From BTS and Blackpink to Tomorrow X Together: the 10 best K-pop music videos of 2020

From 19-minute epics to slick choreography, K-pop bands have channelled their creativity into music videos this year

Tomorrow X Together released an epic 19-minute music video. YouTube

While 2020 may have robbed us of the visual spectacles often on display at K-pop concerts, the innovative industry instead focused its creative talents on music videos, creating visuals that have well and truly lifted the bar when it comes to fun and flair.

Here are 10 of the best music videos released this year that showcase K-pop's enduring visual appeal, arranged alphabetically.

1.'Come Back Home' by Oneus

Released as part of the Road to the Kingdom Final Ep, the video is heady mix of the usual and the surreal. There's plenty of tightly synchronised and audacious dance routines shot in an empty opera house, but things get really interesting when all that smooth footwork is juxtaposed with outdoor epic battles scenes as members fight with what appear to be zombie soldiers. How very 2020.

2. 'Eight' by IU

Featuring BTS rapper Suga, this release by IU is futuristic in both sound and vision. Complementing the Avicii-esque beats is a video that alternates between 3D live action scenes and 2D animation sequences. Both aspects represent the song's themes of alternate worlds and the power of memories.

3. ‘Eternally’ by Tomorrow X Together

Tomorrow X Together always had a taste for the dramatic, as evidenced by the band's name alone. Now, they have released a music video matching their ambition. Running at an epic 19 minutes, Eternally can be considered a surreal short film to be appreciated by both movie buffs and K-pop fans. It's full of evocative images that are as beautiful as they are nightmarish, with an abstract plot partially set in an apocalyptic landscape.

4. ‘Fallin’ Flower’ by Seventeen

K-pop crew Seventeen continue their international outreach with this Japanese-language single. The video boasts a hazy filter, giving the visuals a dream-like vibe. Scenes have the mega boyband dancing through various backdrops, ranging from a cold lunar landscape to a flower-strewn studio. The video even sees members indulge in a spot of painting while wandering around empty museums. It's not clear what all this means, but it seems to suit the track's propulsive beats, and it's certainly visually pleasing.

5. ‘Girls’ by Nature

Spooky and fun. The ebullient nature of this dance production is undercut by some slightly more chilling images. The video moves back forth between performance and scenes of paranoia from the band's members sitting in empty rooms, grimy bathtubs and blindfolded amid empty bird cages.

6. 'How You Like That' by Blackpink

Underscoring the global appeal of Blackpink, this music video became one of the fastest to reach 100 million views on YouTube after only 32 hours earlier this year. Standing now with more than 700 million views, there is much to see in this super colourful release. All members take on queen-like roles as they rip through various scenes featuring statues, Trojan horses, burning umbrellas and even a fake snow machine.

7. 'Love Killa' by Monsta X

If you are younger fan, then you will enjoy Monsta X's usual array slick dance moves on offer in this video. For pre-millennials, this is fun romp through the horror and thriller films of the past two decades. Look out for nods to films such as The Silence of the Lambs, American Psycho and Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker.

8. 'Oh My God' by (G) I-dle

There is so much going here. The choreography is sensual and features masked dancers, while the backdrops range from lush red settings and stark white rooms, to neon-lit staircases and eerie outdoor scenes that see members sing from behind barbed wires. A great example of why K-pop videos are visual treat.

9. ‘On’ by BTS

The single proved to be BTS's American breakthrough, cracking the top 5 in the Billboard Hot 100 charts. A lot of the appeal is down to the great video that cleverly references a slew of hit movies and television dramas including Bird Box, The Handmaid's Tale, The Lion King, Game of Thrones, Narnia, and Dolittle. Such was its viral appeal, the video reached a staggering 10 million views in one hour

10. 'Spit it Out' by Solar

No deep and quirky concept here, just great and kinetic choreography. Solar and her crew keep it moving across various locations such as neon-lit dance studios, garages and a warehouse. It's both fun and furious.

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