I’ve listed my “top tens” for many artists, but it’s time to rummage through entire discographies and rank every single from worst to best. This feature will primarily tackle groups who have disbanded or gone on indefinite hiatus. It’s a way for me to re-evaluate my initial thoughts on their singles run. Don’t be surprised if the order has changed from past countdowns. These things are always in flux!
READ OTHER “RANKING EVERY SINGLE” FEATURES HERE!
16. U&Iverse (2022)
Unsurprisingly, the group’s generic songs for the Universe app rank all the way at the bottom. (full review)
15. Alive (2021)
Despite initially ranking it lower, I think Alive is a bit stronger than the dull U&Iverse. Just a bit, though! (full review)
14. Knock (2020)
A little plodding for my taste. (full review)
13. Blue Flame (2019)
This one grew on me, though I’m still not a fan of the production. (full review)
12. Hanasake Mirai (2019)
Their sole Japanese single is bright and bouncy, but a little different from the rest of their work. (full review)
11. Cat’s Eye (2016)
A fun promoted b-side from their debut. I like its quirky rhythms.
10. After Midnight (2021)
A bubbly summer track. They excel at this sound. (full review)
9. One (2021)
An uncharacteristically hard-edged track, but the dynamic percussion makes it work. (full review)
8. All Night (2019)
Their softest, most ethereal title track – and also a huge grower. (full review)
7. Crazy Sexy Cool (2017)
Smooth and funky and a firm fan favorite. (full review)
6. Candy Sugar Pop (2022)
An effervescent blast of sugary pop with an astounding chorus. (full review)
5. Always You (2018)
They really nailed the emotional, Chainsmokers-esque EDM sound. (full review)
4. Baby (2017)
That percolating electro beat is such a breath of fresh air. (full review)
3. Confession (2016)
Astro’s debut year was truly unstoppable, and Confession was the cherry on top. (full review)
2. Breathless (2016)
K-pop’s summer bops don’t get much more ebullient than this. It’s ridiculously catchy and so addictive. (full review)
1. Hide & Seek (2016)
Yep, through all the group’s iterations I’m still most taken with this propulsive debut. It’s the rare song that makes a playground-chant melody sound great. The energy goes through the roof. It’s such a mood lifter. (full review)
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Astro is something I am still about to check in the future, because even though they have been on my wishlist, I haven’t gotten to them yet somehow..
Was thinking, I saw that you have top ten lists for many many groups, and you have all singles ranked for some groups, I guess because some groups have less singles? I also saw that you have top 10 Exo title tracks, and then somewhere I saw your favorite Exo songs list. Was the second list different because you just took every song they have into count? Or how do you actually distinguish those two lists?
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unrelated but im still in utter shock by your 2.75 rating on joke yesterday
but srsly nick if you wanna hear the absolute MVP of awful, all you have to do is pop in some submarine man and you’re all set. here are some of his greatest hits
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I would be surprised if someone actually wants to hear something called “the absolute MVP of awful” by will lol
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i would because i’m a huge masochist
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I heard about 30 seconds total of these two videos and I can confirm that I am officially traumatised for life.
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they’re even worse when you can actually understand the lyrics
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I’d rather not😂
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Nice to see this feature’s return! Feels like ages since you’ve done one of these. I totally agree with the #’s 1 & 2, they never topped those.
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Still haven’t checked out ASTRO yet, but they’ve been on my radar. And yeah, sometimes those rankings can be shocking!
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My favorite song from ASTRO is “Crazy Sexy Cool.”
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I was getting into Astro the month before Moonbin’s passing. Very bittersweet having albums arrive during that time. My favorite is also Crazy Sexy Cool.
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You know they’re a great kpop band when their 8th best song is better than most other groups’ best. I would personally swap All Night and Confession but they were so consistently great for those first few years, just a personal preference.
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Moonbin’s passing was of course painfully sad… he always seemed so joyous when performing, so beautiful on stage, yet he had such sorrow inside and no one to turn to for help.
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This hit me in the nostalgia so hard that I teared up (I know it’ s not even 10 years ago, but it feels like forever). I have many personal feelings and memories tied to Astro’ s music, but I believe that objectively, too, they have an incredible discography.
Here’ s my version:
1. Hide & Seek
Stellar in every single aspect, keeps my full attention all the way through. One of the best songs in k-pop or pop in general, period.
2. Breathless
Summer in a bottle – what else can I say? Truly infectious.
3. Baby
The Astro song I’ ve probably replayed the most. I remember making a drawing inspired by the MV which included a few other fans from across the world. I won’ t comment on the artistic quality of it, but what a precious memory!
4. Crazy, Sexy, Cool
Has the rare quality of being both subdued and upbeat, without losing warmth. Songs that are subdued and upbeat tend to have a very cold, empty parking garage kind of atmosphere that I dislike. Crazy, Sexy, Cool retains a warm and cozy atmosphere throughout. It’s unique to me!
5. After Midnight
I completely missed this release due to being preoccupied with my personal life. Now that I’m finally listening to it, it may have recency bias, but what a great track. I am a sucker for piano elements and funky beats and there’ s even a sing/shout-along post-chorus added to the end (I love those)!
6. One
I never wanted Astro to ‘go dark’ and I certainly never expected this song to end up so high, but what can I do? It’ s phenomenal. I remember replaying this many, many times.
7. Hanasake Mirai
I actually haven’ t listened to this as often as I should have, because everytime I do I’m reminded of how good it is. It shimmers like reflections on water and I love how their voices are allowed to take center stage in the verses.
8. Blue Flame
This is a guilty pleasure for me. Yes, it’ s generic. Plus, I don’ t like the heavy instrumentals in the chorus (and why that loud horn blast?!). But.. the reggae-inspired (?) rhythm of the verses is so very addictive to my brain and I adore the dramatic prechorus. It keeps me coming back!
9. Cat’ s Eye
I’ ll be honest: this is mostly nostalgia. Is it really that good? I can’t tell through the fuzzy happy feelings I get when I sing along.
10. Confession
It’ s probably illegal to put this song so low. It’ s pretty good, kind of Infinite-esque. I do like this, but it just doesn’t hook me like some of their other songs do.
11. Candy Sugar Pop
If you expected this to be higher for me, you know me well – because so did I. This is all sugar, surface-level catchy without the layers and variety of their earlier tracks. Or maybe I’m just tired of all the Can’t Stop The Feeling/Dynamite/Butter/etc. soundalikes.
All other tracks I dislike almost equally for the same reason: boring (or more accurately ‘not my taste’, perhaps).
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