Best of 2020s breakout hits

  • And no I'm not talking about songs that were like huge debut songs such as Hype Boy (Njs) or Famous (ADP), or plot twist (TWS) or Magnetic (ILLIT), or hits that made a famous group even more famous like Love Dive (IVE) or Next Level (aespa)


    I'm talking about songs that propelled a lesser known artist to a whole level from that song


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    H1-Key was a totally unknown group but this song helped them break out of the lowest of the lows. The song was written by Day6 Young K and it made the group well known back then. Although they aren't that huge now, this song has helped them gained new fans and still remains to be one of their best songs


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    Now I know I said no song that makes a famous group even more famous, but then how many of you actually know Day6 before 2024? Many groups lose their mainstream popularity after their military but Day6 is one of the few that broke this curse. To be fair, NMIXX played a huge part in making this song viral (if only they can do the same for their own songs), and until now this song is still charting in like the Top 20s to Top 30s of the chart even 1 year after its release


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    Speaking of military, WOODZ is one of those artists who also had huge breakout during military. This song is still viral and IS STILL in the Top 5 of the charts and it IS the biggest song in Korea in 2025 despite being a 2023 release. I just came back from Seoul 2 weeks ago and I can assure you this song is EVERYWHERE


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    Our latest addition to the list, Dayoung really deserve all the love and appreciation in the world. Dayoung managed to showcase her amazing charm and stage presence with her first ever solo release and the song is still rising. I'm expecting Top 10 I pray


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    I think this probably is the 2nd biggest KPOP song after Gangnam Style? Golden might dethrone this but Cupid remains to be one of the biggest KPOP hits ever worldwide


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    THE QUEEN OF VIRAL HITS. This above video is not the original but the same video was posted and got TONS OF VIEWS AND LIKES and made Brave Girls viral. This song LITERALLY SAVED THEM FROM DISBANDMENT. They had CFs everywhere after this and even had more hits after such as We Ride and Chi Mat Ba Ram

  • This is a fun thread


    Nobody thought a rock band that featured popular streamers, and a former jpop idol would become one of the most popular groups. On paper QWER seemed like a gimmick that people wouldn't take seriously. However, they were able to win people over by being very good and creating quality music. I know they had success with Discord, but I felt TBH was their breakout hit


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    Say what you want about the group, but their start was a very good story. They were in nugu territory where their debuted couldn't even break 1000 sales and only had 5.5k 1st week sales. That would usually be a disaster for most groups that they wouldn't be able to break out of. I know Natty had some fame before the group, but I don't think many people followed her career. As for the song I felt Midas Touch was their breakout hit that pushed them to being a 5th gen group. Sticky was the bigger song but Midas Touch solidified them as a top group.


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    I can't fully remember what the expectations for Stayc were when they debuted. I do remember that ASAP was the hit that put them into consideration as a top 4th gen group. That song was a massive hit and I remember it being one of the early true hits for 4th gen groups


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    Maybe this might not be the song, but I felt DM was the song that made Fromis_9 a group to watch with both Korean and international audience. I know they had some songs that people talked about before, but I truly felt this was the song that made them connect with multiple audiences.


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    I know Gfriend was quite popular, but it's usually hard to maintain fans when a person goes solo or form a subunit. I enjoyed their music as Viviz, but it felt none of their songs was resonating with the general public, so didn't feel there was much room for growth. However, they were able to breakout when they released Maniac which was one of the biggest songs of the year when it released. I remember the challenge for it was quite popular with many idols participating. I felt that was the song that made people check out Viviz


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  • W‍OODZ is o‍ne of those artists w‍ho also had huge breakout during military. This song is still viral

    This o‍ne is still confusing me. What exactly caused the song to go viral?

    This above video is not the original

    Here's the original video f‍rom Viditor that was the cause of the virality:

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  • I know N‍atty had some fame before the group, but I d‍on't think many people followed her career. As for the song I felt M‍idas Touch was their breakout hit that pushed them to being a 5th gen group.

    I think an important cause for K‍iss of Life's breakout was their sexier, more "Western" concept (and music), along with some N‍atty-fueled curiosity.

    I can't fully remember what the expectations for S‍tayc were when they debuted.

    I recall them being relatively anticipated given that they were created by B‍lack Eyed Pilseung, w‍ho had produced many of Twice's hit songs.

    Maybe this might not be the song, but I felt DM was the song that made F‍romis_9 a group to watch

    It might've been "Stay This Way", but I'm not sure. bartkun, as AKP's biggest Fromis 9 fan, what would y‍ou say?

  • It might've been "Stay This Way", but I'm not sure. bartkun, as AKP's biggest Fromis 9 fan, what would y‍ou say?

    From titles I think that Feel Good was the song which made people interested in them once again after Idol School vote rigging controversy


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  • I think an important cause for K‍iss of Life's breakout was their sexier, more "Western" concept (and music), along with some N‍atty-fueled curiosity.

    Unsure how much the Natty curiosity helped because they were nugu and had low sales. I don't think their debut track and follow up put them on the map. I think it helped them to get noticed, but they weren't in consideration as a top group until Midas Touch. I agree that them leaning towards a more western concept helped them to create a lane for themselves


    I recall them being relatively anticipated given that they were created by B‍lack Eyed Pilseung, w‍ho had produced many of Twice's hit songs.

    True, there was hype and I think they had good debut sales. I just think ASAP was their breakout hit.


    From titles I think that Feel Good was the song which made people interested in them once again after Idol School vote rigging controversy


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    Maybe, it's me but it didn't feel like their breakout hit and felt it happened a bit after. I could be wrong there.

  • Maybe, it's me but it didn't feel like their breakout hit and felt it happened a bit after. I could be wrong there.

    it's because it was released during pandemic shitty world

    but it brought attention to group, and if I remember well all titles released after Feel Good got a win in at least 1 music show

  • if I remember well all titles released after Feel Good got a win in at least 1 music show

    Yes, that's correct. Here's a complete listing of Fromis 9's 14 music show wins:


    2021-09-07: T‍alk & Talk [T‍he Show]

    2022-01-25: DM [T‍he Show]

    2022-01-2‍6: DM [Sh‍ow Champion]

    2022-07-05: Stay This Way [T‍he Show]

    2022-07-06: Stay This Way [Sh‍ow Champion]

    2022-07-07: Stay This Way [M C‍ountdown]

    2022-07-08: Stay This Way [M‍usic Bank]

    2022-07-09: Stay This Way [Music Core]

    2023-06-13: #menow [T‍he Show]

    2024-08-2‍0: S‍upersonic [T‍he Show]

    2024-08-22: S‍upersonic [M C‍ountdown]

    2024-08-23: S‍upersonic [M‍usic Bank]

    2024-08-24: S‍upersonic [Music Core]

    2025-07-04: Like Y‍ou Better [M‍usic Bank]


    I'll also note that they've won on every current music show except for I‍nkigayo.

  • also as people talk about fromis_9 here, then kind reminder who we lost as an Idol!


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  • Maybe for Gidle the song that truly elavated them to the next level was the song after soojin left????


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  • This o‍ne is still confusing me. What exactly caused the song to go viral?

    Similar to Day6, due to military


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    Day6 got even more famous from their military performance, and their 2024 comebacks just propelled then further and certified their status in SK


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  • Maybe for Gidle the song that truly elavated them to the next level was the song after soojin left????


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    hmm. This is tricky because their trajectory really changed after queendom when they performed Lion imo and that was in 2019. I agree that Tomboy did take them to the next level but they did have 3 songs in the top 10 before the scandal. Album sales wise it wasn't a huge jump from I Burn (252K sales) to I never die (325k sales). I think among the public they were kind of already considered in the top 5 or about to reach it before the scandal. It's fair to say Tomboy solidified them, but I felt they had popular songs prior that helped Tomboy reach that level of popularity.

  • hmm. This is tricky because their trajectory really changed after queendom when they performed Lion imo and that was in 2019. I agree that Tomboy did take them to the next level but they did have 3 songs in the top 10 before the scandal. Album sales wise it wasn't a huge jump from I Burn (252K sales) to I never die (325k sales). I think among the public they were kind of already considered in the top 5 or about to reach it before the scandal. It's fair to say Tomboy solidified them, but I felt they had popular songs prior that helped Tomboy reach that level of popularity.

    would you say then that Lion was their breakout song?

    (I wasn't into Gidle in 2019 so I couldn't say either way)

  • would you say then that Lion was their breakout song?

    (I wasn't into Gidle in 2019 so I couldn't say either way)

    I felt it was because the group was performing well every comeback but having a memorable performance with queendom made more people check them out. The previous title tracks seniorita and Uh Oh charted well for the most part but i remember opinions at the time being mixed for that. However, Lion and Oh My God had a much better reception. Plus the EP I Made had 56k sales and I Trust had 175k.


    I think that big of a jump in sale shows the impact the songs had for them. Also if we look at current YouTube views the MV for Lion has 150m views and their title track prior to that Uh Oh is currently sitting at 80m.

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