14 of the Best Boy Group Debut Songs

This is a post that I've been wanting to make for a few weeks now, and after doing some research on debut songs I didn't know and trying to figure out what makes a great debut song I'm finally able to write this. First and foremost even though I really did try to not let any of my biases (my own favorite songs/groups/taste in music) influence this list I think it's almost inevitable that it would have to some degree, but hopefully it didn't that much.

As I mention later on, my main inspiration to make this post was SHINee's '누난 너무 예쁘 (Replay)' which is, in my opinion, the best debut song ever. It's so incredibly timeless, and unlike some - if not most - debut songs when it's performed now (11 years later) it doesn't make me cringe. A lot of the qualities that I looked for in other debut songs were influenced by this song.

When making this list I tried to include songs from each 'era' of KPOP but it still ended up just being within the last decade. I also came to release that 2012-2015 was a rough time for debut songs. This list also goes from most recent to the oldest (simply because I wanted to put SHINee last, because they're the best).

Lastly, the criteria that I tried to use when making this list is as follows: how timeless the song is, if there's an element of uniqueness to the song that made it differ from other songs being released at the time, and while it wasn't really a 'criteria' I came to realise how important the start of each song is while making this list. I will admit that with more recent releases they probably have more of a bias on my part, but I still think they are really good debut songs.

1. Breathe - AB6IX

May 22nd 2019 - Since AB6IX has two former members of Wanna One and the duo MXM, I think their debut was extremely anticipated, and had such high expectations. When Lee Daehwi and Park Woojin first appeared on Produce 101 they performed a self written song Hollywood which wowed the other trainees and judges, so much so that on this season of Produce X 101, when the Brand New Music trainees arrived the expectations were high. Breathe was the perfect debut song that brought all the members under one group name. The song itself is very simple but has all the elements of an amazing song: a great start by Daehwi, excellent choreography, and a chorus that is easy to recognize and remember. It's also a song that I think they would be proud to perform years and years down the line.

2. Crown - TXT

March 4th 2019 - Crown is a very fresh, fun, and young song without it being too pushy of the fact that the boys are younger (see: Chewing Gum - NCT Dream). The song doesn't lean too pop-py but still has that very upbeat and happy vibe. It's definitely a song that I think most people can find themselves humming without realising. The trumpet(?) sounds in the beginning I think are a big attention grabber and makes this song just a little different than most.

3. Valkyrie - ONEUS

January 9th 2019 - Valkyrie is my personal favorite debut song from 2019. It's so amazing that I didn't even know it was a debut song until I looked up the group and realised it. Like Breathe, this song is also simple in the fact that there aren't too many different sounds/layers like there are in Crown, but this song is still so impactful. The strong bass in the pre-chorus matched with the choreography is perfect. Each one of the member's voices matches so well with each part they have in the song it's just overall such a well made song.

4. Fantasty - JBJ (Disbanded)

October 18th 2017 - Fantasy has such a head-nodding beat, meaning you can't help but nod along to it. The song starts off almost hollow sounding with mostly (what I think is) percussion instruments, but slowly builds each layer by either adding something new or taking something away as the song progresses. There's nothing too timestamped about the song that would make me immediately think "Oh, this is from this year" other than the fact that it is sung by JBJ who is no longer together.

5. Energetic - Wanna One (Disbanded)

August 7th 2017 - Wanna One are just iconic in and of themselves and their debut song encompasses that perfectly. It's dancey, poppy, and with a hint of a ballad song in some spots. The vocals and rapping combination is just so good with this song. The strong piano matched with Minhyun's starting vocals and the all of the vocals following him to make that first verse flow so effortlessly. This song rises in energy as it progresses, and hits its peak during the chorus. I think this is a song that made its impact on the KPOP industry and is one that is going to stay.

6. I'm Fine - VICTON

November 8th 2016 - This song is so hard for me to "analyse" because of how much I love it and how happy it makes me. That's another factor I think good debut songs have, if they can make you feel something - whether it be happiness, sadness, making you want to get up and dance, or just very motivated, that's going to impact you and how much you like that song/group. I'm Fine definitely leans more on the poppier side of KPOP but also has an almost retro like vibe that makes it fun and memorable. It almost reminds of me of a Bruno Mars song because of all the little fun sounds throughout the song. Not to even mention the vocals in this song as well as the arrangement. The fact that this song starts off with the chorus and then slides so seamlessly into a rap verse is amazing, and something that I think really makes it a bit special.

7. The 7th Sense - NCT U

April 8th 2016 - I hold SM on a high pedestal when it comes to their songs and would love to meet the people who write songs like this one. I remember when this song first came out, or when I first heard it at least, everyone was almost addicted to it. There is something so very different about this song that made is stand out. It has a very similar feeling to Bad Boy by Red Velvet to me, in how almost ground-breaking it was for the time. It's such a low toned, bass-heavy song, with such minimal extra sounds that it gives it that hollow sound that I find very satisfying.

8. Rhythm Ta - iKON

September 30th 2015 - There is something about this song that when I first heard it it made me want to keep listening to it. I'm not sure if it's cause it's super different while also being a little common - if that makes sense - or what. I think a lot of it has to do with the beat, it's very low, catchy, and makes you want to nod along. Of many of the other songs that came out between 2013 - 2016 I think this one stands out a bit more than others, and is a reason why I put it on this list. Of all of the songs on this list I think this one would be least when it comes to timelessness, but it still is a good and catchy song regardless.

9. Adore U - SEVENTEEN

May 29th 2015 - Adore U is one of the more timeless songs on this list that kind of reminds me of the 1920s, like if this was an instrumental I think this would be played at like a Great Gatsby party. There are so many different elements to this song that make it stand out, there is one section of the song that almost makes you think it's many different songs smashed together but in a good way. I think on this list this is one of the songs where I really enjoy the arrangement/order of who's singing, because of how well it fits the song.

10. Falling in Love - UNIQ

October 19th 2014 - Falling in Love is my type of song, meaning that it's super sweet, the vocals are flawless, the rapping is perfect and it just makes me feel so happy. It doesn't have a very apparent timestamp of what year it came out if you're just listening to it. It sounds to be a little bit like electric pop(?) which I think is very 2014 but there is such a strong like pop-ballad element as well. Of the few new songs I discovered while making this list I would have to say that this one is my favorite.

11. Dreamer - HISTORY (Disbanded)

May 8th 2013 - Personally, I think Dreamer is one of the most unique songs on this list, if not the most unique. I don't really know the group HISTORY and found this song while looking for more older groups' debut songs but it's so amazing. It gives me the same feeling that watching musicals/broadway performances does. It has such strong instrumentals with vocals that follow and harmonize perfectly together. From my experience, and while researching a little for this post, I don't think many groups have debut songs that are more on almost the ballad side. While this song isn't by any means slow, like most ballads, I still think because of the strong vocals it can be considered on the ballad spectrum.

12. That's My Fault - SPEED (Disbanded)

January 6th 2013 - That's my fault is another song that I'm so happy I found while making this post. It's so incredibly good and different, especially compared to most of the debut songs, or even just songs in general that I hear today. This song gives me such early 2000s R&B/Hip-hop vibes with the mixed rapping, talk-singing, and then the almost sampling of the female's voice. Even though this group is disbanded this song is one that makes me want to look into their other releases because of how different and good it is. I also want to say that compared to most of the debut songs that were being released in 2013 (I usually generalise them as being very, very hip-hop heavy) this is so different while also still being in that genre and being mostly rap verses.

13. Freeze - Block B

April 13th 2011 - Of all of the songs on this list I think this is the one that you would probably be able to guess a general year of when it came out because it's so audible in the song. I know this is how I describe all of my songs with what they remind me of but this reminds me so much of early Lady Gaga, and LMFAO, with the techno vibes and sounds that this song has. The vocals in the pre-chorus and the lyrically simple chorus make this song so memorable and honestly had me dancing in my chair while listening to it.

14. Replay - SHINEE

May 22nd 2008 - This song is the sole reason that I wanted to make this post. Replay is in my top 5 favorite songs of all time, it's so good and so timeless. It doesn't have that too specific time period stamp like most songs do. I'm not even sure how to describe this song other than saying it's 'God Tier' because of how dear it is to my heart, and how much I love it. It's just so so so good and, again in my opinion, the best debut song of all time and no song will ever take its place - at least for me. I highly suggest also watching this performance that they did in 2015 at one of their world concerts, it's my favorite performance of it ever. This is a song that is so feeling heavy for me, because you can tell in that video that they have so much fun performing this song and that there is such a connection between them and their fans in that arena, it makes my heart smile.

I have two honorary mentions: ONF's On/Off because of it's almost 80s (I believe) sounding elements, and fun beats. I think it is a quite unique song for coming out in 2017. Also IN2IT's Amazing I'm not really sure what it is about this song but I knew I needed to mention it, I just couldn't leave it off of this post.

I, of course, am no music expert and as you can tell by my explanations I don't have a ton of knowledge about actual terms and go a lot by what things remind me of and how they make me feel but that's also a big part of music, in my opinion. Just because a debut song isn't on this list doesn't mean I don't like it (I didn't even put my #1 favorite group's debut song on this list) it just means that I don't think it was among the best - going by my criteria I explained at the beginning of this post.

What is your favorite debut song?

(I hope to make a Girl Group version of this list in the future!)