Rules
- 1 song per artist per list
- No set rankings (order is generally good to best)
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"DON'T MESS WITH ME" - BVNDIT
Live performance (with live band)
Prior to the Re-Original mini album, I wasn't really into BVNDIT. However, I enjoyed several songs off this mini album, and this b-side, which closes the album, really shocked me. Right from the intro, I think this dance pop b-side is insanely catchy. The chorus, while repetitive, is such an earworm. The rap in the second verse is relatively subtle but is delivered well and perfectly fits into the song. The bridge slows things down a bit, before we get a beat drop following the third pre-chorus. We then get an increase in tempo shortly after, and I just find the flow of this song so addicting! The vocals are really nice throughout this track as well! I've linked both the studio version of the song and the it's Live performance with the live band.
Sadly, 5 months after this album released, the group disbanded just 3.5 years after debuting. They didn't even release any new music in 2021, and what was even more upsetting was their company announcing the debut of their new boy group just 2 months after disbanding BVNDIT. It's so upsetting that their time as a group was cut short way too soon, especially after the release of a strong mini album like Re-Original. At least I'll always have this b-side to remember them by.
"DON'T MESS WITH ME" English translation
Other nominee(s): "AWAKEN"
"Cursor'" - PURPLE KISS
Sadly, 5 months after this album released, the group disbanded just 3.5 years after debuting. They didn't even release any new music in 2021, and what was even more upsetting was their company announcing the debut of their new boy group just 2 months after disbanding BVNDIT. It's so upsetting that their time as a group was cut short way too soon, especially after the release of a strong mini album like Re-Original. At least I'll always have this b-side to remember them by.
"DON'T MESS WITH ME" English translation
Other nominee(s): "AWAKEN"
"Cursor'" - PURPLE KISS
- co-composed by Chaein
- co-written by Chaein, Yuki
Live clip (shortened)
Purple Kiss were on both my title tracks and b-sides lists last year, so it's probably not surprising they're here again. They put out quite a few great b-sides last year, but I had to go with the gorgeous "Cursor" for my Purple Kiss pick! I really like the acoustic guitar at the beginning and the piano that comes in afterwards. The vocals are definitely the highlight and are absolutely gorgeous. The chorus gets me every time, especially the first part. "Cursor" is rather melancholy, but I find it somewhat comforting and extremely relatable. The lyrics are beautiful and well-written as well. The live performance video is really good, but it's not the full song unfortunately. However, you really get to appreciate the harmonies and ad-libs going on in the final chorus in the video!
"Cursor" English translation
Other nominee(s): "Can't Stop Dreamin'", "Pretty Psycho", "Intro : Bye Bye Bully", "SuMMer RaiN"
"La Luna" - ICHILLIN'
Music show performance
Full cam view of music show performance
ICHILLIN's Bridge of Dreams mini album really surprised me last year. I felt like their releases in 2021 had moments of greatness, but lacked cohesion. However, I really enjoyed the title track on this album, "Play Hide & Seek", and "La Luna" impressed the hell out of me! I really liked the contrast in concepts between the title track and this b-side too. If it weren't for the occasional excessive use of autotune, I probably would've put "La Luna" in "first place", because I wasn't expecting such a strong song from this group!
This is another 80s inspired new-tro song, but I'd say it leans more on the new side than the retro side overall. "La Luna" is really catchy to the point where I don't even mind that there's quite a bit of repetition. But what really took this song to the next level is the choreo. I was so surprised when their company announced they would be promoting this b-side on music shows and that it had choreo! The majority of the choreo was made by FreeMind, and I believe this was one of their best choreos of 2022!
The choreo features a lot of formations and point moves that resemble different phases of the moon, but there are also quite a few fast and sharp moves (the latter part of the first verse is a good example of this). I was impressed by their clean execution of the choreo and their synchronization. I'm linking a full cam fancam so you can appreciate all the details of the choreo.
"La Luna" English translation
"PANDORA" - UP10TION
Where do I begin with this b-side? This is the first time I've felt so passionate about an UP10TION song, which makes it even more upsetting that this song was paid dust. This b-side could have easily been a title track, and I believe it would've done well too. Instead, their company not only didn't make this a title track, UP10TION didn't get to promote it at all. Talk about the definition of a missed opportunity here.
"PANDORA" fits in well with the current trendy boy group sound, but it doesn't fall into the typical annoying pitfalls of the trend. There's no chanting or shouting in this song, the instrumental isn't overly abrasive, and the rap is pretty good. The vocal and rap melodies are catchy and well-written, and I think they are what make the song. The instrumental on its own is catchy but a bit empty at times, so it's the vocals and rap that really fill out the song. I particularly love the final chorus, especially Sunyoul's high notes. I think "PANDORA" would've been really cool with choreo too. It's such a shame that we didn't even get an official performance video for this song.
"PANDORA" English translation
"MVSK" - Kep1er
This is another 80s inspired new-tro song, but I'd say it leans more on the new side than the retro side overall. "La Luna" is really catchy to the point where I don't even mind that there's quite a bit of repetition. But what really took this song to the next level is the choreo. I was so surprised when their company announced they would be promoting this b-side on music shows and that it had choreo! The majority of the choreo was made by FreeMind, and I believe this was one of their best choreos of 2022!
The choreo features a lot of formations and point moves that resemble different phases of the moon, but there are also quite a few fast and sharp moves (the latter part of the first verse is a good example of this). I was impressed by their clean execution of the choreo and their synchronization. I'm linking a full cam fancam so you can appreciate all the details of the choreo.
"La Luna" English translation
"PANDORA" - UP10TION
- co-written by Kuhn, Bit-to
Where do I begin with this b-side? This is the first time I've felt so passionate about an UP10TION song, which makes it even more upsetting that this song was paid dust. This b-side could have easily been a title track, and I believe it would've done well too. Instead, their company not only didn't make this a title track, UP10TION didn't get to promote it at all. Talk about the definition of a missed opportunity here.
"PANDORA" fits in well with the current trendy boy group sound, but it doesn't fall into the typical annoying pitfalls of the trend. There's no chanting or shouting in this song, the instrumental isn't overly abrasive, and the rap is pretty good. The vocal and rap melodies are catchy and well-written, and I think they are what make the song. The instrumental on its own is catchy but a bit empty at times, so it's the vocals and rap that really fill out the song. I particularly love the final chorus, especially Sunyoul's high notes. I think "PANDORA" would've been really cool with choreo too. It's such a shame that we didn't even get an official performance video for this song.
"PANDORA" English translation
"MVSK" - Kep1er
Music show performance
Full cam
Not sure if anyone remembers, but this is another song that I praised a ton when it dropped. I understand that Kep1er's title tracks aren't for everyone, especially since they've all had the same template so far, but people are missing out if they think their title tracks are their best songs. Kep1er put out several stellar b-sides in their debut year, but there is just something special about "MVSK".
This song isn't as flashy as the title track of this album, but there are so many well thought out elements and developments in the track. Here we have another song that starts out in the lower vocal register, and of course I love it. The little bits of bass guitar in the background of the first verse are really cool and complement the vocals really well. The pre-chorus is catchy and builds up the energy, only for it to lead to an anti-drop chorus.
Anti drop choruses are a bummer half the time however, I think this is one of the best anti-drop choruses of 2022. I love the couple beats of silence at the start of the first chorus. I'm not entirely sure why, but it's always been captivating to me. Shortly after, there are some acapella vocal samples, which sound especially cool with headphones since they pan between headphones. The second half of the chorus has the energy that was expected from the start, so the song doesn't leave you hanging.
The second verse is great and I love Hikaru's parts, though that isn't surprising since she is my bias haha. The bridge features a great instrumental break instead of lyrics, and the final chorus is strong and ends the song nicely. On top of being a fantastic song in and of itself, "MVSK" also has an amazing choreo!
The choreo is sophisticated, feminine, and confident, just like the song. The choreographers at Aura really nailed it with this choreo; it has great musicality and fits every single part of the song so well. There are a number of detailed hand and arm movements, but the girls execute every move with clean, powerful precision.
Some of my favorite parts are the end of the 2nd pre-chorus where Yujin is held by Xiaoting and Mashiro, the incredible dance break during the bridge, and the final chorus. I'm especially partial to the dance break since Hikaru leads it, and she is such a captivating dancer. All in all, this is an incredible b-side from Kep1er, and I was more than happy to end my b-sides list with this song!
"MVSK" English translation
Other nominee(s): "Downtown", "Dreams", "Lion Tamer"
This song isn't as flashy as the title track of this album, but there are so many well thought out elements and developments in the track. Here we have another song that starts out in the lower vocal register, and of course I love it. The little bits of bass guitar in the background of the first verse are really cool and complement the vocals really well. The pre-chorus is catchy and builds up the energy, only for it to lead to an anti-drop chorus.
Anti drop choruses are a bummer half the time however, I think this is one of the best anti-drop choruses of 2022. I love the couple beats of silence at the start of the first chorus. I'm not entirely sure why, but it's always been captivating to me. Shortly after, there are some acapella vocal samples, which sound especially cool with headphones since they pan between headphones. The second half of the chorus has the energy that was expected from the start, so the song doesn't leave you hanging.
The second verse is great and I love Hikaru's parts, though that isn't surprising since she is my bias haha. The bridge features a great instrumental break instead of lyrics, and the final chorus is strong and ends the song nicely. On top of being a fantastic song in and of itself, "MVSK" also has an amazing choreo!
The choreo is sophisticated, feminine, and confident, just like the song. The choreographers at Aura really nailed it with this choreo; it has great musicality and fits every single part of the song so well. There are a number of detailed hand and arm movements, but the girls execute every move with clean, powerful precision.
Some of my favorite parts are the end of the 2nd pre-chorus where Yujin is held by Xiaoting and Mashiro, the incredible dance break during the bridge, and the final chorus. I'm especially partial to the dance break since Hikaru leads it, and she is such a captivating dancer. All in all, this is an incredible b-side from Kep1er, and I was more than happy to end my b-sides list with this song!
"MVSK" English translation
Other nominee(s): "Downtown", "Dreams", "Lion Tamer"
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Another list down, just one more to go (finally)! So far, all my lists have been very balanced gender wise. K-pop fans would probably find that surprising, since girl groups/female artists dominated the charts overall in 2022. I do agree that overall the girls put out better material and had more variety as well. And I can assure you my group title tracks list reflects this dominance. I was a little surprised the ratio for my title tracks list last year was 11:9 in favor of the ladies, and it's even more skewed in their favor this year. However, spoiler alert, none of the main viral girl groups of 2022 are on my title tracks list funnily enough (but please know that I did enjoy several of their songs).
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