Kpop: Top 20 for the third quarter of 2014

Well, as usual I am surprised by how easy it is to find 20 good videos for each quarter of kpop, even though I'm getting more and more choosy along the years. The third quarter is no exception.
An honorable mention goes to Sunny Hill and their "Monday Blues", which marked their return to uptempo tracks.

20. Orange Caramel - Gangnam Avenue/My Copycat. I'm a great fan of Orange Caramel but i honestly liked the previous two releases of OC than the two of this autumn. For both me and all the other the fans, choosing a favorite out the two is hard. COpycat is supposedly more interesting for its creative video, but it is also a little enervating.

19. Pa Hul Za - Pissing Me Off. How can you now love this guy and his tasteful videos? ;-)

18. Yoon Sang - If you wanna console me. With some new friends, the old man delivers updated pop that feels like it could have been written anywhere in the world.

17. Secret - I'm In Love. It's not a new classic but the four girls delivers a top-notch showpiece from a basic song.

16. Infinite - Back. A fight video with the guys actually not winning is refreshing.

15. Stellar - Mask. After the success of their Marionette, Mask is a expected follow-up but somehow it manages to avoid the expected trap of being trashy in a bad way and - as things work in showbiz - becomes less hyped. For me the essential point was that this song simply isn't as good as Marionette.

14. 100% - U Beauty. Funny and easy to like, the boys and their song is hard to resist.

13. Royal Pirates - Love Toxic. They play their own instruments! That's cool enough in kpop, but also, they sound and look great. Three out of three.

12. Taemin - Danger. Cool but a little repetitive melody, the video is real eye-candy for his fans.

11. Lucky J - Can You Hear Me. Even the rap works for me in this song, a soulful piece with clear voices.

10. Crayon Pop - C'mon C'mon. An almost cliché 80s retro song, it works really well both due to how well it suits the style of Crayon Pop and how well it is done. Super charming.

9. John Park - U. The American-Korean man with the great voice gives us a darker but sexy pop song this time.

8. Ladies Code - Kiss Kiss. The great tragic of this fall, the car accident and following death of two members of Ladies Code, means that "Kiss Kiss" has a special place as their last release. Kiss Kiss was another song on their establish sound, with their special uptempo, fun and almost childish beats.

7. Nasty Nasty - Knock. Steaming hot debut from this cross-group constellation trio.

6. Fiestar - One More. After their cute "korean lessons" on YouTube, I almost got surprised from this mature video. It's sauve and the girls are plain cool.

5. Henry - Fantastic. I think of this video as "The Violin One", great drama in both video and song.

4. T-ara - Sugar Free. First I actually almost didn't like this EDM song but it has grown on me. It simply delivers the essential T-ara without any pretentions.

3. Kara - Mamma Mia. Kara proves to us that they are still pro's, Mamma Mia being an elegant example of what kpop have been the last decade when at its best. It's nothing new, but it is classical perfection.

2. Ha:tfelt - Ain't Nobody. If Kara's "Mamma Mia" is the best of what has been and f(x)'s "Red Light" is the best of now, Ha:tfelt and her dance piece "Ain't Nobody" is what I think is the future next "thing" in kpop.

1. f(x) - Red Light. I still remember the feeling when I first laid my eyes (and ears) on this video; "this will one of the top songs of 2014, if not THE best!". The initial fascination has faded but I still hold this as an essential video of the raw kpop that is f(x) and best right now in 2014.

Kpop: f(x) - Red Light

After reading the reviews before watching the new "Red Light" from korean f(x), and after the disappointment of their latest songs, I was so ready to dismiss them. And then I watched the video. Damn, what a video. I have a hard time remembering when I last was so impressed with a kpop video, and they usually are top of the line. It may be one of G Dragon's or Big Bang's Fantastic Baby, but otherwise I must say f(x) has really done it this time. And for once I must say that the audio must take second seat to the visuals and not be judged on their own, as Red Light is an artistic whole. This video will be one of the most memorable of 2014.

• f(x) - Red Light