Oh boy, what a month. It’s taken me quite some time to list my top favorite Kpop songs for August. So many incredible comebacks, it keeps getting harder to list them! But with that being said I narrowed down my top five. But first I’ll list my honorable mentions (in no particular order).
*SIDE NOTE: Usually on my monthly lists I only name songs that are sung in Korean. Sadly I haven’t listed any Chinese, Japanese, or English songs (despite some of my favorite groups releasing great songs in those languages) – because I want to keep it primarily on Korean comebacks. But I did want to briefly mention BTS “Dynamite” and Hyolyn “9LIVES”.
BTS – Dynamite
“Dynamite” is bright, fun, and it always puts me in a good mood. This song appeals to anyone and almost everyone. It’ll make anyone start dancing to it. The music video is full of color and the members look like they’re having fun which makes me (as a viewer) have fun watching them. You can check out my reaction video HERE. If you need a song to brighten your day, BTS “Dynamite” is definitely that song. Also BTS made history – they achieved #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 (2 weeks in a row)! You can watch their official mv HERE.
Hyolyn 9LIVES
Hyolyn “9LIVES” is a beautiful emotional song. Hyolyn’s vocals are exquisite. The music video shows a young dancer who portrays Hyolyn’s younger self and she dances with Hyolyn throughout the video. They perform the song with one of my favorite dance styles, contemporary. I believe people who don’t usually listen to Kpop will definitely love “9LIVES”. This song has a strong emotional drive that pulls on the listener’s heartstrings and makes us feel the pain she feels. I wish more people would listen to this song. You can watch her official mv for “9LIVES” HERE.
CRAVITY – Believer
Vocals, vocals, vocals. This song (just like Hyolyn’s “9LIVES”) is full of emotion. The members sing their heart out in this track and I love it. This song definitely solidifies CRAVITY as a group with extraordinary vocalists (and rappers). You can listen to the song HERE.
ONEUS – To Be or Not to Be
One of my favorite concepts for the month of August goes to ONEUS. The vampire/monarch theme is intriguing and they manage to tie in the storyline from their previous mvs (and performances from Road To Kingdom) seamlessly. With each music video the story digs deeper and I’m eagerly waiting to see what’s next in ONEUS’ saga. Another song worth noting is their b-side “Dead or Alive” it continues the story from “To Be or Not to Be”. Both songs sound great and ONEUS continues to prove that they may be the next ‘concept kings’. You can watch their official mv HERE, you can watch my reaction video HERE.
Now…here we go my top five songs released in August 2020!
5. Seung Woo – Sacrifice
You can watch my reaction video to Seungwoo’s “Sacrifice” MV here.
Victon’s Seung Woo made his solo debut with the song “Sacrifice”. I thought the intro to the song was unique and we definitely see a different side of him throughout his album. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Seung Woo work hard throughout his promotions. I’m highly impressed that he wrote all the songs in his album. I wrote a blog post sharing more of my thoughts about Seungwoo’s solo debut HERE.
4. MCND – Galaxy
You can watch my reaction video to MCND’s “Nanana” MV here.
This song goes hard. “Galaxy” is a melting pot of different sounds, chants, vocals, raps – yet MCND made it work. My favorite part in particular is in the bridge “We got the whole world in our hands.” It’s a jam worthy song that’ll make anyone get up and jump to it. I would also like to point out the rest of MCND’s album ‘EARTH AGE’ is fantastic. Their title track “nanana” is an explosion of energy, their performance is sharp and quick. I have no idea how they do it almost flawlessly and in sync. You can watch their music video for “nanana” HERE.
3. Kang Daniel – Who U Are
You can watch my reaction video to Kang Daniel’s “Who U Are” MV here.
This is the second month Kang Daniel’s music has made it on my favorites list. His song “Waves” was released before his album ‘Magenta’, back in July and it easily became one of my favorite songs of the month. “Who U Are” is a continuation to the sexy, latin pop sounds we hear in “Waves”. I loved each song from his album ‘Magenta’, I wrote a blog post with more details on each track and my thoughts on them. You can read it HERE. But overall bravo to Kang Daniel for a great comeback, not to mention he released a video for each track from his album! He definitely knows how to spoil is fans.
2. ITZY – Not Shy
You can watch my reaction video to ITZY’s “Not Shy” MV here.
To be honest “Not Shy” and their b-side “Be In Love” are equal to me. Although both tracks are completely different, ITZY did a great job in owning both genres. “Not Shy” is loud, confident, and bold. The choreography is catchy and the girls continued to show their growth as a group in this comeback. Their other song “Be In Love” is softer and it showcases their vocals, it’s the type of song we haven’t heard ITZY do before, but the girls did a great job in really making it their own as well. Once again, for those who are not aware – I did write a blog post on their album, you can read it HERE.
1. ONF – Sukhumvit Swimming
You can watch my reaction video to ONF’s “Sukhumvit Swimming” MV here.
Yes, pop the champaign bottle and throw confetti in their air!
My number one song for the month of August is ONF “Sukhumvit Swimming”. This song is absolutely groovy. From the first second of the song, to the chorus, to the bridge, and everything in between this song is a joy to listen to. I particularly love the chants in the background. The music video is equally as thrilling as the song. The members are seen in different sets, wearing different costumes, essentially each member has their own ‘concept’ in the mv. The choreography is sharp yet it still captures the groove of the song. Dare I say….this is one of my top favorite songs from ONF in general (and I’m a huge fan of their discography). The whole concept for “Sukhumvit Swimming” is unique and I’m all for original awesome concepts.
So many groups and artists have gifted us with wonderful songs to close off summer. Like I mention in almost all of my “favorite list” blog posts – there were so many incredible comebacks (and even debuts) for the month of August. I narrow down my list based on the songs that I tend to listen to the most (aka the songs with the most replays). I’m trying my best to write more album reviews throughout the month. So keep an eye on that 😀
You can check out more of my favorite Kpop songs (that were released) in the month of August on my playlist HERE.
-EliMarie
I talk more about KPOP on my channel YouTube.com/elimariereacts
You can follow my Twitter HERE and my Instagram HERE.
