Paradise Diner Jukebox #1: My favourite K-Pop songs of 2023
A look back at the biggest K-Pop bangers of the year (or rather, the imminent domination of the world at the hands of NewJeans)
She’s back! Save for a post about Taylor Swift that flowed from my fingers a few weeks before Christmas before I’d really had time to plan for it, things have been a little quiet in the last few months. But that’s okay - the whole point of beginning a Substack was to be less precious around my writing and less meticulous about forcing myself into hyper-productivity, so I suppose you could take my apology for my unplanned absence as thus; I’m sorry, but I’m not sorry. Things will hopefully be more frequent in 2024, but they also might not, and that is absolutely fine.
As January gets underway, I thought it would be nice to write about some of my favourite music of the year. I could have done a general tracks list, but honestly, when I started counting, I realised that the singles which brought me the most joy and replay value were near-exclusively K-Pop.
In terms of the freelance journalism I did in 2023, two of my favourite pieces to work on were also reported feature on the activism that FIFTY FIFTY fans were engaging in amidst legal issues between the members and their label, and a thinkpiece on the US Billboard success of Jimin’s ‘Like Crazy’ as the perfect full-circle hit 11 years on from Psy’s international breakthrough with ‘Gangnam Style.’ You might also consider this the first instalment of the Paradise Diner Jukebox, a loose format that sat in drafts for most of 2023, but will appear from time to time on here in tribute to my favourite frequently-visited K-Pop music video location (modelled beautifully by Stayc in ‘Beautiful Monster’ below).
But I digress. For all my friends/readers/ who want to get into the genre but don’t know where to start, this list should provide a pretty basic ‘in’ to the year that was, highlighting the hottest players in the endlessly competitive, globalising and stake-heightening realm that is K-Pop. The first three entries are in podium order, and then it’s a fun free-for-all.
🥇NewJeans - SuperShy
Make no mistake about it; in 2023, everything was NewJeans and absolutely nothing hurt, aside from the bank balance required to keep up with all of their adorable merch and box sets. With a clutch of 7 perfect singles, the rookie five-piece barely put a sartorial or sonic foot wrong in their second year, unless you count the ongoing and (very reasonable) criticism surrounding 2022 single ‘Cookie and its rather troubling age-inappropriate innuendo. Nonetheless, the sound and style that NewJeans has begun to carve out for themselves feels truly distinctive; ‘SuperShy’, with its iconic whacking dance routine and catchy bubblegum-jersey-club chorus, felt bob-on for the year’s obsession with coquettish girlypop trends, but honourable points also go to ‘ETA’, ‘OMG’ and the criminally underrated ‘Cool With You’, managing to feel both ethereally youthful and musically sophisticated at the same time.
🥈Le Serrafim - Eve, Psyche & The Bluebeard’s Wife
Did any K-Pop lyric go harder in 2023 than “I’m a mess/in distress/but we’re still the best dressed?” Since debut, Le Serrafim’s aesthetic has always been about celebrating the rougher, rebellious edges of femininity, and with pulsing EDM and death-defying choreo, ‘Eve, Psyche & The Bluebeard’s Wife’ felt like the perfect set piece for their overall vibe, the crowning jewel in a full-length debut that showcased serious versatility and steel. All the girls are great obviously, but YunJin is surely in line for individual 2023 rookie of the year for THAT dance break at the MAMA 2023 Awards; we’re talking future icon of the world behaviour.
🥉Ateez - Bouncy (K-Hot Chilli Peppers)
Between Ateez’s ‘Outlaw’ EP and Le Serrafim’s Unforgiven’, the cowboy aesthetic was big for K-Pop this year, another example of how this genre of music is best enjoyed as a full storytelling spectacle of music, choreography and visuals. I’d be lying if I said I had been following Ateez’s career up until this point particularly closely, but with the perfect balance of silliness and sauve, ‘Bouncy’ offers pretty much everything I would ever want from a boy group; a vague Hip-Hop nod to the melody of Kelis’s ‘Milkshake’, a signature dance that is impossible for somebody of normal thigh strength to effectively recreate, and in San, a band member whose cheekbones and jawline are sharp enough to use as stationery in my brand new bullet journal. I will be fancamming, respectfully.
Aespa - Drama
With all the love and respect in the world, 2023 wasn’t quite Aespa’s strongest year. The first rookie group I ever really got in with at ground level, they will always have a very special place in my heart, but at times, their futuristic concept felt a little left behind or confused in 23’s styling, and the songs — whilst enjoyable — didn’t always seem to me to make the best use of this group’s specific charms. Nonetheless, I liked ‘Spicy’ and ‘Better Things’ as a kind of ‘superhero off-duty’ world expansion, and ‘Drama’ felt like a real return to form in terms of the dark, sleek subdued-hyperpop that they’re so good at. The heavy rock version performed at the MAMA Awards is well worth checking out, demonstrative of how readily they can accomodate a harder edge.
IVE - Baddie
In Aespa’s hands, there is no doubt in my mind that ‘Baddie’ would have gone at least 25% harder, boosted by some more complex choreography and maybe an even punchier delivery. As it was, IVE still did a great job of teasing out your inner girl boss, chased around a series of locales by an oversized black cat. What’s not to love?
V - Slow Dancing
My lo-fi study beats king! The best thing about BTS’ members working on solo projects is how readily it allows them to service their individual genre interests, and given that Taehyung is my bias, it was a genuine pleasure to watch him frolic amidst his well-established love of jazz and collegiate live instrumentation. It’s hard to choose between the many brooding, mellow jams of ‘Layover’, but I think I’ll opt for ‘Slow Dancing’, slayed out with particularly endearing casualness on this low-key band session.
Jimin - Like Crazy
‘Wistful Cinematic Yearning’…a phrase that must have been on the moodboard for Jimin’s ‘Like Crazy’, which might be my individual favourite BTS solo track to date. As above, I’m a Taehyung girl through and through, but in holding the delicate edges of both his vocal and ballet-trained movements to the light, ‘Like Crazy’ felt like a really elegant moment for Jimin, a way to show his maturity and sensuality without going for out-and-out raunch. Maybe I’ve been watching too much Sophia Coppola, but there was something quite indie-flick about his whole roll-out which felt very easy and cool, a superstar living up to his celebrity status but also managing to do something intimate too.
Jungkook - 3D (Not the Jack Harlow version) or Standing Next To You (the Justin Timberlake version)
Subtlety was less the aim of BTS’s youngest members’ game, but in fighting back against the perceived innocence of the Maknae, you could be left in no confusion by Jungkook’s open determination to prove that with his debut solo album, he was indeed, down and ready to F. I quite enjoyed seeing him go full ‘Justified’ era with the falsetto and the whole 00s production shebang (even more so when he teamed up Timberlake himself on a version of ‘Standing Next To You’ that frankly has no business going as hard as it does), but I much prefer the version of ‘3D’ without Jack Harlow’s rampant horn-dogging taking away the more playful sense of innuendo and cheekiness. I admire Jungkook’s decision to push himself to experiment with a more Western sound through collaboration, but not every guilty pleasure pizza needs quite that much grease, you know?
SHINee - Juice
There’s very little to say about ‘Juice’ by K-Pop legends SHINee, other than to say it’s pretty bonkers, with a full-on kitchen-sink production and the kind of gleeful genre bait-and-switching that sums up exactly why I love K-Pop so much. Did they need a full R&B moment coming out of nowhere right in the middle of the track? Absolutely not. But it is a thrill every time you hear it? Yes. Yes it is.
The Rose - Back To Me
The Rose aren’t exactly lacking in fanbase, but it consistently blew my mind in 2023 that ‘Back To Me’ didn’t fall into the hands of 5 Seconds of Summer/Louis Tomlinson/1975 TikTok and become a massive hit worldwide. This newsletter isn’t exactly going to boost their fortunes, but it wouldn’t be right not to highlight ‘Back To Me’s anthemic fuckboy angst, and the ongoing potential that The Rose have to push the boundaries of the kind of music that Korean artists are expected to make.
Odd Eye Circle - Je Ne Sais Quoi
Slightly silly aside: I’ve always enjoyed the phrase Je Ne Sais Quoi because if you say it fast, it sounds a bit like my name. Anyway, there’s something really pretty about this song, the gently sighing way that they sing the chorus and the city pop-meets-carly-rae jepsen inflections in the production. Simple, but blissful.
TXT - Do It Like That feat. Jonas Brothers
A masterclass in the east-meets-west vocal crossover; Jungkook take note! ‘Do It Like That’ is easy and friendly and very very catchy, asking very little of the listener but filling in some of the visual and sonics gaps left behind after BTS’s retro-inspired Dynamite/Butter era. I love when K-Pop groups go all out on the sincerity and high-art concepts, but there’s always room for a sweet peppy tune about fancying someone when it’s done this well. Tomorrow X Together are really, really good at finding their own personality somewhere between the two vibes, so it’s no wonder that they’re able to make these international moves.
Young Posse - Macaroni Cheese
Speaking of Butter….I will confess I have some big moral dissonance problems with the stylistic roux-making talents of Young Posse. Their name is hella dodgy, and I’m pretty angry at how readily these incredibly young girls have been roped into an age-inappropriate that gives NewJeans ‘Cookie’ a run for its money on the innuendo front. This stuff needs and deserves to be called out, and yet still, I do appreciate the intensely-catchy, silly, hip-hop vibe that ‘Macaroni Cheese’ brings to the current scene, with Sunhye being an incredibly intriguing rapper and dancer with bags of obvious potential. I can’t quite bring myself to be a fan just yet because of how uncomfortable their early presentation makes me, but I do wish them well in their debut, and sincerely hope that as they amass more tracks a balance can be struck between their creative autonomy and exposure to potentially problematic forms of consumption. All in all, I will be very interested to see how things unfold for them in 2024.
Have I missed your fave? Wondered what on earth a maknae, bias or fancam is? Leave a comment below: