Throwback to the days of boy bands gone by; 24K's WoA! sends you into the stratosphere with its expansive vocal layering and commanding chorus.
♫ I am your superman~ ♫
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Our Block.
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Throwback to the days of boy bands gone by; 24K's WoA! sends you into the stratosphere with its expansive vocal layering and commanding chorus. Boy groups need to bring back jubilant violins. This is a demand, not a request. Eternally in awe of how massive that chorus is. The first time I ever heard this song was live in concert during 2014, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. Song of the summer. This might seem like a strange choice for as iconic a group as Big Bang, but this is MY (Robbie's) b-side heaven for a reason. Hypnotic club music ticks all of my boxes and that's exactly what Crazy Dog is. The heavenly choir that fades in at the beginning of this song gives you but a glimpse of the bliss to come. When that chorus hits, the gates of paradise will usher you in post haste. If you had asked me whether Bigflo's biggest musical successes would one day lie in RnB I would have said no and I would have been wrong. BTS' 2014 output is essentially unbeatable and 2nd Grade represents the pinnacle of that sound in my mind. Playful, boisterous, and unpolished in the best way. Effortlessly sexy in typical CIX fashion, with welcome reggae-lite influence. Seunghun, you give us too much! Starship doesn't seem to realize that Cravity's musical destiny lies in pseudo-house affairs like Hot Air Balloon, but it's okay because I do. I rarely make room for acoustic pop songs in my life, so the fact that Cross Gene managed to make me like one enough that it appeared here is something to note. Objectively speaking, this track is rather generic in its composition, but the members' conviction is what allows it a place in the spotlight. This seemed to spark something within whoever it is that chooses D-Crunch's songs; prior to its release, I found myself uninterested in their discography, but I am now fully logged in. Blood tends to be the song of choice on this album, but I always found myself more attracted to the melancholic stadium rock of First Time. Why yes, I would like to wave my lighter along to the beat, please and thank you. The jury's out on whether this is actually a b-side or not, but I (Robbie) am the ultimate authority here and I (Robbie) declare it so. Feel-good teen pop of the highest order. Words cannot describe how much I want basically every song ever to sound exactly like this. Falling in love at the baseball diamond on a hot summer's day in audio form. Despite its simplicity, U Got Me just doesn't sound like much else in K-pop. The members seem aware of how utterly ridiculous all of it is but they refuse to give anything less than 100% to it. The oxymoron of "pop punk" is well-suited to K-pop given that both thrive on style over substance. iKON gives the genre their best shot in Freedom, and although I'm unsure how much "freedom" YG actually gave them in the making of this track, they do a bang up job. Tragedy, desire, loneliness, lost love desperately trying to be rekindled for just one night - Woo has it all. The only K-pop song that's explicitly about hooking up one last time with an ex (as far as I (Robbie) am aware). A shameless rip of Bruno Mars' 24k Magic, but can you blame them? IN2IT don't go all out as much as the original, but they bring their own funk synth groove in spades. |
10 Seconds was right on the cusp of snatching first place, but Crazy Boy is undoubtedly home to AOA's best vocal performance. Complete conviction in every syllable during that chorus. Against all odds, YES SIR's homage to 80s synthpop didn't instantly catapult April to international superstardom. The masses have truly lost their touch. Billlie's concept has so far been a bit obtuse for me, and The Rumor doesn't have much meaning outside of this lore, but the piano dancefloor stomp on display here makes up for any confusion. BLACKPINK somehow managed to make me like a song whose lyrics include "haha, hehe, hoho." Talent. With one of the most powerful discographies in k-pop history, Brown Eyed Girls still outdid themselves on the strong and sassy Hotshot. Few k-pop songs tell a story as effectively as this one does. Cherry Bullet have yet to truly knock my socks off, but the triumphant drive of Keep Your Head Up is more than enough to hold me over until they do. |