Alright everyone, it’s time to switch out iced lemonade to warm pumpkin lattes. Summer is ending and it’s always a bit sad, mostly because I LOVE upbeat, high energy, bright songs. However, I don’t mind a good ballad once in a while 😉
Anyway August satisfied my never-ending need for fun songs.
Here’s my reaction video to Gray’s “Baby Don’t Cry” MV.
Before I get to my list I want to say my FAVORITE album release is Gray’s album Grayground. Once again, I’m at the crossroads where I’m not sure if Gray is considered ‘Kpop’. But regardless his album is the most replayed album of the month for me.
I filmed several MV reactions to the videos he released. My favorite tracks are “Baby Don’t Cry” feat. Yumdda. This song has SAVED me during some stressful days. “I Don’t Love You” feat. Coogie, it’s another one of my favs. Of course I have to mention “Rise” feat. DeVita, I’m hoping Gray will release a video for that song in the future. But overall ALL the songs are amazing.
Grayground is definitely one of my top favorite albums of the year.
So now here’s my list of favorite Kpop songs released in August. In NO particular order.
Ten and YangYang – “Low Low”
Here’s my reaction video to Ten and YangYang “Low Low” MV.
I’ve been playing “Low Low” every morning ever since it was released. It is so addicting. The friendship and performance synergy between Ten and YangYang is so fun to watch. Yes, this song is entirely in English but it’s on the list because it’s amazing.
CIX – “Wave”
Here’s my reaction video to CIX “Wave” MV.
Good message and a fun beat. “Wave” is a solid comeback for CIX. The song they released earlier this year “Cinema” is one of my fav songs released this year and now “Wave” is also part of that list too. But I do want to mention their b-side tracks “Confession” and “BAD DREAM”. My goodness. Their vocals, the lyrics, the sentimentality you feel with “Confession” is beautiful. “BAD DREAM” is title track worthy too, it’s intense, high energy, and awesome.
Somi – “Dumb Dumb”
Alright, so I feel like this song is a hit or miss. People either love it or hate it. This happens with a lot of artists, especially when they are still experimenting with various genres to find what really works for them. I’ll admit I wasn’t a fan of “Birthday”, Somi’s debut song. However “What You Waiting For” was one my ultimate fav songs.
So when “Dumb Dumb” was released I knew I would like this song if I played it several times. I was totally right. The song is repetitive and the choreography sticks to your head. I think the choreo really helped me enjoy the song even more.
Stray Kids – “The View”
Yes, I love “Thunderous”, I love all the other songs on Stray Kids album NOEASY. BUT “The View” takes the number one spot for me. It’s different from the other songs SKZ released in their album. Now, keep in mind, I LOVE Stray Kids sound, the hard beat, quick raps, strong vocals, etc.
But “The View” is so calming and for some reason I’m constantly drawn to that song and I replay it the most. Of course, I gotta mention “WOLFGANG”, even though they released this song during Kingdom, but I’m happy they included it in their album and I’ve also had that song on repeat.
ONF – “Popping”
Here’s my reaction video to ONF “Popping” MV.
How can a happy song make you feel ultimately sad? Simple. Just watch ONF music video. ONF managed to make this bright summer jam into something that gives you mixed feelings.
I love this song, I love the choreography, their performance is super fun to watch. But when I think about their plot twisting music video I don’t know how to feel. I love what ONF did with this comeback. Definitely one of the most surprising MVs of the year for me. Regardless, “Popping” contains everything I love (and more) from a summer song.
MIRAE – “Splash”
I am so sad I didn’t film a video for MIRAE’s comeback. But “Splash” is an awesome hard hitting song. I love how intense MIRAE is. Honestly though, all their b-sides are so good. If I could list all of them here, I would. MIRAE is definitely a promising group and this comeback was simply awesome!
TXT – “LO$ER=LO♡ER”
TXT’s growth has been one of the most fascinating things I have witnessed in my short journey of Kpop so far. Seeing how they started in 2019 till now, this group is a definite monster rookie.
“Loser = Lover” is an emotional rock song. They’re tackling genres and themes that I haven’t seen many boy groups do (at least not in the last couple of years). They really pour so much emotion in their songs and this was a solid and unique comeback for TXT. I look forward to see what else they’ll release.
Red Velvet – “Queendom”
Here’s my reaction video to Red Velvet “Queendom” MV.
Of course I have to include “Queendom”. I’m so happy Red Velvet returned with a positive upbeat song. I filmed and wrote an album review for them, you can check it out HERE. Overall Red Velvet’s songs will definitely hype you up for your day.
CL – “Spicy”
I saved one of the best for last….the Queen herself, CL!
The song “Spicy” is signature CL. It’s bold and full of confidence. No one can duplicate what she has in terms of music and her performances. I’m happy she’s releasing music, we definitely needed it.
There’s so many amazing releases that I loved but I didn’t mention on this list. You can check out my monthly Spotify playlist to check out more songs that I enjoyed 🙂
-EliMarie
I talk more about KPOP on my channel YouTube.com/elimariereacts
You can follow my Twitter HERE and my Instagram HERE.
*I do not own any of the pictures of the artists and groups on this post.
