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!
July 2009 Overall Thoughts
Pop music can be remarkably cyclical, and K-pop is no exception. Similar to what we’re experiencing now, July of 2009 saw a bit of a retro trend, bolstered by the era’s penchant for crunchy electro beats. Of course, this resulted in some great music. July was stuffed with releases, including a notable debut or two.
Looming large over the month is Brown Eyed Girls’ Abracadabra – one of the most iconic tracks in all of K-pop. It would soon set off trends of its own, and still sounds incredibly fresh today.
In fact, July was pretty huge for girl groups. We had the release of 2NE1’s first mini album, the debut of the soon-to-be-massive T-ara and a landmark album from Kara. Fighting for space were a bunch of soloists, from SoRi to Wax to T-Max’s Kim Jun. All delivered solid tracks.
Kara’s Wanna gets special honors, even if it would soon be overshadowed by the megahit Mister (more on that track next month!). And though 2NE1’s melodic I Don’t Care and FTIsland’s melodramatic I Hope put up a good fight for my third place, I had to give the honors to electropop act Clazziquai. Love Again is a total jam, with a rugged beat that fits perfectly alongside Abracadabra.
For those interested in under-the-radar acts, there were also strong releases from boy group R.Tripper and hip-hop duo One Two. Son Dam Bi and After School also paired up for the autotune-heavy Amoled, but I’m not a big fan of that song.
Honorable Mentions
Clazziquai – Wizard Of Oz (video)
FTIsland – I Hope (video)
Kim Jun – Jun Be O.K. (ft. Kim Hyunjoong) (video)
One Two – Starry Night (video)
R. Tripper – Far Away (video)
Roo’ra – Going Going (video)
SoRi – Boy Boy (video)
T-ara – Lie (video)
Wax – Finally, It Was You (video)
2NE1 – I Don’t Care (video)
