pokecapn's top 30+ kpop of 2022
(the rules)
- i listened to over 1500 songs, to bring you
- 30 that Kick Ass per my exacting standards for this list, "awards" for 10 more songs that weren't making the cut, and another 125 i found good or at least entertaining in a bonus playlist
- no year end lists tinted these judgments. all opinions are my own. probably
- original air date: November 29, 2023
previous years: 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021
awards
The Best Cover(?) Award: Funtwo, Jane, AZ - aespa - Next Level (Guitar Cover)
The Literally Just "Take On Me" Award: Pentagon - Sparkling Night
The Pryda Snare Award - Coin Star: Psy - Everyday
The Pryda Snare Award - Minigame Star: Seulgi - Los Angeles
The Pryda Snare Award - Happening Star: Lapillus - Queendom
The "We Have A Taemin Track At Home" Award: KOM - Adrenaline
The "No Really, The Song Is Good Too, Honest!" Award: (tie) Kara - When I Move, Apink Bomi & Hayoung - Red Carpet
The This Sucks But I Keep Thinking About It Award: Ryeohwa feat. Mistakim - Cowboy
The Most Likely To Have Been Rejected From A Mission: Impossible Soundtrack Award: Itzy - Voltage
the list
30) NewJeans - Hype Boy
no one singing this song has installed Windows XP before, but that didn't stop them from cranking all the numbers up and trying anyway
29) Chungha - Sparkling
a smooth and refreshing twist on the 160ish bpm synthpop formula that we've seen for the past couple of years. literally refreshing! cans open! in the song!
28) Pixy - Villain
very cool and nasty. am i the only one blacking out and seeing rapid-fire pictures of cats during the choruses? just me? i should get that looked at.
27) Red Velvet - Snap Snap
i think it's aiming for a naughty 2.0, a great house thumper that SM has regularly been able to give its artists
26) Billlie - GingaMingaYo (the strange world)
by all means i should just bounce right off the singsongy nursery rhyme chorus, but the fatness of the track and chewiness of the synths keeps me coming back
25) Oh My Girl - Replay
vicious destruction coming out of nowhere. 2 and a half very short minutes of dank filth
24) Wonho - Eye On You
a no bullshit track that cruises along, with great pauses to build up and release tension, and delightful synths that crank up during the chorus. energizer
23) STAYC - Poppy
i could have held this until the 2023 list since it did get a korean version but i though-POPPY POPPY POPOPPY POPPY POPPY LOVE LOVE POPPY POPPY POPOPPY POPPY POPPY LOVE LOVE POPPY POPPY POPOPPY POPPY POPPY LOVE LOVE POPPY POPPY POPOPPY PO
22) Drippin - The One
this year's production team that shows up multiple times in the list is the tag team of TAK & Corbin at NEWTYPE, starting with this fantastic drum & bass pop-rock hybrid. a great way to start your day
21) Purple Kiss - Pretty Psycho
the philosophy for purple kiss house tracks seems to be to load up a solid foundation with random shit and it works great. beethoven, classic movie samples, and speed garage wobble, together at last
20) Nature - Limbo
if more songs could detour into 10 seconds of psytrance for no reason that'd be swell, thanks
19) woo!ah! - Rollercoaster
it's finally time to slow down and enjoy a synthwave dreamscape. CRJ energy will be channeled several times on this trip up the list
18) fromis_9 - Rewind
while we mourn the death of any wild ass concepts ever gracing fromis_9 again, we can still appreciate solid heavily replayable b sides like this
17) Limelight - Starlight
slots right into the izone gap you didn't know you had. that one meme but the guy's going "it my fiesta fr!!!!"
16) Key - Bound
yo man what you got there, sega genesis???? the fm synth bass is off the charts
15) Yena - Pretty Boys
picture-perfect 80's throwback. way too good to be trapped on an EP with no promotion
14) Nayeon - Pop!
fast-paced bass, brass, and heys. hold on a second. now just what exactly are we popping here.
13) ATEEZ - Halazia
this one's a real ride between insanely high and deep vocals, going off the rails into drum and bass and hardstyle at the end. waiting for the day that "off the rails" becomes "the rails". that'll be something
12) Le Sserafim - Blue Flame
it's simple, it's catchy, and the star of the show is the megabass 2000 watt rms in the prechorus
11) Viviz - Bop Bop!
ezaels ocsid nimmals
10) Limelight - Eye To Eye
strap in for another dreamscape. the vocals have more room to work than the other limelight track and you can just lie down and let the waves roll in
9) Ive - Love Dive
doomsday plodding processed out the goat ass. this is a compliment. i'm convinced they're going for an another brick in the wall vibe
8) Kep1er - MVSK
a relentless assault where the only constant is change. many angry basses, unintelligible synth brass, anti-drops becoming real drops, and a trip into triplet time just for fun
7) Kwon Eunbi - Croquis
pounding productivity-enhancing house. i can and have put this on repeat for an hour. 2:17 is a great advancement in "vocals as instrument"
6) Rocket Punch - Louder
this song fucks. no further explanation needed, just listen to it
5) Taeyeon - INVU
effortless emotional dreamworld. mirror-polished. you get the feeling no one was allowed to mess this one up
4) CSR - Pop? Pop!
pure sugar fresh air with a truckload of cool rhythms and sounds. the part before the third chorus is like a boast from the production team: "we could have made this absolute dogshit, but we are masters of the craft in full control"
3) WJSN Chocome - Super Yuppers!
the song: the 80s are here, again.
me: 
2) Cherry Bullet - Love In Space
what's 156 bpm, is dominated by offbeat bass stabs, and features 16th note melodies? that's right, they've finally discovered the secret formula to poppify eurobeat
1) Kwon Eunbi - Glitch
a journey into sound. discover silken vocals weaving through garage with massive build ups into chunky four on the floor, replete with the titular glitching. then get blasted by the finish. lost in chimes, you conclude: "damn"
Thank You For Playing
BONUS PLAYLIST
here is a playlist with a total of 165 songs from 2022. why 165? because i got tired of cutting songs from the list