MUSIC MONTH IN REVIEW (DISCUSSION POST): MAY 2022: omonatheydidnt

adenar in omonatheydidnt

MUSIC MONTH IN REVIEW (DISCUSSION POST): MAY 2022

Jun 16, 2022 19:37

Everyone was being very dramatic in their concept photos for May! I was on holiday for half of it so I'm totally out of the loop. Let's review it~

February Review | March Review | April Review

[new music top ten]

LE SSERAFIM "FEARLESS" MV & 1ST MINI ALBUM [FEARLESS] LISTENING POST by rose_potion with 84 comments
SEVENTEEN ENTER THEIR HOE ERA WITH 'HOT' MV 🔥 + ALBUM LISTENING POST by 996677 with 30 comments
🐍 BVNDIT - VENOM MV 🏍️ by rightclick5ave with 24 comments
GOT7 NANANA MV, ALBUM AND MORE! by nudrive with 23 comments
TXT - 'GOOD BOY GONE BAD' MV & 'THURSDAY'S CHILD' LISTENING POST by pikapika217 with 23 comments
HYO - 'DEEP' M/V (+ORIGINAL B-SIDE 'STUPID') by adenar with 21 comments
"QUEENDOM 2" EPISODE 7 PERFORMANCES by waves_of_light with 18 comments
BOA: “THE GREATEST” MV by dior_chic with 14 comments
WOODZ "I HATE YOU" M/V + "COLORFUL TRAUMA" LISTENING POST by misshallelujah with 12 comments
QUEENDOM 2 FINALE SONGS (NEW SONGS FOR THE SHOW) by dior_chic with 11 comments

Queendom coming to an end and changing it up to release more independent music definitely helped make May more interesting (I'm still listening to Tell Me Now). A couple of you took one for the team with your posts, we salute you.

[monthly music news overview]

link to spreadsheet

this image....is so long.
There's almost twice as many musical releases posted to omona last month - I think there were in general a lot more unusual releases (Queendom), but also there were a lot more OST's posted to omona this month, which is really cool.
[second chance songs]

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I asked in the discord if there was a song omonians would recommend for this section, and kyungwons and kalsipher both recommended Jeong Sewoon's 'Rollercoaster'. Jeong Sewoon is a 25-year-old soloist under Starship Entertainment, signed after appearing K-Pop Star, and debuting after ranking 12th in Produce 101 S2. He composes his own songs but sometimes hires others to write lyrics - in this case, the famed Kim Eana.
Roller Coaster is a cheery, slightly funky track with a well-used brass section in the chorus and uplifting lyrics about seizing the day. The music video focuses on being stuck at home and wanting to go out to an amusement park, but instead of focusing on how depressing quarantine is, focuses on how productive some were able to make it. It's a very cute song, and Sewoon has a very sensitive, agile voice, which shines in the falsetto parts of the chorus.

If you can think of any songs you'd like to be featured in this section, feel free to message me anytime!

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There's a lot of citypop/retro fans on kpop so it feels a shame to let COOING's 'One Last Time' go by without a second look. It's composed by COOING herself, who also did the lyrics. The verses are quite dreamy and piano-led, but there's a strong beat and driving bassline throughout that leads well into the higher-energy choruses. There's some nice fashion in the video - I particularly enjoy the yassified cowgirl look. COOING's vocals are rounded and commanding throughout her range, with some especially lovely low moments just before the choruses and some very nice adlibs at the end that explore some angelic higher notes. COOING is a 25-year-old singer-songwriter under Starit Entertainment, and this is her fourth release.

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We used to be all over Yezi during UPRS, and maybe it's time we were again. 'Acacia' is a great balance between Yezi's harder-hitting tracks and something more public-friendly. It's also always great when she decides to remind us all that she's a seasoned vocalist as well as a top rapper. xoxkenzxox said "this song sounds like a combination of all Mamamoo members' solo songs somehow" and while that could be a compliment or an insult, I'm here for it on this occasion at least. There's some neat instrumentation going on, with some nice variation in the percussion and some higher-pitched guitars and synths that carry through the song to balance out the power in the chorus.

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'Roommate' is the lead single off of ONEWE's third anniversary special release, 'Timeless'. The band originally debuted as M.A.S 0094 in 2016, and changed its name ultimately to ONEWE upon signing with RBW. This is a nice, sweeping rock ballad that starts off very relaxed and ponderous and evolves into something very powerful, with added strings for that really uplifting feeling. The lead singer has a very full, slightly baritone-esque voice, and his harmonising partner has a very complimentary, lighter tenor tone.

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I feel like I'm always including a song called 'Party' or something similar in this section. Koyo is very charming and cute, enough to make the video enjoyable beyond its budget. She's got a very girlish, light voice, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't pack some power and energy. This is a true indie guitar-led track, accompanied by some very nice background synths that give this punchy song a very slight dreamy feeling.

[songs omona missed]

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Ok, we didn't actually miss this one - I accidentally left it off the list because I didn't realise that it had been included in the post about him topping the charts. omonians em_cavey and broadcities did two excellent posts about South Korea's newest digital monster - you can find a profile of him here and his chart-topping antics here. I'm not a ballad fan to be honest but I have to admit that I could listen to this man all day. When can we get this man (he's 31) into musical theatre? To summarise, Lim Young Woong won Mr Trot in 2020 and his career (he debuted in 2016) has been soaring ever since, as has his chart position. You may also remember that his fans have managed to get Le Sserafim into yet another controversy by raising concerns about them winning over him at Music Bank despite...well, everything.

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The theme of this section is 'chill' this week, apparently. 'Miracle' is an extremely pared-back r&b track with direct 90's influences. It's pretty sexy, to be frank. Put it on when that special someone comes round? The video is very appealing, with a CGI futuristic backdrop that becomes a potentially unintentional 5th Element reference when paired with Sumin's fun red bob. Sumin is as charismatic as ever, and her voice perfectly suits this track.

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BOYHOOD made his debut in 2017 under his birth name Nam Donghyun, and if you're thinking that sounds familiar, it's because this hidden gem is Nam Taehyun's younger brother. He joined Taehyun's band, South Club, in 2018, but left a year later. 'Far Away' is a really lovely, melancholy guitar ballad, with some 00's rock stylings in the guitar melodies and harmonies. The song builds in emotion and structure in a very balanced, stable way up to its climax in the last chorus. BOYHOOD has a vocal style that strikes a lovely midpoint between rock vocalists and more traditional, classical trained singers.

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Ji Sehee has been around the industry longer than any of your faves (excepting maybe BoA), having debuted in 2008. Ignoring the very budget video, this is a really fantastic, powerful rock ballad. Ji Sehee has that kind of well-trained, experienced, powerful rock voice that so many senior singers in South Korea do, and she makes this track shine. It's the piano backing that makes this track sparkle, and the very slight synth touch brings it up to the modern era.

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Not sure how we missed this one, with the several Good Day + Associates we have in this comm (myself included). This is Song Heejin's latest output, an English language piano ballad that really shows off Heejin's full vocal potential that we may never have got to see had her idol career taken off. There's something very musical theatre about this track, which isn't an insult in any way. The surprise upbeat outro is a really nice ending to this song, taking it from a standard (though very good) ballad to something more special.

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?

source: me & googe sheets, starshipTV, COOING, Yezi, ONEWE, SUPER SOUND Bugs!, 임영웅, Warner Music Korea, BOYHOOD, 지세희 Official, Jiniisong

onewe, trot, yezi, round-up, starship entertainment, fiestar, rbw / rainbow bridge world