Posting Hole

pokecapn's top 30+ kpop of 2024

(the rules)

  1. Yes I know this is 10-11 months late. it's because I'm a time traveler but I'm really bad at it
  2. I listened to a staggering amount of title tracks, album cuts, and everything in between, to bring you 30 kpop songs from 2024 that Kick Ass per my exacting and arbitrary standards
  3. No other year-end lists tainted these judgments. I may be the world's worst time traveler, but I am no cheater
  4. For songs with music videos, if it's full of random sound effects or breaks that aren't there in the real song, I pick a performance video or the audio only, so you can listen to the actual song
  5. In 2024 a lot of songs lived and died by the fatness of their bass. But first, some awards for songs that didn't make the list:

previous years: 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023

awards

The "Take On Me" Award: 015B feat. Yireh - Memory Washer

The Most Likely To Be A Boss Song In Some Rhythm Game Award: Xdinary Heroes - Xymphony

The Most Likely To Be A Boss Song Specifically In Muse Dash Award: yurisa - NYA?

The Don't Let Kids Near The Pryda Snare Award: Curious - Call Me Up

The This Song Technically Came Out In 2023 So I Can't Put It In The List Award: MayLiz - Tonight

Da Ali G Achievement In Speed Garage Award: Chungha - Algorithm (Mar Vista Remix)

The Most Improved By Replacing The Entire Song Award: STAYC - Meow (Remix Version)

The Interrupting Pryda Snare Award: NiziU - Sweet Nonfiction

The Most 808 Cowbell Award: Jennie - Mantra

The Most Saxophone Award: Kim Areum - Past Tense (Saxophone Version by Jay Kim)

the list

30) TAN - Area

Immediately gets in your face and hits the ground running, very very slightly ravey in the verses. Love the brogressive house synths in the first pre-chorus

29) I-LAND2 N/α Contestants - Final Love Song (Applicants Version)

hnGRhH Colonel, I'm trying to write some throwaway dance version of "The Final Countdown" for a reality show. But the bass is dummy thicc and the clap of my headphones keeps alerting the judges...

28) Babymonster - Forever

The Temu version of Blackpink's "As If It's Your Last" is not going to have the same staying power, but A for effort

27) Key - Overthink

I recommend not overthinking this, it's good housey stuff you can get all over

26) Lil Cherry - Crying In Da Club

Channeling Scooter in both sound and shitpostiness. Someone please teach Lil Cherry and Goldbuuda about gabber

25) The Wind - I Don't Thing

Here's the feel-good happy virus of the list. Just a fun song with 80s synth sentiments

24) Wooah - Pom Pom Pom

Bear with me, because this song is so bad it wraps back around. eSports dreck (that's a genre) full of fascinating choices. 5 seconds of synthwave, a psytrance guitar shredding chorus, and borderline eurobeat in the bridge

23) fromis_9 - Supersonic

Check out fromis_9's new single "Supersonic" if you get the chance. Sound of the summer.

22) Weeekly - Lights On

A retread of "Tag Me" that's almost good enough to make you forget that "Ven Para" existed. Almost. I like that bitcrushed crash in the pre-chorus. But now I wish I had one of those mind-erasing songs

21) Chungha - I'm Ready

Zero bullshit floor filler

20) Fifty Fifty - SOS

This follows the "Cupid" formula better than "Cupid" did. A nice breezy dreamy fluffball

19) Kep1er - Tipi-Tap

Of all the garridges, and there were a lot of garridges, I enjoyed this one the most. It drills its way into your brain and then the drums and bass go nuts in the post-chorus

18) aespa - Whiplash

This fashion runway show stuff is a perfect fit for kpop and it needs a name. I'm calling the genre "haute house"

17) fromis_9 - Take A Chance

Great sounds here. It's a shame their contract ended and we won't get another foray into the Jepsenesque, I say, winking at the camera, because I'm not actually writing this in 2024. It's a joke, cause we did get another one this year. Anyway,

16) STAYC - 1 Thing

If you keep doing that shit with the flash, you're gonna run it out of batteries, and then good luck taking any pictures!!! This will rot your brain, you've been warned.

15) Le Sserafim - Crazy

Haute house returns, but dumber and more repetitive. But that actually makes it better. I think putting "Crazy" above "Whiplash" is the hottest take in the list

14) Kep1er - Shooting Star

There were a couple of songs in this style this year. Twice's "I Got You" could have fit in this slot. But cranking up the overwrought sentimentality beyond 11 to 12 is kinda cool

13) Kwon Eunbi - Sabotage

You're going to wonder why such a tremendous europop number is so low. By that time, the second verse should be starting, aaand it just shits up the whole thing. You might say... it Sabotages itself

12) Taemin - Horizon

The filthmaster is back with a synthwave slammer

11) Purple Kiss - On My Bike

Guess I'm more nostalgic for the Max Martin-era Britney sound than I thought I was. Love how much this one chugs. "Car for the body but a bike for the soul" is an all-time lyric

10) NMIXX - Run For Roses

graaaaagh! I'm doing moves in the Home Depot light bulb aisle! aAAAgh! Loading top soil on that stupid cart thing! I'm gonna ff-f-fuckin start a project! uhuHHHuuuuUUyhg

9) Chuu - Strawberry Rush

You probably don't need to be told this if you're reading this list, but good and goofy are not mutually exclusive. Insert man screaming at ass here. Once again, Chuu has the best "Blinding Lights" of the year

8) Kim Areum feat. Spacecowboy - Full Moon

Batman slurring his speech WHERE'S THE DISCO??? WHERE IS IT????? Here it is. Actually, open a new tab and listen to Kim Areum's whole discography, it's great

7) Rescene - YoYo

Once again the bass is a standout, but all the elements, pads, drums, vocals, just click into place here. The deeper breathy vocals in the chorus are a great contrast to kpop's all highs all the time

6) NMIXX - Love Is Lonely

I've got nothing clever to say. It's just a beautiful song

5) Illit feat. Ava Max - Baby It's Both

Pure Eiffel 65 / Sabrina Paris era eurodance. Really cleverly uses the vocals of the original version as the synth riff. Slam dunk.

4) aespa - Supernova

The best aespa tracks always sound like Transformers on the toilet. The last 15 seconds where everything comes in at once with added screeching is fantastic. If more songs interpolated Trans Europe Express this list could write itself

3) Red Velvet - Cosmic

It's already good from the start, funky, dancy, but ohhh man the chorus. The chorus rules. The bassline is viscous, enormous, pounding. You've got disco strings and over the top melancholic vocals. This really grew on me

2) Illit - Magnetic

The final boss of the 2024 basslines, making the whole song bouncy and irresistibly catchy. You you you you you you you you will think of this song at the absolute least appropriate times. Such is the plight of the kpop enthusiast

1) Ive - Accendio

Musically evokes the "fire starting" the title translates to. Verse 1's metallic plodding is striking flint ➔ ignites into 140 bpm. Cuts out beat verse/chorus 2 when fire wavers. Nothing in chorus 1 ➔ quiet synth stabs chorus 2 ➔ strings chorus 3! Inferno!

Thank You For Playing

BONUS PLAYLIST

Here is a playlist with everything on the list, along with 220 other songs, for over 13 hours of kpop I enjoyed or otherwise found entertaining. For instant shuffle, click here