Best Kpop Songs of 2017

[Stirfry]

 

[shirenuファクトリー]

I've been checking the 299 videos playlist throughout the year (imagine that!!!!) so now I just need to rank my favourites.

Ok this is it for now!! Order may still change

#01 Day6 - How can I say

  marry me, just all of this

#02 Mad Clown feat. SURAN - Love is a dog from hell - youtube
Really good

#03 Day6 - I wait - youtube


#04 Gfriend - Summer rain - youtube
The lyrics seem like simple crap, but I really love the melodies of this song

#05 John Park - DND (Do not disturb) - youtube
So chill and relaxing, singer has an awesome voice

#06 BAP - Wake me up - youtube
SO DRAMATIC and catchy, awe yeah

#07 SURAN - Sad pain - youtube
This is exactly the kind of song I would have on my chillax playlist, beautiful quirky voice and (add something deep here)

#08 Triple H - Fresh - youtube
Catchy as heck, let's dance

#09 Blackpink - As if it's your last - youtube
K don't sit down just yet, dance some more

#10 Lee Hyori - Black - youtube
It's attractive in an apocalypse kind of way

[Kimuuu]

Since I fell back into KPOP last year, I've enjoyed A LOT of new songs this year which made picking my top ten incredibly difficult. Expect a bunch of honorable mentions...

My Top 10 for 2017

1. Mamamoo - Yes I Am

Mamamoo sucked me back into KPOP, but they're truly the only group I stan so hard. Yes I Am was my summer jam (RIP SISTAR) and even now I will blast it first thing after getting into my car. It's so SASSY, empowering, and fun! My fave part has got to be when they break it down towards the end, ayyyyyy~

2. Mamamoo - Finally
Mamamoo - Finally
If I rushed to post this last night, I would've had this at number one. Tbh, when the Purple album came out, I was more into Finally than Yes I Am. It's got a cool, dance-y beat with an equally catchy chorus that gets stuck in my head. Compared to Yes I Am, it doesn't mix up the sound as much, so that's why for me it dropped to #2. I still fucking love this song. Here's a sexy live perf since Finally doesn't have a MV: http://bit.ly/2vK2mvG

3. KARD - Don't Recall
KARD - Don't Recall
This was another song that I'd want to hear on demand. I needed it. I had to get my KARD fix. Don't Recall is still my fave song out of all of their songs to date.

4. WINNER - Really Really
WINNER - Really Really
Noticing a pattern yet in songs I like? LOL Earworms that get you hype and make you want to dance (preferably with a drink in hand) will boost a song up my rankings.

5. Sunmi - Gashina
Sunmi - Gashina
Gashina was my late summer jam. I wasn't hooked the first time I listened to the song, probably because I was watching the MV and got confused by what I had just seen. LOL As I heard it more often, I found the instrumentals in the opening and chorus creeping into my head and staying there.

6. EXID - Night Rather Than Day
EXID - Night Rather Than Day
OH my god, this song is so good. I was so impressed with it when it came out. I love the overall feel of the song. Dem brass and wind instruments... a respite from the usual synthpop heavy songs. It reminds me of Mamamoo's first singles, stuff that would sound great with a live band if they performed on stage. (I'd be so curious to see how Mamamoo would cover this EXID song, it's up their alley.)

7. Twice - Knock Knock
Twice - Knock Knock
This is probably my fave Twice song so far. The heart melting chorus kept me feeling warm and fuzzy throughout the cold winter. Damn, what a cute song.

8. Jung Key ft. Wheein from Mamamoo - Anymore
Jung Key ft. Wheein from Mamamoo - Anymore
Yes! I like ballads too! There aren't as many that I love, but the ones I do make me feel all the feels. Anymore is a fitting bgm for staying in, watching the snow fall, and getting your heart ripped out. Wheein's vocals are just so damn good and emotional. Ugh, I feel it every time I hear this song. Thank you Jung Key for composing and picking her to convey your vision.

9. BTS - Pied Piper
BTS - Pied Piper
BTS is my now my fave boy band. They have so many bops with a variety of styles. Pied Piper caught me off guard... I was like, what is this sexy lil thang? I dig the music and the high pitched vocals in the chorus. Another song that makes me wanna move~

10. VIXX LR - Whisper
VIXX LR - Whisper
Man... Between Whisper and Pied Piper, I could not decide which one I liked more. Both are sexy, moderate-paced songs with high pitched vocals during the chorus. Not sure why I dig that, but I do. I only knocked this song down a rank because of the unexpected and offputting "DUH" in there.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
(in no particular order)
Wheein - Shadow, Girls Next Door - Deep Blue Eyes, Red Velvet - Peek-A-Boo, Chung Ha - Why Don't You Know, Pristin - Black Widow, EXO - Ko Ko Bop, ZICO - Artist, AKMU - Dinosaur, GFriend - Rainbow, 9Muses - Remember, Pristin - Wee Woo, Wanna One - Energetic, EXO - The Eve, Weki Meki - I Don't Like Your Girlfriend, NCT 127 - 0 Mile, Taemin - MOVE

WHOLE ALBUM SHOUT OUTS
Girl's Day - Girl's Day Everyday #5
http://bit.ly/2D8dPsv
I love all 7 tracks on this album, yes, including the instrumental track. Give me instruments and I'll Be Yours (ha get it). THIRSTY and Love Again are hawt (dat guitar in Love Again yas). Kumbaya and Truth are chilling ballads, ugh my heart. Don't Be Shy's strong chorus always gives me the stank face and gets my head slow rockin'. Fuck yeah.

EXID - ECLIPSE
http://bit.ly/2mCm5qB
What a solid album! I loved everything except for How Why. Boy is hella cool, and we get two kinds of sexy in the form of Hani's Milk and LE's Velvet solos.

DIA - YOLO
http://bit.ly/2D2ubPt
I'm glad I checked this out despite the eyeroll-inducing title. I was impressed with the variety and quality of songs on this FULL (13 non-inst tracks!!) album. The cute, poppy title track Will You Go Out With Me is nice, but the ballad version is... even better. Independence Movement Day was an interesting surprise, didn't expect to like it, but here we are.

[thatonezombie]

List time, baby!

1. Heize - Don't Know You


Heize is my favorite Kpop artist this year. She in a lot of ways revitalized Kpop for me. So much so that she got the top two spots.

2. GroovyRoom - Sunday feat. Heize & Jay Park
http://bit.ly/2xQ8CBx
Okay, Heize is featured but damn, love how smooth this is. Shout out to Jay Park, as well.

3. Seohyun - Don't Say No
http://bit.ly/2jGk4Xk
Hey! A solo SNSD member's career I actually like! Okay, that's a bit rough, but I'm most interested in what Seohyun is gonna do next.

4. Sunmi - Gashina
http://bit.ly/2vlEgCi
Wonder Girls 4 Lyfe.

5. Luna, Hani, Solar - Honey Bee
http://bit.ly/2m8b9PB
Look, I was excited about this in the beginning of the year and I still enjoy it. Someone tell SM we need new f(x) and Luna music, ASAP.

6. BoA - CAMO
http://bit.ly/2ueNsrU
She's still the Goddess. Also, if Jazzclub was in Korean, BoA would be on my list twice.

7. IU - Jam Jam
http://bit.ly/2D1woKS
This is the lowest I've ever had any IU rank. Palette is half good, but the half is that's good is super good and this is my favorite song from that.

8. Red Velvet - Kingdom Come
http://bit.ly/2EGn4wx
The other music RV has put out this year is cool, but when they stop fucking around and become and R&B group is when they are at their best.

9. Suran - 1+1=0 feat. DEAN
http://bit.ly/2qK45uf
Suran is another artist I learned about in 2017 and make Kpop enjoyable for me again.

10. Twice - Signal
http://bit.ly/2pNR81k
Mina is great. Mina is the best. Mina is life. #teammina

[Thorin33]

My list. Keeping one song per group since Dreamcatcher and Gfriend would have taken over the whole list otherwise.

1. Dreamcatcher- 날아올라 (Fly high)
Dreamcatcher is definitely my group of the year with their rocking singles and solid Bsides where even the ballads . Good night was my #1 song for a while until Fly High won me over.   I highly recommend sleepwalking from the bsides

2. April- Take my hand (손을 잡아줘)
Reminds me so much of Gfriend's rough especially with April going with the Gfriend sound and the MV location. Shoutout to the possible Dreamcatcher style ritual at the end of the MV.

3. Loona/Odd Eye Circle- Loonatic
Song is lit from start to finish.

4. Gfriend- Rainbow
I really like Love Whisper and Summer Rain as well but the guitar solo always wins.

5. Lovelyz- Take me somewhere
Lovelyz had a down year with their singles but one piece came through on the EDM track. Good things happens when Jiae is allowed to sing.

6. Blackpink- 마지막처럼 (AS IF IT'S YOUR LAST)
Banger from Blackpink. The chorus is just so good.

7. Laboum- 두바둡(only u)
My summer jam of the year

8. Sonamoo- I (knew it)
Sonamoo finally got a good song and boi was it good.

9. Momoland-  Wonderful love(어마어마해)
Dab alert #1. Song is a lot of fun with all the dabs with or without the edm and  Jooe is a gift to humanity



10.  Twice- Heart Shaker
Dab alert #2. Might be recency bias but it is my favorite twice song this year. The chorus is an earworm,


Other songs considered for the list.
Dreamcatcher- Good night, Sleepwalking, Chase me, Gfriend-Love Whisper,Fingertips,  BTS-Come back Home, B.A.P- Dystopia,  Subin- Circle Dream, Bolbbalgan4- Some, Girl next door- Deep blue eyes, Boa- Camo, Lovelyz-The, Red Velvet- Kingdom Come, Suzy- Yes No Maybe, IU- Last night story,Twice- Knock Knock,Stellar- Angels of Sephiroth

[strawb3rrykream]

This was very stressful and difficult for me LOL was heavy back into kpop this year so I listened to a TON of it. May come back and add some honorable mentions

1. Mamamoo - Finally
My new favorite kpop group When I first heard this song, I was like holy shit I wish this was the promoted single lolol. Perfect mix of upbeat and sensual and shows off their vocals.

2. Nine Muses - Remember
Way out of left field for me, not terribly familiar with the band aside from the goddess that is Kyungri lol. But when I first heard this song, I was floored. Vocals are amazing and despite not being into oontzoontz type music, the chorus is great. (Also the video is hauntingly sexy)

3. EXID - Night Rather Than Day
So so so different from pretty much all their other music! AND I LOVE IT. Has a chill vibe plus the exciting brass, idk it's just a great song. I miss Solji, of course, but the other four really made this song work for them. I'm not always that into very repetitive lyrics but that's part of the charm to me.

4. Sunmi - Gashina
I was very pleasantly surprised when I first heard it because I wasn't too keen on her other solo releases (sorry JYP lol). But this song is such a bop and always makes me wanna get up and dance haha.

5. EXO - Ko Ko Bop
Ok, so I HATED this song when it first came out. I was irrationally mad about it and dumb shit like that, but the more I listened to it, the more I realized I was really into it Gets my body moving~

6. Mamamoo - Yes I Am
Truly one of my most played songs of 2017, mostly to help them get more views on YT The breakdown gives me life, I kinda wish the whole song had that sound. But the lyrics have a good message and I love me some Mamamoo

7. LE (EXID) - Velvet
My sexy song of the year! It's on THE playlist. LE is my favorite member of EXID and my god, she brought it with this song. I like to think of it as her venturing even more into "American style" hip hop/RnB music, complete with suggestive lyrics.

8. Winner - Really Really
Arguably one of the songs of the year in the kpop world, due to the sheer amount of attention it got haha. I've always kinda liked Winner (Empty and Different are SO GOOD) and it was nice to see them do very well with this song. Ridiculously catchy! If I'm honest, I'm quite partial to Dreamcatcher's version

9. SiK-K, pH-1, Jay Park - Iffy
My out of left field pic. Just randomly discovered this song but damn, it's a bop. Unique sound and it's just an overall chill song.

10. KARD - Don't Recall
I was skeptical of KARD in general initially lol and I got into this song WAY after it was released but damn, it's so good. Def my fav release from them. Beat is so poppin! I like that they kinda stick with the same sound throughout, since nowadays so many songs are like a bunch of beats sewn together that don't always work well haha.

[storyboard]

Haven't listened to too much KPOP this year so this is pretty much just groups I follow and are on my playlist .

1. MIXX - 사랑은 갑자기 (Love is a Sudden)
2. Odd Eye Circle (LOONA) - Uncover 
3. Red Queen - Acacia 
4. Oh My Girl - Agit 
5. Chuu (LOONA) - Girl's Talk 
6. fromis_9 - 유리구두 (Glass Shoes) 
7. Elris - 열려라 그대 (Roopretelcham) 
8. Eyedi - Dreamcatcher   
9. Playback - 말하지 못한 이야기 (Untold Story) 
10. Bolbbalgan4 - Blue 

[zoolander]

Back for another yearly list! Always fun.

1. LOONΔ Yves - New

HeeJin had maybe my favorite from last year and now Yves this year. Beautiful, inspiring, lovely, godly produced song.

2. Dreamcatcher - Sleepwalking
http://bit.ly/2yoX7SP
mmmm some good ass drum and Bass kpop! Probably my most listened to kpop song this year, can't stop replaying it.

3. NCT Ten - Dream in Dream
http://bit.ly/2vtMOuu
Dance is a work of Art and the song is super chill and dreamy.

4. Taeyeon - Make Me Love You
http://bit.ly/2o7AMDB
Vocals! Love how it just grows and grows and is a straight up anthem by the end.

5. Red Velvet - Red Flavor
http://bit.ly/2t0H46L
Insane song like Capsule and Hitchhiker had a baby, but also has some melody and heart.

6. Girls Next Door - Deep Blue Eyes
http://bit.ly/2Fyg85R
Seulgi, D.ana, Yooa etc. etc. Uhhh this group literally has like all my favs together. And the song is great too!

7. April - April Story
http://bit.ly/2CZ06Ae
It's just so freaking adorable and ear pleasing.

8. Elris Sohee - Spotlight
http://bit.ly/2sguSPH
I really liked this one when it came out but almoast forgot about it till I started going through trying to make a list. Just solid all around.

9. SNSD - All Night
http://bit.ly/2wC0pO0
I was gonna put Fan because it's so quintessentialy SNSD and All Night has a kinda weirdness/tackiness vibe, but that ended up appealing to me. xD

10. Brave Girls - Rollin
http://bit.ly/2DbSwFH
The best of all the tropical house song wave this year imo.

[Ping]

Cause Stryfe asked me to. Not sure if this is the exact ranking, but it's a general idea.

1. Red Velvet - Red Flavor

Overall just my favorite track of the year. It's such a fun song with a really cute dance and Red Velvet has been releasing consistent jams for the last three years. I honestly think they are still undervalued and should be even more popular than they are now.

2. Bolbbalgan4 - Some
http://bit.ly/2xKNw7E
It was a toss up between this song and Red Velvet's. Really hard choice, and you really can't go wrong with BB4. This song is exactly my style and depending on the hour, this would be my favorite song of 2017. :ok_hand:

3. EXID - DDD
http://bit.ly/2zra7HD
I thought Night Rather Than Day could become my favorite EXID song ever, but DDD proved me wrong. Now I can't decide if I like Up & Down, Night Rather Than Day, or DDD the most, but for 2017, it's DDD. Their performances for it were really great and super sexy. Looking forward to Solji returning in a few months.

4. IU - Palette
http://bit.ly/2ov0bEJ
Through the Night is probably the better song, and definitely more popular in Korea, but I prefer jams like this. Plus, IU dancing in it is adorable and the GD feature is a plus.

5. Suran - WINE
http://bit.ly/2mvmdaj
Suran came out with a lot of amazing songs this year, and she shot up to be one of my top favorite female artists in Korea. However, this one takes the cake. It's just ridiculously good.

6. BTS - DNA
http://bit.ly/2fdtI6e
It's really hard to choose between this and Spring Day. Spring Day in my opinion is the better song, but DNA has had such an impact, plus the melody is super catchy.

7. Heize - Don't Know You
http://bit.ly/2kTKs4E
After Heize's sucess in 2016, I didn't think she could get any better. She proved me wrong by coming out with one of the hottest albums of the year, You Are Cloudy. This is my favorite track off the album, although in Korea, You, Clouds, Rain is the more popular track.

8. SUNMI - Gashina
http://bit.ly/2vlEgCi
The dance, the melody, the lyrics, the tone, the music video, and pretty much everything about this song cemented Sunmi as one of the hottest female solo artists in Korea. How can we leave such a beautiful woman behind?

9. Melomance - Gift
http://bit.ly/2Fyz5FB
Melomance blew up this year, and for good reason. These guys are talented, and I hope to see more of them in 2018. If they can put out more songs like Gift, then they have a bright road in front of them, ala BB4.

10. TWICE - Signal
http://bit.ly/2pNR81k
It's hard to choose between the 5 Twice singles they came out with this year, so I'll have to go with the one that I listened to the most. Signal was the first/only JYP produced title track for Twice, and it's a bit of a different direction than every other title track they've had. Not to mention the girls had ANOTHER Black Eyed Pilseung hot hit with Likey. The music video for Likey is probably my favorite of the year, but as of this moment, I still like Signal more as a song. Plus, the dance is a favorite of the year.

For more of my thoughts on Korean Music in 2017, you can check out my Music Award list of winners and nominees, as well as the recording of the show on Twitch.

[Stirfry]

 

[daigong]

Yea Like Storyboard. Been a WHILE! BUT STEP YO GAME UP!! I GRIND


10. 솔비 (Solbi) - RED [Music Video] wtf was dat
http://bit.ly/2DsLQRi

9. Palette  - IU Topsy Turvy!!
http://bit.ly/2ov0bEJ

8. a pink - Five  stuck in my head!??!?!?!
http://bit.ly/2tat4LB

7. nine muses remember - omgass swimsuit funky track
http://bit.ly/2sHhdUY

6. Stellar - Archangels of the Sephiroth (Ping pimped em enuff!!!)
http://bit.ly/2sfNTG1

5. Jessica - Summer Storm (that's the name of my favorite stripper )
http://bit.ly/2wrTLwK

4. Suzy (miss A) - Yes? No?   
http://bit.ly/2jNS2gw

3. T-ara - What's My Name?   
http://bit.ly/2rokNzW

2. Taeyeon (Girls' Generation) - Fine   
http://bit.ly/2l6FdOP

#1 Hyuna Lip & Hip   



WOW! HyunA with dat ANTHEM of 2017!! WUT IS NEXT!

Ping do a fuckin Top 10 Countdown show of this!

[Stirfry]

 

[DioBrando]

1. Taeyeon - I Got Love
- This one was obvious for me since way back around my first few listens. Sultry, sexy, unique, this is extremely my shit.

2. IU - Jam Jam
- I neglected this one for a while, but after having it pop up on shuffle during my commute a couple dozen times I fell in love with it. That little echo thing she does is great, I'm a sucker for that, lmao

3. Red Velvet - Body Talk
- I struggled so much with my Red Velvet entries...honestly, my list was like 50% red velvet until I decided I was maybe fanboying a little too hard and narrowed it down. Despite that, I knew Body Talk would be way up there. I'm all about the "Velvet", and this gave me my fix.

4. Taeyeon - Love in Color
- I have this habit of falling in love with slower songs that I can just sort of listen to when I'm in a chill mood, or caught in my feels etc, and this one definitely did it for me. Taeyeon's album was overall pretty amazing, but the EMOTION she makes me feel when she sings songs like this...I don't even need to know what she's saying and I almost cry, lmao. Don't judge me.

5. Red Velvet - I Just
- More Red Velvet, more velvety. It was hard for me to decide between "I Just" and "Kingdom Come", especially because I know so many people who are so into Kingdom Come...but ultimately there are some parts of Kingdom Come I'm not tooo crazy about, whereas I Just was more consistent for me...and I love that "AAaaaiiiyaiyaiya" shit. Give me that. All of it.

6. Winner - Really Really
- Surprised I didn't end up having this higher...this is a hell of a jam. Every now and then I appreciate the boys indiscriminately. The flow of this song is great, it's got that kind of quality that makes me want to both chill and dance at the same time, which are basically the two things I look for when I'm listening to music rolled into one

7. Chanyeol ft. Punch - Stay With Me
- One more to the "slower songs I fall in love with" list. This song took me by surprise, as I don't watch drama and had no idea what it was. By Korean standards I think not knowing about this is some kind of indication that you may rent an apartment directly under a rock, but for me this was a hidden gem. It's just so damn smooth, and the girl (Punch, I guess?) has a beautiful voice that makes me feel things everywhere. Emotional things...like, in my heart.

8. Red Velvet - Peekaboo
- I was surprised I took this over Rookie...in fact, as I type this, I'm still surprised I took this over Rookie, but I did. Maybe that's a result of this being fresh in my mind, but while someone else can have that internal discussion I'll be over here yelling "OH GOSH" an an Irene voice. I'm not gonna lie, I couldn't make this decision entirely on the music itself, because I think the Peekaboo choreo is quirky and great and it makes me like the song even more when I imagine it in my head as the song plays. That still counts, right?

9. Twice - Signal
- I know a couple people who hate me for this, but I kinda love signal very very unironically. People hated it but I'm here just ~ tryin to let you ~ know that I'm a big fan of this song. I accept that it's probably not that great, but, it's great to me, and that's what matters.

10. LOONA/Odd Eye Circle - Girl Front
- I can't believe this one's last. This song hooked me immediately, and made me fall even deeper into Loona...actually, I'm sad I couldn't fit more loona on this list...and I also love that "OoooOoOOoOooooooOohhhh" shit. Give me all of that too.


Honorable Mentions
Red Velvet - Kingdom Come - tbh I had to cut out some rv songs cuz it was excessive. Great song, but ultimately I had to cut it...
Red Velvet - Rookie - same as above. When Rookie first dropped I was like "definitely gonna be in my top 10 this year", but....apparently that was not to be...
Taeyeon - Fire
Taeyeon - Time Lapse
Taeyeon - When I Was Young
- Taeyeon bundle. Amazing album, but I had to ask myself if I really liked these songs individually as much as I liked some others, and the answer was "probably not".
Yves - New - I ended up cutting this one because of how late I began to appreciate it...it just...didn't seem fair. That said, it's a great song, and a lot of these loona songs are very well produced, so it's definitely got me hype for their full debut
CLC - I Like it - CLC B-Sides are my shit


Not typing things but these were great too
Sunmi - Gashina
Ailee - I will go to you like the first snow
BeWhy - Uno
Chungha - Why Don't You Know
Lovelyz - Wow

THERE. I DID IT. I'm definitely not looking it over too thoroughly or I'll end up wanting to make changes...which...can't happen....

[Stirfry]

 

[Stirfry]

 

[Kimuuu]

     I'm extremely amused. I was not expecting that. lolololol Thanks for the opportunity and the fun stats, Stryfe!