Most Famous K-Pop Rookies of 2012

You know, I've never realized how many rookies 2012 brought. Now, that we're in this glorious year of the snake, 2013, with such a lucky number on its end, I believe we should look back at the best rookies of last year.

Firstly, these are truthfully my favourite rookies too. There have been a huge number of new bands and it would take a while to talk about all of them and I sincerely don't have that much patience either. Also, if I say something mean about a member or two, if I don't actually talk about some of them, then too bad. It's not like I don't have preferences and an outside life so naturally I don't know everything about everyone.

Now that I settled everything, one of the brightest and most powerful rookies of 2012 had been BTOB. They came up with Irresistible Lips where they used the handsome Minhyuk to gather attention. It wasn't such a brilliant song but let's say I did enjoy it. However, they did come back with WOW which pretty much says it all. The MV looks definitely better and they seemed to have had improved when it came to stage performances and attitude. The song is really catchy and back then it impressed everyone with its beats and the dance, which is fun and easy. Afterwards they did release an MV for Lover Boy which is a good song on the album but it didn't necessarily need an MV. Still, WOW remains their best song yet.

Another rookie group which actually didn't impress me at all and even annoyed me at some point is EXO. SM is definitely not one of my favourite South Korean music agency. It's rough and I don't think it pays off as well as they make it seem. Sasaeng are not the best of fans. However, the band itself didn't annoy me as much as the teasers did. Too many and truthfully, I was getting sick of Kai too. I mean of course, he's the visual, he's the bad boy, he's the whatever you want but to me, Kai is obviously not perfection. Throughout the months I started to like Chanyeol who really seems like a nice guy. He impressed me with his creepiness and sweetness and I'm definitely fangirling over him if I ever need to choose. Also, I like how each member is so unique in its own style and appearance and overall they do look like nice kids. Both EXO M and EXO K have something, a different charm that attracts you to them and you easily become entranced with their foolishness and attractiveness. They did start off nicely. History and What is Love didn't impress me as much as MAMA and sincerely, my favourite song from them is Two Moons. It's really fun, mostly live. Ayoo wasuuuup? That's Kris's style lol.

BAP is definitely the rookie of the year. The boys worked a lot even from the very beginning. They have 5 albums, be them mini or not, they have already a style and a concept. These guys are truly hardworking and never cease to amze the audience. Of course, Himchan and JongUp still don't have much to say in songs and YoungJae's voice cracks when he is tired but they are united. I do believe that when you grab a bunch of people who are completely strangers and expect them to work happily together, of course there still are some difficulties and fights but they ended up really well. They started as blonde Warrior-s and continued to show Power and No Mercy. They also showed softer sides like Crash and Stop It. We already figured Bang YongGuk can't do aegyo and Himchan acts more like the maknae than Zelo. Also Daehyun exceeds when it comes to being a chatter box, leaving the second place to Himchan. JongUp is too sweet and nice for his attractiveness and YoungJae is definitely not the angel he seems. Yep. These guys are really awesome.

Another rookie band that girls can't stop rambling about is Nu'Est. I actually don't like them, sorry. They are famous indeed and people fawn over them like there's no tomorrow but their songs aren't that great. Face was a good start but it didn't have anything impressive except a few young and handsome boys. They are still really young and it seems like everyone expects too much and too fast from them. Action was good. I mean I listened to it more and I liked it better than Face but still, it felt like the attention wasn't exactly on the song itself. Another thing is that Ren gets most of the fangirls. It's like the others don't look even half as good as him. Don't try to deny it!You know I'm right. However, I did like Not Over You and Sandy. They are cute songs and I enjoyed seeing them being more natural and acting more their age. I also kind of like Minhyun.

When it comes to girls groups, there are Spica and EXID. I like these two groups because they bring something new. Spica are feminine but in a womanly way. I've seen a lot of groups being really cute and aegyo and whatnot. I don't like that. I still enjoy listening to Lonely. However, I believe these two groups are underestimated and underrated. EXID are also really good. LOEN Ent usually have good taste. If I didn't know better, while listening to I Feel Good and Every Night I would've said they are 2NE1. Some voices resemble 2NE1 but the style is different. But they're talented and have good songs.

Another rookie band is Hello Venus when it comes to girls and also Cross Gene when it comes to boys. These two also seem a little underrated. I didn't hear many people talking about them. I know I already said how much I like Cross Gene because their songs sound refreshing. LaDiDaDi didn't get the attention it should have had. Hello Venus seem more popular. I'm not a big fan of theirs. Like a Wave sounds alright and so does Venus but it was obvious it's not going to be a big hit. I'm still waiting to see what they will come up with next. Also, I'm not impressed by their lives.

JJ Project and Tasty are also rookies. For JJP, we know Bounce was a total hit and it was impossible not to bob your head to the rhythm  It was insane. However, they didn't come up with anything after that. I'm still waiting to see a great comeback that would simply catch my attention instantly. Tasty is formed by two brothers, also twins. What more can you wish for right? Well I wish for a new MV and promotions. There aren't any! These two got one MV out and got everyone to 'roll like a buffalo' and afterwards they...vanished. Seriously. They might as well do something in Korea but until August when I'm going to fly over there, I don't have any information.

I'm going to close up with A-Jax and TaeTiSeo. For me, Hot Game was indeed a good song which kind of reminded me of other American songs but that's fine. It wasn't that obvious. Also, One 4 U and Never Let Go are awesome songs with amazingly done MV's. I was very surprised when I watched them. About 2MYX I can't say much because I don't really like how it sounds live. The MV looks good indeed but their voices don't seem powerful enough on lives. TaeTiSeo is actually SNSD's Taeyeon, Tiffany and Seohyun. I like just Seohyun from this sub-group. I sincerely don't like SNSD and I like just the super awesome songs which aren't many. I couldn't even listen to Twinkle because I knew I wouldn't like it and I actually didn't. But I gave it another shot and maybe it was because of EXO but I found it nicer. It is catchy though and they are good singers.

I guess these are the most famous rookies of 2012, the ones the whole world heard of and listened to. Now, I do have expectations from BAP and EXO. They seems to be the two groups that will have spectacular comebacks in 2013. I hope I didn't offend too many fan girls and fan boys :)




 

Music to the Ears (BtoB's Wow)

Be to be back again, be to be WOW. Yep. I love that song. It's really catchy and the MV is well done. I seriously don't have many things to comment about. Also, I don't have the right to comment because I just got into BtoB. I still don't remember who is who but I know for sure I like Minhyuk. He's the only one I can recognize...a little. Anyway, back to WOW. The fashion seems alright. They have these nice suits and they look manly and I may even use the word 'handsome' as a characteristic. They are young and have that strong sex appeal rookies these year seem to master so well. However, in some aspect they show their age abruptly, making the whole sexy, hot and badass look disappear instantly. But, that happens just when they perform the song live. Any song. Another thing that pisses me off a little is the hair. In the MV, some of them have a Elvis hairstyle. In my point of view, they have a small forehead and it doesn't look that good.

When it comes to dancing, I can't say I'm the one to talk but I do know how to dance, though...Anyway, their dance is so easy to catch on. As much as I like the song as a whole, I love the dance too. Like I said, it's easy to cover and also the choreographer was inspired when he made the moves and the connections between them, how they are all put into the light, be it with a harder or easier move. It's awesome.

About the melody itself, well that's something I'm good at. Sincerely, yes, it's catchy and has an epic sound, their voices go well on it and it's a good song. But, some of them don't get the chance to show us their real vocal skills. Also, while dancing I have the impression they lose their air often, though it's not that obvious. Of course, dancing and singing is hard, mostly the chorus (usually that's hard because everyone has to dance on it but sometimes not all of them sing it too; I'm generally speaking) and they try not to show their emotions or something and just smile and also use their visuals but still...I'm a composer, I can't let it off lol.  

The MV, is good...Even though I think they could have used some other idea for it, they did use the songs as a source for the plot so it's alright. I don't have many things to say except the fact that...I swear some of the rooms have been used for FT Islands' I Wish music video. If you looks closer at 1:17 you'll understand my point. Oh and, surprisingly, I like the girl from the video. She has good expressions and really amuses me.