We’re over halfway through 2024, and it had me thinking about my favorite music of the year, at least so far.
Work by Ateez
It’s very hard to be disappointed by Ateez, especially when they release a fun song like Work. It is undeniably catchy and perfect for a fun summer.
Smeraldo Garden Marching Band by Jimin
When this song was released, it was exactly the type of song I needed. Just a feel-good and lighthearted track that made for an excellent pre-release for Jimin’s second solo album.
Chk Chk Boom by Stray Kids
I love a hyped up Stray Kids track, and I immediately vibed with Chk Chk Boom. The whole album is great, but the title track is easily my favorite song on it.
Born to Be by Itzy
I have quite a love-hate relationship with Itzy’s music. I rarely go out of my way to check out their new releases, but after hearing a snippet of Born to be online, I was interested. I am very much the girl crush concept fan and Born to Be fits that so well so it easily became a favorite of this year for me.
Supernova by aespa
Supernova really took over when it was released and rightfully so. I think it fits aespa very well, is catchy and fun, and for me personally helped me get back into aespa. I also really enjoyed Armageddon, but Supernova beat it out by just a bit.
Killin It by P1Harmony
Not only is this song one of my favorites of the year but also the whole album is one of my favorites ever. P1Harmony really did kill it with this release and I have truly solidified myself as a fan of theirs thanks to it.
I Got You by Twice
This song is not only one of my favorite songs of the year but one of my favorite Twice songs ever. On first listen I knew it would be a long-time favorite.
What new music have you been enjoying this year? Let me know with a comment!
Nice list you put together there!
For me, I’ve been clicking through on comebacks and debuts if they show up in my YT feed, but off the top of my head nothing’s really coming to mind as standing out. Well… Babymetal and Electric Callboy’s collab kinda does, but that’s not kpop 😛 So… lemme run back through my playlist of kpop that I’ve seen come out this year and see if anything jumps out at me….
And after getting back to 5 months ago, nothing on the list jumped out at me. I have a sense that I really liked a few of them here and there, but not so much that I listened to them multiple times and bothered to actually remember their names, it would seem.
That said, I remember Yuqi from (G)I-dle had a few I liked. Twice’s “I Got You”that you mentioned was pretty good, and I also enjoyed their “One Spark” and even their more recent “Dive” was pretty good. I think one of Itzy’s “Untouchable” was somewhat memorable for me, so that puts it a step above most kpop to me, since most of it is so forgettable. Moonbyul had a couple she released that I liked — “Think About Me” and “Touchin’ and Movin'”. IU had “Shopper” and “Holssi” which were both pretty good too, plus “Love Wins All” was . . . honestly I didn’t like it much on 1st listen, but I watched several reactors for that and it grew on me.
Anyway, this is long enough, but just now this one appeared (“Curious” by UNIS) on my YT recommended page and I rather enjoyed it — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3Xpaadt-RA