★ Stacey's Top 20 Songs of 2010
Same day as last time. :D In your face, Ria! :D My timeline is December 2009 to November 2010, as you might be aware. Unfortunately I consider it a disappointing year. There were a lot of pretty nice songs but it was like death trying to distinguish the "best". I guess it depends what the criteria for "best" is... I decided to go for what was more memorable for the top of the list, in the end. Ria, I'm sorry for the fail... *bows* What was your guess? :P
Stacey's Top 20 Songs of 2010
02 NEWS - エンドレス・サマー (Endless Summer) ++ I guess I told myself not to think too much about this ranking, and I went with this song because it makes me feel happy and refreshed. Ria doesn't believe me when I tell her this is my ideal type of happy song. She also doesn't get one bit why I remotely like this song. (I can hear her right now, going: "What, are you serious?!") Le sigh. This song makes me feel so happy and relaxed and SMILEY that it deserves to be right up there. I had so much fun blasting it on loop in our hotels when I went to China. :D It's one of the best songs ever to have playing in the background while you're doing things. The reason why it's not #1 is because it isn't "absolutely brilliant" enough as a song, and it doesn't have that special spark that will make me remember it is as a representative song of 2010, so it's not enough to be #1. Basically it's just lacking a little something.
02 Se7en - BETTER TOGETHER ++ This song has a bagful of emotional attachment to it for both of us. The reason why it's not #1 is because it's not as great a song as can be, especially from Sebun. When I hear the choruses though, I get reallllllllllly emotional and think what a friggin' winner of a song it could've been, but this song didn't live up to it's potential, and remains just a really good song with a lot of sentimental value, which puts it up there in 2010 for me, but not enough to be #1. Neither of these two songs were outstanding enough for me to say they were my favourite song of the year, which is a pretty big deal to me, so I won't give away that title lightly. XD
03 JUJU - いつからか...ずっと (Itsukara... Zutto) ++ NOW THIS SONG. IS BRILLIANT. Quite a gem. I LOVE how JUJU pulls this piece off. The music is edgy and beautiful, with amazing rhythm and JUJU just sounds amazing.
04 Tae Yang - Take it slow ++ The way the percussion and piano open this R&B number and maintain their presence through the song won me over. I can physically *feel* this song when I listen to it. Gorgeous.
05 Leehom Wang - 美 (Mei) ++ Leehom manages to make this song incredibly catchy but not at all as though we've heard something like it before. I absolutely adore how this song constantly evolves at each verse and chorus and everything in between. I find this song so ridiculously catchy, IT IS RIDICULOUS. XD
06 Gummy - 그만 헤어져 (Let's Break Up) ++ I get a very similar feeling from this song as with Tae Yang's 'Take it slow', so the reasons why I love them are very similar. The piano and Gummy's voice at the start and in the verses are hauntingly beautiful, but I feel the production of the choruses were a bit bland.
07 Aoyama Thelma x SOL from BIGBANG - Fall In Love ++ I love the mesh of two worlds in this song, not to mention the instrumental is totally to my taste. I've kept the instrumental on my phone all year and listen to it when my iPod is out of battery. <3 One of those amazing songs that have an instrumental that is almost stronger than the song itself.
08 Tae Yang - 니가 잠든 후에 (Feat. Swings) (After I Fall Asleep) ++ LOL, Tae Yang! I swear I'm not even a fan of his music! But this song was another stunner. It's so fun and groovy~ totally works.
09 NEWS - さくらガール (Sakura Girl) ++ Interesting direction for NEWS, but it took me a little while to love this song. The arrangement is spot on and very catchy, but also very sweet and now well-loved by me~ ^^;; I do love the beat.
10 Utada Hikaru - Show Me Love (Not A Dream) ++ Utada shows us how diverse she can be, The arrangement and production is just flawless, giving us another very memorable song. I love how much feeling you can attach to her songs, especially to this one. It's very powerful and tells a story.
11 Arashi - To be free ++ I really love that my favourite Arashi song of the year was their lowest selling single. This is one of the most refreshingly uplifting songs I've heard, and I never fail to feel positively pleased about nothing in particular after listening to this. There are lots of little rhythms in the instrumental and melody that I really like.
12 SS501 - Let Me Be The One (그게 나라고..) ++ This one's really grown on me and all I hear now when I listen to it is how earnest and beautiful it is and how far the boys have come since their debut. It also makes me teary-eyed... it's become a very emotional song for me.
13 BoA - M.E.P (My Electric Piano) ++ This song caught my attention when I saw the name in the tracklist, and predicted I'd like it if it went with the title. Luckily, it did. I love the concept of this song and honestly it sounds amazing regardless of my predictions. BoA knows how to work a song.
14 Kanjani8 - LIFE～目の前の向こうへ～ (Me no Mae no Mukou e) ++ Did I say it before? Kanjani8 should really go for more songs in this genre for their singles. I think this is the first single I've really LOVED. It's pop enough, rock enough, interesting enough and catchy enough that I think it's generally a likeable song for most people. Strong number.
15 Namie Amuro - The Meaning Of Us ++ Another stunningly beautiful track. Everything about this song is gorgeous... I literally see sparkles. ;_;
16 BoA - Possibility (duet with Miura Daichi) ++ I'm loving the direction of BoA's jpop music. This is an awesome collab and I just LOVE the beat and the way their voices mix.
17 Ayumi Hamasaki - RED LINE ~for TA~ (Original mix) ++ It feels like Ayu releases SO MANY ballads (and her ballads are always nice) that I have trouble distinguishing them unless I really get into them. This was a really fresh track from her. It's really catchy and really suits her voice.
18 Kanjani8 - モノグラム (Monogram) ++ A super catchy rock-pop track that reaffirms to me how good this style is for them.
19 Fukuhara Miho - 未来 -ミライ- (Mirai) ++ A really great instrumental to a really great mid-tempo song. Miho has a great voice and I'm really glad I tried this single out.
20 Nakashima Mika - Memory feat. DAISHI DANCE ++ DAISHI DANCE played a part in a number of really good tracks this year. The star of this one is definitely DAISHI DANCE... it really should be DAISHI DANCE feat. Nakashima Mika. :P It's DAISHI DANCE brilliance and Mika pulls it all together with her airy voice.
BREAKOUT ARTIST: JUJU
BEST ALBUM: Da Mouth - One Two Three & Nakashima Mika - STAR & BoA - IDENTITY & Baek Ji Young - Timeless; The Best
BEST MUSIC VIDEO: Arashi - Troublemaker & Se7en - BETTER TOGETHER (Dance Version)
Please do not hotlink our files without permission. ♥
I hope we find many great songs in 2011. Once again, I'm sorry to Ria. :( It had to be this way. I hope she doesn't nag ME about this. It isn't a very exciting post and I'm really tired now but at least it's over (and on time) so I can get onto the next of my to-dos. We got so stressed about our 2010 rankings, but it's finally all done and dusted. At least it didn't take me as long as last year's. We don't have to stress again for another year. :D Yey.
So, what were you fav songs of 2010? =]
Stacey's Top 20 Songs of 2010
02 NEWS - エンドレス・サマー (Endless Summer) ++ I guess I told myself not to think too much about this ranking, and I went with this song because it makes me feel happy and refreshed. Ria doesn't believe me when I tell her this is my ideal type of happy song. She also doesn't get one bit why I remotely like this song. (I can hear her right now, going: "What, are you serious?!") Le sigh. This song makes me feel so happy and relaxed and SMILEY that it deserves to be right up there. I had so much fun blasting it on loop in our hotels when I went to China. :D It's one of the best songs ever to have playing in the background while you're doing things. The reason why it's not #1 is because it isn't "absolutely brilliant" enough as a song, and it doesn't have that special spark that will make me remember it is as a representative song of 2010, so it's not enough to be #1. Basically it's just lacking a little something.
02 Se7en - BETTER TOGETHER ++ This song has a bagful of emotional attachment to it for both of us. The reason why it's not #1 is because it's not as great a song as can be, especially from Sebun. When I hear the choruses though, I get reallllllllllly emotional and think what a friggin' winner of a song it could've been, but this song didn't live up to it's potential, and remains just a really good song with a lot of sentimental value, which puts it up there in 2010 for me, but not enough to be #1. Neither of these two songs were outstanding enough for me to say they were my favourite song of the year, which is a pretty big deal to me, so I won't give away that title lightly. XD
03 JUJU - いつからか...ずっと (Itsukara... Zutto) ++ NOW THIS SONG. IS BRILLIANT. Quite a gem. I LOVE how JUJU pulls this piece off. The music is edgy and beautiful, with amazing rhythm and JUJU just sounds amazing.
04 Tae Yang - Take it slow ++ The way the percussion and piano open this R&B number and maintain their presence through the song won me over. I can physically *feel* this song when I listen to it. Gorgeous.
05 Leehom Wang - 美 (Mei) ++ Leehom manages to make this song incredibly catchy but not at all as though we've heard something like it before. I absolutely adore how this song constantly evolves at each verse and chorus and everything in between. I find this song so ridiculously catchy, IT IS RIDICULOUS. XD
06 Gummy - 그만 헤어져 (Let's Break Up) ++ I get a very similar feeling from this song as with Tae Yang's 'Take it slow', so the reasons why I love them are very similar. The piano and Gummy's voice at the start and in the verses are hauntingly beautiful, but I feel the production of the choruses were a bit bland.
07 Aoyama Thelma x SOL from BIGBANG - Fall In Love ++ I love the mesh of two worlds in this song, not to mention the instrumental is totally to my taste. I've kept the instrumental on my phone all year and listen to it when my iPod is out of battery. <3 One of those amazing songs that have an instrumental that is almost stronger than the song itself.
08 Tae Yang - 니가 잠든 후에 (Feat. Swings) (After I Fall Asleep) ++ LOL, Tae Yang! I swear I'm not even a fan of his music! But this song was another stunner. It's so fun and groovy~ totally works.
09 NEWS - さくらガール (Sakura Girl) ++ Interesting direction for NEWS, but it took me a little while to love this song. The arrangement is spot on and very catchy, but also very sweet and now well-loved by me~ ^^;; I do love the beat.
10 Utada Hikaru - Show Me Love (Not A Dream) ++ Utada shows us how diverse she can be, The arrangement and production is just flawless, giving us another very memorable song. I love how much feeling you can attach to her songs, especially to this one. It's very powerful and tells a story.
11 Arashi - To be free ++ I really love that my favourite Arashi song of the year was their lowest selling single. This is one of the most refreshingly uplifting songs I've heard, and I never fail to feel positively pleased about nothing in particular after listening to this. There are lots of little rhythms in the instrumental and melody that I really like.
12 SS501 - Let Me Be The One (그게 나라고..) ++ This one's really grown on me and all I hear now when I listen to it is how earnest and beautiful it is and how far the boys have come since their debut. It also makes me teary-eyed... it's become a very emotional song for me.
13 BoA - M.E.P (My Electric Piano) ++ This song caught my attention when I saw the name in the tracklist, and predicted I'd like it if it went with the title. Luckily, it did. I love the concept of this song and honestly it sounds amazing regardless of my predictions. BoA knows how to work a song.
14 Kanjani8 - LIFE～目の前の向こうへ～ (Me no Mae no Mukou e) ++ Did I say it before? Kanjani8 should really go for more songs in this genre for their singles. I think this is the first single I've really LOVED. It's pop enough, rock enough, interesting enough and catchy enough that I think it's generally a likeable song for most people. Strong number.
15 Namie Amuro - The Meaning Of Us ++ Another stunningly beautiful track. Everything about this song is gorgeous... I literally see sparkles. ;_;
16 BoA - Possibility (duet with Miura Daichi) ++ I'm loving the direction of BoA's jpop music. This is an awesome collab and I just LOVE the beat and the way their voices mix.
17 Ayumi Hamasaki - RED LINE ~for TA~ (Original mix) ++ It feels like Ayu releases SO MANY ballads (and her ballads are always nice) that I have trouble distinguishing them unless I really get into them. This was a really fresh track from her. It's really catchy and really suits her voice.
18 Kanjani8 - モノグラム (Monogram) ++ A super catchy rock-pop track that reaffirms to me how good this style is for them.
19 Fukuhara Miho - 未来 -ミライ- (Mirai) ++ A really great instrumental to a really great mid-tempo song. Miho has a great voice and I'm really glad I tried this single out.
20 Nakashima Mika - Memory feat. DAISHI DANCE ++ DAISHI DANCE played a part in a number of really good tracks this year. The star of this one is definitely DAISHI DANCE... it really should be DAISHI DANCE feat. Nakashima Mika. :P It's DAISHI DANCE brilliance and Mika pulls it all together with her airy voice.
BREAKOUT ARTIST: JUJU
BEST ALBUM: Da Mouth - One Two Three & Nakashima Mika - STAR & BoA - IDENTITY & Baek Ji Young - Timeless; The Best
BEST MUSIC VIDEO: Arashi - Troublemaker & Se7en - BETTER TOGETHER (Dance Version)
Please do not hotlink our files without permission. ♥
I hope we find many great songs in 2011. Once again, I'm sorry to Ria. :( It had to be this way. I hope she doesn't nag ME about this. It isn't a very exciting post and I'm really tired now but at least it's over (and on time) so I can get onto the next of my to-dos. We got so stressed about our 2010 rankings, but it's finally all done and dusted. At least it didn't take me as long as last year's. We don't have to stress again for another year. :D Yey.
So, what were you fav songs of 2010? =]