to me... there's something magical about a nugu girl group. sometimes, all you truly need is five dollars and a dream. i'm not going to assert that, on the whole, they are making transcendent or even particularly groundbreaking music. however, there's something really comforting about visiting the deep well of nugudom - and every once in a while, they'll surprise ya!
"but han," you might say, "[x group] isn't nugu!" okay maybe! maybe they had one hit, or went viral a couple times, or had a breakout member. it's all about vibes. i'm going based on 100% vibes.
so here are some of my favorite nugu girl group tracks of all time, in no particular order. it was soooo difficult to cut this list down and it's still long as hell, so i'm keeping my descriptions brief for your sake and mine.
pow pow - elris/alice (2017)
this is the platonic ideal of a girl group song to me. everything about it is good. the guitar sample holding it down FUCKS, the vocal arrangement FUCKS, the brass in the chorus FUCKS!!!! sonically, this could be an early fromis_9 reject. it's such an artifact of its time, and i love it so so so much.
this is love - queenz eye (2023)
queenz eye got kind of ship of theseus'd in 2025 with only two original members left for the re-debut. (unfortunately, this is also when their music stopped being good.) "this is love" is, to me, incredible. it's soooo smooth but not in a sterile, monotonous way - the track is taut and dynamic and their soaring vocals fill the space so satisfyingly. i really mourn where this group could have gone.
pop? pop! - csr (2022)
csr had SUCH a smart debut, capturing the nostalgia of gfriend (etc.) with an updated sound. i just can't describe the rush of euphoria this song gives me. one of my favorite post-choruses ever. i love the modulations and texture changes throughout the song. i'm waiting with bated breath for csr to give up the ghost, but i can't help but long for them to give us one more beautiful, shimmering christian horse girl song.
like psycho - we;na (2022)
we;na is not reinventing the wheel by any means, but i really appreciate their energy and delivery on this kind of track. i kind of love the instrumental, too - it's so sparkly! the mv is just the greatest hits of five-dollars-and-a-dream production and it's so charming.
bugaboo - bugaboo (2021)
a four minute song?? in THIS economy??? i really deeply cherish the way this track leans into the western sound effects sprinkled throughout. it's got such a relentless energy that carries into every chorus. i especially like the grandiose bridge - it's a smart way to take down the tempo without losing momentum. rip girls you should have been HUGE.
rolly - good day (2017)
this song was for the MUSICAL THEATER GIRLIES!!! some of the worst outfits and the best choreography i have seen from a girl group (seriously, PLEASE watch this choreo, it looks absolutely exhausting). i just love the pizzazz with which this song... rolls along (lol). the way the brass and the drums are arranged is so theatrical and silly and fun. GOD i wish they'd had more songs than literally this one.
crystal ball - purplebeck (2020)
there's a subgenre of nugu gg song that i call "red velvet b-side reject pile" - something about the way the vocal harmonies are arranged reminds me so much of their early stuff (which makes some sense, as this is a coach & sendo song who were mainstays at SM as well as writing stuff for loona and gwsn). these girls are singing their hearts out! nothing revolutionary here but this song just gets me.
i like u too much - sonamoo (2016)
i genuinely think that this is one of the catchiest songs ever written - every section is a separate earworm that will get me for days. it's a classic of its genre - the bass and guitar paired with the strings is chef kiss, and it never lets up on the energy. (i'm linking a dance video because i think this choreo is so satisfying and the real mv is kind of a nothingburger.)
some (you'll be mine) - nature (2018)
the centerpiece of this song is its absolutely insane, face-melting, churning EDM drop of a chorus. this song feels like a punch in the face in the best way. in a new world of minimalist production, i love revisiting nature because they will always pack as many noises and sounds into a song as they possible can.
angel - berry good (2016)
there's something so special about women putting down some absolutely insane vocals for, i assume, approximately zero dollars. they are hooting and hollering and belting their asses off. it's tragic that this song didn't launch their careers because it is SO good. it's the kind of soaring chorus that you feel in your soul.
play hide & seek - ichillin' (2022)
like many a nugu, ichillin' has never really settled on an identity - lately, they've aligned more with the trendy sounds of the mainstream. however, this shimmery, plinky-plonky track from early in their run is just everything i love about quirky, maximalist kpop. it sounds like a video game soundtrack. it's full of xylophone and bubble-popping noises. i just love it and i know in my heart they're never going back to it.
wonderboy, the aerialist - gwsn (2020)
gwsn had one of the most interesting discographies of any nugu gg, perhaps ever. they feel like spiritual sisters to loona and billlie but never acheived even the mid-level success of either. this is just an impeccable jazz-pop track. i love how their vocals were arranged and produced across their discography, but they really shine here. also i need miya to call me please please please,
dbdbdib - saturday (2020)
i would be remiss if i didn't include something from my precious nugu queens of romanian popcorn. it always hits for me!!! i'm always having fun when i listen to saturday! it's certainly not for everyone, but if you appreciate the genre, i think you'll appreciate this one.
puppet - marmello (2017)
marmello were a short-lived idol band that nonetheless produced this absolute earworm of a song. it's not revolutionary - in fact, it's about as formulaic as you can get - but it is fun and feel-good and infectious. AND there's a pretty sick guitar solo!!!
the grasshopper song - sunny hill (2012)
idk if sunny hill is nugu exactly but i do need to talk about this song. like, what if the fable of the grasshopper and the ant was a 2012-autotune-drenched EDM banger. it's SO weird!!! and yet so catchy and visually stunning. i really love the fiddle sprinkled throughout, it really works to tie the actual instrumental sound to the story it's drawing on. i've linked a version of the MV with english subtitles because i think in this case it really accentuates the music.
arisong - cignature (2020)
our first post-good day group, cignature always struggled a little bit but i really liked a lot of what they put out! in the last couple years of their career, they trended towards more subdued, safe music, but early on their music was loud, maximalist, and BIG! this song in particular is WEIRD. they pack so many sounds into three and a half minutes. i want to chew on that bouncy bass synth that underscores the whole thing. god i miss them.
color full - redsquare (2020)
the second of our post-good day groups, though i fear this one had exactly one song in them before they crumbled into dust. but what a song!!! it's huge and ambitious and very 80s. another one in my mental category of "early red velvet b-side reject", though there's a lot of itzy in this one, too.
the boots - gugudan (2018)
musically, this song feels like the bridge between 3rd gen sound and what would become the hallmarks of the 4th gen nugu sound. these girls are singing their asses off and i love the jazzy 2nd verse breakdown. i miss gugudan BAD, they were so good.
iriwa - pink fantasy (2018)
i think a lot of people found pink fantasy during their eleventh-hour pivot to dreamcatcher-style hard rock, but i still have a lot of fondness for their debut. i love when nugus dip into the deep well of j-pop! the production is janky and uneven but i find it charming. also yechan is one of the vocalists of All Time and i'm really hoping her new company will do SOMETHING with her.
independent woman - eite (2023)
another unfortunate "one and done" group, this song is largely unremarkable until that chorus hits you like a fucking truck. idk what to say, wall-of-sound harmonies will get me every time. 80s-synth electropop is always a hit for me.
tonight - spica (2013)
this was probably spica's biggest hit, though their discography has a bunch of really incredible tracks. i do get it though - this song really reeks of early 2010s sentimental pop-rock a la 'my life would suck without you' by kelly clarkson. this song is so nostalgic and bittersweet and only propelled by the fact that spica were, above all, amazing vocalists. i love how they sound in this genre. i wish they'd had more opportunities to shine, because their vocals are some of my favorite in kpop.
okay that's it! love u all! bye!