East Asian pop update Sep 2018 - Sep 2019

These are the (roughly) 40 songs and videos from east asia that I have been the most interested in the past year:

Blackpink - Kill This Love (music video).
Blackpink - Kill This Love (concert). To say that they made a great impression on the american audience is an understatement. I would hazard to guess that together with the boys of BTS, they helped make 2019 the year that kpop finally made it big in the US.
BTS - Boy with luv. This was actually played more than Kill This Love in Sweden, but I blame all the fanboys here being so much less vocal than the fangirls...still, it IS a great song.
K/DA - Pop/Stars. I will add this video in this regard, as it is another interesting crossover that is actually a Leauge of Legends promo.

Itzy - Dalla. They defined their unique, "young" sound from the start.
Itzy - Icy. ANd the second single actually even built on it even better.

Weki Meki - Picky Picky. In some sense, this is one of my number one hits of the year. Sooo catchy.
Weki Meki - Picky Picky. Great remix from Areia.
Weki Meki - Picky Picky. Super fun dance relay version.

Taemin - Want. He's such a star, and his japanese singles are just perfection.
Taemin - Famous.
TVXQ - Truth. The boys are charismatic to the max and the song matches this.

WJSN - Boogie up. And when talking about relay mixes - I just simply can't get enough of this one. I actually only got hooked on the song after seing it.

Apink - Eung eung. The veterans of Apink delivered yet again (after the superb I'm so sick).
Apink - Eung eung. Live. Watch and learn all kpop rookies.

April - Oh! My mistake. A old school kpop song and video. Loved it of course!
Cherry Bullet - Q&A.
Neon Punch - Tic Toc. A perfectly produced debut song that want by mostly unnoticed.

CLC - Devil. The first single I actually liked (very much too) with them, it actually being more melody than attitude for once.

Sunmi - Noir. She has such charm and charisma, combined with such well honed videos, that it is hard to not love it.
Sunmi - Lalalay.

Twice - Fancy.
Twice - Breakthrough.

IZ*ONE - La Vie Et Rose. This group has really established a distinct sound with their three first singles, let's see if their japanese "Vampire" signifies a (if smaller) change of that.
IZ*ONE - Violetta.
IZ*ONE - Buenos Aires.
IZ*ONE - Vampire.

Ailee - Room Shaker. Lot's of people didn't like this single due to her not using her vocal capabilities fully, but I just enjoyed the generall badness of Ailee.
Fromis - Love Bomb. A classic catchy hit that may not make it to the absolute top but is a given in my playlist.

Eyedi - & New. This indie video is ultra sweet in a fresh way.

Shaun - She is. Also a very soulful song.

IU - Bbibbi. The queen of being just right musically and all.

Sandy - Swag. Just...swag.

Stella Jang - It's beautiful. Retro beauty.

Hwa Sa - Twit. A solo departure from Mamamoo, but so worth it.

Chung Ha - Snapping. The Areia remix is actually better than the original.
Dia - WoWaa.

Everglow - Adios.

Dreamcatcher - Breaking through.
Yubin - Thank U Soooo Much.

Olltii - Press Start. Nice enough song, but it is the video I watch it for. 80s games forever...

BoA - Woman. The Madonna of eastern pop, she has a seemingly everlasting skill to stay cool.
Jolin Tsai - Womxnly. She is a pillar of LGBT rights defender in chinese language pop.
Sakanaction - Wasurerarenaino. They have a sound that always makes my love their singles.
Cosmospeople - Play One. They deliver another nice funky track.

Kpop: Girls, girls, girls - a recap of this summer's top 10 disappointments

As usual, kpop and summer for me usually means misery. All my favorite groups tend to go into some kind of lazy and tasteless mode where bad songs are mixed with garish videos and unfocused productions, and debuts this time of year doesn't have that extra umph. I really, really want to give them love but usually end up watching them the same way you eat too much icecream because you have nothing else to do and usually likes sweet stuff.
Here's my top 10 "meh" this summer, in no particular order, and please bear with the whining...

1. Hellovenus - I'm Ill. The jury is out on this one, but I just feel it has something mssing. It's basically to generic for a group at this level.

2. NC.A - Vanilla Shake. She was so promising in the start but somehow this average summer release just confirms my impression that, however crual that may sound, she has already passed her prime.

3. Sistar - Shake it. This is just what I am talking about. Take a stylish group like Sistar and add summer and what do you get - just...eye candy without any taste beyond the imminent moment, and a slight queasiness afterwards.

4. BESTie - Excuse me. Up and coming stars, BESTie goes for pompous and a song structure that unharminously oscillates between two levels of sound. Reminds me of Girl's Day's Ring My Bell inits shortcomings.

5. CLC - Like. No, girls, colorful visuals and funny dresses isn't enough. You have to deliver something at least resembling a good song too.

6. Sonamoo - Cushion. I have had my eyes on them since they debuted this winter, as they obviously has a lot going for them, but I have still haven't seen anything from them that breaks through the kpop noise. This is an excellent example - its got attitude, production and they look charming. But where's the extra, the non-generic?

7. Girl's Generation - Party. Is this a music video or a commercial for a Thailand holiday? Or possibly a fan video cut together from various Pepsi ads?

8. AoA - Heart Attack. Oh, you too girls? AoA has done some really great hits, and I really love their sound, it has a kind of sharpness to it that is just perfect. All that is there in Heart Attack (the video is great), but somehow the composition doesn't do it for me. I think it has to do with the song somehow being to flat, it all kind of flows together.

9. Playback - Playback. So, these are supposedly a power debut, much like BESTie last year, but I can't see what they have to offer that isn't already there in kpop. Safe is not safe in such a saturated market as korean pop. Yawn.

10. 9Muses - Heart Locker. Until this year, 9Muses has wisely stayed away from the hot weather and through that kept on producing hot videos with good sound tracks. This unbroken row of hits is sadly broken with "Heart Locker". I must say I think eurodisco actually doesn't agree with 9Muses, at least not in this case. They feel bland in both performance, looks and singing. It is not bad. Just not that good.