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my favorite kpop discographies (because why not!) [1/2]
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paradisediner's 2nd gen poll, I felt like listing my favorite kpop discographies just because. there's no rhyme or reason to this post, these aren't necessarily in order. I won't even try to fit everything into a set number (like top5, top10). it's just vibes! and an excuse for me to gush about things I love. always fun.
it's easy to start because I have an incomplete playlist with some my favorite gg discographies and included all songs I love from those. (so no instrumentals, no remixes, no feats I don't vibe with, etc.) I never finished the playlist but it helps! because 3 of those are the biggest discographies, anyway lol
in the interest of not making this too long, and giving myself time to really comb through my favorites, I'm splitting this post into two: this part for the girls, next one for the boys. I think I've mentioned this a few times, but I used to be a big bg stan! my windows media player library used to be mostly bgs, with ggs being the odd ones out. ten years later, it's the opposite: I listen to a handful of ggs but pretty much only 2 bgs consistently, save a few occasional exceptions. that means there will be more ggs to go through briefly, and two very thorough dives into the bgs.
but enough talking, let's get listing:
THE group for me when it comes to music, so this will be a bit more detailed. the first song they ever released was also the first song I heard, and to this day it's one of my favorites. I was a fan IMMEDIATELY after listening to this:
predebut + debut: all their predebut singles were 10/10 to me, and the "hello" album only made me love them even more. (I love the song "hello" too despite being an intro. I've always wanted the full version!!) "mr ambiguous" is one of my favorite debut tracks for sure. that tweet that goes "this song makes me fluent in korean"? "mr ambiguous" and "décalcomanie" for me. "baton touch" and "I do me" are also perfect, no notes.
piano man/um oh ah yeh era: best first comeback in the history of comebacks! I love it. and their first(?) ost, "my everything", and "ahh oop!" (love it SO MUCH, the MV is great too), and "girl crush", and "I miss you". I wasn't the biggest fan of "um oh ah yeh" musically despite the fun MV, BUT the "pink funky" album is excellent - shoutout to "freakin shoes" (title track material!) and "a little bit".
melting: my actual favorite kpop album of all time! a staple during my college years. "you're the best" is what I usually pick as my favorite mamamoo song when I have to choose only one, closely followed by "my hometown" and "recipe". I can't overstate how much this album was made for me...
speaking of classics and great MVs, "1cm pride/taller than you" MY MOST BELOVED!!!
I never considered myself a leggo because I wasn't following them closely when they were more active, but I love their music and hani is my beloved. their "street" album is one of my all-time favorites too! you know what, maybe I'll add a favorite albums list somewhere in the next post.
first of all, best lyrics to sing along to:
"I pray that you go to hell 🥰🌸💃😍"
- intermission -
by mentioning EXID I feel the need to mention TRI.BE, shinsadong tiger's group also closely mentored/produced by elly. while I love TRI.BE's first three albums with my whole heart, 1) they don't have such a big discography yet, and 2) their most recent songs haven't been working as well for me. so! a quick shoutout to:
...and I might as well mention the other tiny discography on my list: EVOL! such a funny group to get attached to because they disbanded after the first comeback so they have like, 7 songs. but god, I loved these songs. I still have their physical album, even. so:
- intermission over -
a group I didn't find until 2020 (!) and know very little about, but their discography is currently one of my favorites. they just have songs that are very my vibe? I like their sound? similar to how before kingdom happened I was really vibing with SF9's discography despite not knowing much about the group. anyway, wjsn!
I consider my love for their sound now the biggest example of how my taste changed throughout the years. save a few exceptions, for my first 6(?) years in kpop I wasn't super into the bright/dreamy kind of gg music that wjsn has for most of these. now, though? now this is my JAM.
their units clearly work for me because what got me into them was wjsn chocome's "hmph!" and one of my favorite songs/performances from them is wjsn the black's "easy". I mean...
do I need to explain?
I've always considered myself a very laidback, sporadic secret enjoyer but looking back, I listened to their songs so much between high school and college? especially their "moving in secret" album. this is a group that I would probably have followed for years and years if they were still together, because just like mamamoo, I really like their sound + their voices. but then again, it's one of those cases where we can be glad the members are not under their original company, so :') there are good disbands!
trying my best not to illustrate this section with a 140809 hyosung fancam and choosing instead one of my favorite tracks. they were so fun on stage:
didn't mean to get into them as much as I did, but their music is kind of really up my alley. title tracks in particular, and especially the "I NEVER DIE" / "I love" / "I feel" 3-album run was pretty much flawless to me. I first started listening to them due to "queendom" (that I started watching for mamamoo!) and then they released "oh my god" and I fell in love. that song and MV are such favorites that I have to give it a shoutout again:
the same people who made this MV made the "ROAR" MV!!! thank you, rigend film.
a small entry but I'd be remiss not to mention them because "just go"? one of my favorite albums in kpop! it also kinda encompasses everything I like in their discography, since I only really followed their music up until alex left (?) (I think? the member changes were already out of control back then.) this stage alone certainly changed several pathways in my teen gay brain:
quick shoutout to that one "killer" stage too, and to all the "pop pop pop" stages that I revisit once or twice a year.
honorary mentions (aka "I like to listen to them but I only know a few of their songs or they have a very tiny discography that I wouldn't necessarily list with the others")
VIVIZ, ITZY, PURPLE KISS, 3YE, STAYC, TWICE.
paradisediner's 2nd gen poll, I felt like listing my favorite kpop discographies just because. there's no rhyme or reason to this post, these aren't necessarily in order. I won't even try to fit everything into a set number (like top5, top10). it's just vibes! and an excuse for me to gush about things I love. always fun.it's easy to start because I have an incomplete playlist with some my favorite gg discographies and included all songs I love from those. (so no instrumentals, no remixes, no feats I don't vibe with, etc.) I never finished the playlist but it helps! because 3 of those are the biggest discographies, anyway lol
in the interest of not making this too long, and giving myself time to really comb through my favorites, I'm splitting this post into two: this part for the girls, next one for the boys. I think I've mentioned this a few times, but I used to be a big bg stan! my windows media player library used to be mostly bgs, with ggs being the odd ones out. ten years later, it's the opposite: I listen to a handful of ggs but pretty much only 2 bgs consistently, save a few occasional exceptions. that means there will be more ggs to go through briefly, and two very thorough dives into the bgs.
but enough talking, let's get listing:
MAMAMOO
THE group for me when it comes to music, so this will be a bit more detailed. the first song they ever released was also the first song I heard, and to this day it's one of my favorites. I was a fan IMMEDIATELY after listening to this:
predebut + debut: all their predebut singles were 10/10 to me, and the "hello" album only made me love them even more. (I love the song "hello" too despite being an intro. I've always wanted the full version!!) "mr ambiguous" is one of my favorite debut tracks for sure. that tweet that goes "this song makes me fluent in korean"? "mr ambiguous" and "décalcomanie" for me. "baton touch" and "I do me" are also perfect, no notes.
piano man/um oh ah yeh era: best first comeback in the history of comebacks! I love it. and their first(?) ost, "my everything", and "ahh oop!" (love it SO MUCH, the MV is great too), and "girl crush", and "I miss you". I wasn't the biggest fan of "um oh ah yeh" musically despite the fun MV, BUT the "pink funky" album is excellent - shoutout to "freakin shoes" (title track material!) and "a little bit".
melting: my actual favorite kpop album of all time! a staple during my college years. "you're the best" is what I usually pick as my favorite mamamoo song when I have to choose only one, closely followed by "my hometown" and "recipe". I can't overstate how much this album was made for me...
speaking of classics and great MVs, "1cm pride/taller than you" MY MOST BELOVED!!!
click here to expand my list of some other favorites and honorary mentions ♪
- décalcomanie / I wasn't super into the album but this song? my religion. my go-to song on smule since I don't have access to kpop karaokes.
- aze gag / also not super into this comeback/album in general but with time I came to love "yes I am", and "aze gag" is just fun. I grew up on funny/punny songs, this is my kind of thing.
- paint me
- starry night
- rude boy
- wanna be myself (!!!), gleam (!), gloomy coincidence, everyday (maeil bio), wow / their osts/ad songs are ridiculously good?!
- egotistic
- sleep in the car
- midnight summer dream
- no more drama
- waggy
- gogobebe / what I tend to call their most commercial song because it feels particularly pop-y. I was hooked on it for most of 2019!
- hip
- destiny
- universe
- ZzZz
- chuck / "aya" may have been a mistake but I *LOVE* this song. I sorta ignored the album when it came out (because what a truly baffling direction to take after "hip") but I ended up going back to it later thanks to this song.
- 1,2,3 eoi!
- the ENTIRE "I say mamamoo: the best" album. them rerecording their old songs could've gone very poorly but these new versions are just as good, if not better than the original recordings. I have the physical album and it's one I play often on the stereo.
- mamamoo+: bada boom, ggbb, chico malo, dangdang / I've been so into everything they're releasing as a duo. very my vibes.
- solar: HONEY BEE, spit it out (!!!), honey, raw, dun dun dun, colors, but I, blues
- moonbyul: weird day, eclipse, moon movie, absence, shutdown, lunatic, touchin&movin, dark romance
- hwasa: twit, chili, maria / I don't listen to "maria" a lot, that album gets me a little too melancholic? but I like the song! and "twit" was my jam when it came out.
EXID
I never considered myself a leggo because I wasn't following them closely when they were more active, but I love their music and hani is my beloved. their "street" album is one of my all-time favorites too! you know what, maybe I'll add a favorite albums list somewhere in the next post.
first of all, best lyrics to sing along to:
"I pray that you go to hell 🥰🌸💃😍"
click here to expand my list of favorites and honorary mentions ♪
- I feel good
- call / the entire "hippity hop" album is perfect to me, actually.
- up and down / obviously. this song makes me wanna dance every time.
- hot pink
- night rather than day
- don't want a drive
- only one
- like the seasons
- woo yoo (hani solo) / listening to this song and having my eyes opened to the fact that kpop groups have a very specific way of singing that doesn't always align with how they'd sing outside of the group.
- are you hungry? (jeonghwa & hyelin) / made the terrible mistake of using this as my alarm for a while so I was burned out of it but it's still a classic.
- DDD / MY SONG!!! it was on my playlist for like two years for good reason.
- lady / big fan of this 80s vibe.
- a sul hae
- I love you
- trouble, b.l.e.s.s.e.d, bad girl for you / their japanese songs are surprisingly fun to me and I don't mean this to disparage japanese songs, but because exid's japanese discography is so electronic(?) that I wouldn't normally vibe with it, but I do.
- cream / excellent, 10/10.
- todak todak
by mentioning EXID I feel the need to mention TRI.BE, shinsadong tiger's group also closely mentored/produced by elly. while I love TRI.BE's first three albums with my whole heart, 1) they don't have such a big discography yet, and 2) their most recent songs haven't been working as well for me. so! a quick shoutout to:
- doom doom ta / also one of the best debut tracks ever in my heart.
- rub-a-dum / also one of the best first comebacks ever pls my girls only had PERFECT stages for this era.
- +18
- kiss / not my favorite on first listen but I grew to love it and now I'm like BLOW A BLOW A LITTLE KISSSSSSSSS. (the performances are fun too! soeun you are a STAR!!!)
- witch
- loca, loro, lobo / "loro" being the undisputed best song in this trilogy!!! I LOVE the choreo video.
...and I might as well mention the other tiny discography on my list: EVOL! such a funny group to get attached to because they disbanded after the first comeback so they have like, 7 songs. but god, I loved these songs. I still have their physical album, even. so:
- we are a bit different / I was so into this debut...
- let me explode / THIS SONG!!!
- get up / this was for bisexuals everywhere with jucy's hey guys, hey ladies. maybe the reason why I dislike 2min-long songs nowadays is because I couldn't understand why this was such a short song back then lol
- magnet
- I'm sorry / just like peanut~ ♪
WJSN
a group I didn't find until 2020 (!) and know very little about, but their discography is currently one of my favorites. they just have songs that are very my vibe? I like their sound? similar to how before kingdom happened I was really vibing with SF9's discography despite not knowing much about the group. anyway, wjsn!
I consider my love for their sound now the biggest example of how my taste changed throughout the years. save a few exceptions, for my first 6(?) years in kpop I wasn't super into the bright/dreamy kind of gg music that wjsn has for most of these. now, though? now this is my JAM.
their units clearly work for me because what got me into them was wjsn chocome's "hmph!" and one of my favorite songs/performances from them is wjsn the black's "easy". I mean...
do I need to explain?
click here to expand my list of favorites and honorary mentions ♪
- momomo / I have both the korean and chinese versions of their songs on my playlist, I like both.
- catch me
- tick-tock / honestly the entire "would you like?" album is 10/10.
- secret
- would you kiss me? / LOVE this song.
- robot / LOVE THIS ONE EVEN MORE!!!
- good night
- I wish
- happy / one of the best kpop songs to ever kpop song imho.
- mr badboy
- babyface
- plop plop
- love o'clock
- reinassance
- kiss me
- save me save you / BUTAKHAE!!!
- I-yah / makes me want to sing and live the plot of fantasy book all at once.
- hurry up
- cantabile
- 12 o'clock / DID YOU KNOW? this song was made for me.
- the entire "for the summer" album / boogie up, oh my summer, my type (MY TYPE MY PERFECT TYPE BABY YOU GOTTA KNOW), let's dance, sugar pop (these last two are probably my favorites in the entire discography.)
- as you wish
- luckitty-cat
- badaboom
- butterfly
- pantomime / ALSO one of my favorites... this song...
- hmph!
- super yuppers!
- unnatural
- last dance
- new me
- easy / how was this not the biggest gg song of 2021!!!
- kiss your lips
- last sequence
- done
- again I don't know much about the group so I'm sure I missed plenty of feats/solos but I need to mention seola's "inside out" album is great and I like all 3 songs!
Secret
I've always considered myself a very laidback, sporadic secret enjoyer but looking back, I listened to their songs so much between high school and college? especially their "moving in secret" album. this is a group that I would probably have followed for years and years if they were still together, because just like mamamoo, I really like their sound + their voices. but then again, it's one of those cases where we can be glad the members are not under their original company, so :') there are good disbands!
trying my best not to illustrate this section with a 140809 hyosung fancam and choosing instead one of my favorite tracks. they were so fun on stage:
click here to expand my list of favorites and honorary mentions ♪
- I want you back / the acoustic version too!
- my boy
- magic / KPOP AT ITS MOST FUN!!!
- spot light / one of my absolute favorites. I LOVE this song.
- madonna / KPOP AT ITS MOST FUN!!! 2.0 Reloaded
- lalala, romantic movie, together, oh honey, neverland / songs I don't know by name and wouldn't remember them if asked, but that I like listening to when I'm listening to secret. "oh honey"'s rockabilly vibe is my vibe.
- do better / !!!
- shy boy / only learned years later that they would add choreos by other groups to their stages for this song and I think that's neat.
- starlight moonlight <3 / the choreo never leaves you. I don't even know how or why I know the dance but I do! and the christmas/japanese version is cute too.
- LOVE IS MOVE / MY SONG!!! actually one of my all-time favorite kpop songs.
- to be sexy / ALSO one of my favorites by them. do you see why I love this album?
- don't laugh at me
- movie star / already added this in video form but I need to comment that both the korean and japanese versions are great and I listen to them interchangeably.
- bastard
- poison / folks, THAT MV... whenever I try to choose my favorite kpop MVs, this one always pops up in my head.
- calling u
- talk that
- yoohoo / I don't remember being super into it back then but the MV is so pretty. location MV! and now I really like it.
- I do I do
- I'm in love / people joke about best disband song... well, this might be it.
- look at me
- u r fired
- hyosung: good-night kiss (MY BELOVED), into you, find me... / I like her songs in general, even though I can't name most bsides. I can just start a playlist of her songs and let it play without really skipping anything.
(G)I-DLE
didn't mean to get into them as much as I did, but their music is kind of really up my alley. title tracks in particular, and especially the "I NEVER DIE" / "I love" / "I feel" 3-album run was pretty much flawless to me. I first started listening to them due to "queendom" (that I started watching for mamamoo!) and then they released "oh my god" and I fell in love. that song and MV are such favorites that I have to give it a shoutout again:
the same people who made this MV made the "ROAR" MV!!! thank you, rigend film.
click here to expand my list of favorites and honorary mentions ♪
- latata
- $$$
- maze
- what's in your house / one of my first favorites!
- hann (alone) / I wish I knew how to whistle just to do this intro whenever I feel like it.
- senorita
- what's your name / funnily enough, if I'm distracted I might skip this one, but I really like the chorus? it feels like a different song in the beginning.
- give me your / ONE OF MY FAVORITES!!! absolutely headcanon it as yuyeon's song because sure, why not.
- blow your mind / also one of my first favorites. got me really excited to see minnie make more songs down the line!
- uh oh
- put it straight (nightmare ver.) / this MASTERPIECE...
- luv u, maybe / full disclosure, I get the titles confused sometimes for these two, but "maybe" is close to being a favorite.
- lion / BEST song to sing in karaoke. if you have smule please give it a try.
- I'm the trend / I love the silly referential lyrics. yeah, I wanna blow your mind and make your everyday latata! now you're in my maze, you better move like senorita!!!
- dumdi dumdi / soundtrack of my winter of 2020. I can't listen to it and not do the whistle(?) choreo to myself.
- moon
- TOMBOY / kept me sane for the first half of 2022 and might still be my favorite gidle song alongside "oh my god"! the mv and the album are both PERFECT. this was the first (and to this day, only) gidle album I bought, that's how much I loved it. one of my favorites to play on the stereo too.
- never stop me / MALLIJIMA WOOOOW WOWOWOWOWW LALARARALALARA surprise!
- villain dies
- already
- polaroid / hits hard... I love singing along to this one.
- escape / especially love the lyrics. I hold this one very dear.
- liar / yuqi's lines!!!!!!!!!!
- nxde / my first impression wasn't as overwhelmingly positive as it was for "tomboy", but it didn't take long for me to get obsessed with it, as I obviously would, considering the sound is something I'm into. YUQI'S LINES!!! very fond of the line division here, I like that they all sing the "how do I look" line at some point.
- love
- reset
- change / also like the lyrics here!
- sculpture / bsides that deserved the sudden charting treatment!!!
- dark (x-file)
- queencard / earworm! a well-executed concept on all accounts, especially sound-wise.
- allergy / 2ne1's "ugly" for the 2020 era!!! so relevant still, this is my song.
- lucid / third favorite in this album for sure. a song I sometimes wake up and go "today is a 'lucid' on repeat day!" lol
- all night
- paradise
- peter pan
- wife
- super lady / one of the biggest examples of why I avoid teasers :') once I got past the disappointment caused by the teaser, though, I got really into it. do I wish it was at least 30s longer? yes. it could've been much more of an earworm to me if it was longer.
- revenge, doll / the only 2 I really vibed with in the album aside from "wife" and "super lady".
- abracadabra / a different tone compared to the original? but still fun.
- k/da: more, the baddest, pop/stars / in that order.
- soyeon: weather (!!!), beam beam, quit, psycho, jelly, wow thing.
- miyeon: te amo.
- minnie: empire.
- yuqi: bonnie & clyde, giant, freak, red rover, drink it up, my way, everytime, on clap.
RaNia (~2017)
a small entry but I'd be remiss not to mention them because "just go"? one of my favorite albums in kpop! it also kinda encompasses everything I like in their discography, since I only really followed their music up until alex left (?) (I think? the member changes were already out of control back then.) this stage alone certainly changed several pathways in my teen gay brain:
quick shoutout to that one "killer" stage too, and to all the "pop pop pop" stages that I revisit once or twice a year.
click here to expand my list of favorites and honorary mentions ♪
- dr feel good / horny excellence hall of fame! I was obsessed with the choreo back then, would watch any and all covers on youtube. my instinctive reaction to hot people wearing doctor costumes is to sing this song in my head, every. single. time.
- masquerade / LOVE this song, love the outfits they performed it in, LOVE the microphone choreo.
- time to rock da show / perfect intro that I wish was a full song. many such cases.
- pop pop pop / THIS SONG!!! love the choreo a lot and the song is just so fun, even if the teaser/intro fooled everyone (me and the 2 other rania fans I was aware of at the time) into thinking it would be a different vibe entirely.
- goodbye
- style / classy. sexy. crazy. couture!
- just go / what a good dramatic song!!!
- killer / song of the century... for a long time it was my favorite rania song and honestly, it might still be.
- demonstrate (rap version) / that gum step might be the most fun step ever. such a fun song to sing along to.
- breathe heavy
honorary mentions (aka "I like to listen to them but I only know a few of their songs or they have a very tiny discography that I wouldn't necessarily list with the others")
VIVIZ, ITZY, PURPLE KISS, 3YE, STAYC, TWICE.