K-Poppin! : 7 Underrated Summer 2014 Tracks That You Should Listen

Hi guys! If you know me, you know that I am an avid K-pop fan. I have listened to K-pop ever since 2008, and still can't get over it. SO, it is just natural that I go all giddy and excited to write about K-pop on this blog. Well, even though the feature is called K-Poppin!, I will not only talk about K-pop, but in the future I might also talk about Korean music in general, Korean TV series, Korean shows and anything related to Korean culture.

(image via SMTOWN on Facebook)

So, for the first K-poppin! I am going to talk about 7 tracks that you should listen this summer 2014! While you might be familiar with tracks that won music shows, you might have little to no idea about the songs that I am going to mention after this.

Please note that I am NOT a music or k-pop expert. Anything stated in this post is based solely from my subjective opinion.

1. Shin HyeSung ft. Lyn - Buen Camino

First up is a song that was first released in 2005 by Shin HyeSung himself featuring Kang Suji. For his 10th debut anniversary, he comes up with the project 'Once Again' in which he will remake and re-release his old songs. This is actually my first time listening to 'Buen Camino' and I had no idea that it was a remake of an old song. When I first listened to it, I just fell in love. The song is unlike the usual K-pop as the genre is more like bossanova. I never thought that I will love this genre! But listening to the beautiful voices of Hyesung and Lyn, I think I just melted. It gives me a calm and soothing vibe. Even if you are unfamiliar with bossanova, please give this song a try!

2. Lucky J - Can You Hear Me?

I have very little idea about this group. I discovered them from KBS Music Bank and totally loving it. Turns out that they have just debuted and they are a co-ed group which is a bit rare in K-pop scene. Loving Jessi's voice, even in the live shows, and it really complements the boys' voices. Looking forward to what they will bring in the future.

3. HIGH4 with Lim Kim - A Little Close

For me, they are such a perfect combination. Lim Kim has been gaining popularity since her debut last year and HIGH4 too is slowly getting into K-pop scene though they have not officially debuted yet. I love both singers and super happy to find out their collaboration. Obviously the collaboration is not disappointing at all. Loving their unique voices, simple dance moves and fun song.

4. Ulala Session x IU - Summer Love

This is a perfect combination! Absolutely not your typical K-pop songs, but super unique and fun! I am really hoping that there is an official MV for this song. Nonetheless, it is a very fun song, it has an upbeat music and it certainly boosts my spirit. Hopefully yours too ;)

5. B.I.G - Hello

Again, thanks to KBS Music bank, I actually got to discover lots of unique music and singers. This group had me at their song lyric. Lol. I think this is the first time I have ever gotten into a group because of the song lyric. I mean, K-pop song lyrics are in Korean and I barely understand anything. But I happened to watch the music show with English lyric translation that time. I literally laugh while reading the lyric as it talks about Korea's dishes and also the word 'Hello' in several languages. Of course it is also helped by the upbeat music and great dance performance.

6. MAMAMOO - Mr. Ambiguous

I have listened and watched some of their pre-debut songs before, so they have actually gained my attention before the release of "Mr. Ambiguous". But it is this song that make me settled. And I think I have never seen that much K-pop singers showing up in an MV (maybe beside Psy). The MV kinda reminded me of SNSD's "Hoot" and Wonder Girls' "Nobody". But the song itself is really good and catchy and also each of them have such a beautiful voice. And even though I don't know the meaning behind the group's name I kinda love it and how the name is implemented into the song lyric.

7. Henry - Fantastic

Well people, Henry is no longer that maknae of Super Junior-M. Ever since his solo debut with "Trap", he has proven his amazing music and performance skills. The thing that I love about Henry is how he incorporate classical music into the K-pop songs. He has used piano in "Trap" and now with violin in "Fantastic". This is certainly a good song and if you are interested you can check out "Henry's Real Music" where he played a piano duet with Yiruma, performed "Fantastic" in string quartet, etc.

(image via SMTOWN on facebook)

Well, that's quite a lot of video and explanation, isn't it? But I hope you enjoy my music review. For more summer tracks, I would recommend you: SISTAR's "Touch My Body", Block B's "H.E.R", Girls Day's "Darling", B1A4's "Solo Day", HyunA's "Red", JYJ's "Backseat", GOT7's "A", and more! Is there any summer track that didn't make it to the list, please share your favorite summer jam on the comment section.

Also, one fun thing that has been happening among K-pop artists, the #IceBucketChallenge! Check out the artists who have taken the challenge in support of raising the awareness of ALS here.

Cheers, filicia!