lachrymosy (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lachrymosy) wrote2022-12-11 06:09 pm
lachrymosy) wrote2022-12-11 06:09 pm
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My top Kpop of 2022
My top Kpop of 2022 list! I based this on how much I listened to various songs or watched performances, but it's kind of an arbitrary ranking. There are groups that I have liked before but didn't make the list because I only checked out the song once or twice and didn't really enjoy it. I also don't always listen very widely in Kpop so don't judge me lol.
This was definitely a year of girl groups. The 4th gen boy group noise music just... is not for me. (If anyone has recs, I'm open to it though!) Overall I don't think it was a great year in Kpop, but there were some great releases that I did enjoy!
It was hard as a Wonder Girls stan to see 2/3 of wonsoka come back, but not my favorite third, even if I did love seeing the other 2/3. Nonetheless I am loving the 2nd gen revival and I hope it continues. There's something so great about seeing these 2nd gen groups come back!
Honorable Mention: Doom Du Doom by P1Harmony
Honestly I didn't really listen to this on purpose except once; Spotify kept adding it to my playlists lol. But after months of Reet spamming my t-line with them, I felt like I owed it to her to listen to it on purpose. It's a good song! It's really listenable in an era of boy group noise.
18. Tomboy by (G)I-DLE
This was the year I discovered that their name is not pronounced as Gee-Idol. (I also always pronounce Kep1er as Kep-one-ler which I'm pretty positive is also wrong.) I'm still really annoyed about this. I think this is a really catchy song; I didn't listen to that often though and I thought the choreography was so boring and low-energy which really kept me from getting into the song overall. I really liked this SOUND in a K-pop single though.
17. Event Horizon by Younha
I haven't been listening to this that often (and is this truly Kpop?) but I love that she's been so successful this year, and it's a really good song. I find it so interesting how some artists are successful domestically without that translating internationally, and i-fans watching the charts don't really get it haha. This is a big "good for her!" moment.
16. INVU by Taeyeon
Personally I prefer listening to this over watching the performances, so it kind of escaped my notice when it was first released. I've been listening to it more lately, though. The vocals are great of course, and it's just a really good sound for her.
15. Attention by New Jeans
Yeah, they're so young (though isn't it interesting that the average age at debut of all our 2nd gen faves was as young or younger than theirs...). I feel like the lyrical content of this song glamorizes dynamics of the social media era that I don't love. It's awkward watching them because they're such babies, so I just don't watch them. But no one can deny that this song is really, really catchy and sounds extremely cool.
14. Forever 1 by SNSD
Definitely not my favorite SNSD track, but it was so fun to see the come back. I feel like this year just emphasized how great 2nd gen really was for me, and I really enjoyed the performances of this.
13. Hot by Seventeen
Not gonna lie, I hated this when it came out. I still don't really like it (except for that one part of Hoshi's in the second verse which is the best part of the whole song). I still feel like this song was Seventeen's demonstration that they could compete on 4th gen terms, which felt unnecessary to me (and noisy). I did watch every single live stage of this though, and I sort of get it as a concert number, so it had to be on this list. I just wish more of the song sounded like Hoshi's part in the second verse.
12. Love Dive by IVE
This song is low on the list because it's really really irritating when this song gets stuck in my head. And it IS going to get stuck in my head. It's brilliant and deserved all its acclaim. I just can't listen to it very often lol. (The choreography is a little underwhelming to me too.)
11. Wonderland by AleXa
I don't know if this is technically Kpop but this was a really good performance. Something isn't quite right with her marketing and I hope she can get a team who will figure it out—regardless, she's a great performer and this was a really enjoyable song with good choreography. She deserved to win the American Song Contest (even if no one watched it).
10. Ring the Alarm by KARD
Most of KARD's releases have not worked for me—I think their cover of Taki Taki is a lot better than any of their own stuff—but I feel like this song finally worked for them and was enjoyable to listen to. Their performances were good, and the choreo finally made some visual sense too, with the best part at the end when they're all facing each other. For some reason I really want them to succeed (maybe BM's extreme himbo energy? my general love of coed groups?) so I was glad they released a single where all the pieces came together.
9. Fearless by Le Sserafim
I found the controversy surrounding their debut mostly confusing and difficult to follow. This is actually a really good debut song though—catchy with memorable choreography. Ultimately their talents seem better distributed as a five-member group and I think this is noticeable watching this mv. It also seems like it's kind of—short? But I think it's good.
8. Talk that Talk by Twice
Twice really brought it with this! The song is kind of classic Twice but feels more mature, the mv is great (even if the styling is odd), and Jihyo is as great as ever. I just really like this.
7. Case 143 by Stray Kids
I actually expected to loathe this, but the music video was so funny and clever that I was won over. The first time I watched the mv, I laughed out loud at the part where Seungmin skips out and rewinds the the video back. I really liked watching the choreography for this as well, which kept me watching the live performances. I felt like this took Stray Kids back to more palatably catchy music, and I just enjoyed that it was cheeky.
6. Pop by Nayeon
I also kind of expected to hate this, but Nayeon's obvious delight and enthusiasm for the song made every performance a joy to watch. It's also catchy, enjoyable bubblegum pop (no pun intended) with great styling and great choreo. This felt more like classic Kpop to me than a lot of stuff that gets released nowadays. I'm definitely a fan!
5. When I Move by KARA
I wasn't even the biggest KARA fan back in the day but this comeback reminded me just how enjoyable their music was. (I've been listening to Lupin quite a bit.) This was a great song for them to come back with—they sound amazing, it's a big numberbut catchier than SNSD's Forever 1 and it fit in well with their old discography. Watching their performances just had me like "WHO IS DOING IT LIKE 2ND GEN?" and there's just something fantastic about seeing seasoned performers showing up and working with total confidence.
4. WooAh HIP by Mamadol
With that same sentiment I have to bring up how much I loved this song. They took a gimmick (celebrity mothers forming a girl group) and turned out an awesome performance. Of course I watched this for Sunye, and I cannot describe how amazing it was to hear Sunye's voice on a new dance track, but the whole thing deserved more attention. There's a reason half the comments on their videos are "why can't this be an actual group?" Kahi is as awesome as she ever was.
3. _World by Seventeen
Out of Seventeen's whole discography, I definitely wouldn't consider this my favorite. But after "Hot" (which, again, I hated) this felt more like classic Seventeen to me. It's sweet and enjoyable, the choreography is fun, and their performances were as glittery as their costumes. I also think the mv, while simple, is really cleverly made. I watched this and listened to this a lot.
2. Antifragile by Le Sserafim
I actually think the official mv is a letdown and the performance is what sells it, so I linked the choreography version here. I watched about half of the regular mv when it first came out and didn't like it, but happened to watch a live performance and ended up getting pulled in. These girls are such great performers and manage to make every moment in this really memorable.
1. Just a Dancer by Sunye
Did you think anything else would be my number 1? I can't believe I got to listen to new, non-ballad Sunye music in the year of 2022. Nobody thought this would ever happen—even I thought this would never happen—and yet she actually made a comeback and performed like she hadn't even been away for a week, much less been away for ten years and had three kids. This is another case of a performance selling an okay song, but she truly looked amazing, sounded amazing, and performed with so much charisma. I don't know what it would take for Sunye to get back a fraction of the popularity she had at the Wonder Girls' height of fame, but for my own stanning heart, I'm just so glad she came back with this..
This was definitely a year of girl groups. The 4th gen boy group noise music just... is not for me. (If anyone has recs, I'm open to it though!) Overall I don't think it was a great year in Kpop, but there were some great releases that I did enjoy!
It was hard as a Wonder Girls stan to see 2/3 of wonsoka come back, but not my favorite third, even if I did love seeing the other 2/3. Nonetheless I am loving the 2nd gen revival and I hope it continues. There's something so great about seeing these 2nd gen groups come back!
Honorable Mention: Doom Du Doom by P1Harmony
Honestly I didn't really listen to this on purpose except once; Spotify kept adding it to my playlists lol. But after months of Reet spamming my t-line with them, I felt like I owed it to her to listen to it on purpose. It's a good song! It's really listenable in an era of boy group noise.
18. Tomboy by (G)I-DLE
This was the year I discovered that their name is not pronounced as Gee-Idol. (I also always pronounce Kep1er as Kep-one-ler which I'm pretty positive is also wrong.) I'm still really annoyed about this. I think this is a really catchy song; I didn't listen to that often though and I thought the choreography was so boring and low-energy which really kept me from getting into the song overall. I really liked this SOUND in a K-pop single though.
17. Event Horizon by Younha
I haven't been listening to this that often (and is this truly Kpop?) but I love that she's been so successful this year, and it's a really good song. I find it so interesting how some artists are successful domestically without that translating internationally, and i-fans watching the charts don't really get it haha. This is a big "good for her!" moment.
16. INVU by Taeyeon
Personally I prefer listening to this over watching the performances, so it kind of escaped my notice when it was first released. I've been listening to it more lately, though. The vocals are great of course, and it's just a really good sound for her.
15. Attention by New Jeans
Yeah, they're so young (though isn't it interesting that the average age at debut of all our 2nd gen faves was as young or younger than theirs...). I feel like the lyrical content of this song glamorizes dynamics of the social media era that I don't love. It's awkward watching them because they're such babies, so I just don't watch them. But no one can deny that this song is really, really catchy and sounds extremely cool.
14. Forever 1 by SNSD
Definitely not my favorite SNSD track, but it was so fun to see the come back. I feel like this year just emphasized how great 2nd gen really was for me, and I really enjoyed the performances of this.
13. Hot by Seventeen
Not gonna lie, I hated this when it came out. I still don't really like it (except for that one part of Hoshi's in the second verse which is the best part of the whole song). I still feel like this song was Seventeen's demonstration that they could compete on 4th gen terms, which felt unnecessary to me (and noisy). I did watch every single live stage of this though, and I sort of get it as a concert number, so it had to be on this list. I just wish more of the song sounded like Hoshi's part in the second verse.
12. Love Dive by IVE
This song is low on the list because it's really really irritating when this song gets stuck in my head. And it IS going to get stuck in my head. It's brilliant and deserved all its acclaim. I just can't listen to it very often lol. (The choreography is a little underwhelming to me too.)
11. Wonderland by AleXa
I don't know if this is technically Kpop but this was a really good performance. Something isn't quite right with her marketing and I hope she can get a team who will figure it out—regardless, she's a great performer and this was a really enjoyable song with good choreography. She deserved to win the American Song Contest (even if no one watched it).
10. Ring the Alarm by KARD
Most of KARD's releases have not worked for me—I think their cover of Taki Taki is a lot better than any of their own stuff—but I feel like this song finally worked for them and was enjoyable to listen to. Their performances were good, and the choreo finally made some visual sense too, with the best part at the end when they're all facing each other. For some reason I really want them to succeed (maybe BM's extreme himbo energy? my general love of coed groups?) so I was glad they released a single where all the pieces came together.
9. Fearless by Le Sserafim
I found the controversy surrounding their debut mostly confusing and difficult to follow. This is actually a really good debut song though—catchy with memorable choreography. Ultimately their talents seem better distributed as a five-member group and I think this is noticeable watching this mv. It also seems like it's kind of—short? But I think it's good.
8. Talk that Talk by Twice
Twice really brought it with this! The song is kind of classic Twice but feels more mature, the mv is great (even if the styling is odd), and Jihyo is as great as ever. I just really like this.
7. Case 143 by Stray Kids
I actually expected to loathe this, but the music video was so funny and clever that I was won over. The first time I watched the mv, I laughed out loud at the part where Seungmin skips out and rewinds the the video back. I really liked watching the choreography for this as well, which kept me watching the live performances. I felt like this took Stray Kids back to more palatably catchy music, and I just enjoyed that it was cheeky.
6. Pop by Nayeon
I also kind of expected to hate this, but Nayeon's obvious delight and enthusiasm for the song made every performance a joy to watch. It's also catchy, enjoyable bubblegum pop (no pun intended) with great styling and great choreo. This felt more like classic Kpop to me than a lot of stuff that gets released nowadays. I'm definitely a fan!
5. When I Move by KARA
I wasn't even the biggest KARA fan back in the day but this comeback reminded me just how enjoyable their music was. (I've been listening to Lupin quite a bit.) This was a great song for them to come back with—they sound amazing, it's a big number
4. WooAh HIP by Mamadol
With that same sentiment I have to bring up how much I loved this song. They took a gimmick (celebrity mothers forming a girl group) and turned out an awesome performance. Of course I watched this for Sunye, and I cannot describe how amazing it was to hear Sunye's voice on a new dance track, but the whole thing deserved more attention. There's a reason half the comments on their videos are "why can't this be an actual group?" Kahi is as awesome as she ever was.
3. _World by Seventeen
Out of Seventeen's whole discography, I definitely wouldn't consider this my favorite. But after "Hot" (which, again, I hated) this felt more like classic Seventeen to me. It's sweet and enjoyable, the choreography is fun, and their performances were as glittery as their costumes. I also think the mv, while simple, is really cleverly made. I watched this and listened to this a lot.
2. Antifragile by Le Sserafim
I actually think the official mv is a letdown and the performance is what sells it, so I linked the choreography version here. I watched about half of the regular mv when it first came out and didn't like it, but happened to watch a live performance and ended up getting pulled in. These girls are such great performers and manage to make every moment in this really memorable.
1. Just a Dancer by Sunye
Did you think anything else would be my number 1? I can't believe I got to listen to new, non-ballad Sunye music in the year of 2022. Nobody thought this would ever happen—even I thought this would never happen—and yet she actually made a comeback and performed like she hadn't even been away for a week, much less been away for ten years and had three kids. This is another case of a performance selling an okay song, but she truly looked amazing, sounded amazing, and performed with so much charisma. I don't know what it would take for Sunye to get back a fraction of the popularity she had at the Wonder Girls' height of fame, but for my own stanning heart, I'm just so glad she came back with this..