Favorite K-pop of the Year - Solos and Sub Units 2014

I always like to put something in front of the actual post, but I am seriously drawing a blank here. I could say something corny about soloists being brave and unique to be their own person instead of hanging out in a group, but I am not really feeling that right now. I guess the only thing that I can think of is that the artists in this list are all over the place. There's folk pop, K-pop, a fake group, and some in between things. So after that awkward intro, on to the post!

Spring K-pop Favorites

Happy end of spring/beginning of summer! How is the weather in your areas of the world? We have had some pretty grossly hot days here, but there have also been some really nice days. We have also had a few really good lightening storms which were pretty cool. It will only continue to get hotter though and monsoon season is not yet upon us. I'm sure that it will all be quite the experience when it starts.

For this season's songs that I liked there are less videos with a small view count and even the ones with a smaller count aren't nearly as small as the ones that I chose last time. There is a repeat from last time as well because the person in question is awesome!

K-pop End of the Year Show 2013 Solos and Subunits

The soloists, the people that don't have to split their paycheck with their 50 other band mates at the end of the day. There are quite a few people in here that use to be in a group and struck out on their own for various reasons and there are also others who are going for the time being and then they will return to their family.

I wonder what it is like to be solo after being in a group. I would think that it could give you that sick to your stomach feel when you are excited but also terrified about something. You hope that it goes well, but at the same time there is potential for it to all go wrong. These people definitely didn't get it wrong though, whether they have always been alone or they are making a name for themselves outside of their usual group activities.

Comebacks         Debuts         K-pop Half Time Show 2013

Solos

Girls

Lee Jung Hyun "V"

This video is ten times of crazy and so is the song. After watching this video I looked into Lee Jung Hyun more and she seems to favor this creepy doll fashion motif, it totally works for her. In music videos, when they try to tell a story and they end up being really long, it's a hit and miss for me. I don't like it when my song is interrupted by the story because then I don't feel like I really know what the song sounds like. This video tells the story in and around the video and I have watched it quite a few times because it is so ridiculous and fun to watch. The music also works with the haunted house set because it does sound like a song that ghosts would be dancing to when no one is looking.

Lim Kim "Goodbye 20" 

I had a really hard time deciding what song to pick for her because I'm kind of love with everything that she has done this year so I went with the most recent one. Her voice is just so unique and ethereal sounding I could listen to her all day which I feel really weird saying. I am not a huge fan of female singers because they are always just so freaking sexy and I don't like it. They if they aren't painfully sexy they give me a cavity with their cuteness. Lim Km does neither of this things so that is a plus. I'm also not a huge fan of ballad type songs and she does have slower songs, but I love those too. What is happening to me? I also found out that she is the girl that had a crush on L in Shut Up Flower Boy Band and that drama was one of the best things that happened ever.

Insooni "Beautiful Girl"

I've decided that this woman is my new hero, she's like a Korean Annie Lennox. They are both older female singers that are still being awesome in an industry that is dominated by skin and youth. This song and video also makes me really happy to watch and listen to which is the whole point behind it. I am definitely going to have to find some more music by her.

Boys

Jay Park "I Like 2 Party"

This is the Jay Park sound I like rather than the profanity laced raps that he puts out. I know that there are a lot of different sides to him, but that is just not a side that I enjoy. What I like about this song is that the title tells you exactly what the song is, it's a party song and it makes me want to get up and dance. Unless I missed a whole chunk of music that came out this year, there wasn't a lot of dance tracks that came out. The only other one that really stands out in my mind right now is Xia's song "Incredible" that came out earlier this year.  

Kim Hyun Joong ft. Jay Park  "Unbreakable" 

Kim Hyun Joong has come a long way since his Boys Over Flowers days and he has done a very good job in transitioning from the flower boy Ji Hoo to the super legit Kim Hyun Joong. I'm not sure what else to say right now as I type because I think that I am starting the new year with a head cold and I have a pounding headache between my eyes and I can feel it creeping to my neck as I sit here and write. Just go listen to the song, you won't be sorry. 

Kim Jin Pyo "Zombie" 

Even if you don't like this song, you can't tell me that you didn't like this video, I refuse to listen to you and I'll just make you watch it again because this was amazing. I think that the difference between Kim Jin Pyo's voice and LYn's voice also fit in well with the feel of the video. In all the horror that is going on around these two people they still have each other and then the ending is heartbreaking and LYn's clear voice is used perfectly at that point. I am a little confused about that white boy though. Where did he come from?  

Seung Ri "Gotta Talk to You"

I was afraid to watch this video when it first came out because of the scandalousness that was the teaser.This video didn't burn out my eyes though and it was actually quite good. It had a sexy, loungey feeling, but at the same time it had the electric pan pipes (yes, the electric pan pipes, I just made it up) in the background which gave it a modern and exciting sound. And like Kim Hyung Joong, that is all I can say.   

Lim Chung Jang "Open the Door"

This video is just one ball of crazy, and I love it. I don't listen to a lot of trot music, mainly because I don't know any trot artists, but I do like listening to it once in a while. The songs are so upbeat and fun, is there such a thing as a trot ballad? Probably, but trot seems to happy for that. All the cameos in this video made it that much better too from the simple ones like Daniel Choi to the funny ones like U-KISS and Heechul. Overall, this song and video are a total win.

Yoo Seung Woo "U Who?"

This kid is seriously too cute and he definitely gets a place on my list of Idols I Want to Give a Cookie. He's just so little and he plays the guitar and that bowl hair cut is the final straw. I also love that he lip syncs San E's rap part and he's all done up in his "hood" clothes and he's acting as gangster as his cute little frame will let him. 

~ Alora

K-pop Half Time Show 2013 Solos and Subunits

I think that it takes a special person to promote singly, especially when you are in a presently promoting group. I can see going from a group where you can feed off other people's energy to being solo could be both exhilarating and terrifying. One of my favorite things about people who are putting out solo albums for the first time outside of a group is you get to see a completely different side of them. You are so used to seeing them one way but then they completely 180 when they are on their own. Here are those people that we felt really shined through the masses of large groups as a singular star.
   

 Comebacks     Debuts

Solos

Girls 

Lee Hyori "Bad Girls"

Lee Hyori has been killing it this year with all the songs and videos that she has put out. I love the pop art concept that is going on in this video and the back track sounds like something that you might hear in an old cartoon during a corny chase scene. I am also a fan of her newest video "Crazy". She is just furthering the fact that she is one of the queens of K-pop.

~ Alora

Lee Hi

This song is so pretty and it has a really different sound from a lot of other K-pop videos. It is a ballad, and while I don't usually go for ballads, I actually really like this one. I also like how the song is sung predominantly in her chest voice, it just gives the song a whole different feel from the popular sounds that K-pop is putting out right now.

~ Alora

I wish I had your voice award - Becca

Boys 

Heo Young Saeng "The Art of Seduction

I love this song so much. I haven't been listening to K-pop for too awfully long so I missed SS501, even though they don't really do it for me anyways, sorry. This song has a great funky kind of disco sound and it is also rocking the synths. This is one of the songs that makes me wish that I really could sing along with it and not just make up nonsensical words and sounds that sound similar. That being said I've been singing "I'm burning up yeah" during the chorus, apparently it's "Oppa neun eottae", who knew? Last note, I totally want crazy-stalker-kidnapper girls pink sweater. 

~ Alora

Roy Kim "Bom Bom Bom"

This was the first time that I had ever heard a Roy Kim song even though I had seen his name before on K-pop news sites. When I listened to this song, the first thing that came to mind when he started singing was "Oh my gosh it's the Korean John Denver" and I still stand by that. He has such a wonderfully smooth voice and can hit higher notes as well as deeper notes with ease. He can come and sing me to sleep any time. 

~ Alora

 Jae Joong "Mine"

I got into K-pop long after the whole DBSK fiasco, so I don't suffer from DBSK withdraws like so many others, even though I am quite fond of "Mirotic", but then again who isn't? I loved this song the second the first chord was played because this is the type of American music I listen to. This song is just so gritty and different from the super sexy electric feel that normally comes with K-pop. This song is definitely toeing the line between K-pop and J-rock and I absolutely love it. Keep doing this JaeJoong, because it's freaking awesome. 

~ Alora 

G-Dragon "Michi Go"

Oh G-Dragon, what would we do without your cracked out solo videos? Also, that pink elephant? Totally not subtle, is all. 

~ Alora

Why do all my friends say you look like a girl in this music video? award - Becca 

K.Will "Love Blossom"

I had heard K.Will songs before because he is the king of OSTs, but I had never actually sat down and really listened to a song or watched a video. This song was awesome though, it is one of those songs you listen to and think, "Yeah! Sometime it will stop snowing and being cold. The sun will come out and everything will be okay!" It is too bad that K.Will took a head shot from L though, even though it was a clever way to use an otherwise "unusable" singer in a video. Put K.Will in his own videos, dang it!  

~ Alora

Cleverest use of the artist in a music video award - Becca 

Jay Park "Joah" 

I don't listen to Jay Park because he tends to be a angry gangster rapper and I am not an angry gangster rap type of person. I was pleasantly surprised to hear this song though. It's so cute and, well, cute. Who knew right? I know that Jay Park is a phenomenal rapper, but I would not be sad to hear more songs like this because his voice is like butter. 

~ Alora 

Where did this soft side come from and how can I see it more often award - Becca  

 

 Sub Units 

I think that subunits are very similar to solo artists in the sense that you get to see something different that the usual concept that you are used to from a specific group. It showcases the talents of certain people that may be overshadowed in large vocal groups.There weren't a lot to pick from in this category, but from those few, these are who we really liked.

Boys 

 Infinite H "Special Girl"

I don't really listen to Infinite, the only thing I really knew about them was that L was in Shut Up! Flower Boys Band, but I really liked this song when it came out. I like the mix between the sung chorus and the rapped verses. I also decided that I really like Dongwoo because he had pink hair and, not to sound super weird or anything, he has really nice lips. 

~ Alora

Best dancing and swagger in a Sub Group music video award - Becca 

U-Beat "Should Have Treated You Better"

I have recently come to love U-Kiss so I was excited to hear the a sub group was going to be created. I liked that AJ and Eli were the main players in this sun group because rappers don't get a lot of stage time in a group. They usually come out for the bridge or do basic background rapping. Not this time though! AJ and Eli are getting their chance to shine in their very own sub group with a special appearance by Kevin.

~ Alora

Most upbeat sad song award - Becca

Girls 

 No love for female sub groups here, sorry.