2013 MV Awesomeness

        Every year, hundreds of music videos are released by Kpop companies, by hundreds of individual musicians that are each epic in their own right. I could go though and tear into which ones are really worthy of being called the year's best, or I could just get all warm an fuzzy with looking back at the ones I particularly enjoyed.

        So with the door officially closed on 2013, here's a quick list of my absolute favorites:

Just like my 'Best of the West' summary,
these videos are going to be sorted based on their release dates!

            This is an MV that I love because of the intriguing visual aesthetic. All of the styling is so peculiar, but it all ties together beautifully. And the song that goes with the visuals is just so catchy and smoothe! Teen Top has truly had a great year.

            2PM has always had some slick moves but they brought a new level of epic to the table with this one. The black and white adds class and all the gorgeous styling adds yet more. The track is catchy as hell and packed with fantastic energy.

        Classy and sassy and every fantastic about the fabulous females of Kpop. Bright colors with classic styling, old hollywood glam an new fashion fabulosity, with a hot beat an a sweet melody; SISTAR's created something fantastic.

            Clean and classy and absolutely gorgeous, Be OK is one of the most refreshing MVs of the year. Seeing many different styles fitted so neatly together is the icing on the cake when it comes to this song, the melodies and rhythms that move it are simply gorgeous.

            Refreshingly simple, SM has forgone their excessive cut-to-close-up tactics in favor of this gloriously smoothe one-take style of recording. This MV is not exactly friendly to anyone with something against rapidly blinking lights, but the choreography is spectacular, the styling is fabulous, and the track is beyond catchy.

        A spectacular triumph over the laws of physics exists within Teen Top's choreography for this one. All the fabulous styling, the bright colors, and utterly unapologetic smiles make this a treat to watch and the incredibly made story that lies underneath it all is just plain epic. And the track feels too simple to be good at first, but hot damn is it catchy!


 

        Fantastic rhythms, a powerful mix of melodic lines, an absolutely gorgeous swirl of vocals, and some of the most touchingly sweet symbolism of the year, Block B certainly made heads tun with this one. With the inspiring message of 'keep fighting' and the deeply intrenched feelings of mutual support between the band and the fans, this is a truly beautiful MV.



 

        Crazy creative styling and epic-beyond-words choreography is pretty standard fare for SHINee, especially since they released at least EIGHT MVs this year. Everybody caught my eye for its, admittedly rather unnecessary, symbolism in the beginning. I had thought it might be an interesting Art piece like F(x) has been known to go for. The MV is not what I was hoping for, but it's spectacular nonetheless. An epic track and a visual treat, dramatic and catching.

 

        Absolutely spectacular, this debut blew me away. All 13 members are partitioned out in a way that makes learning them individual plausible, a feat rare even in bands with just 8 or 9 members. The MV over all has a few oddities about it that I'm not fond of, like the weird filter it was finished with, but the choreography is incredible beyond words tight and aggressive and clean. The track has a sick beat and the raps all display unique styles, the verses give it body and the vamps and chrouses make it soar.

            The epically heart-wrenching story, the fantastic choreography, the gorgeous styling, and the sweet track, who could do anything bu love One Shot? The way I see it, it's the best thing B.A.P has ever produced!

            B1A4 has a reputation for quirky style that steps into crazy-territory, and What's Happening is no exception. It's a fast paced and fun MV and everything about it is fabulous.

            Another great MV with black and white this year was Smoky Girl. Smoothe moves, fantastic transitions, epic choreography and styling . . . all in all a great comeback.

            Flirty and fun, while being just aggressive and assured enough to invoke a take-no-prisoners idea, BESTie has made my list of top 2013 babybands. This MV is sporty and sexy in all the right ways, colorful and cute without giving an inch.

            Fierce fighting, and a fabulous mix of past and present give Unbreakable a great vibe of Art is Art no matter when or what kind of medium it comes from. There's a great sense of scope and scale, a kickin' beat, and gorgeous displays of Art at it's finest.

        Crazy cool, and just a bit more than bizarre, BigStar upped their game for this one. The track is fun and easy to sing along to, the dance is technically epic and hilarious to watch, and all the crazy colors and wild antics just make this one a bucket of laughs.




 

        The track is catchy and smoothe like all the masterpieces GD produces and the MV is just spectacular. The styling is a visual feast of oddities and the story gives a beautifully nuanced depiction of angst and depression that neither glorifies nor demonizes the darker feelings that can so often strike a person down.



 

        Bangtan Boys made quite a splash with their debut, though personally, I didn't much enjoy it. Their follow-up was much better and then this came out and I was sold. The choreography is aggressive and power while still being dramatically intricate and impressively tight. The conceptual vibe in this is also fantastic, capturing the imagination and giving it license to run wild. The beat is kickin' and after having seen the acrobatic epicness of the boys, it makes for a great motivational work-out song.

 

        Crazy cool in every way you wouldn't expect from TaeYang. It's much more aggressive, and dramatically darker in a very real-world grunge sort of way. The incredible visuals, when combined with the incredible vocals, and the epic-smoothe melodic movements, this MV made a long-lived and well-loved impression on me the moment it was released, and I'm still lovin' it!


 

        Miss A takes the cake for me this year, Hush is literally my favorite track or MV any female artist had in 2013. The way the beat just sneaks in, the way the energy builds and builds and builds and never really drops away but somehow leaves you feeling like your feet are back on the ground, and the slick transitions of the mv . . . great camera work, fantastic editing, and absolutely beautiful styling/choreography. The Hair Porn factor cannot be ignored, so sexy and sparking that it makes their revealing outfits fade into the backdrop of awareness.

So, those are my favorite MVs of 2013.
Here's to hoping that 2014 has even more epic MVs.
We're already off to a pretty great start.