KPOP2025

With their third mini album, <i>TRY WITH US</i>, fifth-generation K-pop group TWS continues expressing their self-described “boyhood pop” genre. Seemingly limitless in its energy and optimism, the bright, dynamic pop style is meant to evoke the ordinary emotions and experiences of teen-boy life. Though a few of TWS’s six members had entered their twenties when <i>TRY WITH US</i> was released in mid-2025, the mini album stays in the backpacks-and-bus-stops schoolboy space that defined the group’s debut just a year earlier.

Like TWS’s 2024 breakout hit “plot twist,” the title of <i>TRY WITH US</i>’s lead single has a more specific, playful meaning in its Korean-language incarnation. Called “Countdown!” in English, the Korean title “마음 따라 뛰는 건 멋지지 않아?” translates to “Isn’t it cool to follow your heart?” The cheerful pop song is about going for what you want, even if you need a countdown to build courage first. Other subjects explored in the mini album include TWS’s gratitude towards their fans (“Lucky to be loved”), a call to indulge in the fun of youth (“Random Play”), and the scariness of planning an honest love confession (“GO BACK”).

[💿]CHUU 3RD MINI ALBUM [Only cry in the rain]
🎧2025.04.21 6PM (KST) Coming Soon💧

For their sophomore mini album, K-pop boy group NCT WISH leans into love. <i>poppop</i> came out a little more than a year after the NCT subunit’s long-awaited debut in February 2024, and it bops from a place of youthful earnestness. In the onomatopoeic dance-pop title track, members Sion, Riku, Yushi, Jaehee, Ryo, and Sakuya compare love to cloudlike cotton candy, soda pop in the starlight, and juicy bubblegum, evoking a sweet, retro flavor of infatuation.

The sense of wide-eyed wonder continues on tracks like “Silly Dance,” a high-energy song about letting loose in front of one’s crush, and “Still 3PM,” an R&B-inspired pop track about waiting for the person you like to come over. The latter song references Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s <i>The Little Prince</i>, a classic story that also inspired NCT WISH’s SM Entertainment <i>sunbaenim</i> RYEOWOOK. Notably, all six tracks on <i>poppop</i> are sung in English and Korean despite the group featuring majority Japanese members, highlighting the multinational fluidity of NCT WISH.

Following the release of their 2024 EP <i>GOLDEN HOUR : Part.2</i>, ATEEZ returns with the third installment in the series. From the fresh sounds of opening number “Lemon Drop” to the distinct vocal colors from all eight members on “Masterpiece” to the comforting lyrics of “Now this house ain’t a home” and “Castle,” the album is a showcase of ATEEZ’s signature charisma, brightness, and emotional depth. To mark the release, the members share their thoughts on each track with Apple Music.

<b>“Lemon Drop”</b>
SEONGHWA: “I think it might feel like the boys who sang ‘Wave’ six years ago have all grown up and returned to that same season. It’s ATEEZ’s first summer track in a while.”
MINGI: “You’ll probably notice the refreshing sweetness of a lemon drop cocktail in this track, but I think you’ll also feel a summer that’s more than just blue. It’s ATEEZ exploring R&B and hip-hop in a fresh new way, so I hope you enjoy it with a cool breeze.”

<b>“Masterpiece”</b>
WOOYOUNG: “ATEEZ is the product of eight unique individuals coming together, and we’re on this incredible journey as one. That’s what this song represents. As you listen closely to our distinct vocal tones, you’ll notice how each distinct color blends into a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.”

<b>“Now this house ain’t a home”</b>
HONGJOONG: “This song reflects the emotional distance that exists between a house and a home. When you’re chasing your goals, there can be moments when your reality suddenly feels very strange. This song holds a message of encouragement to keep running until you find a place that truly feels like home.”
YUNHO: “It’s a song that can offer comfort during those lonely times we all go through. Its charm lies in the hopeful yet bittersweet melody and vivid, relatable lyrics like ‘the TV we sat around on Sunday nights.’”

<b>“Castle”</b>
JONGHO: “This track offers a different kind of comfort from ‘Now this house ain’t a home.’ It’s about finding a space where we feel safe—to take a breath and give ourselves time to heal.”
YEOSANG: “Just as there are no absolutes in life, there’s no such thing as pain we’re destined to endure forever. Through this song, we wanted to tell our fans, and ourselves, that it’s okay to not always push through. The beautiful lyrics express that message, which makes the song very special to me.”

<b>“Bridge : The Edge of Reality”</b>
SAN: “If you listen to the album in order, I think you’ll be surprised by how dramatically the mood shifts at this point. As you focus on the atmosphere and structure of the song, you might discover something completely unexpected and fun.”

The K-pop industry is intentionally teeming with “main-character energy,” internet slang describing a self-assured person who embraces a sense of agency in their own life story, but fourth-generation girl group ITZY makes it explicit in their 2025 EP <i>Girls Will Be Girls</i>. “It makes you feel like the main character,” member RYUJIN tells Apple Music of “Walk,” one of five powerful tracks on the dance-pop mini album.

A performance-oriented group, ITZY both reinforces and subverts the expectation of what that main-character energy might sound like on <i>Girls Will Be Girls</i>, balancing the boldness of lead single “Girls Will Be Girls” and confident club banger “Kiss & Tell” with the soft sincerity of fan ballad “Promise.” As ITZY tells Apple Music in their exclusive track-by-track below, it’s all in the pursuit of expressing their unbreakable bond with one another, and their love for their fans, known as MIDZY.

<b>“Girls Will Be Girls”</b>
YUNA: “This is about the bond that grows stronger when we’re together, and that message is matched with a powerful beat that really stands out.”

<b>“Kiss & Tell”</b>
CHAERYEONG: “It’s a charming track with an upbeat rhythm and confident lyrics that don’t care what others say or think. Mwah!”

<b>“Locked N Loaded”</b>
LIA: “This song captures the feeling of a growing whisper emerging from the hidden darkness inside. When you sing along and get into the melody, it helps you release those emotions and bring a sense of freedom.”

<b>“Promise”</b>
YEJI: “It features a message of being each other’s light. I’m glad we could give MIDZYs this warm, springlike fan song. We’ll always stay by your side—pinkie promise!”

<b>“Walk”</b>
RYUJIN: “It’s a charismatic track that blends house, electronic, and dance. The beat is irresistible, and when you listen to it while walking, it makes you feel like the main character.”

Across its seven tracks, <i>224</i> leans into moments of disco (“Tell Me”), upbeat pop (“Slide”), and acoustic balladry (“Think Twice”), but never strays far from the sensual turn-of-the-millennium R&B that has defined the quartet’s sound since their 2023 debut. The first of KISS OF LIFE’s collections to be released without creative director Lee Hae-in, the group’s fourth EP builds on the combination of smooth production and lush, low-key vocals that worked so well on 2024 hits “Sticky” and “Igloo.” <i>224</i> opens with “Lips Hips Kiss,” a midtempo track with a sultry hook (“You can touch my lips-hips-hips-hips-hips/I’m free at six-six-six-six-six, oh”), before asking for more honesty in “Tell Me.” Thai member NATTY contributed lyrics to “Tell Me” and “Painting,” while American member Julie participated in the songwriting for “Heart of Gold.” American singer-songwriter UPSAHL composed bass-driven, viral-ready “k bye.”

ENHYPEN continues their vampiric agenda with <i>DESIRE : UNLEASH</i>, the K-pop boy group’s sixth EP. The septet’s “concept” (used in K-pop to define a fixed aesthetic and/or narrative theme) had been supernatural since their debut in 2020, but they made their vampirism explicit with 2023’s “Bite Me,” a Y2K-inspired pop track that beckons listeners closer (“Just come kiss me and bite me, yeah”)—at their own risk.

Two years later, by <i>DESIRE : UNLEASH</i>, members Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-ki have become masters at evoking a sense of dangerous desire with a vocal flourish or turn of phrase. “Out in the world, you’re just an angel/But here in the dark, my sacrifice,” they sing in dance-pop lead single “Bad Desire (With or Without You),” which sees “Bite Me” producer Cirkut returning to work with the group.

While the album’s theme may stick tight to the titular unleashed desire, the mode of expression shifts: future bass (“Flashover”), hip-hop trap (“Outside”), pop-rock (“Helium”), and piano-led pop (“Too Close”). <i>DESIRE : UNLEASH</i> also includes the album release of “Loose,” the funky, mid-tempo pop track ENHYPEN originally released in preparation for their first Coachella performance in spring 2025. The track trades supernatural lore for something softer, but keeps the seductive focus: “I don’t wanna waste another second tonight/So in five, four, three, two, one, let’s let it.”

멤버 전원의 개성을 살린 솔로곡. 데뷔 10주년을 기념하는 정규 5집.

KickFlip debuted at the beginning of 2025, releasing their first mini album, <i>Flip it, Kick it!</i>, in January. Four months later, they would follow up with <i>Kick Out, Flip Now!</i>, a seven-track mini album that doubles down on the septet’s pop-rock sound. Lead single “FREEZE” picks up where KickFlip debut track “Mama Said” left off, pairing electric guitar riffs with a new rebellious refrain: “Kick out, we don’t need no education!” The album marked the introduction of KickFlip’s fandom name, WeFlip, with album-ending track “How We KickFlip” making a promise to listeners: “You and I/Across the dream/I'll be there for you.”

With <i>Kick Out, Flip Now!</i>, KickFlip followed in the footsteps of JYP Entertainment seniors Stray Kids, stepping behind the scenes to work on their own music. Singer and rapper Donghyeon participated in composing “FREEZE,” while Kyehoon, Donghwa, and Minje contributed lyrics for the track. Japanese member Amaru wrote B-side track “Complicated!!”

두근두근 설렘 가득! 상큼한 댄스 팝에 담아낸 Hearts2Hearts의 또 다른 스타일.

Hearts2Hearts The 1st Single Album 【The Chase】
➫ 2025.02.24 6PM (KST)

Five years after their debut as a Red Velvet subunit, K-pop artists IRENE & SEULGI returned with their second mini album, <i>TILT</i>. Red Velvet’s group concept explores two sides: their pop-oriented, bubbly “red” side and a more mature, R&B-ready “velvet” side. Sensual, smooth, and thumping with synth, IRENE & SEULGI’s six-track second album is velvet, through and through.

Dance-pop lead single “TILT” opens with hazy piano ornamentation and vocal ad-libs before coming closer, building to its hypnotic “tilt, tilt, tilt, tilt” hook of a chorus. Its thematic focus on companionship as powerfully symbiotic rather than cutthroat embodies the duo’s public persona, first firmed up with the dubstep duality of 2020’s “Monster.” <i>TILT</i>’s tracks—including the ’90s-inspired R&B song “What’s Your Problem?,” which briefly invites KISS OF LIFE rapper JULIE to the team—continue to center the assured, playful vocal interplay IRENE and SEULGI have established after more than a decade as K-pop co-members.

If RIIZE’s first full-length album is meant to be a culmination of the moments they experienced in their first 20 months as a K-pop group, then “Fly Up” is a fitting lead single. The feel-good dance track channels a similar energy to RIIZE’s debut hit “Get a Guitar,” which also leaned into an unabashedly cheesy 1950s rock ’n’ roll sound when it was released in September 2023. While “Get a Guitar” chose a retro guitar riff as its signature sound, “Fly Up” uses choral vocals to hook listeners.

The group’s “emotional pop” concept is musically flexible, and <i>ODYSSEY</i> taps into different genres to tell its story of youth as a joyful time full of moments worth remembering. Instrumental interlude “Passage” separates the more upbeat first half of the album (UK garage track “Odyssey,” hip-hop banger “Bag Bad Back,” anthemic pop song “Ember to Solar,” “Fly Up,” and pop-rock bop ”Show Me Love”) from the slower, more sentimental second half (the dreamy, bass-driven “Midnight Mirage,” fan ballads “The End of the Day” and “Inside My Love,” and soaring album ender “Another Life”).

Behind-the-scenes music-makers on <i>ODYSSEY</i> include K-pop hitmakers Jacob Aaron (“Fly Up” and “Bag Bad Back”), KENZIE (“Ember to Solar” and “Inside My Love”), and danke (“Midnight Mirage”) and Korean rapper BIGONE (“Bag Bad Back”). “What if we could go back/To another life?” Korean lyricist Moon Seolree writes for RIIZE on “Another Life,” granting members Shotaro, Eunseok, Sungchan, Wonbin, Sohee, and Anton a musical opportunity to reflect on their journey from trainees to K-pop idols. “If the me of that time looked at me now/What would I say?”

i-dle (아이들) '𝐢-𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 Trailer'
8th Mini Album [We are]
2025.05.19. 6PM (KST)

<i>DUH!</i>, P1Harmony’s eighth EP, begins with the blare of brass, an old-school hip-hop beat, and an irreverently delivered “duh!” from Keeho, the group’s Canadian leader-vocalist. This pairing of musical surety with playful persona defines the six-track album’s rap-heavy composition, and much of the six-member group’s discography released since their 2020 fourth-generation debut.

Rappers Intak and Jongseob wrote their own verses for every song on <i>DUH!</i>, with group <i>maknae</i> Jongseob—still a teenager at the time of release—credited as the first composer and lyricist on hyperpop rap track “Work.” Vocalist-rapper Jiung also contributed lyrics for “DUH!,” “Pretty Boy,” and “Flashy,” with Keeho composing for the reggaetón-ready “Pretty Boy.”