Top Ten Kpop Songs (January-March 2014)

  First thing, confession time. Instead doing a survey or whatsoever, I made this list based on my favorite songs released in January to March 2014. Double confession time: I was bias when it came to ranking the songs. Come on. Being a Kpop critic doesn’t mean that I can’t be particularly fond of certain Kpop groups, right? Besides, one man’s meat is another man’s poison. I’m doing this to share my favorite Kpop songs to everyone who cares to read my blog.

10) B.A.P—1004

Yes! Finally! A song that is good enough from B.A.P! Before 1004, they were doing a lot of ballads and aegyos in their music videos, and it’s something that makes me feel very uncomfortable because the powerful and energetic B.A.P aren’t meant for stuffs like this. They totally rocked Warrior and No Mercy, but now they did it even better in 1004. The intro of the song is pretty addictive, and they presented a powerful and mind-blowing dance that you couldn’t find it anywhere, except in Kpop. The MV though, doesn’t make any sense but let’s just skip the part I complain about how illogical Kpop MVs can be sometimes, alright?

9) Taeyeon (SM the Ballad)—Set Me Free

I noticed that Kpop groups normally steer clear of ballads. That’s because Kpop is targeted to teenagers, and they prefer different genres like dance pop rather than ballads. However, to achieve success in Kpop just by ballads, you would have to produce a really damn assdhsfdgldgkpsfadfrfhfcdl awesome ballad that is going to capture everyone’s heart. Taeyeon, with her perfect vocals, presents heartbreaking ballads all this time. I love Closer (To The Beautiful You’s OST), and I’m so glad that SM the Ballad decided to let Taeyeon sing Set Me Free. The song is so beautiful, and I think no one else could sing this song better than her.

8) 2NE1—Happy

I always feel happy when this song starts playing on my phone. The song is so cheery and cute and I could feel the extra jolt of serotonin running in my blood lol! This song is so fun, and this is what Kpop is about, isn’t? I always love fun and silly songs, I found comfort in songs like Happy in mundane everyday’s life. I have watched the MV for a few times, jumping and singing along at the same time, but the song is just so fun and 2NE1 is so cute and I swear the temperature in my room rose by several degrees when I was watching it repeatedly on Youtube. It’s official: 2NE1’s MVs are meant for rewatch. 

7) Girls’ Generation—Mr.Mr.

GG did a good job in Mr.Mr. There’s no silly rappings (The Boys, remember?), no different songs being mixed together (I actually like I Got A Boy but obviously there’s a lot of people who don’t like the combination GG had produced). Mr.Mr. is pure singing, just like what Simon and Martina from Eat Your Kimchi had said. The song is catchy and I have to stop everything I’m doing and sexy-dancing around my room when Mr.Mr. starts playing. I don’t like the MV because I know they were trying to present a story but in the end it got poorly edited. I’m waiting for the dance version of Mr.Mr. , SM.

6) Lee HongKi (FT Island)—What I Wanted To Say

This is actually an OST of the drama Bride of The Century (No I’m not doing free advertisement here but yeah, I’ve finished watching the 16-episode drama. It’s about a girl who is about to get married to a rich man but...BACK TO THE SONG, PLEASE!) Since FT Island is always about upbeat songs, so it’s great to see HongKi singing such song. There’s so much emotions in this song, and with HongKi’s vocals, this song is perfect. This is going to be an award-winning OST, mark my words.

5) Singing Got Better—Ailee

Ailee got to be one of the most talented singer in Kpop. Although she is constantly being compared to Lee Hyori and Hyolin, I think Ailee has successfully pulled her own style and she’s going to stay and awe everyone with her soulful singing. Singing Got Better and Heaven, one of my all-time favorite songs, are equally awesome. Her songs are so much better than some other Kpop groups. I hope Ailee could stick to her style, and continue to produce soul-destroying, earth-shakingly great songs like Singing Got Better. Way to go, Ailee!

4) Rain—La Song

This is the song that after you have listened to it once, you will never forget it. I laughed so hard when I first heard the intro. And then I laughed even harder when I saw Rain’s dancing. Hey I’m not making fun of Rain, it’s a compliment! At least Rain produced something that is appropriate to his age. The MV is pretty awesome, there’s nothing I want to complain about the MV. Rain was trying to pull off a fun and hilarious MV, and he succeeded. The ‘LAAAAAA LA LA LA LA’ part is damn catchy  (I know you didn’t read it, you sang it in your head). If you’re thinking hard what song to use to create comic effect in your skit or drama, La Song would be perfect.

3) SoYou and Junggigo—Some

This song has been topping the charts for the longest time in 2014. I didn’t understand why, and I never bothered to check it out until my friend told me about the song recently. So I checked it out, and fell in love with this song instantly. This chorus is so beautiful, the lyrics are so beautiful, the song itself is a beauty. Too bad I can’t understand the MV though because there’s a lot of Korean words inserted in the MV. I feel kinda ashamed of myself because I judged the song before I even listen to it. I have never heard of Junggigo before, but now I’m going to keep a close eye on him and I’m waiting for more awesome songs from this awesome guy.

2) CNBlue—Can’t Stop

I have been a Boice for a long time, so I guess it’s not surprising that this song hogs the No.2 spot on my list. I believe that CNBlue can do no wrong. CNBlue’s Love is awesome. So is Intuition. And Hey You. And Love Revolution. And I’m Sorry. And now Can’t Stop. CNBlue makes me life complete since 2009! Unlike other Kpop groups, they produce their own music and their songs have been so great that it’s impossible that you don’t like their songs. Since the day Can’t Stop is released, I listen to the song almost every day and never get bored of it. I love YongHwa’s voice, and JungShin is so hot with his bass guitar and JongHyun so cute and MinHyuk so charming with the drums. I better stop now before turning my blog into a fangirl edition. Just check out the song, will ya?

And now…coming up the No.1 spot…

*drum rolling*

*clarinet whistling*

*nose blowing*

1) 2NE1—Come Back Home

If you have read my review on 2NE1’s Come Back Home, you will know how much I adore this song. This song is perfect. The MV is well presented, probably one of the best Kpop MVs in Kpop history, the storyline is something that will shake you up. The song is thick with emotions, and I like Dara’s part on ‘come baby baby come come baby’, it’s really catchy. They arranged the song in such brilliant order, and all the 2NE1’s members combined their voices in great harmony. It’s worth the wait, the whole album is gold. This song makes me proud to be a Kpop critic.