1. Enhypen – Sweet Venom

I personally believe that Enhypen is a boy group with one of the best discographies in 4^th gen. Fever, Drunk Dazed, and Given Taken, just to name a few, were the songs that not only helped them maintain their fandom from I-land but gain new fans as well. Unfortunately, Sweet Venom, compared to their previous releases, is of significantly lower quality. The Michael Jackson concept was supposed to be an opportunity for Enhypen to recreate that same level of drama and depth Jackson captures in his songs. But the main problem for me is that Sweet Venom just feels incredibly hollow and surface-level. Sure, the song is catchy, but it’s also repetitive and completely short of anything I would normally expect out of the group.  

Rating: 5/10 

2. Aespa – Drama 

For a while, Aespa is a group that has been straying away from their original concept, but the release of Drama was able to bring them back to their original sound. When you think of the group, you’re reminded of a mixture of sounds including dance-pop, EDM, hyper-pop, and hip-hop. But with some of their recent releases such as Spicy and Better Things, they’ve lost this consistency and instead turned to new sound. Although Aespa is definitely a group that can pull off many different concepts, I’m happy to see the group back to doing what they know best. Drama is a song that perfectly reflects its own name because it is a song full of drama. The mixture of many unique sounds and distorted melodies present in this song is not something that every group can carry out. Though SM is known for its wild production choices, Aespa pulls the sound off flawlessly. The explosive chorus and catchy lyrics make for a great song that also fully shows off the talents of the girls as well.  

7.5/10 

3. ZB1 – Crush 

ZB1’s debut In Bloom was a debut that was received incredibly well by the public and in my opinion, one of the best K-pop debuts for the 5^th generation. It was a refreshing concept that greatly showcased the members and their talents. It also proved Wake One’s potential of giving their artists songs that are actually good quality. Everyone was anticipating ZB1’s first comeback to be great, to replicate the power and success that In Bloom had. However, Crush when compared to In Bloom, is a song that falls incredibly short of these expectations. The song has an incredibly stable build, slowly increasing the tension as it goes on with the first part of the song showcasing a mixture of rap and vocal talent. But, this tension is eventually destroyed with the chorus. It’s empty, mostly focusing on the repetition of the word “Crush” along with sounds that don’t fit the initial feel of the song at all. Upon my first listen, it reminded me much of another one of Wake One’s casualties, We Fresh, both sharing a chorus that lacks any substance and feels incredibly out of place. In my opinion, choruses are the main centrepiece of a song. So, no matter how great the setup for Crush was, the entire song ends up falling flat.  

5/10 

4. Kiss of life – Bad News 

Kiss of Life is a group with undeniable charisma and talent, which I believe is exercised very well in Bad News. The concept is a difficult one, seemingly heavily inspired by a blues/country sound, but is executed somewhat successfully compared to other similar attempts like Lesserafim’s Unforgiven. Although my overall opinion on this song is that it is good, I believe that a large reason I enjoyed it is due to the members’ exceptional skills and charisma that they bring to each of their releases. When replayed enough, the repetitive nature of the chorus and empty-sounding instrumentals become all too apparent. This song is still one that I would come back and listen to on my own, but it is missing that “second gear” which would help the song stand alone without the members and their talent.   

Rating: 7/10 

5. Soojin – Agassy 

After Soojin’s messy departure from (G)idle, her solo debut was heavily anticipated. Although Agassy was bombarded with criticism from the public, I am here to defend it. First of all, it was heavily compared to Blackpink’s Jisoo’s solo debut, Flower. Netizens compared their instrumental choruses and striking buildup, arguing the similarities between the two. Although I do agree that the songs are somewhat similar in the sense that they both have good buildup and an empty chorus, I believe that Agassy does this much better than Flower. To me, Flower is just a bad song. Most of the criticism for Flower was that the chorus fell flat, but in my opinion, Flower is just a bad song. The verses and pre-chorus don’t hold as much substance as fans may argue, and the chorus is just one issue among a multitude found in the song. However, Soojin’s elegant voice perfectly melts with the melody to create a song with plenty of character. Yes, the chorus is entirely instrumental, but here, it fits very well and keeps a continuous flow of sound throughout the song.  

Rating: 6.5/10 

1. THE BOYZ – Watch It 

Out of all of the November K-pop releases of 2023, this one has to be my favourite. The stylistic choice for this song is absolutely amazing. It’s characterized by powerful vocals, a great melody, and most importantly: tension. It’s a song that has a great buildup. Just when you think the beat is about to drop, it instead retreats to a subdued chorus. A misleading beat drop, though usually something I would criticize, works incredibly well here, due to the fact that these seemingly “low” moments are then contrasted by extreme moments of tension like the explosive bridge or captivating pre-chorus. This tension, crafts for a structure that grows increasingly more captivating as the song builds.  

Rating: 9/10