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 AKMU’s placement on the ULTIMATE ARTIST RANKING page!
AKMU: A Career In Song Ratings
The Breakdown
Highest Rated Songs
Lowest Rated Songs
Imperial Phases
I Love You -> How Can I Love The Heartbreak, You’re The One I Love (2013-2019)
Slump Phases
Next Episode -> Paradise Of Rumors (2021-2026)
Rating Average: 8.11
Overall Trendline:
they (sadly?) peaked at their debut, that entire album was amazing and the singles were fun.
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I’m surprise 200% is a 10/10 from you (so does for me)! Just wondering what makes it the top?
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Although I’m not a Korean, but I found they’re really strong in creating emotionally attached melody. How Can I Love The Heartbreak, You’re The One I Love is always a strong ballad in my book although I have no idea what they singing initially.
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For me personally, 200% is just such an incredibly hook-y song that also has so much of AKMU’s personality in it, the song never gets old and I somehow never get tired of hearing it. It’s insanely catchy in terms of melody but all the little ad-libs, harmonies and exclamations from the siblings sort of scratch your brain the entire time in a way that makes it incredibly addictive to listen to. Re-Bye also has this quality in my opinion which is why it’s a 10/10 AKMU track for me as well, but 200% is like the quintessential “light fluffy Korean springtime anthem” that so many have tried to imitate but rarely ever come close to matching the pure youthful energy combined with genius songwriting that’s happening here.
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btw vvs disbanded yesterday, so ig we lost another enemy of the blog
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Gee, I don’t know, “How can I love the heartbreak …” is still on the Korean singles charts after (checks notes) seven years. And we (including myself) go on about all sorts of fringe of the fringe of pop music from half a world away. Meanwhile, someone called Hanroro is also trouncing the Gaon Circle chart for weeks – sounds like IU if IU were debuting today tbh. Also Rescene – I had to look up Rescene again, and yeah, still mid for me.
Anyhoo, “How can I love …” and “How People Move” on top for me, right ahead of most of the rest. The girls from my scout troop sang along to high parts “Dinosaur” at the top of their lungs, on repeat, while I drove them all home during an insane rain storm, so that one too.
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I have a super soft spot for these two as Suhyun is one of my favorite female vocalists in kpop. Still need to do a full listen through of their discography, but of what I’ve heard (and it’s not a lot), Dinosaur and 200% are up there for me. I Love You is up there on my list of happy, smiley bubblegum spring songs, too.
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