Excuse the mushiness of this post and cringy feature image I created. I have the creativity of a log. 🙂

Yikes! 10 years ago, I started KPOPREVIEWED. The date was 3rd October 2011 (on WordPress). To be honest, that is the date that I have on hand as the start of this particular blog. KPOPREVIEWED actually started earlier elsewhere by a few days, but I have deleted that blog and don’t have any of that information on hand anymore.

Over the few days, I have been in this nostalgic mindset thanks to writing this particular thank you post. Hence, I thought it was nice to look back at the very reason why we are all here and so interested in the KPOP industry – the songs, albums, artists, music videos and performances. If you had a keen eye, you would have noticed that I stopped ‘Looking Back’ past 10 years (though I did throw a few extra artists, videos, choreographies in for pre-2011 releases). It pained me to stop at an odd number, but I thought it would be a nice subtle hint at what the end of the special series would entail. it was also a great reflection over the last 10 years. So many releases were sifted through, and so many binges were carried out.

10 years is a long time. 3653 days to be precise (because Korea and mothers with new born babies have this weird obsession with celebrating a certain number of days). Just to put into perspective:

• approx. 2406 song reviews written to date (in some capacity, however this number does not includes any songs that I have reviewed in an album review format)
• 430 album reviews written to date
• 632 followers (a much higher number than what I had ever expected)
• over 1,300,000 views
• over 620,000 unique visitors
• over 850 comments (most of which is me, but still a bunch of comments over the years)
• over 2380 likes

I am sure other similar blogs have much higher numbers than mine (I see a lot more traffic on my fellow peers blogs). But if you were to ask me 10 years ago that I would have over 1,300,000 views to something, I would laugh and ask if you are joking.

To be honest, I never thought I would reach 10 years. For those who don’t know, KPOPREVIEWED was started as an escape from my studies (I was in high school then). Fast forward 10 years, I have graduated both high school and university, and even moved out to live independently. It was only a few years ago that I thought to even try harder at blogging (as I didn’t have much of a part time job while studying at university and researched ways I could develop skills for a job – blogging was one of them), and I think it paid off. Since then, it has helped land me my full time job (interestingly, this blog and my work have nothing to do with one another) and has been an interesting ice-breaker with some people.

But the biggest reason to why the blog has lasted so long is YOU! The views on my blog have grown exponentially of the last few years. I presume this growing number of views each year tells me that there is an appetite for what I post and it drives me to continue posting. So my biggest thanks to everyone out there, no matter if you have been following the blog since day one or have just discovered the blog today. As cliché as it sounds, I could not have done this without your support, and for that I am grateful for you. 🙂

So what does this post mean for me? Is this reflective and thanking post the end of KPOPREVIEWED? Nope. I think I bit more in me. Whether I will last another 10 years, that’s a different story. However, I will promise (and I truly mean this one – I know I don’t have the best track record of promises because of this year) that once I work out when my time is up, I will let you know and bid you all a proper farewell. I think it is the right thing for me to do and it would help give me some closure before I officially move on. But in the meanwhile, I am sticking around and have a lot of catching up to do. And a lot more posting to do. (A lot of still coming up, such as the 2021 KPOPREVIEWED Awards, new and returning segments that I really want to do etc.)

I leave you with my personal favourite releases below – one of each from the 10 years I have been around (plus 2021, since the blog has been active in 2021). (I honestly have no idea to celebrate 10 years – though I am baking cookies later today :D).

Massive thanks again and see you tomorrow (for the start of another decade)!

2011 – Sixth Sense (Brown Eyed Girls)

2012 – Poison (Secret)

2013 – Female President (Girl’s Day)

2014 – Sugar Free (T-ARA)

2015 – Ah Yeah (EXID)

2016 – Very Nice (SEVENTEEN)

2017 – Hwi Hwi (Laboum)

2018 – I Love You (EXID)

2019 – Time Of Our Life (DAY6)

2020 – Back Door (Stray Kids)

2021 – Beautiful Beautiful (ONF) (at this point in time – may change)

As part of a super special series, I will be doing rewinding the clock and reflecting on the years that have passed by focusing on certain aspects that have defined KPOP. All will make sense once I reach the end of this series.

It is without a doubt that KPOP would not be what it is currently without its artists. After all, they are the main attraction of the industry. Over the years, we have seen a lot of artists come and go. Some have truly succeeded and their careers have broken boundaries. Others have disappeared from the industry, following scandals, early disbandments or contract curses. Some have stayed the long haul and have enjoyed long term careers in the industry. Some have even gone into acting and other lines of work, following their careers on our screens.

Today, I will be going through the best and notable artists of each year that has passed. From 2017 – 2020, the artists in the bold text were voted by you through the annual KPOPREVIEWED Awards to be the Best Artists (male group, female group, male solo and female solo) of the respective year, while those underneath the bolded header text are those who I thought were the notable artists of the respective year. For 2013 – 2016, all artists listed (regardless of bolded text and normal text) are those who I thought were the Best Artists of those years. For 2011 and 2012, I have only listed the groups and solo act that I thought would be considered Best Artists for those years in a retrospective point of view.

Also linked are playlist containing one track from each of the artists listed for each year.

As part of a super special series, I will be doing rewinding the clock and reflecting on the years that have passed by focusing on certain aspects that have defined KPOP. All will make sense once I reach the end of this series.

In today’s ‘Looking Back’ post, I turn my attention to albums in the KPOP industry. Albums offer a lot of insight into an artist, as it gives the artist more opportunities to express themselves. We (the listeners) find ourselves delving into the albums of artists we like, and finding that ‘hidden gem’ or an alternative track that should have been the title track of the album. Other times, we give an album of a less familiar group a go to discover their music and potentially becomes fans of them! This is the power of the album, and it has definitely been an effective tool in the industry.

Nowadays, album sales are a very indicative parameter of how successful a KPOP artist is. Selling the most albums to date is BTS (no surprises there), with their 2020 release being the most sold album in KPOP. And more artists are joining BTS on the upper end of the most sold list, including NCT, Seventeen, TXT, EXO and Stray Kids. It is very interesting to note that physical albums, for the most part, were on the downtrend in the ’00s, with digital charts being the new way to listen to music. But I guess posters, photocards, photobooks and other merchandise included in KPOP albums have given them new life.

Below, I have listed the best and most notable albums of the year. For years 2018 – 2020, the album in the bolded text is the album that you all voted as being the best album of the respective year. In 2014 – 2016, the album stated in the bolded header text is the album that I chose to be the best album of the respective year. In 2011 – 2013 and 2017, I have retrospectively chosen two albums for Best Album and most notable album as there was not Best Album categories in those years. For each ‘Best Album’, I have also provided the Spotify playlist (sorry to WordPress app users, I don’t think you can see the Spotify playlists).

2020: -77.82*-78.29 (2nd Mini Album) – EVERGLOW

2019: Love Poem (5th Mini Album) – IU

2018: The Story of Light (6th Studio Album) – SHINee

2017: Palette (4th Studio Album) – IU

2016: Wings (2nd Studio Album) -BTS

2015: 4Walls (4th Studio Album) – F(x)

2014: Red Light (3rd Studio Album) – F(x)

2013: Pink Tape (2nd Studio Album) – F(x)

2012: Alive/Still Alive (5th Studio Album/5th Studio Album Repackaged) – Big Bang

2011: Wonder World (2nd Studio Album) – Wonder Girls

As part of a super special series, I will be doing rewinding the clock and reflecting on the years that have passed by focusing on certain aspects that have defined KPOP. All will make sense once I reach the end of this series.

Over the years, KPOP have expanded into other music industries. It started with just the Korean market. Soon, KPOP artists entered the nearby Japanese pop music market, which was a very successful move for some groups, who thrived and ended up focusing more on Japanese promotions. Historically, a number of Korean acts failed to make it big in the Western pop music industry, But that all changed very recently with the success of BTS and other groups who have a big international fanbase in the Western pop music scene. Today, I will be looking back at the Best and Notable non-Korean tracks released by Korean artists.

From 2017 to 2020, the songs listed in the bold text are those who were voted in as Best International Song/Best Non-Korean Song by a Korean Artist/Best Japanese Song for those years. I have also listed an additional song as a notable song where there is one available. From 2016 and earlier, the song in the bold text are those that I have selected to be the Best Japanese Song for those years.

2020 – Dynamite (BTS)

Other notable non-Korean song: Fallin’ Flower (Seventeen)

2019 – Breakthrough (TWICE)

Other notable non-Korean song: Moonwalk (WAYV)

2018 – Electric Kiss (EXO)

Other notable non-Korean song: Call Call Call (Seventeen)

2017 – One More Time (TWICE)

2016 – Sayonara Hitori (Taemin (SHINee))

2015 – Can’t Wait To Love You (BEAST/HIGHLIGHT)

2014 – F.F.Y (MYNAME)

2013 – Bunny Style (T-ARA)

2012 – Dazzling Girl (SHINee)

2011 – TICK TACK (UKISS)

As part of a super special series, I will be doing rewinding the clock and reflecting on the years that have passed by focusing on certain aspects that have defined KPOP. All will make sense once I reach the end of this series.

Another visual aspect of the comebacks in KPOP are the choreographies. To me, this makes KPOP very unique. As far as I am aware, Korea is one of the few countries in which artists can promote on stage for 6 days a week, and promotional periods range between 1 to 4 weeks. That is a crazy amount of stage performances that KPOP idols need to do. But it is exposure that a lot of groups need to make it to the top. And there is a vast variety of performances out there, as you can tell from the list below, which contains the best and notable choreographies in KPOP.

For the past how many years, you and I have selected the best choreographies. In the more recent years (2017 – 2020), I have opened up the floor to allow you to vote in the annual KPOPRVIEWED Awards. Those who you have selected to be the best choreographies of that year are in the bolded header text, while those that I noted in normal text for those relevant years as what I considered to be the best choreographies. For 2016 and eelier, the bolded text is what I decided to the Best Choreographies, and the normal text was my second pick.

I have also compiled a playlist of the listed choreographies for each year.

As part of a super special series, I will be doing rewinding the clock and reflecting on the years that have passed by focusing on certain aspects that have defined KPOP. All will make sense once I reach the end of this series.

One of the most visual aspects of KPOP is the music video. Over the years, we have seen a lot of amazing music videos, with a lot of them featuring amazing sets, vivid concepts and cinematic quality storylines. When you look at a lot of videos (especially some of the ones featured below), you can tell that a lot of effort and planning has been put into such videos. Sometimes budgets can exceed millions of dollars in some cases and complex stories covered by multiple videos and comebacks. In this post, I look over the music videos that you and I have picked as the best music videos.

Between 2017 to 2020, the music video in the header text were selected as the Best Music Video by you through the yearly KPOPREVIEWED Awards, while the music videos in the header text from 2016 and earlier were chosen by me (as back then, only I determined the winners of Best Music Video categories). Under each header, I have also listed one or two extra music videos that were also considered notable, as this was also determined by you or me in relevant years.

2020 – LADIDA (EVERGLOW)

Other notable music video: Back Door (Stray Kids)

2019 – Obsession (EXO)

Other notable music videos: Feel Special (TWICE) & HIT (SEVENTEEN)

2018 – Fake Love (BTS)

Other notable music videos: DDU-DU DDU-DU (BLACKPINK)

2017 – Peek-A-Boo (Red Velvet)

Other notable music videos: You In Me (KARD)

2016 – Skydive (B.A.P)

Other notable music videos: Blood Sweat & Tears (BTS)

2015 – You (G.Soul)

Other notable music videos: Pray (FT Island)

2014 – The Story of our Lives (G.O.D ft. Megan Lee)

Other notable music videos: Red Light (f(x))

2013 – G.R.8.U (VIXX)

Other notable music videos: ONE SHOT (B.A.P) & Growl (EXO)

2012 – Fantastic Baby (Big Bang)

Other notable music videos: Sherlock (SHINee) & This Is War (MBLAQ)

2011 – Cleansing Cream (Brown Eyed Girls)

Other notable music videos: Love Song (Big Bang) & Going Crazy (Song Ji Eun ft. Bang Yong Guk

Pre-2011 – Haru Haru (BIG BANG), Gee (SNSD), Mirotic (TVXQ)

As part of a super special series, I will be doing rewinding the clock and reflecting on the years that have passed by focusing on certain aspects that have defined KPOP. All will make sense once I reach the end of this series.

Each year there are new groups and solo acts starting out in the industry. Many of the groups and soloists on this list have literally defined and shaped KPOP in remarkable and iconic way. Other groups or soloists unfortunately did not have much of a chance to do so, while some others are just starting out and could become the next big thing in the industry. In this post, I look back at the debuts that you picked as the best and my personal favourite debuts over the years.

From 2017 to 2020, the debuts listed in the bold header texts are based on the winners of the KPOPREVIEWED Awards of the respective year, which were chosen by you. Underneath the headings for 2017 – 2020 (in the plain text), I listed my personal favourite debuts from these years. For the other years, the bold header texts are my personal favourites (I didn’t open voting up to you all during these years) and included other notable debuts in that respective year there as well. There is also an accompanying playlist for the debut singles for each of the groups/soloists listed.

PS. This post might take a while to load as there is a playlist for each year.

2020 – DRIPPIN, aespa, WOODZ, Ryu Sujeong (Lovelyz)

Personal favourites – TREASURE, Weeekly, WOODZ, YooA (Oh My Girl)

2019 – ITZY, TXT, Hwasa (Mamamoo), Baekhyun (EXO)

Personal Favourites – EVERGLOW, AB6IX, Hwasa (Mamamoo), HUTA (Lee Minhyuk – BTOB)

2018 – Stray Kids, (G)I-DLE, Yuri (SNSD)

Personal Favourites – The Boyz, fromis_9, Kim Dong Han

2017 – Dream Catcher, Wanna One, Kim Chungha

Personal Favourite – Dream Catcher, Wanna One, Jeong Sewoon

2016 – ASTRO, WJSN (Cosmic Girls)

2015 – GFriend, Seventeen, Jonghyun (SHINee), G.Soul

2014 – GOT7, Mamamoo, HA:TFELT, Jung Hyosung (former member of Secret)

2013 – BESTie, Sunmi, HISTORY

2012 – B.A.P, GLAM, Ailee

2011 – APINK, B1A4

Pre-2011 Notable Debuts – BEAST (now known as HIGHLIGHT), MISS A, Infinite, CN BLUE, 4MINUTE, T-ARA, 2NE1, 2PM, SHINee, SNSD

10/10 – Music
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