~ OCTOBER 2020 ~

Hello everyone, and welcome to my first top Kmusic! At the end of each month, I’ll be releasing my personal favorite Kmusic releases of the month. Keep in mind that I made the rankings based on my own personal opinion, so please don’t get mad if your favorite isn’t here. I will only include songs that have an MV (usually title tracks and some b-sides) and I may be including Japanese, Chinese or English releases. I’ll try to limit myself to a certain number of songs (I said I will TRY hehe). So, without any further due, let’s get started.

#19 Pump it up - Golden Child - October 7th 

 

I wasn’t very familiar with Golden Child before road to kingdom, and I was really sad not to discover more about them since they were eliminated from the show in an early stage. However, from what I saw from their stage performances and their previous songs, I know they can do a lot better. Pump it up is a very refreshing song but it doesn’t really stand out because this concept was, in my opinion, overused. Mature concepts like “One (lucid dreams)” suit them better, and I hope that they get the attention they deserve. I think that once they’ll get more noticed they will get more confident and step up their game. Watch the official MV for "Pump it up" here.

#18 Island - Youha - September 29th 

 

I know this song wasn’t released in October but I really wanted to include it. Im Youha (originally known as Im Suah) was supposed to be part of the “Future 2NE1” YG girl group. However, all four members quit YG in 2019 after almost ten years of training (I am really mad at YG for making four girls train for almost 10 years and drop the project afterwards…) and some of them had the chance to start anew. Island is a solid digital single although the MV is not the typical K-pop MV (it’s really simple and the production is very basic). Youha’s vocals are really solid and the song is very refreshing. It is really worth a try. Watch the official MV for "Island" here.

#17 Like a movie - B1A4 - October 19th

 

This song is screaming nostalgia. This is B1A4’s first comeback as 3 members after Jinyoung and Baro left the group in 2018. I like the MV, it’s very colorful and the editing is great. The song is great and has a slow and comfy vibe to it. However, it remains a pretty generic and repetitive song, hence the low rank. Watch the official MV for "Like a Movie" here.

#16 Revolution - ALEXA - October 21st

 

Alexa has, what we would call in marketing, a good positioning, meaning that she has her own sound and her own concept, and that whenever we think of warrior and futuristic concept, we immediately think about her and that’s a huge advantage. She’s been doing almost the same concept since her debut, not that it doesn’t suit her but I would’ve wanted to see something a bit different. But I’ll give her credits for slaying the concept and the choreography (she’s an incredible dancer). The MV is coherent with the song and the production is very ZB label. The only problem I have with this song (and all her other songs) is the very heavy electronic sounds. Watch the official MV for "Revolution" here.

#15 Dingga - Mamamoo - October 20th

 

I know this is only a pre-release, and maybe that's why I ranked it a bit low. It is a great, light, and catchy song, but I wouldn't really search for it.  Can we talk about Moonbyul’s hair though? She’s gorgeous. Watch the official MV for "Dingga" here.

#14 Here - Heejae Shin - October 22nd

 

Thank you Kville entertainment. Thank you SO MUCH for making me discover this amazing guy. What a voice really… That’s a song I would listen to when I’m tired or feeling nostalgic. Watch the official MV for "Here" here.

#13 Alien - Lee Suhyun (from AKMU) - October 16th

 

This is what I call original and in a good way. Besides having amazing vocals, Suhyun is really cute. I loved the MV and the editing. The dance was great too. Watch the official MV for "Alien" here.

#12 All in - Stray Kids - October 20th - JAPANESE 

 

What. The. Hell? That was… exhausting to watch. This song is very rap heavy, and the instrumental is very chaotic. Only Stray Kids can pull off this type of song. I'm still processing the song but it will grow on me for sure.  Watch the official MV for "All in" here.

#11 Lovesick girls - Blackpink - October 2nd

 

When BP puts out a song, they either do something really commercial like Lovesick girls and Playing with fire, or something more experimental like How You Like That and Kill this love. I do prefer it when groups go for experimental and original stuff, but when it comes to Blackpink it tends to be the opposite. It took me some time for Lovesick girls to grow on me (and that’s the case with every other BP title track) but it did. I just wished the theme was not about love… again. Watch the official MV for "Lovesick girls" here.

#10 G.B.T.B (Go beyond the barrier) - VERIVERY - October 19th

 

This group is the perfect example of versatility. They started with a very cute and refreshing image with their debut song “Ring Ring Ring”, but then they managed to endorse that creepy concept with their FACE trilogy (Lay back, Thunder, and now G.B.T.B). They really outdid themselves in that comeback. The vocals, the rap, the dance, everything was on point. I’m really amazed by how much they grew up as artists. Go check them out, they deserve a lot more. Watch the official MV for "G.B.T.B" here.

#9 Smoky - Joohoney - October 9th

 

One word: Talent. Jooheon is not only a rapper, he’s an artist and has a lot to show. He has been through a lot whether as Jooheon of Monsta X or as the solo artist. I respect him and admire him a lot. This song is really meaningful, and I can relate to it, maybe that's why I liked it so much. Watch the official MV for "Smoky" here.

#8 From Home - NCT U - October 19th - ENGLISH KOREAN JAPANESE & CHINESE

 

What a great idea to do a song with Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese lyrics in reference to the member’s origins. It’s a very emotional song (I really cried) and SM has really the best vocals of the industry. What is there more to say? Watch the official MV for "From Home" here.

#7 Jungle - CIX - October 28th 

This image is as creepy as the whole MV. The heavy breathing before the chorus drop, the whole skeleton thing, the "Run" with the skeleton at the end... I was scared. But holy crap this is not something I would've expected from them. Of course there is a storyline behind all that but I'm not good at that. I'll try to watch it multiple times and understand lol. How the hell did they manage to make such a creepy and dark concept sexy? The outfits and the aesthetics are on point as well as the vocals. Honestly, good job CIX. I may not stan but if you continue like this I will do soon. Watch the official MV for "Jungle" here.

#6 Make a Wish - NCT U - October 12th 

 

NCT 2020 is here, and they didn’t come to mess around! As any other NCT song you may find it weird for the first listen, but that’s because they have a very experimental style. Even their name, neo culture technology, sounds experimental. But it will eventually grow on you. Personally, I was blown away by Shotaro. He’s a new addition to the group (we’ll leave the presentations for another time hehe) and it really doesn’t show. Also, I didn’t know Xiaojun had such amazing vocals. Oh, and the MV is gorgeous (visuals warning). Watch the official MV for "Make a wish" here.

#5 Hello - CHEN (from EXO) - October 15th

 

Yes, I cried, from the beginning until the end. Chen is, for me, a reference when it comes to vocals in the Kpop industry. As some of you may already know, Chen enlisted on October 26. He got married earlier in the year and got his first child, which is why he was absent for a few months before he came back with “Hello”, his last single before his enlistment. There is nothing to say about this song, it’s literally pure perfection. He is clearly speaking to his fans, how it’s hard to say hello after all this time of absence, that a lot has been going through his mind, etc. All of this paired with his heavenly vocals, I will let you imagine the result. Watch the official MV for "Hello" here.

#4 Home;Run - SEVENTEEN - October 19th

 

This song is a MOOD. I love the jazzy vibe, and the continuity with the Left & Right music video. Also, the line distribution is really different this time. We have Mingyu and S.Coups singing guys! The concept is really good too, the MV is all about them stealing a diamond (in reference to the fandom called “carats”). That’s another amazing comeback from Seventeen. Watch the official MV for "Home;Run" here.

Before going into the top 3, here are some honorable mentions:

• Drive - NU'EST - October 5th - JAPANESE : Watch the official MV here.
• Memories - Kim Wooseok and Lee Eunsang - October 14th : Watch the official MV here.
• Why not - LOONA - October 19th : Watch the official MV here.
• Cool - Weki Meki - October 8th : Watch the official MV here.

 

#3 Blue Hour - TXT - October 26th

 

I think TXT is becoming known for their light and refreshing songs (except for can't you see me, which isn't my favorite song of theirs) and they are doing it really well. The MV is gorgeous although I didn't understand anything about the story line (if someone could fill me in it would be nice hehe), and the song is really funky and chill with the boys having fun during the whole MV. I don't know why but this scene from the MV made me think about stranger things. Am I the only one? Anyways, amazing comeback, and amazing b-sides too! Watch the official MV for "Blue Hour" here.

 

#2 Daisy - PENTAGON - October 12th

 

4 years after their debut, Pentagon got their first win on “The Show” with their song Daisy. We did it, Universe! I’m so proud seriously. And this song is… *chef kiss*. The vocals are amazing as always and the MV is really stunning. I don’t know how it’s possible but they managed to get better in acting. AND YANAN IS FINALLY BACK! I’m sure Jinho is proud of them even if he’s in the army right now. Watch the official MV for "Daisy" here.

 

#1 I can't stop me - TWICE - October 26th

And with no surprise, Twice remains supreme. I mean ... *sighs*, they are Twice guys. Even if you don't like them as a group you can't deny their talent. They have been putting out bops after bops, and I don't know how it's possible but this song tops every other title track for me. To be honest I didn't like More and More. Fancy and Feel special were... Wow. But I can't stop me? There is no competition seriously, at least for me. Watch the official MV for "I can't stop me" here.

I created a YouTube playlist that includes all the official music videos of the songs I mentioned in this article (excluding the honorable mentions), here's the link: Top Kmusic OCTOBER 2020.

That's it guys! I'm curious to know what your personal favorites are. You can comment your favorite releases of the month in the comment section down below. 

 

 

Love, Swan.

 

Every picture present in this article are screenshots I took from the official MVs.