Top 20 K-Pop Songs of 2019

As with 2017 and 2018’s lists, this is just my personal twenty favourite K-Pop songs from 2019 (as it’s so late I’m only doing 20 this year!). As with the previous years a group will only be mentioned on here once but soloists and sub-units can be mentioned even if the group has already been on here. Here goes nothing!

20. Rocket Punch – Bim Bam Bum

Rocket Punch had their debut in 2019 with this song and I loved it from first listen. It’s not my favourite song ever but it was a solid debut and I’m looking forward to seeing what else Rocket Punch release in the future. Good luck to them!

19. G-Friend – Sunrise

Whilst I still love G-Friend I wasn’t feeling their releases last year as much as I have in previous years. ‘Fever’ really isn’t my bop although I did like ‘Sunrise’ – it’s just not as iconic as previous years like when they released ‘Rough’, ‘Fingertip’ or ‘Memoria’. I still love the group and will be keeping an eye out for their 2020 releases because I’m sure they’ll continue to have good comebacks.

18. Oh My Girl – Bungee

I mentioned in 2018’s post that I hadn’t been too keen on ‘Oh My Girl’s releases. They just really weren’t my cup of tea and I found them a bit boring. I much preferred ‘Bungee’ because it was much more lively and a really fun song. It’s not their best song but it’s still a lot of fun and it’s really cute!

17. Itzy – Dalla Dalla

Another girl group debut that was pretty good – it didn’t blow my socks off or anything but Itzy did have a solid debut and I also enjoyed their comeback with ‘Icy’. I don’t think Itzy will ever be my favourite group but I enjoy their songs and their concept so far so you never know. I’m looking forward to seeing what they release in 2020!

16. Chungha – Snapping

When it was announced Chungha was going solo I was really excited – she’d been my IOI bias and I was looking forward to seeing what kind of songs she released. Unfortunately I wasn’t fond of her debut and I found that I didn’t love her early comebacks. I still loved her but I wasn’t really vibing with her music. I’m pretty sure I heard ‘Snapping’ at a K-Pop Night in Birmingham so decided to check it out and suddenly I had this song on repeat and couldn’t stop listening to it. I’ll be looking forward to more Chungha releases in the future!

15. Dreamcatcher – Piri

I love this song but I have a feeling I’ve listened to it one too many times – otherwise I think it would’ve been further up the list. But objectively it is still a good song and I wish I could’ve seen Dreamcatcher live last year but unfortunately their show was on a week day and I really didn’t want to take two days off work to go and see them again. More weekend concerts in the future please!

14. SuperM – Jopping

I won’t lie to you, I wasn’t thrilled at the thought of ‘SuperM’. I think as a one-off collaboration I’d have been more down but a permanent group as a mix of members from already established groups just seemed like a really weird idea? I’m not a massive boy group stan (except for BTS really) so although I liked all the groups individually I wasn’t too hyped to give this song a listen but everyone on Twitter was talking about it so I put it on and actually really liked it a lot more than I thought I would. Still not sold on the idea of ‘SuperM’ but I have to admit, ‘Jopping’ was a good song.

13. Cherry Bullet – Q&A

Yet another girl group debut that I loved – it seemed like a lot of groups debuted last year, I swear we’re getting more and more every year. I love the gaming concept Cherry Bullet have so was excited to listen to their debut and they didn’t disappoint. I did like their comeback with ‘Really Really’ but I don’t think it was as good as ‘Q&A’. This is another girl group I’ll be looking out for in 2020!

12. AleXa – Bomb

This came up on my YouTube recommendations and I quickly discovered this was AleXa’s debut song and for the first verse I wasn’t 100% sure on the song but by the time the chorus hit I was sold. It’s super catchy, the choreography is incredible and AleXa is just clearly super talented. I’m looking forward to seeing what she does in 2020!

11. Nature – Oopsie (My Bad)

I gave Nature a listen in 2018 and liked their song ‘Some (You’ll Be Mine)’ – it wasn’t incredible and not a song I had on repeat or anything but it was a decent song and made my list last year. Then last year Nature came back with ‘Oopsie (My Bad)’ and I actually loved this song upon first listen. So catchy and fun! I’ve said this with most of the songs I’ve chosen but I’m looking forward to seeing what else Nature comeback with.

10. Hwasa – TWIT

Although I wasn’t massively keen on most of Mamamoo’s most recent comebacks I’ve still been keeping an eye out because like you never know. Then suddenly Hwasa released a solo song – I think all the members of Mamamoo are insanely talented so I’d always check out any solo songs the girls decided to release which is how I heard Hwasa’s ‘TWIT’ and instantly loved it. The girl can do pretty much everything – sing, dance, rap and she definitely showcased her talents in this song. I hope she gets more solos in the future!

9. MOMOLAND – I’m So Hot

Last year wasn’t the best year for the group as two of the members have officially left with another pending a final decision. Two of the members didn’t participate for this comeback earlier last year but the song was still really good and one that I loved instantly from first listen. I’m proud of how far MOMOLAND have come over the past year but I hope the fact they’ve lost a couple of members and only had one comeback last year doesn’t affect them too much.

8. TWICE – Feel Special

To tell you the truth I wasn’t too fussed about this song or ‘Fancy’ when they were first released but for some reason in November I went through a TWICE phase and only wanted to listen to their songs. Whilst ‘Fancy’ is a good song I definitely ended up preferring ‘Feel Special’ for some reason. I’m not even particularly sure why because it’s not my usual type of song but TWICE smashed it and I absolutely love it – not as much as some of their comebacks from previous years but it’s still a great song!

7. Red Velvet – Zimzalabim

You know what, I don’t care what people have to say about this song – it was one of my favourite comebacks last year! Yes, it was a bit all over the place but plenty of good songs are – look at Girls’ Generation’s ‘I Got a Boy’. A bit of a mess upon first listen but once you get used to it it’s a lot of fun and really catchy. If you didn’t like it then fair enough but I really did!

6. BTS – Dionysus

To tell you the truth I wasn’t the biggest fan of ‘Boy With Luv’ – it’s a good song but it definitely would have been lower down on this list but I absolutely loved ‘Dionysus’ which was the song they opened with at both the Wembley concerts. It was a good song to get everyone lit and it makes me happy whenever I listen to it. I’m sure BTS will have another amazing year in 2020 and I’m looking forward to it! Here’s hoping they come back to the UK.

5. Somi – Birthday

I hadn’t realised Somi was having a solo debut until my friend Jess asked if I’d listened to ‘Birthday’. I heard it briefly at K-Pop Night in Birmingham, came home, listened to it and suddenly I was hooked. I’m surprised that many people are saying Somi can’t sing – the song didn’t have the largest vocal range and was presumably supposed to be a fun debut rather than show off what her voice can do. And a lot of people are saying she can’t handle being solo but I think it was a really good debut like I genuinely don’t understand? I’m sure Somi has a good career ahead of her.

4. Black Pink – Kill This Love

Black Pink absolutely smashed their comeback last year, this song will probably go down as one of those iconic K-Pop songs and honestly it deserves it. Although I like the majority of Black Pink songs this was the first one that I immediately loved upon first hearing it. It was instantly on repeat and is definitely my favourite Black Pink song to date.

3. Mamamoo – Hip

When I first listened to this song I was like ‘it’s okay’ but upon the second listen I was suddenly hooked. I’m pretty sure I had this song on repeat for two days and still didn’t tire of it but forced myself to listen to different songs so that I wouldn’t suddenly hate this one. Again, this is probably my favourite Mamamoo song released yet and I loved pretty much everything about it. The girls also looked incredible for this comeback, I loved Solar’s pink and black hair (although I’m pretty sure it was a wig but she should go for that look in the future). It feels nice to love Mamamoo’s songs again because I’ve always loved the members!

2. CLC – Me

Let’s be real, CLC slayed the game last year. I had trouble narrowing it down between ‘No’, ‘Me’ and ‘Devil’ but in the end settled on ‘Me’ because it’s definitely my favourite comeback last year. However, congratulations to CLC for finally receiving their long-deserved first win with ‘No’! I’m so proud of them for finally achieving this goal and ‘No’ was definitely an award-worthy song. I loved every comeback they had last year so much, CLC just keep providing solid comeback after comeback ever since they released ‘Black Dress’. I bet their songs will be just as amazing in 2020!

1. Weki Meki – Picky Picky

Although I’d enjoyed ‘I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend’ I hadn’t LOVED it and it’s not a song I can listen to on repeat. Then after that I wasn’t overly fond of Weki Meki’s comebacks but then I saw a meme on Twitter of someone saying ‘Why don’t you have a boyfriend?’ and someone responded with the ‘I’m so picky, picky, picky’ part from this song. It intrigued me so I listened to the full song and as with some of the songs on this list I was hooked from that first listen. I’m not sure what’s made it my number one song for this year, maybe because I’ve listened to it over and over again and it still hypes me up as much as it did the first time I listened to it. I requested this song at K-Pop Night in Birmingham and had so much fun dancing to it. It’s definitely making me look forward to more Weki Meki comebacks.

So there we have it, my top twenty K-Pop songs from 2019! Feel free to leave a comment with your favourites from last year.

Top 30 2017 K-Pop Songs

Before I start I wanna make it clear that as with all other posts this is just my opinion! I’m pretty sure there are tons of debuts and comebacks that I missed this year so I may at some point change my mind about this list but right now, I wanted to make a quick list of my top thirty favourite K-Pop songs from 2017. This could include comebacks, debuts or solo releases. This list was originally only supposed to have twenty songs but there were so many good songs this year that I had to extend the list to thirty!

Any artist listed won’t be included again with any other songs they had this year.

30. Momoland – Freeze

This song is really cute and I like the music video for it. Momoland are all really talented but unfortunately pretty underrated. I did enjoy this song but it wasn’t one of my favourites this year. I still recommend giving it a listen though!

29. Winner – Really Really

I wasn’t really a big fan of this song when I first heard it but after listening to a cover of the song by ‘Dreamcatcher’ I realised that actually it’s brilliant. I do low-key feel like Winner got robbed of the Song of the Year award because this song was extremely popular. Although it wasn’t one of my favourites this year I did like it and I hope Winner continue to rise in popularity!

28. CLC – Hobgoblin

This song was amazing, I hadn’t listened to much CLC beforehand but I am a fan of ‘High Heels’ and ‘Oh No No’. I’m sad that most fans dropped CLC after the hype of ‘Hobgoblin’ but to be fair although I’m a fan of some of CLC’s older songs I did think ‘Where Are You’ was pretty boring and probably wasn’t the best move by Cube after the success of ‘Hobgoblin’. Either way this song was great and brought some well-deserved attention to CLC.

27. Weki Meki – I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend

I hated this song when I first heard it, I thought it was really annoying. But after a few listens the song did grow on me. I wouldn’t say it was one of my favourites or anything but I am looking forward to seeing what Weki Meki release in 2018. I hope they can continue to do well!

26. Cosmic Girls – I Wish

For a while I really couldn’t get into Cosmic Girls. I thought their music videos were so aesthetically pleasing and I liked the idea of them but I wasn’t a big fan of their songs until eventually I started liking ‘Happy’ which lead me to start liking ‘Secret’ and ‘I Wish’. Although ‘Secret’ is probably my favourite I still think ‘I Wish’ is brilliant with such a pretty music video. Cosmic Girls are great, they deserve more views!

25. Hyuna – Lip & Hip

I wasn’t particularly a big fan of ‘Babe’ but I do love Hyuna so when she released ‘Lip & Hip’ I gave it a listen. It’s such a good song! And I love the music video, I don’t care what anyone says. This song was lit and now I’m willing to give ‘Babe’ another chance.

24. Girls’ Generation – Holiday

It was the comeback I’d been waiting for, I was counting down the days until their ten year anniversary so I could finally hear something new from my favourite group. Although I loved both ‘Holiday’ and ‘All Night’ I’m a bit disappointed that there wasn’t particularly any meaning behind the two songs to celebrate ten years of them being together. ‘Sailing’ was a nine year anniversary song and it held so much meaning. I’m not saying it had to be slow but I don’t see the point in either of the songs like they’re great as just songs but ten year anniversary songs? Anyway I’m getting a bit salty. Either way I’m glad my girls finally came back this year.

23. NCT 127 – Cherry Bomb

I’m not a massive fan of NCT, mainly because I’m not a fan of the amount of members and units and I just find the whole thing a bit confusing so I don’t really want to get invested in them personally. I gave this song one listen and didn’t particularly like it until my friend sang it nonstop on a trip we went on. I came home and had it on repeat for ages because it’s actually a pretty decent song. It hasn’t quite convinced me to get more invested in NCT but I can’t deny it’s catchy.

22. EXID – DDD

Although I’m sad that Solji isn’t currently promoting with EXID I can’t deny that this song was good. Although I thought this was good and ‘Night Rather Than Day’ was good I still can’t help but feel like EXID have lost something. Like I feel like ‘Up & Down’, ‘Ah Yeah’, ‘Hot Pink’ and ‘Lie’ are all so iconic but their releases this year have been relatively average for EXID. I still love EXID and will continue to support them in the future and although I loved their releases this year I can’t help but feel slightly disappointed. ‘DDD’ is still a great song though.

21. iKON – B-Day

I’m not particularly a massive iKON fan but this song was really good! I’m not really invested in iKON personally but I can’t deny that their songs are always so catchy and fun! They’re another group I’d love to see live one day because I bet it’d be a lot of fun. This song was great along with ‘Bling Bling’ so if you haven’t checked them out I really recommend it!

20. IOI – Downpour

I’ll admit it, I cried whilst watching the music video for the first time. They were doing so well together and I loved them so much as a group, why did they have to disband? I hope they do some kind of reunion at some point to perform because I miss them and it hasn’t even been a year yet. I know they’re doing well whether that be returning to their old groups, debuting in a new group, going solo etc. but I still miss them! ‘Downpour’ was so good and I wept so much, if you haven’t listened to it then you’re missing out.

19. Block B – Yesterday

I became a fan of Block B when I saw them at ‘K-Con Paris’ last year – I wasn’t a big fan at the time but their set was so lit and they were probably the most fun group to see live. I was very happy when they announced a European tour earlier this year. Me and Becca went and had the best time ever – especially when Kyung waved at us! This song was released just before the concert and I love it. If you haven’t listened to Block B then you’re really missing out.

18. Black Pink – As If It’s Your Last

Can you imagine how well Black Pink would do if they actually had regular and decent promotions? The girls are already amazingly popular so if they were promoting regularly they could easily do well. But unfortunately YG only gave them one comeback this year for some reason? I’m salty but whatever. I did love ‘As If It’s Your Last’ but I still think compared to their debut songs it wasn’t as good. I can’t wait to see what else they release though!

17. HALO – Here I Am

I heard of HALO because they announced a Europe tour and I’m tempted to go and see them, assuming I have enough money. Before I made up my mind I decided to listen to some of their songs. To be honest with you I’ve only listened to ‘Here I Am’ so far but it’s brilliant! I really hope I can go and see them next year, they’re a brilliant group and I highly recommend them.

16. Oh My Girl – Colouring Book

I couldn’t stand Oh My Girl for a while but now I love them! Although I think some of their older songs like ‘Liar Liar’ and ‘Closer’ are better, I still think ‘Colouring Book’ is great. I’m sad that JinE had to leave but completely understand, it was definitely the right decision and I hope she starts to recover. I’ll continue to support the girls as a seven member group because I know they’ll continue to do well – I’m looking forward to their comeback in January!

15. Sistar – Lonely

This is another song released just before the group disbanded that made me want to cry. I’d just become a big fan of Sistar when they announced their disbandment, how cruel is that? The music video for ‘Lonely’ is probably one of my favourites and the whole song is definitely one of my favourites this year. I’ll miss you Sistar!

14. Good Day – Rolly

I love this song! It’s so cute and puts me in a good mood. I also love the girls’ sparkly outfits. There’s nothing about this song that I don’t love. ‘Good Day’ aren’t that popular but they’re really talented and I recommend giving them a listen!

13. Pristin – We Like

I didn’t like ‘Wee Woo’ when it was first released but after trying it a few times it grew on me and I ended up quite liking Pristin. When ‘We Like’ was released I didn’t like that either at first listen but by the second listen it had grown on me a lot. It’s so catchy and just really a fun song! I’m looking forward to seeing what Pristin release in the future, their songs are so catchy and I love them.

12. MiSO – KKPP

I’m quite a new fan of MiSO but she has some good songs. She’s the maknae of girl group ‘Girls Girls’ and she made her solo debut earlier this year. I first listened to ‘Pink Lady’ which I thought was really good then ‘KKPP’ which was even better! It’s a shame she’s from such a small company because she’s really talented and I’ll definitely be looking out for her work in the future.

11. Jessi – Gucci

Jessi is honestly so good, I think her voice is absolutely amazing and ‘Gucci’ is now one of my favourite songs. I liked some of her other songs like ‘Ssenunni’ and ‘Unpretty Dreams’ but ‘Gucci’ absolutely blew them away, I thought it was so good. Definitely one of my favourite comebacks this year!

10. Hyoyeon – Wannabe

I’m so glad my girl Hyoyeon is finally releasing solo music and proving to everyone that yes, she can sing despite everyone claiming she couldn’t and that she was only in Girls’ Generation because she’s a talented dancer. Hyoyeon can do both, believe it or not! Although I did like ‘Mystery’ I found it was a bit repetitive and didn’t really showcase Hyo’s talent. ‘Wannabe’ was perfect though, I wouldn’t change a thing about it. I hope she releases more solo stuff in the future because she’s brilliant!

9. BTS – Not Today

When ‘Spring Day’ was released I was a little disappointed. I love that song now but I didn’t like it at the time because I’m not usually a fan of slower songs. So I was really happy when they dropped the music video for ‘Not Today’ because it was so my taste in music. I loved everything about it, especially the choreography. I’m glad BTS are doing so well but I hope they get chance to rest, I’m low-key stressed about them. Either way I’m looking forward to seeing what they release in the future and I’m still hoping they’ll do their own show in Europe someday but I won’t hold my breath.

8. TWICE – Heart Shaker

TWICE were on the first draft of this list but a lot lower down with ‘Knock Knock’ because I did love that song. I wasn’t as big of a fan of ‘Signal’ so that wouldn’t have been included. Then they released ‘Heart Shaker’ and they were immediately bumped up the list. I don’t know what it is about that song but I love it so much. I can’t stop listening to it! I hope TWICE continue to do well in 2018!

7. Mamamoo – Aze Gag (Dad Jokes)

To be honest when I first saw the teasers for this song I wasn’t impressed – I didn’t think it looked that great. When it was dropped I actually really liked it and it quickly became one of my favourite Mamamoo songs. I wasn’t as big of a fan of ‘Yes I Am’ which was the song I thought I’d prefer. I can’t wait to see what Mamamoo release in the new year!

6. 24K – Only You

This comeback was amazing and I don’t care what anybody says. I love 24K so much! This was a bit different to their other comebacks like ‘Bingo’ or ‘Superfly’ but it was still just as good. Please listen to 24K if you haven’t already, they’re so good and so lovely and I could talk about them all day so just give them a try! I hope they come back to Europe soon, I know they’re going to America next year but I really need to see my boys again soon even though I’ve already seen them three times this year. Am I being greedy or…?

5. Dreamcatcher – Fly High

I think Dreamcatcher are amazing, I love their unique songs and they’re so talented at dancing. I’ve loved all their releases this year but I think ‘Fly High’ is definitely my favourite. I can’t wait to see what Dreamcatcher release next year. It’s been officially announced that Dreamcatcher are doing a Europe tour next year which will include London! Tickets go on sale in the New Year and I hope I get one! I haven’t seen many girl groups live compared to boy groups so I’d love to see Dreamcatcher.

4. AOA – Excuse Me

I kept reading that AOA had completely ‘flopped’ with this comeback and everyone was saying it sucked and I really don’t understand? It was my favourite comeback of theirs so far, I loved everything about it! I had it on repeat from the moment I first listened to it and I still love it. Why does everyone else seem to dislike it? Most people said they preferred ‘Bing Bing’ and while I also loved that, I still thought that ‘Excuse Me’ was so much better. I’m sad Choa left but I hope AOA continue to promote, I’ll be devastated if they split up!

3. Red Velvet – Peek-A-Boo

Red Velvet have had a few comebacks this year and whilst I enjoyed ‘Rookie’ and ‘Red Flavour’ so one of them would’ve made the list, they would’ve been quite a bit further down. Until they released ‘Peek a Boo’ and I was absolutely slayed. It surprised me because I’m not normally a fan of this type of song but I’ve had it on repeat since its release. I’m a little salty it was released mid-November when it would’ve been so much better to release around Halloween, it’s the perfect Halloween song but whatever. I was a bit worried I was going off Red Velvet but nope, they’ve brought me back in again.

2. Girl’s Day – I’ll Be Yours

When I first heard this I hadn’t even realised it was a new release. I don’t know much about Girl’s Day but I assumed it had been out a while and I’d only just got round to finding it. I only know a couple of Girl’s Day songs and those are ‘Ring My Bell’ and ‘Something’ both of which I liked but didn’t particularly love. ‘I’ll Be Yours’ was amazing though, I loved everything about it. I haven’t seen the music video so I can’t comment on that but I love the song so much, I feel like I need to listen to more Girl’s Day now and I can’t wait to see what else they release because I honestly thought this song was brilliant.

1. G-Friend – Fingertip

I love G-Friend so much but you can’t deny that they have a particular sound which makes the majority of their songs sound very similar. That’s probably why I was so impressed when they released ‘Fingertip’. It’s quite funny because all the people who moaned about their songs sounding too similar moaned that this one sounded too different! Like what do you guys actually want? ‘Fingertip’ is so good and I was actually a little disappointed when they released ‘Love Whisper’ because I thought it sounded very similar to ‘Glass Bead’ which was my least favourite song by them.

Either way I love ‘Fingertip’ so much and I hope they release more songs like that in the future!

Let me know what your favourite releases this year were and whether you think I missed out on any absolutely great comebacks or debuts. I can’t wait to see what my favourite groups come out with in 2018 and here’s hoping some of them actually come to Europe so I can see them live!