Top 10 Kpop Songs of 2021 (ManelyKpop Team Voting)

We will have a bunch of year end articles throughout the rest of January. I'm starting with this category because I’m very confident about what I’m going to say for it, it’s the easiest one for sure. This is not at all a reflection of any of our individual lists (the 3 ManelyKpop contributors), it’s a composite opinion and we chose top songs to vote on, not just personal favorites, so without further ado.

Editor’s note: There are ties in this list, all ties had a tiebreaker and the order they are listed is the tiebreaker order.

10. Everglow- First

Celina’s top song, but low for Chelsea and myself. Everglow had a bunch of good songs this year but they were polarizing enough that I think no matter which we chose it would have been in 10th. First continues to show that Everglow can actually bring the “I’m the best” attitude and energy while not feeling fake about it like most other girl groups do to me. If every other girl group that did this genre could pull the attitude at the same level, it would be so much better, but not every girl group is Everglow.

7. Aespa- Next Level

That’s right, 3 way tie with the next two songs, if you didn’t understand the editor’s note, this is the last place, the next song on the list is the middle, and the last in the tie-breaker is the winner. Next Level was one of the biggest songs of the year in almost every metric. But it was in the middle for all of us and with nobody fighting to put it at the top, it ended up here. Next Level is the wonderful solution to not having an album, as it slaps 3 songs together in one musical package, and the best part? All the songs are good. This song really pops off in the middle, it gets a much higher energy and brings it from interesting to great.

7. Ateez- Deja Vu

Ateez gone sexy, it was a good genre for them and brought in the weirdness that I felt had been missing for a while, it’s one of my favorite things about their music from their first two years. Ateez had a middling year for us overall, and thus doesn’t end up higher than this.

7. Dreamcatcher- BEcause

As with Ateez, this is a group we all love but were colder on this year. BEcause is really interesting, it has the creepy doll soundscape and that’s really cool, the rap however is very polarizing. I really like the vocal parts of the verses the most, I think the vocalists really shine through on this one.

6. TXT- Ox1=Lovesong (I Know I Love You)

Man just typing the title makes me feel like I wrote the blurb already. TXT’s whole emo rock trend this year has been really good, such a departure from what every other group is doing, I’m almost surprised HYPE took them this way since it doesn’t seem like guaranteed money. I think Seori also works really well here, it’s a great use of a collaborating vocalist.

3. IU- Celebrity

And another 3 way tie at third, what a year. Celebrity was a monster song this year, dominating the digital charts in Korea and selling physicals like crazy. IU in general had a fantastic year, with tons of chart-topping highly playable songs, but Celebrity stands out the most. This song has a unique sound for IU while still letting her vocals be charming as ever, it advances her music styling without being too much of a departure or sounding generic and trendy.

3. Weeekly- After School

After School just rocked the kpop world for a while, garnering an insane amount of attention for Weeekly. Even though the momentum has calmed down for them, I think this will be the song people point back to when talking about whatever level of popularity they reach, which in my opinion should be very high. This song just works perfectly, it’s almost hard to describe it because it’s hard to quantify a perfect pop song, but this comes very close.

3. Stayc- ASAP

I wanted Stereotype but got outvoted, that said, both songs could easily be on this list. Stayc had a super good year, which really should come as no surprise given the company they are from. ASAP is one of the most weirdly catchy songs I’ve ever heard, with a mobile game beat for the chorus that just clicks in a way that it really shouldn’t be able to.

2. Seventeen- Rock With You

Seventeen also had a great year, with a lot of widely enjoyable songs. Rock with you is fun, it’s got some interesting stuff going on that keeps you engaged, and it doesn’t quite fit the mold of what every other group is doing. Like TXT despite their size and being under HYBE, Seventeen continues to be at the forefront of groups staying away from the mold, instead following their own whims musically, and this is why I think other major boy groups really failed to shine for me this year, they felt very samey.

1. Purple Kiss- Zombie

Zombie is absurdly good, both versions of it. So just a quick peek behind the curtain, this whole category was very close, way closer than every other category we ranked, with one exception, but somehow looking at our votes, it was very clear Zombie would win. This has everything we like, interesting beats, an engaging dance, a fun theme, good styling, and rock solid performances in terms of vocals, dancing, and rap. Congrats Zombie and Purple Kiss, for the staff here, it’s the clear best song of this year’s top songs.