Top 20 Kpop Idols of 2021

This is my first time doing my top idols for a year, which is an interesting idea that I had to separate from my overall bias list and just look at the one year as if I was new. But even in a year you get biases, so it’s basically a bias list but if I started kpop in just 2021. I do also need to update my current bias list as well, expect that sometime this year, I’ll have an article at least once a week in 2022, so there will definitely be time for it at some point.

20. Heejin (Loona)

This will be the only Loona member on my list, and despite the fact that Heejin is in the 3-5 slot in my Loona member bias. I just find myself more and more impressed by Heejin every year, she has really grown into one of the best all-rounders in kpop. Not only can she dance and sing well, she can play the guitar, has a really unique voice, and seems to have a really good personality to boot. We’ve even seen her doing editing work on her Loona Logs, and she seems to be one of the best members at this as well in my opinion. If rumors of Loona’s demise come true then every company owner should be trying to pick Heejin up as a soloist, she’s got all the traits to be the best.

19. Sihyeon (Everglow)

For 2021 Everglow, Sihyeon really felt like the star to me, she had killing parts in every song, almost always got the best styling, and took over the leadership role. I think Sihyeon is just really hard to not like, one of the strongest 4th gen rookies. She even does well in both the cool and powerful songs as well as the soft and fun songs, that versatility is great. I honestly think Sihyeon would have thrived with her skillset in the 3rd gen, we’d probably be looking at her as an all time great idol.

18. Arin (Oh My Girl)

I never really got Arin’s popularity until the last year or two where she has shown a ton of improvement in both dance and singing, probably the most improved Oh My Girl member since debut. On top of this her time doing variety work or hosting music shows has made her a mainstay for most kpop fans this year, which really just gave me more exposure, since she is historically fairly reserved in variety shows compared to the other members.

17. Yunkyoung (Rocket Punch)

I initially liked Yunkyoung because she loves coke, which I did as well, but about half a year ago I stopped drinking coke, which was good for my health, but ruined that draw. Luckily, Yunkyoung is also a super fun variety idol and a great dancer, she always hits with an absurd sharpness on every move she does. Just watch her pops in Juicy for example to see what I’m talking about, her all out attitude is commendable, and I would like to see more idols just go for it.

16. J (Stayc)

Stayc is a fun group, the reason J gets the nod here is because of her voice, it’s absolutely one of the coolest in kpop right now, and the way she can drop from the top of her range to the bottom is really impressive. I think that J should probably be getting way more vocal credit than she actually does, but as all of Stayc are rapidly improving, she’s the one that I think has made the biggest stride, and given her youth, there’s so much more potential to grow.

15. Yiren (Everglow)

Ever since I saw Everglow in concert, Yiren has been my bias, but I also think she’s had a great 2021. Despite her usual amount of lines, which is to say very few, she always uses her time in a song really well, and she’s a bit of a chameleon vocally, blending into whatever song they are singing at the time, which is impressive considering she’s one of the weaker singers in the group. I also have really enjoyed her variety appearances this year, she has an intensity when playing games that always makes for good entertainment.

14. Hayoung (Fromis_9)

There were moments this year where I thought Hayoung might be my favorite member of Fromis, she just has such a great energy in variety content. As much as she is a fantastic singer, her presence improves every piece of content that she’s in, with an incredible sense of humor, competitiveness, and a general lack of fear to look silly she really puts her best foot forward every time she’s in front of a camera. I think Hayoung might be the idol that seems the most fun to have as a friend, as she’d always keep you entertained.

13. Yujin (IVE)

Well, Yujin was my 3rd favorite member of Iz*one at disbandment, so it’s no surprise that she ends up here with IVE. I’d probably have her higher if the IVE debut wasn’t so late in the year, Ga Eul would have made it too I think. Yujin has really demonstrated a new level of confidence and power as the leader of IVE, and I’ve been impressed by the work she’s done to get there after being the second youngest member of a huge group for almost three years. If you haven’t seen the behind the scenes of IVE’s dance practices, go take a look, she monitors and gives feedback with such an impressive precision and intensity while still being the best dancer despite having the least practice. She’s a good singer too, this is another idol that screams top level all-rounder to me, and if she’s on a 7 year contract she has a lot of time to improve further.

12. Bona (WJSN)

One of my co-biases from my favorite group, Bona is a great idol. She’s been the best or second best dancer in WJSN since the C-line left, and is 5th best singer, which is barely the top half, but the four above her are all main vocals, so it’s a great place to be. Where she really shined for me this year wasn’t in WJSN or WJSN the Black though, it was in Homemade Love Story, where I thought she played an entertaining character and performed well despite her character arguably being the shallowest of the main cast. It’s honestly a shame she’s been finding success acting, having now been in a show with 33% viewership and getting praise for it in previous years, because it means that when contract renewals come up that she’ll probably go full time into acting, which is a waste of her singing and dancing talents.

11. Yeonhee (Rocket Punch)

Rocket Punch’s strong leader, Yeonhee has always been a bright spot in the group. She’s shown a constant desire to be her best while helping the others improve themselves, from helping Juri learn Korean in their early years, to monitoring dance practices, to working out formations for their covers. Yeonhee seems like a great leader, a gentle one who isn’t afraid to take the lead and sacrifice her time and energy for the group, and that’s what I always like to see from people in leadership positions.

10. Jiwon (Fromis_9)

Jiwon is so loud, just so incredibly loud. This could be seen as a negative, and maybe sometimes she is a little too much, but the energy she brings is unmatched. Jiwon’s ability to get loud isn’t just a character trait however, it’s also one of the things that really makes her vocals impressive, Jiwon can really belt. Much like Hayoung, Jiwon has that beautiful blend of variety skills and talent as an idol, and she caps it off with an ability to draw your attention, which isn’t necessarily always a good thing, but it keeps life interesting, like Mijoo did in Lovelyz.

9. Suhyun (Rocket Punch)

My highest RoPun member this year, Suhyun just really clicked for me. Her blend of dance ability, vocal talent, and solid personality just felt like it really hit its stride this year. Maybe this year I was really appreciating all-rounders, since Suhyun also fits into that group. She's fairly quiet in the greater scheme of Rocket Punch, but she brings such a sweet attitude backed up by her skills that drew my attention even when other members were being louder.

8. Jiu (Dreamcatcher)

My Dreamcatcher bias since seeing them live, Jiu is a great all-rounder idol, being in the dance and vocal line on top of being the leader. She is usually one of the calmer members of the group, but that doesn’t mean she’s not tons of fun, she just has a more measured approach to her goofiness. One of the things I really appreciate is how she taps into every facet of being an idol, if the occasion calls for cute, she’s cute, sexy, she’s sexy, nightmare warrior, she fights the nightmares. Jiu just has such a great flexibility and would have thrived in the Minx concept if they had kept it, and could do an EXID style concept if they flipped to that too.

7. Luda (WJSN)

Luda is not an all-rounder unlike most of the other idols on this list, while does her job well enough in terms of vocals, dance and performance, she never really gets to be the star musically in WJSN, which she has no control over of course. Instead she makes up for it by being a very quietly fun individual, always bringing something to the table in variety even if it’s just for her brief time in the sun, and often shows a much tougher side of herself than you’d expect. Luda is also one of the best visuals in the business, somehow having a look that is both traditional and unique at the same time.

6. Jisun (Fromis_9)

While she’s much more of a visual and personality that Jiwon and Hayoung, Jisun brings such an interesting vibe that we don’t often get in kpop, one that can be so quietly chaotic and intense but oftentimes is more than happy to just sit peacefully and laugh at the antics of her teammates, something that every Flover enjoys doing too. One of the greatest draws to Jisun is actually her solo content. She does ASMR regularly, which is actually pretty high quality and I really enjoy listening to it, which is crazy because I’ve tried a lot of ASMR before Jisun and never liked it.

5. Karina (Aespa)

Karina is an incredible performer when she puts her whole effort into something, probably the best performer in the 4th gen at her best. She doesn’t always exist at this level though, as promotions keep going she feels like she fades out a little bit from her absurd peak levels, so even though she still outperforms most idols, it just feels comparatively less impressive. That said, this leader can not just sing, dance, and provide variety entertainment like the other all-rounders on this list, she can rap as well. I think with time to grow and increased consistency, Karina will be known as the best performer in 4th gen even over Itzy members, and I’m typing that while wearing an Itzy hoodie.

4. Yuki (Purple Kiss)

Sometimes an idol just clicks for you when you don’t even know their name. For me Yuki had that exact effect during Zombie promotions, and through her my general interest in Purple Kiss really went up. Yuki has such a cool rap style, some people say it reminds them of Exy from WJSN, I hear a little bit of LE from EXID as well personally, with her tendency to use repetition. Despite her cool demeanor on stage she’s pretty silly offstage and probably the most relaxed member of the group as a whole. The dichotomy is nice to see, and it shows how talented she is at locking into a performance and playing her role, even if it isn’t true to her personality in a general sense.

3. Nana (Wooah)

I loved Wooah’s music through 2021, one of the best discographies for the year in my opinion, so it makes sense that I world have the member who stands out to me big time near the top. See, in the other group that had a great discography this year, GWSN, all the members have a place and feel important, so it’s hard for me to separate them and feel strongly towards any single member. Wooah is different, Wooah is so strongly hinged on Nana to work in my opinion that it really makes her shine. She’s top 2 in literally every category you can think of in her group, and has an incredible vocal tone and color that you can listen to all day, even if you only rate her vocals as average, she’s pleasant to hear. On top of that she’s a leader that really puts in the time to make things happen for her group, even if she also trolls them quite a bit too.

2. Yeoreum (WJSN)

Yeoreum is another idol that I feel has shown leaps and bounds of improvement, especially once the C-line left Korea and there was more room to grow. She is now either the best or second best dancer with Bona, is a decent singer with a unique tone, and a good personality to boot. She manages to be fun and loose like the other younger members of WJSN while also having a more serious side that she can turn on when necessary. I really enjoy listening to her Vlives because of how unique her voice is, and she has my favorite Uzzu tape episodes, she often times is cooking, and that’s just entertaining to watch when somebody knows what they’re doing, which she clearly does.

1. Kwon Eunbi (ex-Iz*one)

Anybody who reads my articles should have seen this coming. Eunbi has been my top bias for well over a year, with a WJSN member from my bias trio (Bona, Luda, Yeoreum) behind her. Eunbi is just the complete package when it comes to idols, she can sing better than most of 4th gen, just around the top of lead vocal or bottom of main vocal, she can dance at a main dancer level, she can perform like an Itzy member, and she’s great in basically all variety scenarios. Eunbi really showed a simultaneous ability to be powerful and sympathetic as Iz*one’s leader and still has the ability to turn on those parts of her personality at will. While Door was only #50 on my song list this year, that doesn’t stop me from putting Eunbi at first, to match my standard bias rankings.