I haven’t done this before, but now that 2026 is halfway over I thought it would be interesting to see how my “top ten” rookies of last year are doing. Any best-of countdown is tied heavily to the time it was written, but the rookie countdown is particularly malleable because these acts can easily explode or implode in their second year.
So… here’s how it’s going to work. First, I’ll offer updated thoughts on each of my top ten rookies from last year and then I’ll re-rank them according to their standing at this very moment. I’ll take my honorable mentions into account as well. And if I had written about Cortis last year, I’d have to eat just a bit of crow today as their REDRED is a deserved mega-hit (even if everything else remains various shades of bad).
Last year’s honorable mentions:
AM8IC – Seemingly inactive. Hard to make any sort of judgment.
AxMxP – A serious dip in quality after a solid debut.
idntt – A real mixed bag. I’ve enjoyed a number of their tracks but nothing has bowled me over yet.
Kiii Kiii – A big success. I still worry they’re too “style over substance” when it comes to the actual songs, but they’re certainly at the forefront of the game.
KIIRAS – I don’t even remember their May comeback, to be honest.
NEWBEAT – Seemingly inactive. Hard to make any sort of judgment.
RE:WIND – Seemingly inactive. Hard to make any sort of judgment.
XLOV – The material’s getting better, but their music has yet to match their potential.
LAST YEAR’S RANKING
10. 1VERSE
Sadly, I think it might over before it even began for this group. As someone on twitter said recently, they’ve got more controversies and cancellations than songs at this moment. Personally, my excitement around them has completely fizzled.
9. BABY DONT CRY
It feels like they’re on the upswing. I’ve enjoyed Yihyun’s stint as Inkigayo host and their two March singles were pretty solid. They need to consistently release new music, though. Competition is fierce.
8. IFEYE
Ifeye seem like a big question mark. A switch in creative teams resulted in a very bland comeback and their concerts seem to keep getting cancelled or postponed. I fear their hopes of gaining a foothold in the market are quickly dimming. I hope I’m wrong.
7. ALLDAY PROJECT
After a very successful 2025, ALLDAY PROJECT have been pretty quiet this year. Weren’t they supposed to release something this month or am I just misremembering? It’s hard to tell whether their breakout success will be a flash in the pan or a sustaining career. K-pop history suggests the former, but I think they still have some juice left in them if they find the right material.
6. IDID
I’ve been really enjoying IDID’s material and find the members incredibly charming, but they’re just not releasing enough music. Their discography is still very small for a boy group in their second year and promotion has been overly hesitant. They’re quite high on my personal list, but I’m a bit worried about their future — especially with new groups coming down the line.
5. HEARTS2HEARTS
They’ve had a really strong 2026 so far. I came around to RUDE! in a big way and it did such a great job on the charts. Lemon Tang was more polarizing, but its mini album remains one of my favorites from this (admittedly underwhelming) summer. With SM’s backing, they seem to have a very bright path ahead of them.
4. KICKFLIP
KickFlip have been consistently releasing great music every few months or so and I’ve really fallen for their sound. What makes it all the more exciting is that the members have a large amount of creative input, suggesting their music will remain strong in the coming years. They feel like a very stable rookie group whose music I can trust to be quality, and that’s saying something in K-pop’s ultra-trendy landscape.
3. CLOSE YOUR EYES
Similar to my thoughts on IDID, I’ve been enjoying Close Your Eyes’s music very much but they haven’t released much of it so far this year. I really expected another mini album (or even a full) by this time. On the plus side, Pose is my second favorite title track of theirs after All My Poetry. They’ve shown an ability to adapt to different sounds while keeping the quality high, which is very promising.
2. NOUERA
NouerA have been my biggest disappointment on this list. They had such a strong discography last year but have switched producers and concepts to their detriment in 2026. I found nothing worth saving on March’s Pop It Like mini. Their upcoming album sounds much better, but still not near the excitement of their debut era. I really wish they would have kept working with producer e.one for a least a few more comebacks. As it stands, it feels like their discography will be very hit or miss going forward.
1. AHOF
AHOF are still chugging along very well, though I’m not quite as enamored as I was last year. Their work with EL CAPITXN remains their best material but they really stumbled when switching concepts for last month’s Sugar High. They’re still one of K-pop’s bright spots in 2026, but I’m a little less sure of where they’ll head in the future and that gives me pause.
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
hi Nick, r u still gonna do reevaluation of 2018 list (no rush sorry)
LikeLike
It’s not in my immediate plans, but maybe at some point?
LikeLike
thank you, also recalling from few days ago when you said you could link me to your Spotify playlist of 9+ songs, could you do that please? thank you
LikeLike
LikeLike
Oof, NouerA going from a 2 to a 6… can’t even say that it is undeserved, they really threw away such a promising sound for fuckass Lay, hope their new album doesn’t disappoint. They really could have had it all.
But yeah, KickFlip is very promising. They really found their footing in a pop rock sound paired with bouyant melodies. So seeing them at 1 is deserving.
KiiiKiii is just as promising but like you said, they seem to prioritize aesthetics over music which is a bit of a concern but their upcoming title track sounds promising.
And sigh, I so badly need a RE:WIND or AM8IC comeback 💔
LikeLike
wait what happened with nouerA
LikeLike
Nothing, just they used to work with e.one for their first two albums and their discography up to that point was so good. Then for their third album (Pop It Like), they worked with EXO’s Lay (yk, the one behind “I’m China Sheep!”) and it easily became their worst comeback and weakest album. Now they’re coming back with another round of producers and it’s fine, but not up to par with their first two albums. So yeah, they could have been so promising had they continued working with e.one
LikeLike
My personal favourite group of this generation, The Wind, threw away their signature in favour of sounding like BOYNEXTDOOR. I genuinely hope this upcoming comeback, they’ll fail really hard so that they’d go back to their original production team. PLEASE. PLEASE. I want “I Dont Thing” part 2.
LikeLike
KickFlip vindicated, they did a lot of work in late 2025 and now 2026 proving they’ve got a consistent sound they’re good at doing. I actually didn’t know they had a lot of input in their music, but it makes a lot of sense given they sell it so well.
LikeLike
Yeah I think pretty much every track has co-writes by members and they each have their own preferences that you can hear in their songs.
I really liked this video because it’s the rare time idols actually talked about their music:
LikeLiked by 1 person
This was a great watch, thanks for sharing! I tend to just watch whatever variety clips of them the algorithms feed to me, but I can really see how the songs they have credits on match who they are already. Like I can see the through line from Tiki-Taka on the last album to Stup!d on this one, and that Donghwa had credits on it. Even more excited to see what’s up next from them now.
LikeLike
ADP paused for a moment to give time for Annie Moon to pursue her degree iirc, idk how long till the group gets back on the industry
LikeLike
On the contrary, I’d like for AHOF to experiment with some new producers. Definitely keep EL CAPITXN in the mix, he’s solid, but I feel like he writes the songs for Han (with that voice, why wouldn’t you?) and then everyone else forms around that. It’d be nice to play to some other member’s strengths on the b-sides (where is the Woongi gay anthem?).
LikeLike
gooped at POSE being your favorite CYE single after All My Poetry! and they need a comeback STAT
LikeLike