JaguAwards 2025!

[hitokage]

I had various different thoughts about how I was going to narrow down the very many great songs put out over the course of the year and in the end, we got … this. Just the one banner because I ran out of spoons ages ago.

Individual Genre Songs of the Year

R&B Song of the Year:
Bang Yedam - Against All https://youtu.be/AZkno0B97Wg
cw: lens flares, potential hanky warning
This is the one slot that arguably "suffers" the most from recency bias, though I did go back through my personal Best of 2025 playlist before landing on this heartfelt/heart-wrenching R&B ballad by sweet crooner Bang Yedam. If you aren't familiar with his solo works, this is as good place as any to start, but definitely keep a hanky handy!


Dance/Pop Song of the Year: XLOV - 1&Only https://youtu.be/NBZgirj_C2Y
cw: camera motion, lens flares, flashing
Probably the most heavily contested category this year, the scene produced a LOT of top tier bangers, but in the end I had to give it to this sophomore release from a group that just debuted this year for daring to be unapologetically themselves.


Rock Song of the Year: Junny - POV https://youtu.be/9NaAOD5hET4
cw: flashing/strobing lights, lens flares
CC in English
2025 has been such a heckin long year, I almost forgot this was released this year. And then surprised myself because I don't usually think of Junny as a rock star and yet here we are.
Honorable mention to WOODZ's Smashing Concrete. which honestly lost out primarily because I can't watch the MV without triggering migraine, so have a live show stage: https://youtu.be/0dtmuN80GqE (cw: aggressive flashing stage lights)


HipHop Song of the Year: Jessi - Girls Like Me https://youtu.be/EkhN7B_bqzU
cw: flashing, dripping wet Jessi (fully clothed)
CC in English
Another rough category, but in the end I had to go with Jessi, the Jersey girl who ran out of fucks years ago. Jessi knows what she wants from her art and she's going after it full speed and if you don't like it, well, that's a you problem.


OST Song of the Year: Boo Seungkwan (Seventeen) - Somewhere in This Universe (Where the Stars Gossip) https://youtu.be/YyLujSP96g0
cw: lens flares, potential hanky warning
As the official drama MV, this video is entirely clips from the drama and as such may contain spoilers. I still haven't gotten around to watching it myself, but with this sweet ballad, it's on the list all right.


Trot Song of the Year JD1 - Heung! (feat. HAON) https://youtu.be/SUmiSDKKsv8
cw: lens flares, stalker plot, flashing
Released before he settled on making his stagename JD1, so the MV is uploaded with the name Jeong Dongwon. There's a whole ridiculous plot going on here, but I won't ruin the twist for you. If you aren't familiar with trot or even if you are, this is definitely from the more modern end of the genre.


Jazz Song of the Year Jo Hyunah (Urban Zakapa) - Softly https://youtu.be/JpClyKCVl6w
cw: flashing
Another struggle genre for me, butI've been in love with Jo Hyunah's voice for *mumble* years now. The way she can go from smokey to breathy/breathless is just... *chef's kiss*
Honorable mention to SM Jazz Trio because I've been in love with Yokan Kim for we don't talk about it years and the trio had a big year this year, too.


Re-Record Song of the Year: Kihyun - Bad Liar (Veiled Musician x KIHYUN w/ Jeongdong-myeon Gangcheol Seongdae) https://youtu.be/u-MuPFItprk
An audio only, I almost didn't include this as an award, but there were several re-records this year, some of them better than others, and this one caught my ear the most.

Collaborations

Unexpected Collaboration of the Year: Doh Kyungsoo (EXO) & PENOMECO - DUMB https://youtu.be/3AwhWIypKxg
cw: comic wipes, school bullying, flashing
CC in 7 tracks, including English
After years of D.O having the arguably unfair reputation of The Serious One, seeing him let his inner Total Geek Loser flag fly free in this was such a treat. Apparently the halfway point between ballad (D.O) and hiphop (PENOMECO) is alt rock ... and I'm completely here for it.


Crossover/International Collab of the Year:
G-dragon x Andersen .Paak - Too Bad https://youtu.be/o9DhvbqYzns
cw: surrealism, flashing, camera cuts
CC in 9 tracks, including English
As usual, GD shows yet again that, while he's definitely a cat at heart, he's the cat that's going to see a box and turn it to shreds.

AND

Pabllo Vittar x NMIXX - MEXE https://youtu.be/0zgJgsbcAN8
cw: flashing, lens flares
A club banger crossing the oceans in a collaboration I never would have predicted but oh man, it's the energy this year needed.

Top Honors

MV of the Year
Stray Kids - Ceremony https://youtu.be/P7vBoGWoReg
cw: lens flares, surrealism, flashing
CC in 10 tracks, including English
Every MV Stray Kids put out this year was a work of art, but if you know me and pay close attention, you'll see what pushed this one to the top (but you'll have to be quick or you'll miss it both times).

AND

WayV - Big Bands https://youtu.be/JK-7RKsU3fw
cw: surrealism, flashing
CC in 9 tracks, including English
Technically, you could say this isn't Kpop, since WayV is the Chinese subunit of NCT, but psht. This video is such a wild and lush ride and a decent entry into the insane world that is NCT (if only because lore-wise, this is almost definitely just another aspect of The Dream).


Debut of the Year (Group): Hearts2Hearts - The Chase https://youtu.be/kxUA2wwYiME
cw: surrealism, lens flares, flashing
CC in 8 tracks, including English
Another super-rough category, there were so many debuts this year, but no other group stuck with me as much as these girls did. They've already had follow-up singles, so I'm low-key hoping they'll get a little time off for the first half of 2026 (but I'm not holding my breath)


Debut of the Year (Solo): Austin Kim - Allow me https://youtu.be/5xQwk9Zz5Nc
One might argue this isn't a full/true debut, but shh, just let that cosmic, operatically-trained deep and soaring range sweep you away. It's been years now and I couldn't be happier that Kpopera continues to thrive as a viable subgenre.


Song of the Year: SHINee - Poet | Artist https://youtu.be/QF6P6BSPDRw
cw: hanky warning, death imagery, lens flares
CC in 9 tracks, including English
From the moment we first heard Jonghyun's voice, we knew this was something special. A last gift from our precious wolf pup. A promise from the four to continue forever onwards as five, no matter what. From the day this released, I knew it was presenting an impossibly high bar for Song of the Year. Others gave their best, but my Shawol heart couldn't put anyone above Jonghyun.



Album of the Year: ATEEZ - Golden Hour pt3, In Your Fantasy Edition
Guys. Guys. This was SO HARD. No, really, SO HARD. So many great artists put out great albums, but only a handful were no-skips. And out of those, this one rose to the top.


Outstanding Achievement 2025: Super Junior
This year marked their 20th anniversary and while they've had lineup shake ups starting from the very beginning, the fact that they're still here is majorly impressive. If your favorite boy group survived enlistment, pour one out for SuJu, the super group that broke the back of the curse.


Artist of the Year (Solo): ACE (VAV)
Surprise? Yeah, another hard one, but ... Ace spent the year showing that Kpop really is global and can go beyond just Korean sprinkled with English. From the romantic and entirely Brazilian Portuguese "Minha Razão" (with two videos, Regular and Night versions) to the dance beat of the Spanish "Chulita," the one thing he showed he can't do is keep a shirt on at all times.



Artist of the Year (Group): ATEEZ
It takes a rare sort of artist to say, hey, you know that EP we put out last month? Yeah, well, here's a repackage that's three times as long. For our first ever repackage. Oh yeah, and we're already on world tour when it drops, so either come see us live or stay far, far away from the venue.