I’ve been pretty vocal when talking about music I like that I’ve been staying away from boy bands—for the most part. A couple songs have managed to slip through the cracks and make it onto my “Best Of” K-pop playlist, as the title says.
10cm, “What the Spring??”
This was the only male K-pop song on my playlist for a very long time; this is song 23 and the next is song 147. Wow, I actually didn’t even realize that until I started writing this! Anyway, I was introduced to “What the Spring??” through a cover Mimi and Jiho from Oh My Girl did a while back, and the song is just infectious. I think this would be an amazing song to sing karaoke to, you know?
SEVENTEEN, “Pretty U”
This is the first of several songs I got into because of Girls Planet 999, and is not the last on this list. I was enchanted by a performance of this song from the competition. It’s very addicting, and I love singing along to it. It makes me feel really good, though I can’t really figure out why that is. Maybe one day I’ll learn some of the choreography to this, especially the chorus, and maybe one day I’ll be able to hit the high note, haha.
BTOB, “Missing You”
Along with “Pretty U,” “Missing You” was added quickly to my list after a performance from Girls Planet 999. This is more of a ballad, and I really like the contrast that it brings to my playlist from all the higher-energy songs. I very much like pretending to be brooding and heartbroken while singing this in the shower, haha.
PSY, “Gangnam Style”
…I put this on my list because I listen to my playlist on shuffle. It’s a prank on myself that catches me off guard every time.
k.will, “Please don’t…”
I first heard this song during a club meeting, and like “Missing You” I think it brings a more melancholy edge to my bright playlist. The music video is really good, especially the ending that I didn’t see coming. I very much like the pleading sort of voice he uses in this song; it’s another I like belting out when I’m alone.
BTS, “Permission to Dance”
I’m gonna put it out there right now, I’m not an ARMY. I’ve heard maybe three of BTS’s songs all the way through, in fact. This just happens to be one of them, and I think it’s one of the best of their songs that I’ve heard. It’s something I can imagine being played at a school dance, but a good school dance, not a boring one. So here it is on my playlist.
Epik High, “Fan”
I was introduced to this song through a video on sasaengs (stalker fans) and quickly went to listen to the whole song, and I think this is one of my favorites. It makes me feel like I’m running, somehow, and I quite enjoy that feeling. I’m not really sure how much else I have to say about this, but I really do enjoy when this comes up on my playlist. I’m glad I added it.
N.Flying, “Gurenge”
Rounding this out, we have… Well, it’s not a K-pop song. It’s a cover of the Demon Slayer opening theme “Gurenge” by LiSA. But since that’s one of my favorite anime openings, and this is a really good cover, I thought I would be crazy to not include it on my playlist. It’s one of the most recent additions to my playlist, which I think ends both that and this article pretty well.