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Thursday, December 24, 2015

AKF's Top 30 Title Tracks of 2015


I'm sure this song is going to be everyone's #1 song of the year.

Anyway, knowing that I was going to be busy this year, I saved an Excel spreadsheet and rated the title songs I listened to throughout the year so that I wouldn't have to wait until the last week of the year asking myself "What the fuck even came out this year?" Halfway throughout the year I only started rating the songs I liked because there was no way I was going to write a list about shitty songs as well. My list ended up with 31 songs that had a rating of 7 or higher, so I removed the song I liked the least and ended up with 30 for this list. Lastly, this list only includes songs up until December 19th. I doubt any Christmas carols released by K-pop groups will make my list, so I am good to go.


30. Lizzy - Not An Easy Girl



When I was making this list, the first thing I thought was "Lizzy had a solo this year? Someone from After School actually had some activities this year?" It had been so long since this song came out that I forgot about it.

The song is a trot song, and while it's not my favorite genre, I can listen to one song a year from that genre, and luckily Lizzy's song is good enough to listen to at least once.

29. Ga-in - Apple



Ga-in had a good year as a solo artist with the release of her latest mini-album, Hawwah. I really like the funky beat and the "don't don't don't" "do do do" parts of the song. Jay's featuring caused this song to drop around 20 spots in the list.

28. miss A - Only You



miss A's Only You was underwhelming at first because the group had such a long streak of really solid title tracks. This is one of those songs that grew on me -- it's still not a song that I would call great, but good enough to give a listen to here and there. I know Suzy, Fei and Jia are busy filming dramas/movies and Min's busy stuffing her fat face at the buffet, but I hope the group returns with stronger music in 2016.

27. Twice - Like OOH-AHH



Twice is going to be the next nation's girl group whether people like it or not. Twice's debut song song Like OOH-AHH (literally, Elegantly) is a mixture of three genres and is catchy enough to listen to, but Twice will need stronger tracks to live up to the hype.

26. T-ara - So Crazy



It feels like a crime to have T-ara listed so low on an end-of-year list, but they came back with a leftover AOA title track. The MV is awesome, as are the sailor outfits, so not all was lost with this comeback. I think we're all just waiting for T-ara's Chinese full album with a Shinsadong Tiger title track to come out. What a way to give Korea the middle finger, Kim Kwang Soo.

25. Hello Venus - Wiggle Wiggle



Nara is so fucking hot. Also, I expected this song to be a disaster, and surprisingly, it wasn't too bad. I can't say the same for the MV, as it is beyond atrocious. I hope this MV director gets schlonged and never directs again.

24. Crayon Pop - FM



Crayon Pop releases their first good track in almost three years and it's a B-side T-ara track. Well, a B-side T-ara track is still better than 90% of what comes out, so congratulations for Crayon Pop defying the odds and making my list.

23. EXID - Ah Yeah



EXID changed up the formula very little for Ah Yeah, which is a good and a bad thing. Up & Down was one of my favorite songs of 2014, so I was happy to have another version. However, this song has way too much LE and Junghwa's verses sucks slimy seal schlong saran-wrapped with shit.

Let's all pretend Hot Pink doesn't exist, because that would easily make my top 5 worst title tracks of 2015.

22. Girl's Day - Ring My Bell



I swear that I am the only one who likes this song. I thought it was genius to give Yura a two-line rap. I love the funky beat and the chorus is beyond catchy. All four look hot in their swimsuits.

Also, my friend Bou and I thought the "black" dude was just a Korean guy in black face. It must be the lighting because his skin tone does not look natural to me.

Plus Sojin showed everyone her vag. Something good came out of this promotion cycle.

21. Gaeko + Yankie - Cheers



There were only a few hiphop songs that I liked this year. This year was a terrible, terrible year for Korean hiphop. While this song is good, if it had come out any other year before 2013, it wouldn't even be close to making this list. And hey, we even get a cameo from Choiza, who took time out of his busy schedule of busting a nut on Sulli's face.

20. Red Velvet - Ice Cream Cake



Red Velvet had a very good year. I was worried about this group as soon as I knew I would automatically hate half of their music, but if they keep releasing enough songs like Ice Cream Cake, I can see them climbing my girl group rankings in the future. Red Velvet reminds me of the Pinocchio-era of f(x) with a modern sound.

19. Nine Muses - Hurt Locker



Remember how good Nine Muses was in 2013? Hurt Locker is as close to their peak as Nine Muses will most likely get. Hurt Locker is an addictive EDM song that would have stood out if so many girl groups did not release songs during the summer.

18. AOA - Heart Attack



AOA came out with a great song with Heart Attack, with the song sounding like a club version of a song instead of the original version. I'm glad Brave Brothers decided to skip to the better-sounding version of the song.

17. Rainbow - Black Swan



Remember when zaku used to write here instead of spamming twitter about how he faps to prepubescent anime girls? He wrote a great review about Rainbow's Black Swan. Black Swan was easily one of the best songs of the first half of 2015 -- it is a shame the song flopped so badly that Rainbow stopped promoting the song after two weeks. I thought this song made up for their disastrous 2013 singles, but apparently Korea did not.

16. BoA - Who Are You?



BoA's whole Kiss My Lips album is filled with great songs, and just about all of them could have been featured tracks. It just so happens that BoA decided to release an upbeat R&B song featuring Korea's best mainstream rapper.

15. Oh My Girl - Closer



This is the song that caught my attention and found myself checking out Oh My Girl. I still can't even name a single member (I haven't even had time to even try to figure out their names), but I'm hoping Oh My Girl can keep up the momentum next year.

14. Hello Venus - I'm Ill



Hello Venus had a pretty solid year, but with all the hate Brave Brothers receives, I'm sure a lot of people wrote off this song before even listening to it. I'm actually happy with Brave Brothers experimenting with EDM music and going away from his bread and butter sound. I'm Ill is a club banger, that like Nine Muses' Hurt Locker, got buried beneath all of the other girl group releases during the summer.

13. BoA - Kiss My Lips



BoA's Kiss My Lips is one of those sultry R&B songs infused with a lot of synth beats. It's a mash-up that sounded better than I expected. Be sure to listen to the Korean version, the Japanese version's verses sound bad.

12. Taeyeon - I



It figures that the only way that anything SNSD-related to make this list would be a solo effort from one of the members. I dreaded listening to this song at first because I thought it would be a lifeless ballad, but it's a nice rock song and is light years ahead of anything else released by SNSD this year.

11. Wonder Girls - I Feel You



It's hard to believe that the Wonder Girls even made a comeback, but this title track was great and was on repeat every day. The whole album is very good; however, the more I listen to it, the more that I realize that I really like half of the tracks and loathe the other half of the tracks.

I just hope we get another WG album in two years instead of four or five years, because we need more songs with the JYP whisper.

10. 4minute - Crazy



4minute used to be one of my favorite groups because almost all of their tracks were composed by Shinsadong Tiger. Aside from T-ara, from 2009 through 2012, 4minute was the most consistent group in releasing good title tracks. Then in 2013 4minute teamed up with Brave Brothers and came out with some of the worst music I have ever heard. Thankfully all is right with the Kpop world again and 4minute is releasing good music again.

9. Red Velvet - Dumb Dumb



You would think a song repeating one word over two hundred times would be the most annoying song of the year, but Dumb Dumb is one of those manic songs that keeps you coming back for more. Also, Irene is really hot, so bless her existence. She's also the only member in the group that doesn't make me feel old.

8. BESTie - Excuse Me



BESTie had a horrid 2014, releasing three songs and only one worth listening a second time (Thank You Very Much). With Excuse Me, BESTie finally has a song that can rival, but not top, the classic Love Options. The MV is pretty awesome for essentially showing BESTie in underwear. You can call them really short shorts, but we all know what they were really wearing.

7. Ga-in - Paradise Lost



I allow myself to like one artsy-fartsy song that is so full itself, and this year's version of that song is Ga-in's Paradise Lost. While the song starts off weak, the ambiance it builds up leading to the chorus is what sold me on the song. I know a lot of international fans fingered their assholes to the religious bashing in the song, so I guess Ga-in threw you guys a bone.

6. Paloalto - Good Times



I really love this song and it was my most listened to song in the first half of 2015. The chill beat paired with Paloalto's great rapping make this song an easy listen. I can't forget to mention the MV, but it makes Busan look like a great city.

5. A Pink - Remember



I don't know how, but A Pink always finds a way to make my top 10, and Remember is the latest song that slowly crept up my list during the year. I just really love the melody that plays in between the verses and chorus, and the combining of the two main melodies at the end of the song. Shinsadong Tiger strikes again.

4. JYP - Who's Your Mama?



JYP releases a catchy song about asses. How could I not include it in my top 5. The main dancer has a really nice ass, and it should have been the featured ass of the MV instead of that other chick. This song also inspired an awesome remix if you haven't checked it out yet.

3. f(x) - 4 Walls



With 4 Walls, f(x) officially overtook T-ara as my favorite girl group. While T-ara has more quality title tracks, no other Kpop group has released three really great albums, especially three in a row. It doesn't hurt that Sulli is now out of the group, as I thought she was the most unattractive female in the group. This new setup doubles Victoria's lines, and more importantly, her screen time.

2. Stellar - Vibrato



Kpop is whole again with Sweetune getting out of their slump. I like the first two minutes of the song, but the last minute with the bridge is what makes this song special. The bridge is much longer than the typical pop song, then it builds up to a much-higher tempo version of the chorus, and then just ends, which begs for a repeat listening whenever this song comes up on my playlist.

1. BoA - Lookbook



Like I wrote in my review just last week, this song is amazingly good and addictive. It reminds me of the good songs BoA was releasing in Japan in the mid-to-late 2000s. I finally got to listen to the full version and the bridge makes the song even better. Here's to hoping avex actually promotes BoA well next year and isn't super fucking lazy with her 15th anniversary album.

18 comments:

  1. In case Kpopalypse gives me shit for not waiting until 2015 was actually over: you can suck my sweaty and salty sack that supports my semen secreters. <3

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    1. Your alliteration skills balances out any negatives, so I calmly accept this feedback.

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  2. Pretty much all of these are in my favorite title tracks of 2015. I've been especially impressed with SM releases this year, including "4 Walls", all of Red Velvet's "The Red" and "Ice Cream Cake", SHINee's "View" (with the same house inspiration as "4 Walls"), and Taeyeon's "I". I think Twice's "Do It Again" would have made a great title track, but their debut was good so I ain't mad. I usually have a couple of boy group title tracks in my favorites, but most of them this year have been either underwhelming or utter shit. If I had to pick some, I'd go for Seventeen's "Adore U" and "Mansae", and Infinite's "Bad". 2015 was overall a good year though. Even the relatively lackluster (coming from consistent groups) songs "So Crazy", "Heart Attack", "Only You" and "FM" were enjoyable.

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    1. So I went and listened to SHINee's View because I've seen so many people say how good it is. If I listened to any boy bands, this song would have made the list -- most likely somewhere in the top 10.

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  3. A LOT of these are also my favorites.
    I was introduced to Poloalto through Wonder Girl's "Candle", I really enjoyed his rapping there but I didn't know he made other songs. Might have to check him out.

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    1. He's been in the game for over 10 years. There's a lot for you to check out.

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  4. Very great #2 and #4.

    But man, I just can't see how you like Crazy. It's so disjointed! And not in a good way like Twice's Ooh Aah.

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  5. I liked Ring My Bell too. So you weren't the only one.

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  6. I don't understand how I can like your posts and at the same time hate pretty much everything in this list. Seriously. Paradise Lost, 4bricks and Ice Cream Cake all suck so much it's embarrasing. Vibrato and Closer are cool, though.

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  7. What a terrible year for kpop. Apink's Remember is the worst song of Shinsadong Tiger's career. I can't wait until Red Velvet and Twice inevitably eclipse them.

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  8. I don't think Vibrato was a Sweetune song. Does that mean they're still in a slump? I kinda like that 'Zero' song Kim Hyung Joong they did.

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    1. Sweetune has been producing Stellar's tracks since 2013.

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    2. Ah, I was confused because they were credited as 'Monotree'. Just found out they're related to Sweetune somehow anyway, like a kind of 'b-team'.

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    3. Sweetune is like Duble Sidekick where there are a lot of people composing under that name.

      But yeah, Sweetune's A-Team are the two dudes who composed many of Kara's songs back in the day.

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  9. Ultimately, a good year for Kpop and a very strong list as well. The only thing I would add to it is GFriend.

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    1. Yeah 'Me Gustas Tu' is amazing, I think they do Apink better than Apink themselves tbh

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  10. >It doesn't hurt that Sulli is now out of the group, as I thought she was the most unattractive female in the group. This new setup doubles Victoria's lines, and more importantly, her screen time.

    HAHAHA Victoria looks like a dog

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