1000 percent Yes: BTS, “ON” – Boy bands, since their origin, have been highly visual entities—their music exists in an image industry as much as it does a sonic one. BTS has taken that idea and exploded it to previously uncharted territory. The latest music video from the K-pop group’s recently released album Map of the Soul: 7 is “ON,” is an avant-garde art flick in under five minutes. It’s a triumph in choreography and cinematography—things that for any other act would be ornamental, but for BTS, are at the heart of their work—and the clip leads me to believe they’ve pioneered a new realm of possibility for teen pop performers. Artiness is available to the mainstream. How big will BTS go? Nobody knows, but I can’t wait to find out. —Maria Sherman
Y: Monsta X, “Got My Number” – I love and appreciate any song that within the first two seconds recalls Vitamin C’s “Graduation,” but Monsta X’s “Got My Number” is endearing for elements that extend beyond the obvious derivative. It’s a heavily Anglophonic romantic ballad about wanting someone so badly, you’ll settle for a rebound. Of Western boy bands past and present, it most costly resembles ’NSYNC. That description alone should be enough to get you to press play. —MS
Y: Monsta X, “Got My Number” – I love and appreciate any song that within the first two seconds recalls Vitamin C’s “Graduation,” but Monsta X’s “Got My Number” is endearing for elements that extend beyond the obvious derivative. It’s a heavily Anglophonic romantic ballad about wanting someone so badly, you’ll settle for a rebound. Of Western boy bands past and present, it most costly resembles ’NSYNC. That description alone should be enough to get you to press play. —MS