1st Gen Female Soloists - The Rate - Who paved the way?

Ana Raquel

Ana Raquel

she/her




































































#33
(TIE)

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Score: 7,795

Paved the way: 10 x 1 (me)
Brought to naught: 6 x 1 (@soratami)
Me: above

Peak: #02
Nadir: #37



Brazil, I'm devastated.

This was the first song I've heard by Kim Hyun Jung and it remains one of personal favorites to these days. It was also the song that shot her to the top (her upcoming album was one of the few works by female soloists that reached over 500k preorder sales - some other soloists from this rate are among those, such as Uhm Jung Hwa, Lee Soo Young, and Yangpa).

Some fun facts about this:
- I remember reading once that PSY was the male vocalist here but I couldn't find that info again today, so let's just leave it here. #suspans
- In her second album, there is a song called "Returned Break Up". My lack of Korean doesn't let me confirm if it's a reference to this song or just a coincidence. I want to believe it's the former, though!
- There is a random Taekwondo video I stumbled upon which has this song as background? ffff
- You can also find this song as "Separation With Her".

Also, there is another contest I take part (outside of PJ) where I was torn between two of her songs of hers to send: this and another one still in the running, so I asked my friend (who is also a massive eurodance fan) for some help and he lowkey bashed the production on this one? And said the other option was a no-brainer. Maybe that's why I was the only 10. dddd I ended up flopping in that contest by the way.

​

★★★


@berserkboi (9): A big bop, though some choice vocal bits!

@Kneehigh Girl (7): I actually really like the instrumental parts in this one. It’s so mid-90s, but in a good (nostalgic) way. The chorus is also really strong.


★★★




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Ana Raquel

Ana Raquel

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Slice of Life said:
NOT THE PARK BOM PROMO!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Thank you for that, unnie!!!!
Click to expand...

Speaking of her!!!


#33
(TIE)

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Score: 7,795

Paved the way: 10 x 1 (@Slice of Life)
Brought to naught: 5 x 1 (@Ezz)
Me: 9

Peak: #25
Nadir: #47



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Just like that, all of the anycall entries are gone. "Anystar" features Lee Junki (nowadays known as Lee Joon-gi) and our loved Park Bom in another 9-min short story that is basically a cliche teen dance movie (no complaints, I shamelessly love those).

This one is basically Bom robbing a convenience store, Hyori helping her not get in trouble. Then they find each other in a club and become friends. Bom takes her place in concerts while Hyori goes have fun with her boo, who is a member of a dance crew. She even tries to join his dance crew but he is against it, because ~that's not her place. Then, she comes back and reunites with Bom, and Lee receives a message from her boo before a concert where he says she is his star.

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Whilst I think it's a great song, my favorite part is from 1:31 to 2:37, which is basically a hot rave that is only part of the short movie, so of course I was disappointed!!!! Still a bop, despite not being my favorite anycall track.
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★★★


@berserkboi (8,5): The production is very Mis-Teeq!

@Kneehigh Girl (8): I remember it took some time for me to get used to this song. It’s the worst of the Any-songs, but there are too many good parts in it to rate it lower. I feel the verses are incredibly strong, while the chorus is probably the weakest part (but it’s not bad!). Why is this the only Any-song on Spotify though?



★★★


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Ana Raquel

Ana Raquel

she/her
After struggling to open anything in my browsers (I had to send a ballot on my phone dddd never again), I am back! This week will be a lot of ~~~fun

































































#32
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Score: 7,814

Paved the way: 10 x 1 (@berserkboi)
Brought to naught: 5,5 x 1 (@Empty Shoebox)
Me: 9,5

Peak: #24
Nadir: #42



A bummer that I waited one week to say absolutely nothing but yeah there is nothing much to say here that I hadn't said before? Other than this song is also called "Falling" and I believe it's the first release of hers after the sextape scandal.

Nothing new to add on my opinion as well, even though I scored well. It's another concise and well-made latin-inspired dance song and I still adore the mix between the eurodance and the latin elements. Used to it bla bla bla. I didn't give it a 10 solely because it isn't among my favorites on the genre... I think? I wouldn't be surprised if I 10'ed it today - or 9'ed it tomorrow.
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★★★


@berserkboi (10): LOVE this mix of Latin & Eurodance! I could hear Gloria Estefan doing this, a huge compliment!



★★★


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Ana Raquel

Ana Raquel

she/her
And just outside the top 30
































































#31
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Score: 7,818

Paved the way: 10 x 1 (@Slice of Life)
Brought to naught: 6 x 2 (@Kneehigh Girl, @Ezz)
Me: 9

Peak: #31 (2x)
Nadir: #48



Fun fact about this one: the rate peaks happened after one voter (aka just me) and after all the 11 voters. Stable queen!

"Declaration of Freedom", or "Freedom Declaration", is a single from her second album "A Sea Gull of Dream", her best-selling album. I tried to find the lyrics for this as I think that's such a powerful name for a song - I couldn't though :'( I blame Kim Hyun Joong.

There are two aspects I adore on the song: the instrumental, just because it's iconic (is it a laugh? it's what it sounds like to me ddd), and our first contact with rapper Kim Hyun Jung. It brought such a charm to the song and she did great. That part with the hat... ended M*ch**l J*cks*n tbh!! I also love the random quotes in the video as I don't know the lyrics, so it makes me even more curious.

That being said, I wish I dug the chorus a bit more though - it's not bad per se, just... not the strongest asset in the song, which avoided me giving it an even higher score.
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★★★

@berserkboi (8,5): This is pretty boppy too!

★★★


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Ana Raquel

Ana Raquel

she/her
Which means our top 30 is:

10 Minutes

Pupil
Sad Expectation
Poison
Invitation
Don't Know
Eternity

Come
Change
You
Crazy
Dara Dara
Ari Ari
Cheol-soo, I Love You

Bruise
You Who Left
Sword (Acoustic)
If It's The End

Burden
Emotion
Smile

Steal Away
Coming of Age Ceremony
I'm A Man

So Chan Whee: Tears
Yoo Chae Young: Emotion
Chae Jung An: Letter
Bada: Music
Mina: Answer The Phone
Park Jung Ah: Yeah​
 
Ana Raquel

Ana Raquel

she/her
Also, there is a three-way tie coming up next, and I'm particularly surprised by two of the songs in it because I thought they would be way higher than they ended up being. You can try and guess which ones, I suppose.

By the way, if I finish all the work I have to do today, I might even do the first part of the tie tonight!
 
Ana Raquel

Ana Raquel

she/her
Merry Christmas! Hope you are having/had a nice time!



























































Let's start the tie with the not-shocking elimination.



#28
(TIE)

KHJ-Bruise.png



Score: 7,909

Paved the way: 10 x 2 (@RUNAWAY, @Slice of Life)
Brought to naught: 5 x 1 (@Empty Shoebox)
Me: 8,5

Peak: #27
Nadir: #53



And we are back to Kim Hyun Jung, now with just three songs left. It's a single from her third album, "The Third Eye"... and probably her most covered song? Obviously, I have no solid evidence on this, it was just the song of hers that I found the most covers so far.

So... I really wanted to >> love love love << it as Korean idols seem to do, but I just don't? It's still a great song, but an 8,5 to eurodance is almost like a 5 to any standard track. I think she has better melodies and more powerful choruses out there, even though I do like some details on the instrumental - the traditional touch is the best part of it, IMO. But yeah, not a single I usually go back to. Maybe it will become a grower after some time!!!!
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★★★

@berserkboi (8): Enjoying it but a bit cacophonous

★★★





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Ana Raquel

Ana Raquel

she/her
Let's continue with our scandalous week














































With probably the most 10s so far?














#28
(TIE)

LJH-Change.png



Score: 7,909

Paved the way: 10 x 4 (me, @Kneehigh Girl, @Attis, @Slice of Life)
Brought to naught: 4 x 1 (@Empty Shoebox)
Me: above

Peak: #01
Nadir: #34



I-

Seriously, I know the results for half a year now and I still have no words on this placement sdfsdffsdsdfsdfkjl I was sure this would be in the top 15 at the very worst. Also, I imagined it would be among the top 3 AVA songs at this rate, so not only am I shocked for it finishing "only" 28th but also flabbergasted at it not even being top 5 AVA.
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"Change", or "Bakkwo" comes from Lee Jung Hyun's first album, "Let's Go To My Star" and it's basically "Come"/"Wa"'s little sister. Both of them had impact on K-pop but "Wa" ended up becoming her "mark". It's a tad complicated to comment about it without even mentioning "Come" because even the staging concept kind of clashes (even though "Come" has the girl with kimono and finger mic aesthetic where "Change" has mix of Sailor Moon x Mecha x Power Rangers villain and finger mic aesthetic).
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That's absolutely goals I love her.

"Change" has a special place in my heart as one of the songs that made me like K-pop in the first place. There was a DDR 3rd Mix machine in my city and it was the version where both "Let's Go To My Star" singles were featured. Nowadays, I'd struggle picking one of them as my favorite. 14 years ago, though... I would pick "Change" without even thinking twice. The reason was solely because I liked to play it more than "Come". Even to this day, I unconsciously want to jump when she starts singing BAKKWO BAKKWO BAKKWO because of the beatmap ffffff it was so fun!!! I miss the DDR and PIU machines soooo much.

She did an ad in 2020 with both "Wa" and "Bakkwo" (with a more modern take on them). Enjoy as it's the closest we have from new music for the past years.

Also, this is the first song that was once at #1 who gets the chop. In short: you are evil.
​

★★★


@Kneehigh Girl (10): Simply flawless.

@Attis (10): Iconic, I remember playing this song frequently while playing DDR 3rd Mix. This song kinda makes me the gay that I am today

@berserkboi (5,5): This is only okay for me!


★★★





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Ana Raquel

Ana Raquel

she/her
My computer is boycotting me but I won't give up on this one!



























































#28
(TIE)

LH-10-Minutes.png



Score: 7,909

Paved the way: 10 x 3 (me, @RUNAWAY, @berserkboi)
Brought to naught: 5 x 1 (@Attis)
Me: above

Peak: #02
Nadir: #35



I-

Remember that list where Lee Hyori ranked the highest of the 1st gen sensations with this song? Well, it wasn't the same case here. fffff

"10 Minutes" is Hyori's debut as a soloist and it was a MOMENT. It shifted her image to a sexier one (especially compared to her Fin.K.L days) and it was when she became the queen of sexy. The song and video were also influential back then and had an impact on fashion trends. Also, Hyori even broke a record for appearing on newspapers' front pages 891 times. Truly her moment.

So yeah, I'm definitely surprised the "Hyori Syndrome" didn't spread across the rate. This was also another song that I expected to finish in a way higher position - not only for its impact, but also because of Hyori herself. Along with Uhm Jung Hwa, the former Fin.K.L member is possibly the most well-known artist in the rate. I mean - Lee Jung Hyun doesn't release a new song in almost a decade; Kim Hyun Jung is completely obscure and we can't really find information from her; Baek Ji Young is more known for her OST ballads and it's usually not what k-pop fans are looking for; Park Ji Yoon has Coming of Age and that's about it; and most of the extras are basically unknown people for new fans.

In short: I expected the "recency bias" would help Hyori place better. In reality, we got our first main act eliminated before the top 25. Well, that's... a ride. Also, this is a bop and you are all vile (part two).
​

★★★



@berserkboi (10): First song and already a great discovery! A bit Boy You Knock Me Out in the melody!

@Kneehigh Girl (8): I’ll admit I never cared for this song way back when it was released. However, over the years, it has grown on me. The chorus is too catchy for its own good.



★★★





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Ana Raquel

Ana Raquel

she/her
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1 (#28). 10 Minutes - 7,909
2 (#33). Anystar - 7,795
3 (#40). Anymotion - 7,727
4 (#40). Get Ya` - 7,727
5 (#47). Straight Up - 7,636
6 (#60). Cleopatra - 7,318
7 (#64). Shall We Dance? - 7,159
8 (#67). Hey Girl - 7,091
9 (#68). Remember Me - 7,045
10 (#70). Anyclub - 6,864

ARTIST AVERAGE: 7,427​
 
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