For the last few years, the Kpop industry has seen a lot of growth. Kpop is one of the most popular and loved music genres in the world. It’s not only popular with the younger generations, but it also has a large fan base in the mature ages too. While Kpop is still relatively new, with its popularity growing year by year, the genre has managed to carve its own niche in the music industry.
However, Did Kpop rule the music industry in 2021? With the release of new groups Nonstop, NTX, Purple Kiss and many more, the genre continues to dominate in popularity, with other groups like BLACKPINK, TWICE, Girl’s Generation and BTS keeping up with their own records. With the constant influx of new music, and the ability to stream anything from any corner of the world, the industry continues to thrive in the 21st century.
In the article we list the best Kpop songs of 2021 that dominated the music industry and created a global sensation. Read on!
Lalisa – Lisa
BLACKPINK’s main dancer Lisa (a.k.a Lalisa) performs in her solo debut to show her appealing personality in the dance track. Lisa released a Special Stage version of her music video before she released the official MV. Both videos went on to be massive hits and in no time the video was ranked 84th of the Billboard hot 100 within the first week of the release. It also topped top song charts in over 70 countries including global YouTube top 100 chart for two weeks.
Alcohol Free – Twice
The next time you have a craving for a glass of wine, or a bottle of beer, or a shot of hard liquor, remember, you don’t have to give in to those cravings. Just listen to Alcohol-free by Twice and forget all your stress. Experience the drunken feeling yet not so much with the light and happy lyrics of the Alcohol Free. Twice ranked at number 6 in the billboard hot 200 charts within the few days of its release. Twice has performed the song in various reality shows including Ellen.
Butter – BTS
Butter by BTS was one of the biggest Kpop songs of 2021 winning multiple awards and nominations. The music video was released on May 21, 2021 on YouTube under HYBE LABELS. It wouldn’t be wrong to say Butter was the biggest sensation in the music industry in the calendar year. The music video has over 600 million views on YouTube after the six months of its release. Butter became only the 40th single in the Billboard’s hot 100’s 63-year old history to rank at number one for 10 consecutive weeks.
Next Level – Aespa
What do you get when you combine your love of Kpop, and good music? You get Aespa. Aespa released their music video for Next Level on May 17, 2021 and had nearly 200 million views at the end of year. Aespa secured #5 spot on Billboard Kpop 100 chart within the first week of its release. Next Level is a song filled with love, joy and pure entertainment.
On the Ground – Rose
When did you last see Rose on the stage? It’s been a while but when she returned, she came on the ground. On the Ground is a solo debut by BLACKPINK’s star Rose that broke two Guinness World Records. The music video got over 41 million views and broke the record of most views within 24 hours of its release. The song topped both Billboard global 200 charts and Global 200 U.S charts. On the Ground is a song that makes you wake up and break the floor jumping and dancing.
I’m Not Cool – HyunA
HyunA is one of the most successful Korean female solo artists of the past decade. She is well known for her organic and underrated music style and her charismatic personality. I’m Not Cool by Hyuna was released on Jan 28, 2021 by P Nation and has over 50 million views on YouTube. HyunA showed her personality and originality with her powerful dance over quirky EDM beats.
Beautiful Beautiful – ONF
There is nothing more exciting than when you find a new kpop group that’s just as good as the rest, but you can’t get enough of their songs because they aren’t as well-known as some of the other kpop groups out there. On February 24, ONF made their long-awaited comeback with “Beautiful Beautiful”. “Beautiful Beautiful” is the title song for the album ONF: My Name which contains 11 songs in total.
After School – Weeekly
There’s a lot to love about K-Pop. The bright, colorful costumes the groups wear; the light-hearted dance moves; the catchy tunes, and cute, puppy-eyed vocals. Weeekly is one of those groups that offers everything you expect from a girl band. After School arguably was one of the most anticipated debut songs of 2021. Although described as reggae-pop at the time of release, you can expect more of classic pop than reggae. Regardless, After School delivers a great sense of melody and chorus filled with love, joy, excitement and mixed feelings.
Fever – ENHYPEN
Released on May 19, 2021, Fever is a latest addition to ENHYPEN’s mini album BORDER: CARNIVAL. Fever is a mixture of pop and R&B genre of music that shows the desperateness for the other person. The MV explains how a boy is waiting to understand and recognize himself by comparing himself to a vampire with body temperature lower than humans. The MV is tense, desperate and emotionally lost in the horizon.
Cinema – CIX
Debuted in 2019, CIX is a five member Kpop boy group. Although CIX have only released four albums to date, the hype for Cinema was high. CIX has delivered intense electronic sounds in the past but Cinema is quite different. The Synthpop instrumental is very relaxing and refreshing. The MV shows the movie being filmed and you can see the directors, choreographers and other actors/actresses just like the film crew for a cinema.
