Boy Group Songs and MVs I enjoyed 2024

Just as I’ve done the past few years, it’s time to round up some of the boy group songs and MVs that I enjoyed in 2024. It’s been a real mixed bag for male idol groups this year. While the girls have been enjoying some major successes—aespa, XG, ATARASHII GAKKO—the major boy groups have been on the struggle bus, at least in K-Pop. 

The dominant sounds coming from the dominant boy groups in K-Pop recently are not something that I particularly enjoy. You tend to get either overly loud, sludgy tunes hitting like rap-rock back in the day or mediocre half-baked bubblegum. It doesn’t feel like anybody is actually supposed to listen to these songs or does listen to these songs; they’re streamed and purchased.

J-Pop fared somewhat better, although the sludgy sound has infected certain corners aiming at a more global audience, there are still enough veteran acts out there who know how to please an audience.

As the STARTO scandal continues to drag on, the stench of the late Johnny Kitagawa’s behavior is a cloud tailing the most popular boy groups in the industry. In practical terms, this means that after decades of Kouhaku Utagassen ending with grand finales from SMAP and Arashi, no STARTO talent will appear this year—something that will punish the NHK far more than it does the STARTO talents, considering the rapidly falling relevance of and viewing numbers of the annual show.

A survey of teenagers released by CD Journal in October this year listed their favorite Japanese boy groups: 

1. Arashi (STARTO) 

2. Number_i (ex-STARTO talents)

3. Naniwa Danshi (STARTO)

4.  SixTONES (STARTO)

4.  Snow Man (STARTO)

6.  INI (K-Pop adjacent, co-managed CJ ENM)

7.  King & Prince  (STARTO)

8. Strawberry Prince (vocaloid adjacent) 

8. 8LOOM (TV drama group)

10. Aぇ! group (STARTO)

10.  Da-iCE (Avex)

10. Hey! Say! JUMP (STARTO)

10. M!LK (Ebidan)

10. timelesz (STARTO)

But as I’ve said on here many, many times, while the teen audience is important, older fans have become a huge part of the idol group fan base. Marketing firm GEM surveyed over 300,000 people (not just teen girls) and just announced Japan's favorite boy groups: 

1. Snow Man (STARTO)

2. SixTONES (STARTO)

3. Naniwa Danshi (STARTO)

4.  Seventeen (Hybe, K-Pop)

5. Number_i (ex-STARTO talents)

And Oricon just announced the year’s top sales artists:

1. Snow Man (STARTO)

2. Mrs. Green Apple (non-idol pop-rock band)

3. SixTones (STARTO)

4. Seventeen (Hybe, K-Pop)

5. Stray Kids (JYP, K-Pop)

We’re closing in on five years since Snow Man and SixTones had their double debut and it would have been fun to see them back together on stage for an anniversary performance. Both groups have come a long way since the days of “Imitation Rain” and “D.D.” (my episode on the groups’ debut) and I like both groups very much.

I was huge into SixTones’ song こっから last year and while none of SixTones releases this year hit me quite the same way, I’m currently loving “The Ballers” (image song for Japan’s basketball league, B.League) and still have a soft spot for “Gong” and am really looking forward to the new album. If they pull out a unit song as good as Juri x Hokuro’s Super Boy, I’ll be very, very happy.

Snow Man has kind of taken over the Arashi lane of doing a lot of OST type songs and their earlier more EDM sound with the Super Junior/Girls Generation style choreography has fallen to the wayside, alas. My favorite of theirs this year was probably “Love Trigger.”

But let’s get to my favorite J-Pop boy group songs this year!

I have to give it to my boys—now four of them—A.B.C-Z with “Jigsaw”: 

This song has everything I like and nothing I hate. The delightful retro 80s MV and what I can only assume is the Dancing Goseki special choreography that is all shuffling feet and sunglasses work. Amazing! 10/10! Best song of the year.

Coming in behind “Jigsaw” is the super cute “AwA AwA” from veteran group 超特急 (Bullet Train). The way I had this on repeat… the cutesy “Awa awa” line into the ridiculous break is just perfection. 

You know I had to save a spot for Nissy x SKY-HI with “Stormy.” The song is incredibly catchy, although not quite last year’s “Super Idol”, I still had it on repeat. I was also super into SKY-HI’s “Hippie”.

Last from J-Pop world is the こっから-adjacent “Plain Black” from Yogayonara!!! Is it derivative? Yes. Is it still very listenable? Also, yes.

Moving onto K-Pop, there was only one major story this year, musically—the return of G-Dragon.

“Power” then “Home Sweet Home” feat. Daesung and Taeyang, performed live at MAMA was the palate cleanser we didn’t know we needed until it happened.

I was initially kind of “meh” on “Power” but the more I listened to it, the more it sunk its hook into me. “I got the power the power power”... the song holds up to repeated listens, which is lucky because it’s been everywhere on social media! I’m really looking forward to whatever G-Dragon has in store for us next.

Most of what I enjoyed in K-Pop boy groups this year came from smaller groups/labels—some runner up kudos to TIOT (Redstart Entertainment) and N.SSign (n.CH Entertainment) who I’ll be keeping an eye on.

“Rush of Joy” from WHIB (C-JeS Studios) is a light-hearted, easy-breezy romp that makes me smile every time I listen to it. No notes, 10/10 K-Pop tune.

MCND (TOP Media, Shinhwa Andy’s company) never miss with me and I am very into their country music phase. “X10” takes the hard contemporary boy group sound but sweetens it with a pleasant melody and adds the country guitar flourishes to make it a kind of glorious K-Pop musical creole of the type you rarely hear anymore.

Ampers&One (FNC Entertainment) had the ear wormy “Broken Heart,” which is just classic high energy boy group and sat on my playlist for a while this year. The TRON hockey theme of the MV is just the cherry on top.

The most promising of the young groups from the “Big 4” (in my opinion) are JYP Entertainment’s NEXZ. I really enjoyed their debut song, “Ride the Vibe.” The song and the group just feel incredibly refreshing. It is just a… vibe.

A late entry to my favorites this year was Onew’s “만세.” I love his voice just in general and this song uses it in really interesting ways. 

We’ll have to see what 2025 brings for us; if it’s got a G-Dragon solo album (and fingers crossed something from T.O.P.) then it’s going to be something special for sure.

(Bonus shout out to Kazakhstan’s ALPHA with the sultry “KIM OL?”)