Happy 2026! As we transition to a new year, it’s Bias List tradition to unveil some wishes I have for K-pop going forward. I tend to go for broke with my resolutions, which more often than not leads to disappointment. But if you’re going to dream, why not dream big?
I usually stop at ten resolutions each year but this time I’m going to add a bonus one because I̶’̶m̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶p̶i̶s̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶d̶u̶s̶t̶r̶y̶ I feel so passionate about the industry. Plus, a few of these are holdovers from last year.
Readers, make sure to chime in in the comments. What are your K-pop wishes for 2026?
1. Less talking, more singing
I’m probably setting myself up for disappointment by wishing for something the industry is clearly not interested in, but my number one wish is that great melody will find its place back in K-pop. For this to happen, songs must start relying on great singing again. Actually, the singing doesn’t even have to be great. I won’t be picky!
What I’m most tired of in K-pop is spoken word hooks. I can’t even call this rapping because it’s usually delivered in a monotone catchphrasey way that doesn’t capitalize on rhythm or flow. Too many recent title tracks have been allowed to get away with this and it’s made topliners lazy. My favorite tracks of this year tended to put melody and singing front and center. I’d like more of that in 2026, please. In fact, why doesn’t an agency try launching a new group where “killer vocals” is their entire concept? And, I don’t mean some boring ballad group. I want high-energy dance music with equally robust vocals. It can be done, I swear!
And while we’re at it, what about harmony? Vocal harmony used to be the bread and butter of boy bands and girl groups, but we hardly ever hear it anymore in K-pop. Let’s bring that back, too. It adds such depth to the sound of a song.
In short, I need the K-pop industry to remember that vocals and singing are every bit as important as dance, visual and rap. Right now, they feel like a distant fourth place for most groups.
2. Push past that three minute mark (or offer extended versions)
This is another holdover from past resolutions, but it feels even more pertinent this year.
I. Am. Sick. Of. Two. Minute. Songs.
Two minutes is rarely enough for a modern song to feel complete. Structural elements like bridges, intros and outros contribute to making a song feel full and satisfying, and too many otherwise solid K-pop singles end prematurely. I get why the industry is giving into this temptation, but hear me out. If you must promote a “short version” of a title track, at least give us music lovers an “extended album version” the way the music industry used to do in the 90s. This could either be available as a bonus on streaming or be an exclusive to physical copies of the album, but it needs to happen either way. I’m sick of cobbling together my own extended versions for songs I love.
3. A successful year for my top 2025 rookies
Other than a couple of reliable favorites, 2025 was all about rookie groups for me. In particular, rookie boy bands ruled the year. AHOF, NouerA, Close Your Eyes, KickFlip and IDID all made the year much more colorful with their specific brands of K-pop and I really hope they all thrive (and release great music) in 2026. The industry moves so quickly onto the next shiny thing, so none of these groups can rest on their laurels. I want multiple comebacks with great promotions and new milestones. And while we’re at it, Hearts2Hearts needs their first mega-hit that fully establishes their sound.
4. A girl group I can stan
I miss stanning a girl group, but I just haven’t been able to work with the material we’ve been getting over the past few years. Girl group tropes seem to fall into just a couple of musical categories nowadays and I find myself largely left out of these sounds. I won’t be greedy. I just want one group with a different sound that rekindles the love I used to have for acts like GFriend, Lovelyz, SNSD, Kara, Oh My Girl, WJSN, etc. Just one, please!! No current group fits within this musical realm — at least for longer than a single comeback.
I want next year’s “rookie of the year” or “artist of the year” to be a girl group, but the music has to be there for me to rekindle excitement. Right now, NMIXX come closest to this brief, but time will tell how things will develop.
5. Move on from Y2K (or at least pick more interesting sounds from it)
We’ve been stuck in this Y2K nostalgia for years now and it’s time to move on. I don’t know what I’ll do if I have to hear another song that sounds like Justin Timberlake’s Like I Love You.
The thing is, I can’t believe we’ve gone through this whole Y2K resurgence without a single artist attempting the slamming Cheiron Studios sound that was so emblematic of the era. Where’s my BSB/Nsync/Britney redux? Instead, we’ve gotten endless variations of the era’s more subdued, “tasteful” sounds. I could go all of 2026 without another UK garage or Jersey club beat. Give me the over-the-top cheese of the Y2K era or just move on to different sonic touchstones (may I suggest early 2010s EDM?).
6. A resurgence for SM Entertainment
This year marks the first “Top 50 singles” countdown in the history of this blog not to feature an SM artist in the top ten. This isn’t for a lack of trying, as the agency continues to churn out content. However, their cultural dominance seems to have waned (along with the general music quality). There were some bright spots this year (RIIZE’s Odyssey), but overall the songs just weren’t hitting the way they used to. For me, SM Entertainment is a towering presence in K-pop history. I’d like them to rise to the top again. They can start with some brilliant new Hearts2Hearts singles and a killer debut for their upcoming boy group. PLEASE don’t simply make be “NCT version 5.0.” Let’s get back to those dramatic dance bangers of the past.
7. More focus on the Asian market
I’m American myself, but I’m not interested in hearing what K-pop agencies think American listeners might like. My favorite acts tend to be ones focused more on the Asian market and I’d like this to become even more prevalent in 2026. Let Western audiences adapt to cultural touchstones they might not be familiar with. That’s what makes global music exciting and fun. Please don’t simply flatten your music to appeal to the widest possible audience. That approach is why I had such a hard time with K-pop Demon Hunters while everyone else seemed to adore it.
8. More cross-industry interaction in variety content
Dance challenges are really fun to watch, but I fear they’ve taken the place variety used to hold in K-pop. As someone whose fandom casts far and wide, I love to see different groups and artists interact with each other and I wish there were more venues for them to do so. This also applies to inter-agency projects. I know scheduling is tough, but I wish agencies would mix their artists more often for content, special stages or even promoted units. We could start with that much-requested HYBE Game Caterers and go from there.
9. The return of legacy producers
I would rather have an emergence of new producers with unique musical voices, but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards so I’ll wish for the next best thing. The industry always wants to move onto the next thing, but I’d love to see 2026 deliver comebacks from the K-pop producers who shaped my fandom in the first place. Let’s get new music from Sweetune, Brave Brothers, Duble Sidekick, Yoo Young-Jin and the like.
10. A better way to showcase idols from small companies
Now that The Show is caput, the industry needs a new way to spotlight its nugu idols. The K-pop ecosystem can’t thrive on its big four agencies alone. We need the diversity these smaller groups bring and they need an avenue to gain fans. This doesn’t even have to be a music show. Back in the day, there were fun programs like Let’s Go Dream Team that would often invite under-the-radar acts. Fandom has become so siloed now, so I’d like to see a popular program or showcase that could introduce new voices to its viewers.
11. A new “idol group formation” series with a unique format
Back in 2016, the Produce 101 franchise launched and changed the way survival series work forever. Ten years later, it’s seen countless rip-offs and the formula is feeling very stale. I’d like to see a legitimately fun and different series launch in 2026 that spawns a new idol group that can compete with MNET’s many projects. I’m not sure what this would look like (maybe similar to the UK’s old X-Factor format?) but I’m hungry for something new that breaks up the monotony these shows have become.
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Regardless of the commentary about the songs here, it’s bizarre how Seulgi’s & (full group) Seventeen’s 2025 respective offerings were not influential enough to make #5 prevalent in the industry last year. Hopefully someone sees the potential with those sounds too.
LikeLike
related to #11: I.O.I are finally having a comeback this year for their 10th anniversary! my personal wish is for it to sound like FOREVER 1 by SNSD. also, something Wanna One-related was just announced today, no release date yet. whether it’s new music or just a random reunion appearance again remains to be seen.
LikeLike
and yes please, I want recession pop nachos to be reheated! the world is going to shit can we at least have some fun and party (again) while we’re at it
LikeLike
Given how 2025 went, Nick, I fear it’s time we resort to the lovely ✨️reverse psychology✨️, cause atp, it seems like the industry does the opposite of what we really want 🚬
LikeLiked by 2 people
Believe me, I considered it! 😅
LikeLiked by 1 person
You really should go for it cause what if you were manifesting a The Chaser 2.0 or the re-emergence of the Sweetune-esque bombastic dance sound of early 2010s and we get FaSHioN 2.0 or the “chill, vibey” autotuned trap trend of 2018-20 instead
LikeLike
That would have been a funny post: 1) More talking and shouting. I’m so sick of singers singing! Who wants to hear singers sing anyway? 2) 2 minute songs are too long, I’d like to see songs cut down to 1 minute or less. Why do we need to hear a chorus twice? Do we even need a chorus? 3) Yes, I love my rookies from the past year or so. But I’m sick of them and wish they’d go away, they’re getting old already. 😂
LikeLike
as the resident army, my main new years resolution is that bts releases a wildly successful album that not only reinforces their cultural dominance, but its so good it singlehandedly makes former armys who strayed away BACK into armys
LikeLiked by 3 people
shinee comeback! i hope they release something like the misconceptions series. also some really good yearning/desperate/loser bg music, thats been SO absent and i need it desperately. also infinite comeback (i spent the entire year being obsessed with them, so i’ll take anything atp)!
and YES to #4. i need me some good girl groups.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I just really want better material from Cortis, I don’t mind Fashion and I don’t think it’s 3.25 bad but I need something different from them, something that can rival BTS or TXT material during their peak era.
LikeLike
I’ve realized something about CORTIS through these year-end festivals: their music right now is designed for short-form content.
I’ve actually come around to GO! and Fashion to some extent… but only in short clips. The full songs remain pretty awful, but the choruses alone are pretty earwormy. A sign of our times, I guess…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Have your ratings for the songs change(is GO! still an F+ and is Fashion still an F-?) since posting your initial review about them?
LikeLike
Probably. Go is likely more of a C and Fashion a C-/D
LikeLike
Ngl, it’ll be interesting to see a series where you re-review songs you rated a 5.75- and see how much your opinions on them changed with time (similar to you re-rating the pre-2022 3-and-below rated songs), especially seeing how Gnarly, poppop and now these two grew on you to an extent
LikeLiked by 3 people
he did a post like that a few years ago, it’d be nice if there was another one
LikeLike
By different, I mean actually K-pop, not the shitty Temu Travis Scott that GO! was(I actually consider it to be worse than Fashion btw), something that actually colors outside the lines.
LikeLike
I don’t think companies the big ones will give much chance for smaller companies to grow, as far as I saw in the past few years they are working hard to dominate every single market that has a chance to showcase idols, either on tv shows, yt content that has relevance with kpop market, animes osts, even k dramas osts. We don’t see idols that are not from big companies get anything, specially in the game comunity. G idle in the past got a lot of fans and support because of KDA that is not gonna happen anymore, Hybe specially is pushing their idols in all those areas, reason why they get more visibility. JYP also has a lot of contacts and is pushing their groups. While I do hope that would happen, I find hard. I fear Xlov’s company can be acquired in near future if they keep doing well, cause is trully a monopoly game right now.
To me I hope to see Ateez try something more dark closer to Depeche Mode territory, first I just love that whole genre and I think would be something we don’t see that much anymore., more punk, emo dark synths from 80’s. I also hope they get more oportunities with the industry, specially in Korea.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Haha about point #5, I was just telling a friend that I hope K-pop’s next nostalgia-mining trend is moving on from easy listening Y2K to recession pop, early 2010s EDM. Please oh my god that would be so much more fun 🙏 For point #4 I think I’m having a much better time with girl groups than you but I miss the gg sounds that you mentioned just the same…which leads to my one 2026 K-pop wish: STARSHIT PLEASEEE GIVE US A WJSN COMEBACK FOR THEIR 10TH ANNIVERSARY 😭🙏😭🙏😭🙏 take the right lesson from Dayoung’s success pleaseee
Anyways, though I have most of the same gripes as you I have no hope that the industry at large will make any of these changes 😭 – I’d love to be proven wrong though!
LikeLike
this is semi unrelated but i wonder if uve ever checked out the korean hyperpop scene (kimj/effie/the deep etc)? i know uve had some underground korean artists in ur year end lists before and that scene has been putting out some rlly great inventive stuff this year. id specifically reccomend these 2 songs they feel like smthn 2ne1 wouldve put out back in the day
and ik u were talking abt main producers so I should probably mention kimj produced that second song + several others for her and other artists in that scene n he also coproduced justbs chest!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I was about to recommend The Deep when Nick brought up the 2010s sound. I think she’s done a great work with her album, especially in the production aspect.
I’ve never heard about kimj and effie, so i’ll check them out. I would say my main reference for very well-produced 2010s-sounding music is Frost Children and Underscores, but it’s interesting to find this sound thriving by in the hands of underground k-pop artists.
LikeLike
I also recommend angel tattoo by The Deep! : )
LikeLike
I read the headline and I immediately thought.
and that was the end of my short list, but I agree with the rest Nick listed too.
LikeLike
#11 is really interesting, i would love to see how it would play out – especially considering how saturated the industry currently is with survival shows and their groups
also i firmly believe that 2026 will be h2h’s year with a breakout single that’s also fun, pacy, and super melodic. i think they’re gonna soon find their sound and firmly become one of my favourite groups in the coming years.
LikeLiked by 1 person
H2H have been releasing a ton of short vid with 200s style pop (I.e Britney Spears) I hope they go in that direction 🤞like I need another One More Time, Ok
LikeLiked by 1 person
yup, i’ve noticed that! i think h2h with that sound would be very cool, and i’d personally love to see juun dance to that!
LikeLike
This year, I’m hoping for more solo debuts and 10th anniversary comebacks that actually feel like a celebration.
LikeLike
I wish more success for the small companies’ groups. Please!! 🙏🏻 🙏🏻
Even today, I came accross a highlight of Wakers next comeback, and my first thought was “sounds promising”, immediately followed by “what’s the point, no one is listening”😓
Some of these groups are very talented and have decent music, it breaks my heart every year.
LikeLike
BTS just confirmed their album release date, so my new years wish for the past 3 years is finally coming true 🙌
Besides that, I would just love groups to go all out with their songs and performances. Almost everything feels so restrained and half-finished recently! Show us some 2013 SHINee or 2016 BTS excellence, everyone!
LikeLike
Same with #6. I’m a Reveluv, and given how they’ll probably go the SNSD route and come back again after 5 yrs, I badly want another girl group to stan!
My criteria’s simple: just three solid minis and then “must” absolutely nail their LP, and I’ll be locked in for life.
LikeLike
Oops, I meant #4…
LikeLike
Does it need to be an SM girl group specifically, and/or a rookie? Because you just described NMIXX’s 2024–2025 run with the 3 solid Fe3O4 EPs followed by the fantastic Blue Valentine LP. Plus they have the best vocals out of all the active girl groups right now which should also appeal to a Red Velvet fan…
LikeLike
Agree with #7: I personally come for specific pop sounds that I can’t imagine being in Western pop, and now that those pop sounds, elements, techniques that used to be so associated with K-pop are becoming more and more irrelevant, it’s harder finding a song that feels carved out for K-pop specifically. It’s not that I find the industry is becoming more western, but it’s losing a lot of its trademarks that made it stand out and I would love for that to come back.
LikeLiked by 3 people
We need SM Entertainment to step it up, I totally agree! The music from their artists wasn’t bad last year, but it definitely didn’t have that “wow” factor for me. I had to listen to aespa and NCT Dream’s singles multiple times to come around them. Not to mention, their strongest tracks this year were all deep cuts.
Then, there’s Hearts2Hearts and I think they should stick with the “Pretty Please” type of sound, because there’s space in KPop for a group that takes on that SNSDish style.
The agency’s brighest spot was definitely RIIZE, I enjoyed their album and the Odyssey era left us with major bops like the title track and Bag Bad Back. I also thought Fame was just fine!
My wishes are:
For NewJeans to finally find peace: It was a hard year for NewJeans and us Bunnies. But I just hope they can find some peace and stability after all these legal battles. To make things worse, Danielle’s removal just leaves a massive gap and takes away the magic NewJeans has had. But whatever’s in 2026 for them, I hope it’s peace.
For the EXO album to be good? I’m not even sure, I just feel frustrated at the fact that EXO is coming back without CBX. It feels like these companies want to milk us, even when they know things feel off for us, the fans. I can overlook this very frustrating detail if the EXO album is good, at least an 8/10.
Stray Kids to get it together: To put it simple, Karma was just a tragic album. It was terribly overproduced, hooks and melodies were completely absent and replaced by shouting and chanting. Sometimes it even felt like I was listening to three songs at once. I hope Stray Kids find their footing again as they work on their next album. Their own company has a sucessful example of more “experimental” songs that still prioritze nice catchy hooks and strong melodies with NMIXX.
KATSEYE to get it together, too: I really don’t understand what HYBE and Geffen are doing with KATSEYE’s music. To me, the group is just carried by their visuals, performance skills and the likeability of their members. Meanwhile, their music seems to be secondary and it ranges from songs baked in brainrot energy (like Internet Girl), or bland reheated nachos from the late 2010s (like Gabriela or My Way). Please, just have them work with good producers and songwriters so that they can finally deliver good pop songs.
LikeLike
Since I’m a fan of It’s Live, I’m really hoping they lean more into a full band sound. I get that it’s easier to stop at DTM when you’re producing, but the impact is totally different even if you just swap the drums out for real instrument tones. I’m hoping for something that actually locks into the groove—something you can dance to, stay on beat with, and still sing along to.
LikeLike
Where are people getting their idol variety content from? I don’t see the ones I care for on running man anymore and weekly idol is done. Their YouTube channels are cool, but they have a lot of fluff. Any recommendations?
LikeLike
Requests for 2026 for songwriters, producers, and artists by a cranky old person
LikeLike
aiiiiiiiiiie
LikeLike