Hello everyone, welcome to a very special edition of How NOT to Kpop. Sean @sepatorprod counting down their Top 50 Kpop Songs of the year!
Top 50 Playlist
Support Me!
50 Twice – Set Me Free
One of the weaker songs I’ve heard from TWICE, but still good kpop
49 Zior Park – Psycho Love
Incredible beat, Zior Park’s unique voice suits the track perfectly
48 Epik High ft. Hwasa – Catch
Been loving Hwasa’s tracks this past couple years, her feature very welcome alongside the legendary epik high
47 Bryn, SINCE – Swallow
Awesome flows, super excited to see where Bryn and Since go from here
46 Chanju ft. Lee Chanhyuk – Your Love
Awesome blend of rnb and samba, criminally underrated this track
45 IVE – Baddie
Cool tune from IVE and great performance, they get better with every release
44 IM – Overdrive
Love the production and IM’s performance on this one, but trap sound slightly stale
43 KARD – Icky
Not big on KARD, but this is them at their best
42 Jungkook (BTS) – Standing Next to You
I don’t particularly care for JungKook’s Western flavour pop, but gosh darn it this track is catchy, moody and the production is top notch
41 NMIXX – Party O’Clock
Don’t really care for NMIXX but this is an absolute groove
40 Kim Sejeong – Top or Cliff
This track is dynamic and beautiful arrangement, but vocal left me wanting
39 BOYNEXTDOOR – But I Like You
Runner up for best debut of 2023, really fun pop song
38 Jinyoung – Cotton Candy
Catchy af bop from Jinyoung
37 Kim mi Jeong – choose you
Really interesting sound and performance hooked me
36 DEAN – Die 4 You
Dean is back from getting milk. Bop.
35 Jay Park ft. Zion.T – Candy
Candy giving me that cha cha beat…boy
34 Jeon Somi – Fast Forward
Awesome if not standard banger from Jeon Somi, think Charli XCX, Lady Gaga, rina sawayama vibes
33 Enhypen – Sacrifice (Eat Me Up)
Awesome mid tempo track, production is incredible, has a timeless quality to it
32 ATEEZ – We Know
I wasn’t into crazy form, but this B-side is excellent and shows why ATEEZ have a huge dedicated following
31 ZeroBaseOne – In Bloom (Best Debut 2023)
This song slaps, best debut of 2023 hands down
30 Agust D – Haegeum
It’s a great trap song with great flows, I expect nothing less from Suga/agust d
29 TripleS – Rising
Track is off to an incredible start but drags a little, definitely worth a listen
28 NCT Dream – ISTJ
An NCT DREAM song I love?! 2023 was full of surprises
27 Son Simba – Double Cross
Son simba could be the most underrated korean rapper out there
26 Dreamcatcher – OOTD
Really interesting production and pretty catchy single from Dreamcatcher, but I wanted more in the chorus
25 Beenzino ft. Cautious Clay – Travel Again
Weird, catchy rap song with that addictive Beenzino flow i love
24 SF9 – Puzzle
Very cool, kinda weird song from SF9, the strange staccato chorus shouldn’t work but it does
23 Taeyang ft. Jimin – Vibe
It’s a match made in heaven. Clever, sparse production highlighting the incredible dance and vocal talents of two of the best
22 Cherry Bullet – P.O.W! (Play on the World)
What an incredible, forward thinking kpop tune from Cherry Bullet, taking the ITZY/CLC/Loona sound to new, c atchy places
21 TXT – Chasing that feeling
Yes it sounds like the Weeknd, yes I found the key a little high. But this is still a very catchy tune from TXT.
20 Jessi – Gum
Its not my #1 favourite Jessi track but Gum is an excellent and weird pop rap song
19 Eric Nam – Don’t Leave Yet
Western style pop done right. Love eric nam
18 Cravity – Groovy
At times I find it hard to get excited about the newer boy groups coming through, but this Cravity song is stellar. Catchy as hell
17 Jihyo – Killin Me Good
It’s an excellent song for anyone who loves that JYP sound, and one of the sexier songs on this list.
16 aespa – Better Things
What a catchy, strange tune from aespa. The vocal performance is incredible and the dynamics of this track are awesome.
15 Stray Kids – The Sound
Stray Kids blend of rock and pop is at it’s best right here. Love the dynamic vocal performance and soaring chorus
14 The Rose – Alive
The best pop rock band in korea right now. This song rules.
13 Crush ft. Dynamicduo – No Break
What a groove from Crush, still coming up with fresh sounds after all these years in the game
12 Odd Eye Circle – Je Ne Sais Quoi
Was really sad to see Loona fall apart, but this incredible Odd Eye Circle release makes it less painful
11 Apink – DND
The sheer consistency of Apink across their career is a marvel in itself. DND is yet another catchy kpop tune for any mood, any time of day.
10 The Boyz – Roar
Been loving the Boyz last couple releases. The vocal performances are top notch, the whistling mixed well and used tastefully, booming beat, soaring, epic bridge.. Excited to see more from them in 2024.
9 YUNHWAY – Mistakes (Never Looking Back)
Dark, moody, aggressive. Yunhways album this year was perfectly suited to my tastes, and is the best korean hip hop release this year
8 XG – Shooting Star
I still think XG are inconsistent, but when they are on they are absolutely OOOOON. Production on this one brilliant, huge bass with great space in the higher elements. Excellent.
7 Seventeen – Super
This is such an energetic kpop anthem, impossible to ignore. Huge wall of sound chorus, aggressive, fun tune. Respect to Seventeen for being daring enough to title the album FML
6 NCT U – Baggy Jeans
NCT producing the most forward thinking kpop out there. Despite strange keys and arrangement, they never forget the hook. Although Baggy Jeans comes off as 2 Baddies 2.0, NCT continue to sound like nothing else in kpop.
5 FIFTY FIFTY – Cupid
What a perfect, soulful, cute kpop song. Its simplicity is key, everything gels together in perfect harmony. The timbre of the vocals, the deep warm bass, the beat. File under tracks to snuggle to.
4 V – Rainy Days
Thought we would never hear V’s songs it took so long to come out. It was worth the wait, meticulously crafted tracks with heaps of elements amid V’s incredible, deep crooning. Rainy Days gets my pick for the lo-fi leaning but the whole EP is great
3 StayC – Teddy Bear
Few songs have lived in my head rent free like Teddy Bear has. Imitations came after this sound, but none could walk the line between saccarine sweet and catchy like StayC can. Current #1 Group doing this sound, teddy bear is a bop.
2 DPR Ian – Don’t Go Insane
Dear Insanity… is my album of the year. DPR Ian’s blending of cinematic atmospheres with rnb, disco, rock, soul is so well put together and catchy. The concept and narrative of the album is logically sequenced and the mixes are spacious and groove. Listening to this album is a treat as I find myself wondering how the hell did you do that?
1 NewJeans – Super Shy
NewJeans are unstoppable. To be as popular and consistent as they’ve been right out of the gate is exceptional, regardless of their HYBE backing. Not overstaying its welcome, Western influence but not overly western, catchy, reserved, accessible. Perfect.
Honourable Mentions
Yena ft. BE’O – Love War
ITZY – Cake
Jaeha – Summer Night
n.SSign – Higher or Wormhole: new Track
(G)I-DLE – I Want That
Le Sserafim – Perfect Night
Craxy – Nugudom
Ash Island ft. Paul Blanco – Goodbye
Soojin – Agassy
Jooyoung – Be
Peppermint – Like a habit
YUJU – Without U
Iris, MINT – Prove
Whee In – in the moodThe Boyz – Watch It
Park Ji hoon – Blank Effect
TOIL, Gist – When We First Met
How NOT to Kpop 