2024 has been a successful year for K-pop artists, with groups like aespa and ILLIT, and solo artists like Jimin, Jungkook, and IU, making their mark on global music charts.
aespa’s Success
Girl group aespa made waves with their first full-length album Armageddon, released in May. The albumโs title tracks โSupernovaโ and โArmageddonโ topped music charts. The group also released their fifth mini-album Whiplash in October.
aespa earned spots on several year-end charts, including NMEโs 50 Best Songs of 2024, where โSupernovaโ ranked No. 9. The song also topped Billboardโs 25 Best K-pop Songs of 2024.
ILLIT’s Breakthrough
ILLITโs debut song โMagnetic,โ released in March, made it to the Billboard Global 200 songs chart, ranking No. 61. It was also included in NPR Musicโs 124 Best Songs of 2024, the only K-pop song to make the list.
NewJeans’ Recognition
NewJeans also saw success, with their track โSupernaturalโ from the album Supernatural making the New York Timesโ Best Songs of 2024. Another track, โHow Sweet,โ earned a spot on Rolling Stoneโs 100 Best Songs of 2024, ranking No. 35.
IU’s Milestone
Solo artist IU had a standout year, becoming Koreaโs representative act for Billboard‘s Global No. 1 artist series. Her song โLove Wins Allโ and its album The Winning ranked highly on Billboardโs year-end charts. IU also completed her largest world tour this year.
BTS Members’ Achievements
Despite their military service hiatus, BTS members continued to shine. Jimin made waves with his song โWho,โ which ranked No. 74 on Billboard‘s Streaming Songs chart.
His second solo album MUSE also ranked No. 9 on the Digital Song Sales chart. Jimin became the only K-pop artist with multiple songs on the Billboard Global 200 chart.
Jungkook, too, achieved success, with his album Golden ranking No. 80 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
2024 has proven to be a year of triumph for K-pop, with both groups and solo artists making their presence felt on the global stage.
