A glance at some of those chart-toppers in 2025, including Lamar and SZA’s “Luther,” Sabrina Carpenter ’s “Manchild,” Alex Warren’s “Ordinary,” Huntrix’s “Golden” and Taylor Swift ’s “The Fate of Ophelia,” suggest a year of pop dominance (with “Luther” also commandeering the R&B/Hip-Hop chart and hitting the Dance Airplay chart).

From j-hope, BLACKPINK and ATEEZ's Billboard Hot 100 hits to career-defining tracks from HWASA, DAY6, JENNIE, JUSTB, DAYOUNG, NMIXX and beyond.

The longest Amplifier playlist of the year is finally here: five hours, 90 tracks, each of which was chosen as a 2025 highlight by either me or my colleague Jon Caramanica — and, shockingly, a few that were even selected by us both.

The first solo album in three years from the New York rapper (and his first release since his twin 2023 stunners, the Kenny Segal collab Maps, which landed on our 2023 year-end list, and Armand Hammer's We Buy Diabetic Test Strips) features production from Ant, El-P, The Alchemist, and more.

K-pop didn’t just dominate playlists in 2025 — it conquered the global stage. From record-breaking chart runs and sold-out stadium tours to headline-making collaborations and award nominations across the Grammys, Golden Globes, and Korean Music Awards, the genre proved it’s no longer a niche but a cultural powerhouse.

A huge, gloriously silly and brutally effective amalgam of abandoned styles ripe for reinvigorating — rap-metal, dream-prog, pop-reggaeton, backpack hip-hop, cosplay rock, metalcore and more. The sound of K-pop collapsing? This symphony of skronks and whirs is about experimentation, globalization, decimation and celebration.

In the midst of all the political turmoil of 2025, there came a song that gave us hope. “Golden,” released in early July off the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack, debuted at No. 81 on the Billboard Hot 100 and shot to No. 1 in just six weeks, becoming the breakout hit of 2025.