The end of the year countdowns are finally here! As always, we’ll kick off with the big one: The Bias List’s top 50 songs of the year! Each day this week, I’ll be counting down ten of the year’s best, until number one is revealed on Friday.
To be eligible for this top 50 list, songs must have had a Korean release as a title track, follow-up or promotional video between Dec. 1st, 2024 and Nov. 30th, 2025.
Curious about past countdowns? Check out the masterpost here!
Honorable Mentions
Songs 50-41
Songs 40-31
30. AM8IC – Buzzin’
I’ll always be a sucker for 80s synth and Ghostbusters-referencing pop music. Rookie group AM8IC unleashed all sorts of nostalgia with this funky pre-release, borrowing liberally from SHINee’s sonic toolkit. (full review)
29. NEXZ – Beat-Boxer
There are a string of songs in my top 50 this year that I lovingly refer to as “stupid.” Beat-Boxer‘s silly English-language lyrics and general ridiculousness made it a huge grower, but the hooks and groove are legitimately solid as well. (full review)
28. STAYC – Bebe
Yeah, this could’ve been top ten with a killer, melodic chorus, but the off-kilter sing-talk also slays when the electro beat pulses with such stylish drive. I played this way more than I expected to. (full review)
27. BLACKPINK – Jump
It’s been awhile since a BLACKPINK track has found its way into my year-end countdown, but to be fair there aren’t many to choose from to begin with! Jump is a festive carnival powered by an exciting atmosphere that celebrates the group’s global dominance. (full review)
26. RIIZE – Fly Up
RIIZE attempting a High School Musical style retro rock romp was not on my 2025 bingo card and somedays I’m still not sure how I feel about it. However, its upbeat energy and bravura performance tempers the musical cheese with plenty of flair. (full review)
25. The Wind – Only One
The Wind have placed at least one song on this countdown since their 2023 debut. They didn’t deliver much music this year, but streamlined their youthful, ultra-melodic sound with this nostalgic highlight. (full review)
24. TWS – Head Shoulders Knees Toes
This is “stupid” song number two, for those of you keeping count, though that really only applies to its nursery rhyme chorus. Everything else is astoundingly addictive, finding room for dynamic power notes, brass-powered bombast and surprisingly sharp hip-hop breakdowns. (full review)
23. H1-KEY – Summer Was You
Every summer needs a big girl group highlight and H1-KEY were happy to answer the call with this bounding rock-flavored sing-along. Its fantastic multi-part chorus felt like a needed antidote to so many of their subdued peers. (full review)
22. NMIXX – Blue Valentine
A deserved mega-hit in Korea, Blue Valentine found a way to fuse NMIXX’s experimental side with an affecting, emotional charge. This results in a pop track that’s just far enough from the center to stand as its own idiosyncratic highlight. (full review)
21. ILLIT – Do The Dance
ILLIT reinvented their sound with a strings-assisted French house beat that brought them closer to Lovelyz territory — and thus closer to the top of my countdown. It’s the song that made this group click for me. I hope it won’t be a red herring in their burgeoning discography. (full review)
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
oooh love JUMP, Fly Up and Blue Valentine. I hope Bag Bad Back makes it somehow 🙊
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forgot to add – it’s been 8 years without Jonghyun, his presence is so extremely missed with each passing year
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Blue Valentine is going to be wayyyyy higher on my list.
The rest are fine.
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Blue Valentine is definitely higher up on my list, it’s such a stirring emotional song, even the slowed-down pre-chorus works well and adds to the unsettling yet captivating atmosphere.
Do The Dance is so ridiculously catchy, they do well with a livelier production and engaging hooks, even if they aren’t as melodic.
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Ooh some bangers in this list. Here’s mine:
30: Blue Valentine, NMIXX
29: My First Love Song, KickFlip
28: CHILLER, NCT Dream
27: Obsession, MINNIE ft. TEN
26: Only One, The Wind
25: LIKE YOU BETTER, fromis_9
24: I want you to, SMORZ
23: Do The Dance, ILLIT
22: Only cry in the rain, CHUU
21: La La Love Me, VIVIZ
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CHUU is so solid
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i completely forgot about la la love me omg, such a good track
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OMG ILLIT BEING SO HIGH!!!! loved the song too
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I expected Blue Valentine to be way higher but many of these songs were my favorites this year.
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Buzzin is fun. I think I saved Only One but I’ll have to give it some more attention cuz it doesn’t ring a bell.
30 – NMIXX – High Horse
29 – xikers – BREATHE
28 – NCHIVE – NEVER GIVE UP (wasn’t reviewed on here. If you like “noisy” boy groups like me please check this out!)
27 – AMPERS&ONE – That’s That
26 – KickFlip – FREEZE
25 – USPEER – Telepathy (better than their main release please give it a try)
24 – IVE – XOXZ
23 – IRENE & SEULGI – TILT (grower)
22 – idntt – BOYtude
21 – ARrC – nu kidz (listen to ARrC!)
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yesssss for xikers. Breathe, Superpower and Iconic are all easy top 20 for me……though i can totally understand why most wouldn’t like them lol. They even took a while to grow on me…..and Iconic immediately made xikers the group im most excited for
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High horse what a fuckin SAWNG
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Tele-pussyyyyyyyyyyyy
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ohh i expected the wind to rank higher 😅 i have no idea how to rank my top songs bc i’m indecisive but rendezvous and the tws titles are rly up there. their replay value is miles ahead of my other favs, it just keeps getting better with each listen
also i listened to blue valentine again for this. nmixx’s mix pop doesn’t rly mesh well with me, so it didn’t stick with me aside from the chorus, that chorus is soo beautiful and catchy 😋
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really sad to see that air by yeji and baby not baby by seulgi might not make it on this list
both were amazing female debut songs and would go onto my top 50 this year
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Seulgi debuted with a great EP in 2022 tho
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Oops my bad, I misremembered (since yeji’s was a debut and seulgi’s comeback released in a similar time)
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do the dance!!! i really hope illit’s next release has a similar sound, it was the first comeback by them that i LOVED and what made me a full-send gllit
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as a nswer and m1-key i am ECSTATIC to see both of my ult groups made it onto your top 50 for this year!!!! blue valentine and lovestruck (ESPECIALLY let me be your sea) are literally my albums of the year and their respective title tracks have been on loop since their release 😭
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30. We Go Up – Babymonster: This is such a hype song! Unlike some, I also don’t mind when Ahyeon goes high, in fact, I like the uniqueness of her voice even if Rami is more technically skilled (and also underutilized)
29. Drop Top – MEOVV: Loved the chorus more and more as the year went on. This is the one I thought BP would have done better initially… I don’t think I was right. I’m sorry MEOVV, I wasn’t familiar with your game.
28. her – Minnie: Besides the MV being really cool, the song mirrors the spy-esque vibes well and has a catchiness to it. Minnie’s vocals are great here for this as well.
27. Sign – Izna: The chorus is so good, I thought I would rank this higher, but I had no idea Nmixx would have so many songs I would have to rank so high. Anyway, this chorus is absolutely amazing. Also I like everything about the chorus.
26. Bad Bag Back – Riize: This song is really cool. The song slaps so hard and the mono-word chorus has gotta be top 5 stuck in my head this year, for better or for worse.
25. I Don’t Care – Baby DON’T Cry: Biggest happy surprise of this year. Full package song. NUGU group. Heck yes.
24. Bebe – Stayc: Stayc is so good. Everytime they come on I tell myself I don’t listen to them enough. And nothing was better this year for them then this slinky jam. Even the slurry chorus vocalization won me over after time.
23. Golden – Huntr/x: Forget the haters, this song was on top for ages because it is really, really good. I wish we had a real second verse so the other girls besides EJAE had more time to shine, but I get why the song is the way it is because it fits the movie needs perfectly.
22. Ember to Solar – Riize: I said it before for Riize, but this song is also really cool. The album was straight up cool. This song was the coolest of them all. I think of the universe literally spiraling by and Riize doing something to save it when I listen to this.
21. Racecar – Izna: This gives 2010s electro pop vibes in the best way. There are so many fun things happening throughout the entire song. The buildup and last chorus is fantastic too. Izna have low key had a great year!
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DANCE DO A LITTLE DANCE DO YA DO YA DO YA WANNA DANCE!!! Billyeoon goyangi might be my soty…. That and rendezvous
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For the 20-30 range I’ll include the fun and emotional songs. This was a nostalgic year for me and these are some of the songs that fed that mood (and some of the ones that lifted it). Again, in no particular order because I really cannot make up my mind😅:
30 JustB – Chest
29 AllHours – GimmeGimme
28 Nowz – Lets Get It
27 Xikers – Superpower
26 ❤️2❤️- The Chase
25 1Verse – Multiverse
24 Lun8 – Butterfly
23 Epex – Wonderful
22 Ahof – Pinocchio
21 Tempest – In The Dark
PS: Yikes! I did not connect with any of your choices within this range (except Blue Valentine which will be on my Top 5)🙃
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prolly shouldve saved this for the top 10 list but here are my top kpop songs of the year in no particular order
nu kidz – arcc
you never met/boytude – idntt
8 bit heart – itzy
extraL – jennie
forever – yeonjun
chest/true heart – just b
reality hurts – nmixx
gala – xg (ik not technically kpop but still)
ember to solar/another life/bag bad back – riize
there they go – kiiikiii
high horse/papillon/blue Valentine – nmixx
❤️beats – ive
the chase/focus – hearts2hearts
plot twist – atheart
r u ok – ifeye
little monster/do the dance/jellyous – illit
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also im sorry nick but for the life of me i will never understand why u like fly up so much. whenever i hear it i just hear ITS BACK TO SCHOOL SEASON AT OLD NAVY! WEVE GOT SAVINGS FLYING OFF THE SHELF ON EVERYTHING YOUR KIDS NEED TO ROCK THEIR FIRST DAY! FROM 30% OFF ON BACKPACKS TO 40% OFF ON JEANS AND SNEAKERS! THERES EVEN A BUY 1 GET 1 FREE ON TSHIRTS! BUT DONT WAIT BECAUSE THESE SAVINGS WONT BE HERE FOR MUCH LONGER! SO COME ON IN AND FLY UP TO REACH THESE BACK TO SCHOOL SAVINGS NOW!
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I will not tolerate this fly up slander like have you looked at that choreo??? Also kitschy disney rock songs were rare to find this year so most of us i think appreciated it lol
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LOL
It’s ok though
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Interesting you included Reality Hurts but not Spinning On It. What’d you think of Poet | Artist? I feel it should be in there.
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Tbh 2025 has been a really boring boring year… and I’m struggle to even get a top 20 list of myself since most of time I’ve been playing song from earlier decades.
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I hope there’s a slot in top20 for ‘Spinnin of It’.
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realised I posted this on the wrong countdown lol.
Blue Valentine is my number 1 song of the year 🥹
nice to see Do The Dance, I feel the exact same about ILLIT, is it the beginning of something great or is going to be the new FOREVER / babymonster?
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