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!
November 2009 Overall Thoughts
2009 was not about to go out with a whimper. November offered its fair share of iconic K-pop singles, as the industry seemed to be blooming into a new era of sustained success.
The big story of this month was the release of T-ara’s first full album. It’s still one of my favorite girl group albums in K-pop, with singles that would shoot the group to superstardom. But even though the addictive Bo Peep Bo Peep didn’t vault to its highest level of popularity until the New Year, the song made its debut at the tail end of November. It was coupled with Like The First Time, which was actually chosen by fans as the song that should have been promoted first. They’re both fantastic tracks, but you know I love me some Bo Peep.
Other absolutely iconic tracks released this month were 2PM’s Heartbeat, After School’s Because Of You and Taeyang’s Wedding Dress. These are all great songs, though I’m not sure I love them quite as much as most K-pop fans seem to.
Instead, I’m still writing about G-Dragon’s debut album. A Boy is actually my favorite single to emerge from the project, and one of his most underrated tracks. I’m also quite partial to IU’s Marshmallow, which cast her as a bubblegum pop princess and featured a young Zico — two years before he would debut with Block B. f(x)’s follow-up single Chu also stands as a November highlight, further establishing their left-of-center electropop.
And then there’s U-KISS’s Am I That Easy, which is simply my kind of song. The autotune may be a bit much (in keeping with 2009 trends!), but that chorus and post-chorus hook have stood the test of time. It’s all just so… K-pop!
Honorable Mentions
After School – Because Of You (video)
Clazziquai – Ping (video)
f(x) – Chu (video)
IU – Marshmallow (ft. Zico) (video)
Rainbow – Gossip Girl (video)
Taeyang – Wedding Dress (video)
T-ara – Like The First Time (video)
2PM – Heartbeat (video)
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Over a decade later, T-ara’s Absolute First Album still remains one of my favorite K-Pop girl group albums of all time. It’s had such a big impact on the musical trajectory of girl groups in general. I really miss the days when groups would actually debut with albums (or even just an EP!). It seems like every debut these days is a single album, and the tendency seems to be to keep releasing single albums until something sticks and only then does a longer format album come along. It’s a trend that definitely irks me a bit since resonating with a group’s core sound tends to be what gets me interested in one at all.
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Aye to every word of this comment. Thankfully N.Flying’s new album is solid. Now if the girl groups will give us a Reboot, Absolute First Album, or Modern Times any time soon.
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Until today, U-KISS held the record on this blog for most honorable mentions for music without making it into an actual list. Man Man Ha Ni is my personal favorite, though Heartbeat and A Boy are classics too. I really have a hard time getting into Bo Beep though.
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Bo Peep’s chorus have crack. The MV is awkward tho.
A Boy as a song is good, but the MV? So cool.
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