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.
July 2025 Overall Thoughts
In the context of this year, the past two months have been pretty strong. Or rather, they’ve been pretty solid. I say this because there have been many good-to-great releases but frustratingly few knock-my-socks-off standouts. However, sometimes quantity compensates for quality and that was the case for the first half of July.
In contrast to last year’s starkly populated July, the first two weeks of this month were stuffed with releases. Better yet, they were stuffed with good releases. In fact, I think July might have set a new record for the number of song reviews on this blog. We had many full albums, with SM Entertainment utilizing the format particularly well. We had strong debuts from groups like AHOF and 1VERSE and strong follow-ups from rookies like Close Your Eyes and NOWZ. Veterans also shone, with the likes of Super Junior, NCT Dream, BLACKPINK and ATEEZ all releasing solid material.
Then, halfway through the month things started to fall apart. Not only were there less big releases, but the quality of these tracks definitely dipped. We had some outright clunkers (Picasso and Stylish say hi) from acts who should know better and some of this era’s worst trends reared their ugly head yet again.
When it came down to it, picking my top song of the month was quite easy. It really looms over everything else. Spots two and three were more competitive, though not too difficult to place in the end. I liked both songs instantly and each has grown even further from there. Candidates for an imaginary fourth place slot would probably be ATEEZ and BLACKPINK.
This month also saw the start of Boys II Planet, which is sure to spawn a very successful group when all is said and done. I’ve been (somewhat reluctantly) recapping each episode if you’re interested in that sort of thing. Meanwhile, the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack truly exploded in popularity this month. I also wrote about that here.
J-pop had a pretty decent month as well. My top three was actually competitive, for once. My number two pick has a music video (a prerequisite for being chosen in this round-up) but it isn’t yet available online, so I posted a clip instead.
With few promising announcements so far, August could be a bang or a bust. It’s hard to know at this point, but I’m excited for new albums from Key and BoA and I’m curious how Big Hit’s new boy group will sound. August has historically been a pretty strong month for new releases, so let’s hope this year follows that tradition.
Month Cumulative Rating: 7.7
(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
TOP J-POP SONGS OF THE MONTH
3. xikers – Up All Night (review)
2. Shunsuke Michieda & Kyohei Takahashi (Naniwa Danshi) – Devil Or Angel
1. Ryugujo – OSHIBAI (review)
Honorable Mentions
AHOF – The Universe (review)
ASC2NT – Don’t Move (review)
ATEEZ – In Your Fantasy (review)
BLACKPINK – Jump (review)
Close Your Eyes – Snowy Summer / Paint Candy (review / review)
Dragon Pony – Radio Silence (review)
HYO – Yes (review)
IDID – Step It Up (review)
ifeye – R U OK? (review)
ILLIT – Jellyous (review)
Nam Woohyun – Only Forward (review)
NCT Dream – Chiller (review)
Ryu Sujeong – New Car (review)
STAYC – I Want It (review)
Super Junior – Express Mode (review)
VIVIZ – La La Love Me (review)
Yena – Being A Girl Hurts (review)
Yoon Sanha – Extra Virgin (review)
Youngtak – Juicy Go (with Kim Yon-ja) (review)
XngHan & Xoul – Waste No Time (review)
ZEROBASEONE – Slam Dunk (review)
1VERSE – Multiverse / Shattered (review / review)
This Month’s Risers and Fallers
This Week In K-pop: Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4
This Month’s Global Pop Round-Up
TOP THREE SONGS
3. NCT Dream – BTTF (review)
2. NOWZ – Everglow (review)
1. AHOF – Rendezvous (review)
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of June 2025
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of May 2025
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of April 2025
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of March 2025
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of February 2025
Top Three K-Pop Songs Of January 2025
