I thought I'd keep up with sharing my top 10 K-pop singles of the year, like in 2023, there were quite a few songs that I really liked and enjoyed in 2024. Trying to pick just 10 was both hard and easy as I knew some of the songs needed to be in my top 10.
Some of the songs were just pre-releases to albums so it was hard to decide whether to include them or not.
NO.10
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Mirae will always have a special place in my heart. I've loved their music since 2021 all of their albums were catchy. This song is no different, I love the melody and their vocals. It's just sad that their final song before disbandment was a Korean version of a Japanese release. I hope nothing but the best for all the members and hope the continue to follow their interests.
I've actually liked TNX since 2023 as I love their song Love or Die, but I've only ever known of them as TNX that I didn't realise they changed their name to The New Six, which they've recently changed back to TNX, which I'm assuming was due to a member leaving the group. As soon as I heard Fuego I was hooked, I think this is why I tend to lean more to male groups as I love these types of songs.
I feel like I could be being biased with this one as White Christmas is one of my favourite Christmas songs (as well as one of my favourite Christmas films). The more I listened to this song the more I loved how V's voice worked perfectly with the melody as well as with Bing Crosby. It's definitely going to be in my Christmas countdown at the end of the year (I can use the same song twice right). Thank you the Crosby family for allowing V to do this.
Yeonjun seemed to get a bit of hate for this track, both for the song itself as well as the choreography, I in fact love the song. It's really catchy and sticks in your head, I liked seeing a different side of Yeonjun away from TXT's music.
This is definitely my favourite ILY:1 track, while it's included on their album it was released digitally first and I'm obsessed with it. I always sing along with it when it comes on, this is definitely an underrated song for me.
Kino definitely knows what he's doing, all his solo stuff has been insanely addictive. While I've loved all of PENTAGON's solo stuff, for me Kino's stands out more. I definitely feel like he'll be successful, you can tell he enjoys what he does.
I absolutely adore Forestella, there's something about them that makes me stop and listen, they are the only group that I listen to that has this style of music. This song blows me away and definitely deserves to be on my list.
Plave always have such catchy songs and I've loved this one since it's release. I love the melody and I love how they sing it. I hope Plave continue to gain fans as their music definitely deserves it. Also my Ahgase heart with Youngjae opening up the song
This has definitely been one of my favourite songs since it's release in 2024. This would have actually been at No.1 if it hadn't been for the song that took the win. When I first listened to this track I couldn't help laughing because they don't tend to have songs that are explicit but JustB really make it work. They always bring us something new and it really shows how versatile they are.
I absolutely love this song I love how The Rose made an already amazing song sound even more amazing. This version is absolutely stunning and I hope they perform this version in the future. It really is a masterpiece.
Other songs that I love from 2024 is BXB's cover of The Black Cat Nero, Jungkook's Never Let Go, Vanner's cover of I Don't Think That I Like Her, WEi's Love2You, Hui's Nameless and Kino's Everglow, just to name a few
My Top albums for 2023 was hard to decide on, because there were so many good albums that I had on repeat. There was so many comebacks for me in 2023, so many that I've now decided to take note of how many comebacks each month, and so far I already have 10 during January.
For me there weren't really any groups that disbanded that I really listen to, they were groups I know of but not groups I follow.
Sadly though for me, 2023, saw the passing of Astro member Moonbin, I'm a big fan of theirs, so I was heartbroken when I saw the news. My heart really went out to the members as well as his sister.
Some of the albums in this list were easy to pick and place into a position, I also think for me there are some unexpected albums as they've never appeared on my Top albums lists before.
Please remember that this list is only based on my own personal tastes and opinion. I know what I've enjoyed won't be to everyone's tastes, so please no hate just because you may have loved something more than I did.
NO.20
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Coming in at No.20 we have Jessica with her 4th mini album, and her first album release since her 2017, 10-year anniversary album.
The more I listened to this album, the more I fell in love with it, and while it's mainly in English, it doesn't take away from the fact that she is one of the 9 reasons I started listening to K-pop 11 years ago.
Coming in at No.18, we have Purple Kiss and their 5th mini album Cabin Fever.
I've pretty much liked Purple Kiss since their debut, but they've never succeeded in getting into my top albums list, until 2023. This album is such a good album, I loved each track. There were some tracks that really blew me away as I forgot who I was listening to.
Coming in at No.17, we have THE BOYZ with their 2nd full album Phantasy Pt.2: Sixth Sense.
I love when THE BOYZ do bright concepts but for me it's their darker concepts that pull me in more. Watch It definitely has to be one of my favourite title tracks and it really sets the whole album.
Coming in at No.16, we have Dreamcatcher and their 9th mini album VillainS.
Dreamcatcher have not appeared on top albums chart since 2020. They never fail to surprise me and while I love their rocky sounding title tracks, OOTD has definitely peaked and become my favourite title track from them.
Coming in at No.14, we have The Rose with their 2nd full length album Dual.
This is the first time I've sat and listened to a The Rose album, and I've been missing out. This album is amazing, I loved each of the tracks, they're really catchy and I always find myself singing along.
Coming in at No.13, we have ATEEZ with their 11th mini album The World Ep.2: Outlaw.
This album was definitely my favourite release if theirs in 2023. From start to finish this album is amazing, each track fits perfectly and really showcases ATEEZ at their best.
Coming in at No.12, we have Lee Chaeyeon and her 2nd mini album Over The Moon.
Chaeyeon was one of my favourite debuts in 2022, so I knew I'd be keeping an eye on her in 2023 and I'm glad I did. I loved this mini album each track stands out and shows she's good at what she does.
Coming in at No.11 and just missing out on my Top 10, we have KINGDOM and their 7th mini album, History of Kingdom: Part VII. Jahan.
This album was the perfect way to conclude their History of Kingdom album series, I loved how the title track connected their past releases. They really are such an underrated group and each album proves that.
Coming in at No.9, with their debut mini album is ZEROBASEONE and Youth In The Shade.
I only ever saw snippets of Boys Planet, after I-Land, I don't think I could get attached to the participants again. But I decided to check out their debut mini album and was in love from the first listen. They're definitely one of my favourite debuts of 2023.
Coming in at No.7, we have Moonbin & Sanha with their 3rd mini album Incense.
For 2023, Moobin and Sanha, have jumped up 5 spots from 2022, showing each release got better and better. I love this album, each track is different and showcases their talents perfectly. I'm just heartbroken that this is to be their final release as a unit.
Coming in at No.6, we have Seventeen and their 11th mini album Seventeenth Heaven.
There's so many different aspects and emotions to this album, you can tell it's their last full group release before they start their military enlistments. You can tell they really put their all into this album and it seems it's more like a gift to fans than a typical album release.
Coming in at No.5, we have ENHYPEN and their 5th mini album Orange Blood.
While I loved both album releases in 2023, for me Orange Blood just beat out Dark Blood, as much as I love Bite Me, overall I preferred all the tracks on Orange Blood more.
Coming in at No.4 and just missing out on my top 3, is Stray Kids and their 8th mini album Rock-Star.
Each year they make their way up my album list, back in 2019, they peaked at No.8 and have been slowly rising higher. While I always love their albums, someone always tends to just pass them. So far 2023 is the highest they've been in my top album list. Rock-Star is definitely my favourite release from them and hopefully they come to the UK on tour so I can see them perform in live.
Normally at this point I carry on my chart but, I'm going to change it up this time and I'll share with you the Honourable Mentions that just missed out on making my list but deserve a mention because they're just amazing albums. So before I get into the albums that made my Top 3, here are my honourable mentions.
Coming in at No.3, we have Seventeen with their 10th mini album FML.
I try to only have one album per artist in my list but this year has been Seventeen's year for music, this album is perfect. I also present to you MAMA 2023's Album of the Year. I cried so much when they won, Seventeen always have such amazing albums.
Coming in at No.2 we have Forestella with their 3rd mini album Unfinished.
I have such a soft spot for Forestella, I'm not normally into a more classical sound, but there's something about this group that I fall in love with them with each song. I could listen to this album on repeat all day. If you haven't I highly recommend checking them out.
Coming in at No.1, we have (G)I-DLE with their 6th mini album I Feel.
With how many times I listened to this album, it was obvious that this needed to be my No.1 album of 2023. Each track is amazing and I was lucky enough to get to go see them play the Wembley Arena in London, which made me love this album even more. I would say if you've never listened to (G)I-DLE, then this album is a good place to start.
So there you have it, that's my Top 20 K-pop Albums of 2023. I'm looking forward to what 2024 brings to the K-pop world. I'm looking forward to all the comebacks and debuts we may have.
I'm hoping that I finally have K-pop concerts to go to this year, sadly 2023, didn't work for K-pop concerts last year, the only one we had was (G)I-DLE, so thankfully that was amazing. I've never been to a show where the group are drowned out by the audience singing along. We even got to upgrade and go into the soundcheck, which I've never done before.
We;re off to see Eric Nam in March and I can't wait, and both ATEEZ and Stray Kids have announced upcoming world tours so hopefully the UK is one of the stops.
