Repeat

There are some songs that I cannot exclude from my playlist. I listen to them a lot, lately.

1. This song impresses me as a whole. The MV is definitely not what it seems. The lyrics are so good and Hyorin's voice goes so well with Mad Clown's rap. I know they collaborated before, on Hyorin's album, but this song is just so catchy and good.

2. Akdong Musicians are already one of my favorite rookies. They have a lot of potential and I love how free they are to make the music they want. Melted is a song that touched me a lot. It shows the world through innocent eyes, the eyes of young people who see the wrongs and goods with pure eyes. I like Give Love and 200% too. Their album is amazing, overall. These two siblings have a bright future ahead. I wished I had a brother whom I could sing with :(

3. I am completely in love with Wheesung's voice. I like his other songs a lot but Night and Day seemed to attract me more. His powerful vocal skills always impressed me. I didn't even know the MV of this song. I was surprised when I saw Teen Top\s CAP in it and being surprisingly handsome. The song is good but the MV could have been better. 

4. I don't know exactly who Megan Lee is. I know that she had videos of her covering some songs on YouTube but that's all. That doesn't matter. Her voice has something that catches your attention. I like her song and how happy it can make you feel. It's refreshing. (is it me of Junhyung is really good at finding awesome singers and producing for them?)

5. I am a sucker for good ballads. IU came back with an awesome song. I like how they kept it simple but classy and meaningful. That's the best way to make a good ballad.

6. I love Phantom. These guys are so awesome and their songs are so different than most bands in K-pop. They are pop-ish but not entirely. Gain's soft vocals makes the song even better. I didn't expect them to make an MV for Seoul Lonely but thanks God they did! It's good. I enjoy this song and Phantom's work in general.

7. I don't know who they are. Truthfully, I just found this song yesterday! But it sounds so smooth and sweet. Joy O'clock...I will look them up.

8. I love FT Island. I can't help myself. I have been a fan of their music ever since they had their debut. The style changed slightly but they still make good music. Lee Jaejin is my favorite. I have a soft spot for him and for his voice. His OST from Bride of the Century is just so cute! I have my playlist on shuffle and this song always comes up to brighten my day.

9. Another song is from CNBLUE. Cold Love is a song with such potential! I am disappointed they didn't make an MV for it! There were so many approaches! That song is so awesome in so many ways! It's obvious how much they have been influenced by the western rock/alternative. I like this song more than Can't Stop Me Now.

10. And the last one, though there are more, believe me, is 100%'s Beat. I didn't expect it. my best friend loves Top Media and therefore, she loves 100% but I didn't know how cool this song was until I listened to it willingly. At the same time, there's also F.Cuz' One Love. There's a tie between them. I just love both songs the same and I can't decide.

PS: Other songs that are on repeat, for me at least, are:

Orange Caramel's Catallena

Seungri's Come to My

BTS' Just One Day

Speed's Don't Tease Me

MBLAQ's Our Relationship

Block B's Jackpot

Exo's Lucky

g.o.d's The Lone Duckling

Jay Park's Metronome

4Men's Erase

Lyn's whole album (LOL)

MIB's Chisa Bounce

Gain's New Song

This woman is so awesome. I really admire her. Actually, I respect Brown Eyed Girls as a whole. She is one of my favorites female singers in South Korea and she has a special charm around her, not just the beauty. She also has some guts, to come up with such a song in the industry she's working in.

Mnet Asian Music Awards 2012

Hey guys!Have you watched MAMA 2012? I did and even though I was a little disappointed regarding some awards and some performances, overall it was pretty awesome. I do give the credit to Mnet because it was well organized and everyone was pretty good but I hoped there would be more fans around there. Maybe it's my perception because of EMA, where the arena was really crowded, or maybe the Eurovision, where there was no free seat, but yeah...However, the show was good.

In case you couldn't watch, since there's a problem with the time zone (while in Hong Kong was late evening here was about midday) let's see who won and at what category.

SONG OF THE YEAR : GANGNAM STYLE - PSY

ALBUM OF THE YEAR : SUPER JUNIOR

ARTIST OF THE YEAR : BIGBANG

BEST GLOBAL GROUP - MALE : SUPER JUNIOR

BEST GLOBAL GROUP - FEMALE : KARA

BEST LINE AWARD : SUPER JUNIOR

BEST MALE ARTIST : G-DRAGON

BEST RAP PERFORMANCE : EPIK HIGH

GUARDIAN ANGEL WORLDWIDE PERFORMER : BIGBANG

STYLE IN MUSIC : GAIN

NEW ASIAN ARTIST GROUP : EXO

BEST NEW ASIAN ARTIST (CHINA) : TIME Z

BEST ASIAN ARTIST (JAPAN) : AKB48

BEST ASIAN ARTIST (PHILIPPINES) : SARAH GERONIMO

BEST ASIAN ARTIST (VIETNAM) : MY TAM 

BEST NEW ASIAN ARTIST (THAILAND) : NATTHEW

BEST ASIAN ARTIST (CHINA) : LI YU CHUN

BEST ASIAN ARTIST (INDONESIA) : AGNES

BEST ASIAN ARTIST (SINGAPORE) : TAUFIK BATISAH

TVB'S CHOICE : JOEY YUNG

BEST MUSIC VIDEO: PSY

BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK: SEO IN GUK, JUNG EUN JI (All For You)

INTERNATIONAL FAVORITE ARTIST: PSY

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE - GROUP : DAVICHI

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE - SOLO : K.WILL

BEST DANCE PERFORMANCE - FEMALE GROUP : f(x)

BEST DANCE PERFORMANCE - MALE GROUP : SHINee

MNET PD'S CHOICE: B.A.P

BEST COLLABORATION: TROUBLE MAKER

BEST FEMALE GROUP : SISTAR

BEST MALE GROUP : BIGBANG

BEST DANCE PERFORMANCE - SOLO : PSY

BEST BAND : BUSKER BUSKER

BEST FEMALE ARTIST: IU

BEST NEW MALE ARTIST: BUSKER BUSKER

BEST NEW FEMALE ARTIST: AILEE

From my point of view, it was YG's year. Psy came back with the phenomenon, Gangnam Style, which won many awards world widely. Also, it is me or Super Junior didn't really make an actual show? I really expected more from them. Also, I was looking forward to EXO's performance. I can't say I had been blown away by it, though. 

Some good parts would be Ailee's performance which was incredibly touching. That girls has great talent and I'm happy she won Best New Female Artist. Also, I was really enthusiastic for Psy's live. It was definitely something. Adam Lambert and B.O.B have also made great show. However, by far, the best performance was Big Bang. Now, I may be subjective because I'm a VIP but really...it's been INCREDIBLY WELL THOUGHT AND AMAZING! They used Crayon when they needed something different, something out of nowhere and that giant skull and their performance overall was so good. It was seriously the best, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Of course I can't say I liked Seungri or GD's outfits...one was white and made him look bigger while the other was very eccentric ..yeah these styles definitely characterize them. And TOP in pink...extreme pink actually...but he looked hot.

Something that surprised me was...or were, the performances on the red carpet. I couldn't take my eyes off BAP and Block B. Have you seen that at one point, later in the show, when Victoria started to talk in Chinese...Kyung's face was epic? He was smiling but at the same time it was clear he was thinking what the fuck? Haha. Also, EXO seemed very out of there. I can swear at some point DO, with his big eyes, was somewhat looking into GD's back. Don't know why but it was fun. So, this year's MAMA was entertaining and like I said, had good performances...and some that I didn't really like. I guess I just thought it would be bigger than EMA but it wasn't. Actually, we can say they were on the same level but more classy. The idols and other stars came in some quite nice clothes. I liked Park Shin Hye's dress a lot and the young girl from Davichi (sorry I forgot her name) she also had a nice dress.

Good Year-Best Albums of 2012

Until now, there have been a lot of new releases. A Hell lot of them! From my point of view maybe just half of them are really good and entertaining. The industry of K-pop, most of the time, is concentrated on the looks and on the perception of the fans, who love a good looking guy more than a talented one so the companies tend to make danceable songs so the hot ones would show off. However,  this year brought a lot of truthfully good songs. The older bands improved a lot and the rookies have done a great job. There are just 5 albums in my top and I asked more than just a few people for an opinion. I also asked non-k-fans who have been very helpful.

On the first place, in my point of view, is Blockbuster. No matter how you look at it, the album has everything it needs, from bad ass rap songs to melancholic ballads. Also, fans have been very receptive mostly because this album was long awaited for. Every song makes a deep impression and that's been proved. So Block B's Blockbuster is definitely the best album of 2012.

Second place goes to Big Bang's Still Alive. Besides the fact that I'm a VIP, their comeback came like a serious bang. Every song comes from their own experience and it's obvious they've grown very much since their début  which was a few long years ago. Their vocals also improved and eve if TOP's dance moves are bad, like always, they know now how to make them funny and attractive. Daesung's voice is amazing and he has a lot more parts now where he shows a cool side of him. They've done something more emotional, more personal and it sounds good.

On the third place is SISTAR. I'm not such a big fan but Hyorin's voice always attracts my attention. She's also really pretty and the dance moves these girls pull off aren't that easy as they look. Their mini-album, Alone, is one of my favourites. Their voices bring something different to the songs mostly because of their different tones. But in the end they're very good entertainers and they have professionalism. That's an important factor and they are pretty famous because they do an awesome job.

The fourth place is taken by B1A4. Why? Because the latest album is so cool and sounds so different and bohemian and has some melancholy in there, some piano, a few soft female voices and overall it's a pleasure to listen to it. In the Wind wasn't on my list but after I listened to it I realized I'm stupid. It has everything it needs, it sounds classy but at the same time very new. It's definitely a good album.

The fifth place would be GaIn's Talk about S. Her mini-album captivated me simply because it breaks the barriers. There's sexuality, there's seriousness too but overall everything comes together and it sounds very good. It's not necessarily the gender I listen to a lot but her album was much better than others.  I also like her style when it comes to singing. She's not a bad ass but she's not some princess either you know. She's a woman and I like that she expresses her feminism and sensuality so well without being too much.

Other good albums which haven't been included here are:

BAP's No Mercy

Yoseob's The First Collage

Exo-K (and Exo-M)'s Mama

and others that I seriously can't remember right now :)