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Top 10 Worst K-Pop Songs of 2026 (So Far)

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I generally consider myself a pretty positive, optimistic person and really want this blog to be a space that focuses on the good, but 2026 has been a uniquely challenging year when it comes to K-pop releases. I can’t remember a year where I wrote as many negative reviews, so I’m going to try something a little different and do a mid-year round-up of my least favorite K-pop songs. I know some readers will probably hate this and others will love it, but it’s a bit of a one-off either way. Consider this a purge before we (hopefully) move on to brighter skies during 2026’s second half!

What are your thoughts, readers? Leave your own picks in the comments!

10. NAZE – People Talk

The worst kind of toothless whitebread pop melody. (full review)

9. Everglow – Code

Further proof that their agency has no idea what to do with them. (full review)

8. Katseye – Pinky Up

I absolutely despise the chorus. (full review)

7. AHOF – Sugar High

It’s not that this is the worst song I’ve ever heard. The verses are actually okay. It’s that it comes from a group who has made spectacular music up to this point and Sugar High represents agencies’ worst instincts to saddle their acts with “hard” hip-hop singles even when it doesn’t match their concept. But yeah, that chorus is horrendous. (full review)

6. CORTIS – Acai

The fact that they can come up with something as good as REDRED makes a song like Acai even more unforgivable. There’s just no excuse for this crap. (full review)

5. Queenz Eye – Y2K

Can this finally put the nail in the coffin of the Y2K trend? It’s a lame novelty track filled with lamer references. And somehow, it sounds nothing like actual Y2K music. (full review)

4. BTS – 2.0

Yeah, even legends of the game aren’t immune to a place on this countdown. The sheer monotony of 2.0 makes my eyes glaze over. It’s like a flat line that goes nowhere. (full review)

3. Young Posse – Visa

Noise pollution. I admire its confrontational energy but this is literally painful to listen to. (full review)

2. VVS – BOTTLE$

You might as well just place VVS’s entire discography on this list. I’m still convinced they’re some sort of deliberate parody act. How else do you explain a song like this? (full review)

1. LE SSERAFIM x ILLIT x Katseye – Iconic By Mistake

This represents everything I hate about K-pop right now: bratty “clapbacks” at haters, chanted, non-melodic catchphrase songs, pointless braggadocio and a horrible misuse of the performers at the core of the track. You can’t tell me an industry behemoth like HYBE couldn’t find better material for three of K-pop’s top girl groups? (full review)

23 thoughts on “Top 10 Worst K-Pop Songs of 2026 (So Far)”

  1. You know this year is shitty when Nick, whose negative reviews still leave some praises, made a whole “worst of” list for the first time in the 10 and a half years of this blog’s existence.

    Anyways, my top 5 worst songs so far and their ratings:

    1- YCC (YoungCreaterCrew) – Cortis (2.5)

    2- Roll – aespa (3.5) (hate to bring my girls into this 💔)

    3- Acai – Cortis (4.25)

    4- Visa – Young Posse (4.75)

    5- 2.0 – BTS (4.75)

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      • And I forgot about Sugar High too, jfc 😭 anyways, my (hopefully) final rankings:

        1- YCC (CORTIS) – 2.5

        2- Roll (aespa) – 3.5

        3. Sugar High (AHOF) – 4

        4. Iconic By Mistake (Katsserallit) – 4.25

        5. Acai (CORTIS) – 4.25

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  3. Sugar High is the absolute worst song this year, might be the worst chorus I’ve ever heard.

    Also Nick, I’d like to see what your current rating of each song is as of now.

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    • Also, I’d put Acai below Iconic By Mistake solely because at least Iconic by mistake has a purpose even if it’s nowhere near the best execution. That’s like a flat 5 for me. Açaí is probably a 3. Only slightly better than Sugar High.

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      • Sugar High: 2.75 After rendezvous and Pinocchio, we got this?

        Açaí: 3, straight to the Z tier, I don’t want to linger on about this. 2.0: 3.5, Straight up flat and full of nothingness

        Blue Lips: 4.25 Hated it instantly when I heard that first line.

        Iconic By Mistake: 5 had some purpose and intention but execution is nowhere near as good as it should be. I guess it’s somewhat tolerable but I wouldn’t go out listening to it. Better than Gnarly.

        Visa: 5.5 just turn the sound down

        Bottle$: 5, a true what the fuck? Pinky Up: 4.75, next level annoying

        Y2K: 5.75 just lame

        People Talk and Code are somewhat tolerable, a 6.25 or 6.5 wouldn’t hurt for either, I’ve heard much much worse, not something I’d actively want to listen to but not something I’d actively go out on hating.

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  4. oh wow…this year hasnt been good for kpop hasnt it

    anyways here’s my least favorite songs of the year (kpop only because goodness this year is so lackluster)

    1. acai – cortis (WORSE than I remember)
    2. hooligan – bts (all the worst steryotypes of hip hop combined into one)
    3. iconic by mistake – le sserafim x illit x katyseye (geniuenly terrible, no way around it)
    4. gimmie gimmie – choco la familia (yechan’s verse was enough to tell me)
    5. pinky up – katseye (annoying)

    Dishonorable mentions: boompala – le sserafim, bottle$ – vvs, internet girl – katseye, into the sun – bts, knife – enhypen

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  5. all the HYBE songs in the list 🫢 but especially ICONIC BY MISTAKE pisses me off irrationally. although I’d replace PINKY UP with BOOMPALA. I don’t even wanna talk about CODE and Sugar High…

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  6. I seem to remember Code being ok, but I don’t think I’ve listened to it since it came out, so it’s probably as bad as you say. No argument about the rest of your list! I had my hopes up for Young Posse based on past performance, but this last release sucked.

    BTS – 2.0 is #1 worst for me by far. I would also add BOOMPALA, GO, WDA, CHOOM as pretty awful songs.

    Lemonade and Lemon Tang really get under my skin, but of course they have some strong redeeming qualities. Both TTs from NMIXX were very disappointing to me as well.

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  8. Frankly speaking, I don’t listen to songs I dislike and usually just forget about them, so there’s no way I can make a list.

    Having said that, and I know this may get me in some trouble, I still resent the disappointment and frustration I felt with every single song in that BTS’ Arirang album.

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  9. i love having a consistent slew of great music but ngl sometimes horrible music can make for an entertaining experience, particularly when i see reactions and reviews of the horrible music

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  11. some of the worst songs i’ve experienced so far in 2026

    • BTS – hooligan and 2.0 (it literally feels like they’re trying to be wannabe gangsters, which isn’t that far of a stretch if i’m being honest 😬)
    • Young Posse – Visa (literal noise, it gives me a headache)
    • Cortis-19 – TNT and Acai (Double whammy! i hate their discography, i don’t like REDRED either but at least it has some interesting production)
    • Katseye – Pinky Up (lost all hope for this group. at least gnarly had some shock value. this just feels like they’re trying to go for that virality again)
    • Katseye – Internet Girl (the “im getting out of here” in the baby voice pisses me off so much PLEASE fire whoever produces Katseye’s songs)
    • Hearts2Hearts – Lemon Tang (already didn’t like how the chorus sounded, but the insane amount of autotune made so many of the high notes sound so grating. Style >> Focus > The Chase >>> Lemon Tang)
    • AHOF – Sugar High (slightly improved but my initial rating was a 2.75, so it’s more of like a 3.5. i will never grow to like that obnoxious fucking chorus.)
    • VVS – BOTTLE$ (there is nothing positive to say, which could apply to everything else in this list but this is especially bad. let’s see: 1. no actual hooks? check! 2. endless edgy lyrics that try to say “we’re the baddest bitches alive!”? check! 3. horrible production that make the entire thing worse? check!)
    • LE SSERAFIM – BOOMPALA (i just hate this. that’s all. i already made an entire paragraph describing how much i hated it and i don’t wanna do that again)

    Dishonorable mentions:

    • Katseye x Illit x Le Sserafim – ICONIC BY MISTAKE

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  12. seeing all the bullshit hybes been pulling w their ggs this year gave me a huge newfound appreciation for newjeans n what they stood for

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  13. Never thought Nick is going to the dark side so soon this year LOL
    My pick for 2026 worst song mid-year:
    Roll – AESPA (this nursery rhyme will bring you closer to unholy dream realm)
    Sugar High – AHOF (I still can’t unhear the ‘SHIT’ chorus verse)
    Sugar Honey Ice Tea – BABYMONSTER (another “SHIT” song, please tell YG not to play with their food anymore, enough is enough)
    Do Your Dance – RIIZE (no matter how good the production is, it still felt incredibly annoying to listen the cringy intro and the soulless repeating head hip shoulders toes verse)
    BOTTLE$ – VVS (there are many better ways to channel your inner rage rather than rapping bitches and bottle everywhere in the song)

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  14. I like that BTS song, haha. It sounds like something that would easily fit on NCT’s great Empathy album, along songs like The 7th Sense and Boss.

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