What is the decisions of this music critic for the categories of best K-Pop albums in the year of 2020?
- BTS's "ON" Kinetic Manifesto Film Becomes Their 13th MV To Reach 600 Million Views
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As we welcome the new year, it is time we take a trip down memory lane and look back into the best albums of K-pop from the years 2010 to 2019, as selected by a music critic. Keep on reading to see if your favorite album made the list!
The "Best K-Pop, 2010-19" was written by Sheldon Pearce. Sheldon Pearce is the first-ever rap critic and has gone to review other genres of music, including K-pop. He is a former music critic and has written for Pitchfork and The Guardian, and is currently a writer for The New York. In the list, which he published to his personal Tumblr account, he names 50 albums that shined in the 2010s.
The number one album he selected is from Girls' Generation member Taeyeon. He selected her 2017 album "My Voice (Deluxe Edition)". The album shows a heavy emphasis on Taeyeon's vocals and features numerous genres, primarily pop pop-rock, and PBR&B. The album was a commercial success, peaking at the top of South Korea's Gaon Album charts.
The deluxe edition includes all the songs from the first release, but includes her past single "11:11" and three new songs, including "Make Me Love You".
From 2-50, his ranking goes:
2. f(x) - Pink Tape (2013)
3. Younha - Rescue (2017)
4. SHINee - The Misconceptions of You (2013)
5. Red Velvet - The Red (2015)
6. Hoody - Departure (2019)
7. AKMU - Play (2014)
8. Infinite - Season 2 (2014)
9. EXO - Exodus (2015)
10. f(x) - Four Walls (2015)
11. Wonder Girls - Reboot (2015)
12. Hoody - On and On (2017)
13. Girl's Generation - Oh! (2010)
14. Kara - Step (2011)
15. DEAN - 130 mood : TRBL (2016)
16. Mamamoo - Reality in Black (2019)
17. Red Velvet - Perfect Velvet (2017)
18. Taemin - Press It (2016)
19. 2NE1 - To Anyone (2010)
20. Taeyeon - Purpose (2019)
21. SHINee - Odd (2015)
22. B2ST - Fiction or Fact (2011)
23. Taeyang - White Night (2017)
24. NCT - NCT 2018 Empathy (2018)
25. 9Muses - Prima Donna (2013)
26. IU - Palette (2017)
27. Jonghyun - She Is (2016)
28. Sistar - Give It to Me (2013)
29. BTS - Wings (2016)
30. Girls' Generation - The Boys (2011)
31. VIXX - Voodoo (2013
32. Zion.T - Red Light (2014)
33. Super Junior - Mr. Simple (2011)
34. 2NE1 - Crush (2014)
35. Jonghyun - Poet | Artist (2018)
36. Block B - Blockbuster (2012)
37. BTS - Love Yourself: Tear (2018)
38. Girls' Generation - I Got a Boy (2013)
39. TVXQ - Spellbound (2014)
40. Girl's Day - Love (2015)
41. EXO - Don't Mess Up My Tempo (2018)
42. B1A4 - Ignition (2012)
43. SHINee - The Story of the Light: Epilogue (2018)
44. 2PM - No. 5 (2015)
45. BoA - Woman (2018)
46. TVXQ - Humanoids (2012)
47. 4minute - 4 Minutes Left (2011)
48. GOT7 - Present: You (2018)
49. GFriend - LOL (2017)
50. WJSN - Happy Moment (2017)
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Top 10 Most-Streamed K-Pop Albums Of 2020 On Spotify
2020 is almost at an end, and the year has been full of some incredible K-Pop album releases. Since there were so many really popular and well-received albums that came out in 2020, which ones had the most overall streams on Spotify? Here’s your answer! These are the 10 K-Pop albums that have had the most people streaming them in 2020.
10. Eyes Wide Open by TWICE
Eyes Wide Open is TWICE’s second full-length studio album, released on October 26 with the title song “I Can’t Stop Me”. The thirteen-track album has a total of 117.9 million streams on Spotify, with “I Can’t Stop Me” has the most streams at 67.8 million streams. Also, the album has sold around 473.2k total units!
9. More & More by TWICE
More & More is TWICE’s ninth mini-album, with a title track of the same name and a June 1 release date. The album has seven tracks total, and together they have had 133.1 million streams on Spotify, with “More & More” earning the most at 87.6 million streams. The album has also sold around 569.1k copies.
8. Neo Zone: The Final Round by NCT 127
Neo Zone: The Final Round is the repackaged version of NCT 127’s earlier 2020 release, Neo Zone, which is the group’s second full-length studio album. The repackaged version has both title songs “Kick It” and “Punch” among the 17 tracks on the album, and together they have about 148.5 million streams. “Kick It” has the most streams, at 43.5 million, and the album has sold around 601.7k units.
7. IT’z ME by ITZY
IT’z ME is ITZY’s second mini-album, released on March 9 with the title song “WANNABE”. The album has just 7 tracks, but together these tracks have earned 148.9 million streams since its release! The most-streamed song is the title track, with “WANNABE” at 119.9 million streams just on its own. The album itself has made around 150.9k sales.
6. In Life by Stray Kids
In Life is the repackaged version of Stray Kids’ earlier 2020 release, Go Live, which is their first full-length studio album. The repackaged version has seventeen tracks total, including both the singles “God’s Menu” and “Back Door”, and all together they’ve had 215.0 million streams. The most-streamed song is “God’s Menu”, with 65.1 million total, and the album has sold 430.9k copies.
5. D-2 by Agust D
D-2 is the second mixtape released by Agust D, the title that BTS‘s Suga goes by for his solo work. The album was released on May 22, with the title song “Daechwita”, and has 10 tracks in total. Together, these tracks have 225.0 million streams, with “Daechwita” by far having the most at 73.6 million of them.
4. Map of the Soul: 7 ~The Journey~ by BTS
Map of the Soul: 7 ~The Journey~ is BTS’s fourth Japanese studio album, released on July 15 with the title song “Stay Gold” along with Japanese versions of several of their releases from recent years. The album has 13 tracks total, which add up to 306.4 million streams on Spotify. “Stay Gold” has the most streams, with 99.2 million on its own, and the album has sold around 750k units total.
3. BE by BTS
BE is BTS’s fifth full-length studio album, and their most recent release, which came out on November 20 with the title song “Life Goes On”. The album has 8 tracks total, which together have a whopping 922.6 million streams! “Dynamite” is the most-streamed, with 561.5 million listens alone, and the album has sold around 2.66 million copies so far.
2. The Album by BLACKPINK
The Album is BLACKPINK’s first full-length studio album, released on October 2 with the title track “Lovesick Girls” along with the popular pre-releases “How You Like That” and “Ice Cream” (with Selena Gomez). With 8 tracks on the album, it has a total of 1.02 billion streams, and “How You Like That” has the most streams with 331.2 million of the total. To date, it has also sold 1.25 million copies.
1. Map of the Soul: 7 by BTS
Map of the Soul: 7 is BTS’s fourth full-length studio album, released on February 21 with the title song “ON”. There are 20 total tracks on the album, including songs off of their 2019 Map of the Soul: Persona album, and together they have 2.37 billion streams! The most-streamed song is “Boy With Luv” (ft. Halsey), which has 576.3 million streams on its own. The album has, to date, sold 4.33 million copies.
