Kpop: Beenzino (빈지노)

The 28 year old rapper Beenzino from Korea has a respectable number of songs and collaborations behind him, with the one with BoA earlier this year ranking the highest in my eyes status wise, but the latest "Life In Color" is the song that makes me more interested with a combination of a fun video and him singing more than rapping.

• Beenzino - Life In Color
• BoA & Beenzino - No Manner What
• Suran ft Beenzino - Calling in Love
• Beenzino - So What (어쩌라고)
• Beenzino - Break
• Beenzino - Aqua Man
• Beenzino - Profile
• Eddy Kim ft Beenzino - Paldangdam(팔당댐)

Kpop/Jpop: Taemin - Sayonara Hitori (さよならひとり)

After his successful full album debut this winter, Taemin of kpop stars SHINee makes his Japanese debut with the impressively fantasy-kitchy video "Sayonara Hitori". The lyrics by Sakurai Sara are open to interpretation but they seem to slightly melancholy about leaving each other but hoping to meet again. Perfectly Japanese in other words. I can't help but like the whole sweet thing anyway.

• Taemin - Sayonara Hitori (さよならひとり)

Kpop: Top 20 of the second quarter of 2016

People talk about the golden age of kpop as being a few years past, but this quarter there is no sign of that as I could easily have done even a top 30.

20. Stellarjet - Guiding Light. Is this kpop? Well, they are from Korea, so in one sense it is at least Korean pop if not kpop.

19. Park Ki Ryang ft Mechilling - Hustle. The popular cheerleader gous kpop, and unexpectedly, it is pretty nice kpop.

18. Brave Girls - High Heels (하이힐). On the one hand, a disappointment in regards to them changing style from the more dark one from before, but on the other hand we got a super charming dancing boy in high heels. ;-)

17. Sleepy ft Bang Yong Guk - Body Lotion (바디로션). I really don't fall for genuin rap videos but this one got me bad.

16. Sugardonut - Imagine, Close Your Eyes. A really nice indie song.

15. Wheesung - Hold Over (제껴). The charming 34 old enjoys himself immensely in this video that has great humor in it, and I feel it deserves more attention than it has gotten so far.

14. R3hab, Amber & Luna, Xavi & Gi - Wave. This was my first contact with a station project song and it is really nice. Amber looks really comfortable and for Luna this is a nice precursor to even more successful 'Free Somebody' later this spring.

13. U-Kiss - Stalker. There has a number of obsessive themes in (both boy and girl) kpop videos, but thankfully it is usually not creepy as one would have feared, and such is the case here. Instead its a well delivered kpop song that was precisely what U-Kiss needed.

12. Tiffany ft Simon Dominic - Heartbreak Hotel. I like this more western song more than I would have though, yet another Station project track that delivers a great and internationally sounding sound.

11. Romeo - Miro. A new single from the rookies of Romeo and again it is a nice uptempo hit.

10. A-Daily - Spotlight. Unknown group with a song where quality shines through the simpler production values.

9. Icia - Time Bomb. This is the highest placed 'amateur' group but while it is obvious that the mv is really cheap, the song is unmistakingly big time catchy.

8. Jonghyun - She is (좋아). He repeats his funky success from DejaBoo with this song that again makes me want to dance.

7. Lovelyz - Destiny. I really hadn't expected to like a video from the super sweet girls of Lovely, but there is something unmistakingly attractive about the composition and drama in their 'Destiny' that catches me again and again.

6. VIXX - Dynamite (다이너마이트). One of the must successfully delivered kpop songs I have heard that leans on a plural of distinctly different sound parts, the piece together in the end for a engaging song with a video to match.

5. EXO - Lucky One. Some have called this song simplistic but I love it's happy and clean style.

4. Luna - Free Somebody. Super star EDM from Luna of f(x) and it is such a shame this genre isn't more popular than it is in Korea as it may mean we may not see as much of this kind of superb music as we could have.

3. Drug Restaurant - Mistake. Jung Joon Young may generously abandon naming the band after himself nowadays, but he is still the great voice that carries them along.

2. Up10tion - Attention (나한테만 집중해). In a close fight for the top 3, Up10tion wins out over VIXX to basically being more romantic and dynamic. The perfect kpop boy band track.

1. Sistar - I Like That. How I have waited since their last super hit, "Give it to me", almost precisely three years ago. To say that 'I Like That' is not only a bad pun but also a great understatement. It is so well crafted, with build up - drama and beats precisely blending into each other with a video that grows more and more on me.

Jpop: Top 10 of the second quarter of 2016

This quarter's best videos has a definite tilt towards the electronic and and synth-retroesque, but there is still place for some wild visuals and idol groups.

10. Natsu no Mamono - Demon Bom-Ba-Ye, Awakening version (魔物、BOM-BA-YE 〜魂ノ覚醒編〜). The super charming cos-playing gang of five is back with another great fan-service video of craziness. Looove it!

9. Frederic - Only Wonder (オンリーワンダー). They have found their sound it seems and they are sticking to it. Well, it works and so who am I to complain.

8. Naomirusty - La Niña Night (ラニーニャ夜). A naive styled 80s retro song with just the right balance of emotion and instruments to make it work so well as it does.

7. Haraeki Stage Ace - Rockstar. Basically a rather simple uptempo jpop song that we have heard before, but the focus and clarity makes it well worth listening to.

6. Tokyo Girls Style - Reflection ( リフレクション). The girls has a presence in their videos that few idol groups manage, a kind of soberness amid all the usual dancing and singing.

5. Sasanomaly - Re:verb. This is visually the best video all hands down this year so far, where director Atsushi Makino continues to use the excellent arts&crafts themes as before.

4. Cicada - Yes. Akiko and her band delivers with confidence a soulful and soft song that makes me relax.

3. Oyasumi Hologram - Neuromancer (ニューロマンサー). Drawing trongly visually on Harajuku-stylish looks and image, the duo delivers emphatic electronic pop that uses dissonance to enhance the beat.

2. Stereo Japan - Dancing Again. This could have been a run-of.the-mill girl idol band, but the production and the funky drops in the middle sections are just lovely ear candy for me.

1. Have A Nice Day! ft New World's Girlfriend - New Romance. The emotion and sound landscape actually makes the broken english an asset here in this great retro piece.