At the end of each month, I look back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists. I take my own ratings into account, but there’s a bit of wiggle room as certain songs tend to grow or fade.
October 2024 Overall Thoughts
I’ve probably opened with this overused phrase during previous Octobers, but I’m going to repeat myself anyway: This month was more of a trick than a treat.
I can’t remember another K-pop year with such distinct shifts in quality between its first and second halves. At this time back in June I was quietly thinking to myself that 2024 might end up being one of the stronger years in recent memory. There were so many great title tracks released during that period. But as the second half of the year has unfolded, it feels more and more like we’re getting the industry’s leftover dregs. I can’t think of a single major artist who has released their best work during this period. Within this unfortunate holding pattern, October ranks as my least favorite month of the bunch. There was so much potential from big-name acts but nearly everyone stumbled. In fact, October didn’t boast a single 9+ rated title track.
Up until today, I had exactly one song I’d pick for my top three and it still clinches first place. But like September, October’s final day offered a jolt of hope as I was able to add a K-pop legend to my roster. Here’s hoping he also features on November’s countdown!
There’s exactly one month left until eligibility for my year-end chart closes, meaning we’ve still got a few weeks for a highlight to make its mark. Most of my faith rests on TWS at this point, though G-Dragon’s album could also be a contender. Apart from that, I can’t say any upcoming teasers have me salivating. In fact, I feel like there hasn’t been many teasers at all? November’s not going to be another sparse month, is it? Come on, agencies! Let’s end the year with a bang.
After an above-average September, J-pop didn’t fare much better than K-pop this month. There were more singles I enjoyed, but few that really stood out. I’m really digging the new Perfume album and Sakuraka46’s latest EP, and just like K-pop there ended up being a new single from a favorite artist released on very last day of the month. Looking forward, I’m most anticipating Ryugujo’s first full-length album, which seems as though it may arrive around the same time as TWS’s comeback. That’s a windfall for me!
On the plus side, two of my favorite pop albums of the year came out this month! I’d highly recommend listening to Confidence Man and Benjamin Ingrosso’s new projects. Both are pretty stellar and quite different from each other. Let’s bring some of that sonic diversity back to K-pop.
Month Cumulative Rating: 7.7
(compiled by averaging the scores of every K-pop review from this month)
J-Pop Highlights
New & Noteworthy J-pop: Week One
New & Noteworthy J-pop: Week Two
New & Noteworthy J-pop: Week Three
New & Noteworthy J-pop: Week Four
TOP J-POP SONGS OF THE MONTH
3. One Love One Heart – Monogatari wa koko kara
2. Sakurazaka46 – Bokuha bokuwo sukininarenai
1. Perfume – Cosmic Treat
K-POP
Honorable Mentions
AB6IX – NVKED (review)
aespa – Whiplash (review)
AMPERS&ONE – He + She = We (review)
BEWAVE – Hard To Get To You (review)
Cho Yong Pil – It’ll Be Okay (review)
Hello Gloom – Somebody (ft. Justin Park) (review)
Jay Park – Gimme A Minute (ft. Chungha) (review)
Moon Jongup – Twist Ya (review)
Purple Kiss – On My Bike (review)
Rosé & Bruno Mars – APT.(review)
Seventeen – Eyes On You (review)
STAYC – GPT (review)
TIOT – The Long Season (review)
82MAJOR – Stuck (review)
This Month’s Risers and Fallers
This Month’s Global Pop Round-Up
TOP THREE SONGS
3. ITZY – Imaginary Friend (review)
2. G-Dragon – Power (review)
1. The Wind – Hello, My First Love (review)
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of September 2024
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of August 2024
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of July 2024
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of June 2024
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of May 2024
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Did you mean to say number 2 for G-Dragon’s Power?
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Yes. Oops!
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Oof, October wasn’t really a strong month, was it now? I remember anticipating a lot cause so many big acts were coming, and the competition would be intense, but alas, I learned not to expect too much.
But well, for me, it’s an alright month. K-Pop really saved its bangers for January and June and decided not to have us get *too* used to great songs, so they gave us the okay, the bad, and the good, but not 9+ worthy bangers.
Anyways, my Top 3 would be:
1- Whiplash (aespa)
2- Night before the end (Xdinary Heroes)
3- Imaginary Friend (ITZY)
And for J-Pop, Pikkaan and Feel Gold have been on loop for days, so they’re both my top songs for J-Pop (Pikkaan has a slight edge over Feel Gold). Cosmic Treat comes a close third.
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Oh and honorable mentions goes to 82Major, Ampers&One, AB6IX and STAYC :p
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Honorable Mentions
AB6IX – NVKED
Kiss Of Life – Get Loud
Aespa – Whiplash
Bewave – Hard To Get To You
Sorn – Nobody
TIOT – The Long Season
Yoon Seobin – Rizz
3. Moon Jongup – Twist Ya
2. The Wind – Hello, My First Love
1. The Boyz – Trigger
Month Cumulative Rating: 7.7 too
I didn’t hate the month of October so much, it certainly could have been better but it wasn’t. TBH I think this year we had worse months.
I’ve been going to The Bias List for many years, I’ve never commented before because I couldn’t and also because I’m a foreigner (Brazilian more specifically)
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I ain’t got nothing much for October.
BOL4 aka Bolbbalgan4 put out a nice dance track “Bloom”.
Forestella had another edition in their cinematic audition reel out as well – “Apocalypse”. Really, someone has got to hire them for some epic superhero moment original song because it would be epic.
ACE put out a teaser today for an album to be released later November. The video itself is very BTS “Black Swan” style contemporary dance to a backing track from Mozart’s Requiem + remix. So who knows, maybe we will get old ACE back soon. ACE also being Forestella’s labelmates.
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Gosh I miss old A.C.E. That teaser gives me a bit of hope!
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im not as big on kpop this month so i dont have a top 10, so here’s the only thing im gonna say in response to everything else surrounding the industry and fandom:
FUCK KNETZ FUCK KNETZ FUCK KNETZ FUCK KNETZ FUCK KNETZ FUCK KNETZ FUCK KNETZ FUCK KNETZ FUCK KNETZ
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genuine question, did something happen?
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oh, its just been knetz and korean media being scandal-hungry as ever 🙄
we’ve gotten ppl storming hybe with wreaths trying to get yoongi kicked out of bts, seunghan being kicked out, and jessi having her career in jeopardy, as well as the feud with [REDACTED] and hybe
its been horrible for armys like me and kpop stans this month
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To be fair, it’s not kpop in October unless some major scandal or tragedy occurs.
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The fact that I’m still listening to songs from years ago rather than recent releases kind of says it all (or maybe it says something about me). Waiting expectantly for GD’s album though..
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I affirm The Wind supremacy
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The only songs I LOVED were:
❤️Yuta- Off the Mask / Bad Euphoria
Honorables:
Tiot – The Long Season
Itzy – Imaginary Friend
Ampers&One – He+She=We
One Pact – Deserved
Dxmon – ZipZipZip🤷🏻♀️
CNBlue – A Sleepless Night
Yoo Taeyang – Hug Me
Vahn – I swear
HelloGloom- Somebody
&Team- Jyuugoya / Big Love**
Woosung- 44 / Puzzle Cuts**
I’ll leave JongUp’s “Twist Ya” for next month because I have not listened to it enough✌🏻
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My highlights of the month have been Itzy’s Gold and Aespa’s Whiplash (Kill It is a gem of a B-Side too!)
I also didn’t get to listen to Yena’s NemoNemo until October, and the song came out on the last day of September, so she’s kind of an honorable mention for me. I think it’s going to be a contender for my favorite song of the year alongside Justice by Dreamcatcher.
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Highlights for me, in no particular order:
Moon Jongup – Twist Ya
Sooyoung – Unstoppable
Hello Gloom – Somebody
Itzy – Imaginary Friend
Honourable mention goes to Yuta’s Off the Mask, because it may not be the kind of song I listen to on a daily basis but I adore that he released it, you know? Whiplash was fun, too. Strangely, my most listened-to song this month was actually Mantra, which has been stuck in my head since the day it was released. The lyrics are godawful but fun in a singing into your hairbrush kind of way 😅
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