K-pop 2013

Crush is really good too! Title track is like the weakest on the album, odd.

Speculation on omona that It's Over is not the "real" title track and that's she'll probably promote Rose, a 100% Teddy track on the second half of the album to be released later this month, instead.

Debut song from Ladies Code. It sounds like a medley of Miss A songs, especially "Goodbye Baby" and "Bad Girl, Good Girl" - which, you know, steal from the best? Those are better songs but LC appear to be stronger singers.

Are we sure that's not deej in the bear suit with the complex product placement?

Forapper's description of Ladies' Code is accurate: "Bad Girl" has too much jammed into it so the arrangement trips over itself but the singing is fierce and precise. "SuperGirl" on the EP works better, gives the singers more space, yet is deliberately grating in its use of AutoTune. More fierceness. "Stronger singers" is right though strong is not always better: one of the touching things about Miss A is the struggle that Min et al. put into their singing. Not to say that Miss A wouldn't be just as good if we didn't feel them struggle. But they avoid sounding slick. Style with sweat. Whereas Ladies' Code may have trouble creating their own identity. We'll see.

Thanks Frank! I really like SuperGirl, it's like... at the crossroads of Beyonce, Rihanna and 2NE1.

One nice thing about the stronger vocals is that they can be less processed. This is making me realize that the processing on the vocals is what was dragging "Goodbye Baby" down for me, although listening to it now I can hear the touching vulnerability, too.

And when Ladies' Code do process it (as on "SuperGirl"), they do so to screw with the sound, not to correct it.

Anybody know anything about Polaris Entertainment, Ladies' Code's agency? I didn't find much in a Web search; they seem to be distributed by LOEN (as are many other labels).

Also, know anything about Windmill Media, who have promising acts Miss S (stylized as Miss $) and D-Unit? Both of those are girl groups with an r&b/hip-hop tilt.

For the record, Miss A had the most stunning Korean TV debut I've come across in my several years of trawling online for K-pop. (I think they'd already performed in China as a threesome, but afaik this was their introduction to Korea.) But then I'm hardly rational on the subject of Miss A, especially Min. Also love her dog.

there's a miss s & some other guy duet that I really like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5pI7-QXOIc

It now appears that SHINee "Dream Girl" might be plagiarized: http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/10757112.html

Much lols over leaked EXO-K track "Wolf" (though really it doesn't sound that much different from their album track "Two Moons" from last year): http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/10720360.html

I think this shows the weakness of the "EXO-K and EXO-M are the same group, really!" model, because the two groups have different strengths (ie EXO-M can actually rap). Also, between the cringe-worthy lyrics of Wolf and the almost-as-cringe-worthy lyrics of What Is Love, and the robots/aliens/superpowers concept, I suspect SM is gunning for the SFF-loving, fanfiction-writing, aspie fangirl demographic with this group.

Speaking of the cheesy-80s aesthetic, from the compilation of 2012 rookie group debut songs posted above I found this awesome (intentional?) nod to bad karaoke videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsnsUpwH_9Y

Really liking Sistar19's Gone Not Around Any Longer EP and the first half of Lee Hi's Turn It Up album. I think those are my "album" picks for 2013 so far - sorry Teen Top, SHINee, SNSD, Suju-M!

Though speaking of Teen Top, the second single off No. 1 is decent and the bonus track is kind of funny - uncomfortably balanced between their older scumbag-player image ("No More Perfume On You") and their newer pure-and-innocent-schoolboys image ("Be My Girl"). They could probably do something interesting with their weird reverse-career-trajectory, actually, but they never do, and it drags the album down (well, that and the fact that the album tracks are not very good drags the album down).

Translation of the lyrics to Lee Hi "Special", and note from Tablo who wrote the lyrics, for those of you who have also been following along with Tablo's career and marriage from home.

(I wonder if Windmill Media is fundamentally a distributor; there seems to be a relationship to NH Media (U-Kiss), to D-Business Entertainment (D-Unit), and to Brand New Music (Miss $).)

New Rania:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=bNZGrYK-fek

Goodbye's the new hello is really true, lol. Once again I wonder whether all these Goodbye Player songs about many different players or just a few, super-players.

The album looks like some kind of best-of repackage, with two other new songs that aren't grabbing me, English versions of this and and Dr. Feelgood and Masquerade, and their previous hits Style, Dr Feelgood, Masquerade and Pop Pop Pop. Someone in the US apparently thinks their Lady Gaga style will work over here, because they're set to "debut" with a documentary on American MTV.

I actually did mean to embed that! Oh well consider your browsers spared XD

lovin that ladies code

I like Goodbye Is The New Hello as an album title. But I'm uncertain that it is the title, even though that's Wikip's opinion. Soompi and a couple other sites say the title of the mini-album is Just Go. I'm meh on the new tracks. "Style" and "Masquerade" are the two songs I like a lot in their catalog, maybe 'cause they sound like cheesy American dance tracks from twenty years ago. KNS, the writers/producers of the single "Just Go," have written for Britney (e.g., the pretty good "Brave New Girl") and Gaga and Nick Carter, though haven't created any hits, or much that's sticking in my memory. Their own "Thug Love," on their MySpace page, has a nice low-key early-'00s r&b feel, as if they wanted to resurrect the aura of a Mya B-side.

I like both the two new Rania songs. They're simple enough in a good straightforward pop way. I take to the girls voices in the verses, especially the one who opens the song.

D-Unit song produced by Block B's Zico. I have that exact same alarm clock. Otherwise, meh.

Meanwhile:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=O0QNZklmJB0

Sorry to post so much non-Kpop (non Idol pop) to the Kpop thread. This is visual like a Kpop song though.

New GLAM. It sounds like a throwback to Kpop from 2011 kind of. Parts of it sound like Dara's "Kiss" and I can hear Hyuna and Hyeran (Brave Girls) in the rap. Feels a bit patched together, but I like it.

At first glance these lyrics don't offer the wit of previous GLAM songs.

Yeah, they're pretty straightforward. The video is unimaginative too - and cheap - they must have blown the budget on "I Like That".

G.NA ft. Illhoon - Oops. I'm a sucker for this kind of You Are My Pet older-woman-younger-guy team up, and I think the rap parts keep it from being overly cutesy. But I really wonder why those "oops"es are in there - why not some less-coy "oh"s instead?

new girl's day album!? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUtGJtyoIfg

aaaand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok9MLMd7ccE

super bummed I won't be able to see 2NE1 (with the Backstreet Boys! lol) play a free concert in my city this week - have a flight to catch the following morning :( :( :(

one listen through the girl's day album and I really like it... then again 1. i'm a girls day stan and 2.) i'm love ott bubblegum pop

pull an all nighter and sleep on the plane imo xp

really enjoying that girl's dayo

it made the will.i.am/2ne1 thing sound especially anemic

yeah the 2ne1/will.i.am sounds more like a proof of concept than anything

pull an all nighter and sleep on the plane imo xp

i would but it's just a one hour flight, and then straight to a conference after arrival. :/

I'm still trying to pretend will.i.am doesn't exist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=rAUwimJaZKU

Short n sweet

i really like the elite gymnastics k-pop mix and want to hear more. what are the albums to hear? is it more of a singles genre?

In some ways. "Mini-albums" / is a popular format, though. What did you particularly like on the mix?

Mini albums / EPs

this is the tracklisting to that elite gymnastics mix I think?

kahi* – 돌아와나쁜너
4MINUTE – 거울아거울아
after school – SHAMPOO
girl's day – 잘해줘봐야
IU – 미리 메리 크리스마스 (Featuring 천둥 Of MBLAQ)

*of after school fame

it's a lot of heavy k-pop hitters, you could probably spend a few hours on each of their wikipedia discographies and find lots of good stuff

yeah for me it's mostly a singles/EP/mini-albums genre

i cut out all the j-pop from the listing btw

currently re-obsessed with this after they included it on their lp https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWpl2CaCnVA

@clouds, it's an EPs & mini-albums genre, but there are some strong albums too. It's very visual, so maybe the best place to look is on Youtube.

Some stuff that sounds like the elite gymnastics list:

2NE1 - To Anyone: happy-sad anthemic exercise music. Late-90s stadium rock / will.i.am / Bangladeshi beats (e.g. "Follow Me").
Sistar - So Cool. If you absolutely must have more 2NE1.
Big Bang - Still Alive: like 2NE1 but more clubby, hedonistic, electronic, trend-chasing (LMFAOish), and insane.
4minute - their singles (Hot Issue, HuH, I My Me Mine, Love Tension, Mirror Mirror, Ready Go, Volume Up, Why): Japanese Italodisco / freestyle / poppy pop (but 4minute are style chameleons, really)
B2ST - Fact or Fiction: like 4minute, but more introspective and sad-energized and rock-y
After School - Playgirlz: melodies borrowed from stadium anthems ("Ya'll Ready for This?") and rewritten to sound more indie. They buy a lot of songs off Norwegian producers. This is a Japanese best-of album, so it's not technically K-pop.

Going a bit further afield into Korean folk sounds:
T-ara - Absolute First Album: Britney Spears dirty club pop / trot (Korean traditional music genre that sounds like Eastern European folk music with a disco beat)
T-ara - John Travolta Wannabe : More disco and trot and Max Martin, less Britney.
Super Junior - the singles (Sorry Sorry, Rokkugo, Bonamana, Mr. Simple, Sexy Free & Single, Spy): trot / disco / wacky novelty songs
Lay.T - neo-trot (trot + disco). I'm not seeing their albums on wikipedia but they're a high-quality group.

Going more into Eurobeat/Japanese Italodisco sounds:
SHINee - Lucifer: futuristic RnB with funky polyrhythms and tightly-produced harmonies / boyband concept album about obsession
UKiss - Neverland: Eurotrash gutter-pop with pop-punk vocal harmonies / boyband self-loathing. Basically Emo Club Music, but filtered through Japan. Ukiss are a hit-and-miss but incredibly trashy even when they hit, so YMMV.
Sweetune - a songwriting team, not a band. Sounds like Japanese anime soundtracks from the mid-90s that reflect the excesses of music production of the late-80s. More manic: Kara singles (Wanna, Step Up, Pandora) & Rainbow singles (A, Mach); more cheesy: Infinite singles (Be Mine, BTD, Paradise, The Chaser) & Boyfriend singles (Love Style, I Yah); more grown-up: Nine Muses singles (Figaro, News, Ticket, Dolls)

Going more old-school RnB and rap and soul:
Big Bang - Remember: Justin Timberlake / K-rock / house beats / boyband concept album about group dysfunction
Primary - Primary and the Messengers: throwback to jazzy, funky, early-90s RnB guest-featuring some of SK's most popular rappers.
Lee Hi - First Love: more throwback jazzy RnB. Lee Hi is 16 but has a soulful, Adele-like voice. SK discovers audition shows and neo-soul.
Miss A - their singles (Bad Girl Good Girl, Goodbye Baby, Touch, I Don't Need a Man): old-school soul with modern production touches. Per Frank Kogan, they are not strong singers and this lends vulnerability to what would otherwise be highly-polished and professional music.

And here's some decent EPs and mini-albums, in no particular order:

2NE1 - 2NE1 and 2NE1 2nd mini album. Produced by Teddy who works a lot with Big Bang as well. Teddy leans hard toward electronic, club, stadium anthem sounds. while co-writer Kush injects rock, reggae, and sadness/vulnerabily
Sistar19 - Gone Not Around Any Longer. If you absolutely must have more first-EP-era 2NE1.
OneTwo - Walala lalale: I think this is Brave Brothers' (Sistar, Big Bang) most cohesive single release. Classic Kpop sounds + reggae + disco + aren't these guys too old to be idol singers?
EXID - Hippity Hop, and their singles. Managed by Shinsadong Tiger who also works a lot with 4minute and B2ST
Wonder Girls - Wonder Party. Bratty teen girl pop written by the Soulful JY Park (Miss A, Lee Hi)
SPICA - Painkiller. Strong RnB vocalists with advanced production.
EXO-K - Mama. More futuristic, experimental RnB with a debt to Michael Jackson and Rock from SM Entertainment (Super Junior, SHINee)
BAP - Warrior. These guys are into Linkin Park and Tupac. If that's your thing, this is a pretty strong EP.

Add in Girls Generation and this is close to being a physical-album best-seller list from the last couple years.

damn, that's a great post, thanks

np!

4minute - top 9 Japanese singles
Super Junior - top 10 songs as voted by fans
UKiss - top 10 songs. Sonically, they are more like a girl-group (dance music + vocals processed in service of the song)
Sweetune - introduction mix

And listening again, I think I'd rate After School Playgirlz, T-ara Absolute First Album, SHINee Lucifer, Sistar So Cool, Big Bang Still Alive, 2NE1 To Anyone, in that order, just in terms of album cohesiveness and flow.

Also Z:EA - Spectacular is an underrated but surprisingly strong album! (Here.)

yes! omg thank you!!

forapper and abcfsk, do you find there're any significant differences between what labels will release in japan as opposed to what they'll release in korea

A+ posts forapper, as always <3 <3

I think I like Sweetune the cheesier they get lol, hadn't realized they did "Ticket" and "Dolls" too though! amazing songs.

i'd say miss a's a class is a great album but it's mostly their first two years of singles anyway

Yeah, the Japanese releases tend to be either full albums or collaborations with Japanese/European producers.

New Infinite is a big ball of fun http://youtu.be/2C-dsCaFJzE

^ Speaking of Infinite and cheese-leaning songs