03 January 2016

Monthly Music: Favorite Kpop Releases for 2015 December

Hi everyone! Happy New Year! Can you believe it's already 2016?! A month ago I was racking my brain trying to figure out what to get people for the holidays. Now I've got till the spring before birthday season hits - surprisingly the majority of my family and friends are born between May and December. Since it's the "calm after the (holiday) storm," I'd figure I kick-start the year with the first Monthly Music post of 2016! Excited? I hope so.

1. SHINee "Photograph"
2. SEVENTEEN & Ailee "Q&A"
3. Roy Kim "Remember Me"
4. EXO "Sing For You"
5. TaeTiSeo "겨울을 닮은 너 Winter Story"
6. J.Heart "첫차 타고가 (Stay Up All Night)"
7. Halo "행복하게 해줄게"
8. PHANTOM "확신을 줘 Could You Be Mine?"

While I was compiling my playlist for 2015 December, I realized that not a lot of holiday themed releases made the cut. Certainly not because the holiday tracks the Kpop scene put out weren't great, but rather I enjoyed the non-holiday themed tracks a bit more.

The one holiday-themed track that did make the cut comes from Girls' Generation sub-unit, TaeTiSeo (TTS) made up of members Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Seohyun. The sub-unit released their Christmas special album, "Dear Santa - X-Mas Special Album," at the beginning of December giving me all month to appreciate the smooth vocals of the trio. When SM Entertainment released a video of TTS performing a live acoustic version of the track, "겨울을 닮은 너 Winter Story," I knew that it had to be included on December's playlist. The slow melody allows for the trio's vocals to shine through and provides a cozy, sitting by the fire kind of feeling that's perfect for the cold holiday season. You can check out TTS's live acoustic version of "겨울을 닮은 너 Winter Story" here.

No stranger to the Monthly Music playlists, J.Heart made it onto 2015 December's playlist following his appearance on the 2015 November playlist. The leader of N.Sonic, J.Heart, rightfully claimed a spot on this month's playlist with the title track, "첫차 타고가 (Stay Up All Night)." The track is hot off his solo debut mini album, "Here's To Youth - EP." It's a fun song that showcases J.Heart's vocal and rap skills while his dance skills can be seen in the track's accompanying music video here.

If you like the slow beats of TTS's "겨울을 닮은 너 Winter Story" then check out EXO's "Sing For You." SHINee's "Photograph," SEVENTEEN & Ailee's "Q&A," and PHANTOM's "확신을 줘 Could You Be Mine?" are along the upbeat wavelength that J.Heart's track produces. For something that's in that medium-tempo area give Roy Kim's "Remember Me" and Halo's "행복하게 해줄게" a listen.

Well that concludes the 2015 December playlist highlights. I was going to do a 2015 Recap playlist featuring my absolute favorite tracks released in 2015, but getting each month's playlist down to 8 tracks alone is already a hefty task for me. I can't even begin to imagine trying to narrow it down from an entire year's worth of new tracks. Hopefully at the end of 2016 I'll drop a recap playlist if I start making it now and narrowing it down each month. Finger crossed I can make the tough song cuts.

As always, feel free to drop a comment below with your favorite track or tracks from 2015 December. Heck, drop a comment below if you want to share your favorite tracks from all of 2015. Oh and once again, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Bring on 2016.

Endnote: Songs on this month's playlist can be purchased through iTunes. Simply click on the title of the song you want to download on the tracklist listed above to be redirected to its iTunes page.

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