K-pop (2014)

Also like the closing track on AOA's mini, brings back memories of AOA-the-rock-band: http://youtu.be/yuD7rMxOaxg

Yea that Boys Republic teaser definitely piques my interest. New Nicole teaser is definitely intriguing: http://youtu.be/gpCdhnB-0Sw

hah, this is a thing even in here

there is no escaping the sexy automatons

AOA mini is kinda a bummer...title is okay but very plain on the whole.

@abcfsk, bummer to see overall sales figures drop so precipitously =\

Sales drop has to do with price jump - it was a very clear shift from one year to another where prices were doubled per government regulation.

Here's Boys Republic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQBisbBQ7X4

Rest of the song isn't as a fresh as the teaser, but not bad - it sounds like a JYP song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjPWIodh65Q

Yanghwa BRDG is not musically interesting to me at all but it's one of very few K-Pop songs that have made me cry on multiple occasions. I'm fairly certain I've teared up every single time I've heard it.

That song is really touching... 1theK has slightly different lyrics too, I wonder if it's "let's not get sick" or "let's not be in pain", or whether those are actually the same in Korean?

And speaking of live stuff, this is for Roz (my fellow WINNER fan): http://youtu.be/qW2F9VZm3sU

People always talk about how is supposed to be YG's next Big Bang group but WINNER is the more Big Bang ish really? (i.e. five solo artists with different styles who happen to share a group). I don't think all these songs are good... (at all...) but Serenade (Seunghoon's solo) and I'm Him (Mino's solo) have grown on me a lot. Also what an incredible budget for a rookie group at a minor awards show, eh.

^People always talk about how IKON is

Also in the bad-but-good pile, my favorite nutjob returns as a solo artist (NSFW): http://youtu.be/FT0Tqv3CL2w

This song's only flaw is that it's TOO SHORT!

You can use the phrase for both "let's not get sick" and "let's not be in pain" but I'm assuming the latter (or something like "let's not be hurt") is more appropriate given the context of the song.

Unfortunately that WINNER vid is down :/ I haven't listened to the WINNER album since it dropped but Empty was the only song that really stuck with me. Interested in revisiting it now though. As far as AOORA is concerned, all his vids have been exactly 69 seconds (lmao) but there are full versions too that are officially released. I liked Body Party from earlier this year: http://youtu.be/O4fiFSRCNgY

Heh, thanks!

This is from the official channel so it should stay up: http://youtu.be/ywcokur_WE0

All I can think is that YG had money earmarked for Big Bang to perform at the end-of-year awards shows and WINNER is getting that money instead, ha.

Thanks for the link! good stuff. Seems like this solo Taehyun (of Wonder Boyz) track went under the radar: http://youtu.be/Z61OpcWiXSE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_DX64EwH9M

Enjoying the new GOT7 single. I feel like I haven't heard such extensive use of vocoder in any song recently so I don't find it very grating (as others seem to). Love the different overalls so much and something about the move at 4:24 felt very satisfying (don't think the other choruses had that move?).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRQEs4vOIrY

New Lovelyz single. Really enjoying it and the whole album. Seems like others aren't really vibing with it but I think the whole album's aesthetically cohesive and takes the glossy sheen of numerous Infinite tracks but makes it less overbearing, which proves effective given the cutesy concept. Seems very J-Pop-esque at times. I like the teal and how that allows the pink lipstick to pop. I think they really nailed the cutesy concept too without it being obnoxious. Gonggi, rock paper scissors (that downwards shot is fantastic), the Dali moustache, the candy appearing on the leg and cheek, sitting on the other person's back, the bowling, et al -- all very low key but effective especially because of the two tone technicolor-inspired look. The planimetric framing of the hallway shot is so great.

Lovelyz seems a bit bland to me, but I *LOVE* the GOT7 single - I think it's the first song of theirs that I've genuinely liked. There's just something tortured about the robo-voices. The vocoder chorus should let them save their breath for some acrobatics on stage as well.

But I'm also kinda disposed to like GOT7 because I've been watching the new season of SBS Roomate wherein Jackson's antics (& tighter editing) have turned the show into a loopy, zany, crazy, etc, screwball comedy... from the snoozefest it was last season.

Though I'm still bitter that JJ Project died so GOT7 could live, considering that nothing GOT7 has done holds a candle to even the JJ Project's b-sides.

Still, since we're stuck with GOT7, I'm they're at least putting out singles with some kick to them.

JJ Project's music -screams- K-Pop to me in a way most bands don't. Like, so many things about their music is taking elements from different pop tropes (a good chunk of which was totally unfashionable in Western pop at time of release) and making really catchy tunes from them. The way Hooked starts with that totally late 80s boom bap sound and gradually throws in those chugging power chords and then has a teen pop hook kills me (in a good way). I've always enjoyed GOT7's stuff though so I've never been too bummed about JJ Project's demise but yeah, they were good. GOT7's two minis from earlier this year were both solid and I'd say they're my favorite male rookie group off the top of my head. I'm kind of a sucker for TROY but GOT7 edges out simply for having more material.

And I'm totally unfamiliar with all Korean television, or I guess all Korean media aside from K-Pop and (mostly) art films. That show seems pretty fun though based off who's on it and the few clips I saw.

Lovelyz debut is making some waves. One of the interesting things about it is the whole album, more or less, is produced by one producer, OnePiece, who's not a familiar name in k-pop. So a group and a producer make their debut. And I agree that the soft synth shine sound works and gives them some identity, some of the pre-release solo tracks like 'Delight' were real good as well.

I love how JJ Project's "Bounce" starts like it's going to be a pop-drill, Whip My Hair ish, but that's totally a ruse before the song settles into an old-school K-Hip-Hop / Jrock combination. It's just so effortlessly done, plus JB and Jr. are both strong performers (which can't be said for every member of GOT7). GOT7's tracks aren't awful but they're a lot less surprising.

Amber <3 http://youtu.be/WpD0357Igjc?list=PLWQq9lbJ29_0q7KWOYXRR2EmJQLF9FvJA

Nice autumn song from 10cm http://youtu.be/U-mjol5Pc08

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLw2pnZEKeY

Video's less intense than what I expected from that first trailer but I'm really impressed by the editing + the set/costume design is pretty on point. Song is a bit MOR for me at the moment, sounds like she should be hitting a higher note during the climbing melody in the 2nd half of the chorus but it sort of sticks to its mellow tone. Which is fine I guess but there really isn't much of a hook I'm left with. The vocal performance being low-key (as expected) sort of puts the impetus on the production/instrumentation but I don't think I'm very convinced by that either. The lead-in to the final chorus from the bridge is nice though. It might grow on me, we'll see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZRb1we80kM

Seems kind of anticlimatic but not bad???

The lyrics are self-boasting / self-deprecating / oversharing as usual.

Highlight "By day I’m a hamster / But at night when I’m a gangster"

Annnnd we're official in Christmassy RnB Season (ft Crush):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6v3ZbOaDqI

You know what, this whole album is great:

http://youtu.be/yV4xcC28adU?list=PLNonYr1vYzfBO1k79L2TQ_UrIly73eLKW

There's also this surprisingly catchy song from The Legend:

http://youtu.be/xypZht2ZOrQ

k-pop's been a bit boring lately, hasn't it? "good boy" is fun though. and i'm coming around on the lovelyz throwback vibe. but haven't heard any really next level stuff out of korea since what, idk, "red light?"

Yeah... there's been tracks I liked but nothing as cray as a few years ago.

EXID are having a ,moment thanks to some fancams... I probably listened to "Up and Down" more than any other song this summer so I'm happy for 'em.

I felt like K-Pop was pretty boring for most of 2013 but 2014's been especially slow. Also, yeah, pretty bizarre about EXID rising up on the charts. UP&DOWN is good but it suffers from having too much of LE. She has one of the most unique voices in K-Pop but too much of it is a bit overbearing, much like Jimin on the new AOA single. Every Night's probably my favorite song from them still, though the original 전화벨 version is good too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghJ3hC5N7-Y

Loco & Jay Park ride the RnBass train. Basically their own take on Chris Brown's Loyal. A bit sad Jay Park isn't dancing.

New Wa$$up mini is pretty decent (barring the three extraneous tracks). 시끄러워U is pretty neat http://youtu.be/oA9vn3Kg9wc // also to clarify from earlier, I still love UP&DOWN, it's def one of my most played K-Pop songs of the year.

시끄러워U is basically a more western-sounding (and not as interesting) version of f(x)'s Rainbow but I guess it's my favorite Wa$$up song thus far so that's worth something I guess /// Anyone else kind of annoyed with the how Apink's LUV spells it l-o-v-e in the song? The single and mini were both pretty disappointing for me. They showed so much promise with their first two minis but now I'm kind of seeing all their stuff as lesser versions of songs on those :/

The LUV chorus is really good. Boring MV though.

Like the Loco and Jay Park

Think I need a couple more times listening to Wa$$up's minor-tonic aegyo-trap on Shut U before I decide if I like it or not...the beat's too simple but the melody is interesting.

MBLAQ's maybe-probably last album released without fanfare today: http://youtu.be/y6gRKrrRB7k

my review of what i think is the year's best k-pop album, if anyone's interested: http://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/seo-taiji-quiet-night

good article, and I agree with your album pick (what else?)

thanks! i would say red light is album #2 of the year. as for the singles, hopefully will have a list coming out not too far from now...

oh and in terms of 2nd half of the year, i'd say B2ST best handled the "familiar k-pop" trend. their Drive mini is mature, subtle, and hangs together surprisingly well. their in-group songwriter did the whole thing, they've got one of the best falsettos in k-pop w/ yoseob, the group's performances are always very tight and impassioned...and most importantly, their releases are getting sturdier and more cohesive all the time. they'll never top the highs of Fiction and Fact, i don't think, but both of their mini-albums this year were among the top five releases of the year. (also, i'm convinced "good luck" has the best prechorus of 2014 in korea and quite possibly anywhere).

Hyunseung's a weirdo but an excellent singer (he has the prechorus)

Whoops, no, it's Dongwoon, nvm.

/Hyunseung-biased

crazy what an f(x) ripoff that wa$$up song is. oh well!

btw i started another thread that's definitely separate and broader than this one but i'll be posting a lot of questions there about k-pop (and asian pop generally) so check it out if you want: The "Help Me Figure This Out" Thread

(also, the song i asked a question about is pretty insane, definitely one of the coolest tracks i've heard out of korea this year)