We are now two months into the year, and the K-pop community is killing it. New groups have debuted, tours have continued, history has been made, and accidents have occurred. It’s already a packed year for this industry, and everyone needs to know what’s been happening!
New Groups
Many new groups debuted this year from different agencies, but there are two specifically that have been making notable rises in the industry and becoming widely known in the K-pop world: XLOV and KickFlip.
On Jan.7, a group called XLOV debuted with four male members: Wumuti, Rui, Hyun, and Haru. They debuted with a song called “I’mma Be,” which became an overnight hit. This group is unique because they have a genderless concept that allows them to bend the rules of gender norms in K-pop. For example, their choreography incorporates both the soft motions that are standard for female idols and the rigid motions that are typical for male idols.
Here are a few fun facts: each member is represented by a color, which they wear as a colored contact in one of their eyes, mimicking heterochromia, and they’re the first group from their company, 257 Entertainment. Finally, in their group name XLOV, the X means the unknown and negation, and LOV represents incomplete love.
Another group that has skyrocketed is KickFlip, a seven-member boy group from a big company called JYP Entertainment. On Jan. 20, they released their debut mini-album named Flip it, Kick it! with the title track “Mama Said.” Their title track is about them ignoring the nagging of others and going down their path, which is very fitting for them because they’re so young.
Since they debuted under JYP Entertainment, they’re meant to be the next Stray Kids once that group retires (which is a day I dread). Almost all the members in KickFlip are underage, which is a common recurrence in new K-Pop groups, but no matter what, this group has been making waves in the K-Pop industry.
Tours
Many tours are happening right now, but I wanted to highlight the ATEEZ and Stray Kids tours. ATEEZ had their European tour from January to February of this year that was widely talked about and ended up on my social media feed a lot. They also posted a lot of videos doing dance challenges throughout their tour, and I highly encourage you to watch them if you haven’t already.
Stray Kids are still on their tour, and starting on May 24, they’re also set to come to North America. Get excited, people! They’ve had a lot of success selling out all their event venues and performing amazing shows. They recently took a break from their tour to have their fifth fan meeting in Korea, where they interacted with fans for a whole weekend and performed a variety of different things.
One highlight was when they swapped and performed each other’s solo songs — I’m upset I didn’t get to see it in person; after all, they all did so amazingly!
Unfortunately, when going back to the hotel one of these nights, Felix, one of the members, got into a minor car accident. The accident had him recovering for a bit in the hospital, so he couldn’t attend the rest of the fan meeting. He is said to be doing well, though, and should be back on the tour soon.
History Being Made
Two of my favorite groups have made notable achievements in 2025, and I wanted to highlight both of them for their groundbreaking accomplishments.
First, ATEEZ was the first K-Pop group to enter and perform at La Défense Arena in Paris, France. This is such a crazy accomplishment for them, especially one that they can add to their careers — this is a notable highlight in the K-pop world as of recently.
Second, another group I wanted to highlight is Plave. Plave is the first virtual group to have a song hit Billboard’s Global 200 after K/DA’s “More.” Their song “Dash” has spread widely across tons of platforms and has become even more popular because so many people are learning the dance to it. This is such a huge accomplishment for them: first, because they debuted in 2023, and second, because they’re an all-virtual group with hidden members.
All of this has happened in just the first two months of 2025, which is crazy! This is already such an amazing start to the K-Pop industry that I hope that this energy will carry on throughout the whole year.
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