The Top 10 Kpop Songs of October 2022

Welcome back to our top songs of the month feature for October, little late this month, life got pretty busy there for a minute. I considered not letting an artist appear more than twice because I think two albums that were released were extremely strong, but I’d rather keep this honest for now, but I may change the rules later. Also, a reminder that we do listening parties every month on our Discord, so please come hang out! Let’s get right into it!

First of all, I never include songs that are a majority foreign language in the actual list, but if I did the following songs would have got 3rd and 4th respectively:

3. The Rose- Sour

4. Itzy- Boys Like You

For our core top 10 we start with:

10. Seulgi- 28 Reasons

While this song isn’t particularly my style, I respect how unique and dark it is, it’s very cool. Also, every time Seulgi does music outside of traditional Red Velvet it’s quite dark between this and Irene & Seulgi, I guess that’s her niche?

9. Rolling Quartz- Nazababara

I heard a snippet of this song and hadn’t been compelled to listen to it in full, and I was surprised during our listening party to find out that it’s really a blast. I love how upbeat and fun this is, especially compared to their normal sound as a band.

8. TripleS- Generation

Generation is a very chill and relaxed song that still manages to have a good, fun energy. Also, while I never factor music videos in my rankings when talking about music, the video is a really cute idea, and well executed.

7. DKZ- Uh-Heung

I didn’t expect to like this as much as I did, but I love the hype, very rap heavy energy, I vibe with that. If I go to lift, or otherwise workout, this will be on the playlist. This reminds me of earlier boy groups, late gen2, early gen3 kind of mood, which is also fun.

6. Alice- Dance On

My notes for this one just say “SOHEE” so there’s that I guess. This song is really cute and fun, it’s got a bit of an old school energy, but a lot of songs from last month did in all honesty, there was a nostalgic trend going on.

5. TripleS- Charla

My wife made fun of my pronunciation of this song title, so thank goodness I write articles and don’t currently do youtube videos (for now). A little bit more chill and simultaneously more dramatic than Generation, this song clicks better for me. I always love a good use of subtly varied instrumentation which this track also does really well.

4. Irris- Bye Bye

I kept meaning to listen to this group and never got around to it, so this article was a good thing for me. I love the mood of this ballad, oftentimes they’re a little uninteresting for my taste, but the contrast between the verses and the chorus is perfect to create some real dynamics. Speaking of the chorus, that’s where this song really shines, it hits hard while barely hitting at all.

3. TripleS- Dimension

This song has such a cool and quiet electric feel, it really works for me. The one thing I have against this song is the brief chaotic part of the bridge section, but it is immediately balanced by the further calmed section directly after it. Also, despite being cool and quiet, it’s still got a good upbeat energy, which is pretty nifty in my opinion.

2. Eunbi- Croquis

This song is okay, and then the chorus hits and it’s mindblowing, the glitchy repetition is just incredible production and composition, so fantastic. Even the spoken section is really cool thanks to the glitchy part playing in the background, and I rarely like spoken sections. I really think this is a triumph for the entire team behind the song, they did something really unique for kpop and knocked it out of the park.

1. Eunbi- Underwater

This is why I always debate being honest, because I’m afraid people won’t like having a single artist dominate a list this way, but this is my real opinion. The thing that I like about Underwater, is that it has a sense of being artistic, while also being a fun song to listen to normally, and having a great sense of drama. I also think Eunbi as a vocalist shines really better in this song than in Croquis, this song just feels so her. Side note, and again, not factored into my feelings, but the dance practice for this song is pretty great too.

So, what were your top songs of the month? Let me know in the comments, and again, come join the discord server to hang out with some positive, like minded kpop fans and to have some sweet listening parties. I’ve started doing some cool stuff with the listening parties, white noise every few songs for discussion, organizing each section as themed blocks when clear themes stand out. I may even do a mid-month listening party with a different theme in the future because I enjoy the monthly ones so much.