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A ranking and review of the top 50! View the Substack version of this piece, featuring links to all of these videos, here! A few things to note first:
#50: FIFTY FIFTY, “Like a Bubble” “Like a Bubble” gets the most points on the aesthetics front. If there is a way to depict bubbles, odds are, it is used in “Like a Bubble”! Bubbles are everything from balloons to balls to thought bubbles to animal alter egos. All the while, 2D components are layered on top of the fast-paced clips, giving the video the same fizzy, fleeting presence as the song itself. The songs and visuals alike ace the assignment: represent carefreeness in a wide range of forms. #49: AND2BLE, “Curious” The “Curious” music video shows AND2BLE are finding their new image in real time. They try out many potential plot points: dark-angel cosplay, a heist mission, a meta show within a show, and a story set in a flipped-over world. They even keep different options on the table in terms of signature style (for example, pairing clean-cut attire with a lip ring) and ambiance (using ever-changing light sources and ever-shifting camerawork). The “Curious” video makes the AND2BLE members look like skilled magicians’ apprentices, relative rookies who have been recruited for bigger and better things because they have already proven their potential. Now comes the fun practice time! Read about the corresponding album here! #48: TXT, “Stick With You”
In the “Stick With You” music video, nothing fundamentally changes and everything changes when TXT’s internal worlds are rocked (it turns out that what they thought were signs of being cheated on are nothing of the sort). The 7TH YEAR era parallels previous TXT eras in the ways it exposes the hiding places of imagined circumstances within reality. … The “Stick With You” music video is a strong example of purposefully putting themselves in each other’s shoes. Each TXT member plays the exact same character, just in different scenes, demonstrating what they all have in common: a tendency to project one’s worst fears onto people, like the incorrect assumption that they are being cheated on; an impulse to cast someone in the role of a villain, like the “other man” they are convinced is the reason for their breakup; and the ways events are never observed in a wholly objective and isolated way. Read much more about this era here! #47: TAEYONG, “WYLD” TAEYONG fluidly morphs via his expressions and choreography, sometimes crawling around or pouncing like an animal and other times appearing like just a sensual, brooding person! But whatever or whoever he is channeling in the moment, the main point is just that: it is in the moment. It seems subconscious, as if it is simply in his DNA to keep shape-shifting — like how animal species are always naturally evolving and adapting. WYLD is not chaotic with no rhyme or reason for it. TAEYONG has a creative vision that outsiders might not click with, but all that matters is that he holds onto the knowledge that he is fully expressing himself. Read all about the corresponding album here! #46: Apink, “Love Me More” A rookie-like music video premise finds its rightful home with Apink, because by serving as the long-anticipated comeback video for a second-generation girl group, “Love Me More” is more than just a cute mix of live-action and stop-motion scenes in the style of an all-ages holiday special. It is also a story of growing up while keeping one’s imagination and self-assuredness intact. In the video, as winter turns to spring, white apples turn red. The video ends with an Apink member biting into a red apple, giving a knowing stare to the audience. It is a silent acknowledgement that Apink trusted their “season” to shine again would arrive when the timing was right! Read about the corresponding album here! #45 & #44: KiiiKiii, “Delulu” & “404 (New Era)” As detailed previously, KiiiKiii’s aesthetic amalgamation brings to mind the internet culture of the aughts and of the 2020s at the same time, accurately representing the internet’s nature of flattening trend timelines, as well as digital natives’ penchant for irony and (sometimes faked) emotional detachment. By combining pieces from different places on the timeline of the history of digital culture, their visuals and songs have a slapdash sensibility despite their careful curation — the same contrast inherent to keeping up social media appearances. The combinations of new and old pieces from younger generations’ cultural “starter packs” include everything from the Delulu Pack album cover to the music videos (which could pass for old-school screensavers, in the case of “Delulu,” or the behavior of TikTok stars, in the case of “404 (New Era)”). … In “Delulu,” besides layering images of themselves as if changing computer screensavers, they keep their prom-ready dresses on while riding motorcycles past wild horses in a desert! And “404 (New Era)” incorporates childhood home videos; present-day scenes, in which the members see any street as a runway and any location as suitable for DJing; and black-and-white, retro “flashbacks.” The video ends with an ellipsis in place of an answer to the question that flashes on the screen: “What’s your real wish?” There is a sort of meta-commentary to these “Mad Libs”-style music videos, and it applies to the lyrics, too… Read the rest here! #43: JOOHONEY, “STING (Feat. Muhammad Ali)” Despite its anti-overthinking ethos, JOOHONEY has clearly put a lot of thought into 光 (INSANITY)! It fully represents what it means to have a fighting spirit, from the body language that shows he is ready for a fight (in his album concept photos and in the “STING” music video) to fight-related lyrics. … While 光 (INSANITY) makes pride seem to come to naturally to JOOHONEY, this era’s many connections to LIGHTS are reminders that it has been anything but easy. … He scolded himself in the LIGHTS-era song “HYPE ENERGY”: “Stop being alone in front of the mirror.” Now, in the “STING” music video, he plays chess in front of a full-length mirror. He remains “alone in front of the mirror,” but he is ready to outsmart his inner critic — to defeat the part of him defined by fear, the part that did not make daring game moves and did not face the light. Read more about the corresponding album here! #42: SHINee, “Atmos” Many bandmates show natural chemistry when they come together, but SHINee’s can go to the next level. What makes their songs soar remains their sincerity — and humorous self-awareness doesn’t hurt, either! “This chemistry has always stayed the same, no joke… It's just that easy,” they remark in “HOURS”! Plus, an album teaser video in the form of a weather report forecasts conditions resulting from “low pressure,” a punny nod to how easy it is for them to pick up where they leave off! … The “Atmos” music video reinforces the indispensability of each member’s role. They travel in different ways — on foot, by car, by bike — and at different times of the day, but they all undergo a 2D transformation, they eventually reunite under a fireworks display, and they leave symbolic accessories on the ground for each other to find. These include glasses, ear buds, and a key chain that notes SHINee’s debut date of May 25: “0525.” In a world where so much feels ephemeral, SHINee show gratitude for the longevity of their chemistry. They can’t make much last forever, but one thing they can extend is their time making magic happen together. Read more about the corresponding album here! #41: NCT JNJM, “BOTH SIDES” Regardless of JAEMIN’s and JENO’s characteristics throughout their BOTH SIDES video series, an equal mano-a-mano stance remains. They size each other up and speak volumes through locked eyes and arm gestures, intuitively anticipating one another’s motivations and impulses. Their relationship is not yin-and-yang, and their flaws do not cancel each other out, so their personalities chaotically collide! They both have to learn the same lessons, and they do so the hard way in the main music video. One of those lessons: Not everyone will instantly fall in love with them! They go over-the-top to get the attention of the one person in the hotel who ignores them, to no avail. They are befuddled by her disinterest, yet they would have been less surprised had they looked around more closely. The hotel patrons do seem starstruck over them, but there are subtle signs they grow weary of JNJM’s antics. For example, a blink-and-miss-it moment shows one poolside tourist reading a magazine titled ENOUGH! Another brief moment shows a tourist’s manicure, with the letter on each nail coming together to spell out “I DON’T CARE”! This duo cannot take a hint, so they have to be literally hit in the face with a humbling truth, and the video ends with them running into a door that is closed in their faces! They fall down and appear flat, as if just part of the hotel carpeting’s pattern! BOTH SIDES and its videos bring witty weirdness to a self-explanatory topic that needed it. Read more about this era here! #40: tripleS, “Baby Flower” tripleS’s latest example of a city- and setting-spanning tale of sisterhood and solidarity is “Baby Flower,” which takes viewers’ hands and sweeps them into a communal whirlwind of good vibes. The uplifting song soundtracks a briskly-paced montage of bonding moments. The exhilaration of pure platonic love rises even more towards the end, when the montage gets even faster and draws even starker contrasts. It shows the tripleS members staying giggling and grinning when together both indoors and outdoors, at night and during the day, and regardless of viewers’ vantage point (which keeps changing but is most notable when it is from above; the camera looks down at choreography that resembles a currently-unfolding flower). tripleS’s previous focus tracks have the same “We’ll get through tough times together” sentiment of “Baby Flower,” but this time, they sound closer to the bright side they promised each other was on the horizon. If the “Girls Never Die” era was about taking massive, risky leaps of faith, the <LOVE&POP> era is a celebration of having done so. Not only is “Baby Flower” literally brighter, but the video shows the members more fully enjoying each other’s company, one of the rewards of keeping each other close. “Baby Flower” signifies a sparkling new chapter of tripleS’s story, one where the diamonds in their lives become visible after months and months of pressure. #39: xikers, “OKay” The “OKay” music video is equally stimulating and even more frenetic than the EP. The action occurs at a pace that the members themselves can’t even keep up with, hence frequent “buffering” moments when the scene becomes a pixelated blur! It’s a lot to take in, and like the songs warrant more than one listen to determine how one feels about each of them, the “OKay” video deserves some re-watches (in part to catch all of the scary movie and video game nods!). Watching it is like re-playing a video game one has completed before. A lot is familiar, like the haunted house setting and mysterious forces from which no member is safe, but a lot is new. There is no end to the visual hysterics, and each room in the haunted house has its own set of tricks that are sometimes out of xikers’ control and other times the product of them messing with each other! They keep each other and viewers on their toes simultaneously and purposefully, and the unsustainable rate of their suspense and speed justify calling this the “ROUTE ZERO” era. There was bound to be a “crash out” moment and need for a reset eventually, so this “crash” is as good a time as any for new fans to hop onto this wild ride! Read about the corresponding album here! #38: P1Harmony, “UNIQUE” UNIQUE is a fun form of revenge for P1Harmony’s superhero characters! They seemed ready to hang up their capes in the DUH! era, but the UNIQUE era says, “Psych! You thought you’d seen the last of us?!” It is a comeback about a comeback, and their fictional characters boast about knowing they’ve been missed. … While the “Told you you’d miss us when we were gone!” boasting is implicit and playful in the songs, it is dramatized and more overt in the corresponding videos. The trailer gives the audience the eyes and arms of the main character, piecing together clues to find the MIA icons. The audience eventually does find the group, gathered under a beam of light. That gathering is where the trailer ends and the “UNIQUE” music video begins, and the latter reinforces the “We could disappear at any time, with just a flash of light” message, as they teleport and appear to dimension-hop. P1Harmony never do anything halfheartedly, and sure enough, “UNIQUE” lobs an excessive amount of imagery at viewers: barking dogs, gravestones, a motorcycle crash, speeding helicopters, mechanical wings, facial scars that mimic the sprawling appearance of twisted tree branches… The group can’t say “You want it? You got it!” fast enough! By acting like their presence is a rare and elusive commodity, P1Harmony increase their value in the “real world” and enhance their mythological status in their fictional followers’ imaginations. They didn’t need a redemption arc, but giving themselves one shows the high stock they invest in themselves! #37: Yves (ft. Lolo Zouai), “NAIL” The “NAIL” music video is a more natural outgrowth of past Yves eras than it first seems. Back in the “LOOP” era, Yves alternated between the role of a leader and someone running and hiding from the public eye. In the “Viola” video, she sang about needing all kinds of space: liminal (which she was in while digital eyes stayed focused on her), metaphorical, and physical (which the lyrics were about, as she wished to go somewhere too small and enclosed for anyone to follow her, like a viola case!). “LOOP” and “Viola” were not about Yves breaking free, but at least gaining some control over her position within a “loop.” That craving for control took a dark turn in the “Ex Machina” video, although outfit changes and role reversals left it unclear if Yves was the main character worth fearing. Her openness to turning to violence if necessary to recreate a former relationship dynamic spoke to her unhealthy sense of attachment and deep insecurities about who she was outside of the context of someone else. The “running and hiding” pattern is bound to continue as long as she wants the feeling of control more than the feeling of stable confidence and independence. The endless pursuit is exhausting, though! And it explains the direction several previous EPs took, starting with the higher-energy and faster tracks before growing more lethargic. It sounded as if Yves went from active to passive participant in her own life. This succumbing shows itself anew in NAIL. … What ultimately ties past and present Yves eras together is this off-center role. … The mind games that Yves plays in the “NAIL” music video underline her desire to stay at a remove, not taking complete accountability for her actions and keeping her motives a mystery. She is a possessed character who tortures people and generally disrupts their lives in ways that favor slow deliberation over flashy, fast reflexes, as if when she puts them under her control, she too is doing so under someone else’s command. She crawls around indoors and moves as if sleepwalking down the street outdoors. Her final thoughts on the EP I Did come across as more ominous in hindsight, because in “NAIL,” she is implied to have killed everyone in a dim dining room. In the I Did song “DIM,” she talked about “the silence growing on the floor” and “slipping out of control.” “DIM” is also newly relevant for mentioning feeling “lost in the dark” and “fading fast like a flame.” Now, in “NAIL,” she sings about basking in a “slow glow,” and being “born in [her] own light” in “birth.” Yves feels stuck whenever her inconsistent inner flame disappears, and that presents itself through methodical pacing and a coercive compulsion… Read the rest here! #36: Jinyoung (aka PARK JINYOUNG), “EVERLOVE” Jinyoung wants others to be reminded of times that others showed care for them, so in the “EVERLOVE” video, he facilitates strangers’ acts of sharing and kindness. These start out as split-screen scenes but turn into ones where the strangers are in the same physical space. Jinyoung brings people together in the present by drawing on a lesson from his past: that love is the most enduring force. As the final message on the screen says during the album trailer, “When all is said and done, only love remains.” … A wall in “EVERLOVE” says “WE ARE ALL GROWN KIDS,” and he strongly stresses that sentiment with a montage of childhood home footage, time spent mid-workday playing with toys and enjoying the snacks he did when he was little, the silhouettes of children playing under a desk, and a close-up (in the album trailer, not the music video) of his sweater’s misaligned buttons (bringing to mind this line from “Will I be okay?”: “We’re like buttons fastened wrong from the very beginning”). He learns to heal and go easier on himself by remembering everyone is still a little kid in need of affection on the inside. “EVERLOVE” brings him both closer to others and to his inner child. Read about the corresponding album here! #35: LE SSERAFIM, “BOOMPALA” The “BOOMPALA” single and music video involve some classic LE SSERAFIM symbolism. They still represent rejuvenation through water, like they did with the “I will not submerge” mantra in the EASY era, with songs like "The Great Mermaid” and “The World Is My Oyster,” with a song about a water snake that can regrow its head on the EP ANTIFRAGILE (“The Hydra”), and now through the water and rain in various concept videos and “BOOMPALA.” (Plus, they perform on a parade float, a punny nod to their desire to float through life!) The self-care theme is also a recurrence. The “CRAZY” music video involved an aquarium and a spa setting, and an aquarium was also in “Come Over.” Staring at fish is known to be therapeutic for some people, as is a spa day, and of course, the meditation focus of “BOOMPALA” is also in that category! Some other key details in “BOOMPALA”: the disposable cup (the video starts with someone knocking over HUH YUNJIN’s drink. In the EASY era’s trailer, HUH YUNJIN was the one who bumped into someone and then picked up a disposable cup), the cartoonish editing of some scenes (moving through some scenes as if playing with Photoshop, much like scenes in “Come Over” and “SPAGHETTI”), and the time spent dancing in liminal space (the theme of the ‘PUREFLOW’, Pt. 1 sketch, on which they conclude, “We are the destination”). The overall takeaway from the symbolism associated with water, meditation, disposable cups, corny hijinks, and liminal space? The chances for do-overs and personal redefinitions. The treatment of their surroundings as always changing comes with a sense of power and control over those surroundings. If, as they sing, “Everything’s water and everything’s air,” and if “Everything’s empty, so everything’s clear,” then they can fill the “liminal space” with anything they want! If they “mess up,” they can always refill the space again! Life is like a blank canvas, a place where they can try to bloom from the ground up, and their solidarity is the soil that nurtures this blooming, mentioned in “CELEBRATION” as emblematic of a “painful time that bloomed into faith.” Read more about this era here! #34: ifeye, “Hazy (Daisy)” A light pink machine that prints out “Love Complaints” includes a warning: “Please watch over this dizzying, hazy feeling so it doesn’t end as a fleeting dream.” The ifeye members spend the “Hazy (Daisy)” music video doing just that, “watching over” that feeling and channeling it through dance moves and heart-shaped props. They perform a cute dance routine in a pretty garden, pink and purple-streaked skies behind them, while wearing spring-perfect dresses. They hold that “hazy feeling” close in the less-picturesque settings, too. They ride a heart-printed subway, go to a boxing ring with heart-shaped corners, and more. They even project the glowing feeling onto a literally glowing orb, Cupid-esque bows and arrows, and emojis that pop up above couples’ heads “IRL”! The album itself holds the same light and fluttery feeling of being in love, with upbeat sounds and vocals that hint at the coexistence of excited apprehension. #33 & #32: IVE, “BANG BANG” & “BLACKHOLE” IVE’s music videos are rife with symbolism about cheering each other on and self-hype. “BLACKHOLE” begins with one member alone on a suspended bridge between skyscrapers, and it ends with all six members standing in that spot together. This is after scenes that cycle through vantage points, lighting formats, swirly backdrops, and (literally and figuratively) colorful outfits. On the other hand, the most meaningful (albeit maybe unintentionally) outfit choice is a black outfit. They wear matching ones with white, fringe wrist cuffs. Their arm movements make it look like they are using pom-poms, so they resemble a cheerleading squad! In “BANG BANG,” the biggest attention-grabbers are the overall surroundings. They seem random and unrelated, but IVE do still get their “dreaming big” and “teamwork making the dream work” points across. “KEEP YOUR BOOTS DIRTY,” one billboard reminds them! Plus, they light their own path, one star after another entering the sky as if being stamped onto it, forming a line that leads to a member. After she lights her own path, she shares the glowing feeling, and the scene pivots to a rooftop group dance. Read more about this era here! #31: Tiffany Young, “Summer’s Not Over” “Summer’s Not Over” is one of 2026’s most visually stunning music videos. The sunlight glimmers in ways that accentuate the natural beauty of both Tiffany and Jeju Island, glinting off of her outfit and the ocean waves. The atmosphere is perfect for a literal and metaphorical brand-new day, a moment of rebirth that Tiffany sings about while roaming through different terrains and making herself at home in an empty mansion. She is the picture of calm, confidence, and contentment. Her fashion and surroundings form an overall aesthetic that can be summarized as “vintage mermaid,” which is apt for someone who is both embarking on a new chapter and grateful for the many previous ones that led her here. She has come into her own and brought her mood board to life. Tiffany also speaks volumes with the details. The smoothness of the rocks and glass stones that surround her and that her flawlessly-manicured hands toy with, the swirl of tulle that ripples like a wave as she poses on the water-soaked top of a piano, the close-up on her ocean-blue pedicure as she puts on silver shoes, the bowl of pearls she admires… It all makes her appear right at home in water, on land, and in environments that merge the two. While singing about wanting to soak in a summer romance, Tiffany Young basks in a specific creative vision and the pride that comes from executing it, having the knowledge that she can thrive in any environment and any in-between state. #30: ATEEZ, “BAD” This era is world-building plus an extended break for over-the-top goofiness! That goofiness is thanks to the “BAD” music video, which starts with SEONGHWA triggering a mix of choreographed moves and general chaos at a wedding and ends with him doing the same at a court hearing! The bride, played by Chase Infiniti, wears eight wedding rings, one for each ATEEZ member, but she is deemed “not guilty” for being “so bad” and putting so many men under her spell! Despite the wedding rings, though, Chase remains very independent. She moves through the building with a dance crew of her own, who follow her dress code instead of ATEEZ’s, and who go against ATEEZ’s crew in a tempo-focused dance-off. They look like they are trying to somehow both beat and match each other’s flows, as if locked in a more movement-involved take on a staring contest! While Chase is fiercely independent, there are several hints about her now being pulled under ATEEZ’s spell. Her eyes glow red at one point, like WOOYOUNG’s in the video’s “Epilogue” as he stares at the sign on a building that says “CHASE THE SPIRIT.” This suggests that Chase’s hold over ATEEZ might be reciprocal and have a supernatural component, leaving the audience curious as to what follow-up videos could involve. Read about the corresponding album here! #29: V8, “singasong” “singasong” represents V8’s oscillation between disillusioned and determined, their related fickle behaviors, and their dissatisfaction with all possible options. They want life to feel both easier and more exciting, and their attempts to stamp out a sense of languishing come from trying anything and everything. They jump into new adventures at the same high speed as they destroy and abandon the attempts! When viewers watch them fight video game characters “IRL,” go to a demolition derby, and cause explosions, it is not so much to live vicariously through the members as it is to resonate with their restlessness. They are adventurous at best and reckless at worst, and either way, there is a relatable sense that everything is high-stakes yet nothing really matters. Somehow, nihilistic and enthusiastic streaks coexist, as big action scenes unfold amidst banal details, like a living room setup in the middle of the quarry, a break from doing stunts in a car to just play with a toy car, a series of “Did I really just see that?” moments that stay unexplored, and the way everything ends. V8 seem to have both “won” and “lost,” having destroyed their literal and metaphorical playthings! Nevertheless, they end by getting punched in slow motion, and those final knockouts have zero impact on their “final scores.” The last zoom-out makes the action look like it has taken place on TV, as if everything viewers have seen has just been part of a game — which, in a way, is all that life is! Read more about V8’s album’s themes here! #28, #27, & #26: BOYNEXTDOOR, “ddok ddok ddok,” “VIRAL,” & “ADIOS!” While these music videos also have full-circle arcs, starting and ending in similar places, chaotic curveballs reign supreme between those scenes! In “VIRAL,” BOYNEXTDOOR’s world remains in flux, with disconnected and spinning rooms, a mix of black-and-white and in-color scenes, and the members’ reflections taking different forms (for example, dancing on a mirror-like floor, and appearing as shadow side profiles). Wind becomes waves, dust particles start to look more like glitter, a flame becomes smoke… The uncertainty and sense of being yanked every which way remain. The same is true in “ddok ddok ddok.” A crowd of people swarm their house (creating pressure that prompts the house to explode) and then try to reach the band by climbing over a wall. The animals won’t leave them alone either: a dog bares its fangs, a cat claws the screen, and there is a literal game of cat and mouse mid-video that offers the video’s best commentary on the beast that is fame and the hamster wheel fame can feel like. Life feels like everything all at once, and yet another instance of trying to carry on amidst the chaos is when BOYNEXTDOOR members perform in the foreground of scenes while other members get hit by vehicles in the background. Lastly, “ADIOS!” both starts and ends at the scene of a run-down vehicle, but there is a key difference at the end. “ADIOS!” is another “Life comes at you fast” story, but this time, BOYNEXTDOOR take the reins. They turn a disgruntled driver’s abandoned flatbed into everything they can dream up: a playground, an art supply bin (they draw on the fruits!), free promotional real estate (they slap a BOYNEXTDOOR sticker on it!), an excuse for a water fight (spraying each other more than actually using the car wash as intended!), and their film studio (they self-record some scenes). The driver passes by them at the end in his new vehicle, smirking and having no idea that BOYNEXTDOOR have actually had an epic day with what he considered a piece of junk! The last laugh goes to BOYNEXTDOOR. Then again, the joke is also on each other! They semi-jokingly fight over a bag of chips, treat “Rock, Paper, Scissors” with unnecessary seriousness, and prank each other. One member even tricks the others into thinking their car is out of gas and needs to be manually pushed, before he speeds off in it! Even the audience is not immune from BOYNEXTDOOR’s teasing; it seems purposefully ironic that the members appear in front of a sign saying “SAFETY FIRST”! Read more about this era here! Stay tuned for the rest of the countdown!
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