H1-KEY is extending its global footprint with the runaway momentum of "Summer Was You".
The title track off the quartet’s fourth mini album, released in June, just landed at No. 6 on NME’s The 25 Best K-pop Songs of 2025 list.
NME praised the group’s range, noting that while H1-KEY has long woven synth-pop, dance-pop and hip-hop into its catalog, "Summer Was You" sharpens their edge with math-rock-inspired textures. The outlet highlighted the song’s electric yet breezy sound and lyrics that conjure “footprints in the sand” and “bright stars in the night sky,” calling its towering, addictive hook one of H1-KEY’s best to date.
Riding a busy summer promo run, H1-KEY cemented itself as a front-runner for the season’s anthem with "Summer Was You". The group then made its official debut in Japan with the Japanese-language release Lovestruck, scoring a No. 3 bow on the Oricon Daily Album ranking.
Anchored by a punchy, band-driven arrangement, "Summer Was You" pairs the members’ sturdy vocals with lyrics that bottle the glow of a perfect season. Following standouts like "Rose Blossom," "Such a Beautiful City" and "Let It Burn," the track has further solidified H1-KEY’s status as one of K-pop’s breakout girl groups at home and abroad.
Recently, the group lit up the stage at the Korea-Japan Dream Players Game 2025. At the 20th Asia Model Festival, H1-KEY also took home the K-pop Star Popularity Award, voted on by models from 27 Asian countries.
Photo= Choi Creative Lab
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)
