Since the start of The Bias List in January 2016, I’ve always looked back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists each month. Now, it’s time to look even further into the past, one month at a time. And, yes, the top three rankings count toward The Bias List’s personal artist scorecard!
August 2013 Overall Thoughts
2013’s summer slate was truly a wonder to behold, and August capped off the season with dozens of releases. Punchy electro-pop was in full swing, with most tracks sounding like K-pop versions of LMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem. That may sound like a complaint, but I mean it in the most positive way. These tracks had big beats, bigger hooks and energy for days.
August was stacked with boy group releases, though there were several standouts from the ladies as well. Sunmi had her (excellent) solo debut, Spica released the best song of their career, and 2NE1 continued their summer assault.
Elsewhere, under-the-radar boy groups flourished. Mostly-forgotten acts like 24K, NewUs and M.Pire released standout singles alongside bigger names like B.A.P, Nu’est and MBLAQ. Solo releases were also strong, with follow-ups from Henry and Kang Seung Yoon. And not to be outdone, there were some really fun, quirky debuts this month, from Royal Pirates to Wa$$up to Queen B’z.
My top three is (unsurprisingly) amazing. The top two tracks are both perfect, and probably interchangeable when it comes to ranking. They’re listed right alongside each other in my Top 100 All-Time list, and for good reason. To think that they were released during the same week is pretty staggering. We didn’t know how good we had it!
My third choice is more of a squeaker, threatened by both Spica and Sunmi’s songs depending on my mood. But, I consider it one of the most quintessential examples of Brave Brothers doing his thing on a dance track. And, there’s nothing more “2013” than that!
Honorable Mentions
B.A.P – Badman (video)
Bigstar – Run&Run (video)
CNBLUE – Feel Good (video)
Double A – Ok About It (video)
Henry – 1-4-3 (I Love You) (ft. Amber) (video)
History – Tell Me Love (video)
Kang Seung Yoon – Stealer (video)
Ladies’ Code – Hate You (video)
M.I.B – Dash (Men In Black) (video)
M.Pire – Can’t Be Friends With You (video)
MBLAQ – No Love (video)
NewUs – Love Panic (video)
Nu’est – Sleep Talking (video)
Queen B’z – Bad (video)
Royal Pirates – Shout Out (video)
Seungri – Gotta Talk To U (video)
Spica – Tonight (video)
Sunmi – 24 Hours (review)
Sunny Dayz – Meet A Girl Like You (video)
Tasty – Mamama (video)
Wa$$up – Wassup (video)
24K – U R So Cute (video)
2NE1 – Do You Love Me (review)
TOP THREE SONGS
3. Teen Top – Rocking
2. ZE:A – The Ghost Of Wind
1. EXO – Growl (review)
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Growl was incredible during its peak
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https://www.youtube.com/post/UgyXbb239kdidx2__I94AaABCQ
I love this concept photo so much!
Anyways………….
August was an awesome month , at it’s peak it gave us some excellent releases my Top 3 are nothing short of impeccable.
but I realized I am not as Absorbed to Growl as everyone seems to be.
Yeah it’s in my Top 100 but at least 70-61 at best.
Songs such as Lucky One and Love Me Right are jams but nonetheless Growl made it onto my Top 3 at second place.
My first place is Ghost of the Wind , I’ll always love a good dramatic , theatrical song!
And Hey Ghost9 Can Deliver something like this , can’t they?
3. Spica – Tonight
2. EXO – Growl
1. ZE:A – The Ghost of Wind
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1. Sunmi – 24 Hours
2. Seungri – Gotta Talk to U
3. ZE:A – The Ghost of Wind
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1. Sunmi – 24 Hours
2. Spica – Tonight
3. Wa$$up – Wassup
I just wasn’t into many boy groups back then.
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What a month! Wow!
The 24K and Teen Top songs are mainstays on my workout list.
I also have Spica “Tonight”, Nuest “Sleep Talking”, and Exo “Growl” on the long list.
And the winner of the month for me is Z:ea “Ghost of the Wind”.
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did the ghost of wind grow more than growl for you?
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Z:ea is my not so secret stan. My not so secret Z:ea obsession.
Actually to be perfectly frank, I have played Z:ea “Step By Step” twice as often as “Ghost of the Wind” so technically Z:ea are 1-2 for me.
Step by Step was an un or under-promoted song, but it is a solid pop song. It is also really – I want to call it dumb, but what I mean is that it is such a straight ahead structure, chord progression, and lyric (one step —– two step —- Step by step —-) that it could have been a hit in any pop decade. Heck, it could also have been a line dancing country song, it is so pliable as a song.
Looking it up just now, I guess there was a video, hey wow, I never saw the video!
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On a related note, New Kids on the Block was my younger sister’s boy band era, so I heard the crap out of New Kids on the Block “Step by Step” coming from her tape deck. This was after we lost our MTV, so, oh too bad I didn’t see the video that often until she got the VHS tape and wore that out. Her bias was Joey. ‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay6GjmiJTPM
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If you were to make a Top 50 kpop songs , which 5 groups would arrive in the placements the most?
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For groups, I did a parallel list when Nick did his earlier this year, but I never got to a proper ranking – it was more like successive cuts creating tiers. Most common in my top 50ish were Shinee, Big Bang, Super Junior, Red Velvet, including subgroups and solos (eg Taeyang, KRY, Kyuhyun). My general preference is for the artist’s singing ability > my ability to sing along with the song aka an actual melody > quality of the song > entertainment value > interpretive dance.
But I would also have soloists in my true long list, such as Park Hyo Shin, Roy Kim, Gaho. I have an even longer long list of other soloists as well (eg Lee Eun Mi, Jung Seung Hwan). And now I will add my obligatory Forestella reference, ooh yes, Forestella.
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ok one more question? what is your favorite kpop song of all time , I mean if you have one
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sorry for the question mark
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My most played songs ever is Bol4 “Travel” followed closely by Kyuhyun “The Day we felt the distance” – live version here ‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHWszOJVUEo
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thank you so much for the answers 😀
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I think this list will answer all your questions 😉
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Oh, my mistake. I thought you were asking me haha. I was wondering why you’d have these questions, since I laid it all out this summer!!
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Oh here we are again, hard to read
way over
thisaway
one
line
per
word
lol
(Is “Travel” even in your top 100, Nick?)
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I hate to say it, but Travel is nowhere near my top 100. Probably not even top 500. I like the song, but I’ve never liked her voice. Tons of folks love it, though.
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Ahhh I remember stumbling over my legs, absolutely determined to learn the shuffle from ‘Rocking’ because I needed a way to express the hype that song makes me feel TT I still can’t do it, but I still adore the song.
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