#doublekick

Woo Taewoon Instagram 210810

효린x다솜 <둘중에골라> 작곡,작사 에 참여 했습니다~🙏🏻🖤🌊효린이,다솜이,준석이형,이스트형,99횽뉨,너무 고생 많으셨고~

What’s up Mansebebes! T-wonder is coming back at you after a lengthy hiatus (when life hits you, it hits you) with another post to highlight an underrated K-pop group that shows loads of potential and deserves your love. The artist for this month is DoubleKick Company’s rookie girl group, Momoland!

Formed via another competition program(there are too many and I honestly don’t care to learn the name), Momoland, consists of 9 members Hyebin, Yeonwoo, Jane, Taeha, Nayun, Daisy, JooE, Ahin, Nancy with members Daisy (a former JYP trainee) and Taeha (a former Produce 101 contestant) joining the group before their first comeback. 

The group debuted in November of 2016, with the mini-album eponymously titled “Welcome to Momoland” with the onomatopoeic title track “Jjan, Joong, Kwang.” I, like many, was extremely hesitant when hearing the name of the song, I was not sure what to expect from a track that gives literally no information besides the fact that it sounds like random noise. Which...it does sometimes, but the song is structured in a way that the rather bombastic title formed the skeleton of an even more enjoyable musical creation. It is easy for a song with so many different sounds and influences to feel cluttered and messy(at some points the song sounding like an 8-bit video game, a jazzy throwback piece, and your relatively “cute” concept), but “JJan, Joong, Kwang” manages to fit the many disparate elements and meld them into a cohesive whole. This song, in my opinion, laid the basis of a rather promising career for these ladies.

In late April of this year, the ladies made their first comeback with what is arguably their most popular song “Wonderful Love.” I will admit that when I first heard this song and saw the music video, I was relatively confused and disappointed. I am a huge supporter of #KeepDabbingOutOfKpop2kForever, but the dabs were out in full force for the music video, and I hated nearly every moment of it. It was only after I separated the song from the music video that I was able to truly appreciate this bop for what it is. With a lush instrumental and vocals that, while lacking in dynamics, are perfect to get you on your feet and happy, this is truly an April release that deserved better. It did get a resurgence of popularity though due to the EDM version of the song and the subsequent performance of which that saw member Jooe’s enthusiastic dancing turn into a brief meme craze. I say this in every single one of my posts, but y'all know how I feel about EDM’s plague on the K-pop world, but this song is one of the few exceptions that I will begrudgingly make. The moves and vocals are actually enhanced by the change in instrumental and the line “Luck is in my pocket, Let’s shoot it like a rocket!” transforms from a dreamy inspirational refrain to a quote that will get you determined and pumped. I have no qualms when admitting that the EDM version now has a special place in my heart.

Momoland’s second and last comeback thus far was with the upbeat and energetic (See what I did there? No? Watch the music video and you will.) song Freeze, from the album of the same name. This song is arguably the one that most compliments their carnival/amusement park theme. The instrumental is built on the popular melody of the Entry of the Gladiators(also known as Thunder and Blazes) by Julius Fucik. While gaining its uniqueness from Fucik’s iconic creation, this song is also the groups most standard. Meaning that it admittedly sounds like a great number of girl group songs, which is not necessarily a bad thing especially when delivered to, while not the best, admirable effect.

At the time of writing this, Momoland has recently celebrated their 1 year anniversary and are gearing up for a January comeback, and I am extremely excited for new music. I cannot say that I necessarily stan Momoland at this point, but the point of these lists is not to necessarily get you to stan (although that would be awesome) but to acknowledge and appreciate the talent, the musicality, and the hard work of the artists highlighted, because they, and a number of others, deserve more. Momoland is definitely one of those groups. In writing this and looking more in-depth I have already learned more about the group than I ever have and gained a MUCH greater appreciation of a group whose music I already enjoyed. Momoland, while admittedly not having the backing and support of other rookie groups, have demonstrated a strong amount of potential and I cannot wait to see how their talent and music develops as their career progresses.

Other must-listen songs: