Who runs the world? Girls! At least according to Billboard.
At the end of last year, Billboard's resident K-pop gurus Jeff Benjamin and Jessica Oak put together a list of the ten best K-pop albums of 2015. The list included many top K-pop acts, but was notable for being topped by three girl groups.
Wonder Girls' comeback album "Reboot" nabbed the first spot, and was followed by f(x)'s "4 Walls" and Brown Eyed Girls' "Basic."
Both "Reboot" and "4 Walls" were the first albums by Wonder Girls and f(x) following member line-up changes, and were some of their strongest albums to date.
All three of the girl groups released full length albums in 2015, and promoted with retro-concepts and musical styles.
The top five was rounded out by BTS's "The Most Beautiful Moment In Life, Pt. 2" and MFBTY's "WondaLand," respectively in fourth and fifth place.
Wonder Girls' "Reboot" was chosen for exploring "Madonna-esque dance pop (see 'Baby Don't Play,''Candle') to dark-leaning synth-rock ('One Black Night,' 'Loved') and even gives a nod to the early days of hip-hop ('Back')."
The only soloist to make the list was IU, whose "Chat-Shire" album came in at the sixth spot.
Red Velvet, 2PM, Seventeen, and TVXQ also made the list with outstanding albums of the year.
Billboard's best K-Pop albums of the year list was introduced in 2014.
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Tamar Herman is a multi-media journalist and the co-founder of KultScene. She is a freelance writer and copy editor, and has written for MTV Iggy, Noisey, and Paste Magazine.
