K-pop (2014)

Previous threads: 2010-2012, 2013

In an exciting and terrifying turn of events, T-ara N4 appear set to storm America once more. No tour dates announced yet, but this seemed like it would be relevant to a few of you.
2NE1 also plan to release an album in conjunction with their upcoming tour.

Younha singing on Yoo Hee Yeol's Sketchbook, where idols and other musicians will sometimes perform with an in-house band rather than the usual backing track. It's nice:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mah8LzwDCUw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZemSft9E_c

Reporting to 2014 Kpop thread as promised. Thanks for starting this and starting off with Younha, centurionofprix - I've been like obsessed with her lately. It's like the scales have fallen from my eyes and now I know why "Run" was one of popjustice's top picks of 2012.

From the other thread, the songs I'm really digging right now are "Lonely" (B1A4) and "Big Baby Baby" (Dal Shabet):

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGKeA3xUzxU

They're both really awesome live, you should search 'em up.

I also like Topp Dogg's mini a lot, even though I dun wanna admit that Cho PD could be good at his job after what happened with Block B:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLpIM3387dghA4lDUDQeZxywAJm-5kF2xs&v=3lN2vzVPuQw

Speaking of T-ara N4's American venture, Dani's half-American BFF/current CCM trainee Shannon is seriously talented, I wonder if she's gonna get roped in? Or would that be a waste of a promising young solo ballad singer?

still listening to AKB48 and Girls' Generation. Don't know about too many others..

SM and YG ent

Those are the big 'uns yeah

I think you're right about Shannon's talents going to waste in T-ara (but to be fair, Shannon also probably wouldn't cut such a dashing figure amid their electropop stonkathon. Therefore it's safe to say CCM will at least try it eventually). She might end up in America supporting N4 rather than as one of the group; the promoter says he's working with "all CCM artists", presumably meaning to bring them over.

Insisting on the American expansion seems kind of a weird move because they apparently have an established market in China waiting for them, and promoting there would probably involve less of the bizarre and degrading pool party action characteristic of the previous US venture. Who knows, maybe it'll go really well this time, but there's a lot of work to be done in gaining any degree of recognition stateside, and of course a lot of work hasn't been enough for many previous k-pop acts that tried it. Perhaps they're counting on it being different in the wake of Psy, though?

Speaking of T-ara, you oughta give them a listen '96, if you want to. And the good stuff posted by forapper above. "Roly Poly" "Cry Cry" "Number Nine" "What Should I Do?".

an idea for when snsd decide to call it a day - what the world needs is for snsd to break away into 9 separate solo careers and release a cover of the same song at the same time (eg. sixpence none the richer's classic hit 'kiss me').

i can only speak for myself but i'd buy all 9 and listen to them simultaneously.

maybe not hyoyeon.

she can release a dance dvd to sunny's version.

Did you guys end up voting for I Got a Boy? Worried it won't chart.

No, was going to vote for it but then you guys went and kept nominating songs I liked more.

I didn't want to split the vote so I only nominated one track myself. K-pop songs that no one nominated that made my overall (not just K-pop) Top 20: Wa$$up "Wa$$up," Tiny-G "Minimanimo," Gaeko & Choiza & Simon D & Primary "난리good!!! (AIR)," Qri "Do We Do We," Baek Ji Young "Remember," Wa$$up "Jingle Bell," After School "First Love," Z.Hera "Peacock."

I didn't nominate and I didn't vote for kpop songs I didn't think would stand a chance at the #77. Played the game here, not my original 2013 list of favorites.

I had "I Got A Boy" and "Had Enough Parties" in my weighted top 5, otherwise voted for lesser acts that probably won't be on the list since I didn't realize only the best 77 would be announced.

I voted for 'I Got a Boy', but my ballot was unweighed.

Sorry you guys for helping to split the vote...

For my fellow Brave Brothers fans:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=754UTw2DvCM

Part of a project wherein Brave Bros is releasing a track a month for the next 10 months to celebrate his 10-year anniversary as a songwriter. I'm predicting collaborations with:

Teen Top
Sistar
Son Dambi
Electroboyz
After School
UKISS
ZE:A
... Bigstar? Jay Park? One Two?

Just kidding about One Two, that's only in my dreams XD

Dancing in a JP single, finally:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWzI1gU__vY

That was BoA's latest

I was just about to post that!

BoA!!!

That rules and BoA looks great in that styling (youtube commenters keep bringing up Lee Hyori and I can see it, kinda... but really BoA is very, very on trend for Tokyo).

Warning, this post is a bit goffic. Prepz keep out.

Puer Kim released a song. Like Park Ji Yoon, she was an indie singer recruited by MYSTIC89; "Manyo Maash" is her debut with them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2sMLUyoNfY
It's way, way cool. The song is not very hooky and there isn't much development, but it comes together in the way the constant groove complements the mood and attitude of the words. The video also does a neat thing in manifesting the lyrical theme in an opposition to idol culture (the dummies have SM and YG barcodes, the rest of the metaphor is easily untwined). I love her voice.

And this is YaYa, Singer-songwriter, Arranger, Producer, Illustrator, Graphic designer, Web designer, Fashion stylist, Photographer, Art director and Columnist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZEGHLxbVwI
Musically it is a kind of a spooky-rock-trip-hop thing in a Siouxsie/Switchblade Symphony vein, with tango and fragments of whatever else sewn in (and conversely, she keeps performing Astor Piazolla's "Rinascero" in her own rock arrangement). She also has a youtube channel with live performances and other stuff she does.

oh, and YaYa also has a website with bits in English: http://yayaofficial.com/

Yeah some interesting soloists popping up last 12 months.. and Mystic should give Pure Kim decent push.

Speaking of BoA she did a Japanese mini concert for Music Dragon.. finally got a 'Disturbance' TV live (JP ver., mind)
http://youtu.be/R6UORU8PJ98
http://youtu.be/Otnt71E1_7w

No kpop in the ilx top 77 for the first time in years. We failed, folks, need to rally next time.

Ayo Frank & forapper.

I predict an NS Yoon-G collaboration from Brave Brothers. She's supposed to come back anyway, and, well, it would be fantastic.

Hey dere centurionprix!

I see you 9th from the bottom on the "idiosyncrasy" rating, and me 4th from the bottom, clearly it was our failure to strategize that kept Kpop out of the top 77 , for shame.

Top 200 Kpop are:

I Got a Boy #110
Doom Dada #119
Gone Not Around Any Longer #154
Had Enough Parties #160
Bar Bar Bar #168
Rum Pum Pum Pum #173
Airplane #177

And honorable mention:

The Fox #210

And NS Yoon-G yes good very nice.

No kpop in the ilx top 77 for the first time in years. We failed, folks, need to rally next time.

― abcfsk, Friday, January 24, 2014 4:33 AM (10 hours ago) Bookmark

Haha I think the fact that we *tried* to rally meant that we were doomed to fail

Rushed my ballot, probably should have given DADA a top 10 vote, haven't checked the ballot to see if that would have made a difference

Love the 4MINUTE song but the title makes me uncomfortable :\

i kinda just went for my actual fave songs rather than try to represent k-pop on the 77 :(
that said, bar bar bar bar & smoky girl made my ballot

Closest K-Pop was "I Got a Boy" which would have made it with an additional #6 vote.

I left Doom Dada off too... if we'd both voted it would have made it, 龜.

:(

http://i.imgur.com/HvthNqG.png

Haha.

Winner's cover of Missing You makes me wonder whether KSY (with the guitar) helped write the song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSAVsstaj4E

Oh man, Ga-In, I don't know how to respond to this MV.

I wish the song was better though, starts off kinda promisingly but doesn't quite go anywhere. Might have been better as a solo track.

Wasn't there another BEG member who did a "Fuck You" style song?

I think I'm thinking of Miryo - Dirty, but I'm on a work computer so I can't check.

Yeah, "Dirty" has the phrase, though censored. "Amazinger" has an implied motherfucker. There's also Tymee:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BHbjpHPvnM

Tymee also had an excellent and moody single late last year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv-e7tM4G1E

Speaking of which, Miryo and Narsha's sub-unit is going to have a hip-hop concept, which is brilliant. Miryo gets to show off on some proper rap tracks, and I can't even begin to imagine what Narsha is going to do.

http://i.imgur.com/3SmvkuN.gif

Aw man just watched the MV and feel bad for posting this GIF

Tough stuff

Yeah, I just got to watch it too. Wooooow.

It's like the anti Do What U Want.

It's a strange topic/collection of feelings to frame in a pop song.

that's as far as I seem to get.

Well, the themes are kind of old, as far as the guy being forceful and the girl being "wait no slow down". I like to think that they are already in a relationship and she's tired of being treated like a sex toy and looking for space to breathe so she can regain interest, but he's hooked and won't back off, because that's an interesting angle to take.

Two cutesy rookie songs in the new year

The really good one from OH!nle http://youtu.be/LQbPzG--WQ4

The really cutesy (and pretty good if a bit tacky) one http://youtu.be/BSIogAdk_is

Going to SK for the LNY :D

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.

Can you clarify/expand on it turning from CL to 2NE1's debut? Must've missed something.

and that diss track is entertaining, thanks for sharing ha

re: CL/2NE1 "I am the Best" was re-released this week - it's been gaining popularity after being used in a Microsoft Surface Pro ad. It hit number one on Billboard's world digital chart a couple of months ago and has been getting spins on a few US radio stations. At this point, 2NE1 definitely has a bigger chance of crossing over than CL alone.

anyway hello again, ILX K-pop thread. What are people nominating for the EOY poll? Can we all just vote for "Catallena" and be done with it? :D

I think "My Copycat" just barely edges it out for me, but that's mostly because of a) the MV and b) the fact I got in on a Soompi Shop Special and have a signed copy of the mini

"At this point, 2NE1 definitely has a bigger chance of crossing over than CL alone." not the case at all. unless "this point" is 2011.

Special shout out to William Bennett of Whitehouse (the power electronics band) for putting K-Pop on his year end list. I also remember him posting BABYMETAL's line on his fb and calling it genius (which it is imo). Moon Wiring Club also mentioned the CL solo song :3

Oh I guess I should say William Bennett of Cut Hands now, since that's what people will be more familiar with.

wow what an awesome list. this is super surreal: remember Elite Gymnastics' mix All We Fucking Care About Is K-pop, Whitehouse, and Our Cats? did that hip Bennett to this stuff or was he a k-pop fan from the start? what the fuck is going on?????

Yea I don't know, I kind of wanna ask him... I'll just fb message him I guess. That EG mix was kind of a while ago so it's up in the air as if that had a direct influence on it. Like, if you look at the lists he made for Boomkat in 2012 and 2013, it's clear that this year's is the first that's pop-oriented. He also wrote a huge thing about the new LDR album for Electronic Beats earlier this year.

He replied, he said he had heard the mix and liked it but "actually loved it from long before as for (him) it represented the true spiritual successor to Italo and 70s disco".

cool

'Tis the season for silly costumes, ft. SISTAR, BTOB and 2am.

Also the season for year-end shows! Here's SBS Gayo Daejun

Xposted comment:

Really liked the remixes for "Something" and "Sugar Free", maybe even more than the original songs! Also really like 4minute's "remix" that was actually a completely different song.

AOA's intro with the moving sidewalk was cool, also Orange Caramel's Xmas tree outfits, though I with they'd changed the songs up a little more.

Taeyang was off his game but GD was back on. Can there only be one???

They gave the "Award" to EXO but Seo Taiji performed last, says it all really... pretty canny of him to put a Xmas/Halloween song on it so he could be seasonally appropriate twice.

hey james, do you still listen to k-pop?

STJ's "Christmalo" was the one stage that night that wasn't a complete waste of time. korea still needs him.

No love for the Xmas tree dresses, soyrev?

KBS Gayo Daejun: boring overall, but VIXX were good for a laff and Block B's cross-dressed HER was legitimately great.

Was also pleasantly surprised by Dongwoo's singing (on a song in his range) and Hyungseung's rapping (on "Loyal"), but my expectations were very low.

i have a new project called the K-Pendium, wherein i attempt to trace the entire history of korean popular music from 1926 through the present, via a series of individual song essays.

here is the first post, about "Gee" by SNSD: http://www.k-pendium.com/001/
here is some context re: my motivations etc: http://www.k-pendium.com/info/

please spread it around if you like it!

Ask a Korean was doing a similar project, though his was very rockist. Have you seen it?

http://askakorean.blogspot.com/1998/02/50-most-influential-k-pop-artists.html

Music Core's year-end show is a nice collection of groups with strong live performances... add Orange Caramel, 4minute, EXID, f(x) and TOPP DOGG and it comes pretty close to matching the list of idol music show performances I personally enjoyed the most this year.

Infinite's Back remix and Teen Top's Missing remix were highlights I think, alongside Block B (as always).

yes, have read some of his stuff and will definitely continue to now that i'm in korea and actually have a chance of getting my hands on a lot of this music. his will be a crucial resource for my own project.

i think we differ a bit in audience and intent, not to mention format – but AAK's knowledge and expertise re: korean pop history is definitely an aspiration of mine!

That's a weird list.

speaking of, here's my top 20 k-pop songs of 2014, for vice/noisey:

http://noisey.vice.com/blog/the-20-best-k-pop-songs-of-2014

Which one's weird, mine or AAK's?

switch it up: K-pop (2015)

Looks like I can retire - soyrev's on it!

BTW I thought MBCGayo picked up a little steam toward the end - or at least TVVQ "Something" was the perfect song to end on. 2012 is still the Gayo year to beat though.

Somewhat of interest: SISTAR and Ailee and Taemin turned in good performances, Zion.T was blowing everyone else on his stage away, EXO sang both Thunder and Overdose LIVE and sounded good, the Zico/CNBlue collaboration stage was a hilarious mess, SNSD's MR MR remix was decent.

More seriously of interest: I wish B1A4 would stop messing with Lonely because that song doesn't need a remix. The swelling-orchestral-strings version of "Solo Day" was actually good though, in a Brian Wilson masterwork kind of way.

http://youtu.be/WrSgz63g-Ko

Skip to the end for B1A4 "Solo Day" (orchestra ver).

And to round out 2014:

Boy Group Debuts http://youtu.be/0ZBsXkbSp0Q

Girl Group Debuts http://youtu.be/u7Lsxskse_Y