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.

Top 50 Singles of 2015: 40-36

40. Park Kyung + Park Boram - Ordinary Love



What could have been yet another midtempo collaboration was bolstered by Kyung's charismatic delivery throughout and a hook that became one of the year's most enduring earworms.

39. Romeo - Lovesick



The birth of my favorite type of k-pop boyband: one who works with production team extraordinaire Sweetune, and reaps the benefits of their best 2015 material.

38. Robin - Yö Kuuluu Meille



One of the most enduring artists on my countdown, Robin hits us again with an energetic track that one-ups Aerosmith and Run DMC's 'Walk This Way.'

37. 1PUNCH - Take Me Back 



Unfortunately their only track before disbandment, this still managed to be a dynamically produced throwback to 90's new jack swing.

36. Arashi - Under The Blue Sky, Next To You 



Japan's biggest boy (man?) band hit us with a track that's all about the soaring chorus. One of the year's best.

Romeo - Target

Romeo's a group that's been on my radar for one single reason: they're following Infinite's lead and building their career with title tracks produced by the flawless Sweetune. Sweetune is an obsession for me. They create tracks that hit everything I love about pop music... bombast, an emphasis on soaring melody, and bright, polished production. Target isn't as good as the group's Lovesick from earlier this year, but it's still a fun track. I'm not sure I understand what the video's supposed to be (beyond sickeningly saccharine), but this is still a rookie group that I'm watching very closely.



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Romeo - Give Me Your Heart

We're going to travel back in time a couple of years today. Over the weekend, I started familiarizing with one of Korea's most popular second generation idol groups, SS501. They were active as a group until 2010, at which point the members started embarking on solo careers. I was already familiar with member Heo Young-saeng, because he did some awesome work with my favorite production team, Sweetune. But on Saturday, I started to get obsessed with the more theatrical work of Park Jung-min, who released his best recordings in Japan under the moniker Romeo. His album Midnight Theatre, in particular, is filled with extremely propulsive, well-produced dramatic pop/dance music. The soaring chorus of Give Me Your Heart is undeniable. The melody is gargantuan in scope, sung with a palpable sense of urgency and desperation. It's the kind of track I fell in love with based only on a 30-second clip. But lucky you! Because you've got the whole thing to enjoy below. I'd especially urge my fellow Melodifestivalen/Eurovision fans to give this a lesson, because it would fit right in on either of those programs.

Romeo - Lovesick

I worship at the alter of Sweetune. They are just an unstoppable force of pop songwriting. No matter who they're working with, I know I'm going to love the song even before hearing it. So, I was very happy to discover that one of their tracks would be kicking off the career of new band Romeo. Before I go any further, I will note that this is definitely not A-grade Sweetune, but that's to be expected for such a newbie boyband. They really save their best stuff for Infinite (and, let's be honest, Infinite does more than a little to elevate every track they perform). The music video is also a bit cringeworthy, which is why I'm not posting it. But even with all those flaws, that consistently awesome, propulsive Sweetune sound is intact and I love it. It's been awhile since we've heard this light, poppy sound from a Korean boyband. It's a trend I really hope remains through the summer. I'm getting just a little tired of all the swaggy hip-hop.



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