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Posted by Lorr-Ye Friday, March 2, 2018

AKP's January-February 2018 Music Round Up!

AKP STAFF
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1. January 1
Kicking off the first day of the new year with a release, Kim Kyujong dropped his album "Play in Nature Pt. 3: Snowflake," which served as the first single album of the year. This ballad-centric album was primarily promoted with the song above, "Melt," a soulful piece sung by the former SS501 member.
2. January 2
TRCNG released their album "Who Am I" under TS and LOEN Entertainment on January 2nd and wowed audiences with the first dance track of the year. The "Wolf Baby" MV dropped a day before their entire first album dropped, and is featured above. TRCNG is a newer group that debuted a few months prior. TRCNG is a rookie group to watch as the year goes on.
3. January 3
Although we have MOMOLAND's "Bboom Bboom" as the major single of January 3rd, it's worth noting that there was a number of releases aside from their album drop for "Great!". January 3rd is also the release date for Kriesha Chu's dance and ballad album, "Dream of Paradise," as well as the release date for N.Flying's rock album, "The Hottest: N.Flying". A packed day for Korean music!
4. January 4
Han Heejun released his album, "Deep Inside" on January 4th, 2018. The major single and music video that dropped from "Deep Inside" is also entitled "Deep Inside" and features Ladies' Code Sojung as well! The album shows Han Heejun's versatility in a number of ballad and R&B songs.
5. January 5
January 5 served as VIXX's Ravi's opportunity to drop his solo hip hop album, "R.ebirth 2016". We enjoy the versatility Ravi has shown on the album, as well as the numerous features the mixtape has to offer. Not only is Ravi the star of the album, he includes BASICK, ESBEE, Donutman, Soulman, Microdot and more to accompany him.
6. January 8
Three major releases dropped on January 8 this year including Infinite, Block B, and newcomers, Stray Kids. Stray Kids album was simply entitled 'Mixtape' and featured numerous dance and hip hop tracks. Block B stuck to their normal ballad and dance vibe on the 'RE: Montage" drop and Infinite wowed once again with their classic dance and ballad tracks off "Top Seed".
7. January 9
WM Entertainment's Oh My Girl finally released their long-awaited fifth EP, "Secret Garden," a dance album featuring the girls at their best! "Secret Garden" is one of our favorite singles and MVs of this quarter so far. The single earned OMG their first win, which we anticipate will be the first of many.
8. January 10
MXM, a new musical duo under Brand New Music, released a hip-hop inspired album entitled, "Match Up" on January 10. Synonymously referred to as "Brand New Boys" the duo consisting of Lim Youngmin and Kim Donghyun is a relatively new musical act to the industry. The lead single we have above is entitled, "Diamond Girl".
9. January 11
Kim Dongryul may not be the K-Pop idol that we all immediately imagine when someone mentions Korean music, but his beautiful ballad album, "Reply" brought our hearts into our throats! A gorgeous winter song with enchanting vocals to celebrate the First Quarter with!
10. January 15
While Americans celebrated MLK Jr. Day, Jang Wooyoung released a wonderfully folk-pop, dance track entitled, "Quit". "Quit" served as the main single off of his folk album, "Bye". This 2pm idol showcased his abilities with a more toned down and relaxing soundtrack for our Sundays off!
11. January 17
Chungha released her single, "Roller Coaster" on January 17 as the main single off her dance album, "Offset". Chungha has done it again and absolutely nailed the type of dance anthems we're expecting of 2018. "True Colors", JBJ's dance and ballad album also was released on January 17th, 2018.
12. January 19
K-HipHop had a significant day on January 19 as Sik-K released his album, "Trapart". The sound of the mixtape is significantly more Western than his previous songs and takes on a much more mainstream trap sound. An example of this is above in Sik-K's song, "YeLowS Gang". January 19 also served as a release date for the Prison Playbook OST which featured numerous artists.
13. January 22
If one Ravi mixtape wasn't enough for you this year, have no fear! Luckily, Ravi set the release date for his second mixtape just days away from his first for 'Re.birth 2016'. Ravi's second release, "Nirvana" included an official highlight medley that we've included above. K-HipHop heads, this is a must listen!
14. January 23
Though we lost a beautiful artist, we were graced with the release of SHINee Jonghyun's "Poet Artist" on January 23. The posthumous album includes a number of R&B and dance tracks, a specialty that suited Jonghyun's amazing vocal abilities. January 23 also served as the release dance for former Produce 101 contestants, Rainz, "Shake You Up" dance album.
15. January 24
Fromis 9 released their album, "To Heart" a majority dance album on January 24. The girls, who all took part in reality competition, Idol School, promoted with their single, "To Heart". Other album releases include Jeong Se-woon's R&B, ballad album, "After" and Target's dance drop with "Alive".
16. January 25
Missing In Action no longer, iKON returns with their much-awaited album aptly entitled, "Return". The hiphop-centric drop has featured a B.I solo this time around, so be sure to check that out! Davichi also released "&10," a ballad album. Davichi is known for their OST work on dramas like "Descendants of the Sun," so if you're a fan of slow songs, they are a duo to check out!
17. January 29
January 29 was a jam-packed day for K-Pop. Not only did the queens of Red Velvet come back with "The Perfect Red Velvet" as an album, they showcased a hugely successful MV for their main single, "Bad Boy". Suzy also wowed many with her ballad and r&b release for "Faces of Love," where Suzy opens up about finding herself as a musician. Golden Child also dropped their dance and ballad album entitled, "Miracle". Last, but not least, VAV released, "Spotlight" which is filled with dance tunes to jam to!
18. January 30
Given LOONA's mysterious nature, the release of Go Won was a huge deal for the Korean Music community. As the 11th single album to their pre-debut project, "Go Won" was a big hint into the next member of LOONA. Not to mention, the single album also feaures Kim Lip. January 30th also served as a release date for the OST for "Rain or Shine," another must-listen for those who are fans of ballad tracks.
19. February 1
At the beginning of this month, Gugudan released their second single album, "Act. 4 Cait Sith". The group continued with their "Act" motif and wowed with their MV drop for "The Boots". The girls take on a vibe extremely reminiscent to Girls' Generation's golden era. We would recommend Gugudan to a K-Pop fan who hasn't been able to pick a girl group to bias yet!
20. February 5
Seventeen says "Thanks" to fans on February 5 with a special release album entitled, "Director's Cut". Their single, aptly entitled, "Thanks" came with quite an adorable video for Carat, Seventeen's fanbase. "Director's Cut" serves as an repackaged version of Seventeen's 2nd studio album, "TEEN, AGE". The repackaged album features new songs in addition to the original 13 from "TEEN,AGE" to create a total of 17 songs.
21. February 20
There was a bit of a lull there with the Lunar New Year but the queen of K-pop herself made her comeback with her first EP 'One Shot, Two Shot'.
22. February 21
Weki Meki released their second EP 'Lucky' on February 21. The title track "La La La" is very upbeat and it's a bit of a departure than what we saw from them before. This is a nice changeup for the group.
23. February 26
The boys of SF9 released their fourth EP 'Mamma Mia!' and it gave a sensational feeling for all of their fans. Their MV is fun and full of color.
24. February 27
Every Cosmic Girls release is so aesthetically pleasing and this is no different. "Dreams Come True" is a very catchy tune and the girls look quite beautiful in the music video.

SEE ALSO: 'Road to Kingdom' to return with season 2

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