KPOP Charts 2018: The Best 20 of 2018

Like always, picking the best songs of the year is hard, too many great tracks. I decided to take 20 of all the previews post I made through the year, hope you like it and came back later for more great choices.

1.     FAKE LOVE by BTS: The track "FAKE LOVE" market the comeback from the group since their incredible success with the songs "DNA" and "MIC Drop". In 2018, the group did their World Tour, and where the first kpop act to make a stadium show on the New York Mets park.  

2.     DDU DU DDU DU by Black Pink: The girls made an incredible comeback with the track "DDU DU DDU DU". The song gave you all the fills of female power and badass attitude. On September the girls received their "Diamond Bottom" from YouTube, since the group suppressed the 10 million subscribers.

3.     Egotistic by MAMAMOO: Once again, Mamamoo don't disappoint with their dynamic vocals. For this project, the female group gave us a Latin vibe with the track "Egotistic". This song is part of their EP "Red Moon", which is their four inspired by a color that represents a member. The color red represents member Moonbyul, which has a solo track on the album titled "Selfish" with Red Velvet member Seulgi.

4.     Love Scenario by iKON: After almost two years, iKON made their proper comeback with the album "Return", which had 12 songs. The title track for their project was "Love Scenario", which is different from their usual party and fun vibe. The song is mellow break up son but an upbeat sound that goes great with the choreography. The MV of the song show us the great dance formation of the group, along with their incredible style.

5.     Bad Boy by Red Velvet: Red Velvet made their comeback with the track "Bad Boy", after their success with “Peek-A-Boo" and the album "Perfect Velvet" the past November. For the begging of the year the group has re-release their previous album with three new tracks and the new title "The Perfect Red Velvet". "Bad Boy" is a song with a groovy strong bass that talks about being attracted to a bad boy. The girls use a more mature style for this project, along with a "sexy" choreography.

6.     What Is Love? by TWICE: The group under JYP Entertainment made their comeback with their mini album "What Is Love?". The composition is from JYP himself, it's a dance track showing how some girls learn love through book, movies, and dramas. Like most of the group’s songs, this track has a bright melody but with some rhythms of trap and dance beats.

7.     Potion by Eric Nam: Eric Nam's third mini album was released this past April, titled "Honestly". The project includes six tracks, one of them "Potion", featuring rapper Woodie Gochild. The lyrics of this song where co-writing by Epik High's leader, Tablo, and the MV was filmed in Mexico.

8.     IDOL by BTS ft Nicki Minaj: After an incredible success in Korea and internationally with their latest work, they had a great comeback alongside Nicki Minaj for the song '"IDOL". The group first released the original track with the MV on the end of August and topped all the Billboard's list on the last week of August. The MV for this track is characterized for being a self-pride work for the boys, with all the key points of their Korean Culture. The chorus "you can't stop me loving myself" shows the fans how compromise they are for young people to have a healthy mental health, to be strong and don't let the events happening on the World doubt what they can do, and how important is to love yourself and fight for what you believe. Right now, the group has broken the record on YouTube with the MV, surpassing the 100 million views on the platform. The group's album "Love Yourself: Answer" was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Chart for the two times and is still No. 1 on the Social 50 charts.

9.     Pluhmm by HA:TFELT: Released on April of this year, former Wonder Girl, Yeeun let us know the hearth fluttering feelings at the beginning of a relationship, how someone has all kind of emotions before a relationship starts. The track is part of her single project "Deine".

10.  BBIBBI by IU: IU came back on October 10 with a new song to commemorate her 10th anniversary on the industry. The song is a way to make netizens now that she has had it with their negative comments about her.  She is putting out the word that she no longer will tolerate it, but on the most playful of ways. The song has a great vibe, with a nice alternative R&B sound.

11.  Don't Give It To Me by Loco x Hwasa: The KBS World variety show "Hyena on the Keyboard" has musicians and singer/songwriters make collaborations with other artists. On the beginning of May, rapper and hip-hop artist Loco made his collaboration track with MAMAMOO's Hwasa. Multiple times Loco has stated that his ideal type among idols is Hwasa, that is why he did not waste any time on flirting with her while working together. The duo came up with the track "Don't Give It To Me", as an example of the sparks that surge when a man and a woman got out. The song is the first from the show to rank #1 on the charts.

12.  Bingle Bangle by AOA: The girl group AOA made their comeback with the album and title track "Bingle Bangle". The group now without one of the members, ChoA, since she decided to leave the group for mental health issues. The track is an upbeat one, with a fun MV simulating a retro video game. The catchy chorus and fun choreography can really get to the fans, and make you want to dance.

13.  I'm So Sick by Apink: Apink made a great comeback with the track "I'm So Sick". Thanks to their more mature look, the change of sound and image, the female group landed on No. 11 on the Billboard World Album chart and made No. 39 on the Social 50 chart from Billboard.

14.  MAINHAE (Sorry) by Heize: The new album from R&B artist, Heize, come out on March. "Wish & Wind" had seven tracks, and two MV release, "Jenga" ft. Gaeko, which is the title track, and "MAINHAE (Sorry)". Even though the latter is not the title track, you can be easily hooked by its retro-modern R&B tune and jazzy vibe with an incredible hook of the word "mainhae" along the song.

15.  Fiancé by MINO: Member of the YG Entertainment group WINNER, Song Mino, released his first solo album titled "XX". For the promotional track he had the song "Fiancé", which is a track that fusion trot music with hip-hop and Korean pop music. The music video takes us to the past of traditional Korean culture, while going back and forth to a present fill with outstanding aesthetics. The song talks about his desire towards the girls he loves, accompanied with hypnotic strings.

16.  Heroine by Sunmi: Sunmi had made us go crazy once again with the great track "Heroine". This song was produced by Teddy, who previously produced "Gashina", her latest successful project. The bass is the key attraction of the melody of this song, and the lyrics are just great for what Sunmi has shown us among her career. She has shown us her unconventional side, which has a positive effect on her music career and projects.

17.  Soul Mate by Zico ft IU: Zico made his comeback with the track "Soul Mate" featuring singer/song writer IU, it was the first time the two of them made a collaboration together since Zico made the rap part of IU's song "Marshmallow" on 2009. Along with his comeback Zico had his solo concert series starting from Seoul titled "King of the Zungle" and touring to other countries. Right now, there is rumors that he will part ways from his agency, Seven Seasons, since his contract will end on November, but he has said that nothing is confirmed, and he is analyzing his options.

18.  Killing Me by iKON: The group made their comeback with the track "Killing Me" which was part of their EP titled "New Kids: Continue". This song is inspired by the hunting of past love, incredibly written by the leader of the group B.I. The song starts as a sweet melody but then transform into a dance track. Like their previous work, the group don't disappoint with the strong presence on the scenario and great positions on the charts.

19.  Starry Night by Mamamoo: The group released the title song for their mini album "Yellow Flower", "Starry Night" on March. The track talks about a romance happening under a starry night. The member Moon Byul was part of the lyricists of the track. On the MV you could see beautiful scenarios from New Zealand.

20.  Love Shot by EXO: The only song from the month of December that made the list. The group made their comeback after the release of the track “Tempo” on November. For “Love Shot” we have a track with more groove and a bit the different from their previous release, also having gunshot sound effects on it. The track even placed no. 1 on the Billboard’s World Digital Songs chart.

Hope that you all get the chance to check these tracks before the year ends or start the new year with a great look from the past 2018. For now, I wish you all a great 2019, full of adventures and great music!! Please, come back next year for more suggestions on what’s new on the KPOP scene. Like and share!!!