My 23 Most listened to songs of 2023
This is my third year of doing this sort of music list countdown - and like my previous two years, I'm pretty damn sure that the 23 songs with the highest listening count for me are going to be all from the k-pop genre... but I haven't checked yet. We'll learn if my prediction is true together.
For stats, I use volt.fm which is linked to my spotify account. Yes, I know it doesn't log my listens from TikTok, CDs, concerts, YouTube or any other formats, but I would say that 85 - 90% of all my full song listen throughs are from streaming on Spotify these days.
So then, without further ado, let's get into it!
#23 - I Don't Understand But I Luv You
Artist: Seventeen Album: FML
Release Date: April 24, 2023
Language: Korean / English
Key: F Minor Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 114
This was a Performance Team unit song based on a comment Hoshi had gotten from a fan interaction. The comment reminded him how Jun, one of their Chinese members, had been in the early days of the group. Jun hadn't understood much Korean, and the other members had no Chinese, but Jun showed them love and care through actions. Out of those memories came this absolutely wonderful song. Part of the choreography is sign language too.
#22 - Haze
Artist: LUCY Album: Fever
Release Date: April 17, 2023
Language: Korean
Key: E Major Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 180
Fever is such a good album but Ye-Chan's violin work on Haze is just delicious. LUCY played with post production effects on this album more than they have in others. There is some echo on the background vocals here and there as well as another effect that makes them sound farther away, more choral, and more in an vast open echoing chamber while the main vocals stay clear crisp and up front. It makes the song super layered and interesting to listen to.
Most of the songs I like from LUCY are heavy on the violin features - but other than a nice feature at the top of the song, the violin in this one is mostly in the background instrumental. The instrument more heavily featured as the top sound is the guitar. That having been said, even in the background, the violin on this track just... soars. The way they've layered the instrumentals just emphasizes this feeling of soaring and freedom. I always feel lighter after listening to this.
#21 - Stand Out Fit In
Artist: ONE OK ROCK Album: Eye Of The Storm
Release Date: February 15, 2019
Language: English / Japanese
Key: B Major Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 126
ONE OK ROCK is a Japanese Rock band - but this song is almost entirely in pretty easily understandable English. I LOVE the lyrics so much. My niece introduced me to the group back in 2018 - 2019 because she wanted me to listen to their song 'We Are'. I love that song too, but 'Stand Out Fit In' was more of what I needed in 2023. It's a very positive, upbeat, feel good song and my year needed this sort of boost.
#20 - Cosmo
Artist: The Rose Album: DUAL
Release Date: September 22, 2023
Language: English
Key: B Major Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 128
So, the fact that this song wasn't released until September but is actually my 20th most listened to song of the year should tell you just HOW MUCH I love it. Frankly, the entire album is amazing, but something about Cosmo just hits me in all the right places. Woosung's vocals, the catchy synth line that almost has a electro rave feel, the almost cosmic feel of the more empty soft sections - it all adds up to more than the sum of its parts. Plus, I adore the lyrics.
Seeing it live was amazing and I admit, that doing so put the song on massively high rotation after the concert since every time I listen to it now, I get magical concert flashbacks.
#19 - Never in vain
Artist: LUCY Album: INSERT COIN
Release Date: February 23, 2023
Language: English
Key: C Minor Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 100
Another LUCY song, this one from an earlier release. It took me a few listen throughs of this song to realize that it is entirely in English because his Korean accent is pretty strong on some of his words. But I admit, the lyrics aren't the draw for me on this song (even though the poetry is beautiful). It's the violin and the vocals that are the draw for me. Part of that may sound like a contradiction, but it's not. The main singer's phrasing, vowel shapes, and the way he uses his vocal instrument in this song is wonderful. His choice with dynamics, when to use a touch of fry, when to stress... he sings like he's imitating the way his violinist band mate plays. Aaaaand speaking of violinist Ye-Chan... he does this amazing bow skip in this song that sounds at first listen like it's a post production effect. However, when you listen closer, you can actually hear the insane control he uses to skip his bow on his string and how he makes the effect sound the same EACH time he does it in the song. It's INSANE. I am jealous of the control this man has over his bow.
#18 - Diamonds
Artist: VANNER Album: VENI VIDI VICI
Release Date: August 21, 2023
Language: Korean / English
Key: D Minor Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 120
I had heard of VANNER, and had a couple of their songs on one or two of my playlists, but I fell in love with them this year while watching their journey on the competition show Peak Time. VENI VIDI VICI is the album they got to release as part of their package for winning that show. The production value of this album is just SO MUCH better than any of their past stuff. The growth they made on the show is on clear display in every song. What makes Diamonds stand out so much more than other songs on the album for me though - is the SUPER FUNKY BASS LINE!! Ohhh it is sooo juicy. The bass line alone had this song as my wake up alarm song for MONTHS. It's a wonderful way to start the day.
#17 - Identity
Artist: SHINee Album: HARD - The 8th Album
Release Date: June 26, 2023
Language: Korean / English
Key: C# Minor Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 116
I swear this song was meant to be a gay club dance anthem - and I mean that in all the best ways. HARD was my first comeback with SHINee where I self-identified as an actual SHAWOL and it was a great way to start. These men crank out some absolute bangers that I am certain will become iconic in the k-pop world. Identity is a B-side, but on any other album, it has all the makings of a title track. I'm going to be listening to it on the regular for YEARS, I can tell.
#16 - Koong
Artist: xikers Album: HOUSE OF TRICKY: HOW TO PLAY
Release Date: August 2, 2023
Language: Korean
Key: C# Major Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 150
This is the song that firmly put Sumin in my bias line for xikers. His primal KOONG scream in this is my absolute favorite part of the song. Don't get me wrong, the rest of the song is a banger - but that one part... it feels like a satisfying pay off every time. My second favorite part is Hunter's deep voice start into Yechan's higher pitch rap. The juxtaposition is soooo effective. The driving beat and other parts of the instrumental and composition have Ateez's Hongjoong's signature all over them. I love all the stuff that Hongjoong has written for his little brother group xikers - but there is something about Koong that feels the most to me like a blend of Ateez and xikers. I KNEW it was going to be my favorite off the album from the first 10 seconds of the video they did as an album pre-release. I was not wrong.
#15 - Priceless
Artist: XEED Album: BLUE
Release Date: August 1, 2023
Language: Korean
Key: A# Major Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 132
I just found out in doing the research for this song's stats that volt.fm lists me as one of the top listeners for this song. That's either a testament to how much I've listened to this song, or just how nugu this group really is. Nugu is Korean for "who?" but is k-pop slang for a low-tier or unpopular artist; in the case of XEED, I think it's more that they are not known - because this album was NOT low quality at all. In fact, if you're a SEVENTEEN fan, I seriously recommend this entire album. Until I looked up the writing credits, I was CONVINCED that either Woozi or BUMZU had moonlighted as a producer on the album. Their new members have done wonders for their sound. UO's vocals are ALL over this track in the best ways. This is one of those rare songs where I can listen to it on repeat for a dozen times and doesn't get repetitive in the least. In fact, when I do listen to it on repeat, it just feels like a longer remix of the song. It's the weirdest thing.
#14 - Intro: LETHE
Artist: ONEUS Album: PYGMALION
Release Date: May 8, 2023
Language: Korean
Key: F Minor Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 140
This song is only 1:26 in length, but the orchestration plus the ONEUS vocals make me keep coming back over and over again. The background strings are SO damn good. I love the juxtaposition of the slower drawn out strings under the much quicker vocals and drums. It's classical and pop coming together in a super satisfying blend.
#13 - Fighting (Feat. Lee Young Ji)
Artist: BSS / Lee Young Ji Album: BSS 1st Single Album 'SECOND WIND'
Release Date: February 6, 2023
Language: Korean / English
Key: B Minor Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 152
I loved watching Lee Young Ji win her season of SHOW ME THE MONEY, and I've loved the YouTube show she's done with all the idol guests. From watching her show, I know how much of a SEVENTEEN fan she is, and how strong her Hoshi bias is - so when I found out she was getting to do a collab with Boo Seok Soon, I was so excited for her! Also, I was just excited to get an official BSS release. I love how this unofficial joke sub unit from SEVENTEEN is now an award winning group on their own. This song was an absolute sensation in Korea this year, and I 100% understand why. It's so damn catchy, and so damn motivating. When I'm listening to this song, I feel like I can do anything. It's a great song to listen to in order to get pumped up for something you might not really want to do. I expect this to be in regular rotation for me for quite some time.
#12 - April Shower
Artist: SEVENTEEN Album: FML
Release Date: April 24, 2023
Language: Korean / English
Key: C Major Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 106
The fact that this song is so high on the list is actually surprising to me. I listened to this song a LOT when the album first came out, but only occasionally for the rest of the year. I guess I listened to it more than I realized when it first came out. True, when the FML album came out, this was my favorite song on the album - but eventually Super overtook it and so April Shower fell a bit to the wayside.
It's a great song with the signature soft feel of a SEVENTEEN song that's heavy on the vocals. It's a feel that I love and part of why I'm such a huge SEVENTEEN fan. This song has all the feel of the songs that made me deep dive SEVENTEEN's discography in the first place. I will never get tired of their soft vocals layered with a more upbeat instrumental. It's got a mellow sound, but the beat is actually a great tempo for a extended workout on the elliptical.
#11 - NOT SORRY (Feat. pH-1) (Prod. by Slom)
Artist: Lee Young Ji / pH-1 Album: SHOW ME THE MONEY 11 Episode 3
Release Date: December 14, 2022
Language: Korean / English
Key: F Major Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 95
Huh - Spotify officially classifies this song into the genre of Korean Trap. Fascinating.
I think this has to be my favorite song to come out of SHOW ME THE MONEY 11. Lee Young Ji manages to make this song feel so laid back and casual while spitting absolute fire. Her breath control is astounding, and I love how she both raps and sings.
#10 - Super
Artist: SEVENTEEN Album: FML
Release Date: April 24, 2023
Language: Korean / English
Key: G# Major Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 137
Third song off the FML album. There's a reason this album finally won SEVENTEEN Album of the year at the MAMA awards.
This song is SO DAMN EPIC. It's also a master class on how to correctly handle an 'empty chorus'. The samples used are beyond effective, the beat is amazing, and it's a true SEVENTEEN title track with a place for everyone to have their moment. Iconic.
#9 - HALAZIA
Artist: ATEEZ Album: SPIN OFF: FROM THE WITNESS
Release Date: December 30, 2022
Language: Korean
Key: F# Minor Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 172
This song had the entire k-pop world in its grip when it dropped. Yeosang had reactors having Felix-esque double take reactions with his deep bass solo moment. Frankly, I think releasing it in late December did the song a serious disservice. Releasing when it did meant that it got lost in that mid award show pocket where it was too late to be considered for the 2022 awards, but too early to be a contender for 2023 awards. Then again, Halazia did only win ONE music show award, which absolutely BAFFLES me. I swear, Korean Atiny will forever be a frustration to me.
When this song blew up as big as it did, I was amused by how shocked and surprised Hongjoong was. In more than one interview during promotions he mentioned that he hadn't expected Halazia to be a hit at all. Well, now it's one of their most requested songs to be added to their performance set lists. It's epic and amazing and clearly I was not effected by it's late in the year release. That just meant I could listen to it ALL YEAR in 2023, and I DID!
#8 - My Wave
Artist: KINGDOM Album: History of Kingdom: Pt. VI Mujin
Release Date: March 23, 2023
Language: Korean / English
Key: F# Major Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 108
The day this album dropped, I think I listened to the whole thing straight through about 5 times in a row. It is absolutely my favorite Kingdom album of all time. There is not a single song on this album that I don't love. So, why do I love this song so much more than most of the rest of the album? I can't point to any particular musical reason. I just know that this song makes me feel good. When I listen to this, I feel lighter and I tend to be smiling by the end - which is invaluable as far as I'm concerned.
#7 - Snooze (Feat. Ryuichi Sakamoto, WOOSUNG of the Rose)
Artist: Agust D Album: D-DAY
Release Date: April 21, 2023
Language: Korean / English
Key: F Minor Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 90
The entire D-DAY album is fire... but this song? This song is a god damn work of genius. This song is how I learned that my bias from BTS (Min Yoongi aka Agust D) is same year friends with my bias from The Rose (Woosung)! Woosung's vocals in the chorus are absolutely transcendent, and when you look up tje translation of Yoongi's rap lyrics they too are magic. Still, even not knowing what Yoongi is saying, his rhythms are so good, and his emotion is so raw and real and powerful through the whole song. I talk often on this list about songs that lift me up and make me feel lighter, that help motivate me and the like - but this song.... this song lets me sit in my feels and reflect on what it is that's making me feel heavy in the first place. It's heavy and somber and lets me sink, but in a way that's easy to let go of when I turn the song off again.
#6 - Still Life (with Anderson .Paak)
Artist: RM / Anderson .Paak Album: Indigo
Release Date: December 2, 2022
Language: Korean / English
Key: B Minor Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 124
Am I surprised that this song is on my list? Not really. I am however surprised at just how high on the list it is. I hadn't realized I'd listened to this song so much this year. I knew I listened to it a lot last year when the album first released, but I hadn't realized just how much staying power this song had on my playlists. I love the juxtaposition between the mellow and slow groove of .Paak's chorus against RM's quick fire rap verses. Every time I listen to this song, I remember why it was that RM was my initial bias in BTS. His rap is so distinct and unique and his rhythmic flow betrays how much percussion research he's done over the years. All of that is fully on display in this song and is accented beautifully by .Paak's easy vocals.
#5 - F*ck My Life
Artist: SEVENTEEN Album: FML
Release Date: April 24, 2023
Language: Korean / English
Key: F Major Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 80
FOURTH song off the FML album to make my top 23 of the year! Frankly, it makes me surprised that it isn't my most played album of the year. In fact, it comes in 2nd only after Agust D's D-DAY, so, that makes perfect sense to me. This song is 3:22 in length, but I swear, it feels as short as Intro: LETHE to me. Listening to the slow groove of this song just makes the time fly by for me. If I listen to this song on repeat, I can zone out for quite a while and just... keep going with whatever it is I'm doing. I know, because I've done that a couple times this year - put this song on repeat to just push myself through completing a horrible task. This song lets me disassociate just enough to be immune to the boredom, but aware enough to be able to do the complex task and not come to a zoned out standstill. In other words, this song allows me to hack my own brain. Super weird. Super useful. As a result, it's gotten a high number of plays.
#4 - Song of the Wind
Artist: KINGDOM Album: History of Kingdom: Pt. VI Mujin
Release Date: March 23, 2023
Language: Korean
Key: A Minor Time Signature: 3/4 BPM: 144
This waltz time masterpiece made me fall in love on my very first listen. It's the 3rd song on the album, and I just KNEW it was going to be my favorite. I was right. It's the perfect blend of romantic, nostalgic, historic and modern. Volt.fm has me listed as one of the top 3 listeners of this song among their users in the last 6 months. I am utterly unsurprised by this. The vocals in this song are a wonderful example as to why I continue to be such a Kingdom fan. When each member sings, they ALL sound like they should be main vocals of the group. They all do such a beautiful job on this ballad number. It is climbing the charts of my favorite k-pop songs of all time.
#3 - Circles
Artist: SEVENTEEN Album: SEVENTEEN 4th Album Repackage 'SECTOR 17'
Release Date: July 18, 2022
Language: Korean
Key: C# Major Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 82
I have been in love with this song since it came out. It has been one of my favorite songs from SEVENTEEN since they all sang it drunk on an 'after the show' YouTube video. In that video Woozi revealed that he wrote the song to say to fellow member Wonwoo the things he wanted to say after Wonwoo's Mom died. In this year's Caratland fan meeting, Woozi failed to make it through this song - breaking down in tears on all three nights. It's become one of the songs that is super special to the members of the group and the entire fandom. I don't tend to purchase album re-packages, but I bought the Sector 17 repackage just so I could own a physical copy of this song. I love it THAT much, so frankly, I'm damn surprised that this song isn't at #2 on the list this year. It is on SO many of my playlists and I listen to it all the damn time.
#2 - Fallen Star
Artist: KINGDOM Album: History of Kingdom: Pt. III Ivan
Release Date: October 21, 2021
Language: Korean /English
Key: C Major Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 120
Have I really listened to this song THAT much this year? Huh. I guess I have. I wasn't terribly impressed on my first listen through of the Ivan album... but I must have been deaf at the time, because this year the entire album ended up on my favorites playlist after I did a re-listen after I landed tickets to their concert. I was petrified when I found out the ticket I bought was actually a meet & greet ticket. I thought I was going to have to talk to each member and so I wanted to easily be able to tell each member what my favorite song was off of each of their featured albums. Black Crow, Burn, & ON AIR are all great songs off this album - but Fallen Star leaves them all in the dust and wins for my favorite by far off this album. This song works when I'm in a peaceful mood, when I'm feeling sad, when I'm reading, when I'm driving, when I'm working.... it's so versatile, which probably explains how I listened to it as many times as I did without realizing just how many play counts I'd wracked up on the song.
I think this was the official B-side off the Ivan album since it has a MV, but I'm not actually sure. When Ivan came out I was still just dipping my toes into the Kingdom world as opposed to how deep in I am now. NOW they're one of the few groups where I will pre-order an album before even hearing it.
And now, for the THIRD YEAR IN A ROW
#1 - ひとりじゃない
Artist: SEVENTEEN Album: ひとりじゃない (and now also ALWAYS YOURS)
Release Date: April 15, 2021 - (1st album appearance date Agust 22, 2023)
Language: Japanese
Key: D Major Time Signature: 4/4 BPM: 118
This was a Japanese language single that SEVENTEEN released back in 2021 when the pandemic was still pretty much in full swing. I fell in love instantly and it is absolutely my favorite song of all time in k-pop - a bit of irony since it's in Japanese. This year, SEVENTEEN released a full length album on the Japanese market and ひとりじゃない (pronounced Hitori Janai) was finally included on the album not just as a single. You see, I don't tend to purchase singles. Usually I only buy mini or full albums. HOWEVER, by the time the ALWAYS YOURS album dropped, I had already caved and bought the single version of ひとりじゃない. As a result, I'm not likely to buy the ALWAYS YOURS album, since the majority of the album are re-releases of singles, or Japanese language versions of previously released songs. There are 3 new original songs, but I'm not in love enough with any of them to buy a full album just to own them (since I don't tend to collect Japanese albums unless the majority of the tracks are new songs). Instead, I will look at my random little jewel case single on my shelf and know that it is there because of how much I love this one song. ひとりじゃない had over twice as many plays this year as the #2 song on the playlist - so that goes to show you just how often I listen to this song. Even sitting here writing about the song, I've now listened to it 4 times in a row and I'm still dancing a bit in my seat as I type.
I love this song.
Alright - so, now that I've gone through the list, lets do a little bit of song stat review just for fun!
16 of the 23 songs on this list were released in 2023
22 songs are in 4/4 time, and only 1 song is in 3/4 time
13 are in the Major mode and 10 are in the Minor mode
The key of F was the most popular with 5 different songs in that key
The lowest BPM on the list is 80 (F*ck My Life)
The highest BPM on the list is 180 (Haze)
The average of the list's BPM is 123 - the song closest to this average is RM's Still Life at 124 BPM
The most common language for songs on this list is Korean/English
The least common languages are the English/Japanese mix of STAND OUT FIT IN and the pure Japanese of ひとりじゃない
The oldest song on this list is STAND OUT FIT IN released in 2019 - maybe this year I'll make a point of giving more time to some older releases.
At any rate, if you've made it this far in my little ramble - thanks for sticking with me through the nonsense. See you again next year for the top 24 of 2024!
Comments
Post a Comment