I want to know more about you all, and I want to know what you like and don’t like š Please let me know? Even in a comment š
Sugar Coated K-Pop, all ā¤
Here is a question for you all!
It’s been about a month since I last posted on here. Is there anything my lovely followers or people who even KIND of like what I write want to see or hear me talk about that’s K-Pop related?
Let me know! š
Love, and K-Pop everyone!
Best K-Pop songs of 2014
Welcome to 2015! It’s the year that Marty McFly went to in Back to the Future, yay!
So today I’m going to recap some of the best songs of 2014, in my humble and honest opinion. I’m bound to miss a few so I apologize in advance. (It’s also worth noting that some of the more popular songs and groups from this year will not be on here because I wasn’t as impressed with them as with some others, or I flat out didn’t listen to them except for the chorus. So, sorry but be aware and prepared for that.) Since there were quite a few stellar songs of 2014 I’m not going to go into much detail about the songs I picked unless noted. I will only say what made it stand out as “best”.
I will not be ranking these numerically because that would be almost impossible to do with so many songs.
Also, if a group had more than one song out this year I will only pick one.
Without further ado, in no particular order, the best songs of 2014!
Rain-3o Sexy (I call it Dirty Sexy haha) *Note: I liked La Song better, but I’m not a fan of the video. 30 Sexy is almost as good though*
FavoriteĀ part: Rain’s somewhat laughable falsetto and the fact that he’s sexy at 30.
TVXQ-Something
FavoriteĀ part: The trumpet instrumental.
Two Song Place- Age-Height
FavoriteĀ part: The popular videos spoof and Seunghyun’s rap.
Girl’s Day-Something
FavoriteĀ part: The sexy dance.
Got7-Girls Girls Girls
FavoriteĀ part: The split camera angles and the flips that I could never do.
Kiss&Cry-Domino Game
FavoriteĀ part: The jazzy beat and vocals.
2NE1-Come Back Home
FavoriteĀ part: The trance like chorus.
Wings-Hair short
FavoriteĀ part: The vocals and symbolism in the musicĀ video.
100% (“100Percent” now, I think)-Beat
FavoriteĀ part: The dance and rap.
4Minute-Watcha Doin’ Today
FavoriteĀ part: The repetitive chorus.
Super Junior-M- Swing
FavoriteĀ part:The dance and video.
MBLAQ-Be a Man
FavoriteĀ part:The instrumentals and flow of the vocals.
Crayon Pop-Uh-ee
FavoriteĀ part: The dance.
Akdong Musician-200%
FavoriteĀ part: The cute video and cutie pie SuHyun.
High4 and IU-Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms
FavoriteĀ part: The vocalsĀ and IU’s parts
Jay Park, Simon Dominic, and Gray-Metronome
FavoriteĀ part: Simon’s rap, and the chorus.
Exo-Overdose
FavoriteĀ part: The camera angles and instrumentals.
INFINITE-Last Romeo
FavoriteĀ part:The dance and video visuals.
15&-Sugar
FavoriteĀ part:The instrumentals, black and white theme, and vocals.
VIXX-Eternity
FavoriteĀ part:The dance and chorus.
U-KISS-Quit Playing
FavoriteĀ part: The bridge and instrumentals.
Beast-Good Luck
FavoriteĀ part: Yoseob’s beginning part and the chorus.
Mamamoo-Mr. Ambiguous
FavoriteĀ part:The retro video and vocals.
Fiestar-One More
FavoriteĀ part:The song meaning and colorful spandex leggings.
Scarlet-Hip Song
FavoriteĀ part: The beat and chorus
F(x)-Red Light
FavoriteĀ part:The dance and dark themed video.
B1A4-Solo Day
FavoriteĀ part:The song meaning and instrumentals.
Sistar-Touch My Body
FavoriteĀ part:The chorus and summer theme.
Block B-HER
FavoriteĀ part: Zico’s rap, and the goofy video.
Hyuna-Red
FavoriteĀ part: The chorus and dance.
JYJ-Backseat
FavoriteĀ part: Yoochun’s crazy English and the chorus.
HA:TFELT-Ain’t Nobody
FavoriteĀ part: Yenny’s vocals
Ladies’ Code-Kiss Kiss (RIP EunB and RiSe)
FavoriteĀ part:The chorus and retro vibe.
Secret-I’m in Love
FavoriteĀ part:The dance and Hana’s rap.
KARA-Mamma Mia
FavoriteĀ part: The song meaning and chorus.
Orange Caramel-My Copycat
FavoriteĀ part:The “Where’s Waldo” type video and the trot-like beat.
Sunny Hill-Monday Blues
FavoriteĀ part: The song meaning and the video.
EXID-Up&Down
FavoriteĀ part: LE’s rap and the colorful crop tops.
Super Junior-Mamacita
FavoriteĀ part: Shindong’s one liner and the instrumental.
Nasty Nasty-Knock
FavoriteĀ part:The dance and the saxophone.
*Trigger warning for violence and gore in the next video*
A.Kor-But Go
FavoriteĀ part: The instrumentals and Kemy’s rap.
T-ARA-Sugar Free
FavoriteĀ part: The chorus and chorus dance.
2PM-Go Crazy
FavoriteĀ part:The silly dance and video.
Girl’s Generation TaeTiSeo (TTS)-Holler
FavoriteĀ part:The chorus and Tiffany’s “rap”.
Ailee-Don’t Touch Me
FavoriteĀ part: The vocals and classic vibe.
BTOB-You’re So Fly
FavoriteĀ part:The hilarious video and the dance.
Song Jieun-Don’t Look At Me Like That
FavoriteĀ part: The vocals and perceived song meaning.
The Boss (DGNA)-Rilla Go!
FavoriteĀ part: The jungle theme and dance.
Purfles-1, 2, 3
FavoriteĀ part:The chorus and vocals
ToppDogg- Annie
FavoriteĀ part:The fun video and the beat
Zhou Mi and Chanyeol- Rewind
FavoriteĀ part: The instrumentals and “Stop, rewind” parts.
Spica-Ghost
FavoriteĀ part: The vocals and retro vibe.
And there you have it, my long list of the best songs of 2014! Do you agree? Should I have added songs or taken any away? Let me know! Sugar coated love ā¤
My picks for best K-Pop debuts of 2014
2014 was a huge year for K-Pop! For better or worse big things happened all through the genre. In the spirit of my starting anew (or re”debuting”) I am going to put together my list of the best K-Pop debuts of 2014.
I am going to choose one debut per month unless there were two or three that REALLY stood out to me. I’m going to do my best to narrow it to one per month though!
*Before I start, I want to say I have not listened to every debut so I can’t comment on things I haven’t seen or heard. If you think I should hear another debut, let me know!*
January:
Kiss&Cry-Domino Game.
Debut Date: January 23ish.
This song was fantastic, the music video was nicely done, the dance was clean but simple, and the vocals blew me away! It was obvious that this group was not meant to be rap or dance oriented, but that is okay with me, because all four of these ladies can SING! Dia and Haena especially knocked it out with their strong high notes, but Bohye and Soyumi held their own as well. For only having two singles, I shouldn’t be as attached as I am, but I was really sad when Kiss&Cry said they disbanded. I would have liked to see what else they came out with. They are all really talented.
Honorable Mentions:
(Two Song Place- Age-Height. Hilarious spoof on popular videos from 2013, and a surprisingly thoughtful message. Just hilarious all around!)
(Got7-Girls Girls Girls. Though I like the song now, when it came out I wasn’t freally impressed. I liked it but didn’t see why everyone went crazy over it. After re watching several times I Ā like it now!)
February :
Bebop-I’m the Best
Debut date: February 14
I don’t know much about this group, but this song was really fun and I liked the video. These three ladies play instruments and sing so they may be more rock oriented, but I really like their vibe and tone and they are technically K-Pop. Vocalist Jiin was originally in Girl’s Day, but I had no idea. She has a new concept from Girl’s Day now and i can’t wait to see what she and the other members do next.
Honorable Mentions: None for this month, sorry! I liked Lip Service’s second single but not their debut so much.
March:
Wings-Hair Short.
Debut Date: March 12
Okay, these two can sing, and this song shows it. I wish I could find an English subbed version so I could fully understand the meaning, but regardless it feels like a thoughtful message and the song and video are wonderful! Good job, girls.
Honorable mentions:
(Toheart-Delicious. I laughed out loud with this collaboration concept, but truthfully the song and dance are catchy and fun. A good song from two established artists!)
(Lee Michelle-Without You. Oh my goodness are the song and video powerful. Solid and powerfulĀ vocals from a former YG trainee. Are you regretting letting her go yet, YG? Haha)
April:
High4-Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms.
Debut Date:April 8.
This song is still on my playlist. It is calm, sweet, and really cute. IU was a brilliant addition, and I think made the song more solid. The tone is cute, the video is cute, but the lyrics are dismissive of a relationship so it’s a little contradictory. Either way, I still adore this song. I actually like both of their collaborations with good vocalists.
Honorable mentions:
(Eddy Kim-2 Years Apart. Another song I still listen to often. I love the beat, the vocals, and the video. It all comes together in smooth harmony.)
May:
Kisum-Like It.
Debut Date:May 15
I have to be honest, I like this song, but it’s not as strong as the others on this list. May wasn’t an especially good month for debuts in my opinion. I’m putting the live video version of this song because the official video is about a minute and a half. Anyway, this song is cute and catchy, and even though the video is short, it’s quirky and fun. Nice debut, but not completely memorable in my opinion. It’s still a nice song though!
Honorable mentions:
(Yuna Kim-Without You Now. Another good song that doesn’t really stand out much in my mind. I still like it, and the singing and video are nice. The dancing is noteworthy as well.
June:
Debut date: June 19
I like this song a lot. It does what K-Pop does best, and though it doesn’t really bring anything new in my opinion, it is really catchy and fierce. The rap is good, the dancing is K-Pop complex, and the vocals are raw and what is required for this concept. It’s flashy is a creative and fun way. I’d like to see something different from them in the future, but this is a really solid concept as well.
Honorable mentions:
(Bob Girls-No Way. Retro and classy, this song is really nice. I actually liked this song quite a bit, and the concept is cool. I like the idea of shorter hair on all of the members.)
(I liked Nolza’s second single, and Mamamoo’s third, but since they were not the debut I can’t include them.)
July:
LU:KUS-So Into U
Debut Date: July 4.
I have to admit that is is partially because I’m excited to see most of the members of X-5 together again, but this song rocks. It has strong choreography, vocals, and rap. The concept is solid and I really like the way things turned out. I can’t wait to see what they come out with next because I see a lot of potential based on the debut. They have a second chance now!
Honorable mentions:
(Lucky J-Can You Hear Me. Oh my goodness, the vocals from this woman. This video and song have a classy feel and she pulls it off wonderfully. I like this debut.)
(I liked A.Kor’s second single but their debut wasn’t as good in my opinon.)
August:
HA:TFELT-Ain’t Nobody.
Debut date: August 1
I loved Yenny in the Wonder Girls, and I’m happy she can have a solo career. This lady has lungs! And this song and video are sensual and mature in a raw way. Yenny shows a power she was not able to show with her group, but I definitely still miss Wonder Girls together. I’m pleasantly surprised, but this is a good substitute for the Wonder Girls void. Good job Yenny! Keep up the soul.
Honorable mentions:
(4TEN-Tornado. I like this song, and the beat is nice. This song feels like a girl power anthem. I’ll be excited to see what they come up with next.)
(LABOUM-Pit-a-Pat. Cute and catchy. What’s not to like?)
(Red Velvet-Happiness. This song is catchy, the dance is fun, and I really like the different colored tips. It’s a unique concept!)
September:
Nasty Nasty-Knock
Debut Date: September 3
I have to say, I still listen to this song almost daily. It’s sexy, catchy, and the members are all well suited for this concept. I have watched every live version I can, and I still absolutely love this song. The dance is sleek, and though people compare this collaboration to Troublemaker, I have to say it doesn’t matter. This is a solid single and debut.
Honorable mentions: None, I’m sorry. Nasty Nasty took up my month haha.
October:
Purfles-123
Debut date: October 23
I’m not going to get into the name of this group. This debut was stellar and I loved the concept. These ladies are talented, and I really appreciate the mature type of music video. The dancing is pretty minimal, but with a catchy beat and amazing vocals it evens out well. I just like this song and want to see their next move.
Honorable mentions:
(UNIQ-Falling in Love. Retro in a really good way. I like this song and the vocals. The dance is nice, but I think the classy concept makes it stand out the most.
November:
Nicole-Mama
Debut date:November 19
Nicole is a gem and I like her, but I wasn’t sure how this debut would do. I wasn’t sure if Nicole would be able to pull off a solo debut, but I was pleasantly surprised. She did really well. Obviously she is a good dancer, but her singing is really nice as well. I hope that Nicole will have a successful solo career, and this is a good start. Nice dance, good singing, and cool video.
Honorable mentions: None for this month either, sorry! November was a kind of bare debut month.
December:
Sonamoo-Deja Vu
Debut date: December 29
This song only came out a few days ago, but I liked it! They are from the same company B.A.P came from, and I can tell. They have a tough vibe, but I think it works well here. Their vocals are awesome and the dance is smooth. I will wait to see what happens next with them.
Honorable mentions: None. As far as I know there were two debuts and the other one wasn’t a standout.
In conclusion: It’s been a good year for K-Pop. What do you guys think? What were the best debuts of this year? Did I miss any? Let me know!
Sugar coated K-Pop love ā¤
Hey everyone
If you are still around or even look at my articles occasionally, I apologize. Sincerely! Things came up and I lost time. But I will do my best to write a well thought out or funny or good (har har not really) article tomorrow.
My goal is to write biweekly. I HOPE I can work that out. I’m really sorry. Not that anyone cares š
And anyone who has a suggestion or something they want their opinion heard on, feel free to let me know!
Love you all. Sugar coated K-Pop, y’all! ā¤ ā¤
Hey everyone!
Really delinquent blogger/writer(?) here. I know I haven’t written in a LONG time and I sincerely apologise (not that anyone actually cares :-P) I have an idea or two about what I’d like to write about but if anyone has any other suggestions or opinions, let me know! I promise I will try to blog more frequently!Ā
Sugar coated love my buddies! š
Is there such a thing as “overrated”?
If you have been a fan of K-Pop for a period of time you have probably heard the word “overrated” used to describe idols and groups. I, myself, have heard it too many times to even count.
I can’t lie, whenever I hear that word attached to somebody it usually doesn’t sit well with me. I feel that by labeling someone as “overrated” we are dismissing all of the hard work and success that person or group has achieved.
Does this mean that I automatically think someone should be praised if they put effort in without obtaining results? Absolutely not. Talent should rightfully be considered above everything else in the entertainment business, however I do not understand how someone can be considered overrated and disliked simply because they are promoted more than someone else or another group.
For one thing, in all of the cases I can think of, it is not the idol or group themselves that want to be forcefully promoted. So to take it out on that person or group just seems cruel to me.
As an example I have read of cases where HyunA of 4Minute has vocalized discomfort with being in the spotlight and made to be sexy all the time. Seeing and hearing people talk about how they hate her because she is “an attention whore” or a “slut” makes me very sad and disappointed. The fact of the matter is that HyunA looks sexy and acts seductive on stage, but she is really just a big dork. You don’t have to like her or think she is talented, but when you use something that is out of her control as a means to bring her down, I think that is unfair.
To get back to my main point, every single idol and group I know of works their butts off to get to where they are. Some “overrated” members have more of some type of talent, some are more persistent (or favorites of the company), and some are just extremely involved in their work. A member who is involved in the decisions or plays a significant role in the group might be seen more often because they are simply around.
A male example of this would be Big Bang’s G-Dragon. While I have not seen as many people claim him as overrated, I do still see it.Ā This man is the leader, rapper, sometimes singer, face of the group, visual (I think. Correct me if I’m wrong), and one half of the swag rap duo with T.O.P., all while composing and writing the songs for Big Bang. It makes sense that he would be seen and known more often than the others because he does more work inside and outside of the main group. He works hard and so maybe he gets the recognition as a result.
These types of members may be “overexposed” because they are seen a lot or used more often than the other members (in the case of HyunA) , but overrated makes it sound like we are selling the idols short on their achievements and talents.Ā
The idols work hard, and to me that deserves some recognition.
What do you think? Is overrated a good word to describe these idols? Are there overrated idols? Let me know!
(P.S. I don’t know if I covered this topic adequately so I may write another more in depth article at a later date. But I worked hard to make this thought out so I hope it’s okay!)
Best and worst hair of K-Pop
Now before I start I need to make several notes
1. This is purely opinion and I do not mean to offend anyone
2. This is probably a reflection of my personality, but I have more hairstyles I don’t like than I do. (So I apologize in advance)
3. There are probably more guys on this list than ladies. My theory is that K-Pop ladies hair is not experimented with as much as the males (or I just know of more guy groups hairstyle choices). Again I apologize
4. Assume that if your bias isn’t on this list, that they look good. There have been more styles that looked good than didn’t
5. I tried to not choose the most known or chosen hairstyles so I hope I succeeded These rankings are in no particular order.
Worst male hairstyles
Zico from Block B’s”dreaded” hair. I was very close to putting the Nililli Mambo hair in here, but that hair was part of the pirate theme and the dreads wereĀ detachable. I don’t know what to say about this hairstyle except I’m glad it’s gone
DBSK’s Triangle hair. I can’t even choose who looks the worst in this picture. The only one who looks somewhat okay is Jaejoong (and he usually has the best hair anyway). What was going on? It was a good song, and a talented group, but this style was just interesting
Mir from MBLAQ came out with this style and I still don’t know what to say. The length in the back makes it resemble a mullet, and I don’t really like the red on one half and brown on the other half. I guess I’m just glad they were not promoting a song at that point
Taeyang from Big Bang changed up his hairstyle to braids after several years of having variations of a mohawk (which I actually liked on him). As far as I recall fans were anxious for a change after years of the same hair, but when he showed this hairstyle many people wereĀ disappointed. One thing I don’t understand is that several polls show people still prefer this and his other recent styles to his mohawk (if you are one of them I would love to hear why you like them better). Does this fit with Big Bang’s image? Probably. But I preferred the mohawk
C.A.P. from Teen Top is one of those people who I believe almost consistently gets the worst hairstyles within his group. There were several styles he has sported over the years that were probably worth listing, but in the end I went with this one. I’m sorry you get the short end of the stick C.A.P
Worst female hairstyles
CL of 2NE1 Ā with this striped hair. 2NE1 has always been a group to have unique hairstyles, most of which can work on the ladies. In my opinion, this is not one of them. Maybe they had this style to symbolize being fierce because the hair resembles a tiger? I don’t know, but I don’t really like it
Eunjung from T-ARA sporting this hairstyle. When I first saw the picture I seriously thought they had accidentally cut her hair too short on one side of her forehead. She is a cute girl, but this is an odd hairstyle. I have never understood any time stylists have tried using this haircut. It just does not look nice in my opinion
Krystal from F(x) with this style during La Chata. I may have liked this look better if there were even layers on both sides and the colored tips didn’t emphasize the uneven amount of layers. Having both an uneven number of layers and colored tips makes it seem too busy to me
Gummy showed off a buzzed bottom half of the head and I just can’t like it. She is lovely but I don’t think this would work well on anyone. Bad choice
Best male hairstyles
Heechul from Super Junior. I need to be honest because he looks wonderful with his long hair, but this shows that he looks just as good with short hair. I think this was a successful change
Now I need to say that I absolutely loved G-Dragon with this tousled pink hair. Big Bang’s had quite a few hit or misses, and this was definitely a hit in my opinion
I really like Jungshin from CN Blue’s hair when it is partially or fully pulled back like this. I believe he looks nice with long hair, but not too long. This is a good style on him
Bang Yong Guk from BAP looks very good with this type of style. I really like the red color in his hair and feel like it suited him well. I’d like to see something like this on him again sometime
Call me weird, but I really like Key when he is blonde. I don’t think he needs any extra colors or crazy cuts because, trust me, his personality shines through anyway. He has had some questionable hairstyles in the past but this proves that he does not need the extreme hairstyles to look good
Best Female hairstyles
I loved when Taeyeon from SNSD (Girls’ Generation) sported this hairstyle during “The Boys”. I think this style makes her look bold and kind of changes her image up a bit. She looks good with wavy long Ā hair and these colors contrasted well
I think Jia from Miss A looked wonderful with pink hair. This shade worked well with her face and it really set her apart from a lot of other women at that time. I think JYP should do something like this again
Narsha from Brown Eyed Girls has a face that could pull off some of the craziest hairstyles, which many of their music videos show, so it should be noĀ surprise that she would be able to look good in a short cut. Gain may be the designated group member with shorter hair, but Narsha looks just as good with it
I believe Seungyeon from KARA looks stunning with this red hair and messy bun. The almost magenta color contrasts well with her skin and I do not recall seeing this shade before which made her somewhat unique. I hope to see her with this color outside of a music video
Jiyoon from 4Minute has featured many shorter hairstyles over the years, and she has looked great in most if not all of them, but this is one of my favorites. Seeing this style makes me wish I could pull off this style
Hairstyles I have mixed feelings about
So, when I first saw Hyunseung from Beast with this color in “Beautiful Night” I wasn’t a fan of it. When his hair was straight with this color I didn’t like it, but for whatever reason I adore it when it looks like this. I really don’t understand
CNU from B1A4 is also an interesting case. I prefer his hair long like this, but I don’t understand the shaved sides. I am not a huge fan of it and when I first saw it I thought my eyes had played tricks on me. I’m not sure it was the best hair choice
I believe that Minzy from 2NE1 has the unfortunate C.A.P syndrome as well because she seems to often get the hairstyles that don’t fit her. I like this color, and I like the cut, but I don’t like them on her. Sorry Minzy
So, do you agree? Disagree? Who do you think had the best or worst hairstyles over the years? Let me know!
I want to write a K-Pop opinion article,
I want to write a K-Pop opinion article, but I just can’t get my thoughts together. I have some ideas on what I could write about but I want it to be well thought out and written. I’m slightly annoyed because I can’t get my creativity out. Does anyone have suggestions or something they want to say?Ā
Thanks!
Sugar Coated K-Pop 