2014 was not a kind year for Kpop, as I'm sure most of you know. Contract terminations, lawsuits, drama, and member changes were ripe all year round, and we saw staple giants like Girls' Generation crumble and rising stars B.A.P suffer all of these conditions. The Kpop shenanigans were certainly at an all-time high, but not to be forgotten were the music releases. This year, I originally had a list of 12 songs, with an Honorable Mentions group, but that category grew to 8 songs, so I figured I'd consolidate all the songs into one premier list of 20. This year's list is all over the place, partly because of having more songs and partly because that's pretty much how this year went down. So here we go!
20. Sistar - I Swear
While Sistar's "Touch My Body" didn't have the same type of impact as previous summer releases. "I Swear" more than made up for that. With a solid base in the music video, which followed the girls' trip to Saipan, Sistar delivers a bright and happy "I Swear," spearheaded by none other than Hyorin's divine vocals. Seriously, her work in this song cannot be understated. Still, Soyu and Dasom make ends meet with support vocals (especially during the bridge), and Bora's rap, while a bit grating with aegyo, is still solid. It's a rather weak finish this year for Sistar, considering they clocked in within the top 10 the last 2 years, but nonetheless, they're going to be a prime group in 2015.
19. J-Min - Shine
J-Min was finally brought out of the S.M. dungeons this year after having worked in Japan. I was tempted to pick one of her Japanese works like "Sorry" but I'm being true to the Kpop name and only picking Korean songs. It's a solid number, however I can't help but think that "Shine" pales in comparison to "If You Want," but that's probably an unfair assessment. I think the instrumental is a little too loud and messy, which obstructs J-Min's incredible voice. That being said, however, J-Min's delivery is still flawless and the song as a whole is a lovely trip down memory lane to the older days of pop rock that first drew me in.
18. KARA - Mamma Mia
KARA suffered from losing Jiyoung and Nicole, but really made a statement with the addition of Youngji and "Mamma Mia." This type of high energy vocals is right up KARA's alley with Seungyeon and Gyuri. Even Hara and Youngji made waves for their work as well. I'm a bit displeased with the scattered English, and it made the song weaker without fluent pronunciation from Nicole, but man the MV was all sorts of eye candy and the choreography was pretty good, and pretty pretty. Personally, I was really interested in what direction KARA would take after another roster shuffle, but with the hilarious Youngji (literally never stops laughing) the changes were handled rather splendidly.
17. CL - MTBD
When I first saw this song on the "Crush" tracklist, I clicked with caution. After all, I wasn't impressed with the "Baddest Female" era that CL seemingly has herself wrapped in, but man was I pleasantly surprised. This song is all of what CL was that first attracted me to her style. Her charisma is still on point, lyrics and delivery are smooth and the instrumental is beast. The quality of this "MTBD" is so high that if this was released circa 2009 (the "To Anyone" era) this would've easily been a top song then, too. "MTBD" signals a return to form for CL, and I hope that her foray into the American market will have more of this and less of the "Baddest Female."
