25 Days of Christmas Day #1: Top K-Pop of All Time

I said I was going to do this again and I'm going to try my best to post on time for each day lol. The format will be exactly the same as last year except this year I'm going to the places each thing moved (or is new) from the past year. Mainly because I just want to see how my interests have changed over the year. So here we go, entry #1!

So I feel like last year's list was completely all over the place. 2015 was the first year since 2012 that I had had much interest in new K-pop and due to that, my list was so scatterbrained and I had forgotten about so much. This year I think I have a much more accurate idea of my top 10 K-pop songs of all time.

#10

Oh My Girl - Closer (2015) (-)

This song made the list last year even though it was practically brand new. Closer really reignited an interest in K-pop for me. It's just an incredible song by an incredible group. If the song continues to hold up in the future, it easily could be in my top three.

#9

Girl's Day - Expectation (2012) (NEW)

I really got back into this song this year. I loved it when it came out, but I finally picked up the album this year and have played it a lot since. This song in my opinion was Girl's Day's peak. They've had good songs since, but this was their peak musically for me.

#8

Girls' Generation - Into The New World (2007) (-4)

Out of all of SNSD's songs over the years, their debut remains my favorite. It's actually aged rather well as opposed to once great songs like The Boys or Run Devil Run that just sound like they should've stayed in 2011. It's just a fun & uplifting song.

#7

Chocolat - I Like It (2011) (-4)

I still miss them so much. Years ago this would've been number one for me, but quite frankly it just hasn't aged well at all. I still love the song and I still love them, but there's so many other songs that are sounding better than this.

#6

Wonder Girls - Loved (2015) (NEW)

So last year I had I Feel You pretty high up, which was only because I couldn't think of half the tracks that I should've featured. But as much as I love that song, after listening to the album over the past year, Loved is such a stand out track. In my opinion, it's probably the single greatest K-pop album tracks ever released. It's just 80s filled amazingness.

#5

After School - Dressing Room (2013) (+1)

I'm still upset at myself that I haven't purchased the First Love EP yet. I want to, but I keep feeling like I can't justify buying K-pop EPs anymore because they cost the same as full albums & none have come up for cheap on ebay that I've seen. Oh well, eventually. This is After School's greatest song and should've been a single. I couldn't decide if this & Loved should've been switched around so I just kept them in the order of release.

#4

2NE1 - Come Back Home (2014) (NEW)

Quite frankly the reason this is so dang high is because of their disbandment. However, this is an incredible song and unlike the vast majority of their other material, I feel like this will hold up over the years.

#3

Orange Caramel - Bangkok City (2011) (-2)

The beat in this song is still fresh 5 years later. The ultimate K-pop club track in my opinion. Orange Caramel needs to release something else like this.

#2

Swan.B - Be All Right (2011) (-)

Why does no one know this song?! WHY?! Yes, it's super duper indie & there's no clue what ever happened to the group that did it but it's just so good. Eurobeat is sadly not featured in K-pop ever.

#1

KARA - Step (2011) (NEW)

I don't think there will be anyone in K-pop who will ever release anything quite as amazing as Step. It's one of those songs you can never get tired of and sound like they could be released tomorrow and still smash. I didn't list it last year because I forgotI forgot about it when I when I made the list. Kinda upset that I did that lol

KARA - Revolution

Have I done a post on a K-pop album yet? I don't remember. Well, if I haven't, I think KARA's a good place to start as they're one of the few K-pop groups I still care about listening to.

Revolution is KARA's second album, and their first to features new members Jiyoung and Hara.

Track #1, Mister: When I think of KARA, this is one of the first songs that pop into my mind. I would even go so far as to call it their signature song. It's an extremely catchy pop track reminiscent of early Britney or Spice Girls that had been updated for the music style of 2009. One of the best K-pop songs ever, in my opinion. 5/5.

Track #2, Wanna: This song brings back so many memories for me. It was among the first K-pop songs I discovered. Because of what it means to me, it's probably my favorite KARA track. There's not a whole lot of stylistic difference between this and Mister at all. Both are extremely catchy pop tunes and good examples of 2009 K-pop. 5/5.

Track #3, Magic: It's disappointing that this song comes after two fantastic ones. It's not a bad song, it just can't hold up against the first two tracks. It's a ballad, but unlike most ballads, there's something really soft and sweet about it's sound that makes it good to listen to. The strings are very pretty. 3.5/5.

Track #4, Secretly Secretly: Ah. The quintessential late 2000s K-pop album track. The one that sounds like every other one. This is it. I find this song very lifeless and bland. It's like a slower Into The New World, except not good. 3/5.

Track #5, Let It Go: I think this song is a good indication of where KARA was going to go with their future songs. It sounds a lot like what you'd expect a mix of Lupin and Mister to be, skirting the line between a "cute" pop song and a "dark" pop song. After Mister & Wanna, this is the best song on the album. It could've made a wonderful promo track. 5/5.

Track #6, Take A Bow: I can't really pin down my opinion of this song. It's not bad and it's a good catchy song to listen to, but I always forget about it's existence. I also can't think of any song with this title besides the Rihanna song. That might be what's blocking it in my head lol. The song is in the vein of Wanna and sounds like something off of SNSD's first album. 4/5.

Track #7, Aha: This song has a lot of the same issues that plague Take A Bow. It's catchy, danceable, has that typical late 2000s K-pop sound, yet it's so unmemorable. I think by the end of the album, you just start getting sick of the sugary sweet pop tunes since the album is full of them. Or at least I do. I like pure pop a lot, but it's one of the few pop styles that I have a limit on listening to before wanting something a lot more powerful. It just gets too sweet. 4/5.

Track #8, Same Heart: Again with the sugary sweet pop songs. I now remember why I don't listen to most K-pop album tracks often. These type of tracks really are a dime a dozen in this era of K-pop (much like the sexy songs today). 3.5/5.

Tracks #9 & #10, Instrumental versions of Wanna & Mister: Just instrumentals. Nothing to see here.

For being a K-pop album from a girl group in 2009, the album holds up surprisingly well. Sure, it's filled to the brim with sugary sweet pop tracks, but I can also easily imagine Mister or Let It Go being released today. 4/5.

Song Recommendations (May 26, 2015 Edition)

May has been a really slow month for new music in my opinion. I haven't even really found any awesome music that I hadn't heard before either which is sad. Maybe June will be better. With May coming to a close, these songs are pretty much the only ones that have made any impact for me.

Tiësto & KSHMR - Secrets (ft. Vassy)

Came across this by playing SongPop again after a few years. It's really awesome.

P.IDL - Sansan Aibo

It's been awhile since I was truly impressed with another Japanese girl group (outside of 48s & H!P). It's so sad to me that their other songs aren't even close to the same league this is in.

Hiroshima Maples - Isolator

This is exactly the type of song I'd like to see MM tackle.

W - Miss Love Tantei

Been really into W again lately. Will forever mourn the 3rd album that never got to see daylight.

KARA - Cupid

A little cheaty to name a song that came out slightly over 12 hours ago, but it's one of the better K-pop songs this year.

Enjoy!