Top 50 Singles of 2015: 10-6

10. Wonder Girls - I Feel You



By hearkening back to the 80's, Wonder Girls released one of the most surprising (and best) singles of their career. Just try to resist that synth riff.

9. Infinite - Bad



Working with producer Rphabet again, the guys went for a darker, more hip-hop inspired sound, but didn't forget the drama in the process.

8. GOT7 - Just Right



One of the most unique singles in k-pop this year, a bouncy summertime bop that grew more addictive each time I heard it. It's laidback, feel-good pop done right.

7. News - Kaguya 



Unabashedly cheesy, but unlike so many tracks that opted for a skeletal beat instead of a proper chorus, Kaguya erupted in a full-bodied, massive chorus.

6. EXO - Love Me Right 



Their highest entry since their year of debut, it's also their most propulsive, poppy release in years. MJ would be proud.

Top 50 Singles of 2015: 25-21

25. BTS - Dope



Their ode to hard work and training, and this year's best example of how to do an instrumental breakdown the right way.

24. News - Four Musketeers



An odd pop song, that barrows more from classical orchestration than it does from current trends. Somehow, it all works brilliantly together.

23. Bigbang - Let's Not Fall In Love



Not the loudest or most in-your-face single the group released this year, but I feel like that earworm of a melody will give it the massive staying power that other songs lack.

22. Boys Republic - Hello 



A hazy summer track that borrows the best from melodic, late-90's boyband pop. It just sounds like a peaceful drive by the beach.

21. Red Velvet - Dumb Dumb 



A schizophrenic firework of a single, catapulting Red Velvet to the top tiers of k-pop. It's all about that beat.

Top 50 Singles of 2015: 30-26

30. GD and Taeyang (ft. Kwanghee) - Mapsosa



Quite the unlikely collaboration, recorded as part of Korea's biggest reality show. It's a prime example of Bigbang members having fun, without worrying about the need to project a "cool" image.

29. Ola Salo - How I Kill



The Ark's frontman went solo with a track that sounded a lot like his old band. In the glam rock wasteland that was 2015, this is a very good thing. This is also the highest ranking English-language track on the countdown. My, how things have changed!

28. iKON - Airplane



YG's newest group blitzed us with five singles in three months, but this emotion, midtempo pop ballad was the best.

27. Bigbang - Bang Bang Bang 



The successor in many ways to the group's epic Fantastic Baby, the only thing that prevented this from being higher is that letdown of a chorus.

26. News - Chumu Chumu 



Cheesy? Yes! But that's okay when the best and most fun elements of Bollywood are so expertly translated to bombastic J-Pop.

News - Four Musketeers (Yonjuushi)

Well, this has got to be one of the strangest major pop releases of the year. It's not often you hear a pop track based entirely on a classical symphony piece, but Four Musketeers uses Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Rachmaninoff as its backbone, complete with copious breaks for a string section and orchestral flourishes. This sounds right up my alley, but the first time I heard the track I was very let down. I've loved almost all of News' past releases, but the underwhelming, almost droning chorus in this song was not what I expected. That said, the second time I listened to this was a bit of a revelation. I'm not sure I've ever made such a drastic turn with a song before. Suddenly, it all made sense. Better than that, I greatly admire the fact that this is a very non-traditional single release while still remaining incredibly hooky, albeit with some strangely mellow and almost anti-pop hooks. That crescendo that rounds out each chorus certainly helps, along with the general cheesiness of the song and video. All together, it's yet another reason why it's hard for me to go back to western music.


N - Y by Aysohmay

News - Kaguya

When I start investigating something, I get borderline obsessive. It's my favorite time as a music fan. It's like unlocking a new level in a game. It was like that when I first started delving into the world of K-Pop (a world I am extremely confident in navigating nowadays). Over the past week or so, I finally made the leap to J-Pop. I already posted a track by Kat-Tun last week, which is one of two groups that I've been fawning over. Now I feel compelled to post this one from News, which is a senior group on the same label as Kat-Tun. Now, the music video is quite something. I don't *think* it's meant to be funny, but I find it fascinating that the director (or the artists?) determined that this kind of posing and wardrobe would be "sexy." It's incredibly effeminate for sure, which is actually totally awesome but a bit jarring to the Western eye. I know that the song is based on a Japanese folktale about a princess, so maybe that has something to do with it. The track itself is epic, though. The jackhammer chorus, coupled with the incredibly bombastic production, has been lodged in my head for days now. It could easily become the first true J-Pop song to find its way onto my end-of-year countdown come December. (And let's be honest, as awkward as it is, the music video is kind of addictively strange).

**No posts for the next week because, speaking of K-Pop, I'll be enjoying two nights of concerts in L.A. at KCON! (I'll make sure to report back)