It’s never been a better time to be a T-Pop fan.
While the industry continued to grow with new faces – some more high profile than others – this was also the year many other bubbling-under acts achieved breakout success.
NEW FACES, NEW FAME
We entered the year with the newly-launched BUS Because of you I shine and their effervescent style of pop – just months later, the 12-member group would become a household name, earning several high-profile brand endorsement deals on top of chart-topping hits.
There were several fresh-faced debuts achieving instant chart success, like Risa Narisa, a 16-year-old student who shot to fame after the release of her debut single my daisy.
Other solo acts like PUN and guncharlie made 2024 their breakout year, with their newer music trending among fans. PUN also released his first eponymous album, staging an intimate launch party to mark the occasion.
Actor-singer Billkin also has had a good year, achieving worldwide success from his big screen debut in How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies. The movie, produced by GDH is Thailand’s submission to the Oscars, and stands a good chance at being shortlisted for Best International Feature Film.
There were also many other new faces added to the T-Pop stable this year, including BUS’ labelmate DICE and a bevvy of GMMTV actors turned Riser Music artistes.
YUPP! Entertainment launched its girl group project Dreamgals this year to much success. Comprising Milli, flower.far and Galchanie, the trio’s breakout single Sorry was an instant viral hit, for its addictive tune, fiesty lyrics and of course, its iconic dance.
And speaking of iconic, who could forget our buttery best friend Butterbear, whose charm (and wits) caught the attention of many fans – so much so that its debut single น่ารักมั้ยไม่รู้ ( Narak Mhai Mai Roo ) hit record views and streams after its release.
Not to be outdone is the cutesy Moo Deng, whose images went viral on the internet in September. Not long after, the pygmy hippo was “signed” on the GMM Music as its newest artiste.
But back to the humans: this was also the year of solo projects, starting with Proxie in February this year, whose members each released their solo tracks to much critical success.
LiT Entertainment groups PiXXiE and bamm did likewise, while BUS decided to embark on their sub-units project – BUS5 and BUS7.
Even as T-Pop continued to grow, this year saw several high-profile splits, some with a teary-eyed farewell, others with an abrupt separation.
In January, indie-pop duo HYBS announced their disbandment, with a farewell concert to be held in March. The abrupt closure of 4nologue Music in February left the careers of T-Pop groups DVI and bXd high and dry, while the popular boy group Trinity quickly sought to establish solo careers.
There is more to come in 2025, including rock veterans Cocktail who will officially split after a highly-anticipated farewell concert in March.
INTER, INTER, INTER
This was also the year that Thai music began taking a serious look at going international, whether it was performing more overseas, or singing in another language.
Tilly Birds put out their highly-anticipated English single White Pills in April this year, as part of ongoing plans to release an English-language album. They followed up with Retro-39 in October, their second English single this year.
There also are a rising number of foreign producers at the helm of some of T-Pop’s biggest hits. Proxie, for example, tapped on South Korean label and creative agency THEBLACKLABEL for their latest single Traffic, presenting a distinctly different sound with the track.
More recently, NuNew worked with renown American producer Michael C Ross, who has collaborated with the likes of Christina Aguilera and Vanessa Carlton, for his year-end English single Be My Baby (This Christmas).
This came after the DMD Music singer-actor put out his first Japanese-language single, 渋谷のBARで初めてのデイト (First Date at Shibuya), which has met with chart success in Japan.
4EVE, meanwhile, worked with US-based daysof1993 for their newest single Boys Like Girls, which is also sung in English. PERSES’ Bodyguard is written and co-produced by Sweden’s Johan Gustafsson and Anders Gukko from music publishing and producing collective The Kennel.
The Thai government is also giving the fledgling T-Pop sector a push in the right direction – overseas. The Music Exchange programme – a collaboration between the Thailand Creative Culture Agency (THACCA), as well as the Creative Economy Agency – has been instrumental in bringing Thai acts to overseas music events.
Indeed, the year saw T-Pop acts head to international stages to perform, including 4EVE, which performed across Asia – including in Mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan.
Jeff Satur also concluded his Space Shuttle No.8 tour of major Asian cities, including Tokyo, Singapore and Taipei, before culminating in Bangkok.
QUEER POWER
This year also marked a historic for Thailand’s LGBTQ+ community, after lawmakers voted in favour of marriage equality.
The news coincides with a rising focus on LGBTQ music, including the debut of the country’s first queer T-Pop group – Hent.
Queer pop culture icon Badmixy has also had a good year – fresh off the viral success of her single ฟ้ารักพ่อ (DILF), she has gone on to start up her own music label WanLove Music, which has a focus on queer artistes.
WanLove also successfully concluded its talent hunt programme – Wannabe Love – which has given audiences and fans a glimpse of things to come.
CONCERT SEASON ALL AROUND
This was the year of concerts and festivals, including several firsts for the T-Pop fraternity. Groups like LYKN, PiXXiE and ATLAS took the Thunder Dome arena by storm this year, as fans mark their first respective concerts.
Meanwhile, tickets sold out in record time for Billkin and PP Krit’s first joint concert, held in downtown Bangkok in September.
Folk-rock wunderkind Joey Phuwasit threw a party – and then some – at his first Thunder Dome gig in November, while synth-pop band Polycat held their first major concert at the same arena in October.
But it wasn’t just first-timers – this year saw the likes of legends like Tattoo Colour, Palmy and Bodyslam pack in the fans. Palmy’s มิตร Universe Concert in September was extended twice (!) because of overwhelming demand, underscoring her immense popularity.
Music festivals were also out in full force from T-Pop-centric ones like Gotcha Pop and T-Pop Concert Fest, to those with broader appeal, like Big Mountain Music Festival and Monster Music Festival.
As the year comes to a close, T-Pop – and all its acts big and small – will have something to be proud of. And as it continues its march into the new year, there will certainly be more new names, more concerts and greater international reach.
