As a refresher, here are the ground rules I set for myself:
1. Since this list is personal, I’m only adding music from groups I actually listen to or follow. As such I’m not adding anything that’s popular or charting high if I personally didn’t enjoy it.
2. The song must be a Korean title track released in 2023. No hold overs from previous years.
3. Lastly, I can only add ONE song from any artist - even if it’s painful to do so.
2023 had a lot of hits combined with a lot of new people I started following, which meant picking JUST ten impossible. So to ease my mind I'm doing Top 20 since I've already did a separate post for B-Sides/Pre-Releases.
If anyone is curious to know more about my choices, feel free to comment.
So, with all that said, let’s get it!
Honorable Mentions:
Yeeun - Cherry Coke
fromis_9 - MeNow
BABYMONSTER - BATTER UP
NMIXX - Party O’Clock
NewJeans - OMG
Mijoo - Movie Star
EVERGLOW - SLAY
EL7Z UP- CHEEKY
Billie - EUNOIA
MAVE - PANDORA
StacyC - Teddy Bear
Number Twenty:
Number Nineteen:
Number Eighteen:
Number Seventeen:
Number Sixteen:
Number Fifteen:
Number Fourteen:
YENA (feat. Yuqi) - Hate Rodrigo
Number Thirteen:
Number Twelve:
Number Eleven:
-I admit, this is my NEVERLAND bias showing here. Perhaps Soojin wouldn't rank as high if it wasn't...well Soojin, but this song felt like a victory to me. I never thought she'd be able to return back to the industry, yet she did, she sold well, and I am literally looking at her physical album sitting on my self right now. Soojin is back. The song is fine, it's even good, but I'll be honest in that she's this high on the list because of my personal bias.
Number Ten:
-At first I wasn't so sure of the song. After Hush Rush, I thought Chaeyeon was going to continue the cute vampire gimmick, so this sort of felt like a big shake up. But the editing for the MV was insane, the actual choreography might be some of the most difficult that came out this year, and that chorus is an ear worm. KNOCK slowly sold me on it's merits. I know I posted the MV here, but if you have the chance, check out some of her live stages.
Number Nine:
-I'm not an ORBIT so the bias line I gave with Soojin doesn't apply to me hear. Yes, I'm very happy that ARTMS, LOOSEMBLE, and Chuu have been able to restart their career after the BS they suffered from their previous label Blockberry Creative, but I didn't come into this solo debut with the same feelings as I had with Soojin. Chuu sold me on the song (and the album) by her own talent. I'm not exaggerating in saying that I think after Kiss of Life, this was album of the year for me, simply because every song was both good and felt as if they complimented each other. HOWL especially had some strong lyrics that touched me as well.
Number Eight:
-Last year when TWICE's Naeyon got a solo album, all I could think about was "Why not Jihyo?" Sure, Nayeon is a great vocalist, but I believe Jihyo is a more versatile and powerful singer. So when JYPE announced that Jihyo was going to get her solo, I was over the moon. And she didn't disappoint. This is exactly the type of song that I'd expect from her, and her album is equally as good.
Number Seven:
-LE SSERAFIM was a group I started to get into last year, and it seems they've only grown more and more on me this year as well. The extra content they do helps, as I'm in love with all the members, but let's not forget their catchy songs. Some people weren't as hot on this one as they wanted another Antifragile, but I don't know what they're smoking. I love Unforgiven simply because it's different. LE SSERAFIM has been making it a point not to repeat themselves and that's the only way to grow. I love the western twang throughout and choreo is just plain cute. (Also Sakura is hot)
Number Six:
-I've been giving KIOF a lot of praise in both this blog and the previous post, but I do think they deserve it. They are Rookie of the Year in my heart as they setting out to do something no other group is. They painted themselves as the flawed/broken bad girls of K-Pop, and not in a "oh she's bad ass" or "bad but in a cute way". No they are being pretty gritty with it. I understand why many companies haven't done this before because you're purposely allowing your members to look less that perfect, but this is their selling point. While their latest track Bad News continues on this theme, I believe the impact of their first album and MV stands out more for me. I just hope these girls can continue the momentum they've created.
Number Five:
-Again, not an ORBIT, but this song slaps. I had no expectations for LOOSEMBLE other than I just was happy they were away from BBC and were making music again. I know their already big fanbase would support them so I wasn't really invested. BUT this song is just plain amazing and made me pay attention. The chorus really just makes you want to dance. They are one of the "new" artists that I'm going to keep my eye on in the future.
Number Four:
-You knew a TWICE song was going to make top five. They've been steadily making high rankings ever since I started these list back in my deviantFart days. With that said, Set Me Free is a far better song than Talk That Talk, in my opinion. The previous song won me over with the chorus, but it wasn't the banger that the previous year's The Feels was. But Set Me Free is amazing. Hell, I didn't know if they could top Moonlight Sunrise, yet they did. With TWICE being focused on MISAMO and Jihyo's side-projects, I didn't expect them to go so hard on Set Me Free, yet here we are. It's good, they're TWICE, what do you expect?
Number Three:
-When paired with Allergy, Queencard is SOTY. On it's own... well it's third place, lol. But a very high spot indeed. Queencard is the second half of a story so I do think some of the impact of the message is lost if you're not taking Allergy into account, but the story on it's own is still powerful. View yourself as an 'it-girl' and stop trying to be someone you're not. It's not a revolutionary message, but one that needs to be said every now and then. Plus with lyrics like "Queencard! I'm hot! My boob and booty's hot!", "Queencard! I'm top! I'm twerking on the runway!" c'mon. This has to be here! Plus the dance battle in the MV.... This song is amazing!
Number Two:
-This song is one of my favorites of the year. The whispery spooky vibe this song gives really does give off a vibe, along with that catchy chorus and intricate choreo in the MV. Purple Kiss always tend to be near the top of my end of year raking, and this year they almost won again (the first time being Zombie). This group (and song) are very under rated and it's only a matter of time before people realize it. I saw it happen with (G)I-DLE and DREAMCATCHER so it's possible for PurKi as well. 7HEAVEN might be a step back for them, but I hope they can recover. I think people vibe more with their creepy aesthetic over the cute one that they flip back and forth on.
Number One:
--I was going back and forth on what should be Number One. Sweet Juice through out most of the year was the winner. In fact it was the winner almost all this year. BUT I had to be honest. Just because I like the group Purple Kiss more than IVE, I can't deny that I AM has been my favorite song this year (if we can't count I DO). It wasn't so much about the message or dancing that got me, but the addictive melody and just the pure performance. IVE is a top group for a reason, and placing my biases aside, I have to acknowledge that this song really impressed me. I guess you could call them a group that's growing on me, despite me not wanting them too. I don't want to be just a big group stan, but I really do like them. So I guess this is where we're at.
pewternatural
Been reading these post ans as always, they're informative, even if I know nothing about K-pop. Personally I really loved the Kiss of Life videos you posted earlier in the year. I've already told you how impressive I find K=pop MV. They remind me of the 90's when American artist were dropping crazy money on MVs. The only other video I liked better was the crazy action one. I wonder if you'll make a list of just your favorite MVs or if it's not possible to separate the MV from the music.
glee-chan
I don't know if I'll do that this year, but maybe next year. The reason is that while I think the MVs are cool, a lot of K-pop MVs kinda follow the same formula. It'd be hard to pick ten, I think lol. Maybe I'll spitball on MVs I strongly remember as great.
I think we can safely add all Kiss of Life's first album mvs and Allergy+Queencard because of the story and subtle visual easter eggs. I DO was also fun, but some editing mistakes ruin it for me. Mararoni Cheese by Young Posse this year was probably one of the crazier videos I've seen, MISAMO's Do Not Touch is pure art and insanely impressive visually. There are shots I liked in TWICE's Set Me Free (the girls running from actual explosions and fire at the end - it was shot for real) and IVE's I AM (Wonyoung jumping out of the plane and the runway shots at the end) but most of it are typical k-pop shots. LE SSERAFIM's Burn the Bridge is really artistic, but I don't count that as a song, it's more like a trailer. I liked ITZY's Bet On ME because the visual were telling the same story as the lyrics really well.
But yeah, other than those, nothing stands out too much for me. I talked about KNOCK already but I wouldn't consider it MV of the year or anything. I think next year I'll have to mark down the standouts so I can make a more accurate list. I probably saw about 200 MVs this year, saved 158 of them on a playlist on YouTube, so I'm bound not to remember everything.