Although it’s only been about five months since I posted my Top Songs for 2022, I’m back again with the results from my 2023 YouTube Music (YTM) Winter Recap. Let’s take a look at what I’ve been listening to from December 2022 to February 2023 (aka “Winter”) on my primary music service.
Overview
My Winter Recap popped up in YTM at the end of March. Here are my stats:
So far, I’ve listened to music on the service for 4,797 minutes, or basically 80 hours. That’s already more than half the total amount of time I listened last year.
I’ve definitely been using YTM a lot lately. As I mentioned in my tutorial, Freegal doesn’t have quite as much stuff as it used to because several record labels aren’t involved with the library service anymore. On top of that, a lot of my favorite artists have switched to record labels that aren’t affiliated with Freegal either. Therefore, I can’t get a lot of the new albums and songs that I probably would have been able to get in the past. My only options are to borrow them from hoopla or stream them.
On the positive side, I’m finally learning how to make my personal music library and my music services work together. They don’t have to be completely separate entities.
Top Winter Artists
My Top Winter Artists haven’t changed much since the end of last year. NCT 127 is still at #1 and WayV is still at #2. NCT Dream and NCT U are both still on the list, though they have swapped places again, with the former at #4 and the latter at #3 now.
The #5 artist has changed too. Just as SuperM gave way to Stray Kids in that slot last year, Stray Kids has given way to Tomorrow X Together. I listened to the group’s golden oldies a lot while I was waiting for their newest EP, The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION, to come out.
Top Winter Tracks
My Top Winter tracks are very accurate.
#1 – “Phantom” (Wayv)
“Phantom” has dominated my life since it came out in December. I’ve watched the Phantom of the Opera-themed music video a million times. The Visions look like expensive vampire lords.
And the song is so deliciously goth, both sexy and creepy. Yangyang, Hendery, and Winwin whisper-rap in their deepest voices, while Kun, Ten, and Xiaojun serve dramatic vocals against rhythmic drums, soaring strings, and operatic singing. I love it! Now if only they would drop the English version of the song.
#2 – “Black On Black” (NCT)
“Black on Black” came out in 2018, way before I became an NCTzen. At some point I discovered the music video on YouTube and I couldn’t stop watching it. It’s fascinating.
I’d never seen all of the NCT members perform together like that (I didn’t know about “Resonance” then either). The choreography is intricate and impressive. Everybody’s hitting the steps dead on. Every time I watch it, I feel so proud of my guys. The song itself isn’t bad either. It bangs just as hard without the visuals.
#3 – “Ay-Yo” (NCT 127)
“Ay-Yo” is the lead single from their 2 Baddies repackage album of the same name. “Ay-Yo” is a fantastic song. It’s not as in-your-face as “2 Baddies,” but it doesn’t lack in danceability or edginess.
There’s a lot of good stuff going on: Jaehyun’s smooth rhymes (I especially like the way he says “Ay-yo” after every verse), Jungwoo and Doyoung’s steamy bridge duet, Mark’s extra fancy footwork, and Taeil’s increased lines/screen time. And as always, all of the guys look great. Haechan in heavy black eye liner and blue contacts almost ended me!
#4 – “Sugar Rush Ride” (Tomorrow x Together)
Honestly, I wasn’t really feeling “Sugar Rush Ride” on the first listen. The start of the first verse was very light, very dreamy, very pop. Not bad, but it wasn’t grabbing me.
Then that chorus hit. The whole flavor of the song flipped the second they said, “The Devil said…” and that slamming bass kicked in. All of a sudden, the guys were gasping and sighing and singing stuff like “Gimme gimme more.” I wasn’t expecting all of that. My face practically caught on fire. But I was sold. By the end of the song, I couldn’t stop singing the “Sugar rush rush” part. A job well done!
#5 – “Virus” (VICTON)
Even though I hadn’t clicked with VICTON’s music in the past, I decided to try their latest single “Virus” when it popped up as a YouTube recommendation. Oh, they got me good this time!
Right away, that melancholy melody pulled me in. It’s another toxic love anthem where they’re literally comparing their relationship to having a virus. Maybe not the most appropriate analogy in this pandemic era, but it works.
My only complaint is the rap break. It has good lyrics and a fire delivery, but it’s either unnecessary or it occurs at the wrong time. I’m not sure which. Still a wonderful song.
Top Winter Albums
My Top Winter Albums aren’t quite what I expected, but I can’t argue with the results either.
#1 – Phantom (WayV)
Since my top song is “Phantom,” it makes sense that my Top Winter Album is WayV’s entire Phantom EP. This comeback had a million setbacks. It was seriously frustrating.
But when the album finally dropped, it was well worth the wait. I played the hell outta those six new songs. There are several hip-hop-influenced bangers with a couple of heart-squeezing break-up ballads mixed in. My favorites besides the title track are “Bounce Back” and “Good Life.”
#2 – REASON (MONSTA X)
I was waiting with bells on for this MONSTA X EP when it came out in January. I listened to it on YTM several times after it was released. Eventually, I was able to download it from Freegal, which was a happy surprise given that the last few MX albums haven’t been available on the service.
I love almost every song. “Beautiful Liar” brings the same fire as their previous singles such as “Rush Hour,” “Follow,” and “Fantasia.” I knew within the first few notes that it was about to go down! As usual, my dudes did not come to play. I really like the music video too. Their red leather outfits are fresh! Meanwhile, “Daydream” and “Deny” are the top standouts for me.
#3 – SKZ-REPLAY (Stray Kids)
Stray Kids makes an appearance with their album SKZ-REPLAY in third place. It’s on the list not because I played the overall album so many times, but because I played the album several times in small chunks as I tried to get through all 25 tracks.
Admittedly, I’m not sure if I ever finished it. My attention tends to wander when albums have over 10 tracks (apologies to Beyoncé’s Renaissance and SZA’s SOS for the same reason). I’m gonna have to revisit that one.
#4 – 2022 Winter SMTOWN album (Various Artists)
I’ll always have fond memories of this album because of the SMCU Palace concert that streamed on YouTube on New Year’s Eve. For about three hours, my favorite SM artists performed their biggest hits. The best part was that different generations of those artists also formed units and made some great songs together, which are featured on the album and were performed during the concert.
My top songs are the doo-wop-y “Time After Time” (BoA + Winter and Ningning from aespa) and the midtempo pop hit “Priority” (Max Changmin from TVXQ + Taeyeon from Girls’ Generation + Winter). Both units showed up and showed out!
#5 – CANDY (NCT Dream)
Despite being a December baby, I’m not a big fan of K-Pop Winter/Christmas albums. The songs tend to be very cheesy and overly cheerful. Ugh! Leave it to the Dreamies to change my mind.
Their “Candy” remake is a catchy and cute song that suits their youthful image well. The song on the album that truly captured my heart, however, is “Moon.” I love a good Dream ballad where everyone sings. They harmonize beautifully together. It gives me the same chills and tears as their other ballad, “Teddy Bear.”
Top Winter Playlists
YTM also provided stats for my Top Winter Playlists. It’s kind of a weird category for me because I don’t build or listen to playlists based on moods or themes like the average person. I use them for easier access to certain songs/albums and to remind me of what I want to buy next.
#s 1 and 2 – NCT Vids and NCT Faves
My top two playlists are focused on NCT. One is a playlist that I made for my favorite NCT music videos and performances. The other one is an audio playlist of my favorite NCT and NCT-related songs.
# 3 – OOO
My third Top Winter Playlist is an audio playlist that I made for OnlyOneOf, a new-to-me guy group. Although I absolutely adore OOO now, I was initially skeptical of their highly sexual image. Don’t get me wrong—I’m all for adult themes, but in my experience, pretty faces, six packs, and guy-on-guy action can be used as distractions for mediocre music.
Thankfully, this does not apply to OOO. When I looked past their tantalizing visuals, I discovered nothing but amazing songs. Nary a skip in their whole discography, in fact. I collected several of their albums from Freegal, but the service was missing most of their earlier releases. I made the YTM playlist to familiarize myself with those songs.
#s 4 and 5 – TXT Faves and Presenting Tomorrow x Together
The other two playlists on the list are based on Tomorrow X Together. The playlist at #4 contains all of my favorite TXT songs, while the one at #5 is a music video compilation that YTM made.
Top Winter Genres
For the first time, I got a breakdown of the different genres I listened to. My top genre is K-Pop at 90%. Next there’s Korea R&B/Soul/Ballads and Pop Music at 3%. Then at 1%, there’s Electronic dance music and Korean ballad.
I would really like to know which songs belong to these categories. To my knowledge, I haven’t listened to any electronic dance music. Also, what’s the exact difference between K-Pop, Korea R&B/Soul/Ballads, and Korean ballad? Maybe they’re just trying to make me feel better about only listening to K-Pop. Presented like this, it looks like I listen to a far greater variety of stuff.
Favorite Live Performance
Once again, YTM reports that NCT 127’s “2 Baddies” is my favorite live performance.
I still don’t know what that means, or which performance they’re referring to. Oh well.
I’ll see you in the Spring!
Header Photo © “Wireless Headphones on Brown Silk Fabric” @ Julia Malrowska from baseimage via Canva.com