Hi all! I'm not sure who's still here and following me but I'm sorry it's been literally YEARS since I've updated anything. Life's definitely gotten in the way and it's been so long I fell out and back into kpop haha.

As a 2nd gen stan it was hard to see my beloved groups disband or go inactive indefinitely. I'm still a SONE of course and supporting all their individual activities (& Jessica's ofc!) but I had a little musical identity crisis my freshman yr at uni and stopped listening to kpop for a year. At that time I went back to listening to my main English artists like Panic!, Arianna Grande, Troye Sivan etc. The weird thing was my break from kpop made me really miss it...

Falling back into kpop felt like coming home after a long trip. I'd personally like to thank Red Velvet and Mamamoo for bringing me home LOL

After the break, I only listened to the artists I liked before (SNSD, Sistar, EXO, Super Junior etc) and didn't feel like branching out. That was until I was recommended a video of Yoona dancing to RV's Power up with Seulgi. I enjoyed the video bc it showed how quickly Yoona picked up the choreo and how she was still proud to be an SNSD member. I didn't really care for the sound of Power up and stupidly thought all of RV's songs sounded like that. Around that time, BTS and Blackpink were blowing up and all of a sudden kpop became mainstream (I personally don't count the Gangnam style era as making kpop mainstream- to me it put kpop on the map to the gp but didn't have enough broad exposure). Some of my friends at uni were REALLY into BTS and Blackpink so I listened and indulged in their sing alongs/ impromptu dances. I like BTS's older songs like Spring Day but newer songs like ON don't really appeal to me as much. I appreciate them and their impact but for some reason I don't stan them? There was a time that I would've considered myself a Blink; I watched all of Blackpink house, their netflix documentary, and endless amounts of fanmade videos on youtube. This all changed when RV release Psycho.

My infatuation with BP quickly moved on to RV. I really vibed with their more velvet tracks but there was something so whimsical and intriguing about their red tracks. I was so refreshed by their versatility, duality, and creativity. Plus the ominous undertones and fan theories behind the mvs were so chilling. I fell fast for each member (so soft for besties wenseul) and love their family-like dynamic. Naturally, I watched too many fan vids and every season of their Level up project. My heart was so full...until I saw hip

Yes yes, Mamamoo's hip came out before RV's Psycho but I stupidly didn't pay it any mind...that is until it kept popping up on those kpop ranking chart videos on fb. Hip had come out over a month before Psycho but it was still charting really well. Curiosity finally got the best of me and before I knew it I had yet again fallen into another rabbit hole. I already knew Moonbyul since Seulgi collaborated with her in Sellfish. I knew Hwasa for her amazing confidence and stage presence. I heard of Solar and already knew she pole danced for some reason LOL The only member I didn't know anything about was Wheein (who's my ult bias now!). But unbeknowst to me, I was already knew and liked You're the best and Egotistic since they were recommended on Spotify. After watching hip, I watched their other title mvs and instantaneously fell in love with Windflower. Windflower has such a timeless, versitile impact that I've listened to on good days, long commutes, post breakups, etc. I honestly still can't get over that song (plus the mv is breath taking)! I could prattle on and on about all their songs/mvs but I must mention AZE gag, Taller than You, Recipe, Waggy, and Sleep in the Car are SO funny to me; no one's doing it like them.

I learned really quickly after delving into their solo works that Wheein's style suits me best (Easy is always on repeat) but I really admire how each member is a true artist and is able to express themselves really well individually. Despite this, their teamwork is S-tier. HARMONIES! HELLO! Even non-musically, their personalities mesh really well to the point where even their jokes riff off each other so naturally. Watching them just feels like a tornado of fresh air in such a plastic industry- they're confident in their abilities (always live, effortless, technically advanced, write&compose their music) as well as their personalities, hilarious with the idgaf vibe, stand up for what they believe in, and are so caring to their fans (sign language, subs&vibrating lightstick for hearing impaired fans). Def a lot of gram errors and run-ons in this since I'm just letting my stream of consciousness run LOL

But yeah I love them so much that I made a twitter, bought a couple albums, attended the Travel online fanmeet and have been monitoring each comeback/ staying up til 5am for each mv release since hip (Spit it Out, Absence, Maria, Wanna Be Myself, Dingga, AYA, Redd). There's no turning back now!

I also watched Queendom to appreciate the performances and found myself admiring the other groups (they don't hit the same as Mamamoo tho). Resolutely, the floodgates have opened and I've found myself enjoying many different artists from all generations. 

TLDR:

I'm older, I love kpop again and now LOVE Mamamoo as strongly as I loved SNSD back in the day. If I get inspired, maybe expect a one shot or two about them ;)