K-Poppin! : Underrated 2014 Rookie Artists

2014 has been a wonderful journey to many of us, same thing happens to the K-pop scene as well. This year marks the debut of so so so many rookie artists. It was that much til the number exceeded 100 artists this year! How crazy is that! The fact that the number of rookie artists debuting this year is that much, I'm sorry to say, but it is pretty hard to stand out or to make one group differ from another.

(image via SBS Entertainment)

While in 2013, the BIG 3 (SM, YG and JYP) did not debut any groups, this year all three companies debuted four groups, making the competition between rookies become more heated. Pictured above is GOT7 from JYP Entertainment who debuted with 'Girls, Girls, Girls'. The girl group from SM Entertainment, Red Velvet debuted with a cheerful track, 'Happiness'. And the other boy group comes from YG Entertainment is WINNER who is previously known as Team A from the reality show WIN and now debuted with 'Empty'. Also, woolim who has now merged with SM C&C debuted their own girl group, Lovelyz with the song 'Good Night Like Yesterday'. Not pictured above is another debut from YG Entertainment, the siblings duo who won the second season of K-pop Star, Akdong Musician kicked off the K-pop scene with their playful song, '200%'. 

If you are not really into K-pop, you might have heard about the groups I mentioned previously, but I am not very sure if you have heard the artists I am going to cover below. Well, without further ado, let's check out these underrated 2014 K-pop artists!

1. Kiss & Cry - Domino Game

Kiss&Cry is one of the group that I discovered early in 2014. I have that habit to listen to new song from artists that caught my attention without actually watching the MV. As one of the first of rookie groups in 2014, I grew to love 'Domino Game' every time I listen to it. The song is powerful and it showcases the vocal of the members as well. Unfortunately the future of Kiss&Cry is still questionable. Some have said that they have been disbanded but the other has said that only one of the member, Haena has ended her contract ((and later joined Superstar K6)), either ways, best of luck for Kiss&Cry!

2. MAMAMOO - Mr. Ambiguous

While the mainstream K-pop listener might not know about this group, many others have showed so much appreciation and appraisal for these ladies. I first knew this group from the song called 'Peppermint Chocolate' sung by K.Will ((note: I did not always follow K.Will but every time he released a new song, I will definitely listen to it)). But honestly, that song did not really leave an impression to me, and I did not watch the MV either. But then, some weeks later, I stumbled upon a Path update from my friend who was listening to MAMAMOO and gave a lot of compliment to this group. It is not until I listened to the song and watched the MV ((which featured lots, lots of artists)) that I finally understood how much they were praised. They have an amazing vocal; both recording and live, the right dance moves and classy concept/appearance/style ((i just can't decide the right vocab))

3. HIGH4 - Headache

Many people recognized HIGH4 from their pre-debut song with IU, 'Not Spring, Love or Cherry Blossom', which is indeed really, really cute and romantic. That's what happened with me as well. I loved their vocal and concept and they reminded me a little of SHINee and B1A4 somehow. And I did watch some of their awkward interviews and I can't help but giggle at how awkward Alex is ((sorry, Alex! haha)). Though that dancing-only part on the song made me go like duh especially in the MV, but I still love these guys. I hope they will make it big in the future!

4. Yoon Hyun Sang - Always Be With You

Discovering Yoon Hyun Sang is like discovering a hidden gem! I really mean it! Year 2014 was all about groups and collaboration, so it is rather hard for a solo rookie artist to stand out, in my opinion. I really found Yoon Hyun Sang again thanks to IU. For his debut, he had two title tracks which was this one and 'When Would It Be' featuring none other than IU. Hyun Sang has a very soothing voice that is perfect for the rainy weather in my city nowadays. I listened to his songs almost everyday and it gets more intense when it rains outside or when I am about to sleep. The whole mini-album is worth to be checked, I promise you!

5. Almeng - Phone in Love

While Yoon Hyun Sang was the contestant of Kpop Star 1, Almeng is another notable alumni but this one from Kpop Star 3. This unique co-ed duo is a bit unique because in most of duo or duet, the boy usually does the rap and the girl does the vocal. But for Almeng, it is vice versa. Therefore, they are giving more fresh and interesting spice to the usual K-pop music. Also, both their debut MV a fun concept. I love how they incorporated words and typography into the MVs.

Well, those are five rookie artists that I think you should listen if you really had no idea how to jump into the 2014 debuts bandwagon or if you simply want to kill your boredom. For more girl and boy group debuts, you can check out the article posted by soompi that fully covered the debut of Kpop groups in 2014 here. Meanwhile, I have compiled a playlist that included all the songs that I have mentioned here as well as some other debuting artists that I have listened but not on my list yet. Because seriously, 100+ artists can be super overwhelming.

Also, I realized that I have talked about MAMAMOO and HIGH4 before in the previous K-Poppin article. Another also, Lucky J and B.I.G from that article are included in the playlist as well.

Phew, this article took much more time to write than I expected since I did not plan to include a playlist initially, but I am glad I finished it. Hope you guys enjoy!

Cheers, filicia!

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!