Tomorrow, The Bias Listing‘s complete end-of-year countdowns will formally kick off with the primary ten songs on my High 50 countdown. Over the course of the subsequent few weeks, you’ll get round-ups from each angle of Ok-pop: rookies, artists, b-sides, and so on. I’ll additionally proceed my custom of recapping the business’s year-end music festivals. In different phrases, issues might be busy round right here so be certain that to examine again each day!
This has been a dramatic 12 months for Ok-pop, and never at all times in a great way. I’ve no exhausting proof for this, however it feels just like the Ok-pop bubble has burst — no less than for Western audiences. I’ve seen a giant dip in on-line interplay/commentary from Western followers in nearly each nook of the web. Increasingly, it appears like fandoms and curiosity have turn out to be siloed to particular artists. In different phrases, folks carefully comply with the few acts they’re interested by and aren’t essentially in search of extra outdoors of that bubble. Huge acts grew even greater however general curiosity within the Ok-pop business appears to have softened. Once more, that is purely observational from my perspective, however I’ve adopted on-line Ok-pop chatter for over a decade now and one thing has undoubtedly modified this 12 months.
In fact, issues have been nonetheless hopping over at The Bias Listing. For title tracks alone, I revealed 515 opinions from final December to the top of this November. That’s not counting “buried treasures,” J-pop releases and all the opposite posts I write. I turned interested by seeing how these 515 opinions broke down by sure classes, which finally ends up being a reasonably correct illustration of the Ok-pop business’s output since I write about nearly each small-to-major launch every year. Right here’s what I discovered from my 515 track opinions:
Boy Group – 214 opinions
Lady Group – 133 opinions
Soloist (male) – 82 opinions
Soloist (feminine) – 67 opinions
Duo (male) – 10 opinions
Duo (feminine) – 3 opinions
Combined/Co-ed Act – 6 opinions
This wasn’t too shocking. Boy group releases eclipsed lady teams, as did male soloists when in comparison with feminine soloists. Make of this what you’ll, however usually evidently male acts are typically a safer funding for firms. With that stated, lady teams and feminine soloists continued to chart higher digitally and usually obtained extra curiosity from readers of this weblog. As ordinary, my “High 50” record is about 75% male, 25% feminine, which is a bit of off the general ratio of releases. I’ve lengthy most popular the sound coming from boy group music, and that has shifted much more so previously few years as sure developments have crystallized. Humorous sufficient, this ratio is reversed in terms of world pop.
The 12 months’s musical developments have been a combined bag. I’ve loved how shiny and energetic the fabric has been from most fifth-gen boy teams, and usually it felt just like the tempo amped up a bit this 12 months. I’ve additionally appreciated seeing newer teams debut and follow their very own signature sound. This has been one of many advantages of Ok-pop fandom silos. Oftentimes, artists are catering on to their fan base slightly than to as many potential listeners as attainable. If “beigepop” was my most derided pattern final 12 months, 2025 delivered means too many songs I’d describe as “speaking over a dance beat.” After I say this, I don’t imply rap. I actually imply idols talking catchphrases in monotone on high of club-ready manufacturing. Just a few of those songs labored for me, however the majority felt like enormous missed alternatives for partaking melody.
As I at all times warn this time of 12 months, my countdowns are totally different from those you’ll see coming from greater publications. I’m not looking for consensus or symbolize the 12 months as an entire. I don’t take recognition or chart placement under consideration. In different phrases, there might be no Ok-pop Demon Hunters right here (a mission whose widespread adoration continues to baffle me). That is merely an inventory of my high 50 favourite title tracks of the 12 months. The identical applies to my different countdowns. Due to this, you might not agree with my selections however you might be sure they’re coming from an sincere place.
And for these of you who take pleasure in stats, this year-end prelude is my 850th submit of the 12 months, which is up thirty from this time final 12 months. That’s a whopping 287,000 phrases. No marvel I’m drained!
Eligibility standards for my High 50 Singles record hasn’t modified since final 12 months, however for individuals who are new to the weblog, listed here are the principles.
Eligibility standards:
- A track should have been launched as a title, follow-up or promoted observe between December 1, 2024 and November 30, 2025.
- A track should be paired with a full music video or big-budget efficiency video (the strains get extra blurred every year and I give myself some leeway right here).
- English-language singles are eligible. Japanese singles by Ok-pop artists might be a part of the J-pop countdown.
Earlier than kicking off the countdowns tomorrow, listed here are the ten songs that didn’t fairly make the High 50.
60. n.SSign – Itty Bitty (evaluate)
59. Shut Your Eyes – SOB (with Imanbek) (evaluate)
58. Primrose – Cinema (evaluate)
57. ifeye – r u okay? (evaluate)
56. CIX – Thunder (evaluate)
55. XLOV – 1&Solely (evaluate)
54. BOYNEXTDOOR – I Really feel Good (evaluate)
53. ZEROBASEONE – Physician! Physician! (evaluate)
52. 1VERSE – Shattered (evaluate)
51. NCT Dream – Chiller (evaluate)