Five 4th-Gen K‑Pop Groups That Made Spotify Wrapped’s Top 10 Global K‑Pop Artists List
In this year’s Spotify Wrapped, the top 10 most-streamed K-Pop artists of 2022 reached more than 16.5 billion streams. But did you know that besides K-Pop faves like BTS and BLACKPINK, five 4th-gen groups also made the Top 10 Global Top K-Pop Artists list of 2022?
Here are the five 4th-gen groups that have captured the hearts (and ears!) of millions.
1. Stray Kids
Stray Kids has made it to the fourth spot on Spotify Wrapped’s Top 10 Global Top K-Pop Artists list. The group has had a busy 2022, pushing out two EPS, Oddinary in March and Maxident in October, both bringing out the classic Stray Kids flavor with darker hip-hop elements sprinkled with the occasional surprise.
Case in point, Case 143 from the Maxident EP starts off with hip-hop influences before moving into brighter vocals and rap deliveries, and a pulsing bass-heavy chorus.
Another notable call out is MANIAC from the Oddinary EP, a trap, electropop track featuring an eclectic mix of sounds like birds chirping – an apt mix of odd and ordinary for sure. The deep, bassy vocals and undulous synth in the chorus also make this an interesting track in our books.
Three years on, the boys are keen to show off a more mature side. Good Boy Gone Bad, the title track from their latest EP Minisode 2: Thursday’s Child is testament to that. It’s a track full of bold hip-hop beats, rock angst, angry guitar riffs, and emo lyrics like “I’m like a zombie dead alive / Born atop the tomb of love.” The song quickly became a fan favorite, as it debuted on Spotify’s Global Top Songs daily chart giving the group their highest charting debut entry in their career.
This year was also a big one for the boys, who held their first tour across Asia and the US. They also became the first K-Pop act to perform at popular US music festival, Lollapalooza. And to “wrap” the year, they placed number six on Spotify Wrapped’s Top 10 Global Top K-Pop Artists list.
3. ENHYPEN
What a journey it has been for ENHYPEN. The group ranks number seven on Spotify Wrapped’s Top 10 Global Top K-Pop Artists list. ENHYPEN has also become the fastest artist to reach one billion streams on Spotify in just 571 days, beating former record holder, TWICE, who made it there in 579 days.
Their third and latest EP MANIFESTO: Day 1 is an ode to growing up, with powerful bangers like SHOUT OUT showing a shift in their musical direction — from splashes of EDM and pop rock to something darker and angstier. Another example is their title track Future Perfect (Pass the Mic), an intense, rebellious title track, full of aggressive drill-inspired beats and choppy, bold vocals. Their lyrics say it all: “I wanna stand on my own feet / Everything else is meaningless.”
4. ITZY
And for good reason: the bold, powerful anthem is an earworm, as every second of the song is stuffed with strong beats and guitar riffs that will leave you breathless. Much like WANNABE, the songs from their EP CHECKMATE deliver the same high energy, this time with a bright, youthful vibe. Title track SNEAKERS is a bouncy, giddy track full of delicious addictive hooks, reminiscent of noughties teen pop.
For those who don’t know, ITZY is the first K-Pop girl group to achieve the Rookie Grand Slam, sweeping the rookie awards at all five major South Korean award shows back in 2019, an honor they share alongside groups like TXT and SHINee. Today, they’re number eight on Spotify Wrapped’s Top 10 Global Top K-Pop Artists list and we can’t wait to see more from the group.
5. (G)I-DLE
(G)I-DLE fans, Neverland, your queens are right here, ranked number 10 on Spotify Wrapped’s Top 10 Global Top K-Pop Artists list. Did you know that the group recently dropped the ‘G’ in (G)I-DLE for their latest comeback, I NEVER DIE? Soyeon explained that they did so to signify that they are more than the ‘girl’ part of their identity as artists. For the uninitiated, (G)I-DLE, is pronounced as “yeoja aideul” (girl idol) in Korean.
It should come as no surprise then that their track TOMBOY is an unapologetically badass and powerful song with punk rock elements will have you belting out “‘This is my attitude!” alongside them, not unlike a war cry in K-Pop land.
Discover 2022’s most streamed K-Pop artists with the Top K-Pop Artists of 2022 playlist:
1As of 15 December 2022
