It’s been a weird and bad year for k-pop! There hasn’t been a K-YOS episode in some time because, frankly, we never had enough songs we wanted to talk about to fill the hour. We even had to cut our lists all the way down to 10! K-YOS will return as a music podcast where we talk about k-pop, as opposed to a k-pop podcast where we occasionally talk about other music. But that’s for another time — about a month, in fact! For now, here are our top 10 k-pop songs of 2025.
Dani:
10. "Thunder" by Seventeen
I like annoying music. What more can I say?
9. "Like It Like It" by Twice
You won’t take this group from me. You won’t convince me their music is bad (even when it is). I want to have FUN. Jihyo is the song.
8. "Love Child" by tripleS
I think most of their music sounds very similar, but "Love Child" breaks out of that mold just enough to be memorable. This is mostly here because something about the instrumental tap on my brain in a very nice way.
7. "UFO" by Onewe
Yonghoon does something on this song that’s so ethereal... The way his voice echoes behind his verses leading up to the chorus… What is that...
6. "X" by Close Your Eyes
Genuinely, Close Your Eyes is my top debut group of the year. They manage to do what most k-pop groups struggle with — taking inspiration from another artist or genre and putting out something that’s reminiscent of songs we already know without being derivative. "X" is a groovy R&B song that doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. The wheel is already great! It works!
5. "jellyous" by ILLIT
They’re really putting these kids to work in every sense, but if I can keep getting airy, playful pop songs... Well...
4. "poppop" by NCT Wish
NCT Wish doesn’t always deliver on their singles but this is IT – loud, disgustingly cute, and full of weird and unnecessary rap verses AND ad-libs. I think it’s crazy that they decided to slow it down halfway through the song just to end louder than ever.
3. "Dancing Alone" by KiiiKiii
I can’t be in a Molly Ringwald film from the 80s, so I listen to this. Girlhood is so important, ya know??
2. "Ember to Solar" by RIIZE
IT’S SO MAD, I’M SO BAD (imagine me bucking at you, because that’s what this song does to me). The ad-libs in this are so GOOD.
1. "Out of Love" by ZeroBaseOne
ZB1 really knows how to put out a simple song that’s held up by a bombastic (for k-pop) chorus, even on a unit song. "Out of Love" manages to convey a sense of yearning and regret without losing the poppiness you want from a pop punk-leaning song. This is what I keep on repeat at work, and that’s the highest compliment I can give.
Lotus:
10. "Back to Life" by &TEAM
In terms of music, this is the worst year in k-pop that I can remember. Ariana Grande doesn't make good music anymore, so the girls have no one to copy other than Charli XCX, and they don't do that very well since they're not allowed to sing about drugs or sex. The boys are in a race to the bottom, making the Dreamworks face on their "FE!N" clones and drowning out what few singers remain with circus noises. "Back to Life" is okay, so it made it into my top 10. It has structure. There are verses.
9. "BTTF" by NCT Dream
Many NCTs, but particularly NCT Dream, love to sully what would be a great song with some short, astringent chants or raps, which is not always helped by a signature cacophonous SM Entertainment chorus. On "BTTF," they have the courtesy to drop the worst bit in at the very end, and the bad chorus is an early fake out that's better the second time around. 20 seconds of annoying all told, it doesn't stay a great song, but it's pretty good. Easily my favorite opening leg of any song this year.
8. "So Cynical (Badum)" by LE SSERAFIM
Sultry but romantic, lowkey but never underproduced. LE SSERAFIM get superpowers when Overwatch is involved, for some reason. Initially tied for 7th; fell to 8th for the bed creaking sample in the last 10 seconds. What was that for? It’s tired.
7. "FOCUS" by Hearts2Hearts
One of the best basslines k-pop has ever heard.
6. "Lucky to be loved" by TWS
Much of what I could say about TWS here are less strong versions of the same things I'll say about TXT right below this, with TWS being the baby TXT and all. The caveat is that all six members of TWS combined don't even come close to matching Taehyun's vocals or the emotion with which he (or Huening Kai, for that matter) can sing. Going for a more stripped down, personal song is a good sound for TWS; especially considering, as Azalea mentions, the bullshit they would go on to pull after this. But if Terry Kang was singing this... man. It's good though!
5. "Beautiful Strangers" by TXT
Despite their all-around talent, TXT are still, bizarrely, a group that lives and dies by their music production. Maybe it's because of the whole T-X-T thing, constantly switching things around, that has them being committed too wholly to new concepts. "Beautiful Strangers" is not new. Emotional vocals, perfectly paced quiet moments, a total dedication to digital instrumentation, a vague but powerful sense of nostalgia... These are the things that TXT excels at. Maybe they should just keep doing it!
4. "jellyous" by ILLIT
Crack cocaine song of the year.
3. "Icarus" by ARTMS
ARTMS has identified (carved out?) a lane for themselves with “Birth” and the other unique elements present even in the poppier tracks on their debut album, <Dall>. Stay here. Live in the concept. A little sabor we call “artsy” because k-pop is so samey. Also, special thanks to whoever subtitles their videos and tags each line with the singer. Too few groups do this.
2. "BLUE" by ZeroBaseOne
ZB1 may have the best discography of any male survival group of this sort, and this song is right towards the tippity top. A classic, fresh, explosive summer love song, capped off by a beautiful, clear belt from main vocalist Taerae — a rarity in k-pop.
1. "KNOW ABOUT ME" by NMIXX
NMIXX is always doing things a little differently, trying new things, as is their whole deal. Experiment enough and something is bound to work out just right. Understated, effortless, sexy, cool. The ponytails are twirling, the bobs are bobbing, the singers are singing (in harmony!), and the dancers are dancing.
Azalea:
10. "FiRE (My Sweet Misery)" by Xdinary Heroes
Not their best, but their enthusiasm makes it for me. For all the other bands the industry has shit out this year, they’ve got the sound I enjoy the most. Competent instrumentation. :)
9. "KNOW ABOUT ME" by NMIXX
They stay being the only artists I look forward to anymore at JYP. Classification: C*nty. Excellent music video. I wanna eat that yolky jelly. I’m hungry.
8. "r u ok?" by ifeye
FUN. I even love the bullshit Spanish.
7. "Wait On Me" by Kai
Back to form! We won’t talk about his other releases from this year!!
6. "Goddess" by ARTMS
The amount of times I've shook my ass to this song.
5. "Lucky to be loved" by TWS
Staying. Power. A welcome departure from their usual poppier ways, a smoother approach while still maintaining that youthful sound. I won’t even speak of the travesty they pulled later in the year.
4. "Praying" by Seulgi
This dyke will always be on my list in some fashion. I was a little worried when the single dropped but thankfully this song keeps her in a deeper register. Sensual, moody. Grown woman music.
3. "little monster" by ILLIT
They’ve had such a good year. This spot coulda been any of them but this one’s the most suited to my taste. Love the music video as well. Big girl faces eating jelly guys. Yum.
2. "Ash" by LE SSERAFIM
Yay! They all sound good on this song! Definitely tied with ILLIT for best album this year. I love the production of this one specifically. I’m always down for a sexy electric guitar.
1. "Dancing Alone" by KiiiKiii
Simple but sooooo effective for me. The pauses before each beat during the chorus make my ears feel good. Musical tension, musical relief. Earphones at 100. Don’t do what I do.