The Top 100 Kpop Songs of 2022
I’d say this article was late, but a wise man once said that a kpop article “is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.” So with almost 7 months of retrospective, let’s talk about the top 100 songs of 2022.
*Disclaimer, last year we decided that years should end in January so we have December to consider the last 12 months of releases before doing our rankings. As such, this is a short 11 month ranking period of January to December, but for 2023 and beyond we will be doing rankings from December of the previous year to November of the current year. So Halazia by Ateez, for example, will appear on the 2023 rankings because it came out in December of 2022.
100. Craxy- Poison Rose
Craxy hasn’t even quite been my cup of tea, but I love that they have interesting musical direction. Poison Rose has a cool darkness to it, I think the verses especially shine, chorus doesn’t quite fit together right in the same way that Gain’s Paradise Lost doesn’t for me.
99. Red Velvet- Feel My Rhythm
Speaking of groups that sometimes work for me, and other times don’t, Red Velvet when they do the Velvet theme is such a slam dunk, the Red theme, it’s good, but not the same. Song is graceful, but doesn’t really excite me, the chorus is the highlight.
98. Ichillin’- Play Hide & Seek
Ichillin’ is one of the many great girl groups that exist outside of the high tiers despite making consistently great music. Play Hide & Seek is actually my least favorite title track from them, but we’ll see them later in the list, so I’ll praise them more then.
97. Apink ChoBom- Copycat
Oh look it’s my Apink bias since almost 10 years ago, Chorong, and my second Apink bias Bomi. I’m really happy they got a good song, it’s a unique feeling compared to what is happening across the kpop industry too, which is nice as well. I think the girls crush it and I like their twin concept, they pull it well.
96. WJSN Chocome- Super Yuppers!
It’s no secret that I love WJSN and am a registered Ujung, that said Chocome really goes to a weird place that I never feel super strongly about. That said, Luda and Yeoreum are my biases, and even if it is a fairly weird song, I actually think it’s pretty catchy and performed extremely well. Watch the live performance with the band and watch Dayoung shock and confuse every instrumentalist during her break, it’s absolute gold.
95. Ravi- Virus (feat. Justhis)
Shame about the whole literal criminal thing, isn’t it? I’m not here to judge people in this list luckily for Ravi, I’m here to judge music, and he didn’t do something so terrible as to make me wipe him off of it. Virus is a good song, it’s got a nice positive uplifting energy and I think these two really complement each other well musically. Ravi did have a shift towards less niche sounding songs over the last two years and it’s definitely improved my opinion on his songs.
94. Purple Kiss- Oh My Gosh
I actually was really high on this song at the release of this album, and had it as the best song from the whole thing. That said, other songs have more lasting power, this is still a good song, but just isn’t as fun after a couple months.
93. Taeyeon- Can’t Control Myself
First of all, I won’t have INVU on this list, I wasn't a fan of that one personally. That said, I think this song is pretty catchy and nice to listen to. I really like the soft rock power ballad composition, and actually think it mixes super well with Taeyeon’s tone.
92. Ravi- Winner (feat. Ash Island)
I think this and Virus are really close, but this song is just a little more fun, especially in the verses, so it definitely gets the edge. This is the last we’ll see of Ravi, but expect to see Ash Island again as a feature later.
91. Leo- Losing Game
Leo decided to go with a dark RnB sound that I think works really well for him here. This song is moody and has a good sense of drama which I always like in kpop. Also that bassist is hitting those notes as hard as he can, which I respect.
90. Bibi- Animal Farm
Bibi has risen up over the last few years without making an appearance on the website once before this. Her unique blend of sex and violence that perpetuates all her music is a little iffy for me, but her talent is clear. I really like this song because it has an interesting James Bond opening energy, and the video has an interesting Kill Bill tone too.
89. Ateez- Guerrilla
Ateez, a group who I saw live twice last year. They are still the best live performers in the industry regardless of how much I like the songs in isolation, they are all bangers in person, Guerrilla is no exception. That said, this article is largely based on listening to the song in the comfort and safety of my own home, and it’s just good enough to peak at 88 for me.
88. Loona- Flip That
Speaking of groups I saw live last year, managed to squeak in a show before the group truly fell apart, fingers crossed that OEC comes to my area and brings the rest of ARTMS with them. Flip That is good but the chorus just doesn’t quite work for me, kpop has a chorus problem and has for years though, basically since the rise of girl crush.
87. Aespa- Girls
I am never super sure what to expect from any Aespa song despite loving the group on a member level. This is another song where I think the verses are more interesting than the chorus, and the choreo doesn’t give Karina the wiggle room to be as good as she can be.
86. Girls’ Generation- Forever 1
Two things that are always welcome, an SNSD comeback, and Tiffany Young on variety shows. Luckily the first leads to the second, so I was very thankful for this song coming out. It’s cute and fun, no particular depth, but no chorus issues, so yay.
85. Hyolyn- Layin’ Low (feat Jooyoung)
Hyolyn is always around doing interesting things, she actually had a pretty good 2022 with this strong release and a great showing on Queendom. Her ability to do basically anything musically really benefits her a lot, but I do like this darker side personally, she does it well and doesn’t show it as much.
84. KARD- Ring The Alarm
This is going to be really unfair of me to say, but the intro alarm noise lasts too long and definitely made me enjoy the song less across multiple listens. That aside, a solid entry to KARD’s discography, I feel like this is a good Somin song in particular.
83. Viviz- Bop Bop!
I think everybody was a little unsure of what to make of half of Gfriend doing music without Yuju who has always been a pretty core component of the traditional Gfriend sound. But, it totally works, SinB, Eunha, and Umji are all fairly well rounded, with SinB dancing more to the ability that we knew she had and Eunha shining more as a main vocal without Yuju to compete with. Umji fills in the gaps and you end up with a really strong trio that are starting with a fresh energy mixed with veteran composure and talent. If they maintain this quality, I hope to see them staying busy.
82. Wheein- Pink Cloud
I’m not huge on Mamamoo post starry night, and ditto for their solos with the exception of Wheein, who has proved to me to be by far the best solo act from the group. Pink cloud isn’t particularly special, but her voice is fantastic, and the floatiness of the song brings a good serene energy.
81. WJSN- Last Sequence
I’m really sad to put WJSN down here, this song is good and they perform it super well, but I just don’t love the direction they’ve had post-Butterfly musically, it’s too much of a WJSN take on what everybody else is doing than uniquely WJSN like their prior music. I wouldn’t mind it as much if they were getting more than one release a year and they alternated between this and their traditional sound, but this is all they get. Starship, please get these ladies some songs, they’re too talented for this release cadence.
80. Dreamcatcher- Locked Inside A Door
All 3 of the people behind this site are in a general agreement that post-Boca dreamcatcher have felt like they’re less consistent and trying to find a new variation to their sound to a mix of success and failure, so this will be one of their weaker years for our rankings, not to say that they won’t show up a few times though. This is the first of many, and it’s a good song, I like the instrumental in the chorus and the alternation between instrumental and vocal.
79. Rocket Punch- Chiquita
I love Rocket Punch, Yeonhee is one of my favorite fourth gen idols, but I feel like they’re currently a little musically unsure and trying variations to find a sound that will work just like Dreamcatcher are. I think this is close, but not quite there, and sadly, their b-sides are getting weaker which I always thought was the secret highlight of their discography.
78. Twice- Talk That Talk
Modern Twice is in a weird spot for me personally, they manage to constantly release songs that I like, but don’t love, but I do love that they had a pretty successful shift in sound and concept. Talk That Talk really works for me thanks to Sana’s chorus section, and the overall best part of the song is definitely the chorus.
77. Nmixx- O.O
I’m going to let you know here, unless something changes, this is the only Nmixx song I like from their entire discography currently, and the weird removal of Jinni felt very strange. I don’t even truly know how I feel about this song, there’s 4 different sections sorta mashed together, which I don’t hate but my opinion on each section varies wildly, 77th place just ends up being the average I guess?
76. Dreamcatcher’s Jiu- Cherry (Real Miracle)
Oh look, it’s my Dreamcatcher bias and one of my favorite idols of all time writing a cute little song about how much she loves her dog, Cherry, that’s adorable. The song is actually really charming too, and I think she does a few interesting vocal things that she normally doesn’t get to in Dreamcatcher’s group songs, it’s nice to hear her be more comfortable vocally, Jiu is a great singer but she definitely has a different sound to the hard rock concept.
75. Le Sserafim- Blue Flame
Another artist that had controversy in 2022, weird that it happened this much, I’m happy they found their footing though, the 5 girls left are talented and fun, even if I generally am not a fan of their music I like watching their variety appearances. Blue Flame gives me shades of American Boy by Estelle for a reason I can’t quite explain, but it’s good, and it definitely is unlike anything else that came out in 2022.
74. Purple Kiss- Pretty Psycho
Another PurKi song that has been all across my list as the year has gone on. I think what made it end up this low was that it is almost too unique and interesting, making it hard to listen to when mixed with all this other music in my playlists. I also think it’s actually not the best show of PurKi’s talents in general, although the echoed “Psycho” in the chorus is beautifully haunting.
73. Dreamcatcher’s Gahyeon- Playground
It’s cute and fun, suits Gahyeon really well, and is good front to back, nothing more to really say.
72. Alice- Dance On
I became a fan of Elris thanks to Sohee who really caught my eye in Jackpot with her top tier visuals, which has now become the company’s primary form of marketing. I think this song has a strong and fun chorus, there’s a real attack to it, the only downside is that the rest of the song doesn’t quite keep up. I do think this group is overall a little underrated, they have solid members and put out decent music and performances.
71. Kep1er- Up!
My gut reaction to Kep1er in general was that I wasn’t interested at all, obviously I’ve flipped on that opinion a little since. Up! is a fun song, nothing notable about it to me as a highlight outside of the little rap sections, but nothing wrong either.
70. Rocket Punch- Flash
Definitely the strongest RoPun release of the year, Flash is fairly unique and interesting even though I’m not a fan of the chorus too much. Yeonhee really shines here in my opinion, probably her best performance since BimBamBum, in the middle I felt like Yukyoung and Suyun tended to steal the show.
69. Kwon Eunbi- The Colors Of Light
I could honestly have this higher, but it feels wrong to have so many songs beat by an album’s intro track. I don’t even like intro tracks, but this one is genuinely that good. If I was being fully honest, it could probably be in the top 50.
68. Oh My Girl- Real Love
It’s kind of a nothing song, there’s not really enough movement to create a musical journey for me. That said, it says a lot about how good Oh My Girl is that they manage to make nothing sound as great as this.
67. Fifty Fifty- Higher
Probably the weirdest debut of the year, it came out of nowhere, although as somebody who loves the smaller groups, they grabbed my interest pretty quickly, these girls are absurdly talented. Also, for reference, my rankings were all settled on this list prior to the release of Cupid, I’m saying that to be hipster who got to Fifty Fifty first (they appear much higher on this list with a different song), but so you the reader understand that I am not operating under Cupid hype hindsight.
66. Irris- Stay W1th Me
Another fairly talented new girl group that is starting from nothing. If you haven’t seen the live clip of this song, click that link and be impressed, Fifty Fifty weren’t the only talented group to debut in the back half of 2022.
65. Kara- When I Move
What an amazing reunion from the group that released the first song I loved from kpop as a genre. This new line-up with all the remaining members works really well together, and their medley of old songs is solid with these 5. This has a uniquely Kara sound and maturity that we don’t see as much in modern kpop, I really love that. I think Hara would be happy with this too, and I’m happy that through the sadness we all feel for her passing that we can still move forward and find new joy while still holding her in our hearts, because that’s exactly what she would be wanting us to do.
64. Lunarsolar- Do You Wanna Get Down
Man, speaking of liking smaller groups, this disbandment was a huge bummer. Lunarsolar was very interesting and hit and miss across their small discography, so I really wish we could have heard more. I do like the deconstructed dance track that this is, maybe needs a little more going on, but it’s a tricky balance to strike, because if it lost the deconstructed nature it would be far less interesting.
63. Kwon Eunbi- Hi
Hi. This song has 90’s/00’s teen pop ballad energy and Eunbi pulls it off really well thanks to the fact that she has proven to be incredibly dynamic through her solo career.
62. TripleS AAA- Rolex
AAA music suits me pretty well, it has a sound that I can’t quite place, it has a sort of retro-trippy-indie sound at times, and it works. I think this is just a generally strong blend of TripleS members though, they’re very balanced and capable.
61. Nayeon- Pop!
One of my biases in Twice finally gets a solo! And it’s a good song! Nayeon is perfect for this song, basically a match made in heaven, she manages to be as bubblegum as possible and still be sexy too, which would feel like a weird combo except it feels completely in her wheelhouse.
60. Lucy- My Warm Loneliness
This song has such a pleasant softness and floatiness to it, it makes me think fondly and nostalgically in the same way that the music from Howl’s Moving Castle does. It also feels like a slowdance on the inside… shoutout to my Taking Back Sunday fans.
59. Super Junior- Mango
Old school SM groups had a good year, SNSD and SuJu both had great songs. Mango is so much fun, and it’s got that incredible silliness that I think Super Junior is great at doing, where they say silly things like they’re the smoothest operators on the planet.
58. Ive x Oh My Girl x Cravity- Blue & Black
Starship’s Pepsi partnership has resulted in a bizarre amount of really good songs, and a pretty fun collab in this case. I’m a coke guy myself, but I also stopped drinking caffeine a few years ago, so my opinion isn’t as valid these days. I think Hyojung and Wonyoung really shine here too, so if you like either of them, this is a good release for you.
57. Rolling Quartz- Delight
A talented group that I’ve had my eye on for a while now but has failed to release a song that works for me. Well, they finally did it, delight is a solid rock song that really soars once the singer gets going in the chorus, her quick vibrato on some notes is incredible.
56. Woo!ah!- Danger
Woo!ah! continues to have some of the most abrasively weird music that attempts to act like it’s a normal pop song. And once again, for some reason, I really like it. This chorus is repetitive and silly and it works, and they almost always feel underproduced compared to other songs, and that works for me too.
55. Purple Kiss- memeM
PurKi can go from dorky to cool and from fun to dark so fast and they do it all really well, it’s impressive. What’s more impressive is Swan’s opening lines to the second verse, she is an absurd talent, probably the best female vocalist in 4th gen and among the top 5 female vocalists in kpop history, with a ton of room to grow, she’s very young. I think Swan will retire as the best female vocalist the industry has ever seen, and I don’t even think it will be close. Also, Yuki.
54. StayC- Beautiful Monster
It says a lot about how good StayC is that my least favorite release from them ever is still the 55th best song in its release year. Beautiful Monster is fantastic and really shows off some different charms from a few members, my biggest issue is actually instrumental and directional, both the horn sound and the members get a little yell-y during the chorus.
53. Aespa- Illusion
This is actually a late addition to my list, I really had a hard time accepting a song with a gross slurping sound in it, but the song is actually pretty cool, and I think it works well for the members who can sometimes feel a little out of place being cool. Also, Karina’s facials during the hand waving in front of the face choreo are top tier, when that girl gets to do a sexy concept she will kill it, and probably the average listener.
52. Seventeen- Hot
This song is absolutely absurd, it’s so comically horny that it loops back to being straight hilarious to me. Add to that the fact that the chorus is incredibly catchy, and you’ve got a great track.
51. Yein- Plus n Minus
I was a light Lovelyz fan, mostly centered on Mijoo with a bit of love for Yein, Kei and a little for the other members as well, they were a good group. I really like that Yein took this direction musically for her solo, it’s so chill and relaxing, and her soft tones suit it perfectly. This song is just good, gentle vibes.
50. Fromis_9- Escape Room
This song started low for me at release, climbed up, and then dropped back down to this spot over time. It’s not a sound I really like normally, nor a sound that I really associate with Fromis, but they execute it so well anyways. I think the vocals are really solid and the chorus instrumental really does a lot of work for me here though.
49. Kwon Eunbi- Simulation
Hippie energy Eunbi, she was really all over the musical timeline on this album. I really clicked with this song. Eunbi does it really well, but it’s just such a sound I’m not used to in kpop that it feels refreshing and fun.
48. YooA- Selfish
Speaking of unique sounds to kpop, YooA continues just doing whatever with her solo career and doing it well every single time. I am openly against chants in most songs unless it’s executed in a way that really fits the song. This song is an example of how to make a chant work, it almost feels like Gwen Stefani in execution, which is a huge compliment because she mastered chants. YooA’s unique vocal color also really shines, I just also want to see more of her beautiful dancing like what we got in Bon Voyage. Either way, she’s an ace though.
47. Tempest- Young & Wild
I am going to give this song one of the nicest comparisons I can give a song. This reminds me of party era Kesha, which is one of the greatest periods in pop music history in my opinion, so good that I was listening to Kesha as somebody who was primarily listening to post-hardcore and screamo. Tempest is so good in this style and I really hope they can do some more of it, they’d make a fan out of me if they did.
46. CSR- Loveticon
This has jpop energy, I don’t really resonate with jpop, but I resonate with this song, I don’t know why, I just do. It’s so high energy and cute, shamelessly so, and the group’s vocals suit this exact sound really well.
45. Ichillin’- Draw
This song is kinda weird, almost Itzy-esque, and has lots of chanting, but it pivots enough that it works more for me. I honestly can’t even really put into words why I have it this high, I just enjoy it.
44. Limelight- Starlight
Another great new girl group from late last year. StarLight has a bit of an Izone sound to it while still being pretty distinct at the same time. This trio has a decent amount of talent too, and I hope to see them grow and improve with time, I think they could have great futures if they are given the chance.
43. Wheein- Pastel
I’m not huge on super short songs generally, despite their rise in popularity that I think is slightly because of the rise of TicToc. That said, I’m much more open minded to 150 second songs when the time is used well, and this is a great example of that. The highlight here is Wheein’s “woo” in the second line of the chorus, it’s gold.
42. Lucy- 10sec
I love the violin in the opening of this song, it’s so much fun, and coming in on that great drum beat and roll is chef’s kiss territory. This isn’t my favorite musical direction overall for Lucy, but the instrumental is that good.
41. MCND- #MOOD
MCND when they release fun hip-hoppy music is at their peak in my opinion. This song is fantastically silly fun, and it’s a blast to listen to every single time. Also, credit to the director, camera crew and editor on the video too, there are some really cool shots and edits in it.
40. Woo!ah!- Rollercoaster
One of the most normal songs Woo!ah! has ever released, and it’s pretty solid. Honestly, I want them to keep doing weird things too, but I wouldn’t mind if they bounced between that and this slightly more marketable sound for variety, kinda what I want WJSN to do too. Ultimately the group is still cute and young, and this still suits them really well, it’s evident Nana wants to try other things based on Queendom Puzzle, but this is still where she and her members seem to work the best.
39. Kwon Eunbi- Magnetic
There’s something a little latin in the strings here, and it’s got a bit of fire to it too. I like this, it’s a good blend, and it’s much more of an influence than a copy, which I like. Every Eunbi song on this list is also just so incredibly different from not only each other, but every other song here, she really outdid herself with an incredible combo of musical quality and diversity, she does all the styles well, and I hope she never stops trying things, sure eventually something won’t work, but I’ll still be happy to listen to whatever she tries.
38. Dawn- Stupid Cool
This song is kinda stupid, but it’s a lot of fun. I really like the brass instrumental in the chorus. I'm not going to attach an instrument to it because I’m almost positive that the sound is actually digitally generated, but it’s great. Dawn has kinda been all over with his solo career, but unlike Eunbi, I don’t think he lands as well on most of the things he tries, but he should keep hanging around this kind of style because it works better for him.
37. Purple Kiss- Cursor
I like this soft PurKi, it’s really pretty, they have so many good unique voices among them that a ballad is always going to be a baseline of quality that most other groups don’t get to have. I really like the electronic instrumental between chorus and verse too.
36. Kep1er- Wa Da Da
As I said, I started out not caring about Kep1er at all, and look where they ended up! Although I like each of their releases less than the last, so this is their peak for me as of yet. I love the intro speaking section, and the pre-chorus is absolute fire. This song almost feels like a sampler of everything that the group is capable of, so I am curious to see what else they do in the future.
35. TripleS- Generation
This song is really good, super catchy, the “lalala” hook is really good, and the instrumental is a good musical drive. I also think the video is very cute and has a solid sense of humor to it, one of the better videos this year I’d say.
34. Lucy- Some Day In The 21century
Ignoring the craziness of the song title, this is a really good release. I think everything blends together really well here, the instrumental, all the vocalists, and the actual mood of the song. We're at the point where I’m feeling very favorable towards everything on the list, it was a good year.
33. Lucy- Knowhow
The piano opening! So good! But wait, it gets better, that sexy funky instrumental, woo! It carries through the whole song, their vocalists are good but on the b-sides the instrumentals absolutely steal the show for me on this album. Honestly, I view this as a good thing, each member of the band I think shines really well across the whole experience instead of the frontman always being the highlight.
32. TripleS AAA- Charla
I don’t really have much to actually talk about on this one, the chorus hits really hard musically, the verses are strong.
31. Kwon Eunbi- Croquis
Realistically, there’s no way this isn’t my most controversial placement on the whole list. This song is polarizing from what I can tell, but I think it’s super cool and interesting. The chorus is almost like listening to a song on a record that was intentionally made to sound like the record is skipping, it’s a bizarre idea, and it works so well. Honestly, whoever made that call, be it the composer or producer, is kind of a mad genius in my opinion because it’s absolutely fire.
30. EXID- IDK
Another veteran group coming back after a period of inactivity, albeit a shorter one, it’s still the one that got me the most hyped, because EXID are one of my top 5 favorite girl groups of all time. This b-side is fun, it’s one of the more chill songs on the album and is still pretty high energy and bouncy.
29. Stayc- Run2u
My single biggest complaint about this song is that there is no “Stayc girls, it's going down” at the beginning. It’s a very Stayc song, but still has some weirder moments compared to their previous releases. The brass in the chorus is almost abrasive, but I enjoy it, and J’s rap section is absolute fire, as is Isa’s pre-chorus section.
28. Yezi- No Name
Yezi just going full spitting fire rap is great. I love the way that she actually can be so vocally flexible in her rap, she can take a lot of different tones and see a number of them across this track, she honestly probably has a wider range than most or all of the rappers that are better than her in overall skill, and that list is honestly pretty small to begin with.
27. Fromis_9- Stay This Way
This song is sweet, fun, and cute. It's not groundbreaking, but it’s exactly what Fromis are masters at, so it’s going to be good at a basic level. I like some of the falsetto work in the chorus, Jisun’s firework line, and the bizarrely misplaced English lyric “get on the floor and show me some more.”
26. Ive- After Like
This group is just insane, a product of being in a company that trains its idols really well, has great talent scouts, and a leader who knows exactly how to do the job (it’s almost like she spent a few years under one of the best leaders in the industry). Starship is actually the best company for putting great groups together in the industry in my opinion, especially girl groups. Also, despite not being a fan of samples, they chose to use Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive, and I love disco and that song is one of the best, and man I’m a sucker for it. Ive makes hits, it’s just what they do.
25. Heeo- Destiny or Challenge
A soloist that had a really good year despite having very little in the way of backing or promotion. Heeo surprised me out of nowhere with a different song that we’ll talk about a bit later, but managed to make another banger here a little later in the year. I really like the instrumental and Heeo’s attack in the chorus, she just goes for it in a way that is refreshing to me.
24. Kwon Eunbi- Esper
So in Magic The Gathering, the color combination of White-Blue-Black, popularly called Esper, is the three color combination best suited to the playstyle “control.” This song makes me lose control, and I often lose to control in MtG, so it checks out. Let’s get Eunbi to perform this at the next world finals Wizards of the Coast!
23. Yena- Smartphone
This is the weirdest song on the list, because it’s really good, and because of that diminished another song on the, being Yena’s earlier release, Smiley, because they’re so similar. I’m happy Yena has started doing some different stuff, although I hope she keeps looping back to this too because she’s so incredibly good at it. Goddess Yena!
22. Heeo- LOL (Love On Lie)
Heeo instrumentals are just so good. This one reminds me of early 2000s European electronica a little bit. But then the song is catchy and fun, her vocals mix really well, the production is actually pretty solid for a song that probably had way less backing than a lot of the others on this list.
21. EXID- Leggo
This song is such signature party energy EXID and I adore it. What really lifts this song up to this spot though is the super high energy rap section starting 2:30 which just POPS OFF SO HARD. LE is a master at her craft and the members are the perfect supporting pieces to each other’s sounds.
20. TripleS AAA- Dimension
We’ve started getting multiple slight variations of Dimension, I won’t count other versions towards future years unless I feel that they truly stand out enough for distinction. This song slaps, such a cool chorus, it’s loud and subdued at the same time which is a really interesting audio feeling that I enjoy a lot.
19. Kwon Eubi- Light
What a fantastic track for a collab with an NFT company, an industry I despise. I love Eunbi’s voice on this, and the aggressive electro instrumental in the chorus is awesome, especially with the high notes over them. Song slaps, deserves more love. This song begins the songs that I loved so much that they became hard to rank, this was seriously a powerhouse year at the top end.
18. EXID- Fire
Not my usual style, but there’s just so much to love here beyond the absurd amount of food mentioned in the song. LE’s rap sections, Solji’s incredible pre-chorus vocals, Jeonghwa’s unique voice and lower sections, and Hani’s absurd low vocals.
17. Stayc- Young Luv
Let’s get more of this kind of b-side from Stayc please! Sieun has such a beautiful voice and the ability to hit some generally cool notes and to also just let loose and belt with a fantastic degree of control. The other girls are also fantastic here, they’ve all improved so much from debut, it’s night and day, they have developed into some of the most enjoyable voices to listen to. I also love that the members really get to have their own unique vocal colors instead of it being trained out of them, J, Sumin, and Isa in particular are so much better for it. Sieun’s belts at the end just give me shivers too, just so good.
16. Kwon Eunbi- Glitch
Honestly, Eunbi is a glitch in 2022, just good song after good song regardless of mood, tone or style. I know I am absurdly Eunbi biased in general, but I genuinely think this is the single greatest year for a female soloist in kpop history, and in 11 months she showed more musical diversity with good execution than any other soloist has, and I honestly don’t know if any other people could do it in the industry currently. Glitch is great, her tutting/vogueing (I’m not a dance guy but one of those two describes it right) is fantastic, her ability to add drama is top tier as always, vocals soar, just nuts song.
15. Lapillus- Burn With Love
Lapillus had one of the most bizarre debut songs I had heard with Hit Ya, so I had no expectations to like anything they put out, but Burn With Love is a fantastic b-side. I love the EDM-ness of the chorus, it’s top tier, and it’s another song with a really good attack to it.
14. Weeekly- Ven Para
I don’t like girl crush most of the time, and I initially had this song rated pretty low on release but the more I listened to it, the more it crept up in my rankings. Weeekly are a very talented group with some very flexible members, and Monday seems much happier in this kind of concept. Ultimately, due to their high levels of talent, I think they actually execute girl crush better than most other groups in the industry despite their heavy association to cuter concepts.
13. Yena- Smiley (feat. Bibi)
Nothing against Bibi, but if Yena had done that verse herself, like she does during live performances, it would have improved the song for me. That said, Yena is a gem and we must protect her. This song brought me so much joy throughout the year, and it was one of the hardest years of my life, and I’m still recovering from it. Honestly, when music can touch you on an emotional level, that’s when it becomes truly beautiful to me, and this song is truly beautiful.
12. E.SO- Black Ocean
This song isn’t as good as Orgel last year, but she’s an incredible singer and is so good at emoting with her vocals that it’s still a fantastic listen. I love that through each verse and chorus it escalates as it goes. I also love her “la la las,” and high notes, and the instrumental is really good too.
11. Youha- Last Dance
I knew she’d release a song I liked eventually, truly a matter of time. This song has a dark fairy tale tonality to it that works really well with Youha’s unique vocal tones. There’s a mix of romanticism, sensuality, sadness, and angst that is just really cool to me, and her weird enunciation of “babe” actually does magic here.
10. Irris- Bye Bye
This fits my mold of really loving some amount of drama to my songs if they aren’t going to be fun. It’s so soft and quiet, and then leaps from a mountaintop and soars into the slow power-ballad that it is. It’s another song that normally isn’t to my taste that is so well done that I ended up loving it anyways. Also, man, these girls can sing, not sure the main vocals name but she’s got incredible ad-libs.
9. Lucy- You Are My Light
My wife always makes me skip this song when we’re driving because it’s just so incredibly slow. But just turn off your lights, put on your headphones, and either sit back or lay down while listening to this and tell me it doesn’t take you to beautiful places emotionally. I literally almost cry every time I listen to this song, and that’s been true for over a year now, and I think anybody that really lets themselves give in and FEEL the music can have a similar experience. This song is just absolutely beautiful. I teared up while listening to this song while writing this blurb.
8. Yezi- Acacia
Now to do a complete tonal 180, Yezi’s Acacia is what every sexy girl crush artist wants to look and sound like. Yezi is powerful and sexy, her rap is top notch, her vocals are on point, and the song manages to be full and complete from front to back, with strong verses, a fantastic chorus, a great bridge section, and even a good chanty moment.
7. Fromis_9- DM
Fromis at their best are top tier at these fun classy-cutesy songs. The rise into the high notes on “doesn’t matter” are excellent, and I think the choreo is really charming. Also the stylist did right by Jiwon, maybe her best styling she’s ever had.
6. Kwon Eunbi- Underwater
Yup, she is all over the list, but across all her great songs this year, I think Eunbi’s best output this year is definitely Underwater. She’s just so good at being powerful, and there’s beautiful artistry and theatricality that Eunbi always puts into her title tracks that brings a sense of drama musically too, and nobody else has really been doing that. She’s just the complete package across vocals, dance, musicality and musical direction.
5. Chanmina- Don’t Go (feat. Ash Island)
I had mentioned way back in the 90s that Ash Island would make an appearance as a feature later and here he is all the way at 5. I adore the attack and aggression in the chorus mixed with the sad contemplative sound of the verses, the contrast is excellent. It’s also exactly why the feature works here, because their voices also manage to be complementary while being distinct. Also, another example of having a short runtime and making the most of it, although this song is so good it left me wanting even more for sure. Also, fun fact, and a small teaser of what’s to come, this is the only song in the top 10 that is from an artist that doesn’t appear even once earlier on the list.
4. Fifty Fifty- Lovin’ Me
Again, I know this is coming out after Cupid, but I had my rankings locked in before Cupid released, this was pre-Fifty Fifty hype train, I am always looking out for talented small girl groups. Lovin’ Me’s pre-chorus is just bonkers good to me, and the way the chorus just booms afterwards is awesome, really gets you feeling hyped. And I love the audibility of the autotune on the pre-chorus and chorus. It's such a fun effect to listen to in my opinion and doesn’t take away from how fantastic the Sio’ vocals are.
3. Lucy- Play
Speaking of Lucy songs playing straight to your emotions, Play hits you right in the nostalgia. It’s such an emotionally evocative song, and it’s got excitement to boot. The vocals really shine here in creating that feeling, as well as the gliding of the violin and the drive of the rest of the instruments. The song moves you and takes you on a journey musically, it’s actually incredibly well composed and performed.
2. Ichillin’- La Luna
I think Play Hide & Seek is a top 100 song this year, but it was absolutely the wrong song on the album to make the title track, because this actual piece of gold is just a b-side. La Luna has such good energy and tone from front to back, and I love the way the group’s vocals work in this song, it’s a really solid mix. Also, I still feel this strongly about this song and it was released way back in April, it has fantastic longevity.
1. Limelight- Eye To Eye
Hellogoodbye’s Here In Your Arms meets kpop girl group with modern production sensibilities and good vocals, that’s what this is to me, and apparently, that’s a number 1 song in a year with about 20 great contenders. So, I love the composition and instrumentation, fairly quiet in the verse, driving and energetic as the song goes before really taking off in the chorus, which creates drama and a story, movement. Then the vocals, Gaeun has this really interesting vocal color and tone for such a young idol, fairly unique and room to grow, if the company fosters her vocals right she could have one of the coolest voices around. Miu also has a unique color, it’s soft and smooth but has a nice little crunch and minor vibrato to it when needed. I see her voice as the glue between the other two, also, I don’t normally talk about visuals because it’s subjective and I am a music reviewer first and foremost, but Miu has some top notch visuals, one of the prettiest idols in my opinion. And that’s brings me to Suhye, whose tone is excellent, she’s got a little bit of Stayc Sieun’s tonality and stability to her, but it feels a little different, Suhye is more subtle, but she hits a vocal slide at 2:42 that sends chills down my spine, it’s so well controlled. I will say, if you watch some of their live vocals, you can tell there’s some nerves and sloppiness still, but I think they are capable of hitting the recording’s sound, and Suhye can hit the slide live too even though she has to set up for it, which is a good sign. I just wanted to make it clear that they aren’t recording quality perfect when singing live, but I also think that’s more than okay, ultimately the recorded version is going on the radio and our playlists, and that’s what we need to judge on, plus Limelight are very young and have a ton of time to learn and grow, that’s just how life works. That said, Eye to Eye is just a great blend, the style, composition, production, and the vocals come together in an excellent way that just makes me feel good, Limelight more than deserve to take the win for the year in my opinion.
