My Favorite Kpop Group for Each Letter of the Alphabet

Wordy title, but it seemed like the best one to get the message across. Let’s get started.

#) 4Minute

I finished typing this up and realized I neglected numbers and symbols and decided to add this category for them. 4Minute are the clear winners in this one for me, with a long history of good songs ranging from Volume up all the way to Hate. They also have Hyuna, one of my favorite soloists and idols across my near decade listening to kpop.

A) Apink

I love Apink, they have been fantastic from debut to now, through a concept change and being one of the girl groups that have been active the longest. Off the top of my head I think they are the longest running active girl group right now, so the fact that they might be at their best, that’s really cool.

B) Brave Girls

So, I just want to note that I have had Brave Girls in this slot since January 28, when I started working on this article, before the Rollin blow up. I have loved this group since their relaunch, Deepend is one of the best songs of its year, High Heels is fun, so is Yoo-Hoo, and Rollin finally has the respect it had always deserved. We Ride was a bit of a miss for me despite my love of the retro, it didn’t feel like it had the right modern blend, but we can forgive that for their otherwise great discography.

C) Cosmic Girls (WJSN)

WJSN are my favorite group, and I have invested in them more than any of my previous favorites, they are just that good. We have a blend of great music, choreo, personalities, content, and top tier videos and general group aesthetics, from the members, to the stylists, to the directors. Strongest I’ve ever felt about a group, I think I need not say more.

D) Dreamcatcher

My wife’s favorite girl group, and sitting in my top 5 as well. I’ve seen them live and watched both of their virtual concerts as well, and something I love about Dreamcatcher is that they always seem like they give it their all, they don’t go halfway. The music is fantastic, and the unique direction is a welcome change from the rest of the kpop landscape due to being so well executed.

E) Everglow

I was dubious of Everglow at the start, thought Bon Bon Chocolate was good, like almost nothing about Adios, but then enjoyed Dun Dun, but what sealed the deal for me was their performance in concert. Another of my wife’s top groups, I saw them live and was totally sold on Yiren in general, Mia’s charisma and talent, and the whole group in general, especially Sihyeon due to watching their Weekly Idol episode the night before the concert. They’ve truly solidified themselves as a group I’ll be excited for musically with La Di Da, one of the best songs of last year.

F) Fromis_9

Fromis_9 is funny, I never thought of them as a favorite group, but I have loved every song they put out, then last year it clicked for me that they are musically a top group for me in kpop… of all time. Love Bomb is the quintessential kpop song, fun, colorful, energetic, and catchy. To Heart, DKDK, and Feel Good are all top tier as well. Weather was another top song from last year, in the top 3 with La Di Da.

G) Gfriend

Regardless of any recent controversy with Sowon, Gfriend has had some of the most consistent music in the last half decade of any kpop group. I would say that they were maybe too consistent, but the change-ups we got last year really brought a fresh spin to their music, a much needed refresh. For years they were a group that I was excited to hear from because I knew what I’d be getting, but now I am excited to see what’s next because it could be anything, and that’s exciting.

H) Hello Venus

This is a funny slot, the other groups I thought of were the also disbanded Hinapia and Honey Popcorn. Ultimately, Hello Venus gets the nod for having the absolutely amazing Wiggle Wiggle, one of the most shameless songs of all time, as well as some other good listens like Mysterious and I’m Ill.

I) Iz*one

When I started work on this article, they weren’t disbanded, but they are the disbandment I am least sad about ever, because I’m so excited to see what all the members do next. Iz*one for me had some top tier music, La Vie En Rose, Sequence, Panorama, Ayayaya, and basically everything else on Bloom*Iz, but also a lot of songs I wasn’t huge one too. They’re what I call a personality group for me, where the music is necessary to keep me paying attention, but the personalities are what I really care about, which is why the disbandment is survivable for me. Looking forward to Yena Everglow and Rocket Punch with some new blood especially.

J) Jus2

How many people are in your group? We Got7. How many people are in your sub-unit? Jus2.

K) KARD

I’ve followed them from debut, it’s not only fun for being a co-ed group, but having some pretty unique music, often leaning into less used genres in kpop. They lead the tropical house variation, and with BM writing/composing, we’re seeing a whole new set of sounds, and he really hit his stride with Gunshot in my opinion, look forward to seeing what he does next, even if I’m nervous about the group getting damaged by controversy.

L) Loona

My favorite group before WJSN, and the ultimate personality group for me at this point. Solo and Subunit Loona is top tier musically, particularly Odd Eye Circle and Haseul, but full group Loona has really lost me musically, Hi High is fine, Butterfly great, and the rest I don’t care for, and I don’t have a single b-side on any of my playlists. I would love it if they shifted to doing more Solos and Subunits again and saving full group work to being once a year, but I still consume their non-music content, because the personalities are good.

M) MCND

On the other hand, this group I know nothing of personality, but the music is fantastic, enough for me to put them here over Mamamoo, a group with strong personalities and a lot of good music, but a decent amount of music that I skip. I’m not going to list songs here, just listen to all the title tracks, they’re tons of fun.

N) NCT

I considered Nature here since Girls is my last top 3 song from last year and one of the best kpop music videos ever. The reality though, is that NCT just has such a massive amount of music that even not liking all of it, there is so much good still left in there. Boss, Baby Don’t Stop, and Simon Say being some of the highlights for me.

O) Oh My Girl

Such an absurdly consistent group in terms of quality while not being entirely musically one dimensional musically. 1 Step 2 Step in particular I’ve often considered to be the best kpop song of all time, and I still definitely would hold it as top 3, I just haven’t re-evaluated that list since getting into WJSN, who have a few top 20 songs for sure. Not only are they fun musically, but they’re great personalities and variety idols in an era that I feel is much weaker in that regard compared to late 2000s early 2010s groups.

P) Pristin

I loved Pristin, and the way they were phased out will always be the most bitter disbandment for me, the only one that I’m really upset by to be honest. This group’s music ranged from incredible with Wee Woo, to abrasive but fun with We Like, and that’s it, they only had one comeback. Pristin V also had great songs, and they had some solid b-sides as well, such as Aloha and Black Widow. They also had a great set of personalities to get into, and Hinapia was a fun return for some of them, but sadly short-lived as well, although a more understandable and substantially less painful disbandment.

Q) ???

Not any options here that I care about, it’s basically unused as a letter.

R) Rocket Punch

They are currently my second favorite group despite being so rookie, I love their music and they have some of my favorite idols in the upcoming generation. Yunkyoung, Juri, Yeonhee, and Suyun are all fantastic, and Sohee and Dayoung help round them out. I’m excited for the potential additions in the form of one or both of Chaewon and Eunbi from Iz*one as well, Eunbi is among the best idols of all time for me. Of the current generation, Rocket Punch has the most hope from me, and I think the most potential to stay fresh and interesting.

S) Sistar

Honorable mention to Stellar, a group that I really enjoyed musically, and had Minhee, my favorite idol for years. Sistar just has more legacy for me, and a bunch of idols I also love, and am always happy to see appear on variety shows, such as Soyou’s recent Running Man appearance.

T) Triple-H

Despite the limitations of this exercise, I’ve managed to squeeze two co-ed groups into this article. Hyuna is one of my favorite soloists in kpop, and the Triple-H style meshed really well with me, despite that lack of longevity. I think that both of their title tracks were top 25 or so songs in their years at least, 365 Fresh probably in the top 10 range.

U) Uni.T

Speaking of short lived, another project group from a show like Iz*one, but with a much shorter lifespan. Uni.T had a lot of really awesome members, and it was cool for a lot of them to get one last shot at the idol life. Additionally, some fantastic music came from this project, none more amazing than No More which is almost a never skip for me when it comes up on my Spotify playlist.

V) Vixx

I don’t really know many groups in this letter besides Vixx and Victon, and being peripherally aware of Vanner existing. I decided Vixx edges Victon out with longevity and some pretty interesting music videos across the years, but I’m not super invested in them to be honest.

W) Weeekly

So Rocket Punch is my favorite of the new generation, following them is musically is Weeekly, who has put out ridiculously good song after ridiculously good song. Despite being Apink’s little sister group, I feel like Weeekly are extremely unique from them, doing the fun and youthful style in a modern way that feels separate from any of the fun lighthearted music from Apink’s early days. At this point I would be more surprised if I disliked the next Weeekly title track than if it ended up being my song of the year, they’re averaging around 10th on all their title tracks so far, which is absurd when Twice could barely break my top 50 last year while putting out songs I genuinely liked. I don’t really know or care for their personalities though, so that’s the only thing they haven’t sold me on.

X) ???

I don’t care for any group that starts with an X currently, I know there is that rookie girl group Xum, but they haven’t pulled me in.

Y) yyxy (Loona)

I don’t really know if I count them since they are technically called Loona yyxy, but to not leave 3 categories empty, I’ll let them sneak in here. Yyxy has some of the best Loona members for me, they’re all great, and Love4eva is tons of fun, second best unit for me overall behind Odd Eye Circle.

Z) Ze:a

I don’t know basically anything about Ze:a, couldn’t name any of their songs, couldn’t even recognize them to be honest. They get the spot because I can’t think of any other Z groups and Kwanghee has done pretty well on Weeekly Idol, and, to be honest, I think the current host duo is the best the show has had, even over Doni and Coni, maybe only losing to the Coni, Hani, Heechul trio is terms of overall quality.