Yeo's Top Five K-Pop Artists

If you're not a dummy, you'd have already known that YEO has released his debut album, Ganbaru. And you'd also know that it's an eclectic mix of pop influence, electronic instrumentation and intelligent songwriting.

And although the 80's pop, romantic synths and R&B lyricism are at the forefront of the Yeo project itself, it might not be as obvious that the man himself is actually deeply influenced by eastern culture and in particular K-Pop.

Now since we've had Yeo work on some editorial for us before, we know he's got the mind of a writer, so when we were approached to feature his Top Five K-Pop artists - we weren't going to turn it down.

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There's enough content for years (hyperbole) below, so we'll shut up and let Yeo take it away...

Disclaimer From Yeo: "I'm late to the game, and yet now I'm here, I want to stress that it's impossible to narrow this down to five videos (actually six) and do it justice. For example, I love F(x), but they're not on this list. So make that seven videos. Actually make it 33. I apologise for the superfluous linked content but I'm a frickin' nerd so what do you expect..."

"'Hold up, you in the presence of a Queen,' is how this megastar deservedly sums herself up. Breaking out in 2009, Lee Chae-rin's GTFOOMW attitude cements her place as the tough leader of the wildly successful group 2NE1. Her domination as a solo artist is backed by solid collaboration game - see Diplo, Skrillex and G-Dragon."

DΞΔN

"K-Pop has already reached a point of oversaturation, but underground champion Dean Trbl is out there changing the game. With huge writing credits already under his belt, his futuristic collaborations (eg. Mr. Carmack, esta., Anderson .Paak and Eric Bellinger) are the freshest sounds in this Top 5, and they all boast videos with consistently stunning art direction. Tasty AF."

Big Bang

"Labelled as the 'Kings of K-Pop', it's impossible to go past the lineup of G-Dragon, TOP, Taeyang, Daesung, and Seungri. More interestingly, all members have impressive solo careers and they fearlessly form collaborative splinter groups to much (more artistic) success. It's no surprise that they share stages with many international heavyweights like Missy Elliott."

Jay Park

"Park Jae-beom has all of the skills you could ever need in life, period. Read his come-up story and prepare sit down so you can admire this invincible multi-lingual genius and fall into a YouTube rabbit-hole. Owing pretty much all success to his own hard work and talent, Jay's fame crosses many oceans and he is literally a boss - of the slick, independent, talent-loaded record label AOMG."

VV:D

"VV:D (pronounced vivid) aren't so much a band as they are a collective, consisting of Zion.T, Gray, Loco, Elo and my fave heart-throb, Crush. These guys mix it up and feature on each others' tracks all the time. As a crew, their aim is to carve their own path outside the bubblegum hysteria of the commercial world. They're all heart-melting vocalists; though Gray and Crush also sport equally dangerous production chops and musical knowledge."

BONUS: Min

"Even through a lo-fi lens, you can tell there's a hell of a lot of hard yakka behind the magic of Lee Min-young. Though it's an absolute jam, "Boyfriend" never made it to release. Instead, Min hit the big time by leading her group Miss A to the top of the charts. Mostly, I just get lost in her pixelated dance rehearsal videos and her dreamy sense of humour."

Now that you're through all that amazing K-Pop, you can listen to Ganbaru in full. Yeo will also be on tour in support of the release; dates and album stream below: