2026 KPOP

Holiday albums are a pop tradition, even in K-pop. <i>Eternal White</i>, a winter-themed release from NCT’s Mandopop subgroup WayV, is more of a seasonal album than a holiday one, bringing a cozy, sentimental groove to the ’90s-hip-hop-inspired “Eternal White.” The upbeat title track aims to keep the beat going through the gray of winter. Members KUN, TEN, WINWIN, XIAOJUN, HENDERY, and YANGYANG slow things down a bit for the wistful a cappella opener “The Fifth Season,” the English-language R&B track “Stay,” and the regretful ballad “Lover After Me.” KUN, the leader and main vocalist of WayV, co-composed “First Time,” a warm, midtempo love song that encapsulates the album’s intention to soothe its listeners through the winter months.

On ATEEZ’s <i>Ashes to Light</i>, evolution is earned, but sometimes still fought against. The nine-track effort represents the second full-length Japanese album released by the K-pop octet since their 2018 debut under KQ Entertainment, and it’s an expansion of the group’s music further past swashbuckling swagger to sentimental sensuality. It brings together four previously released J-pop tracks (“NOT OKAY,” “Days,” “Birthday,” and “Forevermore”) and five new ones (“Ash,” “12 Midnight,” “Tippy Toes,” “FACE,” and “Crescendo”), giving the album a temporal scope broader than the group’s prolific output might suggest is possible.

The album brings in more of ATEEZ’s signature rap in “12 Midnight,” a song about fighting through anxieties in the middle of the night. “Tippy Toes” keeps things low-key before ATEEZ erupts into the J-rock-fueled frenzy of “FACE” and the unbridled sentiment of “Crescendo,” the latter asking fans (known as ATINY) to stay “together, forever” with the group. “Let's hide away, like the setting sun/So that we won't be found in this ever-changing world,” members Seonghwa, Hongjoong, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung, and Jongho suggest on the album-ending ballad “Forevermore.” The song is an emotional tribute to a time that must pass—though not just yet.

산뜻한 아침부터 감성 가득한 밤까지, 다채로운 무드로 하루를 물들이는 미니 3집

From their launch in 2023, K-pop six-piece BOYNEXTDOOR wrote many of their own lyrics, giving their feel-good, sometimes hip-hop-driven pop personality and precision. With their 2025 mini album <i>The Action</i>, members Sungho, Riwoo, Jaehyun, Taesan, Leehan, and Woonhak blend the everyday observations that defined their early music with more insights into idol life. “No fancy red carpet, just/Gimme the spotlight and I can do anything,” Taesan raps on “Hollywood Action,” the EP’s uptempo, brass-infused lead single which compares BOYNEXTDOOR’s larger-than-life ambitions to a big-budget movie. BOYNEXTDOOR returns to more mundane, universal topics on the laidback hip-hop track “JAM!,” which is constructed like a stream-of-conscious hang session with friends, while guitar-driven track “Bathroom” has the singers looking for comfort after a relationship fight.

BOYNEXTDOOR continues their rise with confidence on their fourth EP, <i>No Genre</i>. While their previous release, <i>19.99</i>, captured the uncertainty between boyhood and adulthood, this time the six-piece breaks free from convention altogether, on their own terms. That authenticity is only deepened by the fact that the members make their own music: Just as they’ve done since their debut, JAEHYUN, TAESAN, and WOONHAK took an active role in songwriting. Notably, WOONHAK—the youngest of the group—is credited on every track, working with label KOZ’s in-house producers Pop Time and Kako as well as executive producer ZICO.

The funky track “I Feel Good” embodies the spirit of the EP’s six songs: bold, free-spirited, and brimming with rock-star energy. Other standouts include the breakup song “123-78” with its ’60s soul-pop flair; the breezy city-pop tune “Step by Step”; the cheeky, funk-driven “Is That True?”; and hit single “IF I SAY, I LOVE YOU.” To celebrate the release, the members of BOYNEXTDOOR shared their thoughts on each song with Apple Music below.

<b>“123-78”</b>
RIWOO: “This track feels like winter fading into spring. It captures a sense of seasonal change that stirs up a wide range of emotions. There’s also a romantic atmosphere you can easily get lost in.”

<b>“I Feel Good”</b>
TAESAN: “When we were working on ‘I Feel Good,’ we wanted to make something fun. As soon as you hear it, you’ll start to feel the energy. Make sure to pay attention to the chorus—it’s got a crazy addictive rush.”

<b>“Step by Step”</b>
JAEHYUN: “We worked on this one while counting down the days until summer. You can really feel that summertime vibe in the song. Why not cool off and enjoy the season with ‘Step by Step’?”

<b>“Is That True?”</b>
WOONHAK: “This track is about that flash of jealousy when you run into your ex who seems totally fine, but we put a fun, playful twist on it. I think it’ll be so much fun to perform live and jump around with ONEDOOR!”

<b>“Next Mistake”</b>
SUNGHO: “This track stands out for its falsetto and sleek rhythm. The scratching that wraps up the song is the highlight for me. It's my favorite track on the album.”

<b>“IF I SAY, I LOVE YOU”</b>
LEEHAN: “This was a song I fell in love with the moment I heard it. The beat is so exciting and the melody is super catchy—I really cherish this one. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do!”

When ZEROBASEONE debuted in summer 2023 out of a K-pop competition show, the nine-member group announced “blue” as their official color. In <i>BLUE PARADISE</i>, ZEROBASEONE’s fifth mini album, the color takes on an even more central role: as a theme to explore. “Blue” can mean the pain of love, the radiance of being alive, or the soulful vocals stemming from R&B's influence on the industry. “We wanted to tell you this story of how we found love that is a mixture of sadness and beauty,” Chinese vocalist Zhang Hao tells Apple Music of the album’s lead single, simply titled “BLUE.” The track is sung for the group’s fandom, named ZEROSE (a combination of “zero” and “rose”), and is the second lead-single collaboration between K-pop hitmaker KENZIE and ZEROBASEONE, following 2024’s “GOOD SO BAD.”

The six-track album also includes ZEROBASEONE’s first unit song, “Out of Love,” a “band song that showcases youth and freshness extremely well,” according to Zhang Hao, who features with fellow members Kim Gyu-vin and Kim Ji-woong. Kim Ji-woong calls the track “a rock version” of ZEROBASEONE’s debut song, “In Bloom,” also highlighting its “rock and R&B vibes.” ZEROBASEONE walks Apple Music through all six tracks of <i>BLUE PARADISE</i> below.

<b>“BLUE”</b>
Sung Han-bin: “This song is meaningful ’cause it has a touching message towards ZEROSE. Especially in this ‘BLUE’ song, there were many scenes that reminded me of our debut song, ‘In Bloom,’ since our music video/album cover shoot. And so, there are many points that will remind you of our touching debut, which I hope you’ll be interested to know.”
Zhang Hao: “I enjoyed working with KENZIE on this song again, just like the title song of our fourth mini album [‘GOOD SO BAD’ on <i>CINEMA PARADISE</i>]. We wanted to tell you this story of how we found love that is a mixture of sadness and beauty.”

<b>“Devil Game”</b>
Kim Ji-woong: “ZEROBASEONE is synonymous with freshness, but ‘Devil Game’ has quite a different vibe. I’m pretty sure we’ll get to show you a mood you’ve never seen before.”
Seok Matthew: “This one was created based on the game concept of hide-and-seek, so there are questions such as ‘Do you love me? Or do you hate me?’ I really like this song ’cause this is our first attempt at such a unique concept, so I hope you all enjoy it too.”

<b>“Doctor! Doctor!”</b>
Kim Tae-rae: “This song contains the meaning that ZEROBASEONE will heal the pain of love! It’s a song that makes you think a lot about the meaning of love while depicting a journey of being addicted to love but being healed.”

<b>“Out of Love”</b>
Zhang Hao: “This unit song is a song with a band sound that showcases youth and freshness extremely well. Even the addictive melody and lyrics express our feeling of falling in love with the ZEROSE.”
Kim Ji-woong: “Hao, Gyu-vin, and I are releasing our first unit song, so I hope our fans like this one a lot. It has rock and R&B vibes, but personally, I think it’s more like a rock version of ‘In Bloom.’ It’s a song full of youth and freshness, almost like rushing towards you and hugging you tightly.”
Kim Gyu-vin: “This song is the first-ever unit song we’re showcasing since the beginning of ZEROBASEONE. Just like our album title, <i>BLUE PARADISE</i>, Hao hyung, Ji-woong hyung, and I sang and created this very refreshing and blue song. We wanted to show you how well the three of us worked on this amazing song, so please listen to it and let us know what you think.”

<b>“Step Back”</b>
Ricky: “It’s an R&B song, but it’s closer to rhythm than blues. Extremely intense rhythm! The melody is also very catchy. We had a lot of fun working on this style since it’s something ZEROBASEONE had never done before, and I’m glad we took on this challenge!”
Han Yu-jin: “This is my first unit song as a part of ZEROBASEONE! So happy and excited that this song is included in our fifth mini album. Above all, it was so fun and awesome working with Ricky hyung and Gun-wook hyung, and since I put a lot of effort into providing my input for this one, I hope our ZEROSE appreciate its cool composition.”
Park Gun-wook: “I think it’s a fab song that can double the charm of Ricky, Yu-jin, and Gun-wook. It’s got a sick bassline, and the three of us have created a cool melody, so I would say that it’s a unit song where each of our charms blend together harmoniously.”

<b>“Cruel”</b>
Sung Han-bin: “You’ll get to experience the various charms of Han-bin, Matthew, and Tae-rae that you’ve never seen before. Since the song has a band-based sound, we hope you look forward to our ‘unexpected charm,’ where we show you a different side of us.”
Seok Matthew: “‘Cruel’ is my first time doing a unit song. The rock vibe is a bit different from our usual singing style, but I think we pulled it off well with our own charm. Hope y’all look forward to our stage!”
Kim Tae-rae: “In ‘Cruel,’ the not-so-mischievous members wanted to show their mischievous sides, so we tried our best. Please look forward to our new characters.”