Happy new year 2021….

20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2020

9 min readDec 31, 2020

As a balm for the festering hellfire that was 2020, great music was released en masse this year, especially great K-Pop. In contrast to Western music markets, K-Pop is the proud export of a country that expertly handled the pandemic; meaning K-Pop never had to grind to a halt.

As always, K-Pop stayed equally as on-trend as it did off-kilter. ’80s synthwave exquisitely manifested in many of the year’s best songs, but of course, K-Pop’s true draw is in its idiosyncrasy; in all its genre distortions and contradictions. So, we were also served Uno reverse cards in the forms of electro-trap, acid house, Japanese rock, and emo hip hop.

That said (and without further ado), here are all the surprises that the best K-Pop tracks from this unpredictable year had to offer.

20. ENHYPEN — “Given-Taken” (Border: Day One)

“Given-Taken” feels like a ghost of K-Pop past, specifically the early 2010s; the irony is that this is why it makes such a strong debut for Enhypen. Harkening back to second generation K-Pop, “Given-Taken” is a dramatic swell of harp-infused theatrical production, cyber-processed vocals, and ultra-anthemic choruses. By subverting the trap and hip-hop-dominated sounds of their fourth generation peers, Enhypen prove to be something much more interesting: a juxtaposition of past and future.

19. BoA — “Better” (Better)

To call K-Pop ageist would be indisputable, hence why an idol celebrating 20 years in the industry is someone both unicorn and warrior. Enter BoA. To commemorate her platinum anniversary, BoA dropped her tenth studio album with the gorgeous single “Better”. Having debuted in 2000, BoA evolves the sound of her earlier career with “Better”; enriching its icy dance-pop with sticky staccato beats. “Better” may be the work of an ‘older’ artist, but with y2k fervor reemerging, it and BoA feel just as potent today.

18. IZ*ONE — “Sequence” (One-Reeler / Act IV)

It’s difficult to carve out a space in K-Pop. It’s even harder if, like Iz*One, you’re a temporary group with a short shelf life. That said, it’s a testament that Iz*One have diligently developed their own sound of “elegant pop”: earmarked by polished synths and bleating color. While their other 2020 releases (see: “Fiesta”, “Panorama”) expand on this sound cookie-cutter style, it’s the slightly-adjacent “Sequence” — a glittering dance B-side alight with funky bass and glossy retro groove — that’s by far their best.

17. Weeekly — “Tag Me” (We Are)

You’re lying to yourself if your serotonin didn’t receive a gargantuan boost thanks to this song. Almost gratingly energetic, “Tag Me” is an über-peppy yet undeniably addictive debut by new girl group Weeekly, spring-boarding off a careening dance beat and killer surf guitar. Although K-Pop has often been described as a funhouse mirror (it can take many forms, shapes, and sounds), there is one thing a true K-Pop song should do. It should impart vivid joy — and “Tag Me” accomplishes that in spades.

16. YooA — “Abracadabra (자각몽)” (Bon Voyage)

Two roads diverge when it comes to a K-Pop soloist. You can either attract through your vocals (a la Taeyeon) or entertain through your performance (a la Hyuna). Every now and then, a soloist of both worlds is born. A member of Oh My Girl, YooA debuted this year with her stunning Bon Voyage EP, but it’s the minimalist “Abracadabra” that’s the standout. Eerily hypnotic, YooA’s airy vocals and enchanting dance profess that when it comes to K-Pop soloists, she’s the one to watch.

15. Stray Kids — “God’s Menu (神메뉴)” (GO Live)

On first listen, one thing is guaranteed: a Stray Kids song is a sonic assault and “God’s Menu” is nothing short of a nuclear bomb. Darting along aggressive, brassy trap, “God’s Menu” cosplays as a formulaic hip hop song. That is until the chorus drops and, like always, Stray Kids mischievously turn everything on its head. In a time when K-Pop suffers from sameness, Stray Kids demonstrate that we never know what to expect from them. And like it or not, this unpredictability is what makes K-Pop so extraordinary.

14. Taemin — “Criminal” (Never Gonna Dance Again: Act. 1)

Quite simply, there is no other artist like Taemin. Widely revered as one of the industry’s most talented and charismatic performers, Taemin may just be the closest thing to the King of K-Pop. “Criminal”, then, is the latest expansion in his rich universe of incomparably progressive discography. Looping a lush dance-funk instrumental buoyed by sinister synths and Taemin’s signature lascivious voice, “Criminal” slowly unfurls itself to be just as mesmerizing as the artist behind it.

13. STAYC — “So Bad” (Star To A Young Culture)

What happens when, for most of the 2010s, you’ve been the mastermind behind some of K-Pop’s greatest hits? Well, you decide to forge your own girl group. Helmed by lauded production duo Black Eyed Pilseung, StayC boldly burst onto the scene this year with their debut song “So Bad”. Aglow with glistening synth arpeggio and sprightly drum-and-bass, “So Bad” is a most promising arrival. More, “So Bad” attests that, within a supersaturated market, StayC are the rookies to keep our eyes on.

12. Wonho — “Open Mind” (Love Synonym Pt. 1: Right for Me)

I would have never expected that another artist could take Taemin’s crown in delivering the year’s best sex jam, but if 2020 was full of anything, it would be surprises. A salacious electro-funk bop, “Open Mind” is the sexiest song of the year; not only in crafting a tantalizing vision for Wonho’s solo career, but also in taking its time in seduction. Above deliciously glassy synths, it’s the striking refrain after the second chorus that transcends “Open Mind” to something equal parts erotic and remarkable.

11. BTS — “Black Swan” (Map of the Soul: 7)

While their Grammy-nominated, disco-pop hit “Dynamite” absorbed most of the attention this year, it’s BTS’ earlier and much darker release “Black Swan” that is more deserving. Brooding emo hip hop, “Black Swan” bestows trap beats and lo-fi gayageum strings to drive home its melancholic message. In “Black Swan”, BTS grapple with the heavy price of their fame. For BTS, becoming the biggest band in the world may have arrived at the greatest cost: eradicating their passion for what they love most. Music.

10. Twice — “I Can’t Stop Me” (Eyes Wide Open)

It was last year when Twice decided it was time to grow up from the doe-eyed, cutesy pop that initially shot them to superstardom. Expanding on their new synth-pop sound, “I Can’t Stop Me” brilliantly marries uptempo synthwave with a truly incredible chorus. Lyrically, “I Can’t Stop Me” explores the tug between temptation and resistance. Sure, it could be about love or sex, but it could also be about the thrill of the “spotlight” (oft repeated throughout the song) and all the ominous havoc that it can wreak.

9. Yukika — “Soul Lady (서울여자)” (Soul Lady)

Defined by twinkling synths and jazz-rock, the dreamy genre of city pop, which originated in 1980s Japan, is enjoying a resplendent revival. It makes sense then that Yukika, a Japanese artist, would be the one to drop the year’s best city pop with “Soul Lady”; a play on words, Yukika illuminates how she found a new culture & home in Seoul. City pop is often said to be so nostalgic as to invoke false memories, and therein lies the beauty of “Soul Lady”. We too feel at home beneath the glittering lights of Seoul.

8. BLACKPINK — “How You Like That” (The Album)

What exactly makes something iconic? To answer, BLACKPINK — icons of K-Pop — provide a most ferocious decoding in “How You Like That”. Boasting all the familiar (and polarizing) trappings of a BLACKPINK song, “How You Like That” blurts brazen hip hop laden with menacing bass. But to call these “trappings” would be both reductive and dismissive of “How You Like That”’s enormous viral power. In the end, it’s much more than a routine electro-trap banger. It’s BLACKPINK at their most iconic.

7. A.C.E — “Goblin (Favorite Boys)” (HJZM: The Butterfly Phantasy)

I cannot remember the last time I was this excited by a boy band. Exploding onto the 2020 scene, A.C.E’s “Goblin” is a roaring rock-hip-hop flare gun of most bombastic attitude, especially from a still-fledgling group. As an artist, there’s an inevitable paradox that the hunger propelling you to reach towards the stars recedes as you get closer to touching them. With “Goblin”, A.C.E are both a light year closer to stardom — and a raucous reminder of how magnificent that hunger can be.

6. GFriend — “Mago” (回: Walpurgis Night)

There comes an impasse in every artist’s career in which the sonic blueprint that first put them on the map must be evolved for artistic longevity. For GFriend, that maturation began this year with their excellent Labyrinth (回) trilogy. Reigning as the series’ crowning jewel, “Mago” sparkles with fizzy disco, gleaming like a mirrorball above the dancefloor. Although their earlier career can be characterized by bubblegum naiveté, GFriend bask in the retro sensuality of “Mago” and skillfully rebrand.

5. ITZY — “Wannabe” (It’z Me)

House music is a bold choice even without a socially-distant pandemic; despite its name, it’s a genre best enjoyed at the club. Owning the sound since their debut last year, Itzy — the most thrilling girl group on the K-Pop scene — present “Wannabe” as their discotheque triumph. Brandishing brat-pop and acid-house, “Wannabe” continues to set Itzy far apart and ahead of their contemporaries. More impressively, it manages to bring all the fever & freedom of the club to the confines of our own homes.

4. Oh My Girl — “Nonstop (살짝 설렜어)” (Nonstop)

No other group deserved a smash hit more than Oh My Girl, and no other year deserved a summer bop more than 2020. Five years into their career, Oh My Girl delivered their biggest hit to date with “Nonstop”: an utterly lovely tropical ode glazed with arcade delight. The song’s true glory is that in a summer which looked nothing like summer, “Nonstop” managed to capture all of the beauty of one; radiating the full kaleidoscope of escapism and infatuation that we missed out on.

3. WINNER — “Hold (뜸)” (Remember)

“Hold” seems too simple. Opening upon playful synth-xylophone, “Hold” masquerades as straightforward cheer assisted by rich production. It’s the timing, though, that entombs “Hold” with much deeper lasting power. Released just a few weeks into quarantine, “Hold” is both a wistful goodbye — an elegy to all the frivolity we once had — and optimistic hope. The carefree lightheartedness of “Hold” isn’t asinine; it’s a touching promise. A promise that, eventually, the good times will return to us again.

2. Everglow — “La Di Da” (77.82X-78.29)

The allure of K-Pop lies in its ability to wonderfully warp; to take a preexisting sound or trend and reconfigure it to something entirely novel. And if synthwave was the sound to take over K-Pop this year, Everglow were the ones to master it. Spectacularly coating futuresynth revival with a Sin City neo-noir veneer, “La Di Da” is a pop marvel that outshines all of its peers. From its meteoric start to its marvelous finish, “La Di Da” is the year’s best song from a K-Pop group.

Sunmi — “Pporappipam (보라빛 밤)” (Pporappipam)

By now, it should be crystal clear that Sunmi is K-Pop’s finest soloist and “Pporappipam” is her magnum opus. Beneath a violet haze of yearning neo-city pop, “Pporappipam” is a pensive dream made more shimmering by fairytale flute and aloof electric guitar. It’s uncertain. It’s hopeful. It’s melancholic. It’s euphoric. In short, it’s everything this year has been. Achingly crystalizing our ineffable longing & nostalgia, “Pporappipam” is the only song that deserves to be crowned the best of 2020.

Happy new year 2021….

20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2020

Written by wpx