Thursday, March 6, 2014

My Top 50 Albums of 2013: 30-21

Okay, well now that things have calmed down a little bit, I'll finally be posting the rest of my countdown. I also have the stats for January and February all ready, so expect the both of those to be posted by the 15th! (That's my goal!) Anyways, sorry for the delay! Let's get right back into it! YouTube Playlist!

| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 |


30. All About My Romance OST - Various Artists [189 Points] Released: April 24, 2013

Once again we have the cute and fun Akdong Musicians gracing the list! Now I enjoyed All About My Romance as a drama. It was fun a quirky with a political setting (which I was hestitant on at first). But honestly, with Dal Shabat, Tiffany, and various other artists contributing to the soundtrack, Akdong Musicians really grabbed me. I loved the Music Video released (which didn't really have anything to do with the drama) and was as cute and sugary as the song is itself. If you like K-Drama soundtracks definitely check out the All About My Romance OST, and if you like K-Drama, All About My Romance is definitely lolz worthy at times. If you enjoyed the previous Akdong Musician song (Kkong Ddeok Bing Soo) I think you'll like this one too! 


29. Eraser - ALi [192 Points] Released: January 30, 2013

So ALi has got to be one of my favorite South Korean solo female singers. Scratch that, just one of my favorite solo female singers. PERIOD. I love the uniqueness of her voice. Her first full album was released in the end of 2011 and I was immediately hooked. The tone and power of her voice just grabbed me, as well as the accompanying music video. Anyway, she came back with a mini album here (YAY!) and I was super happy. The main song is Eraser, a pretty ballad (and the music video down below). However, my favorite song of the album is Selfish, which has more of a pop-rock vibe and completely became my anthem for the first half of 2013. Unfortunately, there isn't a music video for Selfish, but HERE is a live video for one of her comeback stages. She sings Selfish and Eraser, but Selfish is first. I really implore to click HERE and be sucked into vocals made of amazing. She has released other songs since this album, but most of them have been digital singles or songs for dramas. Which are amazing, don't get me wrong, but I want another album, mini or full. Please ALi, bring us more music with that amazing voice of yours!


27. Letter From Secret - Secret [193 Points] Released: April 30, 2013

Yay! Secret came back in late April with a fun, summery feeling mini album. Secret (for those that don't know) is my favorite girl group in the Kpop industry! (Sorry but worldwide Spice Girls is still #1 in my heart!) I really enjoy all of their personas, from cutesy to super sexy spy/assassin/saloon girl (Poison anyone?). The promotion song for Letter From Secret is Yoo Hoo and more along the lines of their cutesy image. I enjoyed it and it was on my main playlist late into fall! Also on the album were three other songs that are ballads. I enjoyed them as well, but my favorite of the three is B.O.Y (Because of You) (can someone explain to me why a lot of these abbreviations are missing the last period? I don't get it. T_T). It's really pretty and stayed on my playlist almost as long as Yoo Hoo did! The Music Video is fun and summery, involving Secret's boat somehow leaving them stranded on an island. I won't spoil the ending, but it's cute and fun and silly, and will bring a little warmth into this crazy cold! :)


27. No. 1 - Teen Top [193 Points] Released: February 25, 2013

"La-la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la-laa-laaa" Teen Top presented fans with a full album late February. One of the songs, I Wanna Love, was pre-released digitally and had a music video. The promotion song is Miss Right (if you've heard the song, you understand the previous las) and also had a music video. I enjoyed both songs, but I think overall I like I Wanna Love just a tad bit more. Miss Right involves a silly video where the boys get stuck in jail with one girl (WHAT?) and sing about her. I enjoyed the dance a lot, and the Las as well as the "몰라몰라몰라몰라몰라." Honestly, those make the song for me. Plus CAP's hair. Back to the music, HERE is the link for I Wanna Love, my favorite of the two. It's more of a pop-rock-ballad-electronic mix (that's mixed well) and I really enjoy the song. The music video pretty much has them being sad (or eating unusually large amounts of canned fruit) and wandering the streets, out in the world! Once again, check both of them out! Let me know what you think in the comments between the two!


26. Boys Meet U - Shinee [197 Points] Released: June 26, 2013

Mid year Shinee released their second full Japanese album. I enjoyed a good chunk of the songs on the album, including a few from their previously released singles (Dazzling Girl & 1000年、ずっとそばにいて…). Of the new songs, their PV was for Breaking News (PV=MV in Japan), my second favorite song off the album. My first though is Kiss Yo which is just a fun song that has some hip-hop undertones with Key's awesome English rapping. Plus, I like to make fun of the ending. So the song starts off with the sound of a telephone ringing. At the end of the song we here a dial tone and then Key asking, "Hello? Would you like to kiss me?" I don't know why, but I always say the same stupid line and laugh to myself afterwards. But the music is fairly SM-like, focusing on Shinee's dance and close up of the members singing. But Shinee is a group of awesome dancers, so I'm not complaining! Above I linked the previous singles that were compiled into this album, although I think they're are a couple more. But I liked those the best. Also, what PVs that get posted on YouTube are almost always short versions, so if you would like to see the entire video, try here! PS: EVIL! You better watch all of them because I'm pretty sure you have seen them all. Bad Shawol! XD
  


25. XOXO - EXO [208 Points] Released: June 3, 2013

Oh EXO, I was super impressed by the promotion songs they released for XOXO, both the normal and the repackage versions. Below is the first, Wolf. This song has some parts that have odd lyrics, but has a fun chorus! I showed it to my roommates and Billy kind of walked around for a few days randomly going "a-wooo." She probably will now since she's listening to the song again with me.... but that's beside the point. I thought the drama version was cheesy, but I really enjoyed the dance. And the vocals were really good, especially during the crooning parts. And for those that haven't seen the lyrics for it....some of those lines. Here's a link, the official video is below and doesn't have lyrics.  As for the second  promotion single, I actually like Growl more. It has a really good R&B feel to it. Also the dance is pretty cool and the music video is all filmed in one shot. I like things like that. The only thing I don't get is why are they dancing in an empty warehouse? Eh...it's SM. Oddly lit rooms for everyone! Check out Growl if you haven't already! Especially if you like more of the songs that have good head nodding grooves. Just saying; I head nod to it. You should too.



24. Re:Blue - CN Blue [209 Points] Released: January 14, 2013

In January of 2013 CN Blue released their fourth mini album, Re:Blue. The promotion song for Re:Blue is I'm Sorry, a good pop-rock song. I really enjoyed the mini album overall, my favorite songs are I'm Sorry, 나란 남자 (Guy Like Me), and Coffee Shop. They also released a song completely in English called Where You Are. I enjoy Where You Are, although sometimes it makes me laugh at how it can be misconstrued as a stalker song. "I'm searching where you are." Although if it's where I am, why is he still searching? I don't know, but I enjoyed the mini-album overall. Another fun lyric: "Oh please touch my body and my face." It just makes me giggle. Don't mind me. If you're a fan of the more pop rock style and looking for something Korean (or just foreign), definitely check out CN Blue and this album (also FT Island {speaking of FT Island, anyone else watching Bride of the Century and completely addicted already?}). Check out the links above for the other songs I enjoyed, otherwise just watch the video for I'm Sorry. It involves CN Blue playing on a rooftop and kind of just being miscreants around a city. Plus Jonghyun has his hair styled up, and goodness gracious does it look good. Plus we get to see his forehead/face. Just saying. :)



23. The Blessed Unrest - Sara Bareilles [211 Points] Released: April 23, 2013

Oh my goodness this album. I love love love Sara Bareilles and was so happy and excited when she announced a new album. I immediately got The Blessed Unrest and still have a few of the songs on my main playlist. What would be considered the promotion song in Korea is Brave. The song itself is amazing, with such a wonderful message lyrically, but just has a melody that makes a person feel good. Well, at least it's a feel good song when I listen to it. As for the other songs, some of my other favorites are Hercules (the video has some info about the name of the album before her singing), Little Black Dress, and I Choose You. My favorite song off the album, with over 60 plays (just in 2013 - it's gone up since then) is I Wanna Be Like Me. I find it completely empowering (like most of Sara's albums and songs) and was completely sucked in only after a few seconds. It's got some fun background sounds and is a good mix of string instruments and more electronic tones. Seriously, I can't fully express how much this song means to me both musically and how it just generally makes me feel. Please, please, please listen to it and share it with anyone and everyone. It needs to be heard. So check out the fun music video of people dancing in random areas and pay attention to the great lyrics!



22. A's Doll House - Ailee [213 Points] Released: July 12, 2013

Ailee came out during the summer, promoting with the diva-licious song U&I. I love Ailee and I love this mini-album. Ailee has such a powerhouse of a voice and definitely in my top three female solo artists in South Korea (with ALi and BoA). U&I has some big trumpet parts and gives it a little bit of a big band vibe, which I find completely awesome and music-licious. Apparently Ailee just has -licious descriptors. Back to the music, Ailee is one of the singers referred to as Korea's Beyonce, with her power voice, strong rapping and snazzy moves. To top it off, I also give major props to Ailee for not being obnoxiously stick thin. She's got some thunder thighs and some curves, and a lot more sexy to me than some of the really popular girl groups out there. Most of the other songs on the album are more ballady, but I really enjoyed No No No and Rainy Day. Honestly though I love everything Ailee's released so far. Her voice is so pretty. Excuse my fangirling, but really. If you enjoy Beyonce and power vocals, definitely check out all of Ailee's stuff. Plus she just debuted within the past couple years. Big stuff already! Also if you didn't notice, most of what I linked above are the live versions. Yes, she's pretty good live as well!



21. Black Box - Brown Eyed Girls [214 Points] Released: July 29, 2013

So I have to say, Brown Eyed Girls definitely popped back up into the top of my rankings with this album. A big part due to the promotion song Kill Bill. The normal music video (posted below) is a fun take on Quentin Tarantino's hit movie series Kill Bill. Now for the actual song, I love it. The girls and back-up dancers look cute and sexy in their western/cowboy styles and the opening dance move in the dance version...holy guacamole! Plus...let's just say I have a thing for cowboys...and dancing....and the back up dancers.... <_>_>... So the music video is a fun parody (but more serious than most parodies are), the dance is fun and sexy (as one would expect from BEG), and I just overall love Brown Eyed Girls and the more mature material they grace all Kpop fans with! 



Well that's all for now! Stayed tuned for the last two parts of the this countdown, as well as countdowns for January and February! Any comments or questions, leave them below! Until then my music loving peeps! YouTube Playlist!

Stasi ♫

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