Dear lovely readers!
Welcome back to Letters From Liz! I think I say this every time I write posts where I open up with “Welcome back to Letters From Liz”, but I will say it again; I really do miss these type of posts! It takes me back to my roots and gives you all an insight on the writer behind all the crazy stories posted on here.
Anyway, we are officially in July which means we are officially halfway into 2023! Although I’ve always been a big music listener (especially when it comes to the different playlists for each series on the blog), I feel like I’ve listened to a larger range of music this year than any other year since getting into K-pop a couple of years ago. The truth of the matter is that I’ve been straying away from K-pop as a music genre; not because I don’t enjoy it (I very much still do), but I have rediscovered my love for other genres of music, and honestly? It’s been so fun listening to new music and discovering new artists that have top tier discography.
With that being said, I think I can narrow it down to five albums (whether or not they were released in 2023) that I discovered so far in 2023 that I thought were literal masterpieces. So, without further ado, here’s my top five albums of 2023 (so far, of course).
5.) RAYE – My 21st Century Blues.
Sometimes, I have to thank my Spotify for recommending artists that they think I’ll like; sometimes it’s either I become obsessed with one of their songs or I go to the artist’s page and go down the rabbit hole of their discography. Raye is a prime example of that. Earlier this year, I was introduced to “Escapism.”; the song that I believe blew up on Tik Tok and kickstarted Raye’s place in mainstream music. I was introduced to her live performance version of this song and was instantly blew away at the lyricism and the way she used her voice. Her flow and lyrics in this song reminded me of spoken word poetry; the word placement and emphasis on certain words makes you really listen to what she has to say, and this song in a nutshell is heartbreaking. Yeah, it depicts the story of a woman dealing with a breakup, but it’s how she describes the emotions she is feeling as she deals with them. In the most simple way: it’s fucking real. The rest of her debut album also reflects that realism in sing-song rap lines and pretty instrumentals. She describes love and heartbreak and self-reflection in ways I think anyone who is going through the same things can relate to. Some of my favorites besides “Escapism.” is “Flip A Switch.”, “Worth It.” and, oof, “Oscar Winning Tears.” Her album definitely tells a sequential story, which is one of my favorite things an artist can do in their album.
4.) Qveen Herby – MUSE
Maaan, I love this bitch. For those who may recognize this singer, she was once the singer in the couple-duo, Karmin, nearly a decade ago where their song, “Brokenhearted” took the top 40 charts by storm back in 2013. While her husband is now working behind the scenes of the music, Qveen Herby has rebranded herself and her music to be more rap and hip-hop heavy (which is no surprise considering she was known for her rap cover of “Look At Me Now” and slayed the Busta Rhymes rap). Anyway, Qveen Herby has been making music under this persona for years now, so when I first heard “THANK GODDESS” (again, through a playlist Spotify created according to the music I was already listening to), I was hooked. One thing about Qveen Herby’s music is that it’s always empowering. She’s always putting out music that talks about self-love and literally being the baddest bitch you can. She’s always talking about having good and positive energy in ways that are clever, lyrical, and never alike to the rest of her songs. Plus, it’s so fun! So when she released MUSE this year, it was no surprise that this album made me feel good in my skin and confident in myself. Besides “THANK GODDESS”, I also enjoy “5D”, “MARIE ANTOINETTE”, and “DRESS CODE”. Like the beats in these songs are so sick.
3.) Beyonce – RENAISSANCE
Yes, I know this album came out in 2022, but I’m always late to the Beyonce train! Little by little, I’ve listened to the songs on this album and man, Beyonce knows how to put together an album! I know I don’t have to get into detail about this album since everyone and their mom has probably heard this album by now, but Beyonce’s approach to this specific genre of music was tastefully surprising yet felt very much like Beyonce in a sense. We heard this shift in her music when she released “BREAK MY SOUL” ahead of the album being released, which left a lot of us excited to hear what else she had in store regarding new music. Unpopular opinion here: I’m not the biggest Beyonce fan, but I understand that her artistry is truly untouchable, and her music reflects that without her even really trying! Of course, “ALIEN SUPERSTAR” had me in a chokehold late last year, but some of my other favorite songs on the album include “VIRGO’S GROOVE”, “PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA”, “CUFF IT”, and recently: “PURE/HONEY”. I don’t have much to say about a Beyonce album besides the fact that she knows how to curate a perfect album, while experimenting with different genres yet still have that Beyonce flare. Sis knows what she’s doing.
2.) WOODZ – OO-LI
Spoiler to what can be #1: This is the only K-pop album on this list. It’s funny; although WOODZ is presented as a K-pop soloist, I’ve always listened to his music and never felt like I was listening to K-pop. It could be because I discovered WOODZ when he was Cho Seungyoun, a member of the short-lived K-pop boy group, X1, and when his discography prior to that being mainly K-rap and K-R&B. I will say that his first two mini albums as WOODZ was probably the most K-pop sounding music he’s made, but most of his discography isn’t your typical K-pop soloist sounding music. This album is a prime example of that. WOODZ’s Fifth Mini Album, OO-LI, comes out from an entertainment agency that isn’t truly known to the public as a huge K-pop music distributor. As a matter of fact, there’s only a handful of artists currently under the newly founded agency. But that doesn’t change the fact that WOODZ knows how to orchestrate a no-skip album. This album is no different. The album is very K-rock heavy, which I personally think is the best genre for WOODZ, only because there’s been so many K-artists and groups that have tried out the genre in their own concepts and albums, yet not many in my opinion have felt authentic. WOODZ’s rendition of the genre is raw, personal, and emotional, and it wasn’t a surprise that the first listen through of this album had me in literal tears. While I don’t completely love “Journey” as the album’s title track, it’s still such a beautiful K-rock song that truly takes you on a journey, for lack of a better word. My all-time favorite song of 2023 (so far) comes from this very album: “Drowning”. This gut-wrenching song takes you on a roller coaster of thoughts, emotions, and the vocals in this song does not help with any of it! It just makes you hurt even harder. I will hands down say that WOODZ has one of the best voices in the K-music industry; he is able to change it to fit whatever genre he is going for, and he is able to hit notes so high, it feels surreal to even hear. Some of my favorite songs on this album are “Drowning,” “Who Knows”, “Ready to Fight”… honestly the whole album.
1.) Kelly Clarkson – chemistry
No, this isn’t a biased choice since I’ve been a Kelly Clarkson fan since her American Idol days and I was just an eight-year-old girl. I was actually worried that I grew out of Kelly Clarkson and her music since her music direction have changed to cater to her own liking and her older age. When she began releasing her songs one by one before the actual album release, I was starting to see the vision of what this album was to her. This album is strictly her divorce album. She sings through the stages of it all; anger, grief, acceptance, healing, moving forward. You don’t have to have had a messy divorce on your own to relate to the messages Kelly sings about in this album. I find myself relating a lot to some of her songs on this album, and some I just can totally feel and understand the pain and heartache that she has gone through within the last year. Do I think it’s Kelly’s best album? No. Do I think this album has exceeded the expectations following her return to music? Absolutely. I think this album showcases where Kelly is currently in her career and where she plans on going regarding her music in the future. Some of my favorite songs on the album include “favorite kind of high”, “me”, “high road”, “magic”, “skip this part”, and in my opinion the gut-wrenching song on the album, “lighthouse”.
I’m interested to see what my top 5 favorite albums will end up being by the end of the year! I feel like some of these will not change, but hey – you never know.
See you in December with the final listing of 2023!
Letters From Liz. 