Hey y’all! I know I mentioned before that as my interest go and change there would be new and different kinds of post on RSR. This is one of those! Shelly and I worked together to go over some of OUR favorite kpop releases of January to March (April to come!). The goal is for this to be a monthly kind of post so it’s not so long or overwhelming for those of you new to Kpop! The albums are in order of release date (no not favorite) and all links go to the appropriate artist’s YouTube so they get the views. But more than anything this is just something fun Shelly and I wanted to do. We really just love to talk to you all when it comes to what we love (or don’t love)!
Momoland, Great!
Artist: Momland
Album: Great!
Title Track: Bboom Bboom | Music Video
Label: Double Kick Company
Release Date: January 2 2018
Shelly: I admit that I don’t really have thoughts about most of this album except that the title track is AMAZING. I’m notorious for not listening to full albums and this is definitely one of those occasions. Bboom Bboom is a really perfect upbeat song to just dance around to, which is why I love it.
Octavia: Like Shelly said the title track for this one is amazing. It is such a bop you have to dance to it! As far as the rest of the album goes, there weren’t many songs that really stuck with me. The vocals are what I’ve come to expect from most KPop girl groups and the rapping is pretty meh in all honesty.
Infinite, Top Speed
Artist: Infinite
Album: Top Speed
Title Track: Tell Me| Music Video
Label: Woollim Entertainment
Release Date:: January 8 2018
Octavia: Tell Me is SUCH A GOOD FREAKING SONG. But the overall album left me going meh.
Stray Kids, Hellevator (Mixtape)
Artist: Stray Kids
Album: Hellevator (Mixtape, Pre-Debut)
Title Track: Hellevator | Music Video
Label: JYP Entertainment
Release Date: January 8 2018
Shelly: When this album came out I was a bit confused because this isn’t Stray Kids debut, this is technically their mixtape pre-debut. Even though this mixtape is only a few songs, all of it is amazing. It definitely got me excited for their official debut (which we will discuss below)! Hellevator is such a great song, a bit dark but still with enough energy to make it catchy.
Octavia: Hellevator is a song I love not because of the song but because of the background. Does that make sense? I like the song but know how long and hard and what they went through to get it out is why I love the song. Then there’s Spread My Wings, which I just flat out love.
Monsta X, Spotlight- Single
Artist: Monsta X
Album: Spotlight- Single (Japanese Release)
Title Track: Spotlight | Music Video
Label: Mercury Tokyo
Release Date: January 10 2018
Shelly: Much to Octavia’s chagrin, this song hasn’t made it to my playlists yet BUT the video is amazing.
Octavia: THIS IS MY JAM! It’s on at least 4 of my playlist (a post for another time) and the video is DOPE!
JBJ, True Colors
Artist: JBJ
Album: True Colors
Title Track: My Flower | Music Video
Label: Fave Entertainment
Release Date: January 17 2018
Octavia: JBJ is a group that grew on me thanks to their 2017 debut song “Fantasy”. True Colors isn’t spectacular. It doesn’t stay on repeat, and honestly sometimes I forget about it. But when a song from this mini album randomly comes on thanks to shuffle I’m always shook. For a project group (they’re disbanding in May) their songs sound like they’ve been around each other for ages.
Shelly: This title track took a bit for it to grow on me but I really like it. Like Octavia said, it’s nothing too spectacular but definitely worth a listen.
Sunmi, Heroine- Single
Artist: Sunmi
Album: Heroine- Single
Title Track: Heroine | Music Video
Label: MAKE US Entertainment
Release Date: January 18 2018
Shelly: I don’t know much about this song other than it’s been described as the prequel to Gashina, Sunmi’s hit song. Like Gashina, I really like this one even if the significance of the videos totally flies over my head.
Octavia: I realize it’s not a contest but I loved Gashina more! That’s not to say Heroine isn’t dope. It is. And I love the swag that Sunmi embodies. I just have a preference here.
Weki Meki, Lucky
Artist: Weki Meki
Album: Lucky
Title Track: La La La | Music Video
Label: Fantagio
Release Date: February 21, 2018
Shelly: this title track is catchy but I wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to it. I won’t turn it off if it comes on but I won’t really want to listen to it, if that makes sense? It gets a simple like from me.
Octavia: Weki Meki is a group I stumbled upon after watch an “Idols react to BTS” compilation on YouTube. Yoojung was jamming out without a care in the world to Fire and I instantly loved her. Is Lucy an Earth shattering album? No. Is it something cool to jam out to while you’re in traffice on the way home? Definietly. Like Shelly I don’t go “Oh I HAVE to listen to La La La!” But I do have it on a number of playlist and when it comes on I enjoy it.
Jonghyun, Poet | Artist
Artist: Jonghyun
Album: Poet | Artist
Title Track: Shinin’ | Music Video
Label: S.M. Entertainment
Release Date: January 23 2018
Shelly: Post-humous albums are always difficult to discuss because there’s always a bittersweet feeling. I love this album and it’s definitely hard to discuss it without thinking about his death. I’m going to make myself cry, aren’t I?
iKon, Return
Artist: iKon
Album: Return
Title Track: Love Scenario | Music Video
Label: YG Entertainment
Release Date: January 25 2018
Shelly: iKon’s return album is great! I like a few of the songs on it and the main music video is adorable, though it did give me a bit of a headache (too much spinning).
Octavia: Definitely an all-time favorite over all Kpop album for me. I appreciate the cute factor in Love Scenario but it’s the rappers that make me stan iKon and I think that’s ok.
Red Velvet, The Perfect Red Velvet
Artist: Red Velvet
Album: The Perfect Red Velvet (Re-package)
Title Track: Bad Boy | Music Video
Label: S.M. Entertainment
Release Date: January 29 2018
Shelly: Red Velvet is one of my favourite girl groups and this new song was just amazing. It’s definitely one of my favourite songs of the year so far.
Octavia: Like Shelly Red Velvet is my favorite girl group. Ice Cream Cake was my first experience with them (thanks JHope) and the growth they’ve gone through as a group is obvious and appreciated. I understand why they went with Red Velvet as their group name because literally all of their voices are like Velvet and I didn’t even cringe when I wrote that.
Jay Park, Forget About Tomorrow- Single
Artist: Jay Park
Album: Forget About Tomorrow- Single
Title Track: Forget About Tomorrow | Music Video
Label: AOMG
Release Date: January 30 2018
Octavia: I LOVE JAY PARK. Yes because he is fine, but also because honey spit bars! And it turns out he’s a dork which is just bonus points at this point. Forget about tomorrow is
completely in English and it’s a complete “get out your seat and dance” kind of track. And who doesn’t love that?Shelly: I agree with Octavia. This is a song that’s made to be danced to.
EXO, Countdown
Artist: EXO
Album: Countdown (Japanese Debut)
Title Track: Electric Kiss | Dance Practice Video
Label: S.M. Entertainment
Release Date: January 31 2018
Octavia: I’m not a hard core EXO fan but I definitely appreciate their music and all the work they put in to it. Countdown isn’t an album I just put on replay or one that gets stuck in my head. But when it comes on I dig it. I dance to it. And I appreciate it. And their dance practice videos legit give me life (The Eve is my JAM!)! Countdown isn’t my favorite album by them, THE WAR holds that position (you should check it out!) but it’s definitely one that’s on a few of my playlist.
Seventeen, Director’s Cut (Re-package)
Artist: Seventeen
Album: Director’s Cut (Re-package)
Title Track: Thanks | Music Video
Label: Pledis
Release Date: February 5 2018
Shelly: Thanks is one of my favourite songs from Seventeen. I’m a huge fan of their more catchy tunes like Change Up and Check-In (the SVT line puts out great songs) but Thanks has quickly become a new favourite too. The dance and meaning behind it is wonderful.
Octavia: I have so much love and respect for Seventeen it’s borderline creepy. But seriously these 13 men are unbelievably talented. The handle their own choreography, composition, and lyrics and all of that work literally SHINES through in their music.
Hyolyn, To-Do List- Single
Artist: Hyolyn
Album: To-Do List- Single
Title Track: To-Do List | Music Video
Label: Brid3
Release Date: February 6 2018
Octavia: Hyolyn, or Hyorin, has some unbelievable vocals. I mean, blow me over level vocals. But To Do List is subtle. I’m not saying that it doesn’t showcase the lungs on Hyolyn, just that it shows that her voice, while powerful, can nail those softer songs too. I played To Do List almost nonstop when it first released and even now when it comes on I stop what I’m doing just to appreciate this woman’s range.
BoA, One Shot, Two Shot
Artist: BoA
Album: One Shot, Two Shot
Title Track: One Shot, Two Shot | Music Video
Label: S.M. Entertainment
Release Date: February 20, 2018
Octavia: I understand why and how BoA has remained so popular in the KPop game. One Shot, Two shot as a single is so fun. But it also has an adult feel to it, which at 29, I deeply appreciate. Nega Dola, is probably my favorite song from the album as a whole and the video, again, is SO FUN! One Shot, Two Shot, is that album I toss on when I want to be grown….but also fun.
CLC, Black Dress
Artist: CLC
Album: Black Dress
Title Track: Black Dress | Music Video
Label: Cube Entertainment
Release Date: February 22, 2018
Octavia: The video to the title track is what made me give CLC a chance. Sadly that’s the only song I really liked, and honestly it’s not even a song that I can play whenever because it comes on so intense and sometimes I need a break from all that.
J-Hope, Hope World (Mixtape)
Artist:J-Hope (of BTS)
Album: Hope World (Mixtape)
Title Track: Daydream | Music Video
Label: Big Hit Entertainment
Release Date: March 2 2018
Shelly: Even though BTS is my all-time fave, I didn’t really think too much about J-Hope until this mixtape. With this mixtape, J-Hope has solidified himself as one of my bias wreckers and I AM HERE FOR IT. This entire mixtape is amazing and it’s one of few albums that I can listen to on repeat without getting bored.
Octavia: Like Shelly I didn’t think much about J-Hop pre Hope World. I respected his skills as an artist and dancer (go watch the Boy Meets Evil video!!!!) but as far as BTS went he wasn’t someone in the front of my mind. This mixtape changed all of that. There are so many different styles of music on this one mixtape and his skills as a rapper totally blew my mind. I respected him before but I love and respect him now.
Shelly: j-hope forever.
Octavia: No lies detected Shelly.
Mamamoo, Yellow Flower
Artist: Mamamoo
Album: Yellow Flower
Title Track: Starry Night | Music Video
Label: RBW
Release Date: March 7 2018
Shelly: Starry Night is a slow but dance-worthy song. The vocals are amazing and after watching a few videos about the members, I love this group. The members are all so adorable and fun that watching them is like watching pure sunshine.
Octavia: Mamamoo is new to me but they are definitely one of my favorite girl groups thanks to this album. Starry Night is such a good song and the visuals in the MV are AH-MAZING! But the whole album, while short, is worthy of a full listen without skips and that’s high praise from me. My favorite by far is Be Calm (the song at the end of the Starry Night MV) which is a solo track of Hwasa (who is stunning but then again they all are so no surprise there). Her vocals are amazing but more than anything you can feel so much emotion in the song and everything about that gives me life.
Heize, Wish & Wind
Artist: Heize
Album: Wish & Wind
Title Track: Jenga | Music Video
Label: CJ E&M Music
Release Date: March 8 2018
Shelly: This album is amazing for when I’m in an introspective mode and want something light to listen to. Heize’s voice is amazing and the concept for all of this album’s videos are worth a watch.
Octavia: I admit I was sleeping on Heize. It wasn’t until Round and Round (I’ve never even seen the KDrama this OST is from but I want to) found it’s way to me that I realized how talented Heize is. And Wish & Wind holds no punches in further proving that point. But, Are You? Is my favorite song of this album and for some reason it keeps me all in my feels and I’m cool with that.
GOT7, Eyes on You
Artist: GOT7
Album: Eyes on You
Title Track: Look | Music Video
Label: JYP Entertainment
Release Date: March 12 2018
Shelly: This album totally made me aware of GOT7 and they easily have become one of my favourite groups since. Octavia and I are even going to their concert in July, and yes, we’re doing the Hi Touch. Suffice to say, this entire album is amazing and I love it. It’s not their best (7 for 7 still has that spot) but it’s memorable and catchy. Look is one of my new favourite songs and I catch myself trying to recreate their dances from the music video. I’m not even sorry.
Octavia: While 7 for 7 will always be my favorite (so far) GOT7 album I truly loved Eyes on You. You can tell that GOT7 was reaching outside their normal box and I love that. I love when artist see their norms and push past them. And to see that each member worked on the album as a whole? Talent is more than just the vocals (though amazing) or the rapping (also amazing) or the visuals (I SEE YOU JB BOO). Look is a great title track but for me, Eyes on You had me at Thank You.
NCT 2018, Empathy
Artist: NCT 2018, NCT 127, NCT Dream, NCT U
Album: Empathy
Title Tracks and Music Videos: Boss – NCT U | Baby Don’t Stop – NCT U | GO – NCT Dream| Touch – NCT 127 |Black on Black – NCT2018
Label: S.M. Entertainment
Release Date: March 14 2018
~ Before we start the flailing, we should explain the above artist labels. This is one album but there are 4 artists also labelled and you may be super confused. NCT 2018 describes all 18 members of this large supergroup. NCT 127 is the Seoul-based group, NCT Dream is all of the youngsters of the group (18 and under) and NCT U is all of the older members. All together, this adds up to 18 members that are 100% stan-worthy. ~
Shelly: This is one of my favourite albums of the year, hands-down. All the subgroups have won my heart and I am amazed that I can even remember what the subgroups all mean. 18 members in one group does seem a bit intimidating but the full album is definitely worth listening. There’s not a lot of artists whose full album wins me over but NCT has done just that.
Octavia: Like Shelly this is one of my fave albums so far too. The sub units really threw me at first but at this point I know all (except for like 4 of NCT DREAM) their names and which songs they’ve participated in. And you would think that with 18 members it would be hard to focus when it came to talent. Nope. Each member shines so much in their own way. From Taeyong, the sweet (and yes he fine) shy leader who slays with his rapping and vocals. To Mark (go Canada you did great sweetie) who leads with raps that are so outside of what I’m used to from boy KPop groups. To Haechan hitting notes that legit take me by surprise each time. This is an album I easily can play from the first to the last song on repeat and be perfectly fine.
Shelly: (YASSS MARK. I honestly stan him because he’s Canadian and he’s the only member in all 4 groups. HE DID THAT.)
Wanna One, 0+1=1 (I Promise You)
Artist: Wanna One
Album: 0+1=1 (I Promise You
Title Track: I Promise You | Music Video
Label: CJ E&M Music
Release Date: March 19 2018
Shelly: Octavia will probably smack me but I’m not a huge fan of Wanna One yet but I will say that Kang Daniel (the leader) is easily one of my favourite humans. That’s all.
Octavia: Wanna One is another project group and I’m so annoyed they’ll be disbanding this year! 0+1=1 is not their best work. Boomerang is about the only song I actually love and honestly the only part of the I Promise You video that I appreciate is the slow mo rewinds. I want more from them and I’m sure we’ll get another mini album before December. I just wish we could see them grow more as a group.
Monsta X, The Connect
Artist: Monsta X
Album: The Connect
Title Track: Jealousy | Music Video
Label: Starship
Release Date: March 25 2018
Shelly: The full album hasn’t grown too much on me yet but I am obsessed with the title tracks. Definitely one of my favourite songs of this year.
Octavia: THESE ARE MY BABIES! I can’t say I love all the albums a KPop group has put out (even BTS doesn’t hold that title…Oh R U L8 2?! Is a side eye…sorry not sorry) but I can say exactly that for Monsta X. And The Connect is no different. And the album is so good! There’s maybe one song I can skip (I’m a listen to this straight through a few times kind of listener) but honestly overall I love what they’ve done here. It’s always hard to give every member their time in the spotlight but Monsta X does this flawlessly. And added bonus! They too are dorks after my own heart.
Stray Kids, I am NOT
Artist: Stray Kids
Album: I am Not
Title Track: District 9| Music Video
Label: JYP
Release Date: March 26, 2018
Shelly: One of few artists to appear twice on this list, Stray Kids is not playing this year. It’s hard for me to stan them fully when they’re so young but I still love them. Their mixtape earlier this year definitely made me excited to see what they do next and I am NOT did not disappoint. Their title track and Mirror are some of my favourite songs of the year and I love most of the songs on the album.
Octavia: Stray Kids are actual infants (seriously the youngest was born in 2001 the oldest? 1997!) so I can’t say I hard core stan them but! I do really like this album. It didn’t blow me away musically but I love how hard they’ve worked to get this album out there. And they seriously have some of the best choreo.
TVXQ, New Chapter #1: The Chance of Love
Artist: TVXQ
Album: New Chapter #1: The Chance of Love
Title Track: The Chance of Love | Music Video
Label: S.M. Entertainment
Release Date: March 28, 2018
Octavia: Like BoA TVXQ has been in the KPop game a long time. And New Chapter #1: The Chance of Love, has that grown sound that I R&B from my childhood had. I think that’s why I love it so much. Some of the younger groups can feel like that. And while it’s always nice to feel young some days you want to be reminded that you’re grown. That you’re sexy. That you out here handling all that, and TVXQ does exactly that. Even their video for The Chance of Love exudes that “grown man cocky but not in a jerk way” feel and I am here for it.
AND THAT’S IT! For Jan. through Mar. at least. Please check back in a few weeks for what April releases made out list!
Oh my gosh, yesss! This post is amazing. It includes a lot of my K-pop favorites from the past few months as well. I’m going to have to admit I’m a big SM stan (to clarify, a fan of the artists not so much the company, haha) so I really loved Countdown, Empathy, and The Perfect Red Velvet. And listening anything related to Jonghyun still makes me tear up. I cry nearly every time “Before Our Spring” plays. Anyway, such a beautiful album! T_T
Mamamoo is also a new group for me too! I knew they existed before but I also fell in love with “Be Calm” since it’s the type of music I’m into these days. :’) Another favorite was Hobi’s “Daydream.” That one is such a great jam, omg. I’ve been listening to that track a lot. XD And, lastly, Heize is one of my favorite solo artists! (I first discovered her on Unpretty Rapstar.) Her vocal timbre is so unique and I love her laid-back R&B style.
Anyhow, great list! And yes, continue to post whatever you guys love even if it’s not bookish. 🙂
Thank you, that means a lot!! <3
I agree, SM does have an awesome artist line up, most of their albums this year were fantastic!!! Hobi's album is so fantastic, I agree. Heize has such a great voice, I love her too! I need to listen to Mamamoo more, I think I've only really listened to the title track.