My pick!: Top 40 Kpop songs of 2009 (Rank 1st to 20th)
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Sorry for the lateness but hohoho. Now this list I am very pleased with. I strongly believe that every single song on this list is really epic. Now you might disagree slightly with the top 5 positions, but I daresay that it was such a close fight that it really doesn't matter, all 5 of them will be the best songs you'd have heard in 2009, all 5 of them are interchangeable.
Number 20: Kara - Mister GUH THE BUTT DANCE WILL KILL US ALL. As if it's not bad enough that this song is repetitive and thus very catchy, they come up with a dance that makes all of them look crazily sexy and cute at the same time. HOW DO THE KOREANS DO IT?
Number 19: 4Minute - Muzik I think 4minute has gained infamy amongst my friends for how annoying their music is. But honestly, I think annoying is just another way to describe the feeling when a song gets stuck in your head. Which is what makes a good song in my opinion.
This is one of those annoying songs, with dance beats and lyrics so repetitive that they border on hypnotic. Them being a girl group, don't sound typically cutesy like you would come to be accustomed to from Jpop groups. Instead, they're kind of westernized - sexy, dirty yet pretending to be innocent. Just the way I like them girls, yes why don't you go put on that girl's school uniform and bend over...
Not that I'm saying westerners are all sexy and dirty... oh who am I kidding, you guys are FILTHY! But I love you sexy bitches nonetheless. :D (Email me your naughty pictures now.)
Number 18: SHINee - Ring Ding Dong I know the title sounds weird (I'd ring YOUR ding dong Jonghyun, call me. *wink*) but wait for it - the song has African tribal influences. It's ridiculous in theory but the song becomes really good after a while because well, you just can't forget it. Mainly beats without much of a tune, it's a good thing that SHINee with their vocal prowess is doing this song. Anyone else in SM might have just screwed it up.
Number 17: Davichi - My Man I loved this song purely because the lyrics are funny as hell ("
You gotta be my man, baby I want your love." and "
Oh yeah yeah yeah!"). The Engrish displayed in the music video were funny as hell too. Go watch and you'll understand. (I admit, the shirtless dude, Gwangsu of Supernova, in the video made it so much more delicious for me too. Mmm.) Also, no autotune! Not much anyways.
Number 16: F.T. Island - I Hope One of the rare few songs that don't involve dance or autotune or the such this year. Typical boy band (not boyband, but like a young male band) stuff with pop-rock and loads of dramatic screamy choruses. Much love.
Number 15: Taeyang - Where U At
Taeyang is undoubtedly the Korean Ne-yo. They are so similar it scares me.
Anyways, I love how Taeyang mixes his innocent vibe, mix it with a bit of heartbreak and then pour sexiness all over it and then slap you with a hip thrust while you were trying to process it all.
Dance, R&B, soul. All that good stuff for sex music. You guys know what I'm talking about. Nothing like Taeyang's "mmm mmm mmm"s to bring me over that magical place. 8D
Number 14: SS501 - U R MAN SS501 minus two members (I'd have named this temporary group SS499 really) apparently equals way more sexy version of SS501? The photobooklet that came with the album had shirtless photos of all three members. The guys dance with shirts opened so wide you can almost see nip... never mind. You know what I'm talking about, go take a listen! Sexy dance pop!
Number 13: G-Dragon feat. Taeyang - Korean Dream I think it's kind of ironic that this song is only 13th on the list when Heartbreaker placed higher on this list. Here's what I said previously:
"Korean Dream" is my favorite track on the album, and I swear it's not because of Taeyang's involvement in this song. The song with its catchy as heck tune and shoutable lyrics ("Eh oh eh oh!" and "One two step and Turn left to the right below shut Ladies (yeah) and gentlemen (huh)") makes it a great party track. There's so much fun to be had with this song, and you'll know why when you take a listen to it.
Number 12: SHINee - Juliette
This is evidence why JE will never stand a chance against them Kpop boygroups. The dancing for this video was crazy: it was tricky as hell yet they managed it like five pedobait robots. And those tight pants. Oh god.
They did a better job with the song than Corbin Bleu did (yes, the High School Musical dude, you can guess the kind of song this is going to be now), who sang the original song titled "
Deal with it". Their version is infused with more electronic beats and is a bit more chaotic, hence leaving you feeling a little overwhelmed (rather than Corbin's version which leaves so much to be desired as it was kind of sparse). I love it when Jonghyun's veins pop in his neck when he sings the high notes, slurp.
Number 11: SNSD - Tell me your wish (Genie) The weaker of the two main offerings from SNSD this year, the girls take on sexy music and doesn't live up to expectations. That's not to say this is a bad song though, it just seems I've come to expect way more than is possible from SNSD.
But yes, SNSD, stick to cute stuff. But those tiny shorts can stay. :D
Number 10: T-ara & Super Nova - Time to Love
Time to Love is a collaboration between the hardly popular Supernova and the now rapidly rising T-ara. One of the rare few mid-tempo songs in this list, this song is is more of a ballad than a pop song, intertwined with lots of rap. It's a song that has a lot of attitude, a bit of wistfulness and a whole lot of good melodies. I seriously love this song so much.
(And it totally helps that the people picked to sing this song from each group are hot as hell. Gwangsu, someone send me Gwangsu along with the other people I've requested for. Thanks.)
Number 9: Brown Eyed Girls - Abracadabra Everyone around me judged me when I liked this song, but see how it turned out! I think one of the factors that made this song a major hit was the fact that it was just so strange and so so dirty for it to be just a song. In fact, it's kind of like watching porn with your ears, I can't really explain it any other way.
It'll leave a more lasting impression on you if you watched the video though. That my friend, was considered porn back in the 60s. Make sure your grandma isn't around when you watch it.
(I watched it once with my mom before though. I was trying to show her what HD video was like and the only one I had was this song. Guess how awkward it was when they groped that girl's boobs?)
Number 8: 4Minute - Hot Issue Similar to
MUZIK, 4minute's debut song
Hot Issue is not a song to be ignored. You'll either grow to love or hate this song purely because of how addictive/annoying it is. With hilarious lyrics like "
4 4 4 4 minute, hot hot hot isshew ah!", how can you hate this song? What is wrong with you people! Dance pop mixed with hip hop, kind of reminiscent of Gwen Stefani's
Hollaback girl if you must.
Number 7: G-Dragon - Heartbreaker Despite all the controversy surrounding this song, you can't deny that it is one of the most catchy songs of the year. Typical dance pop, G-Dragon does well by hiding his vocal flaws with tons of autotune. As I've mentioned previously:
"Heartbreaker" is a thumping club/dance/pop track that's bound to make you want move your body a little. Some people might get turned off by the autotune (or whatever you call that thing that makes his voice synth-y) but I personally think it's a very good tool to hide the flaws in his voice. G-Dragon is not a strong singer per se, but with this vocoder (am I using the wrong word again?) thing, it makes his voice phenomenal.
Number 6: Super Junior-M - Super Girl All 7 handsome men in suits. Hankyung in shades. Siwon staring at you like he wants you. Really, what else does it take to sell music these days? On first listen, it'll probably sound utterly ridiculous ("
Oh my shuper gurl") but stare at the boys long enough and you tend to forgive minor mistakes. Who cares about Engrish when they're this gorgeous doing it? If you still mind the Engrish, then stare at Hankyung and Siwon and repeat about 10 or 20 times. You'd be sold too.
Number 5: Taeyang - Wedding Dress I swear Taeyang is like sex for your ears. His smooth vocals coupled with this emotional ballad (about a girl who got married to another guy instead of him, stupid bitch) makes for very heartbreaking yet delicious music. And his dancing, oh god. Will someone hand me a tissue, I just made a mess here thinking about it. NOM NOM.
Number 4: Seungri - Strong Baby This is what pushed me over to Kpop. I was on the fence as to whether I should start venturing into the Kpop world but Seungri came along without his shirt and groping himself and my mind just went ASDFGHJKL KPOP GOOD YES SHLURP. Way too sexual for such a young dude, but hey we're all pedophiles right? NOM NOM YOUNG TENDER FLESH.
Ahem. Um, sexy pop. A slightly lesser Justin Timberlake, but the potential is SO there. You heard it here first.
Number 3: Super Junior - SORRY SORRY Ditching their previous cutesy (otherwise slightly visual-kei) style for this sleek, manly (ok some of them) and sexy concept, Super Junior has basically propelled themselves to superstardom. And this is exactly the very strong style of the song: sleek, manly (at times) and very very sexy.
Mainly dance and electronica, it supposedly has influences of American funk and contemporary R&B and stuff that I don't understand. All that I know is that this song is immensely infectious and downright irritating if you can't get into it. But if you did, this song will be the most fun you will have had for 2009.
Number 2: SNSD - Gee The first time I watched the MV for this, I knew it was over. I remember going "HOLY CRAP, this is a GOOD MV!" But then again, I was watching too much Jpop at the time. Nonetheless, cute song that is legendary in its own way (it topped the K-charts for 9 weeks mind you) so it's very well deserving of its place in this list. Lyrics like "
Gee gee gee gee baby baby baby" will forever be chanted by sweaty fanboys all over the world. Girl groups in Korea will continue to try to emulate SNSD but will fail. The world will be taken over by Yuri and her-
Ahem. But yes, this was the best song of the year, along with...
Number 1: Big Bang, 2NE1 - Lollipop
I can see you racing to that comment button in protest. You guys will say I'm biased or soemthing but hear me out. After listening to the teaser for this song (in the form of the LG phone CF), I went CRAZY searching for this song online. Nothing can explain the feeling of excitement I had when I was about to hear it for the first time. Which is probably what pushed this song just slightly over to the top spot for me.
It was similarly fun for me as
Gee was, so I'm only basing this decision on the feeling I got when I first heard the song.
Lollipop had a much greater and longer lasting effect on me.
With TOP doing the chorus for once with his deep and husky voice, you know it's bound to be a good song. The beat is infectious and ridiculously catchy and if it doesn't get stuck in your head then I don't know what will. 2NE1 does a great job with this "debut" song of theirs but Big Bang are the ones who ultimately delivers like they are known to. If you choose not to bother with ANY of the songs I've chosen, at least listen to this one. I love it THAT much.
So how many of your favorite songs made my list? If you've not heard some of the songs on this list, well you've got some homework to do now haven't you? :D
Labels: 2NE1, 2PM, 4Minute, Big Bang, Brown Eyed Girls, Davichi, F.T. Island, Kara, SHINee, SNSD, SS501, Super Junior, Supernova, T-ara