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 ♫

My Top 50 Albums of 2013: 40-31

So I’m back with the next ten (finally)! I’ll try to get the rest posted asap, soon followed up by my review of January 2014! So without further rants, let’s get to it! Once again, here is the link to the video playlist on YouTube!

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

39. Block B – Very Good [171 Points] Released: October 2, 2013

 I was excited for Block B’s comeback with their new company. I loved what they did with Very Good, just the craziness I’ve come to like and love from Block B. The song is very fun, as well as the music video. I like the almost 50/50 split between rap and vocals, and boy do they have some talent from both spectrums. It just has me dancing and singing along. Releasing this album also got me back into their older songs and I became addicted to Go Crazy again (probably my favorite of their songs so far). As for the rest of the song, on a more ballady side they also released a music video for Be The Light. It’s a slower song, but still powerful, just not in their usual way. I liked it a lot, just not as much as Very Good. If you haven’t see any of their videos and like some of the more hip-hop styled K-pop, definitely check them out!

39. Lee Hyori – Monochrome [171 Points] Released: May 21, 2013

 The return of Lee Hyori definitely started off the summer hits. I was excited to see what she was coming back with and I wasn’t disappointed at all. She pre-released Miss Korea and it completely blew me away. The message just said more than anyone could’ve possible expected, and even though I’m a Caucasian woman living in America, I found a lot of perspective and empowerment through Miss Korea. Hyori’s next music video release and promotion song was Bad Girls. This music video was gold. With the comic book styling and just outrageous situations I was hooked. The song was really good as well and every time I heard “bad” I would instantly sing “b-b-b-bad girls” in my head. She also released another music video for Going Crazy which included Hyori cross-dressing. I found the music video entertaining, but I think I was more impressed and hooked with Miss Korea and Bad Girls. Below I have Bad Girls, but if you want to check out Miss Korea or Going Crazy, click one of the links posted throughout this rant!

38. MBLAQ – Sexy Beat & Love Beat [176 Points] Released: June 4, 2013

 So I've included the repackage here since they’re pretty much the same album (as I did with other repackages), but this album has one of the best songs of the Summer (in my opinion). Smoky Girl just hooked me right from that first beat and the R&B flavored with smooth vocals and dancing quickly morphed into a type of electronic club song and you couldn't help but start dancing.

37. Master’s Sun OST [182 Points] Released: August 2013

 Oh, Master’s Sun. This drama was magic and the soundtrack was as well. First of all, I think Master’s Sun is the best drama of 2013, and I even got my roommate Billy to watch it with me! And she doesn’t watch Korean Dramas. Funny side note, I was watching Answer Me 1994 the other night on the Roku, and she turns to me and says, “I want a second season of Master’s Sun.” How cute! I think I got her hooked! Anyways, the soundtrack really brings a lot of good fluffy memories back for me, both in the drama and the experience of watching it! Probably my favorite song on the compilation is Seo In Guk’s single (big surprise). Tasha a.k.a. Yoon Mirae’s song also popped out of nowhere and surprised me completely. I knew she could sing, but I’ve mainly only heard her more R&B and rap stuff she’s put out, but I loved her drama ballad florae. Other notable artists from the soundtrack are Gummy, Hyorin (SISTAR), Jung Dongha, and Melody Day. I’ll post Seo In Guk’s glorious ballad, but definitely check out the other songs I've linked too if you enjoy drama soundtrack songs!

36. Hong Jin Young – Boogie Man [183 Points] Released: March 22, 2013

 Boogie Man is a piece of Trot amazingness. I am a fan of trot, Korean’s almost precursor to pop music. It’s more of a traditional type of music, but I love it soooo much. Especially this song. I will say this was my favorite Trot song released this year. As soon as it was released I had this song on repeat. It’s just good Trot, and a little modernized to attract younger crowds. I just wish she would release more. Here’s hoping Hong Jin Young will release something else in 2014! If you like Trot and haven’t heard this song, definitely check it out! Plus she sang it this year at one of the Daejun’s! Totally surprised me!

34. Arashi – LOVE [185 Points] Released: October 23, 2013

 Oh Arashi. This album honestly should be a lot higher in the rankings. If only it’d come out sooner in the year. Starting with the main song PARADOX, oh my goodness fangasm. The moment I watched the PV for PARADOX I 100% back on the Arashi train. I always love Arashi, but PARADOX has such a  great beat and melody. On top of all that, the dance is sexy and Sho’s low register rap, holy cow! I don’t want to fangirl too much, but oh my gosh is this song good. On top of collecting their single released since their previous full album, we also got a small collection of new songs, including solo songs for each of the members. I think my favorite solo song would have to be either MatsuJun’s Dance in the Dark or Sho’s sugar and salt. I think besides those my other favorite song of the album is Rock Tonight. Also, as a side note it has been officially 11 years since I first listened to Arashi. And this year in September will be their 15^th Anniversary. If you haven’t joined the Arashian fandom, please join me now! I promise it’s awesome!

34. Henry – Trap & 1-4-3 [185 Points] Released: June 7, 2013

 Another Happy Birthday to Me this year was Henry’s first solo EP. I was super excited for Henry to get some more spotlight in Korea, and I was completely blown away by this EP. I love Trap, especially the different openings he did on the music programs. I love the original piano opening, but the violin one also had a special twist to it. Also, his back-up dancers wear Bronco Jerseys in the video (and on a couple live performances). GO BRONCOS AT THE SUPER BOWL! Anways, I also really enjoyed 1-4-3. I placed them together since 1-4-3 was on Trap, but then later released as a digital single. The digital single included an Englishversion of Trap as well as an acoustic version and remix of 1-4-3. And as those who know me are aware of, I love acoustic versions of songs. It’s just so magical. Anyways, I’m linking 1-4-3 so definitely check it out beside Trap!

32. f(x) – Pink Tape [186 Points] Released: July 29, 2013

 First of all can I just say I was skeptical of the promotion song Rum Pum Pum Pum since I am not a fan of The Little Drummer Boy, AT ALL. But I was pleasantly surprised with Rum Pum Pum Pum and that there were no other references to Drummer Boy. f(x) really hit it out of the park with their quirky style again. I love this song, both through the awesome metaphor and the cool round robin verse they had in there (my favorite part of the song). For those that haven’t seen lyric translations of the song, it’s drawing similarities between first love and someone’s first wisdom tooth. Hence the headache lines and such. I also enjoyed Shadow off the album, but my favorite song is Rum Pum Pum Pum.

32. Dal Shabet – Be Ambitious [186 Points] Released: June 20, 2013

“Boys be ambitious!” This was another song that was a summer anthem for myself. Dal Shabet returned with another mini-album of amazing. I really like Be Ambitious. I found the music video hilarious, and just enjoy the more disco-y feel of Dal Shabet’s sounds. I was excited to see what they were going to release since the last thing they did was Have, Don’t Have (also made of amazing). I wasn't let down at all, and still listen to Be Ambitious quite a bit. The other song I really enjoy is Let It Go, which actually had the lyrics written by Serri, one of the members! Please join me in the amazingness that is Dal Shabet! (Side note: They’ll be in my January countdown with their new song B.B.B. Preview: I love it!)

31. Seo In Guk – I Can’t Live Because of You [187 Points] Released: February 4, 2013

Bringing up the end of Part 2, I bring you Seo In Guk’s single I Can’t Live Because of You. This song features Verbal Jint, a good rapper and perfect for this song opposite Seo In Guk’s vocals. I can’t tell you specifically what it is about the song I like the most, but this is most likely my favorite of all of the songs Seo In Guk has released so far. I love this song, it almost has a ballady feel, but it’s a little more up-tempo and has a little bit of a pop feel to it. It just makes me feel happy and warm when I listen to it and I can’t help but sing along and give in to the feels!

Okay, well this wraps up part 2. Look for part 3 soon (very soon) since I’ll want to finish posting them before I start on January’s countdown! Here is the link for the YouTube playlist one more time! Till then!

Stasi ♫