At the end of each month, I look back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists. I take my own ratings into account, but there’s a bit of wiggle room as certain songs tend to grow or fade.
March 2026 Overall Thoughts
Hmm… um…
Well…
I guess if I look solely at my top two songs of March, this month was a minor improvement over January and February. After all, I genuinely like those top two picks a lot, even if neither reached a hallowed “9” rating for me. But dig further down and this month delivered way more duds than it did hits. We’re now a quarter through 2026 and I’ve still heard no song that could feasibly compete for a “top ten” position in my year-end countdown. It’s been almost five months since I’ve rated a song “9” or higher, which is actually shocking. I mean… what are we even doing here?
Worse yet, this year in K-pop hasn’t delivered even one album I’ve had the desire to listen to more than a couple of times through. I feel like I’m running way behind on “buried treasures” since most b-sides have simply been “fine” to “okay”.
March was framed around the much-hyped BTS comeback. Some have speculated that the group’s mere presence on the release slate frightened away other artists. I’m not sure I fully believe that, since the first quarter of the year tends to be a slow release period anyway, but its scheduling definitely had some effect. Sadly, for me the BTS album was not worth the wait. None of its material made it into this monthly round-up. I know fans probably feel different, but to me the album came and went without any real impact.
So… we’re left with a ton of decent-but-forgettable songs rated in the “7” range and quite a few clunkers rated in the “6’s” or even “5’s.” Songs like these come and go like flotsam and jetsam, rarely even making it to my playlist unless they really grow on me. Because of this, my K-pop listening tended to be pretty light in March.
If K-pop was disappointing, J-pop was downright anemic. I’m not even going to bother with a “top three” this month because nothing really made it to my playlist. I’d just be picking a few songs that I think are okay but have no lasting interest in. That doesn’t feel right. However, it was a banner month for J-pop in one regard: one of the best groups to ever exist finally put all their music on streaming. Check out my write-up if you’re looking for some fantastic music during these doldrums.
Thankfully, April seems poised to finally kick off 2026 in style. Many groups I’m fond of (TWS, KickFlip, &TEAM, Close Your Eyes, TXT) and big names (AKMU, NCT Wish, T.O.P) are set to release new music. CORTIS is also threatening a new track and we’ve got some key debuts on the docket. If nothing else, April will be busy. Will we finally see a 9+ rated song emerge? At this point, it’s becoming a necessity. The whole premise of this blog hinges on there being at least a few big highlights every now and then. Otherwise, you’re all just reading variations of the same cranky critiques. Who wants to do that?
Month Cumulative Rating: 7.4
(compiled by averaging the scores of every K-pop review from this month)
J-Pop Highlights
New & Noteworthy J-pop: Week One
New & Noteworthy J-pop: Week Two
New & Noteworthy J-pop: Week Three
New & Noteworthy J-pop: Week Four
New & Noteworthy J-pop: Week Five
TOP J-POP SONGS OF THE MONTH
None this month
K-POP
Honorable Mentions
Baby DONT Cry – Bittersweet / Shapeshifter (review // review)
CSR – Can’t Hide Anymore (review)
Dragon Pony – Oh Perfect! (review)
H1-KEY – To. My First Love (review)
Jang Haneum – Wanna (review)
Odd Youth – Babyface (review)
TWS x 24kGoldn – You Like It I Love It (review)
Wonpil (DAY6) – Highs And Lows (review)
This Month’s Risers and Fallers
This Week In K-pop: Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5
This Month’s Global Pop Round-Up
TOP THREE SONGS OF MARCH
3. ALL(H)OURS – Dead Man Walking (review)
2. KickFlip – Twenty (review)
1. Yena – Catch Catch (review)
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of February 2026
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of January 2026
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of December 2025
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of November 2025
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of October 2025
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Honorable Mentions
Baby DONT Cry – Bittersweet
Big Ocean – One Man Army
H1-KEY – To. My First Love
Top Three Songs of March
Umm so my top three (by a large margin) are all from the same week but their ranking changed a bit
3. Yena – Catch Catch – I’m so happy we all love this song and it’s receiving the attention it deserves. Go Yena!
2. KickFlip – Twenty – Donghyeon’s voice is the main reason I keep coming back to this. He sounds so good in their music show performances, and I can’t help but keep replaying his parts. He’s definitely become one of my favorite voices in K-pop.
1. Dragon Pony – Oh Perfect! – Perfect indeed! My first 9 of the year, and I now consider myself a diehard Dragon Pony fan 🤘 😂. For me, this song perfectly captures the chaotic feeling of being a teenager. I love that you can clearly tell it was just written by some (very talented) guys in their twenties messing around on the guitar rather than some old farts sitting behind a lifeless computer in the studio. 😂 I hope they tour in the US soon, because I need to hear this and the rest of their discography live.
We’ve got a lot to look forward to in April!
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It says February where it should say March. Anyway, Catch Catch is also my favorite song this month.
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Well… yeah… so, since there’s nothing much to discuss about kpop, let’s discuss the weather ig. Here, it’s weird how it is still chill (but cold in the night/early morning) given here it gets warmer by now. Sigh, these climate changes
But yeah, Catch Catch and Dead Man Walking are my highlights. And TUNEXX’s debut also is a weird earworm for me, it grew on me a bit ngl
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I agree on TUNEXX’s debut; It’s strangely addictive and a grower for me too.
Oh, and the weather here is quite temperamental, as it usually is in spring. I never know how to dress with the frequent temperature fluctuations. We still have cold reminders of winter and glimpses of the unpleasant summer heat ahead. I’m just hoping for no tornadoes this year. 🙏🤞The weather here reminds me of K-pop these days. Some days we get a 5, on special days an 8.5, and on most days a 7. Not much predictability. But as we usually start getting summer like conditions in April, K-pop often starts churning out the summer bops as early as April. So I’m hoping the quality of music will stabilize as the weather gradually stabilizes 😂
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Big agree on your top two, pretty much the only songs I’m likely to carry forward on my playlists for the year from March.
Also, not sure if intended but “feasonably” as a portmanteau of “feasibly” and “reasonably” actually works really well in your first paragraph lol.
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Well, I can’t say it’s a bad month; it’s better than January and February, but we’re still far off from last year. By this point last year, we had VVV, Over N Over, Only One, The Stranger, Blue, NIN, and If I Love You. That’s 7 ‘9’ rated songs in 3 months. So many major releases disappointed, especially BTS. I don’t care what the ARMYs say, Arirang is one of their worst comebacks in the group’s history.
I should also say we better enjoy April before Cortis tanks the monthly average for May. Can already say it’s going to be a total shitshow by the name of the title track (what the fuck is RedRed?). And this is coming from someone who likes Fashion better than Go.
Top 3 is same as Nick
Personally, I think both Catch Catch and Twenty might become a 9 as the year progresses but we’ll have to see.
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Speaking of Cortis, Nick, do you hate them more than Eternity now?
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Totally different situations! I “hate” Eternity in a fun way because I can easily ignore them and their so-bad-its-good music. Meanwhile, CORTIS are unavoidable and sadly set to influence K-pop trends going forward, which worries me.
But to be clear, I don’t “hate” any K-pop act. It’s not worth the energy. I’d be happy to lavish praise on CORTIS if and when they release a song I genuinely enjoy.
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the CORTIS whacking I giggled
anyway this was an easy win for Catch Catch, and honorable mention goes to I’m Alive by TUNEXX
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What did you think of aespa – ATTITUDE? Sad it didn’t get a video cuz it’s a great comeback.
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The background voices in the chorus that gradually drop in pitch (I don’t know what to call/how to describe them) immediately reminded me of NCT Dream Hot Sauce
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The “Cortis threatening us with a comeback” really had me.
I am so looking forward to a packed April ahead of us, hopefully we will get some contenders for the Top 10.
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omg is this the first time you outright refused to give a top 3 for j-pop?? if things continue like this i’m starting to wonder if you’re going to refuse a top 3 for kpop, too.
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He actually did in December lol 😂
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i know that, but i’m talking about where it’s so bad he just doesn’t give any top 3
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anyways everything was a skip except catch catch
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Man, Swim grew on me so much especially after seeing them perform it live. I love the way the instrumental starts small and gradually builds and builds throughout the song until the climax on J-hope’s verse. There is so much ear candy in the instrumental as well which makes it not boring. Also, unlike many 2 and a half minute songs, Swim ends but doesn’t feel like it’s cutting anything out. It feels like a full song, which i love! I can’t imagine not liking this song now lol
Apparently a couple more music videos will come out for the album so I’m excited!
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K-pop:
3 – CSR – Can’t Hide Anymore
2 – AtHeart – Butterfly Doors
1 – YENA – Catch Catch
Honorable Mentions/no MV:
– NCT JNJM – What It Is (a b-side from late February I’ve really fallen for)
– WEi – SAVE
– aespa – ATTITUDE
J-pop was fun for me this month, but that’s probably cuz I’m a noob:
3 – HiiT FACTORY – Stay Me Now
2 – The Jet Boy Bangerz – Head Up
1 – Wolf Howl Harmony – One Minute
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Oops, forgot to add Twenty at #2. CSR gets the boot!
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Sleep on beds, not Bittersweet by Baby Dont Cry. They’re giving us the hair flips, high notes, and scream-at-the-top-of-your-lungs music we’ve been begging for. My top song of March, easy.
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Yes!! I could definitely see it being in my top 50 at the end of the year
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heavy on the cortis threatens to release new music cuz idk if u saw but their fans have been whacking my favorite artist (who one of the cortis boys likes apaprently) to HELL for saying in an ig q&a that they need to stop rapping
oh well any publicity for my goat is good publicity STREAM FOR UNLIMITED CORTIS ENDINGS
https://www.youtube.com/embed/4UGSBZm7IIU?si=4MZqzIe0mtiHJWDs
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shit wait it didnt embed
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Good for Jane 🙂↕️
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1- ODD YOUTH / babyface
2- AESPA / Attitude (if that counts?)
3- it’s a tie between :
YUNA / Ice Cream
Baby DONT Cry / Bittersweet
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I’m not as avid of a bg listener, so that def affects my perception, but I’m not that mad about 2026 so far. There have already been some standout tracks that have gone up to 9 for me and I’m just gonna place all the albums I’ve really enjoyed so far in 2026 right here, which is way more than I may have expected:
Kepler – Crack Code
Yuna – Ice Cream
Yena – Love Catcher
Baby DON’T Cry – After Cry
H1-KEY – Love Chapter
Ive – Revive+
XG – The Core
X:IN – Hyper
STAYC – Stay Alive
KiiKii – Delulu Pack
dodree – Just like a dream
Chuu – XO, My Cyberlove
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