Following their discussion of their top picks for full-length K-pop albums from last year, writers writers Chloe and Lucia discuss their choices for the best mini albums from 2024!
Chloe: Speaking of looking ahead to the future, I found many of 2024’s albums to be especially forward-thinking. The lesser amount of tracks on a mini album versus a full-length album seems to allow K-pop artists to lean fully into a new direction, allowing them to potentially completely reinvent themselves as an artist or push K-pop as we know it forward.
In this sense, I was particularly struck by Yves’s I Did, which I chose as my top mini album of 2024. It’s safe to say that 2024 was a big year for hyperpop amongst Western audiences (think Charli xcx’x album brat), and its impact definitely spilled over into K-pop too. The former Loona member definitely draws heavily from hyperpop’s explosion in popularity in 2024, and the influences of Charli xcx (as well as Charli’s own inspiration and mentor, SOPHIE). Additionally, Yves’s already existing footing in the genre, and adventurous musical stylings outside of the typical confines of K-pop and pop via her previous solo releases and membership in Loona, enables her to cement her identity and expand on the genre further in I Did.
Helmed by title track “Viola,” I Did is slick, vast, and highly conceptual. Zippy, laser-sharp synths, monstrous basslines, and Yves’ digitally-processed vocals in both “Viola” and closing track “Dim” add to the album’s high-concept, futuristic feel. These two tracks are also both the starting and stopping point for where the brat comparisons end, as I Did’s middle three tracks “Hashtag,” “Gone Girl,” and “Tik Tok” invite the average listener in with an accessible, yet still unconventional, explorations of R&B, indie-pop, and funk and soul, respectively. Overall, I Did is a rare curation of pure creativity and ease, cementing Yves’s identity as a pop auteur in her own right.
Taeyong’s TAP definitely has some similar qualities. What put this EP at the top of your list?
Lucia: As both of our picks demonstrate, this year was huge for solo artists. With so many excellent solo albums from beloved third and fourth generation idol groups to choose from, it was hard to narrow down my pick. I ended up thinking of Tap because it is emblematic of all the qualities I think the ideal solo release should have. The mini album feels wholly Taeyong in its multitudes, from the cute and quirky, to the melancholic and cutting. Taeyong’s role in writing, as well as his instantly recognizable tone, helps amplify the cohesiveness of the album despite its varying moods and topics. What’s more, it pushes popular perception of him, both as an artist as well as as an idol, forward.
Taeyong — as well as NCT, the group he leads — has always pushed sonic and stylistic boundaries. Taeyong does so by bucking expectations in both of his solo mini albums, though perhaps moreso in this one; while his 2023 release, Shalala, includes more of the music many might predict he would make, Tap highlights Taeyong’s softer side. NCTzens are fully aware that this man is the type of person who loves acting cute, adores pink, and dedicates a spot on his body and his debut solo album to his late dog, Ruby, who he loved like a sibling. With Tap, more casual fans can get a taste of the Taeyong who sings about escaping the confines of reality with a loved one by venturing on a “Moon Tour,” about being alone and weak in a complex relationship in “Run Away,” and about beating loneliness in “404 Loading.”
Still, each song takes tastefully executed twists and turns that make it difficult to classify any as one particular sound or genre. “Ape” is the track that gets closest to what Taeyong is known for on the surface, with its quick tempo, 808s, and low-toned rap chorus. Taeyong shucks the uncertainty and vulnerability of the rest of the mini album with biting lyrics declaring that “the vibe is focused on me” and “everything will be mine.” Not every solo includes a dig at idols and the businessmen who run the music industry, but Taeyong is not just anyone. He is unapologetically honest in ways that, for better or worse, set him and this mini apart from the rest of the pack; as he acknowledges by the end of “Ape,” “this wasn’t my dream / so I’m going forward with an empty heart / on my own path again.”
I just noticed that we have one more soloist to recognize among our picks! Baekhyun is a trailblazer in his own right who makes a splash with every one of his releases. What makes Hello, World special to you?
Chloe: I’ve always been impressed by Baekhyun’s ability to forge such a clear, determined path for himself as a soloist. He’s undoubtedly one of the best vocalists K-pop has ever seen, and has curated a discography primarily influenced by the R&B genre to suit his enviable, honey-like vocals. Having been so impressed by all of Baekhyun’s solo releases to-date and his trailblazing qualities, like you described, I found myself worried that Hello, World might not have the same spark and freshness of his previous mini albums, especially given this would be his first comeback since returning from military service. I was instead instantly enamored by the album’s originality, playfulness, and sense of individuality and freedom, all of which serve as a testament to Baekhyun’s ability to showcase his technical skills and familiar musical identity while also building upon and reworking what he’s already produced.
While Baekhyun’s vocals are almost always the star of the show, Hello, World makes a point to also bring the layers of instrumentation to the forefront too, constructing deliciously opulent sonic vignettes to match the singer’s rich vocal runs and signature ad libs. For example, bossa nova-inspired “Rendez-Vous” waffles between special vocal effects, R&B beat breakdowns, and piano riffs to paint a vivid picture of a late, rainy night full of intrigue.
Title track “Pineapple Slice” is just as obviously mischievous, blending sharp synths with lush basslines as Baekhyun’s floats between a rawer, raspier version of his voice with stunning falsettos. “Truth Be Told” seamlessly brings Hello, World’s engaging soundscape to a close, infusing a darker energy into the album’s storyline and sound as Baekhyun sings of an ending relationship over an arrangement that strategically fluctuates between sparse percussive moments and elaborate harmonic vocal layers to keep the track in a state of tension — much like Hello, World itself. It’s safe to say that it works, and puts this album in the ranks of one of the best and most compelling of this year.
Shifting gears completely, I was excited to see your inclusion of rookie group TWS’s debut album, Sparkling Blue, which was a strong contender for one of my top picks as well. What about this album stood out to you?
Lucia: TWS is far from the first to embrace the schoolboy concept, but their execution is truly well-crafted and deserving of recognition. Whoever decided on “plot twist” as the debut song knew exactly what they were doing; it’s genius to have a rookie group performing their first stage with lyrics that perfectly mirror their experience of greeting fans for the first time. The song opens:
Look at my expression in the mirror
Feeling so good, the D-day I’ve been waiting for
Gotta wave my hand just like I practiced
Check my hairstyle and turn around
My feet take me along the familiar path
This song is so charming and relevant to daily life (because who among us hasn’t wanted to impress someone new?) that it blew up among Korea’s general public and stayed on streaming charts for most of the year. The remaining songs of the album carry the same vibe — all dripping with upbeat earnestness, satisfying chord progressions, and earworm-y beats.
The melodies, though innocuous, constantly find their way back into my brain while I’m doing work or washing the dishes, and much of their lyrics—just like “plot twist”—all express common feelings or phrases that make it easy for these songs to come to mind in everyday situations (like the repetitive refrains of “you and I’ll be friends forever” in “BFF” or “I really wanna kick it with ya” in “first hooky”). While TWS might not have done anything incredibly distinct from other groups, they and their team focused on perfecting and refining what they already know to work instead. Everything their team did to catapult them to success is so subtle, but so effective, and the result is a standout debut mini album that absolutely made its mark upon release. Just as Tap is the ideal solo album to me, Sparkling Blue is my ideal debut album.
TXT’s minisode 3: TOMORROW also marked a key point in TXT’s career. What led you to choosing this particular mini album out of the group’s two 2024 releases?
Chloe: While I highly enjoyed both of the group’s albums from last year, I was especially impressed by minisode 3: TOMORROW’s inclusion of an eclectic range of genres while also standing as one of TXT’s most cohesive albums to-date. The group’s willingness to traverse new sonic influences comes as no surprise, as they’ve made a name for themselves by excelling at and even popularizing within K-pop a range of musical stylings. These include everything from the pop-punk leanings of The Chaos Chapter: FREEZE era, to the Afrobeats influences of standout b-side “Tinnitus (Wanna be a rock)” from 2023’s The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION. Minisode 3: TOMORROW feels like a mature extension of TXT’s willingness to not only dip their toes into the new and unfamiliar, but rather to dive headfirst to continue to reinvent their group identity, all while holding onto and expanding the essence they possessed when they debuted in 2019.
That’s also where minisode 3 impressed me. Most, if not all tracks on the album distinctively call back to TXT’s origin in some shape or form, while still marking their entrance into previously unexplored territory and sounds. The second track, whose title is in morse code (a nod to the group’s debut track, “Crown”), is the clearest example of this reference to TXT’s humble beginnings, while electronic dance track “I’ll See You There Tomorrow” is a nod to their very name and roots, as well as to the future, in both title and its sleek house-style sound.
Where I especially got sucked into this album, however, was in the unit tracks, “The Killa (I Belong To You)” sung by Yeonjun and Soobin, and “Quarter Life” featuring Huening Kai, Taehyun, and Beomgyu. “The Killa (I Belong To You)” sees the group’s two eldest members taking on the Afro-pop genre again, this time elevating it beyond the mature leanings of “Tinnitus” into an even more sensual, enigmatic, and completely un-gimmicky take on the genre. “Quarter Life” also refers back to the emo-pop moments of the aforementioned FREEZE album, only now evolved as TXT’s youngest three members look back on their journey since then, and the impending “crisis” that looms ahead.
There’s another group on your list that have also had quite the journey, which is Loossemble. What put TTYL at number three?
Lucia: Indeed! With my last pick, my choices round out to become representative of the whole cycle of a K-pop group, from debut to disbandment. Though we didn’t know it at its release, it does make quite a bit of sense that a work titled, TTYL, in which the title track constantly repeats, “I’ll talk to you later, later,” would be Loossemble’s last — particularly because most C. Loo are well aware that the chances of seeing more of these five girls after contract termination are extremely high.
For the uninitiated, Loossemble is one of the groups made up of ex-Loona members that were formed after Chuu was ousted from the group in 2022 and the remaining members slowly but surely left Blockberry Creative throughout early 2023. In July of 2023, at a showcase for Loona off-shoot Odd Eye Circle, member Kim Lip made it clear that Loona is not disbanded and are open to continuing activities as a full group. After the contract termination announcement in November 2024, Loossemble’s HyeJu shared on Fromm that fans shouldn’t worry because “we’ll continue to see each other.” These breadcrumbs left by Loona members hint that with Loossemble’s disbandment, perhaps the group is now one step closer to reuniting.
Despite all of Loona signing under different companies, the music from their new groups — including Loossemble, Odd Eye Circle, and Artms — still retains distinct commonalities that firmly brand them as Loona. Part of this is due to the groups working with many of the same producers and creative directors as before. However, while Loona already excelled in synthpop and electropop (and other variations on pop), these new groups are taking these genres to the next level. Yves’s work, as you mentioned earlier, embraces hyperpop, funk, soul, and more. Artms focuses on synths and values visuals and concepts. Meanwhile, Loossemble is the group that stuck closest to the characteristics Loona was known for: upbeat tracks and powerful vocals.
With TTYL, Loossemble — which is made up of some of the youngest members of Loona — shows a growing maturity, both in life as well as in sound. “Fanaticism” draws listeners in with warped bass beats, technologic sound bites, and an ominous wolf howl that leads perfectly into “TTYL.” The shared instrumentals of “Cotton Candy” and “Confessions” underlie sultry voices singing sultry lyrics uncharacteristic of these particular members (HyunJin breathing “I got these, I got these confessions” at the bridge of “Confessions” is extremely effective, to say the least). The uptempo of “Hocus Pocus” pulls us back to remind us of the feminine bubblegum feel of their previous releases, but wrapped in a retro new jack swing beat. Finally, the mini album wraps up with “Secret Diary,” which utilizes a haunting violin melody that builds more and more layers until the bass of the chorus hits in just the right way to create a perfect loop back to the vibes of the start of the mini. “Secret Diary” is the perfect conclusion to TTYL, and not just because it plays seamlessly into “Fanaticism.” The song also ends in an unresolved cadence that tells us Loossemble’s story is not over; there must be more to come.
Readers: What were your favorite mini albums of 2024? And what are you hoping to see in 2025?
(Vulture. Naver. YouTube [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Lyrics via Genius. Images via CTDENM, HYBE, PAIX PER MIL, Pledis, SM Entertainment.)
