Oh my gosh this is so difficult. Last year K-pop was just starting to become interesting again so it was easier, but this year, K-pop was actually really great and I had a hard time coming up with this list. I'm glad that groups moved away from that awful "I'm sexy!" concept that kept going on. Very few K-pop groups can actually pull off the ultra sexy concept without seeming try-hard. This new synthpop/electro route this year was absolutely awesome. Especially the stuff coming from SM. SM used to be the super generic company with box MVs what the heck happened? I'm looking forward to next year's music scene, although I'm a little worried at the same time. I have a feeling that with Twice's success that other groups will try to emulate them like with the sexy concept overflow after Sistar's success. I adore Twice. I love them to bits, but their concept is another of those concepts like Sistar's that is difficult to replicate without looking try-hard or over the top. Even TT (which I loved) seemed over the top for Twice. I can't even imagine how awful it would've looked for a different group. Because it was so difficult, I did my top 10, but also included some "runners up" that were so close to making it.
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
So unlike my earlier lists which were all time lists, now we're on to the year specific lists. The first of these is K-pop 2015. For the past couple of years, I felt like K-pop was on a decline. In 2014, I felt like K-pop had taken a nosedive into that decline like it had never before. There's really only a handful of songs I can name from 2012-2014 that I would still call today "pretty good", unlike 2009-2011 where K-pop was at it's peak. This year, however, the releases have actually been pretty good. I'd say that 2015 is a great turnaround for K-pop and I'm hoping that it continues into 2016. As I don't listen to boy groups much anymore, this list is all from the ladies lol.
Hey everyone! I'm in the middle of papers & tests galore but came up with a fun idea that I'd like to do. So for every day up until Christmas (I will try my best to be on time lol), I will post a new "Top" list. They're going to be a variety of different topics in music so I hope people find them interesting and maybe find a new song to love! I won't do any kind of "review" or commentary on any of them (because I'll never get through them xD). Today's topic is my top 10 K-pop song of all time. Enjoy!
#10: Oh My Girl - Closer (2015)
#9: f(x) - Beautiful Stranger (2012)
#8: Wonder Girls - I Feel You (2015)
#7: Nine Muses - News (2012)
#6: After School - Dressing Room (2013)
#5: Shinee - Sherlock (2013)
#4: Girls' Generation - Into The New World (2007)
#3: Chocolat - I Like It (2011)
#2: Swan.B - Be All Right (2011)
#1: Orange Caramel - Bangkok City (2011)
So that's my list! What's your favorite K-pop songs of all time?
I apologize that this is a day late....I've been a little busy.
Track #1: Wonder Girls - Loved
I've been wanting to put up another song from Reboot, but I didn't want it to be one that I've seen people constantly fawning over. I think this is a good example of a fantastic song that's overshadowed by other fantastic songs on an album. Just like the other songs on Reboot, this is an 80s-styled track. It's more of a midtempo than an uptempo though, similar to I Feel You.
Track #2: Shiritsu Ebisu Chuugaku - Kindan no Karma
For those who may not have heard of them before, Shiritsu is a Stardust group, a sister group of Momoiro Clover Z and Team Syachihoko. This is the group of the three that I am least familiar with through no fault but my own. I haven't taken the time to look up their music and actually only own this because of CDJapan having it really cheap during a sale. I love that "dark" feel of the song. I'd like to see more Stardust groups do songs like this.
Track #3: Sanae Yokota - Fantasy Night
I just want to throw this out there: I beg of you. Anyone who might come across this. If you know of anywhere I can get a copy of her Summer Breeze CD PLEASE let me know! I've been trying to delve into 80s Jpop recently (thanks to the 80s stylings of the Wonder Girls' album) and I came across this song and I absolutely adore it. I'm so upset that I can't really find any good information on her/her album. I wonder if the other songs are as good as this. Oh, another thing to throw out there: if anyone knows any great 70s-80s J-pop that they want to share please do! I want to discover more!
Kobushi Factory is one of the newer Hello! Project groups. They are comprised of Rio Fujii, Ayaka Hirose, Minami Nomura, Rena Ogawa, Ayano Hamaura, Sakurako Wada, Natsumi Taguchi, and Rei Inoue; all from Hello Pro Kenshuusei. I'm still not certain that I'm sold on Kobushi's music style as I haven't really cared too much for pop rock stuff in a couple years, but I do really like this one. It's incredibly catchy and different than what the rest of H!P has to offer. This is the final A-side of their first single, Dosukoi! Kenkyo ni Daitai/Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san no Uta/Nen ni wa Nen, which will be released on September 2nd.
Track #2: One Black Night - Wonder Girls
I suppose it's a little unfair to put another song from their album this week when I featured their lead track last week, but this song is so incredible that it deserves the spot. It's less 80s than their lead track and reminds me a lot of Blank Space & Bad Blood from Taylor Swift's 1989. Their new album, Reboot, released August 3rd.
Track #3: Colette Carr - Three Percent
I adore Colette Carr. I'm not sure how many people have really heard of her, but this song is from her new EP that released July 17th. This song (and the EP as a whole) is a major departure from her first album which was a hip-pop/rap pop kind of thing. It had electro elements, but it seems that she's going for a straightforward electropop/synthpop style this time around. Which is perfectly fine for me.
Welcome everyone to the newly rebranded Song Recommendations post! I decided that like Music Discovery Mondays, I wanted to highlight new releases across genres on a weekly basis as well. The songs featured in New Music Thursdays could be up to one month old (as I can be slow in listening to newer stuff xD), but no older than that to try and keep it fresh. Much like the MDMs, these posts will also feature only three new songs. However, I might make exceptions some weeks depending on how many great new songs are released around the time period. I chose Thursdays for these posts as it's a good distance from the MDMs to allow time for those of us that are lazy (like myself xD) to get through those songs first. So enjoy this week's selection of new songs!
Track #1: Morning Musume - Sukatto My Heart
Sukatto My Heart is the second A-side from Morning Musume's upcoming single. Instead of being an EDM track like the majority of MM's singles, this song is a funky throwback track. The song is very reminiscent of The Matenrou Show. Morning Musume's new single comes out August 19.
Track #2: Wonder Girls - I Feel You
You can't imagine how surprised I was when I heard that the Wonder Girls were making a comeback. I was convinced they were gone for good. Once I heard they were coming back as a band, I was even more surprised, and not very hopeful for what they were going to come up with. I was expecting something more pop/rock when I heard "band", but what we got was different--and so much better. I adore 80s synthpop and this comeback is perfect in every way. Their new album, Reboot, released on August 3.
Track #3: Hello Venus - I'm Ill
After Hello Venus split from Pledis, I wasn't certain how things were going to work out for them. After hearing their first couple of tracks released after the split, I figured I wouldn't care for their music going forward. I was proven wrong with this release. It's not as powerful as 4Minute's Crazy, but it is probably the best song to compare this to in K-pop this year. Their new mini album came out July 22.
