Countdown! Kpop Edition

Countdown! Favourite Single Releases of 2011. (Korean)

Korean Edition



Keeping in mind that I have only been listening to Kpop for about a year and a half, compared to my almost 8 years in Jpop, this list may not have your faves in it. Please do not fret. Simply recommend them to me in the comments, and I will give them a listen! I am still quite new to the scene and trying to listen to as many artists as possible.

This list only includes Korean releases, not any of the re-releases or new songs in Japanese.

As with Jpop, I prefer on the whole, female artists, but I do need to branch out lately. So feel free to recommend me any great male artists that you like.

Right! Onto the countdown!

10. Hyuna - Bubble Pop

This song has been a hit with Kpop fans and non-Kpop fans alike. This really got people talking all over the world about Kpop. The video may be a teeny bit all over the place trying to be sexy, as Hyuna doesn't need to try this hard, but it's still fun. The 'oohs!' and 'aahs!' are so different. Hyuna is an amazing dancer. This is just a great summery song.

9. 4minute - Heart to Heart

I love, love, love 4minute and I love this song, and it's pv. It's so cute and on first listen, you may think it's nothing like 4minute's earlier stuff, it is a little different but I still love the way it sounds. It's no 'Hot Issue (remix)' but once you listen to this a few times, it becomes a hook in your brain. I don't get why everyone is complaining on Youtube, then again, YT comments are usually hard to take seriously.

8. Secret - Shy Boy

PV wouldn't let me embed so a performance it is! This is an extremely cute song. 'OH OH OH MY BOY!' - I love the 50's theme and the cute outfits they usually wear when performing this. The 'doo-wap' sound is something you do not hear often in recent pop. Such a sweet song!

7. DAL*SHABET - Pink Rocket

This may raise some eyebrows, as this band has gotten a lot of criticism for not being 'Kpop enough' and such. Weird stuff like that. They are ridiculously cute and this song is infectious. I like the overt electronic sound in this. The PV is really awesome. I'm still not quite sure what 'Dal Shabet' means, but if it has something to do with sherbert, then that certainly fits the image of the group.

6. SISTAR - SO COOL

YES. 'YEAH I FEEL SO COOL, COOL! YEAH I FEEL SO COOL!' - This song is awesome. So upbeat, amazing vocals and an extremely addictive chorus. Flawless song, the PV is fun and not too busy, but enough to keep you interested. A really great song for the gym I find.

5. Orange Caramel - Shanghai Romance

The subgroup of After School have outdone themselves with this extremely catchy track. Raina, oh she's so cute! The dance in this PV is so fun and easy, and you'll find yourself doing it when you listen to the song 'Sha sha sha!'. This subgroup can do no wrong by me lately. Love them!

4. After School - Shampoo

They won't let me embed the PV again so another live performance it is! This is a nice sounding song, but the translation is a bit...weird. Look it up if you're interested, I swear you will be surprised. The PV is nice and this song is what originally got me interested in After School.

3. Brown Eyed Girls - Sixth Sense

WOW. THE AWESOME. These girls are fierce. The PV is powerful and sends an important political message of resistance. The dancing is flawless, the girls are HOT. Their voices are incredible. This is how the LADIES do it!

2. KARA - STEP

KARA continue to slay everyone with their awesome. The only band to really succeed at sounding Japanese during the Hallyu wave, they are professional to the MAX. Their dancing, singing and attitude are all perfect. They really are one of the best Kpop bands right now.

1. 2NE1 - I AM THE BEST

SORRY, NOTHING ELSE COULD GET TOP SPOT. This is THE song of the year in my opinion. AH MAN. This song makes me feel better when I'm down, puts me in a good mood any time of the day, I am always in the mood to listen to this. If this was on vinyl I would have worn it down a long time ago. I love how the PV is so 'Don't mess with me!' - love it, love it, love it.

Not including Japanese releases has excluded a chunk that I would have originally liked to have put in, but they just aren't as good as if the song itself would be if it was in Korean (probably excluding KARA, as most of their songs are good in Japanese) - I don't know many soloists yet apart from IU and G.NA (and of course BoA but most Jpop fans know BoA let alone Kpop fans). I am still learning a lot about the industry, and I hope to know many more fans and hopefully a bit of the Korean language itself by this time next year.

Girls' Generation didn't make it onto this list as 'The Boys' - while a catchy tune, has a lot of flaws and the other Korean groups have stepped up to the plate as big hitters this year.

Who are your faves? Who do you recommend?

2nd Poll Winners & 'The Boys'

Congratulations Girls' Generation!



I was originally going to do these polls in rounds, this would have been round one. But with the huge margin that Girls' Generation won, I don't think there is any point, as they will win every time. I voted for 4minute myself, but I can see why Girls' Generation is so popular, and as a consequence, the next poll is directly influenced by this win.

'Who is your favourite Girls' Generation member?'

Mine is Sunny! Vote away and tell me yours in this post!

Since this is a Girls' Generation domination..[hehe] I may as well mention 'The Boys' - not having listened to the entire album yet (when I do, a review will go straight up on here) I am purely talking about the title track. It has critics positively divided, and if you haven't listened to it yet (are you living under a rock?! Listen to it now!) Here are some links.



^ Korean version. The best and much more fierce version in my opinion, even though the PV's are practically the same. They all look positively stunning in this video clip. This is a real party track, and I can see it going straight onto my gym ipod, the beat is fantastic, and if you pump that bass up, this is a great track.

Although one thing, it is not as brilliant as it was hyped up to be. It's not as good as say, 'Oh!' or 'Run Devil Run' - it's just a tad generic.



^ English version. Huh. This is..well not good. Jessica, Tiffany and surprisingly, Sunny, all sound quite good in English (expected from Jessica and Tiffany, of course) but the rest sound very...weird. If anyone remembers BoA's English versions from her old Korean albums, it sounds like that. (I do not mean her debut USA album, that was pretty good) - The music doesn't go with the lyrics. It's kind of cringy as well.

I wonder if they will have a Japanese version. Because that will be interesting to compare to these two versions. I can't see the English version doing very well in the charts. I hope the Korean one goes straight to the top though.

What do you all think about this song/album?

The Hallyu Wave

Korean Pop Invasion!




Over the past 2 years, a change has been coming over the pop music industry, Korean pop has started to infiltrate the airwaves all over the world, but especially China and Japan. K-pop has a difference to Jpop as in the musicians, if they are manufactured, have been trained for a long period of time before their debut. So their singing and dancing skills are often slick and very well executed.

Korean pop music is extremely well produced. Synth is highly used, along with phat basslines and a perfect combination of good vocals and a melody that makes you bop your head. A big difference I have also noticed is, that most Kpop singers can actually sing, and have musical talent. Japanese pop seems to take looks/personality over vocal talent a lot of the time, whilst almost all the Kpop I have listened to, I have not heard a note out of place. Now, while that may come down to auto-tuning, and I am sure in a lot of cases it is, there is only so much you can improve someone's voice before it becomes unrecognizable. Try listening to Erina Mano or Koharu Kusumi. They sound very, very average even after being autotuned. So it's not an implement to be used to improve them so they sound like Mariah Carey. More to fix up the naff notes.

The training for becoming a Korean Pop Idol is extremely hard and sometimes unsurity kicks in, as a lot of highly trained people never get to debut. The people who do, get hand picked by the agenices/record companies, and even after that can sometimes be dropped. It's a very stressful life.

Considering the fact that so many K-pop groups are becoming very famous in Japan right now, including Girls' Generation, 4minute, Kara, T-ara, SHINee and many more, Jpop is going to have to up their stakes to compete with the highly professional sound and extremely polished performances that these ultra-talented young stars are bringing to the industry. Considering Japan, Korea and China have always been extremely competitive, I have no doubt that we may see some Kpop influenced songs and bands coming out over the next few years in China and especially, Japan.

Japan is going to have to put their obsession with cuteness and youth aside for a second if they are going to compete with Korea. As Kpop has a much more mature look and sound, which in turn, attracts a much more intelligent audience. In Japan, girls as old as 25, and as young as 12, are being portrayed as schoolgirls and objects of lust to try and sell more records, which attracts a very weird and often perverted audience.

While in Korea, girls and boys are recruited as young as 9-10 years old, and trained for upto 7 years before they debut. Long, long hours of dancing and singing training. As a result, they are experienced beyond their years once you see them on the television and hear them on the radio, as opposed to Jpop stars, who are auditioned and given fast-track training, and as a consequence, a lot of them are very under-par when they are first seen, and, due to the nature of the industry, the bands (or members within the band) are usually so short-lived that we never get to see them at their best.

I think Japan could take some really good tips from Korea in the way of music. The question is, how long will this wave last? Will it become a great point in repairing relations between Japan and Korea? Or will it just be a temporary fad that will fade out with time?