The group XLOV landed on Billboard's list of best albums, proving their dazzling musical achievement in the global market.
According to U.S. music outlet Billboard's staff-selected "The 25 Best K-Pop Albums of 2026," released recently on its official website, XLOV (Umuti, Rui, Hyun, Haru)'s mini album 2 "I,God" ranked sixth, beating stiff competition.
Billboard highlighted XLOV's album, saying, "It is filled with dance tracks driven by groovy bass and intense rhythms." It added, "The wounded, imperfect being at the center of the album finally attains its divinity," and praised their unique narrative and musical message, saying, "For XLOV, perfection does not mean the absence of flaws, but the confidence to claim them proudly."
The widely praised "I,God" is a well-made album that likens XLOV's pursuit of inner completeness—built on the incompleteness and imperfection they have sung about since their debut and the hard-won freedom preserved within—to the powerful symbol of a "god." In particular, member Umuti served as the overall producer, clearly imprinting the team's unique color, and Hyun and Haru also actively participated in writing the lyrics for the included songs, proving their grown capabilities as artists.
XLOV, which debuted with the distinctive title of K-pop's first "gender-free group," is zeroing in on the global music market with boundaryless music and overwhelming performances. They recently demonstrated notable popularity in North America by selling out solo fan meetings held in New York and Los Angeles, U.S., to great success.
Riding this wave of global growth, XLOV opened the dazzling gates of their Asia tour "2026 XLOV ASIA TOUR 'Serving-X'" in Seoul on the 18th and 19th and embarked on a full-scale world stage run.
After successfully wrapping up the Seoul shows, XLOV will visit major Asian cities starting in Tokyo, Japan, on the 26th, then Hong Kong on Aug. 9, Taipei on Aug. 29, Singapore on Oct. 1, and Osaka on Oct. 17.
[Photo] RBW, WM Entertainment Co., 257 Entertainment
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