[So I fucked around....] and ranked the Top 10 Hits Each Year (2010-2021)

Just like the title says, I’m going to take some time out of my day to analyze the Gaon Year-End charts, Gallup Korea, & downloads and streams, and attempt to accurately rank the biggest songs by year (year of original release, not the year a song started charting).

Keep in mind that this is not a ranking of how songs performed in one year, this is over time!

Reminder: this is NOT official. I encourage healthy debate backed up by statistics. I know I don’t get everything right, but I love the process of learning.

Without further ado, let’s go! All posts are ranked from 1st to 10th.

2010

• IU – Good Day
• Miss A – Bad Girl Good Girl
• IU, 2AM’s Seulong – Nagging
• MC Mong - 죽을 만큼 아파서 (Feat. 멜로우)
• 2NE1 – Go Away
• SNSD – Oh!
• Wonder Girls – 2 Different Tears
• 2AM’s Changmin, Lee Hyun – 밥만 잘 먹더라
• Supreme Team, Brown Eyed Soul’s Youngjun – 그땐 그땐 그땐
• 뜨거운 감자 – 고백

Easiest year by far, only Good Day has a certification. I just used the top 9 of the year-end chart for the rest.

2011

• IU – You & I
• Maroon 5 – Moves like Jagger
• T-ara – Roly-Poly
• Kim Bumsu - Please
• GG - 바람났어 (Feat. Park Bom)
• Sistar – So Cool
• SNSD – The Boys
• Wonder Girls – Be My Baby
• 2NE1 – I am the Best
• Trouble Maker – Trouble Maker

2012

• Psy – Gangnam Style
• Busker Busker – Cherry Blossom Ending
• Naul – Memory of the Wind
• BIGBANG – Fantastic Baby
• Sistar - Alone
• IU - Every End of the Day
• Sistar – Loving U
• T-ara – Lover-Dovey
• All for You – Jeong Eunji, Seo InGuk
• Primary – Johnny (feat. Dynamic Duo)

2013

• Psy – Gentleman
• IU – Friday (feat. History’s Jeong IJang)
• Cho YongPil - Bounce
• Roy Kim – Spring, Spring, Spring
• EXO - Growl
• Lee SeungChul – My Love
• Sistar19 – Gone Not Around Any Longer
• Apink – No No No
• Crayon Pop – Bar Bar Bar
• 4Minute – What’s Your Name?

2014

• Park HyoShin – Wildflower
• Sam Smith – I’m Not the Only One
• IU – The Meaning of You
• IU, HIGH4 – Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms
• SoYou, Junggigo – Some
• Adam Levine – Lost Stars
• Maroon 5 - Sugar
• Taeyang – Eyes, Nose, Lips
• Han DongGeun - Writing a new end for this story
• SanE, Laina – Midnight Summer’s Dream

Honorable mention: EXID – Up & Down (has no certification)

2015

• Lim Changjung - Love Again
• Justin Bieber – Love Yourself
• BIGBANG – BANG BANG BANG
• Taeyeon – I (feat. Verbal Jint)
• Lee Juck – Don’t worry, dear
• IU – Heart
• GFriend – Me Gustas Tu
• Baek Ayeon - 이럴거면 그러지말지 (Feat. 영현)
• TWICE – Like OOH-AHH
• LOCO, GFriend’s YuJu – Spring by Chance

2016

• M.C. the Max – No Matter Where
• Bolbalggan4 – Galaxy (tie with CHEER UP)
• TWICE – CHEER UP (tie with Galaxy)
• TWICE – TT
• Bolbalggan4 – Hard to Love
• Bolbalggan4 - 좋다고 말해
• Lim Changjung – The Love I Committed
• Urban Zapaka – I Don’t Love You
• Jung Seunghwan – If It Is You
• DEAN – D (half moon)

Honorable mention: GFriend – Rough, Paul Kim – Rain, Heize – Don’t Come Back

2017

• IU – Through the Night
• BTS – Spring Day
• Ailee – I Will Go to You like the First Snow
• Melomance – Gift
• Ed Sheeran – Shape of You
• Heize – You, Clouds, Rain (ft. Shin Yongjae)
• Jang Deokcheol – Good Old Days
• Yoon Jongshin – Like It
• Nilo – Pass By
• Red Velvet – Red Flavor/BTS - DNA

Honorable mentions: Lauv – Paris in the Rain, Camila Cabello – Havana, BLACKPINK – As If It’s Your Last, Woo Wonjae – We Are, BTOB – Missing You, IU – Palette (ft. G-Dragon), WINNER – REALLY REALLY

This year was SO strong.

2018

• Paul Kim – Every Day, Every Moment
• SHAUN – Way Back Home
• Paul Kim – Me After You
• Anne-Marie - 2002
• iKon – Love Scenario
• Bolbalggan4 - Travel
• BLACKPINK – DDU-DU DDU-DU
• Roy Kim - Only Then
• Ben – Love,ing
• TWICE – Dance the Night Away/BTS – IDOL

Honorable mentions: Lim Changjung – There has never been a day I haven’t loved you, Kassy – The day was beautiful, Lim Jaehyun – If there was practice in love, IU – BBI-BBI, Momoland – Bboom Bboom, Melomance - You

2019

• BTS – Boy with Luv
• Jang Beomjun – Your Shampoo Scent in the Flowers
• AKMU – How Can I Love the Heartbreak, You’re the One I Love
• IU - Blueming
• MAKTUB – To You My Light
• Jannabi – For lovers who hesitate
• Taeyeon – Four Seasons
• ChungHa – Gotta Go
• Changmo – METEOR
• Noel – Late Night

Honorable mentions: IU – Love Poem, Paul Kim – So Long, Billie Eilish – bad guy

2020

• BTS – Dynamite
• IU – Eight (feat. BTS’s Suga)
• Zico – Any Song
• Jo Jungseok - Aloha
• BLACKPINK – How You Like That
• Gaho – Start Over
• Oh My Girl - Dolphin
• Oh My Girl - Nonstop
• B1A4’s Sandeul – Slightly Tipsy
• IU – Give You My Heart

Honorable mentions: BLACKPINK – Lovesick Girls, BTS – ON, HwaSa – Mario, M.C. the Max – Bloom, Ovan – I Need You

2021 (so far)

• IU - Celebrity
• BTS - Butter
• IU – Lilac
• MSG Wannabe M.O.M – Foolish Love
• Justin Bieber – Peaches
• aespa – Next Level
• Heize – Happen
• Oh My Girl – Dun Dun Dance
• Song IHan - 밝게 빛나는 별이 되어 비춰줄게
• Highlight’s Yang Yoseob, Apink’s Jeong Eunji – LOVE DAY

Honorable mention: Lee Mujin – Traffic Light

Quote from worldlove27

The way BTS have two of the biggest digital hits of 2017..... 2017 really was quite a year for them from their international growth to their domestic success. Its probably the year where everything switched and changed for them the most.

If someone asked me what the most pivotal year of their career was, I would say 2017.

Quote from Anon813

Damn BTS really showed an amazing growth.

Also 2016 was crazy year for bolbaggan4 in korea.

Bol4 was basically unstoppable from 2016 through 2019. Just hit after hit

Quote from omnimorphism

I was waiting for 2021.

2014 was the year of the foreigners.

How is Psycho wrt the other 2019 songs?

2021 is up now, sorry.

Psycho did well, but not that well. International fans completely underestimate the size of the 2019 hits, they're fucking HUGE. 2017 is like the only year that's comparable to just how many big hits came out in the same year.

Quote from jenniesbtch

Do you just get bored and immediately start looking at Gaon for inspiration?

.......

Quote from BUTTERBOYS

Spring day was game changer for BTS

It really turned gp interested in them in true sense!

After that hits after hits became a normal thing. 2021 is too early to decide i feel! Bcoz some songs had head start over recent ones. So by next year we will have clear answer

BTS number one in 2019 and 2020. I feel dynamite will end up 2020s biggest hit, when we do it again in 2030!

Jeez Maroon5 domination. Seriously moves like jagger was everywhere.

Beyonce had some massive downloads too in korea , because i used to follow western charts back then and she sold a lot in korea.

Same with adele. I remember Rolling in the deep selling around 4 million in 2011 and her other 21 hits too. Not enough to make top 10? Download market was crazy back then!

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FIRE was the game changer, not Spring Day. Spring Day is the cherry on top.

Didn't know Beyonce was popular in Korea.

"Hello" could be an honorable mention for 2015.

Quote from worldlove27

BTS was in the 2018 list. IDOL is listed next to DTNA

There's a gap of 6 million points between them, I kinda had to list them together.

Quote from BUTTERBOYS

Justin's name recognition all over asia is just scary. From baby singer with a famous hairstyle to peaches, he has came long and maintained his relevance. It also shows how loyal asian fans are in long term for an artist. Peaches can even end in yec top 10 imo

Looking at how Peaches is doing, I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up top 5 on the YEC.

Quote from atropos

what's rollin's status? Did I miss it?

Also the downfall of bol4. Rip

Rollin' has a long way to go to make the 2017 list.

GP said, "Oh the other girl is gone? Yikes".

Quote from vzal

You have No Matter Where and Galaxy above Cheer Up in your ranking although the latter was no.1 on Gaon YEC and was no.2 on Gallup Top Songs. Why is that?

Also, both Galaxy and No Matter Where didn't rank on Gallup Top Songs and Galaxy was no.13 in the year end chart.

Remember the part where I said that this is over time? Yeah the year end chart isn't the end all be all.

Both No Matter Where and Galaxy each have 200 million streams, neither TWICE song does. Both songs have more downloads than either TWICE song to boot.