This has been a fantastic year for kpop, and as such I’ve already hit my self imposed limit of 50 songs on the list, and while I’ll be noting movement of songs still here, I wanted to give a quick goodbye list of the songs that didn’t make it.
G-Reyish- Blood Night
Everglow- Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
That’s actually it, I thought there were more as I was writing this, but no, just the two. Also thank you to the hundreds of people still visiting a week despite me being bad about doing articles the last few months. I really appreciate it, life got busy and I had to shift priorities towards things that needed to be done instead of my hobbies, even my hobbies are what I really want to be doing. So, with that, let’s get going!
50. WJSN- New Me (-23)
This will be the last appearance of New Me this year, as it has already been knocked out by songs that have been released in October. This is a really good b-side but with the absurd musical quality this year, it ultimately will be edged out.
49. Pinkfastasy- Lemon Candy (-23)
This song is a weird one that will probably follow New Me’s fate because sometimes I really enjoy it, but other times it just doesn’t click for me.
48. Ateez- Fireworks (-23)
The shifts are consistent so far, this song is interesting, but not enough so to hold off the songs that have come in during the last 3 months.
47. MCND- Not Over (-23)
I’ve said before that this just doesn’t have quite the same fun unique MCND attitude that their other songs do, and as such it’s another victim of the 23 spot drop.
46 Ateez X Kim Jong Kook- Be My Lover (NEW)
What a fun song between one of the best active boy groups and an absolute legend of the Korean entertainment industry. It amazes me how well KJK’s voice actually fits into the song considering how unique it is, and I love all the workout based choreo since exercise is KJK’s big passion.
45. Rocket Punch- Ride (-16)
This song has slipped a little for me, there’s just been so much good music and my mood just shifted a little over time. Still fun and unique.
44. Majors- Dancing in the Starlit Night (-19)
Still a fun song that I’m happy to listen to, as with the other songs dropping it’s just a testament to the overall music quality this year.
43. WJSN- Super Moon (-31)
This is a big drop, especially given my outspoken WJSN bias, but I always say that you can’t let bias towards or against a group effect song evaluation, and this song just hasn’t held longevity for me.
42. Oh My Girl- Dun Dun Dance (-14)
This is by far the lowest top appearance of Oh My Girl or an Oh My Girl solo I’ve ever had, the previous was still in the low twenties. What’s crazy is that I like this song, I think it’s tons of fun, but it just doesn’t quite stand out beyond tons of fun.
41. WJSN the Black- Easy (-8)
I really like the duality of the WJSN subunits, and like both the concepts as a big fan of Orange Caramel which Chocome clearly references, and of Girl’s Day-esque sexy concepts, which the Black is also clearly going for, but I haven’t loved either of their songs as much as I would have expected. Still with a Chocome comeback said to be coming, we can expect both to be mainstays for the rest of WJSN’s career, and I look forward to what comes next.
40. Purple Kiss- Ponzona (-17)
As I have said all year, great song, but it’s missing something to push it over the bloody top. But we’ll see them again later in the list.
39. Kwon Eunbi- Door (NEW)
I’m not sure if I’ve actually ever mentioned this in an article, but in my 9 years as a kpop fan, Eunbi is my favorite idol. That said, this song isn’t really in my usual wheelhouse on a personal level, although I’m bopping to it even as I type this, this could move up or down by end of year. My personal bias wants to move it up, but bias and song evaluation must stay separate as stated earlier..
38. Yukika- Insomnia (-8)
I can listen to Yukika’s music all day, easily, it’s just so easy to turn on and enjoy. I really hope she gets bigger and keeps outputting city pop earworms for the next few years.
37. MCND- Crush (-17)
Just slipped over time as songs do sometimes.
36. MCND- Movin’ (NEW)
This is the second in the two-part fun MCND section of the list, I really do like the goofy hip-hop fun they bring.
35. TXT- 0X1=Lovesong (NEW)
I didn’t have this last quarter despite it coming out during that time period because I just hadn’t decided, but I like the emo punk rock vibes, it’s almost a kpop take on the music I grew up listening to while wearing all black and talking to nobody when at all possible.
34. Weeekly- 7days Tension (-16)
Don’t let the 16 spot drop distract you from the 54 times they say “tension” and you like it during this song.
33. Woodz- Feel Like (-16)
I didn’t even notice that this and 7days Tension had the same drop when doing this until literally just now. I really like the cool mood of this song, but I’ve just been feeling more upbeat energy these days, we’ll see if the cold of winter shifts this back up.
32. Cherry Bullet- Love So Sweet (-16)
Apparently all of the last three songs dropped together, at least I’m consistent, this song is a great energetic bop that makes you want to get up and do something.
31. WJSN- Unnatural (-18)
There is so much that I really love about this song, but even with my bias it slips down to 31, and is the last WJSN song on the list this quarter. As sad as this makes me, it also makes me excited that there’s so much awesome music being put out by such a large number of artists, it should be competitive, or else it isn’t really fun.
30. GWSN- Like it Hot (-4)
GWSN is always unique and engaging in a way nobody else really feels like they’re doing, I can describe every single one of their releases that way. That’s why this is able to hold steady on such a turbulent list.
29. Woodz- Touche (-19)
Woodz RnB just hits differently, even with this drop, this song is ridiculous.
28. Dreamcatcher- BEcause (NEW)
So happy to have another Dreamcatcher song join the list. The weird creepy doll vibes are on point, and the rap is so weird, but it somehow still fits. I actually could see this ending up higher with time.
27. IU- Lilac (-5)
I still just love listening to IU’s voice, as it turns out, that won’t be changing anytime soon.
26. Dreamcatcher- 4 Memory (-5)
Incredibly pleasant to listen to, soft Dreamcatcher works just as well as horror/rock Dreamcatcher.
25. Ateez- Deja Vu (NEW)
This is more what I’m looking for with Ateez than the last few title tracks. While being a sexy concept, it’s musically interesting and has a bit of that dark creepy HALA HALA energy too, especially with a few odd movements in the dance.
24. Woo!ah!- Purple (-)
The first returning song without negative movement! This song is just ridiculous, it’s really weird, but somehow, still interesting and good.
23. Everglow- First (-8)
I really love the attack that Everglow comes with in this song, it’s really unusual from girl groups, they bring that strength and power that other girl crush groups really lack most of the time.
22. Weeekly- Holiday Party (NEW)
I feel like this song is a little slept on due to it following After School which most people consider to be one of the best songs of the year. That said this song still brings that unique Weeekly fun, although with a severe lack of props in the choreography, which we can let slide this time.
21. Rocket Punch- I Want You Bad (+6)
This song has only continued to grow on me, something about Rocket Punch’s slow songs just makes them age really really well, even if I can’t tell you what that x-factor actually is.
20. Woo!ah!- Scaredy Cat (+11)
Last quarter I described this as an unstoppable earworm, and my rankings clearly agree with the big 11 spot jump. This song is just too catchy and chill at the same time.
19. IU- Celebrity (-11)
I may have honestly just over listened to this song, it could go up or down next time with some time apart from it.
18. Somi- Dumb Dumb (NEW)
Whistle beats are just so addictive to me, they get me every time. This song is very short, and you can feel it when listening, but it’s catchy enough that you can just listen to it again to extend the runtime manually.
17. TXT- Loser=Lover (NEW)
Another emo song from TXT, this is a musical direction for them that I support fully, again with some screamo styled vocals too. Also the declaration that “he’s a loser” makes me laugh.
16. Lucy- Stove (+16)
Speaking of runtimes with Somi, Stove does not have the short runtime problem by any means, seeing that it lasts for two and a half “Dumb Dumbs.” This song just click with me more and more as the year progresses, it’s epic and starts to lean into prog rock territory, which is cool.
15. Aespa- Next Level (-4)
Honestly, from Stove up, I have just been really unsure of how to rank these songs, this whole top 16 range is just so close, it’s been one of the reasons I’ve been slow on this article, and I’m still not confident, I just decided to commit where I had it because otherwise I could be fiddling with it until the end of year articles come around. Next Level is so good, it’s crazy to me that I have it at 15, but it feels right enough for now.
14. Majors- Rain On Me (-8)
Bit of a drop on this one, I mostly point it to my taste shift over the last few months.
13. Rocket Punch- Ring Ring (-8)
Same as Majors, I still love both songs, just not what I’m feeling as much right now.
12. Fromis_9- Talk & Talk (NEW)
Fromis doesn’t miss for me when it comes to title tracks not named Fun. Talk & Talk came very suddenly, which made it a pleasant surprise, hopefully the company support keeps up for them this time, because this was a great start. It was also amazing to see them finally get a music show win, even if Jiheon’s tears were heartbreaking.
11. GWSN- Starry Night (+8)
This beat is just so fire, I love it more and more with time.
10. Lucy- Hero (-1)
Usually I write each blurb while listening to the corresponding song unless I know what I want to say with confidence, but since the Stove section, I’ve just been listening to Lucy tracks, they’re so good!
9. Everglow- Promise (NEW)
This song displays the range that Everglow is capable of that I don’t think everybody knows is there, they do this soft hopeful concept just as well as girl crush, they nail everything, consistency to the max.
8. Purple Kiss- Zombie (NEW)
Whatever Ponzona was missing, Purple Kiss found it with Zombie. This song is fire, and I watched every stage for it. It even got me to pick a Purple Kiss bias in Yuki, her rap sections are great.
7. Fromis_9- We Go (-)
No movement despite all the great new songs and chaos of this list, this is the summer song this year for me. I was going to write more but stopped to just watch the whole m/v and lost my train of thought, which I think says enough.
6. E.SO- Orgel (NEW)
I want so much more E.SO, freedom from Berry Good has resulted in a fantastic song. Fantastic vocals, music video directing and production, with an interesting beat. She honestly shines here in a way that I never felt that she had before. This is THE hidden gem of kpop this year too, sitting at just under 70k views on Youtube and 28k listens on Spotify.
5. Stayc- ASAP (-1)
Just wait till you see what new song came in that knocked Stayc down one spot...
4. Azer- Elegante (-2)
I mentioned E.SO being the biggest hidden gem this year, this song is the second place in that category. It's an underdog, but musically, it’s a top dog in my book.
3. Stayc- Stereotype (NEW)
BEP just makes such good music, and Stayc are such a good group, together they really dominate my list and they’re climbing my overall group bias list rapidly too (probably going to revisit that topic, a lot has changed). I have started most of my days with this song since it came out, it just puts me in a good mental place to be ready for whatever comes ahead of me. I also feel like they have all improved a ton since debut, and I like companies that invest in improving their idols.
2. Weeekly- After School (-1)
This may be my song of the year, I literally shuffled the top 3 while writing this section because I have struggled mightily with them, it’ll honestly come down to this and the first place song, they both have a special quality to them that I don’t think I feel with any other songs as strongly this year. Also big congrats to Weeekly’s success with After School, it’s been so much fun to watch.
1. GWSN- Burn (+2)
Again, this was a last second decision, but there’s something in my brain that activates with this song that I can’t explain, a feeling of hype, of focus, of hope, and of sadness all at once. It feels like it ends before it starts, like it’s in your head playing when there is no more sound. I just keep coming back around to it without fail. Again, like After School, to me Burn just has a special quality that you don’t feel from a song very often, and it’s something entirely up to each individual listener to connect to. Ultimately, that’s what makes music beautiful.