Welcome to what is technically the last article of the Manelies, and my own personal list of the top songs of the year, this is something I have worked on all year every year since around 2015, so I’m really excited to share it publicly for the first time ever. Of course, check out the Manelies hub page for all the awards we did, as well as Celina and Chelsea’s own personal articles.
I have separated out the songs in this list into tiers from SS all the way down to C. That said, that is with these songs in relation to each other on the list, in terms of all the kpop songs that came out this year, I probably would have my lowest song is easily at a solid A, this year has been absolutely stacked. That said, this is 50 blurbs, and one of the reasons I’ve tiered these is to note that as we go, I’ll probably write more per song.
C Tier (50-42)
50. Gfriend- Crossroads
Easily the most traditionally Gfriend songs of all their comebacks this year, it doesn’t bring the excitement that their newer moves do, but it’s still fantastic. Gfriend has been on a roll within their classic musical style recently, and this serves as a nice way to cap that off, and maybe be the last of their music in this sort of feeling, if so, it’s a good one to go out on.
49. Iz*one- Spaceship
Eunbi basically just wrote Airplane part 2, or maybe, Airplane in Space, regardless of what it’s similarities to their previous hit b-side, this one also knocks it out of the park. This song has a ton of fun positive energy, and actually flows maybe a little better than the previous one did, depending on how you feel about treating a song as a mini spelling class a-la Gwen Stefani.
48. Rocket Punch- Bouncy
Any song that starts with a Catallena yell is already off to the races as far as I’m concerned. Bouncy is a great first comeback for Rocket Punch, letting them show off a slight variation without leaving the style they started in too much. This song comes up a lot in my house, with the word bounce usually triggering somebody to yell “BOUNCY BOUNCE!”
47. Apink- Dumhdurum
I was already a fan of Apink before the style change they entered into after renewing their contracts, Mr. Chu is one of my favorite kpop songs ever, that said, post renewal music has been amazing. I’m So Sick is still the best of it, but I like this one better than Eung Eung personally, if they hit another I’m So Sick, they could easily have my favorite song next year.
46. WJSN- Our Garden
Neverland is a really great album front to back, which isn’t too surprising as WJSN is up there for groups with the best b-sides for me. Seola wrote this song and did a great job, I would actually love to see the group explore this sound more, as I think there’s a lot of room in this style that isn’t being touched by any group.
45. Itzy- Wannabe
Ryujin’s shoulder dance is probably the most iconic move of the whole year, and it’s well deserved, it’s iconic. This whole song was a big shift into more traditional pop music for Itzy, and they proved that it’s just another thing they’re great at, that said, I like their other stuff a little bit more personally.
44. MCND- Spring
MCND has shown a pretty good range of styles for a rookie group, but the two where I think they thrived best was the really hip-hop heavy Ice Age, and this cheerful fun bop. Spring just puts you in a good mood, it feels like the season in that way, making the name very suitable to the song.
43. WJSN- Where You Are
Easily the most traditionally WJSN song on Neverland, it’s a style that will always work for the group, they are masters of floaty whimsical pop songs. I linked a performance on this one because I also think they got some of the best outfits of the year with just clean simple dresses, I feel like outfits have sometimes gotten way too busy, so it’s nice to see these.
42. Redsquare- Colorful
I was tempted to move this song higher purely for the fact that I’ve had it on my main playlist all year, and haven’t really ever skipped it, it’s that consistently good for me. Something about this song reminds me so much of SNSD in a great way, and I really enjoyed watching Redsquare’s performances. The whole group just changed companies, so let’s hope we get another comeback soon.
B-Tier (41-32)
41. Everglow- Dun Dun
Everglow had really fallen into this rut of noise based chanty choruses from the start, and although this trend, it’s great. This song is high energy, makes you feel like you're swagging out from the moment it starts and doesn’t really get old. Also, E:U is really getting to be like WJSN Exy for me, I feel like every time she raps it just brings the song so much swag energy, and tends to steal the show musically for me.
40. Woodz- Love Me Harder
Whistle beats are so cool when executed correctly, and this one is awesome. This video is really weird and interesting, and I honestly had no idea who Woodz was before watching it, but he’s definitely a soloist that I think has shown potential for some really cool music in the future.
39. Sejeong- Plant
Sejeong is now officially a soloist and only a soloist, as Gugudan just disbanded within the last week, which is sad considering their last song, Not That Type, was really good. I’m not huge on ballads unless they make you really feel emotions, and Plant does just that, this song is beautiful and makes me want to cry everytime.
38. WJSN- Pantomime
This song has grown on me a lot, at first I thought it was just a little too clearly quirky and odd to be quirky and odd, but the more you listen, the more interesting it gets. Especially the end when the song just decides to not do anything you expect, it’s really fascinating song writing, and while it wouldn’t be fun all the time, every once in a while, you need a song like Pantomime in your life. Also, probably the best Exy rap this year.
37. Somi- What You Waiting For
Everytime Somi puts out a song, I really like it. That said, that only happens once a year, so by the end of her career she’ll have about 7 or 8 of them by my count given the length of an average idol career. I really like her “Ring the alarm!” she rolls the ‘r’ really heavily and it gets stuck in my head.
36. Ateez- Horizon
This is my Ateez song of the year personally, I love the crazy Danganronpa vocal beat that this song has. It really feels a little unsettling and combative in a really interesting way, it really draws you into the song and doesn’t let you leave.
35. Iz*one- Sequence
This latest Iz*one comeback is so fresh I don’t really have my feelings on all the music from it settled, but I do like Sequence enough for now to put it this high, and Panorama will actually be showing up even later. This song has a slightly old-school feeling, not retro like many other songs this year, but definitely dated in a good way, and the chorus is very catchy.
34. Weki Meki- Dazzle Dazzle
Weki Meki had a string of songs I didn’t like when they debuted, but continued to grow on me over the years, and now have some pretty awesome songs coming out, definitely still leaning a little bit into the quirkier side of kpop. This song has some really interesting dance moves to go along with it’s absolutely banger chorus and upbeat energy.
33. Itzy- Not Shy
This song is much more Itzy than Wannabe, and I like it a little bit better in it’s musical chaos. The “hey there, hey there” section is probably my favorite part of the song, and I feel like Lia shines a little bit more here than in some of their other songs. I also like the really deep “not shy, not me” leading into the last chorus, it’s a pretty good mixup.
32. Dreamcatcher- Black or White
One of the better Michael Jackson homage songs I’ve ever heard, and with some of the most fun set-work in this video with the flipping colors. This song just slaps, and the chorus will get stuck in your head and leave you singing it to yourself for hours. This is the best Dami rap of the year.
A-Tier (31-18)
31. April- Lalalilala
This song takes hype and energetic and blends it really well with pretty and graceful, two things that aren’t often mixed together. I really love the section between the second and third chorus that I’m a little wary of calling a wrap break since I don’t really view it as rapping, but regardless of what it is, it gets me hyped every single time I hear it.
30. Dreamcatcher- Sahara
This song is fire, but I want to talk about the video, it’s a self-made special clip that the group was clearly doing while in the waiting room for a music show, but it has some of the more interesting and experimental shots of any video this year. The big highlight for me is at the 2:45 mark, where Yoohyeon probably uses mirrors better than any video director has all year.
29. YooA- Bon Voyage
YooA was a breakout soloist for me this year, actually my favorite soloist all year, and while she definitely had the potential, that doesn’t always net results as well as it does in her case. This song and dance are just so beautiful and nostalgic, it almost always leaves me with a tear in my eye at the end. The performance video is actually much better than the music video in my opinion, and they should have just used it from the start.
28. GWSN- Bazooka
I’ve been a fan of GWSN for a long time, and I’m so happy to see them get the amount of success that they had with Bazooka. This song is a lot of fun, and the whole album, The Keys, is really good, another song from it will be coming later. The styling is also really good here as well, some of the best they’ve had. Apparently the company is going through financial struggles, and one of the bigger brains behind the group left, so hopefully we don’t lose GWSN, they’re one of my top groups musically right now.
27. Weki Meki- Oopsy
Oopsy reminds me a lot of Dazzle Dazzle in the way it feels, but I have way more fun with Oopsy. The English lines all get caught in my head really easily, and I think the pre-chorus build up is just perfect.
26. Iz*one- Panorama
Iz*one has really been on the loud music train, but this has definitely been their best execution of it, this song is great, and would probably be higher if it hadn’t come out so late. There isn’t enough Eunbi, but with how good she looks in the short hair, that can be forgiven. Yena, Yujin, and Nako really steal the show for me otherwise, the three of them basically getting all my favorite non-Eunbi moments of the song.
25. Rocket Punch- Juicy
This song is absolutely absurd, and yet, it’s just so much fun. It actually might be my favorite choreo of the year, which is why I linked the dance practice, it’s quirky and energetic, but executed very sharply, especially Yunkyoung, with big props to how sharp her pops are at around the 1:15 and 2:26 mark, she said she worked really hard to really nail them, and she did great. Also, bouncy was a sad time because Yunkyoung was out for most of the cycle to injury, so it was nice to have the full group back and having so much fun. Also, Suyun’s part before the last chorus, she would do different things during different performances and the other member’s would just have to follow along, that little bit of ad-libbing and flexibility is nice to see from a rookie group, they’re no Mamamoo yet, but they at least show some of that freedom that many even more veteran groups don’t.
24. YooA- Abracadabra
YooA is here a second time, and with another performance video. Abracadabra is an awesome song, and just incredibly catchy, whenever I listen to it, it’s immediately stuck in my head for the rest of the day. The video is pretty good here too, nothing super crazy or innovative, but the little bits of playing with the music it does, rewinding on the word “rewind” for example isn’t something that is a particularly unique idea, but it looks great.
23. Everglow- No Lie
This is just a solid catchy Everglow song, with a fantastic chorus. The vocals being right with the instrumental is usually something I don’t like, and the instrumental in the chorus should be something I find grating, but somehow, these two things I shouldn’t like come together pretty well. Some people may point to this song as the most criminal example of unfair line distribution, and it’s pretty imbalanced, but at the end of the day, I’m here for the music, and line distribution won’t affect that either way.
22. Iz*one- Ayayaya
The more mature music out of Iz*one is always the better part for me, it’s why I tend to like when they do the subunits by using age as a divider, the older members get much better music. This song is also super Eunbi to me, so therefore, I like it more. I also always like songs where the word “hush” is a major part of the lyrics, I don’t know why, but it keeps coming up, so we’ll see how that trend goes in the future I guess?
21. Iz*one- Merry-Go-Round
Back-to-back Iz*one b-sides to lead us into the top 20, Iz*one really killed it on that front this year, clearly. Merry-Go-Round leans into the retro/disco trend that really got momentum this year, and a trend that I am personally a massive fan of. I love the modern throwbacks to that style of music more than I actually like the original retro/disco music. This song is super upbeat and fun, it really makes you want to move along with the beat, and a song that makes you want to move is a good song to me.
20. (G)i-dle- Maybe
I thought every song (G)i-dle put out was better than the last for their first three title tracks, Latata, Hann, and Senorita, I was really on their hype train. But then they really lost me more with every title track after that, Uh-Oh, Lion, and Oh My God were increasingly not for me, although I do like Dumdi Dumdi, not top 50, but it’s fun. That said, in my increasing distancing from the group, Maybe has stood out to me a lot, it’s an awesome chill electro track, and I’d love to see more of this from them in the future, it’s a fantastic song and direction that should be explored more.
19. ANS- Say My Name
A career that ended far too soon, ANS had back-to-back top tier songs between Boom Boom and Say My Name. This song is noisy and high energy in all the best ways, just turn it on and go along for the ride, it’s a great one, and one you won’t regret. Also there’s this weird dark carnival vibe to the instrumental in the chorus to me, and I like that too. I would love to see a bunch of the members from this group shift companies and attempt a redebut like Good Day did going to Cignature and Redsquare, or Pristin into Hinapia, without the second early disbandment.
18. KARD- Gunshot
Some groups I love bright high energy songs from, in fact, that’s what I prefer in general, but some groups do dark so much better, and for me, that’s KARD. They are great in any style, but songs like You In Me and Gunshot are just their best outputs hands down. This follows in You In Me’s footsteps not just in being darker, but in having one of the best music videos of the year, with Gunshot likely being in my top 10 videos for 2020. I don’t even want to highlight one part of the song too much because I feel like it really is best experienced as a whole.
A+ tier (17-6)
17. Weeekly- Zig Zag
Among this year’s new groups, Weeekly stands head and shoulders above the rest of the crowd, with fun, positive and upbeat music that leaves you with a smile on your face after every listen. Zig Zag isn’t quite as contagious as their other song appearing a few spots higher to me, but it has been moving up as the year goes on, as has their other song. The block props are kinda odd, but interesting, and although I’m not the biggest on the verses, the chorus is just so much fun. I also love how the song ends on “roller coaster” and they all sit on their blocks and pretend to pull a roller coaster harness down, it’s fun and unique.
16. Elris- Jackpot
I know quite literally nothing about Elris, not even a single member’s name. I ended up watching this video because the member who is in the center at the start, the first one to sing, caught my eye when watching the Kville charts, and then the music just stuck with me and became one of my favorites for the weaker first half of the year. As the year went on more competition rose up, but I still get hyped every time the chorus comes on, and this song managed to stay high despite me having no bias towards the group whatsoever.
15. KARD- Hold On
I know I said KARD is at their best with the dark music, but they also have this soft romantic and hopeful side that really gets to me, such as the Trust Me trilogy, or this song. It seems that they pair these two things together to create balance as well, since each of You In Me and Gunshot have Trust Me and Hold On as b-sides respectively. This song is beautiful, and the cries to Hold On feel like such an earnest plea that it just makes you feel them in your heart.
14. Dreamcatcher- Boca
This song is fire, I absolutely love the pre-chorus sung by SuA and JiU, it’s soft and beautiful and then Yoohyeon brings the thunder. This is one of my favorite title tracks from Dreamcatcher ever, the energy is so high, and the dramatic flair is incredible, and dreamcatcher is one of my favorite girl groups these days, so when I tell you that this is their highest songs on my list, well, it means that the rest is just that good to me.
13. GWSN- The Aerialist (Wonderboy)
My wife always says you can’t ever go wrong with well fitted suits, and I think GWSN proves that here. Jazzy honestly fits GWSN so incredibly well, and I always hope they continue to be musically adventurous on their b-sides, as well as hoping they take some time to explore this style more. I always stop and give this song my attention when it comes on, it’s just so smooth and clean, with the vocals absolutely on point.
12. Nature- Dive
I mentioned not knowing anything about Elris earlier, well, I was the same for Nature at the start of the year, outside of thinking Oopsy (My Bad) was extremely annoying, but a very good alarm. That said, I now know all the members, I have biases, I have Nature World: Code M on my shelf and Code: A on my buylist (Jackpot too actually). Basically, I’ve really gotten into Nature more this year, and even respect Oopsy (My Bad) now, I actually also really like the lineup with the current 6 members, I kind of hope it just stays this way to be perfectly honest with you. To speak towards Dive, it’s just so chill, with a great beat, really like this kind of music, not all the time, but when it’s done this well, absolutely.
11. Gfriend- Apple
Discussions on how good this song is have popped up across ManelyKpop for a while now, so it should be no surprise to see it so high. Mago might also need to be in the range of the 20s but I can’t sort out full how I feel about it, even more so than the new Iz*one songs, so I had to leave it off the list. Gfriend have shown an ability to change and evolve unlike ever before, and have done so better than most, an Apink esque concept switch from a group that was so conceptually established. Apple has shown a great new side to Gfriend, and Mago another, I’m really excited to see what they come out with next year too, this song is about as much of an honorable-top 10 as I can go, a place that I love to see Gfriend at, as they’re one of my all-time favorite groups.
10. Purplebeck- Valenti
This song I almost dropped down from 6th to 14th, but then I listened to it again and it did what it has all year, brought me a ton of happiness. This song is optimistic and upbeat in a way that always makes me feel good and feel hopeful, especially while I was going through some darker times earlier in 2020, so I really appreciate it a lot, and I can’t bring myself to hold it out of the top 10. I also will say that I loved Dreamline as well, and I’m pretty certain that Purplebeck is probably disbanded in all but name, and that makes me pretty bummed out.
9. Sunmi- Pporappippam
Sunmi has basically established herself as the queen of the new retro music trend this year between this song and her collaboration with JYP, When We Disco. Sunmi shines brighter in this genre, than most people and groups do in their main genre, and she can make that claim for a lot of her previous songs too. What makes this one special compared to all the other retro/disco songs this year is that it blends in the modern musical sensibilities better. Making use of the fantastic retro instrumentals, and vocal styling and mixing it with the high level production and finely tuned compositing of our modern pop music allows it to shine. Sunmi may even be more charming and charismatic this way than ever before, and anybody who pays attention to kpop knows that charm and charisma are traits Sunmi has in spades.
8. Weeekly- Tag Me (@Me)
What a debut! Weeekly gives me early Seventeen vibes, fun dances and songs with great upbeat and excited energy, and fantastic dances with prop usage, and Seventeen is battling with EXO for second best selling boy group, so that bodes well for Weeekly. Tag Me is just boundless fun, and even the chanting section is super catchy, and the dance during it actually, notably, also feels very Seventeen. This song is best described as unrelentingly cheerful, it never lets off the gas once it starts, and that’s the kind of energy that helps make a long week feel short every week, one might say they energize you on a Weeekly basis.
7. Fromis_9- Feel Good (Secret Code)
Fromis_9 felt like they lost way more momentum from the survival show rigging drama than Iz*one, and they’re supposed to be the permanent group, but it really looked like it may be the end for them. That said, I couldn’t be happier that they were able to come back again, Love Bomb is a top 2 kpop song of all time for me (along with Oh My Girl’s One Step Two Step) with Dkdk and Heart to Heart both being top tier as well. Feel Good is definitely at that super high level that Fromis has led me to expect, and the more mature vibes fit well with the gap we had in their comebacks, and suits the group really well, absolutely looking forward to what will come next from them.
6. Rocket Punch- Fireworks
If you thought I was done praising Rocket Punch in the 20s with Juicy, I’ll let you know, you were very wrong. Fireworks gives me KARD vibes, I can literally imagine how KARD would sing it in my head every time I hear it. That said, it is also very uniquely a Rocket Punch song, and one of their best ever, it’s just got that chill house vibe, with some super pleasant vocals over the top of the beat. I could listen to this literally all day and not feel tired of it.
S-Tier (5-4)
5. WJSN- Butterfly
I’m a Ujung, you should have been anticipating this. Although I am disappointed by the fact that we only got one album this year, the one we got was fantastic, with many of the b-sides appearing higher up in this list. Butterfly is a really high energy title track for WJSN, maybe their loudest ever, and it’s complemented with a really fun flowing dance that gets enhanced by the outfits with the flowing sleeves that the stylists drummed up, WJSN styling always on point. One of the things I really like with Butterfly is how balanced it feels, every member gets a time to shine without it feeling like boxes are being checked, it’s natural, and it feels great.
4. Rocket Punch- Lilac
I STILL wasn’t quite done praising Rocket Punch earlier, and they’re back at 4 for one last appearance on my list. Lilac is gorgeous, soft and hopeful, it builds up and up and then when it first seems like it will take off, it steps back for a second to start the process over again, almost teasing you with a sense of musical completion that doesn’t initially come. But then, when it finally does take off, it takes off in a gentle way, and then softly comes back down again. The structure is perfect and is part of what makes the song so pretty, it also evokes an emotional response, at least from me, a feeling of positivity, and I’m all about that too.
S+ Tier (3)
3. Everglow- La Di Da
I know it seems silly to have a one song tier, but I just couldn’t quite fit it in either of the other ones, it’s a very unique song, being the only synth-wave song we’ve really had from a popular k-pop group, at least in the time I’ve been listening starting in 2012. That said, this is maybe the best we’ll see of a song in this genre, it’s just that good, with an absolutely fantastic rap section from E:U and awesome use of every member’s unique vocal colors that Everglow often struggles to find balance with, it seems to be a great step for that sense of balance, even if it isn’t perfect. Also, I keep saying it when I talk about them in these articles, but I’m weak at memes and it’s all I’ve got, Everglow literally invented leather this year.
SS Tier (2-1)
2. Nature- Girls
As I mentioned when talking about Dive, I had gotten really into Nature this year, spending time to watch most of their variety appearances, which I don’t do for most groups, and this song is really what triggered that. Girls is just incredible, the song is this eerie and sad, at times upset feeling story, and the video is a riff on the movie A Tale of Two Sisters, one of the most iconic Korean horror movies ever, and it’s shot beautifully, and blends perfectly with the music. The choreography is also perfectly crafted to evoke the mood of the song as it moves, and also keep your attention the whole time, and they even did a bloody dress performance version to really keep that horror feeling cohesive, and yet it’s somehow still beautiful. I knew from the moment I watched this video this would be the number one song of the year for me, and would have been right if not for…
1. Fromis_9- Weather
I wouldn’t have known Nature’s Girls had existed if not for the news coming out that the initial video was censored for intensity catching my attention. Likewise, I wouldn’t have known this song existed if I hadn’t randomly clicked on it in my Youtube recommendations, because Fromis isn’t a group whose b-sides I consume. That said, that may have been my best random click of all time, I absolutely adore this song, it’s so cute and fun, upbeat and dynamic, quirky and fun. I especially love the pre-chorus (Jiwon’s versions particularly, the first and third) and the declaration that “I’m like the weather, please notice, I’m rainbow flavor” I don’t know what that means, I’m not convinced the writer had any logic in that line, but you better believe I’m singing along every time. Weather is easily my song of the year, beating out a song that I didn’t think could get knocked down to second, and I couldn’t be happier, because it’s one more great song for me to love.
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