Best of 2009: May #8 - #5

May marked the beginning of my kpop addiction and dammit, I'm excited just thinking about it.

#8: Ruben Studdard - How You Make Me Feel
(view my first review of the song)

Alongside my kpop addiction, May was the month of little-known Idol album releases, starting with Ruben. This is probably the only good song on the album but dammit, listening to it again after months - it's really good.

#7: Various Artists - So I'm Loving You

The first Korean song on the list - it was the effect of my early Rain phase. Prominent artists on the song are of course Rain and boy bang Big Bang and how I wish all advertisements were like this.

#6: Esmee Denters - Bigger Than the World
(view my review of her debut album)

I like Esmee Denters. I didn't like half of her album, but I liked her debut single and I especially like this song - it's everything she is and should be. Gorgeous melody, nice instrumental with kick, flare, that epic side to the song and good vocals. That's what her focus should be, really. I can't embed the Esmee version so here's the Justin Timberlake version:

#5: Park Ji Yoon - In My Fading Memory
(view my first review of the song)

During the kpop special I named this one of my all-time favorite ballads. That still stands. Even if I've heard a ton of other kpop ballads this year, In My Fading Memory still stands as the strongest, most beautiful one I've heard. Park Ji Yoon's voice is rich and gorgeous in every possible way - it makes the song even more epic. It's haunting but not scary and like I said months ago, it literally makes you want to lie down on a cloud.