K-Pop Round-Up: August 2023

August was a dreamy blend of summer songs, anthems, and dance tracks.

August started off strong, with releases from rookie standouts XEED, xikers, and The Wind, before all-out wowing us. While we eagerly anticipated the returns of EVERGLOW and NCT, we were pleasantly surprised along the way with new releases from PATTERN, Jeon Somi, STAYC, SECRET NUMBER, and more. Not to mention the debuts of SF9's HWIYOUNG, TWICE's Jihyo, RIIZE, n.SSign and LEO, to name a few.

Get ready to add some dreamy tracks and all-out anthems to your playlist! Here are our top 10 favorite new releases of the month for August 2023. If you don’t have time to read it all, scroll to the end to see what my top 3 recommendations are.

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XEED - BLUE

On August 1, XEED not only returned with new music but also a new lineup. With two new members, the now septet wowed fans with the easy-listening track, "BLUE," off their second mini album of the same name.

DPR IAN - Peanut Butter & Tears

DPR IAN made his grand return on August 4 with the bittersweet journey into adulthood, "Peanut Butter & Tears." The artistic track was accompanied by an even more artistic music video that includes anime stylings, lasers, and more.

THE BOYZ - LIP GLOSS

Catchy and albeit a little campy, THE BOYZ offered up "Christmas In August" with their latest title track, "LIP GLOSS." With the lyrics "I want to taste your lip gloss, Plumping candy you make it pop," it's hard not to get this song stuck in your head.

TAN - Heartbeat

It's hard to believe TAN is considered a "project group" with talent this massive. These wild idols captured hearts around the world on August 11 with their third mini album, TAN MADE [I], and its title song, "HEARTBEAT."

[EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW] TAN talks “TAN MADE [I],” Gush About SODA, In-N-Out, Future Goals, and More

BZ- BOYS - OUTLAW

Chrome Entertainment's underrated boy group, BZ-BOYS, returned to the K-Pop scene after over eighteen months on August 14 with their first mini album, OUTLAW, and its accompanying title track of the same name.

Jiyho (TWICE) - Killin' Me Good

On August 16, TWICE's main vocalist, Jihyo, made her solo debut with the song "Killin' Me Good." The upbeat, foot-tapping song went on to win its first music show win just nine days after its release on August 25 on KBS' Music Bank.

EVERGLOW - All My Girls

The wait was finally over for EVERGLOW fans on August 18. After what felt like an eternity (roughly one year and eight months to be exact), EVERGLOW proved they know how to "SLAY" with their fourth mini album, ALL MY GIRLS.

VANNER - Performer

Following their stint and subsequent win on JBTC's reality survival show, PEAK TIME, K-Pop group VANNER dominated their return to the scene with its first mini album, VENI VIDI VICI. The album sold over 100K copies in the first week, proving the group new newfound popularity.

NCT - Golden Age

Known for their NCT XXXX albums (NCT 2020 and NCT 2021), NCT returned with its fourth full album, THE GOLDEN AGE, on August 28 with the double title tracks "Golden Age" and "Baggy Jeans," the first of which was pre-released on August 23.

Kim Woojin - On My Way

After almost two years of concert tours, OSTs, and a Brazilian TV show, soloist Kim Woojin bounced back on August 30 with his second mini album, THE MOMENT: BOUNCE, and its lead title track, "On My Way."

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Be sure you listen to EVERGLOW's “SLAY,” BZ-BOYS' “Outlaw,” and VANNER's “Performer.”

I hope to “see” you next month for my September roundup of favorites.