The second installment to my Kpop Report. If you missed my first one here it is: 1st Quarter Report

 

EXO: EXODUS & Love Me Right (Repackaged)

The single Call Me Baby from EXO's 2nd full album was certainly catchy but it wasn't my favorite EXO single. Personally, I think it's more worth it to buy the repackage with the inclusion of First Love (my favorite song) and also Promise, written by Lay, Chen and Chanyeol, and partly composed by Lay. Love Me Right was, to me, a more interesting track.

 

miss A: Colors

miss A's 3rd mini was alright. The title track Only You charted really well as is really catchy and the lyrics were kind of odd. Suzy and Min both participated in writing the lyrics for I Caught Ya and Stuck respectively.

 

MAMAMOO: Pink Funky

The lead up to this mini saw MAMAMOO collaborate with labelmate eSNa in the single AHH OOP!. The title track Um Oh Ah Yeh, partly penned by Solar, Moonbyul and Hwasa, caught some attention with their genderbending MV, and the tune itself is a great track becoming their best charting track to date, reaching #1 on 6 charts. Freakin Shoes, written and partly composed by Hwasa, is another one of my favorites.

 

The Ark: The Light

One of the three debuts that have really caught my attention. The Light MV is said to be a sort of tribute to the Sewol ferry incident but the song itself is quite heartwarming. So far I think these girls have a lot of potential and they dance amazingly well. You should check out their BTS and EXO dance covers.

 

EXID: Ah Yeah

EXID's 2nd mini album is a solid one. The title track Ah Yeah is the follow up to their break out hit Up & Down and personally I like this track better.

 

Park Jin Young (JYP): Who's Your Mama

I'm only mentioning this because it's JYP. The MV was... interesting. The song itself had a Gangnam Style sort of catchiness.

 

BASTARZ (Block B): Conduct ZERO

This subunit of Block B's debut mini album spawned one of the most addicting song of 2015 so far, Conduct ZERO. I can't say I've listened to the mini itself, nor am I a fan of Block B so I don't know much about them but that song was just too good.

 

Jinuseun: Tell Me One More Time

Their first project in over 10 years, Tell Me One More Time featuring Jang Han Na is a pretty catchy tune and they invited different female artists to join them on stage for the promotions which was fun.

 

CLC (Crystal Clear): Eighteen & Question

Eighteen was their in between promotions promotion leading up to their 2nd mini album Question. The title track Like is a cute song and the MV is bright and adorable but my associates and I agree that Hey-yo is a much more memorable track. But the mini itself was solid and I liked it better than the first one.

 

M&D: Cottage Industry

Made up of Heechul from Super Junior and Jungmo from TRAX, this is the duo's first mini album and the title track in I Wish.

 

Oh My Girl: Cupid

WM Ent's new girl group. Cupid is an okay track but this group hasn't really caught my attention at all.

 

BTS: In The Mood of Love Pt.1

The boys are back with their 3rd mini album and this one is amazing. A great collection of tracks including I Need U and Dope (Sick).

 

BIGBANG: M & A (MADE series)

Unless you have been living under a kpop repelling rock, you would have heard of BIGBANG's comeback with their MADE series which is basically their new album split into different parts so they can over-promote it. The M tracks are Loser and Bae Bae which were both amazing and still on my playlist. The A tracks are Bang Bang Bang and We Like 2 Party. I didn't like BBB as much but WL2P feels really nostalgic.

 

Kim Sunggyu (Iinfinite): 27

With double title tracks The Answer and Kontrol, this 2nd mini album was excellent.

 

BoA: Kiss My Lips

This is BoA's 8th album. She wrote the lyrics for all the songs and co-composed each song as well. Quite the masterpiece, this album was, in my humble opinion, extremely underrated. Reception from new kpop fans was just underwhelming to say the least. The album had two title tracks, Who Are You featuring Dynamic Duo's Gaeko, and Kiss My Lips. My favorite track is Blah.

 

SHINee: Odd

The title track to this 4th album was View, a dance-pop tune with a retro feel. The choreography was one that only SHINee can make look as cool as it seemed. The album itself was solid, nothing unexpected, including a few ballad type songs.

 

Baek A Yeon: Shouldn't Have

This is actually just a digital single but it slayed the charts and in fact it is still in the Top 10s even though it was released over a month ago.

 

N.Flying: Awesome

The only boyband debut that I really like so far. Another boy BAND by FNC, the boys' Korean debut mini album is a short but sweet one.

 

KARA: In Love

Back with their 7th mini album, the title track Cupid did not really catch my attention.

 

Seventeen: 17 Carat

What else is there to say but they finally made their debut with title track Adore U which I do somewhat adore.

 

Lee Seunggi: And...

Seunggi finally made his comeback as a singer with his 6th album. It is also his farewell album before he leaves for enlistment. The title track And Goodbye reflects the the mood.

 

2PM: No.5

Aptly named No.5, this is 2PM's 5th album. The title track My House really didn't impress me so I haven't bothered to listen to the album.

 

SISTAR: Shake It

SISTAR's 3rd mini album is a little underwhelming for the girls. Shake It grew on me but I don't love it more than Touch My Body.

 

AOA: Heart Attack

AOA may have gotten popular but I don't get it.

 

TEEN TOP: NATURAL BORN TEEN TOP

 I haven't gotten into TEEN TOP but as a friend pointed out, they have some pretty cool feet choreography. Also the title track ah-ah isn't too bad.

 

BTOB: Complete

Their 1st album. I've only heard and seen the MV for the title track It's Okay but I already love it! I'm just starting to get into BTOB but so far I like them.

 

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Other notable comebacks during the 2nd quarter:

• Park Boram: CELEPRETTY
• Lim Kim: Simple Mind
• ROMEO: The Romeo
• BESTie: Love Emotion
• Jang Hyunseung (B2ST): MY
• Elsie/Eunjung (T-ara): I'm Good
• Urban Zakapa: UZ
• MBLAQ: Mirror