Reevaluating 2025’s K-Pop Rookies

I haven’t done this before, but now that 2026 is halfway over I thought it would be interesting to see how my “top ten” rookies of last year are doing. Any best-of countdown is tied heavily to the time it was written, but the rookie countdown is particularly malleable because these acts can easily explode or implode in their second year. So… here’s how it’s going to work. First, I’ll offer updated thoughts on each of my top ten rookies from last year and then I’ll re-rank them according to their standing at this very moment. I’ll take my honorable mentions into account as well. And if I had written about Cortis last year, I’d have to eat just a bit of crow today as their REDRED is a deserved mega-hit (even if everything else remains various shades of bad). AM8IC – Seemingly inactive. Hard to make any sort of judgment. AxMxP – A serious dip in quality after a solid debut. idntt – A real mixed bag. I’ve enjoyed a number of their tracks but nothing has bowled me over yet. Kiii Kiii – A big success. I still worry they’re too “style over substance” when it comes to the actual songs, but they’re certainly at the forefront of the game. KIIRAS – I don’t even remember their May comeback, to...