Top 50 Singles of 2015: 35-31

35. Exid - Ah Yeah



The girls followed up their breakthrough with this resounding success. There are so many little hooks within, but at the end of the day it all comes back to that gargantuan chorus.

34. AOA - Heart Attack



The first time I heard this, I couldn't get over how noisy and frantic it sounded, but then everything came together and I realized what a brilliant propulsive pop workout it truly is.

33. B1A4 - Happy Days



They placed two times in the top 10 of last year's countdown, and surprisingly their 2015 entry is an anthemic, poppy, Japanese release.

32. BTS - Run 



Released literally a day before my cut-off date of eligibility to this countdown, it's hard to tell what staying power this will have, but based on their track record, I'm betting I'll be playing this brilliant single a lot next year.

31. Romeo - Target 



An even better Sweetune single from new group Romeo, this is the kind of synth-drenched, layered blast of pop that I live for.

Exid - Hot Pink

Exid is one of a handful of k-pop girl groups who have had an amazingly breakout 2015. Like most listeners, I was late to the party and really only fell in love with them this year. Up and Down and Ah Yeah remain unmatchable, but their new single Hot Pink tries its hardest. It doesn't have nearly as much staying power, but it's definitely a fun track in its own right. The music video feels needlessly sexual/stupid in a juvenile way, and the song greatly benefits from being disconnected to some of those visuals. The random "black guy" bits are a bit of a wtf moment, but the catchy-as-hell hook and beat makes up for that. Now we just need a full album worth of songs that are up to par so that the girls can prove to us that 2015 wasn't just some brilliant fluke.



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Exid - Ah Yeah

This song has been stuck in my head for the past few days. Exid had a major breakthrough hit around the turn of the year with their amazing Up and Down, even though that song had been released all the way back in September. This kind of late popularity climb hardly ever happens for songs in the world of K-Pop. It's a great story. Greater still, the girls have followed Up and Down with another corker of a tune. It's not *quite* as good, but Ah Yeah is still an addictive slice of powerhouse pop. I love the shifting verses and the wonky bridge before the sax-assisted chorus kicks in. The video's impressive too, poking fun at the still-conservative South Korean media. These girls are on a roll, and I hope it continues for the rest of the year.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Buy the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.