~ June 2021 ~

Hello everyone and welcome to the monthly Kmusic ranking, where I rank all my favourite releases of the month. It took me so long to do this one because we got a lot of new songs during the month of June, more specifically a lot of SUMMER songs. So it was a bit hard for me to put them in a certain order. 

Before we start, the usual disclaimer: All the pictures included in this article are screenshots taken by me from official music videos if there is copyright infringement, I apologize in advance and will remove any problematic picture upon the owner's request. 

Without any further due, let's start!

#21 Ghost9 - Up all night - June 3

This song is definitely a summer song, very upbeat and joyful. The MV is really bright and colorful. This is very different from their previous release that was more powerful and electronic-sound heavy.  Watch the official MV for "Up all night" right here.

#20 EXO - Don't fight the feeling - June 7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If we put aside the very bad CGI with Lay that looks completely added-in into the MV, the song is pretty nice. They wanted to do something for their anniversary without putting too much money into it (although SM has the money but the boys wouldn't promote due to Baekhyun and Chanyeol enlisting so there wouldn't be a return on investment). It still feels like something's missing because they're not complete, and I cannot wait for this day to come when we'll have a comeback with ALL THE MEMBERS BEING ON SET (and not CG-ied). Watch the official MV for "Don't fight the feeling" right here.

#19 Kun & Xiaojun (from WayV) - Back to you - June 16 [CHINESE]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love a good song with smooth and clear vocals. It's a very simplistic song (and MV), but when it comes to a vocal-centric song I like to have it associated with simple aesthetics. Also, I didn't know Xiaojun had such beautiful vocals. Watch the official MV for "Back to you" right here.

#18 EPEX - Lock Down - June 8 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be honest, I really didn't like that song at first. The shouting chorus is something I really have trouble liking in the industry, and it seems like it's becoming a thing. But this song turned out to be a grower, especially after I checked out the lyrics. This song is pretty deep when you pay attention to what they're talking about, and I love it. And yes, the chorus ended up being stuck in my head. I really look forward to witness this group growing up, because for now they are still really young (and cute). They are really promising. Watch the official MV for "Lock Down" right here.

#17 WEi - Bye Bye Bye - June 9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That CHORUS! That's what I call a catchy chorus. The melody gets stuck in your head so easily so that you find yourself singing "Bye bye bye" all day long. I like the MV, it's a very chill and groovy song. However, aside from the chorus, the song hasn't that special thing, which is why I couldn't rank this song higher.  Watch the official MV for "Bye Bye Bye" right here.

#16 Seventeen - Ready to love - June 18

 

 

 

 

 

 

This song reminds me a bit of the "don't wanna cry" era. It's been a while since we've had this type of music from seventeen: a good mix between light-summery vibes and dance track. The distribution is maybe one of the fairest I've seen in their entire discography. I just wished the vocal line had more time to shine with their amazing vocals. Watch the official MV for "Ready to love" right here.

#15 JustB - Damage - June 30 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nostalgia has hit me once again. Although this group is unique in its own way, I cannot help but think that this could've been a B.A.P song. I'm happy that they got to work with Yongguk who's an amazing artist and producer. I am also very happy for the ex I-Land members (especially Geonu) who got a second chance. This song hits hard, and the storyline seems to be very dark and deep (not that I understood every part of it). I absolutely love the choreography of this song, the move where their tights align perfectly is going to be iconic.  Watch the official MV for "Damage" right here.

#14 Woosung - Lazy - June 24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After all the problems The Rose experienced with their agency, and with two members now being in the military, Woosung is going forward in his solo career and he released his 2nd solo song called "Lazy" (featuring his adorable dog, I don't know what breed that is but he's too cute, just like his master). Watch the official MV for "Lazy" right here.

#13 BamBam - Ribbon - June 15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn't know what to expect from BamBam honestly, and I think this style suits him. It reminds me a bit of Zico's style, and it really fits bambam's image. The MV is really beautiful to watch, it's very colorful and joyful. The choreography is also very interesting (very bouncy in my personal humble opinion). I maybe was expecting a little bit more vocally-wise, but for a solo debut that's already pretty good. Watch the official MV for "Ribbon" right here.

#12 TXT - Magic - June 11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really like the song, and the choreography even more. However I wished it was a bit longer and a bit more creative. From the second chorus onwards the song is very repetitive, and it's not even 3 minutes long. But I have to praise their english pronunciation. Watch the official MV for "Magic" right here.

#11 Ha Sung Woon - Sneakers - June 7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just find the concept genius. Who would've thought to make a song about shoes? Ha sung woon. The song is fresh, the colors in the MV are fresh, and the choreograpohy is pure fun (although you'd need a lot of energy, damn he jumps a lot). Watch the official MV for "Sneakers" right here.

#10 Monsta X - Gambler - June 1

 

 

 

 

 

This is the first Monsta X release I've really liked in a while. I think the last release I really appreciated from them was Shoot Out. After that it felt like they were going for something new, and I'm not saying it was bad but it was not really my cup of tea. Now gambler is a total bop, and oh my god that guitar during the pre-chorus. And Jooheon's high notes? Excuse me sir? Watch the official MV for "Gambler" right here.

#9 A.C.E - Higher - June 22 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think that when it comes to having stunning and majestic music videos, A.C.E are one of the best in this category. Altough this song is relatively softer than what they usually do, it's still powerful through their "elegant" moves in the choreo and the absolutely gorgeous props and outfits they use. Also, that guy with the long blonde and blue hair, I need to know his name. Watch the official MV for "Higher" right here.

#8 Lucy - I got u - June 16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lucy is a kband that debuted not long ago, but whom I am already a fan of. I hope that with time they will get more recognition, because they really have everything: Their MVs are of surprisingly good quality, the main vocal has such a unique voice, and the violin isn't an instrument frequently played within other groups.  Watch the official MV for "I got u" right here.

#7 Onewe - Rain to be - June 16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The aura of this song felt very different from the start as soon as I heard that guitar at the beginning. And then the very recognizable vocals of  Yonghoon and Dongmyeong kicked in, which gave me chills. The catchiest part is the "Nanana" which I believe is called the hook if we're speaking about the structure of the song, and then you have that guitar going a "bit" crazy right before the last chorus. I just wondered how the hell they filmed the MV while being completely soaked in water. I hope no one got sick or none of the instrument broke (instruments are precious people). Watch the official MV for "Rain to be" right here

#6 NCT dream - Hello future - June 28

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found this song silly at first. It reminded me a bit of "Chewing Gum". However, the more I listened to it the more it grew on me, to become one of my most listened-to song of the month. The choreography of the chorus is memorable, the chorus is catchy, the melody is fun, and the MV is fun too! The perfect summer song to listen and sing-along to in your car (even though no one will understand a single word you'll say unless you perfectly know Korean). Watch the official MV for "Hello future" right here.

#5 Mamamoo - Where are we now - June 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

I still don't know how to feel about Wheein leaving RBW but "still promoting with Mamamoo". I just hope she continues her career. And I hope mamamoo doesn't disband, because these girls are so powerful together. This song moved me to the core, and really gave me chills. Watch the official MV for "Where are we now" right here.

#4 Stray Kids - Mixtape: OH - June 25

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think this song is my favorite mixtape song from them. First of all, I'm really happy that Hyunjin's back. Second of all, let's praise our maknae for improving so much during the last couple of months (feels like I'm a proud mom, his vocals were amazing there). I also want to praise lee know and seungmin for having such clear and full-of-emotion vocals. Watch the official MV for "Mixtape: OH" right here.

Before we move on to the top three, here are some honourable mentions:

• BM - Broken Me - June 10 - Official MV
• Lightsum - Vanilla - June 10 - Official MV
• Yugyeom ft. gray - All your fault - June 17 - Official MV
• BDC - Moonlight - June 30 - Official MV
• Loona - PTT (paint the town) - June 28 - Official MV

#3 Up10tion - Spin off - June 14

 

 

 

 

 

 

The GROOVE of that song is incredible! I absolutely love how the instrumentals stop during the last chorus, when they sing the first line and there's only the vocals piercing through your ears. Fantastic. I also didn't know they had such great vocals, they definitely caught my attention, especially the guy who sings the first part of the pre-chorus. Watch the official MV for "Spin off" right here.

#2 B.I - 해변 (illa illa) - June 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When listening to this song I thought something: Music is for B.I what a canvas is for a painter. It's a mean to help him expressing himself, it's also a mean to let his creativity be and to let the artist who's inside of him be. I'm glad he got up again and didn't give up, because we know that what he went through was hard. This man is made to compose music and to write lyrics. Watch the official MV for "해변 (illa illa)" right here.

#1 N.Flying - Moonshot - June 7

 

 

 

 

 

 

I previously made an article about N.Flying that you can check out right here in which I said that Moonshot was the song that got me into them. This song is amazing in every point of view: The message it holds, the MV, the instruments, and the VOCALS. I'm a sucker for powerful vocals if you didn't know it, so this song is right up my alley. I loved it as soon as I heard it, and now it's always on repeat. Watch to official MV for "Moonshot" right here.

Lastly, click here to access the YouTube playlist with all the songs on it. The songs are in reverse order, from last place to first place. 

Take care and I'll see you all soon!

Love, Swan

 

Sources: YouTube.