On the finish of every month, I look again at my three favourite title tracks by Okay-pop artists. I take my very own scores under consideration, however there’s a little bit of wiggle room as sure songs are inclined to develop or fade.
March 2025 General Ideas
Whereas this yr in Okay-pop has not wowed me but (not even shut), I really feel like every month is getting progressively stronger. I can get behind that sample, and with a lot of my favourite acts on the slate for the following few months I hope it continues.
The identical developments that marked January and February endured by means of March. I proceed to search out Okay-pop’s boy group materials a lot stronger and extra assorted than the lady teams for the time being, although I need to say that STAYC’s Bebe has grown on me immensely and is my darkish horse quantity 4 choose this month. Their songs at all times develop on me and I actually need the bombastic sound of Bebe‘s dance instrumental to be emulated on stronger songs later this yr.
My high three songs are a little bit of a seize bag. Two of the artists have appeared a number of instances in my high threes earlier than whereas one other has by no means come shut. All three songs are fairly completely different, but every references sounds that I’d think about strengths of Okay-pop on the whole. I actually love my primary choose and wish it to turn into a template for extra work going ahead.
On a extra miserable notice, this month marks the second time in a row the place my final group Infinite needed to accept an honorable point out. Actually, I barely listened to their album after its preliminary launch. I’ve form of made my peace that they’re unlikely to succeed in the musical heights of their previous work once more. I’ll be fortunately stunned in the event that they ever do, however I’m definitely not going to anticipate it.
For the primary time ever, I’m not going to hassle with a “high three J-pop” of this month. Nothing stood out to me in any respect. There have been some songs I preferred, however nothing that warranted greater than a pair performs right here and there. It appears foolish to decide on any of those as a “high three” after I barely even listened to them. Of all of the music markets I actively observe, J-pop feels probably the most uninteresting for the time being. It’s humorous as a result of simply two years in the past I used to be thrilled with Japan’s output. I suppose all the things’s cyclical and there’s nonetheless time for 2025 to make up for misplaced time. Then again, my all-time favourite J-pop group Kis-My-Ft2 lastly launched all their music (300+ songs!) onto streaming. I did an in depth overview of their catalog right here and right here, so test it out in the event you’re within the temper for some bombastic, anthemic dance and rock music. They’ve my highest advice.
With the onset of April, we’re coming into my favourite time for brand spanking new music. April by means of August tends to be fairly fruitful and I actually hope 2025 delivers. I’m very a lot trying ahead to TWS’s comeback later this month, and on the Japanese aspect I can’t wait to see what &TEAM comes up with. With that stated, I’m certain there may even be highlights that come from surprising locations.
Month Cumulative Score: 7.6
(compiled by averaging the scores of each Okay-pop evaluate 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 4
New & Noteworthy J-pop: Week 5
TOP J-POP SONGS OF THE MONTH
Taking a break this month. There actually weren’t any notable highlights.
Honorable Mentions
Dragon Pony – Not Out (evaluate)
Infinite – Harmful (evaluate)
izna – Signal (evaluate)
Simply B – Chest (evaluate)
LE SSERAFIM – Sizzling / Come Over (evaluate / evaluate)
NMIXX – Know About Me (evaluate)
Say My Identify – ShaLala (evaluate)
Seulgi – Child, Not Child (evaluate)
SF9 – Love Race (evaluate)
STAYC – Bebe (evaluate)
Tempest – Unfreeze (evaluate)
Ten – Stunner (evaluate)
TNX – For Actual? (evaluate)
Xdinary Heroes – Stunning Life (evaluate)
Yeji – Air (evaluate)
This Month’s Risers and Fallers
This Month’s International Pop Spherical-Up
TOP THREE SONGS
3. NTX – Over N Over (evaluate)
2. The Wind – Solely One (evaluate)
1. The Boyz – VVV (evaluate)
Prime Three Okay-Pop Songs Of February 2025
Prime Three Okay-Pop Songs Of January 2025
Prime Three Okay-Pop Songs Of December 2024
Prime Three Okay-Pop Songs Of November 2024
Prime Three Okay-Pop Songs Of October 2024
Prime Three Okay-Pop Songs Of September 2024