[Bonus] Best Of 2012 (#12-#9)

2012 was yet another busy year for the Korean music industry. It saw the emergence of even more groups, the explosiveness of Psy, the T-Ara crisis, IU / Eunhyuk shenanigans, among others. Of course the year also brought some crazy good releases. As it is 2012, I selected 12 of my favourites, the best of the best, previewing four a piece for the next three weeks.

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12. B.A.P - Warrior

Like previously mentioned in the specific review, “Warrior” was a breakout release for a debut because the song was so out of the ordinary. The aggression, confidence, and power in the song were unrivaled (or for some not even attempted) by other male group debuts that give them a place on the best. What It lacks in vocal talent is more than recovered by flashy choreography and very impressive rapping segments. With only a debut song, B.A.P makes it to the top 12.

11. EXO-K - Angel

Similarly to “Warrior”, EXO-K’s “Angel” places on the list from a debut group. While “MAMA” was aesthetically unique and all, I was drawn to “Angel” by the impressive vocal presentation between D.O, Baekhyun, and Suho. Baekhyun’s voice was perfectly at home here, and while I enjoyed “What Is Love” just as much, “Angel” gets the nod for including Suho, whose smooth vocals are a welcome addition.  Note that I didn’t list this as “EXO - Angel” even though EXO-M’s version is the exact same song. Quite frankly, EXO-M has a lack of good singers. Chen is the standout, but Luhan, Lay, and Xiumin are all “good”, at best. Sometimes I think Chen was included in EXO-M so EXO-K wouldn’t hog all the best vocalists of the members.

10. Sistar - Alone

“Alone” was probably the earliest catalyst of 2012’s “sexy but classy” theme so many girl groups used. Along with that, it also helped propel Sistar’s popularity skyward and handed them a nice cushion for the summer release of “Loving U”. Ignoring the atrocious music video lacking any substance, Dasom and Soyou really stepped up providing soft transition vocals and Hyorin is nothing short of stellar, of course. Bora’s rap provides good transition and the execution is quite solid. Fantastic work.

9. Big Bang - Fantastic Baby

Speaking of fantastic, what is the best 12 songs of 2012 without one of Big Bang’s signature bombastic releases. “Fantastic Baby” was all sorts of bizarre awesome from the funky verse structure, “BOOM SHAKALAKA”, everybody’s crazy hair in the music video, and just the music video in general. If you were at all surprised by anything in the Big Bang video, it probably means you don’t know this group all too well as of the past couple of years. This song is pretty much everything we have come to expect and enjoy from Big Bang, and so it ranks 9th.