Now playing - Spotify heavy rotation

These are the top 10 songs I have put on repeat these past few months:

1. It takes time 시간이 들겠지 - Loco (ft. Colde) 

Ever since this song was released (Oct 8, 2018) I can't get this song out of my head. It's a soft hip-hop song with catchy chorus. The song itself talks about a man who can't seem to move on after a break up, realizing that it takes time for everything to be normal again. With Loco's clear crisp rap and addictive rhythm combined with the sweet voice of Colde in the bridge, this song is a perfect song for a lazy, emo day.

"The past summer nights, the cool autumn breeze, I still have hard times falling asleep, tossing and turning"

Loco is a K hip-hop artist under AOMG. He's currently enlisted in the military, serving as a conscripted policeman. 

2. Sucker - Jonas Brothers 



What else can I say? I spent my teenage years fangirling over the Jonas Brothers, managing a fan page, organizing events and gatherings, at least until they abruptly announced their break up in October, 2013. Now imagine my excitement when these 3 drop-dead gorgeous and talented brothers somehow decided to return once again as a band, making new music. I jumped on the "Team Jonas" ship once again in a heartbeat. I'm a sucker for them. 

Their first single to mark their come back is Sucker, an upbeat pop song, co-written with Ryan Tedder. It tells their infatuation with the leading ladies in their lives. Upon its release, the song received great feedback, even debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 within the first week. They've come back stronger than ever, and I am so damn proud of these men for pulling their sh** together even when it took almost 6 years.

Fun fact: Joe, Nick, and Kevin have been talking about their reunion since 2017. A documentary about their lives on and off the spotlight, Chasing Happiness, will be released on July 4th 2019 on Amazon Prime. Their new album, Happiness Begins, is set to release on July 7th. What a good year.


3. Cool - Jonas Brothers



Following the successful first single, Sucker, the Jonas Brothers came out with another single called "Cool", which they describe as the perfect summer jam. The mid-tempo song has catchy beat and fun lyrics, showing their self-love and confidence.

The song is also full of reference to pop culture phenomena, such as Post Malone and Game of Thrones.

"I feel like Post Malone, when I get home, sitting there winning like it's Game of Thrones.
Now that we made it, how complicated was last year"

The second line was an allusion to Nick's solo album, Last Year Was Complicated, and the rift that the brothers went through post break-up.


4. Anxiety - Julia Michaels (ft. Selena Gomez)



It's been a while since I last found a song that I can relate to, and Anxiety is one of those songs. I can't say I have anxiety cause I've never had any psychological counselings for me to get a diagnosis, but I know how it feels as I'm an introvert that also feel anxious in every social events. I also happen to over think every single thing, which causes me to be slightly insomniac.

That's why the song rings true the first time I listened to it, and I have a personal attachment to it.

I try my best just to be social
I make all these plans with friends and hope they call and cancel
Then I overthink about the things I'm missing
Now I'm wishing I was with them


5. a fence 울타리 - WOO (Woo Won Jae 우원재 )



Another hip hop song from another amazing AOMG artist, Woo. This isn't a new song from Won Jae (released in November 2018), but it's his title track for his latest album, af. The special thing about Won Jae (or Woo, as the label put it for international audience), is that he doesn't talk much about love and relationships in his songs. Instead, his lyrics are full of his personal feelings about his life story, struggles, achievements, and anxiety.

A fence, in particular, talks about his feeling of being imprisoned inside a fence that seems to separate him from the outside world, and his fear of going out of that wall he created himself.

He repeatedly says I'm okay, I'm not okay, I'm no good, I'm really okay, as a juxtaposition of his own mental health that is always a work in progress. Raw lyrics, deep husky voice, catchy beat, and amazing visual, this song maintains its position as my favorite from Woo, just after his SMTM hit-song, We Are.

제발 날 미워하지 마, 거짓말은 못해

지금 난 갇혔다니까, 빠져나오질 못해

Where you at? 울타리 안

Where you at? 울타리야

난 내 안에 갇혔어, 절대 안 okay

Please don’t hate me

I can’t lie

I’m imprisoned right now

I can’t escape

Where you at?

Inside the fence

Where you at?

Inside the fence

I’m imprisoned in myself

Really I’m not okay

6. Crying Over You - HONNE (ft. RM & BEKA)



This song is a re-release from the 2018 version featuring BEKA. This time, HONNE once again has the pleasure of RM from BTS to fill in the rap portion of the already emotional song.

Another break-up song, another beautiful melody. And RM's rap makes the song whole. According to Genius, "Honne stated that they had always envisioned the song having a rap part and were happy that RM was willing to write one and feature on the song." Knowing their history of collaboration, it's no surprise that RM was on board with this featuring, and we are blessed with good music, really.


7. High Hopes - Panic! at the Disco



Described as Brendon Urie's favorite track from the album "Pray for the Wicked", the song successfully paved the way once again for the rock band to fame and commercial success. It is now even dubbed as the longest running no. 1 rock song on Billboard chart, tied with Twenty One Pilot's "Heathens"(Forbes, 2019).

The song is full of innocent, hopeful lyrics, talking about how we should always have high hopes for our dreams, and chasing them without hesitation. On Twitter, Instagram, and the video description on YouTube, Brendon revealed his inspiration behind "High Hopes":

I spent too long not setting my expectation high enough, worried about how it felt to fail. I hit a point when I realized I had to aim high and fail, fail, fail in order to keep growing. This one is for all of you who helped me go for it all. I thank you.
- B

My mood notwithstanding, this song is always able to lift me up even just for a bit. One can't help but sing along to it whenever it's on the radio.


8. Perfect To Me - Anne Marie



What other songs embodies self-love and acceptance as accurately as Anne Marie's? The song fell into my radar in a rather timely manner when I started to doubt my value and worth. I don't understand why it doesn't get the exposure it deserves, but at least for me this song is perfect.

Don't feel like putting makeup on my cheeks
Do what I wanna
Love every single part of my body
Top to the bottom
I'm not a supermodel from a magazine,
I'm okay with not being perfect,
cause that's perfect to me


9. A Million Dreams - P!nk



A million dreams is the soundtrack of the popular blockbuster movie The Greatest Showman, a movie that somehow managed to make all of its featured songs a total hit with its viewers. The original version is sung by Hugh Jackman, Cameron Seely, and Austyn Johnson, and has now been remade by P!nk as part of "The Greatest Showman - Remastered" album.

I gotta say I love Pink's version so much more than the original. There's no awkward transition of singers in the song, and Pink's voice delivers as much if not more emotion. Every time I listen to this song, I feel empowered and fearless, ready to tackle the world - that, at least, until I get to work and regret my whole life decisions once again.

Still, my love for the song is strong, despite my playing it like a broken record.


10. All I Need - Flowsik, Jessi



I had a hard time deciding which song deserves the last spot on my top 10 list, as there were so many strong contenders (mostly from another AOMG artists). After digging through my spotify playlists, I decided on another K-hiphop song from no other than Flowsik.

Flowsik is a Korean American artist who is most well known in the K hip hop scene through his appearance in Show Me The Money 5, a popular rap competition. His history in the hip hop world, however, runs deep, as he's been around the industry in the US long before SMTM. His distinguish voice is one of a kind, and his play on words is strong.

Jessi, on the other hand, has been quite popular in Korea for some time, though she also started in America. Apparently, the two are childhood friends, growing up in the same neighborhood, and stay close even now.

Together, they made this bop titled "All I Need" back in 2018, but I've only known it very recently by accident (thanks Youtube suggestion!). It's a catchy song with easy to remember chorus that has got stuck in my head since the first listen. Hopefully the duo continues to create good music together cause it feels like they're made for each other!

After all,
All I need is the rhythm of your heart beat, with a little bit of your melody.



Honorable mentions:

Jay Park - K Town
Loco - It's been a while (ft. Zion T)
Gray - TMI
Woo - SS (ft. Simon Dominic, Hoody)
Taylor Swift - ME! (ft. Brendon Urie)



What's that one song you can't seem to get out of your head? I wish you all a good summer time!