Chasing Camp: My Top 10 K-Pop Albums/EPs/Songs of 2025

December 2025

Taste disclaimer:

I don't claim to be definitive or universal in my top-10: it's personal!

I'm a 40 year old Italian-American queer born in New Jersey whose lifelong favorite genres are synth-pop and smooth jazz. That framework results in my tastes leaning towards songs that are sensually powerful, melodic, cohesive, dramatic, and tonally subversive. I love moving chord progressions and key changes, synthy beep-boops, and underlayers of classic disco and house.

My top albums are often from soloists instead of groups, probably because of a personal cohesion of vision: I like a story told by one person. I also listen primarily to boy groups, but not exclusively.

Thanks, and I hope you enjoy the review and are inspired to try something new! <3

Top 10 Albums/EPs (ascending):

10. (Honorable Mention) The Star Chapter: Together- TOMORROW x TOGETHER

Though not a solid thru-album, personally (TXT rarely delivers a start-to-finish album experience for me,) but as usual with them, there are lots of great tracks I can't get enough of:

Beautiful Strangers - Bold, synthy, theatrical, intimate. This is a reliable sound that I associate with TXT: yearning and dramatic.
Ghost Girl - A Yeonjun solo that really shows off the best aspects of his voice and his rhythm against a jazzy beat. The prechorus is really captivating, he does very interesting stuff with that halted tempo that swings slowly back and forth like a waving flag. Really well mixed.
Bird of the Night - A Taehyun solo that's really pretty! Strings and piano will always get me. It prances into a great, gallumping chorus beat that strides strong against the muted soft piano verses.

9. UXLXVE- XLOV

XLOV is a group that I'm fully on board with and adore as a concept, but until this EP the music was not really doing it for me.

However, I can listen to this EP start to finish, and the standout tune for me is Drip Drip. It's sensual and melodic and a beautiful, compelling composition.
Biii:-P really grew on me, super catchy and cute. Feels like their first fully committed "Girl Group" song and fully cohesive concept: it delivers on tune, choreo, music video, costume, and even title in a way that fits together really well.
Rizz also grew on me, despite, and I'm so sorry to say this, finding the word rizz so damn cringe. The choreo is good and the tune is catchy. It all makes me look forward to what is hopefully a full album with a fully realized sound next.

8. A Bloodsucker- Zior Park

Zior Park is one of my all-time favorites because his commitment to camp borders on, and maybe crosses over into, pure absurdism. Is this camp, or is this dada? It's rich as hell is what it is, and it's backed by extremely solid, catchy melodies. The bit is good AND the music is good.

The emblematic standout track for me is Vampire Hotel, which, I mean. Come on. Vampire Hotel? It's so good and goofy but it's not silly to the point of being meaningless. It describes a Vampire of the titular hotel begging a woman to check out, to leave. He doesn't understand what's wrong with her??? Why isn't she leaving? He's explained it to her, it's in the name of the hotel, they are going to bleed her dry if she doesn't GO. It's so funny.
Check out the opening verse:

Oh my lady/
Look at you, now you're bleeding/
I told you about it/
This is insane, just quit this shit

He's so frustrated, even in the opening lines. You can imagine what this is a metaphor for, especially in the idol sphere, but it's a juicy and broadly applicable the way a good campy romp should be.

The lead track, Twisted Fantasy, is definitely grosser than I usually have the stomach for, especially when paired with the horrifying music video, but it really is a bop. It's dark, a far darker humor than more mainstream kpop artists are willing (permitted) to go, but he makes it work, again by occupying that in-between space betwixt low camp and high concept.

If you like any one song on the album, you'll probably find the whole album fun from start to finish. It's dramatic and silly and sincere, and I appreciate an album with a cohesive vision.

I confess that there are many times where Zior Park's terrible English diction makes the lyrics completely unintelligible, but that's a hand-wave I'm willing to give for a really unique experience with an artist that is doing something unlike anyone else, and according to his own desires.

7. EXPLORER- Eunhyuk (of SUPER JUNIOR)

Explorer is such a cohesive concept album, and as he's the same age as me, Eunhyuk's influences for this 90s R&B throwback hit me with absolute laser-precise focus. The beats and the beep-boops are immaculate. Another total concept package: the album packaging evoked 90s manga and early mp3 players and was so, SO fun.

Two months ago during a re-listen, I wrote:

"[Explorer's] commitment to the concept pushes it into camp territory for me and that's my JAM.
This is also what makes Key's concepts so good...you have to have a real sincerity for the material you're paying homage to. You can push it sooooo far if you're sincere.
Oh man and the song with the Kyuhyun feature??? Very 70s Pacific...this album rules."

Gosh, do I just think everything that's sincere and theatrical is camp? Maybe!

It starts with sirens and record scratches in A-YO, a short one-minute introductory track that sets the mood. Then it launches into Up N Down, a rare perfect pick for a lead song. Absolutely infectious. Next is TRAP, which is possibly (?) my favorite track. It has everything, including and absolutely sickening abundance of orchestra hits (one of my favorite electronic sounds.) You & I features Kyuhyun and it's a GREAT feature with a well-timed rewind to a pacific disco beat. Step by Step is maybe the goofiest track but it's hard to skip, it's just so cute and endearing. He winds down with penultimate track Second Chances (I literally stopped typing to get up and dance to it when it came on just now, oops,) and special track Empty is the only downbeat track on the album, but a nice closer and stylistically very connected to the rest of the album.

Explorer is an album where each successive song is my new favorite. Every song is fun, has a great danceable beat, incredibly good mixing and production, catchy hooks. There are no skips, just good vibes. I wish it were longer!

6. Ubermensch - G-Dragon (of BIG BANG)

With deep thanks to my bestie MK for tipping me off to this album, this rocketed up to my #2 most listened to album of the year because it's FANTASTIC. No skips.

Home Sweet Home is so fun and driving. It's full of energy! It makes me want to throw my body around or jump in the car for an impromptu road trip.
Power grew on me — I'm a bigger fan of melody than rapping — but I do know a great verse when I hear it, and this has got such fantastic bounce and rhythm! It's hard to not sing along to…a really moving power anthem.
Too Bad is probably my least favorite track on the album for me, but just because of taste (the beat reminds me too much of Shaggy, and therefore the weirdest parts of high school.) But the verses are still very good.
Drama is phenomenal. What a kick in the teeth in the middle of this powerful action album! Just knocks you over with this melodic, wailing ballad. The lyrics are something, too, describing a person who manufactures problems very poetically. As a cherry on top, the warped sampling over his voice at certain moments adds to a hazy, exhausted atmosphere that makes this song a full experience.
IBelongIIU pulls us back into a happy, soft love song of devotion and revelry. A great transition from Drama to Take Me.
Take Me is easily my favorite track on the album. It makes me feel SO in love. Imagine singing this to anyone you love, dancing with them on the dancefloor. It feels so good. I don't know what else to tell you.
Bonamana another moody piece that feels like a smart track to follow the smoke of Drama with. Haunting, it relied well on the stripped-backed, raw acoustic strum that bounces like a heartbeat under the verses.
Gyro-Drop is an absolutely joyful romp about how good sex is. Delightful. Ride me like a carousel indeed. A bold way to dismount on this album but what does G-Dragon do except bold?

(Spots 5 thru 1 to come!)

Top 10 SONGS (ascending):

Songs I had on repeat that don't appear on my top-10 albums/eps. Includes a couple of songs from Nov/Dec 2024 since that's the calender cycle of the cut.

10. Through the Line- Baekho feat CAMO

A great jam from the Nu'est (RIP) member/writer/producer, with an excellent feature. An unexpected dunk right before he finally goes into the military.

9. Heart on the Window- Jin feat WENDY (2024)

Very sweet and melodic! Couldn't get it out of my head!

8. YES- Hyo

TAKE ME TO THE CLUB

7. Little Bit Lost- Kang Daniel

A beautiful and moving little earworm.

6. Somebody- Hello Gloom & Justin Park

Put this one on the same gay club playlist you're putting GLAM, YES, and 1 &Only on! Hello Gloom delivers good sexy dance hits!

(Spots 5 thru 1 to come!)