What’s The Kraze: 2024 Favorites

Another year has come and gone. With the start of 2025, let’s take a look back at some of the The Kraze staff’s favorite songs, videos, tours, trends, and more from 2024.

Kelly (Co-Editor-in-Chief): This will come as a shock to no one, but my favorite thing in all of K-Pop this year was SEVENTEEN’s Right Here tour. I’d admittedly fallen off the Carat train over the last year (just got focused on other interests) but the energy this tour was so magical and infectious that it brought me right back, harder than ever. Also, bold claim, but I think “LALALI,” “Spell,” and “Cheers to youth” are collectively their best unit songs and that is not something I anticipated saying in 2024.

I’m also still not over Red Velvet’s “Cosmic.” Just like with SEVENTEEN’s unit tracks, Red Velvet putting out one of the best songs of their career was not on my 2024 bingo card but I’m so glad it happened.

Cidney (Writer): This year I would have to say was my best year for tours. I have thankfully been able to see a good chunk of my faves this year, but if I have to say what tour stood out the most to me, it is ATEEZ. I don’t know if it was the fact that I have been wanting to see them for years, but that tour will forever resonate with me. Everything about it was euphoric and I just wish I could see them again.

Kelly: I’m also still processing GD and BIGBANG at MAMA. I feel like life changed after that performance. 2025 is really shaping up to be the year for grand comebacks. 

Cidney: Now for music, so many groups and soloists came out with such amazing songs. It was a great year for music in the Korean music scene. Some albums that stood out to me was, WALK - The 6th Album by NCT 127, Cosmic by Red Velvet, J - The 1st Album by Jaehyun, dopamine by JUNNY, GOLDEN HOUR : Part 2 - EP by ATEEZ, and SAD SONG by P1Harmony. These albums I listen to on repeat. They are just so good.

Kelly: I feel like someone was mentioning Jaehyun’s album everywhere I looked. Deserved. 

Jacob (Writer): K-Pop in 2024 was so memorable! My favourite music release of the year has to be aespa's Whiplash EP (I replay this all the time) and it gave some of my favorite looks on aespa. I have to show my appreciation to the stylist, Park Anna.:

Kelly: REAL. This styling was everything. 

Jacob: My favorite concert that I attended this year was during PURPLE K!SS's BXX tour. It was especially significant because they were the first K-Pop girl group to perform in my city since 2019. The local girl group fans were waiting, and they turned out with lots of energy. It's definitely in my top three concert experiences.

I also can't talk about viral moments this year without mentioning NMIXX Haewon's "Wemo Check.” The amount of places and people I've seen reference this meme is ridiculous. It always gets a laugh out of me. 

ZEROBASEONE's Matthew also had a viral "moo" moment on TikTok, which has over 41 million views now. It's gone past K-Pop circles. 

Jean (Photographer): Favorite song and tour was ONF for me. “Bye My Monster” was an incredible comeback and having them finally in North America was long past due. I loved the 2nd Gen and reunited comebacks this year from 2NE1, GD, INFINITE, B.A.P, and more.  It gives hope that disbanded doesn't equal gone.  For K-Dramas, I loved Family By Choice, Lovely Runner, and Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born. Also loved Stray Kids with MARVEL and Hoshi reacting to BIGBANG.

Roxy (Chief Marketing Officer): ATEEZ’s tour was amazing as expected, my favorite one of the year. Getting to photograph that one in the pit was probably one of my highlights of the decade to be honest. Chungha and Hongjoong’s release was an unexpected favorite to come out early in the year. I was also pleasantly surprised by XG’s “WOKE UP.” My most rotated songs probably were ATEEZ B-sides, specifically “Blind” and ”Man on Fire.”

What's The KrazeKelly SipkoComment