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The Top 50 K-Pop Songs of 2025 (Day Four: 20-11)

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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

Songs 30-21

20. KickFlip – My First Love Song

KickFlip’s debut year material slowly transitioned from quirky hip-hop to anthemic pop/rock and My First Love Song stands as the pinnacle of that musical journey. New wave synth adds nostalgic texture as the guys’ youthful performance feels ripped right from a K-drama. (full review)

19. ZEROBASEONE – Blue

ZEROBASEONE opened their final full year with a buoyant singalong, proving they’re at their best when the music offers generous doses of pop melody and sunny, upbeat energy. (full review)

18. NTX – Over N Over

I love when a lesser-known group punches way above their weight class and surprises with a standout track like this. Over N Over‘s rollicking sound echoes early-2010s K-pop tropes, keeping its tempo high and calling all listeners to the party. (full review)

17. NCT Dream – BTTF

BTTF‘s a funny one because its louder, more obnoxious moments are almost daring me to hate it. However, the song somehow hit in just the right place, buoyed by the kind of majestic chorus SM Entertainment has built their reputation on. (full review)

16. RIIZE – Bag Bad Back

A song whose chorus is literally a monotone “Bag, bag, bag, bag, bag, bag, bag” should have no business near my year-end countdown, yet this slowly rose to become my favorite RIIZE single of the year. I credit the incredible production, which infuses a simple hip-hop track with an insane amount of sonic drama — most evident during its madcap, near-operatic bridge. (full review)

15. ONF – The Stranger

ONF are frequent friends of this countdown and they’ve done it again with the very SHINee-esque The Stranger. I must also give credit to longtime producer Hwang Hyun, who has steered the group’s sound with such finesse. The Stranger plants its flag confidently as yet another standout in their discography. (full review)

14. Hearts2Hearts – Style

Though much of Hearts2Hearts’s debut-era material opted for sleek, stylish and subdued, my favorite track bottled an effervescent energy best delivered by a wide-eyed rookie group. Style is simple pop, for sure, but excels at putting a smile on your face. (full review)

13. BOYNEXTDOOR – If I Say, I Love You

If I Say, I Love You will always be known as BOYNEXTDOOR’s breakthrough moment on the charts, and it seems there’s no looking back from here. What’s wonderful is that the song doesn’t seem cynically designed to become a mega-hit. It’s quirky, eminently singable and a great musical summary of what makes the group so endearing. (full review)

12. CRAVITY – Lemonade Fever

CRAVITY said “to hell with the upcoming winter season!” and delivered a summer banger just as the days were shortening. Lemonade Fever will probably be more enjoyable next July when the sun’s out and the temperature’s high, but its groovy production and buoyant chorus lifts spirits all year round. (full review)

11. NOWZ – Everglow

NOWZ earn my “most improved” medal this year, going from 2024 also-rans to a spot just outside of my top ten songs of 2025. Everglow pulls a striking 180 turn, giving them a gritty rock makeover with cathartic melodies that showcased a new level of talent and ambition. (full review)

NEXT: NUMBERS 10-1

39 thoughts on “The Top 50 K-Pop Songs of 2025 (Day Four: 20-11)”

  1. My primary ranking is by play count on my ipods.  The finger hitting the repeat button does not lie.  There is light normalization by release date, so the Jan ones didn’t overwhelm Sept or Oct ones.  Also, to make the list, by definition I have to be able to sing the song just from seeing its name on the list.  This year I found myself drawn to albums more than singles, so some songs benefited from being the one after another song.  I don’t distinguish between lead single or b-sides, they are all songs to me. 

    11-21 in no particular order:

    Bands that rock:  TOUCHED “”Last Day” (girl power!);  Dragon Pony “Not Out”;  AxMxP “Buzzer Beater”.  All of these have great lead vocals, great back up vocals, and great drummers too. 

    CIX “Thunder” and 1Verse “Multiverse”.    There they are again on my year end list, CIX, with another one that crept up the playcount.  Apparently unskippable.  I am going to call 1Verse the baby CIX, as they have a similar vibe and I guess I never skipped theirs either.

    “Lipstick” Kaois + Fairy Mai = makes me laugh and smile and bop and swear along every time.

    Nmixx “Reality Hurts” + Phoenix” = this album is just awesome. 

    NouerA “N (Number of cases)” – Rookies of the year for me.  I am going to call this song the most 80’s, and you will be like what, and I will be like hey I am a child of the 80’s so hear auntie out.  That intro line that then becomes the break.  The crafting of all the percussion and synth lines.  They are clean and finite.  There is a big fat buzz line that just fills space without needing twelve other lines to do the same.  And then … …. then it drops out … tension … … dance break song break and outro.  While I am at it NouerA “New is Now”.  Same story.  Also their “Make you move”.  I feel like NouerA is like early Golcha or ONF for me.  I remember listening to girl, your special you make me feel complete, back when. 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVFoKBZh3tU

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  2. Damn, expected Blue, The Stranger and Style to be higher up, in the top 10, but oh well, here’s my list:

    20 – Over N Over (NTX) – a fun, shout along banger, I love seeing nugu groups come back with bangers!

    19 – Paint Candy (CYE) – I prefer this over All My Poetry, it’s such a groovy new jack swing banger with feathery, but catchy melodies!

    18- Hunter (Key) – a perfect electro synthpop banger, Key embodies the shit out of this genre!

    17 – Do The Dance (ILLIT) – it’s so ridiculously catchy, I love the strings! Their best single so far

    16 – Blue Valentine (NMIXX) – I never had a problem with the pre-chorus, it catches you off-guard and can be unsettling, but it adds to the song’s charm

    15 – Zen (Jennie) – this industrial banger! Jennie delivers the song with such intensity, it would make a great OST

    14 – Light Please (Fairy Mai) – a dance banger with a catchy guitar riff, I hope to see more of Fairy Mai, hope she comes back with an album soon!

    13 – Lemonade Fever (Cravity) – this fun, gritty funky jam, it’s like if Get a Guitar and Boom Boom Bass had a child and it’s a compliment!

    12 – Lipstick (Fairy Mai x KAIOS) – this bonkers banger, it’s really brat-esque and so stupid, it embraces the stupidity in a fun way!

    11 – Style (Hearts2Hearts) – this cute, house song that never borders on cloying, it’s really cute and I’m in awe with this song!

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  3. ok i’m in love with nick’s top 10 picks, now let me try guessing their ranking 😆

    1. overdrive
    2. countdown
    3. rendezvous
    4. vvv
    5. like you better
    6. set net go
    7. all my poetry
    8. new is now
    9. pinocchio
    10. lucky to be loved

    i have no idea where he’ll place the tracks released in october onwards, so i just went with vibes

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  4. 20 – izna – BEEP
    19 – WHIB – BANG OUT (more noisy boy fun)
    18 – UNIS – SWICY (peak bright cute gg)
    17 – Hearts2Hearts – Pretty Please (my fave from them so far)
    16 – TEN – STUNNER
    15 – MEOVV – HANDS UP (what a finale)
    14 – KiiiKiii – I DO ME (love the warm feeling it gives)
    13 – SUPER JUNIOR – Express Mode (classic, their best since Devil)
    12 – KEY – HUNTER
    11 – KANG SEUNG YOON – ME

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  6. damn, had really expected Blue to crack your top 10. Certainly one of my favourites of the year!

    Also, in the case that your original rating for it hadn’t dropped, by association does this mean Bag Bad Back somehow has a 9+ rating 🤔

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  8. Here is mine, also KickFlip but different one! And my favorite b-sides of the year

    20/ ADP – One More Time

    19/ TXT – Sunday Driver

    18/ AtHeart – PlotTwist

    17/ KickFlip – BAND AID 

    16/ YVES – White Cat

    15/ CHAEYOUNG – Shoot

    14/ NMIXX – SPINNIN’ ON IT

    13/ Triples – FLY UP

    12/ Hearts2Hearts – Pretty Please

    11/ IZNA – Sign

    b-sides : NMIXX – PAPILLON / ILLIT – Jellyous / RESCENE – Hello XO / LE SSERAFIM – Pearlies / IZNA – Supercrush / AESPA – Count On Me / ADP – HOT

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  11. Here I am trying to put likes on everyone making lists as I appreciate all the different perspectives so much.

    However, I’m so sorry from this point on everyone. I had a good long think on if I would try to diversify more, or add rules to keep my bias in check, but ultimately, I just ranked the tracks I loved most which means you are going to see a lot of Nmixx from here on out. They had a banner year even by non ult fan metrics.

    20. Overdrive – TWS: I probably sing to myself “NnmNnmNnmNn” more than the actual words, but it’s got all the wonderful TWS trappings with that really catchy shtick.

    19. Everglow – Nowz: This song transcends. It feels like a classic that will stand the test of time. They weren’t joking about that rebrand.

    18. What it sounds like – Huntr/x: This is a fantastic cathartic, emotional journey. I had no idea how much staying power this soundtrack would have, but this song takes the cake on hitting the feels. A timeless message and a plot that hits all the right beats for our current issues today, even if on the more generic side. Pop does need to be highly relatable after all…

    17. Ocean – Nmixx: This song put my infant to sleep more than any other this year. I love the wavy keys, and the switch-up breathes new energy into it at just the right moment.

    16. Crush on you – Nmixx: Love the electro backing to an otherwise more cookie cutter easy going pop song.

    15. Shape of Love – Nmixx: I think this song succeeds as well as it does because it’s a sad message, but the emotion it is sung with is happy. Showcasing the joy of being in love, even as it is constantly rocky and hard. The girls sell this so well.

    14. Slingshot – Nmixx: This song felt like them trying to push mixxpop even further. It is all over the place, but they match the wildness that Lily’s aussie accent kicks it off with all the way through.

    13. Adore You – Nmixx: This took their track “Moving On” and dialed up all the rock-ballad elements. They do here what they did so well on their entire Blue Valentine” album, which is deliver the contrasting emotions of love with mastery. This song can’t succeed without getting that right.

    12. Game Face – Nmixx: While the chorus could come off as “kitschy”, I think all the pretty melodies in this song really shine, especially after a string of hard hitting songs on the album if you listen to BV all the way through.

    11. Podium – Nmixx: Turns out the light chipmunk vocals at the beginning and the end didn’t matter as much over time as I initially worried they could. What did get better and better was that amazing final 30 or so seconds. Was awesome that Haewon wrote a shoutout to Squ4d in the lyrics.

    As an aside about Nmixx (being so prevalent in my top songs this year), between the lyrical shoutout to their managing team and their consistent work with C’sa on vocal direction for their albums since Break it seems they are building good consistency for their sound by jiving well with the same teams. BV (the album) even saw consistent work from many producers from previous works, so while not in house, it’s a welcome trend that makes me hopeful we will continue to see their sound have consistency (which isn’t always done very well over at JYP) even as their mixxpop concept continues to see them stretch into new sounds.

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  12. I LOVE each and every one of my Top 20 songs.  They all bring so much happiness to me every single time they play!!!

    20 Treasure -Saruru

    19 ZB1 -Ikonic

    18 Nowz – Everglow

    17 CYE – X

    16 CIX – Wonder You

    15 Cravity – Now or Never

    14 ONF- The Stranger

    13 BND – If I Say I❤️U

    12 KickFlip –  My First ❤️song

    11 Ateez – Lemon Drop

    PS:  ahhh!  From nothing to a lot in common🤗.  Frankly, Lemonade Fever is such a great song and given some extra time it could’ve been on my top 50, but Now or Never (released in December 2024) had such an impact from the moment they released it and still today…in a way I’m so grateful for this song.  

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  15. Love seeing everyone’s rankings 🙂

    20: Reality Hurts, NMIXX

    19: SPINNIN’ ON IT, NMIXX

    18: Ocean Drive, CHANYEOL

    17: Yoake, NIZIU (tbh I consider them KPOP adjacent lol)

    18: BEBE, STAYC

    17: Almond Chocolate, ILLIT

    16: Panic Attack, Hwina

    15: Drums, dearALICE (they were there at SMtown so I’m including them lmao. Hated all their other singles, but this one was surprisingly good)

    14: Being A Good Girl Hurts, YENA

    13: SIGN, IZNA

    12: KNOW ABOUT ME, NMIXX

    11: Dancing Alone, KiiiKiii

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