Okay-pop has had its share of scandals, controversies, and accusations of unfair label practices. But, 2024 was when it felt like among the business’s darkest machinations grew to become alarmingly seen.

Whereas the dissolution of LOONA and dismantling of 2023’s crossover rookies FiftyFifty in years prior felt like one-offs, few may’ve imagined that NewJeans, one of the crucial celebrated and trendsetting woman teams of the trendy period, had been all however ripped aside by insider label politics that performed out within the tabloids. In the meantime, the “international woman group” that was fashioned by Geffen/Hybe by way of the American streaming sequence Popstar Academy: Katseye gave a number of folks a first-time view of how uncompromising the Okay-idol coaching routine may be, and AppleTV’s glorious sequence Okay-Pop Idols dove into one of the crucial candid views but document of the brutal expectations that Korean idols and labels function underneath.

Whereas legendary Okay-pop innovator HyunA shelved a global tour underneath the burden of a controversial public romance and the poisonous response of a member returning to boy group Riize resulted in nothing in need of worldwide condemnation, there was nonetheless a lot to have a good time in a 12 months that was oversaturated with shocking narratives. Whereas Babymonster put up streaming numbers just like the Blackpink alternative they had been clearly designed to be, the solo actions of the Blackpink ladies ran a panoply of fascinating kinds, proving that YG Information’ extraordinarily delayed launch sample was maybe holding them again creatively.

Lady teams like (G)-IDLE, aespa, and Le Sserafim all battled for A-list standing (and all gained of their methods), whereas upstarts like Kiss of Life, tripleS, and ALL(H)OURS proved that even small labels may make massive waves as long as you had the songs and the expertise. The world’s most constant boy group, Seventeen, proceed to really feel unstoppable. BIBI stays the one idol who can launch any music in any fashion (irrespective of how controversial) whereas nonetheless garnering acclaim and comebacks by Hwasa and Twice‘s shock solo champion Nayeon hit that feel-good dance-pop spot. Even ICHILLIN’, a younger outfit that by no means caught to a mode lengthy sufficient to develop an identification, closed out the 12 months with their finest single (“Official”) since their first two again in 2021. (Whereas we’re at it, younger rapper Daniel Jikal’s solo debut didn’t unleash the shockingly inventive and enjoyable vitality of his TikTok originals, and P Nation can be smart to faucet into that sense of enjoyable sooner or later.)

So get out your photograph playing cards, flip in your gentle stick, and embrace the enjoyable, wild experience of 2024’s top-tier Okay-pop choices.

15. Dreamcatcher – “Justice” (Dreamcatcher)

Dreamcatcher have come a good distance since debuting because the bubbly outfit MINX in 2014. “Justice” is a single from Dreamcatcher’s tenth mini-album, and with every new launch, their mixing of onerous rock textures with the Okay-pop aesthetics will get an increasing number of refined, as if sharpening a blade to a state as polished as it’s lethal. Whereas songs like “BOCA” and “Maison” had parts of play to their six-string squalls, “Justice” finds the woman group at their most dramatic, utilizing a easy snare beat and swelling synth verses to result in a refrain that offers us their most beautiful of vocal climaxes.

The lyrics speak about scuffling with inner ache and discovering one’s ardour by way of a way of justice, however the performances by the entire septet after the bridge are nothing in need of hair-raising (with Yoohyeon giving probably the perfect belt we’ve heard all 12 months). Dreamcatcher’s secret is that they by no means fall into melodrama, as a substitute tackling their songs head-on with severe intent. “Justice” isn’t solely one of many 12 months’s finest songs, nevertheless it may even be Dreamcatcher’s finest title monitor, interval.

14. BOYNEXTDOOR “Good Man” (KOZ Leisure)

Whereas rapper Zico’s KOZ Leisure label has beforehand been disclosed as a loss chief for enormous father or mother firm Hybe, the label’s sole boy group BOYNEXTDOOR, have been slowly build up a fan base whereas releasing increasingly-risky songs. The manic vitality of this 12 months’s earlier hit “Earth, Wind & Fireplace” proved that this sextet didn’t have to play by standard boy band knowledge to search out success, and the playful, warm-hearted “Good Man” takes a good greater swing. A laid-back, horn-driven mid-tempo quantity that opens with Woonhak saying, “Don’t be such a wuss”? It’s genuinely playful in a method that almost all cutesy-concept teams solely try and be, with a self-doubting refrain that’s successfully performed for comedy.

Whereas so many younger-skewing Okay-groups want their singles to be unmissable occasions, BOYNEXTDOOR have found the ability of counter-programming, going mushy and laid-back when everybody else is making an attempt to be so loud. When Taesan tries to assert, “Attractive and about my enterprise / All my works scrumptious,” it’s clear that the group toe the road of pure camp. Similar to their namesake, BOYNEXTDOOR is iLike relatable, and now that they’ve discovered their identification, they may quickly turn out to be Okay-pop’s first actually informal superstars.

13. (G)-IDLE “Spouse” (Dice)

Some beloved it with a ardour. Others thought it was the worst music of the 12 months. But irrespective of the place you stand, there isn’t a denying that “Spouse” began a dialog, and in a 12 months the place the self-made idols (G)-IDLE put out each thundering anthems (“Tremendous Girl”) and cloying radio wallpaper (“Klaxon”), “Spouse” may as effectively be the group’s most distinct launch thus far. Over a easy dance beat, Soyeon and group describe easy home issues like cooking and cleansing whereas additionally implying a way of otherness: are they fulfilling the position of a spouse? Are they complying with societal requirements or doing these begrudgingly? Is any of this attractive to you, the almost-husband?

On the outro, they are saying they need their associate to really feel so excessive even when they “don’t wanna spouse”. For its easy setup and meme-worthy music video, a shocking quantity of socio-political commentary is packed into this winking, suggestive music. It could be (G)-IDLE’s most divisive music thus far — and it’d simply be their masterpiece.

12. Kep1er “Tipi-Faucet” (WakeOne)

As enjoyable and proficient as Kep1er have at all times been, their timing by no means labored out as supposed. Whereas debut single “Wa Da Da” was a licensed hit, their fast entry onto one more idol survival present (Queendom) after actually being fashioned in a single did little to interrupt them out of their perceptions as little greater than excitable rookies. They put out thrilling title tracks, however none of them may match the success of “Wa Da Da”. Following an amicably deliberate member reshuffling following a contract renewal, Kep1er is now a decent seven-piece, and “Tipi-Faucet” is the sound of a bunch recapturing its magic.

Over a easy electro beat, the ladies replicate on the feelings that come up over textual content messages (therefore all of the tipi-tapping) and the way they’re satisfied that digital romance may be actual, all till that refrain is available in and provides us waves of clattering pc percussion. Whereas “Wa Da Da” and the perennially underrated “Up!” had the ladies delivering massive and colourful refrains, there’s a melodic maturity to “Tipi-Faucet” that might solely be executed by a bunch that was assured of their sonic identification. Regardless of dropping two beloved members, Kep1er got here again extra decided than ever to show their price, they usually ended up tipi-tapping into our hearts.  

11. loossemble “TTYL” (CTDENM)

After the contentious and really public dissolution of the 12-member woman group LOONA following a number of accusations of leisure business malpractice, LOONA followers (ORBIT) had been poised to assist these dozen idols of their post-lawsuit endeavors, and, surprisingly, their success has been average. Whereas LOONA had been extra beloved by worldwide followers than by the native Korean market, easy metrics like YouTube view counts solely level to how the LOONA fandom has been whittled right down to its core. It’s an odd factor to witness, particularly on condition that a number of of the ladies, whether or not in newly fashioned teams or as solo artists, have been constantly placing out the perfect Okay-pop singles of any given 12 months.

Loossemble (consisting of HyunJin, YeoJin, ViVi, Go Received, and HyeJu) are already on their third mini-album and are presently three-for-three relating to title tracks. Over an amped-up dance beat and percolating keyboards, the quintet performs hard-to-get in flirty dialog whereas all of the “la la las” and easy-to-learn dance strikes within the music video create a way of pure bubblegum escapism. Iconic pop diva Robyn as soon as speculated that writing completely satisfied songs was more durable than unhappy songs as a result of it took a lot extra effort to make pleasure really feel real. Below that logic, it’s clear that a lot love and labor went into one thing as breezy-yet-perfect as “TTYL”.

10. Kiss of Life “Sticky” (S2)

Many attribute Kiss of Life’s ascent to close instantaneous stardom due to their pedigree, as Julie, Natty, Belle, and Haneul all educated at totally different high-profile businesses earlier than finally linking up. But what made them stand out from the remainder of their contemporaries from the onset was their songs: dynamic, trend-avoiding tracks that used parts like acoustic slide guitars and woodwinds to create a vibe that felt distinct within the cluttered Melon charts. “Sticky” could be their most conventional-sounding music thus far, however this lush mid-tempo quantity radiates a pure heat. Some of the dynamite non-album singles in latest reminiscence, “Sticky” will stick round for a very long time.

9. ALL(H)OURS “Shock” (Eden)

ALL(H)OURS’s debut single, “Gotcha”, barely made the earth transfer when it dropped in early 2024. Eden Leisure is a small label, and it appeared that they had gambled a lot of their fortune on a really generic boy-crush sound. But “Shock” was actually a shock. Whereas SM’s experimental ScreaM sublabel may have doubtlessly been a breeding floor for the darkwave-meets-EDM styling of “Shock”, the truth that it got here out on such a small label — and as a lead single for a boy band, no much less! — felt just like the sort of daring transfer a label would make after they genuinely don’t have anything left to lose.

The gambit paid off, as “Shock”, with its completely pummeling synths, is up to now faraway from standard Okay-pop aesthetics that it instantly turned heads. Whereas the youthful vocal vary of this seven-piece generally belies the onerous idea, the heavy vocal filters — to say nothing of that group shout of a refrain — give the music a robust push. “Kickstart the beast!” they shout through the chorus, and it’s much less an instruction than it’s stating what they simply did: launching a thundering new period not only for themselves however doubtlessly all of Okay-pop.