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Every year DAZED magazine releases their year-end list of Top 40 K-pop songs that ruled their playlist. Unlike other publications who mostly do not structure their list as a ranking and add songs randomly in no chronological order, DAZED justifies the positioning of each song, providing a definitive ranking to them.
Last year, the crown of the best K-pop song was taken by ONF’s Beautiful Beautiful with Key’s Bad Love in second place and Brave Girls’ After We Ride coming in third.
With the insurgence of new groups debuting this year, the K-pop market is saturated with hits, many of which have made it into the Top 10 of DAZED magazine’s 'Best K-pop Tracks of 2022.'
Attention, Love Dive, and 8 other tracks that made it to Top 10 of DAZED magazine’s 'Best K-pop Songs of 2022'
10) Gasoline by Key
Key’s single Gasoline was released on August 30 and currently has over 3.5 million streams on Spotify.
The song is a hip-hop dance track with an addictive chorus that perfectly shows off the artist's own personal style of music. It further complements the lyrics where he talks about staying passionate and dedicated towards his craft and not being blinded by achievements and fame.
9) Talk That Talk by TWICE
TWICE’s Talk That Talk was released on August 26 and has over 105 million streams on Spotify. It is a retro pop song that brings back the Y2K feel. The K-pop song is an addictive dance number that talks about speaking one’s mind when it comes to love.
According to DAZED magazine, the girl-group has developed their own brand of vivacious pop which ensures their continuous success in the music industry.
8) Pop! by Nayeon
Nayeon’s debut single Pop! is reminiscent of old-school cutesy K-pop songs, very similar to 2016 TWICE. The song, released on June 24 has garnered over 139 million streams on Spotify.
Pop! is a fresh take on bubblegum pop and was a much-welcomed departure from the dark concepts that have saturated K-pop.
7) Attention by NewJeans
NewJeans had everyone’s attention with their debut single Attention, which they released on August 1. The song garnered them immense support not only domestically but also globally, as they became super rookies overnight.
Attention went viral for its fresh Y2K concept, hypnotic key-changes, and repetitive chorus. It currently has over 116 million streams on Spotify.
6) Good Boy Gone Bad by TXT
Released on May 9, Good Boy Gone Bad was the title track of TXT's latest album, minisode 2: Thursday’s Child. The group delivered yet another rock masterpiece with the K-pop song and looks like they have finally found their own sound.
The song’s lyrics talk about a boy’s break-up with his first love and the changes he goes through in the process, the pain of which is perfectly delivered by the raspy vocals of the members. The song has acquired over 82 million streams on Spotify.
5) BTBT by B.I & Soulja Boy (ft. DeVita)
BTBT was B.I’s pre-release single that was released on May 13 to soft-launch his official comeback and the song was an instant hit. The choreography for BTBT became a successful TikTok challenge with celebrities all over the world taking part in it, and the song has crossed over 72 million streams on Spotify.
B.I is known for his impeccable production skills and his ability to write intoxicating love songs such as Love Scenario, and his R&B number BTBT is the perfect mixture of both.
4) Antifragile by Le Sserafim
Le Sserafim’s song Antifragile was released on October 17 and instantly became a TikTok hit because of its catchy hook and easy-to-follow choreography. The K-pop song is described as an Afro-Latin-style pop genre song.
The song speaks about their ability to stay strong and unharmed even in the face of adversities, which could be a hint towards the Kim Garam scandal. Despite mixed reactions to the song upon its release, Antifragile has become a staple in everyone’s playlist and currently has over 85 million streams on Spotify.
3) Guerrilla by ATEEZ
ATEEZ’s song Guerilla was released on July 29 and has over 26 million streams on Spotify. The track combines the strengths of both hip-hop and R&B genres to deliver a powerful and loud wake-up call to the listeners to forego their fears and to live life to the fullest.
It perfectly captures ATEEZ’s unique sound which is a combination of strong rap verses and a cacophony of loud melodies and has over 26 million streams on Spotify.
2) Love Dive by IVE
IVE made waves both in South Korea and around the world with their debut single Love Dive that established them as the next big girl group to watch out for. They released the song on April 5 which has garnered over 202 million streams on Spotify.
IVE dabbled in the genre of electropop with the song and the heavy use of percussion added to the trance-like quality of the chorus. Combining self-love and narcissism, Love Dive is a song about falling deeply in love with yourself.
1) RING ma Bell by Billlie
Released on August 31, Billlie’s song RING ma Bell has taken the crown as DAZED magazine’s best K-pop song of 2022. Having only debuted in 2021, rookie girl-group Billlie have already established themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
The K-pop song is heavily influenced by the 70s hard-rock and the girls do justice to it. The quirky song has over 4.9 million streams on Spotify and is an underrated gem that everyone should listen to at least once before the end of 2022.
2022 was the year of girl groups as six songs from female K-pop artists made it into Dazed magazine's top 10 list of best K-pop songs, with four of those songs being from freshly debuted girl-groups. With the advent of a new generation of groups in K-pop, 2023 will be a sonically interesting year.
