East Beat: Your Guide To Asia’s Best Pop Songs Feat. G-Dragon & Cosmic Girls
The world of pop music moves fast, especially for those who enjoy the sounds of the East and the West. Keeping up with the Hot 100 is hard enough, let alone knowing what’s going on in Japan and the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it K-Pop scene. To help you stay on top of Asia’s hottest pop music, I’ve put together East Beat — a handy guide to the best K-Pop songs of the week.
BIGBANG is arguably the biggest K-Pop group of the last decade, and their star member, G-Dragon, has Justin Timberlake levels of success as a solo artist. The 29-year-old’s latest album, Kwon Ji Yong, is mostly filled of glossy hip-hop jams, but he changes direction on lead single “Untitled 2014.” The piano-driven torch ballad recalls his bandmate Taeyang’s mega-hit “Eyes Nose Lips,” and provides a different look at a star whose talent is often overshadowed by his own commercial club bangers and bizarre fashion choices.
Rising girl group Cosmic Girls just returned with their first studio album, Happy Moment. Unfortunately, after establishing a unique sound for themselves with hits like “Secret” and “I Wish,” their lead single “Happy” is a generic electro-pop style that’s been done by countless other groups this year. This means that the album’s real gems are the B-sides, namely “Miracle,” which sounds like a disco remix of their best song “Secret.”
Newcomers Circus Crazy are a unique addition to the K-Pop scene, bridging a gap between idol boy bands and trendy K-indie. Their latest single, “Romantic Drama,” is a glittery ’80s synth-pop jam with shades of Prince. And speaking of throwbacks, three-piece girl group S.E.T channel Korea’s ‘Techno Queen’ Lee Jung-hyun on their debut single “Nalari.”
Another interesting new act on the scene is TOPSECRET, who have one of the silliest and strangest boy band tracks I’ve heard in a long time with “Mind Control.” Korean boy bands tend to be a lot safer musically than their female counterparts, so it’s cool to see some guys trying something different for once.
What are you into this week? Let us know below, or by hitting us up on Facebook and Twitter!
