The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of All Time: 50-41

Readers, over the past two months, I have worked to create a list of my favorite K-Pop Songs of All Time. For over ten years, I have enjoyed K-Pop, seeing it blossom into a global genre with millions and millions of adoring fans. I have found K-Pop songs I love, made friends over the genre, and seen legacies built over the years. Some of the songs that have made me feel the most are from K-Pop. Given all I have felt and seen, I thought it was finally time to create a ranking of my favorite K-Pop songs of all time.

I don't claim this ranking is perfect, no ranking of this can be perfect. I can only claim that I did my best to provide my personal opinion, with my personal biases, from my years of enjoying Korean music. There are many more boy band songs than girl group (I just prefer their general soundscape), and many songs come from the second generation (2005-2013).

In a way, K-Pop is a bit of a misnomer here. I have included Korean songs outside of the idol sphere, and songs released nearly a century ago. The end result is a list full of songs that left their mark on me. I hope you, the reader, enjoy this list. You may (and almost certainly won't) agree with my ranking, but that is what makes a personal list like this so wonderful.

With that said, let us enter the rules and regulations for what has been qualified as K-Pop for this list.

• Any musical piece released in South Korea, or any of its direct predecessor states, AND/OR is predominantly in the Korean language, Jejuan, or any of their dialects.
• The musical piece must be lyrical in nature.
• Any song, single, or b-side, is eligible.
• This list is MY personal opinion.
• Song rankings may have changed since previous lists and/or reviews.
• The criterion for "the greatest" is a mix of my personal experience, the overall songwriting (lyrically, compositionally, and performance-wise), and the influence of the track in question.
• A song refers to a particular recording of the track and not the basic composition.
• Only one entry per composition.

With all this said. The list will begin tomorrow. For songs 100-11, they will be grouped into daily posts of 10 (100-91, 90-81, etc.). For the top 10, however, each song would get a post of its own.

I hope all of you enjoy this list over the days! Please give your thoughts in the comments, and I will gladly reply when free.

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Previously:

Honorable Mentions

100-91

90-81

80-71

70-61

60-51

50. Infinite - Before The Dawn (2011)

A pre-breakthrough track for Infinite, Before The Dawn, also known as BTD, takes a darker look at the synth-pop sound that characterized the best Sweetune productions. The breathy performance by Infinite lends itself a lot of room to channel existential desperation, while the growling synths turn Before The Dawn into a claustrophobic nightmare.

49. 9Muses - Wild (2013)

Despite their astonishingly consistent discography, 9Muses never garnered any commercial spotlight. Wild is definitely one of their best songs, with composition team Sweetune providing them a sensual melody to sing at a brisk pace. Wild is a song that never slows down for anything, ripping through each moment, with electronic sirens blaring through rapid raps, creating a massive intensity over a great melody.

48. TVXQ - Phantom (2006)

The most underrated Korean song is a title that is certainly up for debate, but TVXQ's Phantom is certainly a contender. One of the earliest productions by now-legendary composer Kenzie, the swirling western melodies of Phantom culminate in a chorus that stands a great aid to TVXQ's fantastic vocals.

47. EXO - Mama (2012)

EXO's debut remains one of the most ambitious and cinematic ever attempted in any art form. From the dual Korean-Chinese formation and the extensive (if cheesy) lore behind the music. But the most ambitious piece would be the actual music, especially with Mama. Merging Gregorian chants, gothic choirs, hard rock, earth-shaking drums, church organs, and screamo rap over lyrics debating the ultimate negatives of technology proved an expressive conduit for EXO to showcase their vocal talents.

46. Sunmi - Heroine (2018)

Few pop divas of the past twenty years have had an ounce of the charisma Sunmi brought to Heroine. While the producers were rightly side-eyed for sounding a little too similar to Cheryl Cole's Fight For This Love, but the basic melody was completely revamped into a heavenly blend of tropical house punching between Sunmi's dramatic ode to the end of a messy relationship. Once the two elements coincide in the finale, it is simply euphoric, and also gracefully and tragically beautiful. 

45. Brown Eyed Girls - Sixth Sense (2011)

Amongst K-Pop communities, the Brown Eyed Girls have become synonymous with pushing the boundaries both musically and conceptually, releasing some of the most daring songs ever conceivable within idol communities. Sixth Sense is their best, and tackles music directly as a guiding force for social justice, culminating in Miryo's dramatic rap. Between its themes on women's empowerment, the constant stream of high notes by JeA, Narsha, and Gain, and the soul influences, it is hard to view Sixth Sense as anything less than the 21st century successor to Aretha Franklin's Respect.

44. SHINee - Sherlock (Clue + Note) (2012)

One of SHINee's most ambitious track, Sherlock may not have invented the K-Pop "Frankenstein" song structure, but it certainly repopularized it, merging two songs, Clue and Note, into a majestic song that impressed both musically and lyrically. Holding the song together is SHINee's fantastic performance, anchoring the massive chorus.

43. f(x) - Shadow (2013)

f(x) were always the "weird" K-Pop group, willing to tackle concepts that no other group within earshot of the mainstream would dare to touch. Shadow is easily their most bizarre and boundary-pushing, floating around without any catchy hook, with an instrumental with a lightheaded jazz feel. Shadow should feel suffocating, but instead, it is intriguingly unnerving. Combine this with Jeon Gan-Di's haunting lyrics and the result is a song as avant-garde as it is simply chilling.

42. Yoo Jae-Ha - Because I Love You (1987)

Yoo Jae-Ha's tragic passing months after Because I Love You's release dashed any hope for a song as emotionally vulnerable as the debutant's masterpiece. Abandoning the bluesy trot sound of his peers, Yoo Jae-Ha gave us a beautiful look at a pleading glance of love from his life, paired with the most earnest sincerity achievable in a ballad.

41. SS501 - Deja Vu (2008)

Despite being one of the most popular boy bands in Korea at their peak, SS501's legacy has almost been forgotten. This is certainly a shame, especially due to tracks like Deja Vu. The song has hooks to spare for days on end, assisted by Mordney's jagged sci-fi production. Nothing about Deja Vu is subtle, including its dramatic chorus.

Next: 40-31

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