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THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from August 17 – 23

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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 // Jun 15 – Jun 21 // Jun 22 – Jun 28 // Jun 29 – Jul 5 // Jul 6 – Jul 12 // Jul 13 – Jul 19 // Jul 20 – Jul 26 // Jul 27 – Aug 2 // Aug 3 – Aug 9 // Aug 10 – Aug 16

Notable B-sides:

Joy – Get Up And Dance // Scent Of Green

Stray Kids – Phoenix // 0801

Teen Top – Ce Chaos

Notable J-pop by K-pop Artists:

BOYNEXTDOOR – Count To Love

LUN8 – Motley Crew

Twice – Like 1

THIS WEEK: August 17 – 23

11. Chanyeol – Happy Accident (ft. Sole)

10. Stray Kids – Ceremony

9. CORTIS – What You Want

8. Secret Number – Don’t Touch

7. Teen Top – Cherry Pie

6. Moonbyul – Goodbyes And Sad Eyes

5. Monsta X – Do What I Want

4. Joy – Love Splash!

3. NMIXX & Pabllo Vittar – MEXE

2. Kep1er – Bubble Gum

1. 8TURN – Electric Heart (song of the week!)

14 thoughts on “THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from August 17 – 23”

  1. Hi Nick, just a quick question. Are you planning to continue the Kpop A-Z feature? Since the K-Pop soundscape is basically in a drought these days, I’d like to see how you will manage it. Thanks!

    Anyways, I really liked Electric Heart it’s really nostalgic.

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    • No immediate plans, especially as that feature is a huge commitment. However, I used to say that I was done with it and then did GFriend’s last year, so “never say never” I guess!

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      • maybe you should do bts for the next one (yes ik this is the self indulgent side of me talking) since they’ve just ended their hiatus and are preparing for their return to the industry

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      • The resident ELF votes for Big Bang, as there were so influential in the global expansion of kpop, and their sound is much copied. Many have tried, few have succeeded.

        G-Dragon’s signature raspy rap everyone is copying. TOP is the baritone rapper everyone is copying. Taeyang had the banger solo hits everyone else wishes they had. Daesung, my guy, his voice is like the air itself. Also the other guy.

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  2. I wish I liked Bubble Gum more than I do because the vocal pre-chorus is beautiful, but the constant barrage of “Pop that body like bubblegum” chanting unfortunately got grating pretty fast rather than growing on me (and I’m not even as against sing-talk as you are). I wish the songwriters had brought a few more ideas to that song.

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  4. I enjoyed TeenTop’s Cherry Pie…I usually dismiss songs with food, drinks or animals on the title, but this is one of a few exception. I like their delivery and the song may be a little “generic”, but I still enjoyed it.

    Now, 8Turn’s “Electric Heart” is wonderful, I love it, and I’m pretty sure it will be in my top 10 year-end list.

    That’s all I have this week.

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  5. The b-sides for skz…. I would say they’re random picks but I kind of get it. I just listened to the album all the way through and my overall impression is disappointment. But I really wasn’t expecting anything from 0801 as I usually find fan songs overly treacly/sentimental, and from that vantage point I was pleasantly surprised by it. There was a reference to their old song “Grow Up” to which I’ve cried more than I’d like to admit, so I found myself actually touched by it, which was nice after an album that made me feel like they’re losing touch.

    “Phoenix” is not for me but it’s a dance track so I see why Nick would gravitate more towards it.

    My stand-out b-side would be “BLEEP.” It still loses some points for what I see as overuse of autotune and also the lyrics “I’ll find you and kill you like the movie Taken.” However that’s actually so fucking funny that I am smiling thinking about it, so maybe it can be forgiven on that basis. It’s still at most an 8/10 for me though, like, why is it so restrained? How can an album be loud and shouty but also so weirdly low-energy?

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