At the end of each month, I look back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists. I take my own ratings into account, but there’s a bit of wiggle room as certain songs tend to grow or fade.
January 2024 Overall Thoughts
Well, what a nice surprise this month has been!
After many years writing this blog, I try to temper my expectations. I can’t say I was anticipating January more than any recent month, but I’ve been pleasantly shocked by how much great music has been stuffed into the past few weeks. I think this has been the strongest K-pop January since… maybe 2018?
What’s more, many of these highlights came from groups I don’t actively keep an eye out for. I mean, certain acts are almost guaranteed to release material I enjoy, but it can be even more fun when excellent songs spawn from unexpected sources.
Compared to Januarys of the past, this month felt unusually crowded. There were many debuts and a few big-name comebacks that kept K-pop conversation high. Pre-releases also played an important role, with many groups delivering several music videos. My blogging schedule was packed, which isn’t often the case during these winter months.
Choosing my top three songs was a struggle, as there were more than three 9-rated tracks this January. I’m still not totally sure which song belongs in third place, as TWS’s Plot Twist is a very strong contender that could easily have been number one in a weaker month. Beyond these top four, there were multiple highlights in my honorable mentions. I love ITZY’s Untouchable and Waker’s Atlantis, while AB6IX’s Grab Me, Sistar19’s No More and NMIXX’s Run For Roses are also strong contenders. Both RIIZE’s Love 119 and NMIXX’s Dash have proven to be huge growers, making January’s successes both sprinters and marathon runners.
As seems to be the pattern for me, my number one pick comes from a lesser-known act. But boy, did they deliver this time! The song is very much to my personal taste so its placement shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise. And, you know how I tend to love older K-pop producers with a signature sound.
J-pop was comparatively muted this month, but there were still highlights from some of my favorite acts. I’m keeping Takanori Nishikawa’s excellent Gundam theme Freedom out of contention for now in the hope that it will receive a music video soon, but otherwise it would have been part of my top three.
So… where do we go from here? A strong January doesn’t necessarily portend an equally strong year, but I’m feeling much more optimistic about where K-pop trends are heading. It’s nice to have this boost right at the start of the year because it sets up a positive mindset that can hopefully power through the inevitable lulls and doldrums the industry tends to experience. February is bound to be more sparse than January thanks to Lunar New Year celebrations briefly pausing the release schedule, but there are already some big-name comebacks on the horizon. Let’s keep this momentum going!
Month Cumulative Rating: 7.9
(compiled by averaging the scores of every K-pop review from this month)
J-Pop Highlights
New & Noteworthy J-pop: Week One
New & Noteworthy J-pop: Week Two
New & Noteworthy J-pop: Week Three
New & Noteworthy J-pop: Week Four
TOP J-POP SONGS OF THE MONTH
3. SixTONES – Anthem
2. SawanoHiroyuki[nZk] – LEvel (ft. TXT) (review)
1. One Love One Heart – Aise, Shigoku Sanzan na Bokura no Hi wo (review)
K-POP
Honorable Mentions
AB6IX – Grab Me (review)
B1A4 – Rewind (review)
The Boyz – Honey (Sunwoo & Eric) (review)
CIX – Lovers Or Enemies (review)
ICHILLIN – Bite Me (review)
ITZY – Untouchable (review)
IU – Love Wins All (review)
JD1 – Who Am I (review)
Lee Chanhyuk – 1 Trillion (review)
Niel – Parting Path (review)
NMIXX – Dash / Run For Roses (review / review)
RIIZE – Love 119 (review)
Seola – Without U (review)
Sistar19 – No More (Ma Boy) (review)
TWS – Oh Mymy: 7s / Plot Twist (review / review)
Vanner – Jackpot (review)
Waker – Atlantis (review)
Yena – Good Morning (review)
This Month’s Risers and Fallers
This Month’s Global Pop Round-Up
TOP THREE SONGS
3. SF9 – Bibora (review)
2. OnlyOneOf – dOpamine (review)
1. Trendz – Go Up (review)
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of December 2023
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of November 2023
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of October 2023
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of September 2023
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of August 2023