The Top 100 Mandopop Singles of 2024
the best Mandopop singles of the year, including Quanzo, Tarcy Su, misi Ke and more and more
I’m trying not to overthink everything this year, partly out of time constraint, partly out the desire to just let everything sit as a reminder that lists are this scope of a fraction of a time in a fraction of everything I listened to. Will I still love the number seven song on this list in a month? In a year? In a decade? Who knows. Maybe there will be another exercise in ranking songs and albums and other fragments by then.
I started doing this three years ago, when everything was defined by a sort of post-COVID glow, about dancing and living like the worst was behind us. We get further and further from that every year, and now it’s just about living as usual—the best songs are those love songs that find something better out of the ordinary and fight to keep it alive, those songs about finding yourself that feel so brazenly in your face as they lay out their explorations. Truth is a changeable thing, but it only means something if you stand by it. The same trends elsewhere feel like they’ve defined Mandopop, best evidenced perhaps by the beats that worm their way into experiments at both the top and bottom of the list.
This list is the best Mandopop singles from December 2023 to November 2024. Find playlists on Youtube (two tracks missing official uploads, I’m sorry but I could not in good conscious add something uploaded by Boba Beats) and Spotify. Thanks for reading as always, I’ve got Cantopop singles on Thursday and Mandopop albums a week from now. All love, enjoy.
100. Eric Chou - “That Night in Paris”
It’s a sign of today’s prevailing trends that even artists like Eric Chou are injecting a UK Garage beat into their music. What exactly does this balladeer know about Jersey club? Testing out the club itself is a transparent bid for the mainstream, a cheat code to sound current and exciting, yet it’s interesting to hear them from someone so decisively at peace: there’s the undercurrent of a mild, sultry club beat that warms the song’s sophisticated jazzy flourishes and inflects the urgency of a midnight deadline on an otherwise comfortable track.
99. ZesT - “苹果园”
Warm with a heart aglow, ZesT welcomes you to “苹果园” (“Apple Orchard”) with a reverb-laden guitar loop and a sing-song greeting before switching to a half-rapped tour of her garden. She’ll leave you with two souvenirs: a single apple, best shared with the one you love, and a romantic memory she fondly cherishes even after its subject has forgotten.
98. clef - “播放你的泪”
There’s a fragile prettiness to the BRAINFREEZE member’s glitch pop, both in how he sees strands of connection in his tears between the past and now, and in how he lets the instrumental of “播放你的泪” (“Broadcast Your Tears”) rupture into glassy baubles of synths.
97. The Crane - “DISEASE”
His phone is dead and there’s not a charger in sight; “DISEASE” matches its faux horror set-up with a chilly disco strut. The root runs deeper with The Crane craving the human validation embedded in the tool’s every utility. Like any protagonist, once he’s figured that out, it’s not so hard to find a bit of peace in the pitch-black of night.
96. BRADD - “愛很複雜 (feat. Jocelyn 9.4.0)”
Those first words of “愛很複雜” (“Love Is Complicated”) sound so defeated, like a drag of a cigarette, like the beginnings of a depressive spell. Love isn’t a magic cure, but it does make them want to be better—over the cool, mellow instrumental, the repetition of the title serves as a reminder of its presence.
95. MadNeuron - “起床的理由”
Every bend and curve in the Taiwanese rapper’s flow feels like it’s meant to arrive at that exuberant fist pump of a chorus: “I’ve got a reason to get out of bed!” he howls. MadNeuron rattles off the things that make life good—say, your favourite music or a soft bed—but the specifics are ultimately unimportant. More important is the rapper’s attitude and when that saxophone arrives late in “起床的理由” (“Reason to Get out of Bed”), it’s a reminder that motivation can be found in anything.
94. Lil RAD - “我明白即使挽回你也不會在 (feat. DD)”
“I understand that even if I save you, you won’t be here,” goes the title, but knowing doesn’t necessarily make it easier. So make it beautiful and painful all at once. They scream and they thrash, with hoarse howls and nu-metal guitars, but everything must die. Only a pretty little piano melody manages to trail on after the final heartbeat has faded.
93. Alfred Sun - “BLOOM”
Known for participating on a survival show and acting in BL dramas, the central metaphor of “BLOOM” then feels extremely career-appropriate. “Now watch me bloom,” Alfred Sun sings amidst the understanding that the relationship will never flourish. Only a little bit of a wink. It’s pretty as he sinks into the depths of the synthpop track.
92. PoLin - “I See”
The melody feels exceptionally cozy despite its loneliness, like a warm blanket or a hot cup of tea. Fitting for a narrator that questions everything only to realize an answer in himself: “I came up with an idea / I am great in my own way,” he sings in a quiet hush.
91. ATOM BOYZ 2 Flame - “Funky My Soul”
The second season of idol show ATOM BOYZ has largely conformed to old boy group tropes despite teasers suggesting the new line-up of producers would match previous breakout babyMINT’s ear for trends. For every quality a song possesses, be it juvenile, provocative, or stupid, its performance tends to feel rote or mechanical. “Funky My Soul” is the rare stage where the group find a balance between the swagger of their hip-hop influences and the corniness of their moves—particularly in the exaggerated pre-chorus and its corresponding dopey choreography—managing to find something that actually feels, well, fun.
90. 4dv* - “Aqua Sonic”
Like the summer you tried to check everything off your bucket list, “Aqua Sonic” has it all: a party four-on-the-floor beat, PSP-inspired digital wobbles, and a beach breeze.
89. Reno Wang - “But I’m Missing You”
The second chorus on “But I’m Missing You” is one of those massive belters, the kind of the thing you pull your car over to the side of the road for, hoping the rain drowns out the sound of your voice and blocks the sight of your tears.
88. 66 & Amiro - “Masters of Sex”
It’s final call and these guys are trying to look like they’ve done this before. Careful of those disco strings! The desperation under their suave exteriors might be obvious, but one more shot and you might be seeing them as starry and romantic, waking up beside a stranger with some hangover regrets.
87. Ally Shen - “Secret”
Much of the allure comes from how taboo Ally Shen makes the titular word. At the front of the chorus, she switches from Mandarin to English for that single word, enunciating it so sharply you can hear the click of the second syllable. She smooths it out in the purr of the post-chorus, knowing the filthy things that come next—it’s no coincidence that the bounciness of the Afropop production feels most prominent here.
86. GoodBand - “My Beautiful Nose”
Wen Hsu is chipper as she brushes off impolite opinions of her noise, but brightens still under her partner’s tiny affirmations: “you look at my nose and call me baby / you say maybe it’s a beautiful nose,” she beams. The duo’s indie pop matches this sense of love with its playful wordplay and bubbly instrumental.
85. Osean - “Dancing Alone Together”
The soft house beat is too muffled for the club—better for dimly-lit bedrooms and dusky bus rides—but it pines for the late-night rush. Put “Dancing Alone Together” on if you ever miss them. As Osean Wu’s voice skips overs the rippling synths, you’ll find yourself back in that cycle of going out alone, happily dancing next to sweaty strangers, before returning home just as empty.
84. Dean Ting - “Skinny Love”
“Skinny Love” was a demo Dean Ting had written over a decade ago, now presented without much of an arrangement, just an acoustic guitar and some choral background harmonies. It lets the melody linger longer, the devastating way his voice jumps then slowly falls when he sings, “I love you, these three words / will take me a lifetime to forget.”
83. GALI - “Chrome Heart Freestyle”
Fame is bleak, even for the best rapper in the Chinese mainstream. GALI makes it sound like a monotonous path, his flexes countered by sighs over the shuffle of a beat and every hit of opulence is matched with a line that laments its cost.
82. yingge & waa wei - “你是我最喜歡的人類”
The pair’s voices never really fit properly on the chorus. He’s either a second too late or she’s dissolved into a ghostly accompaniment, her voice brittle and thin. “你是我最喜歡的人類” (“You’re My Favourite Kind of Person”) lingers on these memories, obsessed with a kind of relationship where, if granted the opportunity, they could lean into a kiss forever.
81. Jefferson Qian - “Moon Fossil”
“Moon Fossil” initially feels like reaching into a fantasy, the world rippling around Jefferson Qian’s words. But the singer’s gaze is piercing when directed towards himself: “I can always see through your transparent shape,” he admits, coaxing out a tinny beat. He tears the song apart and reconstructs it, always searching for a better version of himself.
80. Tanya Chua - “Finland”
Tanya Chua’s soundtrack to Imperfect Us is often beautiful in its coldness. During her search for a theme to accompany the drama’s male lead, she stumbled upon the prominent importance of personal space in Finnish culture, something reflected by the song’s final sighs. Each question is met with a hollowness, with the guitar strum acting as a vacant answer to the warmth of her piano and strings. An arms-length distance can be torturous, best exhibited by the exhaustion encroaching on the edges of Chua’s voice.
79. SOWUT - “Better (feat. Lara Veronin)”
The rapper doesn’t just kill the old version of himself on “Better,” he lays out a plan. “Give me two years and I’ll repay the favour / I’ll make it then I’ll ask her to marry me.” The track might feature a couple of clunkers but Lara Veronin manages to set it right, her voice a contrast to both SOWUT’s steely rapping and rgry’s cool, springy beat.
78. DEW - “Butterflies”
Infatuation can be equally as harrowing as it is exciting. A pit in your stomach, head over heels go the common expressions, but DEW chooses imagery that’s prettier and not so painful: butterflies. The song makes the same choice with a sunny guitar strum that feels like bliss until you realize how desperately it’s trying to keep up with the pace of the drum. “Am I enough for you?” DEW asks before immediately backing off, “don’t answer, I don’t want to lose.” Just as trying to catch butterflies will have you grasping at air, a crush can leave you looking like a fool.
77. YELLOW - “Ghost Swing”
A through and through showman, YELLOW’s got the audience in the palm of his hands. They’re synced to his performance, every handclap and snap working to elevate his jazz-inflected riffs. The entertainer moves with the swell of the bass and guitar, but forcing the noise to quiet when he wants the spotlight.
76. KIRE - “Yao”
Ever met a simp who’s earned a night? Maybe it’s the way the seductive beat and soft guitar loop introduce KIRE with just a twinkle of lust in his eyes; maybe it’s the way he’s already talking about getting on his knees for you. The sound “yao” can mean a lot of things—it’s need, it’s medicine, it’s dazzling—as he asks you to rock your waist back and forth and for a passionate bite, it’s all of the above.
75. CHOVBE - “Agoraphobia”
It’s been five years since CHOVBE’s self-proclaimed swan song, so what better time for the experimentalist to present himself anew. His voice is lower, more reachable as he presents each of his requests with collected poise, despite practically begging you to follow. “Agoraphobia” calls to destroy the happy memories, to leave no room for escape; the Chinese instrumentation buried in the downtempo electronics has already left them in a distant past.
74. BlinkSoBLue & Lunar Kwei - “Everything Void”
The shoegaze guitars suggest that BlinkSoBLue is right: every day is a struggle and everything is drab. The final chorus slots the pair’s opposing lyrics beside one another, but change doesn’t necessarily deny the idea that you’re caught in one grey cycle. In that sense, “Everything Void” is beautiful, for how its textures seem to blanket you, for how Lunar Kwei attempts to make one more attempt to break past the sameness.
73. Jude Chiu - “Down Lies the Skeleton”
We arrive at the end, a flash of memories before the curtain draws: fall, stand, run, fall again, choose to lie down. Jude Chiu, a perfect theatric, delivering this everydayness in a stately monologue as the strings recede into the darkness. But he continues past the applause, and like any good art, asks for you to reflect its lesson upon yourself. “Who have I fallen for?” he asks, wondering if it was all worth. Let this life, thrown down for a final act, be the thing that calls you to do better tonight.
72. Yu Ching - “You, An Illusion”
Render a ‘60s girl group song into a haunted echo and you’ve got “You, An Illusion.” There’s the plodding bassline that seems devoid of intent, occasionally drifting off-key as it walks the same aimless pattern, and the mystique of the warped shimmer. And there’s Yu Ching singing in a soft whisper, a ghost of a figure who longs for someone despite knowing there’s no one to answer her call.
71. Shi Shi - “Addicted (feat. Karencici)”
God, Karencici can handle a hook. “Addicted” might see the pair bitching and moaning as they advise each other to leave scumbag losers, but that chorus will have you clinging tightly.
70. Mola Oddity - “Mola”
The trio’s indie pop is woven from tales. Sweet yet whimsical synths, a bass groove that menacingly lurks beneath the surface, and a voice that reads enigmatic, whispering warnings only comprehensible when you’ve already been ensnared.
69. YOUNG13DBABY - “Sexy Drill”
The Tibetan rapper’s attempt at the genre—crooning in autotune about “being your sugar daddy” and name-dropping Fenty as if he’s a shareholder—is too tame for its reference. It lacks the horny charms of sexy drill’s best, but YOUNG13DBABY’s sneering introduction of the genre to China is fascinating in its attempt to balance outright smut with conservative ideals.
68. Summer Lei - “Closed Down Seaside Resort”
Picking up where her late father left off, Summer Lei revisits a letter he wrote his friend, extending it with fragments of his other poems. Presented with a beautiful string arrangement and stunning double-tracked harmonies, “Closed Down Seaside Resort” isn’t overly sentimental. After her monologue is a reminder of the life that is eternal, the sound of waves and laughter caught in the distance.
67. Ada Shih - “0.1 Seconds”
A fraction of a second is all it takes for Ada Shih to become crazy for someone. The messy synthpop track is cast with the intensity of love at first sight, her voice raging towards hysterics on the whopping chorus as she runs through worst case scenarios, while waiting for a text message to arrive.
66. GINGER - “像是中了你的毒”
“像是中了你的毒” (“Like I’ve Been Poisoned by You”) comes in like a festival EDM set before immediately arriving into a sweet, heart-fluttering pop song about how a crush can change your entire outlook.
65. Ozone - “Speed Reload”
In the gang vocals of the chorus, the boy group don’t just encourage their team, they ask of it from one another. Loud, exuberant, and juvenile, “Speed Reload” is a heartening rally cry.
64. Chen Qiming - “21st Century”
Chen Qiming will be the gentleman one last time. He’s going to bid farewell calmly and politely instead of screaming his heart out. The relationship is already dead—you want to be free of him, and anyway, he wants his own freedom. But you hear it too right? How he unceremoniously rushes through the ballad? The heaviness of his voice? This farewell is long overdue but maybe that’s why it isn’t quite so easy to let go.
63. Jalaxy - “I’m in Love/Pain with You (feat. Drogas)”
Listen to the way each artist exclaims the word “bitch!” before unloading a barely held-back confession—this is months of pent-up frustration jettisoned and if the drum programming is any suggestion, man is it a relief.
62. Y3N - “Be a monster”
A YOASOBI tribute that plays with a heavier bassline and a lighter vocal touch; the trade-off makes Y3N’s vocal quirks more menacing and the production’s pyrotechnics more pronounced. “You’re fucking scared of being buried in the crowd,” Y3N sings, but if that’s the case, she’s got a home where you can be as weird as you like. Her welcome doesn’t skip the fireworks either.
61. Ben - “Let’s go together!”
Can an exclamation mark sound comfortable? The two topline melodies are deceptively calm in the form of a beaming synth melody that wafts with a honeyed charm, and Ben’s snugly-fit voice. More complex is the UK Garage beat “Let’s go together!” hides, a sign of the young singer’s heart going into overdrive as he struggles to stay cool.
60. anti-talent - “Here and Now”
It’s the trio’s two rappers pushing through the sluggish soft rock arrangement that makes “Here and Now” feel like it’s overcoming its sense of failure. Pei Tuo’s verse is initially gauche, but when his flow starts to take shape, he sounds like he’s finally getting out of bed for the first time in weeks. “Here and now is all we have / we should not look back,” ends Shou Mei. Perhaps not sophisticated, but a good reminder.
59. Ma Di - “人生公园”
Time can be tricky. Reflecting on it in the slow, deliberate motions of “人生公园” (“Life Park”), Ma Di sings about the moments that feel never-ending and the years that blur together, his rich voice giving each angle gravitas.
58. AnsrJ - “BADASS”
The rapper’s bragging is almost carefree—he’s bad at making friends so he doesn’t care whether you like him, but he’ll be damned if he isn’t a little interested in showing off. On “BADASS,” he talks luxury living, compares himself to Joey Bada$$, and adopts Bruce Lee’s famous mantra, yet the greatest pleasure is in boosting the bass on the hook.
57. Shen An - “1+1=”
As a relationship runs its course, Shen An finds himself a ghost in his own home. There’s a ghoulish quiver to his voice, haunting as the strings run discordant and the piano creates a resounding, ominous echo. It turns out sometimes, one plus one can leave you with nothing.
52. 9am6master - “Party Bass X”
A dancefloor starter that’s simple by the producer’s standards but still designed to stimulate the senses at their roots. Those sparky synths are like electric needles poking and prodding at your brain, while that strobe beat will have you dreaming of the flashing lights and sticky body contact.
55. G.K. - “HALFWAY UP THE MOUNTAIN (feat. Tuff Ray & Kr)”
Sometimes you find yourself falling, the world around you an endless blur; other times you get stuck, unable to move in any direction. To that end, G.K. suggests against waiting to appreciate, that you should celebrate progress wherever it feels right. Soaking in the dembow beat, the view from halfway up doesn’t look too bad.
54. Night Keepers - “Revenge”
Sleep weighs heavy on vocalist WiFi and Sam Yang’s accompanying guitar performance, neither of whom can imagine anything better beyond the quiet after dusk. When “Revenge” prepares to surrender to its drowsiness, the band shake themselves awake, a burst of frisson and hummed background vocals that bargain for one more chapter, one more episode, one last conversation. Maybe tomorrow, they’ll try to recover.
53. FEnIX - “YUM CHA 2000”
Member Max laboured over the Cantonese lyrics to get the new jack swing track to feel like a proper throwback to ‘90s radio—the recording process was filled with do-overs and rewrites that the atmosphere was reportedly filled with frustrated tension. As they switch between languages, their Cantonese pronunciation might sound heavy-handed, but as it highlights their immense efforts to communicate—with a new audience, with a lover—it feels altogether endearing.
52. Goatak - “Stray (Me 2)”
We’re always running from our origins, perhaps to someplace, maybe from something. For Gaotak, it’s both. He’s headed towards somewhere he’s sure has better to offer and from a past he hopes will be destroyed by the elements. The jangly instrumental serves to keep him moving but it’s the key change that suggests he’s headed in the right direction.
51. P.C.Y - “DANCING IN THE…”
Peng Chuyue is feeling good. Confident and aloof like a runway model, his spoken delivery is sexy as he articulates each place you could be doing it. The song’s spiral into darkness is a teasing invitation backstage.
50. Wendy Wander - “Angel Angel”
For slow dancing in a private room, “Angel Angel” has that warm glow of nostalgia, its saxophone wafting over the late-night lovers. “I hope the devil doesn’t know I’m in heaven,” Sam Chiang-Yang sings. What better than a man who feels undeserving but tries to make up the difference anyway?
49. Julia Wu - “Imperfect”
“Imperfect” is the only Julia Wu track this year with a beat. The bones largely remain the same as the others—a melody left purposefully wanting; a piano and guitar arrangement built on melancholy; and hushed, featherlight harmonies—but where earlier tracks found beauty in being empty, “Imperfect” attempts a more objective stance, looking to find it in whatever is there, no matter how broken or lacking. Her voice wafts in easily, no sense of romanticizing the pain of being flawed, confused, and heartbroken.
48. Chen Jingfei - “Seize the Night, My Girl”
Chen Jingfei continues her penchant for forbidden romances with “Seize the Night, My Girl,” but abandons the idea that they must sound sullen. Working a disco strut, her voice is seductive as she encourages a younger girl to give in to her desires. “We’re young and lonely in the city / ta-ta-ta touch me,” she sings, that last stuttered word breathy and filled with want. The coin blips suggest something transactional about the encounter, but the night is fleeting and this kind of pleasure could be transformative.
47. ØZI - “ICE AND FIRE”
Not so brazenly forward, “ICE AND FIRE” demonstrates that the sexiest come-ons are those that know how to lead without showing their full hand. ØZI’s devoted flirting is charming, something the track teases as the moody UK Garage beat unknots into a smoother, more uniform rhythm.
46. Asen - “有没钱”
“Got money?” Asen questions on the title of the track, tracing a story of getting catfished and robbed, then playing the scam right back. He pronounces himself serious from the start, but his aggression only seeps into the storytelling in slow fashion. It’s a drill song whose beat is introduced in laboured fits and spurts, an artist whose rapping only becomes more menacing as a previously-hidden accent surfaces.
45. 1pfani & Random - “瓢蟲”
Random’s production uses cloud rap aesthetics to build a lush, green world, 1pfani’s voice, small and filtered, might initially come off as confused, but as she grows confident, she embraces simplicity. “What I need isn’t a lot / now I can dance to the music,” she hums. Suddenly the heavy thump of “瓢蟲” (“Ladybug”) feels rooted in purpose.
44. Forsaken Autumn - “Snowy White Morning”
Crystalline dream pop by the Shanghai-based duo acts as a bleary window into intimate scenes; for “Snowy White Morning,” it’s a young pair viewed through a frosted screen. With a relationship ill-defined, the sharp hitches of the drum beat as the narrator begins to deepen their status feels like a realization of the awkward conversation that lies untouched within their growing familiarity.
43. Sabrina - “A Starless Night”
“Gimme love,” Sabrina begs, over and over. Throughout “A Starless Night” is every version of the romanticist: the girl who wishes on a falling for her true love; the girl willing to concede all to be with a lover; the girl who sees beauty in everything, from sunset to thunderstorm. When the dusky production skews towards a Baltimore club shuffle on the chorus, Sabrina pitches up the word “love” to hang it like stars as she waits for her own fairytale moment.
42. Stringer - “Sunset Drift”
All tragic heartache until Stringer poses a simple what if scenario. In her hands, it’s easy to imagine how beautiful it could all be, and as the slow-burning guitar solo lightens the greyness, the ending is recast in hopeful light.
41. Datboirg - “MOONTOWN (feat. Lokk)”
Uncertain of a subject, “MOONTOWN” is nothing more than a bleary, acoustic meta-ballad until Datboirg becomes spectator to his guest. Framed in the moonlight, Lokk turns the song into something romantic and needy as he sing-raps in a drunken stupor over bedspring squeaks and a soft Jersey club beat.
40. swimming & RICHNOMADIC - “漫长的季节”
For those periods where everything feels like a slog, swimming’s got you. On “漫长的季节” (“Long Season”), he catches himself faking it to please others. Fuck, how long’s he been doing that? The UK Garage track is a short pep talk delivered like a splash of summer to get you loosening up.
39. LINION - “Tears in Water (a tucu saqemauqaung aken) [feat. Kivi]”
Borrowing from Kivi’s language, the pair howl the first words of the chorus in Paiwanese before repeating the sentiment in Mandarin: “right now, I want to cry / I just want to cry and cry.” As the clatter of drums redirect and enliven LINION’s fluid melodies, “Tears in Water” becomes another of the bassist’s explorations into the ways masculinity and sensitivity can coexist.
38. Peatle - “Painting (feat. Mandark)”
Peatle treats himself as an old canvas, something that can be torn apart and recreated, glossier and shinier. But the part that Mandark encourages is different. Serving as the muse, she eggs him on to keep searching for beauty in the blemishes. Willing themselves to be optimistic over the baggy groove, the pair are a charming match.
37. Mamayuzi - “夜班车不适合下雨”
Mamayuzi’s stuck on a decision: should she don a raincoat and walk through the storm? or should she sit with the lifeless corpses on the night bus? Each option reminds her of the futility of her life, so she’s turned up the dials on “夜班车不适合下雨” (“The Night Bus Isn’t Suited for Rain”) to mask her emptiness. Heavy guitar distortion and drums, even if the tempo is too sluggish to be stimulating; pretty ringtone chimes, even if they feel forced.
36. GiNN - “Dizzy”
On “Dizzy,” GiNN is trying to open the backstage of the runway into his bedroom. Whispering filthy, suggestive come-ons in a deep voice over the steely beat, the lecherous player stop himself from making his favourite acts explicit. He’s cool, sure, but find a man who truly hates commitment yet still knows his astrology—“Dizzy” would be off-putting if GiNN didn’t reveal himself to be a loser when it comes to love at the end of the song’s walk.
35. Zheng Xing - “The Basin”
Travel between two cities for so long and the faces start to mean nothing. Opposed to airy constructions of the rest of its parent album, “The Basin” carries the weight of the world. It marches with stones tied to both legs while its narrator can only see outlines of figures and landscapes under the dark shades. Here at the bottom of the pit, Zheng Xing buckles under the burden of just getting by, longing for the place his heart calls home.
34. Chainhaha - “Bubbles”
That whoosh at the opening might sound like it’s meant to accompany a text message, but if you fold it into a pattern, you’ve got the shape of your breath. Chainhaha flips the world around her, turning digital noises into natural sounds; her voice is sharp and scratchy as it dances over the glassy arpeggios of her own miniature world. On “Bubbles,” the singer excavates her capacity to be everything and her ability to care for herself into a mantra of independence and self-love.
33. RICHBOI - “Cloud Surf”
RICHBOI’s got some thoughts on his mind—family issues, homies on the run—but he’d much rather hang in a pink sky. “Cloud Surf” couples the shimmer of a rosy sunset with a liquid drum ‘n’ bass pattern rendered smoother and slower to feel like a weightless drift before synth wobbles disrupt its float. “Free dive in this bitch,” RICHBOI meditates, suggesting he’ll take whatever comes next in stride.
32. Cyndi Wang, Jiji Lee & Kafe.Hu - “Phone人院”
Uplift is delivered pop-up style on “Phone人院” (“Phone Asylum”). “If you’d like more details, please subscribe to VIP,” Wang beckons, sweetly imitating a digital pin-up girl. Like your favourite streamers, much of the fun is the ridiculousness: the “that phone ring!” party hook; the rap verse lifted by dial tones, a descending xylophone melody, and dubstep wobbles.
31. Losty - “口口犬”
“They cry, they sad,” Losty sings, like he’s learning how to match up the pictures to the feelings. On “口口犬”—the radicals make up the character 哭, meaning cry—he struggles to understand reason beyond his own disdain and hubris. The song’s arrangement mimics the singer’s shortfalls, unable to cleanly parse out its midwest emo inclinations from the plugg textures of its glitchy instrumental—beautiful in its trial and failure.
30. Shallow Levée - “Eventually”
“Eventually” starts with an apartment viewing that checks the band’s boxes: close to the station, plenty of light, and spacious to boot. It’s cause for celebration, yet Yi-Ling is ever as pensive, reminiscing on change and dreams left behind. It’s a frightening force, yet her voice glimmers with cheerfulness as she bobs over the surf-like guitar. Yi-Ling finds reassurance in the small ways people stay the same: “even if you lose weight, you can’t stop stepping aside for others, on the sidewalk, anywhere.”
29. OuttaWave - “Northeast Ghetto (feat. MAYI)”
Here on his turf, they call each other lao tie and take pride in local streamers. OuttaWave puffs out his chest in bragging about his hometown on “Northeast Ghetto,” all while enlisting club-rap phenom MAYI for an inflated hook and floating an elegant piano melody over the UK drill beat.
28. Masiwei - “Hit the Gas”
At its best, “Hit the Gas” evokes the effortless thrill of Teriyaki Boyz’s “Tokyo Drift,” even if it can’t live up to the track’s charm. Masiwei, the leader of Higher Brothers, crafts a theme song for the Need for Speed mobile game that doesn’t care for a smooth ride—it’d much rather go out in a blaze of glory than reach the finish line second, just listen to the way he growls the word “burning.”
27. Kimberley Chen - “Good on You”
“My love, my love, my love looks good on you,” hums Kimberley Chen. The guitar feels cautious; her voice feels plush. The words are stuttered as if carefully selected so they could match even a fraction of the sentiment. It’s so strong that in her eyes, it manifests all around you. Most tender is when she flips the pronouns, draping herself in whatever you give back to her.
26. DSPS - “Silent Affinity”
Dullness can be a form of relief. The beiges and greys are easy to look at, the quiet is easy to sit in. On “Silent Affinity,” vocalist Ami Tseng sits in another room from you, overhearing your conversation, but not being a part of it. “I can feel you and I can feel myself,” she sings. Soft and expansive, it’s easy.
25. L8ching - “Jalan”
Named after the Indonesian word for road, “Jalan” is a sensory delight. Not only does the singer use more particular language to describe its sensations, like the prickly feel of a handful of rice or the wafting fragrance of spices, the song is filled with regional field recordings. Add L8ching’s performance to the gritty textures, his voice ragged and hoarse, the instrumental filled with the sound of kicked-up dust.
24. Wishbao - “Soulmate”
Change is the guiding principle of “Soulmate,” a song about wanting to reshape every part of yourself accompanied by music that’s just as pliable to transformation. Its bossa nova groove is loose and its instrumentation, light and bouncy, adapts to her movements. Eventually, it fits itself to its scenery, picking up a tropical arrangement and spilling open like a warm breeze at sunset.
23. Drogas - “華子”
Drogas is finally having fun: “just wanna get famous,” he splutters on the chorus, not desperate but enthusiastic. You can consider “華子”—an abbreviation of the famous Chunghwa cigarettes—the artist’s bid for pop stardom. Pivoting from emo-tinged bedroom electronics to industrial dance-pop, he folds Britney Spears-esque catwalk synths and millennial whoops into a stuttering beat for a fuck you-pump-up jam hybrid. Far too idiosyncratic for the masses, it rushes off the deep-end with an outro played on fast-forward before ultimately crashing out, but that’s Drogas, a star too busy reveling in his own pleasures.
22. Chiao - “The Best Way to Face It”
Growing pains will make you question everything about yourself. Chiao is flustered on the drum ‘n’ bass production, so loud it rattles over the delicate guitar lines. She’s too hesitant about her own decisions and too obsessed with attempting to make her behaviour come across as normal. Yet despite the fear, she looks beyond the overwhelming tomorrow: “I desperately want you to clearly watch me blossom,” she sings, surfacing above the water.
28. PAN - “Imperfect Poetry”
Love is vicious in PAN’s music. The rapper’s work this year has been characterized by its destruction: the savage nature of family ties, the overwhelming sensation of being penetrated. On “Imperfect Poetry,” she sets herself aflame and even as the rapper switches from her trademark frenzy-eyed delivery in Mandarin to a more level-headed English reading, the tribal howls make it feel like she’s dancing in the embers.
20. Verna - “Quantum Entanglement”
“Quantum Entanglement” is surprisingly adept with its metaphor: two strangers moving together, a phenomenon that can’t be explained by science or philosophy. Yet the best moments are when Verna’s most direct: the clipped “so here we go” right after the beat falters into a syncopated pattern, the “you’re a bad boy!” that changes to a purred “such a good boy” once she knows she’s hooked him.
19. Wen Zhaojie - “My Sunny Heart”
There’s a moment where Wen Zhaojie no longer sounds like himself as he drops from his characteristic breathy falsetto to a full-throated yowl. Call it his rockstar moment the way he brightens, but it’s immediately undercut by the sound of studio chatter. He spells out the uncertainty of the future explicitly on “My Sunny Heart,” but exploding into the sky sounds exhilarating. Within these walls, Wen will do anything in his power to make you experience the same euphoria.
18. JADE - “All Things Desire”
JADE always sound like they’re drowning. dooodooo’s vocals are mixed inside a narrow container, while the thrashing instrumentals suggest the walls are closing in around him. “All Things Desire” is a masochistic exercise, positing that the first step in getting what you want is voicing that want, then allowing dooodooo’s voice to sound like it’s at the apex of breaking free without ever actually letting it.
17. DOris & Hsu.D - “Cruise”
The city is on fire and DOris can’t tell what’s real anymore. She’s drunk in the back of your car and as the lights form one shiny blur, she needs confirmation that it isn’t some illusion. That desire comes through as desperation on the chorus: “can you come for me?” she stutters, the breakbeats like nails hammered into her head. Hsu.D whispers words of reassurance, but it’s not enough. Pleasure is what she needs to confirm both your bodies are made from flesh, bone, and blood.
16. VOOID - “泡泡”
Diaristic is an overused descriptor of a song, but it really fits the bill for “泡泡” (“Bubbles”) as Hom Shenhao jots down every idea of a journal entry. Over a midwest emo riff, the opening monologue is marked by the most immediate of senses: the view of the sunrise at 6:05 AM, the alertness caused by a splash of cold water, and a miniature review of Slint’s Spiderland playing through his headphones. “Pay attention to the road!” he calls as the song shifts into a messier, scuzzier indie rock song. There’s still much more to experience.
15. Shelhiel - “不得不爱 (feat. kimj & Mulan Theory)”
The spark when two hands connect for the first time or the lovelorn look from across a crowded room—Shelhiel’s best songs have a way of capturing when you heart skips a beat. The Malaysian singer interpolates the 2005 track of the same name by Will Pan and Stringer in his manyao-pop, alternating between cherubic synths and pounding four-on-the-floor beat. With an electric current that cuts through the original’s schmaltziness, “不得不爱” (“Can’t Help Being in Love”) might not be the first dance at your wedding, but it could soundtrack the moment you gaze across a sweaty club and just know.
14. misi Ke - “Next Chapter”
Gorgeous and open as any other misi Ke song, “Next Chapter” has the pleasure of being exciting. After a brief monologue where Ke declares her boundless sense of optimism, the song brightens with a golden trumpet, from someone credited as Mr. Banana, no less. “Next Chapter” fires off on all cylinders, the drums beaten to death, Ke ripping one on the guitar. “You understand me,” then, becomes a hard-earned venture, the kind of discovery that makes you feel like you’ve stumbled on treasure.
13. NIO - “coyboy”
“coyboy” plays out in the darkest corner of the club, all flirtatious giggles, teasing, suggestive comments, and hands wherever they can reach. The singer debates proposing a more private place, swapping out the fun of plastic disco strings and heartbeat synths for a game that’s more physical, the words slipping out of his mouth before he knows it. He turns cute on the chorus, timidly brushing the move aside with a set of nervous retractions, but seeing that side makes him all the more attractive. Any other chance to blunder is swallowed by a partner’s lips.
12. Our Shame - “ok to be not ok”
The folktronica duo work their poppiest tune here, something that highlights the relatability of its messaging. Isan’s percussion is heavy-handed but danceable, working a rhythm that’ll make you want to get up and move, while Estelle H’s lyrics make the attempt to understand how you feel. She locks herself in her room and stares at the wall until the colour is the only thing on her brain; she lets her mind race against the clock. It’s how Our Shame turn the familiar maxim into a statement of empathy, the “you” turning into a “we.”
11. Cheer Chen, toe & OOG - “Looonely”
Kashikura Takahashi’s drumming is the highlight of toe’s “Kodoku no Hatsumei,” but the foundation of OOG’s rework is built around the song’s glimmering midwest emo guitar riff. Having that second voice on “Looonely” would detract from Cheer Chen’s youthful outlook, her musings on loneliness are sweet and girlish as they spill out in satisfied sighs and secretive coos. “Did you know? I have a want,” she sneakily whispers. Dressed in OOG’s glossy synths, Chen’s drawn out confession to a crush makes the word itself taste like honey and roses.
10. icyball - “Now and then (feat. Vivian Sung)”
Staunch disciples of ‘80s synthpop, icyball write soaring and romantic hooks as if they’re building up to the pivotal confession in a John Hughes film. On “Now and then,” they fall in the trap of missing an ex in actress Vivian Sung, the somber shade cutting against the typical cheesiness of the band’s catalogue. There’s a flash of hopefulness but more so hesitation and on the second pre-chorus, each vocalist prays the moment will just pass. In its resistance, “Now and then” is icyball’s most affecting portrait of romance yet.
9. Tarcy Su - “A-HA”
Tarcy Su is mature enough to realize we’re all capable of some self-improvement, even if she’s sensible enough to realize that doesn’t mean we couldn’t stand to be a little more indulgent. The singer coasts across the song’s sunny lo-fi jangle and balmy horns, turning criticisms of being sometimes lazy, sometimes out-of-control into markers of freedom. After all, she’s not bothered by where she’s been or what she’s left with—even by the end of “A-HA,” Su is still looking forward to all the places she has left to go.
8. Vansdaddy - “文城 (feat. mac ova seas)”
Here’s something of a lie if we’re to take Vansdaddy at his word: “I really want to write something literary, but my family is made up of migrant workers”—his father is a poet, whose pen name serves as inspiration for the parent album. Of course then, that “文城” (“Wen Cheng”) shares its name with Yu Hua’s novel, a story where a man searches for a mysterious utopia—the city’s name referring to any type of literary or cultural city—to which his missing wife claims heritage. It’s something Vansdaddy references but also echoes with an interpolation of the 1977 track by American jazz singer Patti Austin, “Say You Love Me,” borrowing that sweet, sweet hook, as he constantly search for reaffirmation and validation of this fabled feeling, ignoring that it could exist in the words unsaid.
7. babyMINT - “BOOOOOORING”
The simplest hooks are often the ones that rattle around my brain the longest. The one for “BOOOOOORING” is really just a prolonged exhale: “my stupid boring life,” the group hum, with the sullen expressions of teenagers carted around despite their best wishes. Though “BOOOOOORING” marks their debut, babyMINT are already looking towards what else could be out there, say, having their mentor fly them to a remote island or meeting the substitute Avril Lavigne clone, Melissa. Don’t mistake that as “BOOOOOORING” being bleak, it’s sparky and packed with personality. Siena delivers her lines as a robotic android, the rap verse is supported by borrowed memes—including YUN’s imitation of Steve Carrell from the office—and the song ends in screams the same way “Hellokittybalahcurrihellokitty美味しい” did. And the word “boring” is refracted in a hundred different ways to be anything but: a sassily tossed-out Hokkien pass, one accented in French, and another that sound strangely identical to Nicki Minaj.
6. Leah Dou - “California Baby”
Leah Dou doesn’t care about your idea of cool. “Even if you’re California / so what?” she sneers, completely disinterested with your idea of paradise. “California Baby” matches her brisk pace: the bass digs into a savoury funk groove, the guitar buzzes in cosmopolitan richness, and the synths shimmer with lustrous sheen. The vultures fly over her head, while the ants are none the wiser of her arrival. Never has Dou sounded more like a star as she floats every melody with a hint of discontent at the poor statues we’re capable of—her contemptuous spoken harmony will have you feeling beneath her presence.
5. ODD - “TOO MUCH OF A ***”
The title quickly reveals itself to be a tongue-in-cheek response after ODD sets down the guitar and picks up a computer. “My masculinity,” he sings in sappy lament, “it might be a girl.” Yet the singer blows up that way of thinking. There’s at least four different beat patterns fighting for control here, all while ODD’s voice is crushed and warped, almost as if he’s being tossed and manhandled across dimensions. Later iterations of the chorus don’t make a mockery of the belief but poke at the singer’s flawed train of thought, forcing him to confront that being weak and expressing pain are merely parts of the human experience. It only takes him one adventure through the multiverse to come to accept it.
4. Mantha Ye - “INFATUATED”
Towards the end of “INFATUATED,” the song’s dizzying drum ‘n’ bass breaks transform into harder Jersey club kicks. Mantha Ye has spent much of the song lurking as a vengeful blur, scouring the club for something to fill the emptiness left after cutting off some toxic friends, but now the hits feel physical. Strobe lights flash but her disorientation is best-reflected in both the back-and-forth of the lyrics and the effects that render them practically unintelligible. Yet the chorus finds clarity in the titular word, as if her eyes have locked onto her next object of affection. When that rhythm change finally happens, the only thoughts left are carnal and best left to be played out somewhere private.
3. Quanzo - “EDEN (feat. Sabrina)”
“EDEN” is so exceedingly pretty. The top synth melody flutters like fairy wings, the vocal melody is nimble and lively as it pirouettes and galavants through the scenery. It’s almost as if the song is dressed in shimmering fabric. Yet shot through the magic is the tough decision: continue your mundane life or chase paradise? stability or passion? It’s a choice that can leave the best of us frozen. Quanzo’s melody prances and skips, but he can’t help howling for help: “where are you?” he cries, the melody pausing as if attempting to stop the clock for even just a second. It’s once for some higher being who could know the answers, later for anyone who might actually respond. So there’s Sabrina, arriving like the angel, her harmony bringing the desperation to catharsis. Quanzo will be fine—that much is made clear as the song closes out the artist’s second album, THE PENROSE ROOM. “EDEN” sits here at the end as a reminder that getting lost isn’t the end of everything and that beauty can be found in even the most difficult of moments.
2. Shan Yichun - “Lil’ Sis”
Some of the weirdest and most exciting pop music of this century has come from the decade-plus long collaboration between vocalist Isabelle Huang and producer Chang Shilei—a team-up that “Lil’ Sis” instantly recalls. Chang’s hand in production is readily apparent, but Shan Yichun’s ability to mimic Huang’s idiosyncratic vocal tics is itself commendable: come-hithers are multi-syllabic and charged, rollercoaster melodies are handled with ease, and the singer adds an ear-splitting shriek for good measure. Yet as the bassline mutates into an ugly goop, Shan establishes her own individuality. Her vocal runs are wild with greed, but she’ll occasionally toss a snappy, petulant retort into the mix and despite referencing traditional poetry, she stands girlish yet rebellious as she colours its nature as divinely cute. Drunk and impetuous, there’s not a moment wasted in Shan’s thrilling reintroduction as she presents the world so magnetically alive and herself as pop’s new, out-of-control bratty sister.
1. NICKTHEREAL - “Talking to You”
“Talking to You” is essentially an update of a song NICKTHEREAL’s made before… or well, multiple times before. Yet with time and age, the singer’s only gotten better at playing the part of the Y2K rebel by ditching the preppy suit-and-tie for a neon green t-shirt and bleached hair and putting some grit behind his voice to convince you he’s a now-reformed bad boy. It’s working: damn if hearing him proclaim his love at the top of some penthouse rooftop isn’t romantic!
But with his latest, NICKTHEREAL wants to convince you his pop-punk is more than some MTV throwback. The framework is largely the same as it’s always been: toss some urgency into the verses and that’ll make the deliberateness of your chorus feel like a real spectacle; have the instruments thrash and pummel so that you’re the stability at the centre. Yet like some sort of himbo mad scientist, he edges “Talking to You” into Y3K-futurism, keeping up with today’s climate. The verses are lined with breakbeats, the second pre-chorus adopts a little Jersey club beat. Why the hell not? “Call it love, this shit divine,” he gloats, before asking for a chance to make things right. He’s not without his questionable moments—who in their right mind would think “I don’t love those outside bitches” is a good thing to say in the middle of an argument? But NICKTHEREAL isn’t making childish excuses; from the start he isn’t happy to let sour feelings linger. “Talking to You” would rather fight out the tension. He’ll argue and deflect, sling some mud, and then listen. On the chorus, he concedes that everything you say is right, deferring like any man who’s learned his lesson. After all, what’s a guy to do when he’s in love?
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