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The Top 10 K-Pop Artists of 2023

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The Top 10 K-Pop Artists of 2023Now that I’ve taken a look at the new acts that colored 2023, it’s time to focus on their established counterparts. For me, most K-pop years are defined more by their rookies than older artists, and 2023 was no different. As usual, the criteria is built around these three facets:

  1. Quality of work
  2. Quantity of work
  3. Influence of work on the industry

As usual, the first criteria far outweighs the next two, and is entirely subjective. This is not a countdown of the most successful or prolific acts in 2023. This is a celebration of the groups/artists that really shaped the year for me. Rookies are ineligible, as they have their own countdown.

In what must be a record, only one artist on this year’s list was also on 2022’s countdown. K-pop is proving to be a fickle, inconsistent industry…

HONORABLE MENTIONS
aespa
Golden Child
H1-KEY
NewJeans
TXT

2023 END-OF-YEAR MASTERPOST

10. NCT DREAM

NCT Dream

Of all NCT’s many entities, Dream appealed to me most this year. They’re on this list mainly for the double punch of Broken Melodies and ISTJ — two of their strongest singles in years. I found the accompanying album pretty patchy, but after this year I have hope the group will continue to deliver music that can rival their biggest highlights.

Last Year: n/a

2023 Singles: Best Friend Ever, Broken Melodies, ISTJ

9. IVE

IVE

When it comes to musical output, IVE’s 2023 was a mixed bag. However, they released more songs than ever — including their first full album. Among these was the triumphant I Am, one of my favorite releases of the year. I can’t say I was as enamored with the music that followed, but I’m happy to see the group come into their own and lead the industry with a distinct sound.

Last Year: 1

2023 Singles: Kitsch, I Am, Wave, I Want, Either Way, Off The Record, Baddie

8. STAYC

STAYC

STAYC went bright and poppy this year, which is right within my wheelhouse. It’s a sonic shift I hadn’t expected, and is probably pretty polarizing among fans. But when it comes to upbeat girl group pop, songs like Teddy Bear and Bubble were right up there with the best.

Last Year: n/a

2023 Singles: Teddy Bear, Bubble, Lit

7. FROM20

from20

As the years have gone on, I feel like I’ve leaned into smaller, less-known acts with their own specific vision as an artist. from20 isn’t a huge name in K-pop, but he should be. Over the past couple of years, he’s delivered a series of fantastic synth-fueled highlights. His work in 2023 was all killer, no filler (even though there wasn’t enough of it!)

Last Year: n/a

2023 Singles: Bad Revenge, Beat It

6. INFINITE

Infinite

A year with a long-awaited comeback from Infinite should guarantee them a place at the top of my list, right? The fact that they’ve returned at all — under their own agency, no less! — earns them a spot in this ranking. I don’t think the music was up to par with their talent, but I’m so happy to have them active in K-pop again. Solo releases were icing on the cake, and I’m hoping some stellar group work will vault them to the top this time next year.

Last Year: n/a

2023 Singles: New Emotions

Solo Singles: Small Talk, Melody, Starting Over, Baby Baby

5. SHINEE

SHINee

Another veteran act joins the countdown! SHINee hold a similar place in my heart as Infinite, though they haven’t been inactive as long. And though I didn’t think Hard was one of their best, it delivered the excellent The Feeling. Solo efforts from the members also stood out, proving that SHINee have no intention of slowing down. Long may they reign!

Last Year: n/a

2023 Singles: The Feeling, Hard

Solo Singles: Killer, O (Circle), Good & Great, Guilty 

4. TAN

TAN

What’s this here? TAN were ranked toward the bottom of my rookies list last year, but they impressed me all the way through 2023. First, a great comeback with the second-gen sounding Fix You. Then, an even better comeback with a very strong mini album. And finally, a Japanese version of one of the year’s most addicting b-sides. Musically, TAN are on a roll and it’s wonderful to see.

Last Year: n/a

2023 Singles: Fix You, Heartbeat, Violet

3. NINE.i

NINE.i

I guess 2023 was the year of unexpected triumphs. I thought NINE.i’s 2022 was fine, but with a single mini album this summer they’ve cemented themselves as one of my most anticipated acts. Member Vahn has proven a compelling songwriter, co-writing Golden Child’s excellent Feel Me as well as his own group’s output. And by hitching their wagons to the always-reliable Sweetune train, the guys have quickly carved out a niche that sets them apart in the industry.

Last Year: n/a

2023 Singles: Turn It Off, Neverland

2. JUNGKOOK

Jungkook

Look, I’m as shocked as anyone to see Jungkook place so high. It’s not that I dislike him or BTS. I was an enthusiastic, early supporter. However, their transition to global hitmakers has not been without its sacrifices and I wasn’t putting much stock into Jungkook’s solo endeavors. But by proudly wearing its influences on its sleeve, his music ended up hitting so many points of nostalgia. Every single he released was a standout.

Last Year: n/a

2023 Singles: Seven, 3D, Standing Next To You

1. THE BOYZ

The Boyz

This has been a weird year for established acts, because even though The Boyz sit at the top of my list I really only liked some of their 2023 music. However, I can’t think of another non-rookie act that released two back-to-back title tracks I enjoyed as much as Lip Gloss and Watch It. Add a great summer mini album to the mix and we have an unusually consistent year (we’ll forget about their so-so February comeback). The Boyz have always been a group I’ve wanted to enjoy more than I actually did, but 2023 was the year I found myself playing their music more often than not.

Last Year: n/a

2023 Singles: Roar, Delicious, Lip Gloss, Watch It

24 thoughts on “The Top 10 K-Pop Artists of 2023”

  1. To have NewJeans as a mere honourable mention is WILD. They had multiple comebacks, all of them massive hits, and influenced so many other kpop acts.

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  3. THE BOYZ are #1 for me too. I pretty much gave up on them after Maverick (“Back in the game, son” is still one of the worst English lines I have ever heard in Kpop) but I think they’ve redeemed themselves this year. I feel like they gave us everything–elegant and sophisticated (Roar, my favorite choreo of the year), sunny and bright (Lip Gloss), cool and stylish (Watch It). I even went back and listened to Be Awake and found some b-side gems (Savior, Diamond Life). Hopefully they’ll come back next year with a great final installment of Phantasy with everyone healthy.

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  4. For me. Hm.
    SHINee (group and solo)
    EXO (and Kai)
    Jungkook (just as surprised as everyone else)
    NCT (all units made songs I love)
    TAN
    Purple Kiss
    NINE-i
    fromis_9
    D’allant
    Cocona
    Gwanjil Jo
    Teen Top
    Monsta X

    A lot of groups had one song i loved but the rest was eh. That would be a novel.

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  5. Goodness, I couldn’t do a top 10. I know who my #1 would be (not hard to guess! *coughNewJeans*). I’d have to cheat for my #2 and say: Sweetune. Last year it was his work with RoaD-B, and this year it was NINE.I’s Turn It Off & n.SSign’s Melody.

    I burned a CD (yes, I’m old!) with this tracklist, and it’s like the best Infinite EP never made: 1) Nonstop, 2) Icarus, 3) Turn It Off, 4) Melody, 5-8) New Emotions (+ the rest of Infinite’s new one). Fair to say my fantasy album is my favorite album of the year…

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  6. Oh wow, I was reading and thought the Boyz must be on this list, but as I got to number 2, I thought wait maybe not, but very glad to see them at number one – they definitely deserve it imo and I was hoping they’d top it. They delivered quality and were a very welcome surprise this year, especially their last 2 releases. The lip gloss album is fantastic, and then Watch it turned out to be an amazing song too. I’ve really become a big fan of them, and the members have great and fun personalities it seems.

    Despite this I have to put aespa at the top of my list for this year. Spicy is amazing and Drama has grown on me a lot too, and their respective mini albums have many great songs (welcome to my world, thirsty, salty and sweet, don’t blink, trick or trick, yolo, hot air balloon). And hold on tight is also a great song.

    I think fromis also had a great year. The unlock my world album was really solid and had many highlights. Probably 2nd for me.

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  7. 2023 was definitely a mixed bag for me that it’s very hard to pinpoint a lot of artists that consistently succeeded to catch my attention.

    Trendz is the first one to come to my with 2 wholes cbs I loved. Seventeen as well with the same criteria!

    TXT too even though Sugar Rush Ride wasn’t my thing their music was notable.

    Ive probably fits the bill really well too. I Am was great, Kitsch and surprisingly Baddie were growers – and Either Way and Off the Record are really memorable bsides for me – so Ive does classify.

    StayC and Nmixx get mentions too!

    A lot of the little groups were what I would pick out as notable for me, ones which I anticipated their comebacks – Xodiac, Hor17on, Trendz, Superkind etc.

    Overall it wasn’t really an year of any artists – it was more about an year of good songs from various perhaps even unexpected artists for me!

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  9. Hmm, an unordered list of 10 artists I paid attention to this year (usually this meant at least 2 good tracks or one great track with a great video/dance):
    Somi
    AKMU
    Gidle
    TXT
    Seventeen
    StayC
    Ive
    Yuju (biased for her voice but also I’m getting back into disco as my kpop gateway drug)
    Viviz
    CSR perhaps?
    Hon. Mention Dreamcatcher bc I didn’t connect with the music but the artistry in dances, videos, covers, publicity is still wonderful

    I wish they had cooler stuff but they’re still faves: Mamamoo, Red Velvet, Twice, Dreamnote, Pink Fantasy, Hyoyeon

    This year I also became obsessed with/soundtracked: Dalshabet, Laboum, Berry Good, Nine Muses (again), Wonder Girls (again), Block B (again). I don’t appear to have covered any new music from 2023 aside from I Am (which I think tends to be indicative of whether music sticks with me) but did learn some dances).

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  10. as this comments sections designated deobi even though tbh i dont rlly keep up w them as much anymore its kinda funny seeing u put tbz up so high bc my 2023 boyz tt ranking is the complete inverse of urs (roar>>>>>>>>>>watch it>>>lip gloss)

    and also for the group themselves id say their roar comeback was definitely their highlight of the year in terms of both music and promotion like their cbs have had problems w messy planning/promotion for quite a bit now but i didnt rlly see any issues there during that cb so yeah

    phantasy on the other hand……well its definitely no whisper cb era (😵‍💫) but there was definitely a huge dip there imo ist releasing the album in parts kinda feels like they were just gonna release separate minis but saw how pissed fans were that there wasnt a full album so to ward them off they just slapped “phantasy pt ___” on each of them and called it a day…..also idk if u saw anything abt this but right after lip gloss came out fans discovered that kevin had a hand in writing the english lyrics on passion fruit (one of the bsides) but wasnt credited at all (which mind u he had to reveal to fans in code so that he wouldnt get reprimanded) which left a rlly bad taste in a lot of fans mouths abt the cb (and considering kevin has a long history both of contributing to tbzs music/creative stuff and being purposefully shunned from opportunities many other members get at the drop of a hat bc of how outspoken he is……yeah)

    anyway sorry this was long i just felt the need to put my thoughts here

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  13. My KPOP MVPs for 2023 were:

    Fromis_9
    From20
    50/50
    Dreamcatcher
    TNX
    TAN
    THEBOYZ
    NCT Dream (this was a shocker)
    Seventeen

    I listened more K-Indie & K-R&B this year on top of my mainstream listenings.

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