Millie’s Top Ten May K-Pop Music Videos

This month, the K-pop music scene has seen the return of many groups that had taken long hiatus. We see the return of “beast-idols” 2pm, rookie group “EXO” makes a reappearance after making their fans wait impatiently for a year and a half, the Sexy Queen Lee Hyori comes back with multiple singles, and Shinhwa celebrated their 15th Anniversary (wow!) with a new album for their dedicated fans.

10. Vixx – Hyde

One of the few rookie groups to make it out of the 2012 explosion of debuts is Vixx, coming back with their new title track “Hyde” for their first mini-album. “Hyde” is a dark and dramatic song about a guy who is apologizing to his girlfriend for showing her a darker side of himself. He says it’s not his fault, but sometimes he feels like he changes between two people, like “Jekyll and Hyde”, and to believe in him. The music video mirrors the lyrics with the boys chasing after the girl who is leaving them, except the screen jumps back and forth between the “white” version (the good side) that is trying to be gentle, and the “black” version (the bad side) that is ready to tear apart the girl. Vixx presented us with a bipolar music video to match the bipolar feels.

9. Lee Hyori – Bad Girls

The Queen is back! Lee Hyori has been absent from the K-pop scene for three years but has now returned with her fifth studio album “Monochrome”, as well as promoting her pre-release title tracks “Miss Korea” and “Bad Girls”. Both tracks had similar themes of women empowering (“Miss Korea” however was more retro than “Bad Girls”). “Bad Girls” was my favorite of her comeback titles because not only was the music video funny but the song is also amazingly catchy, and proves that Lee Hyori, despite being in the Korean music industry for so long, can still keep up with the younger rookies that are dominating the charts right now. “Bad Girls” is a comical video about the life of a bad girl; from when she was four and pulling pranks, to high school when she didn’t let anyone bully her, to an adult where she refuses to let men get away with just looking at her looks.

8. Shinhwa – This Love

Shinhwa debuted in 1998 and is still coming out with new singles and album, proving that the k-pop group curse (that k-pop groups only last five years before disbanding) does not apply to them. The group came back with their 11^th studio album, titled “The Classic”, and they are promoting their title track song “This Love”. This song surprised me, for when I heard it the first time, I instantly fell in love with it. It surprisingly has a modern sound, yet, doesn’t sound like any of the other songs that are being promoted at the current time. However, as much as I like the song I can’t say the same about the dance. It has such exaggerated movements that it seems almost comical, except I think they were trying to be serious about it. It’s okay though, I forgive them for this because the song and their live performance makes up for it.

7. Hello Venus – Do You Want Some Tea?

This is a very good, yet underrated single. “Do You Want Some Tea?”  tells the story of a girl who has been dating this guy for only a short time, yet she really likes him and the relationship seems to be moving too slowly for her liking. She talks about how she is going to have to make the first move and invite the guy over for “tea” in order to get closer. Now, this could be taken as a very suggestive song but since the song and music video are very innocent, I’m going to just accept the fact that the motives behind inviting the guy over for tea are also innocent. The music video is simple but matches perfectly with the song and lyrics with its pastel colors and graphic patterns, and portrays the girls all going on dates trying to suggest to the guy to show more “skinship” and it even goes to the comical extreme of slipping him a homemade love potion.

6. EXO – Wolf

EXO made their long awaited comeback with the hip-hop/dubstep title track “Wolf”. SM Entertainment’s style as of late has been to mash-up their artists title tracks, and this song being no exception with the constant change of pace throughout the song. The choreography is fantastic, with many signature dance moves and the twelve members are able to transition their places effortlessly. However, the song is another thing. I’ve accepted some of SME’s past mash-ups but this one is just jarring for my ears. Perhaps after listening to it several times over I’d be able to tolerate this piece but as of now I’m going to enjoy the live performances and just watch these handsome boys dance.

5. CL – The Baddest Female

CL, the “Badass” rapper from 2NE1, came out with her first solo single “The Baddest Female” and became the second member from 2NE1 to branch out in a solo promotion (the first one was  vocalist Park Bom). “The Baddest Female” is a hip-hop song mixed with dubstep, and holds a catchy chorus that is easy to follow along with. CL surprised me by not only showing her signature swag and edgy style, but also mixing it in with a sexier image. My only request is that I wished this single showed off her singing abilities as well and not only her rapping. We know she is an excellent rapper, but she is capable of more.

4. Nine Muses – Wild

Nine Muses is the nine member k-pop girl group made up of models. Throughout their past releases they have shown that they are not only pretty faces but also talented singers and dancers. “Wild” is another great song that shows off their sexy and seducing sides as the music video is filmed with a black and white filter letting only a blood red color pop throughout the frames. This is a music video that their male friends are sure to love; not only for these lovely ladies and their gorgeous bodies but because the song expresses the girls’ desires to stay forever with the one guy they love.

3. B1A4 – What’s going on?

B1A4 came back with their new crazy title track “What’s Going On?” (Otherwise known as “What’s Happening?”) That rivaled their famous music video “Beautiful Target” for being one of the weirdest music video I have ever seen. Even watching it several times over I still had difficulties understanding the strange way this video was filmed.  I’ve boiled it down to the plot being that the five B1A4 boys are trying to catch their cheating girlfriend on a date with another. B1A4 finally had their first win on a music program with this title track and I could see why, the live performance shows off the great energy despite the sad nature of the song. I’ve always had a soft spot for the country-side idols, and now “What’s going on?” has become one of my favorite songs that was released this month.

2. Secret – Yoohoo

Secret has always been able to switch between the sexy concepts and the sweet ones. “Yoohoo” is a fun summer song that shows off the cuteness that the Secret girls previously expressed through “Shy Boy” and “Starlight Moonlight”. The music video seems to have nothing to do with the lyrics; it is about the four members on vacation when they suddenly get stranded on a deserted island and have to travel through the jungle to get back to civilization. The lyrics are talking about finding out you are slowly falling in love with your best friend, someone who has always been by your side but only now are finally noticing.  While this music video was cute, it really didn’t feel like anything special, with its saving grace being the beautiful scenery behind the girls in most of the shots. However, I love the song. It’s super infectious and the choreography that goes with it is very fun. This has to be my favorite comeback song from Secret with their cute concept.

1. 2pm “A.D.T.O.Y”

2pm enjoyed pushing the rating limits with this steaming hot music video. “A.D.T.O.Y” (All Day I Think of You) was released directly after “Come Back When You Hear This Song”, so at first this song lacked in views because fans were not aware of it being uploaded. But after seeing this music video once, it’s hard to forget. The 2pm “beast-idols” showed off their signatures abs in black and white scenes, many of them containing passionate moments with a female that I think most fans were jealous of (I volunteer to take place of the next leading lady in their music video, 2pm, call me?) The choreography differed from their usual style as they enabled chair props that were constantly changing places and position, making it a very clean and interesting visual for this promotion. But it’s not only the sexy music video that is making me play this track on replay but also because I can proudly say that this is my favorite 2pm song to date.