15 Favorite B-sides Of 2016

I thought I was finished but then I remembered that I hadn't posted this list yet, so here it is! Not going to lie, this was probably the hardest list to put together out of all of them. There have been a lot of good albums this year with plenty of great b-sides. I initially tried to narrow the ranking down to my top 10 but it was actually impossible, and so I've instead managed to gather my 15 favorites with a big number of honorable mentions. Let's dive into it!

Lovelyz - Dear You

This is one of my absolute most played songs of 2016 without a question, and one of many great tracks on "A New Trilogy". It has that special J-pop-inspired bubblegum sound that Lovelyz does so great and a melody, structure and instrumental that's to die for.

Day6 - First Time

Don't get me wrong here; I do genuinely love every single track on the mini-album "Daydream" but "First Time" definitely stood out to me. Not only is it a fantastic opener to the album but the song itself is quite simply put everything I enjoy about pop-rock music.


Hyomin - Gold

Although I tremendously enjoyed the other b-sides on this album "Gold" is, in my opinion, on another level. This sounds like it could be a western song with the way the music and melody is constructed, and I mean that in the best way possible. It's incredibly beautiful.

Red Velvet - Some Love

Sadly I was quite disappointed by Red Velvet's "Russian Roulette" as a mini-album, but this song was the one and only saving grace. It's light, poppy and sweet but with a slight undertone of maturity to balance the playfulness. Again it's one of my most played songs of 2016.

Luna - Galaxy

Once again I had to choose from a mini-album full of marvelous songs, but there was no hesitation that "Galaxy" was my favorite out of all of them. Apart from the fact that it's a beautifully put-together dance track my favorite part of it is the joy it exudes, much thanks to Luna's vocals.

I.O.I - Hold On

B1A4's Jinyoung participated in writing b-sides for both of I.O.I's mini-albums, but this one must be my favorite one. The young ladies of I.O.I do a great job with the vocal work but it's the song itself that pulls me in the most; the mixture of feminine softness, maturity and emotion is wonderful.

Twice - Next Page

I was completely floored when I heard this song for the first time as it felt to me as a song with a sound that Twice hadn't really tried before. Gone were the high-pitched vocals and sticky sweetness and instead it allowed room for the members larger registers and a rockier, edgier sound.

SHINee - Don't Let Me Go

This track really is a standard SHINee-esque mid-tempo ballad and they've done quite a few songs similar to this one throughout the years, but I still can't get enough of it. The vocals are spot on as usual (I especially enjoy Key's part) and I love the emotion of the melody and chord structure.

Oh My Girl - Step By Step

Another song composed by Jinyoung, this time for his label-mates for their mini-album "Pink Ocean". It has many of the great characteristics that have made his songs so popular, but it's truly brought to life by the ladies flawless vocal performances.

Winner - Pricked

A duo by Mino and Taehyun (the later no longer being in the group and yes I am still upset about this), it's a emotional guitar-based ballad with painful lyrics heartfelt vocal performances from both of them. It pains me that now we might never see this song sung live.

Astro - Innocent Love

I was actually surprised when I heard this song since Astro's regular sound, the one they're now associated with, is always so upbeat and lively. Although this ballad is about being young and experiencing first love it's actually very mature-sounding and definitely beautiful.

GFriend - Water Flower

It was so hard to decide which song I liked the best from "LOL" because there are so many, but in the end I think the song I've listened to the most is this J-pop-sounding piece. It literally sounds like it could be the opening theme to an anime and that a fantastic one.

BTS - 2!3!

This is probably me being a sappy BTS fan but this song really speaks to me on an emotional level. There are many great b-sides on "Wings" but there's no denying that "2!3!" is the one that I hold most dear, with its lyrics directed to all BTS fans and a chorus that hits right in the heart.

NCT - Switch

This song was featured as a bonus track on NCT 127's mini-album, but it's well-known that this is the unofficial song of NCT as the performed it when they were still trainees. It does certainly hold a lot of nostalgia, but it's also a genuinely great song.

B.A.P - Ribbon In The Sky

Although I loved most songs on "Noir" it was clear from the first time I heard it that this song was the one I loved the very most. It's dark and powerful and has just the type of sound I need to hear from this group, as well as having a strong chorus not easily forgotten.

Honorable Mentions:

Taemin - Soldier

Got7 - Rewind

Seventeen - Say Yes
GFriend - Distance

BTS - 21st Century Girl

Monsta X - White sugar

I.O.I - When The Cherry Blossoms Fade

EXO - Artificial love 

SHINee - Feel Good
4Minute - Canvas
NCT 127 - Wake Up

10 Favorite Albums Of 2016

One of my favorite things to do when one of my favorite groups has a comeback is to immediately go to Spotify and listen to the album (unless it's a JYP group because they still don't have a deal with Spotify). Often I find that I like the other tracks on the album more than the title track and that's why I'm surprised whenever someone says they don't listen to the b-sides; they're missing out on so many great tunes! In 2016 there were quite many albums I enjoyed, but below I have gathered my 10 favorites from the past year.


Taemin - Press It

I feel like Taemin really came to his own this comeback, especially compared to his solo debut that didn't really wow me that much. This album however is truly a step up for him as it's packed with awesome songs of various genres, yet has a impressive sense of coherence.

Favorite songs: "Soldier", "Drip Drop", "Press Your Number", "Already"

Got7 - Flight Log: Departure

I'm still not really feeling "Fly" but the rest of the songs on this mini-album are certified jams. Got7's discography is really all over the place with both good and bad releases, but this album actually shows that they can make good music. Shame it had to be followed up by "Hard Carry".

Favorite songs: "Can't", "Rewind", "See The Light"

GFriend - LOL

I've always liked GFriend's mini-albums and its b-sides, thus I was very excited for their first full-length album and hoped it would not disappoint. As you can tell; it didn't. All the songs have that signature GFriend sound but there is still a variation which makes it a great cohesive album.

Favorite songs: "Distance", "Mermaid", "Compass", "Water Flower"

Oh My Girl - Pink Ocean

This mini-album caught me by surprise because although I liked Oh My Girl before I didn't know they were capable of this kind of good music. It's definitely sweet and girly but that isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially if the songs are of as good quality as they are on "Pink Ocean"

Favorite songs: "Liar Liar", "I Found Love", "Step By Step"

BTS - Wings


Unsurprisingly BTS shows up on this list too because what else can be expected when they release an album as good as "Wings". The album showed great development for the group both with the members all having solo tracks but also with a slight change in sound which I really liked.

Favorite songs: "Begin", "Lie", "21st Century Girl", "2!3!"

Hyomin - Sketch

I feel sad that Hyomin's comeback was so overlooked because although the title track was underwhelming the actual mini-album is pretty phenomenal. There are so many beautiful songs that showcase a deeper musical maturity and Hyomin gets to prove she actually knows how to sing.

Favorite songs: "Gold", "Still", "Only We Are Aware Of Our Story"

B.A.P - Noir

If there's one group whose album this year I was particularly floored by it has to be "Noir". For B.A.P to come back with an album like this after several underwhelming releases brought me so much joy. It's mature and possibly more on the darker side, and I love it because of that.

Favorite songs: "Skydive", "Ribbon In The Sky", "Killer", "Confession"


Luna - Free Somebody

Another overlooked release in 2016 was Luna's solo debut, especially the accompanying mini-album which was just out of this world. Apart from perhaps one song I loved everything, and I love the sound she chose as it both makes for great tracks and allows her to make use of her flawless vocals.

Favorite songs: "Free Somebody", "Keep On Doing", "Galaxy"

Day6 - Daydream

I honestly didn't think that Day6 would be able to release a second mini-album as good as their first one, and I was right. "Daydream" is even better. Every single song is brilliant and the song order is also fantastic as it helps create cohesiveness and fluidity in the album.

Favorite songs: "First Time", "Blood", "Sing Me"

Nell - C

Last but not least we have Nell who also released a new album in 2016 after two years. You all know I love this group and their music, with this album being no exception. It's literally the next beautiful song after the other, and even though it's not my favorite Nell album it's still fantastic.

Favorite songs: "Day After Day", "Vain Hope", "Dream Catcher", "Sing For Me"


Honorable mentions:

Winner - Exit:E
Rainbow - Prism
SHINee - 1 of 1
GFriend - Snowflake
Kim Jae Joong - NO.X
Monsta X - The Clan: Guilty
Twice - Twicecoaster: Lane 1
AOA - Good Luck

Glorious Photoshoots - July

I'm SORRY I didn't post this earlier! I've had this post ready for weeks but I just completely forgot about it. Ah well, I guess better late than never. Let's start off the summery month of July's best photoshoots with gorgeous Luna shooting for The Celebrity. 

K-pop March Recap (And Some February Leftovers)

Hello my friends and welcome back! Like I wrote previously I'm going to briefly discuss some of the comebacks I've been keeping an eye while I was away, most of them occurring during the actual time I was in Korea. However like I said there are some February comebacks I never got around to writing before I left so I will include them here as well although very shortly. I hope you are as excited as I am about getting back into the writing flow and starting posting more regularly again :)