Pop Music

2024 12 months-Finish Okay-Pop Recap (& Honorable Mentions)

indie1000.com December 9, 2024

The subsequent few weeks on The Bias Checklist can be full of all method of end-of-year countdowns. From Okay-pop to J-pop to world pop to dramas, it’ll all be coated. This can be a enjoyable strategy to tie a bow on the 12 months and rejoice all of the issues I cherished in 2024. These countdowns kick off tomorrow with my greatest one: The Prime 50 Okay-Pop Songs of 2024.

Truthfully, this has been an odd 12 months for Okay-pop. The business appeared extra scandal-plagued than ever and ended its 12 months with a flurry of disbandments and controversies. It’ll be fascinating to see the place we head going ahead. So far as music is worried, 2024 was cut up neatly in half. An enormous share of my favourite music got here from the primary half of the 12 months, leaving the second half fairly underwhelming. Regardless of this, I’d take into account 2024 stronger as an entire than 2023 (although for me that is because of the work of a comparatively small group of artists).

There can be loads of area to speak about musical developments later, however I’m undoubtedly within the temper for a change. I adopted the time period “beige pop” to explain a lot of this 12 months’s choices. Subdued sounds appear to be in. Even when artists borrowed from historically bombastic genres, they usually did so in a extra nuanced approach. I’ve by no means been the most important fan of nuance in pop music, in order that’s a little bit of an issue in the case of private style. Because of this, my listing this 12 months is particularly brief on lady teams. These developments appeared to have an effect on them greater than boy teams and I’m very anticipating a return to a extra forceful sound (assume Kara, GFriend, T-ara, WJSN, Sistar, and so forth).

After all, there have been loads of glorious songs launched this 12 months — from boy teams, lady teams and soloists. I’m excited to highlight them over the following few days. Personally, I’m an even bigger fan of my prime ten than I’ve been in years. In the long run, 2024 was extra “high quality” than “amount,” with a handful of songs I adore slicing by means of the 12 months’s many, many skips. On stability, all of it works itself out. And for these taken with stats, there are additionally some new information inside this 12 months’s countdown that may develop into obvious as soon as every little thing is revealed. It’s all the time fascinating to see how issues shake out.

That is additionally a good time to preface the countdown by reiterating how it’s completely different from different year-end countdowns. This isn’t a listing picked by consensus, neither is it one primarily based upon any metric of success past how a lot I personally loved a music. There can be hits, industrial flops and lots of under-the-radar picks. You in all probability received’t agree with every little thing, however similar to The Bias Checklist as an entire, you might be assured that it’s 100% genuine to my style.

Talking of the weblog, 2024 is on observe to proceed year-over-year development in views and guests. That’s 9 straight years of enchancment. As I do yearly, I need to thank each reader — whether or not you’re in settlement with my opinions or not. Thanks for persevering with to go to! Suggestions and exercise are the issues that maintain me posting every day.

This year-end characteristic is my 820th publish of the 12 months, which is up once more from this time final 12 months. That’s 260,000 phrases — or a pair novels’ value of content material, in the event you’d prefer to depend it that approach!

Eligibility standards for my Prime 50 Singles listing hasn’t modified since final 12 months, however for individuals who are new to the weblog, listed here are the foundations. This 12 months, there was one music that didn’t fairly match the factors however I simply couldn’t justify counting it as a b-side.

Eligibility standards:

A music will need to have been launched as a title, follow-up or promoted observe between December 1, 2023 and November 30, 2024.
A music should be paired with a full music video or big-budget efficiency video (the traces get extra blurred annually).
English-language singles are eligible. Japanese singles by Okay-pop artists can be a part of the J-pop countdown.

Earlier than kicking off the countdowns tomorrow, listed here are the ten songs that didn’t fairly make the Prime 50.