[Bonus] 2015 Kpop Awards: Part I

Welcome to part 1 of the 2015 Kpop Awards. Another year, another new piece of writing that should be a refreshing and revitalizing take on my Kpop exploration. Part of me is rather devastated after the football game I watched earlier this afternoon but I will soldier on. In part 1 we'll look at overall groups and singers, while part 2 will be more about the music and music videos themselves. So these awards are more accomplishment oriented, but again, I don't really pay attention to (or care) about how well they sell. That's basically the only factor I "ignore," so to speak. Anyway here we go.

Best Girl Group: Girls' Generation

This was an important year for SNSD. Their status as the pinnacle girl group was under threat when Jessica was ousted from the group last fall. Girls' Generation was quiet early in 2015's first half, with "Catch Me If You Can" as the only release. But "Party" signaled the group's return with the 5th studio album "Lion Heart." The album was impressive in how it boasted versatility with varying types of songs. S.M had a very good year in terms of studio albums and SNSD was no exception. After that, Taeyeon finally had her solo debut which was also pretty excellent. "I" was a masterpiece and the other ballads on the mini were exquisite. They wrapped up the year with Christmas songs with the TTS subunit and while not my cup of tea, was still work put in.

Among the other girl groups at the very top, Girls' Generation was both the most active throughout the year and the most successful with their music. Girl's Day (reigning #1 on the Power Rankings) only promoted a mediocre song in "Ring My Bell," likewise with Sistar and "Shake It." AOA's "Heart Attack" album was good, but definitely outmatched by the styles of "Lion Heart." Plus Choa's "Flame" was only a rendition (though a beautiful one). Finally, A-Pink is kinda just A-Pink. They're still good and definitely showed that this year, just not as much as SNSD, who also needed to make a statement with Jessica gone.

Best Boy Group: BTS

Consistency is key. And as far as aspiring groups go, perhaps none have been as consistent as BTS in the title track scheme of things. Rarely did a BTS title track disappoint, and this trend would continue in 2015. "I Need U," "Dope," and "Run" are an excellent trio of songs for the group this year, even though I consider "Run" the weakest of the group by far (sounds too much like a 2nd version of "I Need U"), the aggressively powerful choreography of the former songs make up for that. Outside of groupwork, Rap Monster also dropped the "RM" mixtape and joined in with MFBTY for "Buckubucku," not just one of the year's strongest rap showings, but any rap songs period. Simply put, another busy yet productive year for the boys.

The rise of BTS is not only credit to the group for releasing strong song after song, but also the faltering of rival groups. EXO was really the only group in their debut class that was active enough to challenge them, and while I do think "Call Me Baby" and "Love Me Right" trump the BTS trio in 2015, they cannot make that claim for previous years. Plus you can always make fun of them for losing members. Veteran groups like 2PM and Super Junior did below average and average, respectively, keeping releases scarce. Big Bang is still the king of boy groups, don't get me wrong. "Made" only pushed that sentiment higher and higher, but this isn't a best of all time, just best of this year. And BTS have the work ethic to take that title.

Best Soloist: BoA

Admittedly, I didn't discover too much on the soloist front this year, but it's difficult to imagine that any of them would have as impressive and balanced an album as BoA did. Seriosuly, the tracklist for "Kiss My Lips" is basically perfection. Not a single song is out of place, and the features in Gaeko and Eddy Kim were used very well. Like Girls' Generation's album, the roster on "Kiss My Lips" is equally diverse. "Who Are You" and "Kiss My Lips" made for a good 1-2 promotional punch, but she has the excellent "Blah" and "Green Light" to fall back on, as well as my favourite track on the album "Shattered." I wish Younha could have contested, but with just 3 tracks to her name this year, she couldn't put much of a fight. 15 years into her career, and BoA is going as strong as ever.

Best Rookie Group: GFriend

Alright. A-Pink isn't really my favourite group. Cute music can only go so far with me, so at first glance GFriend taking this award is a little odd. Most seem to point to GFriend's professionalism and all that, but honestly everyone is expected to be professional. Otherwise they'd be called out. GFriend is the best new debut because they are more "complete" than other new groups. "Glass Bead" and "Me Gustas Tu" have a distinct vocal and dance advantage. We've seen very few groups try and show off their vocals (like high notes) and Yuju makes the highlight reel for both songs. It's easy to sound bad while doing cute concepts and GFriend doesn't, so props. The choreography is energetic and definitely on the more difficult and taxing side of the spectrum.

Most of the other girl group debuts just can't match GFriend's level of product. All the other cute concepts made me cringe too much. I know full well I am neglecting plenty of boy groups, but to be honest none of their debut tracks ever gave me a thought to coming back to them. Monsta X's "Trespass" was decent but that's about it. Seveteen and iKON also fell flat with their debuts. GFriend had good title tracks, a strong effort, and Yerin is a variety master. It's a bright future for this group.