as someone who is terrible to keep up with new-ish releases, it's a challenge to make a list like this and not add old-ish releases i absolutely loved. not to say 2025 releases were bad or worthy to check out, i'm just lazy. and i forget. i still have a list of pop divas to check out since last year, so there's a queue anyway. but thankfully, i loved most of the releases this year!

f5ve's "Sequence 01" took a bit to get used to, but this project is truly fun with electronic pop songs and a bit of a satirist bite. i still keep singing you eat a lettuce but you're toxic. like...there is a special type of camp that you have to pull of to say other lines, such as she workin for that kitchen renovation in sugar free venom. highly recommend if you need a good time, especially getting ready to go somewhere.

it's been a long time since i've had a kpop ep that i loved the theme and its songs. i don't keep up as much, if at all, but chuu's "Only Cry In The Rain" stood out to being creative and light hearted, without pushing it. my favs are "kiss a kitty" and "back in town". she really did it with this one, i'm excited for her album!

fancy that by pinkpantheress is smash after smash. there is no "she could've done this better" or any noticeable flaw to this project. it's great as it is, and i love how she nails it song after song. i believe she is one of the most defining artists in our generation and i can't wait to see what she cooks in the future. her evolution is so nice to see. i do like its remixes counterpart, but my highlights of the original tracklist are "illegal", "girl like me", and "stateside". both basement jaxx, the sugababes, and zara larsson's are my fav, with an honorary mention of kylie minogue's verse on stateside.

a release i wasn't expecting to be on my radar was clipse's "Let God Sort Em Out". i took a hip hip lyrics class and we were assigned to listen to the album. alongside dead prez's album "let's get free", these albums stuck with me and i keep listening to them. "E.B.I.T.D.A." is my fav, with tyler the creator's verse on POV. need to relisten! i was procrastinating for finals and i got into this mood where i wanted to watch a ton of tiny desks, so after watching 31 minutos' tiny desk, i watched clipse's. its raw and demanding, while keeping this energy for the audience to groove at. really great!

it's the absolute way i have to mention "through the wall" by rochelle jordan. i'm so glad i listened to this release as soon as i could, because i would kill to miss out on this. it's a journey filled of dancing and grinding, flirtatious energy through the tracklist. it's a sensual album that keeps your energy in check. you need to listen to this project to know what i'm talking about it. truly a highlight of my 2025. favs are sweet sensation, close 2 me, and bite the bait.

to finish this list off, yerin baek's album "flash and core" also surprised me! i'm a casual listener, only listened to songs "square 2017" and "i'll be your family", but from what i've seen, her discography is mostly chill, sentimental music. there is sentimentality in this album, but it's a shift from her pervious concepts and sound. it's funkier, seductive, and melodramatic, and she delivers. my favs are "your yerin" and "in the middle".

this year i didn't listen to that much 2025 releases, but i enjoyed most of what i listened, and i'm satisfied with that. i hope 2026 is better, artists let go of the nostalgia (hard), and make something they truly love, without pressures of label and fans. i'm excited what this year will bring! see y'all later <3