Hi everyone! It’s time for the K-pop monthly highlights for September. Unfortunately, making this listing took a lot of work this month, and I struggled to develop this blog post. So, that’s why it is coming so late. Also, I had my upcoming song under work, and September was a busy month for me with hobbies, work and life generally. My new song, “Ancient Waves”, has a pre-save link and will be released on the October 25th! It is a house track, so check it out if interested. I appreciate it a lot; thank you!

The songs I picked here stood out for me for different reasons, and I enjoyed listening to them a lot. Below, you can read my review of this month’s K-pop highlights. This is a personal opinion, and you can find more K-pop I enjoyed in September from my Spotify playlist.

So, let’s see the K-pop monthly highlights for September! 😊

K-pop Monthly Highlights September 2023: Month of debuts and veterans

ONEUS “Baila Conmigo” (EP, RBW Inc.)

ONEUS, the boy group with multiple musical styles and concepts, returned with a Latin-reggaeton-styled song, “Baila Conmigo“, in September. This song has a beautiful melody and a delicate mood, which is slightly melancholic. ONEUS’s vocals are excellent, as always! ONEUS’s songs on the new EP, “La Dolce Vita,” are melodic and calm. “Simulation” and “Epilogue” are pleasant to listen to, as they are calming and have an organic sound. 

ONEUS’s vocals are excellent, as always!

Noora

This is already their 10th mini-album, and the concept of this new album is a “mermaid prince”, which sounds cool to me! You can see this concept on the mini-album cover and “Baila Conmigo” music video, with the mermaid colours, green-blue, and glittery details. The dance choreography looks fun! You can find my live concert review of ONEUS from last year on my blog when they attended the HallyuPopFest in London.

EVNNE “TROUBLE” (EP, Jellyfish Entertainment)

A new boy group, EVNNE, debuted with their first mini-album called “Target: ME”. The title track is a song full of energy called “TROUBLE“. The group members were in the reality television competition “Boys Planet, ” aired last spring. “TROUBLE” is an upbeat dance track with a strong K-pop feel. 

The song’s chorus starts with a dance break in the music video as it progresses to the chorus melody. Despite its strong K-pop boy group concept, this track sounds fresh among current K-pop songs. The track sounds cool! The group’s name is “Evening’s Newest Etoiles”: ‘etoiles’ meaning stars in French.

RIIZE “Get A Guitar” (EP, SM Entertainment)

Another new boy group, RIIZE, released their first single, “Memories” in August 2023. Now RIIZE is back with a groovy pop song, “Get A Guitar“, with retro synth and funky guitar sounds like the 80s. Even though I am over the retro concepts, here it is done with a good melody and beat, making it a really catchy song! The chorus is the best part of this song, with the beautiful melody and harmonies. 

Also, the music video has retro vibes with the haircuts and the scene settings and production. RIIZE has former members of NCT and new debuting members. I found a fun guitar tutorial from Youtube for this one on the channel called “Best Easy Covers“, so you can get your guitar and play this song 😊 The guitar solo sounds fun!

EL7z Up “CHEEKY” (EP, APPLEMONSTER)

EL7z is a project girl group formed through the ‘Queendom Puzzle’ Mnet’s television reality show, which aired during the spring to summer of this year. This group is a total supergroup with members from girl groups such as Lovelyz, WJSN, H1-Key, Purple Kiss, Rocket Punch, CLC and Woo!ah!. So, they have a lot of experience and talent in this group! 

EL7z’s first EP is called “7+UP”. The title track is a melodic and upbeat cheery song, “CHEEKY“. The music video is also colourful and energetic. I love the repeating of the “cheeky, cheeky…”. It is so catchy. Also, the melody of the chorus is very memorable, making this one of the highlights for September.

Lee Chae Yeon “LET’S DANCE” (Single, WM Entertainment)

Solo artist Lee Chae Yeon released her single “LET’S DANCE“, an upbeat pop song with a rockabilly beat or vibe in some parts, making this song fun. This song also has a great melody in the chorus in the first part, and it’s so catchy. Lee Chae Yeon’s last song, “KNOCK“, was released last spring, and this was also a great song with a great catchy chorus.

The music video is bright and fun, with ballerina and street dance themes. As the song’s title, there are many different dance styles in the music video. Lee Chae Yeon is a former member of Iz*One, formed on the television survival show “Produce 48”, and thus a project group.

Summing Up September K-pop Highlights

So, here are my highlights for the September! What were your favourite K-pop songs from this month? It is slowly getting colder in my home country, Finland. We have had a warmer autumn this year, which has been nice. But soon, it is time for the sweater weather! 😊 

We also had a K-pop concert in my hometown. B.I did a live gig in Helsinki for his first European tour. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the tickets as they sold out again, like solo artist Sunmi’s concert last year. It is tricky because we need concert venues for these sized artists. The concerts get sold out in minutes. But I am happy for all who got the tickets and had the opportunity to get to the concert!

I hope you are having an amazing October and be inspired and happy! 😊