[vice] top twenty k-pop songs of 2015

[byeolbyeol.livejournal.com]

This year was a particularly great 12 months for the K-pop album, while the industry started moving on from some heavy demons, but the Korean music industry’s surest strength still lies in the individual song—especially those invested with the full force of the country’s staggering video, choreography, and art direction budgets. The following countdown gathers twenty of the most remarkable singles, b-sides, and album cuts to shine from Asian pop’s central helios this year.

20. PRIMARY X O HYUK - "ISLAND"

Following some silly, ill-informed accusations of plagiarism, top Korean producer Primary had himself a pretty rough couple of years. With great hits for himself and others, like “Don’t Be Shy,” “Mannequin,” (check our interview), and Lim Kim’s “Awoo” (scroll down), 2015 was his redemption. Fortunately, before he left the doldrums, he teamed up with indie wunderkind Oh Hyuk and made this depressive masterpiece. It’s a safe bet some soju traded hands.

19 EXO - "PLAYBOY"

The endless, arcing hooks of “Call Me Baby” merit mention, but “Playboy” was the smoothest highlight off EXO’s solid Exodus album. Even by K-pop standards, this is a remarkably rich vocal fore, and it unfurls with all the sensual ease of the slinking electric piano beneath.

18. UGLY DUCK X REDDY X JJA - "ASIA"

Keith Ape claimed the headlines, but fellow Underwater Squad goon Reddy and his pals upped the ante (no beat jack required). Alternating Korean and Japanese rhymes over JJJ’s mental production and between cuts by NYC’s DJ Scratch Nice—including quotes from Nas, Mobb Deep, and, cleverly enough, Planet Asia—this globalized posse cut was the year’s most memorable piece of convergence culture.

[ the video won't embed / is pretty hard to find on youtube so it's here. ]

17. SO HEE SONG - "GOONBAM FUNKY"

As a onetime government-ordained “Best Korean of the Year,” this teenage belter is more a presence on national TV than the singles charts. Her specialty, after all, is minyo—old folk songs. But this groovy big band take on 70s Korean pop would be in a league of its own even if all the fancy entertainment companies were trying to churn out similar fare instead of the next Girls’ Generation.

16. RAINBOW - "PIERROT"

Innocent’s single was fine, but you could have thrown darts at the tracklist and found something better. There’s the Mariah-meets-Noah Shebib wooze of “Bad Man Crying,” “Privacy’s” noided electro-funk, and—perhaps best of all—this mathematical proof that dancehall and 90s Europop equal out just fine.

15 BIG BANG - "BAE BAE"

Asia’s most famous fivesome took some pills and made one of the trippiest, most liberated K-pop videos of all time. The same can be said for the song, which achieves an improbably refined ease with its integration of trap hats, Jamrock rhymes, FM country guitar, frathouse reggae, and thuggish adlibs.

14. STELLAR - "VIBRATO"

This desperate girl group’s image has become so risqué that their company’s been telling them to act embarrassed in interviews—a bit of silliness we’ll endure as long as their songs stay even more daring. “Vibrato” begins as an excellent blog-house electro throwback, before nailing the boldest bridge of the year.

13. LIM KIM - "AWOO"

This year we learned pretty much everybody loves the “future pop” sound of Purity Ring, Chvrches, and Lorde. And that pretty much everybody loves the Koreanized, noraebang take on it, too.

12. BEAST - "YEY"

“Kill all the unnecessary feelings.” “I don’t care if my insides wear down and tear out.” “I must be insane if I wanna live.” It’s all bleak, but the most nihilistic thing about this violent mess is the way the chorus fights itself, a disorienting blast of noise pitch-shifting towards dissonance. It sounds like hell, then makes that beautiful.

11. JONGHYUN - "NEON"

SHINee’s lead vocalist had a breakout year as an R&B soloist (and songwriter: see “Playboy” above), the creative peak of which came in the form of this skittering, gradual abstraction. There’s plenty of surprises along the way, but hold on for the Dilla break in the bridge. (Bonus track “Fortune Cookie” was even better, and a must-buy: the only edit online omits the best part.)

10. EXID - "HOT PINK"

K-pop’s most inventive songs always need a little time. Strangeness abounds in EXID’s second great hook overload of the year, but nowhere moreso than in the dreamy half-time breakdown—the gorgeous dreamy half-time breakdown—that hits before the second verse. But western record execs and LA song camp veterans would be shocked by just how quickly one’s ear adjusts. Music that gratifies your every pop desire, and challenges you a bit, too—and there’s, like, a whole country of this stuff?

9. WONDER GIRLS - "I FEEL YOU"

A year ago, the idea of Korea bringing back Miami freestyle would have seemed ludicrous—much like the idea of Wonder Girls reforming as an ace synthpop band. But then, at its best, what can’t K-pop reconcile?

8. NEON BUNNY - "ROMANCE IN SEOUL"

Bedroom pop superstar Neon Bunny’s music was plenty worthwhile at the start of the decade, when she was a Seoul city misfit inspired by Ed Banger and other things going on in France. But as her heart moves more toward “Manhattan,” Ella, and the Jazz Age—along with the traditional instrumentation of her home, like the kayageum sampled here—she’s becoming something far more special.

7. SHINEE - "VIEW"

“Married to the Music” may have had the better video and dance, but sometimes the song trumps all. And few songs could match the grace and light of SHINee’s annual best, one of the finest house-pop crossover records this year or any.

6. SURAN - "CALLING IN LOVE (FEAT. BEENZINO)"

Suran’s brief career has been full of surprises. She made her solo demo debut with “I Feel,” one of last year’s best R&B abstractions—with a voice unlike any other out of Korea to date. Then she made a silhouetto star turn on Primary’s “Mannequin,” perhaps the strongest social critique of modern Korea’s plastic, consumptive id ever to grace the top of the charts—finding time to co-write “Awoo,” also on this list, with him as well (catch our double interview here). Now, for her proper debut, she’s made one of the most elegant singles of the year, somehow equally apt for sun in LA or snowfall in Seoul. On top of that voice, Suran writes, produces, and plays all her own stuff—making her perhaps the most singular talent in Korean music today.

5. OH MY GIRL - "CLOSER"

K-pop makes for great music, but its full effect can only be felt when taken with its choreographies, videos, and conceptual narratives—as much the music of the thing as is the song. “Closer” was the year’s best example: its hypnotic dream-pop core is entrancing on its own, but so much of its resonance owes to the attending words, video, zodiac constellations of the choreography, and the story they tell together. You wouldn’t watch a movie with your eyes closed, would you?

4. GA IN - "PARADISE LOST"

As the harrowing centerpiece of Ga-In’s original sin concept record Hawwah, there’s little "Paradise Lost” doesn’t challenge: biblical misogyny, religion’s persistent stranglehold on human will, innocence lost as something to regret, and the Anglocentric depiction of Eve as a white girl. It’s only fitting that such a modern take is set to the best industrial grind since Year Zero.

3. GOT7 - "JUST RIGHT"

You can’t help but smile at the endearingly goofy dance break. Or the song’s impatient ingenuity, flitting as it does between sunny southern rap and expansive orchestral detours (the latter making up some fraction of the world’s longest pre-chorus). Or its one-word, uncentering hook. But you grin widest at the end of its gloriously heartfelt video, having waited all the while for the cliché inevitability of the bookish girl’s glamorous transformation to arrive—and it doesn’t.

2. RED VELVET - "DUMB DUMB"

The likewise brilliant “Ice Cream Cake” could have placed high on this list as well, but “Dumb Dumb” wins out for its endless momentum—sustained across a Michael Jackson tribute rap break, a blindside bridge borrowed from some other sonic world, and a chorus that interrupts itself to laugh at all the awesomeness everywhere. The cherry on top comes in the video and choreography, where SM Entertainment riffs on the “assembly line” nature of the pop form they’ve invented and perfected over the past 20 years. If this is a factory, it’s Andy Warhol’s.

1. F(X) - "4 WALLS"

The anxiety that pervades every visual cut, dance move, synth stab, and vocal take in this lambent reinvention is real: the number four, after all, is synonymous with death in East Asia. And after losing an original fifth member last year, f(x)’s four holdovers were faced with what looked like an end. So while this song has all the hallmarks of top-tier K-pop—massive hooks and half-hidden micromelodies, unpredictable yet deftly placed bridges (several), a rap break that hits sooner than you knew you needed it—this time they come with genuine pain. K-pop’s appeal lies in laminating its every human flaw into smooth, glossy perfection, and that’s how we like it—but the very best art still takes a little blood.

Jakob Dorof is a writer in Seoul, where he runs the K-Pendium —an ongoing breakdown of what makes K-pop unique. And he tweets.

source(s): vice + 1thek (i / ii / iii / iv / v) / aomgofficial / banner profitable / big bang (official youtube) / cascine label / cjenmmusic official / exid (official youtube) / hittsubs / jyp entertainment (i / ii) / smtown (i / ii / iii) / ryu_mumblestash13 / united cube / young_mumblestash18

hmmm. i like this one better than the dazed one. it has nice additions genre wise across the board. thoughts, opinions, ect.?

Comments

[pippopippo.livejournal.com]

This one def has more variety than the Dazed list.

- Playboy is the one Exo song they chose? I like it, but I wouldn't say it's their standout track of the year.
- Yessss Closer and Paradise Lost.
- 4Minute's Crazy is still missing.
- BTS too, whether it's I Need U, Dope, or Run.
- Glad Jonghyun is on here. *_*
- I liked Ah Yeah more than Hot Pink.
- Pleasantly surprised that Just Right and Dumb Dumb managed to hang on to the top 3!

[rottenraisins.livejournal.com]

-_- Where is BTS' Dope or I Need U

[gray-fairy.livejournal.com]

Mte.

[kjesta.livejournal.com]

It gives Paradise Lost and Vibrato the spotlight they deserve, so it's cool with me. (Everything about Stellar wigs me out, their company is SO gross and exploitative, but the song itself is one of the best of 2015.)

[simprov.livejournal.com]

this is def a better list than dazed's but its STILL missing crazy.
also the lack of bts, but i agree with pretty much every song on this list so idk where i need you would've gone in tbh. maybe in exo's place? but i think exo has better songs than playboy, for example my personal fave exodus or my other fave hurt but oh well.
i really appreciate the variety on this list but im surprised none of hyukoh's songs made it.

[belintuchiha.livejournal.com]

YAAAS GAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN
MY QUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN

[kjc48.livejournal.com]

+1
(although Apple is my fav song on the album)

[byeolbyeol.livejournal.com]

i'm pleasantly!!! surprised that rainbow's "pierrot" made the list, it's one of my favorite b-sides of the year. i'm glad that jonghyun made the list too (i love "neon" but my "momo-drama" is my fave from his mini). i'd probably swap out "hot pink" for "ah yeah", and considering that b-sides are were included, i'd swap out "i feel you" for "baby don't play" (i love "i feel you" though), "dumb dumb" for "oh boy" and "4 walls" for "rude love".

i'm surprised that bts isn't included, i'd probably squeeze "i need u" somewhere onto there. (make the list a top twenty five lmao) also: something by shin zisu, park jimin's "hopeless love", anda's "touch", primary's "don't be shy", the black skirt's "hollywood", ect. (i'd love to see verry's "we can luv" or something by oohyo make a list like this but i haven't seen a lot of talk about their releases this year. :l)

[algaee.livejournal.com]

love ur taste

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

Oh My Girl in the top 5!
I like this list better too

[algaee.livejournal.com]

dam this person did their research.. i'd love near most of this list if it didn't try to rank the songs too but not really complaining

given that tho, kind of surprised not to see 9m. calling in love gives me chills every time, and im glad omg made the top five.. i get why they'd pick i feel you from reboot bc they're counting how the concepts and visuals tie in too and ia ify was fantastic on that front... but loved.mp3 by wonder girls. really though, i want to respect & support the variety on this

[sub-divided.livejournal.com]

Jakob moved to Seoul earlier this year, he lives this stuff LMAO.

A lot of stuff from ILX is here, I feel like I should have campaigned harder over there for my personal faves (late Rude Love, Aalow Aalow, Oh Boy, and Seventeen's Rock).

[achan123.livejournal.com]

No SNSD on list = list valid

also would swap neon for something else perhaps.. halleluyah?

[babunattack.livejournal.com]

also would swap neon for something else perhaps.. halleluyah?

i was thinking the same thing

[bmo.livejournal.com]

wrong bc seventeen's adore u and primary's dont be shy aren't here.

i have no idea what hot pink + just right are doing in this list or in any list that isn't worst songs of 2015!

[4minutesluts.livejournal.com]

don't be shy is really really good and seems to have been kind of forgotten??

[daftpunkremix.livejournal.com]

i always appreciate jakob's kpop writing, he seems to genuinely enjoy the music. i like that this isn't an sm and yg party like most western year end lists tend to be, and the inclusion of b sides is nice. definitely wish seventeen and nine muses were included but that's just my opinion

[parkjsun.livejournal.com]

Ugh @ Hot Pink. That song is the messiest song of year.
Yesss @ f(x), RV, and OMG. Kill it girls!
Playboy was a really good addition too, bless Jong for writing it.

[4minutesluts.livejournal.com]

i have a vague memory that this dude is a massive fx stan, i think he wrote some stuff to that effect on pitchfork but cant be bothered looking for it

[racquelle2005.livejournal.com]

if they were going for "originality" for the list then I feel you should have definitely been number one. 4 walls has grown on me but its such a rip of off view that I can't fathom it ranking that high on the list. The songs came out way tooo close.

[jeliza]

I think he was pretty heavily considering the "whole package", at least for the idol pop, and while View and 4 walls are fairly even musically, the lyrics and MV for 4 walls are a step above.

[punkylana.livejournal.com]

yass f(x)!

[velveteenkitten.livejournal.com]

At least this is a more varied list. Although the order is all wrong for me and Hot Pink belongs in the bin.

[sra-interesante.livejournal.com]

they mention neon AND fortune cookie lol

this list is nice and has more variety in general, including not only title tracks was a great idea

[soyymilk.livejournal.com]

the top 3 are flawless picks but bae bae and dope should definitely be in the top 5!

[arysthaeniru.livejournal.com]

So glad to see primary and oh hyukoh here, their entire album was pure gold, I love it so much. AND YES SURAN DESERVES TO BE THERE.

[kyokomurasaki.livejournal.com]

Glad to see there's more variety but these are not the tracks I would have chosen for a lot of these groups. I kind of think it's funny that he included both View and 4 Walls since they're essentially the same song.

[racquelle2005.livejournal.com]

oop

[fallendaydreams.livejournal.com]

I am here for the top 5

[oppameansit.livejournal.com]

i'm glad to see non-idol songs on the list but that's probably why some of omona's faves weren't included lol

[kjc48.livejournal.com]

Perfect list tbh! (I'm totally not biased)
The first time I heard Island I had it on repeat for an entire day. I should probably look up the lyrics on of these days.

I personally really like JR and thought it was a great change in direction for GOT7's sound, but DAMN, why does it keep making it onto these list?!??

[gray-fairy.livejournal.com]

Neon? I like it but I think there are better tracks on Jonghyun's album.
I hadn't placed Just Right and 4 walls so high but it's this person's personal opinion so w/e.
Hot Pink grew on me but I still think that Ah Yeah is much better.

[kyokomurasaki.livejournal.com]

Neon was like my 2nd least favorite track on that album (and I wasn't really a fan of Fortune Cookie either) so I was a little baffled by its inclusion here, but it's one person's opinion like you said.

[smyers92.livejournal.com]

I don't have anything against neon (I love the whole album), but why neon