This is T-ara doing what T-ara does best: somewhat predictable but a classic for T-ara fans. Extremely catchy and memorable but let down somewhat by a rather unimaginative music video - this is definitely the comeback song that T-ara needed so badly to reestablish themselves after a year filled with scandal and bad press. And they don't disappoint in the Konglish department either - there's a chant where they sing, "I'm addict, I'm addict, I'm addict, I'm addict." Hello? You can say, "I'm addicted to (love/meth/chocolate/you/etc") or "I'm an addict", but "I'm addict" just doesn't make sense. In any case, the way they sang it, it sounded more like, "I'm adding" - which would have made sense given the title of the song, Sesame Street anyone?
This was undoubtedly G-Dragon's biggest triumph of 2013. I love G-Dragon - he does hip hop with a sense of humour and this is already a brilliant song but the music video makes it epic. We see so many different versions of G-Dragon in so many crazy situations and he's not afraid to look silly (remember G-Dragon in drag in his video for Get Your Crayon - damn he looks good as a woman). So much of hip hop from America revolves around these black guys trying to look so tough and cool, posing with beautiful women or nice cars, dripping with gold - but G-Dragon does quite the opposite: he is dressed as a geeky schoolboy, he takes a spanking in this music video, takes a piss at a urinal and gets a pedicure of his giant feet. Oh and he can dance too - this man is a genius.
This was the hugely anticipated follow up to Gangnam Style and Psy certainly didn't disappoint - okay, so this wasn't as epic as Gangnam Style and it didn't quite achieve the same level of success, but come on. Gangnam Style was a very hard act to follow! The video was funny, the song was catchy and this was the only K-pop song of the year (and the second one since Gangnam Style) to chart in the UK and US this year. What will Psy come up with next in 2014?
Now this song was only released in late November and it has grown on me and trust me, it will grow on you too. Perhaps not as epic as Roly Poly or Lovey Dovey - but this song is both a ballad and a dance single. It was almost like they couldn't decide which direction to take this song and did both - and it works! Number 9 almost starts off like a ballad but turns into a thumping dance single within 10 seconds, but Do You Know Me stays as a ballad for the first half of the song before the beats kick in. This is T-ara doing what they do best - the only thing lacking is their usual epic Konglish as there's very little English in this song and there's nothing wrong with the English in it. T
Another triumph by SHINee - one does wonder if they will ever follow up a massive single like Sherlock (from 2012) but Everybody certainly does the job. It grew on me since I first heard it and now, I have it on my iPad rather than my iPod because the music video is just so amazing. You simply have to watch the music video below for the 'toy soldiers' dance sequence that starts at 1:51 - it totally blew my mind when I first saw it.
Okay I must admit, I am partial towards this song because the music video was not only shot in London, but one of the locations was right on the street where I live (Hopkins Street in Soho). What are the odds? Technically speaking, I could've looked out of the window and saw G-Dragon filming on the street where I live. (But no, I suspect I was traveling in Asia when he shot that video.) This is a very unK-pop song, which demonstrates G-Dragon's versatility to adapt to different musical styles. Give it a chance and let it just grow on you.
Aah MBLAQ finally made me a fan with Smoky Girl - I know they've been around for a while but I've never really liked them until Smoky Girl came along. Flawlessly executed, this song will have you singing, "smoky girl, smoky girl, smoky girl, girl, smoky girl, smoky girl, smoky girl. Smoky girl, smoky girl, smoky girl, smoky girl, smoky girl" all day as it gets under your skin. What the hell is a smoky girl? A woman with a nicotine addiction? Who knows, who cares, it is one of the catchiest hits from South Korea this year with a really sleek music video to go with it.
This song is somewhat similar to Smoky Girl and that's probably why it made it into my top ten list as well - it also contains some of the best Konglish of the year as well. Seungri is supposed to be saying, "I'm hustling hustling hustling, I'm hustling hustling," but it comes out more like "I'm a persimmon, persimmon..." Hey, what would K-pop be without Konglish? He's gorgeous, dresses well and a great dancer - what's there not to like?
Another big hit this year by T-ara, well, N4 a sub-unit from T-ara and it is catchy enough - if not a little heavy on the aegyo in the music video. But if you can live with the silliness in the music and accept it as part of K-pop, then it is a catchy enough song that kept me singing along for much of the year.
Again, here's a rather unK-pop sounding song, but Lee Hi has already established a unique style of her own with her stunning debut last year with 1,2,3,4. She is like a Korean version of Welsh crooner Duffy - whilst neither It's Over nor her other single this year Rose could compare with the brilliance of 1,2,3,4, this is catchy enough and with the rather inventive music video featuring the cutest ever teddy bear lover, this sneaks Lee Hi in at no. 10 on my chart.
Okay I am cheating it's actually sung in Japanese but T-ara are as Korean as they come and as you can tell, I am totally in love with T-ara - but I was deciding between this and a number of other tracks and I definitely like this more than all those others. At least T-ara manage to pull Aegyo off - there are plenty of K-pop girl groups that just make me go WTF when I see them do Aegyo.
Best non-Korean song of the year: The Fox by Ylvis
Now I have not paid any attention to any pop music in English all year (I have no freaking clue what was big in the UK or US this year), but if you lived on planet earth in 2013, you couldn't avoid The Fox and you will either love it or hate it. I totally loved it as it appealed to my sense of humour. Sadly, their follow-up was really cheesy and disappointing and these Norwegian comedians are likely to be a one-hit wonder. Still, it was a pretty massive global hit.
Dear Limpeh, thanks for this! I've been so out of touch with what's going on in the SE Asia neck-of-woods, so it's good to catch up with what's cool and what's rocking the world. isn't K-pop amazing? The clips entertained me during a bout of insomnia. The clip by Seungri (We've gotta talk) reminded me of the styling of the bedroom and penthouse sets in The Dark Knight Rises. And there's a hint of the Dark Knight in Seungri's beautifully-tailored suits [Armani Fatto a Mano, anyone?] and the sinister peeping-tom, angst-filled looks. Maybe he's supposed to be some sort of superhero (Korean-style)? Thank you and keep the reviews coming!
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked this post - I only have one other reader (Kevin Jang) who is equally into K-culture, so it's nice to know I can blog about this and still have some readers who are interested.
DeleteNo, it's brilliant - keep them coming. The problem is there's so much out there so I appreciate your highlighting the best. The production values of the videos are amazing. Korea is gradually taking over the world through its smartphones and K-pop! Simon Cowell eat your heart out! I don't know what to make of the manufactured look of the girls - I hesitate to call them women because they look so pubescent, and even the "men" have this fey, androgynous look so that I can't take them seriously when they try to do sexy brooding and smoulder. They look so much alike - do you think they have plastic surgery? The women remind me of XiaXue, or maybe it's the reverse? And thanks for the introduction to K-pop Monday couple - their clever critiques had me rolling in laughter!
DeleteYes yes yes I love Simon & Martina of Eatyourkimchi :)
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