Before you read on please check out 20 through 11 by clicking on the link Top 20 Favorite Songs of 2012 (by Male Artists): 20 through 11.

Now to continue the list:

10.  Exo-K/Exo-M – “What is Love” (For the sake of discussion I’m only linking to Exo-K’s version)

Exo’s first single…well… pre debut song took over my brain with the first playthrough.  While “Mama” is great and “History” isn’t too bad, “What is Love” is my absolute favorite of their released singles.  It’s hard to explain why I like it the best though.  I mean only two members are singing throughout the entire thing and it has a strange (guitar?) sound the entire time.  The rhythm has rather a y feel; in fact I found that if you watch Rain’s body roll in “Love Song” it matches just about perfectly!  There’s nothing uber unique about the video other than the solar eclipse that is happening.  There’s a brief introduction to the members of each group and a small dancing sequence along with a lot of symbolic objects (or I think they are supposed to be symbolic) scattering the video.  There’s some kung fu and a camp site…and a map. 
Perhaps I just really liked the mystery of the video.  I mean nothing was explained but there was a reason for that.  In fact I have an entire theory on why the songs were released in the order they were but that’s a whole other discussion.  All I can say is I just like the song.
Oh, and Kai is a noona killer.  He needs to stop -_-.

9.  MBLAQ – “It’s War”

So wait, my favorite Kpop group and they aren’t higher on the list? 
Actually…I didn’t really love their mini album this year.  I mean it wasn’t bad by any means but there were much better songs out this year.  Yes, this song had a beautiful orchestra.  Their voices sounded superb and Mir’s rapping was as awesome as always.  I guess I just didn’t know how to react with this song.  It’s not exactly something you can dance to but it isn’t really a ballad either.  I guess I’d just consider it a type of art?  There’s nothing I can really complain about.  I think I’ll place this song in the ‘Song Limbo’ category meaning I sometimes forget about it but I do like it. 
The video does make it good enough to be in my top ten however.  Given I’m extremely biased to Joonie being the lead guy but there’s a bullet that completely defies physics and that deserves some bonus points. 

The video itself is absolutely beautiful to be honest.  Not to mention the dance is really awesome and the outfits…well…all of them look amazing in black (heh...that’s why they’re called MBLAQ *bad pun).  Oh, and also random telephone booth in the back.  Another set of bonus points go to their individual shot videos.
While it’s not my favorite MBLAQ song, it’s still worth checking out. 

8.   Super Junior – “y, Free and Single”

When I first saw the teaser photos for this I was a bit scared.  I mean the strange long hair and the fishnet veil and the inconveniently placed bubbles.  I truly didn’t understand what was going on.  But then I saw the video teaser.  I thought ‘what is this?’ with its neat settings and bouncing dance.  I went from fearing what they were going to do to looking forward to it.  When it actually came out, oh man!  It made me want to hurry up and bingo!

I’m really curious about who at SM thought writing that line.  I really thought it was going to be ‘ready to mingle’ which would make complete sense and rhymes with ‘single’ but I suppose it’s just more awesome this way.  Anyways the song is just fun.  It’s not my favorite Super Junior song but I was happy to see the return of Kangin even if he didn’t get very many lines.  The dance is in its normal Super Junior fashion but I absolutely loved the part where Eunhyuk did his own thing while everyone else stood there.  It was such a neat effect!  I also really like the sound effects of clapping and feet stomping.  I was actually kind of sad that it wasn’t in the actual recording because I’d be all happy to clap along and well…then just felt alone. 

In the end, I had a tough choice between putting this and “Spy.”  This song just had a slight edge because at first I really hated “Spy” although overtime it grew on me.  This song is (in my opinion) more fun to sing along to.  Oh, and I’d be okay if it was a law for Leeteuk to never wear a shirt. 

7.   B.A.P. – “No Mercy”

BOOM! *CLAP* BOOM BOOM! *CLAP!

B.A.P. has become a dominating force since their debut early this year.  “Warrior” completely blew me away, everything from the set to their dance to Zelo’s insanely speedy rapping.  If I hadn’t read about them being a rookie group I would have had no idea because they are just intense.  I truly didn’t expect them to completely jump up so quickly in my rankings however but they are coming full speed at my favorite groups.  I’ve found a number of times a rookie group will have a good debut song but then I don’t like anything after, but with B.A.P. they just kept getting better.  Not long after “Warrior” came “Power” which has that same fierceness and caught my attention.  I truly thought that was the best they could get and they stepped it up even higher!

I am in love with “No Mercy.”  From the very beginning I started fangirling over the thing.  I should state that I’m a noona to every member of B.A.P. but Yongguk is getting into my TOP love territory with his raspy voice (luckily I’m only a year older than Yongguk).

I’m pretty much convinced Zelo is one of THE best rappers in Kpop, let alone the rap world in general.  I guess I can’t say what in particular makes this song better than the others but I just feel this is very well put together.  I just also love their style in this even more than the other ones.  While most Kpop groups have a very aegyo image they didn’t even try for it, and their attitude is working. 

Really, this song just confirmed me as a B.A.P. fan.  One thing I will say though: I much rather call myself a Warrior than a Baby, but it’s because I’m old. 

6.  U-Kiss – “DoraDora”

I feel like U-Kiss HAS NOT had a break this year.  It seems like every other day (perhaps I’m exaggerating) they have yet another single out.  While I started off the year listening to “Forbidden Love” (although that may have come out at the end of 2011) I’m still listening to them right now with “Stop Girl.”  I probably could have just put “Stop Girl” on this list (freaking Eli chair feels) and be content or truly any other song they put out this year. 

But then I started going through each of the songs and it was “DoraDora” that stuck out.  It brought back my memories of first hearing the song and seeing the video.  I love the glowing paint all over the set, the random spinning rooms and Hoon’s random hair band.  I think I’m declaring this the year of the hair band being that Hongki has one in “I Wish.”  I keep trying to do the sliding foot dance (I don’t know what else you call it) because it just looks so ‘swag.’  Then of course there is that arm swinging/ hip slapping move that just has a slight touch of S & M :D.  I would also love to give their costume designer a high five on the white outfits and for dressing Kiseop in that shade of red.  When it comes to U-Kiss I normally notice Kiseop the least but he just looks so good in that! 

To me, “DoraDora” really put U-Kiss on a whole other level for me. 

5.  Xiah Junsu – “Tarantallegra”

THE FEEEEELLLLLLLSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!  GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You know how I said I wasn’t really a TVXQ fan?  The same kind of goes for JYJ.  I mean I do like the song “Get Out” and (secretly) listen to “Ayy Girl” *rolls down window but I don’t really pay much attention to them. 

But then this song and video popped up and I think I died.  In fact, I think I’m a ghost of my former self because of this song.  From the orchestra (the violins and the pounding on the timpani) to Junsu’s perfect voice and the hypnotizing chorus I am fully under the spell of Tarantallegra.  And the video, I mean, it’s full of fire and snow and random pipes… the background dancers are gorgeous (both male and female) and I was even amazed to see they weren’t Asian.  From what I understand Junsu’s goal was to cross this song across international borders and he did it beautifully.  He used his artistic background to really portray something that was truly one-of-a-kind.  While first watch the video may seem extreme (I mean they even banned it) it really comes across if you keep watching.  From the settings to each of his outfits, it’s a masterpiece.

I might start listening to JYJ and their solo albums a little more.  Thanks, Xiah Junsu.

4.  Big Bang – “Fantastic Baby”

This could be on the list alone just because my brother loves this song.  Many of you probably understand where I’m coming from with that.  While most songs he just rolls his eyes at my squeaking over men he actually gave this a listen and actually asked me where he could buy it!  While “Gangnam Style” style seemed to hurt the image of Kpop (unintentionally) this song actually made it better.  I have friends into Kpop now BECAUSE of this song.  That says a lot right there.

Aside from that, this song is everything that is epic about Big Bang.  Big Bang was what introduced me to the world of Kpop and this reminded me why.  No one can do what Big Bang does.  They are simply Kings in Kpop starting from Daesung’s voice to TOP’s swag.  In fact the video was literally about them rising again in power.  I love how each of them are introduced in the video beginning with G Dragon’s ridiculous long (and somewhat terrifying) hair.  I like how over the course of the video he become way less terrifying. 

The part I appreciate the most though is just how the song continually builds.  It starts off with G Dragon singing in rather a low tone then moves through the bridge to Taeyang’s slightly higher voice until all of a sudden Daesung is singing at the top of his lungs!  It’s something that’s not so easy to explain in words but if you really listen close you’ll understand what I mean.  By the end of the song you can feel your body wanting to break into a crazy dance fest.  The song tells you to dance and you know you really want to. 

And of course nothing beats the awesome nostalgic kickback to NBA Jam with the Boom Shakalakas (I hope this joke isn’t too dated for everyone). 

3.  SHINee – “Sherlock”

I was dying for a SHINee comeback!  SHINee is one of those groups that I absolutely love but when I don’t hear about them for a while I forget about them :/.  I know that makes me a slightly terrible person, especially because Onew is one of the few Kpop guys born in the same year as me (I’ve been calling him my ‘best friend bias’ for months).  I have for a long time considered SHINee one of the best vocal groups out there with Onew’s strong stage voice and Jonghyun’s crazy high notes.  In fact I always thought they were the best dancers too.  The amount of talent in that group is just beyond imaginable.  My expectations were high when I heard they were having a comeback…and then I saw the teaser photos. 

Dear SM, we need to have a talk.  This and the Super Junior teaser photos just really hurt my life.  All I wanted to do was introduce my mom to SHINee because I thought they were safe and clothed, but no.  I don’t even NEED to say what was on my mind when I saw the pictures.  Of course then the song came out and OH. MY. GOD.  BEST THING EVER (Aside from the top 2 songs on this list)!    I couldn’t even begin to say enough about this song!  I’m not even going to try.  You know how I mentioned I love the build in “Fantastic Baby”?  This does that but even better.  This song starts out huge and keeps turning into an epic fest for the ears!  The dance is perfect, the clothes are perfect, the story is perfect….GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH *Blows up* 

This just proves even more why I think they are the most talented group out there.  Do you know how many times I just randomly shout “I’m so curious yeah!” for no reason?  I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped to the floor the second I heard this.  I recommended this song 100% to everyone.

Oh yeah, and soy un Dorito, just saying. 

2.  Shinhwa – “Venus”

I actually have a feeling about 90% of the people reading this will completely disagree with me on this, but hear me out.  Shinhwa has been around in Kpop for years!  They were a group that I always heard referred to but never paid attention because they aren’t exactly relevant to the current generation of Kpop.  As I mentioned before I’ve been a Kpop fan for 3 years but that wasn’t early enough to catch them in action.  My first year though I did recall hearing and really liking a song by Shinhwa member Lee Minwoo called “Minnovation.”  I only mention this because this was my extent of knowledge on them.  When I heard they were having a huge comeback this year I heard it was a big deal but I didn’t think anything of it.  I’m not even actually 100% on when or why I clicked on the video but I did.

And boy am I happy about it! 

I feel like most people won’t understand why I regard this song so highly.  I mean, it’s a very simple song.  I’m assuming they are comparing a girl to the Goddess Venus and like most Kpop that’s my extent of understanding.  There’s some English splattered in that just makes it easier to sing along but to say there’s anything super special about the song, I can’t really claim that.  For some reason though, I just think it’s THE perfect pop song.  It has that same build I mentioned in the previous songs, starting off soft then having a big booming chorus.  It properly integrates dubstep just enough to make it current while keeping the feel of old Kpop.  Perhaps it’s the fact it reminds me of the music I once listened to.  It’s something I would expect the Backstreet Boys to do with their upcoming album (they got back together, yay!).  The dance is pretty cool, especially with the random women backup dancers and their hand movements over the group’s bodies.  The dance builds up just as much as the music as more people come jumping in and dancing.  The dance itself isn’t anything groundbreaking either but it fits the mood. 

I don’t know what I can really say just that it’s a song worth giving a try.  Since I heard it I’m pretty sure I’ve listened to it atleast once every day.  There have been several cases where I’ve just left it on repeat as well.  I’ve been hesitant to share it with people but once they gave it a try they got just as addicted.

Give it a try, you won’t regret it!  Just believe me on this one :D.

I thought about creating this list back in November and I just was ready to mark this as my number one favorite song of the year.  That is, until this next song came out:

1.  Block B. – “Nillili Mambo”       

BBC, FOLLOW ME!
This song has single handedly ruined my life!  You need to understand, I used to hate this group (and I do mean hate)!  Not just because of that incident in Thailand or anything, I just hated their cocky image (and dreadlocks and I aren’t friends either).  When I finally listened to “Nalina,” while I still hated the attitude I slowly started to break my walls down around them.  I still never planned on listening to or liking another song by them until this just popped up.  And now, I feel like I no longer run my own mind.

I’ve started singing this song when I wake up in the morning, when I’m in the shower, when I go for a drive, when I eat a sandwich, when I watch a movie…everywhere!  I haven’t gone a few hours without subconsciously singing ‘nalililalililinili mambo’ (or however that is spelled).  I never found pirates quite that awesome until this video, nor did I enjoy watching someone chase around a chicken. 

It’s simply hypnotizing and I can’t get enough of it.  I’m pretty sure I have watched just about every performance of this song just to hear it again.  It has everything I could ever want in a song without me ever knowing I wanted it! 

I can say that this song may have very well made me a Block B fan.

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I hope you enjoyed my list!  Please let me know in the comments what you think.  What were your favorite songs of the year? 

If you decide to create a blog on it shoot me a message, I’d love to see.

Thanks for reading <3