(Note: I only really listen to singles and title tracks, I just don’t have much time for b-sides if I want to be able to check out most of what gets released. EXO is the exception, their full albums are some of the best)
THE LIST:
#1: Shine, Pentagon. It’s just so happy and addicting and was on my go-to playlist for, like, half the year, I’m not even kidding. Plus I can dance to it. It just makes me feel good, hence why it’s my favorite song of the year! (Naughty Boy is super great, too! I actually prefer the Naughty Boy choreography over Shine’s!)
#2: Instagram, Dean. This song is, like, art. The lyrics are so good, too. It’s chill, it’s catchy. I find myself singing it when I’m washing dishes sometimes! Great, artsy music video, too. Dean’s a wonderful artist, I enjoy what he releases.
#3: April Fools, Jimin Park. This song absolutely surprised me, it caught me off guard. I love the darkness of it. Jimin’s sultry voice is really under-appreciated, too. This is my kind of music, I didn’t realize this kind of sound resonates so well with my soul, but it DOES and I can’t tell you how much I’ve listened to this song. Please give it a listen!
#4: Love Scenario, iKON. On my first listen back when it came out I knew this would make my top 10 list. It’s so good, so catchy, and is the first iKON song I absolutely fell in love with. I also love Killing Me and think it’s a great follow-up to Love Scenario, I adore the darkness of Killing Me, but Love Scenario just hits so many emotions.
#5: Shoot Me, DAY6. DAY6 just come out with bops. Every song of theirs is great. I got into them last year during their “release a single every month plus two full albums in June and December” and fell in love with their K-rock vibes. Nothing will ever beat I Wait, that’s my ultimate DAY6 song, but Shoot Me is my number two. (Also, Wonpil’s voice gives me shivers. Gah.)
#6: Lil’ Touch, Girls’ Generation-Oh!GG. I was not prepared. I don’t even really like girl groups. SNSD has never been a favorite of mine, most of their songs are just too bubbly for me. But dang, Lil’ Touch is just classy and tasteful. Bravo.
#7: Boss, NCT U. Goodness, it was hard to pick from Boss, Touch, and Baby Don’t Stop, but Boss is just an amazing track and my favorite NCT choreography to date. 2018 was NCT’s year, the boys worked non-stop (well, Mark and Taeyong did, lol). This was also the year I fell in love with NCT and am now a super-stan. NCT Vision (the Chinese subunit), please DEBUT SOON! 加油!
#8: Dejavu, NU’EST W. I’ve always liked NU’EST and am happy they gained a lot of popularity from Produce 101 Season 2. I’m sad Wanna One is disbanding but am glad it means the return of Minhyun to NU’EST. Song-wise, I love Dejavu’s airiness and overall vibe. I really liked Where You At, but Dejavu suits my musical tastes so much better.
#9: Baby, The Rose. Vocals. Vocals. Vocals. The Rose’s vocalists are insane. I loved Sorry, their debut song last year, but Baby is so interesting musically. It’s minimalistic, then super dramatic. I also like bands and rock-influenced sounds. Baby is just a great track. It’s probably the least-listened to on repeat of the songs on this list, but it’s just musically and vocally so very interesting it gets a spot on my list.
#10: 1, 2, 3!, Seungri. I appreciate a good musical theater-like song. I love the homage to Grease, especially in regards to the music video. I love how you can just dance to this. It’s a fun, colorful song and my dancer-self appreciates it. So much.
I can’t wait for all the new music coming in 2019! Let me know your favorite songs of 2018! Do we share any of the same songs/have similar tastes in music?
(Also—my honorable mentions will be in a separate comment below.)
I love Baby Don’t Stop so much, the choreography is also fabulous. I think I just like Boss more because it pumps me up and makes me feel like, well, a boss, lol. I have to be in the right mood to put on Baby Don’t Stop, but, again, it was really close picking my favorite NCT song of the year!
There are so many more amazing songs from this year. My honorable mentions list is going to be soooo loooong, but here are a bunch of other tracks I had on repeat this year:
—>I’m So Sick, Apink
—>Singularity, BTS’s V
—>Fly, Cross Gene
—>Days Gone By, DAY6
—>You and I, Dreamcatcher
—>Honestly, Eric Nam
—>Potion, Eric Nam
—>I Love You, EXID
—>Tempo, EXO — EXO stealing wigs with a capella.
—>Love Shot, EXO
—>Blooming Day, EXO-CBX
—>Wet, Flowsik ft. Jessi
—>Summer Nights Dream, FTISLAND
—>Monster, Henry Lau
—>Loved, Highlight
—>Sober, Hyoyeon of Girls’ Generation
—>Killing Me, iKON
—>Nanana, IMFACT
—>The Snowman, Jung Seung Hwan
—>True Love, Kim Sungkyu of Infinite
—>Cookies, Lee Hongki of FTISLAND
—>Touch & Sketch, Leo of VIXX
—>Starry Night, Mamamoo
—>Is Who, Minseo
—>Bboom Bboom, Momoland
—>Regular, NCT 127
—>Touch, NCT 127
—>We Go Up, NCT Dream
—>Baby Don’t Stop, NCT U
—>The Day, Park Hyo Shin — Only OST on here, and from Mr. Sunshine, but Park Hyo Shin is a LEGEND.
—>Naughty Boy, Pentagon
—>Bad Boy, Red Velvet
—>Power Up, Red Velvet
—>The Hardest Part, Roy Kim
—>Only Then, Roy Kim
—>Oh My!, Seventeen
—>Now or Never, SF9
—>Good Evening, SHINee
—>Countless, SHINee
—>Kiss Me Like That, Shinhwa
—>One More Time, Super Junior — The return of Ryeowook!
—>Sober, Suzy
—>Seoul Night, Teen Top
—>Wolf Baby, TRCNG
—>The Chance of Love, TVXQ
—>What Is Love?, Twice
—>Feeling, UNB
—>Scentist, VIXX — My ultimate favorite group ever. Amazing concept. Sexy, dark song. Not the strongest VIXX song out there, but still dang amazing.
—>Star, Vromance
—>Spring Breeze, Wanna One
Scentist & Lil Touch were basically a 3 way tie with the #20 on my own list. VIXX is so stunning in every concept, love the breakdown of the chorus in Scentist. Completely know what you mean when you were not prepared for SNSD OhGG! When YoonA dropped it low while doing the unzipping hand motion I could not.
I mostly like SNSD when they do more mature, edgy songs, away from bubble pop and bright tunes, like Lil Touch and Taeyeon’s I Got Love and Something New. Yoona’s not my favorite member of SNSD, but I pretty much jaw-dropped at her in particular in the Lil Touch MV!
VIXX are concept kings. And gugudan are concept queens. Very few groups can pull off every concept they try; Jellyfish sure knows what they’re doing!
I posted my full list under one of Hades’ award categories.
I loved Shine. I still love Shine. Pentagon is the group that got me into kpop. I know they haven’t completely broken up but not the same. It makes me actually sad.
It wasn’t until Naughty Boy that I buckled down to learn all their names and a bit of their history. Very sad E’Dawn left and Yanan is on hiatus, though he seems to be gearing up to participate in their next comeback. 🙂 EXO was the group that got me into K-pop.
Wow, we have quite similar taste. I think I had most of these on my playlist at some point. There were only 3 that I’m not as familiar with (Instagram, Lil’ Touch, & Dejavu).
Sunflowerdiva
December 30, 2018 at 3:05 PM
My Top 10 K-pop songs of 2018!
(Note: I only really listen to singles and title tracks, I just don’t have much time for b-sides if I want to be able to check out most of what gets released. EXO is the exception, their full albums are some of the best)
THE LIST:
#1: Shine, Pentagon. It’s just so happy and addicting and was on my go-to playlist for, like, half the year, I’m not even kidding. Plus I can dance to it. It just makes me feel good, hence why it’s my favorite song of the year! (Naughty Boy is super great, too! I actually prefer the Naughty Boy choreography over Shine’s!)
#2: Instagram, Dean. This song is, like, art. The lyrics are so good, too. It’s chill, it’s catchy. I find myself singing it when I’m washing dishes sometimes! Great, artsy music video, too. Dean’s a wonderful artist, I enjoy what he releases.
#3: April Fools, Jimin Park. This song absolutely surprised me, it caught me off guard. I love the darkness of it. Jimin’s sultry voice is really under-appreciated, too. This is my kind of music, I didn’t realize this kind of sound resonates so well with my soul, but it DOES and I can’t tell you how much I’ve listened to this song. Please give it a listen!
#4: Love Scenario, iKON. On my first listen back when it came out I knew this would make my top 10 list. It’s so good, so catchy, and is the first iKON song I absolutely fell in love with. I also love Killing Me and think it’s a great follow-up to Love Scenario, I adore the darkness of Killing Me, but Love Scenario just hits so many emotions.
#5: Shoot Me, DAY6. DAY6 just come out with bops. Every song of theirs is great. I got into them last year during their “release a single every month plus two full albums in June and December” and fell in love with their K-rock vibes. Nothing will ever beat I Wait, that’s my ultimate DAY6 song, but Shoot Me is my number two. (Also, Wonpil’s voice gives me shivers. Gah.)
#6: Lil’ Touch, Girls’ Generation-Oh!GG. I was not prepared. I don’t even really like girl groups. SNSD has never been a favorite of mine, most of their songs are just too bubbly for me. But dang, Lil’ Touch is just classy and tasteful. Bravo.
#7: Boss, NCT U. Goodness, it was hard to pick from Boss, Touch, and Baby Don’t Stop, but Boss is just an amazing track and my favorite NCT choreography to date. 2018 was NCT’s year, the boys worked non-stop (well, Mark and Taeyong did, lol). This was also the year I fell in love with NCT and am now a super-stan. NCT Vision (the Chinese subunit), please DEBUT SOON! 加油!
#8: Dejavu, NU’EST W. I’ve always liked NU’EST and am happy they gained a lot of popularity from Produce 101 Season 2. I’m sad Wanna One is disbanding but am glad it means the return of Minhyun to NU’EST. Song-wise, I love Dejavu’s airiness and overall vibe. I really liked Where You At, but Dejavu suits my musical tastes so much better.
#9: Baby, The Rose. Vocals. Vocals. Vocals. The Rose’s vocalists are insane. I loved Sorry, their debut song last year, but Baby is so interesting musically. It’s minimalistic, then super dramatic. I also like bands and rock-influenced sounds. Baby is just a great track. It’s probably the least-listened to on repeat of the songs on this list, but it’s just musically and vocally so very interesting it gets a spot on my list.
#10: 1, 2, 3!, Seungri. I appreciate a good musical theater-like song. I love the homage to Grease, especially in regards to the music video. I love how you can just dance to this. It’s a fun, colorful song and my dancer-self appreciates it. So much.
I can’t wait for all the new music coming in 2019! Let me know your favorite songs of 2018! Do we share any of the same songs/have similar tastes in music?
(Also—my honorable mentions will be in a separate comment below.)
RaOnAh loves Jay B 💚
December 30, 2018 at 3:24 PM
I also loved Boss. Although I think I liked Baby Don’t Stop a little bit more. But both songs are really good and made me interested in NCT.
Sunflowerdiva
December 30, 2018 at 3:43 PM
I love Baby Don’t Stop so much, the choreography is also fabulous. I think I just like Boss more because it pumps me up and makes me feel like, well, a boss, lol. I have to be in the right mood to put on Baby Don’t Stop, but, again, it was really close picking my favorite NCT song of the year!
Sunflowerdiva
December 30, 2018 at 3:40 PM
There are so many more amazing songs from this year. My honorable mentions list is going to be soooo loooong, but here are a bunch of other tracks I had on repeat this year:
—>I’m So Sick, Apink
—>Singularity, BTS’s V
—>Fly, Cross Gene
—>Days Gone By, DAY6
—>You and I, Dreamcatcher
—>Honestly, Eric Nam
—>Potion, Eric Nam
—>I Love You, EXID
—>Tempo, EXO — EXO stealing wigs with a capella.
—>Love Shot, EXO
—>Blooming Day, EXO-CBX
—>Wet, Flowsik ft. Jessi
—>Summer Nights Dream, FTISLAND
—>Monster, Henry Lau
—>Loved, Highlight
—>Sober, Hyoyeon of Girls’ Generation
—>Killing Me, iKON
—>Nanana, IMFACT
—>The Snowman, Jung Seung Hwan
—>True Love, Kim Sungkyu of Infinite
—>Cookies, Lee Hongki of FTISLAND
—>Touch & Sketch, Leo of VIXX
—>Starry Night, Mamamoo
—>Is Who, Minseo
—>Bboom Bboom, Momoland
—>Regular, NCT 127
—>Touch, NCT 127
—>We Go Up, NCT Dream
—>Baby Don’t Stop, NCT U
—>The Day, Park Hyo Shin — Only OST on here, and from Mr. Sunshine, but Park Hyo Shin is a LEGEND.
—>Naughty Boy, Pentagon
—>Bad Boy, Red Velvet
—>Power Up, Red Velvet
—>The Hardest Part, Roy Kim
—>Only Then, Roy Kim
—>Oh My!, Seventeen
—>Now or Never, SF9
—>Good Evening, SHINee
—>Countless, SHINee
—>Kiss Me Like That, Shinhwa
—>One More Time, Super Junior — The return of Ryeowook!
—>Sober, Suzy
—>Seoul Night, Teen Top
—>Wolf Baby, TRCNG
—>The Chance of Love, TVXQ
—>What Is Love?, Twice
—>Feeling, UNB
—>Scentist, VIXX — My ultimate favorite group ever. Amazing concept. Sexy, dark song. Not the strongest VIXX song out there, but still dang amazing.
—>Star, Vromance
—>Spring Breeze, Wanna One
CharmingKey
December 30, 2018 at 4:04 PM
Scentist & Lil Touch were basically a 3 way tie with the #20 on my own list. VIXX is so stunning in every concept, love the breakdown of the chorus in Scentist. Completely know what you mean when you were not prepared for SNSD OhGG! When YoonA dropped it low while doing the unzipping hand motion I could not.
Sunflowerdiva
December 30, 2018 at 5:20 PM
I mostly like SNSD when they do more mature, edgy songs, away from bubble pop and bright tunes, like Lil Touch and Taeyeon’s I Got Love and Something New. Yoona’s not my favorite member of SNSD, but I pretty much jaw-dropped at her in particular in the Lil Touch MV!
VIXX are concept kings. And gugudan are concept queens. Very few groups can pull off every concept they try; Jellyfish sure knows what they’re doing!
CharmingKey
December 30, 2018 at 5:53 PM
We have the same taste in SNSD music. I Got Love and Something New are my two favorite Taeyeon songs. Cheers!
Beverly
December 30, 2018 at 4:34 PM
I posted my full list under one of Hades’ award categories.
I loved Shine. I still love Shine. Pentagon is the group that got me into kpop. I know they haven’t completely broken up but not the same. It makes me actually sad.
#3….I will give it a listen.
Sunflowerdiva
December 30, 2018 at 5:25 PM
It wasn’t until Naughty Boy that I buckled down to learn all their names and a bit of their history. Very sad E’Dawn left and Yanan is on hiatus, though he seems to be gearing up to participate in their next comeback. 🙂 EXO was the group that got me into K-pop.
nightmoon
December 30, 2018 at 5:15 PM
Wow, we have quite similar taste. I think I had most of these on my playlist at some point. There were only 3 that I’m not as familiar with (Instagram, Lil’ Touch, & Dejavu).
Sunflowerdiva
December 30, 2018 at 5:28 PM
And I HIGHLY RECOMMEND checking those three out! (Music videos are especially dope for Instagram and Lil’ Touch.)