Time to pick a best of 2021.
There were a few strong contenders, but I'm going with Everglow's First:
Everglow's concept is a tough one to pull off, and it can often feel really cringy and unnatural but I think they've been one of the most successful girl groups at it. I think they really perfected that concept with First. It's a really cinematic-sounding track with a great beat. The MV is also fantastic with amazing camera work (specifically the tracking of Aisha's face starting at around 47 seconds in always impresses me) and aggressive choreo that fits the song perfectly. Every member makes the most out of their time in front of the camera in the MV, but while Onda can sometimes get left behind in Everglow's releases but she stands out here in the MV for me any time she's in the center and especially with her dance break at the end of the video.
Other strong contenders were Weeekly's
After School and of course Dreamcatcher with songs like
BEcause,
Whistle, and upbeat J-rockish
New Days. My favorite TWICE track of the year is also probably surprisingly their Japanese release
Good at Love. I'll also throw in fromis_9's
Talk and Talk and from just two posts up Cignature's
Boyfriend.
For the best solo release of the year I'd go with YOUHA's
Abittipsy as a song that really succeeds with a well-worn retro sound. The usual suspects Sunmi, BIBI, and Hwasa had great solo tracks but I was also impressed with (G)I-dle Yuqi's anthemic
Bonnie & Clyde. SNSD's Hyoyeon had a great release with
Second featuring BIBI.