Sunday 10 February 2013

PSY Rivals Threaten Girls' Generation on K-Pop Hot 100 - Billboard

Girls' Generation has logged another week at No. 1 with their genre-hopping comeback track "I Got A Boy." The girls rocketed to No. 1 last week's K-Pop Hot 100 chart and have held off stiff competition in a particularly competitive January.

The ladies of Girls' Generation (a.k.a. SNSD) are proving they deserve their No. 1. An official video of their Jan. 11 performance on "KBS Music Bank," a hit music show, begins with leader Taeyon and U.S.-born member Tiffany singing their "Lost In Love" duet. Later, the nine took the stage to perform "I Got A Boy" where they notably used no backing vocals. Many acts use back-up vocals at the beginning of a promotional period to let themselves get comfortable appearing on these high-profile programs, but SNSD going completely live so early is particularly impressive.

The song that almost snatched Girls' Generation's No. 1 position comes from comedian Jung Hyeong Don's "Gangbuk Dandy" at No. 2. The song comes from Korean TV station MBC's extremely-popular variety show "Infinity Challenge." Jung Hyeong Don ambitiously titled his track, "Gangbuk Dandy," as a rival to PSY's monster hit "Gangnam Style" (Gangbuk is on the opposite end of Gangnam). Similarly, "Gangbuk Dandy" is a club track with thumping beats and comical lyrics. Only live performances of the track exist, but should he decide to release a captivating music video, could Jung find himself with 2013's "Gangnam Style?"

INFINITE's two hip-hop enthusiast members, Dongwoo and Hoya, formed a sub-unit group, INFINITE H, releasing their first mini-album with debut single, "Special Girl" with the week's biggest debut at No. 6. Their album, "Fly High," boasts guest features by top names in the industry including Zion T, Baby Soul, Gaeko of Dynamic Duo with first single "Special Girl" featuring soulful R&B vocalist Bumkey. The melodic hip-hop number was composed and arranged by renowned producer Primary (known for hits like Dynamic Duo's "Without You," Billboard's No. 16 Best K-Pop Song of 2012) and written by promising underground rapper Beenzino.

Another "Infinity Challenge" contestant charted high this week; a very familiar face to music fans worldwide. Yoo Jae Suk, otherwise known as "the guy in the yellow suit" in the "Gangnam Style" music video, enters in at No. 10 this week with the futuristic, electro piece "Grasshopper World." The song is a feel-good track with hopeful lyrics that urge people to stop worrying and enjoy life.



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