I have been waiting for this to begin! I have never watched a sitcom before, it breaks up all the sageuks that I am watching, and it has Ken and High Top in it, what more could I want right now?
After the initial joy of hearing that two groups that I liked had people in this sitcom, I was then fascinated about the drama itself. It sounds easy enough: six strangers in their mid-twenties come to live together in a boarding house. The trailer and the poster are strangely ominous though, like they are all coming to this house and becoming trapped and so far, that is the vibe that I am getting.
Another year has ended and this later half has been just as busy as the beginning. Some people are making their millionth comeback of the year and others are making comebacks after what feels like a painful amount of time. For the half time show back in July, I chose songs I liked whether I had already reviewed them or not, and at the end I felt like I had become rather redundant, so I'm going to just stick with the artists that I liked but didn't review this time around.
I'm going to only slightly contradict myself now and mention B1A4's "What's Going On?", Block B's "Very Good", and VIXX's "VooDoo Doll" because they all won theirfirstaward with these songs and I have a great love for all of these groups. It was even better because they were all up against really big groups so the wins were that much more incredible. The only thing that would have made this better is if U-KISS had won something for "She's Mine" because seriously, why can't those guys catch a break, they're awesome.
When I first heard this song, I didn't really like it. I felt that it was too repetitive and I was still grooving to "Minimanimo" because, let's be honest, that song is awesome. I think what threw me was how different this song was from "Minimanimo" and I obviously wasn't ready for that. This song has a more mature and sexy feel to the candy colored before mentioned song. They also kept it in the realm of classy/cute sexy and there can always be more of that and less of the overt sexy that was the trend this year.
Miss A "Hush"
Whenever I think of this song all that comes to mind is jji jji party, Block B what have you done to me? It's also recently been ruined again since Min got punched by a back up dancer during a performance. I'm not a huge fan of Miss A but I do like that they have a powerful image. I was really impressed with this song because it did have a different sound than usual since it wasn't written by JYP and I wouldn't be opposed to them continuing with this sound for a while, nothing against JYP. The video was also interesting and kind of creepy. All the head shots of them singing and staring into the camera was so haunting looking and then at the end when their faces changed from one to the other was a cool effect.
SPICA "Tonight"
This is one of the videos and songs that grabbed me the moment that I hit the play button. I didn't really know anything about SPICA before this song, and I still don't, but they have song amazing vocals. This song is so fun and the video represents that too. The whimsy in the video and the bohemian style of the shoot fit perfectly with the song. The video also seems really candid even with all the obviously staged parts of it. These girls look like they are genuinely having fun during this shoot and seeing this I hope that they can get some more followers in the future.
Rookies
Ladies Code "Pretty Pretty"
Ladies Code debuted in March 2013 with the song "Bad Girl", because everybody this year was a bad boy or bad girl of some sort it seemed like. This was their comeback song and I think that I like it a little more than their debut song. I'm still not totally sure how I feel about them but they have killer vocals and they have a definite style. I am looking forward for what they put out in the future.
GI "Gi Yeuk"
So, I'm kind of in love with these girls. I'm also glad that they put out a MV for this song because I like it better than "Don't Lie". This song has a really cool Bollywood sound and that isn't something that you hear everyday. GI is also a group that you don't see everyday. I like that in their videos they are dancing and wearing baggy clothing and looking fierce rather than being super aegyo and sexy because there is more than enough of that going around.
Boys
MIB "Master"
This is one of those songs that within the first ten seconds of hearing it, I went to iTunes and bought it. I think that the reason that I liked it so much it because it has such a smooth sound. This song also came out about the same time that Kangnam made a cameo on I Hear Your Voice as the guy who stole Soo Ha's bag, so when I watched the video I had the "why do I know you?" dilemma. They have also put out another video which I didn't love right off the bat like this one, but now, I also love their new song. What I don't love is Sims little goatee thing. It's kind of creepy and it makes his chin looks dirty.
SHINee "Everybody"
When I first heard this song I was a little underwhelmed because it was so dubstepy.......no wait, it's actually compextro. Yeah, whatever. I have come to love it though. It is a fun song and SHINee hasn't done anything that sounds like this before. This was predominately a dance video though, let's be honest, that dance was freaking amazing and Taemin is a beast. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar.
Drunken Tiger "The Cure"
Okay, so technically this is a solo thing, but Yoon Mi Rae and Bizzy are in it, so I am making the executive decision to put it here. Tiger JK is one of those people that I only occasionally listen to since he is a rapper and I have never been one to listen to rap, this song is fantastic though. Even though it is a rap song, it has a melody line since Yoon Mi Rae is in it and instead of a "normal" rap beat, it has a reggae feel to it. This is one of those songs that makes you feel good while you are listening to it, and then it sticks with you as you go on with your day.
Rookies
Airplane "Give Me a Chance"
I'm so glad that these guys are finally back because I fell in love with them when they debuted earlier this year with "You Are Pretty". Something that I mentioned about them before is that since they are a trio, I can hear all the members and they are have a sound that is their own. I don't know their names, but I think that I am in love with the member that sings the "kajima~" part. It's so clear and wonderful and I always have to sing along at that part too. I say that anyone who doesn't also jam to that part as well is a liar, because how can you not?
24K "U R So Cute"
When I heard this song in July, I really liked it, but I didn't take the time to actually look into this group because if I looked into every group that I thought was interesting, I wouldn't get anything done, ever. While going back over the things I liked I found this one again and looked into the group more. They debuted as 4K and then added two more creating 24K and I think that it is pretty safe to say that I am hooked.
It has been a busy year in the K-pop industry and there have been a lot of comebacks and a lot of debuts. With all of those songs there is going to be a lot of wonderful things happening, but there is always the chance of disappointment. When a fan is waiting for so long for their favorite group to come back, and when they do and you finish the video you just sit there thinking, that's what I've been waiting for? We will not be talking about those sad moments in K-pop though, these are some of the songs that we thought were the best ones that have come out this year. These are the songs that came and whispered sweet nothings to us and then proceeded to have a love affair with out eardrums.
This was the first song that I heard from Tiny-G and I absolutely loved it. They are all just so petite looking, I just want to put them in my pocket and take care of them. I liked how they incorporated that into the video by making them appear like they were in a Honey I Shrunk the Kids movie. This song is crazy catchy and after I listened to it I was singing (or at least trying to sing) the chorus all day. It goes a little like "Nanananana Minimanimo" and repeat. Oh yeah, I'm good.
~ Alora
Why am I so embarrassed to say I love this song award - Becca
Rainbow "Sunshine"
This song is so fun, it was a nice addition to other summery type of songs that are coming out to welcome the season. Another reason why I liked it is because the girls are cute and sexy, but not to the point where I am uncomfortable watching the video, which is happening quiet often. The song and the video matched very well to create something lovely and happy. I talked about this song for a K-pop review so go read it if you want to know more about what I think.
~ Alora
Sunny Hill "Darling of all Hearts"
I know that I recently talked about this song, but I really like the sound and the message it has. Sunny Hill is one of those groups that is really good but isn't one of those super top groups that people drool over, at least I don't think that they are..... am I wrong about this?
~ Alora
Boys
MBLAQ "Smoky Girl"
This song was so smooth and loungy sounding. It was pretty different from what they have done in the past and it was welcomed. The chorus was repetitive, but that can be forgiven because it was so good. I've already written a whole post about this, so let me direct you this way! ~ Alora
Sexiest suits in a music video award - Becca
B1A4 "What's Happening?"
B1A4, how I love you are your craziness. This music video still creeps me out a little, but I have come to accept it, kind of, Baro still murdered Ken. This song was so funny and strange and it did really well in the combining of different song sounds into one giant song. I hope that they can get more recognition because they are quite talented. I also wrote about this song and created my own tragic story to go along with it, what do you think?
~ Alora
Most appropriately named music video award - Becca
BAP "One Shot"
Becca chose this video, but to be perfectly honest, it didn't really do it for me. Not that it is a bad song, I just wasn't really feeling it. I have the same issue with "Power" it's an okay song, but far from my favorite thing BAP has put out. I am in love with BAP's new song "Coffee Shop" though, so that is definitely my favorite BAP song of the year thus far.
~ Alora
Most surprising music video ending award - Becca
Nu'est "Hello"
You know why the girl is mad at Ren in the video? It's because he's prettier than her. That girl got some serious Nu'est action though, holy crap. I'm not really a fan of Nu'est, even though this song is quite good. I'll just leave this one for Becca.
~ Alora
I like your song, but your music video gives me anger issues award - Becca
