Tomorrow kicks off my Top 50 2015 countdown with songs 50 to 41! Before that, I’ve got ten honorable mentions that barely missed out on making the main countdown.
There are some fantastic tracks within this bunch. 2015 was a very strong year for K-pop, making this countdown pretty cutthroat. To give you some context, between 85-90% of the tracks in my top 50 would score a “9” or above if rated on this site. Compare that to 2020’s list, which sits at about 50-60% with that same rating.
So, while these songs may not have jumped into my top 50, they still get tons of love and attention!
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Cross Gene – Play With Me
iKON – My Type
Shannon Williams – Why Why
Red Velvet – Ice Cream Cake
4minute – Crazy
f(x) – 4 Walls
Laboum – Aalow Aalow
VIXX – Chained Up
Monsta X – Hero
iKON – Airplane
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
One 2015 relatively underrated track that I completely adore is 9Muses’ Sleepless Night. In my eyes, one of the most magical productions in all k-pop. That slower part + rap verse that comes after the first chorus… perfection.
I’m guessing you’ll be partial to her livelier sister Hurt Locker though!
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my favorite Namyu track from 2015! your description is spot-on, definitely a magical production.
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whoa… the songs on the top 50 must be great, since i love a lot of these songs!
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oh wow I LOVE all the girl group songs on this list. they’re all classics and if these are just the honorable mentions, I can’t wait to see what songs made the top 50.
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The fact that songs like Airplane, My Type, Hero, Chained Up, Hate, and 4 walls are just honorable mentions says a lot about 2015. 2015 really was something else.
Hope Rainbow’s Black Swan makes this list🙏🏼
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this better be a good list ‘cuz ‘play with me’ was cross gene’s peak. 🤧
also, do you think you’ll cover the debut of jyp’s girl group? I heard that only a select few people will get their hands on the psychical album, but I don’t doubt it’ll be available online (illegally). K-pop is the most saturated it’s ever been.
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Crazy, 4 Walls, Ice Cream Cake, and Chained Up not even in the top 50. This is gonna be one hell of a list
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why why by evil somi is excellent, good that it’s at least an honorable mention
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lol I have no idea why you’re calling her “evil somi” but it made me chuckle.
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hello Nick….appreciate all this fun and information kop stuff you create and share with us….you do a really good job….
for your honorable mention list, i am very surprised at a few of the songs that are on this list, being ‘honorable mentions’ when these songs were hugely successful kpop songs: ‘Ice Cream Cake’ (didn’t this song just win a round in your Summer Countdown?), ‘Crazy'(this was a mega-hit), and 4 Walls (another mega-hit)….can’t wait to see what 50 songs got on your list that had ‘ballz’ enough to overpower these three….
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Thanks!
This list is very much my own opinion, so it’s not just filled with the most commercially popular songs of the year. There will plenty of those big hits, but also quite a few underappreciated tracks that really resonate with me 🙂
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Play with Me (or, better known as the K-Ville intro song), will forever be a favorite of mine. Also, Sangmin’s hair is… legendary.
Also (likely) on my top 50 is 4 Walls by F(x). I know you prefer View, and I do too, but I love 4 Walls’s subdued atmosphere so much.
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2015 is one of my fav years in Kpop. High school memories with View, 4 Walls, Ice Cream Cake, Sniper, Flower, Closer, etc..
Can’t wait to see what the Top 50 is! It’s gonna be a bloodbath for sure haha
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Crazy not in the top 10 is utter blasphemy
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How wow you crazy, how are Crazy, 4 walls, and Ice Cream cake not in your top 50? I just started my list and they are easily much much higher.
Sheesh, this year was stacked with goodies.
I started listening to kpop around end of 2014, so this was my inaugural full year. I remember hearing Taeyeon’s Peaches from the sky-ee yii ee yii eee iiii so many times on top ranking lists every week. (… “peaches from the sky” being what it sounds like to me)
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I’m the same as you, I only started regularly listening to weekly new kpop releases at the tail end of 2014 so this was such a magical year for me. The music was just so good across the board and everything in kpop felt so new and wondrous back then, along with there being so much to discover. Boy do I miss the feeling!
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