Looking Back: The Top Three K-Pop Songs of August 2010

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!

August 2010 Overall Thoughts

Though both teams had been creating songs for years, the summer of 2010 was the point where super producers Sweetune and Brave Brothers started to become ubiquitous. Their hands are all over the releases this month, and each has a song within my top three.

This was a pretty competitive month, with a handful of very solid tracks. Infinite followed up their excellent debut with the flawless summer track She’s Back, while BoA dropped a great album and electro-charged title track.

Unless you’re a ballad fan, you might not be familiar with the name Jo Sung Mo. But, this talented vocalist reinvented himself by pairing with Brave Brothers for the fantastic (and awkwardly-titled) I Wanna Cheat. Apart from the obnoxious producer tag at the end, this song actually pulls some of Sweetune’s tricks, harnessing that edgy electric guitar I tend to love.

Battling for a close fourth place are Rainbow and Narsha. A is another Sweetune track that was a big hit for Rainbow and launched them to stardom. I personally prefer Mach, but A is no slouch either. Meanwhile, Narsha’s Mamma Mia is just bonkers fun. There’s so much going on in this track.

August also delivered a great single by Secret and a solid follow-up for Taeyang. Finally, it gave us the first taste of another soon-to-be-great act (Nine Muses) with a ho-hum debut (No Playboy). With few exceptions, “underwhelming debut singles” seemed to be a hallmark of 2010!

Honorable Mentions

HybRefine – Cosmic Dance (video)

Narsha – Mamma Mia (video)

Nine Muses – No Playboy (video)

Rainbow – A (video)

Secret – Madonna (video)

Sistar – Shady Girl (video)

Supernova – On Days That I Missed You (video)

Taeyang – I’ll Be There (video)

TOP THREE SONGS

3. BoA – Hurricane Venus

2. Jo Sung Mo – I Wanna Cheat

1. Infinite – She’s Back (full review)

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