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 40 of 2016

One year ago, while having a number of great hits to take with me from 2015, I had the feeling that kpop or/and my passion for kpop was fading, and that I would see fewer good songs in 2016 and further on. And then came the best kpop year in the five years I have been listening to kpop!
For the first time ever I had, really had, to make a top 40 instead of top 20. There are just so many good songs to share. Enjoy!

40. We are the night - You Are In. Dreamish and unique indie kpop.

39. U-Kiss - Stalker. The creepiest theme of the year, but they somehow makes it work with super-tight singing and kpop polish.

38. Fiestar - Mirror. I still don't quite get why this song doesn't work as it should. The production and the look (wow, the look!) is just up the charts, but then it just kind of never takes of. Like a dark depressive circle. A beautiful one, but still.

37. Two X - Over. Watch those girls. This is how to do charm, and it shows how much it means for the deliverance of a song.

36. School OZ - One Day One Chance. Basically and ad for a kpop musical, it made my fantasy/kpop heart all fuzzy.

35. Wheesung - Hold Over. Beyond having this years best product placement (Fashionable(!) DHL tee, anyone...?), he showed us charm tops seriousness again and again.

34. Mino - Body. Giving us his semi-crazy side, this is super sexy music. Heavy and slow, but still oh-so-rhythmic.

33. Kiha & The Faces - The Smell's Gone. Superb style and refrain and lyrics.

32. Jay Park - Aquaman. The "Man of Kpop" finally found his ultimate expression of sexuality and musical R&B in this song.

31. Taewan - Problem. The edgy passion is superb in this song, song that focuses on his voice. You really don't need anyomre to make a great song.

30. Lovelyz - Destiny. If I think of a video that made the most of a song in 2016, Destiny is the one that coems to mind. Watch the video on audio first, and then the FULL video, and you get my point.

29. Stellarjet. Singing in english, they are a kind of oddity in this list. Still I feel they have a place here, as an alternative example of modern musical kpop.

28. Stellar - Sting. Somehow, the girls who went to slutty-sexy and then returned having mastered the concept somehow got almost to, well, intellectual about it all. I can't put my finger on it but I think they took the "be ironic about the sexualizing" too far. This still means that their videos are must-sees, but they need some more passion to really make it for me.

27. Icia - Time Bomb. This is the best of this years "we will do our best but our company is too poor so it wont probably matter" debuting girl kpop groups. Time Bomb is super catchy and makes the best of its limits.

26. I.O.I - Very Very Very. Yes, it is hard to shake the took a number on Red Velvet's concept, but they did in a quality way. A song that balances on the border of catchy and irritating.

25. Eric Nam ft Loco - Can't Help Myself. He can't help himself, and why should he - he really has top notch charm both visually and vocally.

24. CSP ft Kayla - Busan Girls. Nostalgic praise to South Korea's southern metropolis, and we totally got it.

23. Clazziquai Project - #Curious. They have a history of knowing how to craft R&B of the best kpop kind, and this was a rockpop example of that.

22. Mamamoo - Taller Than You. They have the best attitude to voice skills ratio in the kpop world, and this song was my best case of proof this year.

21. Fei - Fantasy. You know an artist has quality when she and her company delivers this kind of superb debut video. Not surprised, mind you.

20. Song Ji Eun - Bobby Doll. It seems effortless but she has something that makes all her songs work really well.

19. Yoo Jae Yuk & EXO - Dancing King. This is actually kind of one of EXO's most odd videos, but has a killer beat so that doesn't matter at all. Rather, it makes it better.

18. Fantastic Drugstore - Before Sunrise. A sweet indie voice that combined with instruments creates a perfect airy feeling, lifting the song to the skies.

17. VIXX. With hits like The Closer, Dynamite and Fantasy, they really are the strongest boy band the last few years. They have such a high level of deliverance.

16. Luna - Free Somebody. This is so far the best song to come out of SMTown's PROJECT line of EDM and alternative songs. Luna from f(x) made this shine.

15. Red Velvet - Russian Roulette. In some ways, this is the most memorable song in kpop of 2016. It had its really unique id, where Red Velvet's niche became totally clear. Their rhythm and perky styling flowering out for real in this video.

14. Exo - Lucky One. At the moment of writing, the co-release "Monster" has 2.5 times the number of watches on YouTube, but I like my songs polished and uptempo, so this was ever my favorite.

13. Dal Shabet - Someone like you. I still can't get over that this felt like a cute version of 2015' "Big Baby Baby", but when I saw beyond that, it s still one of the best kpop songs this year.


12. Elo - Rose. The mix of melancholy and sweet romance is great in this "real" solo debut.

11. Drug Restaurant - Mistake. Jung Joon Young has the best voice in kpop. Period. When he sings rockpop the world stops.

10. Blackpink - Playing with fire. The second coming of 2NE1 in my eyes, these rookies showed us how to make a real debut without hesitating a second.

9. EXO-CBX - Hey Mama! Damn, they are charming, and then they have the vocals to double that feeling. Wow.

8. Joosuc ft Sanchez - I Kno. He takes you on a musical sweet fantasy ride like one you never want to stop.

7. Jero ft Giriboy - Airplane. Such a golden voice, it almost forces my body to stand up and dance.

6. Jun Hyo Seung - Find Me. Yes, she has superb charisma but it is the fell singing and choreography of her videos that makes it so worthwile. She really has no weak points #yessomebias

5. Twice - TT. Perfect choregraphy by Lia Kim really made me see this song in a new light. It was a catchy song tobegin with but her cool dance video made me see beyond the original, slightly cheesy Halloween video.

4. SHINee - 1 on 1. Everyone can do retro, but few can make it feel truly updated and *having a point*. It may be the maturity of the boys of SHINee or the general aestethics of kpop, but they really made a perfect 80s sounding track.

3. Bubble X - Hit It. This years outsider and big surprise, they warmed up the snow with their charm and funky pop disco last January.

2. Sistar - I Like That. When this came out I knew instantly this would be one of this years top 3 songs, and it is really THE definition of Sistar - sexy, tight production and a focused rhythm like no one else does it in kpop.

1. Up10tion - Attention. It really is a perfect kpop song. The boys has it all and delivered perfection.