2012 In Review: Part 6 – Best Pop/Ballad

[2012 In Review Series]

0. Prelude – Best Album Art
1. Introduction
2. Best R&B/Soul
3. Best Rock/Alternative
4. Best Rap/Hip-hop
5. Best Dance/Electronica
6. Best Pop/Ballad
7. Best Crossover/Miscellaneous
8. Best Original Soundtrack
9. Best Collaborative Work
10. Label of the Year
11. Rookie of the Year
12. Song of the Year
13. Artist of the Year
14. Album of the Year
15. Concluding Remarks

Welcome back to our 2012 In Review series! We foray into arguably the heart of K-pop today – namely, the scene of ballad and down-tempo pop music. If anything, this genre’s only gotten bigger lately with the surge of indie bands and artists joining in the fray and a resurgence of folk music. (And yes, folk is classified into this category – this might change next year, but we’ll see.) An interesting tidbit: the picks in this category are really, really young this year. There are only a handful of featured artists that are over the age of 30 (only two over the age of 45), surprising results in a field that tends to be defined more by tempered emotion and the wisdom of years than any other genre.

The other thing about this category is that it’s very long. The honorable mentions list for songs here is by far the longest of any genre, and that’s after reducing the initial list by close to half. Selecting honorable-mention album picks was also difficult, as I have tried to limit total album picks to just ten for each category this year. These works you see below are the real deal.

Again, please remember that the Album of the Year and Song of the Year (and their runner-ups) are not included in the genre categories. That means that there could be a ballad (or any other genre) album that isn’t being honored on this page because it’s the album of the year. As always, honorable mention picks are sorted by alphabetical order of artist names.

Albums

Best Pop/Ballad Album 2012

Lucia – D­écalcomanie (read our review)

Ballad albums without throwaway minutes are hard to come across, and the fact that D­écalcomanie does not have a single filler track is a big boon. It helps, too, that these non-filler tracks it does have are warmly composed with soft but impactful instrumentation; that the moving melodies, particularly in I Can’t Fly and 그대의 고요 (Your Tranquility), deliver elation and exhilaration in a universal language; that the exquisite writing, which explores the finer nature of love, remains tender and thoughtful throughout; that Lucia’s nuanced, breathy performance keeps the album sensibly grounded. If you haven’t picked up on it yet, this is a breathtakingly beautiful work in all senses of the word.

Runner-up Pop/Ballad Album 2012

Yang Yang – 사랑의 노래 (Song of Love) (read our review)

“Some people just see life more beautifully than others,” I wrote in my review of this album. Song of Love then, in the summer heat (northern hemisphere here), was like a breath of fresh air offering gulps of unfiltered joy with healthy doses of serenity and respite. Half a year later, in a different season, it tastes just as rich. The generally minimalist instrumentation, often starring just a guitar or violin, is still calming and an invitation to sit down a moment to really listen. When Yang Yang elects to go loud – as in 정답은 사랑 (The Answer Is Love) – her sure-handed direction and memorable tunes still drive deep. Her melodies, which she takes care to keep as accessible as any pop song’s, are still engaging. Most importantly, her message is still heard, loud and clear. We still learn from its empathy, understanding, and yes, love. This is the value of an album that has both simplicity and timelessness.

Honorable Mentions

9 and the Numbers – 유예 (Reprieve)

They achieve deepest resonance with simple, uncluttered sound.

Lee Han-chul – 작은 방 (Small Room)

A layer underneath the iconic optimism of Superstar lies a more pensive Lee. He’s pretty fantastic, too.

Lena Park (Park Jung-hyun) – Parallax (read our review)

2011 was her biggest year in the 14 since her debut; this is her biggest step since Op. 4.

Lucid Fall – 아름다운 날들 (Beautiful Days)

An exercise in holiday mellowness, quietness, and lip-biting deliberation.

Park Ji-yoon – 나무가 되는 꿈 (Tree of Life) (read our review)

I’ll be the first to admit that my score was off by a half-star or more. Park’s incisive lyricism and deep atmosphere are exquisite.

Park Soyu – Lonely Planet (read our review)

A wonderfully broad spectrum congeals in a nuanced exploration of ‘imperfection’.

Ravie Nuage – 하비누아주의 (Ravienuaism)

The band’s nature-themed imagery and accompaniments embrace both serene backdrops and sweeping vistas.

Younha – Supersonic (read our review)

Younha takes flight again, and past struggles are washed away by the album’s power and dedication to sound.

Zitten – 백야 (White Night)

Sung Yong-wook illuminates with powerfully distilled emotions and a compelling and intricate instrumentation.

Songs

Best Pop/Ballad Song 2012

Park Soyu – Oheyo

Going into this process each year, I usually have a pretty good idea of who I’m going to pick for each category. That wasn’t the case for this particular category, and when I had finished weighing merits and eliminating things, Oheyo was left standing. It’s a pick that I didn’t expect to make, probably one that no one else is making, and I’m still processing it as I write. (My Best Hiphop Song pick last year – Paloalto‘s Stay Strong – was similar.) That said, Oheyo deserves and has every claim to win this. A careful arrangement, the kind that Park Soyu has quickly established as her trademark, steps up; strings are nearly perfect, breaking through a surface of bells and rushing acoustics to set the anthemic tone. The lyrics offer a lot of food for thought (refer to the linked review above for more discussion on this) while being viscerally evocative. And the gorgeous composition culminates in one of the year’s truly great chorus lines, with both scale and rousing singalong moments. Everything you’d want in a seminal pop song is here.

Runner-up Pop/Ballad Song 2012

Zitten – 백야 (White Night)

It’s one thing to write beautiful lyrics, but another thing entirely to deliver them the right way. Fortunately, Sung Yong-wook is masterful at this. His warmly intimate prose and surreal, vivid imagery comes to life in an airy and almost-imperceptibly trembling performance. Pacing further helps to immerse us: the first verse, which represents coming to consciousness and gathering one’s bearings in a strange place, is punctuated by tame piano, while the second verse has instruments gradually added to it as the narrator starts learning and noticing things about this night-less place. White Night is an exemplary case of a musician using all the tools available to him to construct a scene that is more than just one-dimensional. Its four minutes do a better job of conveying a wondrous sense of discovery than some entire albums do at conveying their message. That’s not an exaggeration.

Honorable Mentions

Arosaegin – 나에게로의 여행 (Journey to Myself). Dramatic escalations and unorthodox progression give this old-school rock ballad a unique flavor.
Autumn Break – 근황 (How-to-do). When Gyepi starts talking directly to the listener – that’s when this touching single goes from good to great.
Ben (of Bebe Mignon) – 오늘은 가지마 (Don’t Go Today). You’ve heard this kind of chorus before, but darned if it’s not effective every time.
Choi Baek-ho – 뛰어 (Run) (Featuring Park Ju-won, Malo). The weight of a 41-year career is felt in each cathartic call for celebration.
Daredaa (Reach the Moon) – 별의 축제 (Festival of Stars). Lovely lyrics and breathless sound – sort of like Rooftop Moonlight meets Lalasweet.
Fromm – 사랑 아니었나 (Wasn’t It Love). Husky tone and a rich instrumentation in happy union.
Herz Analog – 살고있어 (I’m Living) (Featuring So Soo-bin). [Read our related review] Vintage ballad in the Pastel Music tradition.
J Rabbit – Looking Around. It’s a realization of this duo’s tremendous potential – pretty melody, grand arrangement and all.
Kim Beggar – 독백 (Soliloquy). The anguish is piercing. “Nothing can I love, nothing is beautiful to me, what should I do…”
Kim Il-du – 문제없어요 (No Problem). A man’s expression of purest love, in the most meaningful way in the world.
Kim Sat-byeol – 운동 (Exercise). [Read our related review] This crowd-funded project exemplifies why indie music exists. An obscure but precious discovery.
Kiss Me Joy – 안녕 (Goodbye) (Featuring Kim Ji-min). [No studio version on YouTube] Back to basics: a melody this compelling will always trump fancy tricks.
Lee Eun-mi – 세상에서 가장 큰 피그미 (The World’s Biggest Pygmy). [No studio version on YouTube] Lee’s charismatic vocals make anything work, but when paired with a rousing track…
Lee Han-chul – 사랑 (Love). [No studio version on YouTube] Unobtrusive and harmless, but will catch ears regardless.
Lee Sol-ee – 건 (乾) (Dry). The final minute of this song, following the labyrinthine second act – that is the sound of madness.
Lena Park – 도시전설 (Urban Legend). Parallax had several tremendous tracks, but it’s fitting that the best one (and the one that grows on you over time) comes from Jung Suk-won.
Lucia – 그대의 고요 (Your Tranquility). Listen to the earnest melody, feel the eager happiness.
Lucite Tokki – Grow to Glow. [Read related review] That piano rhythm is another example of Lucite Tokkii’s expanding spectrum.
MIIII – 별이 운다 (A Star Weeps). Could have ended up trite, but execution saves it. Also, it’s much longer than it feels like.
Naul – 바람기억 (Memory of the Wind). One explosive hook was all Naul needed to run away with this one.
Nine9 – 약속해 (Promise). Taking a breather from Dear Cloud‘s modern rock, Nine9 finds a cozy home.
NY Fish – 여기에 (In This Place). Here, in this place, is an understanding comfort, a triumphant contentment.
Poetree – Lost (Featuring Jung-yup). Repetition strengthens messages. Fact.
Ravie Nuage – 바람, 바람 (Wish, Wind). [No studio version on YouTube] Small touches – like the extra section taken between verse and chorus – add to the satisfaction of their wholesome sound.
Rooftop Moonlight – Bird (Featuring Yoo Sae-yoon). Old love is forgotten and something new is in the air – or so we think. Its beauty is in its ambiguity.
Sonyun – Last Day (Featuring Kim Bada). Leave it to these guys to turn a love song into an epic.
Soriso – 영웅 (Hero). A stirring tribute to parents everywhere.
Summer of Thought – 안녕 (Goodbye). A slight hint of retro in the melody, and a lot of it in the sensibilities.
Untouched Wind – 정말 지금일까 (Is It Really Now). Cryptic lyrics add a contrasting dimension to this appropriately breezy piece.
Waikiki Brothers Band – 메아리 (Echo). Kim Jin-woong‘s steely voice speaks volumes on its own.
Yoon Gun – 힐링이 필요해 (October Rain). A fairly significant genre change, but he handles Britpop just as well as R&B, and with as much emotion.
Younha – 소나기 (Rain Shower). A tour-de-force vocal performance from Younha, perhaps the best of her career, is put to great use on the sonorous finish.

What do your picks look like for this category? Discuss with us in the comments, and join us tomorrow for Part 7 for a rundown on all the smaller (but no weaker) scenes!

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the reviewer and not of hellokpop as a whole.

Sources: Photos – Covers from Bugs Music, Daum Music; Sung Yong-wook featured image from Daum artist page