The 150 Best Songs of 2023
The 150 Best Songs of 2023
A ranking and review of the best songs released this year by Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Thai artists!
A few things to note:
For the sake of variety, each artist was only eligible for up to two spots on this list, although subunit and solo songs counted separately from full-group song eligibility. For example, TAEYONG was eligible for up to two solo slots on this list without taking away from the two he was eligible for as a member of NCT 127.
Some of these songs were discussed previously in this newsletter, hence the ellipses, quotation marks, and “Read more here!” links.
#150: aespa, “Better Things”: A tropical tune that features one of aespa’s trademarks: a reminder to value one’s time enough to know when to cut certain people off!
#149: ANGIE, “Can We Kiss”: A cheerful song for fans of Meghan Trainor.
#148: SKY-HI & ☆Taku Takahashi, “D.U.N.K.”: An intentionally discombobulating listening experience with a sputtering yet jump-along-worthy instrumental!
#147: KIMSEJEONG, “Voyage”: A scene-setting, Irish pop-rock album opener that provides the soundtrack for a jovial, fiddle-filled journey!
#146: INFINITE, “New Emotions”: A goofy voice and groovy bass keep this song engaging in more ways than just through the member’s predictably strong vocals.
#145: Nene, “KLMS”: An interesting contrast with her other standout 2023 release, “All About That Day;” while that song’s strong suit is its lyrics, this song’s strength comes from its spooky, strange instrumental!
#144: NAQT VANE, “CHRONIC”: What classic pop bops about crushes are made of, both sonically and lyrically!
#143: King Gnu, “GLASS WINDOW”: An eclectic sonic smorgasbord that is the perfect representation of this group’s one-of-a-kind style!
#142: YOASOBI, “The Brave”: Vivid, storybook-esque lyrics that have a surprising amount of applicability to listeners’ daily lives.
#141: Mandark ft. Gummy Bear Man, “Sushi”: A hyper-pop intro throws listeners for a loop before entering feedback-heavy, laid-back yet pop-punk territory.
#140: EVERGLOW, “SLAY”: A fierce, electrifying, much-anticipated return to the K-pop scene!
#139: Whee In ft. HWASA, “17”: A flirty tribute to the days of reckless young love!
#138: KISS OF LIFE, “Bad News”: A mixed-genre, relentlessly entertaining showcase of both the individual members’ and the group’s musical identities.
#137: Melody & Christine, “In the End”: An earnest expression of wanting more peace and love in the world, with glorious harmonies, dreamy synths, and stirring percussion.
#136: Bryn, “Fill Me Up”: A delightfully strange industrial/hip-hop/hyper-pop combination.
#135: BamBam, “Sour & Sweet”: Easy-listening city pop that sums up the album’s overall themes in a concise and catchy way.
#134: Reina Washio, “Say No”: A reflection “on a shade of gray between appreciating and fearing love’s power over her. She ruminates on various dimensions of love, always in ways that accentuate her distinct, delicate voice.” Read more here!
#133: CHANMINA, “Heard You’re Trash Now”: A pop-punk delight with a fittingly cavalier delivery.
#132: ØZI, “Avant-Garde”: A hip-hop song that details the pressure to succeed in music through a thoughtful, big-picture lens.
#131: LIL LEAGUE from EXILE TRIBE, “Monster”: An adventurous, spooky tale for fans of Xdinary Heroes and xikers.
#130: PINK FUN, “All About You”: A great track to use to turn K-pop girl group fans into C-pop ones!
#129: Han Seungwoo, “Runnin’ High”: A rejuvenating song with amazing riffs and much OST potential.
#128: iKON, “U”: A delightful party playlist addition that proves classic iKON remains alive and well!
#127: HUH YUNJIN, “love you twice”: A well-put description of imposter syndrome and unrealistic expectations placed on women in relationships.
#126: YUGYEOM ft. Sik-K, “Ponytail”: A nineties/early-aughts-inspired, R&B, brassy number that plays to YUGYEOM’s strengths and started the year off on a nice note of nostalgia.
#125: ITZY, “Kill Shot”: A level up from its sonic predecessor, “24HRS,” which also deserves to be considered a personal “walking into a room” song choice!
#124: tripleS, “Rising”: A perfect balance between time spent ceding the floor to harmonies and to an agile instrumental.
#123: 8TURN, “EXCEL”: An anthem that shows the upsides of singing as a team; members’ voices bounce off of one another’s in ways that further the song’s triumphant feel and palpable excitement.
#122: Vash Hsu, “Flowers Growing From My Eyes”: A serious song that repeatedly interrupts its own solemnity with “woo-hoo”s and other bursts of energy!
#121: DeVita ft. DAWN, “Ride For Me”: The right call for the album’s pre-release single; a too-short showcase of DeVita’s flawless voice that leaves listeners eager for more.
#120: Anonymouz, “Waterfall”: The vocal delivery of a stirring ballad paired with the synth instrumental of a pop gem.
#119: CHANMINA, “B-list”: An attitude-drenched rapping-singing combination that is backed by a playful, peculiar piano!
#118: Yoshida Rinne, “narabe”: A colorful song that seems to pile on even more strange sound effects as it goes, to inexplicably pleasing results!
#117: Reol, “Final Call”: A full-speed-ahead, addictive electronic jam.
#116: PINK FUN, “Oh! My Oh! My”: An adorable, crush-themed, chant-filled pop song.
#115: ITZY, “RINGO”: A damsel-in-distress antithesis and a song that fills every single second with sounds as bold as its declarations.
#114: IVE, “Hypnosis”: A flirty, entrancing song with a sly reference to a Greek goddess of magic, Hecate.
#113: King Gnu, “SPECIALZ”: An enigmatic, electro-industrial-rock romp with a sudden volume resurgence at the end that seems to say, “We’ll be back”!
#112: NCT 127, “Ay-Yo”: A classic NCT song in the ways it takes what should sound annoying (alarm-type sounds) and spins it into musical gold!
#111: xikers, “TRICKY HOUSE”: A Bollywood-inspired and Moonbahton dance song that sets the scene for the group’s elaborate fictional story.
#110: KARD, “ICKY”: An unapologetically sensual, personality-packed Moonbahton song.
#109: NCT DOJAEJUNG, “Perfume”: A polished title track filled with lovely harmonies and charming, romantic lyrics.
#108: Girls2 & iScream, “The Finest”: A chameleonic confection with melodic singing-rapping mixtures, well-timed lyrical tosses, a bubbly pop detour in the pre-chorus, and several other fun twists that give the song stamina.
#107: BELLE from KISS OF LIFE, “Countdown”: A pop-punk, relatable song about struggling with perfectionistic expectations.
#106: TAEYONG, “404 File Not Found”: A vulnerable confession about feeling lost and hopeless that helps complicate the album’s thematic through lines.
#105: HWASA, “I Love My Body”: A self-love anthem that uplifts oneself as much as it chastises those who scrutinize others’ appearances. Read more here!
#104: ATARASHII GAKKO!, “The Edge”: A classic example of this group’s humor-imbued complaints about the state of the world. What starts out as a despairing song about feeling on the edge turns into a realization that what they are on the edge of is something great!
#103: KARDI, “Skybound”: A percussion-heavy rock ballad with a fascinating metaphor that compares the literal sea to seas of people.
#102: MAMAMOO+, “GGBB”: A cheeky number with theatrical flair and back-handed compliments.
#101: LIM KIM, “Damn Cold”: A pop song with crashing synths, relatable lyrics, and a sinister undercurrent.
#100: MIREI, “Lonely In Tokyo”: A layered pop song with fun autotuned twists, a gradual addition of more synths, and an escalating feel to its percussion.
#99: Xdinary Heroes, “Freddy”: A personality-packed album opener with the feel of a TV show’s or a movie’s chase scene!
#98: HeyMen, “B-Side”: A self-deprecating rock song with top-tier vocals and invigorating guitar-playing.
#97: Lexie Liu, “delulu”: A “short, effective burst of uncontained energy with a distinct, bleak sense of humor.” Read more here!
#96: P1Harmony, “Fall In Love Again”: On-brand, optimistic encouragement to give love another chance, despite being burned in the past.
#95: CHUU, “Aliens”: A sweet story about lovers coming from different planets but the same universe; a nuanced take on an “opposites attract” belief.
#94: Marz23, “God”: In-your-face percussion and guitars amplify Marz23’s angst, while an echo-channeling filter tempers it; the final product is a sense of feeling trapped and makes for one of his album’s most affecting periods.
#93: 10-FEET, “Re Houteishiki”: After a chaotic-in-the-best-ways intro, this single finds a more consistent and concentrated path, making it both digestible and daring.
#92: WOODZ, “Ready to Fight”: The perfect pop-rock sound for WOODZ’s voice and devil-may-care attitude.
#91: Crush, “Hmm-cheat”: The kind of feel-good jam for which shimmying and/or singing along is in order!
#90: ChiVee, “Mirage”: “Each detail in this song is a well-placed, essential piece of the full puzzle… The post-chorus ‘hoo-hoo’s, a plucky guitar, and a mix of hushed and loud moments help ChiVee leave her musical mark.” Read more here!
#89: Ayumi Hamasaki, “23rd Monster”: An electronic/rock jam with cool surround-sound qualities when listening with good headphones!
#88: from20, “Bad Revenge”: A breezy synth-pop song with a timeless, catch-phrase-worthy lyric: “Cried, but I made a banger”!
#87: Zunya, “Vanished”: All the strong suits of the other songs on the album (interchangeable rapping and singing finesse; high-quality, guitar-and-percussion-focused production…) put into one standout track!
#86: Rei Yasuda & THE CHARM PARK, “A beautiful world”: An empowering reminder that no one else owns oneself, accompanied by lively bells, shakers, and guitars.
#85: Roa from Rocking doll, “Truth or Dare”: A “movement-filled song that is fittingly great for the dance floor, and fans of Dua Lipa’s ‘Dance The Night’ ought to check it out!” Read more here!
#84: STAYC, “Teddy Bear”: An adorable pop song about pushing worries to the side for a moment to just focus on fun!
#83: (G)I-DLE, “Paradise”: A clever callback to 2021’s “DAHLIA,” revisiting past metaphors in a new light. Read more here!
#82: KAI, “Say You Love Me”: A hip-hop/R&B jam with 808s bass and the perfect home with KAI’s voice.
#81: Nissy, “When You Were Mine”: A bouncy, snapping-filled pop song with a foot-tap-worthy bass.
#80: XG, “PUPPET SHOW”: A flipping of the traditional script and proof that, as much as XG can pull off their interstellar concept, fans ought to hope for more rooted-in-reality themes in their future releases.
#79: TAEYONG, “RUBY”: A heartfelt tribute to not just a loved one who is no longer in one’s life, but to the concept of deep connection itself.
#78: Xdinary Heroes, “PLUTO”: A self-directed pep talk with warranted, passionate delivery.
#77: Epik High, “God’s Latte”: A multifaceted rumination on the concepts of karma and a higher power; it ends the album leaving listeners deep in thought and better off for it.
#76: BSS ft. Lee Young Ji, “Fighting”: A pep talk in song form that is particularly effective because the message is not “Cheer up” so much as “We’re right there with you! Hang in there! We’ve got this!”
#75: MIRANI ft. BIG Naughty, “BAD BOY”: A Billie Eilish-esque, snarky takedown of an ex that makes claims in a humorously matter-of-fact, nonchalant way!
#74: NOILION & MIYAVI, “RAYS”: A thunderous blitz of electronic, rock, and orchestral sounds.
#73: BOYNEXTDOOR, “Serenade”: An endearing and peppy song with, given the group’s name, self-explanatory appeal!
#72: JUN, “PSYCHO”: A thought-provoking song that covers the theme of overturning social norms in new ways but maintains the “dream world” concept of a previous single, “LIMBO;” a fitting and insightful sequel. Read more here!
#71: Meng Jia, aka Jia, “KNOCKOUT”: A fiery EDM number that seamlessly incorporates traditional instruments and rap verses into it.
#70: OFFICIAL HIGE DANDISM, “White Noise”: A song that “zigs when it seems ready to zag, seeming to settle into a certain rhythm but then escalating without warning. After guitar riffs kick things off, strings are ushered in, and this is just the first in a series of surprising instrumental switch-ups.” Read more here!
#69: Epik High ft. HOSHI, “Screen Time”: A song that “speaks to the strange contradictions inherent to the digital age: People have simultaneously never felt closer or farther apart… They view their phone time as just ‘trying to kill time,’ something they rely on to feel less lonely. Despite the awareness that their phone time is not actually fulfilling their emotional needs, they cannot quit…” Read more here!
#68: Jung Kook ft. Latto, “Seven”: “While there is much to be said about intricate soundscapes, there remains a timeless appeal to relatively simple, crowd-pleasing hits!... ‘Seven’ is a malleable summer jam.” Read more here!
#67: SCANDAL, “Vision”: A smart assessment of the nature of memories and the conscious, complicated, ongoing feelings around and efforts to preserve them.
#66: SHINee, “Sweet Misery”: Lyrics about loving the pain of wading through an endless sea of memories from a past relationship, brought to life with dreamy harmonies stuck in a synth haze.
#65: Sakurazaka46, “Shoninyokkyu”: A “stellar title track with an exhilarating EDM/industrial instrumental. Its title, which translates to ‘Esteem Needs,’ is what the music video and lyrics are all about: prioritizing one’s self-perception above others’ perceptions.” Read more here!
#64: KIMSEJEONG, “In the Rain”: A touching song about craving a reconnection with one’s inner child. Read more here!
#63: MONSTA X, “LONE RANGER”: A song that aces its thematic assignment and has a smart arrangement; it knows just how to place the instrumental layers so that they overlap enough to keep the song engaging but not enough to overwhelm listeners.
#62: iKON, “Tantara”: Old-school hip-hop delivered with a devil-may-care attitude and a sudden ending that makes putting the song on loop feel essential!
#61: Hua Chen Yu, “飞行模式”: Mellowness paired with major drama; a deep-voiced choir betrays the song’s levity and makes for one of the year’s most delightful surprises!
#60: KANGDANIEL, “SOS”: An alt-rock/trap hero’s tale of which the vocal tone and guitar-heavy production rise to the occasion.
#59: BAND-MAID, “Shambles”: “Through quickly-accelerating drumming, verses and choruses that bleed into each other, and a back-and-forth between singing and what sounds like talking into a megaphone, BAND-MAID maintain a commanding presence that effectively embodies the sense of urgency their message entails.” Read more here!
#58: JOOHONEY, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”: A feel-good song with a meaningful choice to feature a choir of adult voices; in a previous JOOHONEY song, there was a choir of children’s voices, singing about hoping to find the strength to start anew and keep on growing. Read more here!
#57: D.O., “Lost”: An album climax, marking the point between its honeymoon phase and post-breakup one; a song that rises to the occasion of clearly showing the point of no return in a singular story. Read more here!
#56: Nana Ou-Yang, “Mama Said”: “A murmuring bass provides the right background for her cavalier attitude, and she wards off monotony by adding percussion and unexpected volume changes… Nana Ou-Yang channels the angst warranted by punk-infused pop and the catchy repetition warranted by pop-infused punk!” Read more here!
#55: BiSH, “innocent arrogance”: A powerful rock song about the need to redefine one’s own world and embrace oneself fully.
#54: ATEEZ, “Dune”: A surprise-filled B-side with humorously deep-voiced rapping and one of the most exciting bridges of the year.
#53: YOASOBI, “Idol”: A compulsively dance-along track that rightly took the internet by storm this year!
#52: IVE, “I AM”: A rejuvenating anthem about limitless dreaming.
#51: DPR IAN, “So I Danced”: A great summation of DPR IAN’s style, with its confluence of voices and characters engaging in trains of thought that at times sync up and at times crash into each other! A colorful and characteristic standout from his 2023 album.
#50: AB6IX, “LOSER”: An unexpected combination of a sunny sound and despairing lyrics; a summation of the group’s organic maturity and balancing of the old with the new in their work.
#49: Dreamcatcher, “DEMIAN”: A strong argument for Dreamcatcher to lean harder into the “rock” side of their pop-rock image; a distortion-filled, dynamic delight.
#48: milet, “HELL CLUB”: A multi-chapter, layered, twisty production!
#47: Nene, “All About That Day”: A sweet and straightforward ode to a past - and, ideally, returning - love.
#46: JISOO, “FLOWER”: A defiant farewell to an ex that uses a flower metaphor to describe oneself as both fragile and blossoming.
#45: Stray Kids ft. Tiger JK, “TOPLINE”: A boisterous anthem filled with witty remarks and unapologetic ego.
#44: BOYNEXTDOOR, “But Sometimes”: Humorously-delivered complaints about a complicated crush, set to an instrumental that is the stuff of classic boy-band hits!
#43: BABYMETAL, “METAL KINGDOM”: Instant BABYMETAL canon, emblematic of the group’s expansive, enveloping soundscapes.
#42: P1Harmony, “JUMP”: A song that sounds like it was made specifically for live performances, overflowing with contagious fervor!
#41: TWICE, “CRAZY STUPID LOVE”: A mood-boosting post-breakup song with a fun, bluesy riff at the beginning.
#40: Jimin, “Alone”: A voice that is as beautiful as the song is despairing; an intimate cry for consolation and understanding.
#39: Forestella, “White Night”: A breathtaking choral performance by a team whose members have exceptional synergy.
#38: Janice Yan & Xiao Bing Chih, “Get Over Yourself”: Rugged rapping and top-tier singing that make for a clear and compelling contrast.
#37: Jeff Satur, “Dum Dum”: “While the choruses are minimal, the verses are tragic poems… Jeff Satur entraps the audience in a tragic story, an impressive feat for a release that at first appears surface-level.” Read more here!
#36: MARK, “Golden Hour”: “It is hard to imagine a greater clapback… MARK is emboldened and gets ahead of future mockery by accepting an oddball, amateur image in advance! He makes people laugh with him instead of at him, treating his lack of cooking skills as just part of his identity.” Read more here!
#35: JIHYO, “Nightmare”: The kind of fierce, vengeful song that is next-level when performed live; the perfect way to prove JIHYO can hold her own both in the recording studio and on stage!
#34: (G)I-DLE, “Queencard”: A fantastic follow-up to “TOMBOY” in terms of both sound and attitude.
#33: Aimer, “SKYLIGHT”: A sweeping, cinematic soundscape that brings to life the feeling of seeing light at the end of a tunnel.
#32: ENHYPEN, “Still Monster”: A song for which the group stays in character; their vampire selves express self-loathing over an inability to define foreign-to-them feelings like love. Their conviction that they are destined to be permanent monstrosities is made even more compelling through a marvelous, higher-than-usual register. Read more here!
#31: TAEMIN, “Guilty”: A stunning showcase of what TAEMIN’s voice is capable of and a riveting tale about a selfish side of love.
#30: KANGDANIEL, “Wasteland”: A song with exceptional high notes woven into the background and a vivid sense of betrayal mixed with resolve.
#29: Stray Kids, “S-Class”: The kind of quirky, unrepeatable track for which Stray Kids have become rightfully known, with the space for a dance break adding an extra thrill!
#28: Juice Boy ft. Karencici, “Target”: Pop-punk perfection that disarms when it speeds far away from its mellow beginning!
#27: JOOHONEY, “FREEDOM”: Fittingly, a song that proves JOOHONEY is feeling free to experiment sonically; an intriguing combination of ballad-like and rap segments.
#26: WOODZ, “Journey”: A “profound tale of finding worth from within… Stopping to process feelings instead of running away from them pains him, but he withstands waves of pain by knowing he can mentally escape to his ‘little island’... self-reliance enables his journey.” Read more here!
#25: ATEEZ, “BOUNCY (K-HOT CHILLI PEPPERS)”: An explosively energetic number; if the phrase “let loose” had a sound to it!
#24: FIFTY FIFTY, “Cupid”: A hit song that speaks to universal unlucky-in-love feelings in an ironically cheerful way.
#23: MONSTA X, “Beautiful Liar”: A loop-worthy number that plays to all of the group’s biggest strengths, from KIHYUN’s high notes to JOOHONEY and I.M’s ping-ponging raps.
#22: SEVENTEEN, “Super”: A song with many impressive aspects, from the new-to-them ways they share their go-to message about teamwork to the moments that seem designed for dance breaks.
#21: G.E.M., “Gloria”: A goosebumps-inducing power ballad within which its album’s emotional core resides.
#20: Agust D, “Polar Night”: A well-said argument against black-and-white framing of something as complex as human feelings. Read more here!
#19: Marz23 ft. ØZI, “Gaslight”: “[T]hey cannot have a peaceful afterlife, since they hold onto unresolved pain at the realization they spent ‘emotional debt’ on those undeserving of it… an unconventional reminder that hurt people hurt people…” Read more here!
#18: NewJeans, “Super Shy”: A song in which the appeal lies in NewJeans’s signature softness, simplicity, and smoothness.
#17: NCT DREAM, “ISTJ”: A subversive message about getting to know someone without relying on a four-letter label, with a fearless mixing of different instruments and sound effects!
#16: TXT, “Dreamer”: A beautifully-worded ode to a childlike sense of wonder.
#15: ENHYPEN, “Chaconne”: An exceptionally meaningful song that enriches the album’s lore in crucial ways. Read more here!
#14: LE SSERAFIM ft. Nile Rodgers, “UNFORGIVEN”: A reinterpretation of a classic (from 1966’s The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly) into a brand new theme song, which oozes girl power and has cute choreography to boot!
#13: DPR IAN, “Welcome to the Other Side”: A richly cinematic score with one of the year’s most intoxicating instrumentals.
#12: milet, “December”: A raw, piercing piano and string ballad that keeps milet’s gripping voice center stage.
#11: The Rose, “Alive”: One of the band’s finest vocal performances to date that proves their rock sound is where they are right at home - although the electronic breakdown mid-song is a well-done curveball!
#10: Jeff Satur, “Black Tie”: “Jeff Satur effortlessly changes his voice while telling this story, going from boldly conveying bitterness to speaking in an ominous whisper, mimicking the elitists by whom he feels deceived… With his voice alone, he convincingly plays both a victor and a victim, casting blame on those who promised him the world if he conformed to their ideals while blaming himself for being naive…” Read more here!
#9: LE SSERAFIM, “Eve, Psyche & The Bluebeard’s wife”: A standout B-side for which “unique” is an understatement; a song that ought to be considered a definitive part of this group’s one-of-a-kind role in the K-pop universe.
#8: Jimin, “Like Crazy”: A high-quality pop song with surprising depth, thanks to its inclusion of hushed voices and other background noises; it is like listening to an audiotape of Jimin’s inner thoughts.
#7: Jung Kook, “Standing Next to You (Usher Remix)”: Although “iconic” is an overused descriptor these days, no better word suffices when talking about these two crooners teaming up for a smooth-as-silk, retro banger!
#6: PURPLE KISS, “Sweet Juice”: A song that could not be performed as perfectly by any other group, both because of its tie-ins to a fictional video narrative and PURPLE KISS’s rich rainbow of vocal colors.
#5: Kwon Jin Ah, “Raise Up The Flag”: A good song turned into a great one with Kwon Jin Ah’s stunning performance of it; her voice wobbles throughout, as if she is choking out the words, making both her despair and perseverance contagious. Listeners are carried through her journey auditorily, hearing her deal with pain and growing into a more confident person as the song progresses; the gradual build complements her emotions’ evolution.
#4: TWICE, “SET ME FREE”: An excellent pop bop that is commendable for its secretly multifaceted message; a song that is both about feeling free post-relationship and freeing oneself to start anew when it comes to giving love a chance; a message not of “I don’t need love,” but of “I deserve better love than this.”
#3: Agust D, “Haegeum”: A song featuring one of 2023’s best verses, which covers everything from the age of information overload to the ways the internet caters to humanity’s worst impulses. Read more here!
#2: SEVENTEEN, “I Don’t Understand But I Luv U”: A carefully-crafted story that is both familiar and not: “The harmonies… enter and exit at unexpected times, the members’ pained voices backed by electric guitar riffs make for quite a juxtaposition, and the percussion goes from sounding like it has all day to leaving with a quick rattle. The song strays from past SEVENTEEN formulas sonically, but its lyrics have strong parallels to previous eras…” Read more here!
#1: TXT, “Farewell, Neverland”: The moving finale to an excellent concept album; the embodiment of what their tales of Neverland’s highs and lows are all about and the conflicted feelings that linger post-adventure. TXT “remind themselves that Neverland is a ‘paradise full of lies.’ They now know the only way out of their struggles is through them; they will never see rainbows if they do not endure rain first. After all, this false paradise bears ‘A kiss from the sun that never sleeps,’ so ‘No one can see the stars.’” Read more here!
Learn more about these picks through the corresponding podcast episode, and stay tuned for more “Best of 2023” rankings and reviews, out next week!
Stream the episode on Spotify here!