25 best K-pop albums of 2021: Twice, Red Velvet, NCT 127, Seventeen and Monsta X are all there, but who took the No 1 spot?
- The best albums of the year offer a mixed bag of styles, from tender romantic tunes to upbeat dance pop and R&B
- Big names NCT 127, Aespa, Twice and Seventeen all have albums on the list, but the No 1 may be a surprise
At times, 2021 had moments full of excitement for what’s to come, and at others, a sad spirit of exhaustion and ennui.
To some degree, K-pop reflected this, with many artists singing about a future after the Covid-19 pandemic, and others expressing frustration with the state of the world, and all with the experimentation and finesse associated with the musical scene.
Singles dominate in K-pop, but for those looking to dive deeper here is our pick of the best K-pop albums.
25. Monsta X – No Limit EP
There’s a whirlwind of sounds and styles on this album, ranging from the sexy chaotic ride of Autobahn to the absolute heaven of the angsty Mercy.
24. (G)I-dle – I burn EP
23. WayV – Kick Back EP
22. Dreamcatcher – Summer Holiday EP
Although Dreamcatcher have made a name for themselves as a gritty, metal- and hard-rock-fuelled K-pop group, Summer Holiday takes a bit of a break from that.
If you’ve ever gone on an invigorating adventure in the summertime, that is exactly the feeling the members of Dreamcatcher present on this album. Their normal dramatic style is featured on single BEcause, then there’s the bubbly Airplane, the pulsating, yearning Whistle, the groovy city pop of Alldaylong, and the final breezy A Heart of Sunflower.
21. Woodz – Only Lovers Left EP
Woodz has the Midas touch when it comes to songwriting, and the soulful alt R&B singer’s latest album is an emotive and funky experience that shows why he is one of the most intriguing talents on the K-pop scene today. As he sings in Thinkin bout you: “It’s the way you make my heart sing.”
20. CIX – HELLO’ Chapter Ø. Hello, Strange Dream EP
The finale of CIX’s Hello album series, this five-track EP is a sampler of the boy band’s potential since their debut in 2019. The group lulls listeners at first with Stairway to Heaven, followed by the absolute euphoria of Cinema, then comes out fighting with the seductive Round 2.
The album ends with the funky sentimentality of Everything, but not before the must-listen “rebel without a cause” anthem that is Young. Listening to the songs back-to-back, it may feel like an off-kilter dream, but one you wake up from and find yourself thinking about for years to come.
19. ONF – City of ONF LP
When it comes to synth-pop storytelling, there are few better in K-pop than ONF, whose City of ONF is a pleasure to listen to from start to finish. There’s the exuberance of the singles – the explosive upbeat Beautiful Beautiful, and the pure drama that is The Realist, with the members of ONF showing exactly how they’re building a soundscape on their own terms.
18. Seventeen – Your Choice EP
Stand-outs Anyone and Gam3 Bo1 follow that, the former a bit of funky pop-rock grunge and the latter going full blown into the world of glitch pop. The slinking Wave and the ballad same dream, same mind, same night close things out.
17. Red Velvet – Queendom EP
16. Kang Daniel – Yellow EP
Kang should be a sure-fire hitmaker: he was the most popular contestant on his season of the popular Korean competition show Produce 101, and the centre of Wanna One, the boy band that came out of it. Yet when he puts out album after album that resonates with his stirring take on dark, dramatic alt R&B and dance tracks, it’s somehow still surprising that each of his colour-themed albums shows new depth.
15. Epik High – Epik High Is Here 上, Pt. 1 LP
It’s a corona pandemic album that goes beyond the moment, with 10 nuance-filled tracks.
14. Onewe – Planet Nine: Alter Ego EP
A rock-band-K-pop hybrid act, Onewe bring something grandiose to every song; they have a flair for surging, dramatic melodies and captivating verses. Planet Nine: Alter Ego is their best yet, with touches of sentimentality and playfulness that make for a larger-than-life album that feels both familiar and like something you’ve never encountered before.
13. Kai – Peaches EP
12. Chung Ha – Querencia LP
Chung Ha has made a name for herself in recent years as one of K-pop’s reigning dance queens, with her distinct performance flair and cool-girl-meets-girl-next-door style. Querencia features the girl who went from Texas to Seoul to stardom singing about who and what she is at this stage in her life – initially inspired, it was reported, by conversations with her therapist.
This trilingual album (Korean, English and Spanish) draws on a wide range of genres and international music scenes to deliver a fluid soundtrack as Chung Ha shares this part of herself with the world.
11. NCT 127 – Favorite LP
10. CL – Alpha LP
You don’t really know what to expect from an album that starts off with a cameo from John Malkovich on a song dedicated to the Spicy-ness of Koreans, except that it will be full of excitement. In a way that’s a metaphor for CL’s career: a sense of assuredness that whatever she does will be excellent, but an equal sense of disoriented “what is happening?”
CL was a member of 2NE1 and became one of the most prominent solo stars in K-pop before practically disappearing. But Alpha puts that all to rest, with the singer reminding us why we will never find another like her, as she declares that she’s doing everything My Way.
9. IU – Lilac LP
For over a decade now, IU has shared a bit of herself with the public eye, with every release feeling like a page torn out of her diary. Lilac reflects that, like opening a window into her life on a breezy spring day. Musically, each song on this purple-hued release is a different sort of confection, refreshing in its own way.
The album is a comforting listening experience filled with touches of nostalgia, jazziness, liveliness and sentimentality, in a way that is quintessentially IU.
7. Twice – Formula of Love: O+T=<3 LP
There’s a bit of fun, like on the quirky Real You, a bit of drama, like on Last Waltz, a bit of late nights fuelled by Espresso, and an anthem where the girl group declare they are K-pop ICONs. There may not actually be a recipe to figure out how the heart works, but with the stellar Formula of Love, Twice have just about written one for us.
8. Shinee – Atlantis LP
Atlantis smoothly entices the listener into a sense of comfort as the four vocalists’ tones blend together like the most perfect perfume. There’s a bit of groove, a bit of funk, a bit of random electronica and rock, but at any moment, this album screams “SHINEE”.
6. Younha – End Theory LP
Younha’s been around since the early 2000s, when she became a huge star in South Korea and Japan, and her style has varied from commercial pop rock to as indie as a former hitmaker can be.
End Theory is Younha’s bit of pandemic pop, created while ruminating about time and existence, but don’t be fooled into thinking it’s full of angst and sadness. End Theory is, above all, euphoric in its dedication to waxing poetically about life and what’s to come.
The star of her own stage, Younha’s always been about that Big Picture, and the album lets her voice soar with emotion over sweeping, exhilarating instrumentals and melodies.
5. Stray Kids – Noeasy LP
Maybe it’s not for everyone, but Stray Kids’ brand of Thunderous, often off-kilter and unsettling music doesn’t pull any punches; the 14 songs alternate between softer moments that show off the band’s sweet vocals, and more intense ones where they come out with a raging tune that leaves you wondering what in the world you have just listened to, before you play it again and again.
4. Aespa – Savage EP
Moving beyond their singles, the other tracks on Savage show new facets 0f the quartet, like the slightly sweeter side on Yeppi Yeppi and the darker elements on the revenge-fuelled I’ll Make You Cry. Between those two, the anthemic Iconic and the ambient Lucid Dream, this album may be a “mini”, but it is promising so much more.
3. Tomorrow X Together – The Chaos Chapter: Fight or Escape LP
The quintet known as TXT spent much of 2021 evoking a sense of youthful angst with their pop-rock-fuelled singles, and when those sit beside the trendy-sounding B-sides, the album is a singular experience of just about pop perfection.
From start to finish, Fight or Escape vibrates with the energy of Tomorrow X Together’s members and the eclecticism of their musicality, creating a sense of pure Magic. Above all, they find an orderly path through the chaos of their varied tracks, each one weaving its own spell, especially the invigorating Frost, which is TXT at their best.
2. Key – Bad Love EP
Nostalgia for the music of yesteryear has been rampant over the past year or two, and Key jumped down the rabbit hole to create an album of the music he grew up with that is essentially a love letter from ’90s kids everywhere.
He has the disco funk of the exhilarating single Bad Love fronting it all, as he tries everything from groovy falsetto to ’90s synth wildness. According to reports, Key spearheaded the Bad Love album and didn’t back down from his vision, despite backlash from his company, and the result is clear: Key, in charge, knows exactly what he’s doing.
1. AKMU – Next Episode EP
As a whole, the album feels less like a pop music release and more a work of cinematic art, blending the group’s typical whimsy with poignancy.
There’s a sense of storytelling in each song, whether it’s the groovy, inspirational hit Nakka with IU, the retro synth-fuelled Hey kid, Close your eyes with Lee Sun Hee, reflecting the horrors of adult life through a child’s experience, or the lofty, aspiring, quasi-power ballad Everest with Sam Kim.
As the Next Episode of AKMU’s artistic journey, it truly feels apt: this is an album unlike anything AKMU have tried to date, and its release heralds the next stage of their career in the most engaging of ways.
Beyond these albums, if you’re looking for some non K-pop idol releases, here are five suggestions from bands, hip-hop, R&B, and alternative artists:
Hoppípolla And Then There Was Us
Peakboy Loop
Park Hye Jin Before I Die
The Volunteers The Volunteers
MRSHLL XYZ