2014, A Year in Review

Kpop fans have been harping on how this past year was so terrible nearly from the start. While it was definitely filled with scandal, for me, 2014 was fairly boring. Obviously, the defining moment of 2014 was the reunion and comeback of g.o.d. But apart from all the g.o.d goodness, it was mainly a 'meh' 12 months of Kpop, in my opinion. However, there were a few bright spots...

My Favorite Things About Kpop in 2014

I had started to compile a list of my favorite songs almost as soon as this past year began. At the end of June, I posted a list of my faves for the first half of the year on my Tumblr. Since then, I kept on it- continuing to label new releases as kickin' jamz that could end up on my year-end fave song list. It took a lot of thought, but I think I finally have a solid list that reflects what I was really jamming out to in 2014. Obviously this is just based upon my personal taste, which is fairly bad to begin with...

Top 35 Favorite Songs

1. g.o.d - the entire Chapter 8 album [in particular "The Lone Duckling," "Sky Blue Promise," "Stand Up," and "Saturday Night"]
2. Dal Shabet - “BBB”
3. Crayon Pop - "Hey Mister”/"C'mon C'mon"
4. T-ara - “Sugar Free”
5. Vixx - “Error”/“Eternity”
6. Kim Jongmin - “Sali Go Dali Go”
7. Kara - “Mamma Mia”
8. Orange Caramel - “Catallena”/”My Copycat”
9. Crayon Pop - “Uh-ee”
10. Girl’s Day - “Something”
11. K-Much - “What Should I Do”
12. Jiyeon - “1min 1 sec”
13. f(x) - “Red Light”
14. Exid - "Up & Down"
15. Tahiti - “Oppa You’re Mine”
16. Stellar - “Marionette”
17. Lim Changjung - “Shall We Dance”
18. Taemin - “Danger”
19. Koyote - “1999”
20. JYJ - “Backseat”
21. Strawberry Milk - “OK”
22. ZE:A - “Breathe”
23. M - "Taxi"
24. Akdong Musician - “200%”
25. Beast - "Good Luck"
26. Kim Dongwan - “He_Sunshine”
27. Infinite - "Back"
28. T-ara- “First Love”
29. 100% - "U Beauty"
30. Red Velvet - "Happiness"
31. Henry - "Fantastic"
32. Block B - "HER"

Edit: I should have tried to fit AOA's "Like a Cat" in here somewhere. The song really grew on me.

Top 5 Best MVs

1. g.o.d - "Saturday Night" 
2. Kim Jongmin - "Sali Go Dali Go" 
3. Vixx - "Error" 
4. Orange Caramel - "My Copycat” 
5. Block B - "HER"

Originally, I wanted to make a Top 10 list, but I found trying to organize that list beyond the top five was too much of a hassle.

"Saturday Night" is such a perfect music video. It's lulzy and fun and fits the song to a T. Similarly, Jongmin's MV for "Sali Go Dali Go" is funny and appropriate. It also features Cheon Myeonghun, so in my eyes, it's automatically amazing, and it was hard not to name it my #1 fave just because of Myeonghun, to be honest.

I have always been fond of Vixx's MVs, "Eternity" wasn't at all bad, but "Error" was terrific- well made with a crazy good concept. "My Copycat" also had an interesting concept and was executed well; "Catallena" even was a very memorable MV. I really like "HER" mainly for the aesthetics. Very nice on the eyes.

Best Groups

• Male: g.o.d with a special nod to Vixx 
• Female: T-ara 

g.o.d absolutely owned 2014. Literally the only thing I want to remember about the year 2014 is g.o.d. But 2014 was also the year I really got into Vixx. Vixx is a fun group that really can't let you down. Different concepts, impressive choreography, funky tunes, and they're all so adorable, and they match each other so well. Really looking forward to seeing them in 2015. Hopefully, I can catch them if they come back to the US next year, too.

T-ara had another good year. Jiyeon made a fantastic solo debut. Unfortunately, Hyomin's solo did not live up to expectations. But then T-ara came back with "Sugar Free" and all was right. Their rendition of "Little Apple" was pretty sweet too. I just wish netizens would let the bullying thing go. It's so hackneyed.

I'm also going to give a shout out to Crayon Pop, though it was too bad that we never got that full album this year. Hopefully, they come back out in full force and take Korea by storm as they did with "Bar Bar Bar."