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THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from June 15 – 21

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At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. In 2025, I thought I’d try something new and add a weekly feature to supplement my monthly round-up. Each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And even more than that, I’ll attempt to rank them from my least-to-most-liked. I invite you to share your own rankings as well. The comments section of these posts is also a great spot to discuss anything that has happened in K-pop during the week.

Make sure to click on the title of any release to read the full review and see its initial rating. Consider this your one stop Bias List shop each and every Sunday!

2025 Index: Jan 5 – Jan 11 // Jan 12 – Jan 18 // Jan 19 – Jan 25 // Jan 26 – Feb 1 // Feb 2 – Feb 8 // Feb 9 – Feb 15 // Feb 16 – Feb 22 // Feb 23 – Mar 1 // Mar 2 – Mar 8 // Mar 9 – Mar 15 // Mar 16 – Mar 22 // Mar 23 – Mar 29 // Mar 30 – Apr 5 // Apr 6 – Apr 12 // Apr 13 – Apr 19 // Apr 20 – Apr 26 // Apr 27 – May 3 // May 4 – May 10 // May 11 – May 17 // May 18 – May 24 // May 25 – May 31 // Jun 1 – Jun 7 // Jun 8 – Jun 14

Notable B-sides:

ILLIT – Jellyous // Oops!

NINE.i – Maybe

OX:N – Cause Of You // Suit & Tie

ZEROBASEONE – Running

Notable J-pop by K-pop Artists:

PLAVE – Hide And Seek

THIS WEEK: June 15 – 21

13. Moonbyul – ICY BBY

12. Kang Daniel – Episode

11. Yugyeom – Shall We Dance

10. ALLDAY PROJECT – Famous

9. Katseye – Gabriela

8. Baby DONT Cry – Bet You’ll Regret It

7. BE BOYS – I’m So Sorry, But I Love You

6. Dignity – SWEET2TH

5. VVUP – Giddy Boy

4. OX:N – You

3. NOWZ – Fly To The Youth (ft. Yuqi)

2. ILLIT – Do The Dance

1. Hearts2Hearts – Style (song of the week!)

16 thoughts on “THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from June 15 – 21”

  2. Binging the global round-up yesterday has flooded my algorithm with MVs from artists I never knew existed lol. I think this one from Denisse Guerrero is my favourite – the verses feel fairly stock sentimental, but it all builds up to a decent drop for the post-chorus and climax.

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    • Do you think it’s worth watching for someone like me who generally dislikes animated movies? I’ve seen a lot of promo for it but nothing’s caught my eye yet.

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      • I mean this is coming from a lifelong lover of anime and manga, but nothing about it really appealed to me honestly. There is plenty of other better anime or animated out there about hunting demons than this upcoming Demon Hunter show. Probably the only thing the show will have going for it is the music by TWICE. But honestly if ya want a cool anime that deals with demons and spirits ya can’t ever go wrong with a classic like YuYu Hakusho is better and cooler setting, music and overall a great show that I grew up watching.

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      • I liked it as an original IP animated movie, but despite having its conceit being centered around Kpop I don’t think the music was all that striking or memorable.

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      • The soundtrack is on Spotify, so you could just listen to the songs without having to watch the movie. I enjoyed the movie without reservations, it had fun humor, didn’t take itself too seriously, but still had moments of drama and tugged at your heartstrings a few times. I thought the songs were quite good in execution, and FELT like Kpop, though as predicted, they weren’t going to take a lot of risks musically. My ratings are likely more biased since I enjoyed the movie, but for the songs they would be:

        How it’s done: This is Blackpink coded, so you will like it if you like their style, think “Du duu du duu”, “Boombayah”, or “How you like that”. I think it hits pretty hard. 9,9,7,9 = 8.5

        Soda Pop: This is your cutesy boy band bubble gum pop sound. It’s catchy for sure. 9,8,7,8 = 8

        Golden: The song is built completely around the chorus for the movie’s sake, but sacrifices adding more depth around the song because of it. They have 1 short verse and a much shorter transition so they can do the chorus again The chorus is good, but it shouldn’t be the majority of the song. 8,6,6,7 = 6.75

        Takedown: Another Blackpink coded song (despite having an alt version that Twice sings). Not as solid as “How It’s Done”, but close. 8,8,7,9 = 8

        Your Idol: Feels like something Exo could do. Some parts especially sound like “Mama”. Also has a SKZ vibe to it. Last chorus hits real hard. Harmonies are nice throughout. 8,9,9,8 = 8.5

        Free: If this soundtrack was an album, this is your mandatory ballad. This sounds the most western pop of every song in the movie. Cookie cutter, but still nicely done. Best part is when Jinu comes in for the first time. 7,8,7,7 = 7.25

        What It Sounds Like: Also sounds more western pop than the other songs. The best part of it is the excellent build up it maintains throughout. Like “Golden”, it could have had more hooks/layers than just playing off the same melody throughout. Another case of having to be what the movie needed it to be, which was one giant, climactic moment. 7,8,7,9 = 7.75

        I will say all the songs have better lyrics than most of what is coming out, and most have enough time to breathe, with only soda pop being a bit short. (though for what the song is, the brevity isn’t really an issue)

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