jayuś ^_^

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌ artist: Madonna year: 2026 genre: House, Dance-Pop

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released, listened and reviewed January 19th, 2026

4.4/10

2026 K-Pop started off on a bad foot - CHUU's underwhelming and utterly disappointing "XO, My Cyberlove", KATSEYE's 2nd attempt at TikTok virality with "Internet Girl", ALPHA DRIVE ONE's almost unlistenable debut "EUPHORIA" and the only somehow enjoyable EP - "<yesweare>" by idntt.

EXO continues the streak of bad releases with this new project "REVERXE" taking a very noisy and not-so-enjoyable musical direction, especially on the first three tracks - "Crown", "Back it Up" and "Crazy" . All of these feel very different to what they have done in the past, and while experimenting with musical styles isn't a bad thing necessarily, here it doesn't feel like it was needed.

"Suffocate" and "Moonlight Shadows" are 2 nice R&B cuts, even though I felt like the first option was a little too empty for my liking, "Moonlight Shadows" is a highlight here.

"Back Pocket", "Touch & Go", "Flatline" and "I'm Home" are very typical boy group filler tracks - they bring absolutely nothing to the table, the only thing they do is mostly ruin the album experience for me.

released January 16th, 2026 listened & reviewed January 19th, 2026

7.4/10

It's been quite a while ever since this was teased and we finally got it this year, which really surprised me as I thought this was not gonna release. "Don't Be Dumb" serves as Rocky's 4th album and his first in 8 years since 2018's "TESTING"

The album is a collection of nice and polished Trap tracks with some hits of Psychedelia, Indie Rock and Jazz Rap. While I enjoyed the variety of sounds, this made the LP very inconsistent sonically. Lyrically very solid, even though I disliked some verses, such as the hook of "STFU" or the entirety of "STOLE YA FLOW".

released January 16th, 2026 listened January 17th, 2026

6.4/10

I've been keeping an eye on Madison ever since the accusations of Ariana Grande plagiarism when she released "Baby". I loved her debut album "Life Support" upon release and last year I finally listened to her sophomore LP "Silence Between Songs" which showcases her majestic yet underrated vocal abilities.

"locket" feels like a massive step down from her previous 2 records unfortunately as it barely has any memorable moments. A lot of the material here is amazingly written, Madison as a lyricist has grown a lot, but sonically it doesn't take you anywhere far.

Opening the album with a gorgeous "locket theme" got me truly hooked for something amazing, but the transition from it to "yes baby" was rather unsatisfactory. The song feels like it tries to follow "make you mine" 's footsteps at becoming a smash Dance-Pop Radio Hit, but it's not as nearly enjoyable as the latter. Moving on to "angel wings" - one of my highlights we dig more into the calmer, softer sound of "locket".

"for the night", "bad enough", "healthy habit", "you're still everything" very much feel like album fillers, like the unnecessary clutter your grandma keeps at her attic. "bittersweet" is pretty much a star here, despite being really reminiscent of "twilight zone" from Ariana Grande's "eternal sunshine: brighter days ahead", it's one of the most memorable songs on this project, going as far as becoming a general public's favorite, as it recently became her first Billboard Hot 100 entry at #98, which I'm really happy about, as it should've happened many years ago.

"complexity" is a well produced song that really fits the album theme - a stripped down Pop banger, which unsurprisingly is my favorite here. Speaking of Pop bangers, "make you mine" is a classic in her discography, but feels very unnecessary here. It's out of place, just like "yes baby". It's not necessarily my favorite, but I would understand why people like it.

Closing the album with "nothing at all" felt like the perfect choice, it's amazingly written and feels like a great closure.

For me, "locket"'s biggest issue is the unnecessary amount of clutter tracks, and the out of touch to the general conceptual idea songs. Genuinely could've been a short EP (even though we all needed a new album desperately) from her.