ATEEZ made their comeback yesterday with their 13th mini-album, Golden Hour: Part.4, and the title track Adrenaline. It is the first comeback since last year's In Your Fantasy era in Korea and their Ash era in Japan. The group is currently on their In Your Fantasy tour, which kicked off mid-last year and will continue through to April of this year.

Earlier this year, it was announced that ONEUS would be leaving RBW Entertainment this month and that the group would have one more comeback under the label. That comeback, Grenade, occurred 2 weeks ago, and the group continues to promote as a four-member lineup, as SEOHO is currently completing his military enlistment (having enlisted prior to their last comeback, …

ZEROBASEONE is officially back with their special mini-album, RE-FLOW (yeah, I checked the articles to be sure this time) and the title track LOVEPOCALYPSE. Previously, the group had pre-released the singles Running to Future (yet to be reviewed) and ROSES ahead of this special comeback. RE-FLOW could potentially serve as ZEROBASEONE's final release after two and a half years, as they approach their scheduled disbandment date in March 2026.

Please bear with me as I catch up on some of the more recent KPOP releases from the last couple of weeks. First up is i-dle, who made their comeback last week with the single Mono, featuring British rapper skaiwater. It is their first release since Good Thing and the solo comebacks from YUQI (with M.O) and MIYEON (with…

Welcome to the next Weekly KPOP Chart post for Week 4 of January 2026, which spans from 25 to 31 January 2026. ICYMI - Rookie Fortnight, a fortnight focused on the 2025 rookies, is now complete. In addition to the reviews I mentioned in last week's post, I have also covered: Plot Twist - AtHeart ZOOM - USPEER Flip The Coin…

As I mentioned previously, I would return to review the 2025 rookies I had already covered on the blog before Rookie Fortnight if I had time. Unfortunately, time escaped me. But I thought it would be nice to wrap up Rookie Fortnight with a review of one artist I specifically named in that previous post. The artist in question is KiiiKiii, who made a timely comeback this week with…

In March 2025, it was announced that A.C.E. would not renew their contracts with Beat Interactive, their home since their 2017 debut. It was also announced that the group could continue to use the name A.C.E for future promotions, which suggests hope for a comeback. However, since then, the members have signed on to different companies. KANG YUCHAN (the focus of this post) signed on with WAY BETTER: the home of from20, Hello Gloom, Lim Se Jun (formerly of VICTON) and YYJ.

Another group to have joined the ranks of rookies in 2025 is NEWBEAT. They are a 7-member male group, consisting of Park Min-seok, Hong Min-sung, Jeon Yeo-yeo-jung, Choi Seo-hyun, Kim Tae-yang, Jo Yun-hu, and Kim Ri-woo, under Beat Interactive. They debuted in March 2025 with the single Flip The Coin from their first studio album, RAW AND RAD. Flip The Coin…

Next up on Rookie Fortnight is USPEER, a 7-member female group (Yeo Won, So Ee, Si An, Seo Yu, Da On, Chae Na, and Roa) who made their debut in June 2025 with the single ZOOM. They were formed under WM Entertainment (the home of OH MY GIRL and ONF). However, this year they transferred to MW Entertainment after their contract with WM Entertainment ended.

As mentioned yesterday, Rookie Fortnight will officially be over once I get the necessary number of reviews out to cover a fortnight. Until then, expect more reviews from the 2025 rookies. Next up is AtHeart, who debuted in August 2025. They are a 7-member female group under Titan Content, consisting of Michi, Arin, Katelyn, Bome, Seohyeon, Aurora, and Nahyun. Their debut was with the single…

TREASURE's PLEASURE is a special mini-album released back in March 2025. It featured four songs: the title track YELLOW, the previously released track LAST NIGHT (December 2024), and two additional side tracks. Overall, it is a mini-album that brings out a brighter side of TREASURE through pop tracks and a ballad. PLEASURE followed their 2024 KING KONG single release and precedes their official third mini-album…

Welcome to the next Weekly KPOP Chart post for Week 3 of January 2026, which spans from 18 to 24 January 2026. ICYMI - Rookie Fortnight, a fortnight focused on rookies who made their debut in 2025 that I didn't get a chance to review, will continue from tomorrow (following a short break over this weekend). The reviews posted so far include:

ZEROBASEONE will soon wrap up their activities as a nine-member group in March this year. With that being two-ish months away, there is time for one last album release from the current ZEROBASEONE lineup (I have read there is a possibility that ZB1 could continue with some members renewing their contracts, while others leave). Yesterday, they returned with their special mini-album, …

I have yet to review any of this week's new releases, so I am pausing Rookie Fortnight over the weekend to bring you reviews of the big releases from the past week. Kicking things off is EXO's long-awaited comeback with Crown. With SEHUN completing his military enlistment in 2025, all EXO members became available for a full group comeback. Unfortunately, XIUMIN, BAEKHYUN, and CHEN were excluded from the comeback due to their ongoing conflict with SM Entertainment.

There weren't just rookie groups in 2025. There were also rookie soloists, like SEUNGHAN. Following his removal from RIIZE, it was announced that SEUNGHAN would make his solo debut as part of a dance crew named XngHan&Xoul, under the new stage name XngHan. His solo debut single, Waste No Time, dropped in July 2025. He is joined by two professional dancers, Kyohong and Yul, who make up the Xoul aspect of the project name (with the possibility of this aspect changing).

2025 also saw the beginning of a new 24-member (!) male group, idntt. Under ModHaus, which is home to tripleS (a 24-member female group) and ARTMS, the group is slowly unveiling its members through subunit releases. The first subunit, uneverm8t, debuted in August 2025 with 3 title tracks, one of which is You Never Met (the focus of this post). I will come back to review the other two tracks, …

Joining FNC Entertainment in 2025 was AxMxP (short for Amplify Music Power), a four-member boy band consisting of Ha Yoo-Joon (leader, vocalist and rapper), Cru (drums), Kim Shin (vocalist) and Ju-Hwan (bass). They made their debut in September 2025 with a self-titled studio album led by 3 tracks: I Did It (the focus of this post), Shocking Drama, and…

KIIRAS is the next group on rookie fortnight - a female group consisting of 6 members (LingLing, Kurumi, Harin, Kylie, Doyeon, and Roah) from LeanBranding. They made their debut in May 2025 with the track KILL MA BO$$, which is the focus of this post. They also made a comeback in November 2025 with Bang Bang, which will be the focus of another post.

Next album up for review is LE SSERAFIM's HOT, which was released in March 2025. The group's 5th mini-album features 5 songs: HOT (the title track), Come Over (the follow-up single), an intro track, and 2 additional songs. Overall, HOT is a good album, thanks to its side tracks. Like the last album I reviewed, I preferred the side tracks the most and enjoyed the title track the least.

Welcome to the next Weekly KPOP Chart post for Week 2 of January 2026, which spans from 11 to 17 January 2026. FYI - Voting has now closed for the 2025 KPOPREVIEWED Awards As per the subheading, voting for the 2025 KPOPREVIEWED Awards has now closed. Thanks to all who voted. I will now spend some of the following weeks working on the post announcing the winners you voted for and doing some maths to determine Best Song and Artist of 2025.

Following the hyperfocus on 2024 albums, it is back to 2025 albums. Thanks again for your patience on that front. Kicking things off in the restart of the coverage of 2025 albums is HxW (HOSHI x WOOZI)'s single album, BEAM. The single album features 3 songs, one of which is the title track 96ers. Based on my thoughts below, the title track weighed down the single album, while the other tracks were stronger, though each could have been enhanced through a stronger presence of both HOSHI and WOOZI.

While not technically part of the rookie fortnight coverage, coverage of a 2026 rookie group wouldn't hurt. ALPHA DRIVE ONE (or ALD1 for short) was formed through MNET's survival show BOYS II PLANET, which aired last year. Unlike previous iterations of the survival show, only the top 8 trainees would go on to form the project group, with this one expected to last 5 years.

ENHYPEN is nominated for Best Male Group in the 2025 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. No Doubt is nominated for Best Dance Performance (Male Group), Bad Desire (With or Without You) is nominated for Best Music Video, while Loose is nominated for Best International Song (English). Support ENHYPEN, No Doubt, Bad Desire (With or Without You) and Loose by clicking here to cast your vote today before it 

IDID is nominated for Best New Male Group in the 2025 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support IDID by clicking here to cast your vote today before it closes on 17 January 2026 (which is tomorrow). IDID is the next rookie to be covered on the ongoing rookie fortnight. Formed through the survival show, Debut's Plan, this seven-member male group (consisting of Jang Yong-hoon, Kim Min-jae, Park Won-bin, Chu Yoo-chan, Park Seong-hyeon, Baek Jun-hyuk and Jeong Se-min) made their debut in September 2025 with the single…

ifeye is nominated for Best New Female Group and Most Underrated Artist in the 2025 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Their track, r u ok?, is also nominated for Most Underrated Song. Support ifeye and r u ok? by clicking here to cast your vote today before it closes on 17 January 2026. Another group that debuted in 2025 is ifeye, a six-member female group consisting of Won Hwa-yeon, Taerin, Rahee, Kasia, Meu, and Sasha, signed to Hi-Hat Entertainment.