From NewJeans to Ateez: The 12 Best K-pop Songs of 2024, Mid-Year

TOP 12 K-POP SONGS OF 2024:

MID-YEAR RANKING

So far, 2024 has been something of a struggle year in the K-pop world. Firstly, there is the hiatus of genre heavy-hitters such as BTS, Blackpink, and Exo. Their absence has a ripple effect as eyes are taken away from the K-Pop world and it becomes harder for fringe acts to gain traction.

Furthermore, there is the stacking of album releases in the second half of the year. Stray Kids, NCT 127, and Enhypen will all release their first albums of 2024 in July – a long wait in the K-pop world.

Finally, there have been disappointing releases from other top groups. Seventeen (Maestro), NCT Dream (Smoothie), and (G)I-dle (Super Lady) have failed to catch the imagination of K-pop audiences, relative to their previous hits and built-in fanbases.

Oh, and the less we say about industry conflicts between labels, companies, and management, the better.

Nonetheless, there have been bright spots. On this list of twelve, we'll detail the best songs of 2024 at the halfway point. There have been many great releases from Badvillian, IU, NCT Dream, Twice, and Suho that DIDN'T make this list. That just shows that despite the transitional stage between generations and genres the industry is feeling, there has still been good music to listen to.

12. NCT DREAM: "Unknown" from Dream()scape – This sentimental slice of low-fi pop became a talking point among the Dreamworld when SM dropped a video of the members discussing the virtues of releasing the song as a supplemental dance track for live performances. As leader Mark acutely observes, "Unknown" is the type of song that the group has always done and has become trendy in recent years due to the success of NewJeans. But Dream has been stigmatized by the same NCT sound that has made them popular. "Unknown" allows them to challenge the stereotypes and expectations that people may have of the band. The aspirational lyrics are pure NCT Dream, and each member is given an opportunity to show off their particular vocal color over the simple synth beat.

11. NewJeans: "Bubble Gum" from How Sweet – If any group can attest to the topsy-turvy nature of 2024, it is NewJeans. No other group has gone through the struggles these girls have gone through, which is in no way a fault of their own. In a way, those struggles are what make "Bubble Gum" so special. As their label, ADORE, gets mired in further legal issues with their parent company, HYBE, "Bubble Gum" provides a summery reprieve from the outward stresses of life. The lo-fi pop that has seen NewJeans the "it girl" group of the industry is represented here better than any of their other releases of 2024. Here's to the business folks working out their issues efficiently and letting the girls thrive.

10. RIIZE: "Impossible" from Riizing – If any group can relate to company struggles, it's an SM Entertainment group. Riize, the latest boyband from the industry powerhouse, has similarly released a summery reprieve in "Impossible." With the track, the group has finally found a sound that fits their youthful energy and separates them from the NCT sound that dominated the label for the last eight years. "Impossible" is a proclamation of young love that can play over the speakers of any festival in the last 25 years. I've found the SM musical output disappointing in the last couple of years, particularly the title tracks. But if Riize can replicate the infectious pop sound of "Impossible" they may just be able to turn this ship around. GIVE ME THAT BEAT!

9. HUI: "Hmm Bop" from Whu is Me: Complex — It's hard to think of another artist that's had a career as unique as Hui of Pentagon. The multi-hyphenate performer has done just about everything in his career – band member, songwriter, performer, reality show contestant, musical star, and, oh, he did his military service in the midst of all this. With "Hmm Bop" Hui shows capabilities as a songwriter on a Bruno Mars-esque track that invokes the Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight while reminding everyone of his skills as a performer.

8. ONF: "Bye By Monster" from Beautiful Shadow — It's quite rare that a group is producing their best material in its seventh year, especially for a group outside the big four labels. Yet, the sextet of ONF is defying expectations with the beautiful "Bye Bye Monster," a luscious classical-pop hybrid that rewards the listener upon each hearing. With impassioned lyrics co-written by member Wyatt, the track masters the musical syncopation that often alludes artists who attempt to infuse classical instrumentation in pop music. ONF succeed.

7. Nayeon: "ABCD" from Na – The Twice frontwoman proves she isn't a one-hit wonder with her second album and the infectious title track. After "Pop" blew up, you'd be forgiven for thinking that an artist would be unable to follow up with a song as successful. However, on "ABCD," Nayeon shows she has both the instincts for the type of addictive dance-pop that made her group so popular and the skills to pull it off. So, when she released "ABCD" in June, the K-pop world took notice (and it wasn't just for the suggestive choreography), but the toe-tapping beat and the classic-style music video. Future solo stardom awaits.

6. Taeyong: "Moon Tour" from Tap — Considering the NCT 127 frontman, Taeyong, has been so associated with the group's Neo-sound it may come as a surprise to some casual fans that the artist who has been mostly thought of as a rapper and dancer possesses the soul to pull off a ballad. And that's what "Moon Tour" is. Not a ballad in the sense of a piano and a tenor, but a swooning expression of love told deliberately and purposefully. A mixture of synths and electronic drums intersect with Taeyong's yearning lyrics to paint a picture that few artists can attain. Here, he illustrates what all NCTizens know, that the leader of the biggest tribe in K-pop is a true generational talent and there is more than what meets the ear.

5. Illit: "Magnetic" from Super Real Me – How many groups can say that they perfected their sound on their debut release? Not many, if any. Illit, each member of the quintet formed from the reality competition show "R U Next?" demonstrates that they deserve their placement in the group and the charts with an almost-too-g00d-to-be-real single. Every moment of the 2:41 song is filled with a treat for the listener to bite on. That includes the magnificent chorus that has wormed its way into my ear just as easily as it has for millions of listeners. The best thing you can say about "Magnetic," is that despite being released in March, it feels like a song you've heard before. As if you've been listening your entire life. I may not have listened to it before, but I will be listening for the rest of my life. Ignore the NewJeans comparisons and enjoy Illit for themselves.

4. Zico feat. Jennie: "Spot!" – Do you think Jennie (or her management) would have let her on a song that was anything less than a hit? As Blackpink has achieved a superstardom that even many of K-pop's biggest groups won't attain, "Spot" reminds us that every artist is only as good as the songs they release. Zico has been producing hit after hit for over a decade now in many different modulations. On "Spot," Zico brings Jennie in to produce a dance-floor anthem to sit beside his more melancholic output that has struck a chord with K-pop listeners. It sticks out for its relatively subtle pop mechanics (I said relatively!) in an industry that thinks every banger needs to bang its listeners' ears till they're bleeding (you're not Stray Kids, stop trying to be). Neither noise music nor low-fi, "Spot!" has a tasteful instrumental that elevates its innuendo-laden lyrics to every club, playlist, and soundtrack.

3. Tomorrow X Together: "Deja Vu" from Minisode 3: Tomorrow – Let me be honest, I've never been much of a fan of TXT. It's not that haven't had songs I enjoy – "Crown," "Blue Hour," "Tinnitus," but that their label, HYBE, has been so desperate in their attempts to produce a group that replicates the success of late-stage BTS. This desperation has made TXT into an almost-generic boyband as they repeatedly imitate "Boy with Luv"-era BTS with less than successful results. They have been diluted of anything that makes them unique. But occasionally, something comes out of HYBE that allows the members to shine. The unbearably earnest "Deja Vu" is one such song. It's disappointing that it hasn't been able to gain the commercial success of past hits like "Blue Hour" and "Sugar Rush Ride," but "Deja Vu" shows that despite their declining album sales, the quintet may just have their best musical content still to come.

2. Lee Youngji feat.Kyungsoo: "Small Girl" from 16 Fantasy – Youngji has become such a fixture of K-pop culture as an entertaining web fixture that you can forget the girl has talent that supersedes many of the contemporaries that appear on her drinking show, "Not Much Prepared." With her debut album, 16 Fantasy, the former "Show Me the Money" and "High School Rapper" winner reveals not only her brilliance as a technical rapper but as a brilliant lyricist. Nowhere are those abilities better displayed than in the title track, "Small Girl," where Youngji ropes in Exo's Kyungsoo for a feature. Rather than her usual hip-hop-boastfulness, reveals her insecurities in a RnB love song that highlights the depth of her lyricism. The girl with "big eyes, big laugh, big voice, big personality" longs for the tenderness of giving yourself over to another, and in a sense, making yourself small. She reveals her desires, her insecurities, her problems, and her intentions. This, to me, is the heart of great songwriting: honest, thoughtful, sincere.

1. Ateez: "Empty Box" from Golden Hour: Part.1 – If there is any group in the fourth generation of K-pop that has come to symbolize the underdog, it's Ateez. The eight-member group has consistently defied expectations since their debut in 2018 as they incrementally creep up in charts, sales, and views. Like Stray Kids and NCT 127, Ateez is one of the groups that have been saddled with the perception of being "noise music." It's not that there aren't groups that rely on banging and clanging to compensate for their lack of musical know-how, it's that these groups have been included in their ranks due to their profile. Despite having done so many times in their catalogue, Ateez has reminded listeners of the musical diversity they are capable of on Golden Hour: Part.1.

   No better song demonstrates this than "Empty Box." The song comes at you like a feather floating on the wind as it falls to your feet. You don't react. You don't respond. You simply gaze at the sight and appreciate its beauty. The yearning lyrics of heartbreak as a relationship comes to an end play over the top of a tasteful synth track that lets the lyrics breathe and the performers evoke the emotions of the artful wording. Even when rappers Hongjoong and Mingi increase the pace, it never feels out of place. So when they switch back to the regular tempo, it doesn't feel disorienting.

   "Empty Box" is the standard for what musicians of all genres should be aspiring to.