[Bonus] Best Of The 2010's

Back in early 2016 I made a post highlighting the best picks of the first five years of the decade. And of course there was the timeline post, too. But now with the 2010's behind us, it's time to see which of the top songs of each year would come out on top in a battle of the best. To make things simple, each year brings one candidate to the table. I contemplated giving some of the runner-ups a chance (because there have been some damn good #2 picks over the years) but that wouldn't be fair to all the songs who claimed the gold medal. This was arguably the hardest song ranking piece I've ever had to write. Let's see how the stars of the 2010's match up against each other.

#10. Ailee - Heaven (2012)

Make no mistake, the fact that "Heaven" is a debut track making a top 10 such as this is impressive. Plus, it's the only debut track to have accomplished such a feat. Some debuts have been good, but never this good. "Heaven" is a sublime power ballad that showcases Ailee's technique, power, and range all in one song. Ailee's powerful vocals have always been the center of attention for obvious reasons and her career started off on quite the introduction.

#9. 2NE1 - Ugly (2011)

The only knock I really have on "Ugly" in the context of the rest of these songs is that it's decidedly safe in most respects. Don't get me wrong it's still an emphatic dance number. I also love the lyrics and message that this song delivers, but some of the traditional YG mannerisms show up - in particular the chant-esque bridge - which by themselves are not bad, but fail to stand out compared to others here.

#8. IU - Blueming (2019)

The trouble with writing a list like this so soon after 2019 ended is there hasn't been enough time for the newest song to simmer in the ol' library you know? Because while "Blueming" is brilliant, it loses out against other tracks simply because it came out the latest. Still, IU's switch of styles provides a relaxing and soothing listen. No doubt after a couple years we will look back upon its legacy like some of the other songs here but for now it'll nestle itself at 8th place.

[Bonus] Best Of Love Songs

Happy Valentine's Day...? Introductions are overrated and especially so after a long shift at work. Here are some of my favorite love and lovely songs. There is no order, only selected via stream of consciousness. Whatever that's supposed to mean. I'll be heading to New York tomorrow in preparation for Red Velvet's concert in Newark so expect some RV content of sorts in the days after.

Red Velvet - Kingdom Come

As I've stated many times before on this blog, Red Velvet's softer ballad-loving side is my favorite. "Kingdom Come" is a beautiful take with mesmerizing harmonies that roll from start to finish. One of the reasons this style is made for Red Velvet is simply because of their voices. Have you heard Joy and Wendy? They are untouchable in this realm. Even Yeri and Irene (though limited in exposure) don't sound too far behind the rest of the gang. The lyrics were perfect when they mentioned "I won't wake from this dream."

[Bonus] Best Of 2014 Revisited

Continuing the revisited series, we stop at a shy two years back in 2014. This was one of the more diverse years and I expect a handful of new entries to join the fun. Writing these redos have been fun and I may go in reverse after doing the 2015 set, although I'll probably only write 2011 and 2010 because my memory doesn't go much further back. At some point, I even plan for a "Best Of 2010-2015" and basically pit the top 5 of each year against each other to see which songs come out on top.

#12. INFINITE - Back (--)
Original: INFINITE - Back
Zero changes here. Infinite's "Back" was a reliable release with all the trademarks of the group in tow. Solid vocal showing from Sunggyu and Woohyun, and a dance performance that lives up to the Infinite name. In terms of the individual categories they all did well and came together well, too. There were some boy group songs competing for this spot (namely Block B's "Her") but at the end of the day the consistency of Infinite's track record proved stronger.

#11. Lovelyz - Goodnight Like Yesterday (NEW)
Original: Wheesung - Night & Day
Lovelyz kicks off five consecutive new entries to the 2014 list. Most of the songs that were replaced were ones that didn't have staying power, whether through the songs not being as good as initially interpreted, novelty wearing off, or a combination of those and other factors. "Goodnight Like Yesterday" is a premier ballad and helps out Jieun in that genre's representation. Soft soothing voices led by Kei make this a lullaby for the ages. The best part? "Destiny" showed that this wasn't a one-trick-wonder either, this style could be their bread and butter if they wanted.

[Bonus] Best Of 2014 (#4-#1)

4. Soyu & Jungigo - Some

Soyu has been on fire lately. Perhaps the best combination / collaboration of hers to date, Soyu and Jungigo provide some relaxing sweet harmony. Given no prior knowledge of Jungigo, suffice to say that I was very pleased with his voice and how it matched with Soyu. One of my favourite things (I really hate using this word) to see in a duet or collaboration is that no voice overpowers the other, and that when both of them are singing or harmonizing, you can hear both equally. You need the right combination of singers / voices in order to achieve that. I may have mentioned this before, but Kyuhyun & Tiffany's "Rise and Shine" is the perfect example. Anyway, all I'm trying to say is that this combination of Soyu and Jungigo is really good. While this is essentially a ballad duet (duet ballad?), it's not better than "Don't Look At Me Like That" because of the rap from Lil Boi. If there's one thing that has stuck with me since I got into Kpop, it's that nasal singing and rapping just don't sit well with me.

3. Orange Caramel - My Copycat

If this was a few years back I would have never imagined Orange Caramel would land a top 3 finish, but here we are. "Candy culture" was certainly never my style, and Nana's nasally voice compounded my interests to stay away from this subunit. But when "My Copycat" rolled around, All the walls were broken. "My Copycat" is very addicting, and very fun. Nana's nasal delivery isn't as prominent, and the instrumental is equally as goofy. "My Copycat" is hands down the best music video of 2014. Sure, another Orange Caramel nominee "Catallena" is arguably better, but the actual song of "My Copycat" is far superior. Anyway, the MV has you play a game where you find what's different between the scenes and subsequently has you try to find OC amidst a crowd. The dance is just as fun, silly, and carefree, not to mention that the "sexy outfits" are fantastically meta.

2, Girl's Day - Darling

"Darling" is cute. Going from sexy to cute seemed questionable at first, and I certainly thought so, but I couldn't blame them for returning to a familiar concept that drew them fans in the first place. And what do you know, Girl's Day is really good at being cute. With the combination of multiple strengths: a cute butt dance, the most inefficient car wash ever, everyone in a banana-esque outfit, "Darling" knows what it is and doesn't try to hide it. Once more, Minah really comes into her own with the adlibs at the end of the song, and even makes Sojin's support vocals look pedestrian here (I'd like to note that this was a good ploy, as in the following track "I Miss You" the lines were rebalanced to be more equal). Like I mentioned in my "Darling" review, the success of this song is not only related to Girl's Day as a unit, but because they showed even after a year of maturing into adults, they can still effortlessly pull off their original style.

1. Epik High - Happen Ending

"Happen Ending" is one of those songs where you don't need lyrics to be understanding. The calm, laid back nature of the chorus with the fast impactful raps is truly the Epik High formula we have all come to enjoy and love. It's worth mentioning that most people were wary of the YG signing as they feared Epik High would lose their trademark sound (and become YG-ified). It's clear that this did not happen, and this song and subsequently the album did not disappoint. I won't comment much on Tablo and Mithra as I believe I gave them enough praise during "Born Hater." Jo Wonsun's original feature was stable, but what "Happen Ending" really benefited from was having many different vocalists feature in live performances, and each brought their own distinct style, interpretation, and feel to the song. Younha was the closest the Wonsun's original sound; softer, but with the serene emotional grace that she usually provides. Lee Hi and Minzy brought a strong rich undertone to the chorus. Suhyun and Yoo Inna, while not amazing, were impressive in how they held their own in comparison. Surpringly, I find myself at a lack of words to talk about "Happen Ending." Maybe that's just how good the song is.

Merry Christmas, everyone. I hope you have a great time with friends and family during the holidays. Before the year comes to an end I may drop a few more bonus writings I've been toying with, and most importantly, I'd like to thank everyone that takes time to view my blog and listen to my thoughts about the Kpop world. It's been awesome, and I hope that 2015 will be a much kinder year for Kpop.