rolling kpop 2024

late pass on this thread

it's been a really busy start of the year work-wise for me, plus let's face it, other than NewJeans, aespa and a couple of other tracks, you could pretty much write off the entirety of kpop in 2023.

but I'm happy to report that January seems to have had more enjoyable singles in one month than I heard most of last year - and surprisingly, all from boy groups! still nothing ~really fresh or risk-taking so far but it's nice to see they're all starting to dial back a bit on the shouty, sing-talk style.

SF9 - "BIBORA": After spending a couple of comebacks trend-chasing, SF9 is back to doing what they do best: house-inflected dance pop. My favourite single from them in ages
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gft8YBmNsjA

OnlyOneOf - "dOpamine": I still find their whole concept a little skeevy but this is the best song I've heard from them so far, good take on the current love for UK drum and bass/garage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQBR0iCryVU

CIX - "Lovers or Enemies": Like SF9, here's a group playing to their strengths. CIX are really good in this more laidback mode, which reminds me of "Cinema" - their single from a few years back that I really liked. The chorus reminds me of something 80s that I know very well but can't place rn - anyone?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMhOMyV2WFY

TRENDZ - "Go Up": A classic Brave Brothers joint and therefore a lot of fun, even if it is too early to bring back trop house (complete with those stupid bird flute sounds lol)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_RIS7jBXTs

"other than NewJeans, aespa and a couple of other tracks, you could pretty much write off the entirety of kpop in 2023."

Disagree, great year for kpop, but you could definitely write off of kpop boybands* in 2023, so some promising releases in January is a good sign.

*I did like that one Seventeen single and 'fighting' was also fun as a live moodmaker.

"Dash" is one of the best singles from NMIXX' inconsistent discography so far

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UecFm_bSTU

IU is back to dominating charts after 2 years off

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JleoAppaxi0

This is a nice ballad as pre-release single but hopefully her lead singles reach the heights of Twenty Three, Palette, Knees etc again.

I voted for "Fighting" in the ILM poll, it really grew on me over the year.

agree on IU

"Dash" is good, but the chorus is very much in the repetitive sing-talk mode I hate

2023 was a rather weak year i have to agree, though newjeans being so good mostly made up for that

ICHILLIN' - "Demigod"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOsDkqm52t8

saw someone referring to this as "Goddess' Menu" which is not entirely inaccurate lol

Lots of girl groups firing on all sylinders last year, from the mega popular to lots of weird and interesting mid and small-sized experiments.

Some GG ruminations for 2024:

Looking at ICHILLIN's fried chicken thing, how far will the novelty adjacent hiphop from Mac n Cheese-prodded Young Posse go? Their following seems pretty energized if not super big yet. Getting Verbal Jint to join on this new album track remix suggests producers who want to stick to their genre guns.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaGsVrnH-5k

QWER was a late year surprise hit - they're still hovering around the top 20 with their debut single. There aren't many mainstream 'girl bands' in kpop, compared to jpop - this group is made up of streamers (plus a former NMB48 member!) and was put together by a youtuber, but the success may give them a full life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ieb8IOiFfhk

'Perfect Night' was on the bland side of ripping off trends, this new Sserafim single has the right vibes, imo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNKXxwOQYB8

This might sound generic to some, but sometimes a song is so earwormy it takes over my entire day from the get go and this is one of those:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nrGKn3epXM

NOT EVERY MOMENT BUT EVERY DAY

I really like that actually, the way they switch up the melodies in the verses feels very old school kpop. And yeah really catchy.

IU’s latest is very emotions era CRJ - “Shopper”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHW-UVXOcLU

Utterly horrible news, he was responsible for so many classics:

https://abcnews.go.com/amp/International/wireStory/prominent-pop-composer-shinsadong-tiger-found-dead-south-107475507

Top 5 Shinsadong Tiger productions off the top of my head:

4Minute - “Volume Up” (bring back cheesy sax riffs to kpop imo)
Hyuna - “Bubble Pop”
T-ara - “Roly-Poly”
BEAST - “Fiction”
Dal Shabet - “BBB”

Oh no! Just heard. He was a big part of the soundtrack to my most intense and exhilarating years listening to K-pop.

Another 5:

T-ara - "Lovey-Dovey"
4Minute - "Hot Issue"
Trouble Maker - "Trouble Maker"
T-ara "Bo Peep Bo Peep"
Jewelry "One More Time"

Good picks that illustrate how much his sound defined that era. Of course he also produced the last youtube I posted in this thread. He's been writing the Tri.be songs with LE of EXID, hopefully she and others close to him are cared for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbclRNm_ANY

beastie boys mode

^^i like that, even though i still really hate their group name lol

ILLIT - "Magnetic" - HYBE's new girl group that's very much in the same sonic zone as NewJeans (EP is quite good as well though too short at points - whole thing is under 10 mins):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk5-c_v4gMU

Liking this new Chungha track too - "I'm Ready":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf0_fwHYAbE

Magnetic is good but their pitch feels a little less solid than NJ - or they haven't carved out their own space.

speaking of not being able to carve out their own space... spare a thought for Babymonster, doomed to be a Blackpink clone because YG has run out of ideas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wA_b6YHjqQ

That's a little embarassing yeah. At least Blackpink didn't totally sound like 2NE1, even though their sound never developed. This is just throwaway BP.

The reliably good and underrated ONF

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOR8CUeTJpc

This is solid if not going to set the world on fire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey53EQhkLY8

yeah that's fun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9nP3qXQA4o

pretty catchy & endearingly weird vocal effects!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phsDrsw-tzc

a more hyperactive version of that one soaring girl group sound

Loving the last few posts, and that QWER track is fantastic. christian horse girl hyperpop!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft70sAYrFyY

this isn't exciting in the way that newjeans have been at their best but it's still lovely, i love the little flute touches

It's a very sweet song. There's a ton of mess and power struggle between HYBE and ADOR now so NJ's promotions this year are now quite uncertain.

i think there's another single next month and two japanese singles planned for june still, but yeah i hope all the corporate drama doesn't get in the way of the album that's planned for later in the year.

this isn't all that great but I like it, a throwback to a time when idols could sell a mediocre song on sheer charisma and personality alone. zico still knows his way around a good hook.

also nice to see/hear Jennie clearly having fun outside of YG/Blackpink - probably the most enthusiastic performance I've seen from her in ages

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfqBQ2XhBCg

For those who miss the big girl groups

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bufoKYZXpKg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phuiiNCxRMg

"supernova" is pretty good but lol at the "trans europe express" interpolation that gets dropped in there for just a moment?

that's probably the best aespa single

They've had a good streak

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3K0TOvTOno

another good newjeans single

Finally got around to watching the BBC documentary on the Burning Sun scandal that came out a couple of weeks back - I won’t post the link here because it’s harrowing and a very difficult watch, but you can easily search for it on youtube.

It gives a good and clear account of how the story unfolded, who was involved, what they were each responsible for. Disgusting that none of the key offenders got anywhere close to a deserving sentence, and most are already out of jail and attempting comebacks.

I hadn’t known that the late Goo Hara, from KARA, had played a pivotal role in uncovering a key figure in the scandal. Bittersweet but glad that it’s now part of her legacy (along with the Goo Hara Act )

Supernova is the big early summer hit in Korea, plenty of 'PAK's, and with a very SM sound (the short line '누구도 말이야' at 0:38 in the MV is the kind of vocal production and song snippet that basically only exists in SM, like a brief definitive signature) composed by in-house SM producer Kenzie (she's been in SM since 2002, alongside the other main SM producer responsible for their sound, Yoo Young-jin, who left the company last year). Anyway the song is definitely less about following trends and more about insisting on something that's 50% aespa and 50% general SM DNA.

Nayeon’s “ABCD” is an excellent homage to 00s Rich Harrison hits - “Crazy in Love” on the chorus, a brief “1 Thing” interpolation on the dance break

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUZttxRcPZw

And for a completely different mood, this new Sunmi single is lovely- “Balloon in Love”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXhbBbe0i-I

"abcd" is nowhere near as good as any of the 00s r&b it's referencing, feels quite fragmented

I think the second pre-chorus (the Aaayyyy... bit) just kind of drags everything down, but I like the rest of it

meanwhile, K. Will follows up his classic k-drama plot twist music video (still worth a watch if you haven't seen it) 11 years later with a controversial sequel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ9ysYY-qqI

also new jack swing newjeans

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZncbtRo7RXs

i'm impressed they've managed to make new jack swing sound fresh there, it's a rather distinct take on the sound

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6pTbEz4w3o

the other new single "right now" has them in dnb mode and it's also quite good

lol "supernatural" samples this obscure (& genuinely odd) jpop track pharrell produced???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7PlzpQUu2M

Seventeen on Glastonbury

https://glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/line-up/line-up-2024/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyG21rXCxlY

new red velvet is nice enough

taking inspiration from Midsommar is very amusing to me

had youtube autoplay on when this sparkly, Korean electro indie/shoegaze track popped up - made me wonder if maybe Parannoul had a new song out. But nope it’s actually a solo track by Han from Stray Kids <3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA6m1Bba-Ec

mixed feelings about this

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9sGHKpvukn/?igsh=NHN6dGdwYWNobjFn

obvs I love that they’re reuniting… but why in the world did they have to go back to YG? ;_;

YG prob desperate for some familiar hits right now

yeah. it seems that YG is mostly just sponsoring their reunion tour - I'm doubtful there will be any new music involved (or at least nothing that isn't yknow, their rehashed demos from 2014. :/)

after the news broke, CL posted an IG story of Mariah Carey saying "I'll do the best I can with I got", which kinda suggests to me they didn't have much of a choice if they wanted to perform under the 2NE1 name, which YG still holds the rights to.

fun dance track from XG - "Something Ain't Right"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd5LJ4r-vEY

huh I forgot to post this when it came out...ILX doesn't talk about IVE much but their highs are pretty high imo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07EzMbVH3QE

IVE are good at big pop star bangers so when they hit they do tend to be on repeat for a good while here

They also did lollapallooza which you can find on youtube.

IU very generous giving her less than smooth-talking friend Ohhyuk and Hyukoh's new collab with Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster an hour to chat and play a mini concert. Cute duet towards the end as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EHLhS4sNhs

Hyolyn bringing the hottness as she does - “Wait”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URqVqjdY5iY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT5UmjgSdLc

The Lisa Rosalia track is very good, but she's not Korean and neither are any of the people working on it so I guess I can't put it on any kpop lists of the year.

lol that YP video is amazing

I really like the Lisa/Rosalia track too, much better than the other Lisa single ("Rockstar")

It's Blackpink solo o clock with Jennie doing an OK song and Rosie going with Bruno Mars. All three are better than BP of recent years, in any case.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekr2nIex040

agreed, I don’t really like either song but glad they’re getting away from the BP/Teddy Park sound

This has become my two year old son's favourite song, as in he wants to hear it on repeat for half an hour at a time. I'm not complaining.

Also, I'm trying to learn a tiny bit of Korean for my job, and has wondered why 'apartment' was 아파트 or 'apateu'. Now I know it's because it's just a p t! Thanks k-pop!

lol artms are playing here tonight? i can't go because i have a ticket to see tems but i'm very surprised that modhaus keeps sending its acts out to small australian venues, no one else does that

looks like they're doing a bunch of loona tracks but they're not playing "girl front" or any of their classics so i don't feel too bad about missing out

Some mid-tier artists do pretty extensive touring, their must be some incentive there - and for some of them like Dreamcatcher probably more money from overseas fans than Korean ones.

Meanwhile NJ have officialed given a deadline for contract termination. Godspeed if it comes to that, others have tried and failed to break out of contracts without big penalties.

the newjeans stuff is such a mess, min heejin comes across as very unsympathetic but the newjeans members seem to be firmly on her side which i can understand since her distinct creative direction has certainly been a big part of their success, but it seems like they're probably just going to be the ones most screwed over by this mess, it doesn't really seem like they have much in the way of grounds to get out of their contract like they're trying.

the direction post-the 'get up' EP never made much sense to me, nor were the songs very good, and katseye "touch" seemed like a pretty explicit attempt at erasing newjeans' claim to whatever sonic territory might have existed after "super shy"

The 2024 songs have been great but they haven't released an EP or album since Get Up, so the next big statement is yet to come (and hopefully will, and this legal battle won't be the end).

Katseye have had some promising interest globally for a kpop adjacent international group but they had no impact on that particular territory in Korea. How Sweet is still in the top 20 5-6 months after release.

this year's singles weren't as good as get up but they were still pretty good

"touch" has nothing on "supershy"

i agree & the fact that one was a major hit and one was not also seems to bear that out. i'm more interested in the idea that hybe is using katseye as leverage against newjeans

do have to disagree w/ you guys on the newjeans 2024 material tho. pretty easily their worst 'era'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFlyELZqdGI

NewJeans say so long to ADOR, ADOR disagrees, battle is on, but the KR public will back NJ

https://bsky.app/profile/asianjunkie.bsky.social/post/3lbz57c2qho23

something for you k-pop fanatics

popmatters - The 15 Best K-Pop Songs of 2024
https://www.popmatters.com/best-kpop-songs-of-2024

the NJ news was just the start of an insane day for kpop in general: https://www.asianjunkie.com/2024/11/29/surely-now-i-can-have-a-little-thanksgiving-break-as-a-treat/

Yeah, a lot. I wonder if Loona reunites fully. fromis_9 leaving at peak popularity. Explosive stuff!

popmatters - The 15 Best K-Pop Songs of 2024
https://www.popmatters.com/best-kpop-songs-of-2024

Interesting list, though I'm not enough in the loop to know whether their choices are consensus or contrarian (no aespa?). I liked their #1 pick well enough when the local college station played it on their K-Pop show.

haven't been keeping up with kpop regularly for various reasons but catching up now. i don't know if it's just because I've been away for a bit but this year feels like the strongest for a long while, lots of good songs. some I haven't seen posted yet: 

Kep1er - "Shooting Star" 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjOHYXzlZcM 

more k-afropop - IRENE - "Like A Flower"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdOF5-h4qpw

I posted last year about how some boy groups are moving away from the brash, noisy, bad boy image and replacing it with a more wholesome, uplifting sound. that seems to be a real trend now and the best of these have been TWS - really nice to hear a boy group embracing melodies and big euphoric choruses again:

TWS - "hey! hey!" 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EawadPfQmf4 

TWS - "Plot Twist"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVAc1Vf2ITU 

I really love the production here with the little rolling synths in the background. the bridge feels like it should have been setting up for a big key change finale but shame that it just kinds of ends

ZEROBASEONE - "Good So Bad"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5ACuj_jOnc