2024 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, Crossover and World
11. Best Collaborative Work
12. Rookie Artist of the Year
13. Artist of the Year
14. Other Recognition
15. Concluding Remarks

2024 was a notably strong year for idol soloists in the pop and ballad sphere, with strong entries from Sungjin, Seola, Yena, and more even beyond the names that appear in the top 12 below. Elsewhere, ambitious full-length debuts and bold, dramatic sounds – from orchestral to rock ballads – made strong impressions.

The “Next 10” and honorable mention lists are sorted by artist name. Bolded honorable mentions received particularly serious consideration for the Next 10.

Albums

Best Pop and Ballad Album 2024

Savina & Drones – Lasha

A desire to give comfort in the face of despair and isolation again fills out the minutes of Lasha, which feels very much an extension of 2016’s Our Time Lies Within in that way. The beautiful consoling language of “Nobody Knows”, “A Deaf Life”, and pre-release “Where All Loves End”, alongside the consistent color of bubbling piano and caressing strings, certainly feel like the album’s emotional center. But that giving also often looks inward Sasha, in no place more obvious than “Prelude” (where Savina literally calls her own name) but also in spots like “Still”, the album’s swelling, cresting emotional climax where a pivotal Hangul verse is spoken to the self, and the playful “Delulu World” where Savina’s quirkier and more experimental spirit show through. It gave Lasha richer depth to savor as we shared in the warmth with which the artist sees the world and the self.

The Runner-up

Sunwoojunga – 너머 (Beyond)

Albums that are released in multiple parts, even for good artistic reason, often lose something in the presentation. In the case of Beyond – whose two parts were released in July and October, followed by the combined release with changes to some arrangements – the split release somewhat masked the sheer density of standout tracks. Even for a SWJA album, the Zitten-like spectacle of “Shimmer” and rousing grandeur of “Too Late”, the brittle yet elegant buildup of “Please Be Greedy” and explosive catharsis of “What the Hell”, and the unexpected zest of “Star Candy” all coexisting in one album was astounding. The dreamy and echoing soundscape and SWJA’s emotional performances tied together these potentially disparate tracks, and Beyond became one of the year’s most satisfying courses.

The Next 10

Doyoung – 청춘의 포말 (Youth)

John Park – Psst!

Kimhwol – 아름다운 세상 (Beautiful World)

Kim Yuna – 관능소설 (Tales of Sensuality)

Kyuhyun – Colors

Minsu – Me, Stranger

Okdal – 40 (Forty)

Park Ji-yoon – 숨을 쉰다 (Breathe Breathe)

Younha – Growth Theory: Final Edition

Zitten, 곶 (Cape)

Songs

Best Pop and Ballad Song 2024

Park Ji-yoon – 사랑을 사랑하고 싶어 (Love Was My Song)
Lyrics and composition by Hen
Arrangement by Moonseorim

 “Love Was My Song” was probably Park Ji-yoon’s most ambitious single: in contrast to the shimmering revelation of “Tree of Life” or the flowing sorrow of “Without You”, this one was intentional about spectacle and openly unorthodox in structure. Still, Park shrewdly avoided the places where it could have tripped over itself. She pulls the arrangement back after the first impatient swell, withholding the true, full-bodied explosion until later. Her expressions are plain and sober but not predictable. What emerged was a wuthering reflection on a soul that has had love burnt out of it, a dried wick that still desires to come alight.

The Runner-up

Yoon Ji-young – Love Is Everywhere
Lyrics, composition, and arrangement by Yoon Ji-young

The perspective of “Love Is Everywhere” towards a world devoid of “the warmth of love”, “clamoring to be embraced” appears complex. There’s pity there, sympathy and sorrow; but anger too, urgency and desperation for things that we’re losing even now. Yoon Ji-young’s characteristically airy, light-touch vocals don’t betray too much of that, as usual: she delivers warmly but calmly, while letting the dramatic composition and explosive instrumentation speak. In a tired and tiring world, it was a message that yearned to be heard.

The Next 10

Cloud – 하늘, 손, 풍선 (Sky, Hands, Balloons)

Doyoung – 반딧불 (Little Light)

Kangziwon – Jubilee

Kimhwol – 숲의 아이 (Forest Child)

Kim Yuna – 카멜리아 (Camellia) (Feat. Kim Feel)

Kyuhyun – 하루마다 끝도 없이 (Unending Days)

Lee Heemoon – 입술이 마주치는 순간 (The Moment I Kiss Your Lips) (Ballad Version)

Ryu Jisu – 사랑해. (Yearn Me)

Savina & Drones – Still

Younha – 맹그로브 (Mangrove Tree)

Honorable Mentions

Albums

Betti Blue – Loneliness Is Relative
Chawool – Everything Bagel
Cho Kyu-chan – 조규찬 10 1st Half (Cho Kyu-chan 10 1st Half)
Chosng – 사랑형 (Shape of Love)
Cloud – 나폴리탄 악몽 산책 (Naporitan Nightmare Walk)
Eundohee – Blue Comedy
Gio the Gigantea – 아무것도 없는 (Nothing Is Over Here)
IU – The Winning
Jean Chirac – Traces of Apathy
Joonil Jung – 어떤 무엇도 아닌 (Not Anything)
Kang Jeon-han – 무채색 (Achromatic)
Kim Bum-soo – 여행 (Journey)
Kim Soo-chul – 너는 어디에 (Where Are You)
Kimminseong – Bad Dream
Kyuhyun – Restart
Lee Chang-sub – 1991
Lee Mu-jin – 만화 (Youth)
Minho – Call Back
Minji Ma – 지금 하고 싶은 얘기들 (Stories I Want to Tell Right Now)
Minkang – Borngarden
Moonbyul – Starlit of Muse
QWER – Algorithm’s Blossom
Sohyang – Diva
Soran – Setlist
Sungjin – 30

Songs

(G)I-dle – 7Days
10cm – 소년 (Dear)
Ahn Ye-eun – 이내 (Soon)
Ashmute – Saudade
Avokid – Fallen Angel
Baek A – 발송 (Sent)
Baek A – 시차 (Letter)
Betti Blue – Autumn
Betti Blue – Okay
Billlie – 기억사탕 (Remembrance Candy)
Chanmin – Cinema
Chanyeol – Back Again
Chawool – 하늘이 (Baba) (Feat. Crush)
Cheon Ju-yeong – 파란불 (Blue Light)
Cho Yong-pil – 왜 (Why)
Choi Jung-yoon – 수영 (Swim)
Choi Yu-ree – 메아리 (Echo) (Feat. Jukjae)
Choi Yu-ree – 오랜만이야 (It’s Been a While)
Choi Yu-ree – 일렁이자 (Wave)
Chosng – 어항 (Fishbowl)
Cloud – 잘 지내나요? (How Have You Been)
Dosii – 춤 (Chum)
Doyi Lee – 얼마나 (Am I the Only One)
Doyoung – 새봄의 노래 (Beginning)
Doyoung – 시리도록 눈부신 (The Story)
Effie – 24hrs in Seoul
Eundohee – Night (Feat. Damons Year)
Gio the Gigantea – Jupiter
Gyubin – Satellite
Gyubin, Kim Jong-wan – Special
Ha Hyun-sang – Pain
Ha Hyun-sang – 서로가 없는 곳 (Where Am I)
Hanroro – 생존법 (How to Go On)
Hanroro – 하루살이 (Mayfly)
Heo Hoy-kyung – 그 무엇도 어떤 것도 (None)
Heo Hoy-kyung – 난 묻어요 (Buried)
Hunjiya – Echo
IU – I Stan U
IU – Love Wins All
IU – Shopper
It’s – 푸른 (Bluish)
Jean Chirac – 향수 (The Nostalgic Scent)
Jeon Jin-hee – Momo
Jeon Jin-hee – 영원속에서 (In Eternity)
Jeonain – 틈 (Breakwater)
Joonil Jung – Love Again
Kang Jeon-han – 네 마음이 필요해 (Need You)
Kang Jin-ah – 멀어진 친구에게 (To My Distant Friend)
Kangziwon – Troublemate
Kim Boo-gyeong – 슬픔에 무게가 있다면 (My Wobbly Sadness)
Kim Bum-soo – 꿈일까 (Dream)
Kim Bum-soo – 너를 두고 (Aside)
Kim Marie – 난기류의 사랑은 (Turbulent Love)
Kim Min-seok – 사랑할 수 있을 만큼만 (Don’t Wanna Hurt Anymore)
Kim Yuna – 부사의 정원 (The Garden of Adverbs) (Feat. Lee Hi)
Kim Yuna – 종언 (An End)
Kim Yoon-ah – 해피엔딩 (Happy Ending)
Kimhwol – 다 괜찮아질 거래 (It’s Gonna Be All Right)
Kimhwol – 행복하게, 자유롭게 (Love, Heart, Faith)
Kimminseong – 낙원 (Paradise)
Kwon So-jeong – Find a Will
Kyoungseo – 밤새도록 어떤 말을 할까 고민해 봤어 (What’s Up)
Kyoungseo – 탈출속도 (Escape Velocity)
Kyuhyun – Restart
Kyuhyun – 슬픈 밤 (Nights without You)
Lee Chang-sub – 33
Lee Mu-jin – 청춘만화 (Coming of Age Story)
Lee Shin-hyuk – 부유 (Float)
Lee Young-ji – Small Girl (Feat. D.O.)
Lena – Blame the Summer
Limelight – Ta-Da!
Loossemble – Truman Show
Lucia – 난설헌 蘭雪軒 (Orchid in the Snow)
Lucia – 요란 (Tempest)
Mewmung – 금붕어 (Goldfish)
Minji Ma – 깊은안개지나고 (Past the Deep Fog)
Minkang – 만개 (Full Bloom)
Minkang – 봉숭아 (Garden Balsam)
Minsu – Closer
Minsu – 사랑 놀이 (Love Play)
Minsu – 자아 충돌 (Ego Traffic)
Niel – 이별하러 가는 길 (Parting Path)
Nmixx – Passionfruit
Okdal – 다이빙 (Diving)
Okdal – 드웨인존슨 (Dwayne Johnson)
Omibi – 타오르는 선 (Ablaze)
Onee – 투명하고 물렁이는 게 우리 사이 (Clear? Or Broken?)
Park Ji-yoon – 고래, 달빛아래 꿈 (Whale, Moonlight Under the Moon)
Park Ji-yoon – 그래서 미안해 (I’m Sorry)
Park Ji-yoon – 숨을 쉰다 (Breathe a Breath)
Park Ji-yoon – 온몸이 다 아프도록 (Until My All Hurts)
Park So-eun – 너와 나 (You & Me)
QWER – 메아리 (Rebound)
QWER – 불꽃놀이 (Make Our Highlight)
QWER – 안녕, 나의 슬픔 (Goodbye My Sadness)
Roy Kim – 봄이 와도 (When Spring Comes)
SBGB – Cinema
Sansa – 지평선 (Horizon)
Savina & Drones – 귀머거리 인생 (A Deaf Life)
Savina & Drones – 아무도 모른다 (Nobody Knows)
Seo Ja-young – Blue Bird
Seola – Without U
Seori – Fake Happy
Seyan Kim – Dear My Island
Shin Seol-hee – Echo
Shin Seung-eun – 그 꿈에선 (In Your Dream)
Song Hee-jin – Ready to Love
Soran – 너는 내 (You Are)
Stella Jang – I Can Do This Every Day
Suho – 점선면 (1 to 3)
Suji – 대머리 (Baldies)
Sujo – 꽃다발 (Bouquet of Flowers)
Sunburnkids – Red Cheek Boys
Sungjin – You Wake Me Up
Sungjin – 동화 속 아이처럼 (Covered in Love)
Sunwoojunga – Too Late
Sunwoojunga – What the Hell
Sunwoojunga – 별사탕 (Star Candy)
Sunwoojunga – 욕심 (Please Be Greedy)
Sunwoojunga – 포옹 (Po.Ong) (Feat. Kim Min-seok)
Uju – 표류의 시간 (Time of Flowing)
Uyeon – 보잘것없는 (Nothing) (Feat. Lee Seo-young)
Uyeon – 지하철 (Subway) (Feat. Lang Lee)
Weeekly – Stranger
Wendy – Wish You Hell
Woo Ye-rin – 튤립 (Tulip)
Woosoo – 이름 모를 숲 (Unnamed Forest)
Yang Ju-eun – 마음과는 반대로 (Beyond the Mind)
Ye Ram – 요정과 춤을 (Fairy Dance)
Yena – Good Morning
Yerim – 날갯짓 (Flapping)
Yerim – 판타지 (Fantasy)
Younha – 라이프리뷰 (Life Review)
Younha – 은화 (Silvering)
Younha – 케이프 혼 (Attention!)
Younha – 태양물고기 (Sunfish)
Yuna Bae – 웅크린 문장 (Sentences Left in the Frozen Time)
Yuqi – Everytime (With Minnie)
Zitten – 빈 배 (Empty Ship)
Zitten – 섬광 (Flash)

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

Read our past series:

2023 In Review

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