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2023: best of


minho

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really love your banner :clap3: 

Contact :clap3:  one of my pure faves from album

Heaven Remix :eek: nice too see this BAWP here

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20 Aespa - Spicy

Not as good as savage but almost nothing will be from any kpop artist. this is them at their best, love the elements of hyper pop that make them stand out among the rest of the noise in the industry! Wish it got a bit more recognition...

 

19 Hannah Diamond - Poster Girl

Pop perfection is kind of a meme these days but idk this kind of fits!! It's a really well crafted pop song and the chorus/hook is so insanely catchy and feel good. This album was a nice surprise, check it out~

 

18 Hannah Jadagu - Say It Now

Bedroom pop's finest. Love her style of delivery, it's effortless and relaxed. This reminds me a bit of Bags in a way, I like the subtle rock touches and the dreaminess. 

 

17 Tinashe - Uh Huh

Gravity might be a strong choice too and I did love the UK Garage stuff, but this song feels like a nighttime drive bop and I love it. Her delivery and mastery of everything she does is so effortlessly cool. She could sing the dictionary and I'd be enamoured 

 

16 Kiss of Life - Sugarcoat (Natty Solo)

R&B/K-Pop fans stand UP! It's no secret that K-Pop has borrowed or been influenced by music developed by black artists for a while now. The question is how much of that is inspiration and genuine love for these genres and how much is like... Stray Kids. This is one of the clearest and most vivid examples of R&B in K-Pop I've ever heard. Drawing on the '90s in a fresh and unique way, Natty delivered one of my favourite (if not the favourite) solo songs of the year.

 

15 tripleS - Seoul Sonyo Sound

How they released 4 EPs and all of them are brilliant is beyond me. This is such a cool style, its fresh, its pretty, its everything I want in K-Pop rolled into one... but there's a song I liked even more coming up!!

 

14 James Ivy - Stereo Play

Obligatory (and only?) male artist. This is like male beabadoobee (Beatopia-esque) in a GOOD way. I can tell he was inspired by The 1975, but he isn't a disgusting rat so he wins! The hooks on this EP were fantastic, and his command of a 2000s pop rock style is so nostalgic and nice. A bit embarrassing but like if I made music I kind of think I'd want it to sound like this?

 

13 Hemlocke Springs - Stranger Danger!

WISH THIS WS ON THE EP!!! So fun, so much personality...

 

12 Caroline Polachek - Blood and Butter

Yes I did come up with Fadoline Paidnocheks and yes it went semi-viral on Twitter. Sometimes war criminals make good music though and this is a Desire highlight. There's so much going on yet it maintains that ethereal quality I talked bout with the album. When the Celtic influences kick in I've already ascended.

 

11 Rachel Chinouriri - Ribs

QUEEN! She had my SOTY last year for good reason. This is fresh and fun indie pop with full conviction and firm understanding of pop hooks and formidable songwriting. Need album 2024

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10 NewJeans - Ditto

Released right at the beginning of the year and proved that we were in for a ride. Their EP is my favourite thing they've done but I have to shout out their 2022 stuff and these standalones from the beginning of the year. They are exactly what K-Pop needs... hopefully the rest of the industry listens

 

09 Wednesday - Chosen to Deserve

Love the mix of country influences with the aforementioned Americana rock. The riffs are stunning, the style is the best of so many worlds, and I love the way this gets stuck in my head.

 

08 tripleS - Rising

This EP was kind of underrated... I think still this is my favourite track of theirs, I don't know why? I feel like tripleS invoke pre-debut Loona but in a new and exciting way. It's not just a carbon copy, but they somehow do feel unique.

 

07 SZA - Kill Bill

SOS was a brilliant if long album. While I didn't love that things got a bit more one dimensional in a few places, I do love that SZA is still SZA and her pen and personality are at the forefront. You can't not like this song idk...

 

06 Feeble Little Horse - Steamroller

Fuzzy guitars, hazy production, this feels like a weird dream you'd have turned into a song. It reminds me of like garage rock/that sort of gritty 90s riot grrrrl sound. I could've gone with any track though lbr

 

05 Pinkpantheress - Angel

One of the only songs I feel truly got what "Barbie" should sound like. 

 

04 Billlie - Eunoia

This is stunning? Fairy-esque, fantastical, pretty, enchanting, fun, forward thinking, its everything, also its Barbie-esque!

 

03 NewJeans - Super Shy

I literally can't say anything about this, it's just kind of the best kpop song ever (after Savage)

 

02 Olivia Rodrigo - Bad Idea Right?

I mentioned her growth and how she drew more on styles and rock movements rather than individual artists this time around to ultimately find her own style. This is a clear example of that. Truly feeling right out of a mid-90s riot grrrrl/punk album, Olivia's approach to this style is filled to the brim with unique personality that sets her apart from other young pop stars. Everything about this is perfect.

 

01 Yeule - Sulky Baby

Well there it is, double crowning! The first glimpse into what softscars would be remains one of my favourite songs of all time.  Absolute perfection, they invented shoegaze...

 

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33 minutes ago, minho said:

40 Pinkpantheress ft. Ice Spice - Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2

While the solo version was released at the tail-end of 2022, the remix featuring Ice Spice added some much needed punch that elevated the song to feel a bit more complete. It's incredible to me that this became a legitimate hit this year because it really does put a fresh step forward in pop!

 

39 Rebecca Black - Destroy Me

I think Rebecca's album and ambitions are notable, and I really did enjoy most of her album but nothing really struck me as hard as this track which somehow combines like 5 genres at once (some of which are among my favourites) and pulled it off so well. There's a powerful mood to this that commands attention, and its also just a really fun song.

 

36 Chappell Roan - My Kink is Karma

Chappell's music is filled with theatre kid personality which on paper should be grounds for me to pan it. However, I find that her ability to capture the best of Swiftian synth-pop at key moments on her album was very enjoyable. I struggled to pick between this and Naked in Manhattan, but ended up going with this track because I love the slow-burn kiss-off vibe. It demonstrates the kind of attitude she has in her music which makes her standout in small doses.

 

35 Ice Spice - In Ha Mood

I will always be a little spice cabinet...

 

34 Slayyyter - My Body

I love slayyyter's music but I have to admit I didn't spend a ton of time with this album despite really liking it. I think she's a master of pop and she channels what the average ATRLer wants out of pop music but for some reason won't admit when it comes to her. I mean whatever, their loss, at the end of the day almost any track from this album is like the best of 2007-2012 pop with a completely new filter.

 

33 Doechii - Pacer

Rico Nasty-esque is a bit superficial but also I can't help it. I heard she doesn't like this song, but idk... metal/rap elements in hip hop will probably always work for me. Shout out to Cobra by Megan as well which I discovered a bit too late to place on my list... the energy that Doechii brings is fantastic and works really well with the high pace of the production.

 

32 Kara Jackson - Dickhead Blues

This album is like, a lot to take in. It's a bit on the poet laureate side for me to fully want to get invested. Like it's well written, she's a beautiful lyricist, but I can't say I would enjoy listening to this album all the time. This is a clear standout though, I like the way she performs it. You feel a lot like you're listening to a master poet chronicle an important story - which I suppose is completely true in this case.

 

31 Kelela - Contact

Yeah this is kind of low and yeah I noticeably left her off the album list. This album is like... yeah it's good but so what? :skull: and I know that sounds extremely pretentious of me but I don't mean it that way. I really did enjoy the soundscape of Raven, I think it's obvious Kelela is one of the most captivating electronic artists of our time, but I feel like it never quite clicked with me in a way I wanted it to. I wanted to shout her out regardless however because I think there's a ton of talent and skill and ambition, and maybe I'll revisit this in 2024 and it will finally hit? For now this is a standout and one of the songs that I remember.

Perriana... Slayyy too low but I'll take it. Unfortunately still don't care for the way Heaven's remix switched up the production :katie: preferred the extended melodic instrumental bits of the original. You're reminding me to revisit Doechii's... everything so I'll do that later!

 

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27 minutes ago, minho said:

28 Taylor Swift - Hits Different

Obligatory mention! I opted not to include something from each of her vaults etc just so I can contain her power. Obviously midnights was a really important album in my view and I could go on and on about how I think it doesn't get the credit it deserves and is in fact one of her more nuanced albums emotionally, but I'll spare that and just say this song is an example of her prowess at incredible pop songwriting. 

 

27 Leah Kate - Space

I loved her pop rock era but I like that she transitioned into something more electroclash since it gave her a fresher style and a newer sense of attitude that she wears very well. This is the type of song that I think pop fans would rally behind if they weren't so judgemental about which woman is singing it :rip: but whatever, this is clear that Leah is more than meets the eye and I genuinely hope she knows she killed it with this style!

 

26 Chrissy Chlapecka - Alpha

Like slayyyter/Troubled Paradise therefore it's a win. This invokes the 2007'd style of darker electropop for me but with a hyper pop finish. Love the lyrics and the delivery, my favourite of her singles so far~

 

25 Addison Rae - Nothing On (But The Radio)

Need her to re-record all of Gaga's music then maybe I'd like it

 

24 Amaarae - Co-Star

Won't go into too much detail because I outlined everything I needed to say in the album write-up but this is a clear highlight from the album, love the lyrics and the vibe. Idk its just good I don't know if I have the words here.

 

22 Hemlocke Springs - sever the blight

Synthwave/synthpop mastery... she ended the male artists that rely on that sound with ease. I love her sense of style and quirkiness. It's like... annoying but not? It feels somehow natural which gives her music a distinctive eye!

All the Electro/Synthpop excellence in this batch + Amaarae who is obviously also great :clap3: wish I liked Younger and Dumber/Glue Song more

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14 minutes ago, minho said:

20 Aespa - Spicy

Not as good as savage but almost nothing will be from any kpop artist. this is them at their best, love the elements of hyper pop that make them stand out among the rest of the noise in the industry! Wish it got a bit more recognition...

 

19 Hannah Diamond - Poster Girl

Pop perfection is kind of a meme these days but idk this kind of fits!! It's a really well crafted pop song and the chorus/hook is so insanely catchy and feel good. This album was a nice surprise, check it out~

 

18 Hannah Jadagu - Say It Now

Bedroom pop's finest. Love her style of delivery, it's effortless and relaxed. This reminds me a bit of Bags in a way, I like the subtle rock touches and the dreaminess. 

 

17 Tinashe - Uh Huh

Gravity might be a strong choice too and I did love the UK Garage stuff, but this song feels like a nighttime drive bop and I love it. Her delivery and mastery of everything she does is so effortlessly cool. She could sing the dictionary and I'd be enamoured 

 

16 Kiss of Life - Sugarcoat (Natty Solo)

R&B/K-Pop fans stand UP! It's no secret that K-Pop has borrowed or been influenced by music developed by black artists for a while now. The question is how much of that is inspiration and genuine love for these genres and how much is like... Stray Kids. This is one of the clearest and most vivid examples of R&B in K-Pop I've ever heard. Drawing on the '90s in a fresh and unique way, Natty delivered one of my favourite (if not the favourite) solo songs of the year.

 

15 tripleS - Seoul Sonyo Sound

How they released 4 EPs and all of them are brilliant is beyond me. This is such a cool style, its fresh, its pretty, its everything I want in K-Pop rolled into one... but there's a song I liked even more coming up!!

 

14 James Ivy - Stereo Play

Obligatory (and only?) male artist. This is like male beabadoobee (Beatopia-esque) in a GOOD way. I can tell he was inspired by The 1975, but he isn't a disgusting rat so he wins! The hooks on this EP were fantastic, and his command of a 2000s pop rock style is so nostalgic and nice. A bit embarrassing but like if I made music I kind of think I'd want it to sound like this?

 

13 Hemlocke Springs - Stranger Danger!

WISH THIS WS ON THE EP!!! So fun, so much personality...

 

12 Caroline Polachek - Blood and Butter

Yes I did come up with Fadoline Paidnocheks and yes it went semi-viral on Twitter. Sometimes war criminals make good music though and this is a Desire highlight. There's so much going on yet it maintains that ethereal quality I talked bout with the album. When the Celtic influences kick in I've already ascended.

 

11 Rachel Chinouriri - Ribs

QUEEN! She had my SOTY last year for good reason. This is fresh and fun indie pop with full conviction and firm understanding of pop hooks and formidable songwriting. Need album 2024

Hmm I don't have anything to take off of this one it's ten hits!! Poster Girl and Stranger Danger especially :heart2: 

 

15 minutes ago, minho said:

Yes I did come up with Fadoline Paidnocheks and yes it went semi-viral on Twitter

GANDHI COULD NEVER

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9 minutes ago, minho said:

10 NewJeans - Ditto

Released right at the beginning of the year and proved that we were in for a ride. Their EP is my favourite thing they've done but I have to shout out their 2022 stuff and these standalones from the beginning of the year. They are exactly what K-Pop needs... hopefully the rest of the industry listens

 

09 Wednesday - Chosen to Deserve

Love the mix of country influences with the aforementioned Americana rock. The riffs are stunning, the style is the best of so many worlds, and I love the way this gets stuck in my head.

 

08 tripleS - Rising

This EP was kind of underrated... I think still this is my favourite track of theirs, I don't know why? I feel like tripleS invoke pre-debut Loona but in a new and exciting way. It's not just a carbon copy, but they somehow do feel unique.

 

07 SZA - Kill Bill

SOS was a brilliant if long album. While I didn't love that things got a bit more one dimensional in a few places, I do love that SZA is still SZA and her pen and personality are at the forefront. You can't not like this song idk...

 

06 Feeble Little Horse - Steamroller

Fuzzy guitars, hazy production, this feels like a weird dream you'd have turned into a song. It reminds me of like garage rock/that sort of gritty 90s riot grrrrl sound. I could've gone with any track though lbr

 

05 Pinkpantheress - Angel

One of the only songs I feel truly got what "Barbie" should sound like. 

 

04 Billlie - Eunoia

This is stunning? Fairy-esque, fantastical, pretty, enchanting, fun, forward thinking, its everything, also its Barbie-esque!

 

03 NewJeans - Super Shy

I literally can't say anything about this, it's just kind of the best kpop song ever (after Savage)

 

02 Olivia Rodrigo - Bad Idea Right?

I mentioned her growth and how she drew more on styles and rock movements rather than individual artists this time around to ultimately find her own style. This is a clear example of that. Truly feeling right out of a mid-90s riot grrrrl/punk album, Olivia's approach to this style is filled to the brim with unique personality that sets her apart from other young pop stars. Everything about this is perfect.

 

01 Yeule - Sulky Baby

Well there it is, double crowning! The first glimpse into what softscars would be remains one of my favourite songs of all time.  Absolute perfection, they invented shoegaze...

 

This top ten ate down, we had Chosen to Deserve in the same spot. NewJeans with the multiple placements :clap3: Angel truly beyond everything else on the Barbie soundtrack. Steamroller (.t incomprehensible) is so excellent I also wish I could put the whole album on my list. Kill Bill is her best song and she'll learn herself one day! Eunoia :clap: tripleS had a strong year as well!

 

Sulky Baby (literally) SOTY

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36 minutes ago, minho said:

03 NewJeans - Super Shy

I literally can't say anything about this, it's just kind of the best kpop song ever (after Savage)

 

02 Olivia Rodrigo - Bad Idea Right?

I mentioned her growth and how she drew more on styles and rock movements rather than individual artists this time around to ultimately find her own style. This is a clear example of that. Truly feeling right out of a mid-90s riot grrrrl/punk album, Olivia's approach to this style is filled to the brim with unique personality that sets her apart from other young pop stars. Everything about this is perfect.

We have 2 of the same top 3 :jonny: these are switched for me tho :-* 

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For me, Sour felt like a step back from her debut, but agree bad idea right? is the best song coming out of this album :eli:

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bad idea right? :party:

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oh this aesthetic is sickening :duca: 

 

and i'm going through your list but all this taste is so exquisite :duca: 

 

#istanminho :duca: 

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Love you sis! Still! :heart2:

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Thank you for the comments!

 

britpink-chloe.thumb.gif.37574d7dc49097f947f51772749460c6.gif

 

I might do a Worst Of/disappointments section idk yet. In the meantime I will compile everything!

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Get Him Back > Bad Idea Right :eli: love both tho

Blood and Butter :heart2:

Uh Huh is one of the strongest picks from BB/ANGEL

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 All of This Will End, Fountain Baby, Desire, Heaven knows, GUTS and Softscars in the top 10 albums :jonny:

 

The way Ditto kinda the best song of the decade and they're not even a year as a group :jonny:

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uh huh + kill bill + bad idea right :heart2:

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  • 2 weeks later...

I haven't been on atrl much so I neglected to finish my full recap list!

 

albums

10. Jane Remover - Census Designated

9. Indigo De Souza - All of This Will End

8. Amaarae - Fountain Baby

7. Hannah Jadagu - Aperture

6. Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

5. Wednesday - Rat Saw God

4. Pinkpantheress - Heaven knows

3. Olivia Rodrigo - GUTS

2. feeble little horse - Girl With Fish

1. yeule - softscars :crown:

 

songs

40. Pinkpantheress ft. Ice Spice - Boy's A Liar Pt 2 (Vibes: Dance-Pop, Nintendo Pop?, Ice Spice-core)

39. Rebecca Black - Destroy Me (Vibes: somehow it's Drum and Bass, Hyperpop, Electro-Rock, and more at the same time)

38. Coco Jones - Double Back (Vibes: R&B, Smooth, I have no creative vibe for this one its just good)

37. Shygirl ft. Tinashe - Heaven (remix) (Vibes: SHYGIRL!!!!!!!!!! oh and Tinashe)

36. Chappell Roan - My Kink is Karma (Vibes: Swiftian-Pop, I want to say TikTok core but that might scare people off)

35. Ice Spice - In Ha Mood (Vibes: Drill, inorganic sampled HITS!)

34. Slayyyter - My Body (Vibes: "[insert female pop star] is saving POP!" thread topics only this time its true)

33. Doechii - Pacer (Vibes: hyperpop hip hop, metal-core, Rico Nasty-core)

32. Kara Jackson - Dickhead Blues (Vibes: every list needs a pretentious girl on it)

31. Kelela - Contact (Vibes: liquid house/dnb, feels a bit like you're scuba diving in an N64 game)

30. Beabadoobee - Glue Song (with or without Clairo :clap3: ) (Vibes: quirky girl with a ukulele sings you a love song, I know this sounds HORRID but its good in this one instance)

29. Tyla - Water (Vibes: Afrobeats, summer radio hits)

28. Taylor Swift - Hits Different (Vibes: Like all of the best of her pop talents at once)

27. Leah Kate - Space (Vibes: Electroclash?? She fired BACK! at the haters)

26. Chrissy Chlapecka - Alpha (Vibes: Slayyyter/Blackout-core, perfect pop bop)

25. Addison Rae - Nothing On (But the Radio) (Vibes: Synthpop, Influencer-core, kind of amazing... Charli is fuming)

24. Amaarae - Co-star (Vibes: The harp... the fantasy, the Afrobeats fantasy Zelda-core instrumental omg... Joanna Newsom back to the drawing board with you)

23. Lizzy McAlpine - Ceilings (Vibes: The pivotal moment of a coming of age romantic movie, but like a good one, not Netflix)

22. Hemlocke Springs - sever the blight (Vibes: Synthwave, The Weeknd was ended simply, this reminds me of the unit in 4th grade where we learned about medieval times and I made a castle diarama)

21. Indigo De Souza - Younger & Dumber (Vibes: Cinematic, sad, longing, insert other random adjective RYM would use, the indieheads are weeping)

20. aespa - Spicy (Vibes: aespa-core, no like aside from NewJeans they're the group that has the most strong visual and sonic identity rn)

19. Hannah Diamond - Poster Girl (Vibes: the term perfect pop bop is thrown around a lot lately... whatever curse she laid on Zara Larsson has been surprisingly effective (have you heard her new singles like...)

18. Hannah Jadagu - Say It Now (just realized two Hannahs together, fun~) (Vibes: I want to say Clairo-core but I will be BOO'ed off the stage)

17. Tinashe - Uh Huh (Vibes: Tinashe is simply her own genre and we must accept that we simply exist in her universe)

16. Kiss of Life (Natty Solo) - Sugarcoat (Vibes: R&B, Janet Jackson has been real quiet since this dropped idk...)

15. tripleS - Seoul Sonyo Sound (Vibes: Drum and Bass/Breakbeat, it's a tripleS song so expect lots of "lala" or "dadada" and you will LIKE IT!)

14. James Ivy - Stereo Play (Vibes: an alternate universe in which the 1975 do not exist (take me there))

13. Hemlocke Springs - Stranger Danger! (Vibes: Synthwave, you give the theatre kid the aux cord at the Halloween party)

12. Caroline Polachek - Blood & Butter (Vibes: idk just let this crazy ***** do what she wants, the music you listen to while you apply your beauty mark before heading out for a day of getting coffee and a 17th tote bag for your collection and NOTHING else)

11. Rachel Chinouriri - Ribs (Vibes: indie pop in a strangely nostalgic way, she's got us wanting 2012 BACK!)

10. NewJeans - Ditto (Vibes: POV you are a saviour of K-Pop, also you're like 16)

09. Wednesday - Chosen to Deserve (Vibes: Alt country/Rock, I say alt country because you have to distinguish yourself bc lbr we don't want to be associated with mainstream country, especially not in 2023)

08. tripleS - Rising (Vibes: lalalallalala)

07. SZA - Kill Bill (Vibes: You're Johnny Orlando and you just killed your ex)

06. feeble little horse - Steamroller (Vibes: hazy rock punk shoegaze insert buzzword I can only be so creative)

05. Pinkpantheress - Angel (Vibes: You're Barbie in an alternate universe where the movie was actually good)

04. Billlie - Eunoia (Vibes: you've left the real world for your fantasy universe (this is what I do on the daily))

03. NewJeans - Super Shy (Vibes: The best song of all time)

02. Olivia Rodrigo - bad idea right? (Vibes: punk, grunge, the reason she will last is this has more personality than all of her (or Taylor's) imitators/"sons" put together)

01. Yeule - Sulky Baby (Vibes: You are a song I listened to on repeat constantly, I'm a verryyy sulky baby)

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