STAYC – touki REVIEWS

the best of kpop 2021

Lo and behold! We are here!

Let’s put it short and simple: this is MY list of the best Korean pop songs of the year. What a year, though! While we are still on uncertain times, 2021 proved to be a period of refresh, with South Korean acts pumping out comebacks that were unique and fresh, debuts coming in left and right (with many more to come in 2022), and BTS continuing to dominate the world as we know it.

We’re going to take a look back at the fifteen of the year’s efforts, and yes, they are ranked. So, without further ado…

Here is my list of the best K-pop songs from 2021!

the best of kpop 2021 thus far

We’re so close to the end of the year… 2022 is only one month away!

As such, I’ve brought it upon myself to bring the sequel to my ‘best of kpop 2021 so far‘ list and add fifteen new songs as contenders for the overall ranking of the ‘best kpop 2021 songs’.

It really has been a journey in K-pop! A lot of debuts, some surprise comebacks, different tie-ins, and title tracks up the wazoo. 2021 has, thus far, been a very good year in K-pop, so it was really hard to find 15 songs that I thought deserved the title… there were just too many!

So, without further ado, here are the fifteen songs I’ve thought were the best in K-pop during the year!

mini-album review: STAYC “STEREOTYPE”

STAYC, girls, it’s going down, again!

6-member K-pop girl group STAYC, from High Up Entertainment, returns with their very first mini-album, ‘STEREOTYPE‘. The release comes after the release of their first 2021 release ‘STAYDOM’, which features the viral hit “ASAP”, propelling the girls to success. All eyes have now landed on STAYC for the next future releases, giving them the distinction of being one of the top fourth-generation groups to come from South Korea.

With this being their first mini-album, there is more to offer from STAYC following “ASAP”. This time, opting for a high school-like aesthetic that has Clueless vibes written all over it, STAYC returns with the title track “STEREOTYPE”. It’s time for this former high schooler to go back in time with STAYC’s third comeback and ask if this release is bound to break the stereotypes that STAYC must face with this concept and their status as rookies – will it succeed, or will it fail to be unique amongst its peers?

the best of kpop 2021 so far

We are at the middle mark of 2021! Crazy how time flew by.

With that comes a new list, one that I have been meaning to do ever since the year started. I’ll be listing out fifteen of Korean pop music’s best efforts for the year, and this time, I won’t be putting them in any order. It is merely just a list of the best tracks that have made their way into our earlobes for the year… so far.

And what a half-year it has been! From the likes of BTS buttering up our eardrums to STAYC catching up to us ASAP, the outlook of the genre’s music is fantastic for the remainder of the year. Without further ado, let’s get to the list of 2021’s best Korean pop efforts, with the hope that you might agree (or disagree) with what I’ve got here…

single review: STAYC “Star To A Young Culture”

While 2020 wasn’t necessarily a great year for all of us, no matter how many times I say it (and remind ourselves), there were still some shining glimmers of hope in the K-pop community. Some bands disbanded, some companies had to fold under, but others persevered, and 2020 became a year where debuts kept pumping out one by one.

STAYC is one of those debuts, coming from High Up Entertainment, a company founded by the producer duo Black Eyed Pilsung (and I know you’re thinking about some way that formed from Black Eyed Peas… that’s irrelevant, lol). The duo is a huge force in K-pop, having produced hits for the likes of TWICE via “TT” and CHUNG HA for “Roller Coaster”. Following the likes of Shinsadong Tiger and Brave Brothers, the pair formed their own executively-produced group. And the hype is real for STAYC, with two actresses already on the team, and their previews showcasing a group filled with visuals… it isn’t hard to believe they can go big.

Their first effort, appropriately acronym’d like the Korean-English way it is, “Star To A Young Culture“, looks to make these girls stars to, well, the younger culture. But is this teen-pop girl-group actually accessible to everyone including an oldie second-gen K-pop stan like myself, or is it merely just kiddy fodder? Read on!