Start here for an indexed post of all of The Bias List’s end-of-year countdowns. This will be updated as new countdowns are added, and stickied to the front page for the rest of the year. Check back frequently as we approach 2021!
And, feel free to check out the masterposts for the past four years at the bottom!
Top 50 K-Pop Songs >> 50-41, 40-31, 30-21, 20-11, 10-1
Top 40 K-Pop Album Tracks & B-Sides >> 40-21, 20-1
Top 50 J-Pop Songs >> 50-31, 30-11, 10-1
Favorite Korean and Japanese Dramas
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
this might be overstepping just a bit, and I will definitely be checking out your list, but a fellow user and I run an official review team on the allkpop forums, and we’ve just put together our top 20 Kpop title tracks of the year. I would love it if you checked it out and gave some feedback! thanks!
https://www.allkpop.com/forum/threads/offical-best-k-pop-tracks-of-2020-presented-by-allkpops-official-review-team.522102/
LikeLike
Cool list Rileyka!!!
Midnight Train deserves much more attention, same with So What 🙂
LikeLike
Not overstepping at all. Thanks for sharing!
LikeLike
Check also our website for more K-Pop best artists and songs and newly releases tracks and albums from your favorite artists.
Regards;
mahasvara.com
LikeLike
2020 was.. ..yeah. From a K-Pop perspective, it was a weird year. I went into it with some expectations set high. As the calendar year unfurled, there was a mixed bag of ups, downs, surprises and new blood. This is true for most years in this industry, but this year felt particularly impactful. Having slogged through a quagmire of scandal and death in 2019, I was longing for sturdier ground as the shore of a new year appeared.
Sure, 2020 hasn’t been a picnic by any metric. Putting aside the madness on the world stage, the closed stages in K-Pop had a few hiccups. Jimin is a bully, Irene is a diva, MNET cheats, Et al. As the industry becomes more public, expect more dirty laundry and skeletons. Yes, 2020 got a little muddy, but 2019 was a bog of eternal stench that, in the words of Ludo, “SMELL.. ..BAD!”.
Personally, 2020 kept me guessing. 2nd Gen K-Pop continued to fade out slowly; as anticipated. Though the retro trend gave a few 2nd gens a little wind in their sails. I didn’t expect 3rd gen K-Pop to fall off a cliff the way it did; but the pandemic derailed money trains for lesser agencies. Though several 3rd gens continued to carry the torch, a few of them dimmed. I thought the 3rd gens were going to carry me through most of the year but it was the 4th gens that did most of the heavy lifting. Looking back, I was impacted as follows:
– Groups that lost ground: TWICE, WJSN, Apink, DIA, April, Lovelyz, Pink Fantasy, Elris, Favorite.
– Groups that gained ground: Dreamcatcher, GFRIEND, Everglow, fromis_9.
– Groups that broke new ground: REDSQUARE, Weeekly, STAYC, Secret Number.
– Indies that broke new ground: Hajin, May, Yukika, Minseo, GOLD, Miso.
There’s obviously more to it than four simple bullet points, but that should build a small framework of how the year shaped up for me. Since 2020 had everyone living on a razors edge, I’m going to stick with that analogy and break down my list into the following three parts:
==============================
TIER 1: Songs that kept me from cutting myself. I played the hell out of these songs; provisionally. Some grew stale after a month or so; others are still getting daily listens.
(G)I-dle – “Oh My God” (April 6, 2020)
3YE – “Queen” (February 21, 2020)
aespa – “Black Mamba” (November 17, 2020)
Brave Girls – “We Ride” (August 14, 2020)
Bvndit – “Children” (April 20, 2020)
Cherry Bullet – “Hands Up” (February 11, 2020)
Cherry Bullet – “알로하오에 (Aloha Oe)” (August 6, 2020)
Chungha and Christopher – “Bad Boy” (September 23, 2020)
CLC – “Helicopter” (September 2, 2020)
Dreamcatcher – “Scream” (February 18, 2020)
Dreamcatcher – “BOCA” (August 17, 2020)
DreamNote – “Wish” (January 08, 2020)
Everglow – “Dun Dun” (February 3, 2020)
Everglow – “La Di Da” (September 21, 2020)
fromis_9 – “Feel Good (Secret Code)” (September 16, 2020)
GFRIEND – “Apple” (July 13, 2020)
GFRIEND – “Mago” (November 9, 2020)
GOLD – “Fly High” (July 15, 2020)
GWSN – “BAZOOKA!” (April 28, 2020)
GWSN – “the Aerialist (Wonderboy)” (April 28, 2020 / MV: May 15, 2020)
Ha:tfelt: “Life Sucks” (April 28, 2020)
Hajin – “Daydream” (April 10, 2020)
Irene & Seulgi – “Monster” (July 6, 2020)
Irene & Seulgi – Naughty (July 20, 2020)
ITZY – “Wannabe” (March 9, 2020)
Katie – “Echo” (April 23, 2020)
Lee Suhyun – “Alien” (October 16, 2020)
LOOΠΔ – 365 (December 13, 2019) (Official release, but no official MV; Why?!?)
LOOΠΔ – “Star” (October 19, 2020 / MV: November 17, 2020)
mamamoo – “Wanna Be Myself” (September 10, 2020)
May – “Bye Bye” (May 16, 2020)
Miso – “Alone” (May 17, 2020)
Nature – “Girls” (June 16, 2020)
OH MY GIRL – “Nonstop” (April 27, 2020)
Red Velvet – “Psycho” (December 23, 2019)
REDSQUARE – “ColorFull” (May 19, 2020)
Secret Number – “Who Dis?” (May 19, 2020)
Secret Number – “Got That Boom” (November 4, 2020)
SoRi – “Initial S” (October 6, 2020)
STAYC – “So Bad” (November 12, 2020)
Sunmi – “pporappippam” (June 29, 2020)
Weekly – “Zig Zag” (October 13, 2020)
Weki Meki – “Oopsy” (June 18, 2020)
YooA – “Bon Voyage” (September 7, 2020)
YooA – “Abracadabra” (September 7, 2020 / MV: September 23, 2020)
Yukika – “NEON” (February 22, 2020)
==============================
TIER 2: Songs that kept me from cutting everyone else. Not bad songs, but I only listened to each song 10-20 times. These didn’t fully click with me for some reason.
(G)I-dle – “Dumdi Dumdi” (August 3, 2020)
3YE – “Yessir” (June 29, 2020)
3YE – “Like This Summer” (August 1, 2020)
Apink – “Dumhdurum” (April 13, 2020)
April – “Lalalilala” (April 22, 2020)
April – “Now or Never” (July 29, 2020)
Berry Good – “Accio” (November 04, 2020)
CRAXY – “Aria” (March 3, 2020)
GFRIEND – “Crossroads” (February 3, 2020)
ITZY – “Not Shy” (August 17, 2020)
IZ*One – “Fiesta” (February 17, 2020)
Ha:tfelt: “La Luna” (April 28, 2020 / MV: September 10, 2020)
Ha:tfelt: “Sweet Sensation” (April 28, 2020 / MV: April 23, 2020)
Jessi – “Numb” (August 14, 2020)
Jieun – “MIL (Make it Love)” (July 26, 2020)
KEEMBO – “99 (GU GU)” (July 31, 2020)
KEEMBO – “Scene” (November 22, 2020)
Lee Hi – “HOLO” (July 23, 2020)
LOOΠΔ – “Why Not?” (October 19, 2020)
Lovelyz – “Obliviate” (September 1, 2020)
mamamoo – “Dingga” (October 20, 2020)
Minseo – “No Good Girl” (April 28, 2020)
MMD (Pink Fantasy) – “Not Beautiful” (December 19, 2019)
Pink Fantasy – “Shadow Play” (July 14, 2020)
PurpleBeck – “Starry Night” (March 21, 2020)
Rocket Punch – “Juicy” (August 4, 2020)
Somi – “What You Waiting For” (July 22, 2020)
Twice – “More & More” (June 1, 2020)
Twice – I Can’t Stop Me (October 26, 2020)
Weeekly – “Tag Me (@Me)” (June 30, 2020)
WJSN – “Butterfly” (June 9, 2020)
woo!ah! – “Payday” (May 05, 2020 / MV: June 6, 2020)
Yukika – “Yesterday” (July 8, 2020)
Yukika – “Soul Lady” (July 21, 2020)
WJSN Chocome – “Hmph!” (October 7, 2020)
Weki Meki – “Cool” (October 8, 2020)
==============================
TIER 3: Songs that just plain didn’t cut it, plain and simple. Only listened to each song less than 10 times.
Ailee – “Sweater” (December 12, 2019)
Ailee – “When We Were In Love” (October 12, 2020)
Blackswan – “Goodbye Rania” (October 16, 2020)
Bvndit – “Cool” (February 6, 2020)
Bvndit – “Jungle” (May 12, 2020)
cignature – “Nun Nu Nan Na” (February 3, 2020)
cignature – “ASSA” (April 5, 2020)
cignature – “Arisong” (September 22, 2020)
DIA – “Hug U” (June 10, 2020)
Elris – “Jackpot” (February 26, 2020)
Favorite – “Lie” (March 10, 2020)
Hyolyn – “Say My Name” (August 19, 2020)
IZ*One – “Secret Story of the Swan” (June 16, 2020)
Jessi – “Nuna Nuna” (July 30, 2020)
Jieun – “Bloom” (October 22, 2020)
mamamoo – “AYA” (November 3, 2020)
Namjoo – “Bird” (September 7, 2020)
Rocket Punch – “Bouncy” (February 10, 2020)
S.I.S – “Don’t Wait” (July 30, 2020)
Saturday – “D.B.D.B.DIB” (August 2, 2020)
Sejeong – “Tunnel” (December 2, 2019)
Sejeong – “Plant” (July 13, 2020)
Sujeong – “Tiger Eyes” (May 20, 2020)
Weki Meki – “Dazzle Dazzle” (February 20, 2020)
woo!ah! – “woo!ah!” (우아!) (May 15, 2020)
woo!ah! – “Bad Girl” (November 24, 2020)
==============================
Artists/groups with 2020 releases that have never clicked with me; but, “never say never”, amirite?:
AleXa / Blackpink / Kard / Momoland
==============================
Japanese:
Dreamcatcher – Endless Night (March 4, 2020)
OH MY GIRL – Etoile (October 8, 2020)
Twice – Better (November 18, 2020)
— There’s more, I’m just tired of writing at this point…
LikeLiked by 2 people
Oh.. ..should probably add a list of songs with the most plays throughout the year:
Brave Girls – “We Ride” (August 14, 2020)
Everglow – “Dun Dun” (February 3, 2020)
fromis_9 – “Feel Good (Secret Code)” (September 16, 2020)
GFRIEND – “Apple” (July 13, 2020)
GWSN – “BAZOOKA!” (April 28, 2020)
GOLD – “Fly High” (July 15, 2020)
Hajin – “Daydream” (April 10, 2020)
May – “Bye Bye” (May 16, 2020)
REDSQUARE – “ColorFull” (May 19, 2020)
Secret Number – “Who Dis?” (May 19, 2020)
STAYC – “So Bad” (November 12, 2020)
Weekly – “Zig Zag” (October 13, 2020)
Yukika – “NEON” (February 22, 2020)
Note: This list doesn’t necessarily signify favorite songs of the year. Some of these were played a lot because I was looking to set a mood or motivate myself through an activity. There were also a lot of songs that I really liked, but didn’t meet Nick’s qualifications (e.g., LOOΠΔ – “Fall Again”, Weki Meki – “Moya Moya”, etc.).
LikeLike
Good to see you back Xeno!!!
Wow, that is some end of year list, I love some of those songs, and don’t really care for others, but explaining all that through a comment is pretty neat 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thx 🙂 Yeah, I figured I’d make up in volume what I failed to provide in quantity :p
LikeLiked by 1 person
Always good to see our resident girl group expert back in action!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
As I am a guest since my new email does not have a wordpress acount, I cannot like a comment. But make note, I would like this comment if I could.
LikeLike
Couldn’t let the year completely run out without throwing my hat in the ring 😉
LikeLike
“Cool” is in tier 2………………….
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Cool” isn’t a bad song. It could’ve easily slotted in my tier 1 list except for one aspect. Sei is my bias in Weki Meki. She got a raw deal on that release. Barely any lines and practically a ghost in the MV. Not sure if she got on someone’s 똥 목록, but her absence resulted in my having less interest in the song. I gave it a thumbs up on YT, but I didn’t really go back to it too much after that.
LikeLike
Excited for my first time reading these year-end lists as they’re posted! Been reading since around April this year and haven’t been able to stop. Thank you for all your hard work!
LikeLike
Great choices!!! I’d be amazing if you made a playlist on Spotify with you 50 best!
LikeLike
Pingback: The Top 50 K-Pop Songs of 2020 (Day Five: 10-1) | The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
Pingback: The Top 10 K-Pop Rookies of 2020 | The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
Pingback: The Top 10 K-Pop Artists of 2020 | The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
No top bsides? I’m curious how would you rank labyrinth by gfriend
LikeLike
It’s coming! Don’t worry… I pretty much count down anything and everything that can be counted down 😉
LikeLike
Pingback: The Top 10 K-Pop Albums of 2020 | The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
I appreciate the lists! You just got me into GolCha and TXT so I hope there will be other artists for me next year (particularly J-pop!). Still mindboggling to me how you chose 100 over Tiger Inside/One as your top SuperM track (and Make a Wish/Ridin’ over Kick It?!). But that’s them opinions for you. Also a k/jdrama end-of-year list wouldn’t go unnoticed, just saying lol
LikeLike
I’m planning a k/jdrama feature of some sort… probably next week!
LikeLike
Pingback: The Top 40 K-Pop Album Tracks & B-Sides of 2020 (40-21) | The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
Pingback: The Top 40 K-Pop Album Tracks & B-Sides of 2020 (20-1) | The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
Pingback: The Top 10 K-Pop Producers of 2020 | The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
Pingback: The Top 40 K-Pop Album Tracks & B-Sides of 2020 (20-1) – My WordPress
Pingback: The Top 10 K-Pop Music Videos of 2020 | The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
Pingback: The Top 10 K-Pop Choreography of 2020 | The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
Pingback: The Top 50 J-Pop Songs of 2020: 30-11 | The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
Pingback: The Top 50 J-Pop Songs of 2020: 10-1 | The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
Pingback: The Top 50 J-Pop Songs of 2020: 50-31 | The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
Pingback: The Bias List’s Favorite Korean and Japanese Dramas of 2020 | The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
Pingback: The Bias List’s Favorite Korean and Japanese Dramas of 2020 – My WordPress
Pingback: The Top 50 J-Pop Songs of 2020: 10-1 – Music
Pingback: The Bias List’s Favorite Korean and Japanese Dramas of 2020 – Music
Pingback: The Top Three K-Pop Songs of December 2020 | The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion
Pingback: The Top Three K-Pop Songs of December 2020 – My WordPress