Mandopop: Top 20 of 2015

Another year has passed and when I sum up my top 20 favorite videos from the Chinese speaking world, these are the ones I choose:

20. 831 - Yoleh Yoleh. The young rockers from Taiwan delivers a modern rock song.

19. Yang Fan - Grandma Yang. Two years old but the comedian makes a video with an almost shockingly bizarre change of style in the refrain that it is to be cherished again and again. ;-)

18. Yen-j - Contemporary Art. Sharp singing in a song about art, I loved this new sound from him.

17. Chopstick Brothers ft Fruit Master - Little Fruit. The lightning never strikes the same spot twice, and just as with korean PSY, it is really hard to find a way forward when having the biggest hit of the year (in this case in China). This is also a creative copy, but still a copy, of the original hit.

16. Han Lei & Da Bing - Scratch Scratch (Nao Nao). Humorous video from this comedy duo.

15. Zheng Bing Bing - Don't Be Afraid. Surprisingly violent (in a cute way!) for a 9 year old girl, and so fun!

14. Mao Ze Shao - Do it, Lady. Funky singing from Ze Shao in a positive and uptempo dance song.

13. Zhang Wenqi - Three bowl of pig feet. One of the most fun title's I've encountered in a song sung in the southern Chinese dialect hakka.

12. Xiao Quan - Social Shake. One of the more interesting goes at creating a viral hit this year.

11. Jolin Tsai - I Love, I Embrace. The video is heaven for a Jolin Tsai fan. Nuff said.

10. Jike Junyi - Lotion Song. A unexpectedly contemplative yet fresh song from her.

9. Tianyo - Three Second Countdown. Cool guy in cool videos that focuses on delivering a great performance, so the sometimes not super english really doesn't matter at all.

8. Popu Lady - Gossip Girls. Even though this is actually a revamped cover, they deliver such a show and strong impression in this video that I feel this is their most (first) unique song, defining themselves properly for the first time.

7. Miss Ko - Ready, Set, Drunk. A New York native from birth, she has gone to taiwan and she really does manage to deliver the goods with some mandarin rap that is really fun and rhythmic and so engaging.

6. Cosmos People - I Hate You. This is really an old hit from 2012, but it is so good I had to bring it onto the top list.

5. Li Yuchun - Only You & Real Love. These delicious songs confirms the fascinating Li Yuchun's current bias for more electronic sounds.

4. Ren Lijia - Xiao Fang, Oh, Xiao Fang. Not many will know of this guy, which is too bad as his song is a very effective pop song.

3. Xiao Zhiming & Chen Wei - Most Beautiful. Not cool but folksy KTV pop, this duo sung their way into my heart with their refrain, it is so addictive.

2. Momo Wu - I wanna be your lover. *Finally* she found her sweet spot with her voice, restraining her wierdness in just the right amount and channeling it into rhythm instead, in this sharp and funky track that is an explosion of color.

1. Da Mouth - Funky Girl, Loser & What The... Their intelligent and sound-perfect disco retro just blew me away and each of these three songs individually places in my top 5 mandarin songs this year.

Mandopop: Chopstick Brothers ft Fruit Master - Little Fruit (Xiao Shuiguo/小水果)

After their massive hit "Little Apple", the most popular song in China in 2014, the Chopstick Brothers was bound to try to repeat some of that success. Here it is, and they have obviously tried to tie into what made them popular with the first song with cheesy lyrics, dance moves and a catchy chorus. And actually, it works for me. Yes, they even named the new song Little Fruit, which in chinese is spelled even more the same as "Little Apple" (compare the earlier 小苹果 with the new 小水果...), but they have found a twist to the sound that somehow re-invents the whole idea; the new song actually has a kind of melancholy feel emanating from the chorus and the electronic sounds generated with the help of Fruit master, and a colorful video created by korean film director Woogie Kim.

• Chopstick Brothers ft Fruit Master - Little Fruit (小水果)

Mandopop: Xiao Quan (蕭全)

This DJ/Songwriter is really just one in row of Chinese male singers trying hard to deliver the next "Xiao Pingo", the song by the Chopstick Brothers that was really THE social phenomena in China last year. And of course history never repeats itself in the same way, so this is doomed to fail, but this video is at least mildly fun to watch while cranking up the volume. It seems reasonable that the "back-up" plan for Quan if this doesn't conquer China, is at least to be popular for all the people doing square dancing in every Chinese city every morning and evening. He surely delivers some moves meant for that, am I not right? ;-P

• Xiao Quan - Social Shake (社會搖)

Kpop/Mandopop: T-ara with Chopstick Brothers - Little Apple

The internet viral hit "Little Apple/Xiao Pingo" by the chinese comic duo Chopstick Brothers have now been taken up by one of the most famous kpop groups, T-ara, which does a funny video where they and the brothers mix Korean and Chinese in a fun way. There's even an indirect tribute to another team of music nerds, korean Crayon Pop, with the four yellow jumpsuits screaming Dancing Queen, am I not right? ;-)

• T-ara with Chopstick Brothers - Little Apple