MNet Asian Music Awards: My Picks

I was surprised at the selection. I really thought there would be more options in the best song and artist categories, and also in those categories the artists are being nominated by SONG not Album. I tried thinking in terms of what the artists had shown previously and with the new material in order to make a decision. Some of my votes would have been different if there were more options. I chose B.A.P, obviously because I like them, but also because as a whole, the songs they released this year showed a variety of skills and sides to their personalities.

Best New Female Artist- Ailee 

Love her voice. Strong and clear, very nice. I want to see more from her.

Best New Male Artist- B.A.P

I chose B.A.P, obviously because I like them, but also because as a whole, the songs they released this year showed a variety of skills and sides to their personalities.

Best Female Artist- BoA

The Queen of course.

Best Male Artist- PSY

Mainly because he really rocked it with Gangnam Style. Even before Z100 was playing it (60times a day) I really liked this song and video.

Best Female Group- 2NE1

They were nominated with 'I Love You' and this song and video was really great musically but especially visually. Couldn't take my eyes off the screen!

Best Male Group- BEAST

This is one of the categories that I had trouble deciding. TVXQ, Big Bang, Shinhwa and Super Junior were the competitors. I chose Beast because they were nominated for 'Beautiful Night', and I voted purely on how much I liked each song not how much I loved each group.

Best Global Group Female- Wondergirls

Because they have songs in English and I like the songs and their style :)

Best Global Group Male- TVXQ for Catch Me

The do a really great job all over Asia. 

Best Collaboration- Trouble Maker

I honestly still really like this song.

Best OST –Lee JongHyun for A Gentleman’s Dignity OST 'My Love'

Great show, great song, super great vocals.

Best Music Video-GAIN for 'Bloom'

At first, I wasn't sure about the video because it was sexual, but then when I thought about it and watched it agian, it became sensual and sweet. 

Best Rap Performance- Dynamic Duo for 'Without You'

If you haven't heard the song or watched the video, you are missing out.

Best Band Performance CNBLUE for 'Hey You'

Really feel good music to me.

Best Dance Performance Solo- Boa for 'Only One'

Every pperformance I watched, and I watched a good few, was great. She sounded great and was able to keep the steps to the dance fluid and graceful.

Best Dance Performance- Infinite for 'Chaser'

The schronization was pretty good, and the actual steps were complicated and crisp.

Best Dance Performance Female Group- miss A for 'Touch'

I thought the steps were original and cute, I was really nice to see a group of ladies, that don't need to crawl around on the floor in every song.

Best Vocal Performance Solo- K. Will for 'I Need You'

Go listen, you'll see why. But I would have picked Ailee's Hurt if it was an option. 

Best Vocal Performance Group- 4Men for 'That Man, That Woman'

Beautiful. Their voices match so well together.

Song of the Year- MBLAQ for 'This is War'

Picked because even in late October, I still want to listen to this song.

Artist of the Year- G-Dragon for 'Crayon'

There's just something about GD...

The site says that you can vote once everyday, but unless they're going to put up more nominees, I'm not going to vote again.

SHINee 'Dazzling Girl' Thoughts

 

Okay, let me state this for the record: I am a SHINee fan. I like a few groups from Korea and other parts of Asia and of course have favorites in America, but I am not the type of fan to love everything that an artist or group does, simply because that artist or group did it. That being said, please do not hate on ME just because I did not like this ONE song and video from SHINee.

Why didn't I like it? Honestly, there were a few things. 

First of all, the song was cute but the hook 'dazzling girl' just annoys me, I can't put my finger on why. SHINee has always been a Pop act but what made me like them from that first song Noona, was the bits of R&B and heavier beats and bass-lines. If the song wasn't going to wow me musically, I was thinking that their voices would do the job. Once again I was disappointed. If I hadn't watched that video, I'm not sure I would have been able to recognize their voices. They didn't get the chance to show off their beautiful voices either! This song was lacking that in a serious way. I was like a fairytale (all softness and fantasy but no substance to keep you coming back), which they tried to play up in the video, but it's just not to my taste. I'm sure there are millions of people who really liked the song, I just don't happen to be one of them.

Secondly, the lack of rich color in the video. I never thought about it when I was watching other artists, but a lot of Japanese music videos lack rich colors. I guess it really hit home because this is SHINee and they are usually always so colorful. I actually looked forward to it.

Thirdly, EMI Music Japan only released the short version of the video. I don't like when companies do that.

I guess my biggest complaint is simply that this isn't the SHINee that I'm used to. I know that people and artists can't keep doing the same things over and over again, but I still feel at a loss. I didn't get to see a crazy complicated new dance, I didn't see weird-but-it-somehow-works outfits, and I didn't hear great vocals or a cool rap. What did I get? Short hair, plumes of feathers and fur on their collars and bright smiles, which is one thing that didn't change. :)

Unfortunately that isn't enough to make me listen to the song or watch the video for a third time. I'm looking forward to their next release, hopefully they'll get some of their spark back.