This is not your abuela's Asian funk!

LIONESSES - PAPYUN
cw: aggressive flashing, camera motion, religious imagery (Catholic)
CC in 12 tracks, incl ENG

Kpop's first openly queer idol group, Lionesses blend a variety of styles, including hiphop, jazz, and operatic vocals. All members identify as queer men, with one member, Kanghan, having a drag queen alter-ego, Rooya.

ATEEZ - Lemon Drop
cw: shirtless (and soaking wet) men, camera motion

Some day I'll have the time and energy to resume long form Music Monday profiles, but in the meantime, I couldn't hold it in any longer. Song of the summer right here, never mind that summer's only just barely started.

Are you old enough to have caught the significance of that key twist or did you have to have your elders explain it to you? 🤣

((I've talked before about how I'm trying to highlight queer artists (and queer joy) this month...and I've also talked about how, while he's very careful with his words, Seonghwa has said enough for us to claim him as a fellow queer. And that's not even getting into the canonicals or Jongho being consistently ace-spec-coded. So while there may be a heterosexual explanation for this MV, I'm gleefully in denial of it. 😝🤣))

It's ... been a time, all right. I think at this point I'm being powered exclusively by caffeine, ATEEZ, and spite. Which is ... not as effective as one might like, really, but you know, we make do with what we've got. So despite the day this is being posted, the listing cuts off at ~1am EDT/2pm KST Wednesday ... so only Wooyoung from ATEEZ in this roundup. 😉

So we've got another wide variety of releases again this week, from dance pop to soft rock, hiphop to jazz, R&B to trot. Feeling the need to dance? Check out new girl group USPEER or UAU or ENHYPEN. In the mood for rock? New band Re:Hearts debuted this week, or maybe Siwoel or QWER are more your jam. Needing the freshest hiphop? Check out the latest from LOCO or WISS. Wanting something to tug at your heart? Try Ha Hyunsang or use crtl+F to search for potential hanky warnings. In the mood for something else? There's a funk ballad pre-release from Jackson Wang, punk fusion from HANSE x LAVEEN, trot from FC TROTQUEENS, lofi jazz from toyou., and even new techno from AZITO. Not entirely sure what you're seeking? I've made the best notes I could, so grab a drink and/or snack and take your time.

Banner artist slots this week went to LE SSERAFIM and Stray Kids, both with Japanese releases this week, meep. Additional picks from me go to NCT's Doyoung, Day6's Young K, EXO's Baekhyun, LUNCH with Verbal Jint, and gallant with ATEEZ's Wooyoung.

( releases for the week of June 4th - 11th )

The Mea Culpa Section:
Just the two and I even know exactly how I missed each of them, so progress? Or something… 😉


StayC - Lover, Killer (Japanese release) *
Dept - Green (Acoustic) *

key:
* content warning - refer to item below for details
+ comes with "disappearing" hardcoded subs
🔤 posted with English CC
🚩other flag - refer to item below for details
⚠️ elevated warning -refer to item below for details


( the links and my limited commentary )



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Rie (OnlyOneOf) - because (be #4)
cw: shirtless (and dripping wet) men
CC in ENG

Part two of Junji and Rie's mini-romance and on no, things have taken a turn, haven't they? What happens next? Well, that's for tomorrow's posting

KB (OnlyOneOf) - be free (be #2)
cw: background flashing lights, drinking/drunkeness, lens flares
CC in ENG

Part two of a sweet romance between a line cook and an office worker, this time featuring actual dating but no on-screen kissing (probably because that would trigger the censorship brigade).

Tomorrow starts the next coupling, but this isn't the last we'll see of KyuJung. 😜

OnlyOneOf - libidO (Guilty Pleasure ver)
cw: flashing/strobing lights, bondage
CC in ENG
the initial MV: https://youtu.be/lMW1PICg-Ss

Breaking my own rules to kick off a week of BL stories in MVs by OnlyOneOf's members with a flashback to 2021. While this performance was absolutely already in the can long before the official MV for libidO was released, a more reticent label would've buried this. Instead, after a week of bitching and accusations of "queerbaiting," we got this kinkier, hornier, and even gayer version.

As of this writing, no members have explicitly come out as queer, but all are supportive of queer fans.

ATEEZ - Celebrate
CC in 5 tracks, including ENG

I knew I was going to post this at some point for Pride, but since the KpopMonday theme is "A RainbowOfMVs" (colorful music videos), it got moved up to today.

At the very least, Seonghwa is under the queer umbrella (he tends to be a bit cagey about it out of necessity, but he's unafraid to play with gender presentation), with the whole group being openly & loudly supportive of the entire queer community. Plus when this came out, non-ATINY kept asking about the "tiny gay man in blue" 😜

While this has fallen out of the performance rotation now, they have updated the lyric from 7 to 8 billion, to reflect the world population.

Lim Sejun - Summer
cw: flashing effects (various), unsteady cam, flashing lights (police?), video "artifacts"
CC in both English and Korean

On the one hand, my ALICE heart is happy to hear new music from Sejun. On the other hand, this feels a bit bittersweet for a solo debut. Let me live in my delusion that VICTON could still come back together after everyone's service hitches are completed! 😅

Kai (EXO) - Wait On Me
cw: lens flares, Kai's everything, flashing, blood/injury

Every time I watch this, I pick out more little things that could be call backs to earlier EXO releases/the whole EXOplanet lore situation, which then gets my brain going all sparky. I blame the silver and black tank top this time. If you've watched early EXO MVs, you'll know why. 😉 And if you haven't, search up EXO-K MAMA and just accept the cringe.

Thursday counts as mid-week! Mind you, this listing still stops at 1am EDT because of reasons (my sanity being primary among them), but still. There was rather a lot to get through this week (at one point, the composite list was over 100 entries), but I got there in the end!

On the up side, that means there's a good chance you'll find something you'll like, whatever your Kpop preference. Looking for the freshest hiphop? We've got comebacks from LOGI and Byung Yongmin (again), plus the debut of girl group VVS. Feeling more in the R&B mood? Perhaps XG or Baekhyun can scratch that itch. Need to get up and dance? The Wind, Jaechan (DKZ), and X:IN are all here for you. Rock and roll more your taste? Maybe you'll like 2z or i-dle or the latest from NCT's YUTA or Kim Jaejoong. Need a therapeutic cry? Look for the hanky warnings. Need a break? We've got half a dozen instrumentals, mostly jazz, to give your ear a bit of a rest. Not sure what you want? That's fine - browse the list by genre or ask for suggestions and I'll see what I can do.

Banner artist slots this week go to NCT's YUTA and Lim Sejun, with additional picks from me going to RIIZE, Taeyong, BIBI, Heize, and Big Ocean.

( Releases for the week of May 14th-21st )

key:
* content warning - see item below for specifics
+ comes with "disappearing" hardcoded subs
🔤 posted with English CC
⚠️ elevated warning - see item below for specifics

( the links with my (limited) snarky commentary )


This post brought to you by my lovely Patreon and KoFi supporters. No obligations and the foster kitties will love you either way.
DW | Mastodon | Bluesky | Ko-fi | Patreon | Discord