K-POP HOTSPOT: January 2023 Comebacks And Debuts Roundup

Hello, honey bees who have a taste for the best honey, aka K-POP. It is time to start the year off with the first installment of your favorite THP feature – our K-POP HOTSPOT. January is the time for new beginnings, so let’s take a look back at what this month brought to us! A lot happened this last month, from debuts to 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 MONSTA X, SF9, LE SSERAFIM’s YUNJIN, ASTRO’s MOONBIN & SANHA, SMOOVLEE, GOT7’s YUGYEOM, NEWJEANS, DREAMCATCHER, CIGNATURE, GOT The Beat, TAEYANG, CHOI YENA, DREAMCATCHER, GOT7 JINYOUNG, TWICE, TXT, ONEWE, NCT127, and VIVIZ.

Before we do get completely into it, though, we have some things to talk about and share with you! First of all, Super Junior are finally giving us what we have been waiting for and that’s a documentary! And good news, we do not have to wait as Super Junior: The Last Man Standing is already out now and ready for you to stream! In more amazing news, Jackson Wang is taking his Magic Man Tour to the US – we had the chance to catch his London show and can’t wait for American fans to enjoy the *magic* as the entire tour is already sold out! But not only is the singer slaying the tour game, but he was also just named Louis Vuitton’s newest ambassador. Now that’s something to celebrate!

In other touring news, Kim Hyun Joong has finally announced his online and offline live concert called 2023 KIMHYUNJOONG CONCERT <MY SUN> for March 4th, in order to celebrate his third album, My Sun! You can get tickets here!

Okay, we are done, promise! Now, let’s get into many more amazing comebacks and debuts from January.

VIXX’s LEO, KEN, & HYUK

We didn’t realize we signed up for a crying session when we started listening to VIXX’s new single! Leo, Ken, and Hyuk have come together for a beautiful new song called ‘Gonna Be Alright,’ and it’s exactly what we Starlights needed to hear. We’ve missed VIXX so much, and ‘Gonna Be Alright’ reassures us that our love doesn’t go unnoticed. Their high notes and harmonies are truly healing.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT VIXX:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | YOUTUBE

ONLYONEOF’s NINE

OnlyOneOf is starting 2023 off strong with their next track on the be project: Nine’s solo song, ‘beyOnd.’ This smooth R&B track is about crushing on someone and trying to find the words to express your feelings. And the music video goes ‘beyOnd’ our every expectation! OnlyOneOf are kings of creating space for the LGBTQ+ community in K-Pop, and we simply cannot thank them enough!

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ONLYONEOF: 
 FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER | MEMBER TWITTER | WEBSITE | YOUTUBE

H1-KEY

How to celebrate one year since debuting? Well, H1-KEY decided to do it in the best possible way – with new music! The quartet gave us their wonderful mini-album, Rose Blossom, exactly one year after their debut, and we haven’t been able to stop listening to it since! To add to the catchy sounds of the whole release, we were also impressed with the music credits, and let us tell you why! First, we have DAY6’s Young K writing the lyrics to the title ‘Rose Blossom,’ then we have WJSN’s EXY not only writing, but also working on the composing of ‘Dream Trip.’ Keeping the hype up, we can’t not mention the ladies of H1-KEY themselves, who all added their own lyrics for the special ‘You Are My Key,’ a song for their precious fandom, M1-KEY. So sweet, isn’t it? Lastly, with this album, we got a remastered version of the group’s debut song, ‘Athletic Girl,’ which features member Hwiseo, who joined the group during their ‘Run’ era. There is no way you aren’t checking this out now, right? Go, go, go, you’ll thank us later.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT H1-KEY:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER

ILY:1

ILY:1 are back with their first mini-album, A Dream Of ILY:1, and we’re totally won over by their cute concept! These girls have such sweet and bright vocals, especially on the title track, ‘Twinkle, Twinkle!’ All of ILY:1’s b-sides on this EP are solid, and we can always appreciate the instrumental versions of each song. We’re already looking forward to their next no-skips comeback!

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ILY:1:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER | YOUTUBE

VERIVERY

We can’t believe we got to end 2022 with Verivery and start 2023 right back with them! The boys made a subtle comeback with their first D.I.Y single ‘It’s you,’ and our hearts just melted when we got to listen to this soothing ballad! Also, can the boys tell us where to get those cozy sweaters?

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT VERIVERY:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | WEBSITE | YOUTUBE

HENRY

Henry, AKA one of our favorite second-gen idols, is back with his newest single, ‘Moonlight!’ Henry’s soothing voice, the whistling notes, and the guitar instrumentals make this song so relaxing. The chorus is super catchy and easy to dance to, which is a quality we look for in tracks for our car playlist. And we don’t think there’s a more perfect song to blast on a late-night drive than this one!

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HENRY:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER | YOUTUBE

PRIMROSE

New year, new beginnings, and January really is one for the fresh, sensational K-Pop duo PRIMROSE! With their debut mini-album, RED MOON, and the title track ‘PRIMROSE,’ the girls are ready to take over the industry with talent and charisma. Just like how roses are as beautiful as they are dangerous, these two seem to have both covered. While ‘PRIMROSE’ carries out the powerful side of the duo, the side tracks give us a different insight into their sound, and we do like to see versatility. We guarantee, there is no song on this album that is a skip!

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PRIMROSE:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER | YOUTUBE

SUPER JUNIOR Yesung

Super Junior’s Yesung came back with a new studio album. Yes, ELF, we got a whole new 10 tracks from our vocal king! The title song is filled with beautiful harmonies and smooth guitar tones, which come together in a stunning way to make ‘Small Things,’ a pop ballad that stirs up such nostalgic emotions inside of us and makes us cry. But the rest of the album is just as good, as Yesung participated in composing and writing lyrics for ‘Beautiful’ and ‘Together,’ as well as writing lyrics for ‘4 Seasons.’ Is there anything this king can’t do?! Our favorite track, though, has to be ‘HO,’ which featured NCT’s Mark, because that’s just one of our favorite things ever!

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SUPER JUNIOR:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | YOUTUBE

LE SSERAFIM

LE SSERAFIM’s debut with ‘FEARLESS’ was iconic on so many levels, and we’re so grateful that we got to experience it all over again! The girls just made their Japanese debut with a new version of ‘FEARLESS’ that brings just as much energy and fierceness as the original. And of course, they also gave us a flashy music video that sees them tackling a sweet pastel theme, a regal courtyard, and a bold performance we would’ve done anything to get tickets for. We’re so grateful to the Fimmies for giving us an excuse to have multiple versions of ‘FEARLESS’ on all our playlists, and we’ll definitely have this on repeat alongside the Korean rendition!

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LE SSERAFIM:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER | YOUTUBE

BXB

If you remember the boy group TRCNG, you are about to see some familiar faces. Four members, who were also part of the APR PROJECT last year, got to make a new start this January! Along with one new addition, we now have the 5-member BXB, and we are absolutely supporting them! Their debut single, Intro: Flight and a new beginning, really gives a strong start to their career. As the title ‘Fly Away’ goes, “It’s time to fly / It’s time to run,” and we are confident these boys can reach high places with their music. They give us older K-Pop sound vibes and we are here for it with all hands up!

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BXB:
INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER | YOUTUBE

8TURN

Are you ready to scream the name of one of the newest boy groups in K-Pop? Try it with us, 8TURN!!! How did it sound? As catchy as their title track, ‘TIC TAC,’ maybe? Between the explosion of colors that the music video provides, and the blooming talent these boys have to offer, we can only look forward to how their careers will go. And if you like their sound and can’t wait to hear more, we recommend you check out their whole mini-album, 8TURNRISE. We get 4 additional songs on it, and if we had to name a favorite, we have to go with ‘Heartache.’ The way it just swept us in its gentle embrace, we can’t get enough of it!

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT 8TURN:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER | YOUTUBE

How did we make it through this month of bangers without collapsing, right? Are we ready for February’s comebacks to come at us in full force? Of course! What was your favorite comeback of January? Which one are you most excited about in February? Let us know in the comments below, or tweet us @TheHoneyPOP!

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