My Top 10 Kpop Songs & Albums (2017)

K-pop is one of most popular music genres in the world. If you don't know what K-pop is, it's basically Korean pop or South Korean popular music that experiments with other music styles as well. I've only been a fan of K-pop for two years and boy, have I learned a lot about it. To be honest, I used to find this genre annoying. I didn't get what the hype was all about when it comes to K-pop. I would say, "They're just pretty faces", "Can they even sing?", "Why are you obsessed with K-pop when you don't even understand it?" 

My classmates during college told me to give it a chance and to take time to listen to it, I did and I became so invested with this music genre, I knew I'd never hate it like I did before. Once you take the time to listen to a certain K-pop song, you'll feel happy, sad, ecstatic, or even sentimental. You automatically feel like you know what the song is about even though you don't understand it. I love K-pop now 'cause they know how to produce and experiment music; like they throw you off by mixing R&B with EDM or Hip hop with Jazz. Also K-pop shows that music is universal.

To make it short, reasons why I love K-pop:

• They give you such addictive sounds/melodies.
• I love searching the English translations of K-pop songs.
• They have catchy choruses.
• K-pop groups and artists give their 100% with their freakin' choreography/performances.
• I love how they experiment with other music styles.
• There are a lot of reality programs where you learn about K-pop idols and members. That's why we have the biggest fanbase and we get so attached to groups and artists 'cause we feel like we know them already.

Since I gave you a brief (not really) reason how I got into K-pop, to the K-pop and non K-pop lovers who are reading this, going to finally reveal my top 10 K-pop songs & albums of 2017:

Note - I judge the K-pop songs based on immediately loving it for the first time, the instrumentals, and the whole content of the song. I judge the K-pop albums based on the whole tracklist, instrumentals, and the concept of the album.

SONGS - 

#10 Touch It by EXO

EXO is my second favorite boy group. They released their 4th album, "The War" and I would listen to one of their tracks, "Touch It" so many times. It's such a fun and groovy song to listen to. It gives me a Justin Timberlake vibe like his records, "Rock Your Body" and "Senorita". It's about when a girl does small gestures like flip her hair and small touches on a guy and the guy just falls head over heels because of the little things she does.

#9 Night Rather Than Day by EXID 

EXID is such a savage girl group. Usually their comebacks sound aggressive and upbeat. This comeback song, "Night Rather Than Day" has a different sound than their other comebacks, it's more sultry, retro pop. It's that kind of song when you listen late at night during a long drive. It's about you and your lover spending a lot of time together the whole day. You love spending time together in the daytime, but at night, it's more intimate and exciting.

#8 Crazy in Love by SEVENTEEN

SEVENTEEN never fails to amaze me with their songs. "Crazy in Love" is a bop. It should've been the comeback song rather than "Don't Wanna Cry" in my opinion. No hate with that song; I love that record too, but "Crazy in Love" has this sound that is so addictive, especially their chorus. It's so upbeat and has strong vocals and raps that goes well with it. It's about when you don't believe that love will make you crazy, but once you're in love, you believe it will.

#7 Cherry Bomb by NCT 127 

Whew. In comes #7, "Cherry Bomb". You've done well, NCT 127. I lost count on how many times I've listened to this. The beats of this song goes hard and I love it. This track sounds dubstep mix of pop. What I love about this song more is Mark's (member) rap and the "na na na" part at the end of the song. While reading the lyrics, I got a little confused what the song is about, but my guess is that whatever the group does, they'll be happy no matter what the haters will say.

#6 Fool by WINNER

Coming in #6 is a slow song I picked called, "Fool". Finally, a slow song! Even though I love upbeat, dance songs, I also love ballad, emotional tracks. That's one of the reasons why I love Kpop. "Fool" is such a melancholic and heartbreaking song. And I just love the chorus when Seungyoon (member) sings "I was a fool". You just feel how emotional he is when he sings that part. It's about how a person is such a fool for letting someone they love go because of their foolish and stupid acts and wish they can take it all back. One of my my favorite lyrics when it's translated in English.

#5 MIC Drop by BTS 

My ultimate bias boy group, BTS had an incredible year. They released their mini album, Love Yourself 承 'Her' and one of their tracks, "MIC Drop" ruined me! I love how this song has this aggressive, "in your face" vibe. The sound has a mix of dubstep, EDM, and even a little of hardcore punk. This song is for the haters of BTS. What I love about this track is no matter what their haters say, they'll ignore 'cause they've come a long way to where they are at. What music BTS put out, they're happy with it.

#4 Too Much by Loco (feat. DEAN) 

Loco, a Korean rapper released a song called, "Too Much" and my goodness, this song has been on repeat for months. A song where you can play at any club really. This features DEAN, a Korean singer and his voice puts the cherry on top of the song. Definitely gets you in a dancing mood. This song is about a person who's interested in a girl who stands out and just does things too much and makes that person nervous. 

#3 Eclipse by Kim Lip (from LOONA) 

LOONA is a girl group that will debut on 2018. They showcase each member with their own performances and one of the members, Kim Lip released a song, "Eclipse" and her voice is just so soothing that comes with beautiful melodies. It sounds like a mix of 80s' and 90s' Pop. You get so hypnotized with this record. It's about a relationship that was meant to be; a relationship that was destined to happen and describes their love like an eclipse. 

#2 Spring Day by BTS 

Coming in #2 is another BTS song, "Spring Day". When the piano starts playing, I knew I would love this track. It has an emotional melody. If you make this instrumental, it sounds weird, but lovely at the same time; like a mix of soft rock, classical, and electronic music. What made me love this song more were the lyrics. While reading it, it really gives me sentimental and wistful thoughts about friendship. It can be about someone you were once romantically close with or someone who was a friend you were once close with and now complete strangers. You wish it was like before, but it can't happen. You wish you'll meet again and hopefully be okay because it's hard to let go of someone you care about. In the end, it hurts less when you stop blaming each other and hopefully be alright.

#1 Intro: Serendipity by BTS 

Ever since the BTS comeback trailer came out for their Love Yourself 承 'Her' mini album, I've been playing "Intro: Serendipity" non-stop. This is #1 on my top 10 'cause the lyrics + Jimin's (member) voice are just so beautiful. The sound is contemporary R&B and soul.The whole song is stunning. His vocals can reach the high notes really well. A two minute song that will make you fall in love with Jimin's voice immediately. How the lyrics describe love just warms my heart. And the part when he sings "just let me love you" blows my mind. It's about that kind of love where you put your whole trust and heart on fate 'cause no matter what happens between the love of between two people, they'll be together in the end.

ALBUMS - 

#10 The War by EXO

EXO released their fourth album, “The War” and I got to say, it's amazing how they change their music styles with every album they release. This album is more dramatic with their sounds. It made me a little confused on how they arrange their songs; like it goes happy to dark then to happy music again. In my opinion, they should’ve arranged it to the dramatic tracks with the first half of the album then the other half should have been the positive dance tracks. Even though I’m a fan of them experimenting their music, some of their instrumentals were all over the place, but I love how the beats really go hard with every track. The sounds in their songs are a mix of electronic, pop, and a little bit of house music. My favorite tracks are, "The Eve", “Ko Ko Bop”, “Forever”, “Touch It”, and “Chill”. Overall, EXO surprised me with their voices and still knows how to showcase their talent in this album.

Rating: 7/10

#9 Holiday Night by Girls’ Generation

Girls’ Generation’s “Holiday Night” screams K-pop. If you’re a fan of pop, cutesy music, this girl group will always succeed on that. I’m not a huge fan of very pop songs, but with GG, they never go over the top. Their sixth album showcases the girls’ maturity as a group and with their songs. What I like about this album, it doesn’t seem like the other songs they’ve released before. Most of their tracks in this album have this summer vibe and sound like the early hits from Madonna and some of their songs sound like the laid back pop songs. It's the kind of album when you only feel really positive. My favorites from “Holiday Night” are “Girls Are Back”, “All Night”, “Holiday”, “One Last Time”, and “Light Up The Sky”. I wouldn’t listen to this album everyday, but if I’m in a dancing and cheerful mood, I would listen to it. 

Rating: 7.7/10

#8 My Voice by Taeyeon

Taeyeon from Girls' Generation finally released her first album, "My Voice" and it really gives me mix emotions. This album has different music styles like some songs are ballad, dance, pop and even rock. There's no doubt that Taeyeon has a great voice, but I want her to find her own style or genre of music. I think her first album was like experimenting her voice. What I love about this album though is that some of her tracks has this Michelle Branch and Jessie J kind of vibe. She showcases her versatility as a solo artist in this album. What I admire about her is that her lyrics in her tracks are relatable, sweet, and a little heartbreaking while I reading the English translations. Just the way she describes when you're dealing with relationships, love and loneliness made me love "My Voice". My favorites from this album are "Fine", "Cover Up", "I Got Love", "Time Lapse", "When I Was Young", "Lonely Night", and "Love in Color".

Rating: 7.9/10

#7 Love and Fall by Bobby

Bobby. I am so proud of my bias in iKON. This year, he released his first album, “Love and Fall” and he did not disappoint me one bit. I love it when he showcases his voice in this first album. People think he just raps, but he throws you off and gives you this album and sings his heart out. To be honest, I don't like how some rappers have crackly voices, but Bobby, the way he growls is so unique and makes me love his raspy and crackly voice more.  I did find one or two tracks a little annoying at first, but I liked those songs when I kept repeating them. If iKON disbands which is probably not going to happen in the near future, he's going to go far as a solo artist, I promise you that. My favorites from "Love and Fall" are "I Love You", "Alien", "Secret" (feat. DK, Katie), "In Love", "Swim", and "Firework". If you're a fan of him or want to listen to this album, it's basically hip hop and rap chill music.

Rating: 8/10

#6 7 for 7 (mini album) by GOT7 

I wasn’t going to put a mini-album on my top 10, but "7 for 7" should be on here ‘cause their voices and lyrics make me swoon and all of their songs flow really well. Every time they release new music or have a comeback, their sound is maturing and this group is growing as wonderful artists. Every track in this album were subtle like drinking warm coffee from start to finish. I really enjoyed listening to this album. The sound and the music style from the tracks were like early 2000s' boy group love songs, chill, and upbeat. It was hard to pick favorites in "7 for 7" 'cause all of them were great, but "Moon U", "You Are", "Firework", "Teenager", and "Face" really got me 'cause of the instrumentals and the lyrics. Overall, one of my favorite EPs/mini-albums in the K-pop world.

Rating: 8.8/10

#5 Boy. by Offonoff 

I only discovered Offonoff during November 'cause I listened to "Gold" feat. DEAN on Spotify and loved it then checked the "Boy." album and instantly fell in love with this artist's music. You can really tell his style of music when you listen to this album. His vibe is very relaxing. His style is more on chill hip hop and R&B. If you're a fan of his kind of music, you'll love him instantly. Not all of his tracks are upbeat, but slow R&B which I love. After listening to this album, I support him all the way as an artist. I also like that he collaborated with other K-pop artists like DEAN and MISO 'cause he'll gain fans for that in my opinion. Tough picks, but my favorites are "Cigarette" (feat. Tablo, MISO), "Gold" (feat. DEAN), "Good2me" (feat. Punchnello), "Boy", "Photograph", "Dance", and "Moon 12:04am". This album is an awesome listen overall. 

Rating: 9/10

#4 Palette by IU  

My ears have been blessed because of IU. What makes an album spectacular, is that every track tells a story from the beginning 'til the end, "Palette" succeeded on that. IU's soulful voice just melts my heart. Ballads are my favorite 'cause you can relate and you know more about the artist. When she released her comeback song, "Palette" feat. G-Dragon, I was in love with this unique collaboration and told myself that I know I'll like her album. Listening to this album from start to finish was a roller coaster ride. I felt contented then emotional; it's a very sappy album. The first half of the tracks were more pop then the second half were sentimental and sad. The instrumentals had different music styles; There was a little bit of disco, pop, classical, and soul. It really sets the mood when you're alone and want to think about life. IU put her whole heart into this fourth album. She told her experiences about the obstacles she's been through whether it's love or life. My favorite tracks are "This Right Now", "Palette" (feat. G-Dragon), "Ending Scene", "Jam Jam", "Full Stop", "Love Alone",and "Dear Name". Overall, a ballad album that really blew me away.

Rating: 9.5/10

#3 Teen, Age by Seventeen

Seventeen had an incredible year. This boy group released amazing music that finally defined who they truly are as a group and "Teen, Age" puts the cherry on top. Their second album was an incredible album; better than the first in my opinion. All of the members showcased their voices and talents in every track. Their vocals were on point. They knew how to put their own style and still make it pop and upbeat. Seriously, when you put 13 members in a group, that's hard as hell, but this group succeeded on becoming one of most successful K-pop groups because they know how to mesh their amazing vocals and raps and make it work. They keep growing and growing. Favorites from "Ten, Age" are "Change Up", "Clap", "Bring It", "Lilili Yabbay", "Pinwheel", "Flower", and "Hello". If you're a fan of upbeat, slow,  pop, and dance music, please listen to this album. It gives you a whirlwind of emotions.

Rating: 9.8/10

#2 The Clan Pt. 2.5: The Final Chapter by Monsta X

Monsta X is making me fall more in love with them every time they release new music and this album was a high quality album! They literally went hard with every track! From the beginning 'til the end, I couldn't even pick a favorite 'cause all of them are so damn catchy. "The Clan Part 2.5 The Final Chapter" was the kind of album where you can dance to in every track. There are some K-pop albums that are a mix of a lot of music styles in one album and can be all over the place, but Monsta X's album made it their own style and made it flow really well. Their sound is hip hop and EDM with really nice electronic instrumentals. This boy group just started a few years ago and already getting recognition. They were able to show their vocal growth since they debuted during 2015 and delivered a well produced album. This group really has a great future headed for them. They've grown so much as a group. Such a proud fan! I really can't pick favorites, just listen to their whole first album. 

Rating: 10/10

#1 The Collection: Op.2 by Jonghyun

Okay. Whew... A lot of you guys know that Jonghyun from SHINee has passed away. I'm still in denial about what happened to him. It's still kind of hard when I talk about it. Ever since his song, "Lonely" feat. Taeyeon came out during April, I loved it. I didn't listen to this song again until the end of November 'cause that's when I started to compile my favorite songs and albums of 2017 and I was on my Spotify a lot, "Lonely" randomly played many times during that time, I said to myself, I haven't listened to Jonghyun's album yet, I did and I said this has to be on my top 10. I didn't know where to place "The Collection: Op.2", but since the news happened, he deserves to be on #1. I'm not doing this for pity, he deserves it because his artistry and talent in this album shows. Every track was superb. This album is a compilation album. Some of his tracks were released during 2016, one song was released during 2015, and the rest of the tracks were released this year. His first compilation album, "The Collection: Story Op.1" came out during 2015. This ballad album was emotional and showcased Jonghyun's voice and talent beautifully. It has such a chill, jazzy, and soulful vibe that I really love. It's one of those albums you listen to on your own and where you lay down on our bed and just relax. While I was reading the English translations on every song, I really admired his lyrics 'cause it's based from his experiences. You have to give him props 'cause all the lyrics were written by him, the songs were produced and composed by him. As a solo artist, he truly has a gift. I'm a big fan of SHINee and Jonghyun's voice really stood out 'cause it was deep and angelic, and whew, he could hit those high notes amazingly. All of these songs in this album are incredible, but when it comes to choosing my favorites, "Lonely" (feat. Taeyeon), "Love Is So Nice", "Blinking Game", "Elevator", and "Let Me Out" are my faves 'cause it really showcases Jonghyun's voice and I'm in love with the lyrics. Jonghyun, your voice gave me comfort, thank you. Thank you for being an angel, thank you for your smiles and laughs. Fans will never forget you. 

Rating: 10/10

And those are my top 10 K-pop songs & albums of 2017. If your favorite K-pop song or album are one of my top 10, comment below. Also tell me what was your favorite K-pop song and album of 2017? And why? Thank you for reading. Until next time.