Best of 2014: K-pop

2014 is coming to an end, so I also want to talk a bit about the Korean music industry. As you probably realized, I'm not really a big Kpop fan anymore. I'm still listening to korean music from time to time (especially older music), but I just don't really enjoy it as much as I did in the past.

This year has been a very dramatic year for Kpop. Two members of Ladie's Code died after an accident which shocked the whole Kpop fandom. Then we saw lots of members who left their group and a few who even filed lawsuits against their companies.
S.M Entertainment had a very bad year. Jessica leaving Girls' Generation and EXO losing two members were pretty hot topics and surprised a lot of fans. To me it just shows that the Industry isn't all that nice as we would think..

But enough about the bad news, I still want to talk about a few awesome songs that I didn't have the time to review before.

EXO - Overdose

It's a shame I never talked about this. This is also the last song with all the members still in it and even though it was released early in the year it is still a song I like. Overdose is a pretty strong dance track. It gets me pumped up and I just really like how serious it is. EXO's songs still didn't disappoint me until now, so it is sad to see them losing members and fans.

T-ara - Sugar Free

This is probably my favourite Kpop song of the last few months and shows again that T-ara never disappoints. Sugar Free is a freaking catchy song and follows their usual techno disco style.
The MVs are giving me headaches and the dance isn't anything special either but it's still nice to see the members looking all beautiful. ^^

Kyuhyun - At Gwanghwamun

Within SuJu I think Kyuhyun has the best voice. So it made me really happy to see him getting a solo debut. But well, I don't really like ballads thaaaat much. Like, there are deifinetely ballads that I LOVE and some just have awesome instrumentals and lyrics but I get bored by ballads really fast (especially Korean, since there are just sooo many Korean ballads that just sound the same). SM The ballad also wasn't really my cup of tea, but as I usually enjoyed enjoyed Kyu's OST songs and stuff, I hoped this to be good (Edge of Rain, The way to break up and Listen to you are like three of my favourite ballads ever!)
And I have to admit, I like ''At Gwanghwamun''. I mean, it won't be my favourite song or something, but I'm surprised how well this turned out. The song isn't a snooze fest as it's actually pretty emotional and the chorus is beautiful. I mean, of course I'm a bit biased because I love Kyuhyun's voice, and that's definetely what makes this song special for me. If it wasn't for his voice I would probably like it a lot less. The video is pretty boring but seeing Kyuhyun is nice enough I guess.^^

My TOP 2 favourite korean songs of 2014

I really didn't review a lot of korean songs this year, but there are two songs that I absolutely love.

First of is Orange Caramel's Catallena (my post). This is actually also the only korean CD I purchased this year! I really love the whole concept of this release, the song is freaking catchy and the lyrics are also very inetersting. Then video is so interesting and different!

But I guess the song I liked the most this year is Gain's F**k you (my post). I really love the song and I'm just so impressed that Gain talked about abusive relationships, which is such a serious topic. The video is brutal but I think it is executed very well and shows the struggles of such a relationship.

Coming to an end now, I do think I will continue to listen to Kpop a bit. There have been a few very good comebacks this year. I would say everything I reviewed was very well done and I lieked those few releases. But as a whole I'm just not interested in it as much as I used to be anymore...
Well, let's see what 2015 will bring in terms of K-pop music! :3

K-pop Wrap-up January& Feburary 2014

I'm really not paying attention to K-pop lately. Gosh, I'm so sorry, I really don't have enough time for it anymore... But still, I really love many bands and songs and I have to keep me motivated listening to the new releases because some of them are super awesome! This whole weekend I have been listening to K-pop songs and searched for some new ones. And really, there are MANY songs that caught my attention. Actually, there are also twoo songs from January in this list, but because I didn't do a December Wrap-up I just transformed this into the Jan + Feb Wrap-up! :)

24.01 Kiss&Cry - Domino Game
Let's just start with a rookie group. I don't know anything about this girlgroup, so yeah. BUT I know that they definetely don't look and act like a rookie group. I wouldn't have guessed they were one if someone would have shown me the video without telling me.. And that song, wow!! ''Domino Game'' is a really fierce and powerful song and I really love it. Not only are the voices superb, the lyrics are also so strong and empowering! I love these kind of songs and I recommend everyone to listen to it. I'm soooo happy I found this gem and I will keep looking for them in the future.
The video isn't that special, but the dance looks so cool and professional!

27.01 Spica - You don't love me
Next is another strong release. Seriously, the members have so much soul in their voices, it's awesome!! The song is pretty retro and so is the video. But OMG the video is soo awesome. It's supposed to be sexy, but at the same time it's freaking funny. At the end it gets soooo crazy.. xD

12.02 Bangtan Boys - Boy in Luv
Bangtan Boys are back with the song Boy in Luv. Even though it sounds a bit like a normal love-song it is actually a very powerful song. Seems like I mostly like the powerful K-pop songs.. ;)
But this one, damn it's sooo freaking awesome!!!! It gets me hyped up! xD
The video is okay I guess. Dance is pretty strong but the story is a bit lame/ odd... Well, not everything can be great, right?

13.02 SM the Ballad
SM the Ballad, consisting of SM Ent. best singers finally returned with a whole different line-up. Or actually, they don't even have a real line-up because there are different performers in every language for both songs ''Breath'' and ''Blind''.

Breath
This song was released first and is actually a really beautiful piece of music. Since ballads aren't my favourite genre I guess I won't listen to it that much.
The Korean version is sung by Jongyhyun (SHINee, the only original member) and Taeyeon (SNSD). They sound pretty good and I really like this version:

The Chinese version is sung by Chen (EXO) and LiYin. Wow, this version is even better and these two sing together sooo well!

Lastly, the Japanese version is sung by Changmin (TVXQ) and Krystal (Fx). Well, this version is actually the worst in my opinion. I mean, I like Changmin's voice, but I kind of don't like Krystal here.. Oh well..

The rest of the videos consist of Changmin's drama.. or something.. I don't know what it is, but he's there and acts..

Sooo dramatic :o

Blind
This is the second song and it's another ballad (what a surprise). Oh well, and it is pretty boring in my opinion. I mean, Breath was cool, but this isn't something for me.. Sorry..

The Korean version is sung by Yesung. WTF, Yesung??? What??? o.O

The Japanese version is sung by... *surprise* YESUNG.. WTH? Okay, I didn't see that coming at all. xD

Well, at least the Chinese version is sung by someone else: Zhoumi.. Wow, how cool is that! I love his voice and this is actually my favourite version (nothing against Yesung and also, the song is still boring..).

Changmin: Drama is about me again I guess..

Changmin: And I'm sad..

I'm everywhere!!

Lol, sorry but I think it's funny that Changmin is in every drama. xD Talking about him, I'm sorry but I don't really like both of TVXQ's songs.. I hope they release something special again soon!! :)

17.02 Sunmi
Sunmi is back once again.. Yeyyyyy!! And even though this song is still very r'n'b groovey and of course sexy, it's a bit slower and more quiet. It has a very beautiful and sensual melody.. well, except for the rap. In my opinion it's a bit unnecessary, but yeah.. It's still a great song. I'm so happy that Sunmi gets these awesome songs!! xD
Also, the video is pretty DARK and spooky. Sunmi is a vampire and she looks so creepy in some scenes.. :'D

20.02 T-ara - First Love
T-ara is back with another ballad. Well, but actually I like this song soo much more than SM the Ballad's songs.. ''First Love'' has a spanish feeling with the instruments and is actually very sad and edgy. Perhaps it's just the voices, but I kind of really like this song!
The video just shows the 3 members + the rapper recording the song.. But it's actually interesting and Jiyeon looks sooo cute here.. xD

Sooo and that's it. xD
I'm proud that I ould write about so many songs and I'm happy that I found a few awesome tracks. I wiil continue to keep open my eyes for new gems in the k-pop industry!! :D