2023 In Review

1. Introduction + Best Album Art
2. Song of the Year
3. Album of the Year
4. R&B and Soul
5. Rock and Alternative
6. Rap and Hip-hop
7. Dance and Electronic
8. Pop and Ballad
9. Folk and Country
10. Jazz and Blues
11. Crossover and World
12. Best Collaborative Work
13. Rookie Artist of the Year
14. Artist of the Year
15. Other Recognition
16. Concluding Remarks

Separately from the genre picks, we make a point of recognizing the Best Collaborative Work section each year because it is this space where some of tomorrow’s best ideas are born – and some of today’s best music too, of course. Like in anything else, interaction and exchange of ideas help musicians to be creative and explore things that they could not do alone.

The Collaborative Work section is the only one where works from the genre sections can reappear, and that applies to the Song of the Year and Album of the Year finishers as well. The criterion is somewhat different, though, as we focus on things like synergy, significance, or even the unexpectedness associated with a collaboration.

Notes:

• The “Next 10” and honorable mention lists are sorted by artist name. Bolded honorable mentions received particularly serious consideration for the Next 10.
• The 2023 Best Collaborative Work Spotify playlist will be added to this post as an update at the conclusion of the series.

Albums

Best Collaborative Album 2023

Leechanhyukvideo – 우산 (Umbrella)

It’s a remake album of hearty acoustics and warm atmospheres, headlined by a string of 2000s indie band classics, from My Aunt Mary to Deli Spice to Tobacco Juice to 9 and the Numbers. Interestingly, the people that Lee Chan-hyuk chose to reinterpret this history are mostly comprised of actors, comedians, athletes, and YouTubers alongside a small group of musicians. It’s a roster that looks stranger and stranger the more you look, but it’s these non-pro-singers’ unassuming austerity that helps create the album’s most shining moments like “Way to the Airport” and “You Don’t Have to Say Anything”.

The Runner-up

Lee Heemoon & Cadejo – 강남오아시스 (Gangnam Oasis)

At this point it should be no surprise that anything with Lee Heemoon’s name on it is going to be some kind of inventively recombined winner, but it doesn’t make the specifics of his work any more predictable. This time, it’s the first of a planned three-part series that tells a chronicle of Lee’s family history, set to the freeform funk of Cadejo. The jam band’s creativity and improvisation are a seamless fit with Lee’s traditional minyo singing and pansori narration.

The Next 10

Choi Su-in – 우리들 마음에 빛이 있다면 (The Light)

Code Kunst – Remember Archive

D.O. & Deepflow – Dry Season

Dongyi – 날초소 분석법 (A Method for Capsaicinoid Analysis)

Joph – 남겨진 것들에게 (Ones Left Behind)

Keem Hyo-eun, Don Malik – 49

Kim Oki – 러브플라워 (Love Flower)

Love X Stereo, Da1sy DØØM – 안녕 (ÄNɎƏŊ)

Naughty Mae & Perry – Fine Art for Occupation

Nohys – Ethic

O’Domar – 선전기술 X (Propaganda X)

Songs

Best Collaborative Song 2023

Sumin – 옷장 (Closet) (Feat. Uhm Jung-hwa)
Lyrics, composition, and arrangement by Sumin

Sumin is no stranger to impactful collaborations (see Xin Seha, Slom, Kirin…), but the way “Closet” fits Uhm Jung-hwa like a glove is a rare feat even for her. The coy arrangement bubbles and bounces while Sumin playfully glides along, but it seems to start holding its breath when Uhm enters with an airy, almost whispered performance. The 30-year veteran’s delicate expressiveness deserves credit, too, sounding right at home in a genre that is far from her home ground.

The Runner-up

Sogumm – 사랑해 (I Love You) (Feat. Silica Gel)
Lyrics and composition by Sogumm
Arrangement by Silica Gel, Jnkyrd, Sogumm

Even from the beginning, it’s a bit low-tech for a Sogumm track, the acoustics playing out more like a ballad if it wasn’t for the singer’s trademark murmuring vocals. Then the chorus explodes with dramatic chords and deliberate snares, before the familiar Silica Gel strokes come into the interlude and supercharge the track. There’s a visceral and almost timeless tenderness when Sogumm is pouring out her heart over the simple “I love you”s and the band is letting the notes ride. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this collaboration, and hopefully it’s not the last.

The Next 10

Apnea – Ph.D. (Feat. E-Paksa, Noriaki)

Hyolyn – 이게 사랑이지 뭐야 (This Love) (Feat. Paul Blanco)

Kangta, BoA, U-Know, Leeteuk, Taeyeon, Onew, Suho, Irene, Taeyong, Mark, Kun, Karina – The Cure

Mingginyu – 돌 아 오 지 마 (Don’t Come Back) (Feat. ChoiLB)

O’Domar – Doctrine (Feat. Yerin Baek)

Paul Blanco – Lake of Love (Feat. Hwanhee)

Sole & Sung Si-kyung – Need You

Song So-hee – Infodemics (Feat. Lee Il-woo of Jambinai)

Stray Kids – Topline (Feat. Tiger JK)

Yena – Hate Rodrigo (Feat. Yuqi)

Honorable Mentions

Albums

Alive Funk – Sham
Babylon – Ego 90’s Part 2
Cosmic Boy – Can I Not?
Joph – 남겨진 것들에게 (Ones Left Behind)
Kid Milli, Loopy, Mirani, Saewoo, Fleeky Bang, Royal 44, Polodared, Yeoho, Sokodomo, Don Mills, Viceversa, Smugglers, Blase, Black Nut, Jimmy Paige, Dok2, Keith Ape, Peejay, Jay Park, Katie, Woogie – Han 2023
Kona – Slur
Mingginyu & Jaw – 요즘 (These Days)
QM, Crucial Star – 금 (Gold)
Risso & BNJX – 서울 드라이브 (Seoul Drive)
Spray – Reaching Out
Toil, Gist – Toast
Way Ched & Trade L – Ched&L

Songs

27Ring – 세뇌 (Brainwash) Ultra Remix (Feat. Tak, Moosoo, Don Fvbio, Ted Park, Maddoaeji, Boi B, Damini, New Champ, Lee Hyun-jun, Skaai, Asol) (Prod. by Shahgoon, Staffonly, Doberman, Keymaker)
87dance – 바텐더 (Bartender) (Feat. Deepflow)
Ash-B – Lit (Feat. Bobby)
BSS – 파이팅 해야지 (Fighting) (Feat. Lee Young-ji)
Bryn, Since – 삼켜 (Swallow)
Bumkey – How U Feel? (Feat. Paloalto, Giveom)
Byul – Imagine (Feat. George)
Chillin Homie, Able, Iiso, Jinbo, Roh Yoon-ha, Damini, Swings – 라운지에서 (Loungin)
Clazziquai – Static (Feat. Jaeman, Kei)
Clazziquai – Tonight (Feat. Park Sol of The Solutions, It’s)
Cott, Onthedal – 요새 (These Days)
Damye – Orange Juice (Feat. Summer Soul)
Devine Channel, Dawn – Vanilla Sky
Gong Joong Geu Neul – 연 (Kite) (Feat. Khundi Panda)
Han Yo-han – Shining Star (Feat. Kim Jong-wan)
Jade – 고백 (Confession) (Feat. Qha)
Jambino – Happy B!tch (Feat. Lee Young-ji)
Jeon Yoodong – 참, 맞다 (Oh, Right) (Feat. Haepa)
Jungkook – 3D (Feat. Jack Harlow)
Just B X Alexa – MBTI
Katie – Christmas Last Awhile (Feat. Paulkyte)
Kim Il-du & Uran – 우리가 다시 만나면 (If We Meet Again)
Kim Il-du X Hipe – 자율신경계 (Autonomic Nervous System)
Kim Seul-ong – Run Away (Feat. Leenzy)
Koonta, Skull, Gwangil Jo – Gold
Lim Kim X Jamie – Love Me Crazy
Max Changmin X Ha Hyun-woo – Hybrid
Moskva Surfing Club – Prozac (Feat. Kim Oki)
O’Domar – 3H 정책 (3H Policy) (Feat. Lee Heemoon)
Paek Sung-hyun – 바람이 달빛이 (The Wind, The Moonlight) (Feat. Koh Sang-ji, Cheon Dan-bi)
Room306 – Dinner (Feat. Klang)
Room306 – 이어 (Ear) (Feat. Ahn Ye-eun)
Shininryu – 사랑이 악역을 자처할 때 (Angel) (Feat. Kim Sawol)
Silica Gel – Tik Tak Tok (Feat. So!YoON!)
So!YoON! – Smoke Sprite (Feat. RM)
Sohyang & Petra – The Star
Soyeon, Winter, Liz – Nobody
Stray Kids – Social Path (Feat. LiSA) (Korean ver.)
Sung Si-kyung X Naul – 잠시라도 우리 (Even for a Moment)
Taeyang – Vibe (Feat. Jimin)
Thama – Andrea’s Song (Feat. Lil Cherry)
Tomsson – 솜씨 완전판 (Skill Complete Edition) (Feat. Rhyme-A-, Mckdaddy, Deepflow, Donutman, Minos, DJ Wreckx)
Trade L – TTYL (Feat. IV Jay)
Yewon – 모든 날의 이유 (Everyday Is You) (Feat. Jaehee of Mind U)
Yoon Gun – 쫄지마 (Don’t Be Afraid) (Feat. Seogi)
Yoon Jong-shin – 비밀은 딱 질색 (Your Class) (Feat. Leellamarz)

Lyric translations by the author. Artist profile and album cover images from Bugs Music.

Read our past series:

2022 In Review

2021 In Review

2020 In Review

2019 In Review

2018 In Review

2017 In Review

2016 In Review

2015 In Review

2014 In Review

2013 In Review

2012 In Review