BAYOG Playlist| Minty’s Holiday/Winter Playlist

Hihi friends!~ Minty here! The holiday and winter season is upon us~ Winter is one of my favorite times of the year. Mostly since it’s no longer hot AF (damn the South for being hot 90-95% of the year). It’s also a great time for me to kick it back with some peppermint mocha or peppermint hot cocoa~ I love listening to fun songs that remind me of the holidays, and also just ballads that remind me of winter in general. Sometimes it’s happy and festive songs, and other times it’s pretty heartbreaking ballads that go with the cold winter. Anyway, I thought I’d share some of the songs I like listening to for the holiday and winter season~

I also made a Spotify playlist with many, many more songs~ [LINK] You’ll find I’ve got lots of different songs from Korean, Japanese, English; As well as different genres and moods~ What are some of your favorite holiday and winter songs?~

TTS | Dear Santa
If you guys didn’t know, I’ve been K-Pop trash for yearssssssss. One of my favorite groups will always be 소녀시대/Girls’ Generation (aka SNSD). Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Seohyun formed a subunit at TaeTiSeo, or TTS. In 2015 they released a holiday themed EP. “Dear Santa” was the title track. It’s kind of weird cuz it’s almost like two songs put in one. I absolutely love the beginning part of “Dear Santa”. It’s this really beautiful and sad sounding R&B ballad. The rest (and I guess real part of the song) is a very upbeat and Christmas-y sounding song. I like both parts, but I love the R&B ballad part the most. I’m kind of sad that it was so short. I honestly wished there was a longer version of it. An English version of the song was also included in the album, and there’s a MV for that as well. The MVs are cute and fun, and the girls look absolutely stunning.

TTS| 겨울을 닮은 너 (Winter Story)
“Winter Story” is from the same EP as “Dear Santa”. I love my fun songs, but I also adore sweet and acoustic ballads.

Tiffany Young| Peppermint
Tiffany from SNSD did leave the SM Entertainment label. However, she’s still a part of SNSD. She’s originally from California, so she moved back to the States to pursue acting school. Now she’s pursuing a solo career under the name Tiffany Young. She’s aiming to show a different side from “Tiffany of Girls’ Generation”, and trying to show more of her (Her birth name is Stephanie Young Hwang). She recently released a Christmas track called “Peppermint”. I like it. It’s got this very chill R&B vibe to it. It’s definitely some nice music to play in the background.

John Legend x Wendy (Red Velvet)|Written in the Stars
John Legend released a duet track with Wendy of Red Velvet. It’s a really sweet sounding ballad and duet.

Crush| Beautiful
We all remember how much a fucking loved the drama Goblin. I also fucking love K-R&B and Crush. So I was so happy to hear that he was a part of the soundtrack for the drama. This is one of my favorite tracks. It’s such a beautiful song. Also, it’s perfect background music when you’re watching the snow fall~ I say that with experience haha.

Crush| 잊어버리지마 (Don’t Forget) feat. 태연
Did I mention how much I love Crush? I also already stated that I was a SNSD fan. So you can imagine how ecstatic I was to hear that Crush and Taeyeon were collabing. This track is such a beautiful song. The winter imagery in the MV makes it incredibly beautiful as well.

Dean| What2Do feat. Crush & Jeff Bernat
Dean is one of my other favorite K-R&B artists. His vocals and music never disappoint. He collabed with Crush and Filipino-American singer Jeff Bernat. The song isn’t really “Winter” or very “Holiday-y”. However, the MV has beautiful winter imagery. I also felt the track itself and the lyrics really suited the cold feeling of winter in terms of a love turning cold.

Crystal Kay| 何度でも
If you didn’t know, Crystal Kay is known as one of the queens of J-Pop. I loved this fun and sweet track she released a while back.

BoA| メリクリ
BoA is actually a Korean artist. However, she’s known as basically the first Korean artist to make it big in the Japanese market. She’s dominated the charts with music in both Japan and Korea. You may recognize her for singing one of the songs from Inuyasha. Anyway, this is another Christmas/Winter ballad. There are different version of this song based on the album release.

BoA|Christmas Paradise
Here’s another song from BoA~

Shota Shimizu| Snow Smile
Shota Shimizu is one of my favorite Japanese R&B artists~ This is a little bit more upbeat~

Aimer (エメ ) | 雪の降る街
Aimer is a Japanese artist I just started listening to not too long ago. “The Town Where It Snows” is one of those winter songs about missing someone.

Ailee| 첫눈처럼 너에게 가겠다
Yes, I’m including another song from the Goblin OST. Korean-American singer Ailee is known for her diva vocals. She also sings such wonderful ballads. I love how you can hear the heartbreak in her voice as she sings “I Will Go to You Like the First Snow”.

방탄소년단/BTS| Crystal Snow
We all know I’m lowkey BTS trash. So I felt I should include this~

방탄소년단/BTS| 봄날
Okay, this isn’t really ‘sposed to be a winter song. Afterall, the title is “Spring Day”. However, the song talks about missing someone, how it feels like winter, and longing to meet them again in the spring. It’s one of my favorite songs by them, and one of the first songs I listened to from BTS. So here’s for all y’all that miss someone this winter, and waiting for the cold winter to turn into spring. Also, the MV is beautiful and so cinematic. I love the winter imagery.

Taeyeon| Candy Cane
Taeyeon from Girls’ Generation also dropped a Christmas album last year. “Candy Cane” is one of my favorite more fun and upbeat songs~

TVXQ| Duet -Winter Version-
TVXQ/東方神起 is known by many names: Dong Bang Shin Ki, DBSK, Tohoshinki, and Tong Vfang Xien Qi . They started as a K-Pop boyband. Now they’re just a duo though (We’re not gonna go into the K-Pop politics about that). Anyway, they were basically the first K-Pop group to break into the Japanese music scene. They were hella popular. Also they did do a song for the One Piece anime. Anway, “Duet” is a sweet winter love song~

Zion. T | 눈 (Snow) feat. 이문세
Did I mention how much I love ballads and R&B? One of my favorite Korean R&B artists is Zion. T. He and Lee Moon Sae released a melancholy, jazzy balled called “Snow”. It’s sad (as is the MV), but it’s such a beautiful song.

Epik High| No More Christmas
People tend to think the holidays is only full of happy moments. However, the truth is that it’s also the saddest time of the year. It’s a time where people tend to feel the most depressed and sad. Sometimes it’s because they feel that they don’t have loved ones to surround them. Some people hate Christmas because they’re being repeatedly reminded of “Happy this” and “Happy that”, but they’re not happy. For some the holidays and the end of the year is like a constant reminder of what they’re not, what they don’t have, and how they’re not where they want to be. You can start to feel suffocated and like you’re drowning in yourself and your negative emotions. If you know me, you’ll know Epik High is one of my all time favorite artists. I love that their music and lyrics are hella deep. So for those of you who feel depressed and alienated because of the holiday season, I’ll give you this song. For me I find comfort in songs that seem to relate to my emotions. It’s like someone understands exactly how I feel, and that can help ease the sadness and pain.

Epik High| 춥다 feat. 이하이
Again, I fucking love Epik High. Again, winter doesn’t always mean joy. Here’s another sad song that goes with the winter cold. As much as I love the cold weather in winter, there are days where it seems to amplify the sadness and emptiness I feel. “It’s Cold” features Lee HiYi. Though it’s not really a Christmas/Winter song, I feel that it goes well with that feeling.

Crush|Lay Your Head On Me
Again, not really a winter/holiday song. However, it’s a ballad that I feel like goes well with the winter vibes. This is a good and comforting song when you feel hella alone. To my friends who are struggling and feeling down this winter season, we see you. You’re not alone, and we love you. Don’t forget that you have someone there for you. Real talk though, ff you feel like you don’t…hey, I’ll be here. I’m a message away. Seriously. No judgement and no pressure.

BONUS:
Where my 90’s babies at? Who remembers Boyz II Men? Well, they released a winter album in Japan a while back where they covered popular J-Pop songs.
Snowflower| Originally by Mika Nakashima

First Love| Originally by Utada Hikaru

Whether you like the bright and festive songs or winter ballads, I hope you enjoyed my little playlist. I hope the festive ones put you in a good mood. Though I have alot of sad ballads, I hope those songs can accompany you this cold winter season. I hope they help you feel a little less lonely. I hope they can bring you some comfort in knowing that you’re not alone. Let me know which songs you liked? Let me know what YOUR favorite winter/holiday songs that aren’t on my playlist!~