mjf314's favorite kpop videos of the decade

[mjf314]

With the decade coming to an end, I'll be counting down my top 20 favorite kpop girl group videos of the decade (I'm not ready to make a guy group list, because I haven't watched many guy group videos). I think I'll go at a rate of 5 per day. My comments mainly focus on visuals, because I find it difficult to write about music. I limit my choices to 1 song per group, but I mention other songs that I like in my comments.

20. Sunmi - Noir
It's about a girl who's obsessed with social media, and desperately tries to get likes. I like the way they incorporate her social media posts. In contrast to the video's theme, the music is somewhat relaxing. If you like this video, I recommend Gashina.


19. Nine Muses - News
I like the unusual set design, with lots of mirrors. The small spaces and the close ups make it feel very claustrophobic. My favorite Nine Muses song is Secret (which doesn't have a music video).


18. Seung Yeon - Guilty
I like the way the building looks in the first half of the video, mysterious and abandoned, and it feels a little bit like a dark fairy tale. Seung Yeon is a member of Kara, a group that will show up later in the list.


17. Secret - Talk That
I like the song, and there are some interesting shots - the vines growing indoors, and the burning papers.


16. f(x) - Red Light
There's some interesting lighting - scenes with lasers, diamond patterns, and fire. There are also some beautiful black-and-white shots. f(x) is one of my favorite kpop groups, because they made so many good songs. Unfortunately some of their best songs don't have music videos. My favorites are Dracula and Sweet Witches. Their most popular video is Electric Shock.

[fori]

Sick one, please share the full list. But why no guy groups? Seems like a real shame.

[mjf314]

Sick one, please share the full list. But why no guy groups? Seems like a real shame.

About 90% of the kpop that I listen to is from girl groups, and I thought it would look weird if I post a list with 18 girl group songs and 2 guy group songs. I'll post my favorite guy group songs after I finish the count down.

[mjf314]

15. Kara - Lupin
It's less colorful than most Kara videos, but I think the girls look cool in their long black coats. I particularly like the castle shot and the moon shot. If you want to see another Kara video, I recommend Mister.


14. Puer Kim - Manyo Mash
It's mostly black and white (with a little bit of color), which is unusual for kpop. Is it about an execution? Or a music recording session? Or maybe a little of both? There are a few interesting shots which are played in reverse. Some of the Youtube comments say it's a commentary on the kpop industry.


13. Twice - Like Ooh-Ahh
There's a zombie invasion, but the girls don't seem to care. They dance happily, until the zombies start dancing too. I like the camera movement in the opening scene, as it moves from girl to girl. Twice is the 2nd most popular kpop girl group (behind Blackpink). Twice includes members from South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. If you want to see another Twice video, I recommend Likey. In Likey, I like the shot where Momo sings while the other girls are doing her hair in fast-motion.


12. 4Minute - Hate
It's about a group of gangster girls. Apparently they hate someone, but I'm not sure who. There's some cool fast-paced editing. There are some beautiful shots with flowers at the beginning. The song was composed by Skrillex.


11. Lim Kim - Awoo
A cute and playful video, sang from the point of view of a cat. Lim Kim plays with a cat, plays piano, and hides in a closet. It doesn't sound like a typical kpop song, but I'm not sure how to describe it. If you like this video, I recommend Rain.

[mjf314]

10. Loona/Yves - new
Yves dances in a building with beautiful bright light coming in the window. Then there's some fast-paced editing where she has fun, and plays golf with an apple. Yves is a member of Loona. Before Loona's debut, they released one video for each of the 12 members, and this is one of them. Another one (Kim Lip) will show up later in the list. "new" is currently the highest rated kpop single on RYM.


9. Girl's Day - Twinkle Twinkle
A jealous high school girl likes a boy, and uses her martial arts skills to sabotage her rivals' chances. If this was a movie plot, it would probably be annoying, but it's an entertaining music video. My favorite parts are the hallway scene and the martial arts scenes. If you like this video, I recommend Oh! My God. I prefer Girl's Day's earlier and cuter videos. Around 2013 their style somewhat changed.


8. Itzy - Icy
5 girls, each on their way to a different place in the city, and then they start dancing. I like the way that words pop up on the screen, and various things suddenly become animated. My favorite part is when Chaeryeong (the girl in green pants) dances, and the camera movements match her movements.


7. Orange Caramel - Catallena
A cute and funny video about 3 girls who are sushi. Orange Caramel is one of my favorite groups, and they made a lot of good videos. Their videos are colorful, cute, and magical. My favorites are Catallena, Lipstick, and Aing. I also like Bubble Bath (which doesn't have a music video). Orange Caramel is a subgroup of After School, so you may want to check out their songs as well.


6. (G)I-dle - Hann (Alone)
It's set in a desert, but at the same time it's colorful with good costumes and lighting. I like the way they use the pillars to hide the wipe transitions, the mirror shot, and the rapping. If you like this video, I recommend Uh-Oh.

[funkybusiness]

when I saw the title, first thought was "better be some Catallena".

[mjf314]

when I saw the title, first thought was "better be some Catallena".

Catallena was the video that got me into kpop. It was the first one I saw that I considered a favorite. Do you have any other favorites besides Catallena?

[funkybusiness]

Short Hair.

[funkybusiness]

I don't know much about kpop, I can think of like three songs, but those two especially are bangers.

okay those were supposed to be two lines of the same post, not two different posts?

[mjf314]

Short Hair.

The AOA song? My favorite AOA songs are Give Me the Love and Excuse Me. I almost included one of them on my list, but they narrowly missed out.

[funkybusiness]

yeah, the AOA song. again, I don't know anything about kpop but I'll start listening thru some of the tracks you've recommended. I have no idea how I came across Catallena, probably a weird youtube algorithm thing, but I enjoyed it. it's like an even more upbeat riff of Madonna's Hung Up. and I like clothes that have wallpaper and decorative tissue paper designs. no Garden State jokes, please! I'm preempting you, whoever it might be, probably maxwell.

[Onderhond]

Expecting some Blackpink in the top 5, but the one I like the most is K/DA - POP/STARS, not too surprising since it is fully animated. Kinda like the aesthetics of these videos, the music is a bit more problematic though.

[mjf314]

5. Blackpink - Boombayah
I like the set design and the lighting. There are lots of creative shots, and the dance moves and editing match the song well. I like the black and pink background in the opening scene. I like the part where Jennie stamps her foot to the music. Boombayah was their debut video. They gained popularity very quickly, and Blackpink is now the most popular girl group. If you like this video, I recommend Ddu-Du Ddu-Du (the most viewed girl group video of all time). Their videos (especially Ddu-Du Ddu-Du) look high budget.


4. Loona/Kim Lip - Eclipse
Good music, good editing, and good use of red and black and white. But my favorite part is the opening scene where she walks into the building, climbs onto the stage, and looks around, and you can still see the trees outside. Like I mentioned earlier, this is one of Loona's 12 pre-debut videos.


3. Crayon Pop - Doo Doom Chit
Soyul shows her friends a picture of a bear and they try to learn the bear's dance move. Then they find the bear and chase after him. It's a silly and addictive song. Crayon Pop songs tend to have a geeky schoolgirl style. I also recommend FM, a sci-fi video where they fight monsters.


2. Momoland - Baam
This video mixes several cultures - Egypt, France, Korea, Philippines, and Vietnam. Another silly and addictive video, and I can't stop watching it. My favorite costume is Hyebin's, which combines a Mexican sombrero and a West African dashiki - a perfect combination, imo. If you like this video, I recommend Bboom Bboom.


1. Dreamcatcher - You and I
A dark and mysterious fantasy, with great cinematography. There's also a little bit of a story. If you like this video, I recommend What. In addition to original songs, they regularly do covers of both Korean songs and English songs. A few of my favorites are Lucky Strike, Really, Really, and Secret Love Song.

[Carmel1379]

Thanks for sharing

[mjf314]

One of my favorite guy group videos is Epik High - 1 Minute 1 Second. I'm not sure if it counts as kpop. Wikipedia calls them a hip hop group, but I've seen other articles that call them kpop.

I also like BTS - Idol. It's not a very original choice, since BTS is so popular, but I think the video looks cool.

[Pretentious Hipster]

Fuck Korean boy bands. Kazakh boy bands are the next cool thing

[mjf314]

Here's a small update with a few of my favorite kpop videos from 2020.

AleXa - Do or Die
This one has a sci-fi story. I'm not sure if I understand the story, but it looks cool.

Itzy - Wannabe
Itzy's Icy in my top 20. If you liked Icy, you'll probably like this one too.

Dreamcatcher - Sahara
Dreamcatcher's You and I is #1 in my top 20. Dreamcatcher makes a lot of videos, but many of them are low budget. This is one of their low budget videos, but I think it's their best of 2020 so far.