There are a number of acts who have debuted in the past few decades and have dozens of song ratings on this blog. I thought it would be fun to lay these ratings out in chronological order, line-graph style, and take a macro view of their careers so far. Then, similar to my “Underrated K-pop” features, I can average their ratings into one mega-score and place them in a pantheon alongside other acts.
As always, this feature has some rules of its own. I’m including any “Song Review” ratings as part of this graph, including Japanese releases and collaborations with one other artist. I’m not including Buried Treasures or solo/sub-unit releases. For the ratings themselves, I’m using the most current number on this blog, so if a song was part of a “Risers and Fallers” or “Legendary Songs Inauguration” post, that’s the rating you’ll see displayed here. That means there will still be a few ratings here and there I find slightly inaccurate, but it’ll mostly reflect my up-to-date feelings.
Finally, these scores are completely subjective. Feel free to agree, disagree and argue (that’s part of the fun!), but know that this chart reflects the opinion of only one person (me).
Check out IVE’s placement on the ULTIMATE ARTIST RANKING page!
IVE: A Career In Song Ratings

The Breakdown
Highest Rated Songs
Lowest Rated Songs
Imperial Phases
Eleven -> Wave (2021-2023)
Slump Phases
Either Way -> All Night (2023-2024)
Rating Average: 8.15
Overall Trendline:

Oof, japanese songs and ad songs beside, almost every track is over an 8.5 for me, if not an 8. There’s this weird thing with IVE where upon release, I get very disapointed and then not even weeks later, the song becomes a masterpiece to my ears.
LikeLike
After Like is probably in my all time kpop top 5. They’re so strong even now but I wish they could hit a 10 again.
LikeLiked by 2 people
They were my ult group for most of 2023 during my gg era (until RIIZE debuted and dethroned them.) In my eyes they can do no wrong and are allergic to bad music. Like Enhypen.
Eleven – 9.25
Love Dive – 9.25
After Like – 10
Kitsch – 8.5
I Am – 10
Wave – 8.75
I Want – 8.25
Either Way – 8.5
Off the Record – 8.5
Baddie – 8.75
All Night – 8.25
Heya – 9
Accendio – 9
Crush – 8.25
Summer Festa – 8
Supernova Love – 8.5
Rebel Heart – 8.75
Attitude – 8.75
Be Alright – 8.25
XOXZ – 8.5
Bang Bang – 8.5
Blackhole – 8.75
Highest rated songs:
After Like, I Am
Lowest rated song:
Summer Festa
Rating Average: 8.74
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re too generous with Summer Festa. Everyone knows that it’s not a great song, but I respect your opinion. 😆
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yup, you’re right, I may have been too generous with that one. I’m very biased when it comes to IVE. I can change it to a 7.5 or 7 if you want. 😂 But tbh the song itself is not that bad imo, it’s mostly the terrible lyrics that make it annoying. If you can manage to ignore the stupid lyrics (which I try to) the song is just a nice background vibe with pretty voices. It’s definitely not a song I would seek out to listen to, but I wouldn’t necessarily skip it when it comes on.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And it is my least favorite IVE song; I rated it lower than all the others. 😉😆
LikeLiked by 1 person
we rlly need another after like/I am
LikeLiked by 2 people
Love Dive’s still the best for me.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Despite the fact that IVE is my favorite K-pop group and it’s not even close, my average only comes out to 8.44.
Love Dive is a top 3 K-pop song for me. I Am is also a 10 and Attitude is almost up there with a 9.75.
I can only imagine your level of admiration for Infinite given their average of 9.20.
LikeLiked by 2 people
A very solid discography so far, with b-sides and album tracks often better than the singles. I have no problem with ALL NIGHT but I still can’t stand BADDIE. ☺️☺️
LikeLike
Oh, IVE they were everywhere during their debut era, I AM is my all time favourite from them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
im gonna be honest kitsch is still my favorite ive song and my favorite song from that year still. i know its so simple and that chorus might not be everyones tea but i remember being so obsessed with that song i kept listening to just it for hours and to this day i still crave listening to that song from time to time. i wouldnt be surprised if i got a blood test and they still find traces of kitsch to this day. i love kitsch
LikeLiked by 1 person
That downward trend…
They had a generational run and delivered the best modern kpop we’ve seen. And then, for god knows what reason, Starship decided to settle for “just” good/decent music.
What wasted potential.
IVE are now a group with more “OK” releases than stellars ones.
LikeLike
That came off as awfully negative, lol.
IVE are one of my favourite groups, along with SHINee and Kara.
Love Dive and I Am are certified 10s for me, and Eleven/After Like/Kitsch aren’t far behind. So many excellent b-sids too.
It’s just so unbelievably frustrating to see lackluster song after lackluster song.
LikeLike