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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Thursday, March 28, 2024

K-Weekly: The songs that kept me warm as I froze in my dorm room

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Once again, the subject matter of K-Weekly is going to have to change. This semester, I’m thinking of relating anything from my playlists to my life — all while keeping you updated on what’s going on in the K-pop world. 

For my first article back, I wanted to talk about new albums, new groups or maybe some awards shows — but with our polar vortex weekend, I needed to pivot.

As I froze for 24 hours in my triple dorm, I had to find something to keep me warm since our heater proved to be incompetent. That thing? Fire. 

(As I write this, my roommate once again calls for us to use the furniture to make a campfire to stay warm, all to the tune of “Dance Moms” season 5.)

But no, I promise we did not light anything on fire on the Tufts campus. No, instead I listened to what my sister so eloquently describes as “fire” songs: “Tomboy” (2022), “Nxde” (2022), “Ditto” (2022) and “OMG” (2023). In that order. 

All four songs are by fourth-generation girl groups, but the stylistic differences between them could not be bigger. While “Tomboy” and “Nxde” are two pop tracks by (G)I-DLE, “Ditto” and “OMG” are far chiller and more mellow type tracks by NewJeans. 

Listening to these songs in this specific order has been a mind-altering experience. Starting off with a more upbeat, rock-style single and moving into a smoother style feels like someone gliding through my brain. The transition from one song to the next may not necessarily blend seamlessly, but they do work well enough to not be a completely jarring experience. And what is it that the children say these days? The vibes are there. 

(G)I-DLE and NewJeans may fall into the same K-pop generation, but they are completely different groups with different energies and strengths. Yet still, one thing they both have in common is that they make good music that you will not get sick of. 

So, of course, I had to spend most of my (cold) time replaying these four tracks, staying warm by doing the choreography in the corner of the dorm and in the single-stall bathroom that for some reason was 20 degrees warmer than my room. And as my frozen fingers rush across the keyboard to try and hit my word count in the last 54 minutes before the deadline for this article, I once again have the playlist blasting through my hot girl headphones. 

Stream (G)I-DLE and NewJeans, and watch out for K-Weekly every Monday!