Stryfe's Top 1001. K/DA - The Baddest
02. Loona - Voice
03. K/DA - More
04. Everglow - La Di Da
05. (G)I-DLE - Oh My God
06. Itzy - Not Shy
07. Itzy - Wannabe
08. Aespa - Black Mamba
09. Loona - Why Not?
10. Twice - I Can't Stop Me
Some thoughts:01, 03. K/DA - The Baddest, MoreYou might have guessed the origin of the "K/DA rule" at this point... it just makes my list so much easier to make haha. It makes sense tho, K/DA is pretty much kpop even without the (g)i-dle influence, but I feel it's appropriate to limit it to the tracks with actual Korean in them. (frankly almost half my list would be from the album if that weren't the case lol)
The songs are a complete masterclass of songwriting and production with great performances by everyone involved, Soyeon is completely in her element even without full creative control. This is my style, great stuff all around.
02. Loona - VoiceThe mandatory album cut is Loona's best full-group song to date. A melancholic track with 80's synths, hypnotic beats and soothing vocals. Picking between Voice and Star, the english version, is largely up to language preference because the english pronunciation is almost perfect. Both are excellent, but in the end Moksori triumphs over Starlight for me.
04. Everglow - La Di DaEverglow have been releasing solid tunes and finally they've peaked with their magnum opus, La Di Da, a stellar synthwave-influenced track accompanied by a cool cyberpunk/sin city aesthetic.
05. (G)I-DLE - Oh My GodJeon Soyeon making more appearances on my list than anyone else, this time with her "real" group. Epic song in tried and true (G)I-DLE / Soyeon style. She showed me all the stars, once again.
06-07. Itzy - Not Shy, WannabeI think it's safe to say that Itzy is probably the most fun kpop group out there for me, their performances are always a joy to watch and listen to. Really fun songs, both of these, and hard to pick which I like more, but both are elevated by the energetic music videos and perfs. A+ dancing, choreos and Ryujin's thighs. Wait, I meant to type out something else.
08. Aespa - Black MambaSM's rookie group is an instant favorite of mine, with incredibly talented and beautiful (and silly) girls and the kind of girl crush style that is right up my alley. Not too shabby of a debut track either. I'm addicted.
09. Loona - Why Not?The second Loona song on my list. First impression: not great (technically not true, my first impression was watching the mv and being more like "jesus h christ, heejin, oh my fucking god, yves). Anyway, I slowly found myself getting into it more and more every listen. It's still not a slam dunk but really fun and unique.
10. Twice - I Can't Stop MeIt finally happened, a Twice song made my list! Synthwave is almost cheating (as you might see from some of my picks), but hey, it works. The only part keeping it this low on the list is the (and I love you, Dahyun) "rap" segment lmao.
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I'm so not qualified to vote in this
Everyone is qualified! Love seeing all these lists, everyone, keep them coming, you still have time.
