Hello fellow K-Pop/J-Pop followers. Tonight I thought I would do an informative post to bring to light some of the newest of BLACKPINK's Jisoo's songs.
1 Earthquake
The reason I like this music video so much is because I was drawn to it by seeing Jisoo play the part of an office worker in the thumbnail. It was incredible to see her play that part and develop the emotional and empowering feel of the song for the audience related to the metaphors that the song represents. Jisoo's voice sounds very mature and well-fit for this song and makes it very satisfying to listen to. Additionally I like the choice of black for her costume as well as the dancers, it matched with the mood of the song very well. All of that together makes "Earthquake" a very entertaining song to listen to and fans will miss out on a must-hear experience by not listening.(JISOO, YouTube, 2025).
2. "You're Love"
Similar to being excited for "Earthquake", I was amazed listening to Jisoo's voice in this song due to her impressive singing talent. What blew me away and made me feel satisfied as a fan was due to both how well she sang and how the background singers contributed to the overall quality of the song. I particularly enjoyed the pre chorus and chorus the most because those were the most emotive parts of the song where Jisoo used breathy vocals that in turn made the song sound ethereal and angelic. "You're Love" is the perfect song to add to your K-Pop playlist if you have not already (JISOO, YouTube, 2025).
3. "Hugs & Kisses"
A very satisfying solo song of her's to listen to. What stood out most about it was her innovative way of singing by switching between casual and confident tones in her voice throughout the song. The lyrics were perhaps some of the best I have heard from her so far and the beat drop (which I explain more about beat drops in Popular K-Pop & J-Pop Terms Explained Using Song Examples) was phenomenal. The funky baseline was also a great addition to the song. I very much so recommend the song because it is very replayable in my opinion (JISOO, YouTube, 2025)
What are your favorite solo song's of hers so far? Please let me know in the comment section below.
Hello to all of my fellow K-Pop and J-Pop fans. It has been a little while since I have engaged with you all. This morning, I wanted to discuss Girls Generation again, this time ranking some of their best hits. Hope you all enjoy my list below.
The Top 15 Most Iconic SNSD Songs:
15. You Think
All members of SNSD showcased their singing talent in this song/music video, especially with Taeyeon, Tiffany and Seohyun. What I particularly liked about this song was the pre chorus build up and how both the main and supporting singers carried the song very well. Additionally, I thought the simple outfits in the music video was commanding because the casual choice of clothes fit well with the vibe of the dance and choreography. The short instances of floor work with their knees was fluid and kept me engaged with the music video throughout the whole time. As much as I liked it, there are still fourteen more songs which I would rank even higher (SMTOWN, YouTube, 2015).
14. Lion Heart
Another great song from SNSD, like "You Think" I enjoyed the build up in this song throughout the pre chorus. The chorus and verses were also delightful to listen to in this song. What stood out to me about the music video was the smooth transition in song story telling about the lion in the video conveyed through their captivating choreography in the middle of the music video. Additionally, the changes in their hair style at the end was perhaps the best way that they could match with the vibes of the song's story (SMTOWN, YouTube, 2015).
13. Baby Baby
A very heart felt and touching music video that shows the unity and togetherness of their group, even though the song is about something different. It was satisfying to hear Seohyun, Jessica and Taeyeon lead into the outro/closing with their powerful voices. Overall the video was a vibrant collection of some of their best moments and it was incredibly heartfelt to watch as a fan (SMTOWN, YouTube, 2011).
12. My J
For this song, the gentleness of their voices was featured and I happened to enjoy it because it is something that I have always known them to have in their performances. I appreciated all of their contributions to make the song sound unique, and I found Sunny's voice (as well as other members) to contribute to the main feeling of the song (GIRLS GENERATION, YouTube, 2019).
11. Barbie Girl
Although this is a K-Pop cover of the original by Aqua (1997), I thought that all the member sang very well in this song. The original was intended as a light hearted and fun song, and SNSD created the same effects in their cover that made it very funny and amusing to listen to (GIRLS GENERATION, YouTube, 2019). Below I embedded Jessica's solo because it is from an official YouTube channel, I could not find one with all of the singing from an official YouTube Channel.
10. Girls Generation
First of all, I thought the idea of them to name both their first full length album and one of their earliest songs "Girls Generation" to be hilarious, yet cleaver because it makes one wonder what the song is all about if they never heard the lyrics before. The video quality shows that it is one of their earlier songs which brings me back to the 2000s. Lastly, it was entertaining to see them play the keyboard and electric guitar and hear the synthesizers in the background. All of those combinations added to the quality of the song (SMTOWN, YouTube, 2011).
9. Galaxy Supernova
Just to put it short, I like the name. Perhaps it is one of the best names of their songs. The music video features some of their best dance moves yet and the background looks very engaging. It is overall a very fun song to listen to (SMTOWN, YouTube, 2013).
8. Mr. Mr.
I know this is a song I mentioned in a previous post this month, but since this is a ranking list based on favorites, I feel that it belongs in this spot. Perhaps the greatest element in this song was the catchy lyrics in addition to the strong pulse of the beats in the background. It is highly recommended being a middle of list song (SMTOWN, YouTube, 2014).
7. Hoot
Another hit song from them. Like "Mr. Mr.", this music video has a great quality that makes it stand out. But instead of it being the lyrics and beats, it was the choreography. The choreography along with the eye-catching wardrobe transitions added to the rhythm and feel of the song very well. That makes it lean towards being one of their best songs in my view (SMTOWN, YouTube, 2010).
6. I Got a Boy
Very dynamic and strong dance moves throughout. The song has a great pre chorus build up and the best part of the song is featured in the second half. My favorite parts are the middle and ending of the song. The music video and song felt like a big combination of the lyrical nature of "Mr. Mr." and the engaging choreography of "Hoot". It was truly a very satisfying song to listen to when it comes to K-Pop music (SMTOWN, YouTube, 2012).
5. Kissing You
This is one of their songs that I often revisit throughout the year. The song's lyrics are very meaningful and the simplicity of their outfits and dances is one of the reasons why I rank this music video so high. I would greatly recommend the song because of the type of story the music video/song tells which is very fitting for a K-Pop song (SMTOWN, YouTube, 2011).
4. Paparazzi
One of my favorite songs of their's to listen to. It is another song I previously mentioned and for a good reason. Whenever I listen to it, I usually watch it on YouTube on my Nintendo Switch before I get ready for the day's major responsibilities. The reason why is because it is such an energizing song and music video, and is altogether very fun to listen to. Do you all listen to this song in the same way, or do you have a different way of listening to the music (SMTOWN, YouTube, 2012)?
3. Gee
One of their most popular songs worldwide and the third song on this list that I have mentioned previously. It is simply one of the best because it is one of the first songs I have ever listened to from them. Not only that, but a brief look at the comments on YouTube, you will find that fans assert how iconic the song is. For these reasons together, I believe it deserves to be in the top 3 spot on this list (SMTOWN, YouTube, 2009).
2. The Boys
A very powerful song of theirs and it's my second favorite from them. The song and music video goes hard with bold dance moves and upbeat lyrics. What was really strong about this song is giving Sunny and Yoona a lot of song time so that the audience could enjoy their singing talent along with the three lead singers and other supporting singers. As the audience, what was your reaction giving Sunny and Yoona more singing time by the producers, songwriters, SM Entertainment, and perhaps their vocal coach and SNSD members themselves? Overall,it is truly one of their best songs of all time, but it is not my number one favorite (SMTOWN, YouTube, 2011).
1. Oh*
My personal opinion here, but the reason this is my number one favorite song comes down to many reasons. First, it comes down to liking the locker room and cheerleader concept in the music video. Second, it comes down to the background music. Third, is because of the engaging choreography which I find to be my favorite choreography from all of their music videos. I feel this music video is a total standout to listen to when one feels like being entertained by K-Pop music with very talented singers (SMTOWN, YouTube, 2009).
Conclusion
And that concludes my ranking of the "Top 15 Most Iconic Girls Generation Songs Ranked". Instead of asking if you agree or disagree with me, this time I wanted to ask how you would rank Girls Generation's songs? It does not have to be up to 15, but you are free to add more than 15 if you want to show how big of a fan you are of Girls Generation's songs.
K-Pop is currently a global phenomenon and has been for a while, but it has not always been that way. In my post, How K-Pop & J-Pop Have Historically Fused with Western Music, I discuss how it began in 1992 with Seo Taiji and Boys. This time, we will go into a different discussion focusing on K-Pop's spread to Europe and how it has developed into the big success it is there now.
K-Pop started to become big in Europe in the early 2010s with the "SM Town World Tour in Paris" that sold tickets to 14,000 fans and through a Rain concert in Germany (The Rise of K-Pop, 2023) (k-pop-concert.com). The stats, while not seemingly big, led to even bigger K-Pop concert ticket sales in 2022 with another concert in Germany that saw 65,000 ticket sales (Assis, 2022).
There are many reasons that K-Pop is resonating with European fans. Something I've noticed from watching concerts and music videos on YouTube is that they are all high in their production value. There is a high international appeal because the K-Pop genre uses a lot of foreign influences in the music. Perhaps the reason it's successful in Europe is because some songs have been influenced by European Pop to a certain degree (specifically from Sweden). Through this Spotify link, one can find hundreds of KPop songs that have been written by Swedish producers: kpop songs written by swedish producers (Astrid, accessed March 15, 2025).
The reason I made this post is because I have noticed significant traffic through this blog from European countries such as Germany and Austria as well as France and Switzerland to a certain degree. So I wanted to reach out to my European followers. Europe along with its countries is very interesting and it's also interesting to learn that there is a significant number of Europeans that like K-Pop music.
To me, this information was exciting to learn. How exciting has it been for all of you? Thank you all so much for following my blog.
Good evening fellow K-Pop and J-Pop fans! Tonight, I wanted to discuss with you some common K-Pop and J-Pop terms and how they apply to never before discussed songs and songs mentioned in this blog so far.
K-Pop Terms
메인보컬 (Mein Bokeol or Main Vocal)- K-Pop term that means the lead vocalist of the group. When it comes to songs/music videos that I have discussed already such as TWICE's "Heart Shaker" and "Dance the Night Away", Jihyo seemed to be the main vocalist due to being given many prominent lines for those songs as well as being at the center of the dance group. It has not always been like this though because Nayeon has had the lead being the center dancer and main vocals in songs such as "Fancy" and "The Feels". Personally, this is a great way to lead a K-Pop group and it would be fun to see other members such as Tzuyu or Dahyun be given more prominent parts in songs, but it makes sense that each member has the parts they already have because of the roll their individual part has in making the song/music video sound and look great. (JYP Entertainment, YouTube, 2017-2019; 2021).
고음 (Go-eum)- K-Pop term that means the high notes of a song. In the SNSD music video, "Mr. Mr.", Taeyeon shined alongside her group mates with her powerful light lyric soprano voice. All of them sang well, but Taeyeon is a great example of a K-Pop singer able to hit the high notes (SMTOWN, YouTube, 2014).
비트 드롭 (Beat Drop) – K-Pop term that describes the higher points of energy in a song. BLACKPINK's "DDU-DU DDU-DU" is a great example of a K-Pop song that contains an engaging and satisfying beat drop. The build up in the pre chorus was not disappointing because of how awesome the beat drop sounds in the chorus (BLACKPINK, YouTube, 2018).
간주 (Ganju)- K-Pop term for a song's interlude. ITZY's "WANNABE" is a K-Pop song with a fitting instrumental break that works to finish the final chorus of the song very well. Depending on the song and story, this is an entertaining way to present the story of the songs to fans. It was definitely the right choice to add one towards the end for this song (JYP Entertainment, YouTube, 2020).
후렴 (Huryeom)- K-Pop term for a song's chorus. MOMOLAND's BBoom BBoom is a fantastic example of a song with a strong chorus and is personally one of my favorite K-Pop songs of all time. It is very energetic and a great beat for dancing to. The lyrics of the chorus are very catchy and so fun that it makes one feel like dancing/hoping along with the beats (1theK, YouTube, 2018).
J-Pop/J-Rock Terms
転調 (Tenchou)- a Japanese music term meaning "key change" that describes the pitch of the song changes up or down. FLOW's "Go!!" is a dynamic example of using tenchou in the music video. The tenchou used in the last half of the song sounded very epic, funny and smooth. This J-Rock song has remained one of my favorite to listen to over and over again for a long time (FLOW Official YouTube Channel, YouTube, 2017).
間奏 (Kansou)- a Japanese term for "instrumental break" and it is similar to the Korean term "ganju". In Nogizaka46's "Kimino Nawa Kibou", the instrumental break in the middle of the song felt quite relaxing, dreamy and atmospheric. As a great example of a J-Pop song with kansou in it, it feels like a song perfect for listening to when wanting to relax after work or wanting to relax on a rainy day (乃木坂46 OFFICIAL YouTube CHANNEL, Youtube, 2018).
高音 (Kouon)- Japanese term for high pitched/ falsetto vocals. Hikaru Utada's "First Love" is simply a famous J-Pop song where Utada hits the high notes very well and expressively (Hikaru Utada, Youtube, 2016).
疾走感 (Shissoukan)- Japanese term to describe a fast paced song.Perfume's Polyrhythm is a perfect example of this type of J-Pop song because of the ambient background effects and soundscapes. The song is well sung and is a unique sounding song, the background effects sound very well incorporated (Perfume, YouTube, 2013).
余韻 (Yoin)- Japanese term used to describe highly atmospheric tracks. "Ikimonogakari" by Blue Bird is an emotional piece of music that is fitting as a Naruto Shippuden intro song. The fade off at the end of the song leaves the listener with the appropriate nostalgic effects that they are supposed to feel both from the song and anime (いきものがかり OFFICIAL YouTube Channel, YouTube, 2020).
With these ten terms, that concludes our evening study of K-Pop and J-Pop terms. I hope you had fun learning them and that they were informative in your exploration of fun and interesting K-Pop and J-Pop topics!
The J-Pop girl group f5ve has just released their new song, "Magic Clock" (f5ve, Youtube, 2025). This evening, I took a few minutes to sit down and patiently replay the music video a few times. Despite the video's short length, it sparks a great amount of discussion.
First off, this song is unique compared to a lot of other songs that I have reviewed on this blog. It's is one of the first (or maybe the first) electric pop song I have reviewed on this blog. While electronic pop can be enjoyable and energizing to listen to, the way it is incorporated in this song feels a bit different. The singers in the video are talented entertaining to listen to, but their singing feels overshadowed by the electronic music in the background. For future songs from them, I would like to hear what their singing would sound like with this background effect turned down (not completely removed because it does sound good at the right volume).
As for the concept of the "Magic Clock" in the video it appears that whenever the clock changes by the unnamed man, the ages of the girls change in the music video. It was a creative concept to add to the song which is a plus for me. It kept me viewing the music video until the end to see how it was going to end, and the ending (which I will not spoil) was fairly funny too. That being said, there is one big thing about the song that that just happened to get to me a little.
There is an overall feeling of K-Pop from the song, and while I am a big fan of both K-Pop and J-Pop, this is not one of my major preferences when listening to J-Pop songs. Over the years of listening to J-Pop, my preferences are that it sticks to the traditional Japanese background music to sound more fitting. This song has a bit of K-Pop in it vibes from the dancing, visuals and electronic beats in the background that make it feel more like it's marketed towards a worldwide audience than towards Japan,which is not my style of J-Pop music, but I can see why a lot of other people like it. There is nothing wrong with the music video, the quality or the song, but I would have liked it better if it incorporated a more J-Pop sound to it than mixing K-Pop sounds in the background music because that is what I am used to when listening to J-Pop.
Update based on response to Adam: I like electropop, I just mean that I felt that the implementation of electropop in this song could be improved. Thank you.
Update message number 2: In my post, Popular K-Pop & J-Pop Terms Explained Using Song Examples , number 4 of the J-Pop terms or number 9 overall addresses a Perfume song as Adam was discussing. I also need to edit my last paragraph to be more factual. Thank you for reading my review and I do happen to like f5ve's music I just wanted to post a review where I would give a less than perfect score to a song because past reviews had too many near perfect scores.
With all that being said, below is my final rating of the song:
IVE is the newest generation of a K-Pop group that I have reviewed on this blog so far. Thus, this new review brings a lot of excitement for both other K-Pop fans and me.
First of all, I just wanted to say that my first IVE song was "I AM" followed by "I WANT" (the Pepsi Korea colab) as my second song. I'm so glad they are putting out more songs because I enjoy their singing style very much (who else agrees)? About "Rebel Heart", I happen to love the fact that the influences from "I AM" and "I WANT" can be heard in the music (STARSHIP, Youtube, 2023;2025).
Everything about the song and video is pretty much great, but there are some imperfections to discuss which through having in music videos makes the group much more talented than if every single aspect of their music video and singing was perfect. What made the music video unique was the decision to have Yujin, Gaeul, Rei, Liz and Leeseo start off the music video with their solos. For each one, we see Yujin's intense dance moves that tell a story, Gaeul's individuality with regards to her pets, Rei's trendy fashion sense, Liz's free roaming personality on her bike and Leeseo dressed as a bride adds to the overall meaning of the song with relation to its title.
As the song progresses I love the message that they present both in Korean and English. Their singing seems to be uniting everyone around the city after the midpoint. It makes it very heartwarming to see everyone else get together and to see the six member get together to sing at the end of the video. The song has a lot of positive vibes in both its message and the emphasis on friendship.
With all of that being said, I did not find the music video to be 100% perfect as I would have liked the ending portion of the song to last a little bit longer. Nonetheless it was perfect in every other way and with that I provide my ratings below:
