For my last article for the month of December and the year, I decided to do it on something that I am really passionate about and share it with the Odyssey community. 2016 had a lot of comebacks in the K-Pop world. I want to share with you, some of the best K-Pop songs from both male and female artists/groups.
I may be a little biased for a few groups, but I think it'll be very fun to share. There were a lot of groups debuting as well as veteran groups making world records. With new choreography, new concepts for music videos, and especially the live performances, these K-pop artists really blew away my 2016. Keep in mind that this is my opinion and sure many other people either share my opinion or have one completely different than my own. On that note, let's begin!
1. EXO - Monster.
I am a huge fan of this group, and when they came out with this single for their album EX'ACT I knew it was going to be a hit. Now, the group had actually released two singles for the album, but this song had a lot more leverage when it came to everyone buying merchandise as well this particular version of the album — They had made a Lucky One album and a Monster album, version wise. Choreography wise, it was spectacular; EXO is practically know for their amazing choreography, so I was not disappointed in the slightest.
2. BLACKPINK - Boombayah.
This group debuted this year over the summer and they are taking the K-pop world by storm, when it comes to girl groups. I personally am not that into girl K-pop groups, but after seeing these lovely ladies strut their stuff in the music video and during their performances, I was hooked. This song, as well as "Whistle", were so popular that they were even recognized by Billboard being the only K-pop band to get on the Canadian Hot 100 chart! Well done ladies!
3. BTS - Blood, Sweat, and Tears.
I have had my eye on this group for quite some time, and I'm still trying to figure out why I don't "stan" them yet — for those new to the K-pop scene a "stan" is an extreme fan! Anyway, the music video was very aesthetically pleasing to look at. Also, the choreography was great. This group actually was given the Daesang for Artist of the Year from the Mnet MAMA Awards, which was very well deserved. I see big things for this group, even though they've done just as well as EXO.
4. TWICE - TT.
This group debuted last year and I immediately fell in love with them. This song came out around Halloween and it got both positive and negative feedback. The only negative thing about the music video was that their costumes, well some of the girls, looked too sexual. Personally, I didn't see that, but I guess some people felt that it wasn't appropriate as well as the fact there are two children in the video and they kind of gawk at the girls, which was very odd. On a positive note, this video broke the record for most amount of views on Youtube for one day! The choreography wasn't as fierce as Blackpink's, but it's still entertaining to watch.
5. GOT7 - Fly.
Now, I'm a little biased. This group is my all time favorite group in K-Pop. However, this song did very well on music shows, as well as had a huge world tour! How the song is produced, it sounds more like the group's genre. They're supposed to be a Hip Hop group, but some songs they have can come off very "cookie cutter", which I have no problem with — but what I'm getting at it, it was good to see them back in their element, so to speak. The choreography is great and the matching bomber jackets in the music video make them all the more uniform, which makes me happy. They also won Best Worldwide Act at the Mnet MAMA's, so that's saying something.
So there you have it! These are, in my opinion, the top five songs in K-Pop in 2016, now I will also post some honorable mentions.
1. Fire Truck - NCT 127
2. Whatta Man (Good Man) - I.O.I
3. Dream - Suzy and EXO's Baekhyun
4. I Just Wanna Dance - Tiffany (Of Girls Generation)
5. F**K IT - BIG BANG
6. Boom Boom - SEVENTEEN
Again, here are the top five as well as some honorable mentions of K-Pop songs that took the world by storm in 2016! Take a listen to any of these songs, maybe you'll become a fan!