Now that I'm obsessed with these Timeline posts, I want to make another where I see which groups have made the most appearances in my Best Of 20XX series. But in order to do that, I'll have to go back at least one more year. That way, the compilation will cover 2009 through 2017 (this year's edition will be coming out in early December). Plus, writing this post will refresh me and act as a primer for the Best Of 2017. I've taken the liberty of tagging the Best Of 20XX with an additional "20XX" tag if only for easy organization when looking at all my Best Of posts (since they're not simply restricted to these year-end runs).
#12. After School - Because Of You
This song is great at describing 2009 Kpop. The beat, the dance pop, the haircuts (...) and the MV quality all scream 2009. It might not be the best song from that year but "Because Of You" is one of the most iconic, without a doubt. After School is a group that you can really see the evolution of, mostly thanks to the graduation system (that was somewhat legit then). Bekah Raina, and Kahi were the driving forces of After School in this era and the microscopic amount of lines from Jungah, Jooyeon, and Nana highlight that.
#11. Davichi - 8282
Davichi has been killing it for years. I can't imagine that they have been even more underrated back in the day than they are now. "8282" The switcheroo that occurs going into the first chorus is a hilarious wake-up call because you're sitting there thinking this is another traditional Davichi power ballad but instead you could dance during the first chorus. They even include a pseudo-dance break that cuts immediately back to a slower second verse. It's a classic Davichi track through and through.
Woah. My first post in 2017 will coincidentally be post #300 on the blog. That's pretty cool. Anyway, there are some writings I want to get to right away, but I also wanted to start off the year simple. Here's a blog post that will gloss over what are my hopeful wishes for Kpop in 2017. Like some of my other posts, these will range from somewhat realistic to "please I'd give up my left leg if this happens." I can think of no other way to kick off 2017 with these lighthearted thoughts.
I considered making this part excluding all the songs in the Best Of 2015, but then again this wouldn't be the "best" song, would it. So here's "Bad" again. Sparing any repetition from when I first talked about it, I'll keep it to a short and simple version: excellent vocals, standard Infinite choreography, and a killer instrumental are the trifecta able to carry this song to the top. It's a very impressive track with plenty of appeal. If Infinite can keep producing content like this, they are going to go very, very far.
Best Music Video: Psy - Daddy
Psy came back this year, and while nothing seems capable of capturing the magic that was "Gangnam Style," he is still able to drop hilarious music videos. "Daddy" is all sorts of weird and funny and leagues ahead of the competition. Superimposing Psy's face on a variety of characters was definitely too good to pass up, and the cameo game is still strong, with CL and Ha Jiwon making appearances (and maybe others that I missed). Won't comment on the song, but "you be my curry, I'll be your rice" is one of the simultaneously best and worst English line to ever be used in a Korean song. Oh, and the buildup in this was what Big Bang's "Bang Bang Bang" should have been.
Best Live Performance: Mamamoo - Mr. Ambiguous (Medley)
Mamamoo certainly know how to rock the stage(s), and this performance is more than enough to show why. The dresses are sparkly, though I question the silly "Mamamoo" text and GIANT LETTER emblazoned across each member's top. Wheein is at her best, and fangirl reactions to Hwasa are all you really need for the visual game. Of course the real treat starts at 1:37 where they string about a dozen songs together for a fun little medley. You've got rival girl group songs from Sistar and AOA, a few Big Bang songs, and even nods to "Gangnam Style" and..."Um Oh Ah Yeah?" They also incorporated brief moments of the respective dances, too, which was pretty awesome. All in all, this was a fantastic performance that reached as far as it could go, despite being just a regular stage.
Best Vocalist: Taeyeon / Best Rapper: Yezi / Best Visual: Nana
These are pretty self-explanatory. Taeyeon is as established as any girl group vocalist and did more work than Hyorin this year (though if Hyorin had a super strong showing in "Shake It" I may have reconsidered). Yezi is the iconic breakout idol of 2015, with Unpretty Rapstar being a good place for her this year and a few new tracks to go along with. Lastly, there's Nana. Need I say more? And you're right, I don't really care about boy groups that much. But for what it's worth, male vocal would probably be Kyuhyun, male rapper would probably be Rap Monster, and male visual would probably be Siwon.
That's it for the first ever edition of the Kpop Awards on my blog, as well as 2015. Here's to bigger, better, and brighter things in 2016. Happy New Year everyone!
