September 3rd 2025 -> December 18th 2025
In “honor” of the blog being a year old, I’ve decided to do these little roundups every so often, starting in September of 2024. Here are my Top 2 songs of every artist I covered from September 3rd to December 18th of 2025, along with my thoughts on who was most overrated, which review made me shed a couple tears, and what idol stood out from the rest. Featured artists in the thumbnail, L-R, Top: ITZY and Suho; Bottom: NCT Wish and NMIXX.
Featured Artists: Wendy, Suho, XG, ONEUS, NMIXX, Girls’ Day, Jennie, BamBam, Sunmi, NCT Wish, Taeyong, ITZY, &Team, and ILLIT.
Range: The most established artist I covered is Sunmi, who debuted in 2007 with Wonder Girls, and the newest is ILLIT, who just debuted in 2024.
Favorite Group: &TEAM. Despite how hard their name is to search, &TEAM really won me over. I was expecting loud boy-group music, but their depth blew me away.
Favorite Soloist: Sunmi. Of course. Sunmi is truly in a world of her own when it comes to soloists, alongside perhaps IU & Taeyeon. She may not have a large discography, but every song packs a punch.
Least Favorite Artist: Jennie. I know, I know, I’m sorry. Even as a former Blackpink fan who really likes Jennie as a person, I just could not stand the self-aggrandizing lyrics and empty choruses. Her music is everything I dislike about the direction Blackpink’s taken.
Biggest Surprise: Also &TEAM, but I’ll say ILLIT. I was expecting New Jeans: The Sequel but was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked their music.
Underrated Group: Probably XG. They weren’t really for me, but their music is pretty good, and their devotion to their concepts is nothing short of impressive.
Overrated Artist: Jennie, but also NCT Wish. The opposite of ILLIT and &TEAM, I was expecting bubbly, upbeat, feel-good pop like ask of their branding suggests, but instead I got something a lot more like NCT 127 with added saccharine moments.
Top 5 Songs:
- Heroine by Sunmi
- When This Rain Stops by Wendy
- Yukiakari by &TEAM
- Blue Valentine by NMIXX
- Wondering by BamBam
Stand-Out Idol: Lily from NMIXX. Even though I have my issues with NMIXX’s music and their “mixxpop” genre, Lily’s voice is always a stand-out. Not only does she carry so much power, but she has the stage presence to back it up. I think she’ll go on to great things.
Review That Made Me Cry: Wendy. I’ve been a Red Velvet fan since all the way back in 2020, and Wendy’s always been my favorite. I’ve been her fan through her injury and her return, through Red Velvet hiatuses and leaving SM, and I couldn’t be more proud of her. I even got to see her on tour, and it was an experience I’ll always treasure.
Thanks for tuning in to our roundup! Tschüss and see you next time!
Let me know your thoughts!