Every week, the Korean music scene delivers outstanding songs across various genres and styles, and the past week was no exception, with a heavy-hitting selection of hits with global and crossover potential, satisfyingly nostalgic duets and some of 2024’s most promising new artists.
Recently, beloved groups like NewJeans, ONEUS, MCND and JUST B dropped new songs to satisfy their ravenous fanbases while also demonstrating impressive growth. Meanwhile, K-pop fans were also treated to special collaborations like EXO’s Suho enlisting Wendy of Red Velvet for his new single “Cheese” and JinJin of ASTRO bringing indie singer MRCH for his special music project.
Indicative of the global K-pop scene, there also boasted a massive amount of crossover potential for the industry’s latest batch of releases. AleXa dropped one of the best vocal performances and singles of her career with the all-too-relatable “i’m okay” that could easily hop onto Top 40 and rock radio. B.I linked up with hitmaking producers, including Malibu Babie, for his latest hip-hop hit “Tasty.” GSoul delivered a silky R&B single just as his North American tour kicks off on May 30. Plus, JUST B dropped their surprisingly punk-rock English single “Daddy’s Girl,” which could certainly earn them new fans.
As the K-pop industry moves at a rapid pace, it’s important to pause and appreciate the innovation and diversity it offers across its different acts. Last week, Billboard readers chose ENHYPEN’s “Fatal Love” as their top K-pop pick of the week but fans of aespa, ZEROBASONE, MARK, and Lovelyz’s Ryu Sujeong and Yein all showed love.
Take a moment to explore these nine new gems that embody the spirit of the scene and deserve a permanent spot on your playlist. Then cast your vote in our poll for the top of K-pop for the past week.
Helmed by AleXa and K-indie veteran Annie Ko, “i’m okay” is the American Song Contest best crossover single yet by bringing AleXa’s penchant for edgy, emo rock for a playful pop pallette. Alongside some of the best vocals of her career, “i’m okay” feels like a true expression from AleXa with lyrics like “Frontal lobotomy, there’s a part of missing/ It started when I found out the voice weren’t my friends” sure to resonate (and go viral) with her 1.5 million TikTok followers.
Crafted alongside collaborators Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion, Fred again.. and Anitta collaborators like Malibu Babie, Tobias Wincorn, Kaine and Vaughn Oliver, “Tasty” sees B.I once again flex his international appeal with this quick, two-minute hip-hop crossover hit.
Longtime B.I fans will appreciate what appears to be thinly veield reference to his past boy band iKON with lines like, “Here’s another hit, coming off the bat/ Look at that icon how we live right here/ Say my name when they ask, ‘What’s the big idea?’” when iKON’s official lightstick merchandise was shaped like a baseball bat.
Just as his new tour kicks off, Korean vocal prodigy GSoul treated fans to new single “Window Pane (Pretty Lil Thing)” to show that the independent star is diving headfirst into silky smooth R&B waters.
GSoul’s 19-date Pretty Lil Thing North America Tour kicks off today, May 30, in Los Angeles.
JinJin, leader and main rapper for boy band ASTRO, is sharing his range of musicality and talents with his “JIN LAB” project series. The second song for the project spotlights the delicate vocals of indie singer MRCH that juxtapose beautifully with JinJin’s impassioned delivery.
MCND debuted in 2020 as one of the most impressive new artists in a competitive year that included arrivals of ENHYPEN, aespa, TREASURE, P1Harmony, STAYC, CRAVITY and more. More than four years later, the group is still proving their shining promise with new single “X10” bringing their playful hip-hop sound delivered with an intense, superstar charisma.
Joining the label family that includes TWICE, Stray Kids, DAY6, ITZY and more, the next generation of JYP Entertainment kicked off with the just-debuted male group NEXZ. Despite being created on the Japanese singing competition Nizi Project Season 2, NEXZ is framed as a “global boy band” making their official debut with a bubbly hip-hop-inspired K-pop single “Ride the Vibe” with what feels like a nearly equal division of Korean and English lyrics.
Get to know Tomoya, Yu, Haru, So Geon, Hyui, Seita and Yuki above.
A song that truly gets sweeter the more you listen, NewJeans’ latest single mixes Miami bass into their soundscape to continue the band’s pristine track record of delectable pop treats and will likely make a massive bow on the charts next week.
A treat for both longtime and new K-pop fans, boy group ONEUS covered the 2000 award-winning single “Now” by pioneering Korean girl group Fin.K.L. Carried out with a remarkably rougher edge than the original, ONEUS follows the trend of pop music’s fixation on all things Y2K.
An SM Entertainment label mate duet between the EXO leader and Red Velvet powerhouse, Suho and Wendy’s feel-good “Cheese” is the perfect breezy anthem for the springtime. The track also includes a guitar solo to ensure there’s a satisfying dash of rock music to represent Suho’s longtime favorite genre.
“Cheese” previews Suho’s upcoming solo record, 1 to 3, dropping on May 31.
Despite an unexpected exit from (G)I-DLE in 2021, Soojin returned to the K-pop industry in 2023 with her solo album Agassy impressively selling more than 100,000 copies worldwide. New single “Mona Lisa” marks the singer-dancer’s first official comeback as a solo star with a welcomed dramatic and cinematic flair throughout the rhythmic cut.
In what would be an easy radio hit for alt or rock radio for any band, “Daddy’s Girl” positions JUST B as surprising successors to pop-punk stalwarts like Fall Out Boy or 5 Seconds of Summer. If they take this lane seriously, we could see them occupying a space that groups like PrettyMuch and Why Don’t We experimented in, but we’d also love to see what would happen if they linked up with other stars in the scene like State Champs or The Story So Far.