Rob’s Pick of the Week

aespa - Dirty Work

aespa is back with another grimy hip-hop release, in a good way . You know, like the Armageddens and Dramas of the world. It’s not my favorite genre, but I appreciate it. It also feels like the release schedule of most other SM global artist groups. Speaking of grimy, the music video sure does reflect the title, with the members in a post-apocalyptic Mad Max kind of world with dust, dirt, and mud, while still serving visuals. Like I said, I appreciate the genre, but I’m waiting for the next electronic/dance release like the Supernovas and Whiplashes of the world.

Rob’s Second Pick of the Week

fromis_9 - Like You Better

Of course I have to include the second coming of one of my favorite groups. I’m not much for the rock ballad anthem genre, but I count this as a tribute to the fans' kind of release. It feels like the song reflects their return as a group and return to being together with their fans. It’s unfortunate some members didn’t return, but it’s just what happens, especially with groups around the dreaded 7 year mark. Welcome back fromis.

Rob’s Pick of the Week

BABYMONSTER - Really Like You

This release really surprised me. The genre is hitting 90s and early 2000s with each member's flairs throughout. I applaud BABYMONSTER’s ability to release a variety of genres. If you have been around the website, you know that this hits that chill vibe for me.

Rob’s Second Pick of the Week

GFRIEND - Season of Memories

We have to include the generational comeback of GFRIEND. Although the members are mostly separated into different companies, and have been replaced with another girl group, it is almost a miracle that this reunion happened. The song sounds very Jpop, but with GFRIEND’s spin on it. The queens of synchronization are also back with this tough looking choreography. Watching the video got me feeling some type of way with the imagery of their previous works. I would love to see them get together more often.

Rob’s Pick of the Week

KEY - Pleasure Shop

I do appreciate a clubby dance K-pop song. Key is always a reliable artist, especially in his 16th year as an idol. It’s fun to see the infamous cover dancer release a dance track. It’s also fun seeing dancers that I recognize.

Rob’s Pick of the Week

Kiss of Life - Sticky

This has got to be the song of the summer. It’s catchy, it’s chill, and the choreo is going to catch some eyes. It sounds like a throwback, but still current. We haven’t really seen popular Kpop groups take on a concept like this in a while and it’s great to see 5th gen take on something that feels very 2nd gen.

Rob’s Pick of the Week

Red Velvet - Cosmic

This song hit me hard when I heard it. This is a return to the sound that I like from Red Velvet. It’s a mash-up of pop, funk, electronic, with a regal flair. It feels like it’s in the realm of Peek-A-Boo. Without watching the MV, It sounds like a nice song, but there is something unsettling about it, in a good way. The clean vocals clash with the dark bassline, because they sound like they belong in two different songs, but it works. When you see the Midsommar-inspired video, it makes all the more sense. The movie’s aesthetic fits the vibe perfectly. This one is an early song of the year contender for me.

Rob’s Pick of the Week

Kyoungseo - Cherry Pink

City pop strikes again. Yes, there are big names this week, but this is what appeals to me the most. It also hits that chill checkbox for me. I haven’t really heard her music before, but it looks like she usually does pop and ballads. Changing things up definitely caught my attention this week.

Rob’s Second Pick of the Week

aespa - Armageddon

I always have a hard time naming the genre that aespa’s songs are, but this feels like hip-hop mixed with pop. SM groups always have that big contrast in their genres throughout their songs. This song also feels like Black Mamba, but grungier. I also appreciate how good SM artists are at foundational hip hop dances.

Rob’s Pick of the Week

SEVENTEEN - Maestro

After a relatively chill song like God of Music, SEVENTEEN is back with another heavy hitter in the catalog. With a title like Maestro, it does play on classical instruments with a hip-hop/dance/pop spin on it. This song sure is a rollercoaster with several different vibes. Like with Hit and Super, I don’t envy them whenever you need to perform this, especially in a concert setlist. That housing dance break looks like a real killer to anyone’s stamina. Applause to these maestros.

Rob’s Pick of the Week

NewJeans - Bubble Gum

They did it again, even during the craziest week in recent Kpop. They really have this way of modernizing a 90’s sound. I’m trying to put my finger on what this sounds like, but the closest I can get is Summertime in the LBC, just because of the flutes. Now hurry up and get this on streaming so I can bump it in the car.

Rob’s Second Pick of the Week

ARTMS - Pre3: Candy Crush

More appealing to my favorite genres? Yes please. The fun thing about pre-releases, let alone 3 of them, you get to hear songs that you wouldn’t normally get. The company’s concept of being fueled completely by the fans is interesting as well, but anyway, city pop! The video and song are also interesting because I think they’re mashing up things from previous releases, I think people are also thinking this is a shout out to Vivi’s original debut single. Time to continue the Loona lore.

Rob’s Pick of the Week

GRASS - It’s Me GRASS

Yup, I found the one funk song of the week. There were some big names, but this is my recommendation of course. In a week of dark and sadder sounding songs, this one brought up my spirits while reviewing the releases. It’s funky, it’s dancy, it’s GRASS

Rob’s Pick of the Week

Moon Byul - Think About

This was a light week, good thing Moonbyul was here to put out a fun song like this. Being a pre-release, she could explore genres. It was surprising to see a rapper doing a pop/funk song. The video is also fun with all of tiktok-adjacent trends.

Rob’s Pick of the Week

YUGYEOM - LA SOL MI

Yup, this has those vibes. This makes me want to drive the scenic view down to LA on my next trip with this on the radio. It’s just very relaxing.

Rob’s Pick of the Week

(G)I-DLE - Wife

I woke up in the middle of the morning, seeing this release, so I decided to check it out on my phone while half awake in bed. I’m not normally into (G)I-DLE’s music, but with pre-releases, artists can usually stray from their signature sound and I was pleasantly surprised. It’s very american radio-coded. It’s a fun song, it’s too bad that they couldn’t promote it because of the lyrics. I definitely want to see more of this from them.

Rob’s Second Pick of the Week

Kim Jaehwan - Ponytail

I love this kind of modern funk genre. Not many people do this nowadays, but former Wanna One members seem to do it. This song just has a fun and bright vibe to it. I need more of it.

Rob’s Pick of the Week

NMIXX - DASH

Mixx Pop is back. Sonar brought it, but this one was even more pronounced and surprising. It was giving me the same outlandish change up like SM groups. The main vibe of the song feels akin to their brother group, Stray Kids, with their use of the hip hop genre with a sprinkle of jazz. It’s just a super catchy song. Even that credit section was intriguing with it’s animation.

Rob’s Pick of the Week

Oh My Girl - Summer Comes

Yup, deal with my top group bias this week. It sounds like Oh My Girl’s take on Taeyeon’s Weekend, but what if you throw E.One as the producer on it? It’s a fun track, but it doesn’t completely mesh too well. Some of the line’s syncopation doesn’t sound like it matches too well with the music track. Mimi’s rap is also a little out of place, especially if you read the random lyrics of it. But hey, I’m still glad that they’re going strong during their 8th year together. Cheers to many more.

Rob’s Second Pick of the Week

Colde - When Dawn Comes Again (ft. Baekhyun)

This is the pick that fills that chill checkbox this week. If an SM artist is on your RnB track, it’s going to be good. Need to test drive this on a night drive sometime.

Rob’s Pick of the Week

NewJeans - Cool With You/Get Up

I like Cool With You, but let’s be real, I’m here for Get Up, all 35 seconds of it. Let this be an official campaign to get this interlude made into a full length song. The rnb with the well-produced beat is a chef’s kiss. Like the short Jo Yuri songs, let’s let the producers know what we want.

Rob’s Second Pick of the Week

NCT DREAM - ISTJ

It’s nice of them to make a song about my MBTI. This song overall is just really catchy. Those layered vocals that SM is really good at doing provide a big contrast to the hype chorus that I’m usually not into. I almost skipped this song, but that bridge that just comes out of nowhere got its hooks in me. It’s that nonsense change up that NCT likes to do and I’m here for it. Can I get a whole song of this part, it’s like an underground rnb/hip hop/pop song. It’s almost as if NCT changes it up more than NMIXX does nowadays.

Rob’s Third Pick of the Week

NewJeans - ETA

The vuvuzela sounding horn didn’t sit well with me at first, but the vocals saved it greatly for me. I guess that does play into the urgency of the storyline in the MV, but it still sticks out to me. I also really like that second verse with the light rapping was also super catchy. They really don’t miss.

Rob’s Pick of the Week

Jungkook - Seven (ft. Latto)

He’s not one of the biggest names in the business for nothing. This one is an earworm. The instrumental is really interesting with the clean guitar lines, uptempo beat, and thumping bass. Each component sounds like they shouldn’t go together normally, but they complement each other. Put JK’s vocals on top of that, a great combination is made. I’m even getting nostalgic about Craig David listening to this song. I’m not the biggest fan of Latto’s verse, but the rest of the song trumps that, to keep it as the pick this week. Oh and hey, Han Sohee is in the lead role.

Rob’s Second Pick of the Week

NMIXX - Party O’Clock

I had to warm up to this one at first. There are parts that I’m not fully on board with. Specifically, the chorus outro is an example of when choice of english words is a little weird. Other than that, the song hits the electronic dance vibe that I like in Kpop songs. Personally, it sounds like a song that Twice would have done, which isn’t surprising since it was written by the JYP himself.

Rob’s Third Pick of the Week

ODD EYE CIRCLE - Air Force One

The greatest subunit is back, it makes me want to cry. It’s almost a miracle seeing these 3 back together, with everything going on with their old employer. This probably would have been higher up on the list, but it took a few listens to like it. It sort of feels like a few Odd Eye Circle songs mashed up into a singular piece. The pace was surprising, because it jumps around, but it’s sort of reminiscent of Love Cherry Motion. Glad to see them back and I can’t wait to see what the other Ex-Loona members get up to.

Rob’s Fourth Pick of the Week

NCT Dojaejung - Perfume (Jafunk Remix)

I don’t normally consider remixes for the playlist, let alone a pick of the week, but here we are. I can recall that I liked the original when it came out, but this remix swings it more to my taste. Electrofunk, sign me up.

Rob’s Pick of the Week

Junny - Invitation (ft. Gaeko)

I had to double check that this wasn’t already released a long time ago. If you were on social media at all in the last few years, you’ve probably seen a video with the first few bars as a background song. I guess this is the actual release after being just the few bars as a contest previously. Those first few seconds are worth the price of admission, but the rest of the song is definitely a cohesive product. It’s rnb, but it’s not slow. It’s got that vibe of just lounging around.

Rob’s Additional Picks of the Week

This was an abnormal week for new releases. I think this is the most I’ve ever approved for the playlist so far. It’s also a week where there were a lot of picks, so here’s just a bunch of additional picks in no particular order. Hey, there’s even a jazz song that gave me the ratatouille flashback sequence of my time listening to Casiopea vs T-Square. Wild week.

Rob’s Pick of the Week

EXO - Hear Me Out

Am I an EXOL and I don’t know it? Maybe. Like all SM songs that I’ve picked, something about their r&b tracks I like. Maybe it’s the Redbone sample, but this song puts a spin on that vibe.

Rob’s Pick of the Week

0WAVE - Summ’ Time

This is a fun one. It’s got that driving down the freeway with the windows rolled-down kind of feel. Being a hip-hop group, the beat feels fresh. I wouldn’t have known that they weren’t a boy group if I didn’t look it up.

Rob’s Pick of the Week

EXO - Let Me In

Something about SM r&b tracks always hits. I’m still not familiar with most members because there’s always a lot of them in SM boy groups. This song is pretty chill, but it feels like hip hop too. Reminds me of one of my top songs of 2022, NCT U - Rainy Day.

Rob’s Second Pick of the Week

Dept, Lilly Choi - Rainy Day (Feat. Ashley Alisha, J.O.Y)

I was about to overlook this, because I usually don’t parse lyric videos but this is my kind of music. Instrumental is very fresh, and the vocals are crisp.