Wow, what a change a year can make! At this point in 2023, I was only able to pick a small handful of tracks to feature in my mid-year countdown, but 2024 has me spoiled for choice. My list is unusually long this time and probably won’t be all that surprising (barring one or two tracks, maybe).
You’ll notice a few MVP acts pop up more than once. But really, there’s nice variety here representing every month of the year so far. As usual, tracks are presented in alphabetical order. Ranking will come at the end of the year. The great news is, I’ve already got at least three “song of the year” contenders. I won’t be revealing which three they are (of course), but you’re welcome to guess!
Next up will be mid-year features on K-pop albums, J-pop songs/albums and global pop songs/albums.
What were your favorite singles during the first half of 2024?
TOP SINGLES
aespa – Supernova
aespa’s biggest chart hit yet and a welcome nod to both SM’s electro past and the roots of hip-hop courtesy of its well-used Planet Rock sample. (full review)
BOYNEXTDOOR – Earth, Wind & Fire
BOYNEXTDOOR’s music has fully, finally clicked with me over the past few months, and Earth, Wind & Fire‘s madcap energy makes it the biggest riser on this countdown. (full review)
Hello Gloom – Mamacita
The guys of WAYBETTER love their house music, and Hello Gloom’s Mamacita is an irresistible burst of upbeat energy built around a shout-from-the-rafters chorus. (full review)
Kep1er – Shooting Star
Kep1er finally embrace their full potential with this ethereal, sentimental dance track. They’ve never sounded better, especially as that layered chorus unfurls. (full review)
Nayeon – ABCD
Twice’s Nayeon delivers the full pop superstar experience, lacing every powerful segment of ABCD with undeniable charisma. The song absolutely slays. (full review)
OnlyOneOf – dOpamine
OnlyOneOf injected their sensual sound with trendy drum and bass for dOpamine, but it’s the song’s megawatt chorus that earns it a place on this list. (full review)
RIIZE – Boom Boom Bass
Pairing again with their Get A Guitar collaborators, RIIZE bring the funk with Boom Boom Bass‘s taut, groovy frame. It’s an all-killer, no-filler spike of excitement. (full review)
RIIZE – Impossible
Impossible echoes the summer house energy of SHINee’s View but paints it with RIIZE’s colors. The bridge and outro are still among 2024’s most thrilling musical moments. (full review)
SF9 – Bibora
Releasing your strongest single eight years into promotions is quite unusual, but SF9 may have pulled it off with the brisk, thrilling Bibora. (full review)
TAN – Hypertonic
While it looks like Hypertonic may become TAN’s swan song, they went out on an undeniable high. The track’s electro crunch will definitely appeal to fans of K-pop’s second-gen talents. (full review)
TRENDZ – Go Up
Never doubt the power of a veteran producer. Brave Brothers reinvented TRENDZ’s sound with this driving, anthemic burst of rock-tinged tropical pop. It’s pretty much everything I want in a K-pop single. (full review)
TWS – hey! hey!
Hey! hey! streamlines TWS’s youthful sound into a turbo-charged power pop anthem aiming for stadium sing-alongs. It’s this summer’s perfect burst of optimism. (full review)
TWS – If I’m S, Can You Be My N?
A confetti cannon of sugary pop hooks, If I’m S grows more addicting with each listen. The rollicking rap verses are a highlight, punctuated by an effusive chorus. (full review)
TWS – Plot Twist
Plot Twist took over Korean charts this year, its quirky-cute charms instantly crystallizing TWS’s musical worldview. The chant-along climax is great payoff, but the iconic chorus is the main calling card. (full review)
The Wind – H! Teen
Fans of bright boy group fare have been spoiled for choice this year, but to those who haven’t fully embraced The Wind I’d urge you to check them out. This fizzy, buoyant title track would be a great start. (full review)
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
So what would your current rating be for Earth, Wind & Fire?
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9
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DAMN! It grew so much for you! I initially loved it and I still do! 😂
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Eeek!!! I’m surprised and grateful that this year is full of so many good tracks.
Here’s my big list of songs that could make my top 10 btw:
RIIZE – Impossible, Boom Boom Bass
æspa – Supernova
ITZY – Untouchable
TWS – hey hey!, SN, plot twist
NMIXX – Run For Roses
TWICE – I Got You, One Spark
OnlyOneOf – dOpamine
Nayeon (TWICE) – ABCD
Suho (EXO) – 1 to 3
Red Velvet – Cosmic
ZB1 – Sweat
IVE – Heya
Kiss Of Life – Midas Touch
SF9 – Bibora
TAN – Hypertonic
from20 – Demon
IDK there’s just so many good songs this year that I’m going to have a hard time picking a top 10 smh.
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Again, I have to insist that the Planet Rock “sample” is itself a sample of a Kraftwerk tune – and Kraftwerk were pioneers of electronic music and its many branches – synthpop, techno, house, yes, hip-hop too!, and EDM (in fact, the famous album cover to Warp Records’ compilation Artificial Intelligence features a robot on a couch listening to Kraftwerk’s Autobahn, the album displayed on the floor), on up to today.
So to sum up, if Supernova is an electrpop tune, then the Planet Rock sample is a nod to Kraftwerk and the origins of electronic music (which includes, but not only includes, hip-hop).
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Sorry, I meant IDM not EDM. (IDM refers to groups like Aphex Twin, Autechre, Squarepusher, Boards of Canada, Amon Tobin, μ-Ziq, The Black Dog, The Future Sound of London, Mouse on Mars, Biosphere, Orbital, Luke Vibert, and the Warp Records label.)
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my favorites so far:
TWS – Oh Mymy : 7s, If I’m S, Can You Be My N?
ITZY – UNTOUCHABLE
NMIXX – DASH
(G)I-DLE – Super Lady
Chungha – I’m Ready
ILLIT – Magnetic
BABYMONSTER – LIKE THAT
KISS OF LIFE – Midas Touch
RIIZE – Impossible, Boom Boom Bass
ZEROBASEONE – SWEAT
IVE – Accendio
aespa – Supernova
Kep1er – Shooting Star
BADVILLAIN – BADVILLAIN
Nayeon – ABCD
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Oh! I like that I’m not the only one who has those two as their favorite picks from TWS haha
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oh hey twin! I’ve been an Oh Mymy : 7s enjoyer since day one and SN has my favorite chorus of the year so far.
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I was…not an Oh Mymy enjoyer from day 1, but it grew on me exponentially 😆. S&N caught my attention right off though!
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Earth wind and fire left me quite surprised! I’m glad it’s here, even when I much prefer BND’s last year’s singles. So that makes the 5th gen take over almost the whole list lol, while I’m not good at making these countdowns, I’ll just say that I enjoyed most of the releases counted here, it’s been a great first half of the year. For the second half, waiting on the established acts to bring something good too, I’m also glad that SM is having such a good year and makes me less worried about their older acts getting bad releases this year. It could just be that Hybe is a good enough competition for them, so we can see them try their best for once..
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I don’t have many favorites this year. Not much has stuck with me. The ones I rate, roughly in order:
RIIZE – Impossible
NMIXX – Dash
Sungkyu & Woohyun – Beautiful
B1A4 – Rewind
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Feeling lazy, so I’m just going to post my playlist of what I’ve collected so far.
But, narrowing down further, here are the songs that have been particularly significant in my half year:
From the guys:
Countdown to Love – P1Harmony
Nectar – The Boyz
Jackpot – VANNER
Rainbow – Kyuhyun
Love 119 – RIIZE
Oh Mymy, S & N – TWS
Cold Killer – Hui
Love or Die – Cravity
Old Skool – L.S.S.
Beautiful – Sungkyu & Woohyun
Sad Ending – DAY6
Simple Joys, About Time – D.O.
NEURON – j-hope, Gaeko, Yoon Mirae
Money On My Mind, Paint It – Xdinary Heroes
Tongue Tied – Key
Remember – Chen
From the girls, I’m really enjoying the power grouping of:
Untouchable – Itzy
Midas Touch – Kiss of Life
Supernova – aespa
HEYA – IVE
ABCD – Nayeon
As well as:
New New, I Got You, You Get Me – Twice
Cosmic – Red Velvet
Shooting Star – Kep1er
Virtual Angel, Butterfly Effect – ARTMS
Around this time last year, I was losing my mind over Broken Melodies and SHINee b-sides. I have yet to find anything that quite matches that level of excitement this year, but I’m decently fond of the list I’ve got going so far.
My guesses for Nick’s SOY contenders:
Impossible
Hey! Hey!
Go Up
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having an itzy song on a playlist with that title does not lend it much credibility
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Hahaha fair enough. Those are the first Itzy songs I have ever found to be listenable. Their stuff is usually not my thing. I’m curious to see how much longevity these will have with me.
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Hey now! Untouchable is one of my favorite songs too. If the fifteen choices in this post are in the “A” tier, it’s definitely in the “B” tier for me.
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Lemme drop a few of my 2024 faves since everyone’s doing it hehehe
UhUh (Rescene)
Demigod and Bite Me (ICHILLIN’)
Hey! Hey! (TWS)
Shooting Star (Kep1er)
Supernova (aespa) (fun fact: I played this 350+ times as of now in a little more than a month, my second most played song this year so far)
Geekin’ (Younite)
Bibora (SF9)
Cosmic (ReVe)
Songbird (NCT Wish)
I Got You (Twice)
And some B-sides I liked:
Prologue (aespa)
La Luna (ICHILLIN’) (yes, I know it was released back in ‘22, but she gets a second chance anyways cause of the 2024 version and I will shamelessly promote the song hehehe)
I’m Ready (Chungha)
Supercalifragilistic (xikers) (my most played song this year, I love club bangers <3)
Ape (Taeyong)
Might have forgotten some, but whatevs, my list would be too long if I added all my faves ￣_(ツ)_/￣
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Yay someone recognized Rescene!! Rescene has had an incredible start and I’m eager to see what they’ll do next
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Top albums:
Top b-sides:
Guessing your 3 SOTY contenders ^^
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my favourites
sf9 bibora
aespa supernova
riize impossible
can you please review old song laser beam by perfume please?
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No, but I like Laser Beam quite a bit. One of Perfume’s best singles, really.
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ok
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Here’s my list of my 50 top titles and b sides, alternating. I start with b sides because they seem to resonate with me more than titles this year (famous last words).
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48? Ugh. I’ll update it and there will be 50. Sheesh that Spotify app.
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Yay, Supercalifragilistic is in the list! ^o^ It’s actually my most played song this year so far (unless Supernova surpasses it), wish KQ promoted it as well, it sounds like it’d be a fun party live
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Yes, you know it would get a room rocking!
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any songs that just missed the list? 👀
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Plenty! Here are some “B” tier tracks that didn’t quite make the “A” tier:
DXMON – Girls, Love Boys, Love Girls
EPEX – Youth2Youth
Fantasy Boys – Pitter-Patter-Love
ITZY – Untouchable
Just B – Daddy’s Girl
Kiss Of Life – Midas Touch
RIIZE – Love 119
Vanner – Jackpot
Waker – Atlantis
YOUNITE – Geekin
ZEROBASEONE – Sweat
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For your top three (I think these are the ones you’ve given most adoration to; unless something grand changes in Q3 & Q4, I’m pretty confident these would be the top 3, maybe even in this order)
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Like from bottom to top:
3. Impossible
2. Hey! hey!
1. Plot Twist
I know the top rookie this year will defiantly be TWS, but I’m curious to see with the debut of SMNGG. Their promotion seemed to be leaning heavily to early SNSD. Like imagine if we get an ‘Into the New World’? I feel like I would stop breathing.
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I wanted to make a similar guess for the top three, but that debut really might bring something interesting, also I’ve noticed that august usually brings a lot of high picks on this blog🤔
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It’s a shame, whatever happened with The Wind and them eventually losing their main vocalist who added so much to their songs from last year. I wish I enjoyed their recent release more, because they were my favourite debut from last year – I just hope they can continue to bring that bright melodic sound though! Between them and TWS, they’re really capturing that sound well.
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so my top 10 so far is:
still sad that jpop has fallen off a cliff this year ☹️
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Our boy group picks are pretty similar, but on the gg side, mine would include Midas Touch (Kiss of Life), TBH (Qwer), I’m Ready (Chungha), and Magnetic (Illit).
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i’ve been thinking about my favorite k-pop songs of 2024 so far and i honestly don’t know if it’s recency bias, but it feels like the past 2 months were so much better than the rest of the year 😭
౨ৎ best songs of the year:
supernova – aespa
cosmic – red velvet
abcd – nayeon
virtual angel – artms
dash/run for roses – nmixx
shooting star – kep1er
accendio – ive
hey! hey!/plot twist – tws
love or die – cravity
౨ৎ (bonus) guilty pleasures of the year:
my idol – x:in
daddy’s girl – justb
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My Idol lovers can now be in public🥹😍
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Respect, respect.
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My personal favs so far are
Untouchable – Itzy
Super Lady – (G) I-DLE
Midas Touch – KISS OF LIFE
Girls’ Night – Loossemble
Feel the POP – ZEROBASEONE
Supernova – Mothers/aespa😍
Shooting Star – Kep1er
Poongdung – cignature
Cosmic – My Ult Mothers/Red Velvet
ABCD(Original Or Extended Version which I’m so happy they put on Spotify) – NAYEON
Songbird – NCT WISH
and even though it just came out🫣
Sticky – KISS OF LIFE(it’s so addictive they sound great!!)
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Pretty solid list! (And it’s especially nice to see Girl’s Night here!)
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mine is shooting star by kep1er, midas touch by kiss of life, love or die by cravity, hey hey by tws, impossible by riize, and armagaddeon by aespa
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Thats a good list!
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Yay! A fellow Armageddon lover!
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It’s been a pretty solid year so far, and June was particularly good. Hopefully the summer and the latter half of the year will have its fair share of highlights as well.
These are my favorites for the first half of the year:
Ten- Nightwalker (The soft vocals contrasted with the gritty/crunchy instrumental is delightful.)
Cravity- Love or Die (The energy in this one does not let up and it is all the better for it.)
Riize- Impossible (Easily one of the best releases of the year so far and it just screams summer which of course earns an already great song like this bonus points in my book.)
IVE- Heya (While perhaps not IVE’s best it has still held solid footing in my replays and chorus just begs you to sing along.)
Aespa- Supernova (The groovy beat simply sweeps you away and demands you move to it.)
Younite- Geekin (This years biggest surprise for me so far. The instrumental is slick, addictive, and carries it edge throughout the entire song. It has a solid spot on my work out playlist.)
TWS- Hey!Hey! (I have not fully gotten into all of TWS’s releases yet but this is an easy standout.)
ARTMS- Virtual Angel (This one isn’t as grand as some of the others but it has the ethereal/magical girl group vibes I do love.)
Nayeon- ABCD (I first listened to this one two days ago but I am predicting an upward trend in the longevity of this one.)
NCT Wish- Songbird (This blurs the line between kpop and Jpop but so far they have released both Korean and Japanese versions for all of their songs so I am going to count it anyway. Regardless of what you call it, this is my favorite title track released so far this year. The stacked vocal chorus and powerful bursts of guitar just makes me want to hit the replay button over and over again.)
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Top 10:
ONF – Bye My Monster
Red Velvet – Cosmic
CIX – Lovers or Enemies
Cravity – Love or Die
SF9 – Bibora
Waker – Atlantis
Riize – Impossible
Younite – Geekin
Aespa – Supernova
KoL – Midas Touch
Honorables:
Kepler – Shooting Stars
TWS – HeyHey
n.Sign – Happy&
TheBoyz – Nectar
Day6 – Welcome to the Show
Favorite Bsides:
BND – So Lets Go See the Stars
Elast – Fade Out
TAN – If You Could Hear Me
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good list…I would only add HEYA, ACCENDIO and COSMIC …and the year is only half over! 👍👍
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I wonder if you have heard the AI cover of Boom Boom Bass by SHINee? I hate to say that SHINee just makes everything better, especially that opening with Jonghyun’s voice. The same channel also just posted their cover of NewJeans’ Supernatural. Oh wow it became so SHINee-coded.
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