MUSIC MONTH IN REVIEW (DISCUSSION POST): DECEMBER 2021
Hello omona! Welcome to episode 2 of omona's Music Month In Review. Amongst all the Christmas covers and festivities, there were a lot of releases last month, so let's get down to it.
LAST MONTH'S POST
~BRIEF FOREWORD AND EXPLANATIONS~
- Overseas releases are still left out for this month, I'll try and incorporate them starting next time.
- we stan waves_of_light, the ultimate music poster.
- i put the header together on befunky.com ok please don't drag me, i still have yet to download proper photo editing software
- this is still a work in progress so if you have any suggestions etc please let me know!
[Top 10 commented new music posts]Top 10 commented new music posts;
AESPA "DREAM COME TRUE" MV with 62 comments
IVE DEBUT WITH ELEVEN MV with 46 comments
NCT 2021 - 'UNIVERSE (LET'S PLAY BALL)' BY NCT U M/V with 43 comments
NCT 2021 - 'BEAUTIFUL' M/V + 'UNIVERSE' ALBUM LISTENING POST with 22 comments
EVERGLOW - PIRATE MV with 37 comments
MONSTA X "YOU PROBLEM" MV & "THE DREAMING" ALBUM LISTENING POST with 29 comments
NCT 2021 - 'MIRACLE' BY WAYV TRACK VIDEO + NCT 127 WINS AT THE 2021 ASIA ARTIST AWARDS with 20 comments
BAMBAM FEAT. SEULGI "WHO ARE YOU" with 17 comments
XDINARY HEROES MAKE THEIR DEBUT WITH "HAPPY DEATH DAY" with 15 comments
MINHO - HEARTBREAK MV with 15 comments
NCT cheated this month tbh! This month the top posts had less comments but the bottom posts had more, so the top ten were closer, stats-wise. This month's top post was a lot less positive than November's.
[An overview of all new music posted to omona in December]An overview of all new music posted to omona in December;
spreadsheet with links available here
50 music posts this month, which is more than November. It has to be noticed that there are always more music posts each month that I don't feature here, as they're late posts from previous months. I've been trying to update the November one to include the belated posts from that month, I'll try to keep doing that. There were 3 debuts this month (IVE, Xdinary Heroes, Rocking Doll), and one disbandment (Checkmate). As ever, a massive thanks to users who contributed music posts to this community!
[A selection of releases that omona missed]A selection of releases that omona missed;
Click to viewT1419 are a nine-piece under MLD Entertainment who debuted in January 2021. This is their fourth comeback already, and they also had a pre-debut release. "Red Light, Green Light", released on December 2nd, samples the children's song now made infamous by Squid Game. This is a hard-hitting, noisy edm (trap?) song with heavy rap sections and a contrasting flute sample that enforces that slight folk music flair.
This is technically from the end of November but I'll squeak it in here. Liha is a 30-year-old soloist who debuted in February 2021. Her debut, Bleu Moon, was a strong city pop sounding track. Manicure still has city pop stylings evident in the verses, with a funky guitar lead and a jazzy instrumental, but the chorus mixes in elements of edm for a harder-hitting effect. OP likes her because she likes older solo artists and we're currently sporting similar hair colours.
Both AOMG and H1GHER released company ciphers at the beginning of the month; I'm featuring AOMG's because it has more women in it. Is it worth sitting through a bunch of tryhard old men and a bunch of hairdos (and more) stolen from black people? Maybe not. Who are half these men anyway
Amber Liu's music (and actions) post-f(x) have been pretty divisive. Don't Dance, released on 3rd December, has a much slicker production, less awkward lyrics, city pop leanings, and feels a little like a direction that would suit her a lot if she wanted to take it.
Soloist Sole's contribution to the festive spirit was r&b leaning 'merry merry', which is honestly a really nice song. I actually think it might be my favourite from this year. It's a hopeful, simple song with a very cute, slightly silly video.
Queen Wasabii is known for being over-the-top and unabashed, and this video is no exception. It feels like there's a lot of Cardi B cosplaying going on in this video (and I don't just mean the piano sample in the track). The song would have been better without the Obligatory Male Feature, I feel.
The ELFs can riot all they want, but apparently Sungmin cannot be stopped. This is a very standard, heartfelt piano/guitar ballad, which of course means that with Sungmin's voice, it's very beautiful.
Goopy is a 24-year-old solo singer who debuted independently in 2018. This is exactly the kind of indie vibe you're expecting from the video still. The song is very chill, and Goopy definitely has a much nicer, more emotive voice than most people doing music like this.
So, omona, let's discuss!
What are you still listening to?
What grew on you?
What fell out of favour quickly?
Did you miss any releases that you would have been looking forward to?
Who surprised you and who let you down?
Is there anything omona missed that you'd recommend?
Did you find that the reaction to releases in other kpop communities was different to omona's?
sources: me & google sheets, MLD ENTERTAINMENT, VIC Entertainment, AOMGOFFICIAL, Amber Liu, Amoeba Culture, Queen WASABII, 1theK (2)