K-pop (2014)

New Neon Bunny & Spazzkid: http://youtu.be/FM8Y7wogkpA

I'm assuming an official video will posted on Cascine Records' channel soon // Lee Jin-Ah's album is actually on Spotify as a heads up.

Infinite F keeping that cheesy 80s movie soundtrack torch burning:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nHMNJczXb0

I think they're my favorite Infinite subunit, weak vocals and all.

Lovecubic taking a page from Badkidz' Ear Attack...except I think this is better:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCbsMgt2TBE

Dated but catchy as anything.

i normally looooove neon bunny but don't find her feature songs all that great...this is maybe the one song with her involvement i'd actually call bad.

Disagree, vocals super on point.

Speaking of collabs, this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fpwMFLJ0ms

I like that Neon Bunny collab more than the Smells one I think. I'm generally pretty neutral w/r/t Neon Bunny's stuff though. I'm not huge on Teengirl Fantasy but I was really excited to see that Hoody collab when the EP dropped. Spazzkid had a song with Sarah Bonito earlier this year so considering all the PC Music et al hype that happened this year, I'm hoping that Neon Bunny gets some exposure too. Hoody had a pretty good single this year fyi. Which reminds me, Victoria Kim had a killer DJ Mix a bit ago featuring remixes of K-Pop songs and post-Classical Curves grime. You can listen to that at the bottom of the page here: http://truantsblog.com/2014/truancy-volume-103-victoria-kim/

f(x) made the Tiny Mix Tapes songs of the year list (and opens the mix!) in a year when i didn't even write/vote! a very happy day: http://www.tinymixtapes.com/features/2014-favorite-50-songs-of-2014

Yea I was really happy to see that! Really happy about all those other picks too except maybe Hey QT, which I think is definitely a lesser PC Music track from this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNQCyR8_2EQ

Pretty typical but I like it more than Sweet Dream

was just thinking how kpop really lacks credible live harmonies...then saw today that Cube's new girl group can harmonize live, play instruments live, and have a very unkpop-looking thai girl in their lineup. (she's not in the following video, though, which is just three of the five members.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvZEkVriC4g

i'm seldom one to get excited for a nugu group without a song to their name, but this seems like something special.

Woah it's got tempo changes and dynamics too... they're like a real musicians. I hope they get (or write) some good songs.

Sweet Dream >>> for me, I love that song. But ANGEL is nice, I didn't know Bizzy could rap.

https://soundcloud.com/blacktoblue/iu-fried-eggs-composed-by-chanhyuk-live

IU dropped by an AKMU concert and lent her voice to this... her style meshes 110% with Chanhyuk's, if they officially collaborated they'd murder the charts.

Sorry, too used to seeing groups showing amazing talent and potential pre-debut and then ending up being used for the same old things as all other groups.

i understand your hesitation 100%, but what other groups had this kind of live (truly live) performance skill predebut? AOA had a band concept at first but it was pretty hokey -- i liked it but they mimed parts to backing tracks.

I think AOA band did do some fully live performances.

Well there has been stuff like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml-3tt0lS58

And then there are individual members' capabilities going to waste.. yes, E-young I'm thinking of you. Plus all the general disappointment of groups looking promising in teasers and pre-releases and losing their identity come debut, of course.

GLAM :'(

Though on a happier note, DIA (of Kiss&Cry non-fame) is finally getting a chance at a solo career.... long overdue, 'cause she's way too good a vocalist to go down with that ship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgVJ4riqQvM

never heard of GLAM but that was great. did they ever release anything worthwhile? looks like it was the blackmail scandal that derailed them more than anything, on a quick google's glance.

and BYEBYE bumkey O.O

glam's debut single was great and "i like it" is one of my favorite kpop songs/videos

GLAM's debut was a bubbly pop song about the okay-ness of being a girl attracted to another girl, I Like That was one of the better specimens of last year's 2-songs-in-1 craze and sampled Chulli and Mirae's Why Do You sampling The Cover Girls (as reported by Frank Kogan). Both songs had *really* expensive music videos, which in retrospect was probably not wise and maybe why Dahee tried blackmailing that actor dude for like 5 million.

They worked with their producer on their songs and could breakdance, they were ace.

they were close to bankrupt and only had a niche audience even before the blackmail controversy, though, IIRC.

GLAM's debut was one of my favorite songs of 2012. Don't think they ever topped it but I Like That had crazy good choreo and, as hurricane said, was one of the better k-pop songs last year with a distinct stylistic shift. I wasn't huge on In Front of the Mirror but that had a great message + video.

I remember crying when Party (XXO) came out. The decidedly teen pop aesthetic was the best thing they could've done; you need a song to sound relentlessly celebratory to go along with that message. I mean, stuff like Jieun's 쳐다보지마 is fine but Party feels empowering. Something about pop songs that are accessible enough for kids to enjoy but also help them hate themselves a little less e.g. guetta/sia's titanium (first thing that came to mind).

and she's back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bzN-ibQuvA

permeates with the sort of sadness that i've only found in korean art; such a clear example of han.

Straight to the top of the charts.

in making my list, i've realized that 2014 was a far superior year for k-pop (music) when compared to 2013. i wouldn't have guessed so before checking, so it's a nice surprise.

But for girl groups..?

idc, songs >>>

sorry to throw back to a conversation that's over, but my kpop fan friends and I mourn GLAM every day--"Party (XXXO)" is about same-sex love as mentioned, "I Like That" is about how you don't always need a boyfriend (or girlfriend I guess!) and it's okay to be alone, and "In Front of the Mirror" is about knowing you're beautiful on the inside, albeit told through the more conventional method of missing the person you used to date. oh GLAM we hardly knew ye :'(

Oh, I forgot to mention that Dahee provided vocals for the first Korean vocaloid. Which explains this awesome performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbAagOhXbJ0

Pretty sure Zinni was the only one that could breakdance? Regardless, they were one of the most exciting K-Pop groups (ever) and it sucks they're probably gone for good.

YG feature (with exclusive interview bits) i did today for vice's noisey site, if anyone's hungry for some western k-pop hype -

http://noisey.vice.com/blog/yg-entertainment-owned-k-pop-and-crushed-2014

Really disappointed with YG this year. Winner so so boring. Not even faves like 2NE1 made me care. AKMU huge success of course but not really for me. JYP too, locking up hist best talent in the basement.

I was pretty big on YG this year. I'm not huge on the Winner album but Empty is one of my favorite k-pop songs of the year. Love how each vocalist is utilized to highlight one another. I loved the 2NE1 album too, my favorite K-Pop album since SNSD's last Japanese one. And AKMU's 200% is my soty so there's that. Didn't realize you lived in Korea now Jakob, thought you were just there for a bit.

i loved most of what YG put out this year, and their music videos/promotional campaigns (WINNER) have been god-level. but subjectivity aside, in sheer business terms, it's inarguable that 2014 was their year. they absolutely destroyed the competition.

and yeah! just moved here a week ago. up in this piece like it's permanent~

idc, songs >>>

completely disagree on a songs level, but maybe we're listening to different things

also thank u soyrev for reviewing the seio taiji record which caused me to finally download it. i don't like anything on it more than the first two songs but it's still very nice

also i had no idea iu did a version of "sogyeokdong" until reading the singles jukebox today. of course it's a link upthread and not an embed so i totally scanned past it. imo her version >>>> seio's, lifts the song up entirely

the IU version is definitely more accessible and...yeah, lifted. but i think it's more meaningful coming from seo taiji...plus it sounds less obviously indebted to chvrches when being sung by a guy

we're probably listening _for_ different things, but 2013 and 2014 were the first years i listened to every single song the k-pop industry released at least once. going back in time to do that for all the other years, too

I don't agree with yr ranking soyrev, cause I recently re-listened to some 2013 songs that didn't seem impressive at the time (like Tiny-G's "Miss You") and in retrospect they're zanier and produced at a higher level of quality than I remembered. I think there was a lot more money sloshing around in 2013 - people were taking more risks. The 2014 singles seem like something I could hear on US radio, especially with Arianna Grande taking a page from Kpop taking a page from Motown.

SM did have a good singles year this year though - Something, Red Light, Danger were all great.

Latest update on GLAM - Dahee and her friend Jiyeon were just sentenced to three years in prison :'(

Infinite rocking out in Japan, they totally suit the all-melody-all-the-time Jpop ethos: http://youtu.be/dvx0GIdR9bY

Gallup asked people about their favorite artists in 2014

1. IU (12.9%)
2. Girls' Generation (12.4%)
3. SISTAR (10.8%)
4. EXO (9.4%)
5. Lee Sun Hee (8.4%)
6. Girl's Day (7.9%)
7. Lee Seung Chul (7.8%)
8. Cho Yong Pil (7.2%)
9. B2ST (5.5%)
10. Jang Yoon Jung (5.2%)
11. Ailee (5.1%)
12. A Pink (4.1%)
13. Big Bang (3.8%)
14. Kim Dong Ryul (3.6%)
15. Seo Taiji (3.1%)
16. Kim Bum Soo (3.0%), Sung Si Kyung (3.0%)
18. g.o.d (2.9%)
19. Tae Jin Ah (2.9%)
20. Hong Jin Young (2.6%)

Woah lookit Girl's Day all the way up there with the juggernauts!

And SISTAR realize their dream of joining Girls Generation in the top tier of girl groups (with 2NE1 nowhere to be found).

hahaha oh my gosh at 2NE1 being nowhere on the list

Yeah... and they were *everywhere* earlier this year when their album came out, the public is harsh

On the plus side "CL's American debut" has been slowly but surely morphing into "2NE1's American debut"

BTW there's been a bunch of idol rappers taking shots at each, most not good, but I gotta pass on this one from SIMS (M.I.B.): https://soundcloud.com/shownproove/you

(Trans)

Not exactly sure how I'd compare 2014 and 2013 in K-Pop... I definitely tried to listen to at least every major single that came out (definitely don't have the time to listen to every b side/mini album/full-length) but I remember thinking 2013 was pretty poor in comparison to 2012 at the end of the year. Thinking about it, there were so many artists this year that released music that I liked but not as much as songs they had in 2013... f(x), SNSD, Exo, Girl's Day, A Pink, 4minute, T-ara, 2PM, MBLAQ, Sunmi, Kara, G.NA, IU, Zion.T, VIXX, After School, Crayon Pop (to be fair the only song I love from them is Bing Bing), and probably a few more I'm forgetting. Definitely a good chunk if we compare stuff from 2012 too. And then there were zero releases from established artists I like (Big Bang, Brown Eyed Girls, Miss A, Nine Muses) along with zero releases releases from newer/not-as-popular groups I was hoping to see (GLAM, TWO X, Rania, EvoL, GI) and I was kind of let down. Still a good year though.

I was always really big on Tiny-G's Miss You and they haven't topped it yet. And that picture of them with Nine Muses is still a hoot.