Throughout the month of December, we brought you our list of the best and most important K-Pop songs of 2012. Now, we’re pleased to present the best K-Pop music videos of 2012!
Read on to find out where your favorites rank in our list- today, we bring you numbers fifty through twenty five.
50. SHINee “Sherlock”
Label: SM Entertainment
Release date: March 22, 2012
Release date: March 22, 2012
Let’s face it- SM Entertainment
videos are not really known for their originality. Even the most
die-hard fans are growing bored with the predictable formula of bands
dancing on random sets intercut with glamour shots of the members
lip-synching. SHINee‘s “Sherlock“,
with its museum setting and detective plot, was definitely a step in
the right direction- not to mention that the choreography was so good
that the dance version of “Sherlock” could have easily ended up on this
list instead. While Shawols are still waiting for something as grand as “1000 Years Always By Your Side” in the group’s Korean promotions, “Sherlock” leaves us with hope that that things are looking up for SM Entertainment videos.
49. Soran “Don’t Lose Weight”
Label: Happy Robot Records
Release Date: April 3, 2012
Release Date: April 3, 2012
You don’t need big budget sets, costumes, and special effects to make a great music video, which is exactly what Soran showed us with “Don’t Lose Weight“.
They make you think it’s just a sit-on-the-couch-and-play-the-song
video, which then turns into a clever single-shot video that matches the
song’s cute and simple sound.
48. LEDApple “Let the Wind Blow”
Label: Startory Entertainment
Release Date: Nov 15, 2012
Release Date: Nov 15, 2012
“Let the Wind Blow” may be the most visually dynamic video that LEDApple
has released to date, but it’s more than even that. Like many of their
previous releases, “Let the Wind Blow” uses human-like robots to explore
the themes LEDApple been examining since the beginning of their
careers, such as being controlled with feelings of being trapped and
isolated. Unlike previous videos such as “Time is Up” and “Boy Meets Girl“,
where the robots seem helpless and the videos leave you worried about
their fate, “Let the Wind Blow” gives you the idea that the robots may
be on the road to controlling their own destiny, which leaves us all
curious to see what’s next for LEDApple.
47. 4minute “Volume Up”
Label: Cube Entertainment
Release Date: April 8, 2012
Release Date: April 8, 2012
Famously one of the more expensive videos of the year, “Volume Up” was 4minute‘s
tribute to ignoring their haters. They used snakes, skulls, and other
scary imagery to represent the hurtful things people say about them,
while lyrically promising to drown out all the hate with their own
music. The imagery might have been more impactful if we could have seen
how the skulls and other scary things affected the girls, but it was
still good to see a group that is constantly under the microscope stand
up to their detractors.
46. BoA “Only One” (Dance Version)
Label: SM Entertainment
Release Date: July 21, 2012
Release Date: July 21, 2012
SM Entertainment tried to bring us something out of the ordinary with the drama version of BoA‘s “Only One“.
While it was an interesting attempt, the story was tough to follow and
the pacing was quite slow, which disappointed those of us who were
excited to see SM Entertainment finally tackle a drama video (again,
look at SHINee’s “1000 Years Always By Your Side” Japanese video).
However, when it comes to a BoA video- especially after such a long
hiatus- what we really want is to see her dance. The dance version of
“Only One” was as fantastic as we all hoped it would be, with intricate
choreography courtesy of Nappy Tabs that perfectly suited BoA and her top-notch skills.
45. Hot Potato “Pillow”
Label: Daeum Entertainment
Release Date: October 28, 2012
Release Date: October 28, 2012
This music video is quite possibly the lowest budget one on our list. All Kim C
does in the music video is walk on a conveyor belt. He’s getting
nowhere walking backwards on a conveyor belt that wants to take him in
the opposite direction. However, the music video is laden with
symbolism. It starts with Kim C throwing off his baseball gloves and a
ball getting away letting the conveyor belt take it to the other end
(For those who don’t know, Kim C is originally a baseball player). He
continues to throw things away, letting people bump by him and even
knock him down at one point. However, he doesn’t let anything bother him
as he gets right back up and starts walking again. In the end, he
throws off his heavy rucksack and starts running towards the opposite
direction. But as he croons “Love”, he sits down and lets the belt take
him all the way back to the start – or perhaps the end, all of his
belongings, and the ‘way out’.
44. Girl’s Day “Don’t Forget Me”
Label: Dream Tea Entertainment
Release Date: October 25, 2012
Release Date: October 25, 2012
When it was announced that Girl’s Day would come back after “Oh My God!”
with a more mature image, it left fans wondering if they would
completely abandon the cutesy girlishness we’ve come to expect from
them. Rather than forsaking it entirely, they came out with a
beautifully shot video in which they portray young women remembering
their school days and first loves: a perfectly sensible next step for
Girl’s Day that will serve as a great bridge to whatever they do next.
43. Shinhwa “Venus”
Label: SHINHWA COMPANY
Release Date: March 28, 2012
Release Date: March 28, 2012
When Shinhwa came
back to their fans this year, it wasn’t just the fans that were on
their toes waiting – every K-pop fan was craning their necks to see what
the longest running group would have for them. The music video that
came out was mediocre at best – it was the traditional dance-on-set
music video with a bit of drama with a bit of cheesiness added on.
However, Shinhwa kept their audience entertained with flashes of
alphabets in the center of their screen that many thought might have
been messages (fans quickly figured out they were just the English
lyrics). Not only so, but it was one of the last times that fans would
see a 6-membered choreography before Hyesung‘s bad leg acted up again.
42. INFINITE “The Chaser”
Label: Woolim Entertainment
Release Date: May 15, 2012
Release Date: May 15, 2012
“The Chaser“, which was recently named the best K-Pop song of 2012 by our colleague Jeff Benjamin on Billboard,
takes a risk with an abstract music video. The song itself features a
narrator obsessed with winning back a girl who no longer loves him, and
the video uses disconnected imagery to show the futility of the
narrator’s obsession. We see a car that seems like it will never stop
spinning- when it finally does, it lands on a dead-end road. We also see
the members of INFINITE
lost in a room full of identical triangles stretching in all directions
with no clear way out, trying to destroy an endless line of lights, or
climbing up a ladder with no end in sight. Even the choreography appears
to double back on itself, never actually going anywhere, and it’s
filmed in front of an endless hall of more triangles. While fans may
have preferred something with a more discernible story, there’s no
denying that this song and video had a big impact on the world of K-Pop
in 2012.
41. AOA “Get Out”
Label: FNC Entertainment
Release Date: October 9, 2012
Release Date: October 9, 2012
FNC Entertainment‘s rookie dance/rock band dropped their “angel” image for their sophomore single, “Get Out“.
The song talks about getting rid of a bad boyfriend, and the video
features the members dressed as defiant female characters from famous
English-language movies. Whether wielding hand guns or perfume, the
girls of AOA
told us that they were a force to be reckoned with, and that they
refused to get lost in the sea of rookies that debuted throughout the
year.
40. Crispi Crunch “Menboong Time”
Label: Soul Connection
Release Date: September 5, 2012
Release Date: September 5, 2012
Known for pushing the envelope and having fun while doing it, Crispi Crunch brought us yet another unique and irreverent party video with “Menboong Time“. While K-Pop club and party style videos often feature the band singing and dancing away from the other party goers (see 2PM‘s “Hands Up” and GD & TOP‘s “High High“, for example), or even just hanging out in empty clubs (SISTAR‘s “Alone” and EXID‘s “I Feel Good“,
for example), “Menboong Time” has Crispi Crunch right in the middle of
the action, whether that action is partying like rockstars or getting
kicked where it hurts.
39. EXO teasers
Label: SM Entertainment
EXO is
one of (or two of, depending on how you look at it) the only bands in
K-Pop history to release more material pre-debut than in their first
year as an official group. If you string all of their teasers together,
they actually run longer than the entire ‘MAMA‘
Extended Play! EXO’s teasers gave us some of the most stunning
choreography and video footage SM Entertainment has produced in recent
years, and laid the groundwork for an impactful debut. Fans are still
waiting for that long-promised comeback with songs like “Let Out the Beast“, “Phoenix“, and “Baby Don’t Cry“,
but the biggest question on everyone’s mind is this: how does one ‘roll
like a buffalo’, and where exactly did that line go in the final cut of
the song?
38. Ulala Session “Beautiful Night”
Label: CJ E&M
Release Date: May 9, 2012
Release Date: May 9, 2012
It’s usually the deep and meaningful music videos that have the best cinematography, but that didn’t stop Ulala Session from debuting with the gorgeous-but-still-funny “Beautiful Night“, which stars actress Park Han Byul.
While you wouldn’t expect a wedding party game of keep-away to hold on
to your attention for over five minutes, the constant action and “Footloose“-style song are fun enough to keep you watching all the way through.
37. JJ Project “Bounce”
Label: JYP Entertainment
Release Date: May 19, 2012
Release Date: May 19, 2012
After debuting through the rather disappointing drama ‘Dream High 2‘ as actors, the guys of JJ Project had a lot on the line with their debut as idols. “Bounce” was a woefully underappreciated debut that had all the ‘JYP
magic’ (and the infamous whisper) that some of that company’s other
releases were somewhat lacking in this year. It didn’t look or sound
like anything else we heard in 2012, but it was still accessible and a
lot of fun, and set a solid, unique image for the duo. JJ Project
vanished from the scene for a while, but now that JB‘s just finished a turn on ‘Romantic and the Idol‘, fans are hopeful that they’ll be coming back soon.
36. SECRET “Poison”
Label: TS Entertainment
Release Date: September 13th, 2012
Release Date: September 13th, 2012
SECRET
told us that for their September comeback they’d be shedding their
‘little sister’ image, and they weren’t kidding around! While the video
for “Poison”
featured a pretty campy plot- why did the guy have the combination to
the safe tattooed on the back of his neck?!- it was fun to see the girls
test their acting chops as femme fatales and police women in a diamond
heist. We at allkpop are still sending lots of good thoughts SECRET’s way and are happy to hear that Zinger is feeling better!
35. KARA Collection – “Daydream“, “Guilty“, “Lost“, “Secret Love“, “Wanna Do“
Label: DSP Media
KARA‘s group comeback with “Pandora”
in 2012 drew very mixed reactions from fans, many of whom felt that the
song didn’t live up to some of the group’s former work. It was a
surprise when they came back at the end of the year with not another
group song, but five different solo songs and videos. While some solo
projects can fall flat by not straying far enough from the group’s
material, KARA took their solos in five completely different directions
to highlight each member’s strengths and individuality as a performer,
using songs and concepts which they never would have tried as a group.
While the five songs were impressive enough, they went above and beyond
with five really well-made videos, each of which on their own was better
than many of the big group comebacks in 2012, setting a high bar for
idols who go solo in 2013.
34. Wonder Girls “Like This”
Label: JYP Entertainment
Release Date: June 2, 2012
Release Date: June 2, 2012
After being away from the K-Pop scene for so long, the Wonder Girls
needed a big comeback to re-establish themselves in Korea. Rather than
try to re-invent or outdo themselves, the group stuck to what it does
best- infectious choruses, fun dances, and a quirky, cute video, which
resulted in “Like This“,
a fun flash-mob video filmed at the Yeoju Premium Outlet Shopping
Center. The video is so much fun that it makes you want to get up and
dance with the Wonder Girls, and one has to wonder if this song and
video would have more success in the US than the more standard-sounding “Like Money“.
33. Primary ft. Choiza of Dynamic Duo and Zion T. “?”
Label: Amoeba Culture
Release Date: October 30, 2012
Release Date: October 30, 2012
Primary took the ‘band-in-a-box’ video to a whole new level with “?“,
where the performers are not only in a plain black box, but every prop
and set piece in the video is a white-outlined black box, labeled with
white block letters. By neither taking itself too seriously nor trying
to hard to be funny, the video strikes the perfect balance needed to
pull off this type of video. The simple setting actually enhances the
story, where more complex scenery would detract from it or even make it
seem a little run-of-the-mill, showing that sometimes, less really is
more.
32. Norazo “Woman Person”
Label: Winning InSight
Release Date: May 4, 2012
Release Date: May 4, 2012
Norazo is well known for their hilarious songs and music videos (If you don’t know them, check out their other hits such as “Superman“, ”Curry“, and “Mackerel“). “Woman Person” is yet another hilarious music video in their collection. Member Lee Hyuk seems to be dressed as a woman, but him and Jobin
seem to have fallen for the same girl. The music video parodies dramas
and movies as Lee Hyuk and Jobin continuously carry around a plant and a
large stuffed doll, and ends with a hilarious proposal scene.
31. Ivy “Torn Heart”
Label: CJ E&M
Release Date: April 26, 2012
Release Date: April 26, 2012
Ivy, who is best known for her dance songs, came back after a long hiatus with a ballad album and the single “Torn Heart“.
Given the scandals she’s been a victim of over the past several years,
(an ex-boyfriend blackmailed her with a sex tape that probably never
existed in the first place, her former company blocked her from
promoting on music shows, and her social security number was released to
the public) it’s not hard to imagine that this video symbolizes how she
was figuratively ‘dragged through the mud’ by the media and had to
endure a firestorm of hate. But she was later able to come clean and
start over. The video is both sad and beautiful, and we can all agree
that it’s good to see Ivy smiling again.
30. EVoL “We Are a Bit Different”
Label: Stardom Entertainment
Release Date: August 9, 2012
Release Date: August 9, 2012
2012 saw exponentially more rookie debuts than any previous year.
While this made for some exciting competition, it also meant that some
rookies who deserved praise got the short end of the stick- one of those
rookies being the very talented EVoL. The video for “We Are a Bit Different”
offers a sanitized version of anarchy that features tanks, fire, and
graffiti, appearing to rise up against some oppressive system, but fails
to ever tell us what we’re supposed to be fighting against. Even so,
the song is a lot of fun and the video offers some great, dynamic
visuals. It was heartbreaking to see the members tweet that they didn’t
know why they were constantly crowded out of music shows in 2012, and
the bands’ fate seems even more uncertain now that Stardom Entertainment is busy dealing with Block B‘s lawsuit, but we’re all rooting for them to have a great comeback and get the recognition that they deserve.
29. 2AM “I Wonder if You Hurt Like Me”
Label: JYP Entertainment/Big Hit Entertainment
Release Date: March 11, 2012
Release Date: March 11, 2012
Depressing love ballads are 2AM‘s specialty, so it’s no surprise that their 2012 single was “I Wonder if You Hurt Like Me“, a song as depressing and ballad-y as the title suggests. The video features 2AM’s maknae, Jinwoon,
struggling to come to terms with the end of a long-term relationship
when he is literally surrounded with photos, letters, and scrapbooks
that remind him of his ex (played by Trinity, a former member of GLAM).
He slowly tries to erase their memories together, which is visually
represented by all of the letters and photos going blank, and even the
pen that he used to write to her vanishing in a puff of smoke. In the
end, he opens up a wardrobe, where we see a physical representation of
the shrine he’s built to his ex in his mind, complete with a
picture-perfect version of her sitting in the middle of it. Eventually,
even she disappears, leaving Jinwoon surrounded by nothing but blank
paper; however, by this point he’s erased so much of his past that
Jinwoon himself vanishes into the pile of erased memories.
28. FIESTAR “Vista”
Label: LOEN Entertainment
Release Date: August 30, 2012
Release Date: August 30, 2012
Leave it to LOEN Entertainment
to shake up expectations and give us something out of the ordinary.
While 2011 and 2012 saw a handful of alien/superhero concepts crop up,
none were as much fun as FIESTAR‘s debut video, “Vista“. Featuring hilarious cameos by Sunny Hill‘s SeungA and the one-and-only Junsu,
the group gave us something that bucked the typical girl-group debut
tropes of being super sexy, cute, or tough- instead, they brought us
nothing but high-energy fun and a jet pack- really, what more could you
ask for?
27. Miryo “Dirty”
Label: Nega Network
Release Date: January 31, 2012
Release Date: January 31, 2012
Brown Eyed Girls‘ rapper Miryo pulled no punches with her solo debut, starting with her darkly comedic video for “Dirty“.
The song accuses a cheating boyfriend of being ‘dirty’ before reminding
the guy that she can easily replace him and kicking him to the curb. In
the video, Miryo plays a coma patient, who counts on her doctor, nurse,
boyfriend, and female friend (maybe her sister?) to take care of her.
Things start out fine, but as the coma stretches out longer and longer,
her caretakers begin neglecting her and paying attention to each other.
While they just see her laying there in a coma, we as an audience see
her reactions change from smiles and gratefulness in the beginning, to
disgust as her caretakers flirt and even make out right over her bed.
Fed up with everything, she manages to grab a dropped needle and syringe
and stab her negligent doctor in the butt, knocking both him and the
nurse to the ground and somehow setting the entire room on fire. Despite
being trapped in a burning room with no way out, Miryo looks pleased
with having stood up for herself in the only way that she could.
26. ChAOS “Kiss Kiss”
Label: Winning InSight
Release Date: September 20, 2012
Release Date: September 20, 2012
Yet another underappreciated rookie group, ChAOS
put out a few uninspiring videos earlier in the year before bringing us
their funny little video of a guy psyching himself for his first kiss
with his girlfriend, “Kiss Kiss“. Sure, this video
isn’t the first to use live-action stop-motion, but it is one of the
first to try it in K-Pop, and it’s used well. Working the stop motion
tricks in with an actual story was a great decision, as it makes the
video feel quirky instead of gimmicky, and the surprise twist at the end
is a cute way to end it. Here’s hoping ChAOS gets more notice in 2013!
Check out the playlist of Number 50 to 26 below.
Be sure to come back next week to read about the rest of the best K-Pop music videos of 2012!
allkpop’s ‘Top 50 K-Pop Music Videos of 2012′ was compiled by rex_music, jennywill, and contagion. This list is staff-determined and is not in any way connected with the fan-voted 2012 allkpop awards.
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