My top 22 songs of 2022
I did a post like this last year - my top 21 songs of 2021 and had a lot of fun with it - so here we are again with the top 22 from this last year. Expect most (if not all) songs to fall into the K-Pop genre because that has been my dominant genre of the year.
As I said last year, my Spotify wrapped gave pretty good insight into which songs got the most play from me on that service, but that doesn't take into account my non-Spotify listening or the songs that might not have gotten as much airplay even though I like them more. Let's face it, songs released earlier in the year had more chances to get repeated plays after all.
22) The Astronaut by Jin
Release date: 10/28/2022
This song didn't have a chance to make my Spotify Wrapped at all - but it is the song that best represents my musical journey for the last 3 months of 2022. It's a farewell song from Jin as he and his other members head off to military service.
In June, BTS announced that they would be taking a break from group work to focus for a while on solo work. They claimed this was to find out who they are as individuals before coming back as a group again. When they made the announcement, I suspected that it was the first step to preparing for their enlistment break since enlistment isn't something they can do as a group, and military service is something easier to get through if you know who you are. It's a wise move on their part. So, all through J-Hope's Jack in the Box promotions and their Busan concert, I had a bittersweet feeling in my heart, certain that the enlistment announcement would be coming. The suspicion was so strong in my heart that I couldn't help but think that PROOF was their farewell as a group too - it colored all the BTS music I listened to since the FESTA in June.
In October, the enlistment announcement came, but I was prepared for it. Late October, Jin released this Coldplay written single and the song SO captures in music the emotions and bittersweet farewell feeling that I've been having since June. As such, it's my first song on the list even though it doesn't even appear on my Spotify Wrapped top 101.
21) Oh-eh - Instrumental by DAYBREAK & LUCY
Release date: 4/7/2022
Oh-eh was a collaboration piece between a K-Band that I LOVE TO BITS (LUCY) and a group I'd never heard of before. The actual song Oh-eh is a great song, but there's something about this instrumental version that just does it for me so much more. The guitar and violin really get to shine more for me when the vocals aren't there. When I'm in the mood to listen to this song, I tend to listen to it at least twice if not more times in a row before I'm ready to move on to another song.
20) Upside Down by KANGDANIEL
Release date: 5/4/2022
I had loved Paranoia from KANGDANIEL, but this song and the rest of the album it debuted on (The Story), really got me into KANGDANIEL's entire discography. Seriously, this song and another song off the album (Parade) are the duel reasons why I did such a deep dive on KANGDANIEL and why I have tickets to see him in March.
19) KARMA by KINGDOM
Release date: 7/1/2021
KINGDOM is a group that debuted in 2021. In their debut year, they released three albums. This was the title track off of their second album. I kept KINGDOM pretty under wraps when talking K-Pop with folks - but I listened to them quite a bit - and this track more than others. I was sort of disappointed with their latest album release (their 5th came out in October), but instead of putting me off the group, it just drove me to listen to my favorite songs from the earlier albums. Plus, introducing them to a friend put Karma back into pretty heavy rotation - so much so that I actually went out and bought several physical albums from the group to support them. I almost got to see them perform live, but it didn't pan out. Still - I have Karma and it is a song that makes me productive and happy - so it's all good!
18) LUNA by ONEUS
Release date: 11/9/2021
OMG this song is SO DAMN GOOD! I really hope they perform it at their February concert. I will scream so loud if I get to hear it live. This makes me spin and twirl and dance around in my pjs. I can't not tap my foot whenever I hear it. I love the temp changes, the traditional instruments, the phases, the falsetto work, the fun rhythms.... yeah. I really dig this tune.
The choreo is just as good too - which is why Spotify calls this my #21 but I know that I've watched it on YouTube enough to make it higher on my list.
17) Polaroid Love by ENHYPEN
Release date: 1/10/2022
This was one of the first new songs of my 2022 and it stayed in steady rotation for the entire year. It's a sugar pop bop and I feel no shame at how much I just LOVE IT. It makes me smile - even more since getting to see it live in October.
KUNGKUNG!
16) Opening Sequence by Tomorrow x Together
Release date: 5/9/2022
This is a B-Side off the Thursday's Child mini album from TxT. Good Boy Gone Bad was a far more popular track, but this is the track that I just could NOT get enough of. Taehyun and Hueningkai (the youngest 2 members of the group) had a big part in writing it, and they found just the right balance to scratch an itch I didn't know I had.
Bonus is that it has some fantastic choreography that I also can't get enough of.
15)대취타' (Daechwita) by Agust D
Release date: 5/22/2020
This was #6 on last year's list, so it's dropped a few places with another year - but it's still in the top 15. It's still an absolute head banger, and still one of my go to songs when I need to fix my broken motivation circuit and get some stuff done.
14) VENOM by Stray Kids
Release Date: 3/18/2022
I've seen this performed live - twice. It's such a fantastic song. The plucking sort of digital synth sound that repeats through the song wasn't something I liked terribly much when it was first released, but oh boy did it grow on me.
13) RED by The Rose
Release date: 8/13/2019
I listened to a LOT of The Rose this year. They had their first come back since leaving their old company and military service - so it has been A WHILE. I listened to the entire comeback album on repeat for weeks after it dropped. Lead singer Woosung also had a solo album release in May that I LOVED. They really were one of my top groups of the year. Like Stray Kids though, I listened to so much of their music that no one song really got the numbers to stand out and be a top 10 song.
Every time I listened to anything off their new album or anything from Woosung all year, I swear I would then crave this song like a kid craves candy. Something about this song is magic for me- and I felt that way even BEFORE I got to see it performed live. It's even more magical now. Don't be surprised if this song goes the distance and makes an appearance on next year's list as well.
12) NANANA by GOT7
Release date: 5/23/2022
And here we are with the first title track from GOT7 since they left the JYP label. Did I ever think that GOT7 would outrank Jackson Wang on my list of top songs? No, no I did not. But, here we are.
I spent a lot of time in the car and in airports this year, and this song is a great travel song for me. It's great for driving and walking quickly through the airport without working me up. Listening to this I stay calm but also stay sharp and move quick. The result is that I listened to this A LOT. Also, every time I listen to it, I'm happy for the guys to finally be out from under the stress of JYP and I can HEAR in the song and the performance how much happier they are and that turns into contentment on my end.
11) Permission to Dance by BTS
Release date: 7/9/2021
Every time I hear this song I am transported back to both Permission to Dance concerts that I got to see live. My first two K-Pop concerts, and the ones that started my absolute love of the experience. Spotify calls this my #28 song, but it played such a big part of my life this year that I have to rate it higher than that. I saw so many different video versions of this song as BTS did promotions for the single, the online concert, the concerts, and the pre-comeback promotions.... It's a bit insane how saturated my year was with this song. Yeah.
Also- it helps that I really do love the song.
TIME FOR THE TOP TEN!!!
10) BUT YOU by iKON
Release date: 5/3/2022
Spotify says this is my #15 song. Spotify is WRONG. I bought this track and have listened to it SO MUCH while offline. It gives me MAJOR nostalgia vibes with the entire tone and style of the song. It sounds like something that should have been released when I was in high school. Whenever I put this on, I want to dance around my room or the kitchen and just... bop along. I just love it. I swear, when iKon does a song that I like... I REALLY LIKE it!
9) Born Singer by BTS
Release date: 6/10/2022 (sort of)
This shows up as #16 on my Spotify - but that does not account for how many times I listened to it from the physical PROOF CD. This is the song I was happiest to see on the tracklist when it was released. It's a number that BTS did on tour in their earlier years but could never record because of copyright issues since it's a reworking of J. Cole's song Born Sinner. Still, this song has been in the hearts of ARMY since it was unofficially released back in July of 2013. Now that BTS is big enough, Cole gave them permission and they were able to release it on PROOF and so I've been listening to it SO MUCH. The hook of the chorus is just so damn good. It does something to me.
They did a modern live performance of the song as part of the PROOF promotions, but I included a 2013 era performance video instead, since the visual of them facing each other in a circle and singing the song that way is what always pops into my head every time I listen to the song.
8) The View by Stray Kids
Release date: 8/23/2021
This is probably the biggest discrepancy from my Spotify wrapped. Spotify calls this my #42 song of the year. Spotify can not at all grasp how much this song played off line and even just in my head all year. Every time I was on a trip with a beautiful vista, or with my niece having a special moment, or sitting in the audience of a concert high on adrenaline, or surrounded by D&D friends and just drinking in the good times, the chorus of this song would play - "I like the view right now!" This song was my inner soundtrack for so many beautiful moments this year.
7) Darl+ing by SEVENTEEN
Release date: 4/15/2022
This is the first all English language single from SEVENTEEN and OMG is it ever an ear worm for me. At 2:57 min, it's just a little bit too short to satisfy me with a single play through, which means when I listen to it, I tend to listen to it at least twice through each time. There's a holiday remix that came out recently too and I love it just as much as the original. I got to see the holiday remix performed live which has brought the song back into heavy rotation again for me.
I honestly don't know what it is about this song that makes me like it so much. I just like how I feel when I'm listening to it.
6) That That (prod. & feat. SUGA of BTS)
Release date: 4/29/2022
OMG this was definitely my song of the summer. I could NOT get enough of this track. Part of why I listened to this song soooo much is something I covered in a post when the song first came out. It hasn't even been out 9 months and it's already my #12 most played song of all time on Spotify - so... yeah. It's a bop. It's so much fun. I love it. I would not be surprised to see this song on next year's top 23 of 2023.
5) Turbulence by ATEEZ
Release date: 12/3/2021
Volt.fm says that this is not only my #5 song of 2022, but is in fact my #5 most played song of all time on Spotify. It is my most favorite song from ATEEZ - even before I got to see them perform in live this last November. It scratches a part of my brain in way that soothes, calms, and intellectually stimulates all at the same time. The repetitive soaring descant harmony overlaying the descending and then circular melody combined with the rhythms of the rap breaks and the drops in the instrumentals mix with the drums and the synth rhythms so that by the end of the song I'm either immediately making it repeat to keep the euphoric sensation going, or I'm feeling beyond satisfied at the end of the song. I LOVE THIS SONG.
4) Life Goes On by BTS
Release date: 11/20/2020
When this released in 2020 as the title track of the BE album, it wasn't my immediate favorite. There were other songs on the album that I was much more excited by. However, in the 2 years since its release, this track has become a massive comfort track for me. It calms me, and has the power to smooth out the sharp edges of my prickly moods. As such, this made it into my top 4 this year because of the way it can soothe me.
3) Black Swan by BTS
Release date: 1/17/2020
This is one of my all time favorite BTS songs, but do I know why it became one of my top 3 songs this last year? Nope. No idea. I guess I was just REALLY in the mood for it. I admit that I put it into heavier rotation at the end of 2021 after seeing them perform it live in LA and it returned to heavy rotation after seeing it live again in Las Vegas in spring of '22. But do I know why it managed to gain staying power all the way through the year when so much good new music was released? No clue.
No complaints though. I really do love this song.
2) Yet To Come by BTS
Release date: 6/10/2022
Spotify claims this was my #3 song - but I know for a fact that this got way more play off of Spotify than my Spotify #2, so here it is in its rightful #2 spot.
The PROOF Album provided several tracks that got a lot of play, but this was the VERY clear winner for me. The mix of feel good nostalgia and hope with a dash of promise for a better future all wrapped up in a serotonin boosting melody is simply ADDICTING. I really like the Hyundai Ver. remix too.
As a farewell offering before military enlistment, I suspect that I will play this song LOTS while the boys are away.
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1) ひとりじゃない by SEVENTEEN
Release date: 4/18/2021
This was my #1 song last year, and it retains its place at the top of the list this year as well. Frankly, this is my favorite song in all of k-pop (which is ironic since it's a Japanese language track). The things this song can do to my mood and brain chemistry is amazing. It is instant happiness for me. Spotify says that I listened to this song 1,597 times this year, which averages to about 4 and a half listens a day, every day of the year.
Yeah. Yeah, that's about right.
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