Towards the end of August, I started getting that feeling that it was time for a new YouTube Music Recap. And for once, I was dead on the money! The June-August Recap (aka the Summer Recap) dropped on August 28, a Wednesday.
While I usually enjoy going into great depth with these recap summaries, I decided to shorten things up for now. I feel like I’ve waited too long to finish this, and now the summer is over. I hope to come back and fill in the details later.
Overview
From June to August, I listened to YTM for 4,166 minutes. That’s 503 minutes fewer than in the spring period. I think it dropped because every pair of headphones I owned died at the same time. The aux cord for my Beats headphones crapped out again, and then my Rainbow Shoelace Earbuds went out in one ear. It definitely limited my listening habits towards the end of August. I’ve since acquired the e-Circuit Sports Earbuds.
- Top Genre – 49% (down from 53% in the spring)
- Top Musical Mood – Dramatic 33% (same as before)
- Top Playlist – N/A
Top Summer Artists
My Top Artists are almost entirely different from before. The only remaining artist is NCT 127, who move up from second place to the top slot.
Things have been rough for the Ilichils this year, with two members entering the military and another member permanently exiting the group due to his own disgusting behavior. Between their hardships and heartaches, however, they still managed to release one hell of an album with Walk. I have complete confidence that they’ll pull through everything just fine.
Most of the other artists have graced the list at some point before. WayV, who comes in at #2, last ranked on the Winter 2024 (Jan-March) Recap as my #4 artist. Meanwhile, Seventeen and Enhypen, who are at #3 and #4 respectively, both ranked during the Summer 2023 season—Seventeen as my #2 Top Artist and Enhypen with my #5 Top Track “Bite Me.”
The only new artist is aespa at #5, who are the first girl group to rank here.
Top Summer Albums
This season’s collection of albums is unique for two reasons.
First, there’s an album from a girl group in the top spot: aespa’s Armageddon. The highest spot a female artist has reached before now was Heize’s Last Winter at number three during the Winter 2024 (December to February) period.
What a successful first full album! I’m talking about hit after hit. While my favorite overall track is the sultry “Mine,” the true battle is between Armageddon‘s singles. Which do I prefer, “Supernova,” the pre-release single, or “Armageddon,” the album’s title track? Personally, I like both songs. They’re like two sides of the same coin. One is a fun, sassy pop song; the other is an edgy, hip-hop/pop song. I think I listen to “Supernova” slightly more. It’s so catchy! Congratulations and thanks to them!
Second, there are two albums from a single group on the list: WayV’s Give Me That (June 2024) and The Highest (August 2024). I’m pretty sure that has never happened before either. I even received a badge for being one of their Top Listeners in August.
WayV has really been in their bag these last few months. Give Me That is a solid album, with a string of quality songs that I like. I probably watched every single live performance of “She A Wolf.” But I feel like the EP lacks one memorable standout. In contrast, The Highest, their first Japanese EP, totally blew me away! They skillfully adopt that instantly recognizable rock-influenced J-Pop style without compromising the trademark NCT sound. The track “Deep Ocean” has become one of my favorite WayV songs of all time.
Here are the rest of my top albums:
- Armageddon – aespa
- Walk – NCT 127
- The Highest – WayV
- Give Me That – WayV
- ROMANCE: UNTOLD – Enhypen
Top Summer Tracks
Like my Top Artist list, my Top Track list is totally different except for one entry: NCT Dream’s “Smoothie.” It drops from first place to fourth.
Here’s the full list:
- “Walk” – NCT 127
- “Maestro” – Seventeen
- “Red Sun” – Xikers
- “Smoothie” – NCT Dream
- “XO (Only If You Say Yes)” – Enhypen
NCT 127’s “Walk” is my top song. It’s the lead single from their album of the same name. The lyrics, in my interpretation, speaks to the unit’s longevity: “I’m a bit rusty, a bit dusty/I walk like I forgot how to” and “Walking squeaky like I’m broken.” They’ve been around for nearly a decade. Most of the members are closer to 30 than to 20 now. In a youth-obsessed industry, there are plenty of trolls who call them hags or irrelevant. Here, they’re saying that even though they’re not shiny rookies anymore, their wealth of experience is invaluable. Groups today are copying stuff they did years ago while 127 continues to set trends. Don’t underestimate them.
They released several videos for the song. Each version is cooler than the last. My favorite is the “Movement” performance because they look very dapper in those oversized suits and they beat the hell outta that choreo, though the Studio AZeed version, which takes place in a subway car, is more loose and fun.
Conclusion
So, that was my Summer 2024 Recap. I’m proud of myself for having expanded my musical taste a little bit, though I could clearly stand to listen to more girl groups. This is a reoccurring problem for me.
There seemed to be a lot of overlap happening between the artists, albums, and songs too. I take that as a sign that these artists have stepped up their game by putting out quality albums full of amazing songs. Can’t go wrong with that!
Next up, I expect to see my Fall Top-Played playlist appear sometime in mid-November and my 2024 Recap shortly thereafter.
Photo Credit: “Orange Wireless Headphones and Delivery Box.” @ Michael Kim from baseimage via Canva.com