With Apple Music's Replay and Spotify's Wrapped recaps out, what better time is there to find new music to add to your rotation? Cue: the best non-English albums of 2025.
In case you've been living under a rock, Bad Bunny was, once again, crowned as the most-streamed artist globally on Spotify. According to Billboard, Latin and K-pop remain the top categories for non-English music.
Since the ‘50s, 39 non-English-language songs have reached Billboard’s highly esteemed Hot 100 list, which tracks listening habits in the US. Of those, 23 have been in Spanish, with Korean taking the silver medal, with eight tracks. In the past year alone, Bad Bunny has placed three new songs on the list: “NUEVAYoL,” “BAILE INoLVIDABLE,” and “Debí Tirar Más Fotos.”
However, there are plenty of other international artists releasing non-English music — from Rosalía's multilingual Lux to Milo J's love letter to Argentina in La Vida Era Más Corta, Egyptian superstar Tul8te's Narein, to K-pop, J-pop, and Spanish gems that are headed for Coachella. For the third consecutive year, we have rounded up 15 of the best non-English albums of 2025 — in order of release — so you can update your playlist accordingly.
Bad Bunny, Debí Tirar Más Fotos
Main language: Spanish
Genre: Reggaeton, Salsa, Plena, Bomba, and more
Release date: January 5, 2025
Ever since its release on Three Kings' Day, Bad Bunny's Debí Tirar Más Fotos has remained on top of the charts globally, and there's a good reason why. Tapping into a kaleidoscope of Latin sounds, the star's sixth solo studio album stands as a love letter to Puerto Rico and growing up in the island that, despite being so localized, has resonated with the entire world.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music
Creepy Nuts, Legion
Main language: Japanese
Genre: Hip-hop, Rap
Release date: February 5, 2025
Legion, the eclectic fourth studio album by Japanese hip-hop duo Creepy Nuts, is full of bangers — from anime openers "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" and "Otonoke" to hidden gems like “Doppelgänger.” The duo traverses genres such as trap, Jersey club, electronic, and jazz, blending them with elements of traditional Japanese music in their first project since 2022.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music
G-Dragon, Übermensch
Main language: Korean
Genre: K-pop, Pop, Rap
Release date: February 25, 2025
G-Dragon's Nietzschean third studio album, which is also his first in seven years and outside of YG Entertainment, is small but mighty. The Korean superstar kicks things off with the anthemic “Home Sweet Home,” a collab with BigBang members Taeyang and Daesung, going on to viral groovy gems like "Too Bad" with Anderson .Paak and “Take Me,” all carried by his ensnaring vocals.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music
Adèle Castillon, Crèvecoeur
Main language: French
Genre: Indie, Electropop
Release date: February 28, 2025
Formerly part of duo Vidéoclub, French artist Adèle Castillon released part two of her Crèvecoeur ("heartbreak") earlier this year. With an R&B core and synths galore, the album is a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack, anchored by Castillion's honeyed voice and collaborations with Gazo, Declan McKenna, pablopablo, and more.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music
Guitarricadelafuente, Spanish Leather
Main language: Spanish
Genre: Spanish Neofolk, Pop
Release date: May 16, 2025
Inspired by the rawness of leather, which can be scuffed and repaired all at once, Guitarricadelafuente's summery sophomore album is both vulnerable and brazen. Moving from chanted anthems like “BABIECA!” and “Full time papi” to heartfelt ballads like “Puerta del Sol,” Spanish Leather features vivid quasi-narrative lyricism embedded in a soundscape that feels distinctively Mediterranean.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music
pablopablo, Canciones en Mí
Main language: Spanish
Genre: Chamber Pop, Neofolk
Release date: May 22, 2025
Multi-instrumentalist pablopablo finally puts his producing and singing chops on full display in his debut full-length album. A masterclass in minimalism, Canciones en Mí includes everything from hazy instrumentals to mournful collabs with Ralphie Choo and Carín León in “Eso Que Tú Llamas Amor” and ethereal harmonies in the oxymoronic “Siempre Te Quiero A Veces.”
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music
Rusowsky, DAISY
Main language: Spanish
Genre: Bedroom Pop, Funk, Dembow, and more
Release date: May 23, 2025
There's no better word to describe DAISY, the debut album from Russia IDK member Rusowsky, than “infectious.” A genre-blending voyage through bedroom pop, R&B, EDM, trap, funk, and flamenco, to name but a few, DAISY's polyrhythmic compositions make Rusowsky shine both on his own in standouts like "malibU" as well as with the aid of Jean Dawson, Ravyn Lenae, Kevin Abstract, Las Ketchup, and more.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music
Buscabulla, Se Amaba Así
Main language: Spanish
Genre: Indie pop
Release date: June 13, 2025
The long-awaited second album from Puerto Rican duo Buscabulla, made up of romantic and artistic partners Raquel Berrios and Luis Alfredo Del Valle, draws heavily on the couple's private life for an ultra-intimate collection of songs, ranging from neo-doo-wop synth-pop. As usual, the project is anchored by Berrios's murmured voice, but Del Valle also notably steps on the mic for the first time.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music
Tul8te, Narein
Main language: Arabic
Genre: Indie, Pop, Bossa Nova, Experimental
Release date: July 31, 2025
Egyptian masked artist Tul8te has been one to watch for a couple of years. His third studio album, Narein, which he released unannounced, is a testament to his versatility, pulling influences from dabke ("Daroory") to flamenco ("Heseeny"), bossa nova ("Ghareeb Haly"), neodisco ("Habeeby Da"), amapiano ("Enty Crazy"), and more, all with romance, fantasy, and folklore as guiding threads.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music
Peterparker69, yo,
Main language: Japanese
Genre: Hyperpop, Alt-R&B
Release date: July 31, 2025
Peterparker69, the hyperpop music duo from Tokyo, formed by producer Y ohtrixpointnever and rapper Jeter, released their new album yo, at the height of the summer. Two years in the making, the ten-song project is a light, fun, and slightly psychedelic collection that'd be perfect as the soundtrack for a casual hang.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music
CORTIS, Color Outside the Lines
Main language: Korean
Genre: K-pop, Rap, Hip-Hop
Release date: September 8, 2025
CORTIS entered the K-pop scene with their six-track debut EP, Color Outside the Lines, and immediately reached viral status with hip-hop singles “Go!” and “Fashion,” as well as punk-tinged “What You Want.” The EP, though short and slightly derivative of their influences, stands as a testament to what's to come, and to say we're intrigued would be an understatement.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music
Chaeyoung, Lil Fantasy Vol. 1
Main language: Korean
Genre: K-pop, R&B, Neo-soul, and more
Release date: September 12, 2025
TWICE member Chaeyoung's solo debut album has been a long time in the making, but it was worth the wait. Pulling influences from R&B, jazz, synthpop, neosoul, and more, Lil Fantasy Vol. 1, with plenty of lyrical aid by Sokodomo, is a complete 180 from her work in TWICE — smooth, vibey, groovy, and atmospheric, and only sporadically poppy.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music
Milo J, La Vida Era Más Corta
Main language: Spanish
Genre: Indie, Argentinian Folk, Trap, and more
Release date: September 25, 2025
Argentine star Milo J was only 18 when he worked on La Vida Era Más Corta, but you wouldn't be able to tell from its profundities. The two-parter, 15-track project combines traditional sounds from Argentinian folklore — from zamba and chacareras to tango and murgas — with contemporary genres such as trap, electronica, rock, and more.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music
NMIXX, Blue Valentine
Main language: Korean
Genre: K-pop, Pop, Dance
Release date: October 13, 2025
NMIXX's debut studio album, Blue Valentine, is MIXX POP in the flesh. Experimental, ambitious, and groovy, Lily, Haewon, Sullyoon, Bae, Jiwoo, and Kyujin continue to carve their niche sound in K-pop with compositions that feel entirely their own — from '00s flair in standout “Spinnin’ On It” to futuristic touches in the gravelly “Phoenix” to Latin influences in “Rico” and “Podium.”
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music
Rosalía, Lux
Main language: Spanish
Genre: Baroque Pop, Classical, Experimental
Release date: November 7, 2025
Rosalía shook up the scene with her fourth studio album, Lux. Recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and featuring collabs from Björk, Yves Tumor, and more, the mix of contemporary and classical elements, along with visuals inspired by religious imagery, has made Lux an instant hit. It's precisely that syncretic duality that roots the album beyond fads. From cheeky bangers like “La Perla” to modern-day orchestral masterpieces like “Berghain” and even her own dirge in “Magnolias,” Lux has it all. Likewise, it feels both like a return to her roots and a complete reinvention.
