As we leap into 2015, Hello Asia's writer Kat Czornij takes a look back at some of her favourite K-Pop releases from last year. So! Starting us off, in no particular order…
Rain – “30 Sexy” and “LA Song”
One of the kings of Kpop returned to us this year after serving his two year mandatory military service and weren’t we ecstatic to have him back! Rain certainly didn’t let us down either, bursting back onto the scene with two new standout songs and proving he didn’t rust a bit during those two years. “30 Sexy” was all those signature sexy hip moves and “LA Song” had us all dancing about the room screaming “Laaaaaa lalala laaaa”. Welcome back, Rain!
B1A4 – "Lonely"
The wonderfully bright boys of B1A4 visited Australia this year, lighting up Melbourne and Sydney and making us all fall for them even more… “Solo Day” had us all dancing about our living rooms, but we think “Lonely” is their standout. The song has a beautiful melody that shows off the boy’s voices in the most perfect way, and the MV is icily dreamy. And with music by leader Jinyoung, and lyrics by both Jinyoung and Baro, this song just proves these talented boys are leading towards great things.
Oh, and you can check out our interview with them (watch them fawn over our editor’s new iPhone) here!
Taemin – "Danger"
This was a year of solo debuts, and almost none were more exciting then SHINee’s Taemin popping off on his own for some swoon-worthy singing and sexy dance moves in “Danger”. Ian Eastwood choreographed these brilliant new moves for one of Kpop’s best dancers and we’re all thanking him for it. Especially those shoulder lifts and airplane swoops.
Hyuna – "Red"
Just announced in fifth place on none other than the Rolling Stone’s top MVs of 2014 was “Red” from Kpop’s sexy goddess Hyuna. The song is a crazy mix of pop, trap, hip-hop and even some Middle Eastern electro, and the MV from Zany Bros is no less eclectic. It definitely had us humming to its tune though, with an outburst of dance covers and red lipstick being seen all over the place.
Taeyang – "Eyes, Nose, Lips"
Another highly anticipated comeback this year from BIGBANG’s shining sun of a vocalist and dancer (and shirtless goer), Taeyang. “Eyes, Nose, Lips” was a bit of a step away from the earlier “Ringa Linga” release, and allowed Taeyang to really show off those powerful vocal chords. It’s haunting melody and lyrics were matched only by its unembellished and yet very effective MV. In which he was of course shirtless.
Sistar - "Touch My Body"
We were lucky enough to attend Sistar’smedia showcase back in July for their hit summery song “Touch My Body”. The girls were even more delightful in real life, and put all their energy into performing this happy upbeat song. The dance and music is incredibly catchy, and has a super colourful MV to match! Touch my body *hip swish, hip swish”…
VIXX – "Error"
These boys are going from strength to strength, with a number of brilliant releases on their new albums this year. We found it really hard to pick, but “Error” had us all crying our eyes out for an android robot in its MV and hitting the replay to listen to this beautiful mellow electro dance track again and again. We even got to see VIXX’s live performance at Music Core, where the boys showed just what talented dancers they are. We have one question though- why couldn’t they live happily ever after? :’(
Roy Kim – "Home"
Roy Kim has a way with emotions and this is no less apparent than in his latest release “Home”. The lyrics combine beautifully with the MV to create a really heartwarming and touching song, coaxed along with a really sweet melody and Roy Kim’s unique vocals.
Beast – "Good Luck"
This was also a great year for Beast with a whole number of standout releases. But “Good Luck” appeared on the scene with its techno beats and its decidedly epic dance moves and we all were a bit hooked. The MV opens with a wonderfully enthralling strings piece before moving quite suddenly into it’s more electro sound, as we watch these handsome men mull out windows, on balconies and at dinner tables.
Ailee – "Don’t Touch Me"
Ailee dominated the scene this year, swiping a number of well-deserved nominations and awards at the MAMAs and proving this talented young lady has even more to offer. Her earlier release “Singing Got Better” showed off her incredible ballad lungs with emotion, whilst the later “Don’t Touch Me” had all the spunk and attitude (and epic piano finger dance moves) that we’ve also come to expect from Miss Ailee.
And just one more…
JYJ – "Just Us" Album
Although technically not a single release we think JYJ’s comeback with their ‘Just Us’ album was a definite standout for the year. The quality of the music and lyrics, and eclecticness of the pieces, really sets ‘Just Us’ apart. In just an hour after it’s release on the 29th July it achieved an “all kill” status by placing first on Melon, MNet, Genie, Olleh, Naver and Cyworld. Celebrating 11 years this year since debut JYJ have each been busy successfully pursing their own individual endeavors, with acting for Yoochun, a solo albums and acting for Jaejoong and solo albums and musical theatre for Junsu, but their reunited release as JYJ in ‘Just Us’ shows just how strong they are together, their growth and maturity as artists, and once again proves just what incredible musicians they are.
