My life, my hobbies, my real self

Categoria: kpop

My kpop awards

Hello everyone!

Last year, I wrote my first kpop awards ever, starting a new end of the year tradition for this blog; well, actually I’ve been doing the same for otome games in the past, but since I’m still on hiatus for that hobby, I’ve decided to write my opinions about my favorite kpop releases of the year again!

If you’re not into kpop, but you’re still interested in music in general, give these a chance and you might be surprised! Since I started listening to kpop again, I was able to drag 2 of my friends into this mess with be, so be careful: these songs are addictive and these boys are extremely good looking, so if you dare to watch their MV, you may descend to hell as well.

You’ve been warned!

BEST B-SIDE: NCT DREAM- Broken Melodies

I loved this song immediately, in my opinion this is good enough to be a title track; I’m glad they decided to promote it as a prerelease, it would have been such a waste, as a track listened only by fans! Their vocals are insane, when I watched the Dreamies recording this song I truly admired their dedication and efforts to hit such high notes; Renjun voice is my favorite here, but they were all amazing.

MV OF THE YEAR: TXT- Sugar Rush Ride

Even if I’m not a huge fan of this song, the video itself is absolutely stunning: it looks like a fairytale, but also a nightmare at the same time; it takes you on a wild trip, with sexy random moments and unexpected twists. I can’t take my eyes off the screen every time I watch it.

BEST PERFORMANCE: ATEEZ- Halazia

When it comes to delivering a powerful performance, Ateez is always the first group that comes in my mind. Halazia is breathtaking. It’s so dramatic, I can feel all their emotions and it gives me such an overwhelming feeling every time; this is not “powerful” only as “strong, impactful”, it also touches the audience deeply.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: ZEROBASEONE

I have a lot to say about this topic, but I’ll just keep it short as much as I can.

I’ve watched Boys Planet since the very beginning, when the first video came out, so I’m emotionally attached to the show and the boys, even the ones who didn’t make it to the final lineup.

My expectation for their debut were huge, since I know their skills pretty well.

When In Bloom was released, I was really disappointed: I felt like they could show much more, with a concept that could suit the image of the group better.

Crush is more my stile, their performace are amazing as usual, so I feel like Wakeone is finally on the right path. But I admit it openly: if I didn’t care about them from Boys Planet and I had to choose my favorite rookie of the year based on their songs, stage presence and variety skills, my choice would be different.

I’d choose Boynextdoor anyday.

Their songs are catchy, those boys have a lot of talent and charisma, but they also seem very humble and entertaining, while watching their shows. I’m sure they will keep growing their fanbase really fast, they deserve it!

ALBUM OF THE YEAR: NCT2023- Golden Age

I absolutely love every song, since there’s a good mix of genres and different vibes: Baggy Jeans is catchy, Kangaroo is cute, The Bat is sexy; That’s not fair is also amazing, I’ve been listening to it even more than the title track probably, I wish there was a video too. This albums shows perfectly the different charms of every member and their versatility, which is probably the main point of having 20 people in the same group.

SONG OF THE YEAR: ENHYPEN: Bite Me

The funny thing is, I’m not even a huge Engene! I know their songs, I’ve watched I-land, but I’m not emotionally attached to this group; but when a song is that good, it speaks for itself.

I fell in love since I’ve heard a few seconds of it, even before the official release; I realized immediately, it was going to be a huge candidate to be my favorite song of 2023. And I wasn’t wrong, as months passed by, I never got tired to listen to it.

Many amazing songs were released this year, Seventeen’s Super was also great and I thought for a long time, to give it my personal award.

But in the end, Bite Me won over my heart completely.

ARTIST OF THE YEAR: NCT2023

Choosing them as a full group, instead of just picking my favorite sub unit, it’s probably cheating; but I don’t care, it comes from my heart!

Golden Age was my favorite album this year and I absolutely love the chemistry they have reached now, despite them being 20; they are different in many ways, every sub unit has its own charm, but when they gather together on stage, like at NCT NATION, you can feel the impressive power which comes from the full group. I miss Lucas and I wish him luck; I miss Shotaro and Sungchan, but I’m sure they’ll find their own path in Riize.

Next year the Japanese unit will be added, so the whole picture will change once more.

I’ll warmly welcome those 6 boys too, but in my heart, NCT2023 won’t be replaced.

Well, 2023 was overall a great year: there were many amazing comebacks, but also debuts which will probably make a huge impact in the industry. I’m sure 2024 is going to be epic too!

My favorite 2023 debut boy groups!

Hello and welcome back to my blog!

Today, instead of talking about my favorite groups, I’d like to share my opinions about all the newly debuted group so far, this year.

As you probably know already, I mostly listen to boy groups, so we’re not talking about girl debuts here; here’s some of my favorites!

8TURN were a nice surprise. Their company is kinda small, so when their debut was announced I didn’t have high expectations, but their songs are catchy and their mini albums are really good too!

I highly suggest you to listen to their b-sides, some are great and they show how much potential they actually have; I hope their company won’t mess them up.

RIIZE is the new group from SM, which was highly anticipated since 2 members were previously part of NCT. Even if I find all the members charming, their debut song didn’t stand out to me, so I admit it was slightly disappointing. But they are talented for sure, so I’m waiting for their first comeback.

BOYNEXTDOOR are produced by Zico, an artist I’ve always respected and admired since his early days as leader of BlockB. When it was announced that he was going to work on a boy group I was very excited, even if I admit I imagined a very different concept for them, more aggressive and bold, as BlockB used to be back in their active days. But still, their songs are catchy, so I was fairly satisfied.

ZEROBASEONE came straight from Boys Planet and since I excitedly watched the whole process, I had such great expectations, it was probably easy to let them down; and so it happened.

I don’t think all the members suit such a pure concept, somehow it makes me feel a bit awkward and I hope their comeback will show their strength and energy instead of…. random flowers.

EVNNE also were Boys Planet contestants, even if none of them made it to the final line up; I personally was really happy to see Park Hanbin debut, since he was one of my favorite from the show and he obviously deserved a chance. Their song “Trouble” is one of my favorite this year, it’s so catchy I kept listening to it on loop for days.

FANTASY BOYS is a group formed through another survival, which I watched weekly, but honestly without much hype; I didn’t agree with the ranking most of the time, which made me frustrated. Anyway, their debut song is kinda catchy, not really my style, but the album was good so I’m looking forward to their next comeback.

Xikers debuted under KQ entertainment, which is Ateez’s agency; isn’t it enough, to explain my excitement? I’ve been watching even their predebut reality, waiting patiently for their debut.

They are really talented and unique, even if their music is slightly different from the current trends, so it may be not everyone’s cup of tea.

So far, these are the debuts which impressed me the most; some others are scheduled for October, and I’m curious to see if big agencies like Pledis or JYP will treat us with a new boy group before the year ends.

I think Riize will win this year’s Rookie Award since they are from a huge agency and 2 members already had a dedicate fanbase, but this year’s debuts were all very promising for the future of kpop; the 5th generation looks great!

Sharing my love for NCT127

NCT127 will make a comeback very soon, and since they are one of my favorite groups, I guess it’s time to celebrate while sharing some of my favorite songs!

Let’s start from the very beginning: NCT127 are a sub unit of NCT, debuted in 2016; current members are Taeil, Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Jungwoo, Mark and Haechan.

Kick it” was the song that made me fall in love with the group at first sight: I mean, how can you resist singing along? As they say, let me introduce you to some new things:

The refrain is really catchy, it sticks in your head after the first listen; the concept is unique, it makes them stand out from all the other groups and gives them those “neo vibes”, which you can feel in each of their songs.

How can I choose a bias in this group, since they are all extremely talented and good looking?

Sticker” was the first song that made me notice Jungwoo in his blonde perfection, I couldn’t stop looking at his handsome face the whole video and now he’s my forever favorite member.

Last year, they made an impressive comeback with 2baddies, which ended up becoming my song of the year (if you haven’t read my kpop awards, go check them out!)!

How can you blame me? Everything about it is addictive, at some point even my husband was singing along in the car! He will never openly admit he was enjoying it, but I’m sure he was.

Needless to say, I’m very excited for their new album, which will be released on October 6th.

The title track is called “Fact Check” and from the first trailer alone I can feel it’s going to be another masterpiece; maybe it will be my favorite song of the year, again?

Just enjoying freedom

I’m back everyone!

Well, not as an otome blogger (for now), but at least I’m here writing after a couple months.

A lot of stuff happened in my life recently: the most important event, is that I decided to quit my awful job, which honestly has been ruining my mental health for 4 years.

Now I’m trying to recover before I make a new start somewhere else, since I don’t feel ready to find a new workplace yet; I don’t want to push myself too hard, I swear I was almost having a burnout not too long ago. If you’ve known me for a long time, you probably get how hard it was for me.

Recently I’ve been enjoying a few new hobbies: reading and bullet journaling have always been some of my favorites, but now I’m also studying Korean hard.

I guess you already know how much I love learning languages, I even tried Finnish and German years ago and I’ve always wanted to learn as many as possible if I had enough time.

Well, now I’m free, so Korean was my first choice!

I’m almost done with my second grammar book, which should be enough to give me at least the basics; I’m obviously very, VERY far from being decent, it’s a long process which makes me excited every day. What are you up too, lately?

I’ve seen the new otome games which were shown at the last Otopa and I admit some of them got my interest… maybe I’m almost ready to get back to gaming? I’m not sure, I change my mind easily, but since I finally have free time there’s no excuse.

Actually, I don’t know if someone remembers that I’m still stuck on the last Cendrillon Phalika’s route; it’s been more than a year.

I’m kinda moody lately, I wasn’t used to have time for myself since that job sucked all my energy and will to live everyday; this freedom is such a blessing!

Now, I wake up everyday with new ideas and goals; I may even get back to blogging regularly, even if I still won’t post about otome stuff for a while, probably.

If I write about my life, my hobbies and my progress with learning Korean, will someone be interested? I don’t think so, but if I’m in good mood and share my feelings, maybe it will be enjoyable for someone anyway. What if I set at least 3 posts every week as a goal? I used to do even better in the past, it’s not impossible at all. I hope someone will give me any kind of feedback, since it kinda feels new compared to the past.

I know I announced a new start like an year ago and then I disappeared almost completely, but this time I want to keep up for real and be more constant. Let’s see what I can do!

Sharing some of my favorite songs!

Hello everyone! It’s been almost a year since I started listening to kpop again, so I want to share some of my favorite songs, which had made me feel better on bad days: music is very therapeutic to me, when I’m tired or depressed it can lift up my mood a lot! Maybe you need this too, today.

Here’s my “cheer up” play list, made up with songs that make me want to sing along and dance!

Nct U – Make a wish

Ateez – Wonderland

Stray Kids – Thunderous

Nct Dream – Glitch Mode

Cravity – Party Rock

The Boyz- Reveal

These are just a few, but I’ll stop here for today; I hope you’ll enjoy them as I do!

Sharing my love and appreciation for TxT (TomorrowXTogether)!

One of the groups I mostly enjoy and respect, from kpop’s 4th generation, is TxT, a 5 member boy group debuted under Big Hit Entertainment in 2019.

When I first saw their debut stage, I was amazed by their perfectly synched choreography, which showed their talent and confidence despite being rookies.

Their personalities are also charming: when I watch their reality shows, they always make me laugh a lot (sometimes I’m even crying, no joke, they can be THAT funny).

So if you’re stressed, or having a bad day, I suggest you to give a try to their TO DO show, which you can easily find on youtube; your day will get better!

Now, let me share some of my favorite songs of them.

First of all, their debut stage!

Whenever I hear them sing (mostly Taehyun, I love his voice) I’m really impressed by their talent to convey feelings of desperation and pain: I can’t understand korean, but as soon as I’ve heard “0x1= LOVESONG (I know I love you)”, I felt so many emotions, I was truly addicted.

When Good boy gone bad was released, last year, I was amazed by the dark vibes of the music video: if you’ve read my kpop awards, you know it was my favorite of 2022!

I was really hyped for their January comeback, my expectations were high and I wasn’t disappointed at all: check it out, and tell me if you love it as I do!

This is all I can do, for this year’s Valentine’s Day: I used to come up with 2D characters rankings in the past, so if you came here expecting something otome related, you’ll probably be disappointed; but there’s plenty of content in my blog, if you haven’t read old posts yet, I’m sure you’ll find something interesting looking it up.

Lately I’ve decided to share my love and appreciation for the kpop artists I’m enjoying the most, even if no one cares, since I’ve always worked on this blog out of love, so… if my suggestions can make your day a little brighter, my goal is achieved.

Happy Valentine’s!

ATEEZ

2023 barely started, but it feels great already since one of my favorite groups has just made a comeback: Ateez! I guess it’s the perfect moment to share my love for these amazing boys, hoping you’ll become an Atiny like me today.

Ateez debuted in 2018, with 8 members: Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung e Jongho.

They released a lot of great songs through these years, so I’ll just choose a few to share; their performances are always powerful, they have such a great stage presence and charisma, it’s impossible to ignore them whenever they go on stage.

Their most famous song is probably Wonderland:

When I first listened to Wonderland I was speachless, and even idols from other groups looked shocked when Ateez performed it live at Mama. Seeing their reaction made me a proud Atiny, it’s great to see Ateez being appreciated by other performers too.

Another song I absolutely love is I’m the one, the choreo is so great, it perfectly showcases their talent.

Answer is a song that always makes me emotional, their vocals can really touch my soul.

Guerilla is the first comeback I waited for with high expectations and I wasn’t disappointed: the music video is one of the best of 2022 for me, it creates a whole new world and it makes me want to know how their story will continue.

And finally, their last comeback, Halazia.

I was really impressed: not only the song, the choreo and the visual are top as usual, but the concept of the video and the storyline they are building up in each comeback is so unique, no one else dares to try something remotely similar.

Ateez are without any doubt a driving force of the 4th generation of kpop and I feel blessed to live in their peak era.

Choosing just 5 songs was hard, but if I made you at least a bit curious, go check out Thanxx and Dejavu, I swear you’ll love them too.

This is my first post of a series about my favorite groups, I hope some of you will become new fans! See you soon!

My 2022 kpop awards

Hello my dear readers, I’m already back as promised!

Writing 2 posts in 2 days makes me feel like I’m a real blogger again, I hope I can keep up with a nice pace next year too.

I don’t know how many people will be interested, but I still want to share my 2022 KPOP awards to everyone who enjoys listening to kpop from time to time, or may be into trying out new music and wants to give these songs a chance. Before I start, a quick reminder: as I stated in yesterdays post (please take a look if you didn’t check it out!) I only listen to boy groups, if you wonder why there are no girl groups in this list, so don’t be offended if your favorite are nowhere to be seen.

Let’s start!

BEST MUSIC VIDEO TXT: Good boy gone bad

I love dark vibes, my favorite comebacks are usually angsty.

BEST PERFORMANCE ATEEZ: Guerilla

This is so powerful, I was amazed every time they performed at music shows; Jongho’s voice is crazy!

DEBUT OF THE YEAR TNX: Move

This is so great, I can’t wait for their first comeback to find out if they have the potential to be the next big thing; my hopes are high!

SONG OF THE YEAR NCT17: 2baddies

This song got stuck in my head since it’s release, the chorus is too catchy!

ALBUM OF THE YEAR STRAY KIDS: Oddinary

Every song is a masterpiece, Stray kids are really talented!

ARTIST OF THE YEAR NCT Dream

I was actually going to cheat and choose NCT in general, because it took me like 2 months to learn their names, and I feel like they are the main characters of my 2022; I absolutely love them all and I don’t regret any of the hours I spent watching their shows or listening to their songs, they brought a ray of light into this hard year for me, I’m really thankful.

If I need to choose a sub unit, I go with Dream, since I loved Glitch Mode and Beatbox, but most of all Candy was a nice surprise I really appreciated, it put a smile on my face while I was really tired for work. I’m really greateful Chenle came up with this idea!

This is all I can share with you for today, I could go on for hours talking about every group and song released this year, but the lack of free time sadly doesn’t allow me to write more; I’ll try to write about my favorite comebacks as soon as they are released next year, so my kpop awards will make more sense at the end.

Actually, it feels weird for me to not deliver my usual otome game awards, as I did since 2016; I recently noticed I forgot about my blog anniversary too, which is enough to explain how busy I was; well, happy 6th birthday to my blog and thank you to my readers, who decided to come with me in this new journey, even if it’s so different from what I used to write about so far.

This is probably my last post of 2022, but I still want to write something about these past months before I’m ready to say goodbye and welcome 2023; see you very soon.

Happy new year!

A nostalgic post and important stuff before I officially start blogging about kpop

Merry Christmas everyone!
Are you spending today with people you love, or are you trapped among annoying relatives? I had dinner with my family yesterday, but finally I have 2 days only for myself, to relax and have fun with my hobbies. December has been a wild ride at work, I truly deserve some free time on my own!
Since I decided to give this blog a fresh start, I thought it would be nice talking about my experience with kpop, before I start sharing my personal favorites and my opinions.
I first started listening to kpop in 2010, when I was still a student: it’s been a long time ago, but somehow I don’t feel really different as a person, even if I’m a wife and a decent adult with a job now. Should I be happy or worried about it? I guess having a young mindset is not a bad thing.
The first song that got me into kpop was Super Junior’s Bonamana, I was literally obsessed and I still enjoy listening to it; Sorry Sorry was also amazing, there’s no wonder I became an ELF immediately.
I loved Big Bang, Shinee, TVXQ and 2PM too, they were my favorite groups and I used to talk about them for hours with my online friends (sadly, nobody knew about kpop where I lived); as soon as I got home from school, I turned on my PC to see updates and chat with other fans.
Back in the old times when forum still existed, I even used to write fanfics! It’s kinda embarrassing if I think about it now, but I enjoyed the fandom life a lot, so I have no regrets.
I mostly listened to boy groups, but if I loved 2ne1 too: when I’m the Best was released, I went crazy! Such an amazing song.
My deepest memories come from EXO members’ teasers, which where released daily before their official debut: I had no internet on my smartphone back in the stone age, so I used to sneak into the school PC room just to see which member was showed, I couldn’t wait till I came home in the evening. I was so hyped, I don’t even know how I managed to study and get good grades.
Kpop wasn’t popular back then, so almost no groups came to Europe (now they do often, but apparently still no one cares about Italy), so when VIXX announced a showcase in Milan I was the happiest person ever!! I took the chance to meet in person some of my online friends, which made that event an unforgettable memory.
I wish I could have stayed a student forever, but life got really busy when I started working and I slowly faded away from kpop: in the meanwhile, I discovered otome games and they eventually became my main hobby, which I dedicated most of my free time to.
But I never stopped keeping up with the most important news, as time went by.
When Luhan left EXO, I felt betrayed: he was my favorite member and my 2nd ultimate bias in kpop in general, seeing him leave the group hurt. A lot. I felt like everything about him and kpop was a huge lie and I couldn’t trust idols for a long time.
In 2017, I still remember the shock I felt when I read about Shinee’s Jonghyun’s death: I felt my heart breaking into pieces and I almost cried at work, I had to take a break for a few minutes to recover; after 7 years since I first listened to his voice, I felt like I lost a friend.
So, why did I stop being so involved with the fandom?
The reason is simple: I’m too old and tired to be involved in fanwars.
Even back in the days, most of the fans seemed younger than me (it’s even worse now, obviously) and I didn’t wan’t to spend my free time arguing with teens about who deserves to win on a music show; their level of energy is different from mine, they get upset over everything and I don’t need teen drama in my busy life.
I want kpop to be a peaceful oasis, an hobby that brings me joy and distraction from my daily routine, I don’t want to take it seriously, having to worry about any words I say. That’s why I’m not active in any fandom now, not even on twitter.
I was actually kinda worried about writing my opinions here, but I trust my readers and I’m sure no one will get offended if I don’t like a group or a song: this is just my personal taste after all.
You know I always try to be respectful, if I don’t enjoy something I never say “it sucks”, I just avoid talking about it or I’ll simply say it’s not for me. I’m going to talk about kpop exactly like I did with otome games: if you don’t see me writing about a group or a comeback, it’s probably because I’m not interested. There’s no need to feel offended, I’m just a person sharing her humble personal opinion, having a blog doesn’t make me some kind of influencer.
I felt this was very important to say before I share my kpop awards, since I’m sure everyone will notice immediately the complete lack of girl groups: I like BlackPink, I sometimes enjoy listening to a few popular songs, but I’m not a fan of any girl group. So please, don’t keep asking me why I never talk about them, it’s simply not my taste.

Well, I think I’ve said enough for now; I have plenty of time to come up with nostalgic posts about the past, you know I love sharing those feelings. See you before the year ends with my kpop awards and my 2022 recap! Until then, have a nice Christmas!

New year, new start!

Hello everyone, are you enjoying the Christmas mood? Or are you a tired retail worker like me, who wonders if it’s actually possible to survive through Christmas hell?

As promised, I’ve spent the past few weeks thinking about my blog’s future, to decide if it should change or just stay on hiatus until my will of playing otome games eventually comes back.

I’ve considered many ideas and changed my mind a few times, but I came to a decision.

This place is focused on otome games, but it also contains my random life updates, since it’s been also some kind of diary for me; sharing my opinions and feelings in general is the reason why it was opened, it never meant to be some kind of objective, serious review site.

Everything here is about my taste and my personal opinions, regardless of the content.

So, why excluding kpop, if it’s what entertains me the most lately?

If I’d wait for my gaming mood to come back, this blog could be on hiatus for months, maybe even years or forever, since I can’t obviously predict when I’ll start playing daily as I used to.

So, here’s what I decided to do.

The blog’s name, header and main tags will stay exactly the same: if someone is looking for a review or a TOP10, they will have no problem in finding everything. This is my blog’s main purpose and it won’t change.

I’ll create a separate tag for my kpop posts; it will be used like the “personal stuff” tag, which already exists, for people who may be interested in my other hobbies or my life.

I still have some half written otome reviews and opinions, which I may decide to share if I think they can be useful.

For the new content I’d like to bring, I have many ideas, but little time as always; my main goal would be to write at least a couple posts every month, talking about my favorite kpop comebacks or debuts! There’s always a lot going on in the kpop world and I enjoy sharing my opinions, I could even come up with a weekly recap, but it depends on the free time I get next year.

Don’t expect something great, if you’re a long time reader of mine, you already know that my posts are not polished like I was some kind of expert: it’s just me blabbering, as if we were just friends chatting about our hobbies.

My plan starts with my personal kpop awards, then I’ll probably write about my favorite groups, songs, shows and my expectations for 2023. I’ll probably write about my 2022 too, as I always did in the past when a year is about to reach its end.

If somehow this could interest you, come here from time to time! Any comment or suggestion are highly appreciated: this blog is not only mine, I feel like it kinda belongs to my readers too.

Take care!

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén