Top 25 Rookie Artists of 2022: 10-1

Honorable Mentions

25-11

10-1

• Any artist who made their first official debut from December 1, 2021, to November 31, 2022, is eligible.

• Pre-Debuts don't count (Limelight), nor do temporary one-time project groups (Queendom).

• Supergroups, solo debuts, and group reformations and recreations do count.

• Redebuts in new languages don't count.

• Disbanded groups or retired artists don't count.

Now, let us continue with artists from 10-1.

10. Fifty Fifty

Via four songs, K-Pop girl group Fifty Fifty showed their diversity in soundscapes. The best of their tracks so far, Lovin’ Me is easily the best, and a lightning-in-the-bottle opportunity, filled to the brim with potential. If the group can continue on their debut momentum, they will go far.

9. Yoshino Aoyoma

Yoshino Aoyoma’s My Tale was one of the most pleasant surprises this year. The voice actor turned out to be a strong singer, and her discography has already played through many genres for great effect. I could see her becoming an unsung gem of the J-Pop scene for a while.

8. Lee Chanhyuk

Of the artists on this list, Chanhyuk is perhaps the only true artist. Of course, he has an unfair advantage, being active as a singer-songwriter in duo Akdong Musician for the last past ten years. Nonetheless, his debut album was quite strong in its own right, and its promotional tactics were even better. Unfortunately, YG has a tradition of rarely promoting artists, keeping Chanhyuk from his deserved entry in the top few spots.

7. Yena

Yena’s discography is not the sort of music I enjoy. Juvenile, saccharine, and aegyo infested to an exponential degree. Nonetheless, there is just “something” in her music that makes it perhaps some of the most essential this year. The energy feels real, and Yena performs the hell out of every piece of music her producers throw at her. There may be little objective merit to a song like Smartphone, but it rises above guilty pleasure simply due to how well-crafted it is.

6. VIVIZ

Sometimes a re-debut brings with it new sounds. Half of the disbanded girl group Gfriend returned with a pop-oriented sound as VIVIZ. While none of their songs reached the quality or the sales of Gfriend songs such as Rough, both their singles and respective EPs were fun projects that sold well.

5. Srushti Tawde

Rap debutants rarely make an impact on me, but Shrushti Tawde has proven an immaculate lyricist and a strong storyteller. She deservedly went viral for the hilarious Main Nahi Toh Kaun, which saw her giving shout-outs to rapper instead of dissing them. While this alone would guarantee her a spot in her list, she showcased herself as a serious and tragic storyteller with songs like Bachpan and Office. I have a feeling I might regret placing her so low eventually.

4. Road-B

Unfortunately, Road-B remain very much under the radar, but their music has more than compensated. Rising from the ashes of the little-known BXK, the boy band has worked with legendary producer Sweetune for their industry comeback. While none of their songs have yet hit a million views, an increasing view count is certainly a positive sign, especially with songs such as Nonstop and Icarus.

3. LE SSERAFIM

More than any other rookie group this year, LE SSERAFIM’s debut was marred by controversy. I could list every single point of contention, but the largest was Garam’s bullying controversy, which left the group a member short and a fandom deeply divided. All this would suggest a debut year disaster, which is what LE SSERAFIM’s intro would have been had their music not been so impactful. Between Impurities, Antifragile, and Blue Flame, LE SSERAFIM had the definition of a great debut year.

2. NewJeans

Due to the agency’s tremendous success through BTS and other K-Pop groups, it appeared that HYBE’s artistic vision had been sacrificed to capitalize on the rising tides of American K-Pop fans. Enter iconic conceptual K-Pop planner Min Heejin and her group NewJeans. With the success of songs such as Attention, Ditto, and Hype Boy, NewJeans perfectly captured the energy of the high-school years and the Y2K era. It also helps that their songs are fantastic, and the members have shown themselves to be skilled vocalists.

But, Min Heejin’s vision and ambition have hurt more than helped the group, with Cookie’s lyrics coming under vast scrutiny for their sexualization of minors (a charge HYBE denies). If NewJeans can somehow move beyond such a dangerous and unhealthy situation, as they did with Ditto, their achievement of a great legacy is highly likely.

1. IVE

Each year, there is one option in the lead for my ‘rookie of the year.’ Usually, an artist or group debuted early in the year, only to garner the perfect mixing of commercial success and critical acclaim within the rest of the year. In both aforesaid cases, of SixTONES and Olivia Rodrigo, the artists seemingly plateaued in their debut year alone (as of the writing of this post). While the first two conditions are met by IVE, I have little to no doubt that the group has the potential for something incredible. Revitalizing idol pop within South Korea is no small feat, but accomplishing it with only six, high-quality songs is an act worthy of praise.

With a catchy blend of youthful, rich teen pop, termed by their fans as Chaebol crush, IVE roared onto the scene, scoring chart-topping successes through various genres via their three singles. With a consistent thread of youthful ambition, IVE have become a group to keep an eye on for the foreseeable future.