I remain committed to shining a spotlight on K-pop producers each year, but this list is becoming harder to create. The days of “super producers” with signature sounds seem to be behind us. The industry now stuffs its song credits with many names, making it more difficult to discern which producer is responsible for what. I firmly believe this approach is responsible for some of K-pop’s more generic leanings of late, but that’s just the way it is at the moment. Because of this, my list is shortened from ten to eight this year.
No Sweetune in 2024, unfortunately!
2024 Year-End Masterpost
8. BRAVE BROTHERS
Superstar producers of yore are becoming less frequent in K-pop, but I’m always happy to have someone like Brave Brothers back in the business. As usual, he gave his best 2024 material to a group that isn’t even part of his agency.
2024 Highlights:
TRENDZ – Go Up
DKB – Flirting X, Traveler, Hello Goodbye (Rollercoaster)
Candy Shop – Good Girl, Candy#, Don’t Cry, Tumbler (Hot & Cold),
7. DAVID WILSON
Among the various names in K-pop’s song camps, David Wilson sticks out as a talent who had his hand in a number of my favorite 2024 tracks. I mean, co-composing Impossible and Love 119 alone shows his versatility.
2024 Highlights:
RIIZE – Impossible, Love 119
Twice – I Got You
NMIXX – Passionfruit
&TEAM – Beat The Odds, Big Suki
Key – Overthink
Chuu – Strawberry Rush
ZEROBASEONE – Feel The Pop, You Had Me At Hello
NCT Dream – icantfeelanything
6. POP TIME / KAKO
Pop Time had more credits than the ones listed below, but it was his work with Kako that truly stood out. The duo was responsible for most of BOYNEXTDOOR’s material — alongside the members themselves, of course.
2024 Highlights:
BOYNEXTDOOR – Earth, Wind & Fire, So Let’s Go See The Stars, Nice Guy, Dangerous, Amnesia, Life Is Cool, Dear. My Darling, Gonna Be A Rock, 20, Call Me
Yena – NEMONEMO
(G)I-DLE – Revenge
5. VAHN
Vahn slips just a bit compared to last year’s ranking because his 2024 work was mainly devoted to his own solo projects. However, those solo projects were universally great so it’s hard to argue with quality!
2024 Highlights:
Vahn – Crush On You, D.T.R (Daily Temperature Range), What Is It?, Sweet!, Feeling, Seasons, Tonight, Sucker For You, I Swear, Goodbye
RE:REVOLUTION – Volcano
4. HELLO GLOOM
Hello Gloom produces all of his own work as well as the music from agency-mate from20. All of it was great this year. He also branched out by offering a ballad to ex-bandmate Park Jeup.
2024 Highlights:
Hello Gloom – Mamacita, Somebody
from20 – Demon
from20 x Hello Gloom – Your Love, Blue
Park Jeup – My Everything
3. KENZIE
22 years into her career, Kenzie continues to be one of the most important composers in the industry. SM Entertainment is lucky to have her, but she also writes for other agencies. The mammoth success of Supernova alone earns her a place on this list, but there’s so many other highlights beyond that.
2024 Highlights:
aespa – Supernova, Bahama, Hot Mess
RIIZE – Combo
ZEROBASEONE – Good So Bad
TWS – Keep On
NCT Wish – Wish, Steady, Hands Up, Touchdown
Bang Yedam & Winter – Officially Cool
WayV – Give Me That, Go Higher
Red Velvet – Cosmic
Key – Fresh
NCT 127 – Like A Movie
Irene – Calling Me Back
Doyoung – Dallas Love Field
2. KZ / DINT / 1984 / NTHONIUS / MEISOBO
My favorite production team of 2023 maintains their successful batting average with some great material for The Wind. The team extended their reach this year with strong work for other acts. They’re one of the few currently-working teams who seem to have their own sound and approach to music.
2024 Highlights:
The Wind – Hello, My First Love, Friendship, Heart Fluttering, Sirius Pt.2
WHIB – Play
EPEX – It Is What It Is
Younha – Quasar
1. WASURENAI (BUMZU) / JEON JIN / GLENN / HEON SEO / T-SK
TWS’s song credits are stuffed with different names, but these seem to be the core talents behind their biggest hits. I didn’t learn until just now that Wasurenai is actually a pseudonym for producer Bumzu (of Seventeen, Nu’est fame), which makes me marvel at his versatility. I applaud the alchemy this team has managed to forge because their material feels specific and refreshingly trend-free. I hope they continue to pump out hits in 2025.
2024 Highlights:
TWS – Plot Twist, If I’m S, Could You Be My N?, hey! hey!, Oh Mymy: 7s, Unplugged Boy, You+Me=7942, Keep On, Last Festival
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I’d never have guessed that the producer of aespa’s Supernova also did RIIZE’s Combo and Red Velvet’s Cosmic. Or that the producer of RIIZE’s Impossible also did NMIXX’s Passionfruit. I guess that’s cool? But I miss the days when my favorite producers had identifiable sounds and styles that were unique to them. I used to feel that way about Brave Brothers, but I struggle to hear his patented sounds in recent years. Okay, I’ll stump being a grump, haha;)
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“Stump”? bloody typos
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Kenzie did not PRODUCE Supernova though.
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I mean, she’s not technically listed as a “producer” on Combo either. For the purpose of this blog, I consider “composer” and “producer” to be somewhat synonymous, though obviously they are not the exact same thing. But calling this countdown “The Top K-pop Producers/Composers/Arrangers” is way too wordy 😅
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I’m always amazed by Kenzie, she really is super. Feels like every year she has new things to offer, and her talent really is timeless, considering her legendary songs like Into the New World
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He’s so young, but I feel like Vahn already has a signature style – his work is so melody-focused, and he excels at a driving, yearning sound that really suits both him and NINE.i. Like, it was a mind-blowing moment when I realised he also worked on Golcha’s Feel Me last year – things really slotted into place when I realised he was one of the producers there, too, because the kind of music he seems to prefer really comes through. I really wish the group, and him individually, can find more ways to shine – they’re so talented!
I knew Prismfilter were obviously working with TWS but I didn’t know Bumzu was behind Wasurenai. It gives me a lot of joy to see the Pledis tradition continue!
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I would also include Ryan S. Jhun since hes worked on some BANGERS and he has been participating in a ton only this year. Also sad to realize how far down Slow Rabbit has fell in the past year:/
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Let’s hear it for Dem Jointz and Ryan Jhun.
Collectively they gave us the worst IVE song yet, the worst Taemin song yet and another dud from Itzy.
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Lmao, HEYA might be one of IVE’s greatest songs. Imaginary Friend was also great.
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Dem Jointz didn’t work on imaginary friend lmao.
I guess Heya’s better than Baddie? Still far from their best and flopped on Melon.
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I was talking about Ryan Jhun since you also mentioned him.
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No, Dem Jointz produced Gold, not Imaginary Friend.
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I miss LEEZ. That is all.
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Didn’t I read that Sweetune would be debuting a (girl?) group in 2025? Is that they they were inactive this year, I wonder? Personally, I prefer their work with male groups more, but it seems that’s an unpopular opinion with a lot of their fans.
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You did read that, and I’m hoping it actually comes true. A Japanese girl group, from what I can remember? Honestly, their sound may be more welcome in Japan at the moment. I just hope we get something from them next year!
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It’s so sad to see how low the streaming numbers are for Turn It Off (476,208), Icarus (120,235), Nonstop (38,490), and Melody (124,521). I can’t help but feel that if Infinite (or KARA) had recorded those songs, the streams would be in the millions, and their reunion would have been greeted ecstatically by the music press and fans. I wonder why Sweetune rarely work with artists they’ve worked with previously? But I think you’re right, if they’re only going to work with smaller or unknown groups, their sound probably fits in better in Japan these days.
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(And how does the b-side Melody have more streams than the singles Nonstop and Icarus, which along with Turn It Off, I rate as Sweetune’s best songs since 2017 with Snuper? (Yes, I rate them higher than their singles with Golden Child!)
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