2021: A Year in Review for Music

2021 was nearly as much of a crazy year as 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic and quarantines continued, along with some headline-grabbing news. Indeed, perhaps 2022 will finally be the return to normalcy long sought by the populace. Until then though, music remains a major healing source for the world.

Once again, rather than look at the whole world in one glance, I will divide this by region!

(Edit: I made some last-minute adjustments for my end of year lists, and as a result, the percentages are every so slightly off)

Korean Music:

After an underwhelming 2020, K-Pop and Korean music as a whole shot back in 2021 with some fantastic albums, singles and b-sides. After a slightly slow start, the final week or so of February was filled with fantastic albums and songs, setting the stage and bar for the rest of the year.

Korea fully rode the retro wave with revamped versions of classic trends, emphatically called 'newtro'. Nostalgia led this movement, with everything from classic Korean culture to 2000s pop-rock. Between all of this nostalgic return, industrial and noise music slowly crept up and greatly influenced the industry. Even the indie scene rode the waves of these trends to great success.

The best part? Many of these tracks rode to mainstream success. Heize, BTS, IU, AKMU, and Brave Girls all rode the newtro rode to success, while ONF, Oneus, Everglow, rode the same train to better results.

However, the year was highly biased towards boy bands and female soloists. Male soloists and girl groups failed to make much of an impact, with the notable break-out successes of acts such as aespa, Brave Girls, and Lee Mujin. This held true quality wise as well.

The second half of the year did see the quality somewhat fade, at least as far as mainstream success was concerned, setting a slightly disturbing trend for the upcoming year. Nonetheless, this was a strong improvement for Korea since last year. In fact, 47% of the songs in my top songs of the year list were from South Korea, or with artists who were based in Korea. Admittedly, most came in the bottom half, but that does not reduce the fact that Korea had a great muscal year.

Score: A-

Japanese Music:

Japanese music had a fantastic 2020, and the early months of 2021 continued that. However, within a few months, things kind of fell way-side as the industry really could not keep up with its own weight. Within the first few months, anime themes were all the rage, with Hikaru Utada, Shinsei Kamattechan, Spyair, Lisa, Burnout Syndromes, Wagakki Band, Snow Man, and YOASOBI providing some fantastic anime songs, many of them concluding the series.

However, soon afterwards, as these seasons dragged on, J-Pop and J-Rock lost its early spark. There were still fantastic tracks, but many of them were from the idol world, rather than the superior J-Rock world.

Eventually, however, one fantastic album shot to my playlist from Japan. If you guessed Miyavi's Imaginary, you would be correct, and you still don't get a prize, because this was really obvious. The album remains amazing and extremely fantastic. One of the few albums that could truly turn around a dying year.

Many of my criticisms from last year's J-Pop, such as the lack of excellent female releases, stay for this year. However, the year remained strong for Japan, even if it was a major letdown after 2020. 16% of this year's songs on my top song list were from Japan, and most of those in the top half.

Score: B

Nordic Music:

I think I am now knowledgable enough about the Nordic/Scandanavian music scene to say that 2021 was a great year. 11% of the songs in my top songs list were from artists based in the Nordic nations, or who were Nordic artists, with many just waiting around the honorable mentions.

With a strong history of synth-pop, the Scandanavian lands were more than ready for the retro trend to rise. Established artists such as Robin Packalen, Dadi Freyr, and Agnes were just waiting improve on their 2020s with strong releases. New favorites also rose from the Eurovision contest and beyond, with returning favorites also setting the world alight.

Of course, the biggest return was legends ABBA. Their album may not have been unanimously beloved, but it stood as a fantastic gateway to the past.

Of course, it was not perfect for Nordic music this year. A lack of strong rock music, in particular, did dampen things a bit. Nonetheless, the world of Nordic music is worth a check-out for those uninitiated.

Score: B+

Indian Subcontinent Music:

While musically, 2021 was a marginally weaker year for the subcontinent than 2020, I finally see the light and the end of the tunnel. The prolonged lockdown forced the industry to move beyond the industry commercially for the first time ever. 

The industry also seems to be moving beyond the exclusive Hindi songs of Mumbai. While some regions are ahead of others, traditionally based music seems to be all the rage, from Nepal to Sri Lanka. The Indian land has had great music in the past, and returning to this past would be fantastic.

At the same time, the music from the subcontinent grew in international success, with Arooj Aftab gaining international fame. It waits to see where Indian music will go next. 4% of my end-of-year tracks are from the subcontinent.

Score: C

ABC (American/Australian, British, Canadian) Music:

It was a fine year for ABC music. Perhaps not revolutionary like last year, or maintaining that much quality. Nonetheless, some under-the-radar tracks stood out much more than the less famed songs. 8% of the songs in my top songs list, including instrumentals.

Score: C-

Kazakh Music:

With only 2% of my end of year list, Kazakh music really seemed to have a down year. One can get the feeling that COVID is causing heavy financial stress, with only a small percentage of mainstream artists continuing their success. Even established acts such as Ninety One and Dimash tried more commercially 'safe' releases in order to maintain success.

At the same time, acts such as Mad Men ended up disbanding. I just hope that the industry can bounce back soon.

Score: D+

Image Source: Oakland News Now