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 :)

Music to the Ears(B1A4's Tried to Walk)

Well, let me say that this MV is amazingly well made and surprisingly artistic. I saw the teaser and was a little sceptic because I didn't understand the concept but now, after seeing the full music video, I find it quite interesting. The background changes from member to member but the initial one is kept. If you look closer, it's exactly the same thing but caught in different perspectives by the camera and depends on how the members stay. What I really liked was the parallel Universe/relationship that happened in the whole video. There are two worlds and in each one the girl chooses to leave and the boy practically remain heartbroken and disappointed. However, as the situation goes on, in one world the boy dies and in the other one the girl comes back yet he doesn't seem happy about it. It's like one relationship can't happen because of the other and so one story has to die and one gets the right to live. It's really deep if you watch it closer. It may as well be the two sides of a heart, when practically he's torn apart. I'm sure you've seen how he looks completely lonely when the girl hugs him. I giess that wasn't the point of the music video anyway.

Now, B1A4 are usually young boys who give this innocent feeling. Mostly because they have pretty faces and are very mature in thinking next to other bands who seem more laid back. They came up with very prince-like image throughout time and also they tried something cute in music videos like Beautiful Target and Baby Goodnight. They also tried a more mature and stylish image through Baby I'm Sorry which was an epic fail and made them return to their original concept. This song expresses more than just words, at least that's what they wanted. The concept is somehow abstract and more stylish but in a way they can actually fit in. Personally, the surprise was Baro. He looks somehow mature but at the same time so cute and innocent. He gives me the vibe of a man who has a sensitive heart. But it's obvious he's not a young boy any more and that  itself is a fact for every member. However, his looks reminded me a lot of Zelo's image with that pink hair and his voice reminded me of TOP. His acting throughout the video also really intrigued me because it's good. I was very surprised how good it was. And his personality seems to go really well with this new concept. I'm very proud of him as a fan and also a fellow artist. Now, Jinyoung looks very handsome but he didn't surprise me as much as Baro did.  His new hair colour really suits him. He also has the most  close ups. His voice sounds really soothing in the whole album, not just this song. Sandeul's voice, to me, sounds better. Either he worked harder for this album, either he worked his voice more. But anyway, he looks good with black hair even if I do preferred him brown haired. What got me surprised, again, were CNU and Gongchan. ShinWoo looks very.....interesting. Somehow, his face looks bigger with that hairstyle but some part of me likes it like that. He definitely looks his age like that. On the other way, Gongchan looks amazing. He looks older, manlier than ever and well still ahs that glimpse of innocence. I'm was all mushy mushy over him when I saw his parts, I recognize. But, still, Baro was the best in the MV.

The song is good. Like I said, I listened the whole album and somehow it strongly reminded me of a few songs from Big Bang. They sound like that a lot but still have their own thing which makes them original. They are also very relaxing. I listened to them a lot while doing my homework and it helped me concentrate more. That's really good. And I like how the lyrics are somewhat more than what they seem and have a whole story behind which even if you understand them or not, you still feel it through the song itself.