There’s only less than a month and we’re going to say goodbye to 2021. But of course, we won’t let you do that without giving our last round of K-music recommendations for this year.

Enjoy these 7 tunes as we reminisce all of the memories – both good and bad, for the past 11 months.

Primary ft. MEEGO, Suran – When I Fall Inlove

This mellow track from Primary is something I’d imagine myself listening to when I’m chilling at a café on my day off. His relaxing vocals combined with Meego and Suran’s soothing voices will surely melt your week’s worth of accumulated stress.

Another thing I like about this song is how there are a lot of interpretations you can get from it. If you read the English translation of the lyrics, you’ll simply think that it’s about how someone fell in love without them knowing.

But if you watch the music video, you will find different explanation from fans. The girl on the clip is asleep, which according to the comments represents her vulnerability and trust on the guy.

At the end, the guy finally falls asleep with her, which means he is finally reciprocating her feelings. Talk about happy ending!

iKON – Goodbye Road

iKON is known for releasing upbeat hip-hop songs so when they released this track, it was a breath of fresh air for their listeners. Just with the title alone, you’d already expect that it’s going to have a sad tune.

The lyrics are just as painful as the beat too, talking about bidding farewell to a former lover. But what’s good about Goodbye Road is that despite the bad memories they’re singing about, the boys are still wishing the other person to be careful and be happy in the future.

This comeback was a great opportunity to for iKON to flex their amazing vocals. And if that’s not enough to impress you, they also managed to convey the song’s melancholic message with their sleek dance moves!

george & Gang Haein – Something

I’m going to be honest, one of the reasons why I watched tvN’s 2020 drama “True Beauty” was because of ASTRO’s Cha Eun-woo’s visuals. Nevertheless, the talented cast are not the only thing that made me drawn to the show.

The series’ soundtracks were an added factor that kept my eyes (and ears!) glued to the screen. One of my favourite is the 4th OST, Something by George and Gang Haein.

The song starts with a bunch of English lyrics, so my first thought was it’s not going to be Korean, but I was proved wrong just a few seconds later. I think this is a very unique track since it is mellow, R&B with a little bit of hip-hop all in one.

Jeon Somi – XOXO

Tired of sulking after a bad breakup? Blast Somi’s “XOXO” in your speakers! In this song, the idol sings about taking back her other half that she gave to her ex. It’s the ultimate track for those who want to move on and forget about their past.

The music video is just as chaotic too, with Somi crashing a car, smashing things and “beating up” her former boyfriend. Make sure you don’t do this though! Violence is never the answer.

Instead, memorize the lyrics to this song and sing your heart out as you let go of everything.

Heize ft. DEAN, DJ Friz – And July

I first discovered Heize as a rapper when she joined MNET’s rap survival program “Show Me The Money” so I was surprised when she made a comeback with “And July” as she was mostly singing in the track.

DEAN, another artist that I love features in the song, so it’s an on repeat on my playlist even though it was released 5 years ago. In my own understanding, the duo is singing about a toxic love – something that you cannot leave even if you know everything is going bad.

If you watch the music video, you’ll get what I mean! Although Heize and DEAN are pulling annoying pranks on each other, they’re still sticking together.

IVE – ELEVEN

Let’s take a pause from breakup songs and tracks with sad meanings. Starship Entertainment’s newest girl group IVE made their debut yesterday with “ELEVEN”.

This upbeat song conveys the feeling of liking someone so much. We usually rate things with one to ten - 10 being the highest, but IVE is saying “You make me feel like 11”, meaning it’s already overflowing!

The group consists of 6 members, with two of them being a part of the temporary project group IZ*ONE in 2018. I can’t wait to see what these girls have in store for us in the years to come!

Hwa Sa – I’m a 화사

I’m still not over Hwa Sa’s hot song Maria, but she has once again released another banger “I’m a B”! Another song that brings out the #WomenEmpowerment side on you, MAMAMOO’s main vocal sings about being savage and cool.

Hwa Sa is also not afraid to create music that is out of the box. For this comeback, she even incorporated traditional instruments accompanied by a dance break.

It’s an amazing way to show appreciation to the Korean culture, which is rare for most K-pop releases.

That’s a wrap for our K-Music favourites for 2021! We hope you enjoyed all of our recommendations for the past months and that you’ll continue supporting us in 2022!