Chelsea’s Top 50 Kpop Songs of 2020

Chelsea’s Top 50 Kpop Songs of 2020

I wasn’t planning to do this. In fact, I didn’t want to do this. It’s a lot of work, but I felt an obligation after seeing my bro’s list. My poor guys were non-existent. In the beginning, I was that fan that had to work at finding content. Nothing was subtitled to the point that I had to learn enough Korean to get by. I was around when Super Junior, TVXQ (DBSK), and Shinee debuted, and if I’m honest, I wasn’t enthralled by any of those debuts. They’re just not my style.

 But I worked (HARD) to find and understand the variety shows and other appearances they made because I saw in them the shaky steps from a baby genre into a genre that was going to grow into a behemoth. I saw potential and I felt the fun that was coming. It took years for me to enjoy most girl groups. When I started this kpop journey, girl groups were corralled and kept from showing much personality and they invariably sang in keys that only dolphins could match so I couldn’t even jam out with their music. So for me, for years, it was the guys. I’m more balanced now. A modicum of feminism has hit Korea and those female idols are finally showing their true, charming selves to the people. There are even contraltos in their midst. It’s a whole new world out there, but I still have a soft spot for the guys. So here I am, giving you my top 50 songs of the year.

For those of you that read my choreography article, don’t expect tons of overlap. My favorite songs aren’t the same. Several of my favorite choreographies aren’t going to make this list at all. And in spite of my intro, there won’t be only boy groups. The ladies did kill it this year and there’s no denying that. Just as there’s no denying that this year lacked a lot of comebacks from male artists people had loved in years past as the members went for their military service. Most of the second generation boy groups, in fact, have been silent this year. *Sad face* But there are some gems in the men still actively working. Let’s see what goodies I found this year…

50. Jamie-Numbers

This is an artist I followed through her first group 15& and subsequent lack of comebacks or comebacks that I simply didn’t care for. She has a voice that’s unique and powerful. I love it and I’ve been waiting for a song from her that I could get behind. At last, this year, Numbers caught my sleeve and started tugging. Two months after its release, I decided I liked it. It has musical interest that’s not immediately obvious and it’s a party. The message is great too. It’s all about looking at a person, not their bank account, pants size, or any other number that gets used to quantify people.

49. Ravi-Paradise

Full disclosure-Ravi has been my ultimate kpop bias for...6 years. That doesn’t mean he can do no wrong, because the way he played with the sound effects and beats the last couple years was not for me, but I’ve stuck by him because he wrote my second favorite song of all time, “Lean on Me”. He went experimental, but I knew in my heart he would come back to the ground in good time. The summer fun vibes of this song kept my spirits up in the worst of the lockdown depression. I could almost imagine I was allowed to go to a beach. And the fun hasn’t gone as the weather turned. It’s a mainstream pop song with plenty of replayability. Welcome back to us, Ravi!

48. Solar-Spit it Out

I love this woman. I love her voice, I love her look, and I love her outlook on the world. I was excited for her solo to come out and I didn’t feel disappointment. Softly powerful, Solar demanded that people accept her for who she is and promised that she would give as much as she could in return. All while wearing both my least favorite and favorite styles and looking like a boss in both. The driving beat and Solar’s gorgeous vocals are almost all you hear making the focus her message and performance...she killed both.

47. Yooa-Bon Voyage

This song is easy listening and doesn’t get old. I spoke about the choreography in my other article and said, not lightly, that the choreography absolutely makes the song for me. It would not be on this list without it. It also amuses me that my grade-school child watching the performance video commented, “This video makes it so no one can guess what culture it came from.” I find that so appropriate for the message of a desire to return to the innocence of youth, which is universal. No culture aims to become bitter old hags and curmudgeons, after all.

46. Treasure-Going Crazy

I touched on this in my choreography video. This song gives me nostalgia in the best possible way. It feels like---I’m about to give away my age, sigh--backstreet boys meets A*Teens “Halfway Around the World” meets k-pop. It’s my happy place and I wish their songs after debut had a similar vibe. I would have been unable to resist them.

45. NCT Dream- Ridin’

Dream has been the only subunit of NCT that I’ve been able to get behind. The other units aren’t my scene. They’re talented and musically interesting and I respect them, but I’ve only ever enjoyed Dream songs. This one wasn’t immediately a winner for me, but after two or three listens, I realized why I kept coming back to it. It’s a ‘driving song’. I don’t mean the beat. I mean it’s a song that’s good to have on while you’re driving. The pedal feels right under your foot and you’re happy with the journey no matter the destination while this song is on. U-Kiss had been my favorite ‘driving song’ group and I’ve been missing this kind of music since U-Kiss fell off the musical radar the last few years.

44. MonstaX-Fantasia

MonstaX, a group that knows it’s audience and doesn’t disappoint them. They have their style on stage and if you like it, you’ll never be truly upset by their music. It took a few comebacks for them to get to that place, but they put out consistent bops now. This song is also a bop if you like their style, which is hit or miss with me. I only like about half of what they put out, but this one made me happy...after I fell head over heels for Shownu doing the wide rocking heel step in the chorus. OMG! His execution is flawless. He leans back into the move and uses SO much core strength to make it all look easy. He makes most of the other members look downright lazy in comparison. Steven says the move is ‘pure swagger’ the way Shownu does it. I was so grateful that the song was good because it made watching the dance practice and performances over and over and over again fun.

43. Ateez-Thanxx

I haven’t fallen as hard or as completely for a group since Vixx. Ateez, like Vixx, have talent in spades, choreography that you want to learn, songs that don’t get old and have musical interest, and the stage presence necessary to carry it all off. And like Vixx, they tell a tale through music. I love that in a group and song. It is why you’ll see more Ateez later. This song in particular is playful even while it fiddles with rhythm and key. Suffice it to say this song is fun-teez and it makes me bounce around no matter what else I’m trying to do with my life. Gracias!

42. Twice-More and More

The music tells a story and it’s a story I absolutely want more of. The story of Twice growing up and finding their adult voices in an industry that doesn’t like women aging (Except for BOA who I think found the fountain of youth and I want in on that action). The styling didn’t seem to hit the right notes for most people but I found it visually pleasing in context. And it never hurts that Sana is one of my favorite people in kpop to watch dance. She’s not necessarily the best dancer, but she has beautiful lines, is accurate, and always gives 100% even when she’s in the background. Yes, Sana, I do say more, more, more!

41. Mamamoo-Dingga

The vocals in this group are astounding. It’s no surprise that they were able to break into the industry and stay there. I tend to like their more ethereal sounding songs, but this one just makes me happy. I’m not able to resist any song that can work in the lyrics “drink like a, like a, like a fish”. Can you?

40. OnlyOneOf- a sOng Of ice & fire

I have liked several songs from this group and they always sneak up on me. I’ll listen to it once and think, “I’ll try it again later and see.” Two weeks later, the song is stuck in my head regularly. This is similar. It’s got a decent beat and an easy listening melody. It’s sweet in short as well as catchy and it’s one of the few songs from the year that I don’t skip every now and then.

39. Cravity- Cloud9

This song was an immediate yes for me. When I picture a baby group with Sistar and MonstaX as their big siblings, this is exactly the song I’d expect. It has a summer fun vibe but also the beat and a low-key athleticism of a hard-hitting boy group. I want more of this!

38. WekiMeki- Cool

I didn’t like this song the first time I heard it. I liked the styling, but not much else. The funky non-dance break, the pounding club beat, the hard breath out at the end of almost every line of the chorus...not my style. But the next day I’m doing chores and singing the song. Two and a half months later, it’s still in my head and I’m not upset about it. 

37. Ateez-Fever

As weird as this will sound, this has gone into a kpop list I have called “Kpop lullabies”. They’re songs that soothe the heart or mind. There’s pretty much no connection in the list except that for me personally, the song just before bed helps me find deep rest.

36. Onewe- End of Spring

My band song with choreography. This song is just fun! This band does WEIRD things musically with pauses and builds and drops, but they know how to hit an emotional note, in this case: HYPE. It has a western-line dancing sound wound into a rock song and is a blast to have blaring when you’re in a good mood.

35. Imfact- Lie

This is a group I’ve watched since absolutely falling in love with their debut song, Lollipop, which I still would probably rank in my top 100. I was starting to think they were gone forever after a long hiatus and then they came back with this amazing display of their unique vocals. The song itself is fairly repetitive, but the note progressions have just enough changes to tell a small story and keep me interested. It may not be for everyone, but I was thrilled to have them come back with this song. No Lie.

34. Kim Namjoo- Bird

This song is funky. There is a woodwind sound that took some getting used to and I wasn’t a huge fan of the snapping/clock ticking beat either. But the message of the song is empowering. It’s saying that no matter what comes in her life, even a cliff, it won’t hurt her because she knows she has the wings and can survive it all.

33. Sunmi- Pporappippam

My brother talked about this at length, so I’ll only encourage you to go watch the dance practice and listen really hard after she does the back dive around 2:35. Those back-up dancers and she must have had bruises. She doesn’t hold back on that move at all and I find that level of trust incredibly impressive!

32. Max- Lie (ft. Chungha)

My second song on this list called Lie...I must have been in a strange place this year. Max aka Changmin from TVXQ has a voice that is always praised. He’s fantastic vocally. That said, I almost never enjoy his music because he sings higher than I do and that’s just a hard pill to swallow. Chungha hits insane notes in this song. It has a tribal, rainstick kind of sound that I find compelling and the emotionality of it pulls at my heartstrings. Simply beautiful.

31. Hyolyn- Spell

This song is definitely not going to be for everyone, but I recommend giving it a few chances anyway. There’s a fun whistled beat in it and a lot of unusual background music for a pop song. It felt to me like a darker, even more mature version of a Sistar19 song. I don’t think any other artist would be able to pull off this song and I enjoy the oddness of it.

30. Kard- Red Moon

I like Kard. I have from the very beginning and I was happy with this song to feel like they were moving a little back toward some of the earlier music. I know my brother likes them on the dark music, but I like them telling me a story or ordering me to “Call me Papi!” while I party.

29. Twice- I Can’t Stop Me

You’ll discover a theme with me that I like being taken along on a story. This MV has a great story of personal struggle with choices for good or evil, so I was inclined to like the song from the start, but it didn’t end there. I liked the styling, the dance, the music. It’s a very well balanced song with pacing that doesn’t drag or rush. It’s generic enough to suit most people’s taste and unique enough not to bore.

28. Oneus- Bbusyeo

I talked a little about this in my favorite choreographies article. This is a boy group doing the retro style but pulling from the 80’s or 90’s pop genre. Bright colors, “da-da-da-dada” as lines, and growling words with a party version of the chorus as an ending. It’s uptempo and fun.

27. N.Flying- E-yo

N.Flying is a group I’ve been pushing at my brother all this year and last. They had a rough start, lost a member to scandal (which is not easy to handle in a band), and came back as one of my favorite musical acts in the industry. This song was written by the group (a lot of their music is self-written now) as a gift to the fans. All the members, even the instrumentalists, have lines and while it’s a nice rock ballad, the genuine gratitude in it makes it that much more touching.

26. OnlyOneOf- Angel

I’m listening to this song and trying to decipher why I like it so much or what makes it stand out. I’m at a loss. Their voices are nice, soft and with a pleasant range, but there’s not a whole lot more to this song. It has a rap bridge which is kind of a fun way to break things up. I don’t know, folks, it pleases me. I never skip this song.

25. Woodz- BumpBump

Oh, man was I excited by Woodz this year! This man has been through so many images and tried so many things since he debuted in UNIQ. I didn’t like much that UNIQ did, but I always thought there was SO much talent in the group, so I’ve tried to keep up with them all and it finally, FINALLY paid off. Woodz has finally found his sound. BumpBump is fun and upbeat with the cool drum beat in place of the whistle beat in Love Me Harder (we’ll get to that song later). This song forces me to nod along, so that everyone I live with knows when it comes up in my playlist.

24. Twice- Cry For Me

I love when Jihyo digs into her lower register! Oh, man, she’s so cool sounding down there. But that wouldn’t be enough to make it this far up my list. This song has a very elevated 2nd generation kpop feel. I could have seen WonderGirls doing this song or infinite on the boys side. The dance even has a knife-like precision to it but with more interesting formations. This could have been a number one song for me years ago. It’s clean and pretty, written with symmetry and a catchy melody.

23. Dreamcatcher- Red Sun

This is the only instance of “creepy carnival music” in the background of a song that I’ve ever been able to accept on the first listen. These ladies know how to make creepy and dark into something entertaining and gorgeous. I’m a huge fan of Vixx (so many sad faces for how that group has gone this year), so I like my concepts and stories and dreamcatcher has definitely filled that void. Their soft, ultra-feminine voices are a creepy-doll compliment to the creepy carnival background in the best of ways. This is miles away from my kpop lullabies playlist.

22. Woodz- Accident

Woodz, back again, killing me. I would call this song a true modern ballad. It has the funky beat that Woodz has fostered in his sound, but its slow poetic reveal of story with a lyrical 180 turn in the relationship that’s being told about. It’s powerful and I recommend looking up the translated lyrics if you’re going to try out the song. Even if you don’t, the boy kills those high notes.

21. Oneus- To Be Or Not To Be

I think Oneus suffers for the average person not having a great understanding of vocal and dance technique. These guys do things effortlessly that even some professionals would struggle with. That said, this song is interesting. The MV tells a story (and we know I love that). There are drops not only at the start of the chorus, but also in the middle and sometimes at the end. Basically, they put you on a musically rollercoaster and demand you scream. On a side note, the title of this song cracked me up. Ravn, the rapper, writes music for the team and slips mythology and Shakespeare references into most of his work. When I saw this title I just laughed, “Were we not getting it enough for you, Ravn?” He’s given up and told us to go read some Shakespeare. Hop to it!

20. Yooa- Abracadabra

I love that this song is in a lower register. I can sing along! Bless you, Yooa. My brother talked about this song a little. I think part of the reason it sticks in your head is because of what I’ll call the metronome background music. You’re pulled into the song and there’s no moment at the end that says “Okay, we’re turning off the metronome now”, so you’re never released from her spell.

19. Onewe- Parting

My second song by Onewe. It took me forever to understand why this song sounded so strange to me. And then I fell in love. It has no drop. Tension, tension, tension, higher tension, tension. And yet you don’t feel wrung out at the end. It’s cool. I love it.

18. VAV- Made for Two

Very Awesome Voice. I wanted to like this group when they came out for their vocal talent, but their songs never hit me. Then they lost some members and gained some others and added a dance element to their music and I’m hooked. They had my number 1 song last year with an upbeat, latin sound in “Give me More”. This year, they moved back toward true ballads and a display of their vocals. This was the farewell song before their main dancer, Baron, went off to his enlistment, and it felt like a goodbye with a promise to return. Beautiful ballad, beautifully sung.

17. Kard-Gunshot

This was also in my brother’s list, so I won’t say too much about it, except to add that I adored the story and the message of this song and MV.

16. Chungha-Play

This was my favorite female choreography of the year and the song wasn’t a slouch either. The styling was exactly my preference and the music is upbeat and easy to listen to over and over. It’s a solid song.

15. Gfriend- Apple

This song was high on my brother’s list and was on my favorite female choreography list. This was a great song from a group that I hadn’t really enjoyed before this year. I am thrilled to see them step into some concepts that I can get behind.

14. Got7- Not By The Moon

Another Shakespeare reference for you all. This song’s MV is brilliant. It has too much to unpackage in a short blurb like this, but I highly recommend watching it. The song itself for me was an updated version of the early Got7 that I fell in love with. I like hiphop style music on them, but I love it when they put a story into the lyrics.

13. Everglow- LaDiDa

This song was covered by my brother excellently and I covered the dance aspect in my choreographies article, so I won’t harp on it. They killed it.

12. Hyolyn- Say My Name

Let’s just be honest for a second here. I adore almost everything about this woman from her look, her voice, and her styling, to her personality and mindsets. I’m biased, I admit it. This song isn’t revolutionary, but she has fun doing it and I have fun right along with her because it’s Hyolyn. *Fangirls*

11. Apink- Dumhdurum

My brother talked about this one too. I liked it better than he did though, so I’ll just highlight a couple things. This dance was fun, having a viral dance move that went overseas. This song, more than others also seemed to me to highlight the differences in the girl’s voices. Apink and Gfriend in the earlier years both sang songs that were high and not varied, so I wasn’t able to pick out individual members unless they had super unusual voices (Eunji and Eunha), but Dumhdurum moved away from that and I was happier for it.

10. Oneus- Come Back Home

TOP TEN and are we surprised at this point to see Oneus here? This song was revealed in Road to Kingdom and I definitely recommend you go watch that performance, if for no other reason than to watch the “shadow” dance around the 2:30 mark. I want a whole choreography using that idea and I want it yesterday. 

This song was the start of the story that carried on in To Be or Not To Be and that we are still waiting for the conclusion of in their next album Devil (coming soon!). It has an epic battle sound because that’s exactly the story they’re telling. Gods, princes, chosen children, and vampires. Seriously, can it get more over the top and fun?

9. Pink Fantasy- Shadow Play

This is a subunit song. It has a Egyptian theme in styling and sound without losing the signature kpop feel. The four members are excellently highlighted and the dance is entertaining. I’ll confess that while I know the MV is telling me something, I’m not sure what it is. Still, I loved the unique sound of this song. It was a nice change from the Latin blends that kpop had been in lately.

8. Ateez- Inception

This hasn’t come up yet, but I’m a sucker for a clean vocal run. Half of this song’s chorus is exactly that, but with the Ateez flair for unusual melodies added in. There’s a dream-like quality to the rise and fall of the melody, but it’s all laid over a hard, driving beat. The MV is again, so much more story than I have time to unpackage here, but I recommend not just a watch, but a study session. This also has my second favorite executed move of the year around the 1:31 point. San slays those backward kicks.

7. Kard- Go Baby

The members said that they had wanted this to be their title track (instead of Red Moon) because the line distribution was more equal and they felt it showed off their individual flavors better. I completely agree. This hip hop flavored song suits them so well. It’s a bop even if the dance is fairly simple. Go, Baby, Go!

6. Kim Sungkyu- I’m Cold

Time to age myself. I miss second gen. Kpop. I loved the raw vocals of the stages. This generation was likely to have voice cracks, sour notes, and run out breath on tough dances and I loved how humanizing that was. Sungkyu was one of the best vocalists for me in second gen. He was trained by Spica’s Boa who was known for vocal flavor and he brings so much to every song he sings, so I always seek out live clips from him. This song took a quick minute for me to decide I liked it. It felt too long at first, not having enough interest or changes to hold my attention. But after a second and third try, I remembered why I love Sungkyu so much. Vocal runs and subtle but complex song progression. He may be cold, but he knows how to warm my heart.

5. Checkmate- Drum

...Guilty pleasure song of the year. Yeah. It’s not a bad song; it’s not a great song, but I wanted to put it at number one. This is a debut song for a coed group and I’ll definitely be waiting to see what else they have in store. I have no idea why, but I adore this song. It hits on me like I’m a drum and I never knew I wanted to be a drum.

4. Gfriend- Mago

Mago hasn’t been out long, but I see it being one of my all time favorite girl group songs. Gfriend is known for being feminine and innocent. This added girl power to the mix somehow and scrambled it all around in retro sounds. It’s magical.

3. Woodz- Love me Harder

He’s back on my list again! He made some really cool music this year. I can’t deny him. My brother talked about the music aspects of this song a bit on his list, so I’ll touch on the lyrics. The Korean title for this song is 파랗게 (Parahge) which means simply “Blue”. Woodz wrote and composed this song himself. He said that he was thinking about his fans that have stuck with him through so much and how their love was special. It wasn’t the typical red-heart type love. To him it was blue. I love this as a fan love song. It’s so funky and completely in Woodz’s style.

2. Ateez- Answer

This song started the year on such a high note! I honestly didn’t think anything would be able to top it. There is so much vocal difficulty in this song. From the very first line “Gonbae haja like a thunder”, the melody is counter intuitive. It took me months to be able to hit this line right without the music leading me. Then the background “Oooh” vocal runs are art for our ears. The low voices are rough and gritty while the high are softer but not lacking in power. Ateez never fails to impress me.

1. N.Flying- Oh Really.

I knew I was going to like this song from the first preview. This group is at their best when they’re enjoying themselves and it was clear that this song was enjoyable for them. It plays to Yoo Hwesueng’s vocal strengths in both rock and ballad singing and allows Lee Suenghyub to focus on the rap that he’s most comfortable with. It’s a toe tapper and it gets stuck in the head of everyone around me after a couple plays. Pure fun, pure happiness. I never get sick of this song. Oh Really, you are a master stroke. Congratulations.