K-Bops in K-Pop

This post is long overdue. I tried to write a post forever ago about discovering J-pop but all the groups I found were not really my taste and I was having a difficult time coming up with an overall positive experience since I didn’t just want to be the jerk that hates J-pop. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work at that time, but yesterday YouTube–in its infinite wisdom–recommended some J-pop to me. I listened to it and loved it so much I had to share.

BananaLemon – #Slaysian

I have listened to this song NONSTOP since I found it. Just. Wow. It goes so hard and it displays each of their abilities so well. Honestly, my only complaint is that I wanted it to be longer. Other than that, I would say this is definitely a huge stepping stone for BananaLemon. I had heard about them in the past, but I’d never really been drawn to them until this song. This puts them in another category altogether and I cannot wait to see what they do now.

Crazyboy – Loco

This song slaps. It just does. I honestly can’t recommend this song enough. It’s sexy and smooth and the vocals are similar to Crush’s (in other words: they’re amazing) and it’s ridiculously easy to learn the lyrics to the chorus which means it’ll be running through your head all day long. I honestly wasn’t expecting anything like this when I decided to try J-pop again and it made me really glad that I did try again. I could probably compare him to Jun.K or Jay Park, but I think that’s not entirely fair to Crazyboy.

FAKY – Bad Things

I’d heard about FAKY briefly before so I thought it was only fair that I give them another shot. This song was a little different than what they’ve done in the past. It was also all in English, which is really cool to think that they’re trying to appeal to an international audience. Apparently, their lineup has changed since this song came out but I think they’re probably just as talented. I’m excited to see what else they do and what concepts they’ll take on for future comebacks.

RIRI – That’s My Baby

This song is such a 90’s R&B throwback and I love it. RIRI also has an incredible voice with such richness and depth that makes her so adept at doing songs that have that R&B vibe. I was super impressed with this song in particular but her other songs, Honey, luv luv, and Maybe One Day, are also really wonderful tracks. I can definitely picture myself putting this song on a summer road trip playlist because it’s so upbeat and fun to sing along to.

I was really pleasantly surprised that I was able to find groups that I really liked because I know J-pop has a different sound than K-pop. Thankfully, I was proven that there is incredible talent that I really enjoy in J-pop. Do you guys listen to J-pop? What J-pop groups and songs are you into? Let me know and give me recommendations in the comments!