1st January 2015, 11:33 PM
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ayu-ro mix 2 Initiate
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Finland
Posts: 1,907
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Asian Music in 2014 - Your Highlights
Happy 2015, everyone!
2014 is now safely behind us, but still close enough for easy remembrance. Now is the perfect time to recall all the great songs, singles, and albums that made this year worth remembering and casually forget about all the mediocrities and disappointments. So take a look back and share your personal highlights from the past year! 
Here are my own picks:
Top 20 Songs
Top 10 Singles
Top 5 Albums
Spoiler:
5. BoA - WHO'S BACK?
This album may be more of a singles collection, but no matter how much I dislike the release background, I can't deny how good the material is. This album contains a big chunk of my absolute favourite songs from the two past years, plus ones that I came to love while listening to the whole thing. Though I feel sorta guilty, I will keep spinning this in my CD player and singing along with all my heart.
4. Miliyah Kato - LOVELAND
This album was my absolute favourite thing earlier this year, but I overplayed it a little and now go back to it less often. However, it still deserves recognition for a solid variety of tracks: it has gems scattered all over, and even though the pacing of the album is a bit weird, it works surprisingly well. Miliyah's voice is a delight and she sells all the songs well. After almost a full year of pretty frequent listening, this album is still rewarding.
3. YUKI - FLY
This album was a great breath of fresh air what felt like an endless boring summer and early autumn. What I feel from this release is a veteran artist deciding to try something new and running with it: YUKI goes through many different styles and genres and nails pretty much every one of them. I hear a lot of passion and joy of making music, and I love it. The album is a wild ride from start to finish and absolutely worth taking.
2. Rei Yasuda - Will
This album is sort of the opposite of my previous pick: YUKI's album was all about a seasoned artist going wild and trying new things, while this album is the work of a fresh artist coming to her own and establishing her identity. I might make it sound boring, but it's definitely not. This album is a lovingly and carefully crafted pop record, solid from start to finish, and a fantastic showcase of Rei Yasuda's abilities. The flow is perfect, the songs are great, and the vocals sound amazing. An all-around excellent album that leaves me eager to hear more from Rei Yasuda.
1. Chihiro Onitsuka - TRICKY SISTERS MAGIC BURGER
This album was probably the biggest surprise of the year: like most people here, I was not really expecting great things after how all over the place Chihiro had been with her music recently. She proved me wrong with in a most spectacular fashion. The simple rock sound works wonders on this album. Chihiro's voice sounds really good on most tracks, and even if her singing is not perfect, her emotions are painfully raw, which makes for a great listening experience. The middle strech of this album is the most flawless run of songs I have heard on an album all year. The melodies are strong all-around, and the arrangements create moods perfectly. Even though I can't easily and specifically explain why this album works so well, when I listen to it, it's clear to me that it's my favourite thing from the whole year. It's full of raw emotions, beautiful and memorable songs, and surprises -- that's pretty much all I dare ask for from albums.
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