Five years of Kpop: My top 20 ever

This february I celebraty five years of blogging. The world is actually moving on from blogs towards other arenas, but in my small world I'm still going to share the 20 videos that I subjectively see as the ones I still like, ones I would listen to as much as watch. There are many great kpop videos out there to watch, but to be the best the melodies and songs themsleves also have to be spot on. I sometimes call them "no skip"-videos as I never feel the urge to even skip a short segment of them.

There is no internal order, I have ordered them after the name of the artists(s). So here goes nothing...my top 20 of all time. Enjoy!

A) 2PM - A.D.T.O.Y. The guys of 2PM sits upon a scene and just sings and shows of their great charisma and delivers a great musical performance.

B) 4minute - Volume Up. That saxophone gives me the chills every time, but the drama of this song in geenral is unsurpassed among girl groups. if I every decided to drive a car in extreme speeds, this would be the song for it.

C) 9muses - News. I was surprised to realize that it was actually one of their oldest hits that still is my favorite. The group that for several years produced stable melodies with honest but tasteful pin-up videos is not the smae anymore, but they still have left a nice inheritance.

D) Bubble X - Hit It. The one and only "indie" song to make it into my top list. Its not that there aren't that many good indie songs, its just that this is the only one that delivers the whole package with a perfect song and great video.

E) Dal Shabet - Big Baby Baby (B.B.B). The refrain actually distracted me at first then became the thing that together with the retro visuals made med love it.

F) Exid - Every Night. This song had such a distinct Id, all their vocals having such character, the refrain and all of it being just so soulful.

G) f(x) - Hot summer. This song is together with "Electric" iconic for the cool girls of f(x), and "Hot summer" wins narrowly for being one of the few sommer kpop songs that is actually good.

H) Girls Day - Expect. This was the big turning point for the group as they went from a group among others to the mature and sensual ladies that was just unresistable with whatever they do. The success for Girl's Day I personally believe is one of the points when the kpop industry in general started to let go of some of its inhibitions about sexuality.

I) Kara - Step. They have given us so many great songs with "Step" showing of what they do best with a refrain that just is such a happy and unsurpassed extacy of pure happiness.

J) Orange Caramel - Magic Girl. My first kpop song ever and even though it is kitchy and naive it is also have a great melody that is just unresistable.

K) Secret - Talk That. There is no denying, this is one sexy video, but the song is what makes it sensual not the visuals, they just heighten it.

L) SHINee - 1 of 1. I always expected the classic "Ring Dong Dong" to be their best song but then came this 2016 retro perfection and I was completely sold on it.

M) Sistar - Give it to me. The melancholy in this show number balances happiness and sorrow in a way that Sistar always has done so well, without needing to loose tempo ever. The song always gets to me.

N) Stellar - Marionette. If Girl's Day opened up "sexiness" for the kpop community as a whole in a relatively milder way, this song with Stellar was a much bigger jump as the video became known for its explicitness. Even though it was seen as slightly plump, many have followed in their steps and Stellar themselves has evolved the concept to an almost metaphorical level later on.

O) T-ara - Roly Poly. They have a lot of hits, but this one is the one that always is my number one for its happy baseline and unresistably dance-friendly refrain.

P) Tey - Dangerous. Not to belittle Tey's talent as a kpop artist, but this is one of those "one hit wonders", as the song far surpasses anything else I have seen (or will see) from him.

Q) Tiny G - Miss you. This odd and small group is tempting to pass over, but this song is just sucks me in every time like a chewing gum that don't want to let go.

R) TVXQ - Catch Me. It's a tough choice between this and "Mirotic", but "Catch Me" is unprecendented for me in kpop in general in the level of visual, almost physical, drama that builds up in the video, which also carries over to the song very well.

S) Up10tion - Attention. The best kpop song of 2016 is a sweet song that carries you all the way with a tempo that find a sweet spot between the more common "ballad slow" and "dramatic speed" that defines most good boy band tracks.

T) VIXX - Eternity. They boys of VIXX have always had a thing for giving us videos with a strong story and drama, and Eternity is the one I would choose (in hard competition) as the best one.

Kpop: Top 20 of the first quarter of 2016

The 80s retro has been coming on heavy this winter in kpop, but not is all successful. The surprising winner is a group that manages to use the best of the sound while still moving forward.

25. 4minute - Hate. Hoping they will drop that lame posing, it was still a cool video.
24. Taemin - Drip Drop. Cool dance number and suitable beats to match.
23. Six Bomb - Wait 10 Years Baby. I actually like this for its cheapness, pink dresses and all.
22. Hong Jin Young - Thumbs Up. The trot queen in my eyes.
21. UV feat Lee Sang Min - Oh Yes. Almost to short to qualify as a music video, but oh so fun.

Final 20:

20. Grace - I'm Fine. The debut song wins on sheer mass of references and stance. She goes all out in the video and it wins her a spot on the top 20.

19. Anda - Taxi. This is kind of the exact opposite of Grace's video - cheap and without complications, this is all about the track, another super italopop-sounding track.

18. Got7 - Fly. Another nice sound from the boys which, yes, made you want to fly.

17. Lucky J - No Love. Jessi's voice and some key instruments is what drew me to this track.

16. Snuper - Platonic Love. A celebration of the kind of pop norwegien pop did, in a suitable 80s setting was hard to say no to when done this nice.

15. Ladies Code - Galaxy. The three girls managed a worthy comeback after the tradgedy 1,5 years ago, hopefully they will keep on fighting.

14. Azin - Delete. This song and its album promises much and I hope she continues on this path.

13. Turbo - Again. These kind of comebacks generally makes me rather sceptic but this time it works. It may sound a bit not 2016, but it is still good.

12. Nu'est - Overcome. At times a dramatic video, but I'm guessing the androgyn looks of Ren is what fascinates most people.

11. Fiestar - Mirror. I'm actually a bit surprised I didn't place this higher but somehow the excellent concept and video missed having a working hook.

10. Kim Jaejoong - Love You More. Ever since the debut Mine I have had hopes for his solo career and here he shows that promise again.

9. CocoSori - Dark Circle. This is the oddest song of this list, with a male personificication of Broccoli being eaten by the two girls. Strange but charming.

8. School OZ - One Day One Chance. Combining fantasy, kpop and musical can't really go wrong in my eyes. This was a real winner for me.

7. Brave Girls - Deepened. Writing this, I just realized what the thing woth this song is - it feels like a dream somehow. The production creates a kind of musical haze where we dream of the girls. Even the rap suits the ambience.

6. Dal Shabet - Someone like U. The girls gives us one of the better 80s retro songs in kpop this winter.

5. Stellar - Sting. They have embraced sexual innuendo fully and made it their home town. And what a happy and lively home town it is! ;-)

4. Mamamoo - Taller than you. The attitude, the charisma. These girls rule!

3. Jun Hyo Seung - Find Me. Hyoseung does what Fiestar wanted to do, combining sexiness with an actual working song. It is all there and then some.

2. Fantastic Drugstore - Before Sunrise. Great voice and competent indie pop made this a given favorite.

1. Bubble X - Hit It. The duo found that perfect sound and feeling with "Hit It", attitude without losing tempo, happiness without kpop blandness, and just a general flow that is perfect. They may play on 80s retro but their sound is here and now.

Kpop: 4Minute - Hate (싫어)

I'm usually the one to first go 'Yes!' when a pop increases tempo, but in 4Minute's latest "Hate" this is not the case. I didn't like their "Crazy" and "Hate" suffers from the same problems in my eyes that 2NE1 suffered from - as they mature as artist it has more a question of posing and surface than producing good songs. The video for Hate is visually top notch, but the song is just 'meh'. I miss Volume Up soo much.

• 4Minute - Hate (싫어)