To my two or three readers, here’s the renowned philosopher Alyssa Edwards for y’all:

I was quite inactive here because life got in the way. It’s not K-Pop all the time over here, bitches!! The past two months had me focused on an application for a scholarship (although I’m quite sure how it would turn out but fingers crossed still) and my regular day job.

The working environment has been *whispers* pretty crappy, so it is quite a relief to have opportunities to travel especially with the kind of job that I have. For this one, we went to a place called the Turtle Islands. It’s in the southernmost tip of our country that you can already see parts of Sabah with the naked eye. Although getting there takes literally a day of air and sea travel (16 hours on the vast ocean, bish!), the experience was extremely eye opening – especially as to what goes on to the lives of our other countryfolk who are away from the metro as well as the impact of environmental integrity to our lives. Did you know that these turtles contribute to the air that we breathe and the water that we drink? And did you know that it is the people who live with these creatures that need more help than the turtles themselves?

A sea turtle hatches at least a hundred eggs a day and this hatchling is one of those released to the ocean

This is the first time I shared a personal photo here so hello y’all!!!!! This is in Taganak Island, one of the six islands in the Turtle Islands municipality.

Anyway, it’s not like I was totally on K-Pop hiatus because I am still on loop with the newest stuff and I’m pretty active on Twitter (WinWin stans, what’s good?!). I will have to admit that K-Pop has bored me until now, I mean not totally, but it isn’t picking up at this point for me unlike the previous years. Well, I do have a bunch of favorites though and that’s what this post is gonna be!!

EXID | Lady – I have been extremely vocal in Twitter about how Lady is my favorite K-Pop track of the year – so far. As a sucker for nostalgia, Lady really nails it for me. And EXID technically does not half-ass stuff so I know I’m gonna love it. This song has got me thinking though, this could have totally worked with A Pink! It’s basically their sound, just a little more grown up. Well, Korea likes their A Pink stuck in their 2013 sound so…

Pentagon | Shine – This is the second time I gave Pentagon a spin (the first one was Critical Beauty which was ok but forgettable) and I’m glad I did. At first, it will remind of Ikon’s Love Scenario (a song which I’m afraid to admit I liked, ugh) but Pentagon gives it their own spin with a mix of boy-next-door/nerdy charm in their performances. Also, Yanan’s “MAH BEYBEH” is so inescapable.

uWu intensifies!!!

Ha:tfelt | Pluhmm –  It makes me so happy as a WG fan to see The Artist Formerly Known As YeEun blossom into her own and create the music that she actually enjoys. Pluhmm (which is a fantastic pun) maybe a little too coffee shop for some but it is quirky at the right places. It kinda reminds me of Subin’s (of Dal Shabet) extremely underrated “Circle’s Dream”. Come through, indie K-pop gals!!!

Yubin | Lady – The “ladies” are really saving the industry this year, amirite?! I know that I was gonna love this one from the teasers alone because it is serving some Wong Kar Wai Hong Kong cinema realness! And boy, was I not disappointed. Just when you thought that the rapper Wonder Girl would go solo with a Unpretty Rapstar-ish track, she instead serves some 80s citypop diva in the tradition of their group’s immaculate Reboot! What a time to be alive!!!

TVXQ | The Chance of Love – The Rising Gods of the East never disappoint, whether as a quintet or a duo and that’s a fact. The Chance of Love may be a little subdued than their other releases but it still has this groove which makes your shoulders dance and do a slight but committed jam. I, for one, appreciate this fresher take on TVXQ so it’s a yes for me.

Loona yyxy | love4eva (with Grimes) – Unpopular opinion but it kinda takes time for me to get into a Loona song unless it is in the veins of Let Me In or Sonatine. That is why it is a shocker that I fell for love4eva on first spin. Aside from the fact that we all wanna find out where Grimes comes in, it is the resurgence of legendary producer e-Tribe that got me. They really resurrected the classic Gee sound (a sound JYP milked for IOI, btw) and added some twists like that bonkers dubstep break!! A remark from my fave K-pop blogger (s/o to @arcadeyblog off of Twitter best describes this song: “The Indie Gee”.

That’s about it! See, K-Pop has been slow, I told ya…BUT I won’t sign off without giving a nod to…

Hyolyn | Dally – Damn, this Sistar really went on and became !$IzTaH! and she obviously did that! Hyolyn clearly is in charge of this music and concept so you can’t help but be proud whenever you look at her!

How about you? What are your K-pop faves so far? Drop a comment and let’s talk. Follow me on Twitter as well @thepatbingsoo.