pop lies

Ampers&one - Kick Start
Had to include this because they went FULL catboy.

ifeye - Nerdy
Loved the dreamy pop vibes.

VVS - Tea
It's a 5 girl assassin squad! Action movie level violence.

BEAST (Highlight) - Chains
Cool to see them back and this is a solid song.

MEOVV - Hands Up
Their solid run of tracks continues.

Astro - Moon
Astro with various friends of Moonbin... This is not my type of song but given the context, I did start crying while watching this. So.

Bewave - Hard to get to you
A nice mv with youthful joy and angst, which I find more thematically common with bgs than ggs? Perhaps that is why it feels fresh to me. I like the song. This also has a scene of two of the girls squaring off in kendo which is good.

82Major - Stuck
This MV is art, total commitment to the bit, amazing visuals and energy and FUNNY.

Itzy - Gold
So many people said they didn't like this and I disagree with them all! It's trying too hard and is too many songs at once but I think it is SO fun, SORRY IF U YOU HATE FUN. I like Imaginary Friend too.

Purple Kiss - On My Bike
Spooky and enjoyable with great visuals.

The Boyz - Trigger
A sexy apocalypse with some sort of arcane magic where TBZ fight AIs? SURE. I love the song and this is such an interesting MV.

STAYC - GPT
Some people said Trigger was like MX's All In but THIS is actually like MX's All In - i.e. being gay when there's aliens or whatever. It's a delightfully bizarre MV and I like the contrast between the upbeat song and the creepiness of the setting.

fromis_9 - Supersonic
Super cool, instantly catchy, more fromis_9 always please.

NMIXX - See that?
Not as instantly catchy as Dash, but really good and the album is great. I love Love is Lonely.

Rescene - Love Attack
Sooo catchy. Pinball from the same album is also great.

Atlantis Kitsune - Oh My!
Everyone falling over themselves to praise the new SM trot group like we don't have enough SM boygroups in the world and yet where are the trot appreciators when it's a nugu gg duo???

SF9 - Don't Worry, Be Happy
Such a fun break up song lol and in such classic kpop mv locations - diner (not paradise), laundromat, carwash, phone booth!

Zerobaseone - Good So Bad
Super catchy and fun! The MV does not go as hard as it could in its movie reference (see what Twice did with What Is Love? They could have done THAT) but it's fine.

Oh My Girl - Classified
I love the musical theatre-ish vibe.

I fell a bit behind this month so there may be a few ones I missed and will have to add later...

Lee Dongyeol - Drip Drop
I love the full comitment to the gothy supernatural bit, including the long black nails! Enjoyed this ott mv a lot.

DXMON - Girls, Love boys, Love girls
After the anime drama of their debut, this is quite a different concept - high school boys! I did like it, it's very fun. The song title reminds me of Blur's Girls and Boys lol.

IVE - Accendio
They really fulfilled the promise of those magical girl concept photos! This is a lot of fun, and quite funny (the receipt, the fridge, etc). I love that there are good magical girls and evil magical girls, it's one of my favourite MVs this year.

Seventeen - Spell
Some of the props/sets struck me as really kind of clunky - but there were also some really stunning amazing visuals I can't get over. Like the Junhao moment? LITERALLY GAVE HIM HIS HEART? and the costumes etc are amazing. Pretty great mv.

Ateez - Work
Very fun and very silly. I love the sense of humour and the song is good fun. There are CHICKENS!!!!!

Treasure - King Kong
This does sound very 2nd gen (positive) - it's fun.

The Boyz - Nectar
My fave group comes back with such a good song and MV. The pairing with Hurt Me Less is so good! I love the bright refreshing Christmassy vibes here, but with that dark thread running underneath.

Highlight - Body
So fun and they have a sense of humour. The tailoring scenes are probably Kingsman references but made me think "what would menswear guy say?" CONGRATS to them for finally getting the rights to the name Beast again! Cube, you're still the worst!

Wendy - Wish You Hell
Really fun MV that captures the spooky/sweet Red Velvet vibes. The mini album is so good too.

LUN8 - Superpower
Was honestly taken by surprise by how absolutely charming this was! So fun and cute.

BoA - Emptiness
Liked it a lot! The imagery is so interesting. It's sad but like - you can still dance to it.

BAE173 - Fifty Fifty
For me BAE173 have always had a bit of an issue trying to stand out from other groups that debuted around the same time - this time, I think they've hit the mark, it's a low budget MV with a crime storyline that works well, it's a good song reminiscent of the 3rd gen sound, all around one of their best titles!

ILLIT - Magnetic
An instant earworm, already monster rookies, really quirky and aesthetically pleasing MV! That said, I see why people are comparing them to other groups. Will be interesting to see how they differentiate themselves.

artms - Birth
The song doesn't really go anywhere (it's fine, it's just a pre-release) but the MV is so witchy and out of this world, I really liked the visuals.

TMC - PEW PEW PEW!
GLAM NAKED COWBOYS? The chorus is "I'm a cowboy, pew pew pew" OK NOTED. (They are both former members of Apeace, and they are 1989 and 1991 line! Quite interesting.)

Hello Gloom - Mamacita
Oh he's literally in the club with a pink stetson, hanging out with attractive men! Directed by from20 whose MVs are also like this, kudos to them both. This is a fun club banger. Hello Gloom (former Ungjae from Imfact) went viral recently for selling only 9 copies on his first day and being really cool about it - he seems like a chill guy!! I wish him well!!! He also had a MV last year with a bunch of drag queens: Dancing in the Dark

TAN - Hyper Tonic
I like TAN a lot, this is simple and effective, another song to dance to.

NMIXX
This was my favourite album of the month, this feels like they have really hit their stride and it was so good to see their run of music show wins.
Run for Roses
Dash

IU - Love Wins All
My pick for MV of the month - a dystopic science fiction romance, gorgeous and tragic, an entire short film in just a few minutes. Co-starring Taehyung from BTS.

CIX - Lovers or Enemies
Not quite what I expected from the teasers but androids programmed to love you is THE idol metaphor and they are so handsome. Both songs on this single are great, they are such a no skips group for me.

B1A4 - Rewind
An unexpectedly quirky and witty MV! Good to see these guys again.

SF9 - Bibora
Not exactly sure what is going on but they all look very handsome.

Limelight (Miu) - Twenty Twenty
I also enjoyed their title Ta-Da! but Twenty Twenty by Miu was the stand out. I don't really understand and am wary of this group's "infinite members" concept but I've enjoyed ALL their releases so far.

Ryu Sujeong - Fallen Angel
This whole mini, a collab with XYLO, is pretty interesting. This MV is quite gay in a way that Ninamonday described as having the energy of "toxic 90s girl-on-girl queerbaiting" (positive). I liked it! She has had such an interesting post-Lovelyz career, and Grabby Girl and Love or Hate ended up being sleeper faves for me in 2023.

Choi Yena - Good Morning
Delightful, playful, many movie genres referenced.

Seola - Without U
Double Seola? Riches beyond measure!!

Vanner - Jackpot
Really fun crime-themed MV. Suitcases of CASH! And DANCING!

Seori - Broken
She's gorgeous, the song is lovely.

DXMON
There were many notable debuts this month but this is a smaller one which I found interesting.
Burn Up
Spark

And two of my favourite groups had subunit MVs:

The Boyz
Honey - sexy and sweet
Rat in the Trap - noir vibes!

Ateez - Youth
They are running away from their gangster pasts! And they are in love!

Swan - Twenty
Swan from Purple Kiss - she has a lovely voice and this has exactly that kpop soloist vibe. I cannot think of the right words lol.

Jun - Psycho
Too jagged to be fun but I really enjoy seeing his vision and his performance. I can see The Dark Knight influence. The outfits are chef's kiss.

Kiss of Life - Shhh
Best watched in conjunction with each of their solo MVs and the pre-release Bye My Neverland which all add up to a really interesting teen soap storyline. Enjoyed it!!!

ICHILLIN' - Kick-Start
Extremely cute! Enjoyed the pop punk guitary sound.

Queenz Eye - Un-normal
Really cool sound and vibe AND a Paradise Diner sighting!

NMIXX - Roller Coaster, Party O'Clock
Finally JYP are letting them do fun pop songs.

NewJeans - Super Shy, Cool with You, Cool With You/Get Up
Only named 3 of them but all their MVs this month were worth a watch. How are they SO interesting and spooky and cute all the time? The Lisbon flash mob scenes were so fun (though I laughed so hard when they were in the fish market). It took me several minutes to remember the term 'flash mob' btw.

Yeon Seobin - Love is like a wave
Refreshing and fun!

Infinite - New Emotions
Good to see them back in 2023!

Twitter supercut
Youtube playlist

Seventeen - Hot
Jackson - Blow
Kingdom - Ascension
Ateez - Don't Stop
DPR Ian - Miito
CIX - 458
Moonbin and Sanha - Who
The Boyz - Sweet
Onlyoneof Junji - Be Mine
Lionesses - Will you be my groom?

Almost made it:
Ateez - Guerilla
Kingdom - Long Live the King
Verivery - Undercover
The Boyz - Whisper
Jun - Limbo

( very very brief notes )

My November tweet and here's the list:

Lim Kim - Veil
I've had a mixed time with some of her more recent songs - they're good but challenging and deliberately non-pop in a way that makes them hard to listen to sometimes! This is both a smoother song and a really lovely MV that has something to say about image.

Craxy - Poison Rose
Craxy are really building their niche, they love DRAMA, they love CHAINS, they are VAMPIRES!! I feel like if you enjoy Dreamcatcher or Pixy or Pink Fantasy, Craxy will also likely be for you.

Just B - ME= (나는)
I'd watched a bunch of very samey boy group comebacks in a row when this came along and it was so fresh and bright and catchy, I just liked it a lot! The chorus is so fun.

BoA - Forgive Me
We stan a queen etc etc etc. It's a great song and the MV is so slinky and cool and she looks great in every shot.

Red Velvet- Birthday
How dare anyone uninvite RV from ANY party? This is just so fun, I love the idea that they're gonna beat up and defeat all the monsters and FORCE them to enjoy THEIR party now. RV and monsters is always a good time.

The Fix - RUSH
I love a girl rock band! They have a heavier sound than most of the other groups at the moment.

KARA - When I Move
Lovely, the choreo looks great, fun song... the six mics at the end is so poignant.

Highlight - Alone
Classic boyband shows how it's done.