Learning to Like K-Pop

[@MicTheSnare]

Shoutout to everyone who recommended albums for me to check out!! This one was a great time. Feel free to recommend other K-pop albums/songs, OR other genres I should cover in the future!

[@thehopeofeden597]

If we’re talking other albums - with them on hiatus now there’s no better time to do a Deep Discog Dive on BTS!💜

[@gravity909090]

@@thehopeofeden597 I second that! They have an incredibly varied discography its going to be a ride

[@FalseGodsAndLegends]

I would love you to get into more to the 4th generation with how wide the selection is now in the current generation of kpop.

[@matcha4ever]

&new by eyedi is one of my favorite kpop songs of all time so I highly recommend it! also if you want a continuation of wonder girls' REBOOT sounding music, check out yubin's (WG's drummer/rapper) song LADY.

[@everyyxy8425]

Japanese pop next!! espeically the idol part!! tons of goodies!! you said idol music a lot which can also include jpop!! i have a ton of good recs too

[@thehopeofeden597]

As a fan of both Mic and K-pop, this is the crossover I’ve always wanted, but never knew would really happen.

[@Stanxaa1]

Same here I thought I was dreaming such a great cross over!

[@taliaphoenix]

SAME HERE

[@rafterm4936]

SAAAAAME

[@seliyahsfairys]

RIGHT

[@notkimpine]

please do J-POP i beg this is gonna be sick

[@papa_gowon]

Thank you for giving attention to LOONA. The fandom is currently participating in a boycott against LOONA's company Blockberry Creative as a way to support the members as they fight a legal battle against BBC for mistreatment and not being paid. All members wish to leave BBC. We would appreciate it if you do not stream or watch any LOONA content on any official channel or streaming service, or buy any LOONA albums or merch (second hand is OK). We really appreciate your support and hopefully soon we will see better days for our 12 girls.

[@ZVELUVV]

!!

[@psuburbs]

vouch!!!!

[@alezaa_]

bump! we've made good progress with the boycott thus far and need to keep going strong 💪

[@HeiressOfLoganbeeren]

the Japan concert greetings are so depressing :((( i can't believe they will have to go through with it

[@chriswoods1955]

Orbit bump!Lets keep fighting for the freedom of our moon girls! ^^

[@NoClueHonestly]

That's what I love about Mic, he's not snobbish and he doesn't look down on any genre of music. I've seen my fair share of music enthusiasts sneer at idol music for being "inauthentic" and it annoys me. I personally am not big on Kpop usually but music is music, if it's good it's good

[@panananananana]

you're so right

[@caitlynsult2685]

chad right here!

[@jimrustle270]

Mass produced, soulless producer led filler like this is very much worth sneering at though. It does nothing for the artform and represents the most cynical and commercial side of the industry - which was already a steep decline since the 80's and the rise of synthesisers. Though I'll grant you at least the 'idols' have some degree of talent, unlike trap and hip-hop hacks.

[@zerois2801]

@@jimrustle270 bruh are you saying hiphop artists have no talent

[@jimrustle270]

@@zerois2801 yes. At least the idols can generally sing and dance what is provided to them. Hip hop is copying and pasting a real musician’s hook, speeding it up and turning up the bass, and then talking over it. Wow, such geniuses.

[@aliceramenhead]

I know this will probably never happen but Dreamcatcher, SHINee, Red Velvet and Yukika each deserve their own Deep Discog Dive episodes, their music is truly *_*chef's kiss*_*

[@OykuDDuzen]

They really do

[@wutheringheights01]

Loona too

[@skylerk126]

oo yukika!!

[@paytonfore4838]

I will pay good money for him to check out SHINee's discography 🤩

[@zeliqueue]

absolutely yes

[@toledo_campos]

As a kpop follower for almost 15 years, this is an EXCELLENT intro for people who doesn't know anything about IdolMusic/Kpop. The emphasis on girl groups isn't coincidence, imo. Starting with f(x) was a great thing because it's usually considered the "first experimental kpop group", and you can tell girlgroups are musically more adventurous. Awesome effort, mr Snare!

[@ashurasama]

No girlgroups are not "musically more adventurous", you're just a girl group stan who doesn't see their own bias.

[@g0th1cgutz]

@@ashurasama dawg why tf u tryna mindlessly argue things

[@toledo_campos]

@@ashurasama Actually, the first group I stanned is SHINee, and I got hooked on Kpop after knowing BIGBANG, so this isn’t a bias-based opinion, just the paths I’ve seen, where -within the limits of pop- GGs have been breaking barriers more consistently, obviously with BGs making contributions too, but is easier to see BGs copying each other when a new sound appears (and that was the refreshing part of BTS’ success: they experimented and after testing themselves could create an unique career).

[@mvdum29]

That's an interesting perspective. I've been a follower of some girl groups and some boy groups and I've found that the boy groups have very interesting concepts, especially if you check by gen... Stray Kids, NCT, EXO, BIGBANG have had some really funky concepts through the years haha Although tbh thinking about it I see your point. Aespa and Loona can be a whole vid by themselves haha. I also enjoyed the kitschy Wonder Girls concepts when they were still active.

[@KhanhDinh291]

Nah girl group just make better music. "interesting" doesn't mean shit if you can't deliver on the basics

[@kottonkandy0962]

It’s unbelievably refreshing to hear someone outside of the kpop community finally talk about the music and idols in a respectful way, thank you for making this video.

[@seanellis5410]

My favorite thing was Mr. The Snare staring directly at the camera in silence, and me being immediately more confident that he’s about to talk about BTS than I’ve ever been confident in anything I’ve ever done in my life.

[@Susa0406]

I got so excited!! :)

[@HeiressOfLoganbeeren]

Just so you know we are boycotting LOONA's company right now (not watching anything from the official channels or official streaming, not buying albums/merch, etc). The girls are currently in a legal battle trying to terminate their contracts - all of them have filed, some of them have won a temp injunction already, and their company is trying to *blacklist* the ones who did win from the Korean entertainment industry. And allegedly their initial contracts were made to get them more and more in debt the more they work. There is a lot more but this is the gist. I'm still very happy with the crossover and I really love the girls and their music, and I hope they can be free to make music and perform under their own terms.

[@papa_gowon]

Thank you for mentioning the boycott 🙂 I'll post too, hopefully people will see this.

[@ZVELUVV]

you should mention this on his twitter

[@EverydayZer0]

this!!! it’s bittersweet, i want them to be mentioned and appreciated but it sucks so much that this is happening while they are in such a bad place free loona

[@purelytheoretical2205]

oh man, i’m glad i saw this *before* i left this video to go on a kpop experimentation journey! solidarity with the artists! ✊

[@vinceeager8553]

One thing I admire as an outsider of K-Pop (I know and like a handful of BTS songs) is how the fans are a genuine community. Not in the way the word "community" is usually thrown around to describe a group of people these days, but a group of people who take action when they see an injustice in their shared passion. It's not like the One Direction fans/community who mainly discussed which members they wanted to be gay with each other. You've all observed something you don't like and you're taking action. It's wonderful to see

[@Fgurs]

mic the snare acknowledging odd eye circle restores a peace to the universe i didn't know was missing

[@enwoozi]

🤧 agree

[@marsvoltian]

Yes, its the most popular kpop album in music nerd circles

[@skylerk126]

odd eye circle my beloved

[@ryukifire]

@@marsvoltian really?? max and match is one of my favorite albums of all time, that's so cool to hear

[@lydelen6377]

One thing I’ll say albums DO matter in kpop. Any good group that focuses on music has had strong album concepts and aesthetics

[@georgepitoy5426]

One thing that can trip people off is that half of them are considered mini-albums, so technically EPs. So you might miss them when you're browsing the artist's discography on Spotify or on rateyourmusic for top kpop albums. Red Velvet and LOONA are kind of the exceptions that they often compile the mini-albums to one large album later on, but lots of artists don't. For instance, Blackpink fans would consider their first 3 singles to be their best work. And there are even newer groups who have only released EPs so far (e.g. Billlie and Le Sserafim).

[@chichilafemme6336]

I’m so late but I feel like for most of the genre I disagree. Their album concepts tend to only reach as far as the title track and maybe a few b sides. Some groups do make cohesive albums but kpop is also following the whole trend of music globally where there’s not a lot of effort put into albums.

[@lydelen6377]

@@chichilafemme6336 not too late aha, you’re right in saying the trends are pushing more and more for digital singles and EPs that are two promoted tracks in a trenchcoat, but I meant that some groups (those with more creative drive) care a lot about full length album concepts. idk I think about red velvet, or bts hyyh/ly eras, or even tomorrow x together, every album needed identity. sadly you’re right that there’s scarcity of albums where every track is part of a bigger picture, but I still hold on to the idea that big groups that achieve respect in the industry sooner or later reach the musical maturity to craft their album with care (ateez are getting there, skz too, but I don’t want to put too many names or I’ll sound biased)

[@saturnvalIey]

not a huge k-pop fan, but fancy by twice is one of the greatest pop songs of the decade (also i can't stop me)

[@WaitingForTheHook]

Hype Boy by NewJeans is the best pop song in at least 10 years

[@designereyebags]

lol thank you for being one of the few people who isn’t weird about complimenting twice. people go out of their way to exclude them from discussions about GREAT kpop music, it’s almost vitriolic (i mean, i would be mad too if my faves weren’t the kpop group that made everyone start caring about youtube records post-snsd and did a japanese dome tour less than 4 years into their career) twice is the blueprint for 3rd gen, period

[@lovelyjack]

​@@designereyebags omg right ? Like i try to not get mad because i love other groups too but twice were and will always be the goat in kpop they work so hard to release more than 3 comebacks a year , albums , japanese tracks and its always aesthetic and good i dont get it

[@designereyebags]

@@lovelyjack not to mention girl groups going beyond the 7 year contract is so rare. they’re truly here to stay, and they’ve earned that spot

[@lovelyjack]

@@designereyebags yeah then they proceeded to give us the best solo album (pop!) A celebration for their love (celebrate) then a perfect album and era (between1and2) no one is doing it like them !

[@marijag]

When it comes to blending k-pop and rock I HIGHLY recommend DAY6. They're under a k-pop label but they play their own instruments and write their own songs so most people consider them both k-pop and k-rock. They have a lot of up beat rock songs (Shoot me, Sweet Chaos, Rescue Me etc) but most of their discography consists of ballads (I smile, You were Beautiful, Hi Hello) with each member's vocal performance being top tier each time! So I would definitely suggest them if anyone is interested in the k-pop/k-rock genre!!

[@ToyotaKudoFan]

DAY6's discography is truly flawless, they've never released a bad song.

[@peace3682]

DAY6 are INCREDIBLE I love them so much!!

[@ValorExtraordinary]

Was just about to recommend Day6 myself! My favorite group. They’re such gems, and their music is great for folks who are looking for a sound with some more versatility and rock influence. Truly believe “Zombie” is a perfect song.

[@dreampinkreel]

He should definitely check out their Everday6 project!! It was such a great time when we got two DAY6 tracks every month

[@otokouno]

I’d recommend The Rose and N.Flying too. Busker Busker was an indie band that crossed over to pop were popular back then! Other recommendations would be KARD, Brown Eyed Girls, Fly to the Sky, Epik High, H.O.T & S.E.S

[@meljayne113]

I feel like Taemin's music videos (Idea, Criminal, Advice, Want) are something that a lot of people would really love very easily, he's a member of Shinee and my personal fave idol, also Eric Nam and NewJeans seem very approachable for first time listeners

[@samisphere_]

He’s a legend honestly !

[@fredyyycc]

Taemin is the male solo artist America is still waiting to have

[@faeriegraver]

Taemin got me into K-pop. He's my favourite idol. SHINee are so good, too.

[@mnif001]

taemin is my favorite kpop soloist, he's had so many great songs over his solo career!

[@アウエン]

Taemin is crazy good, and his album are gems. I've never been let down by him, I'm so fond of of his works for every aspect of them. Spectacular and very versatile dancer that revolutionarized the way male idols danced with Move in 2017, very good vocalist that had a very impressive progression, with a unique universe, and a strong and diverse discography. I can't wait for him to be back

[@ablackwelltp1]

I saw Dreamcatcher at Primavera last year out of pure intrigue after seeing that wizard staffs were banned from the festival specifically because of them. They were amazing

[@KyleS3m3noff]

The set that PV posted on their Yutube page looked fantastic. I'm so happy for them getting to do a festival outside of the industry bubble and do so well. They really should be aiming for more international rock festivals - it's a corner of the market that's almost exclusively theirs to take.

[@cybercrasherstv]

Ian McKellen has the opportunity to do the funniest thing of all time

[@PongoXBongo]

@@cybercrasherstv He could be the second wizard after Christopher Lee to release a metal album.

[@rhianac8558]

I'd like to mention some of my fav songs that I think everyone should check out, kpop fan or not: - easy by wjsn the black - glitch by kwon eunbi - omg and ditto by new jeans - first time by twice - asap and stereotype by stayc - loona's solo and other subunits music (yes loona introduced me to kpop) you & me together, sonatine, and love cherry motion have my heart (but listen to unofficial lyric videos not on bbc’s account)

[@panananananana]

eunbi my mother!

[@edwinniz]

Push & Pull by Twice

[@anthysis7059]

great picks!

[@imani7979]

glitch was my favourite soloist debut title track from last year, it was so good 😭

[@vi_cesario]

god glitch rewired my brain

[@sunnybloom7272]

5:30 never would I have thought in my life that my Mic the Snare and my Bob the Drag Queen out of drag content could possibly mix but hey KPop does have the power to make the impossible possible, water the crops and feed the hungry. Great video tho it’s fun to learn about new genres as an outsider with an outsider

[@Aarxxn]

Not a K-pop,fan but SHINee were the first band I listened to. I was actually heartbroken when Jonghyun died

[@creativia6639]

I was too, he was such a well-rounded and natural talent and such a lovely person 😢

[@stevie9675]

Honestly, MAMAMOO's "I SAY MAMAMOO: THE BEST" album is something to listen to. It's a compilation of some of their biggest hits and singles with minor/major additions to the songs (some songs are recorded concert versions while others are recorded versions of live stages from awards shows, really cool tbh.) It also shows how their diverse discography as well. Hope you check them out!

[@gemmamoon5998]

Mamamoo, from what I’ve heard, is one of the few idol girl groups that a lot of Koreans really respect as artists and not just as “k-pop idols”

[@dfurtado18]

i JUST got into KPOP (Specifically GOT7) around mid December 2022. i haven’t listened to American pop since lmao. i’m 35 & never really liked any boy bands so i’m in my fan girl era and i’m not mad at it haha

[@dfurtado18]

but yeah i’d recommend checking out GOT7, even if you don’t do a video about them. their music leans toward R&B pop and it’s right up my alley. vocals are phenomenal & their choreography is top tier and precise yet explosive. the talent is wild & Jinyoung is STUNNING lol 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@imani7979]

@@dfurtado18 GOT7 is amazing, I truly believe they could've been even bigger if JYPE didn't sabotage them in the last few years of their career.

[@ToyotaKudoFan]

thank you for recommending GOT7, they're an underrated group for one that is from one of the big 3. Their b-side tracks are so overlooked.

[@breejean7705]

Man I miss GOT7's hayday... how good is If You Do !!

[@dfurtado18]

@@breejean7705 yes! i kick myself for not getting into them earlier, especially every time i watch the MV or live performance of “You Calling My Name”, “Look”, “Lullaby”, “Page”, “Aura”, “Come On”… almost their whole discography! even their interviews are precious. 💚

[@serafim123]

LOONA YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS

[@slasher2744]

reboot is honestly one of the best albums i've ever heard, not just in kpop but music as a whole... wonder girls you absolute legends

[@honeybee347]

Was going to reply with this one. As an oldie kpop fan, reboot was a lovely update to the wg sound and an overall awesome record. Also, hurt locker - 9muses First love-after school Closer-oh my girl Anything from exid All slaps.

[@Viiniciws]

Easily top 3 best kpop records

[@NaritaZaraki]

Agreed!

[@hollyrose2418]

LEGENDS

[@yikesjohn]

red velvet is a group that is known for their b-sides and their albums (mini or full) are always bops so anything from them i’d recommend hehe, in fact make them your first kpop ddd and i’ll mic a snare and email it to you

[@rissaraspberry]

I think one major aspect of kpop that was kinda overlooked is the rap! Just like Psy, BTS got their start doing mostly hiphop songs. Even in poppy songs, most groups have some sort of rap portion. I'd really recommend ATEEZ's The World Ep.1: Movement. It's their most cohesive album and draws a lot of inspo from emo/punk music in addition to being more rap focused than the groups from this video. Stray Kids' NO EASY is a really good album too! I'd really recommend giving them a listen!

[@rissaraspberry]

Oh! The first real "kpop" song was I Know by Seo Taiji and boys, which has American rap, pop and metal influences. Just for a better historical understanding of the genre, I'd recommend that one too!

[@carpemortem155]

The most ambitious crossover I never knew I needed. Two of my favorite music related things coming together and we love to see it

[@RiotGrrrl10]

I'm glad you opened up to Kpop. I used to be one of those rock fans that hated everything new and almost everything pop... but I got into kpop thanks to BTS about 3 years ago and it's a whole different world once you reach the depths of this genre. I know it's pop, but it comes with a fandom culture, epic MVs, epic physical albums, epic concepts, visuals, choreos, fashion, and so on. I only stan BTS tbh, but I'm thankful I got to listen to a lot of great songs from lots of groups. Kpop made me less prejudiced and more open to new genres of music over all.

[@Eris_Norregard]

That sounds so similar to me, I've been only listening to rock and metal my whole life and I looked down on anything pop. But few months ago, I heard a Stray Kids song from a friend and ever since then I've been getting deeper and deeper into Kpop. I listen to quite a lot of groups (so far mostly boy groups tho). It's actually really really nice to open my eyes to a completely different fan culture. It's like discovering a new planet, it's honestly so amazing. Plus I love how some groups (like EXO or Ateez) even have a continuous storyline and lore in their music and MVs, that is honestly so cool and something I don't remember seeing all that much in other genres of music.

[@RiotGrrrl10]

@@Eris_Norregard that's so cool!!!! I'm glad so many of us are discovering the world of kpop. There's so much to discover, it's more than a genre, it's almost a lifestyle. And it's full of surprises. I know I only stan BTS but I like a lot of songs from Stray Kids, they're very good.

[@CheerUp2]

Its funny because in 2008 i was heavy into alt music, pop punk, punk, screamo, metal, goth, rock, etc etc and at the same time in 2008 I also got into kpop. Back then I was bullied for liking alt stuff but was also bullied for liking kpop. It was weird, edgy, "foreign", unique which all things that attracted me to alt music and the culture. The fashion and hairstyles at times was also very similar, like look at early 2NE1 always covered in leather jackets, shaving half of there heads, liberty spikes, etc. I have found over the years the alt to kpop pipe line is VERY common. And also even though I got into kpop way before BTS debuted....BTS to this day is my favorite kpop group and only one ive seen live 3 times starting in 2015. BTS I think truly is the best group when you want to get people into kpop. The genuine lyrics, the underdog story of how there company was broke, the humble up bringing and struggling of majority of the members, the exploration of sound (they have honestly done sooo many genres including rock), and the fact they have there hands so deep into there music rather than there company deciding everything and giving them no freedom.

[@irimacale]

(Mostly) same. I got teased for not liking American boy bands but liking Korean ones. I think a lot of it is that because I don't understand the words I can't get turned off by the vapid nature of most pop lyrics. And like you said there's a lot more to it than just the song.

[@ace.of.space.]

Love Yourself: Tear was already recommended which makes me happy since it's one of my top albums. I will say, as a longtime BTS fan, albums seem like a good unit to explore their music in - as you mentioned, they do album series and themes. Most of BTS's discography is dear to me. I'll throw in a rec for HYYH pt. 1 and 2. and Dark&Wild if you want to hear some of their old stuff that isn't quite polished but a lot of fun

[@sai1311ik]

love how most of the albums you checked out were by the girlies of kpop they truly have amazing music 😊

[@TheErosinda]

RM's Indigo (BTS leader released a solo album in late 2022) is a great listen to, it has 10 different genres for 10 tracks. 8 of 10 of the tracks have collabs (Erykah Badu, Anderson . Paak, Tablo, Kim Saweol, Paul Blanco and Mahalia, Colde, Jo Yujin, and Park Jiyun, eAeon) It goes from RnB, City pop, Hyper pop, folk, traditional pop. I've had it on repeat since it came out. Change pt2 (hyper pop) really took me by surprise and I had to listen to it a few times before it grew on me, now its my favourite.

[@meltyholic]

I almost screamed when I saw the records everyone suggested you, so many classic top tier choices!!! If you like 1 of 1 , I'd be overjoyed if you did a deep discog dive on shinee overall, they've been one of my favourite groups for a long time, and they have one of the richest discographies of a lot of groups I've seen, partly from their long term career, partly from their consistently interesting concepts and retro feel, and partly from the involvement of the members from designing some of their own fashion and concepts to having Jonghyun as a key music producing/lyricist legend. Their story is long, ongoing, enduring and fascinating. As for group recommendations based on what you enjoyed already, if you want to listen to a fun and somewhat retro girl group with all sorts of bangers in a similar vibe to more recent Wonder Girls albums, EXID are one of my biggest recommendations! Another group with at least one producing member that steers the groups concepts a lot that's really come into its own recently is G-Idle, especially with their recent comebacks Tomboy and Nxde. For a more recent group with a trio of their 9 members that form a big part of the groups production and have a really solid and easily recognisable musical vibe, Stray Kids have a really good back catalogue and a lot to sink your teeth into. And of course I have to shill my favourite group, A.C.E, who have lots of bangers taken from hardstyle to more conventional pop, and are renowned for having some of the hardest dances in the industry. They also have a huge range of covers for both kpop and western pop music to explore, and have a love for vocal harmonies that really shines through in their covers. As an aside, I recommend you check out EVERY live band cover that A.C.E did on 'its live', a youtube channel that invites idols to sing live with band arrangements for covers or their own tracks. you can find lots of standouts from different performers here, but my personal recommendation is A.C.E's Twice Medley, which cannot be beat in terms of vocals and showcases them darting between being really silly and belting their hearts out, and truly shows how much they love to sing. Lots of idol groups and soloists have been invited, and it's a really good channel to dig into in general too. (Kind of random aside: if you enjoy animation there's a Korean animation project called Alien Stage by VIVINOS (a retro themed horror and music video animator) and Studio Lico that's an original music video based story about kpop idols stuck in a dystopian future where they have to compete for their lives. They were inspired by retro anime and got some really cool vocalists on board, so if you want to try something new it could be up your alley! I highly recommend VIVINOS's work in general although most of it isn't that closely related to kpop aside from ALST) Some quick song recommendations: - Puzzle Moon by GWSN - Lion Heart by Girls Generation - Callin by A.C.E - Under Cover by A.C.E - The entirety of the Wings concept album by BTS, which takes place during a fictional story that ended up with the characters they play stuck in a sort of purgatory and the feelings they as characters go through there. The solo songs are great showcases of how to make a song have a double meaning, for both the characters they play and the people they are. - If you come into my heart - Jo duck bai (a song I discovered from a web animation, but is an old school Korean classic. not sure if it counts as kpop but it's worth a listen) - I'm Home - Minho (shinee) - Run Away - TXT - Miroh - Stray Kids - Bang - After School - Feel My Rhythm - Red Velvet - Y Si Fuera Ella - Jonghyun (Shinee) - FUN - fromis 9 - Bboom Bboom - momoland - STEP - Kara - Ah Choo - Lovelyz - After Like - IVE - Ditto - NewJeans - Candy - H.O.T - Catallena - Orange Caramel - Super Yuppers - Chocome (WJSN) - WiFi - Saturday - Move - Taemin (Shinee) - I Wanna Be - Key (Shinee) - Bo Peep Bo Peep - T-ara - Red - Hyuna - Full Moon - Sunmi - Roller coaster - Chungha - Girls - Nature - Knock Knock - Twice - My Copycat - Orange Caramel - Stay Tonight - Chungha - Noir - Sunmi - Heart Attack - Chuu (LOONA) - Married To The Music - Shinee - Mago - Gfriend For a story of love, loss and what comes next, I cannot recommend Shinee's The Story Of Light album trio enough. I think it's a standout, even among my favourite artists. It was a difficult listen at first for a lot of fans as the first release after the death of Jonghyun, but it's an excellent set of albums both as a sendoff and reminder that the group will always be five at heart, and musically speaking.

[@flaggov6949]

SKZ has 8 members.

[@rhian6955]

I would kill for a SHINee DDD omg

[@Resonance1919]

seconded for deep dive of shinee. He needs to hear Sherlock, Why so serious, View, Romance, Trigger, Odd Eye, Close the Door, I could keep going lol

[@PhantamSam]

I listened to The Story of Light early in my interest in Kpop, and that album, Good Evening in particular, convinced me fully of the artistry of the genre. It took me a long while to get the courage to watch their performance of Our Page.

[@Resonance1919]

@BantamSam similar story here, story of light was the second album I ever bought in my kpop journey. The first two comebacks I was a kpop fan for were Ex'Act by EXO and story of light

[@veeva99]

I've been into K-pop for a decade this year and what pulled me in were 'Fantastic Baby' by BIG BANG and 'Mamacita' by Super Junior. Over the past 10 years I have looked at artists from every generation. From Fly To The Sky (gen 1), who have done some beautiful ballads (would recommend Missing You especially), to the earlier mentioned BIG BANG and Super Junior (both gen 2, I'm honestly surprised that BIG BANG their MADE wasn't in this video considering how big that album was), to BtoB, CrossGene, and Monsta X in the third gen and to groups like ATEEZ, Stray Kids, ONEUS and ONEWE and WEi in gen 4. All generations in Kpop have something to love about them and have done something for the industry to make it what it is now. Things like Lightsticks and every member in a k-pop group making solo music? BIG BANG were the first to do it. Making Japanese albums? BoA and SHINee had big parts in making K-pop more popular in Japan. Having hit songs outside of Korea? Wonder Girls did a live performance of Nobody on an American TV-show back in 2009. If there is one group I would really recommend for anyone to check out, it would be ATEEZ. Not only do I really love their Pirate concept, which somehow lead them to make albums about overthrowing the government, but they are absolutely loved by other idols as well! Psy invited them onto his episode of Immortal Songs to do a cover of one of his songs, They did a collab single album with the incredible Kim Jongkook (an artist who was part of Turbo in Gen 1 and became big in the show Running Man) after ATEEZ covered the Turbo song The Black Cat Nero on that same show. There are rookie groups who look up to them too and they ALWAYS sing live, which is impressive with the kind of notes Jongho is pulling off.

[@riverAmazonNZ]

Wow - fantastic baby

[@Betta66]

K-pop (or "idol music") to me is like taking the umbrella term "pop music" and making it as flashy, colorful, and saccharine as possible, like Max Martin's brand of pop music pushed to the extreme

[@johnnyvvlog]

That's probably the best explanation I've ever heard 😄

[@wkfjskfj]

So happy to see Dreamcatcher on this list! Couple of years ago they really were very unknown and now they are on this list among some of the most popular and known groups!! Also as you might have noticed, they have a LOT of variety in styles in their bsides like some more rock-y sound, some more ballad-y, some more pop, some edm inspired. It's the main thing I really like about them

[@gravity909090]

Time to bless us with a BTS Deep Discog Dive I think, since you've already listened to a bunch of their stuff...I think you'll love the journey honestly! Plus a lot of people in their west don't really know their stuff beyond the english tracks, so it would be eye-opening for a lot of people.

[@MaginotLiner]

Yes please. BTS are their own genre let's be real

[@xalxvx]

YES PLEASE. i literally just thought about this the other day😭 i know it'll be a lot of work with the amount of music BTS has put out in the past decade but it'll be amazing if he did!

[@jumanahxb4087]

I rlly want him to listen to black swan 😭

[@chlclrk]

shinee’s misconceptions of us is IMO the best kpop album ever made. truly unparalleled. i’d also recommend checking out solo artist boa, she pioneered a lot of kpop trends. her album woman is INCREDIBLE!!!! i’d also recommend nct127, their albums NEOZONE/sticker are some of my personal bests of all time. nct127 work a lot with producer dem jointz, who’s produced for other kpop groups like red velvet and exo, but also janet jackson, kanye west, and anderson paak! all of those groups come from sm entertainment, a legacy record label in kpop. record labels and their personal stylings are such a huge factor in kpop, that could be a really interesting entry point for a follow up video!! much love ❤

[@rhian6955]

Misconceptions of Us might be my favourite K-pop album of all time! Happy there's someone else who appreciates it as much as I do

[@chlclrk]

@@rhian6955 i was honestly shocked that when shinee were mentioned it wasnt misconceptions! i thought for sure if you’re talking about shinee’s discography misconceptions of us or odd were the albums you’d show someone to make them fall in love :’)

[@myraclesname]

Yes uncle dem jointz!! Literally every nct subunit has bangers but 127 is the best for rnb and hiphop lovers. They're so good

[@chlclrk]

@@myraclesname exactlyyyyyy i feel like 127 are the best for introductory audiences bc their discography has music that’s super familiar and also has music that’s so thoroughly kpop and even within that soooooo neo :’)

[@bingobongo7335]

yes! the misconceptions of us is one of the best pop albums ever made it's literally in my top 5 not just among kpop albums but all pop albums ever

[@Dabs_All_Ovar]

Wondering if anyone remembers the "Hey Medic, I like Kpop" meme regularly listens to kpop now

[@idimation5579]

“K-Pop? More like, K-Poop.”

[@ArgoBargo]

Dreamcatcher’s tree of language is one of my favorite albums. I just love how it blends pop rock and a weird amount of jazz. I also think the girls are just like hella talented

[@infsai]

I totally recommend you "I Can't Stop Me" by Twice, it's really great! Plus, Dua Lipa written one of their songs too, but in the preceding album than the one you talked about

[@saturn352]

I really like the fact that you've actually listen to the music. I feel like people don't take kpop seriously enough, mostly because of the fans and the fandom culture it has. But kpop is music and it should be taking seriously and not "Oh that Asian music group with crazy fans."

[@saturn352]

I recommend Xdinary Heroes' Hello,World and Overload album. Xdinary Heroes are a band, and they're really good. I also recommend Seventeen's Teen,Age, or Face The Sun.

[@ninanano]

Mic I’m so happy you’ve made this video and I’m even happier you’re talking about LOONA 😭😭😭😭 it’s been a hard time for LOONA fans recently, thank you so much for this video ❤️❤️

[@-Scrapper-]

did they break up

[@ninanano]

@@-Scrapper- nope but the big majority of the fandom wants that to happen due to their company. To make a long story short, members have been mistreated by their company, not having been paid a single paycheck since debut, not even after they went on tour this summer, and in November a beloved member was flat out kicked out of the group. The day following that member being kicked out, the members filed lawsuits against the company to terminate their contracts. This prompted a (very successful!) fandom boycott and LOONA’s comeback slated for January was “indefinitely postponed”. Obviously the fandom doesn’t hope for LOONA to permanently disband, just to disband under their current company and hopefully move and promote under a different and better one, like many other K-pop groups have done. Unfortunately their current company is trying to fully blacklist them from the industry so they don’t ever get to work in the industry in any way or form ever again. The lawsuits are on-going, it’s just been a very long and draining waiting game for the fans but especially for the members who have alluded to be going through mental hardships due to this situation. LOONA’s entire career is a very good example of the best and the worst the K-pop industry has to offer.

[@-Scrapper-]

@@ninanano so basically got treated as a kpop band?

[@flowerldess]

@@-Scrapper- No ,they got treated like every artist that got exploited the in the music industry across the globe.

[@leahfey1168]

If you're interested in more intimate albums, I recommend the BTS members solo projects like J-hope's 'Jack in the Box', RM's 'Indigo', and SUGA's 'Agust D' or 'D-2'

[@Ravenscannotfly]

I'd probably recommend the Mini album Feel Special by Twice their sounds is a lot more matured and it has some of the best pop music I've ever heard on it. Also I'm so glad that actual great albums were chosen in this video

[@lizabee]

Love foolish changes lives 🤩

[@Ravenscannotfly]

@@lizabee The exact song that was playing in my head when writing this comment 😅

[@sophiaaretuza]

That one and Formula of Love for sure have my favourite twice b-sides on them they are soooo good

[@i_am_marck5581]

Here are a list of albums I would recommend, touching various genres: •Aespa - Savage: the first mini album (k-pop’s equivalent to EPs) of Aespa, very influenced by the hyperpop genre, this mini album has explosive beats over great vocals. Specially the title track, I’ll make you cry and iconic •Le Sserafim - Antifragile: touching a lot of genres in a mini album whose concept is empowerment and to not care what other’s think. Highly recommend the title track, one of the few songs to be reggeaton inspired. Also the track No celestial that gives 2000s pop punk vibes like Paramore •TripleS - Assemble: if you liked loona’s X you will like this one. TripleS is the brand new group created by Jaden Jeong, Loona’s main creative director and producer. The style of music is very similar and they are also in the phase of revealing members (TripleS will be 24 members that rotate in different units, this are the first 10). Highly recommend the title track Rising, Colorful and New Look •TXT - The chaos chapter: fight or escape: the repackage of the chaos chapter, an album more leaning towards emo rock, with a few pop tracks but mainly emo. I recommend the title track Loser=Lover, the other title 0X1=Love Song and Frost •Stray Kids - IN LIFE: With huge industrial edm and dirty beats, this album (and stray kids’s discography as a whole) is full of fast raps and intense beat drops. Highly recommend god’s menu, back door and easy •NewJeans - Newjeans 1st EP: with a lore of inspiration by the Y2K aesthetic and the 2000s r&b newjeans are the new sensation in kpop, surpassing even blackpink in monthly listeners. With just 4 songs this ep makes a statement with newjeans’s sound. Also, they are the new group by f(x)‘s creative director and producer, min heejin, so if you like them you will also like newjeans. I highly recommend attention and hype boy. •Iz*one - Bloom*iz: lastly, my favorite kpop album, the climax of the iz (or flower) trilogy, the whole concept of bloom*iz is to finally be ready to start a new chapter in life (being that love, new chances,…). With a huge brass and a lot of energy the title track Fiesta is one of the most energetic songs you will hear. This album is divided into bubblegum pop tracks (like So curious or spaceship), powerful ballads (like someday and you & i) and more mature songs leaning into r&b and trap (like ayayaya or daydream) So glad you talked about kpop, it is really an interesting genre with more than what people see

[@chioji9540]

i definitely second this!!

[@omegazombies]

as a decades long k-pop fan this was really fun to see ! happy that pink tape was the first album you delved into, what a good place to start. i will say so much of the appeal of k-pop extends so far beyond the music itself. especially when i first started listening and it was traditional variety and panel shows and stuff. so much well rounded entertainment.

[@user-sz9re1oj9y]

Love yourself tear is definitely a great first BTS album to listen to. BTS has a shitty reputation for the goofy English songs and I was happy that you didn't base your opinion on them with butter or permission to dance. Pied piper is one of my favorite BTS songs. it's part of love yourself: her. A huge recommend! I was also happy you looked into Dreamcatcher, I've been borderline obsessed with the groups concept ever since debut. Great video!

[@_whoisannie]

this is such a refreshing video about k-pop, it's rare to see people unfamiliar to the genre being this open minded, respectful and checking a good variety of artists

[@midey_oa]

thank you so much for talking about Yukika! she honestly such an amazing artist and she deserves a lot more recognition

[@룰루랄라-v6d5i]

as a korean, i would like to recommend some of the biggest 2nd generation idol songs wonder girls-why so lonely bigbang-lies, blue, sunset glow, loser, bae bae snsd-genie, lion heart, party 2ne1-i don't care, lonely, go away, ugly, come back home, fire, in the club, lollipop sistar-alone, touch my body, shake it, i swear(THIS IS A MUST!!!!), loving u tiara-roly poly, lovey dovey after school-diva kara-mister, step aoa-miniskirt, like a cat, heart attack girl's day-something, darling apink-luv, remember super junior-mr. simple, sorry sorry shinee-view 2am-can't let you go if i die 2pm-again and again, my house infinite-man in love, the chaser block b-her btob-only one for you 4minute-crazy miss a-bad girl good girl, hush exid-up&down brave girls-rollin', we ride

[@deren9535]

i think i would honestly recommend jonghyun's music to any r&b enjoyers (which most of our ears are heavily attuned to right now due to the popularity of the genre). i think it also helps that he wrote and produced most of his music himself, and the "soullessness" of idol music is a bias a lot of people hold against kpop.

[@doctordeadpan5700]

I HIGHLY recommend Mamamoo’s music! They’re a girl group known for their amazing vocals and jazzy sound, though they have songs in a wide variety of genres. Some songs I’d recommend are: - Decalcomanie - Girl Crush - Egotistic - Hip - Sleep Talk

[@ramp8536]

can’t believe we found the second youtuber that actually likes BP’s Ice Cream Anyway, there’s only a few other albums I’d recommend besides this bunch: T-ARA - Absolute First Album: Late 00s dance pop in the style of La Roux’s self titled but MUCH better. Like The First Time is the most La Roux sounding song on the album, while Bo Peep Bo Peep is the best, with the most catchy 2 notes you’ve ever heard. Practically flawless barring a few tracks on the back end. IU - Modern Times: A jazz concept album about the history of jazz. Lead single The Red Shoes is literally a big band song. Billlie - the billage of perception: chapter one OR chapter two: These are actually EPs but most K-pop albums are EPs anyway so who cares. These 2 represent some of the most forward thinking composition I’ve heard in pop. RING X RING from chapter one US some kind of hyperpop/rock hybrid that begins with a tritone and interpolates Carol of The Bells, while my B off of chapter two has some of the wildest chord choices I’ve heard in R&B - I guess - song

[@frances6903]

your next step after kpop is the korean music scene as a whole! krnb, khiphop, kindie and krock are great to delve into

[@samarinha3253]

omg i'm so happy you liked EXODUS, REBOOT and Dystopia: The Tree Of Language, these are some of my favorite albums! I would like to recommend ALIVE by BIGBANG, Crush by 2NE1, Mirotic by TVXQ and The Classic by SHINHWA. for solos I recommend Press It by TAEMIN and Rise by Taeyang. brazilian fan here, love your videos!

[@rhian6955]

As a K-pop fan for over 10 years now I absolutely loved this video! I really appreciate how open minded you were about K-pop (which at the end of the day is just an overseas pop scene, with lots of global producers). Those were some great album recommendations too. Here's some of my fave albums I'd recommend to people wanting to learn more about K-pop! BOY GROUPS: - EXO 'The Power of Music' and 'Don't Mess Up My Tempo' - BTS 'Wings' and "Map of the Soul: Persona' - SHINee 'Misconceptions of Us' and 'Don't Call Me' - NCT 'Universe' and NCT 127's 'Neo Zone: The Final Round' - THE BOYZ 'Reveal', 'Chase', 'Breaking Dawn' and 'Be Awake' - P1Harmony's 'Disharmony' series GIRL GROUPS - f(x)'s holy trinity: 'Pink Tape', 'Red Light', '4 Walls' - TWICE 'Eyes Wide Open' and 'Feel Special' - Billlie 'The Billage of perception: chapter two" SOLOISTS - KEY 'Face' and 'Bad Love' - TAEMIN 'Never Gonna Dance Again' (Act 1&2) - TAEYEON 'Purpose' and 'INVU' - SEULGI '28 Reasons' - And of course, the late but still very loved, JONGHYUN and his album 'Poet/Artist'. (This is actually quite a small selection lol, there are hundreds of other brilliant songs, albums and artists I could mention.)

[@bug688]

I need everyone who's trying to get into K-pop to listen to Girl's Generation "I Got A Boy"

[@enjoyfrieza8960]

excellent selection of albums for a beginner, with some of the best albums in the genre. if I had to recommend a deeper dive into one group, it would of course have to be Shinee. I think the they have such a diverse discography that really showcases so much of what "kpop" can be. They have had some of the biggest most influential hits over the different periods of kpop which helped shape the genre, and they're also one of the earliest examples of idols having creative control over their sound (which is notoriously rare in the industry). Their solo work also is excellent, I'd especially recommend Jonghyuns "Poet | Artist" album. I think that anyone who is perhaps apprehensive of "kpop" and it's reputation will find something they love in shinees discography (and something they hate 😂 I mean it when I say it's a representation of all the ways kpop can sound)

[@aishals]

K-Pop is one of my favorite genres and I’ve been loving it for 11 years now! So glad to see that 3/4 of my top favorite groups made it in; Shinee, BTS, and Dreamcatcher! The one that is missing is Stray Kids. I highly recommend listening to their tracks “God’s Menu” and “Maniac” if you wanna get a general taste of their music. I also highly recommend Mamamoo! Although I’m not into them as much as I used to be, their earlier music is still some of the best to this day! I cannot recommend “Mr. Ambiguous”, “Um Oh Ah Yeah”, “Decalcomanie”, and “Egotistic” enough!

[@disaster4550]

I wanted to recommend the same two groups omg

[@PhantamSam]

Mamamoo’s latest album Illella is 100% certified bangers. I love their music so much.

[@rowanmiles6280]

I'm 2 minutes in and loooove your way to dive deep in context and details only fans discuss. Brilliant and respectful of you! Much love from Brazil!!! 🇧🇷 🇧🇷

[@zitronenpfeffer5965]

I know that this is the bare minimum, but thank you so much for being respectful! So many people, especially self-preclaimed "music specialists" talk shit about K-pop (idol music) based on a few stereotypes. Thank you for treating this just like any other genre and presenting these amazing albums! I'd love to see a video on 4th gen groups though since I think the music style has changed a lot and I want to hear your opinions. Groups I would definetely like to see here are Newjeans with their debut album and TxT with either tdc: Magic or tnc: Temptation. Pay attention to the lyrics and the story TxT is trying to tell as well. I think especially songs like Runaway have been a huge comfort to many people. Le sserafims "Antiflagile" or Stray Kids "Miroh" are also very interesting tracks, and I'd love to hear you talking about NCTs "Sticker" since it's a very... well discussed (?) topic in the community. Thank you so much!

[@osaka_lilac]

i have always wanted to get into k-pop, and honestly this might be my start into it :)

[@KyleS3m3noff]

Go for it - what have you got to lose, right? :) Just be aware that it's a very broad catch-all of a term and if you hear one group you don't vibe with, it's really not a matter of "Oh well, I tried". No matter what kind of music you're into, you'll find a kpop analogue to your tastes if you look in the right places. What kinda thing are you into?

[@leonardobach7055]

Nice to know I’m not the only one who suddenly got in city pop recently. I could spend hours discussing how I love Taeko Onuki, Anri, Masayoshi Takanaka, Kingo Hamada, Tomoko Aran, Miki Matsubara, Yasuha, etc., and a lot of other japanese music legends from the same era, like Kimiko Kasai, CASIOPEA, Shigeo Sekito, Jiro Inagaki, Haruomi Hosono, Shigeru Suzuki, Ryo Fukui, etc. I even made a playlist in Spotify called “J-Groove”, a quite nice introduction, I believe. It’s also very fun to note how much these artists were influenced by samba, bossa nova and MPB, brazilian genres that crossed over the globe and still get quite the airplay in Japan today (more than even in Brazil itself, I would say). As a fellow brazilian, I can really appreciate some endeavours like “BRASILIAN SKIES” or “ROMANTIQUE”, two great records with clear references to Brazil (though not my favorites from each artist; let it be noted that those are SEYCHELLES and SUNSHOWER, respectively, both amazing pieces of pure musicality in its own rights). At last, shout out to some more recent ones, Ryusenkei and Ginger Root, carrying the tradition of great japanese pop songs to the 21th century (especially the later, very active right now, check his newest albums and EPs, he deserves the support). Just like K-Pop, some true musical marvels from the East that should hook in pretty much everyone that hears, no matter where from, because that’s the power of music! Have a great week, everyone, lots of love from a longtime Mic’s fan from Brazil (still waiting some Deep Dive or Learning to Like from around here, lol). Now, I’ve got some K-Pop to check out! :) χ

[@beeozan1426]

The impact of Brazilian (Latin? South American? idk what's the most correct adjective here) music on Japan is so interesting and something that should be talked more about as Japanese stuff is getting more popular and popular every year. Like I very recently discovered that Nujabes' Aruarian Dance samples Laurindo Almeida even though I've listened to Champloo OST for years. Choro Club who did the amazing OST for Aria are very directly influenced by choro, there are "city pop brazil" playlists being made, most of 90s Shibuya-kei draws heavily on bossa nova and the list goes on. We need more music nerds nerding about this stuff.

[@Lord_Slug]

havent watched the video but I checked the chapters and I just want to say this really is an excellent (kind of unexpectedly so) selection of albums. reboot, 1 of 1, pink tape and max&match specifically. these were some of the first kpop albums I ever heard and after getting more into the genre they remain the best

[@Lord_Slug]

I think some other really excellent acts to check out would be EXID (hard to pick just one album to represent them but if I had to it would be full moon/eclipse), Kara (again it's hard especially as all their best songs are split up by mini albums.. I'd honestly just say a title track playlist) and Jonghyuns Poet | Artist (which is just a very excellent and diverse album and also a beautiful example of idols writing and producing their own songs and creating something very authentic to them). I think the shinee discography in general is a really good one to dive deeper into, they have a varied sound across their albums and a lot of creative freedom in both group and solo work.

[@terra5857]

literally

[@KyleS3m3noff]

"Dystopia: The Tree Of Language" is, for my money, in the absolute S-Tier of all-time kpop albums. I know a lot of kpop fans brush past Dreamcatcher because the rock thing doesn't work for them, and that's cool - you like what you like. But Dreamcatcher has one of *the* most diverse discographies out there beyond the title tracks - there's so many different styles and textures to fall into. And that album in particular is a classic example of that.

[@dontnoticemesenpai6745]

Agreed. TTOL is an absolute *monster* of a debut album and one of my only no-skip kpop albums even 3 years later. Pretty much every song off that album has been my favorite at some point.

[@Ugotmilkshakes]

I work in the kpop industry and have listened to it since I was a child. I love your channel since I am truly a music lover. I am so happy to see you expanding your music taste more and more.

[@g0th1cgutz]

WAIT YOU DO??

[@terra5857]

what do you do

[@angelawu2853]

that must be pretty exciting but a lot of work lol

[@itsiraa]

haven’t watched the video yet but I just wanna say the joy K-pop has brought into my life is unmatched. I met amazing people at concerts, that became like family. I met Pixy, Dreamcatcher, Sunmi. saw Red Velvet and Mamamoo and Blackpink live. have had the best concerts of my life ever since I got into the genre. it also has a dark side, but it brought me a community I so wholeheartedly love.

[@setdamn]

I decided to check out Dreamcatcher and i can confidently say that i really like them. Most of K-Pop songs that i listened to are good but i hesitant to proclaim that i like those groups, but Dreamcatcher's songs have this rock energy that i really appreciate. Their songs hit me in the right spot. I want to add "Odd Eye", "Boca", and "Jazz Bar" to the recommendation.

[@KyleS3m3noff]

Dreamcatcher is one hell of a rabbit hole to fall into, friend.

[@InsomniSuA]

Oh you’ve made one of the best decisions of your life to check them out😂 welcome to the fandom!

[@wonhong8287]

Please check out Billlie.

[@oneuselessboi]

Good choice!! Their songs are just sooo exceptional.

[@abiyyyee]

FINALLY YOU TALKING ABOUT KPOP!!!

[@Gettiiiiit99]

Dreamcatcher music is amazing, and their Bsides goes beyond every genre

[@mayruuh]

i like how you are so open about diving into new genres and treat it with the uttermost respect! also i would really love a deep dive into BTS discography, which goes back to their earlier hiphop influenced records (the school era), the more pop-ish but introspective and vulnerable lyricism of HYYH era, the storytelling and multiple genre showcase of the Wings, Love Yourself era and Map of The Soul era (the main highlight of the Map of The Soul era gotta be the single Black Swan, one of their best songs in their entire discography). There's also the BE album, that was meant to be a tender release amidst the chaos of the pandemic. Also i would love for you to check out New Jeans and Le Sserafim too! Theyre being known for their amazing style, excellent music and fun performances!

[@eighthu]

The moment before you talked about BTS... I'm crying because I instantly knew you'd be bringing up BTS and the way you got there was hilarious

[@arunistrying]

Never been a fan of kpop but this vid definitely makes me wanna dive into it, love ya mic!

[@RockinFootball_23]

should give it a shot if you like pop music, there is a sound for everyone.

[@PGBlanks]

Thank you for highlighting The Wonder Girls' Reboot. Somehow it's been forgotten in kpop history. 😢

[@nerasomnia]

That was a really good album list. If I could, I’d suggest ATEEZ’s The World : Movement for an interesting change of pace. It is the most cohesive and conceptual album I’ve come across in kpop so far. It genuinely felt criminal to add songs from that album into one of my playlists without also adding the others. Regarding the concept, think “cyberpunk revolution” and you’ve got a pretty decent idea of what’s in store for you. To add, Dreamcatcher’s main producers contributed to this album (and on ATEEZ’s other albums as well), so you might like it if you like Dreamcatcher.

[@av6674]

Thank you for listening to Exo's EXODUS! It was the album that got ME into kpop and that album still slaps to this day.

[@IndigoDetry]

black swan by bts is one of my favorite songs of all time

[@onceafetus426]

Black Swan deserved a Grammy more than Permission to Dance or Butter honestly

[@IndigoDetry]

@@onceafetus426 i agree but i can see what those other songs got nominated

[@YanYanYamYam]

Ngl I wasn't expecting Dreamcatcher to appear in this video since whenever someone mentions Kpop, people tend to focus on anyone but Dreamcatcher which is so sad cus they're my favourite band because of their top tier music and they deserve more recognition 🥲

[@meika_lee]

same, same. they deserve more listens and recognition. thankful to the people that recommended this album to him.

[@kipzonderkop7061]

I was so happy and surprised when the video started with a Dreamcatcher intro (tension instrumental)!

[@the.time.crystal]

as someone who has been in the brainwormage for too long now (ten years this year wtf), i am SO glad you covered such a mixture of old and new! and if you want an OLD rec, park ji yoon's coming of age ceremony absolutely slaps! and my first kpop single was shinee's ring ding dong, which also still goes stupid hard. i may have grown out of the genre by now, but it still is such an important part of my music listening experience.

[@Alexander6266]

Thanks for checking these out! I've become a big fan of K-pop and Idol music over the last few years, and Dreamcatcher is one of my favorite artists now. I think one area that you passed over is "band" music, for lack of a better term. DAY6, N.Flying, and LUCY are idol groups who are actual bands playing instruments, and I think you would have enjoyed them. Edit: Albums recc - DAY6 - The Book of Us: Entropy, N.Flying: Yaho, LUCY: Panorama

[@MilaOh]

I listened to Stray Kids intentionally for the first time the other week. Immediately after the first track I thought “I get it”. Now I’m a Stay and in love with Bang Chan.

[@feelshowdy]

More quick album recs for anyone who got through the ones in this video! :D - Bronze's Aquarium (citypop, disco, etc.) - SUMIN's Miniseries (hyperpop) - EXO-SC's 1 Billion Views (retro, various) - IU's Modern Times (hints of jazz, bossa nova, various) - BTS's Dark and Wild (00s and early 10s pop-y hiphop) - BIBI's Lowlife Princess (modern trap, rnb) - Yerin Baek's tellusaboutyourself (retro, various) - j-hope's Jack in the Box (modern hiphop) - Lee Jinah's Jinah Restaurant Full Course (retro singer-songwriter stuff) - Lee Hyori's Monochrome (last 3 decades of pop + some older influences) - Taemin's Never Gonna Dance Again Part 1 (modern dance, rnb) - Jung Jin Woo's Rotate (modern rnb) - DPR IAN's Moodswings In This Order (modern rnb)

[@doomdoot6731]

Honestly, with a ton of friends who are into K-Pop and could never actually give me any goddamn clean starting points, this is something I weirdly appreciate. Here's to hoping I won't forget about all this music when the next Mic video rolls over, and my music taste changes again for the x-billionth time.

[@Isszzb]

MV pronounced "emvee" casually is always a tell of someone getting into kpop .... love

[@NE-BO]

I've lived until now not realizing that City Pop was the term I've been searching for all my life

[@theread3480]

Since you say youre a huge city pop fan you will absolutely LOVE "Lady" by Yubin (former wonder girls member)

[@onyour.silvia_]

OMG I WAS WAITING FOR THIS CROSSOVER SO BADLY SINCE THE METAL VIDEO. I feel like you chose such an amazing range of artists as well, seeing Shinee in here is amazing they got me into kpop in August 2021 and i never looked back since. I am very confident that your journey into liking kpop will be a joyful one (learing about how the kpop industry works will not be as fun but we don't talk about that) And as a suggestion on other groups you should check out, NCT ;) (Also, the will i stan LOONA bit took me out.)

[@stacie1595]

Tear is definitely my favorite BTS album so I'm really glad you listened to it! Personally, I'm more into boy groups so I recommend: Stray Kids - IN LIFE and Oddinary, TXT - Chaos Chapter: Freeze or Minisode 1: Blue Hour, Taemin - Move, SHINee - Odd Eye, and Monsta X - Fatal Love and ALL ABOUT LUV (and English album, but fear not, Monsta X is the only Kpop group I trust to put out legitimately good English music). and, one of my all-time favorite Kpop albums is a little known gem from Luna - Free Somebody. This album changed my life! Luna is a member of F(x) and has one of my favorite voices.

[@daan.m]

You're absolutely right with those Stray Kids albums! IN LIFE and Oddinary are definitely some of their best :)

[@angrytriangles]

Sunmi of Wonder Girls does great solo work that's city pop adjacent.

[@MGArtDZN]

So glad you checked Dreamcatcher! They are def worth checking more and is pretty close to a j-pop or anime openings, that can hit home for most anime enjoyers that want to get into kpop.

[@raxacorico]

8:06 Fun Fact! Bruo Mars actually wrote a song" Press Your Number" for one of the SHINee members, Taemin! You should definitely check it out!

[@faceyl]

And GOD how I love this song.... I still listen to it until now.

[@oneuselessboi]

As soon as I heard Tension in the intro of this vid, I instantly had to finish it. Dreamcatcher's song are some of the best out there, and I am so hyped up about them being included in the playlist too! Definitely recommend their other songs as well, such as Fairytale, Reason, Starlight, BEcause, and Odd Eye! 😍

[@Sukkulents_]

seeing dreamcatcher come up was so cool, they pretty much pulled me into the genre and I've even seen them live in London

[@ramencup8634]

As a fan of both Girls Generation and Gitaroo-Man, I was beyond surprised and happy at such a compliment for one their songs.

[@nameisamine]

SHINee! I’m convinced MJ would have been a massive fan. I think SHINee and F(x) made some of the most interesting music of the 2nd generation. You can’t just do 1 album, their discographies are so experimental and eclectic that 1 album is never enough. BIGBANG, 2NE1 & TVXQ got me into the genre around in late 00’s. I begrudgingly loved some Girls Generation singles but all these years later, I never listened to their albums. I think Exo’s Exodus is one of the best Kpop albums of the 21st century but I also love ‘The War’ album. I was a fan of BTS around 2015-16 but checked out a couple years later, I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a BTS single since ‘Blood, Sweat & Tears’. I find Blackpink much more entertaining, but mostly because it gives me the 2NE1 fix I missed since they disbanded. I drifted away from Kpop after 3 of my favourite idols committed suicide within the space of 2 years. After that, I was done, I checked out. Something that provided me joy just made me sad now,it was time to go. Blackpink & New Jeans seemed to be the only group to make me excited about Kpop again. But even now I keep my distance and try not to get attached to any group. I detested “Ice Cream”, the way they shout “SO SWEET” is grating on the ears and all the sexual inneudos just bc it was for the US market 🙄 I thought it was the weakest single they had ever released and didn’t showcase their edge whatsoever.

[@_dancedance]

i never comment on videos but i’d just like to say that as a longtime kpop fan, you nailed these choices! shows the best of kpop in my opinion and is a great intro for any beginner fan. my jaw dropped when you mentioned yukika, i love her !!

[@ghostlyapples]

Mamamoo has the best group vocals in the industry, you can't find better dancers than ateez, g-idle is mostly self-produced with a prodigy on their roster, akmu is a great sibling duo, taeyeon is another great soloist with the voice of an angel... still much left to explore!

[@PhantamSam]

Taeyeon’s album INVU from last year is one of the best solo releases in years

[@sanb1945]

yesss Mamamoo and ATEEZ are the greatest. both insane live performers, Mamamoo (vocally) + ATEEZ (performance + Jongho's powerful vocals).

[@d3ada5tronaut]

I got into BTS before the love yourself era, so I really got into them with the album 'Wings' and it's still my favourite one to this day. I don't really listen to much K-Pop/idol music anymore but if I was to suggest anything, Wings would be on the list

[@ciramelle]

Aaaah yes, now I can finally feel validated for liking K-Pop. I first fell into the rabbit hole about K-pop and all the not-so-good-things about the industry that deserve to be pointed out, but accidentally ended up liking some groups and their music in the process (whoopsie). If you like Dreamcatcher, you might like Ateez, they've shared the same producers (LEEZ + Ollounder) for the most part. I'd recommend the recent album "The world EP.1: Movement" and the song "The Real (Heung Ver.)", including the music video because it's just one of the greatest I've seen in my life. Stray Kids are also great imo, and self-produced, which is something you don't see in K-Pop all that often. "NOEASY" is still my favorite album of theirs (especially Domino), but "ODDINARY" is also popular. Aespa has pretty nice hyperpop influences! You can listen to the first mini album (Savage) to get an idea :)

[@skellingtonMCR]

Personally one of my favorites is The Most Beautiful Moment In Life series by BTS parts 1, 2, and Young Forever, which is mostly a compilation of the first two but also includes new songs and remixes, including the fan favorite Butterfly (Prologue Mix). This is really where the BTS music video plot started, and the moment when BTS won their first music show trophy. It's also quite a meaningful album for that reason, and I really suggest y'all look up videos of Young Forever at concerts, where fans surprise BTS by singing the song to them instead of the other way around. Other favorites from them include Ddaeng (by the rappers only), D-2 (by Agust D aka Suga), and Jack in the Box by j-hope. I'm also a big girl group fan though, so I have to recommend that y'all listen to Copycat by Apink CHOBOM and Gotta Go by Chungha.

[@celtytompkins5294]

Really check out MADE by Big Bang, they are one of the only K-pop groups where I have liked everything I've heard. They are also, to my understanding, a huge inspiration to many younger people in that industry.

[@mydigitallog2652]

This was great! My favorite K-pop albums are She Is by Jonghyun, BTS's Young Forever, and SHINees Story of Light trilogy