April | 2016 | Fangirl 101

“Art is how we decorate our room, Music is how we decorate our time”

I personally would consider myself passionate about music and the artists that create them. There are a lot of amazing artists out there, but today I am counting down my top 10!

But first! Some honorable mentions:
Demi Lovato || The United States
Fall Out Boy || The United States
TWICE || South Korea
SHINee || South Korea
Avril Lavigne || Canada
Imagine Dragons || The United States

Marina and the Diamonds || The United Kingdome

Marina is a Welsh singer songwriter who is known for her alternative style. Her music feel like short stories and she often analyses society in it. She debuted in 2010 with the album “The Family Jewels”.

I personally love her because of her lyrics. Her songs are all very raw and real and I love that about her. She stands out against others and deserves more love than she gets!
Favorite album: The Family Jewels (2010)
Favorite song: Teen Idle (2012)

EXO || South Korea

EXO is a nine (originally twelve) member boy group from South Korea. The group is split into two smaller groups; EXO-K who sing in Korean and EXO-M who sing in Mandarin. They debuted in 2012 with the album Mama, but gained huge popularity in 2013 with the hit “Growl” that even went on to win the Best World Song at the 2013 World Music Awards. Their third mini album Overdose is the highest ever ranked album by a kpop boy group on the billboard top 200. However, the group has some controversy due to the leaving members.

I love EXO for the music they create. All of their songs are just really catchy and just good. They are good artists who deliver every time!
Favorite band member: Kai
Favorite album: Overdose (2014)
Favorite song: Black Pearl (2015)

Big Bang || South Korea

Big Bang is a five member boy group from South Korea and the most influential group in the kpop genre. They are known as “The kings of kpop” and “Nations boy band” as well as being labeled “The biggest boy band in the world” by Hollywood reporter. They have won countless (world wide) awards and their song Fantastic Baby is considered the most iconic kpop song ever!

I love that Big Bang (unlike many kpop artists) writes all their own songs. All the boys in the group are really creative and still humble people. Big Bang moves through different genres with ease and they seem to be able to pull off everything!
Favorite band member: G-Dragon
Favorite album: Alive (2012)
Favorite song: Loser (2015)

Mariana’s Trench || Canada

Mariana’s Trench is a Canadian rock band who is very popular in Canada, but barely known in the rest of the world. The band consists out of four members and debuted in 2006 with the album Fix Me.

With Mariana’s Trench, all songs connect to each other very well. The outro of one song is already the intro of the next, this makes listening to the album feel like going to concert. Lyrically and Musically the band is just very talented and I wish more people would listen to them!
Favorite band member: Josh Ramsey
Favorite album: Ever after (2011)
Favorite song: Alibis (2006)

Halsey || The United States

Halsey is an American singer songwriter who started her career with a parody of Taylor Swift’s I knew you were trouble on Youtube. Later she released her own songs and she debuted in 2014 with the EP Room 93. In 2015 she released her first album Badlands which she described as an “angry feminist record”. The album gained her a lot of fans and popularity. Halsey suffers from bipolar disorder and has used to term “triple-bi” to describe herself (Bisexual, Biracial and Bipolar).

I think Halsey’s music is amazing. Every single song she brought out has an almost cinematic feeling to it. Her lyrics are beautiful and raw and I really appreciate that.
Favorite album: Badlands (2015)
Favorite song: Gasoline (2015)

F(x) || South Korea

F(x) is a four (originally five) member girl group from South Korea. They are known to be one of the most reliably risk taking act in Korea due to their experimental music style. They always make sure every song they bring out is something new and amazing. They are one of the few kpop groups that is also popular outside of Asia. They debuted in 2009 with the EP LA chA TA.

F(x) is one of the most original kpop groups and they always surprise me with their new music. I enjoy all of their songs and you can hear there is a lot of thought put to them. The four girls of F(x) are all super talented and I am always exited for their comebacks!
Favorite band member: Amber
Favorite album: Pink Tape (2013)
Favorite song: Paper Heart (2014)

Taylor Swift || The United States

Taylor Swift is an American singer songwriter who started out in the country genre, but moved to the pop genre. She debuted in 2006 with a self titled album and immediately gained a small, but loyal fandom. Her big break through didn’t happen until the 2014 album 1989. This album has gained her a lot of popularity and made her one of the most famous singers in the world.

Taylor Swift will always be special with me, I fell in love with her music back in 2008 and have been a loyal fan since. Her first three albums were the first time I ever connected to music and therefor Taylor Swift will always be one of my favorite artists. However, I’m not the biggest fan of her pop album (Red and 1989). But I will forever love her country albums (Taylor Swift, Fearless and Speak Now).
Favorite album: Fearless (2008)
Favorite song: The story of us (2010)

Girls’ Generation (SNSD) || South Korea

Girls’ Generation (also known as SNSD) is a eight (originally nine) member girl group. They are the most popular girl group in South Korea and every song they release is guaranteed to be a hit. They debuted in 2007, but didn’t gain popularity until they released the hit “Gee” in 2009 which became the most popular kpop song of the 2000s. After this they kept growing in popularity and they are now considered legends in the kpop industry. They are known as “The Nations Singers” and “The Nations Girl Group”.

For me Girls’ Generation was the first kpop group I got into and they are a big reason to why I love the genre so much. All their songs have a fun vibe through it that makes me smile whenever I listen to them. The girls are really humble and down to earth which I really appreciate.
Favorite band member: Seohyun
Favorite album: I got a boy (2013)
Favorite song: I got a boy (2013)

GOT7 || South Korea

GOT7 is a seven member boy group from South Korea. They debuted in 2014 and aren’t really popular in Korea. They are popular in the international fandom and are slowly gaining fans in Korea itself.

GOT7 is my favorite kpop group and I really love them. I just get really happy when I listen to their music or watch their reality show. All the boys in the band are super talented and generally nice people. They are kinda wild and crazy, jumping around all the time. But it’s hilarious to watch the dynamics in the group and it’s almost impossible to pick a favorite member!
Favorite member: Yugyeom
Favorite album: Just right (2015)
Favorite song: Forever young (2014)

Melanie Martinez || The United States

Melanie Martinez is a very underrated singer songwriter from the Untied States. She started her career on youtube and was a contestant in The Voice in 2012 where she made it into the top 6. However her first EP wasn’t released until 2014.

Melanie Martinez is such a good songwriter. She takes childhood things and matches them with adult themes in a way that just works. All her songs are really clever and original. She also isn’t afraid to talk about “taboo topics” such as rape (in the song Tagg, youre it) and violent relationships (in the song Teddybear). I really love Melanie as a person and an artist and hope she gets recognized for her talents more in the future.
Favorite album: Cry Baby (2015)
Favorite song: Cry Baby (2015)