Right on. As promised, here is part III of Open Your Ears dedicated to my favorite Asian pop of 2009. And rather than a long intro, here are my top 5 singles.
#5 A Boy by G-Dragon- Korea’s hottest pop star set waves with his blond hair and sometime controversial appearances. He really has a great song and wonderful video in “A Boy.” Watch it through YG Entertainment’s youtube channel here.
#4 Energetic by BoA. BoA was set to take the U.S. by storm but after two album launches this year, I’m not so sure how successful it was… Regardless I bought her self-titled album and every track sounded like a top-40 hit. My favorite was Energetic. Watch the official music video here.
#3 This One (crying like a child) by Utada. Of course I’m going to have a Utada Hikaru song in the top 5, but “This One” is easily the best song on her latest U.S. album This is the One. No video has been released yet, but Utada will be touring the United States in 2010 hitting 7 U.S cities and London. Tickets are on sale now through livenation.
#2 Wo Ai Ni by Hitomi Takahashi (feat The Beat Crusaders)- I love the Beat Crusaders. Create a catchy song with Hitomi Takahasi and I’m hooked. “Wo Ai Ni” is such an awesomely catchy song and is also the 14th ending theme to the anime Gintama. Hint: You can probably find it on youtube if you look hard enough.
#1 Joyful by Ikimono Gakari –Ikimono Gakari has had an amazing year in Japan with some really great singles. All of which will lead up to their album release on Dec 23rd of Hajimari no Uta. (preorder it at yesasia.com)
But it is the song “Joyful” that really created a stir with its completely off the wall video and accompanying dance that started a mini-craze in Japan. “Joyful” is beyond infectious and a completely apt title. The single of “Yell/Joyful” has sold over 90 thousand copies. You won’t find the video on youtube anymore, but google is always your friend.
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