It honestly feels strange doing any kind of blog post right now, but what better way to end the year than this. The end of my 2023 was a rough one, and really made me look back on things. I gained a whole new perspective on life as well. The way that I consumed music and media in general, changed, and I don’t see it going back to “normal” any time soon.
But that could be a good thing 😊
The Music
It’s been an interesting year to be a music fan, especially when it comes to K-Pop and P-Pop. I went further down the rabbit hole when it came to P-Pop (Filipino Pop music), and I went back to those artists a lot this year.
https://muzikjunqie.com/5-filipino-groups-artists-that-im-loving-right-now/
With K-Pop, a lot of my favorites left to fulfill their military obligations. And, in most situations, that meant a lot of new albums, Eps, and other projects leading up to them leaving. With Monsta X, we got a unit EP from Shownu and Hyungwon, and new solo projects from Joohoney and I.M.
https://muzikjunqie.com/joohoney-makes-official-solo-debut-with-lights/
https://muzikjunqie.com/i-m-puts-fans-emotions-into-overdrive/
https://muzikjunqie.com/muzik-crush-unseen-hyungwon-x-shownu/
And I was really excited for some of the comebacks this year, especially iKON, who I was lucky enough to experience live for the first time.
https://muzikjunqie.com/ikon-is-back-and-ready-to-take-off/
Some non-K-Pop music I was really excited about came from Luke Christopher and Maurice Moore. I have been a fan of these two for a good minute, and they continue to impress me with every song and project they drop. I was able to do a review on Luke’s latest, most anticipated, album.
https://muzikjunqie.com/luke-christopher-is-back-with-tmrwtmrw-iii/
But unfortunately, I didn’t get to post a review for Maurice’s new one. It dropped right around the time I was dealing with the loss of my grandma. And that situation changed how I listened and consumed music.
The Experiences
When it comes to experiences, namely concerts, I was lucky enough to go to 4 of them. I got to spend more time with one of my favorite people (Squash 😊) and met some amazing new people as well. It was also a year full of NEW concert experiences. Getting a chance to see CIX, Bang Yongguk, and iKON for the first time, were highlights for me.
https://muzikjunqie.com/my-first-cix-concert-experience/
https://muzikjunqie.com/the-colors-of-bang-yongguk-tour-experience/
https://muzikjunqie.com/kard-live-in-dallas-round-2-experience/
https://muzikjunqie.com/my-first-ikon-vip-experience/
The Personal Stuff
Where do I even start when it comes to this part of my life. Well, for one, this was my first year in a new job. I’m still in the media space, but unfortunately, the second half of this year hasn’t been as rewarding. I can say that I have learned a lot about myself because of this job, though.
The healing journey continues; I am still in therapy and feel like I have been making some pretty good breakthroughs. There is still a lot to figure out and deal with, and it’s starting to get to the heavy stuff, but I’m ready. This journey has been a tough one, but I feel so much better for it.
On a more somber note, I lost my grandmother back in November. She was one of the 3 primary figures in my life that helped raise me, and now they’re all gone. I do have other family around but those 3 really shaped who I am as a person, all the good and bad, but I am grateful for all of it. Dealing with grief on top of everything else has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.
2024… What’s to Come?
Any plans that I had to work on new content for Muzik Junqie content in 2024 has been stalled a bit. I haven’t been in the right mind to work on anything, to focus on anything other than my well-being and healing. It doesn’t mean I can’t ever work on those plans; it just won’t be in the timeline I was hoping for.
I was initially planning a K-Pop concert (VAV) for January, but I decided not to get tickets. But I do have 2 WWE Events planned for next year, that I am super excited about (childhood unlocked 😊). Going from K-Pop to WWE has been an interesting experience, to say the least, but there are a lot of similarities: intense fans, tons of regular content, lots of merchandise drops, music (wrestler theme songs/ entrance music), live events, etc…
Lastly, I do want to get back to reading and writing more often. And I would love to get back to other hobbies.
I’m working on making my way back to social media, so don’t forget to Follow Me!
Instagram/ Threads: @muzikjunqie
Pinterest: @muzikjunqie
TikTok: @muzikjunqie
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO4erzBeTT75rcz8pzk0Nhg
