Half-way through 2014 seems like a good time to publish your 2013 singles list, right? Well in any case, I’ve finally finished it! And like a long overdue term assignment I’ve put in extra effort to ensure I scrape the max amount of late points. As always, I should preface by saying that this list is simply the songs I liked enough to put on a list and talk about. These aren’t all the songs I liked (or even loved) last year, and outside of the top 10/20 most of them are just in a general “range”, not that one song being one slot higher necessarily means it’s better than the one before it.
A few programming notes before we begin:
All lyrics quoted here are either from colorcodedlyrics or from official translations on youtube videos.
There are only so many thoughts in my brain, so for a few of the songs I’ve re-worded stuff that I’ve already written.
I almost entirely avoided viewing anyone else’s lists before finishing my own - so I definitely plan on going back through some archives and giving everyone’s a read very soon!
And now (grab a drink, it’s long) the list!
50. Gummy - Snow Flower
Starting with Gummy, because sometimes a mushy OST ballad just works (and because you watched the drama and got hooked). I don’t think there’s anything special or innovative about this, and that it doesn’t try to be is to its credit. Gummy is a formidable, veteran singer comfortable enough with her own strengths to let her voice pull all the punches. The great pleasure of this song is listening to her patiently swell through the cold and bloom as the title suggests.
49. CHEEZE - Balloons
Indie act CHEEZE put out several great songs last year, but the honeyed R&B flirtation of “Balloons” just edges out the others for a spot on this list. Not unlike balloons caught in the wind, the chorus melody spirals out helplessly, vocals jut out like sharp stabs of air to the lungs; in one moment slightly suffocating, in the next freeing and volitant (or what a lot of people might call love). Plus, damn, how incredible a voice does DalchongE have on her? Way too good to be belting out hits that don’t even chart in Gaon’s top 100, that’s for sure.
48. LC9 - MaMa Beat (feat. Ga-in)
Someone compressed the Transformers series into a 3 minute pop song - they came to crush things, look gaudy, cause hurt (they may also be robots in disguise, though I can neither confirm nor deny this). Ga-in’s short feature is the sole voice of peace and hope in this world inhabited by alien robot sounds, perhaps representing humanity’s last stand against the cybernetic overlords who wish to infect us with their brand of gasoline-charged 80’s R&B.
47. BoA - Action
Beat, hi-hat, rumble - BoA sounds ready to kick some ass with another fantastic self-composed tune. Still sad this’ll never get a dance routine.
46. HISTORY - Dreamer
The most elegant sum of America’s current pseudo-folk radio trend, minus the tweeness, the awful fusion of “EDM”, or the feeling of wanting to claw your own eyes out. Truly though, this is stunner, another Kim Eana masterpiece (“Good Day”, “Abracadabra” anyone?), and the best boyband debut of 2013, and probably of 2012 too.
45. After School - Heaven
Possibly confirms that After School work better with Japanese composers - or at least good Japanese composers. The last time they released a song this great was when Daishi Dance produced them their magnum opus “Shampoo" back in 2011, and indeed, it’s been just about that long since After School have sounded this elegant, fully embracing their roles as lux disco singers, dance dance dance-ing all over Shinichi Osawa’s spotless, smoke-flavored production; slowly unfurling, but ultimately rewarding.
44. Jinbo - BE MY FRIEND
Like the above mentioned CHEEZE, another case where the artist put out so many good songs they almost cancelled each other out. But “Be My Friend” is an obvious choice from Jinbo’s Fantasy album: silky disco R&B, sexy, understated vocals, and production that gives a nod to the sort dreamy 80’s city pop that is currently having a bit of a revival? All my boxes are checked, this is a no-brainer.
43. WINNER - Go Up
A good BIG BANG song, doesn’t tell us much about WINNER, but “Go Up” clicks along nicely, and is certainly one of the best attempts at fusing rock sounds with rap to come out of YGE, succeeding in achieving both the altitude of a stadium anthem and some of hip-hop’s emotional grittiness. They also composed this themselves, so keep a look out for the debut mini, whenever that drops.
42. C-LUV & Dok2 - Believe Me
The guy behind quite a bit of D-UNIT’s stuff, one of the great surprises that went unnoticed last year was singer/producer C-LUV’s own solo career, a series of three great singles that inevitably sound like great D-UNIT singles by extension. “Believe Me” showcases C-LUV’s chops - equally capable, even if not entirely distinct, behind the glass of the recording booth than in front of it pressing buttons - but more so the impressive flows of Dok2, an artist who steadily and stealthily has been building himself one of the best resumes in all of Korean hip-hop. I’d be lying a bit if I didn’t say I wasn’t slightly jealous C-LUV didn’t pass this one off onto D-UNIT (“My EVERY-THING, EVERY-THING” would be flat out bodied by them), but this is so blazing you can’t blame him for keeping it to himself.
41. SHINee - Dream Girl
Big and making impeccable use of SHINee’s expansive voices, “Dream Girl” as a musical piece is as chic and stylized as the group itself, sounding like the pop equivalent of a fashion magazine (complete with idolized “dream girl” cover model and everything). It’s not SHINee’s best single, and it works better in the context of the (very good) album than it does as a stand-alone track, but it’s got that certain propulsive vocal quality that made “Lucifer" my #1 single back in 2010 - just listen to the way the harmony explodes into the chorus. It gets that SHINee sound better when they’re flying high off the ground, singing with no restraints, rather than being tied too heavily to the beat.
40. 2NE1 - Do You Love Me
Approximates the electro-shuffle of “SCREAM”, maybe with a touch of “I’m Busy”; “Do You Love Me” is classic 2NE1/Teddy in all the best ways. It crackles and pops, slides and glides, but never fully commits to exploding, something Teddy is getting particularly good at (spoiler: Lee Hi is a lot further down this list). This sort of musical balancing act is especially seductive when all that crackling and popping has as much sex as this does. Dara coos the verses to the point of sounding out of character - where did this sex kitten come from? - and CL sounds almost schoolgirlish with giddy as she spells out “D-O-Y-O-U-L-O-V-E-M-E”, the drums in the back pounding like the sort of butterflies in the stomach preceding horniness. It is this tension, and the constant movement of the track, which gives it such an edge. This song isn’t the answer, it’s the question. It’s the moment leading up to the confession, the rejection, the kiss. It isn’t supposed to explode, not yet anyway. “I Love You” was the heartbreak, “Falling In Love” the romance, perhaps two alternate outcomes to the same proposal. “Do You Love Me”, which really should have a question mark on it, captures the moments before in all their thrilling, nauseating agony.
39. KOYOTE - Hollywood (feat. Jeong Jun-ha)
Of all the immediate disco bops K-Pop produced last year, this one gets to the point (and the party) the quickest.
38. Wonder Boyz - TARZAN
Sort of like K-Pop’s Crazy Town moment. The ultimate summer song frozen forever in time, perfectly cheesy yet somehow also beautiful? (That middle 8). Will Wonder Boyz ever top it? Were they even a real group to begin with? Or perhaps a figment of our imaginations, simply a result of the humidity-inducing production. They haven’t released anything since, so that might very well be the case? Or maybe they’re just waiting, out there somewhere in the jungle, ready to drag us back in with those wild, slightly unnerving animal calls again.
37. Nieah - Belief (feat. KittiB)
On her debut single Nieah’s big, wide-open vocals are a real treat, especially on a genuine, pull-no-punches R&B tune like this, one which she wrote, composed and produced entirely by herself. In R&B’s current cooled-down state, where these sorts of lackadaisical melodies favor light-as-air, barely-there vocalists, Nieah’s warm, soulful voice stands in rapturous contrast.
36. Electroboyz - Ma Boy 3 (feat. Nana)
Electroboyz’ first take on SISTAR19’s now-classic “Ma Boy” was a fairly straightforward homage to the original, the sequel, now featuring After School’s Nana doing the chorus work, is a worthy song in and of itself, which at this point is a tribute in name only. The musical equivalent of a fruity wine cooler, the beatz on “Ma Boy 3” are syrupy yet refreshing, its disposition unapologetically cheap and easy, Nana’s cherry vocals only adding more sweetness. It does a rare thing for a summer sequel; it’s actually better the second time around.
35. PSY - GENTLEMAN
The bass smacks smacks smacks, PSY’s singing more drone than rap, a little worn for the wear with a glimmer of arrogance under the surface. If there’s any relief that he can just go back to having fun - sweet, thoughtless fun - after this, it’s not found here, but I think the pain sort of adds to the appeal. It’s like the hangover after the big, glittering party of Gangnam, and the decision to let PSY get mean and hang loose was perhaps the only natural right next step. I don’t care if they’re both EDM bangers, they’re not the same song - not in intent and certainly not in execution.
34. Dynamic Duo - BAAAM (feat. Muzie)
Biggest party joint of the summer, greatly boosted by the decidedly romantic mood and befitting of the funky disco production (complete with a talk box that would make Roger Troutman proud.) Gaeko and Choiza are completely in their element - are they riding the beat or just flirting? - the delivery is so joyful, the back and forth dynamic so playful, their mature confidence so inherent, it would be easy to confuse the two.
33. TINY-G - Miss You
Concise, effervescent take on trends. Producer Red Rocket approximates Shinsadong Tiger’s goopy funk-pop sound and throws it over a modern-day take on a trot melody, the sort which might not sound uncomfortable sitting on an Orange Caramel record. The verses and choruses seep into one another - it’s like a good T-ara song belted out with the spunk of a Little Mix, and perhaps filtered through Jewelry with a snarl, but with each part stripped of any fat to ensure the finished product is lean and more efficient than the individual pieces were on their own. TINY-G chortle through, they might claim to miss him, but their assuredness says otherwise, and they know enough to know he’s only pretending not to notice (“pretend to be pretty, pretend to be upset, pretend to be cute / but you pretend not to notice, making me fizz out.”) And anyway, the delivery makes it clear they won’t be crying without him. Their sass borders on arrogance, like they might be suppressing a giggle or two, suggesting a level of charisma that makes TINY-G well worth looking out for.
32. Jaurim - Twenty Five, Twenty One
Masterful rock ballad, Jaurim’s steady simplicity proving to be far more moving than the melodrama of many OST slowies, all of which comes down to singer Kim Yoon Ah and some smart choices in the arrangement. The instruments are largely subdued for one thing, no large peaks or valleys, even the guitar solo is more sad than anything, befitting the nostalgic melancholy of the lyrics. I love the violins too; spare but effective. Used conventionally they heighten drama by way of sharpness, but here they are almost dulled, the end result having a tide-like effect that is both graceful and immensely powerful just as the song reaches its full splendor. Similarly, Kim Yoon Ah’s voice, hearty and raw and majestic, undulates but doesn’t fully crack or break into hysterics, her performance tight and patient but moving nonetheless. That she does hold back - the feeling that there still might be things left unsaid - makes it all the more haunting.
31. Lee Hyori - Miss Korea
Grabs you with the glamour, but it’s the slight smirk, the suggestion of something dark hidden under the pageant mask, that keeps you coming back for more. “Will a designer bag make me shine? / Will I be able to do anything I want if I become pretty?” she coos, almost as if into a magic mirror. Will it grant her wish? Will she be okay? (“It’ll be okay, you’re Miss Korea” she tells herself). Glinting, mysterious, and intoxicating, with one eye always on the camera, Lee Hyori’s first self-composed single is an emphatic success of a true showgirl.
30. LADIES’ CODE - Pretty Pretty
LADIES CODE’ impressed me this year as one of the most fully realized groups we’ve seen in K-Pop upon debut. Clear musical direction, vibrant MV’s with a lighthearted sense of fun, and how great is the name LADIES’ CODE for a girl group anyway? Where their debut played it perhaps too close to the K-Pop formula, “Pretty Pretty” isn’t afraid to blow things up to flamboyant proportions. The brass is big and brash, there’s a cowbell for heaven’s sake, and of course the seminal line - ”YEPPEO! YEPPEO!” - is the sort of stuff fanchant dreams are made of. It’s saucy and unabashed, and LADIES’ CODE have a pop-minded sensibility that feels particularly timely and necessary given the dissolution of the Wonder Girls.
29. Zion.T - Miss Kim
The one-two-one-two squawk of the production, even at a hair over two and a half minutes, would get tiring if not for the vocal presence of Zion.T, who opens up the track with some beautiful legato, stretching his sadness to every corner of this dreary little tune of longing and restlessness. It’s so effortless. It almost sounds like a sketch, like he just hummed together this tune in five minutes and recorded it. It’s certainly scant enough, but still somehow fully-realized, both musically and emotionally, blending together Zion.T’s hip-hop sensibilities with time-honored trot to create something that, not unlike his voice, doesn’t quite sound like anything else. If his Red Light album marked Zion.T as one to watch, “Miss Kim” confirmed we were right to trust in him. I can’t wait to see what he does next.
28. 2PM - A.D.T.O.Y
Not apologizing for the gif use. The first great - and I mean truly great - 2PM single since… ever? (Alright, Again & Again is sort of a classic). “ADTOY” gets it right in keeping things airy and jaunty, not demanding too much of 2PM’s thin voices or lingering in any one motif too long; the harmonic sections flow from one to another with ease, even joy. Smartly, the production, athletic and sleek, is left to do most of the work, driving the song to develop in surprising ways, like intermixing rolling violins, R&B finger snaps, and some wubs that hint at dubstep, all shoe-laced between 2PM’s playful vocal performance. It fits 2PM’s manly, jock-ish persona like a glove, and in a strong year for JYP “ADTOY” was an invigorating revelation that easily stands among his best works.
27. Lim Kim - All Right
To sound this bored and not end up with a boring song is a tough task, but Lim Kim manages it. Maybe it’s the repetition of the “all right” against the doldrums production, like someone snapping back to themselves after dozing off into dreams. Maybe it’s that she’d really rather not be bothered (“Don’t assume, don’t worry, don’t ask about me”), and someone keeps checking in on her. A faceless male voice calls out from the background. “Are you all right?”, “I’m gonna call you tomorrow”. A concerned friend? A lustful onlooker? The details are fuzzy. Pop, almost by default, tends to focus on the immediate, about what is shown and what can be seen. “All Right” is a master work in how to blur the colors on a canvas, and while I’d agree that the best pop tends to leave the listener in a space beyond words, Lim Kim succeeds in the rare opposite; a pop mystery that forces the listener to ask questions.
26. A Pink - NoNoNo
All about Eunji here, who provides some real meat to the vocals on a song that’s otherwise light as air aegyo, the contrast between the two being what makes “NoNoNo” such a resounding delight. Simple, clean-cut, wide-eyed pop that doesn’t pull any of K-Pop’s usual tricks that end up over-egging the pudding.
25. 2NE1 - Missing You
More creepy, in a sort of Tim Burton-ish manner, than outright sad, but it’s the chilling absence of tears that works here. The war is over, the pain and the memories still close to the surface, yes, but “Missing You” ultimately ends in the dull, anti-dramatic acceptance of their predicament, rather than the fight against it, which for 2NE1, who have always fought fought fought, is shocking (I mean CL even utters the line “I’m just a little tired, I’m alright.” …CL? Tired?!) And if there’s no showiness, no hysterical displays of sorrow, then “Missing You” can even induce tears through prettiness either - it’s just grey. It’s hollow numbness more disturbing, but more real, and thus perhaps more resounding, than if they had attacked it any other way.
Gone is the giddy excitement and youthful bliss of “Falling In Love” and “Do You Love Me”, replaced by a hollow “pop”, each bubble a little implosion, a memory perhaps, that gradually fades away, all of Teddy’s space age production flourishes eventually erased, leaving room for only the sad plod of the piano. While K-Pop is so often about making what was old new again, this is an example of the opposite progression. Even the way the wavering “ooh”’s cut across the melody in the verses almost sound like fragments from a broken old tape recorder. If love has failed here, so too has their technology.
A logical conclusion to the “loves” trilogy of songs, it’s 2NE1’s most bleak single, but it’s also the one that shows the greatest amount of growth from the group. While on “It Hurts" (their last attempt at outright balladry) they were still stuck on the relationship being over, the things they could do to change it, and begging the other person to come back, here they’re more self-reflective. The hope of youth is gone (“the love of my youth is ending like this”), and even the pain present in “I Love You” is mellowed over, and indeed, there is a certain maturity in just letting things be, and even more so to wish to the other person, despite it all, “please be happy”. Why have the “calculative love of adults”, as CL puts it, when the past could just be beautiful as it was. When Bom sings “we both had each other back then” at song’s end, it feels like there’s resolution, and that maybe peace, however bitter, has been achieved.
24. Daram - Daydreaming
The closest I’ve heard something out of Korea’s ample supply of dream pop come to trip-hop, though even still I can’t say it sounds quite like anything I’ve heard. Daram’s sleepy drawl falls somewhere closer to rapping than singing, fitting the slowed-down, almost acid jazz vibe. I actually know embarrassingly little about Daram, which isn’t for a lack of trying - there’s almost nothing written about her in English, and this song has been like my little secret all year. Daram, whoever she is, wherever she may be, is a voice we deserve and need to hear more of.
23. Z.I.N - Don’t Want You To Enlist
Lots of honest feeling in between the sweet lick of the guitar, good singing too, and finally songwriting on a subject we rarely hear about in K-Pop, which is surprising, given that the idea “two years is too long to wait for a long distance relationship” must be the heartache of military couples up and down the country. K-Pop ought to try hitting a little closer to home every once in a while, or at least more often than it does now.
22. Shinhwa - This Love
Proof that some gems still glimmer seductively in dance-pop’s current twilight, if SHINee or Super Junior are still active a decade from now, this is about as good a result as anyone could hope for. I just love that this old (in pop years) boyband is defying all the conventions. Forget coming back “credible”, or trying to dust off the old dance moves, Shinhwa return fresh with a song that could easily be confused as an Ibiza anthem, with a hurricane of a chorus, voguing (voguing!) and gyrating their crotches in a way their younger counterparts couldn’t think to get away with. Kooky, luminous, code-breaking, fun.
21. GI - Don’t Lie (feat. Dok2)
"Geumdokkiga nidokkinya eundokkiga nidokkinya / Soedokkiga nidokkinya geumdokkiga naedok-KI" *biggest air horn you could possibly buy*
20. D-UNIT - It’s You
A late in the year surprise that dropped without a sound (there isn’t even a video for this as far as I’m aware), which is a shame, because it’s a worthy addition to the D-UNIT cannon of singles and one of the year’s biggest potential smashes that got away. Trading the bratty wink of “Talk To My Face" for a bit of R&B smoothness and romance, "It’s You" is the group’s best attempt at straight-down-the-line pop to date. The verses plod a bit, but there’s a flutter of nervousness in their tone that suits it, and all the better to contrast that massive shift into the gleaming chorus. From there the work is off their shoulders (the chorus literally being variations of "It’s You" repeated several times), the production takes over, understanding that love so often means one is out of control. The beat shimmers wildly, their voices ascending, hearts pounding, united as one.
19. GLAM - I Like That
Burns itself out within the first 90 seconds, but golly, if those first 90 seconds aren’t among the most glorious, party bouncing, most brain-scrambling 90 seconds I’ve ever heard.
18. Hoody - My Ride
Words just aren’t enough here, for they can’t even begin to describe how sensual a production, how smoothly flowing, how intimately sung Hoody’s debut single is. It blows my mind every time. Simply unfuckwithable. Hoody is a member of AMRT, an all-female crew of singer/songwriters that the aforementioned Nieah is also a part of - writing, composing, producing, even helping to mix this record herself. Let’s be very clear here, these women taking over Korea - no, the world - is the dream
17. GI - Beatles
My choice for rookie of the year; GI exploded onto the scene with a sound that was all their own. More shrill than early 4minute (in the best way possible), more guttural than early 2NE1 (in the best way possible), GI’s neon-coated variety of tomboy hip-hop occupies just enough space in the intersection of its influences to constitute a niche. The girls go hard, shredding the track, riding the beat through the jumbled arrangement of the verses to the smooth coo of the chorus; though the pre-chorus key change and finger-snap inclusion is for me what sets it over the top. People have complained about the auto-tune, but I think it really serves the beat. The production is already grimy - the auto-tune only compliments that roughness. Plus, when they make that humming sound it’s like the wings of a beetle buzzing, even if they meant to imitate another sort of “beatle”.
To be honest, I’m sort of pissed after googling in every way I could think of that I still don’t know who their producer is, because whoever they are has cobbled together across GI’s first mini-album a sound that K-Pop hasn’t done in a while / in this exact configuration before. While other groups long before GI have worn the whole “bratty girl” or “tough girl” persona, songs like the aforementioned “Don’t Lie”, or “G" really stop you in your tracks in a way no K-Pop girl group has managed before. K-Pop needs a group like this, even if they’re currently walking a path that will lead them anywhere but the top of the charts.
16. CL - The Baddest Female
Clangs and clatters, wubs and bubbles, and barely holds itself together, but CL is enough of a force to carry it home, driving through the discordant mess of sounds like a speeding Mack truck in an exercise of sheer force and charisma. It’s ugly, but then who the hell said it had to be pretty? Certainly a superstar like CL deserves better than “pretty”, and “The Baddest Female” captures the impish excitement of a solo debut in a way no song has since Gwen Stefani came stamping her foot down on “What You Waiting For” a decade ago. A broad-appealing pop hit this is not, but CL leaves not even a whisper of a doubt that she has arrived.
15. D-UNIT - Stay Alive (feat. Vasco)
It was tough choosing D-UNIT singles for this list because their singles run last year was immaculate, but I put “Stay Alive” this high because it feels like the group’s anthem, in less than 3 minutes laying out D-UNIT’s goals and aspirations, repping their scene (“I’ll newly write the K-Pop swag / It’ll rise to the top, the D-Unit flag”), and throwing down one gauntlet of a hands-in-the-air chorus that might be the closest thing to a feminist party anthem K-Pop has done to date. Also the fact that its unapologetically hip-hop while, at the same time, not apologizing for being K-Pop, and that it does this better than most male attempts, feels like a milestone.
14. EXO - Growl
I was watching K.Will’s cover of “Growl” in concert when I realized it - “Growl” is the song a million male popstars would kill for. Hard and exuding masculinity, but also stylish and velvety smooth. If “Alone" in 2012 was the closest K-Pop had come to approximating Dr. Dre’s slinky piano lines, then "Growl" is the closest it’s come to capturing his cool. While the question of EXO’s ambiguous pop identity still lingers, with "Growl" the group has an undeniable hit.
13. 2NE1 - Falling In Love
Visceral, forward, and completely bypassing any intellectual mumbo jumbo, 2NE1’s big summer tune goes right for the kahunas and doesn’t let go - yep, it’s love (and probably sex). 2NE1 have been cocky plenty of times before, but rarely have they been this bold about their desires. Here they are voluminous and overflowing with giddy emotion - they’ve never sounded more alive, the reggae-fusion production resulting in one of their catchiest tunes to date, and that bass just knocks like an absolute motherfucker. If “I Love You” gave the impression that they might turn to stone if you touched them, “Falling In Love” is calling for all hands on deck (and other places). Maybe that’s what makes this, against all odds, their most inviting single. It’s not the border-defying dance of “I Am The Best”, or the so-catchy-even-an-alien-would-get-into-this appeal of “Fire”, but the love-as-empowerment motif is universal, and here they use it as their fuel (“Tonight I drop it low / I’m feeling electrified”). While “I Love You” had the weathered outlook of a young person beyond their years, “Falling In Love” just sounds young, with its slap-happy kazoo and silly movie star references, and anytime 2NE1’s cheeky, endearing personalities are allowed to come to the fore, pulled off with a confidence, and yes, a swagger, that is uniquely 2NE1, it’s guaranteed to be gratifying for everyone. Their cup runneth over, take a sip.
12. MFBTY - Sweet Dream
Effervescent and electro-charged, “Sweet Dream” is what so much K-Pop (hell, so much hip-hop in general, these days) is probably trying for: a happy marriage between rap and the computerized noises of EDM. While that can so often sound like a battle (*insert any YG banger ever here*), the rapping on “Sweet Dream” only adds to heighten - even make more beautiful - the ecstatic qualities of the production. Of course, if anyone could pull this off it would be pioneering rappers (and real-life married couple - hmm, maybe that’s it) Tiger JK and Yoon Mirae, who achieve the euphoric blast of the best dance music without sacrificing hip-hop’s hard-hitting edge. The dreamy house piano melody sounds even more dreamy because Bizzy is on top of it; the build-and-release that defines the “bass drop” - the whooshing final chorus can take the place of the “drop” here - is even more gratifying because Tasha’s “I wanna go go”’s are there vamping up the head rush. A complete celebration, “Sweet Dream” is the sound of some vets taking a well-deserved victory lap.
11. SPICA - Tonight
An off year for SPICA - literally - they only released one single in 2013, but one was all they needed. Penned by labelmate Hyori, the melody is a bit clunky, maybe too jarring on the first couple of listens, but therein lies its charm. Admittedly, it takes lead vocalist Kim Boa to really drive it home, punching the throttle on that grand “TONIIIIIIIGHT” note after the chorus, a performance she alone in K-Pop’s current landscape could pull off with so much heart and soul. It’s a love song, but with a wistful edge; the vocals burn, leaving marks. You get the impression tears are welling up, the kind usually paired with that uncomfortable hard feeling in the throat, but there’s happiness too. It sounds like catharsis - the kind of healing that can only be unlocked through hands touching, through secrets long held now confessed. “Tonight as I’m with you / Dazzling and beautiful, tonight is the night.” Released in late August, “Tonight” was a perfect end-of-summer anthem, capturing the spirit of some mythic summer love, jarring but beautiful.
10. G-Dragon - Niliria (feat. Missy Elliott)
In an era when K-Pop’s entanglement with hip-hop is still contentious at best (and problematic at worst; G-Dragon included), “Niliria” is beautiful. It’s a border-smashing banger that breaks down walls and socially constructed divisions. It’s a celebration of hip-hop and an honest exchange of culture without any of the exploitative bullshit. It’s a reminder that Missy Elliott is still sharp as a diamond all these years later (as if there was any doubt). It’s joyous and electrifying and overflowing with personality, and hey, there’s some pretty progressive ideas buried between the booty-shaking beats too: “In my proud country of Korea… A creation of a new generation… This is international diplomacy by rap, baby”. It’s the sort of thing K-Pop-oriented hip-hop needs more of, and certainly the sort of song I wish G-Dragon would make all the time.
9. Bangtan Boys - N.O
Yep, this is one of those songs where the lyrics illuminate (sorry!) It’s not that Bangtan are the first K-Pop idols to include social commentary into their music, it’s that they do it so loudly that it can’t be ignored. While K-Pop’s music videos occasionally allude to some real life political issues (think something like Brown Eyed Girl’s “Sixth Sense”), rarely is the music so critical, and almost never do you hear an idol group singing (or in this case, rapping) so explicitly about things that are less than seemly. “A good house, a good car, will these things bring happiness? / In Seoul to the SKY, will parents really be happy?… Who is the one who made us into studying machines? / They classify us to either being number one or dropping out / They trap us in borders, the adults / There’s no choice but to consent”.
While other groups, most recently B.A.P, have attempted to incorporate themes of social strife or rebellion into their music, the finished result of a song like “Badman" seems almost too ambitious, too abstract, to really get the message across clearly. Bangtan, by sticking to something they know and that so many can relate to, work from the bottom up, rather than starting sky high, which means the song can then be applied to lofty societal contexts if the listener so chooses. In that sense, the reason why “N.O” works so well is the same reason a song like “School’s Out" still resonates today. It’s a rejection of rigid school culture that young people can take on to mean rebellion in their own way, either on a personal level or on a larger scale. Bangtan have "torn away" their school uniforms, but there’s also very clear rejections of consumer culture, of the ideals of their parents, and perhaps tangentially of a large part of K-Pop itself, arguably the pinnacle of shiny and new consumerism ("Life like a puppet / Who takes care of me?" they ask provocatively).
Of course, none of this would really matter if the music didn’t work, but the dizzying string production, in tandem with the vigor in which they throw down the lyrics, is downright arresting. It’s the closest thing K-Pop has come to a riot song, not only in sound but in content too. Bangtan may be young, they may not have much clout in the industry, but they understand the power of two simple little letters. Resist, stand up, say “NO”.
8. 15& - Somebody
Here’s how you take promising talent, springboard from a solid debut, and land feet first into the shoes of a popstar. That “Somebody” didn’t turn into one of the year’s biggest hits is a true pop injustice. 15& are easily the most fun to come out of JYPE since the Wonder Girls, and “Somebody” is certainly just as catchy and well-produced as any of their classics - the play on “some-body-body” is twisted and toyed with in a gorgeously harmonic middle 8, and there’s almost two choruses, the first half working to build the tension, and the other half working to relieve it. Park Jimin and Baek Yerin are joyous and flirty in their singing; their exuberance in the chorus might seem too earnest, but that’s smartly punctuated by the tremble of nervousness in the verses, and there’s a certain sadness too. They don’t HAVE somebody, they WANT somebody (“Those typical first love stories / are other people’s stories / Those sad puppy love stories / can stop now”). The yearning is what keeps the listener guessing, that they won’t settle for any less than they deserve (“The same old pick-up lines / The boring humor / The presents you gave me / I’m not impressed by any of it”) is what makes it such a refreshing, sweetly sour delight.
7. CRAYON POP - Bar Bar Bar
The year’s “Gee” or “Tell Me”, and much like those, a deceptively brilliant song in its simplicity. Its repetition mimics the production; sleepy, uncharged, marching ahead in lock step. It would be boring if not for the injection of the call-and-response, which not only serves the song, but also (more importantly) the performance: pre-packaged fanchants, where one by one the girls get their chance to shine, mixing in their personality at every step (and please believe those fanchants were epic even through the TV). But from there it only builds on its own catchy raucousness, transitioning from the simple plod of the “pa pa pa” to the stratospheric, unifying, “Jumping! Yeah! Jumping! Yeah! Everybody!” They pump their arms up and down as if to launch into the sky, to escape this earth and all of its limiting confinements. “Jump and scream / As much as you want / Hey, you guys / Escape your daily life / All together, let’s say ready go!” In a world where K-Pop is becoming increasingly serious, and perhaps a bit too cool for its own good, Crayon Pop remind us that true cool is imagining your own fun with no rules.
6. Lee Hyori - Bad Girls
Hyori has always been good at stirring things up, and “Bad Girls” is the sort of larger-than-life, persona-centered tune that she does best, following in the fine tradition of past singles like “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and “U-Go-Girl” in sounding like a big, Proper Pop Event, like the sort you have to order on pay-per-view, and you buy snacks and sit around with all your friends to watch it. In the hands of anyone else it wouldn’t work. It’s Hyori’s panache that really sells this - that she’s an industry vet, that she’s been both loved and derided as a “bad girl” herself, that she can take herself both seriously and not at the same time, demanding social change with little more than a wink. Her confidence comes from the fact that, to be honest, she really has nothing left to prove, or anything to be afraid of, the video even poking fun at the idea that her bad girl ways will make her a “wanted woman”, the clip ending with her posing for a mug shot, sneer firmly on face. It’s that same shrewd silliness that sells the song - her voice unchained, “ooh”-ing and “yeah yeah”-ing with a seasoned confidence that too many popstars are sadly never allowed to mature to. The massive “woooah-ohhh” fanchants build from behind, sounding like an army of bad girls calling back to her, and everything crashing down around them as the surf guitars smash in during the final moments of the song feels properly “bad”, not to mention just fun as all hell. Hyori, yet again, made it an absolute pleasure to be a pop fan, and “Bad Girls”, in combination with the Monochrome album, cements her place as a titan among popstars.
5. f(x) - First Wisdom Tooth (Rum Pum Pum Pum)
The greatest f(x) single (so far), which is saying something, because they’ve yet to put out a bad one that wasn’t named Chu. “Rum Pum Pum Pum” encapsulates everything amazing about the group, all their quirkiness, all their catchiness, while still sounding utterly fresh and new. Funky Latin guitar rhythms (a first for the group) make odd bed fellows with the little drummer boy percussion, but the result is tight and the beats are crisp. The f(x) girls are smart to keep the vocals clean (Luna isn’t doing runs to the moon and back, at least not this time), letting the production roll and swell around their surprisingly sweet melodies. Still, it isn’t all bubblegum, like the best of f(x) it’s never just one thing all the time, or even at any given time. The girlish “oh-oh”’s are matched blow-for-blow by the drama of the verses, where each girl sounds isolated, stranded amid the menacing guitar licks, tension broken bit by bit until it all cracks apart into the sweet frothy relief of the chorus. It’s the musical equivalent of an elaborate sugar sculpture. Above all else, what this single understands is that the harder f(x) push into the bizarre, away from the by-the-numbers bangers SM still occasionally thrusts upon them, the more they come out on top.
4. VIXX - On & On
In retrospect, the first two VIXX singles are a lot of fun. That said, “On & On” is a herculean leap to greatness. It does the best thing a boyband can do (the one, single thing boybands do better as a whole than girl groups); it creates pandemonium. In fact I have no qualms calling this the best boyband single since SHINee’s “Lucifer”, another brooding, propulsive slice of pop-induced hysteria. “On & On” gets it right by mixing in some of the band’s own trademark goofiness with the drama, whether it’s the wonky moon vampire (?) themed video, or rapper Ravi’s playful middle 8, his off-the-wall style and deep rasp of a voice reminiscent of T.O.P, and I love how on every song he announces his presence with a Jason Derulo-esque name-drop.
To that end, the steely polish of the production is deceptively (and brilliantly) contrasted not only with this sense of silliness, but also a real sense of vulnerability. The Korean title of the song translates to “I’m ready to get hurt”. To be vulnerable is to be open, susceptible to whatever outside forces act upon you. Here they sing as “toy dolls” in the hands of woman who will probably “transfer to some other guy”, but for whom they have fallen for anyway. Love, then, is the capacity to accept the possibility of hurt, but to be courageous despite the risk of heartbreak. For VIXX this is both emotional (“Once again, you leave room, you leave strange words / And I look at you as you take off / And I cry”), and sensual (“From my head to my toes, take all of me / Roughly play with me, then throw me away – I’m all done getting ready to get hurt”). There’s almost this sort of S&M undertone to the whole thing which is only enhanced by the chain and blindfold imagery of the video, where, again, they are at the mercy of the women who shoot them “to the moon”.
Vulnerability, then, is not simply weakness, but rather our most powerful state of being. When one is open to being hurt, one is also throwing away fear. It is only from this space - fearlessness - where the most potent forms of pandemonium are born. It’s why they can still be goofy in the midst of the darkness. Why when they sing “I need therapy” it’s surrounded by “lalala”’s that sound happy and free. They’re “ready to be hurt”, and the music rolls on and on and on.
3. Lee Hi - Rose
Caught somewhere between a ballad and a midtempo, and the tension suits it, “Rose” is producer Teddy’s best attempt at build-and-release to date, not to mention the best recorded use of Lee Hi’s unusual instrument. “Rose” works so well because it takes a fairly basic motif - a rose with thorns - and transforms it into the aural manifestation of the plant itself. Peeling back the petals one at a time, different things peek out; snares snap back mean and then retreat, a sad guitar plays a thorny little chorus that almost amounts to nothing, the arrangement armoring the listener for a war that doesn’t come. Lee Hi is luring and coquettish in a way we haven’t heard before, her dark husk of a voice looms, personifying the insidious rose of the lyrics; “My love is like a red rose / It may be beautiful now / But my sharp thorns will hurt you.” Then comes the rap break, which is par for the course with K-Pop, but here it acts as the point when that aforementioned tension finally turns into something - cool (in both temperature and aesthetic) relief from the repetitious drive of the rest of the track. Otherwise, there’s not a climax in a traditional sense, but that’s the best thing about it. Listening to the first 30 seconds, you wouldn’t be wrong to expect this to break into an “I Will Show You" style disco anthem, but it doesn’t, and in that sense it’s a proper follow-up to Lee’s debut "1,2,3,4”, another stubborn song which refused to explode. I think that might be her thing, and I think I might like it.
2. Park Jin-young - Had Enough Parties
First of all, the idea of this song is sort of just absurd, or at least the way its executed is. I don’t know if its him in the MV throwing down with a full on choreographed routine - backup dancers and all - but CEO JYP in the club dancing like he’s still 22, singing his heart out, just gives me life, and hope. He’s comfortable just being himself, and that sort of confidence is infectious.
As a song, “Had Enough Parties” works as the sort of brief, spatial R&B JYP is known for, avoiding the undercooked feeling his pop productions can sometimes have. The beats are minimal and the signing is kept sprightly, but with a tinge of the world-weariness of an experienced crooner like R.Kelly, and with some of the ridiculousness too (just watch the video where he plays older versions of himself). It’s a finger-snapping club jam that’s both informed by the sounds of the club and bored by what actually happens there. In that sense, this isn’t just a club jam, it’s also a jam about the club, or least the superficiality which fills them, be it “pretty money” or “pretty girls”, neither of which are enough to fill him. So what’s the remedy to enough partying? Love, apparently. A theme which wrestles with the innate loneliness of the icy production - he’s fighting through the cold (or better yet singing) for something more.
After the last few years of electro-pop maximalism, of house revival, of dubstep and “popstep” and “brostep” and just about every other sort of pseudo-club music imaginable (because let’s be honest, no one can dance to dubstep), it’s enticing to hear someone declare the end of certain sort of “partying”, and maybe about time too.
1. SISTAR19 - Gone Not Around Any Longer
I feel like my top pick each year is the most predictable choice, and so here we are once again. This time I end up choosing SISTAR19 for much of the same reason I picked Lee Hyori’s Monochrome as my #1 album - that, for all of the change and madness that 2013 represented, it was just comforting to have a no-frills pop song produced by Brave Brothers to fall back on; like a good armchair. While other songs may have been more innovative, their lyrics telling better stories, “Gone”, from the instant those luxurious “ooh ooh”’s hit in the opening seconds, made nothing else matter. The buttery harmonies envelop like a warm cocoon, Hyorin’s vocal performance mesmerizing, all-consuming; the sad saxophone and almost non-hook of a hook working to compliment their feelings of longing and emptiness in the void of a relationship where only small details remain (“In my bathroom your toothbrush was here then gone / Your strong scent was here then gone”)
While K-Pop is excellent at curating the sort of innovation that moves pop forward, a neat song with all of the edges trimmed is harder work than making a mess. This is something SISTAR excel at, rarely setting the trend (although K-Pop has pumped the well of “Alone” to dust), but instead finding success with a series of good old fashioned tunes. “Gone” represents Brave Brothers at his most assured and relaxed, and Hyorin at her leading-lady best. It feels like it captures a moment in time in K-Pop, one which may be “gone not around any longer” before we know it. It’s the sort of insta-nostalgia feeling that, in a few years, perhaps when SISTAR are past their peak, will make us say with longing reverence, “damn, I wish they’d release another song like that again.”