K-pop

the synth sounds in that shinee song are like catnip to me

It's you and I, dyao, we'll stroll into the k-pop sunset singing high-budget production pop tunes all the way.

Main HBIC BoA with her korean comeback.. so self-confident she's basically gloating. Awesome, even though I prefer her rnb material.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqmaH915m6k

Lots of great material in here, thanks to everyone's contributions. I must confess I came across K-Pop via Super Junior, the 13 (!) member boy band/pop culture sensation of Korea. "Sorry, Sorry" is as good an intro as any, although there is much more on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qWp1p1cpE0

Because they have so many members there are sub-groups made up of various member configurations with names like "Super Junior-M" and (my favorite) "Super Junior Happy." I think concept trumps the actual music in the case of Super Junior but I can't help but be utterly fascinated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pit7RS4mPI0

True, and here's a nice SNSD (the five lead vocalists) take on 'Sorry Sorry'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkMdA7zsjn8

super junior t is the best!! srsly this song is 1x actual jam:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K2R1Mw2IzI

(nb i have not really listened to any other suju)

these two playlists of kpop are good: http://bunnybissoux.blogspot.com/2010/06/where-did-all-k-pop-go.html

wait are they called super junior m because they sing in mandarin? that's some breaking-the-chinese-market strategy they've got going there.

Yeah they're basically some guys from Super Junior teamed up with two Chinese stars for Chinese market K-pop crossover potential. I *think* all their singles come out in Korean and Mandarin versions, though that may not be 100% accurate.

how do they usually get the mandarin sounding ok? software or ringers?

tbh the mandarin doesn't sound very ok

This is too sweet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI2OD-rIx6Y

These guys are on some sort of revival mission, and it's earworming its way into my heart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IldrTU6n5rI

^Great stuff and different from most of the K-Pop I've heard^

Thanks for posting.

yes, that is really nice! great summer jam, glad it showed up while there's still some summer left.

Starting today I'll go through all the #1 winners on long-running k-chart show "Music Bank", from September 2007 and onwards (because that's when Wiki starts listing every winner)... why not?

07-09-2007: Big Bang - Lies (3 non-consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=DZFaUp2PADM

"So sick of love songs", like Ne-Yo. Gets pretty grim lyrically. The melody sounds a little simple today, nothing much happens in the verses except for the quite good rapping. Big Bang have done better, but at their blandest they're still ok. The bass beat is a plus. 6/10

14-09-2007: FT Island - Lovesick (1 week on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=5bCr4Imp0Ts

Very little here to seperate it from countless other bombastic Asian rock songs, strings and all, but the melody is pleasant enough and I'm sure it's fun to belt out at your local noraebang. 5/10

I like this idea!

These first ones are bit boring so I'll go through a few more.

21-09-2007: Kang Jin - Ddang Beol (1 week on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=xup0ZFR2MjM

Simpler times, only three years ago. I very much doubt a trot (korean folk pop) song could win a chart show award today, and why should it? This is aimed squarely at older women, and since these tv shows count viewer votes as well I'm not really sure why it did win back in 07. I hear it featured in a movie, and the singer could charm the pants off your grandma. In any case it's trot on autopilot. 2/10

12-10-2007 FT Island - Thunder (1 week on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=UDmBGSH1tYo

Another one from these 20 year old guys, who - with their plodding songs - sound at least 20 years older than that. Slower and more careful than their previous #1, and a little more boring. 4/10

02-11-2007 Wonder Girls - Tell Me (2 consecutive weeks, 5 weeks in total + year-end win) -- youtube.com/watch?v=GFW1zxz9BDs

Wonder Girls broke some commercial milestones in Korea, but I've never cared for them. The songs and the girls are too bland (blame producer/boss JYP for the songs), and the fact that they have become the artists with the biggest push to break the American market is truly sad and has probably ruined opportunities for better-fit artists - past AND future. But this is by far their best song, flirty and light on its feet. 8/10

16-11-2007 Insooni - 거위의 꿈 (1 week on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=98cBKB4Vbzs

Revered Korean singer with Korean mother and African American father, and a 30 year career behind her. It's difficult to claim she doesn't deserve some awards, and the song sounds particularly nice performed live, where her personality shines through more than on record. 6/10

(Weeks of repeat winners and album chart shows follow)

21-12-2007 Big Bang - Last Farewell -- youtube.com/watch?v=7B2SyAf7EB4

Big Bang are already back! It's not hard to see why they dominated 2007 -- they do the modern RnB game dominated by Americans without coming off as second rate copycats, and they're explosive performers. This one's slightly better than "Lies". 7/10

2008 coming up.

18-01-2008 Ha-ha - You Are My Destiny (2 consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=Kql1GbYHi9o

It's worth reminding new, casual k-pop listeners that the aggressive electro pop spearheaded by groups such as 4Minute and copied by many is a recent trend and not the foundation of all k-pop (nor is it necessarily what sells the most now). This is about as mellow and passive as pop gets, a slight retro tune with few ideas spread thinly, but apparently with a hummable enough tune to give Mr Ha-Ha two weeks at the top. 4/10

15-02-2008 Park Ji Heon - The Day I Miss You (1 week on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=EpaIkOUA0gg

Mid-tempo ballad, lifted from a movie soundtrack, which just bores me endlessly. 2/10

22-02-2008 Brown Eyed Girls - LOVE (1 week on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=cof6QXhkOUA

This is interesting. B.E.G re-invented themselves (found their true calling) in 2009 with smash hit 'Abracadabra', and this first chart #1 from them is anonymous in comparison. Not bad, though - an airy chorus and pleasantness without sugary sweetness. Talented rapper Miryo is given parts, but her pizzaz fits better with the group's later material. 6/10

29-02-2008 Girls' Generation (SNSD) - Kissing You (February chart) -- youtube.com/watch?v=CRNANAUOIsM

My least favorite SNSD single because it's too satisfied with its own sweetness. Everything is harmony here, the girl even describing how her and her boo's feet synchronize when strolling along. "고마워 사랑해 행복만 줄게요" - "I only want to give you happiness, thank you and love you", uck! Too much. It's still catchy enough for a 6/10.

thanks for doing this! some real gems, but also some real stinkers. electropop, girl groups really are the best.

^ It's interesting to note the relative slim girl group pickings in the charts "back then". Now they're everywhere and new ones are popping up monthly. Girls' Generation were absent for almost the whole of 2008 and really weren't very popular among the general public.

07-03-2008 Jewelry - One More Time (7(!) consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=Dzkfz9UWu_E

Maybe that's why people loved the girl group hits they got so much? The few groups winning awards this year accounted for a lot of the weeks, combined. This is a straight remake of In-Grid's (remember Tu-Es-Foutu?) song and the European sound appealed to a lot of people. The appeal mainly comes from the same sampled gimmick as In-Grid's bigger hit. The song was bigger than the group, though, and they still haven't won another first place. 6/10

25-04-2008 Lee Seung-gi - I Will Give You Everything (1 week on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=G36N_Sem2So

Male ballad singer searches for ways to sufficiently pay back his girlfriend for being the most amazingly warm and caring person on earth. Fine and gentle, but very predictable unexciting. 3/10

02-05-2008 MC Mong - Circus (5 consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=TTUclwr-Jo0

It's the year of the huge hits. Funnyman and hip-hopper Mong calls out the naysayers with a big sing-a-long chorus and what sounds like an organ - apparently it's also the year of the aerophone instruments. 6/10

06-06-2008 Wonder Girls - So Hot (5 consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=lmun5PO54VE

In 2008 Wonder Girls were the biggest pop stars in Korea. This sounds really amazing for the first minute, but fails to take it all the way to 'masterpiece'. I had still underrated severely it in the back of my mind, though, but it IS the last good single they released. K-pop fans' opinions are split on the obligatory rap bits in so many pop singles (and designated rap members in girl groups), but why not? It's not like it doesn't fit as a bridge here. 8/10

Here's a K-Pop/J-Pop piece that Jaime Lowe wrote for the Voice 10 years ago, fwiw:

http://www.villagevoice.com/2000-02-01/music/so-much-difference/

That's interesting.. so much has changed in those ten years. "Low-tech" and "less money, less makeup" are probably the least fitting descriptions possible of the music and videos these days, although "a world unto itself, yet steeped in references" still describes it perfectly.
---

18-07-2008 Davichi - Love and War (1 week on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=V97rRGbO94o

Davichi are a female dance pop duo who specialize in slightly schlager-ish tunes. Most of their singles are perfectly listenable, ranging from a 6 to a 7 - this one gets a 6/10.

25-07-2008 Brown Eyes - Don't Go Don't Go (1 week on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=6VoUgXgDeGQ

Grand ballad. Male singer. About what you'd expect, but the video goes way beyond that. 3/10

01-08-2008 Lee Hyori - U-Go-Girl (3 consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=kRhwgQyyy6Q

For me, one of the quintessential k-pop singles. Cut-up and crazy, the intensity waxes and wanes through talk-singy, sprightly verses and a chorus which speeds things up and directs a frightening barrage of heavy beats in the general direction of the listener. The bridge, meanwhile, takes the concept of "several songs in one" to a mad new level. "U-Go-Girl" is everything that's both appealing about k-pop to so many and slightly baffling to others, and its catchiness lies in a certain je ne sais quoi of rhythm, repetition and power which may escape listeners out for a sugary pop fix. Adding to all of this the lyrics are funny and great, so I'm linking to a translated video. 10/10

Sorry, I guess that's actually the post-chorus* or second part of the chorus.

Girl groups knocked it out the fucking park yesterday. Three major new singles revealed.

Amazing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6jnCTkojOM

Sort of amazing (but with less glee):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKliL9QyFTQ

Forgot the Rich Harrison one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x14FT5_hm04

what's going on in that brown eyes video :o

catching up

22-08-2008 Big Bang - Day By Day (5 non-consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=MzCbEdtNbJ0

This is a fairly standard recipe for a k-pop rnb ballad - some angry-sounding rap parts contrasted with a bitter-sweet chorus, preferably featuring a weeping piano. I see now that girl group After School never won a Music Bank #1 with their hit "Because of You", but I recommend checking that one out for a prime example of this formula. That one's maybe strong 8/10, this a 5/10.

29-08-2008 Seo Tae-ji - Moai (1 week on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=tq_jBNAMb9g

Some sort of hymn to the statues of Eastern Island. Got nothing to say about this. 2/10

03-10-2008 Wonder Girls - Nobody (4 consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=3cspKsfe3VY

This is the song Wonder Girls later translated to English to try and break the American market with. This!? It's a limp, false appropriation of a 'retro' sound, with none of the explosiveness of the music it wants to be. And live, it's even more depressing, so you can imagine my disgust watching the prime-time So You Think You Can Dance performance of this song, realizing how long it would be until a k-pop artist got the same slot again. 5/10

31-10-2008 TVXQ - Mirotic (1 week on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=HtJS32n6LNQ

Crackling synth rnb. Not so much about the melody as the producer's warm carpet of sounds, but there are some nice harmonies from the boys here. 7/10

07-11-2008 Kim Jong-kook - Today More Than Yesterday (2 consec weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=YSMmJV8-Qys

Big muscular guy turns out to be soft as a feather in every way. Sympathetic enough. 5/10

21-11-2008 Big Bang - Sunset Glow (2 consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=vkRmw_vADS8

They're back! And throw away the anger to put on the party hats, in the process becoming far less boring. Celebratory synth cascades, hungry performers and even some sing-a-long potential. Good times. 8/10

05-12-2008 Baek Ji-Young - Being Hit by a Bullet (5 non-consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=1unBAP6xvhw

This must've hit some note with the Korean public... Baek's got a pretty long history there, with a sometimes troubled career, so that might explain the resonance. Does very little for me, this ballad. 4/10

That's it for 2008.

It's 2009, and suddenly all the songs are good.

16-01-2009 SNSD (Girls' Generation) - Gee (9 consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=U7mPqycQ0tQ

Greatest song ever made. 10/10

20-03-2009 Davichi - 8282 (2 non-consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=Z-QX7Fe71fA

Wonderfully melodramatic stomper. As they're wont to do, Davichi have put two songs in one, one slow and one fast, which seemingly don't fit at all. I thought this was a 7/10, but right now it feels novel enough for a 8/10.

27-03-2009 Super Junior - Sorry Sorry (5 non-consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=x6QA3m58DQw

"Sorry Sorry" and "Gee" being released around the same probably did most of the work launching k-pop as an internet phenomenon with millions of video views, and k-pop blogs launching every day. The echo of "Sorry Sorry"s repetitive synthesized sound is heard in many k-pop boyband singles later on. 8/10

01-04-2009 Son Dam-Bi - Saturday Night (2 consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=Q-OWotWibTg&

Rollerskates! That makes it disco, right? Light-hearted pop funk. Yes, I think it would work very well on a saturday night. 7/10

Some news about the Korean Wave.. KARA becomes the first Korean girl-group to enter the Japanese Oricon chart's top 10, at number 5, with 'Mister'. SNSD are entering the market in September and if logic prevails they should do even better.

And 2nd best girl group 2NE1 are releasing their first full-length album in September. Here's the twist: They're semi-simultaneously going for the American market, and several tracks on the album have been produced by will.i.am. Apparently he's gonna help them achieve better things there than other k-pop artists have done. Well, I guess he deserves some credit for Cheryl's success in Europe. Hopefully longtime label producer Teddy will have more to say on the music side of things.

http://i939.photobucket.com/albums/ad234/abcfsk/2nepants-o.gif

22-05-2009 Super Junior - It's You (1 week on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=7ErgffP0wVw

Instantly appealing RnB smoothy with a sneaky, restless clap percussion. It's a beautiful song, but its haunting, intimate atmosphere makes you question what each of the 13 members is contributing to it. 8/10

05-06-2009 Shinee - Juliette (2 non-consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=kCzDYBGbx-M

Scritti Politti perfectly channeled via Korean boyband. These guys can seriously dance, but a better example is that of their debut single "Noona you're so pretty" (why didn't it chart on Music Bank? It was a hit). For a long time these guys stood out among the Korean boybands as something different, more casually confident. I'm not such big a fan of their latest single, though. 8/10

12-06-2009 2pm - Again and Again (1 week on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=wLiLn91TKzc

A brilliant, simple hook to the beat. The song mostly lives up to it, finding a spooky, desperate core. 8/10

03-07-2009 2pm - I Hate You (1 week on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=kx4KtnTIG1o

Over-autotuned, bit of a mess. 4/10

10-07-2009 SNSD (Girls' Generation) - Tell Me Your Wish (Genie) (1 week on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=6SwiSpudKWI

A thumping synth pop thing performed with military precision fitting of its naval uniforms. Truly one of the most irrestible electro pop songs made last decade, partly because it doesn't feel the need to blow a whole load of half-cooked ideas (typical of so many chilly electro pop songs) at one time, or banal prettiness, instead playing up a chorus of crystallized FORCE, all the girls energy focused on one spot ('NAN.NEOL.SARANG-HAE'). 10/10

17-07-2009 2NE1 - I Don't Care (5 consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=4MgAxMO1KD0

Girl power hits k-pop! Independent women proclaim that, well, if you're like THAT I won't bother with you in the future and NO, I won't shed a tear about it. Hell, "from now on I'll be a bad girl who makes guys cry". These girls are crazy good, as fiery characters in the small stories of their music videos, as performers with an aura of comfort around them, as singers and rappers. YES we do believe that they're this tough, and the sing-a-long chorus is as catchier than any other RnB anthem of 2009. This was their second single. The first single 'Fire' is crasser, more hip-hop-y and almost as good. 10/10

whoa, 'sunset glow'!

K-pop is currently holding five out of ten Twitter trending topics. If you guys want to be hip with the world wide web kids you better get on this train now, bros.

The 'Applegirl' (김여희) who went viral a few months back with Gaga and Beyonce covers performed on four ipods has just released a 3-track single with her self-penned material, and it's great!

'My Music', a simple song which heads straight for a climax of melody and intensity:
http://www.youtube.com/v/PF42AM1v-mg&fs=1&hl=en

Here's her doing 'Slow Motion' by Karina
http://www.youtube.com/v/0VTOwtL6RE0&fs=1&hl=en

― abcfsk, Monday, May 31, 2010 5:48 AM (2 months ago) Bookmark

yo abcfsk has she done anything since? I downloaded the three track single and all three of them are such jams, they are among my most played songs of the year

No I don't think so. She got to perform twice on prime time music tv, but I don't know how much she sold. I'm sure the label didn't expect too much, it was a low-key deal, so I hope an album is in the works. She did a short English version of 'My Song' on youtube: youtube.com/watch?v=JLBNf79oB8k -

BoA performs one my favorite ballads off her new album

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

TIME: "Korean Pop, with Online Help, Goes Global" http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2013227,00.html?xid=rss-world-huffpo#ixzz0xiGGmrlS

Not much new, talks a little about 2NE1's American venture, and some new quotes from Taeyang -- who's just released the international version of his very, very good RNB album. It's doing quite well on the itunes RNB charts around the world. For dyao it mentions that Kim Yeo Hee will release a new single in September.

is there a full-on subgenre of christian kpop, or is it isolated to the odd song here and there?

What particular songs are you thinking of? Or are you just asking in general?

21-08-2009 Brown Eyed Girls - Abracadabra (1 week on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=OIUk0vzhOdw

Here's the tune where relative veterans B.E.G re-invented themselves as edgy and won a lot of new fans. "You'll change me into something bad" they say, but they're pretty bad already here. Irresistible verses trump the chorus. 8/10

28-08-2009 G-Dragon - Heartbreaker (5 consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=LOXEVd-Z7NE

Big Bang's bad boy goes solo. Attitude and pizzazz, but too much autotune. 6/10

02-10-2009 Kim Tae-Woo - Love Rain (3 consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=kBP2blvEWtY

Soft, big boy with a ballad that's uplifting and pointed towards the sky. Better pompous and fairly catchy than subtle and boring in this case. 6/10

23-10-2009 Leessang - The Girl Who Can't Break Up, The Boy Who Can't Leave (1 week on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=4oCLl4f21N4

Soul-sampling hip-hop number, sounds a little like 00's American soul-sampling hip-hop, maybe like Kanye-produced Common. It's catchy, the guy attacks every line with a sympathetic aggression. 7/10. Lee Hyori stars in the video.

30-10-2009 Shinee - Ring Ding Dong (2 weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=roughtzsCDI

First step down the road to Autotune madness for Shinee. It works here, at least. I think a pop world cup commenter compared it to Crazy Frog. It's got some of that potentially headache-inducing repetitiveness, but there's an actual construction on top of the beat here, a real song, at times powerful. 7/10

13-11-2009 SS501 - Love Like This (2 weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=UMD5QXM47aI

Sped-up and slowed-down synth rnb number. The record buying public probably found it to be a nice easy listening contrast to Shinee's aural attack. Pleasant. 6/10

27-11-2009 2PM - Heartbeat (4 weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=bKtvDv7eykg

Opens promisingly with spoken-word intensiveness and restraint.. and then becomes a little too predictable and pretty. Strong 6/10. Impressive dance stunts in performances.

I just googled christian k-pop, and the only thing that seemed to come up were references to specific songs that were devotional,
and groups that i suspect are stateside inventions, but there doesn't seem to be a secular/christian divide in k-pop proper.

I've been reading this book on the weird world of bizarro christian culture and it seems the only genre of music that doesn't have
a christian counterpart is country, presumably because it is already ideologically consonant with christian culture so it'd be
redundant to cultivate a mirror one.

i suppose the question to ask is if there are any outspokenly atheist k-pop groups?

I doubt anyone have come out as officially atheist as part of their group image. Other than that there are openly Christian group members of course (many pop idols go to the same bible study), but nothing of that seeps through to lyrics or image. I'm sure there are some christian bands on a grassroot level I don't know, though. In SNSD several members are outspokenly religious while one (Taeyeon, the leader) is a self-proclaimed (from a q&a) atheist.

If there are 'christian k-pop' groups they don't show up on the charts.

"(Taeyeon, the leader) is a self-proclaimed (from a q&a) atheist."
this is interesting! how would a question like this come up?

I don't remember exactly the context, it was in their debut days, a question and answer deal. I think it came up because Tiffany is very open about being a devout Christian so others were asked about religion as well.

Two older youtubes I really like.

SNSD doing 90s K-rock ballad standard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2etcTYbmQKw

Minzy & CL of 2NE1 doing their crazy hip hop banger
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdmX-g2SGk8

Thanks for all your work in this thread abcfsk. This place is a real pleasure.

^^^^^^^^^^^^

^Thanks. I like doing it for selfish reasons as well, puts things in context, makes me re-evaluate songs and discover new ones.

01-01-2010 T-ara - Bo Peep Bo Peep (2 weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=9403-9CptH8

May be my least favourite T-Ara single, but if the nagging chorus does get under your skin it can stay there for a while. Take a look at the video, the cutesy-sounding song curiously soundtracking a seedy late night tale of sex and supernatural mischief. 6/10

15-01-2010 Ga-In & Jo-Kwon - We Fell In Love (2 consec weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=_9Asvi99NOc

Context: Ga-In & Jo-Kwon participate in a show called 'We Got Married', a sort of celeb reality show where two stars are paired and go through a 'fake marriage' -- that is, getting a house or apartment, going on trips, and doing flirty things that really have very little to do with an actual marriage. It's a bizarre concept, but you can see why it's popular. The audience gets a romance that feels half way between make-believe and reality, where you're not really sure what's what, some couples getting closer to eachother than others and at least one previous actor couple ending up as real-life lovers afterwards. Many of the participants are pop idols who really can't openly date in their everyday life, and some speculate that this is an excuse to do so - it was recently revealed that they can set up a wish list to the producers of people they want to be coupled with. Personally I think it's pretty entertaining because it's so incredibly awkward. These two are currently the longest-running couple still on the show, and they recorded a duet together. It definitely wouldn't have done as well without the public loving their on-screen struggles. 4/10

29-01-2010 CN BLue - I'm A Loner (1 week on top) youtube.com/watch?v=qrXFPmQPTkk

Indie rock! Using the British definition of the term, "jangly guitar music band with a magazine-friendly image". Funnily enough the lead singer is currently seen on the aforementioned 'We Got Married'. It's fairly boring and lifeless stuff. 4/10
Here's a Korean 'indie' tune I quite like: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcc58d_mv-hey-gravity-yyyy_music

05-02-2010 SNSD (Girls' Generation) - Oh! (5 consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=TGbwL8kSpEk

Initially a disappointment, as I felt it went too directly for the simple sweetness, it has now grown to become one of my favorite singles of the year. I'm not sure I can pinpoint why, except that I haven't tired of the repeated "ah-ah-ah-ah"s and "oh-oh-oh-oh"s or the honest charm of the melody. The lyrics are on the dumb side, "o-o-o-oppa (brother/older guy) I love you", all passive love and adoration. But take a peek at the end of the music video to see how they're actively playing up the contrast between this and their next single. 8/10

12-03-2010 KARA - Lupin (3 consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=YpQWfyOOZqA

Normally KARA serve as the cuter, less edgy version of SNSD, but this time they bring in the tribal drums and black suits to prove a point. It worked! Although it sounded a bit aimless to me at first, I found myself returning to it again and again. It's got a coolness to it, I like the odd "hallo, hallo" (or 'hella, hella') shouts, the sense of urgency, and the horror screams. 8/10

02-04-2010 SNSD (Girls' Generation) - Run Devil Run (2 consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=iYaLI1iFt-4

Back in black! It's fascinating how carefully the one-two knockout of Oh! and this were planned, with one video linking to the other, and the male fantasy female portrayed in the first discovering girl power and a 'we fuck you' attitude. After the passive lover role the girls played in Oh, they realize they're too good to just let the 'oppa' do what he wants with them. "I told you to make the most of my love" is a wonderfully arrogant line. I love the fact that when SNSD go electro they stay away from the kitchen-sink production and tuneless autotune mess and instead find a tune as sophisticated as this. 8/10

How many have heard the late 80s rock hit SNSD were named after?

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

Of course the cover version of it was released as their second single.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iiZvsOmF6A

16-04-2010 Rain - Love Song (3 consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=kx5COTBjcNc

He's just cruising on his fame at this point, isn't he? Not taking any risks or doing anything interesting to those of us who aren't members of his fan club. 2/10

07-05-2010 2PM - Without U(2 consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=pB4920B2l5g

I appreciate the effort to push the song beyond what the fairly standard chorus would suggest, and there are interesting production tricks here. Ultimately, though, it ends in disappointment where the climax should be. 6/10

21-05-2010 Super Junior - Bonamana (3 consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=tSOSxwEWFA4

The songwriter behind "Sorry Sorry" really fell in love with autotune and sharp sounds at some point, penning the previously reviewed "Ring Ding Dong" and the forthcoming "Lucifer", both from Shinee, plus this. I think he's gone too far. At the same time, he's got SOMETHING. The chorus is lacking in melody, but something tells me I should hum it for hours afterwards. Opinions would be appreciated. 6/10

11-06-2010 SS505 - Love Ya (2 consecutive weeks on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=VprGHf3-144

Comically grand tune from boyband veterans. Pleasing chorus. 6/10

02-07-2010 IU & Seulong - Nagging (1 week on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=lC4dyX-BssI

IU is the sweetest, most charming and sympathetic new character in k-pop. A huge voice and wiz on the guitar with a knack for knocking out fantastic cover versions of every new k-pop hit, but without the perfect song of her own. My suggestion: Let her write it herself and perform it w/ guitar. Guaranteed smash. Anyway, this duet is probably a tad too simple, but for me it's the right kind of simple. 7/10

09-07-2010 Super Junior - No Other (1 week on top) -- youtube.com/watch?v=LICj7J0lQME

This is how I dig my SJ, to be honest, sweeter and less hectic. Too pretty? Maybe, but I'd argue that the word-packed chorus freshens up the song enough to avoid sugar shock. 7/10

Finishing this up in the next post.

yeah that's good, love that propelling guitar strum

btw the sample is the cover girls' "because of you" (identified by maura) and i think that's really awesome

I love this song, and the live "collaboration" performance at SBS Gayo, with a vocaloid. Class.

the sample doesn't do much for me tbh, other than like cool dudes in korea are listening to the cover girls

My top 100 of 2012 as of now. No JP singles.

1. BoA - Only One
2. T-ara - Lovey Dovey
3. Sunny Hill - The Grasshopper Song
4. Sistar - Alone
5. T-ara - Sexy Love
6. Big Bang - Bad Boy
7. Sunny Hill - Is The White Horse Coming?
8. Primary - ?
9. 4Minute - Volume Up
10. EXID - Every Night¨

11. Nine Muses - News
12. Wonder Girls - Like This
13. f(x) - Electric Shock
14. Satbyeol - Do Me
15. Neon Bunny - First Love
16. Chocolat - One More Day
17. Younha - Run
18. EXO - History
19. Nine Muses - Ticket
20. Lay-T - Soft Soft

21. SouLime - With U
22. Soulights - Leave Me
23. E.Via - I Know How To Play
24. Infinite - The Chaser
25. Rania - STYLE
26. Miss A - I Don't Need a Man
27. Tensi Love - Cake House
28. Crayon Pop - Dancing Queen
29. Neon Bunny - Oh My Prince
30. Gangkiz - Honey Honey

31. D-Unit - Sleeping In Part 2
32. Primary - Manna
33. After School - Flashback
34. Park JiYoon - Tree of Life
35. Seo In Young - Anymore
36. Chi Chi - Love is Energy
37. BoA - The Shadow
38. Humming Urban Stereo - Love Jam
39. TVXQ - Catch Me
40. Boyfriend - I'll Be There

41. IU - Peach
42. Davichi & T-ara "We Were In Love"
43. 4Minute - Over and Over (R.Tee Mix)
44. Areum (T-ara), Shannon, Gunji (Gavy NJ) - Day

and Night
45. The Seeya - Be With You
46. Teen Top - To You
47. IU - Bad Day
48. EXID - I Feel Good
49. Suho - You Are My Only One
50. R.Sha & Da.U - Mine

51. IU - Every End of Day
52. D-Unit - Luv Me
53. Big Bang - Fantastic Baby
54. Chocolat - I Like It
55. 2NE1 - I Love You
56. T-ara - Day By Day
57. Junsu - Tarantallegra
58. C-Real - Sorry But I
59. Nine - Songs
60. Hyuna - Ice Cream

61. Kara - Pandora
62. SIAENA - Winter Is Coming
63. Gangkiz - Mama
64. Nu'Est - Action
65. Reddy - Let's Go (feat. Satbyeol)
66. Spica - Russian Roulette
67. Nam Soo-Rim feat ParkJiYoon - Drive Me To The Moon
68. Kim Wan Sun - Can Only Feel
69. EvoL - Let Me Explode
70. Spica - Painkiller

71. Panini - Lovely Day
72. B.A.P. - No Mercy
73. Dalmatian - E.R
74. Fiestar - Vista
75. Glen Check - Disco Elevator
76. Clazzi - Love&Hate
77. Hadami - Mannequin
78. BoA - Lookin' (feat The Quiett)
79. Big Bang - Blue
80. GP Basic - Edge Ta¨

81. Primary - See Through
82. Secret - Poison
83. Miss A - Touch
84. Lumi L - Popopo
85. Beast - Beautiful Night
86. Miryo - Dirty
87. Seo In Young - Let's Dance
88. Yoseob - Caffeine
89. Lexy - Nolza
90. 15& - I Dream

91. Rude Paper - Can't Believe It (feat Sean2slow)
92. Crayon Pop - Bing Bing
93. We - Party
94. Jessica - My Lifestyle
95. WooYoung - Sexy Lady
96. Ga-In - Bloom
97. Baek Ah Yeon - Sad Song
98. Block B - Nallina
99. Girl's Day - Don't forget me
100. A-Pink - Hush Hush

Anyone know anything about this (너는 왜 - 철이와 미애)? Someone linked it on an Omonatheydidn't GLAM thread; is an earlier Korean track to use that Cover Girls sample. Not sure what it's doing; is it a Korean Stars On 45 for freestyle?

I really like your list, absfsk.

Does anyone else think f(x) - Electric Shock sounds like T-ara - One and One?

Is The White Horse Coming has my favorite video of 2012. Those couple seconds of "Prince" on the horse are priceless.

Oops, the track I linked was just "I Like That" all over again. I meant to link the very freestylish "Why You," by Chuli & Miae (1993, according to the YouTube posters) -- which possibly samples "Because Of You" and definitely copies it (my hearing isn't precise enough to figure this out), though without then following along the chord pattern that accompanies the little vocal riff in the Cover Girls' version. In any event, "I Like That" is using the part from Chuli & Miae, though again I can't tell if it's a sample or a copy, though if it's a sample, and wherever it comes from (whether it's directly from the Cover Girls or from Chuli & Miae), GLAM are augmenting it with what sounds like a deeper-timbred voice than on either of the two previous tracks, though of course that voice could well have been the same one with electronic treatment.

"I Like That" sounds better than GLAM's previous single, "Party(XXO)," though the latter is massively important for its unmistakable pro-gay lyrics. And I'd say the biz and the fans aren't holding that content and the GLAM girls possible sexual orientation against them, to say the least. Allkpop has been reporting "I Like That" doing well in the daily charts. Its lyrics, by the way, seem to be about thinking it's okay that someone just broke up with you, that not being in a relationship is fine, that not having your friends around is fine. That's what they're liking when they say "I like that." Even when they're drunk and crawling and they're unhappy, and there's no one to take care of them, they like it!

As for "Electric Shock" and "One And One," the riff isn't quite the same, "Electric Shock" going to an upper note earlier, but the rhythm is close. So I do hear the similarity, though emotionally the two songs don't feel much alike. "Electric Shock" is more brutal, "One And One" bouncier.

"Electric Shock" is one of my favorite f(x) tracks, while "One And One" is just run-of-the-mill for T-ara and Shinsadong Tiger (though run-of-the-mill for them is exceedingly good compared to most anyone else's run-of-the-mill). I don't know whether it came out first, but "One And One" sounds as if S. Tiger was working out ideas that came to fruition in 4minute's superb "Hot Issue."

I recently found out that 'hitman' bang, the producer of GLAM's two singles and seemingly the man in charge also composed one of the great early T-ara tracks "Like The First Time". One possible reason I hadn't picked up on this is the fact that their first album sounds so much like one solid whole that I assumed everyone involved was part of the T-ara 'clique' - but this is the only hitman track there.

I don't know about "Electric Shock" being more brutal, "One and One" is a relentless song about how T-ara are COMING FOR YOU and won't stop until they have MERGED WITH YOU TO FORM A SINGLE UNIT. I guess I can see what you're saying about the build of the beat, though. I like T-ara's song more, if only because it's more fun to sing, and for the part that goes "Pact, Impact... I will, I will".

That's pretty cool about GLAM! I like this song too. Also, from the description:

"SeeU (시유, シユ) is a voicebank for Vocaloid3, the first Vocaloid capable of singing in Korean and is the first Korean/Japanese bilingual Vocaloid. The voice provider is the artist Dahee Kim (17 year old member of the K-pop girl band "GLAM"). Her release was on October 21, 2011 (South Korea) and December 16, 2011 (Japan)."

Femme fatales. Just a quick mix for fun, nothing special.

Considered adding Roh Ji Hoon - Punishment but the girl in the video doesn't wear a red dress, and in the live performance where Roh Ji Hoon wears a red suit, he's off-key.

David Fraser keeps pumping me with good information over on lj. Here are GLAM with a dance instruction video for "I Like That," including Chuli & Miae's ttaemiri dance. GLAM seem unaware that the sample has a source that precedes Chuli & Miae. Maybe "hitman" Bang is equally unaware. Here are Chuli & Miae way back when doing their ttaemiri dance. YouTube directed me to Yubin and Sohee of the Wonder Girls performing Why You and its ttaemari dance in the before-GLAM era. Also pre-GLAM, are a couple of dancers dancing the ttaemiri to "Why You" at a hospital holiday party, December 2011.

To increase my confusion, I see that, according to Generasia, Bang Si Hyuk, a.k.a. "hitman" Bang, is president of Big Hit Entertainment, a JYP subsidiary — but GLAM are listed in the category "Former Artist," and if you go to the Generasia page for GLAM, their company is identified as "Source Music," the entry for Source Music consisting entirely of this useful information: "Source Music (쏘스뮤직) is a South Korean record label," followed by a short list of artists and some links. Clicking the links, I see that GLAM's vids are among the "favorite videos" on the Source Music YouTube page, and that the Source Music Website has as its front page a massive embed of the YouTube vid for GLAM's "Party(XXO)." Source Music's Twitter gives their five artists: "Source Music 공식 트위터 / Artist_GLAM / Artist_간미연 / Artist_8eight / Artist_이현 / Artist_Eden Beatz."

Visiting our untrustworthy friend Wikipedia, who is not yet on the case for GLAM, we find "Big Hit Entertainment" as a subsection under "JYP Entertainment." Both GLAM and 8Eight are listed as artists, but 8Eight, unlike GLAM, has the note "left the company (2012)." The Wikip entry for 8Eight identifies their label as Source Music, which gets no entry on its own. Wikip's list of Korean Idol Groups puts both Big Hit Entertainment and Source Music as GLAM's label. Finally, Allkpop told the world last spring, "On May 25th, Big Hit Entertainment announced that 'GLAM' will be making their debut on July 16th in collaboration with Source Music. 8Eight and Kan Mi Yeon are housed under Source Music, while 2AM is under Big Hit Entertainment. For the past three years, the two companies have been working together to produce GLAM." And "hitman" Bang offers these happy words: "I actually feel sorry calling GLAM a girl group because they have genuine musical talent and passion. As opposed to producing them, it's more accurate to say that I helped them realize their hidden musical potential and helped them foster that as a partner by their side."

So, I can't tell if Source Music is an independent entity that collaborates with Big Hit or is a subsidiary of something, ultimately under JYP. The GLAM dance instruction video was posted by LOEN, not by JYP or any of its subs. That's where I'll leave my researching, as I now kinda like need to stop gallivanting around the Web for the rest of today.

Speaking of T-ara -- and when am I not finding a way to speak of T-ara -- back when I discovered the wonderful "Like The First Time," I listened to a bunch of other "hitman" Bang tracks without liking what I heard: ballad sap seemed his taste. But I've only heard a small fraction of his oeuvre. "I Like That" hits me as better than most of it, though I'm not yet sure how much better.

To further confuse matters, GLAM's leader, Park Jiyeon, has the same name as T-ara's biggest star, Park Jiyeon.

Since this is an active thread now, songs of interest for the week:

Super Junior M - Break Down. Very appropriately, the breakdown just before Suju-M sing the hook is the best part of the song. There's a kind of doppler effect on the vocals which is picked up by the video, set in what looks like a wind tunnel. Towards the end of the video, an unfortunate birds wanders too close to the fan and the resultant feathery explosion adds visual interest to what is otherwise a standard-issue "hot guys in a box with flashing lights" SM vid.

Girls Generation - I Got a Boy. Picked apart on the singles jukebox and now I like it a lot more. My favorite thing about it is the Greek chorus of the other 8 members telling the boy-crazed narrator, "girl, you crazy".

SPEED - That's My Fault. SPEED are the male half of co-ed school and labelmates to T-ara. They seem to be the appointed torch-bearers of 20-minute epic T-ara music video tradition, though this video is more accomplished, with better acting and camerawork, and also much tighter editing (it's only 11 minutes long and not confusing at all). The video is about the Gwangju Massacre and the sad military horns in the instrumental are perfect for the topic. Unfortunately, not every member of SPEED is a decent rapper equal to the task at hand, though a couple of them manage okay.

B2ST and A Pink - 5 My Baby. Five attractive men meet five attractive women and no words are necessary because everyone is hot. The video perfectly captures this feeling by having all the members of A Pink and Beast emerge from boxes, circle each other, and then pair off. There are also lots of scenes where they check themselves out in mirrors, which is appropriate as this song is a sequel to last year's Skinny Baby and, like Skinny Baby, is a promotion for Korean fashion brand Skool Looks. By the way, although I might sound dismissive I think this is a good song. Robot imagery + minimalist lyrics seems reminiscent of early electronica and the song sounds a bit like that as well, to my untrained ear.

Boyfriend - I Yah. Another Boyfriend/Sweetune collaboration and more "Sweetune" than their previous collaboration Love Style. Boyfriend play controlling not-quite-boyfriends and sing about their sensitivity and total emotional dependence. So far, so Kpop. In the MV description box, however, they are called "homme-fatales" which does at least show awareness of both the attraction and destructiveness of this character type. It also says that "homme-fatale" will be the concept of Boyfriend's album, so perhaps there will be an attempt to build up a narrative. The MV actress, Kim So Hyun, plays a perfectly nice and normal high school student who doesn't deserve to be emotionally destroyed.

Next week I am looking forward to:
-The Infinite H album produced by Primary, which is coming out on my birthday;
-Gayoon and Jiyoon (of 4minute)'s country-pop(!) debut album Harvest Moon

I'm so super excited about the INfinite H album. Right before christmas I said I hoped he would produce more for pop stars after the K Will success and then he delivers just a few weeks later with one of the better boy bands! And the whole EP is produced by him! And Zico and others of his friends show up in front of and behind the mic!

The 2-Yoon project is the opposite of what I was hoping for (and I was pretty excited about the unit) but I'm still curious about this 'dance pop country' single.

I knooooooooow, it looks like it's gonna be so good! Maybe I should control my expectations a bit, but with the featurings list (Zion.T! Dynamic Duo! Baby Soul!) it's hard not to be excited. Hoya and Dongwoo really lucked out.

I don't see Zico though, am I missing something? Does he have like a second name he works under?

I'm not sure the 2yoon thing will be good, but I'm also curious, yeah. Country-country or Taylor-Swift-country? It's pretty easy to signal "country" on a pop song, you just need some twangy guitars. Will they sing in Korean-countryside accents? That kind of stuff... plus, they have pretty good voices. I would have thought something more divaish or soulful, but this could be good.

Doh, I meant Sion T.

If Swift then her latest singles since they mentioned dance pop as well.

Maybe they are trying to be the originators of a new (to Korea) trend.

I can't believe I forgot this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPoGVtC9msQ

Don't have much to say, except that I love everything about it.

girls gen song is amaaaaazing

Infinite H album leaked. Ehh, it's okay - a bit generic. I'm glad "Victorious Way" is the single.

Somewhat more surprisingly, 2yoon country-pop is pretty good! It turns out "country" means "ballad with emphasis on the upbeat" and some harmonica, haha.

Also: D-Unit - Sleeping In Pt. 2, Brit - Goodbye Yesterday, maybe more to come as I work my way through this person's uploads.

Well that's just one Yoon, for another project.

Put that D-Unit track on my 2012 list- don't know if it qualifies as a single but since a rejigged version got re-released as a buzz single-ish thing before their real comeback I counted it.

There's a point - should there be a K-pop 2013 post? Or do we not have critical mass?

I could go for one

So then... who's gonna start it? I feel like an interloper here.

I'm fine with anyone starting it. I can do it as well but I felt I had my shot with this thread.

SNSD interview http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/10420138.html

It's kind of an unusual article for k-pop idols, at least as far as I've come across. Critics in Korea haven't been as positive towards 'I Got A Boy' as those overseas and here the group is confronted with specific criticism against the song. They seem to enjoy themselves promoting the song.

Well, if you're okay with it...

K-pop 2013

My 13 yo just ordered two tix. 220 euro. Welp. But she’s ecstatic. Going to Day6

Day6 are cool

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

I love the chorus on this one, it's so chromatic and happy

This is also cool

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL_KC_7GDNE

Sadly I think their latest songs are a little more trendchasing. But man they know how to write a catchy hook.

Wrong year perhaps?
The current thread is here: Kpop 2019

nm, these are older tracks! sorry for confusing matters.