Best B-Sides of 2025

Photo: CLOSE YOUR EYES Official X

Every year, our favorite K-Pop artists deliver a selection of incredible tracks that guide our months with emotion, excitement, and fun; songs that play like a personal soundtrack to our lives. Looking back, 2025 was an incredible year of music from the boy groups, the girl groups, and solo artists, with every month providing something new, nostalgic, and special. With so many songs discovered over the twelve months of last year, here are some of my favorites.

“Blind Eyes Red” - MINNIE

In January, i-dle’s MINNIE embarked on her solo debut with the incredible album, HER. Here, her single “Blind Eyes Red” quickly became my favorite single with its mature and sensual sound that hasn't left my ears since its debut.

Check out my more in-depth review of “Eyes Blind Red” here as well as my other favourite B-sides from January 2025.

“MIDNIGHT MIRAGE” - RIIZE

In May, RIIZE blew me away with the release of their debut album, Odyssey, especially with the seventh track “Midnight Mirage.” This song emits a calmingly warm presence, one that instills a touch of magic into its arrangement. 

Check out my more in-depth review of “Midnight Mirage” here as well as my other favorite B-sides from May 2025.

“Tuscan Leather” - MONSTA X

In September, MONSTA X took us back to the ‘90s with “Tuscan Leather,” the fourth single from their 13th mini-album, The X. As someone who loves nostalgic tones mixed into modern sounds, “Tuscan Leather” delivers all of the right materials, making it a standout track by MONSTA X.

Check out my more in-depth review of “Tuscan Leather” here as well as my other favorite B-sides from September 2025.

“FiRE (My Sweet Misery)” - Xdinary Heroes

Although originally released by Xdinary Heroes in July as a pre-release track, October saw the official album release of “FiRE (My Sweet Misery),” one of the best rock songs to ever come out of the K-music industry. It's not often we hear K-Pop artists dive into metal roots complete with vocal screams (regardless of if they are also known as rock artists) but Xdinary Heroes did exactly that – raising the bar for a new era of K-Pop-Rock.

Check out my more in-depth review of “FiRE (My Sweet Misery)” here as well as my other favourite B-sides from October 2025.

“2.0” - CLOSE YOUR EYES

Diving deep into CLOSE YOUR EYES's discography last November was one of the best things I have ever done for my music tastebuds. These boys are serious ones to watch in K-Pop with a discography already cemented with hits and addictive tracks with my favorite having been “2.0,” the fourth single from their third mini-album, blackout. If you love R&B-infused K-Pop, then this is a track for you, with CLOSE YOUR EYES needing to be on everyone's K-Pop radar. 

Check out my more in-depth review of “2.0” here as well as my other favourite B-sides from November 2025.

Edited by Cara Musashi