A few days late with all the running around for New Year. Haha! Still, enjoy!
Another year, another top 15 kpop list. There’s so much good content released this year, but for the majority of fans and me it was somewhat a hellish year TBH. A lot of unexpected things happened and some of those left me shocked and speechless.
There’s no way of knowing each update and progress for each group so I’ll talk about the prominent ones. Let’s start with the bad news first.
2017 is dub as the year of disbandment. When you thought the year wouldn’t get any worse, it did. There were tons of groups that broke up. Some popular and some who didn’t make it through the market. Whether they were your favorite group or not, it was saddening. Most shocking for me was Sistar and 2AM because I listened to and loved their music. Technically, 2AM didn’t disband as per the group. The members signed with different agencies but they still want to pursue music as 2AM. But this doesn’t always work. TBH, I’m not anticipating because a comeback is minimal to none.
Then the announcement of Sistar disbanding. This was a total WTF news for me. They always ruled the summer charts. Summer was synonymous with Sistar. Their songs were well-liked and they were popular. While Sistar did disband, it was a collective decision by the group. Still sucks though.
It’s been a few days as of writing this post but Jonghyun died. December 18. I am still torn by this news. Shinee wasn’t my bias group but I like their music. Ring Ding Dong was one of the first songs I heard when I got into kpop and it was addictive as fuck. His dying was hard to swallow, it took me days to accept that fact. Can’t imagine how the Shawols felt. The idea of him dying young didn’t even cross my mind.
— SHINee (@SHINee) December 19, 2017
Jonghyun, you are such a talented artist and songwriter. Thank you for all your hard work and contributions. You worked hard, Jonghyun and you did well.
With those heartbreaking news, let’s talk about something festive.
Taeyang and Hyorin will be getting married in Feb next year before Taeyang enlists. The first member to get married and from the majority of feedback from fans, they are ecstatic.
BTS performing in the AMA was also a huge accomplishment for the industry and the group. While I never follow them religiously, the amount of coverage and hype was so huge you wouldn’t miss it. I have to agree that besides PSY, nobody got the same spotlight as BTS did in the western market. The market knew of big and popular groups but KPOP is still unrecognized to some. Overall, KPOP is gaining a lot of attention from the US that I think more groups might take the chance to debut there. There’s no telling what hard work and lady luck would bring these group.
So let’s start but first I had a realization for this year. I rarely listen to music from newly/new-ish formed groups for various reasons:
- Not liking the style
- Song doesn’t appeal to me
- Member count to high
The last reason might be unreasonable/unfair but a large group doesn’t entice me. I’m not hating the tactic but it’s hard for me to enjoy the concept because we all know only a few gets recognition. Explains Seventeen. A group that I intentionally slept on for this reason. Sucks because I love their music. A group that I wouldn’t discover if not for Form of Therapy (if you like reaction videos, this channel is the bomb!).
This might change this year. There’s no stopping the change in the KPOP scene so old favorites would eventually fade from the limelight. Maybe I need to step out of my comfort zone and gamble on new-ish groups. I want to discover more talent that I normally would skip.
2017 has been a rollercoaster but let’s see what 2018 has in store for us fans and our bias groups. With that said, this is my latest top recommendations for 2017.
15. Goodbye – 2ne1
A heartbreaking song for an unfortunate outcome to a well-loved group. 2ne1 disbanding was widely speculated after Minzy left. A lot of theories and shade are thrown here and there. Nobody wanted to acknowledge or admit it. In the end, it still happened.
Goodbye’s written by CL for Minzy so the song itself is quite intimate and sad but good.
14. New Face – PSY
It was a hard choice between I Luv It and New Face but the latter won my heart. A funky song with a fun MV. Not as explosive as Gangnam Style (who knows why GS exploded internationally) but a very well-received song.
13. Gashina – Sunmi
Now we have a song where the dance is more popular than the track. A song that immediately took off the moment it was released. It was everywhere. Music shows, live broadcasts, dance covers and variety shows. It became the new thing everyone knew and everyone danced to.
I personally saw a video of an idol dancing to it without any clue what song it was. I saw it everywhere and it was frustrating that I felt left out for not knowing the title. Then I accidentally clicked the choreography video of Lia Kim and it went on repeat for a few weeks.
A song where I love the dance more than the song itself.
12. Beautiful – Wanna One
When you listen with Spotify, you’ll always get recommendations that surprise you. One instance of those for me was Beautiful.
After I.O.I and the flood of survival-themed variety, I knew I needed to distance myself from these shows. The market became saturated with similar shows that it became unappealing. Never did I invest any feelings for I.O.I so didn’t find any reason to do so with Wanna One. Simple as that. However, I did enjoy enough to add to the list.
11. Clap – Seventeen
First off, 13 fucking members!! >.<
Anyway, Boom Boom actually got me interested in Seventeen. I repeated that song too much that it came to a point it was the only song I listened to the whole day.
After Boom Boom, I heard Clap. From what I heard, their other releases are bomb so I need to do a thorough listen. Though I recently discovered them, this is one of those instances that I regret not listening to a group because I honestly love their material.
Seventeen might be the exception for my uncertainty for large groups. Might have to skip their performances if I want to listen to them more. As much as they kill their choreo, there’s just too much body and formation change that it gives me a headache (this is with any group with a large # of members).
Okaaaaay 5 down, 10 more to go. Hang in there.
10. Whisper – VIXX LR
10th pick would be Whisper by VIXX LR which I believe is a subunit right?
Raise your hand if you got woobly feet with the chorus. I know I did. The moment you hear “whisper to me . . .” you know you’re fucked.
9. Serendipity – BTS
I listened to the whole EP, Love Yourself: Her, when it was released. It was overall a very solid comeback but I had my favorites.
There were 4 prominent songs that stood out for me: DNA, Mic Drop, 고민보다 Go and Serendipity. Yeah pretty predictable I know. Haha! Out of the tracks, Serendipity spoke to me. I liked the other 3 but not as much as I did Serendipity. I also heard the Steve Aoki remix of Mic Drop but still not enough. I was very much content having Serendipity on repeat.
8. Bullshit – GD
TBH, I expected to like Untitled, 2014 because who wouldn’t but for some reason, I like Bullshit more.
Nothing special on this one. It’s GD, self-explanatory.
SIDE NOTE: The fan in me wants a Big Bang comeback before my boys enlist but that is too much to ask. They need all the break they deserve prior to serving.
7. Lip & Hip – Hyuna
And now we have an artist that you drool over, whatever your gender is. Hyuna is one of those artists who is ridiculously sexy and effortless in doing so. Another artist who I think is comparable would be Hani (EXID) but for some reason, I don’t think she’ll take off like Hyuna did as a solo artist.
The MV is OK but not mind-blowing. The styling is also not my favorite. But they killed it with the choreography. That’s the case with every Hyuna song but with Lip & Hip, they nailed it. As expected from Hyuna.
Hyuna is not an artist that’s always on my radar but she’s growing on me.
6. Love and Fall (album) – Bobby
Okay, I’m going to cheat with this one. First of three to be honest so please be forgiving. =P
I know I should be recommending songs on this list, I tried believe me, but I couldn’t with this one. Bobby’s comeback with Love and Fall blew me away that I couldn’t pick a favorite on it. I contemplated between songs for 30 minutes and gave up because I love the whole album. Highly recommend it!
Annnnd we’re down to 5.
5. Kokobop/The Eve – EXO
Second of my three cheats.
I was actually going to pick Kokobop because it’s a song you can’t help but dance to. I thought it was evident because I favored more pop and bouncy tracks over slow/ballads with my 2017 list. But again I couldn’t pick.
Completely contrasting titles so you have a song for different moods. Pick your poison!
4. No Thanxxx (노땡큐) – Epik High (Ft. Mino, Simon Dominic, The Quiett)
I love love love Epik High’s Shoebox. That’s an album that I listened continuously until today. I wasn’t really expecting a comeback because I am aware of how leisurely chill YG artists are with their work and Tablo was with HIGHGRND. TBH, I didn’t expect a 2017 comeback. But the moment they announced him stepping down, an album release was expected. And I was excited! There’s a 3-year gap between Shoebox and We’ve Done Something Wonderful and that’s a long time in the industry. BUT this album and the wait is definitely worth it! There’s no doubt that we’re spoiled.
I thought THE song for me would be Home is Far Away with Oh Hyuk because it’s sexy as F. Oh Hyuk’s voice is simply eargasmic. I also adored Here Come The Regrets with Lee Hi. The emotions in that song were making me weak. Although this made me sadder because I miss Lee Hi.
Out of all the tracks, No Thanxxx called to me immediately. I love my Mino and SD but The Quiett with the hook on this one is a slam dunk.
3. Move – Taemin
I admit that I slept on Taemin’s solo career and I hate myself for that. Throughout the years, I’ll hear a single and enjoy it but unsure why my interest didn’t last. He has awesome vocals, his performances are topnotch and he’s pretty to boot! Not paying him enough attention is admittedly a big mistake.
Move for me was love at first sight. How I felt with Blood, Sweat and Tears from last year is the exact same feeling I had with Move. It rendered me speechless and giddy on the initial watch. Then I got goosebumps the more I heard it. It became a staple for my playlist and I never got tired of hearing Taemins buttery voice.
While I love the dance more than the song with Gashina, I love everything with Move. It’s amazing how lowkey the choreo is on this single but it leaves a lasting impact. And honestly, I think Taemin is the only one who can do justice to this choreo. It was slow and sensual. I was captivated and I couldn’t stop admiring the aesthetic of the performance.
Out of all the videos I watched, my favorite would be the performance MV with Koharu Sugawara. Their combination is insanely good!
This is another performance of Taemin that I love and didn’t realize is with the same partner. Damnit! I do remember this number because this is one of the few performances that I enjoyed in Hit the Stage. I need to pay more attention to these things jeeez!
2. Plz Don’t Be Sad – Highlight/What You Like – Gi Kwang/Too Much Love Kills Me – Jun Hyung
Final cheat. Promise!
I don’t want to talk about the whole kerfuffle of Beast/Highlight because it was just nasty (1)(2). But any kpop fan has to agree they owned 2017. Them re-branding as Highlight and forming Around Us Entertainment was a big in your face to Cube. And them succeeding and growing their fanbase is the biggest karma that Cube got.
I applaud them for releasing a lot of stuff after re-branding. Its not easy launching an agency and doing activities. I prayed hard for their comeback success because this was the first hurdle. They nailed it! The amount of support and recognition they got from everyone was heartwarming.
1 . Really Really – Winner
Finally, my top choice for 2017 is by one of my bias group. My SoTY pick. Winner has proven yet again that they are a force to reckon with. All I need now is a full album next year but I don’t mind them taking a well-deserved break. There’s buzz of a 2018 comeback but knowing YG, nothing is confirmed until release day. LOL.
Fate Number For was a 2-track comeback with Really Really and Fool. They released this April and I still had RR on my playlist when they released Our Twenty For. Our Twenty For was another 2-track release with Island and Love Me Love Me. While I love every single, out of the 4 songs Really Really was the strongest for me. I listened to it when I need a pick me up and it never failed to make me hum sing along.
That’s a wrap! 2017 was a blast but I anticipate 2018 will blow me away. I sincerely don’t want to read another disbandment news for a while though. New groups, new releases, new cray cray.
That’s my top picks for this year. What’s yours? Share any recommendation or any group you think I should give a listen to.
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