pokecapn's top 20 kpop music video singles of 2018
ah crap
see you in an hour or so
(the rules)
- only singles with music videos in the interest of "fairness". rip forever young
- the song must Kick Ass per my exacting standards
- ounces of gin
- this might take a while since we're doing it live
previous years: 2017
2022 edit: I have tried to preserve as much of the original tweet thread as possible. Dead links have been fixed, images uploaded(?), formatting tweaked to work with cohost the blogosphere, but otherwise the order and descriptions are straight from December 31 2018, whatever that entails.
20) Gugudan - Not That Type
it's so "normal" compared to their 2017 singles, but there's a lot to like. you got reggaeton vibes, angry brass, and the aural equivalent of defibrillation at 1:53-1:55. when the ride cymbal hits you instinctively fist pump
19) Twice - What Is Love
big ups to the jyp massive and all of the ridiculous drum fills and half tempo breakdowns. did you ever think dahyun and chaeyoung's obligatory "rap" break would actually be enjoyable one day? it's wild
18) WJSN - Save Me, Save You
this song is like a good, cushy ride. the executive car suspension of synthesizers. i actually like the melody, with that awesome stutter in the scat, and the verses, with the future bass synths, better than the dreamy chorus
17) DIA - Woo Woo
maybe Shinsadong Tiger ripped off "My Boo" and "Superlove". just a little bit. okay a lot. but if the results are this good, maybe he should rip off All the Songs. ever think of that? I think of Chaeyeon's sofa-cover-looking-ass dress
16) IN2IT - SnapShot
the synth lead is pure filth and the rest of the song is pure fun. also, years of ddr have rotted my brain into thinking any song with an EKG in it is badass. this is the only boy group song in this list lol
15) UNI.T - I Mean
i'm pretty sure this is the first great song Brave Brothers has made since "Heart Attack" 3 years ago. it's simple, it's addictive, it's got 80s toms, and it's a shame this group only got 2 singles because "No More" was good too
14) EXID - I Love You
with Solji back, the Natural Order of things has been restored. this song works by riding the knife edge between the shrill samples/chorus and the mega bass 2000 watt rms lurking underneath. have you hugged a subwoofer today?
13) Blackpink - Ddu-du Ddu-du
this goes harder than just about anything else in 2018. i glued myself to a wall when this came on at a kpop night to make sure i felt the pounding pounding pounding bass kicks. rosé's part onwards is just short of magical
12) April - Oh! My Mistake
speaking of magical, this song is like filling a fish tank with 80s and dunking your head in it. the breakdown at 1:28 has this otherworldly sparseness to it that amps up how "fresh" this song sounds. sawtooths
11) Pristin V - Get It
okay take "all hands on deck" and "classic man", smash them together, and then make all the numbers go way higher, and you get this banger. nayoung is in handcuffs for about 45 frames in this mv. you're welcome
10) Momoland - Baam
it's kind of amazing that a joke track on EXID's first album had enough meat to fuel two great songs, but "baam" gets the nod for bringing higher energy and feeling more like 2012 t-ara. this song will pump (clap) you up
9) Loona - Hi High
basically a 2018 remix of "gee", and does it way, way better than e-tribe's own attempt, 3 months prior, with the same group. H and I come after G, so this song was actually foretold by the alphabet. i can write loonaverse lore too!
8) Sunmi - Siren
it's italo. that's all you need to know, click it already. pity about the dance break completely interrupting the vibe. i desperately want to hear the rest of the original 2016 version because it amps up the SAW like twentyfold
7) Oh My Girl - Secret Garden
it's no "closer", but it tries its very best. the thunder on the kicks is pulled back in favor of doubling up on them, which i can't decide if i like better or not. bathe yourself in dream synth.
6) Fanatics-Flavor - Milkshake
someone plays salt-n-pepa's "push it" for an alien, hands them a copy of fruityloops, and says "make the next song". this is the result. a pistol cocks at the very beginning of this and is never heard again. i love it
5) fromis_9 - Love Bomb
whoever made this song was never told "no" during any point of the process, and that's why it's so great. there is so much shit going on at once. futurebass, a detour to chicago, gabber clap triplets. it's all here. for you.
4) Chungha - Roller Coaster
slick 2-step gives way to euro-fueled 4 on the floor, all backed by the dankest FM synth bass this side of 1994. i think this and the rest of the list could be number 1 on any given day for me
3) CLC - Black Dress
not only does this song slap all the way through, at 2:51 the pryda snare goes off and it happens. that moment is known to some as The Slappening of 2018.
2) Apink - I'm So Sick
black eyed pilseung fire the large genre collider. the mini-black hole swallows space for a few femtoseconds before collapsing, emitting tropical melancholic italo. scientists furrow their brows before standing up and clapping
1) Loona / Olivia Hye feat. Jinsoul - Egoist
an otherworldly journey through sound and spacetime. i've probably listened to this hundreds of times this year, and each time i just sort of wander off mentally so i can be swallowed up by the aural ocean
0) Elris - Summer Dream
my shitty cybertruck with peeling delorean stickers comes screaming in from the future into 2018. "HEY MAN YOU NEED TO PUT SUMMER DREAM AT THE TOP OF YOUR LIST" the bumper falls off and crushes some stupid butterfly that's nowhere near as important as spreading the good word about Summer Dream
Thank You For Playing
- ← Previous
pokecapn's top 20 kpop of 2017 - Next →
pokecapn's top 20 kpop of 2019