At this point, I won’t give a huge intro as it’s the first award article of the year. Remember to visit the hub page to see all the other awards we gave out. Now, let’s get to it.
10. Ong Seong Wu (Scores: 8,10,5 | Average: 7.7)
Ong is a fantastic artist, my wife and I both were rooting for him from the audition episode of Produce season 2, although the editing also definitely favored him. He didn’t have the biggest 2020 of any artist, with just one full release, Gravity is a good song, but nothing super stands out to differentiate him from other male soloists this year.
9. Kim Sung Kyu (Scores: 9,3,10 | Average: 7.3)
Chelsea being hyped for Sung Kyu’s return from the military couldn’t save him from losing the tie for 8th place. He’s also had a very small body of work this year, so that definitely hurt him, despite his comeback being fairly good.
8. Dawn (Scores: 6,8,8 | Average: 7.3)
Another artist with a small body of work this year, but one that is more neutrally received across the panel, which is better for ranking than 1 out of 3 favoring while the other two don’t favor at all. Dawn’s song is surprisingly good considering the absurd chorus, and the Jessi feature never really hurts.
7. Kang Daniel (Scores: 4,7,7 | Average: 6)
Another loser in a tie, this time for 6th, Daniel had a much more productive year that the artists below him. Unfortunately, productivity doesn’t always result in any songs that are popular among the panelists, although it does mean we all have something we can like a little, and Daniel’s work effort is nice to see given the slow start to his post-Wanna One career. I will say I think his talent is a little underutilized with his current music, and he mostly got as high as he did for me due to a collaboration with somebody higher on the list.
6. Taemin (Scores: 10,6,2 | Average: 6)
Our opinions on Taemin were fairly all over, but ultimately, he ended up right at our middle score. Since I tanked his ranking, I’ll speak to that a little, Taemin is a massive talent that does interesting music, and he deserves credit for just how much he has done this year. On the other end, he had no song that clicked with me at all, and in fact, usually doesn’t, I respect him more than a lot of artists, but don’t like what he puts out much at all.
5. Max Changmin (Scores: 7,4,4 | Average: 5)
Another tiebreak loser, but man, one that really showed off this year. Changmin’s chocolate is annoyingly catchy, but also an incredible talent showcase for Changmin’s singing ability. I can only handle the song in small doses, just like it’s namesake, but everytime I hear it I realize I forgot just how impressive his vocals are.
4. Kyuhyun (Scores: 5,9,1 | Average: 5)
Ending our 3 long block of SM boys is Super Junior’s Kyuhyun. He’s had a busy year after coming back from the military, touring, variety, new Super Junior music, and the official debut of subunit K.R.Y. That said, this is a discussion of soloists, and Kyuhyun didn’t slack in that regard, his vocals are so gentle and relaxing that I can actually enjoy his ballads, which I can’t say for many artists. Celina obviously feels the same, putting him in her top slot for the category.
3. Zico (Scores: 3,5,3 | Average: 3.7)
Speaking of busy years, this 4th tie break loser of the category is also very high on the productivity list. Between releasing the viral Any Song, and his body of other work and collaborations, Zico made the most of his last year before his military service, which began not too long ago. And, speaking of his collaborations, Zico’s song with Daniel, Refresh, is one of the reasons I was able to bring Daniel up, and his Summer Hate collaboration with Rain was a wonderful depiction of a lot of people down here in Texas.
2. Woodz (Scores: 1,1,9 | Average: 3.7)
It’s not that X1 disbanded, it’s that Woodz was finally unleashed. Woodz had been working for years to climb in the entertainment industry, and managed to turn himself into an impressive all-around talent, an extremely complete idol. His attention from Produce and X1 finally gave him the audience to back the talent, and he’s now making some impressive sales and is definitely the male soloist that I would tell you to keep your eyes on, his diverse skill set could lead to a long career of interesting and varied music.
1. Ravi (Scores: 2,2,6 | Average: 3.3)
So Ravi manages to squeeze ahead of the artist that was placed in first by two panelists, by having the same two panelists place him second, and the third prefer him greatly to Woodz. I would have had Ravi much lower this year until I realized that he made good music this year, something I don’t usually feel about Ravi, Celina felt the same. We’re both aware and respect his talent, thanks to Chelsea being a fan of his, but neither of us really enjoyed the music he put out in the past. That said, this isn’t the past, this is the present, and in the present Ravi has won the Manely for Male Soloist of the Year, 2020!