bright, catchy and keeps the instrumental interesting (love the rolling synth featured in the verses).

Let us know what your favourites were in the comments below!

Keep following Officially KMUSIC for your Kpop news.

Written by Derek and Terry