Music
This year, I had many outside issues that kept me from regularly keeping my eye on the ball of music releases. Thankfully, the last quarter of the year was less hectic, allowing me to catch up on what I missed.
Produce 48
The first thing I spent a lot of time catching up on was the third season of the Produce 101 series, Produce 48. This collaboration between Mnet and AKB48 had train wreck written all over it on paper. But it ended up being a rather enjoyable music reality series. Seeing the various 48 members get schooled through the house of hardcore that is the K-Pop machine was the most exciting aspect of the show at the beginning. And by the time I got to where the field was narrowed down to the final 30, I didn’t care about that as much and was more concerned about whether my favourites would be voted into the IZ*ONE.
And yes, all the girls I liked throughout the show (Yu Jin, Ye Na, Chae Won and Eun Bi) was made official members. Yet Cho Won did not make it which saddened me. She could have easily replaced one of the pretty “useless character” members like Hye Won or Min Ju. You don’t need two pretty and awkward girls in the group. Anyway, what’s done is done, and the result is not as bad as I expected. Yes, there is a significant number disparity between Korean and Japanese members, but does it matter?
Other than providing some simple entertainment, Produce 48 also re-ignited my interest in K-Pop. I had given up on it after the disbandment of the groups I followed. Thanks to some of the songs and the trainees covered, I could find a different crop of girl groups to dedicate some attention to.
Favourite Singles
Even though I haven’t been able to write about music as often, it doesn’t mean I haven’t been trying to listen actively to stuff. As mentioned earlier, I’ve been playing catch-up, and I think I’ve managed to gather enough to put together a decent list of my favourites from the year. So let’s start with the singles.
January – June 2018
AKB48 – Teacher Teacher
BiSH – Paint It Black
BoA – One Shot, Two Shot
CocoSori – Mi Amore
David Guetta, Martin Garrix & Brooks – Like I Do
E-girls – あいしてると言ってよかった
EXID – Lady
Imagine Dragons – Next To Me
きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ – きみのみかた
lyrical school – 常夏(ナッツ)リターン
MONDO GROSSO feat. Aina The End – False Sympathy
Shift K3y – Only You
鈴木愛理 – DISTANCE
