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\author{Artyom Bologov \href{mailto:kpop@aartaka.me}{(email)}}
\date{\today}
\title{Artyom’s Kpop Preferences and Worries}
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Current recommendations:
\href{#aespa}{aespa as the most tech pop and generic pop},
\href{#newjeans}{NewJeans/NJZ as the most condensed bubble pop and tragic story}, and
\href{#nmixx}{NMIXX as the most unique and unexpected(ly stylish)}.

\par\noindent\rule{\textwidth}{0.4pt}

So I do listen to Kpop.
For a while now, but not for a long while really.
And I barely scratched the surface of the real Kpop in my taste.
But still, I think that this page might be a small intro to the genre (there isn’t one.)
And maybe some de-stigmatization and awareness tool?

Anyway, this page is structured by bands I listen(ed) to.
With some structured trivia starting the section, and a more free-form narrative following.

\paragraph{Terminology (group, idol, bias)} \begin{quote}
I’ve no idea why Kpop girl groups (GG) are called “groups.”
This feels somewhat diminutive to me.
So I tend to call them in a Western-ish way—bands—at least in this post.
(Random fact: in Russia, musical collectives are called “groups” too!)

I also prefer “band member” over “idol,” because the latter implies culturally elevated status.
Most of the bands I listen to are well-known.
But I don’t want to restrict this page’s future.
In case I start to listen to underground Kpop or whatever.

And “bias” usually means favorite / best band member.
I’ll just say “Best Member,” pretending to objectivity, of course.
\end{quote}

\paragraph{Name capitalization} \begin{quote}
I’m going to write band member names capitalized instead of conventional all-caps.
Because caps is too screaming.
I’ll retain caps in song names and band names for searchability
\end{quote}

\paragraph{Boy bands} \begin{quote}
I don’t listen to them, sorry.
\end{quote}

General trends derived from the sections below:

\begin{description}\item[Best solo song]
Tends to be one of the favorite member’s song, with notable exception of aespa songs and their unevenly distributed awesomeness.
\item[Best band member / Honorable mention]
I guess it’s either
\begin{itemize}
\item The most Western-looking member,
\item The one with the most intimate voice,
\item Or the troublemaker / departed
\end{itemize}
  but, overall, there seems to be little correlation between my choices. Most bands have these archetypes in some form or another, and I don’t always choose the most fitting archetype for whatever reason?
</dd>
\item[Main problem]
There are many, but the most pronounced ones are terrible work conditions (overworking, exploitation, sexualization)
  and weird member departures.
  \href{#newjeans}{And the NewJeans’ case, of course}.
  Wile stuff.
</dd>
\end{description}

\section*{The Warning: Yeah, I Know, They’re Not Kpop!} \label{the-warning}

\begin{description}\item[Best song]
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=vm78KpEw3uw}{The Warning — MONEY}
\item[Best solo song]
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=tb9a0WEYyR0}{Sharks} by Pau, was intended to be sung by her alone, but the vocal toll that’d incur made them change the song for Dani to take over the chorus.
  Also check out \href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=A6Y4XpBxjU0}{Pau’s cover of Radiohead’s Creep} to comprehend the sheer power of this voice.
\item[Listening since]
Autumn 2021 (not long after \href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=TlOy0XbFVlM}{CHOKE}
  and \href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=3_RB0tRI624}{EVOLVE} releases)
\item[Best band member]

  \href{https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulina_Villarreal}{Pau (Paulina Villareal,)}
    because she’s the craziest and the most creative one.
  And the most characteristic vocalist too, with her slightly raspy timbre and strong vocal push.
\item[Main problem]
I’m worried for Pau’s voice when she screams. Oh and they all are also grinding too hard, \href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=HfLRHEuvOT4}{burnout} is to be expected.
\end{description}

So The Warning is this rock band that you’re invariably going to hear about if you yet didn’t.
Daniela (lead vocals, guitar,) Paulina (drums, back/lead vocals,) and Alejandra (bass, back vocals) Villareal from Mexico.
Women of the Year according to a dozen of magazines and sites.
Close-knit actual sisters.
Addictively good at making rock bangers.
And the ones having the most devoted fanbase.

That’s why I’m listing them on this page: they have a social media dynamics and image of a proper Kpop girl band.
(They aren’t one! They are almost self-produced and were label-less for a long time, as a principle! And they are an actual sister rock band!)
A lot of posts.
A lot of picking favorites (pick Pau!) among really characteristic sisters.
A lot of fan remixes (playlists / live show vids) of their stuff.
Listening to The Warning prepared me for the social brain overload that Kpop is.

\section*{BLACKPINK} \label{blackpink}

\begin{description}\item[Best song]
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=VQo4hyWfBQ4}{BLACKPINK — Tally}, because it’s the most uncensored of their stuff. No actual message, but just a nice angry / self-centered vibe.
\item[Best solo song]
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=zrU3vvTuhRo}{Rosé — 3am},
  but all of \href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=eA0lHNZ1KCA&list=PL01yu2j2OZBaWIPNclNLZsAqyt3oWqyWu}{the rosie album} is worth a listen!
\item[Listening since]
Probably winter 2022, after \href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=POe9SOEKotk}{Shut Down} / Born Pink release?
\item[Best band member]

  \href{https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Ros%C3%A9_(singer)}{Rosé},
  because she has this image of a soft lyrical character,
  compared to posh (Jisoo) / girlboss (Jennie, Lisa) vibes of other members
\item[Honorable mention]

  \href{https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_(rapper)}{Lisa},
  because she’s a rad rapper and has a style
\item[Main problem]
They’re too mainstream
\end{description}

So I needed something for my mind to chew on when I worked on complex software.
In emigration.
Fleeing war.
Alone.
In a freezing cold flat (there was a huge hole in the wall I was unaware of all that time.)

So yeah, BLACKPINK were an extremely cozy and neutral-yet-hyped background for my life back then.
Their songs were the most pop-y pop I’ve heard (after \href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=BC19kwABFwc}{Dua Lipa} maybe?)
So yeah, perfect background noise.
(I set a BLACKPINK playlist up while writing this post. I forgot there’s music after half an hour.)

This background-ness is why I mostly stopped listening to BLACKPINK once I explored other Kpop bands.
Other than that, they’re good and are the easiest transition from Western pop into Kpop.

\section*{aespa} \label{aespa}

\begin{description}\item[Best song]
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=jWQx2f-CErU}{aespa — Whiplash}, because it’s outright addictive.
  It’s also what kicked off my obsession with aespa and Kpop in general.
  And \href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=dYRITmpFbJ4}{aespa — Girls} with Winter’s high notes and an unexpected dubstep interjection!
\item[Best solo song]
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=hfO7veqkHns}{Karina — Good Stuff}. It’s a shame they give the grooviest songs to Karina, and Winter gets boring airy pop lyrical ballads 🫤
\item[Listening since]
Winter 2024
\item[Best band member]

  \href{https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_(singer)}{Winter},
  because she’s the best vocalist of the four and is the most Western-ish in her looks.
  And that airy voice makes you fall in love the moment you hear it.
  She also does minor weird stuff in interviews, which is cute to watch.
\item[Honorable mention]

  \href{https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Giselle_(singer)}{Giselle},
  because she’s most eloquent in English and is really fun to listen to on the interviews she happens to be invited to
\item[Main problem]
Losing their mythology and going plain pop (and too little Giselle interviews!)
\end{description}

So æspa (or simply aespa) started when there was Metaverse and other digital-everything hype.
(Which is like, five years ago? Time flies 😰)
With a story and a whole series of their (and their Æ avatars’) adventures in virtual world of KWANGYA.
This, while sometimes cheesy, was an actual story to watch!
And a tech-adjacent one at that!
(Discord recently did a profile styling collab with this version of aespa from five years ago, it was that good.)

I started listening to aespa after they abandoned this æ-sthetics (🥁)
They are hyper stylish and produce high quality dopamine honeypots still!
But yeah, the loss of their creative director (I learned from a random ”Problems with aespa” YouTube video) hit the band somewhat.

If I’d have to recommend only one Kpop band, it will be aespa!

\section*{NewJeans / NJZ} \label{newjeans}

\begin{description}\item[Best song]
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=jOTfBlKSQYY}{NewJeans — ETA}, also having this fun kill-your-boyfriend music video.
  With \href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=jXxuOgo1ms0}{NJZ — Pit Stop} being the only self-produced song that’s also worth listening to!
\item[Best solo song]
None, because they had no opportunity for solo songs 😢
\item[Listening since]
Spring 2024
\item[Best band member]

  \href{https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Danielle_Marsh}{Danielle},
  because she’s the most Western-looking.
  And because her voice is the sweetest caramel.
  And because, allegedly, she was the one stirring up the rebellion against Ador (their exploitative label)
  and had her contract terminated because of that.
\item[Honorable mention]

  \href{https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanni_(singer)}{Hanni},
  as objectively the best vocalist
  and the least conventionally beautiful (boyish haircuts!) of the five (#NewJeansIsFive)
\item[Main problem]
They no longer exist (#NewJeansNeverDie) and had a long story with trying the label in court
\end{description}

So this band is probably the starkest exemplar of Kpop contradictory nature.
NewJeans had the sweetest bubble pop songs all their short career.
Like, figuratively, you’re getting chronic diabetes the moment you start listening to them.
With the savoriest voices being inseparable from soft instrumentals.

And yet, they didn’t release much,
because they tried to terminate their contract with their label, Ador (sub-company of HYBE.)
The label was changing their creative direction and kept mistreating them.
Including gross sexualization of band members (then minors!)

They lost several cases (or whatever, I’m bad at this terminology.)
With one of the court decisions ruling that
“K-pop group members are not classified as workers and are not entitled to labor rights” (citing Wikipedia.)
Nasty stuff.

They went rogue, launching an Instagram account (jeanzforfree,) doing streams,
and releasing a self-produced song, Pit Stop, under the name NJZ.
And then went silent, because the label tightened the screws.
To the point of forcing band members back.
And terminating Danielle’s contract.
Making her family pay millions of won as a label damage compensation.
Allegedly because she was the one to start the insurrection.

I want to support and empathize with the girls.
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=oeGPjG4Qvs0}{Especially Danielle, this rebel soul}.
But I also am on the fence.
I don’t have any anchor to refer to independent NJZ except the Instagram account
and the only song they managed to release independently.
The rest of them was a carefully moderated label puppeteering.
Which is all too characteristic of Kpop.

So I dunno.
Listen to them if you feel like bubble pop.
And remember the injustice Kpop is built on.

\section*{HUNTR/X (Kpop Demon Hunters)} \label{huntrx}

\begin{description}\item[Best song]
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=l8Dr7vzMSVE}{Takedown}, with all this diss energy and extremely groovy beat
\item[Listening since]
Autumn 2025
\item[Best band member]
Mira, because we need more angry energy in Kpop!
\item[Main problem]
The movie sucks
\end{description}

So my Fediverse feed and other communication channels were flooded with Kpop Demon Hunters (KDH) at some point.
My YouTube recommendations were always ending with KDH song playlist loops.
It was that viral and addictive to people that they were ruining my “shuffle” (with good songs though!)
I had to watch the movie.

Didn’t like it one bit.
Most characters are barely jotted down.
Those characters that are actually written, are not developing.
The motivations thus are quite superficial.
The graphics are good, but that’s a given for a Netflix movie?

So the only thing worth having from HUNTR/X is “their” songs
(Twice the usual Kpop amount scare quotes—they’re animation characters in addition to being an engineered collective of unrealistic beauty standards!)
And the songs are goooooooood.
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=QGsevnbItdU}{So go and give a listen to one of their… four songs}?

\section*{Cherry Bullet} \label{cherry-bullet}

\begin{description}\item[Best song]
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=0It6vWbGOX0}{Cherry Bullet — Hands Up}
\item[Best solo song]
None, they had no solo songs?
\item[Listening since]
Summer 2025
\item[Best band member]
I didn’t dig too deep, sorry
\item[Main problem]
They were disbanded, and lost some members before that too
\end{description}

So I found Cherry Bullet thanks to some curated playlist on YouTube.
There were a couple of good songs there, so I was hooked.
Not listening to them much now, because there’s almost nothing to listen to.
They didn’t release many songs, despite existing for five years.

But the things they released were quite good!
On the one hand, I’m happy that there was a band not following crazy comeback-every-quarter tempo.
On the other hand, I wish they made more stuff.
And didn’t disappear.

But yeah, bands get disbanded in one way or another.
In case of Cherry Bullet, the decision was members’ one, not label’s.
Which is a rarity in Kpop, because usually it’s labels that decide who to terminate contract with?
(See NewJeans’ case.)

\section*{BABYMONSTER} \label{babymonster}

\begin{description}\item[Best song]
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=Zp-Jhuhq0bQ}{BABYMONSTER — DRIP}, had it on repeat for two months!
  \href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=M8r3x4Re8-I}{And LIKE THAT} with extremely good parts by Rami and Asa.
\item[Best solo song]
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=KcSwEoDRWTA}{Asa \& Ruka — Woke Up In Tokyo}. Yeah, I know, more like a duo song. But most BAEMON members don’t have solo songs yet, with the band going public in 2024!
\item[Listening since]
Winter 2025
\item[Best band member]
Asa, because she’s raps like eSpeak at speech rate 400 and does it beautifully. While also being gorgeous with these short haircuts and superhuman makeup abilities. The YouTube comment calling her an anime character is not exaggerating any bit.
\item[Honorable mention]
Rami, the band member that went on a prolonged hiatus. She has a deep voice with unusual raspy notes!
\item[Main problem]
Rami’s departure?
\end{description}

BABYMONSTER is the third? band produced by YG Entertainment, home of BLACKPINK.
Which is a high bar to clear.
And a certain quality guarantee.
BAEMON (shortened form of BABYMONSTER) didn’t disappoint even once so far.
Their songs are well-produced, the vocal parts flow organically, and rap interjections by Asa and Ruka are something for Western rappers to learn from.

They used to be a seven-person band though.
Which is too much if you ask me.
Oh they no longer are, right.
So the official story is that Rami went on a hiatus for health reasons somewhere in spring 2025.
But health concerns are a frequent excuse for Kpop labels to dismiss a band member.
So yeah, even YG is not infallible, I guess?
Something something corpos.

I don’t listen to BAEMON much lately, because of these rap parts in every song.
I’m not really into hip-hop and adjacent phenomena.
But I can still recommend BABYMONSTER in case you’re fine with quality rap inclusions!

\section*{(G)I-DLE / i-dle} \label{i-dle}

\begin{description}\item[Best song]
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=nUwSf-Szaws}{i-dle — Good Thing} as the most aesthetic music video and punkish song.
  And then \href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZlKoeJ3xlx4}{I’m the Trend} as extremely good retro tune.
\item[Best solo song]
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ubz6C2t_FFM}{Yuqi — Radio}, but actually all of her solo stuff (there’s a lot!)
\item[Listening since]
December 2025
\item[Best band member]

  \href{https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuqi}{Yuqi},
  because of her less polished aesthetics, deep voice, and less conventional beauty.
  And red hair look for a solo album!
\item[Honorable mention]

  \href{https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnie_(singer)}{Minnie},
  because she’s the best? vocalist of the five and her haircut is astonishingly persistent
\item[Main problem]
They are stretching the limits of what Kpop can do, and that causes some backlash in Korea?
\end{description}

Just started listening to them, first with “Good Thing” appearing in recommendations.
And then seeing \href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=Jh4QFaPmdss}{(G)I-DLE — Tomboy}
and \href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=7HDeem-JaSY}{(G)I-DLE — Queencard} and hyping about these.
It’s only after closely watching and listening to both i-dle (“Good Thing”) and (G)I-DLE (the rest.)
That I realized these are the same people.
The band changed the name just now.
And released a banger under a new name.

\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=et3VDbL7cIA}{Then there was this video with (then (G)I-DLE) members singing fragments of most of their singles}.
And Yuqi (second from the right) is just plain adorable there, almost jumping to rap-like parts and singing passionately.
The other members are beautiful, but this girl, she’s got some fire.
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=UqJIBItJeyg}{And freakiness} 😉

\subsection*{K/DA (i-dle, actually)} \label{kda}

Oh wait, I just remembered!
I actually listened to i-dle before, somewhere in 2019 maybe?
When they voiced the virtual Kpop band K/DA created by Riot Games.
\href{#aespa}{(Pre-aespa virtual worlds, yay!)}
Kpop and games seem to be quite a match, and many bands above collaborated with game companies.
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=7WyHtSlvHD4}{BLACKPINK collaborated with PUBG (Mobile)}.
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=uo6nNqEkn5Q}{aespa did too}, recently.
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=C3GouGa0noM}{NewJeans collaborated with League of Legends}.
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=3VTkBuxU4yk}{So i-dle just did the thing, giving their voices to K/DA}.

\subsection*{MEOVV} \label{meovv}

\begin{description}\item[Best song]
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=hlULtigNNao}{MEOVV — BURNING UP}
\item[Listening since]
January 2026
\item[Best band member]
Ella, because she has the voice reminding me of naughts’ R\&B and because she sometimes behaves weirdly… for a Kpop idol.
\item[Main problem]
Too little songs yet
\end{description}

So yeah, YouTube kept shuffling
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=sL0pCS6K9bc}{MEOVV’s HANDS UP}
into my playlist at work.
So I checked them out, and loved from first sight!
BURNING UP is such a banger.

Adding to the respect and admiration:
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=BAhjxc07dhc}{they changed the lyrics to BURNING UP}
on a short notice to not mention fire out of solidarity with Hong Kong fires.
I respect that!

Another point in favor: they are produced by THEBLACKLABEL.
And this label seems to produce a lot of no-bullshit bands recently.

\section*{NMIXX} \label{nmixx}

\begin{description}\item[Best song]
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=j6tKIdt9K9M}{NMIXX — Run for Roses}, closely followed by
  \href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=dgeH9vxwYss}{NMIXX — Phoenix}
\item[Best solo song]
Lily has some covers, but they didn’t have time for solo songs in general yet
\item[Listening since]
March 2026
\item[Best band member]
Bae, because she has low voice, is tall, and has beautiful short haircuts!
\item[Honorable mention]
Lily, because she is most vocally talented
\item[Main problem]
They are not famous enough for such quality music!
\end{description}

Very rarely, my plailist contained NMIXX songs.
But once, I stumbled onto
\href{https://youtube.com/watch?v=OiH0C3JCw_A}{their High Horse and KNOW ABOUT ME live}.
And fell in love.
Both with NMIXX music and Bae.

Their music style (they call it mixx-pop) is quite unique and denies description.
But it’s chaotic and unexpected at times, which is a breath of fresh air!

\par\noindent\rule{\textwidth}{0.4pt}
\href{https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0}{CC-BY 4.0} 2022-2026 by Artyom Bologov (aartaka,)
\href{https://codeberg.org/aartaka/pages/commit/a91befa}{with one commit remixing Claude-generated code}.
Any and all opinions listed here are my own and not representative of my employers; future, past and present.
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