Readers’ Choice: Best of 2024

Here’s how you all voted!

Here are the artists and releases with the most votes from 17 Carat K-Pop’s survey (#1 being first place, #2 being second place, etc.)! Like every year, the results are surprising!

Note: The ones without pie charts are categories where voting for more than one option was allowed.

TAEYONG: TY TRACK IN CINEMAS received 6% of votes. The remaining 11.7% in the “Other” category includes 5 other options, each one with less than 3% of the votes.

Best Cover/Remake of 2024 

1. ENHYPEN, “I Need U” by BTS
2. STAYC, “FANCY” by TWICE
3. aespa, “Regret of the Times” by Seo Taiji and Boys
4. ENHYPEN, “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction
5. IVE ft. Saweetie, “All Night” by Icona Pop

ROSÉ for rosie; JENNIE for “Mantra” and “Slow Motion;” LISA for “New Woman,” “Rockstar,” and “Moonlit Floor (Kiss Me)”

V for “FRI(END)S,” “Winter Ahead,” and “White Christmas;” RM for Right Place, Wrong Person; j-hope for HOPE ON THE STREET VOL.1; Jin for Happy. The remaining 3.7% went to Jimin for MUSE.

Best K-pop x J-pop Collaboration of 2024

1. ATEEZ & BE:FIRST, “Royal” / “Hush-Hush” 
2. TAEHYUN & Tomohisa Yamashita, “Perfect Storm” 
3. BOBBY & CHANMINA, “harmless” 
4. Eric Nam & Novelbright, “Everywhere I Go”
5. CHANGMO & BMSG POSSE & SKY-HI & Novel Core, “ZOOM”

K-Pop Artist with the Best Japanese Release of 2024

1. aespa (Hot Mess) & NewJeans (Supernatural) - TIED
2. ATEEZ (NOT OKAY; Birthday)
3. THE BOYZ (Gibberish) 
4. TREASURE (REBOOT (JP SPECIAL SELECTION); “REVERSE”) 
5. IVE (“CRUSH”) 

RIIZE for RIIZING : Epilogue; ENHYPEN for ROMANCE : UNTOLD -daydream-; Moon Byul for Starlit of Twinkle : REPACKAGE. Younha received 6% of the votes (GROWTH THEORY : Final Edition). The remaining 1% was split between Epik High (PUMP COLLECTOR’s EDITION) and Eric Nam (House on a Hill (Deluxe)).

Best Collaborative Project of 2024

1. BAEKHO & BIGONE, LOVE OR DIE 
2. BIG Naughty & Kid Milli, + and + +
3. DOHANSE & BIGONE & Dive, Misery Loves Company 
4. HAON & vangdale & Sik-K, KCTAPE, Vol. 1 and KCTAPE, Vol. 2
   
5. HYUKOH & Sunset Rollercoaster, AAA

aespa for SYNK : PARALLEL LINE - Special Digital Single; Stray Kids for HOP; ITZY for BORN TO BE. The remaining 10.3% of votes went to AB6IX (Find YOU).

Best Soundtrack

1. DARK MOON SPECIAL ALBUM <MEMORABILIA> 
2. Jazz for Two and ROAD TO KINGDOM : ACE OF ACE - TIED
3. UNIVERSE TICKET 
4. PROJECT 7 
5. Made in Korea: The K-Pop Experience

Stray Kids for 3RACHA; BABYMONSTER for RUKA & ASA; TWICE for MISAMO; SEVENTEEN for JxW; OH MY GIRL for Mimi & SeungHee, Yubin & Arin, and HyoJung & YooA; STAYC for Sieun & Seeun & J and Sumin & Yoon; SUPER JUNIOR for SUPER JUNIOR-D&E and SUPER JUNIOR-L.S.S.; tripleS for tripleS Visionary Vision, tripleS hatch!, tripleS Glow, and tripleS Aria. The remaining 2.9% of votes was split among BTOB (for 90TAN), MINIMANI M, and SISTAR19.

Best Fan Song / Fan-Dedicated Song of 2024

1. (G)I-DLE, “Neverland”
2. fromis_9, “from” and Red Velvet, “Sweet Dreams” - TIED
3. RIIZE, “One Kiss”
4. STAYC “Stay WITH me” and Jin, “I will come to you” - TIED
5. Catch The Young, “Light On Me (1101)” 

Best Unofficial Release (uploaded to YouTube, SoundCloud, and/or other social media):

YUQI for “Radio (Dum-Dum);” HAN for “Human;” HAN ft. Bae of NMIXX for “1, 2, 3, 4, 5;” WOODZ ft. Young K for “Falling;” Bang Chan for “Eternity;” SEVENTEEN for “The Meaning of Meeting” (with 10.3% of votes). The remaining 10% of votes was split among Hyunjin (for both “long for you” and “hey you”), Jiung (“No need to be happy all the time”), and THE 8 (“Caught in Bloom, Caught on You”).

Best Group Debut of 2024

1. VVUP
2. Big Ocean 
3. MEOVV
4. ILLIT
5. ALL(H)OURS & TWS - TIED

The most common write-in answer: ARTMS

Best Solo Debut of 2024

1. JAEHYUN 
2. TZUYU & IRENE - TIED
3. Cha Eun-Woo 
4. DK (from iKON)
5. YEONJUN

ROSÉ for “vampirehollie;” Cha Eun-Woo for “Memories;” Kim Jae Joong, aka J-JUN, for “201208.” The remaining 4% of votes went to Nerd Connection (“Just 4 Shots”).

Best Group Tour of 2024

1. aespa
2. ENHYPEN 
3. ATEEZ 
4. SEVENTEEN & TXT - TIED
5. NCT DREAM 

Best Soloist Tour of 2024

1. IU
2. Lee Young Ji 
3. DPR
4. AleXa
5. Moon Byul

cignature received 11% of the votes. The remaining 10.3% of votes was split among MIRAE, NATURE, QI.X, and TFN.

Common write-in answers: Artists who I do not think officially disbanded yet but are on a break due to a contract dispute (like NewJeans) or a contract expiration (like Loossemble).

Best K-Drama of 2024 (Write-in options only)

1. The Judge from Hell - FAR AND AWAY the most frequent submission!
2. Squid Game
3. Jazz for Two
4. Queen of Tears
5. When the Phone Rings
6. The Frog
7. Marry My Husband
8. Light Shop

Thanks for voting!

More from 17 Carat K-Pop:

An always-updating guide to comebacks and other key dates!

An always-updating guide to tour and live event info!

Episodes of the 17 Carat K-Pop and Enthusiasts podcasts 

Content sorted by artist 

The 2024 directory

View the Substack version of this piece here!