Boombayah is a BOP, it is THAT bop. I guess(?) it sounds like I Am the Best(??? not really but for arguments' sake let's say the synths are similar). If that's how y'all wanna tackle this then whatever, it's actually better than 2NE1's biggest legacy in that case. If there's anything YG taught us it's that his songs with appropriation tend to be the best songs.
I go hard for Boombayah, it's Blackpink's biggest bop (what's with the slow-EDM **** on Playing w/Fire?) because it's fun and not that serious. People tend to hate it for this reason but being entirely disposable and carefree is where K-pop shines, and this western-Korean song did it perhaps the best this year.
No. 14 at 147 plays /
by Wonder Girls
from Why So Lonely
Wow, Wonder Gods their reign over quality continues. REBOOT was such a big change for them and it turned out to be the best album Korea's made in years, even Yenny's EP the year before was Korea's best mini album in years.
Why So Lonely is a smart move strategically (whether intentional or not) because it's back to basics, meaning the girls can actually play it for their band concept. It made the song better and I dread to think what would have happened had JYP gotten his creepy hands on this reggae sloe jam masterpiece.
No. 13 at 140 plays /
by Red Velvet
from Russian Roulette
I didn't love Russian Roulette at first but iirc I didn't love Dumb Dumb at first either. Red Velvet's "Red" side tends to not hit me as much as their Velvet side (an unpopular opinion (from me, no less)) so I'm surprised how much I like this now.
Regardless, Russian Roulette is fun and light. It's a catchy bop and I don't know what else to say about it really, it does its job well. Maybe not as well as Dumb Dumb, but beggars can't be choosers after the commercial flop that was One of These Nights (coming soon lmfao).
No. 12 at 133 plays /
✯Very Nice✯
by SEVENTEEN -세븐틴-
from Love & Letter
Repackage Album
A lot of people seem to prefer this to Pretty U but personally it didn't hit as hard with me in the long run. This song is really ****ing noisy and it's a good thing, not least of all helping to distance itself from their other singles and making for a great last punch along with their album repackage.
As always the choreography is a godsend and y'all should get your lives from it once again. I've found Jesus in DK's thighs.
No. 11 at 170 plays /
✯Nijikan Dake no Vacance✯
by 宇多田ヒカル
-Utada Hikaru-
from Fantôme
Wow Hikki, just wow. This is magnum opus-level **** right here. This song is undoubtedly the best collaboration of the year and it blows me away.
It has this whole near-pretentious sound that's somewhere between folksy and bluesy with a strategic build-up culminating in a chorus shared by both vocal legends. The easy-breezy sound that started the song fades it out and it just scalps me. Truly outstanding, an absolute triumph of musical creativity imo.
Also the Nolan-esque PV is probably my VOTY, I adore it so ****ing much.
Boombayah is indeed that bop, Nijikan Dake no Vacance is really great too. Very Nice is really hit and miss with me, some days I'll love it and others I'll hate it
Round two of the nugu trilogies is SEVENTEEN! The only boy group I've ever been excited for, and they've yet to disappoint with their title tracks.
Pretty U is the best of Adore U and Mansae, and I rarely listen to those two anymore because they just feel reductive at this point. Pretty U lasted with me throughout summer and even kept going alongside Very Nice, and I don't really know what to pinpoint about the song in particular because it's all really great. Woozi also got less vocals which is nice, I don't hate him but he's kinda ehh.
Will Pledis groups ever not serve choreography?
No. 09 at 139 plays /
✯Lip 2 Lip✯
by Nine Muses A
-나인뮤지스A-
from Muses Diary
Being a Nine Muses song, Lip 2 Lip automatically made top 10 lbr. It flopped (shocker) and it's not close to their best, but I think I'm going to enjoy it for a long time and I honestly might never get bored of it since it's not the type of song I'd 'over'play like vintage Nine Muses songs.
Also Nine Muses actually got a comeback this year with KyunGOD getting more screen time and Hyemi getting more lines, let's count our ****ing blessings.
No. 08 at 274 plays /
✯One of These Nights✯
by Red Velvet
from The Velvet
[This is my list so idc that everyone thinks this song is trash!]
Automatic is my favourite Red Velvet song and I have a huge affinity to ballads so I'm not shocked this is here. At first it was just okay but eventually I added it to my nighttime ballad playlist and it only took off from there. Honestly I think I actually prefer Rose Scent Breeze but since it's an album track I included this instead. It's not a bad song really, people just have no patience for ballads or st.
Do I think it should have been a title track? Admittedly no.
Am I glad SM nearly ended Red Velvet's career by making it one? Hells yes, because otherwise I probably never would have noticed it.
No. 07 at 159 plays /
✯Mazariau Mono✯
by 乃木坂AKB
-NogizakaAKB-
from 君はメロディー
I'm glad AKB made it! It was looking bleak for them this year considering they had one good single album (where this song is from) and a few other decent songs hidden deep within the mass of crap they churned out as per usual.
This song really hits home for me. I've always had a thing for synth-heavy AKB songs and I just recently started getting into Nogizaka46 so this song had a lasting factor for me. The lyrics are weirdly gorgeous and I guess no one else will ever like this song to the extent I do but I'm used to it. I'm just glad they did what they did with the PV and all its nonsensicalness, it's ****ing gorgeous if it was difficult as **** to make gifs for.
No. 06 at 193 plays /
✯Someone Like U✯
by Dal★Shabet
from Naturalness
So this song got a huge reputation for being SOTY when it was released since it was the first comeback of 2016, and after all this time while it has been bested, it held strong in the top 5 Korean songs of the year (spoiler: it's at #6 on my list bcos J-pop).
It's tremendous what Brave Brothers can do sometimes and Someone Like U is exceptional. It's an 80s throwback with all the synths, catchiness, and glamour of a throwback well done. Even the breathy English is enunciated and therefore executed correctly, amazing.
Not to mention a ****ing standing ovation for the bridge, the way it drops everything in favour of a solo kick-drum beat is one of the best things to happen in music this year.
Boombayah is indeed that bop, Nijikan Dake no Vacance is really great too. Very Nice is really hit and miss with me, some days I'll love it and others I'll hate it
Thanks Flashback
Quote:
Originally posted by jongshic
girl
-
WSL and Ajoo Nice are quality tho
Tyshic
Quote:
Originally posted by Kingie
I thought Boombayah was BP's best until Playing With Fire overtook it for me.
Russian Roulette and Why So Lonely are also nice!
I honestly don't 'get' Playing with Fire? It's good and I like it but I'm not seeing this ~quality~ everyone's stanning for. It feels badly produced imo, and the choreography is a hot mess with the whole upbeat-for-downbeat-song thing that Red Velvet did for One of These Nights too.
Quote:
Originally posted by madonnas
I'm like a giant Shiina Ringo stan but this song wasn't doing it for me.
I mean it sounds nothing like a Shiina song so I'm not shocked. It barely even sounds like a Hikki song.
This is pretty much THE ballad of the year, it's Sakura Nagashi round two, and it came for blood. People that don't listen to Japanese music probably haven't heard it, but by god they really should.
This song is really ****ing beautiful, and the way it builds over simple piano chords is lustrous. It's hard to describe this song because all the beauty is really found from listening to. I will, however, mention the lyrics because this song was released three years after her mother committed suicide and if anything proved how hard it hit her, it's this song. I only ever read the lyrics once and I shed tears when I did, so it's not something I revisit.
The song's title translates as "Midsummer Showers", which makes for a nice juxtaposition, and the ending mantra of the song supposedly translates and "to these rains that will never end, this thirst that will never be soothed". Devastatingly gorgeous.
No. 04 / No. 03
✯Rough✯ ✯Navillera✯
from by from
Snowflake Gfriend LOL
-여자친구- / at 363 plays at 349 plays /
Okay so a tie?
Rough was my go-to Gfriend song from January until July when Navillera was released, then I thought Navillera would be my favourite Gfriend song. Recently I've been listening to both to try and decide and it's too damn hard. They were both going to be the #4 and #3 positions anyway so I figured why not combine it.
Released a year ago in January, Rough was Korea's SOTY and may have narrowly missed out on that because of Cheer Up, but god knows it's ****ing leagues better so lets pretend it won. This song is culmination of their "school girl" trilogy, and like TWICE and SEVENTEEN is better than both of their previous singles. It's wintery, it's dramatic, the strings are bigger than ever, the choreography is better than ever. They really ended with an explosion and from what I can tell no one really disliked it.
6 months later came Navillera, which in theory is the same song as their previous singles just with added noise in the form of pounding, anthemic synths. And the synths are everything. This song was THE song of summer in 2016 for me, it really blew me away. The instrumental is really great, and the song is catchier than their previous efforts. The pre-chorus is gold, the chorus is their best to date, and I'm glad it had a moment of success in Korea despite being everything they hate (bar the people singing it).
Both songs were really ****ing good, and it gives me hope for Gfriend's future now their same-y trilogy is finished and their follow up was such a blast. Hopefully the success continues and the bops keep coming.
No. 02 at 500 plays /
✯You're the Best✯
by MAMAMOO -마마무-
from Melting
****, this song, this SONG. It's nothing musically stellar but I ****ing love it. This song took my MAMAMOO stanning to next levels and shot my love for them into the ****ing stratosphere. I had it on repeat for what felt like forever.
This song actually FEELS like it was made with the task of promoting their first full album at hand, and imo it does it super well. Instantly it's an explosion and the chorus is catchy af. The vocals are next-level for Korea (shocker) and ugh, I just really love the entire thing.
Despite the girls being terrible dancers the performances also managed to be fantastic, and their unique gag at the end of each bridge honestly kept me watching every stage, not to mention being entirely awestruck. Plus they got 8 music show wins with it and I was there for every single one with them, I was so proud.
Oh and the references to their previous singles (Mr.애매모호/Mr. Ambiguous, Piano Man, 음오아예/Um Oh Ah Yeh) gave me shivers for the longest damn time. What kind of unique celebration of their success?
✯ F i n d M e ✯
feat. D.Action
by from
전 효 성 물들다 :
- Hyosung - Colored
Y'all know me right? This shouldn't be shocking.
FYI:
If I had completed my best of last year, y'all would know that Hyosung snatched my 2015 SOTY with 반해 (Into You), seized third most played song with a b-side called Taxi Driver, and beat the odds (and Wonder Girls' amazing album) to become my 2015 AOTY with a damn 5-track EP called Fantasia (my third most played album ever).
Hyosung had another outstanding year for me with her third solo, once again claiming SOTY 2016 with this beast, and also continuing her reign over my plays with what is more than probably my AOTY 2016, 물들다 : Colored.
This song currently sits at the top of my last.fm with 637 plays, and while writing this up I've had it on replay for just over an hour. It's been over 9 months since it was released and evidently I am not ****ing bored of it yet. This is next-level for me, Hyosung really did something. I mean I made a ****ing teaser avatar for it while I decided what I really wanted in my Find Me avi, which is still one of my favourites to date.
Find Me is mind-blowing, people should be able to hear that, and it only cements that idea if they hear it multiple times. The instrumental is something else, it's beyond anything I could have expected and it's faster than pretty much anything released this year. It was produced by a man who goes by Star Trek and from what I've heard of his, this song will be a one-off from him which makes me incredibly sad, but happy knowing Hyosung herself participated in writing it.
Anyways yeah, I don't know what to say about the song itself really. I've sad that a lot in my best of but this song is really mind-blowing for me, and it's always left me speechless. Even now I've got it on replay and it sounds phenomenal, the beat is mood-lifting and everything about it makes me feel bald. It's worth mentioning that I don't care much about the rap in it - it was entirely spontaneous but I don't dislike it enough to have a problem with it. I guess I can shoutout to the video here too, which is visually stunning and probably VOTY, so go watch it.
I really loved the choreography for this comeback, and it's a shame it didn't get a dance video or even a dance practice video because it was some of my favourite of the year. It also makes me sad how it impressively flopped, effectively ruining Hyosung's future as a soloist but her label (TS Entertainment) really shocked me when they released this as a title track so hopefully they give her another chance, maybe with something just a little less budget-consuming. Then again they made the appalling decision to have Hyosung attempt a live belt at the end of this song in every performance when about 10 seconds later there's an emphasised "from my heart~~" that sounds GREAT live and they should have focussed on that 100% more, so who knows.
I can go on and on about Hyosung all day but the fact of the matter is I've yet to see anyone stan for her as hard as I do, so chances are no one's even reading this. I'm semi-glad to have the chance to write down everything I feel about this comeback though, considering it had me hyped for three weeks and listening to the teaser ****ed-up numbers of times, literally gagging for the whole thing.
Thank you Hyosung, I owe like 40% of my plays on last.fm to your solo career.
A huge thank you to everyone that commented! I'm sorry I didn't reply much and probably didn't comment on anyone else's much but I'm a mess and always will be probably lol. My heart's never totally in it but I really enjoyed it this year and I'm super happy with my best of as a whole! I wanted to do albums too but there was jackshit out this year so I'll try and do better this year.