What You Missed in K-pop 2024: Second Half

Reviewing and ranking 7 noteworthy releases from (late) June to November + FINAL BEST K-POP SONGS OF 2024 LIST.

Dec 10, 2024

I had to go through with the final installment of this series if only to respond to myself from five months ago that yes, Red Velvet actually did drop the best song of all time on June 24 — right after I’d locked down my first-half favorites and sent the round-up on its way.

Here’s the thing: “Cosmic” (spoiler), along with another second-half pick you’ll obviously need to read on to find out, I decided, both deserve a spot in my all-encompassing end-of-year list of Best Songs of 2024. This is tricky business so please bear with me. The big list will be posted too, around Christmas time, probably with selective commentary because I can’t let K-pop be the only genre I’ve extensively talked about on this section in a year full of gorgeous, gorgeous music. However, as that one’s shaping up, it will solely feature my top *5* *K-pop* songs of 2024 which can be broken down to: the first-half top 3 (see here and here) + “Cosmic” + the mystery pick I mentioned. I hope this is making sense.

As per industry publication tradition, this second half round-up will cover (late) June to November and there better not be any noteworthy releases in December or else.1 After wondering what the best way to structure this would be, given the big end-of-year ordeal and what not, I figured I’d just stick to what I did for the first half by going through the top selection of this half of the year alone, in typical ranking order. If you wish to know how the FINAL K-pop end-of-year (including all first and second half picks in combined order, among others) has formed, you can check out the playlist linked at the bottom of this piece. Nonetheless, do make sure to also tune into Of The Moment’s Best Songs of 2024 in later December to see where the aforementioned top 5 has landed.

Now.

We have a few less picks for this half contrary to the first’s top 10 and that’s a result of a BRICK WALL between #7 and what was supposed to be #8. Let us agree that 2024’s second half was a little less exciting than the first — I will not be taking questions at this time. The one track per artist rule applies, and this means I ought to briefly touch on the second-half trajectory of the acts featured in the first half, all of whom that came back did so (luckily, for the logistics of this) with less interesting releases than the ones I had already listed, even if just by a hair. Really quickly:

BADVILLAIN (pick: “YAH-HO (BADTITUDE)”) — Came out with “ZOOM” which is more of the same as their first, self-titled single though thankfully stickier.
tripleS (pick: “Girls Never Die”) — Of course released a bajillion different things following <ASSEMBLE24> which include an album I didn’t particularly care for and a Japanese single which might be the best song in their discography but understandably doesn’t have a place here.
ITZY (pick: “Mr. Vampire”) — Recruited most employed American producer in K-pop Dem Jointz for obnoxious genre-clash “GOLD” which (all due respect) could be his worst work in the scene yet, and tapped into the meta-parasocial trend for “Imaginary Friend” which doesn’t hold a candle to exemplary iterations from the likes of NewJeans and ARTMS.
NMIXX (pick: “BOOM”) — Returned with a slightly darker (and “weirder”) version of “DASH” in “See that?” Though a pleasurable EP, none of the B-sides have the cheeky spark or musical prowess of “BOOM” off their previous project.
YOUNG POSSE (pick: “Scars”) — “ATE THAT” is… fun for the most part. But nothing that can make me abandon this outrageous girliepopified rage track as my YOUNG POSSE pick of the year.
KISS OF LIFE (pick: “Midas Touch”) — After summer fling “Sticky” and its seductive B-side “Te Quiero” released on July 1st, they came out with forgettable title “Get Loud” and its show-stealer, mandatory K-pop discography Tinashe reject “Igloo.” All fine, none a Moment. I like the track “Chemistry” off their new EP.
IVE (pick: “Accendio”) — We’ll pretend they dropped nothing because if I have to discuss this god-awful, Ryuichi Sakamoto-sampling David Guetta collab, I might be sick and wouldn’t wish to make the poor, horribly disrespected, perfect, genius composer turn in his grave.
aespa (pick: “Supernova”) — Well, I won’t try to convince anyone that “Whiplash” doesn’t belong to the 2024 hall of fame. If only this group would stop serving momentous title after momentous title and making things difficult for me, I am but a humble ranker. I’d probably be talking about this techno-infused banger more at length if “Supernova” hadn’t already been declared indisputable Song of the Year as far as K-pop is concerned (a consensus I expect to see validated in many end-of-year lists), but even with the one track per act rule in place, it’s undeniable that aespa have single-handedly owned 2024 with the “Supernova”-”Armageddon”-”Whiplash” trifecta. Talk about impact. Well-deserved Artist of the Year, if I may. Of course, there’s still some struggle on the EP front, despite the couple of charming offerings on this latest one. Shoutout to the SYNK: PARALLEL LINE special release, however, and melodic rave princess WINTER whose solo career will save us all.

That said, ARTMS still firmly own the Album of the Year title, only with TAEMIN and NCT 127 having joined the nominees. Speaking of the latter, I feel like I have to issue a disclaimer here for the real ones who will take notice of JAEHYUN’s beautiful, Babyface-assisted “Can’t Get You” in the upcoming Best of 2024 list; one of the most inspired tracks to come out of the scene at large this year, yet too much of a crossover to feel at peace in a K-pop category. No? Just me? Okay. Anyway, that’s the same nonsense reason you’re not seeing (or haven’t seen) RM, LISA or JENNIE, or perhaps more expectedly, people like youra and Balming Tiger here, but may come across some of them in the all-encompassing list.

There’s another trivial item to be brought up in regards to this which pertains to the growing trend of an approximately 70% English - 30% Hangul language division within songs, as an outcome of K-pop’s predicted, gradual assimilation into the western market for the time being. The margins can’t help but be a little arbitrary, as one can understand — I don’t want to re-awaken the eternal “what do we talk about when we talk about K-pop as a genre?” debate (if you fancy some musings on that, I direct you to this piece from a year ago which has somehow managed to age horribly in the meantime but let’s ignore that). So I’m not sure what to tell you, it’s all vibes. But as an independent blog with a plugged-in following, the goal certainly isn’t to paint a surface-level portrait of how things… are… in the industry right now.

K-pop is mutating and redefining itself like all scenes do with time and that’s a statement as neutral as it gets. I simply try to look for what, in this current landscape of attempts at branching out that either work or don’t, happens to look me in the eye and remind me of the corner of the music industry I’ve known to be capable of excellence.

#7 PRIMROSE – “Trick or Trigg”

I wish I knew more about PRIMROSE other than the fact they’re nugu promoter frequenters and two of their members come from groups which didn’t outlast one comeback — namely, HOT ISSUE and bugAboo, whose respective “ICONS” and self-titled debut could honestly knock a lot of 2024 “Big 4” K-pop right out.

The four-piece has the type of nugu (meaning “lesser known,” for the unfamiliar) group discography that makes one marvel at the world. Take this excerpt from their Spotify bio:

PRIMROSE symbolizes the flower of the Nordic Goddess, Freyja. They launched their stage debut in 2023 with their mini album “RED MOON.” In August 2023, the group released their second mini album “Laffy Taffy.”

How can you not wonder who these divas are? Especially when “LAFFY TAFFY” — a bonafide summer K-pop release complete with a music video filmed in front of the infamous Paradise Diner which mashes together a worn-out school concept and saccharine retro aesthetics under warm, low-contrast filter — is actually incredibly well-produced R&B pop.

A Nordic mythology-themed comeback in single “Freyja” (yes, actually) later, PRIMROSE are enjoying a bit of a breakout moment which they’ve bet on EP Steal Heart to prolong. While the eponymous title track dabbles in Lee Hyori-esque Y2K tropes and G-funk whistles, the big band instrumental-preceded “Trick or Trigg” calls back to a fairly recent era in the scene when jazzy, synth-soaked R&B B-sides were EP staples. Clean-structured and toeing the line between sultry and lighthearted, the track paints a smoky atmosphere through delicate piano touches and takes off with bold, propulsive synths, particularly prominent during its outstanding bridge.

Above-league moments from so-called nugu groups aren’t rare but they’re never not exciting to talk about either. In 2024, the argument could be made that the spirit of K-pop at its most idealistic is preserved through acts that don’t typically aim as high as their more well-off peers and can therefore afford either novelty or wholehearted adherence to nostalgic molds without wider industry pressures. I’m positive that many Best of K-pop 2024 lists will be featuring groups like RESCENE, who have already been dubbed Red Velvet daughters for building on the senior act’s 2018 synthy, R&B-indebted sound, or MADEIN whose debut EP lays down some pretty wild production ideas.2

#6 YENA – “NEMONEMO”

It’s like nobody wants to do aegyo music anymore. Whatever happened to the lost art that used to bring people together? Truth is, J-pop has been keeping it alive and well for decades — and it’s the reason that whenever K-pop ventures into the territory of hyper-cute dance music, J-pop mentions always flood comments. Comparatively to other endeavors, nonetheless, YENA’s “NEMONEMO” does have something of the special sauce that declares tracks of its caliber great anime openings or endings.

Packed to the brim with high-pitched call-and-responses, vibrant percussion embellished with 8-bit elements, and supersonic synths, “NEMONEMO” revives a particular kind of high-stim dance pop that seems to have taken a backseat amid the sleek, global-oriented landscape of contemporary K-pop.

To be fair, it’s not like acknowledgement from Western listenerships and outlets has fared well for YENA in the recent past. This has little to do, however, with the steadfastness of her solo trajectory post IZ*ONE (a group with significant Japanese following) and her commitment to aegyo-tinged pop rock which, in this release, is refined and taken a step further into unapologetic kitsch. On rare occasions this type of fearlessly campy and loud pop still gets made, it tends to fly under the radar. YENA may not be a total A-lister, but the joy of having this sound back in the ballpark is just priceless.

#5 BABYMONSTER - “FOREVER”

Listen. Okay, this may be the hardest case for a song I’ve had to make on here. And still, I took the decision sober.

I keep going on about the state of K-pop for the last couple years; assimilation, branching out, abandoning traditional molds with new audiences in mind; a lot of this stuff often suggests a certain mellowing out of the genre in oxymoronic service of the attempt to punch above its weight. It’s terribly boring to keep bringing this up instead of talking about actual music, but the more boring thing is that there isn’t much worth analysing in relation to TikTok and radio bait, generic lyricism and soulless trend following.

It’s why the scene isn’t keeping my interest like it used to, and in some twisted way, also why I’m sat here doing this series. Sometimes, having less to babble about gives you one thing to truly speak on — just like an indifference to trends means less fumbling about with what you know how to do. And who knows? If you’re lucky, inadaptability might even come across as authenticity.

YG seems to either be aware of this, or not care at all. Regardless, the lie is working on me. Like I implied at the end of the PRIMROSE blurb, at a time when everyone’s onto the same new thing, sticking to the outdated formulas can at least be… kind of a moment? No? “FOREVER” is a 2NE1 song and the reason it succeeds in my heart is that we are living in increasingly un-set-the-roof-on-fire-baby times. All jokes aside, though, when was the last time after 2020 you heard a melody that takes itself this seriously in an EDM song? When was the last time you heard EDM K-pop that doesn’t derive from deep house, nu disco, or ballroom culture in one sense or another? Whatever happened to Eurodance and rappers that are given verses and 3:33 Pop songs with a capital P?

Somewhere at the bottom of this list, you may also notice MEOVV’s “MEOW,” the debut of the new girl group under YG subsidiary THE BLACK LABEL, run by X nemesis producer Teddy Park whose work (BIGBANG, 2NE2, BLACKPINK) has received countless accusations of staleness by fans over the years. Despite my good conscience siding with the critical approach by default, I’m somehow not convinced that this is more of the same from this guy. His and YG’s trademark, style-first presence is very much there, yet toned down and noticeably updated. But if you don’t hear that, at least you can hear some spark — right?

#4 Yves – “Viola”

Burst out laughing when I saw this tweet, I had to spread the joy. Let’s ignore that there seems to be some kind of consensus that claims BRAT’s sound has already begun filtering through K-pop — I see nothing of the sort around, that can’t be explained away as simply the archetypal K-pop electro-pop thing or the 2023-ongoing club genre trend at least.

Nevertheless, honoring her indie transition by making sure she doesn’t fit in, Yves did go looking for her first solo comeback in the late 2000s bloghouse/hyperpop sphere and returned with “Viola” which undeniably carries a lot of the left-of-center popstar flair associated with Charli’s earlier presence in the scene. Autotune, sharp 808s and abrasive synths juxtaposed against short-lived, harmonious sections, a repetitive hook, and its inspired concept about “just need[ing] some space” lace “Viola” with a similar Trojan Horse charm: what happens when digital flavor and a DIY feel infiltrate the main stage.

It’s not like K-pop hasn’t already seen its SoundCloud moments, particularly this year — if only for HYBE’s touting of ILLIT’s “Magnetic” as pluggnb-infused house and rage-inspired cuts from the likes of TXT, SEVENTEEN and YOUNG POSSE. “Viola” thankfully falls in with the better-executed lot, sweet sincerity shining at its core, in spite of the slightly generic nature of its English lyrics. Yves is taking her time to bloom and her vision of the future looks promising — there will be work to get there, but what’s that to a LOONA girl?

#3 Loossemble – “TTYL”

So, production has just informed me that this is a DISBANDMENT song? If so, the category hasn’t seen much better. Loossemble wrapped things up with a title track which finally nailed down the LOONA essence that was missing from their previous releases, and the tightest yet most potent mini-album of their short run.

It’s always a funny moment when the credits tell you that is indeed the touch of the person you thought you recognized; this project shimmers all over with the telltale production of Ryan S. Jhun, shepherd of IVE and known for his versatile, glossy pop soundscapes specifically across girl group discographies. “TTYL” has something of IVE’s “ELEVEN” in its propulsive yet elegant percussions and bursts with arresting vibrancy even in its quieter moments, a quality reminiscent of Jhun catalog pieces such as OH MY GIRL’s “Dolphin” and fromis_9’s “Talk & Talk.”

While the post-LOONA unit had adopted safer approaches with previous singles (the accurately demure “Sensitive” and bubbly “Girls’ Night”), this track employs the group’s wide range of vocal tones at their brattiest, alongside veering into playfully risqué territory in choreography. Bouncy, breezy, and technicolored, “TTYL” embodies an end-of-summer boost like a late-afternoon matcha latte.

P.S. Whoever said “You BADDIE, RIZZ me tonight” is not in the Bible?

#2 NCT 127 – “Walk”

It has taken 16 blurbs about women to get to the first and last boy group feature of this list. As expected, the disruption to my thesis comes in the form of NCT 127 — the one all-male unit I seem to find irresistible amid a sea of hit-or-miss products from that corner of the industry, if only for their remarkable musical consistency over the years.

To start by addressing the elephant in the room; it’s been a rough year for 127, who have officially entered the nebulous era of military enlistments and sparse solo endeavors, with the cherry-on-top addition of a sex crime scandal involving now ex-member Taeil breaking out around the end of the summer. Yet the music somehow perseveres. July-released sixth LP WALK marks exactly eight years since the group’s debut and while, contrary to popular opinion, the project doesn’t come close to the peak of their discography, it rounds out 2024’s album elite deservedly.

Straightforward and effortlessly catchy, “Walk” (the single) might be the best thing the unit could’ve come out with at this time. Quite unlike 127’s penchant for experimenting with genre-defying structures and biting off the maximum of their chewing capacity3, “Walk”’s strength lies in not shooting for the stars. The track is contained to the ground level of 127’s sonic skyscraper, concentrating on the very framework of their discography by flowing on a tight hip-hop groove packed with braggadocious rhymes as laidback as can be.

At their most minimal is perhaps where NCT 127’s proficiency as a team shines best and this laces “Walk” with an undeniability that makes it impossible to rule out from the general Best Songs of 2024 list. If “locked-in” could sound like anything other than Kendrick Lamar dissing Drake, it’s probably this.

#1 Red Velvet – “Cosmic”

What praise is there to sing about Red Velvet that hasn’t already been sung throughout their decade-long career? Rhetorical question, yet in light of their 10-year anniversary, my thoughts want to underline resilience. Since the mid-’10s, the five-piece has been gracing the K-pop space with their unique approach to an artistic identity, to both critical acclaim and chart-topping hits. Reinvention, in true K-pop fashion, is a lot of acts’ bread and butter, but extremely few have been more daring and thorough with it than the group who, by definition, operates on two sides of the same coin.

After what felt like a discography valley the ensemble had nonetheless earned with eras like Birthday and Chill Kill which seeked to expand the Red Velvet palette to no substantial point, the essential 3rd gen girl group bounced back stronger than ever with a return to form. “Cosmic” — conceptualized after Ari Aster’s Scandinavian folk horror Midsommar (2019) wherein a summer festival transforms into a disturbing experience — is a celebration, though naturally one not devoid of shadows. It’s a very Red Velvet thing, after all; the flower not devoid of its thorns, the major not devoid of the minor and here, with a sharp added next to C, not quite “right” in its blissful orthodoxy either.

There is intriguing emotional energy to this track which is driven by funky ‘80s bass and featherlight synths only to explode in its euphoric, celestial chorus. Disco pop has been a K-pop go-to since forever and even more so post-Covid (perhaps “Cosmic”’s most apt reference would be none other than Jung Kook’s “Standing Next to You”), however an unapologetically elaborate, melodic chorus as the centerpiece remains a refreshing touch in the era of the afterthought hook, similarly to how a masterfully composed progression challenges samples and gimmicks even unintentionally.

Alongside longtime company talent Kenzie, “Cosmic” employs a songwriting dream team of some of SM’s most adept international collaborators (Mckinnon, Berg, Moonshine) and while a move like that doesn’t ultimately guarantee the desired excellence, here the result is a testament to studio magic. Quite literally, the song’s final minute might be the sonic equivalent to an otherworldly realm’s portal opening up.