On danceXL, we highlight the biggest dance and electronic tracks primed for mainstream crossover. It’s a tough leap, to be sure, especially without losing your underground credibility. But in 2023, Peggy Gou pulled it off. The Korean singer and producer was already one of the world’s most in-demand DJs, but with the release of her blockbuster hit “(It Goes Like) Nanana”—a catchy nod to ’90s Balearic house that reverberated everywhere from underground clubs to viral TikTok clips—she broke through. For diehard fans, her ascendancy toward world domination has been a long time coming. Gou has always had pop star magnetism, the sort of self-assured artist who knows how to dress, defy expectations and command a crowd. (She learned from the best: The former fashion student moved to Berlin in her early twenties and worked at a record shop while spending weekends at the techno institution Berghain.) In recent years, she’s broadened her catalogue to include tracks that she herself sings on, often in her native Korean—an unusual move that lends her a certain star power out of reach for most DJs. On the heels of her non-stop, whirlwind 2023, she surprised fans again in November by collaborating with Lenny Kravitz on “I Believe in Love Again”. The wistful duet is set to appear on her debut album, reportedly out next year. We can’t wait to see what she’s got up her sleeve.