2021 in South Korean music
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The following is a list of notable events and releases that happened in 2021 in music in South Korea.
- January 9–10 – IU and BTS win the grand prizes at the 35th Golden Disc Awards.
- February 28 – Leenalchi, Jeongmilla, and BTS win the grand prizes at the 18th Korean Music Awards.
- March 4 – IFPI names BTS its Global Recording Artist of the Year for 2020—they are the first Asian and first non-English speaking act to top the ranking.[1]
- March 5 – "Dynamite" by BTS wins its 32nd music show win, the most out of any K-pop song in history, surpassing "Invisible Love" by Shin Seung-hun with 31 wins set in 1992.
- March 13 – "On the Ground" by Rosé becomes the most viewed YouTube music video in 24 hours by a solo K-pop artist, surpassing the record set by Psy with "Gentleman" in 2013.[2]
- March 14 – "Rollin'" by Brave Girls wins the group's first music show award, following a surge in popularity due to a compilation featuring the group performing the song going viral.[3]
- March 22 – "Rollin'" breaks the record for most perfect all-kills by a female group since its inception in 2010, with 198 hourly PAKs.
- June 1 – "Butter" by BTS becomes their fourth number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, making them the fastest group to score four number ones since the Jackson 5 in 1970.[4]
- June 17 – Twice's Taste of Love attains a peak of number 6 on the Billboard 200, making them the first female Korean act to chart an EP within the top-ten, and the second female Korean act overall to enter the top-ten on the chart.[5]
- August 27 – Melon and Seoul Shinmun publishes their list of 100 Top K-pop Songs of All-Time, selected by a panel of 35 music critics and industry professionals.[6]
- September 1 – Stray Kids's Noeasy becomes their first album to sell over 1 million copies, making them the first act under JYP Entertainment to achieve the milestone.[7]
- September 10 – Blackpink becomes the most-subscribed music act on YouTube, surpassing Canadian singer Justin Bieber with 65.1 million subscribers.[8]
- September 13 – Lisa's "Lalisa" becomes the most-viewed video by a solo singer on YouTube within 24 hours, garnering 73.6 million views.[9]
- September 15 – "Dynamite" is included in Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[11]
- October 28 – Lee Jang-hee is awarded the Eungwan Cultural Medal at the Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards.[12]
- November 3 – NCT 127's Sticker and its repackage Favorite records a total of 3.58 million units in sales, the highest figure for a combined album by an SM Entertainment artist.[13]
- November 21 – BTS wins three awards at the American Music Awards, including Artist of the Year, the first Asian act to do so.[14]
- December 4 – IU, Aespa, and BTS win the grand prizes at the 2021 Melon Music Awards.[15]
- December 11 – Lee Hyori hosts the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards, the ceremony's first female host.
- BTS wins all four grand prizes at the 2021 MAMA.[16]
Award shows and festivals
Award ceremonies
| Date | Event | Host |
|---|---|---|
| January 9–10, 2021 | 35th Golden Disc Awards | Ilgan Sports and JTBC Plus |
| January 13, 2021 | 10th Gaon Chart Music Awards | Korea Music Content Association |
| January 31, 2021 | 30th Seoul Music Awards | Sports Seoul |
| February 27, 2021 | 5th Korean Hiphop Awards | HiphopLE and Hiphopplaya |
| February 28, 2021 | 18th Korean Music Awards | Korean Popular Music Awards Committee |
| October 2, 2021 | 4th The Fact Music Awards | The Fact and Fan N Star |
| December 2, 2021 | 6th Asia Artist Awards | Star News and Star Continent |
| December 4, 2021 | 13th Melon Music Awards | Kakao M |
| December 11, 2021 | 23rd Mnet Asian Music Awards | CJ E&M (Mnet) |
Festivals
| Date | Event | Host |
|---|---|---|
| October 9, 2021 | Asia Song Festival | Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange (KOFICE) |
| December 17, 2021 | KBS Song Festival | Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) |
| December 25, 2021 | SBS Gayo Daejeon | Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) |
| December 31, 2021 | MBC Gayo Daejejeon | Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) |
Debuting and disbanding in 2021
Debuting groups
Solo debuts
Disbandments
Releases in 2021
First quarter
January
February
March
| Date | Album | Artist(s) | Genre(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zero: Fever Part.2 | Ateez | Dance | [126] |
| 2 | Flower 9 | MC Mong | TBA | [127][128] |
| Series 'O' Round 1: Hall | Verivery | Dance | [129] | |
| 3 | Pieces by Rain | Rain | Dance, R&B | [130] |
| 8 | The Intersection: Discovery | BDC | Electropop | [131] |
| 10 | Full Bloom | Punch | TBA | [132] |
| 11 | Now: Where We Are, Here | Ghost9 | TBA | [133] |
| 12 | R | Rosé | Pop | [134] |
| 15 | Love or Take | Pentagon | R&B, funk | [135] |
| Into Violet | Purple Kiss | Dance | [136] | |
| I Like You | Ciipher | TBA | [137] | |
| 16 | The Renaissance | Super Junior | Pop, Hip hop, Dance | [138][139][140] |
| A Better Tomorrow | Drippin | TBA | [141] | |
| 17 | We Play | Weeekly | Futurepop, R&B | [142] |
| Killa | Mirae | TBA | [143] | |
| 19 | Midnight Blue (Love Streaming) | B.I | Ballad | [39][144] |
| 25 | Lilac | IU | TBA | [145] |
| 29 | Page | Kang Seung-yoon | TBA | [146] |
| I'm | Kim Se-jeong | TBA | [147] | |
| Won't Forget You | Kim Sung-kyu | TBA | [148] | |
| 30 | Bambi | Baekhyun | R&B | [149] |
| The Dice is Cast | DKB | TBA | [150] | |
| 31 | Unnatural | WJSN | Dance, ballad | [151] |
| Before Sunrise Part. 2 | T1419 | Dance | [152] | |
Second quarter
April
May
| Date | Album | Artist(s) | Genre(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | The Blowing | Highlight | Dance, R&B | [180] |
| Beautiful Night | Yesung | R&B, Ballad | [181] | |
| 7 | Lovin' | Ailee | TBA | [182] |
| 10 | Hot Sauce | NCT Dream | R&B, Hip hop | [183] |
| Dear OhMyGirl | Oh My Girl | Dance-pop, R&B | [184] | |
| 11 | Binary Code | Oneus | Dance, Pop | [185] |
| 12 | Check-In | Blitzers | TBA | [18] |
| My Attitude | WJSN the Black | TBA | [186] | |
| EP. 1 Genius | D.Ark | Hip hop | [187] | |
| 13 | A Page | Yuqi | Pop, dance-rock | [188] |
| 14 | Switch It Up | Jay B | R&B, Soul | [189] |
| 17 | 9 Way Ticket | Fromis 9 | Dance, pop | [190] |
| Ring Ring | Rocket Punch | Synthpop | [191] | |
| 18 | Advice | Taemin | Pop, R&B | [192] |
| 18 | Conmigo | Tri.be | TBA | [193] |
| 20 | Bravery | Pixy | TBA | [194] |
| Happen | Heize | R&B | [195] | |
| Re:Born | TO1 | TBA | [196] | |
| 21 | ㅅ (Siot) | Sung Si-kyung | TBA | [197] |
| 25 | Last Melody | Everglow | Hip hop, EDM, dance | [198] |
| 26 | The Other Side of the Moon | GWSN | Dance, R&B | [199] |
| 28 | You Were My Breath | Cho Mi-yeon | Ballad | [200] |
| 31 | The Chaos Chapter: Freeze | TXT | Pop, rock | [201] |
| Hello | Joy | Modern rock | [202] |
June
Third quarter
July
| Date | Album | Artist(s) | Genre(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | History of Kingdom: Part II. Chiwoo | Kingdom | TBA | [229] |
| 5 | Turn Over | SF9 | Dance, R&B | [230] |
| Windy | Soyeon | Dance, Hip hop | [231] | |
| Right Through Me | Even of Day | Rock, ballad | [232] | |
| 8 | Us | Moon Jong-up | Pop, hip hop, dance | [233] |
| 13 | Observe | Baek A-yeon | TBA | [234] |
| 16 | Since 16' | Since | Hip hop | [235] |
| 26 | Next Episode | AKMU | Synth-pop, retrowave, downtempo[236] | [237] |
| Empathy | D.O. | Ballad, R&B | [238] | |
| 28 | The Land of Fantasy: Captain Giorbo and the Old Fashioned Heroes | Jannabi | Indie, art rock | [239] |
| 30 | Summer Holiday | Dreamcatcher | Rock, metal | [240] |
August
| Date | Album | Artist(s) | Genre(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Switch On | Astro | Dance, ballad | [241] |
| Game Changer | Golden Child | TBA | [242] | |
| 4 | Play Game: Holiday | Weeekly | TBA | [243] |
| 5 | The Moment : A Minor | Kim Woo-jin | Pop | [244] |
| 6 | 1/6 | Sunmi | Dance, rock | [245] |
| 9 | Thrill-ing | The Boyz | TBA | [246] |
| Select Shop | Ha Sung-woon | TBA | [247] | |
| Popping | ONF | Dance, ballad | [248] | |
| 16 | Queendom | Red Velvet | Dance, R&B, soul | [249] |
| 17 | OK Prologue: Be OK | CIX | Dance, R&B, ballad | [250] |
| The Chaos Chapter: Fight or Escape | Tomorrow X Together | Pop, rock | [251] | |
| 19 | The Awakening: Written in the Stars | Cravity | TBA | [252] |
| Vision | Luminous | Hip hop, R&B | [253] | |
| 23 | After 'We Ride' | Brave Girls | R&B, Pop-rock | [254] |
| Noeasy | Stray Kids | hip hop, EDM, pop, R&B, rock | [255] | |
| Series 'O' Round 2: Hole | Verivery | Dance | [256] | |
| 24 | Open | Kwon Eun-bi | Pop, Dance | [49] |
| 26 | SOMO:Fume | Jay B | R&B, Soul | [257] |
| 30 | 4U: Outside | BtoB | TBA | [258] |
September
| Date | Album | Artist(s) | Genre(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Talk & Talk | Fromis 9 | TBA | [259] |
| 6 | Stereotype | STAYC | Pop, Dance | [260] |
| Eternal | Young K | Rock | [261] | |
| 8 | Hide & Seek | Purple Kiss | TBA | [262] |
| 9 | 4 Only | Lee Hi | Ballad, R&B | [263] |
| Youth | Luminous | Hip hop | [28] | |
| 10 | Lalisa | Lisa | Hip hop | [264] |
| 13 | Zero: Fever Part.3 | Ateez | Hip Hop, EDM, pop | [265] |
| 14 | Blue Letter | Wonho | TBA | [266] |
| 15 | I Say Mamamoo: The Best | Mamamoo | TBA | [267] |
| Miniseries | Sumin & Slom | R&B | [268] | |
| 17 | Sticker | NCT 127 | Hip hop, R&B, Pop | [269] |
| 20 | Chocolate Box | Yang Yo-seob | TBA | [270] |
| 24 | Crazy in Love | Itzy | EDM, Dance-pop, R&B, Soul, Rap, Hip hop | [271] |
| 25 | Blaze | Do Han-se | Hip hop | [43] |
| 27 | Bad Love | Key | Dance-pop, R&B | [272] |
| Mo' Complete | AB6IX | TBA | [273] | |
| 28 | Blind | Ciipher | TBA | [274] |
Fourth quarter
October
November
December
| Date | Album | Artist(s) | Genre(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Return of the Girl | Everglow | Hip hop, EDM, dance | [325] |
| Eleven | Ive | Hip hop, R&B, electronic | [326][better source needed] | |
| 3 | Goosebumps | ONF | TBA | [327] |
| 6 | Happy Death Day | Xdinary Heroes | ||
| 7 | Studio We : Recording 2 | Onewe | Rock | [328] |
| ["To Infinity."] | Mino | Hip hop, R&B | [329] | |
| 10 | Zero: Fever Epilogue | Ateez | TBA | [330] |
| 14 | Universe | NCT | R&B, Hip hop, EDM | [331] |
| The Collective Soul and Unconscious: Snowy Night | Billlie | TBA | [332] | |
| 21 | My Empty Space | Song I-han | R&B | [333] |
| 23 | SKZ2021 | Stray Kids | TBA | [334] |
| 27 | The Letter | Kim Jae-hwan | TBA | [335] |
| 2021 Winter SM Town: SMCU Express | SM Town | Hip hop, R&B | [336] | |
| 29 | Pieces | IU | Ballad, Folk/blues | [337] |
| DKHVKY | D.Ark | Hip hop | [338] |