11 May 2016

Monthly Music: Favorite Kpop Releases for 2016 April

Hi everyone! April's gone and May's here, which means.... Monthly Music time! At the end of April I took a trip back home, which meant I had to make a playlist that I could listen to on repeat without getting sick of the tracks. It also meant I had more time to really consider if the tracks I chose were really the ones I would want to recommend as my favorite 2016 April releases. I'm glad to say that all of the songs I picked for the trip were in fact my favorites of April. So let's not waste any time and just jump right into the tracks I had on loop last month - and even now.


1. Kevin "Collection (feat. Jucy)"
2. Nu.D "Horizon"
3. David Oh "W.D.I.A.G.W (Where Did It All Go Wrong)"
4. NCT U "WITHOUT YOU (Sung by JAEHYUN, DOYOUNG, TAEIL)"
5. MAMAMOO "기대해도 좋은 날 Woo Hoo"
6. it's 이츠 "러브송 Love Song"
7. OOO "빈 Empty"
8. David Oh "우리 둘이 Two of Us"

Even though 2 of the songs on April's playlist are from David Oh's EP "Skinships," neither of the 2 snatched the number 1 favorite spot. Don't get me wrong, the songs I included from David Oh are great - heck the entire EP is great - but there was 1 track that nudged out the rest. That track was NCT U's "WITHOUT YOU (Sung by Jaehyun, Doyoung, Taeil)." 

NCT U is the first sub-unit of S.M. Entertainment's new boy group NCT, which stands for: Neo Culture Technology. The idea behind NCT is to create multiple sub-units that will debut and promote in different countries. NCT U consists of NCT members Taeil, Taeyong, Doyoung, Ten, Jaehyun, and Mark - all of whom take part in their other debut track, "일곱 번째 감각 The 7th Sense." "WITHOUT YOU" was released in both Korean and Chinese with member's Jaehyun, Doyoung, and Taeil singing the both the Korean and Chinese versions and SM Rookies member Kun joining in the Chinese version. While "일곱 번째 감각 The 7th Sense" is amazing in its own way, I did not include it in April's playlist as I was more drawn to the rock beats of "WITHOUT YOU." Plus I'm absolutely crazy about Taeil after watching NCT Life in Bangkok and NCT On Air - he's just too cute.

Setting aside my potentially growing obsession with Taeil, "WITHOUT YOU" is a great rock track about being able to face life because you're with someone who provides you the strength and comfort you need. As soon as I watched the Korean version of "WITHOUT YOU" I was instantly hooked. The chorus was so catchy that even when I was listening to music on the radio, the only thing I heard was the chorus repeating itself over and over again in my head. Based on the two songs NCT U released in April, I can't wait to hear what else they'll come out with whether it's as NCT U, NCT, or any of the future NCT sub-units.

If you want to learn more about NCT U, or NCT in general, definitely check out their V-App channel here. You can watch all episodes of NCT Life in Bangkok and NCT On Air - all which come with sub-titles in multiple languages. To watch the music video for "일곱 번째 감각 The 7th Sense" click here and for the performance version of the track, click here. Watch the Korean version of "WITHOUT YOU" here and the Chinese version here. If you watched all those videos and still can't get enough of NCT U, like me, check out their debut stage for "WITHOUT YOU" here and "일곱 번째 감각 The 7th Sense" here.

As always, feel free to drop a comment below with your favorite song(s) from April. Don't forget to check out the previous Monthly Music posts if you haven't already. Hope you all have a great May and see you in the next post.

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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