Saturday, May 3, 2014

Top 15 Albums of January 2014 - Part 2

So I'm back with part two of the Top 14 Albums of January 2014! This will be the top five albums, the other ten in the previous blog post (see part one below). I won't blabber too much here, so let's get started. YouTube Playlist if you usually check the videos out that way!

| Part 1 | Part 2


05. Dal Shabet - BBB [104 Points] Released: January 8, 2013 
Early January fan saw Dal Shabet's comeback with their seventh mini-album BBB. BBB stands for Big Baby Baby. The album concept and music video is a little darker compared to Dal Shabet's previous releases and really focused on showing their more mature side. BBB keeps a little bit of the disco feel that Dal Shabet is known for, but I have to say I still like some of their previous works a little more. However, I definitely like this song, especially when compared to other girl band releases in January. Girl's Day released around the same time (they end up doing that a lot) and I have to go with BBB over Something with like 60 to 40 percentiles. As for the rest of the mini-album, I really liked Rewind as well. Anyways, the music video is pretty simple, but has some interesting choreography at parts. 


04. Kim Jaejoong - WWW Makeup Repackage [115 Points] Released: January 20, 2014 
Yes I know that Kim Jaejoong's WWW was released in 2013 and ended up as number 2 in the Top 50 Albums of 2013, but he released a repackaged version in late January with two new songs. Since I've already gone over the rest of the album, I'll just share my thoughts here on the new ones. My favorite of the two is Makeup, a remake of a Japanese song I believe. Here is a video with English subs. It's such a pretty ballad that has a lot of emotion both in his vocals and in the melody. The other song is another ballad, but a duet with talented female solo artist Gummy. The name of the song is Heaven and is also really pretty. Jaejoong is so freaking talented, pulling off some more rock songs, and then pulling out ballads like this. Gummy really fits with the duet well and I really like the way their voices harmonize. Well, as for the music video, I'll just post Just Another Girl Again. It's still the video that goes with this album, so enjoy again if you want! XD 


03. B1A4 - Who Am I [117 Points] Released: January 13, 2014
B1A4 came back with their second studio album in January! Over half of the songs on the album were actually produced by leader Jinyoung. One of them being the promotion song Lonely, with Jinyoung and Baro (the rapper) writing the lyrics. Being super excited for B1A4's comeback, I was a little disappointed at first with the slower song and not as much covered in the pizzazz that usually accompanies B1A4. However I think it fits well with the Korean industry's usual winter songs (I don't know why everyone things Autumn and Winter means ballads?). However after listening to the song a few times and throwing away my predispositions, I really came to love Lonely. Even though it's more of a Ballad, there still is a feel of it being B1A4, especially just listening to the song itself. I also found the dance choreography pretty interesting and it even has a practice video (I love those if you haven't noticed!)! As for the music video, it has a lot of snowy shots and is more depressing, but I did like the way that Jinyoung's girl turned into a balloon and the scenes with them on the couch. As for the rest of the album, I really liked Who Am I. It was also produced by Jinyoung with the lyrics by Jinyoung and Baro. It's style is more closer to their previous releases, except it sounds a little more mature. Definitely check it out if you haven't heard it before. 


02. Seo Inguk - Everlasting [137 Points] Released: January 15, 2014
Seo Inguk released his first full album in Japan halfway through January. It has a few of the previous singles he's released there, as well as a smattering of new ones. I really love Seo Inguk's voice and was super excited to see a new release! I really love this album, with a good chunk of the songs having over 30 plays each! The promotion song for the album is Everlasting Love, a ballad (no surprise here) with a sad, reminiscent music video. It's a pretty song, but not one of my favorites. In no particular order, my favorite songs off the album are Toxic Girl, Space de Tour, Hands Up!, and Lovely Girl. All are a little more in pop genre, except for Lovely Girl; it's more of a pop-ballad I guess. I'm really hoping Seo Inguk releases something else this year, and soon! I can't wait to hear what he does next. 


01. Rain - Rain Effect [142 Points] Released: January 2, 2014
January 2014 saw the return of World Star Rain! His first release since 2011 and after completing his military service, Rain released Rain Effect, his sixth studio album. Along with the album, two music videos were released. 30 Sexy and LA Song were the two chosen promotion songs and both have music videos. LA Song is my favorite of the two songs and music videos, but I love them both! 30 Sexy is pretty much just Rain dancing (which is always amazing). LA Song is a more fun music video, with Rain dancing as well as other "random" people. Since this will be a shorter post, I'll go ahead and post both videos below! I was so happy Rain was coming back, I've been a big fan of his since Rainism and Full House (the kdrama). His first glimpse of a comeback came during the 2013 MAMA awards. And boy was I surprised. We had to pause it while I completely fangirled out and got super duper excited. The rest of the album is pretty good, my other favorite songs being Superman and Found Out



January is officially done and over! Stay tuned for February (hopefully I'll start knocking this out faster!)! As always, here is the link to the YouTube Playlist. Keep rockin' and enjoyin' music from around the world! Any questions or comments below will be answered! Until next time! 

Stasi ♫