Flip it, Kick it! - EP

The first major K-pop debut of 2025 belonged to JYP Entertainment’s KickFlip. Named after a classic skateboarding trick, the seven-member boy group is partially composed of winners from the 2021 survival series <i>LOUD</i> (Kyehoon, Amaru, Keiju, and Donghyeon) and partially composed of new faces (Donghwa, Juwang, and Minje). With mini-album <i>Flip it, Kick it!</i>, the group joins the music company’s pantheon of boy bands, which has included 2PM, GOT7, and Stray Kids.

KickFlip’s proper introduction comes in the form of “Mama Said,” a lead single that throws off the weight of parental expectation with playful pop ease (“Mama said what are you trying to become/I don’t wanna/I don’t wanna”). The theme of easygoing defiance continues in bouncy, pre-release bop “Umm Great” (“Who’s nagging again this time?/Telling me I can’t do it?/Fine, I’ll just let it slide”) and the Young K-penned power-pop B-side “WARRIORS” (“I really hate fixed answers/Tear up the answer sheet, you too”). The result? A K-pop debut that’s just as comfortable with hip-hop-inflected teen swagger as it is skater-boy pop punk.