"Black Mamba" is a rare case of a latter-day group’s debut single being a major candidate for their most badass song, jumping headfirst into their sci-fi concept.
The English song "Hold On Tight" is their first soundtrack song. No one expected them to release it for Tetris (2023). But they did an amazing job with it, with fans and non-fans of aespa alike remarking that it's one of their best songs, despite the unexpected source.
"ID; Peace B", released when she was only 13, is a promising debut that would hint at her becoming one of the most legendary artists in the industry.
"Every Heart (Minna no Kimochi)", the fourth Ending Theme to the hit anime Inuyasha, is a modest ballad that was one of the early contributors to her mainstream Japanese career.
"LA chA TA" is their cool, dance-y debut that quickly established them as one of the most experimental second-generation groups.
"Electric Shock" is a heavy electronic song that still has moments where the members make good use of their ethereal voices.
This video of Luna singing "Bring Me To Life" with TRAX. Considering that her voice is more refined now, if she sang this again, it would be even more amazing.
Pink Tape is considered one of the best K-Pop albums ever with its experimental mix of pop, electronic, and a bit of rock making it ahead of its time.
Sulli's only solo project, Goblin. While only three tracks long, all are sonically unconventional for K-pop, and Sulli's self-written lyrics are at times legitimately profound.
"Candy" is the Breakthrough Hit for SM Entertainment and the Korean idol industry as a whole, combining dance rhythms with whimsical carnival music to make a poppier version of what Seo Taiji and Boys laid the groundwork for.
"Full of Happiness" is an experimental dance-pop song with Christmas carol samples, something that not many later artists have tried to replicate.
"Magnetic" is a charming and poppy dance pop Pluggnb influences track that solidified ILLIT's minimalist yet easy listening sound.
"Tick-Tack", while a huge contrast to the group lead track's minimalist sound with its loud maximalist sound, is still a fun classic video game-esque song that perfectly captures the retro arcade sound.
"You & I" is an energetic orchestral pop song that really suits her Girl Next Door image.
"Through the Night" is an acoustic ballad that makes significant usage of her more mature voice, keeping her relevant in the late 2010s.
"Bibibi" is a piano-driven alternative R&B song that uses the right hooks to make an infectious Take That, Critics! song.
"Love Poem", a piano ballad that turns into a rock ballad, is one of her most powerful performances.
"Eight", featuring Suga of BTS, is one of her most emotional songs, written after having lost three close friends (Jonghyun, Sulli, and Hara) to suicide.
From Lilac, "Celebrity" stands out for experimenting with EDM without compromising her voice.
"Attention", the lead single to their self-titled debut EP, made the group an overnight sensation with its 90s and early 2000s R&B stylings, shifts between major and minor keys, and themes of exploring the feelings of young infatuation.
"ETA" is an upbeat yet atmospheric party song with frantic choppy horns that set pretty much any mood.
"Don't Leave Me" is a transitional piece from when the industry was in its infancy. It's a ballad like the form of music that was popular in Korea before the 90s, but it also mixes in dance music. It is also the Breakthrough Hit for JYP himself, who benefitted from a Breakup Breakout (after the failure of the short-lived Park Jin Young and the NG) that would lead to him starting JYP Entertainment, one of the "big three" K-pop labels.
"When We Disco", a duet with Sunmi, is a throwback to Eurodisco with heavy 80s vibes.
"I Know" practically invented the industry as we know it with its prominent Hip-Hop and New Jack Swing influences and a bit of rock to create a Genre-Busting sound that would revolutionize the Korean music industry.
"Come Back Home" is a straight up hip-hop song that was one of the first Korean songs to get a small but noticeable amount of international recognition while also presenting social commentary regarding pressures that drive kids to run away from home.
"('Cause) I'm Your Girl" is a 90s R&B song that helped level the playing field for female artists. Although S.E.S. was technically not the first Girl Group in the industry (at least two others debuted slightly earlier), they had the advantage of being not just an SM group but the Distaff Counterpart to H.O.T., which, along with having this sweet love song, helped ease the Korean public into accepting female idols and remain respected enough to have their songs covered by Red Velvet and aespa.
"Dreams Come True" is simply one of the coolest songs ever to pass through Korea, with its trip-hop beat and electronic flute-like melody. It's technically a cover of an obscure Finnish song, but S.E.S. repurposed it for the Korean industry and would indirectly keep it relevant for younger generations who weren't even born at the time via aespa's cover in 2021.
"Sherlock (Clue + Note)" is technically a mashup of the "Clue" and "Note", but they blend seamlessly enough to make it hard to tell without already knowing. The electronic beat (mainly from "Clue") and powerful vocals also make it stand out as one of the most awesome Boy Band songs of the second generation.
"Don't Call Me", the title track to their first album after their military hiatus and first recorded entirely without the late Jonghyun, is a hip-hop influenced dance song that shows that a veteran group can remain relevant.
"Maniac" is a standout of their experimental songs, with its mix of EDM and hip-hop and its embrace of its oddness.
"Come Play", with Young Miko and Tom Morello, plays in Arcane when Jinx leads the rescue of Piltover and the lyrics sum up who she is and what she's become.
"U" is a straightforward pop song to be used as a textbook example of the Boy Band scene thriving in Korea even in the mid-2000s, after *NSYNC broke up and Backstreet Boys had lost their mainstream power in the West and before One Direction would renew global interest in boy bands.
"Sorry, Sorry", with its heavy dance beat and American funk and R&B influences, helped give K-pop an international cult following a few years before BTS or even "Gangnam Style" would set up its global mainstream presence.
"Happy Death Day" is an eccentric rock song with bold and straightforward lyrics, which quickly drew attention to itself and got labeled as a breath of fresh air in K-rock industry.
"Freakin' Bad" is an energetic and badass song with lyrics that speak up about separating good and evil. The most shocking, but nevertheless cool part is a line "If you seek it, why owe you", which contains a clever and cheeky wordplay!
is an acoustic track with backing piano, and the girls sound stunning.