Hello, honey bees who have a taste for the best honey, aka K-POP. It is time again for the last installment of your favorite THP feature in 2022 – our K-POP HOTSPOT. December is the time to be jolly and January is the time for new starts but before we do that let’s take a look back at what is behind us! A lot happened this last month, from debuts to holiday comebacks and more, so this K-POP roundup is packed as per usual! Before we dive in, make sure to check out the comebacks we already covered, such as &TEAM, THE BOYZ, BTS RM, SHINee Minho, NCT DREAM, RED VELVET x aespa, NewJeans, STRAY KIDS, SVT VERNON, SMCU PALACE, WAYV, and ATEEZ.
Before we get into all of the amazing releases of the month let us highlight some of our favorites! First of all EVERGLOW and TheFatRat released the Korean version of their hit song ‘Ghost Light,’ which we thought couldn’t get any better (make sure you listen here). Furthermore, Jackson Wang never stops and while we are still trying to get over his album he just released a music video for the banger ‘Come Alive’ and we love it! Have you watched it yet? If not make sure you do here! And to ring in the Christmas season and one of our favorite trends C9 released their big Christmas collab song featuring their artists such as CIX, EPEX, and cignature! We love it so much, and you can, too, right here.
Pssst, come over here we have a secret tip for you! NEWBIES is a new boy group that is ready to debut on the scene in early 2023 and we already got to admire Lex, Hyunsik, Sing, Wain, Beomsoo, and Dongbin, as they starred in photoshoots for ELLE MEN HK, Men’s Uno HK, Harper’s Bazaar HK, and Cosmopolitan HK and boy, are we excited for this debut! We love the pre-debut promotions and have our eyes locked on these rookies! You can follow the boys here.
Okay, we are done, promise! Now, let’s get into many more amazing comebacks and debuts from December.
YEIN
After making her solo debut in January, Yein is back with a killer winter ballad ‘Bus,’ which is the perfect song to consume on the bus when you are stuck in traffic and need some soothing music to relax! We can’t wait for Yein to bring us more music in 2023!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT YEIN:
INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE
YOON JISUNG
You know we are always here for another Yoon Jisung single and even more so if he gifts us a holiday-themed song! We knew December would be filled with K-pop festive galore and ‘December 24’ is just the holiday ballad we needed. Jisung’s soft vocals have us swaying in love for this guy and the holiday cheer!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT YOON JISUNG:
INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE
SHINHWA WDJ
Santa heard our wish for a Shinhwa comeback this year! It’s been a long time coming, but we got a subunit debut with Shinhwa WDJ, AKA Minwoo, Dongwan, and Junjin! Their mini-album Come To Life is both nostalgic and refreshing. The title track ‘Flash’ is a groovy and catchy song about falling in love at first sight. And the b-sides are easily some of the most danceable songs we’ve heard all year. 2022 has been a year for legendary comebacks, and we’ll be replaying this EP well into the next year!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SHINHWA:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | YOUTUBE
CHOI SUHWAN
If you are a huge fan of the Produce series like us then you remember this one! Choi Suhwan is back and ready to start his solo career! First up is ‘Left on Read’ an R&B song about a boy who wants to develop a relationship from friendship to love and we felt that one! Being ‘Left on Read’ by someone you love is probably the worst feeling ever and we are going to overplay Suhwan’s song when we feel that way!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CHOI SUHWAN:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | YOUTUBE
WEEEKLY
One thing we will never get tired of every year is when K-Pop groups release holiday songs. Weeekly gifted us with their new holiday bop, ‘Happy Christmas,’ and it is just the thing we’ve been missing from our lives. It’s the perfect combination of Christmas cheer and Weeekly’s signature sound paired with a cute music video to warm our hearts. It’s a good thing we didn’t have to wait until Christmas to unwrap this present!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WEEEKLY:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | YOUTUBE
WEi
With December being the month of Christmas it was to be expected that we would be getting Christmas songs in abundance and ‘Gift For You’ is WEi’s version of a cozy Christmas. We approve as this makes for the perfect cozy sitting by the fireplace drinking hot cocoa jam and WEi sound extra good on this track! We loved this one.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CRAXY:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | YOUTUBE
NIZIU
We never knew we needed the bright and upbeat NiziU to tone it down and give us a moody, calm Christmas single but here we are with ‘Blue Moon.’ The track has the perfect amount of winter cozy vibes and NiziU’s vocals for us to overplay it all throughout the Christmas season. We can’t wait to see what’s next from the girls! (that Korean album is going to be so good!)
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT NIZIU:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER | YOUTUBE
SUPER JUNIOR
The veterans we all love and adore came back with the second volume of their album and it was a banger. If you always wanted a new winter-y ballad and a new workout bop on the side then SUJU definitely delivered that with The Road: Celebration. ‘Celebrate’ is a song that just instantly made us feel happy and soft when we watched/listened to it and ‘White Love’ is the b-side that stood out to us the most. Talk about a Christmas bop. This comeback was the perfect gift for Elfs all around.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SUPER JUNIOR:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | YOUTUBE
TEEN TOP CHUNJI
Teen Top’s Chunji has made his solo debut with his new single album Too Late, and it’s never too late to stan such a talent! The two tracks ‘Too Late’ and ‘Farewell’ are beautiful, heartbreaking ballads that are fitting for the winter. We can’t forget to mention that Chunji wrote the lyrics to both songs, dedicating them to those who will spend the season alone. His soft vocals are enough to make the cold weather more bearable, and we’re forever grateful.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TEEN TOP CHUNJI:
INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE
MIRAE
MIRAE came back to us last month to join in on the Christmas cheer and what a successful attempt it was in our book! ‘Snow Prince’ has so much upbeat fun energy and groove that we had to replay the song 3 times before we were able to move on. We really hope that 2023 is going to be an even better year for the boys since their music so far has been more than amazing!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MIRAE:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER | YOUTUBE
APINK CHOBOM
We can’t get enough of these wintry K-Pop ballads! Apink’s new subunit CHOBOM (Chorong and Bomi) is back with ‘You are the inspiration (I will give you all a reply),’ and it’s the type of song that touches your soul. Their duet is beautiful, and we can feel the love they’ve poured into this song just in time for the holidays.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT APINK:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | YOUTUBE
MAMAMOO MOONBYUL
Speaking of gifts, Moonbyul’s 30th birthday present to us this year is a special single album, aptly named The Present. The title track, ‘Present,’ is a funky song about celebrating your birthday with loved ones and sharing sweet memories. The b-sides ‘A Miracle 3 Days Ago’ and ‘Chemistry’ were also released on her birthday in previous years. It’s her third solo comeback this year, and we don’t have enough words to express our gratitude to Moonbyul for all the high-quality music she’s given us!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MOONBYUL:
INSTAGRAM
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MAMAMOO:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | YOUTUBE
SEORI
Seori came back to us after months with a holiday single that hit a bit differently. ‘Cinderella’ is Christmas but with an edge to it that makes Seori and her music so special. We love a good holiday-themed bad girl anthem – Seori never missed and 2023 is going to be her year!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SEORI:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | WEBSITE
VERIVERY
VERIVERY were one of the last ones to join the holiday cheer last month but it was more than worth the wait! ‘Christmas Day’ is a self-composed song by the boys and we really loved each and every second of it! What a successful Christmas release.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT VERIVERY:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | WEBSITE | YOUTUBE
DKZ
DKZ had the honor to finish off our K-Pop-filled 2022 with a nostalgic and beautiful message called ‘Forever.’ We have followed and loved this group for a while and hope their 2023 is full of luck and good things and will be getting emo while listening to ‘Forever’ until their next comeback!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT DKZ:
INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | TIKTOK | YOUTUBE
How did we make it through this month of holiday bangers without collapsing, right? Are we ready for the new year comebacks to come at us in full force? Of course! What was your favorite comeback of December? Which one are you most excited about in January? Let us know in the comments below, or tweet us @TheHoneyPOP!
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