Kpop: 9 Muses A (나인뮤지스A)

The group 9 Muses having lost Minha and Euaerin this summer, label Star Empire still moved forward with the sub-group 9 Muses A (as in Amuse) debut. The video is quite OK, but it really doesn't add anything to what 9 Muses already does, in my opinion.

• 9 Muses A - Lip 2 Lip (입술에 입술)

Kpop: Top 10 of the first quarter of 2015

The first quarter of 2015 has passed and again I find myself with many good songs. I may become more demanding as my relationship to kpop matures, but there are obviously still quite a number of good videos to be had.

Honorable mention goes to Yoonmirae, Tiger JK & Bizzy in MFBTY for their colorful "Bang Diggy Bang Bang".

10. Infinite H - Pretty. An easy and charming video that mostly fascinates by the (un?)intentional homo-eroticism.

9. Skrillex ft Diplo, G Dragon & CL - Dirty Vibe. If this is what we will be getting, I'd love to see more of these kind of east-west crossovers in the future.

8. 9Muses - Drama. New member constellation but keeping with the successful concept, this time 9Muses used a cafe meets theater set as a background for their usual beauty contest.

7. Lizzy - Good Bye PMS. The video is really just super fun with mixing Godzilla like fights with a PMS medicine commercial (sic!), and the song isn't bad either.

6. Crayon Pop - FM. I love what Crayon Pop stands for. More nerds in kpop! The video is pure anime/super hero nerdiness, and the song is better then most they have released the last year.

5. Fiestar - You're pitiful. This is basically a well crafted and very traditional girl group kpop song, and it works well for giving their fans a great time. But, and yes there is a but, it should have hade a bit more variation to make it really take off.

4. Rainbow - Black Swan. A dark return for the girls of Rainbow, the song has all the right drama and with just a little more variation it would have been top 3 this quarter.

3. Jonghyun ft Zion T - Deja Boo. Charming and smooth singing in this video from Shinee member Jonghyun.

2. Tey - Dangerous. A cool and sexy debut from Mr Mr's Tey, with a song that is precisely the right level of dramatic while keeping up the tempo.

1. Hong Jin Young - Love Wifi. This isn't cool. This isn't updated. This is old school, before there even was kpop. And it is super charming. I love trot when it is done with this much fun.

Kpop: Stellar - Mask (마스크)

Whatever one may have thought of Stellar's explicitly sexy and slightly trashy look for "Marionette" (I thought the video was badly styled and rather almost un-sexy but the song was actually really good and not to be missed), it worked for them as they stayed in the spotlight for several weeks. This ofc means that the follow-up video will continue in the same mould. So…yes, if you liked Marionette for its "visuals", you will like this too. They song isn't too bad either, but more bland that memorable. If you want a group that does what Stellar is trying to do, but in a more successful way, watch some of 9Muses videos.

• Stellar - Mask (마스크)