+ bonus song because it pained me to not add it 😔

Final b-side from their debut album I chose was Byul 별 (Star). The production for this track is very fun, we got a groovy club vibe with some brass instruments, good band accompaniment, a bird squawking, plus some fun techno elements. Definitely a more piano bar club moment that a dance club moment. Also one of the groups stronger vocal deliveries from their first album.

Final song from their 2nd album is Goodbye Forget Me. This song shys away from the club beats they've been playing with for most of their album and we go into a nice guitar driven pop track. A good beat, sing chanting for the chorus, kinda reminds me of Jewelry Super Star a little but a bit dialed down.

Also I lied I'm adding in a bonus song because Story it's just a campy moment. With it's old McDonald had a farm intro melody, it's just so silly and fun TO ME. Definitely one of the earlier cases of camp in kpop.

If you're new here's the playlist with all the song recs 🧐

Below 👇 I included the YouTube music app audio for my fellow non Spotify users

Next b-side is Ameong 애몽 (Dream). While their 2nd album was more heavier with the eurodance pop feel they did have several songs on their first album that dabbled with that fun techno/euro dance feel and this was one. The song has a nice hype intro, the overall melody is nice and standard club beat. The group has a more laid back vocal delivery, I know if Lee Jung Hyun was in the room she'd be screaming her heart out but their soft approach was still fine.

The next song from their 2nd album i chose was Eve's Love. This song also has the dance club feel however we added in a great electric guitar that goes off hard and it even gets it's own solo verse. Truly the highlight of this song. I'm sure this song was blasting in the gay clubs in 2000.

If you're new here's the playlist with all the song recs 🧐

Below 👇 I included the YouTube music app audio

So since I was having trouble picking only 3 b-sides I just decided to choose one song per album and include 2 because I do feel personally that Cooki/Kooki are an underrated gem of 1st Gen much like a former NGGotW mention Papaya (y'all still streaming Violet?).

First b-side from their 1st album 애인 맞아 (It's A Lover) the song is very Diva coded, and I mean the girl group Diva from the 90s not like diva™ 💅. It's cute and fresh and very sing song-y with its melody. Kinda Kidz Bop coded but I know y'all love Teddy Bear by StayC so yeah. A nice summery track.

First b-side from their 2nd album I chose was Love Game. While the majority of the album is very powerful and sexy as the album cover implies this is the most cutesy song from the album. I really like this song because it heavily reminds me of Secret and their songs Shy Boy and Love is Move. However with a more 90s sound. Also another summery track, i know we're in snowy January but it's nice to listen to warm music that lifts your spirits.

If you're new here's the playlist with all the song recs 🧐

Below 👇 I included the YouTube music app audio

Before getting into b-sides let's just get in their 2nd shall we because they had a lot of good b-sides to choose from.

The group lost 2 members and reformed as a 4 piece and then released their 2nd album in 2000 with First Love. I will say the vocals got more round about, still not Bada level but more sound.

First Love was a heavy dive into the trendy sound of euro dance pop. The girls really slayed the vibe, the song is a bit more mature than their debut with the cutest vibe. Definitely the stronger of the 2 singles. Also the end pose for the dance was pretty cool.

If you're new here's the playlist with all the song recs 🧐

Below 👇 I included their MV, a live stage + YouTube music app audio

Cooki or Kooki (쿠키) was a girl group that debuted in 1998 and disbanded in 2001. During their tenure they released 2 full length albums. The group debuted as a trio but after 2 members left after their first album and 3 new members were added in and the group promoted as 4 for their 2nd album. The members overall were : U.na, You.Ji, Min.I, Irang, Inyoung, and Jini.

Their first album was listed as Cooki and their 2nd as Kooki, I'm just going to be tagging them as Kooki. However they suffer the classic nugudom struggle of streaming service issues. While their music is available it's listed in a different girl group, Cookie, artist page 😔 how unfortunate. Though it's crazy we had another girl group debuted with the name Cookie, I've never heard of them.

The group dabbled in the sound of S.E.S I'm Your Girl/ Diva Why Do You Call aka typical late 90s pop but also eurodance (especially on their 2nd album which I think is the better of the 2 albums). So if you aren't crazy for the I'm Your Girl type music or for Lee Jung Hyun and early Uhm Jung Hwa music then this group technically won't be for you, which is crazy how could you not love WA or Poison? I will say they did dabble a bit with electric guitar on their 2nd album giving their music some more Umpah Umpah but more on that later.

The group debuted with Wait For You. The song is a nice classic late 90s pop track you'd hear from a girl from that era. It brings nice nostalgia for that era of music. Vocally they're okay, none of them are coming for Bada but the melodies are simple and fun. They also do that let's kinda scream talk and have it be the "rap" part but I'll take that over some random man.

If you're new here's the playlist with all the song recs 🧐

Below 👇 I included their MV+ YouTube music app audio