Top 5 Recommended Music Videos

"Unlock" by Daichi Miura
Every time this man releases a new music video, I feel like everything must come to a halt and watch his video for a moment. The video mostly focuses on the amazing choreography, but really, that's all you need from Daichi's videos. His choreography remains unique, creative, and visually appealing. It exudes energy and passion and fits the tone of the music. The song is also very nice to listen to as well, which is just as important. It has a strong power to it and I enjoy the transitions between the verses and chorus.



"Smile Drop" by SKY-HI
This guy and Daichi are both part of Avex and I wanna say that I saw this in the related videos section of YouTube. I've seen his name from time to time and I figured I'd give him a chance. I ended up liking a few videos I saw and this is one of them. I like the fusion of modern and vintage with the visuals and sound. We have a very classic, lounge setting along with lots of brass instruments mixed with pop melodies and SKY-HI's back and forth vocals singing and rapping his lyrics. It's a fun, feel good song that you can't help but enjoy and move to.



"LUCIFER" by Anna Tsuchiya
Ever since seeing her live, I feel like I've missed so much and I don't even know how. Seeing new material from this very talented artist always makes me excited as the releases seem few and far between. This isn't a feel good summertime hit like "Brave Vibrations"; this brings in the goth and rocker sides of Ms. Tsuchiya. It has some beautiful gothic imagery and Anna looks very beautiful in both light and dark forms. I love the balance of tortured and quiet calmness of the music. It knows when to quiet itself during the dialogue and come back with a punch for the chorus.



"Bounce" by BOYFRIEND
Lately, the direction this group has been going is becoming more and more appealing to me and that kinda scares me. Not quite a fan, but I'm enjoying these darker, more mature concepts from this group. Sure, "Alice in Wonderland" has been used as a concept before, but they bring their own little style to it. It's a poppy goth that looks very sleek and polished on screen; I can see VIXX pulling this off. The song is far from dark and sticks to being a quite danceable and energetic pop song. I think this works a little better than their whole vampire concept.



"Paradise Lost" by GAIN
Every time this woman releases a music video, you know it's going to mature and sexual and this video is no different. It's not something I'm tired of either. It doesn't feel exploitative or forced either. What I've noticed is that she knows exactly how to express her sexuality and cover areas that most kpop idols can't touch for one reason or another. Going with the theme of her latest mini-album of Adam and Eve, this carries that theme of a forbidden paradise filled with many forms of temptation while making it entertaining, sensual, and slightly beyond current. The song is full of dramatics as well as the choreography and a great range of vocal and lyrical conflict. A great comeback song for Gain.

Top 5 Recommended Music Videos

"1414287356" by THE KIDDIE
It has been a while since I was excited about a new song by this band. Their sound has definitely grown over time and I'm enjoying this experimentation with traditional Japanese sound with a hint of dance pop and rock. The visuals also reflect that. It's a very simplistic look that resembles of photoshoot set with an umbrella, lights, and cherry blossom set pieces while the band members remain the main focus with their instruments and a few props. This is a fun, upbeat, and beautiful song that reminds me how great THE KIDDIE really is.



"Revelation of mankind" by Dir en grey
**WARNING: Graphic imagery**
Remember "Kodou" and "-saku-"? If you don't or have never seen it, I think this would be a good time to check them out as Dir en grey digs up a bit of nostalgia and connects some story arc dots with their latest PV. I'll admit I wasn't exactly excited about watching this PV as I've accepted that their PVs have been a bit lacking for a while. I just want the music, the live experience, and maybe a DVD for the library. I was surprised that they produced something interesting and brought back elements from previous PVs. Obviously, the song is wonderful. There's minimal growling and the melody is very smooth with some great hard to soft transitions. A bit of the old Diru is back, guys~



"You're So Fly" by BTOB
I'm so glad Cube Entertainment gave them something different from B2ST's leftovers for these boys. I still think they forget they have another boy group under their label, but anyway...This is a very fun little video that allow the boys to be as goofy and charming as possible. The video is very vibrant, colorful, and sleek. It has plenty of comedy and charisma from the group and the female actors featured in it. I enjoy the choreography, even if they do the silly Nene dance or whatever. The song is very lighthearted and fun just like the video and I hope BTOB receive more videos that don't reflect back on B2ST. They need their own identity~



"WITCH" by BOYFRIEND
Apparently, I like this group's darker concepts. The songs tend to sound better than their cutesy stuff, but I still can't see myself being a fan of this group. I will admit that their acting is a little goofy in places and the chorus is laughable, but I enjoy the mature, slight dark nature of this song. The visuals are very clean and the boys look very handsome, excluding a few moments where they're trying to look like intimidating vampires. I think "JANUS" was a little better than this video, but I still like the direction and concept they had going in this.



"Error" by VIXX
Speaking of dark concepts, these guys have perfected and changed the game when it comes to dark concepts in kpop. This video is no exception with its romantic cyborg story and theatric choreography. The story is very compelling and the choreographed moments don't take away from it at all. There's a nice balance between them. The song is all sorts of perfection with its great dramatics and swelling orchestral moments. Hongbin definitely took my breath away with his deep voice and it would be nice to hear more of it in other songs, but overall, I'm very happy Starlight and I hope the boys keep the momentum going with these flawless concepts, dark or light.

Top 5 Recommended Music Videos

"Animals" by Maroon 5
I first heard this song on the radio and I was immediately hooked. I guess I like how overtly sexual this song is and the beat is nice; it almost sounds like there might be a little bit of the band left. I'm sure by the time I listen to the band's latest album, V, I'll find it just as boring as the last album. Nonetheless, I enjoy this song immensely and the video has that slightly uncomfortable, creepy sexy vibe to it. The visuals definitely give the lyrics a different tone than when you just listen to it. Probably isn't safe for work due to the sexual and graphic nature of the visual content.



"Big Bad Wolf" by In This Moment
I'm still fairly new to this band and I'm not sure if I recommended a video of theirs when I first got into them or not, but here's one. From their latest album Black Widow, I feel like this seems more cohesive. I enjoy the balance of sexy and chaotic from the visuals, camera angles, and styling. Maria looks fierce and the rest of the band blend in perfectly with this aggressive, grimy song. I look forward to listening to Black Widow and maybe I'll brave it out this year and see them live too.



"Lip Reading" by Jolin Tsai
Honestly, I think kpop should take notes on sex and sensuality, because this video is everything I would want from female kpop girl groups that's more mature in age. Think Brown Eyed Girls' "Abracadabra". Not only are the visuals dangerous and sensual, but the music and lyric delivery carry that same tone. You feel easily wrapped around Jolin Tsai's voice along with the male lead in the video; a sense of trust, yet you're on edge with what might happen. I'm looking forward to listening to her new material.



"My Avatar" by BOYFRIEND
Not a BOYFRIEND fan, but I like this song and the video is very simple. I'm surprised how natural sounding their Japanese is. That's pretty impressive to me! The video is mainly focused on the choreography, which is pretty good as well. They display some impressive moves and definitely fit in with the jpop boys like GENERATIONS, which this video really reminds me of.



"青空ギロチン" by My BACTERIA HEAT IsLAND
It's hard to express how happy I am to hear TenTen or Taira or whatever the heck he's calling himself's voice again. I know this band was temporary, but I'm happy this is the real deal after the disbandment of Chemical Pictures. The PV is mostly band centric, but it does have some cool sepia toned effects and smoke to make the set more atmospheric. There's also some beautiful scenery and imposed artistic shots of flowers and TenTen acting a little. Also, this song kinda reminds of me KuRt in a very good way. Not just the vocals, but the overall sound. I'm looking forward to listening to their first wide release.