Nugu Alert November continues with another Kpopalypse Nugu Alert!  Let’s check out some more nugus!

It’s getting close to the end of the year, and of course I’m very busy in the process of sorting through all my favourite songs from 2021 and trying to put them in some kind of order of likey-likey-ability.  This bonus-sized edition of Kpopalypse Nugu Alert is just one to highlight certain nugu songs that I thought were really rather good, so I can work out where they might go in my shortlist and so they don’t miss out on a possible inclusion.  Will any of these songs get into the top 30, or even steal the #1 position?  I don’t know yet, I’ve still got about another 32465 songs to plow through and work out whether they’re ultimately worthy or not.  However all of the below definitely belong in the category of “this music doesn’t suck massive piles of dogshit, unlike most of the rest of what came out this year”, and furthermore, all of these songs are fairly mellow pop numbers that go at a slow pace, proving that Kpopalypse is not all about the “bops” only.  So if that sounds like your cup of hot milk, you may wish to take note of these songs.  Or not, if you think my music taste sucks balls.  But here they are anyway – your mileage may vary.

Usual rules apply:

• Less than 20,000 YouTube views on official channels just for this episode, we’re tightening the criteria and having no videos with over 1000 views!
• Unlikely to be invited to throw the first ball at your local sportball game
• Relevant to Kpopalypse

Let’s go!

 

---

 

Jiyul – Where Am I

Jiyul’s mellow track gets over the line where a lot of songs like this don’t, because it sounds like “Obscured By Clouds” era Pink Floyd instead of a copy of some awful R&B jam written by some rapist.  We know Jiyul was wholly responsible for this song too – check the massive flex on the credits at the end, Jiyul did nearly everything right down to her own styling and wants you to know.  Not that this isn’t normal for those with very nugu budgets anyway, but it’s good to have such a thing on written record, because it’s something you can show your annoying non-nugu k-pop loving friends the next time they rave on about their self-produced oppars.  The only thing we don’t know here is who cooked that pizza Jiyul is eating, but she does reply to YouTube comments so I asked her and hopefully by the time this post is published we’ll know that too.  My guess: Jiyul.

Youtube views at the time of writing: 578

Notable attribute: dangerous guitar-playing technique at 1:03 could leave Jiyul with serious injury – don’t lie down while playing guitar!

Nugu Alert rating: extreme

---

 

Maylily – Hot Milk

Maylily has a really nice song and also behaves like a very chilled-out happy-go-lucky person in the video, and for once, I believe that this isn’t an act.  After all, she replies with a simple “ok” to some incredibly rude vocalfaggot in the comments who has no business even leaving a comment at all, she must have a heart of gold given that she could have quite justifiably told this person to stab themselves in the throat and stop wasting oxygen.

So when she chuckles to herself as she inserts sugar cubes into her tea, or laughs while swaying gently with whoever the lucky guy is in the video with her, I believe that these are all spontaneous, non-scripted reactions caught in-the-moment and the cameras just happened to be there.  I know I’m probably full of shit, but the consequences of believing in the hype are a lot less negative when it’s some nugu artist with hardly any views, so don’t kill my vibe.

Youtube views at the time of writing: 373

Notable attribute: best sugar-hitting-bottom-of-cup sound effect in all of k-pop at 0:43

Nugu Alert rating: extreme

---

 

Johnny the Bluan – Self

I’m not sure about Johnny The Bluan’s decision to write and record most of this song’s lyrics in very confounding and awkwardly-phrased English, and I’ll always now wonder what it means to have ‘too many hakies’ (even reading up on the history of OnePiece’s Monkey D. Luffy didn’t help me decipher this line), I can only assume the Korean sections of the song make a little bit more sense.  However that’s really the only problem with this cruisy laid-back pop song.  Clearly a lot of effort has gone into making something musically good, and the visuals aren’t bad either – the retro feel, scan lines, bright colours and all-important series of boxes of random sizes arranged in front of a curtain all doing their part to make the visual package look like more than just someone singing a song in their bedroom.  It all comes across like a very shoestring-budget male version of “& New” and that’s not a bad place to be, even if he’s certainly got a way to go yet to get to that level (but then, who doesn’t).

Youtube views at the time of writing: 330

Notable attribute: searching for the origin of the “KIM NA” poster on his wall brought up this cross-eyed picture of Twice’s Nayeon – is it a sign?

Nugu Alert rating: extreme

---

 

Justinjune feat. Choi Soojung – Stars

A seriously good ballad featuring lots of ambience, lots of space in the mix, and some cool instrument choices, three things almost universally absent from the typical Korean ballad format, “Stars” has a criminally low viewcount given the high quality here and given the popularity of far worse ballads out there.  Even more sadly, the video on the group’s own channel had only TWO views when I last looked at it, so make sure you also click on that one, leave a comment and tell them I sent you. 

Hell, you can get two views just by watching your own video yourself a couple of times just to see if the transfer worked, so I guess I really was “first”.  We really need to boost these people folks.  This is another song where the accompanying video is being faked as shot on old equipment using filters, probably with considerable effort, so we should reward that.  I probably would have been happier to get a clearer image, but I also understand that it can sometimes be hard to look “pro” if you don’t apply something of some sort, so if nothing else subscribe to their channel or give them a like or something so they don’t feel like they wasted their time.

Youtube views at the time of writing: 162 + 2

Notable attribute: she’s even very attractive, why no views, is it magic or something

Nugu Alert rating: off the chart

---

 

That’s all for this episode – Kpopalypse Nugu Alert will return with more nugus at a future date!