"Secret" is, by all accounts, a dance floor filler. Yuri and Seohyun take listeners on a journey through the musical equivalent of the hippest club in the world, complete with break beats, distorted piano samples, and a powerful pulsing bassline that carries the song. The leading ladies both sound confident, switching between belts and talk-rapped whispers with ease. "Come, come, come away," they sing - you don't have to ask us twice.

This 2017 contribution from NCT's promising young talent Ten is one of the most immediately surprising songs in the bunch. The music is almost entirely instrumental, save a few dreamy stanzas from Ten, but it actually works in the song's favor. What's left when full verses and choruses are stripped away is something beautiful in its simplicity. Notably, this is one of the first SM Entertainment songs (or K-pop songs in general) in quite some time to showcase traditional instrumentation for a "pan-Asian" sound.

It's odd that in the late 2010s, BoA has gone from SM Entertainment's flagship act to someone who you can justifiably call "underrated." This song is another piece of evidence that she still has what it takes to make fun, worthwhile pop music in the modern era (rather than just coast on her history as a legacy act). Though parts of it sound like traditional radio-friendly house music from the modern era, there's also a hint of subversion in the PC Music-like bounce to the verses' synth and vocals.

Who doesn't like disco? Who doesn't like Heize? By challenging Heize to switch up her usual slow-burn style of hip-hop and R&B to a faster pace, SM Station yielded one of her most inspired sounding appearances of the past year. Chen does his part by contributing smooth vocals and a certain excitement, and the two have a natural chemistry that peaks when they're harmonizing.

As we covered before, Amber has been working hard at establishing herself as an independent artist that can create worthwhile projects from the ground up. One of the first places she started to experiment with music outside of her usual f(x) style and parameters was through SM Station. So far, she's locked in multiple international collaborations, including this one that sees her backed up by bandmate Luna on vocals. "Heartbeat" has both sadness and urgency, and the music itself wears trance influence proudly on its sleeves.

In case it wasn't already clear after "I Just Wanna Dance," Tiffany is kind of a big deal. She has the chops to deliver fantastic pop music and performances as a soloist, and so far her catalog is full of music done in a dreamy power-pop style that matches her personality perfectly. "Heartbreak Hotel" is like the emotional b-side of "I Just Wanna Dance," and it features a powerful rap from Simon Dominic that gives the song grit to balance out the polish. It stops just short of being a traditional ballad, and that's why it succeeds; something can be learned from the power-ballad and keeping the pace.

Forget "Trap," THIS is the Henry that people want to hear! Confident and sexy (rather than "like a puppy in a box on a plane"), Henry delivers a duet with Soyou that sounds better on a playlist next to Marvin Gaye and Al Green than Super Junior. As the two harmonize and sing "you've been running through my mind," it's important to take time and thank the songwriters and producers that made the vision of a sexier, more confident Henry running through their minds a reality.

Get on your cargo pants and spike belts - it's time for some nu metal. This song picks up where Seo Taiji left off on "Ultramania," and yet it doesn't feel trapped in the past at all. As a matter of fact, the manic raps and syncopated rhythms allow the song to succeed in a modern context. As trends change over time and genres are pigeonholed into sales tactics, it's easy to lose sight of what purpose certain kinds of music may serve. The kinds of feelings expressed through nu-metal music are just as valid and worth expressing as any others, and it's refreshing to hear a song like this come out of a pop scene somewhat lacking in sonic diversity. To some, it may be "corny," but it's important to give people something to rock out to every once in a while.

Jonghyun is a true musician's musician. He can compose, sing, write and even dance with the best of them. "Inspiration" finds him crooning over heavy bass and hazy, drawn-out keys, then suddenly switching things up for a distorted vocal rap and even censorship bleeps. Unlike countless other times when K-pop acts have tried the "sudden jolt" technique, this song executed the trick with a natural flow. Only one thing can explain it: the genius of Jonghyun.

Saying that LDN Noise has been a gift to SM Entertainment would be the understatement of the century. They essentially saved the label from itself during a time when songs were being lost under the weight of supporting gimmicky visual concepts. They showed SM that you could make pop sound super "smart" while retaining all of the catchiness, and gave SM a shot of that Brit-English bass music flavor from their first appearance on an SM album. "My Show" sees the crew pulling out some of its best tricks, meaning that it does share some elements with the latest from acts like f(x) and EXO, though it does so in a way that feels more like a band having a signature sound than a producer repeating himself. Cha Ji Yeon delivers an excited rap in the second verse, and by the time the bass drops and the next chorus comes in, it's impossible not to share some of her excitement.