Best Kpop Songs of 2020

[Stirfry]

 

[Stirfry]

 

[SomethingWild]

10. Aespa - Black Mamba
09. Oh My Girl - Dolphin
08. Everglow - Dun Dun
07. Rocket Punch - Bouncy
06. Everglow - La Di Da
05. Dreamcatcher - Scream
04. IU x Suga - Eight

03. Cignature - Arisong



Cignature actually debuted this year. All of their songs have been wacky and intense. They don't follow any rules, plus they fully embrace their quirky style. This is one of those groups you either love or hate. I feel Arisong especially is an underrated masterpiece, haha.

02. IZ*ONE - Secret Story of the Swan



SSotS is a perfect example of good song writing. You have multiple hooks with "uahage," "swan swan swan" and "mama." Then you have the section where it skips a beat, which goes straight into Yena's rap. It works so well! Plus Minju's wink is always a fun moment to anticipate.

01. Rocket Punch - Juicy



Juicy is a really fun and unique song. Throughout the song there are only minor changes in the backing track and melody lines, which makes the whole thing somewhat unpredictable. You can have it on endless repeat. This song saved the summer. It's so fresh!


edit: I thought Dreamcatcher - Scream was from 2019, so I changed my list.

[storyboard]

1. Loona - Moksori (voice)
2. Everglow - Untouchable
3. fromis_9 - Feel good
4. Everglow - Ladida
5. wjsn chocome - 흥칫뿡 (Hmph!)
6. Cherry Bullet - Hands up
7. Red Velvet - Monster
8. Blackpink - Pretty Savage
9. Everglow - Dundundun
10. BOL4(볼빨간사춘기) - Dancing Cartoon

I'd add loona's star on the list too but moksori will have to do

[Stirfry]

 

[Kimuuu]

There was a LOT of great music last year. So hard to cut this down to only ten. 

1. Hwasa - Maria
2. (g)i-dle - Oh My God
3. Moonbyul - Eclipse
4. Sunmi - Pporappippam
5. Moonbyul - Absence
6. Hwasa - LMM
7. Mamamoo - Chuck
8. Apink - Dumdurum
9. Nada - My Body
10. K/DA - The Baddest

[strawb3rrykream]

Sorry I forgot to do this earlier!

1. Irene & Seulgi (Red Velvet?) - Monster
2. Hwasa - Maria
3. Dreamcatcher - BOCA
4. Twice - More and More
5. Dreamcatcher - Red Sun
6. Dreamcatcher - Black or White
7. Moonbyul - Eclipse
8. Mamamoo - Aya
9. K/DA - More
10. (g)i-dle - Oh My God

LOL clearly I listened to a lot of Dreamcatcher last year...

[Thorin33]

1. Loona-Voice
2. Apink--Duhmdurum
3. Everglow-La Di Da
4. Gfriend-Labyrinth
5. Twice- Cant stop me
6. Izone-Sequence
7. JYP/Sunmi- When we disco
8. Lim Haram-Secret Crush
9. Itzy-WANNABE
10. Blackpink-Love sick girls

[Hatix]

It was a difficult year to choose just 10...

1. IZ*ONE – Fiesta
2. EVERGLOW – Dun Dun
3. IZ*ONE – Secret Story of the Swan
4. EVERGLOW – LA DI DA
5. Dreamcatcher – Scream
6. Dreamcatcher – Boca
7. ITZY – Wannabe
8. Blackpink – How You Like That
9. 3YE – YESSIR
10. aespa – black mamba

Honorable mentions:
ITZY – Not Shy
IZ*ONE – Panorama
IZ*ONE – Sequence
TWICE – I Can't Stop Me
Lee Su-hyun - Alien
LOONA – So What
Red Velvet (Irene & Seulgi) - Monster
(G)I-DLE – Oh My God
3YE – Queen

[shirenuファクトリー]

I'm so not qualified to vote in this, but whatevs, these are the ones I found in my random picks list from 2020:

1. G-Idle - Oh my god
2. Kanto - Favorite (feat. Bumkey)
Kanto guaranteed catchy
3. AKMU - Happening
4. Red Velvet Irene & Seulgi - Monster
5. Loona - Why Not?
6. LEEBADA - Empty room
Me and my random chill "indies"
7. LEE SUHYUN - Alien
8. Solar - Spit it out
9. Chung Ha - Stay Tonight
10. Jun K. - This is not a song, 1929

[Stirfry]

 

[thatonezombie]

I got mine!

1. Sunmi - Gotta Go

Pre-pandemic I had this on loop heavy in early 2020 but got lost in the shuffle, and especially with the more focused promotion of pporappippam, but man this shit goes.

2. Yukika - Soul Lady

I quite enjoy some City Pop. Now she's a free agent and I hope to continue to enjoy her music.

3. Twice - Say Something

When I was told Twice had a City Pop album cut, I went directly to it and I never quite left. JYP, let Twice do more stuff like this please.

4. Mamamoo - Chuck

As evident in my list, I thought Mamamoo has a great 2020. Chuck stuck to my bones on first listen.

5. Sunmi - pporappippam

Wouldn't be surprised if I am burned out on City Pop by the end of 2021, but as of right now, her take on it easily makes this list, too.

6. Mamamoo - Wanna Be Myself

I am with the positive message of this song. Side note: Hwasa has been so active in 2020 and I hope she gets to chill.

7. Moonbyul - Moon Movie

When those piano keys start then the rest of the instruments kick in to make it sound more sinister, then when she starts to bounce on the track. My kind of shit.

8. Eyedi - J.us.T

Not all of her music resonates with me, but the ones that do really, really resonate.

9. Gfriend - Night Drive

I can tell you I wasn't expecting a Gfriend song to make my list, but I like this vibe of the subunit.

10. Twice - Make Me Go

More Twice r&b album cuts, please!

[Stirfry]

 

[DioBrando]

Hi! Stryfe holds a gun to my head once a year and I show up with a list:

01. Dreamcatcher - BOCA
02. Apink - Dumhdurum
03. Irene & Seulgi - Naughty
04. LOONA - Star/Voice
05. Taeyeon - What Do I Call You?
06. BLACKPINK - How You Like That
07. Dreamcatcher - Scream
08. G-Idle - Oh My God
09. ITZY - Not Shy
10. BLACKPINK - Crazy Over You

[Stirfry]

 

[Stirfry]

 

[Kimuuu]

Thanks for the the results and the analysis Stryfe!  Nice to see a wider variety of songs in the running. Last year had a lot of great stuff; it was so hard to put together my top ten.