The World of K-Pop in 2025
Come one, come all to the 2025 recap from your 15th favorite Fangirl! We had a lot of very fun and special moments throughout the year and some absolutely killer albums dropped. This is going to be a beast of a post, so please buckle up. I will attempt to be entertaining, but that means there may be puns and quips involved.
I'm also going to scatter random stages from this year throughout the post, just to break things up, and so you can have some music, although I did include that big playlist that I was forming throughout the year. I also included the pet tax, because I talk about them often across all sorts of posts, so you can look forward to that.
Here's your first brain break! Make sure that you've got something to drink! Reading is thirsty work!
I'm going to break this up into sections so you can Ctrl+F your way through to each section depending on your interests and how much time you have. And I'll give you a table of contents, because I love table of contents
- Statistics
- GH/BBS
- The Year's Reviews
- The Top 10
- Q1 / Q2 / Q3 / Q4
- The Music Show Wins
- Award Shows
- The Junk Drawer
Statistics
This is going to be my own personal little celebration here for the blog. Some of these numbers may change if in 2026 I hit any of the many, many songs I missed in 2025, but as of posting, this is accurate.
So, on the reader end, y'all read my posts so that I had 43k views on my posts this year. My quiet, hopeful goal is actually 100 views a day, so the fact that I far exceeded that? Thank you.
No, really. Thank you.
You who are reading these words right now. Thank you.
So, what were the posts that got the most views?
Well, the majority of them were, predictably, Greatest Hits or Battle of the B-Sides posts. But! The order is actually quite surprising, and there were some actual reviews in the mix that I was not expecting.
BBS - LABOUM "Be the Light"
GH - MBLAQ "Style"
GH - EXID "Up & Down"
GH - MAMAMOO "Starry Night"
REVIEW - Taemin (SHINee) "Sexy in the Air"
BBS - NU'EST "ONE KISS2"
BBS - ATEEZ "Dune"
BBS - f(x) "Shadow"
BBS - KOYOTE "Let's Laugh"
AWARDS - MAMA Day 2
REVIEW - Kai (EXO) "Walls Don't Talk"
REVIEW - Chanyeol (EXO) "Happy Accident"
REVIEW - G-Dragon (BIGBANG) "TOO BAD"
SPECIAL - Halloween 2024
INTRO
WRAP-UP - October 2025
GH - NU'EST W "HELP ME"
AWARDS - MAMA Day 1
SPECIAL - Christmas 2025
REVIEW - Jennie (BLACKPINK) "Love Hangover"
So that's four Greatest Hits, five Battle of the B-Sides, five regular reviews, two awards posts, two special posts (for different years, which is interesting), one monthly wrap-up post, and...the post I wrote to introduce myself.
I'm still amused that the first review I wrote (Taemin) is still so popular. Ah, so young and full of enthusiasm, not realizing how long they would take. Still, functionally, it does work well as a first review full of that vim and vigor as well as functioning as a precursor to the GH and BBS posts.
I dropped 537 posts this year, which is an impressive number, but I feel like I can do better next year. The summer months were lean. I'm going to break down the months individually further down, but in broad strokes, we have 52 music show win posts, 18 GH posts, 16 BBS posts, 12 monthly reviews (because Dec 2024 was posted this year), and over 400 reviews of songs that dropped this year. Which means, that if you listened to all of them as well, you listened to over 400 new songs, the majority of which are title tracks, and that's an accomplishment for you! Well done!
GH/BBS
Greatest Hits
Brown Eyed Girls "Abracadabra"
Yoo Jae Suk (feat. EXO) "Dancing King"
Taeyeon (Girls' Generation) "INVU"
VIXX LR (VIXX) "Beautiful Liar"
Battle of the B-Sides
NU'EST "Thank You (evening by evening)"
Now that you've got all of them, let's take a look at some of those numbers, shall we? And this is why it's so important for people to suggest songs for me so that we cover more than what I generally listen to. I listen to a lot of groups, but I don't know all of them, and I certainly don't know all the songs by even my absolute favorite artists.
But, first, a stage! No reading involved unless you're reading lyrics. Also, make sure to grab a drink of water. Remember: you're basically a house plant.
So, for the Greatest Hits posts (18 in total), we have 6 from second gen artists, 8 from third gen artists, and 4 fourth gen groups. There are 6 boy groups, 2 bands, 1 co-ed group, 7 girl groups, and 1 female soloist (one girl group was featured twice because one of the fans gave me a list of songs they loved).
For the Battle of the B-Sides (16 in total), we have 3 from first gen artists, 1 from second gen artists, 6 from third gen artists and 6 from fourth gen artists. There are 8 girl groups, 1 female soloist, 1 co-ed group, and 4 boy groups (two of which were featured twice because...well, it's NU'EST and ATEEZ).
Combined, we have 3 first gen artists, 7 second gen artists, 10 third gen artists, and 9 fourth gen artists. Not too shabby. Not too shabby at all. Of course, that's only a fraction of the artists out there, only a fraction of the love we could all be sharing. But it's a good start. This is obviously skewed younger, with over half of the posts belonging to a group/artist that debuted in 2012 or later.
If you're reading this, go toss a song at me. A comment here, wherever you found this post, you can use The Form if you'd like. How am I to help you celebrate a song you love if you don't tell me about it? If there's an anniversary or birthday or special occasion you'd like me to put the post near, do make sure to say that as well. And if you're not sure if where it belongs, pick either BBS or GH and I'll figure it out when I do my snooping. Older, younger, I don't care. Just give me the songs, please.
The Year's Reviews
Since this is the music proper section, I'm going to drop the 143 track playlist of all of the songs that I really liked over the course of the year, so you have something to listen to while you do some reading. It's over seven hours. And also, this section will be the longest. It is a chonky boy.
So, make sure you've got your water or other appropriate liquid to consume, maybe a snack. I've been munching on grapes a lot lately and they're practically the perfect snack: fiber, water, sweet, naturally bite-sized. Just about everything I could want, you know?
Here are the links to all of the months' reviews, as well as the number of songs released each month that I did cover. There may be a tiny bit of cross-over with pre-releases because I did not go back and cross-check to make sure that all of the pre-releases were only in the month when the album was released. But the number of those should be fairly small. I also figured out how to make it so that next year, those numbers are a lot more accurate.
This entire post has taught me a lot about how to approach 2026 to make life easier for me at the end for next year's Recap.
January - 28
February - 40
March - 48
April - 34
May - 33
June - 22
July - 23
August - 40
September - 50
October - 38
November - 38
December - 40
Okay. So. There were at least 67 groups that debuted this year (I likely missed some, but not counting subunits, it's at least 67), several of which have already been put on hiatus or disbanded. That's also not counting any of the soloists or subunits that I covered. Or didn't cover but mentioned anyway.
And I covered 434 releases this year. That's actually more than one a day, which is impressive because as you can see by those summer months, I was a slacker. I debated on whether or not to include those numbers, but, I figured transparency. You know. Also, I'm quite proud of those. That was a lot of effort on my part.
From the entire year, and this is where this is going to get very lengthy, so make sure that you've got water and take breaks if you need to. You do not need to read all of this in one sitting. Please don't. Almost exactly a third of all of the reviews I did, I loved the song. The number of the songs I at least liked is probably closer to three-quarters or four-fifths, but since I didn't have a dedicated system of keeping track of all of those, I'm having to guess. It helps that we're moving away from certain trends I do not like.
But! Here are my top 10 songs for the year! Out of all of those songs that are about to follow, these were my top of the top favorites, often the ones I still seek out and listen to a lot. This is in no particular order because you could get a faster answer from me if you asked me who my favorite Star Wars character is: Anakin Skywalker or Revan.
If you're looking for a smaller highlight reel of 2025, or if you're somewhat new to K-Pop (Welcome!!), this would be a decent place to start.
- BSS (Seventeen) "CBZ (Prime Time)"
- Seulgi (Red Velvet) "Baby, Not Baby"
- NTX "OVER N OVER"
- Daesung (BIGBANG) "Universe"
- ITZY "Girls Will Be Girls"
- W!TCHX "Run Baby Run"
- BoA "Crazier"
- KickFlip "Band-Aid"
- The KingDom "Last Flower"
- LOVEONE "Drama Queen"
Some honorable mentions here, because I do actually listen to these songs a lot as well: NINE.i "어쩌면", NOWZ "Everglow", Highlight "Endless Ending", ODD YOUTH "I Like You", Lee Chanwon "오늘은 왠지 (Maybe Today)", and LUN8 "Butterfly". Trying to narrow these down is really difficult. I just want you all to know this. And for the same reason that I'm not putting the links here with my actual top ten, I did that down in the behemoth section you're about to get to, and I don't want to inundate y'all with links. Again, CTRL+F is your friend.
I'm not breaking them down by month, but they are in order by month. I am also going to break them down a little bit by quarter so you can also use CTRL+F to hop right back to it if you need to take a break, which I highly encourage.
Q1
- Onew (SHINee) "Winner": the music video is pretty intense, but he looks so good. Also, the song is cinematic and explosive and the line "we're still young and wild and free" has in fact been living in my head rent free since it came out
- XLOV "IMMA BE": in one of the highest compliments I can probably give, this entire song, from vocals to choreo to styling, feels like something Taemin would do, and as an artist, I think he's absolutely incredible. Like, have you guys seen this music video? Wow. Stunning debut. Very much looking forward to see what they'll do in the future.
- CREZL "HAKUNA MATATA": another surprise for me, but it's a project group and they sound amazing. Those vocals are some top tier quality. Plus, they have such nice textures to their voices that I'm not complaining at all. Who's complaining? Not me, that's for sure. And also, I didn't realize Jinho of PENTAGON was in a project group!
- BSS (Seventeen) "CBZ (Prime Time)": I got to stage one of the understanding the title but didn't catch that it was an acronym. I should have. But I didn't. Still, I knew what the CBZ stood for, and that song is so freaking catchy. I find myself whispering it just at random. Mark one on the checklist
- Huh Yunjin (LE SSERAFIM) "jellyfish": Oh, I think I forgot to add this to the artist page. I'll do that later. This song took me by complete surprise. I'm not going to lie. Not because I think LE SSERAFIM are talentless (which I don't at all and think that's a ridiculous claim to level at a group, especially one with the experience that they have), but because my ears are so picky with the girl group songs, and this song absolutely blew it out of the water.
- Lucy "Into the Day": I've been worrying about the violinist for a while now, but I'm happy to see he's back and adding that extra dimension to their songs again.
- Dynamicduo & Gummy "Take Care": Y'all. I am all about the first gen groups doing literally anything and Gummy is, as far as I'm concerned, one of the Queens of OSTs. And holy crap, even though my expectations were high because of those two factors, blew me out of the water.
- ZEROBASEONE "Doctor! Doctor!": I don't know why I'm always surprised when I like their songs. I like the group. I enjoyed seeing them perform. I look forward to their releases. And then I'm always surprised. And this music video is so good!
- Catch the Young "넌 언제나 (You, Always) (2025)": their first digital single follows their (frankly lovely) trend of covers, but rather than simply cover the existing 1993 song, they remade it, and oh, my goodness, I love it.
- Jeonghan (Seventeen) (feat. Omoinotake) "Better Half": I miss him. I'm not counting this as his solo debut for reasons I detail in the review, and so am looking forward to that. However, I also struggle to separate how hard it is to separate my emotions from whether or not this is technically as good as I think it is. I'm aware of the bias, but oh, well. I don't care. I love the song.
- Chung Ha (I.O.I) "Stress": How many playlists have I added this song to? Five? Six? It's amazing. Like, this song is the actual jam. And the music video? Wow.
- Plave "Dash": I hadn't been intending to do this one, and I'm glad they got a win because holy moly on a cracker. I mean, I was super into the song anyway, right? But then that music video. Oh, wow. It's enough to make me want to dig back through their discography and figure out what the plot is.
- I:MOND "Wonderland": Pretty new group, but they all debuted as adults. That's enough to get a thumbs up from me on principle. And even though I wasn't overly fond of the music video because of the lack of storyline which I obviously love, the song itself got added to my playlists of the "2025 Releases That Are Super Cool," so I'm not too upset about the music video. Gorgeous though.
- Just B "한걸음만": I want this one in a movie so badly. Like, come on. I need this to happen. Tell me I'm wrong.
- Hui (PENTAGON) "My Memory": I feel like I got a little bit spoiled by the song length on this one. And when this man lets his voice loose, the angels weep. In other news, the violin (I mean, there's a violin. Are you kidding?) mimics his vibrato, which is a fascinating addition to a song that I don't know that I've heard in K-Pop before this moment.
- Wooseok (PENTAGON) "ROMANCE": And rounding out the PENTAGON releases for the month, the maknae also dropped a single, but instead of a soulful ballad that almost brings me to tears, Wooseok gave us rock. I'm almost in love with his voice here. And I love the style of the music video.
- NouerA "N.I.N (New is Now)": This song is so gloriously dramatic and it reminds me of Scoob-Doo, which is a weird thing to be reminded of? But it's so dramatic. And it's such a good debut. I'm so excited for this group. Like, this is a debut, you guys. De. But. I'm calling it now that this is going to be one of my top debuts of the year.
- LUN8 "Butterfly": Winner for the most beautiful choreography of the month. Easy. Like, I don't know if y'all have seen this or not, but wow. And the costuming? *chef's kiss*
- Seungkwan (Seventeen) "Somewhere in This Universe": Seungkwan did an OST. Easy. Sold. Next. (I love the drama you usually find in OSTs and Seungkwan's voice has literally brought me to my knees from the sheer perfection it is. I have no notes for him other than two thumbs up.)
- ONF "The Stranger": Bye My Monster was one of my favorite releases of 2024, the entire album was no-skip for me, and while The Stranger doesn't reach the same level of love for me, it's still such a solid song that I'm very here for it.
- Changsub (BTOB) "Feel The Groove": This is another one that I've added to like half a dozen playlists. And I still haven't shown it to my cat. I'm a bad fur parent. (So to remedy that and so I just showed him. I said his name to wake him up. He opened his eyes and huffed at me. I hit play, watched his ears twitch and his pupils dilate, and now he's purring. So, it's finally T'Challa Approved™. And I put my headphones back on and now he's glaring at me. Such is life.)
- ASTRO "Twilight": Almost had me in tears. I'm grateful for this.
- Jackson Wang (GOT7) "High Alone": This music video. It's trying to trigger my film analysis brain. Also some mental panic because that's heavy. That is a heavy music video. Gorgeous. Lovely. But incredibly heavy.
- Ilhoon (BTOB) "moonwalk": The sound of the song isn't exactly in my realm of "I'm in love with this," even if I love the way he raps, but the lyrics? They shot me through the heart. Double tap.
- BTOB "LOVE TODAY"- This song has become a catharsis song for me. It's such a comforting hug that I can't help it
- Jennie (BLACKPINK) "ZEN"- Did it technically come out last month? Yes. But it's fine. Also, I liked this song technically a little better, but I absolutely love the music video for Love Hangover.
- Treasure "YELLOW"- This song is so much fun. The music video is fun. It's all good.
- J-Hope (BTS) "Mona Lisa"- I struggled to decide which one I liked better, and I think this one wins solely because of his sparkly pants in the music video.
- Seulgi (Red Velvet) "Baby, Not Baby"- Her voice is stunning, and the music video hits all the things that make my brain happy. Also, she herself is just gorgeous. (I'm also really excited to see what the duo comeback will be when it comes out).
- NTX "OVER N OVER"- This one was a surprise for me. It's a delightfully fun and weird music video and the song itself hits a lot of the things I like.
- Rocky (ASTRO) "BA BA BYE"- That music video. That's what I'm looking for in a music video, that level of storyline. That's what I want, and he gave it to me. Also, the song is just lovely. He's very, very good.
- NewBeat "JeLLo"- I heard this song again this morning and I was humming or singing along with it. It's so scarily catchy.
Q2
- Close Your Eyes "All My Poetry": Survival show groups are often ones I really like, and these guys are no different. This was a solid debut. This song, and the album really, definitely made me pay attention to them and keep an eye on this group.
- ODD YOUTH "I Like You": I still like Hot Chicken better, but this music video is stunning and I've love to see them cover something from second gen. Also, that music video is incredible and funny and so sweet.
- Daesung (BIGBANG) "Universe": I didn't even have to remind myself about this song. That's how incredible this song is. I love it. Like, it's incredible enough that I remember exactly where I was when I heard it for the first time (ironically, I was in fact sitting in church).
- TWS "Countdown!": I'm still deeply annoyed about HYBE's runtimes, but it doesn't change how much I love the song.
- Highlight "Endless Ending": I'm completely in love with this song. I love it so much. Another song that I remember where I was when I first heard it: in the car after dropping my father off at work. I actually listened to the whole album, and even though I really liked Chains, this one had me by the throat and still does.
- Big Ocean "ATTENTION": They just keep getting better and better. And that music video? Wow.
- LOVEONE "Drama Queen": I'm just super proud of myself for being able to identify another song that matches it in time signature, key signature, and BPM. The music video is delightful, and the entire time I was writing the review, I was happy wiggling in my chair.
- ASTRO "Moon": This is a beautiful song.
- from20 "Eye Candy": ...Look. I have no defense.
- SWEET:CH "Candy House": Yes, I thought it would be funny to have two songs that are similarly titled, but wildly different in literally every other way. This was a debut, they haven't done anything since, which is concerning, but honestly, I just love this song.
- UNIS "SWICY": I can't listen to the song recreationally because the maknae debuted at thirteen. However. It doesn't change how much I love the song, you know? They've got incredible voices and the music video was freaking adorable.
- Irene & Seulgi (Red Velvet) "Tilt": The music video alone would have it on this list, but the song is generally just stunning.
- N.Flying "Everlasting": Yo, this song is so pretty! It's got just about everything that I want, and I don't understand why this band in general doesn't get more attention.
- Hwan Woong (Oneus) "RADAR": You know how there are some songs that you just know you're going to love from the first five seconds? This was one of them for me.
- KickFlip "FREEZE": Realistically, this was the point where I started feeling really bad for them in terms of timing for their releases because they just don't have the numbers yet. But I love this song so much. Y'all do not even know.
- Kim Jaejoong (TVXQ!/JYJ) "ROCK STAR": His voice is stunning. I want to hear this song live so badly. Rock really does suit him so well.
- Seventeen "THUNDER": Honestly, this song took me a minute to really like. And then I saw the stages and I was sold because I understood the song then.
- Tablo (EPIK HIGH) X RM (BTS) "Stop The Rain": I weep.
- i-dle "Good Thing": Another one that the music video alone would have put on the list, but good news, the song is a spicy one that taps into my love of alt rock.
- Sungjae (BTOB) "Lie": His voice is stunning. I want to hear this song live so badly. Part 2. That guitar? The softness before completely bursting? His vibrato? The depth? He kills me and revives me all at once in an eternal cycle.
- BE BOYS "I'M SO SORRY BUT I LOVE YOU": First of all, HAKSEONG! YOU DEBUTED! Second of all, there is so much energy and vibrancy to the song, but the album as a whole is such a well-rounded debut that I'm actually pleased with the company.
- ATEEZ "Lemon Drop": This song is still stuck in my head. This was the first one of the June releases that I actually covered, but it's such an earworm that it's warmed on me a lot. Also, still, good luck, ATINYs.
- NOWZ "Fly to the youth": The validation in my persistence is real.
- NINE.i "어쩌면": They actually got a rock song, and they sound so good!
- Sungjae (BTOB) "at last": That music video is phenomenal and he gets to show off both Actor Sungjae and Singer Sungjae in it.
- CREZL "Lady Marmalade": Yes, this is a cover. Yes, it is amazing. And it has Jinho from Pentagon in the group.
- fromis_9 "LIKE YOU BETTER": The lyrics of this song are so wonderfully wholesome
- ITZY "Girls Will Be Girls": Music video here for the win. Girl power. Let's go.
- izna "BEEP": Ah, yes. The fairy dubstep. This one I waffled on a little bit as to its inclusion, but I do like the bridge here and the entire vibe. Plus, the music video.
- DayChild "Click Clack": This song is adorable.
- Enhypen "Bad Desire (With or Without You)": Run time notwithstanding, I made an amusing comparison to Heaven by Taemin in this review (which I still maintain is accurate) that is only amusing when paired with the music video.
Q3
- AHOF "Rendezvous": If only the maknae was older so I could listen to it! The music video is gorgeous! The song is gorgeous! Wonderful debut for this group. Gold star!
- ATEEZ "In Your Fantasy": This song is single handedly the reason why I nicknamed their tour this year the male burlesque show. I avoided watching any of the stages on purpose, and that was worth it to see it live the first time. But, even ignoring the choreography, there are so many good and interesting points to the song itself that it had my attention from the start.
- W!TCHX "Run Baby Run": So this was a surprise. They're a recent girl group from a very small company, but you know what? This is incredibly solid and I love the choreography work here. It got added to my Halloween playlist too.
- Super Junior "Express Mode": There is so much going on with this song vocally that I have to love it, but really it's the way the song and the members have settled down into just raw performance charisma.
- BLACKPINK "JUMP": I was a little surprised that I'd put this on the list, but reading back through my review, it has to be the music video here and their voices being as well supported as they are. And there's an EDM dance break at the end of the song, and I love those.
- TOMORROW X TOGETHER "Beautiful Strangers": That grind in the instrumental is my strongest memory of this song but it feels like a video game in the best way.
- Close Your Eyes "Snowy Summer": That music video is one of the funniest music videos I saw this year. Vocally, there is so much going on, and I love that. But this is definitely included here because of the music video.
- NOWZ "EVERGLOW": MY PATIENCE HAS BEEN REWARDED. YES.
- OH MY GIRL "Weather Diary": The song has some gorgeous runs in it that everyone needs to hear. That's all. It's absolutely gorgeous.
- Purple Kiss "DOREMI": I'm so sad about this song, but if they were going to go out on a bang, a quiet bow was more appropriate. (Also, I'm glad that someone took me up on my request and gave me a Purple Kiss song to do a Greatest Hits post on for November.
- Lim Young Woong "Eternal Moment": There's a reason why all the ahjummas love him. His voice is angelic.
- ZZONE (cignature/Good Day) "Devil's Jam": I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. But that music video is 100% what fixed any problem I had with the song.
- In A Minute "How We Do": The Mature Voices! If the song was longer, I'd be in absolute heaven.
- xikers "ICONIC": The kids' first English track! Oh, it's so good. And the choreo? Amazing. It's another dance practice video where we got to see the foot stomping shaking the lights.
- Hyunsik (BTOB) "The Answer": This is a "Who hurt him?" breakup song.
- TEEN TOP "Cherry Pie": I misheard the lyrics originally, and it still makes me laugh a little. But, no, that's a good song and I'm glad to see them back post military.
- 8TURN "Electric Heart": Belts! Harmonies! That's two of the three things I want to see!
- Moonbyul (MAMAMOO) "Goodbyes and Sad Eyes": Took me about twenty seconds to fall in love with this song.
- BoA "Crazier": She's Queen BoA for a reason, and she does very well with rock. It fits her perfectly.
- Key (SHINee) "HUNTER": There's a song on there that I actually like better, but the ad-libs at the end are so gorgeous.
- LOVEONE "LOVE HIGH": My other girls! We're getting closer to some big vocal displays but it's such a strongly summery song.
- Junhee (A.C.E) "Supernova": Was not expecting an all-English track and the music video is absolutely delightful.
- Joy (Red Velvet) "Love Splash!": We got a summer song from Joy as well, and it fits so well! With such a cute music video!
- idntt "Storm": I know that technically it's a b-side. I know. I'm aware. But the music video dropped like the same day as for the title track and holy moly I love this song.
- TREASURE "PARADISE": I may have to actively add these guys to my list of groups. The 70s vibe is so strong here, and even though there were some things that I didn't super love, it's just such a fun song that I don't care.
- KickFlip "Band-Aid": I literally love the entirety of this song and I got to hear some vibrato from a fifth gen group. Sad rock. Sad, explosive rock. I love this.
- KickFlip "My First Love Song": Am I putting both songs on this list? Yes. Do I care? No. This song is just that good.
- Jung Daehyun (B.A.P) "행로 (Haeng-ro)": He's got incredible vocal precision and this song shows that off so well.
- DAY6 "INSIDE OUT": 10th anniversaries stress me out, but as far as the song goes, it's so good. And the music video? Genius.
- Haechan (NCT) "CRZY": Took me ten seconds to fall in love with this song.
- Shin Wonho (Cross Gene) "Fill Me": This is another one where the music video deserves a special shout-out. And also perfect for the spooky season now.
- Junhee (A.C.E) "Umbrella (10:00)": Once again, music video specific shout-out. The entire song is great. But that music video is fabulous. Also, he replied to a comment on the music video, and it still makes me giggle a little.
- Yuqi (i-dle) "M.O.": Another ten second song.
- Woodz (UNIQ) "I'll Never Love Again": The man is going through five divorces at once.
- Hearts2Hearts "Pretty Please": They're underaged. I can't actually listen to them. That doesn't change the fact that this song is stunning.
- CxM (Seventeen) "5,4,3 (Pretty Woman)": 1) I got to hear SCoups sing (swoon); 2) the music video is hilarious; 3) it did take me a bit to fully warm up, but I love the original so...
- The KingDom "Last Flower": I'm completely 100% in love with that instrumental and we got is as just the instrumental track. It's gorgeous and traditional and amazing.
Q4
- Wonho (Monsta X) "Good Liar": Yo. This song is so catchy. Fully in English, but oh, this is a catchy song.
- W24 "I gotta feeling": This is a trilingual song and I am in love. The trilingualism is enough to make me ignore that it's a bit repetitive.
- Hwasa (MAMAMOO) "Good Goodbye": I like that we got the confirmation that this was in fact written about/for an ex. But, also it's a completely gorgeous song, and I am so here for it. (I actually like the other version better, but it's fine).
- NMIXX "Blue Valentine": I still think that song sounds like it's saying "Blue butterfly" but it's fine. That's my ears being weird more than anything.
- BABYMONSTER "WE GO UP": Here's the thing. Just because a group is currently on Underage Protocol, that doesn't change it when I really, deeply love songs. This one is a prime example of that.
- TWICE "ME+YOU": Happy anniversary, TWICE!
- Joochan (Golden Child) "Rise & Shine": We got vibrato and scales and the cutest little slice of life music video.
- Lee Chanwon "Maybe Today": I spent two days listening to this album and falling in complete head-over-heels love with his voice.
- &TEAM "Back To Life": Again, this was their Korean debut as well as giving them music show wins. But I love this music video specifically so much.
- TEMPEST "In The Dark": This one is another music video shout-out because you know what? The acting is incredible, the storyline is incredible, and it's so delightfully Grimm fairytale that I want to shout about it from the rooftops. Not that the song (and the whole album) aren't good too But this music video. Top Tier.
- LE SSERAFIM "SPAGHETTI": I'm adding this one in December after I wrote the review for this one. Y'all. This is a very specific weird genre of song that I absolutely adore. This is a weird song, and I am here for that.
- NOWZ "HomeRUN": Y'all. I predicted this one correctly that by the end of the review I'd be adding it to that playlist. But I'm really not kidding about the Yoon/Siyun bridge. That thing is a masterpiece.
- RIIZE "Fame": The music video is super cool and I absolutely love Eunseok in this one.
- BE BOYS "Earth and Moon": There's never a dull moment in this song. Keeps you on your toes. It's just fantastic.
- Rocky (ASTRO) "Forever and Ever": This song is so soft and fluffy, he's so smiley through the whole thing, and it's just such a sweet song. I love it. I really do.
- Eunwoo (ASTRO) "SATURDAY PREACHER": That music video alone would have earned a spot here.
- Stray Kids "Do It": As I said. When I like the Stray Kids title tracks, and I don't have to let them sit for a bit before that happens, I really like them.
- Kyuhyun (Super Junior) "Like Our First Snow": He's got such an incredible voice, and the song is seriously so sad.
- ALLDAY PROJECT "ONE MORE TIME": This was a showcase of vocals that I was not expecting. I had hopes for certain things, which I didn't get, but it doesn't change that the song is just so good.
- Moonbyul (MAMAMOO) "S.O.S": I haven't posted the review for it, but just so you know, I love this song. Her voice is gorgeous and the style is perfect for her. It's fully front-woman of a band. She's incredible.
- VERIVERY "RED (Beggin')": The song has so much drama and vocal layers and the music video is amazing. I'm delighted by this song. Love it.
- Taeyeon (Girls' Generation) "Panorama": This song quiets that loud and busy brain of mine. That's not that easy to do.
- Eunkwang (BTOB) "Greatest Moment": He sounds incredible. And the music video! And the lyrics! And how funny he was in the thing he did with Minhyuk about this. The whole album is amazing and the range there!
- The Boyz "Still Love You": It's a comfort song, and I love fan songs, which this obviously is.
- Lunedi (Weeekly) "FACE MYSELF": A good solid rock sound that I just liked more and more every time I listened to it.
- Jay Chang (One Pact) "Runaway": He knows his voice so well. The ending is incredible. Such a good song.
- Daesung (BIGBANG) "HANDO-CHOGUA": This music video is so weird and I get the second-hand embarrasment every time I think about that beginning. "Ohhh! Saka!" Oh, and the song itself is great. His voice is perfect for trot.
- ASH ISLAND "MIDNIGHT SKY": I've got a huge soft spot for rappers who decide to take a break from the rapping and sing instead. I'm still laughing a little bit that I said he'd make a great rock band leadman, and then the music video is that.
- LOVEONE "시간을 건너서": This is an OST, but it's also a fairytale in a song. This is gorgeous.
- Forestella "Still Here": This is a pre-release for their album coming out next year, and I just want to bask in this thing. Plus, the lyric video is gorgeous.
- GPP "Bring It Back" {Japanese} {Debut}: I was expecting neither the group nor how bomb this song is. And the choreography? SM really needs to have a bigger budget for them.
- Kim Sejong (I.O.I/gugudan) "Solar System": It's a super short review, but this is a lullaby of a song. Beautiful.
- Secret Number "Bitter Sweet": This song is the coolest blend of traditional and modern. I got a bit rambly in the review, but don't let it fool you. I adore this song.
- Catch the Young "FOOTSTEPS": I'm so proud of how far they've come in the last two years. There's so much I love about this song and everyone needs to take a listen to it. Every single instrument gets some time to shine and there's an absolutely gorgeous guitar solo.
- Bang Yongguk (B.A.P) "nanana": This song is gorgeous and very masculine and weighty. I love his voice. Again, when rappers sing, I'm over the moon.
- ASC2NT "Replay": The whole song is layered so well. Instrumentally. Vocally. And the music video had an amazing job done with the lighting.
- In A Minute "Credit": The song was a little bit of a surprise vocally, but they're shown off so well that. Love this.
- Hyolyn (Sistar) "Standing On The Edge": What a way to end the year. Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.
- Boyamiyu "The Moment My Heart": Yo, I was not expecting this song, both because it wasn't on my radar and because I'd never heard of her. But this is incredible. No seriously. You need to take a listen.
- SAY MY NAME "UFO (ATTENT!ON)": Just because I can't listen to them yet, that doesn't mean that I can't acknowledge when a song is great. And this one is great. Also, the music video is funny.
Whoo, that was a lot. Here, have a stage as a breather. Get up and stretch, please! Get a refill on your water!
The Music Show Wins
The cool thing is that I have a post with all of this already.
That's here with the 2025 Music Show Recap.
But just as a recap of that one, there were a total of 241 music show wins in 2025, 16 Triple Crowns. The program with the most wins was Music Bank and the one with the fewest (except for The Show, which was cancelled mid-November) was Show Champion. There was exactly one artist that had both a highest score on a program and also a Triple Crown.
Award Shows
So, did I get all of them written? No. No, I didn't. Whoops. And even now, I still have a couple that I'd like to get written up, but that requires the stars to be aligned and the energy to be available.
But first! A stage! Take another drink of water.
KGMAs
MAMAs
The Junk Drawer
So, my top listens for the year on my primary streaming service. Honestly, I was expecting Monster to finally be the one to topple FACE since I started listening to K-Pop, and yet, here we are.
NU'EST - FACE
Seventeen - Monster
BoA - Crazier
BSS (Seventeen) - Fighting
HUNTR/X - Golden
Dreamcatcher - Chase Me
SHINee - Don't Call Me
Seventeen - Snap Shoot
BTOB - Pray (I'll Be Your Man)
xikers - WITCH
BTOB - Be Alright
Seventeen - Maestro
xikers - Tricky House
Stray Kids - Stray Kids
Woodz - Drowning
GFRIEND - Vacation
DK (Seventeen) - Happy Virus
Seventeen - Aju Nice
Also, you know how I kept talking about the animals? Here are some pictures of them. The pet tax, if you will. T'Challa is the ballad lover, who is also a Changsub of BTOB bias. I've raised this cat since he was about five weeks old (which is too early, but he was picked up off the streets and starving). The very first night I had him in the house, he hissed and growled at the dogs, puffed up like I couldn't basically hold him in one hand, and then fell asleep upside down in my arms. He got his name because he's got tabby markings on his belly and they made me think of superhero abs. Sometimes I think he's actually a human that got stuck in cat form and is smarter than any cat has a right to be.
PJ is the heavy rap lover, and he specifically loves early BTS and Stray Kids. He was adopted from a shelter after his littermate was adopted first. He was originally supposed to be my dad's, but cats do what cats will. He also yells at me if I don't go to bed at a reasonable time, even if he's spent literally all day in my room anyway. PJ doesn't think of anything but kibble as food, which means that when he has to go to the vet for his potentially very expensive health problem, he goes on strike and refuses to eat. He got his name because my last orange cat (my first cat, love of my life, my sweet baby) was named Peaches and, well, PJ is about as smart as him. Which is to say, not very. But it's fine. He's very sweet. And loves his heavy rap.
Chewbacca is my good boy. He's an anxious boy, but he's a good boy. He's also got health problems (seizures), but largely they aren't too much of a problem. Mostly, though, he's just one big opinion after another. Scary movies? Nope. Rom-coms? Nope. Too much laughter? How dare you. Music? He's suffering. He does however like car shows and true crime and Scooby-Doo. The funniest thing about him though is that when I am up late for the live concerts, he stays with me. And the ones I do that the most with? Seventeen. What's the song that plays at the end of their concerts? Aju Nice. He hates that song, loathes it with every fiber of his being, but now refuses to believe it's time to actually go to bed unless he hears that song. So even if I'm watching another group, Chewbacca doesn't believe it's over until Aju Nice plays, so I have to play Aju Nice myself because otherwise he won't go back to bed. That dog has a lot of funny little habits. He got his name because he's part Maltese->Maltese Falcon->Millennium Falcon->Han Solo (great name for a cat, not a great name for a dog)-> Chewbacca. And he's got Yoda ears.
I know that this was massively long and that you had to wait a while for this, but thank you so much for both reading this and also for reading all of the posts I've written.
I hope you found them moderately entertaining, but more importantly, I hope that you enjoyed all of the music from 2025, and more than anything, if I helped you find a group to explore more or, if it's one of the brand new rookies, to look forward to as they release new music. That's honestly infinitely more important than y'all reading anything I write. I'd rather you use this as a starting point for more music.
But that doesn't mean I'm not still infinitely grateful every time you read one of my posts. I've got enough vanity that I do get a bit of a dopamine hit every time that you read something I wrote, but I know that it's a lot of time that you've spent reading them. So thank you again.
See y'all later with new posts!
Have one last stage!
Love,
Your 15th Favorite Fangirl
Comments
Post a Comment