May was the biggest library drop since launch, 34 songs across General, Boy Groups, and Girl Groups. I focused on 4th gen groups that were missing or barely represented, plus some 3rd gen catalogue that should've been there already. Album Guess mode launched the same week, so I also needed enough album cover variety that you wouldn't see the same artwork every other day.
Full breakdown below, with notes on how each batch actually plays in the game.
If you've played Girl Groups mode much, aespa's production is probably already burned into your brain, heavy synths, distorted vocals, genre-blending that shouldn't work but does. SM built a whole sci-fi universe around them (each member has an AI "æ" counterpart) and the music matches: hyperpop, EDM, alt-pop all at once.
"Next Level" is the easy one, that Lee Hyori sample in the first second is basically a free point for anyone who's heard it once. "Savage" opens more conventionally; players who don't know aespa's catalogue sometimes mistake it for generic girl group uptempo.
Players kept asking where "After LIKE" was, fair, it's one of their biggest tracks. Samples Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" in a way you'll catch in one second if you know the original. "Baddie" sits upper-difficulty for 4th gen girl groups; cleaner IVE pop but less obvious on a cold listen.
Starship's IVE (December 2021 debut) went straight for confident, hook-forward pop, less weird than aespa, more classic girl group. "ELEVEN" set the template.
Huge debut hype in May 2022: Chaewon and Sakura from IZ*ONE, Source Music/HYBE backing, the whole thing. Name's an anagram of "I'M FEARLESS," concept's confidence over traditional idol cute.
"Antifragile" broke through commercially; first couple seconds are identifiable once you've heard it a few times. "UNFORGIVEN" with Nile Rodgers brought disco-funk into the mix, one of 2023's most talked-about tracks. Both medium difficulty on Kpopless.
ATEEZ were weirdly underrepresented in the original library given how big ATINY is. KQ Entertainment, 2018 debut, theatrical performances, narrative-driven comebacks. Music-wise: dramatic orchestral layers over EDM and hip-hop. You hear it in the first second on "Fireworks" and "Wonderland."
"I Am" is the outlier, slower, emotional, ballad-by-ATEEZ-standards. Harder in the game because it lacks the bombast that usually screams who it is.
Neither group is easy on Kpopless, which is kind of the point of adding them. TXT's "Can't You See Me?" has a building emotional intro that fools people into guessing soloist. ENHYPEN's "Blessed-Cursed" opens aggressive enough to place; "Future Perfect (Pass the MIC)" needs real familiarity.
Both HYBE 4th gen boy groups, darker and more alternative than BTS ever was. TXT leans indie rock and cinematic pop; ENHYPEN does vampire mythology through bass-heavy production.
Several players flagged 2NE1's absence, fair, it's a significant gap. YG girl group legends, 2009–2016, harder-edged than contemporaries. Hip-hop, rock, non-conformist image when that wasn't normal for girl groups.
"I Am the Best" should be a gimme, chant-like opening, distorted bass, iconic. "Lonely" and "Come Back Home" sit at opposite ends of their catalogue (ballad vs aggressive comeback) and give the rotation good difficulty range.