Idol B-Sides: September Edition

God, September. God, SEPTEMBER. There was…so much new stuff. Not to lift the curtain behind the whole process, but the way I do these playlists is that I make a monthly master playlist of EVERY song that an idol group or soloist releases, and then I listen to them all. September’s playlist, before I narrowed it down, was over six hours long. However I am not complaining, because last month gave us so much good stuff to listen to. Anyway; without further waffling, let’s listen to some b-sides.

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Treasure – “B.L.T (Bling Like This)”

Fun song, awful name. I keep making the obvious joke here and I’m sick of myself over it, but I’m glad Treasure have so far been consistent and enjoyable.

Ghost9 – “It’s gonna be hot”

Synths!! An extremely boppable chorus!! What else do you need?

XUM – “Lip Gloss”

We might be getting a critical mass for new groups this year, but I’m not really complaining. This song reads as a fairly standard girl group song, but why break what isn’t broken?

SuperM – “Together At Home”

At the risk of sounding EXTREMELY biased, I love SuperM so much that I knew I would like this album even before I listened to the whole thing all the way through. This song in particular is so extremely my shit that I have on several occasions just had it on loop for 40 minutes at a time – no part of it misses, for me.

Taemin – “Strangers”

There is nothing I can say that will do my feelings for this album justice. I’m very clear about how much I love Taemin’s music, ever since I fell head over heels in love with the “ACE” mini back in 2014. I have FIVE songs from “Never Gonna Dance Again” on my September B-sides playlist, and even during writing this I had to re-think which is my favourite before finally settling on “Strangers”.

Lovelyz – “Never, Secret”

I feel like Lovelyz never quite get the hype they probably deserve, which is a shame because they have some truly lovely (pun not intended) vocals on this sweet little song.

A.C.E – “Baby Tonight”

I have honestly never listened to A.C.E before listening to their latest album, and I can see now that this has been a huge mistake on my part.

Super Junior D&E – “Off Line”

I really don’t mean to consistently hone in on the cutest songs on every album, but I find it hard not to be reeled in. I also find it VERY difficult not to be charmed by Donghae and Eunhyuk just…vibing and making music together like an unstoppable bff duo.

Wonho – “Lost In Paradise”

Everything about Wonho’s debut album is a joy, so at the risk of yelling about all of it I’ll just leave this track rec here. It’s just nice to see him back.

Stay Kids (Lee Know, Hyunjin, Felix) – “Wow”

Stray Kidz never quiiiiite connect with me the way I’d like them to, but I am a fan of this song at least.

Moonbin&Sanha (Astro) – “Eyez On U”

Yes, you can bop to this. Yes, it’s a mid-tempo bop, but there are no rules when it comes to the bop. It is not a spectator sport.

VAV – “Moto”

I do not, on balance, think this is VAV’s best song ever. However, I do like it and I AM recommending it to everyone anyway.

BDC – “DROWNING”

And we have more Brand New Music boys! After a long break, this track is from BDC’s second mini album, which I can’t actually compare to their first seeing as I haven’t listened to it – but I like this one on its own merit. The track “Go Get Her” ft. Eunsang also gets an honourable mention, because it was a close choice between them.

The Boyz – “Shine Shine”

I cannot hear the name The Boyz without reflexively going “but which boys?”, but I think this mini makes it clear that The Boyz are THE Boyz we should all be watching. Honourable mentions go to “Insanity” and “Make Or Break”.

EVERGLOW – “Untouchable”

So everyone and their mum is in love with Everglow at the moment, which is both 1) and mood and 2) valid, but as much as I like “LA DI DA”, I prefer Untouchable just a liiiiiiittle bit more.

KNK – “Time”

I don’t have much to say about this song, other than – this is almost my favourite song on this playlist.

Up10tion – “Destiny”

…and, finally, we have made it to my OTHER almost-favourite song on the playlist. Up10tion are, for me, one of the most consistent boy groups out there, and I’m always pleased to see them still going.

…and that’s it! Thanks for sticking with me over my short hiatus from putting these playlists together, and be sure to tell me about some of your favourite b-sides in the comments. Happy listening!