hello everyone, i'm BACK :cartwheels into the room: in this project, I (as your local kpop addict) will be giving you kpop songs to listen to based on your pop/non-kpop taste! if there's an artist you want me to add, just let me know in the comments! the song recs are compiled from me listening to the pop artist (or using my knowledge of them, depends on how well I know them) and deciding which groups, soloists, or songs have a similar style or vibe! disclaimer: I don't know too much about music genres and I'm just going based on names I've seen and how they fit the type of song. If I misgenre a song please feel free to let me know :D TAYLOR SWIFT Even though Taylor's music covers, like, EVERY GENRE, there's still a general feel to them, kind of like you're reading someone's diary in a way? They don't feel very produced or overpolished, more handmade and raw, even in the more upbeat songs. Groups - There's not much of a specific group here, since the vast, vast majority make upbeat music that's pretty produced. But a lot of groups somewhere in their discography will have some ballads, midtempo study-playlist songs, or EDM pop songs that have this feel. Soloists - Again, there's not any specific person. You'll find a lot of this style in the B-sides, or less promoted tracks on albums. It's a lot more common to have these types of songs on solo albums than groups...I don't know why. Songs - One Day by Weki Meki, Mine by IVE, Polaroid Love by ENHYPEN GRACIE ABRAMS Gracie's style is even more "diary" like than Taylor's. She often has elements of synthpop or electropop in the instrumentals, and a lot of her songs are raw and heartfelt while still being driving and danceable. Groups - Sadly, there aren't many groups nowadays doing this kind of concept. GFRIEND was one, but they've since disbanded. Like Taylor's style, you'll have to go digging into different albums to find the hidden ballads-that's where you'll find most examples of this. Specifically, check out B-sides from groups like IZ*ONE and WJSN. Soloists - It's overwhelmingly easier to find this genre in solo albums for some reason. Almost everyone has released some sort of album where the title track (the most promoted one) is a slow, heartfelt ballad. In particular, Taeyeon is a great example of these. Songs - INVU by Taeyeon, MAGO by GFRIEND, stay a little longer by ROSÉ TATE MCRAE It's much easier to find songs exhibiting this style in K-pop nowadays. Since Tate's blowup, this minimalist pop-rock style has taken over many popular groups. Groups - An immediate group that comes to mind is KATSEYE. Although not every song of theirs is this style, their overall musical identity is very house-focused with a lot of the elements in Tate's songs. Another group that at least used to have this style is LE SSERAFIM. Although they've since moved away from this genre, their early material was very on brand with what Tate makes. Soloists - Chung Ha comes to mind. She makes dancefloor-ready house songs that feel like they could play right next to Tate. Also, Sunmi feels like a good fit, albeit not quite as fitting as Chung Ha. Her most popular songs are very minimalist and bass-focused, and they're right at home with Tate's songs. Songs - Gnarly by KATSEYE, Dream Of You by CHUNG HA, Fearless by LE SSERAFIM, Siren by Sunmi BENSON BOONE The way I want to describe a lot of his songs is "get emotional over in your room". This is not hate against fans of him at all btw. But it's good, because K-pop has a surprisingly diverse array of this type of sound. Groups - The group that instantly comes to my mind for this genre is TXT. Their whole concept is being a teen and growing into adulthood, and there's so many songs in their discography you could absolutely crash out to in your room alone. Soloists - I honestly can't think of a single person here. Many people have songs like this, again buried in the B-sides. Sunmi and Chung Ha again both have very valid crashout songs. Songs - 0X1 = Lovesong by TXT, Heroine by Sunmi, Killing Me by Chung Ha THE WEEKND Even though I'm not a big fan of him, I can't ignore his popularity, so here we are. His music tends to have a LOT of synthpop / synthwave elements, and not much drums. It's not too hard to find songs like this in K-pop, but they often have one of those two elements but not both. Groups - I honestly don't think there's one group in K-pop doing this concept right now, which is pretty sad. But Dreamcatcher and EVERGLOW both have a few songs in their discography that fit this bill at least somewhat. AESPA also has some good ones. Soloists - I didn't know of this before making this, but Key from Shinee has a lot of synthwave in his solo albums. He has a lot of material, so you'll never run out of content! Songs - LA DI DA by Everglow, Can't get you out of my mind by Dreamcatcher, Hold On Tight by Aespa, Bad Love by Key (continued below)
LADY GAGA Like The Weeknd, Lady Gaga has a lot of electropop and synthpop elements to her songs. Unlike him, however, her songs tend to be more upbeat and with empowering messages versus the darker atmosphere of his. Groups - Many groups that fall into the general "girl crush" category of K-pop can fit here, like BLACKPINK, ITZY, and (G)I-DLE (recently rebranded to i-dle). They tend to have women-empowering songs with a lot of electropop or trap elements. Soloists - Jeon Somi is one, her songs are usually upbeat and have good messages. Although she doesn't generally have a lot of hard-hitting songs, there is a lot of synthpop and electropop in her music. Also, Jennie's solo album and Lisa's solo album can both go here. Songs - Wannabe by ITZY, Nxde by i-dle, Fast Forward by Jeon Somi, like JENNIE by Jennie, New Woman by Lisa okay so I was writing the desc for this project and i had an idea to do a pt. 2 of this but with random feelings like "you're driving at night on the highway" and the like. sooo if you want me to do that too then leave your random feeling ideas in the comments!
