#bdc moonlight

BDC “Moonlight”

More K-Pop groups are experimenting with electro-pop elements in their music in recent years but few have been able to blend it well enough - with many such attempts making the song sound like another generic American or European electro-pop song. BDC does a great job here in making the song still fit the K-Pop song structure and formula. If you like the bright and hopeful sound of early SHINee and INFINITE songs with a modern twist, you would love "MOONLIGHT" by BDC.

E’LAST “Dark Dream”

Dramatic orchestral sounds were once staple in K-Pop but have been replaced by a love for hip-hop and electronic sounds in recent years. E'LAST is one of the few new groups that are still trying to go for this sound. If you enjoy the dramatic and over-the-top orchestral instrumentals in 2nd gen K-Pop, you would love E'LAST's "Dark Dream"!

fromis_9 “WE GO”

fromis_9 has a strong following overseas but seems to never truly take-off in South Korea, which is really strange, since they have a bright girl group sound that usually does well domestically. Hence, it made absolutely no sense that "WE GO", which continues their energetic sound and dropped in summer of all times did not make them a household name in South Korea. The music video is also one of the most innovatively produced MVs of K-Pop this year. With the girls moving under PLEDIS now, who knows if we will even see them again...T_T So if you like interesting MV editing choices and girl groups with up-beat music like Oh My Girl and WEKI MEKI, go check out fromis_9's "WE GO"!

LUNARSOLAR “DADADA”

Debuting with little fanfare in 2020, LUNARSOLAR returns in this confident, yet somewhat quirky and catchy bop - reminiscent of the also very underrated ELRIS. This song is probably the most underrated on this list as it did not even crack 1 million by December 2021 even though the song was released in April 2021. If you like fun and hype girl group music l which sounds like K/DA, Oh My Girl and Red Velvet music had a child, this song is for you!

OnlyOneof “libidO”

Okay, many international fans know this song and this song did get talked about in South Korea. But people seem to be mainly hung up on the boy's love and homoerotic themes of the MV instead of what a musical and performative masterpiece this song is. The breathy singing, the sexy Vogue style bassline and subdued guitar riffs blended well with the dark alternative pop sound and is a perfect successor to the line of sexy underrated tracks previously featured on this blog's annual lists (SF9's "Now or Never" and KNK's "Sunset"). The choreography also works perfectly with this song and has wise simple use of props. If you like experimental music and provocative choreography, you would love this song.

ONF “Ugly Dance”

ONF has received a lot more love after Road to Kingdom last year but they really should have swept music show awards with "Ugly Dance" and they did not. Continuing with their electronic sound, this track is a perfect balance of their more experimental past songs ("We Must Love" and "Why" ) and their brighter and poppier performances ("COMPLETE" and "BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL"), truly exemplifying their ON and OFF concepts as well as the two extreme sides of K-Pop today. If you love a song that combines poppier sounds and darker electronic and hip-hop elements like various NCT U and NCT 127 songs, you would enjoy "Ugly Dance"!

Pink Fantasy “Poison”

Debuting in 2018 and experiencing various member and style changes, Pink Fantasy has dived into the niche of rock-influenced female idols in "Poison" and nailed the vocals and performance, exuding confidence and attitude in the MV. They do not seem to have much international or domestic attention, with the song barely scratching 1 million views as of December 2021. If you love DREAMCATCHER, you cannot miss out on this spectacular song worthy of being an anime opening theme!

Pixy “Addicted”

Pixy further pushes the agenda for more dark concept girl groups, as they conduct the performance for this whole song like they are part of some ancient dark magic ritual. They seem to have balanced the rock and horror side of DREAMCATCHER with the edgy experimental hip-hop side of (G)IDLE. Hence, if you enjoy music of these two groups, you should certainly check this song out!

Rocket Punch “Ring Ring”

"Ring Ring" is easily one of the most underrated retro-concept K-Pop songs of the year. The 80s dance sound is perfectly executed while maintaining the K-Pop song structure, creating a memorable banger that should have helped Woollim's youngest girl group hit jackpot. Yet for some strange reason, they remain relatively unknown to international and domestic audiences. If you enjoy K-Pop attempts at 1980s sounds like Wonder Girls' "I Feel You", Yubin's "Lady" and SNUPER's "Platonic Love", you would really like this song!

Woo Jin Young from D1CE “Happy Birthday”

Woo Jin Young's rap abilities have been long recognised on MIXNINE back in 2017 but likely due to the unpopularity of the show in South Korea, his talents and those of his group D1CE remain relatively unknown. It is disappointing that an amazing hip-hop performance in "Happy Birthday" failed to bring him and D1CE more attention. If you are a fan of BIG BANG's G-Dragon, iKON's Bobby and E'DAWN, you would really vibe to this track!

Special Mentions of Underrated Debuts:

KINGDOM "Excalibur"

With one of the most unique debut concepts for a boy group in a while, this group bases each comeback on different historical monarchs from around the world. Debuting with "Excalibur" based the legends on King Arthur, followed by "KARMA" based on mythical Chinese king Chiyou, and then "Dark Crown" based on the exploits of Ivan the Terrible, one cannot help but anticipate their tracks to come.

ICHILLIN' "GOT'YA"

There are many strong female rookie debuts this year that got a lot of attention. Hence, we would like to bring attention to ICHILLIN' as the group is balanced and has one of the most catchy debuts of the year - once you hear it the chorus will not leave your mind. They remind me very much of WEKI MEKI and woo!ah! during their debuts and I wish these girls from a small label all the best!