Since the start of The Bias List in January 2016, I’ve always looked back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists each month. Now, it’s time to look even further into the past, one month at a time. And, yes, the top three rankings count toward The Bias List’s personal artist scorecard!
Which month do you want to see next?
February 2015 Overall Thoughts
Though I had been following K-pop for years prior, the start of 2015 marked the first era where I actively kept up with every single new release. This was around the time that my music-listening became K-pop (and J-pop) exclusive. Western music began to leave me behind, and I haven’t really looked back since.
February of 2015 wasn’t a particularly packed month, but it did deliver some standouts. Looking back at my top picks and honorable mentions, it’s crazy to see how many of these acts have since disbanded or faded into memory. This was only five years ago, yet the K-pop landscape has changed so much.
All three of my top picks are from artists you don’t often see on my countdowns, but each song is memorable in a different way. 2015 really began to heat up in the spring and summer, and would offer more classic material as the year went on. February was more like a warm-up before the big guns made their comebacks.
On a less music-oriented note, I really wish I would’ve bought a physical copy of Nu’est’s I’m Bad single back when it was released. That album’s impossible to find nowadays!
Honorable Mentions
Monsta X / No Mercy – Interstellar (ft. Yella Diamond) (video)
MYNAME – too very so MUCH (video)
Niel – Love killer (ft. Dok2) (video)
Nu’est – I’m Bad (video)
Rainbow – Black Swan (video)
Shinhwa – Memory (video)
TOP THREE SONGS
3. VIXX – Love Equation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUaciqzBNEU
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
4Minute “Crazy”
That is all on my list.
I didn’t get into kpop until sometime in 2015, and 4Minute for me was the first shocking disbandment that I encountered. “Crazy”, then “Hate” and then … gone!
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Sniper is so good. One of my favorites from Shinhwa and top tier in the “whistling” genre of kpop songs.
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February, 2015 wasn’t a very active month for girl groups. I was anxiously awaiting the new Rainbow drop. JeA (BEG) had released a new song that was.. ..meh. I didn’t expect a new release from 4minute, then BAM!, “Crazy” dropped and my chin hit the floor. It was a powerful release because, at that time, girl groups just hadn’t made songs like that; even though they definitely should’ve been. Amber (f(X)) released “Shake That Brass” (her solo debut) a week later and it was a’ight. Completely likeable, but didn’t steal any thunder from “Crazy”.
Then my girls arrived on the scene with the “Innocent” mini-album and my heart was aflutter. “Black Swan” (title track) was a departure from Rainbow’s prior two releases; which were ultra-cutesy. Like “Crazy”, it sort of came out of nowhere and I think a lot of people didn’t know how to react to a “dark and brooding” Rainbow. Unlike “Crazy”, it didn’t catch on as well; which is a shame because I thought it deserved its fair share of laurels.
Also off Rainbow’s “Innocent” release was one of my favorite songs to ever to be released by them; “PIERROT”. So I was able to double-dip off that drop.
Reference #1:
Amber: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYGeGI1Ihlc
Reference #2:
PIERROT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2NxpSD_x_M
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Xeno! You are back!
I have never listened to so much Rainbow as I have in the past month or two with all your suggestions. I think my favorite Rainbow is still “Mach”. The rest are good quality GG material, but not my thing, not being a natural GG stan.
I had Amber for that month as well, but the song didn’t last for me for longer than that year.
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Heya! I didn’t realize I’d left.. 😛
I’m glad you’re enjoying Rainbow. Sad that they’ve disbanded, but.. ..c’est la vie, I guess. Since you’re not a die-hard GG stan, I put together a schmedley of different girl group/solo videos; if you’ve the time and interest. It’s by no means a definitive list. Not everything on the list is a favorite of mine, but I was going for variety so.. ..yeah. Enjoy.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL57qfRar9VOFMp9DGtCuJifdZz5LjTB8Z
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Thank you! I got a mix tape! Woo hoo, for the first time in decades I got a mix tape!
It is interesting listening to so many curated songs in a row. I had the youtube window minimized, so it was mostly audio. I could pick out Miss A easily – classic JYP sounds. Others I already knew or could pick out easily (Lee Hi, Lee Hyori, Orange Caramel, couple others).
A few stood out. The instrumental group. The fast rapper. Girls Girls “Deal” was new to me and quite good as it presages a main current girl group sound. I went off and bought that one.
There are some groups in here that I had never heard of, never heard the song or group. It made me ponder once again the vast over-supply problem in kpop, and also the generic and disposable nature of pop music in general. In my view, about half-ish of those were indistinguishable as distinct groups from one another. Good pop music, but indistinct.
A mix tape of Chinese pop suitable for an 11 year old would be great. Darling Daughter started Mandarin lessons this year. Bonus points if it is actually buyable music.
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My knowledge of C-Pop is limited, but the group “As One” (As 1) may fit the bill. They “seem” safe (PG-13); please don’t shoot the messenger. They’re a Hong Kong Cantopop group. Mandarin and Cantonese are similar, so there shouldn’t be too much difficulty in making out the lyrics. I started following them after seeing Shin (Ng Sze Kai) on Produce 101 and MIXNINE (she’s been trying to break into the K-Pop market for years). Anywho, here’s a link to a few songs by them:
Link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL57qfRar9VOFwoBzvPHH6HhmB6kcMGK1n
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P.S. If you’re interested, I can put together a list of GG from outside Korea. J-POP (Japan), C-POP (China), T-POP (Thailand), etc..
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How is Crazy on top of your list when you’re a whole Hobgoblin anti HAHAHA
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i was almost going to be APPALLED that Black Swan didn’t make it to your top three, and then…. i scrolled down.
i whole-heartedly agree with your picks haha
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