At the end of each month, I look back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists. I take my own ratings into account, but there’s a bit of wiggle room as certain songs tend to grow or fade.
November 2022 Overall Thoughts
The calendar may show one month left in 2022, but the year has already ended when it comes to eligibility for my “Top 50 Singles” list. We’ve now heard every song there is to hear, making this moment feel like a real turning of the page. Honestly, a part of me gets a little annoyed when November ends up being super strong since it makes my countdown ranking trickier. Recency bias is a very real thing!
This month won’t go down in history, but it was more solid than I’d expected. After a slow start, we had a slew of new releases. Many of these songs became quick growers on my playlist. If not classics, they were at least standouts in a somewhat middling year.
As often happens with on this blog, November’s highlights tended to come from lesser-known acts. Most of the big names fizzled, while some old favorites made a rebound. We had a couple of strong debuts and the return of a legend after seven long years.
My top three of the month didn’t turn out the way I had predicted. To be honest, I was holding that number one slot for Kara. But, the more I listen to When I Move the less enthused I am by the song. I’m so happy to see the girls back, but nostalgia and goodwill only gets you so far.
Instead, we’ve got one slam dunk and two major growers. I could see this top three changing with time. B.I, woo!ah!, TO1 and NINE.i nearly slipped in, and that Kara song might make an unexpected u-turn in the coming weeks. But for now, I’m locking in three different songs of vastly different genres and charms. They certainly weren’t the three highest-rated tracks of the month (at least, initially), but it’s satisfying when music organically improves with time.
When it comes to J-pop, my November seemed equally split between two agencies: Johnny’s and LDH/Exile Tribe. The former takes the top spot this month, though it’s a song tinged with bittersweet feelings.
Even without all the new releases, it was a busy month on the blog. I continued my yearly tradition of grading most of the big K-pop agencies (and one J-pop agency) and opened November with an extended spotlight on some of my favorite J-pop acts and songs. Next month will be equally busy, as the year-end countdowns kick off on December 12th.
Month Cumulative Rating: 7.7
(compiled by averaging the scores of every K-pop review from this month)
J-Pop Highlights
Fantastics – Choo Choo Train (review)
King & Prince – Irodori (video)
Kis-My-Ft2 – Omoibana (review)
Naniwa Danshi – Happy Surprise / #Merry Christmas (video / video)
The Rampage – Round Up (ft. Miyavi) (review)
STAYC – Poppy (review)
TOP J-POP SONG OF THE MONTH
King & Prince – Tsukiyomi (review)
K-POP
Honorable Mentions
B.I – Keep Me Up (review)
BoA – Forgive Me (review)
CSR – ♡TiCON (review)
Fifty Fifty – Lovin’ Me / Higher (review / review)
Just B – Me=(Naneun) (review)
Kang Daniel – Nirvana (ft. pH-1 & WDBZ) (review)
Kara – When I Move (review)
Mill (OnlyOneOf) – Beat (review)
NINE.i – Young Boy (review)
NTX – Old School (review)
Tempest – Taste The Feeling (review)
TO1 – Freeze Tag (review)
Treasure – VolKno (Choi Hyunsuk x Yoshi x Haruto Unit) (review)
Trendz – Vagabond (review)
Victon – Virus (review)
woo!ah! – Rollercoaster (review)
This Month’s Risers and Fallers
TOP THREE SONGS
3. VERIVERY – Tap Tap (review)
2. Nature – Limbo! (review)
1. DRIPPIN – The One (review)
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of October 2022
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of September 2022
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of August 2022
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of July 2022
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of June 2022
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of May 2022
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