Bunni Pop's April faves: Featuring NewJeans, Tomorrow X Together, Seventeen, RIIZE and ZEROBASEONE
And the summer bops are arriving early!
If I’m being completely honest, I was feeling quite a bit of a lull in the first three months of 2024. While there were many new releases, not many were SPEAKING to me in a way that made me wanted to replay the songs over and over again. But alas, April has picked things right back up, with comebacks that are already well on its way to becoming fun summer anthems. So without further ado, here’s what I’ve been diving into in the month of April!
TOMORROW X TOGETHER - minisode 3: TOMORROW (mini album)
TOMORROW X TOGETHER has often explored themes of youth and growing up since their debut. Now as the members inch towards their mid-twenties, the quintet are looking into the future on their latest mini-album minisode 3: TOMORROW.
TXT’s title track ‘Deja Vu’ dives into themes including memories, longing and destiny, and is ultimately a song about hoping for an optimistic future despite not knowing what it holds.
But the highlight of this album for me is the track ‘Quarter Life’, in which Beomgyu, Taehyun and Huening Kai sing about their anxiety approaching their existential crisis of reaching a quarter of your life. This is the type of song you belt out to yourself with, even at the ripe age of 32.
That’s because TikTok keeps feeding me unsolicited anti-aging regimens. I will jam out to this song all I want thank you very much. I am young at heart.
NewJeans - ‘Bubble Gum’
Even with what’s happening between ADOR and HYBE, NewJeans had a pretty understated comeback this month, releasing one of the songs that will be part of their May 24 single album How Sweet.
While ‘Bubble Gum’ has only been released on YouTube, the video has been doing quite well with close to 30 million views on the platform.
Now for the track itself, it is so fun! While it acts as a promotional tool for the Japanese haircare brand Essential, it doesn’t feel like an ad. Breezy with hints of the city pop genre mixed in, this track is perfect for a drive out to the beach with your besties.
Despite what happens with NewJeans’s company ADOR, I hope they can move past it all. The girls are all very marketable and super talented. Not to mention, every concept this group has come out with has been so fresh and unique.
ZEROBASEONE - ‘Sweat’
I am currently in my Boys Planet phase, even though the show aired more than one year ago. So while all the results have been ruined for me, the rollercoaster of seeing what it took to form ZEROBASEONE has been absolutely thrilling for me. Even I have found myself getting attached to contestants who didn’t end up making it into the final lineup. Thankfully, a number of them have since debuted in other groups.
So now that I am familiar with each of the members of ZB1, I’ve finally been able to properly enjoy their songs. ‘Sweat’ is a fun, summery bop that blends elements of house and R&B.
To me, this is boy band pop excellence. The only issue is the song is way too short!
RIIZE - RIIZING (mini-album)
From thumping dance and house-inspired tracks like ‘Impossible’ and ‘9 Days’ to classic boy band pop melodies like ‘One Kiss’, RIIZING is absolutely a no-skip album for me.
I also recently got to chat with Toronto singer-songwriter August Rigo (interview to be shared soon), in which he told me a little bit about the process of writing and producing ‘9 Days’ for this project.
According to Rigo, it was almost entirely produced in-house by his company Summer Child Records, marking a milestone for him and his team. Congrats to all! I love seeing Canadians succeeding in the business.
BIBI and Jackson Wang - ‘Feeling Lucky’
Am I disturbing something? Watching this music video feels like I’m interrupting a very private moment…
Ever since I saw BIBI and Jackson Wang debut this song at Coachella, I have been mesmerized with how well their voices fit together in this sultry pop duet. ‘Feeling Lucky’ really encapsulates what it’s like to meet someone at the club and realizing you have instant chemistry. It is HOT HOT HOT.
Seventeen - 17 IS RIGHT HERE (anthology)
Would it really be bunni pop without mentions of Seventeen? The 13-member group made their long-awaited comeback in April, delivering four new tracks. The lead single, ‘MAESTRO’, brings all of Seventeen’s strengths together when it comes to production, performance and vocals.
Similar to its predecessor ‘Super’, MAESTRO is a theatrical hit meant to be performed live in stadiums. Its pulsing EDM beat gets your heart racing with anticipation, and what results in the climax is an extremely satisfying and epic dance break.
Another highlight from 17 IS RIGHT HERE is ‘Spell’, sung by the performance unit (Hoshi, Jun, The8 and Dino). With dance moves choreographed by Jam Republic’s Kirsten Dodgen, the smooth R&B track paired with a groovy 808 is very sexy and is reminiscent of Tyla’s hit song ‘Water’!
To this day, I cannot get images of Hoshi hip thrusting along to this track. He just does it so well.
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