I wouldn't say it is "bad" that you prefer the parody version but sad. 'Baby Dont Lie' is so good, I'd disagre again and say better than most of her singles.
It is a shame I was misled to believe this album would be the best of the year after the masterpiece of "Ghost" and "Glow". Although it failed my expectations it is not to say it is a bad album. It's a great pop album, but I expected higher quality. She sings through each song angelically and while many songs are still growing on me, tracks such as "Give Your Heart Away", "Hard Work" and "Empire" are phenomenal songs.
# 27 | NU'EST - "RE:BIRTH"
NU;EST debuted massively for me and their potential was exciting. However they have disappointed me with recent releases. They've been overshadowed by other boy groups and failed to develop their sound to an acceptable standard that would give me reason to enjoy them. Maybe if I remained a loyal fan this album could have been higher. "RE:BIRTH" has great tracks, but nothing exciting enough.
# 26 | Kana Nishino - "with LOVE"
Earlier this decade Kana Nishino was my favorite female solo artist both in J-pop and overall. Although I still value her music, she has become less and less interesting with each album release. My opinion pretty much echoes her album sales in Japan. This album is great but compared to "to LOVE" it is disappointing. "Abracadabra", "Love & Joy" and her single released during this era are impressive though.
# 25 | Katy B - "Little Red"
Katy B blew everything out the water when she released "Crying For No Reason" is was very different compared to the music I had been listening to at that time of year. It was the first time I've properly engaged with her music and therefore downloaded her album "Little Red". The album is extremely beautiful. It's emotion mixed with dance supported with extremely nice vocals. My favorite tracks are "Emotion" and of course the lead single, "Crying For No Reason".
# 24 | Ayumi Hamasaki - "Colours"
You could compare Ayu's recent music to some sort of identity loss. This album sounds like an attempt to fit in the current trend of music. While some tracks are indeed original and masterpieces such as "Merry-go-round" and "Terminal" other tracks are much more generic. "XOXO" is one of my favorite tracks but it isn't Ayu at all. While a great listen, the album fails to live to the expectation of the rest of her albums, minus "Party Queen".
# 24 | One Direction - "FOUR"
Although I drag this 'talentless' boy group, they have won me over with this album. I think it is due to their mature sound which is indicating that they are slowly growing into artists. While their last three albums were teen girl pleasers. This album is authentic and beneath the rough is some solid tracks such as "Fireproof" and "Night Changes". "Steal My Girl" is also more sensible compared to their dreadful lead singles they have released in the past.
# 22 | a-MEI - "Faces of Paranoia - Only the Paranoid Survive"
The album follows a beautiful concept of artist image and video direction for a-MEI's chosen singles. The album itself is a mixture of more original tracks from the artist alongside tracks incorporating contemporary styles such as EDM. My favorites are the more dramatic tracks such as "Faces of Paranoia" and " Masochistic". However the album isn't as serious as the title may suggest. "Booty Call" and "Jumping In" are great dance tracks.
# 21 | Taeyang - "RISE"
A lot of members snubbed this album, however I was pleased with the outcome. Taeyang has a distinctive voice in K-pop and the album's songs are range of electro pop hits to ballads compacted full with emotion. I love the ballads on this album specifically for the build-up we get such as "This Ain't It" and "Let Go".
# 20 | G.R.L - "G.R.L - EP"
I am so glad I gave this girl group a chance. This mini-album is pop perfection full with powerful anthems sung with strong vocals. Whereas most girl groups in the UK become generic and boring, it is nice to have a recognized US girl group hit the music scene with good music. 'G.R.L - EP' shows how a girl group can make good music without being to generic or too different.
FOXES
After her "Clarity" release last year featuring Zedd and then her debut single, "Youth", Foxes was pretty much to be a quick favorite of 2014. She has debuted her album "Glorious" this year which is pure pop perfection and the artist direction is original an exciting. Her music isn't generic as I anticipated to be after hearing "Clarity", it's very organic dance with alternative influences. Her music videos are extremely creative and support each song well. She's truly stepped into the limelight this year as a strong independent female solo artist. Foxes is the artist who has introduced me to more mature sounds in pop such as Marina & The Diamonds and others. I am excited to see what plans she has next year.
BEST WESTERN FEMALE SOLO ARTIST
AKDONG MUSICIAN
K-pop is a visual pleasing genre, which is amplified by idol groups responsible for great songs as well as setting fashion trends and featuring is stunning promotional videos normally alongside outstanding choreography. AKMU (Akdong Musician) is among hot K-pop groups at the moment but feature siblings Lee Chanhyuk and Lee Suhyun. Their music is very distinctive in K-pop. They trend a mature pop sound, which is upbeat and catchy. Their music is very exciting possibly because I find it fresh compared to the majority of K-pop groups. Whereas I follow many groups due to their image (dance routines etc) as well as their sound of course... I follow AKMU purely for their music alone.
EASTERN BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST
#70 | Lana Del Ray - "West Coast" - This track is so addictive and one of the most repeated songs this year... and then I got bored of it .
#69 | Taeyang - "1AM" -Surprisingly one of Taeyang's song which I listened to the least on the album. It's a great ballad which is sung really emotionally by Taeyang.
#68 | ELVA - "Shut Up and Kiss Me" - I originally I found this track awkward, however it's one of the best dance tracks this year. It's by c-pop artist, ELVA.
#67 | Lea Michele - "On My Way"- This upbeat song is slightly underrated. Although it's generic it is still a great bop that Lea sings pretty well.
#66 | Lovelyz - "Goodnight Like Yesterday" - A beautifully composed track for a girl group that debuted in South Korea this year. The track is angelic with soft vocals over a elegant production.
#65 | AKMU - "Give Love" - This is their best released single. It's a very happy track that was perfect this years' summer.
#64 | BEAST - "12:30" - This track is very 'stick-in-your-head' ballad. The vocals are very impressive and it's powerful. It's only BEAST and a couple of other boy groups that can get away with ballads.
#63 | MYNAME - "F.F.Y" - A great Japanese dance track by one of my favorite K-pop boy groups. Their vocals all fit together to make this a great power pop songs.
#62 | Aaron Yan - "1/2 (f/ G.NA)" - I really dislike G.NA but I won't drag her down in this track haha. It's quite a romantic track where both vocals mash well together.
#61 | Katy B - "Still" - One of Katy B's best tracks. The song shows the range of Katy's vocals. It's so touchy, I love it .
#60 | Girl's Day - "I Miss You" - Girl's Day can do both epic upbeat songs and ballads . 'I Miss You' is pretty fresh as we finally get to hear some emotion from them.
#59 | 2NE1 - "Happy" -'Happy' is a great uplifting track. It's a simple track which captures 2NE1's style and has the fun factor.
#58 | f(x) - "Red Light" - This track took a LONG time to grow on me, however after enough listens I finally appreciated the track's creativeness.
#57 | Kylie Minogue - "Into The Blue"- One of Kylie's typical tracks, but it's extremely catchy and become one of the top played tracks that month.
#56 | Ailee - "Don't Touch Me" - Ailee surprised me with this funky pop song. Just like most of her songs she has that gradual build-up which explodes during the chorus. It's great to see her sing something more upbeat and fun.
#55 | The Script - "Superheroes" - The Script produce their songs effortlessly. Superheroes is a well written song which is sung beautifully by frontman Danny O'Donoghue.
#54 | Katy Perry - "This Is How We Do" - This one is a great party track with so much attitude and personality from Katy.
#53 | Ayumi Hamasaki - "Merry-go-round (f/ M-Flo)" - Ayumi's voice is quite haunting in this track. It's has great production and it's a track where her vocals work extremely well.
#52 | Demi Lovato - "Really Don't Care (f/ Cher Lloyd)" - I got over this song quickly. But while on the album the song as played a lot. It's a great one to put you back in a good mood.
#51 | EXO-K - "Overdose" - The clicking at the beginning is almost iconic . A great comeback for them in 2014. It's got a very memorable chrous.
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR COMMENTS!
A PRETTY RUSHED UPDATE... SORRY.
I don't have the time to comment on others at this present time. Hope you can understand that.
Chapter was kinda disappointing imo. Ghost hyped me too much for that one. Still have to listen to that Katy B's album. FOUR is the 2nd best album from 1D next to Take Me Home.
West Coast is really addictive at first listen, I agree. On My Way is the only song I liked from Louder. Superheroes is very underrated, glad it's here. This Is How We Do is a fun song but gets tiring after a few listens. Really Don't Care is okay at least, it's not as unbearable as Neon Lights.
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. 'I Miss You' is pretty fresh as we finally get to hear some emotion from them.
Still have to listen to that Katy B's album. FOUR is the 2nd best album from 1D next to Take Me Home. 
Superheroes is very underrated, glad it's here. 
This Is How We Do is a fun song but gets tiring after a few listens. Really Don't Care is okay at least, it's not as unbearable as Neon Lights. 
