Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
As I’m not gonna attempt to cover all significant releases anymore (for the aforementioned reasons), the Rundown figures to be different nowadays as well, and it’ll now mostly revolve around songs I actually wanted to comment on. As such, they’re more likely to be pretty good or notably bad, at least in comparison to before*. Just FYI.
*While I’m also already behind a bit, I’m trying to care less about that as well.
Also, and you guys seem to do this anyway, but feel free to discuss any other releases in the comments here since it’s now more likely than ever I won’t write them up.
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Apink – “Love Me More”
I mostly just wanted to comment on the discourse that they’re trying to be trendy by going with this sound, because: 1) they’ve done New Jack Swing stuff before 2) literally every generation of K-pop has done New Jack Swing. I have no idea what people are even talking about on social media, man.
Anyway, this is solid but generic (it’s an anniversary single or something, so … expected), and it lacks an indelible chorus to differentiate it when compared to previous efforts (“LUV“, for example).
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LATENCY – “It Was Love”
Wanted to post about this new five-member girl band just for the sake of publicity if nothing else, mostly because its members include LOONA‘s Hyunjin, Cignature members Jeewon, Semi, and Haeun, as well as Heeyeon, a guitar YouTuber known as Fingerstylish.
It’s a solidly catchy debut that definitely seems to be going for an idol band sound. Notably, they definitely at least need to learn how to mime playing instruments better cause that definitely stood out in the music video. Hopeful stuff.
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Mrs. GREEN APPLE – “Lulu”
I'm not quite so extreme, but the extent of their popularity has definitely been confusing. https://t.co/ux8DcqW9eS
— Asian Junkie (@asianjunkiecom) January 19, 2026
This isn’t helping my impression of them as fine, I guess, but confusing as mega-popular and omnipresent on the Japanese music scene.
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TARZZAN (ALLDAY PROJECT) – “MEDUSA”
Mostly I wish to have the audacity to rap that he never follows the trend, specifically on this track and with his image.
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LNGSHOT – “Moonwalkin’”
Still laughing at the social media post that said Jay Park saw TARZZAN and said he needed a group of those, but the official debut is actually not bad (unlike “Saucin‘”, which was honestly offensive). Like it’s not a style I inherently enjoy, but it is vibey at least, if not repetitive. It’s one of those where I get why it might get listens even if it’s not quite my thing.
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ILLIT – “Sunday Morning”
Initially wasn’t going to post about this as it was just forgettable, but I heard it again against my will and it really does have this droning midness to it that makes it actively annoying in retrospect.
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NCT Wish – “Hello Mellow”
Normally I’d say this is also harmless in a generic and cutesy way. However, the chorus features vocals that have this fuzzy treatment to them that made me check if there was something wrong with my headphones, and the production during the latter part of chorus is so overly busy that it ends up being actively grating.
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ENHYPEN – “Knife”
I know this kind of stuff must appeal to some people since it continues to be done, but it’s certainly not me. Like it’s not even messy bad, it’s also somehow boring.
Knife knife knife knife knife knife knife knife knife knife knife knife knife knife knife knife knife knife.
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EXO – “Crown”
I feel like this is supposed to be like an epic maximalism reunion type of song that is an SM Entertainment staple, but it surprisingly just doesn’t go far and hard enough. More importantly, the melodies are lacking, which is where EXO has historically shined. Kinda … forgettable?
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ONEUS – “Grenade”
ENHYPEN‘s “Knife” (especially in the chorus “refrain”) but with another weapon, lol. K-pop might be actively trying to live up to the stereotype that it’s a factory now.
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I know you fuckers were missing my extremely valuable music takes … or at least a place to give yours where you don’t have to get yelled at by a million teenagers if it’s deemed wrongthink (just a few stans and maybe me).
