XAVI (stylized in all caps) is the debut studio album by Filipino musician Xavier Luna. It was released on May 12, 2025 through 24D Entertainment. Regarded by the singer as his "official debut record", the album is a primarily experimental pop record with elements of art pop, R&B, electronic dance music, worldbeat, and other diverse genres. Lyrically, the album is described as a loose concept album that follows Xavier's perspectives as an individual finding his place in the world, and delves into the themes of liberation, fame, and sensuality. Featured artists on the album include Taran, Chae Dahee, DEC, Seoyeon, Adam and the Sock Puppet, and Wakeupvixxenn!!!.
The release of XAVI was preceded by the release of singles "Might Never Do This Again" featuring Taran of khaos and "Antiretro", the latter of which topped the charts in multiple countries including South Korea. To support the album's live promotions, a four-member team of male dancers collectively known as Yukeirynzia Princes was formed to serve as his backup performers and entourage. Upon release, the album achieved popularity beyond its initial target audience through word-of-mouth and received critical acclaim from music critics, who praised its musical diversity, lyrical themes, and experimentation. It appeared on several year-end listicles of the best records, with "Build Me In Your Image" being named by the Rolling Stone as one of the best songs of 2025.
In December 2023, producer and musician Xavier Luna released his first collaborative album Asi9, an experimental nine-track electronic album that was entirely produced by him. It received acclaim from music critics, garnering two nominations including Album of the Year at the 2024 Hangang Artistry Awards. During his speech for winning Best Album Composition/Arrangement during the pre-show ceremony, he expressed his gratitude to his fans, and later unveiled that he was finally releasing his debut studio album in 2025. He humorously announced, "To the people who have been waiting for me to actually release K-pop music instead of weird ambient tracks, your time is coming very soon. Well, kind of." He later confirmed in February that his debut single "Blazing Flame" will not be included in the album, stating that he was "starting from scratch" and wanted to create an album with sounds that were somewhat maximalist, dreamy, and futuristic.
On March 1, 2025, Xavier posted a photoshoot of him wearing a white jacket in the backdrop of a massive galactic landscape, with the caption, "It's time to be excited - May 12," stirring anticipation among his fans and casual listeners. On March 10, 2025, he pre-released "Won't Ever Do This Again", an experimental R&B track featuring khaos member Taran, to streaming platforms. The song was well-received by music critics and became a sleeper hit, climbing to top ten in South Korea. On April 9, 2025, he released the second single "Antiretro", a megacollab featuring solo artists DEC, Chae Dahee, and Seoyeon, who have been known to be fans of the group. Critics lauded its aggressive yet quirky sound, while commercially, it became his biggest ever streaming debut, debuting atop the chart in South Korea and charting in the iTunes charts of over 30 countries. In April 14, he confirmed that there will be no more follow-up singles, and that the album will be released on May 12, 2025, as teased beforehand. In an interview in early May, Xavier revealed that he was only supposed to release an EP which serves as his official entry as a K-pop soloist, but kept working on so much of his song ideas that it ended up being a full album. Previous working titles for the project included "I'm Sick of Throwbacks!", "Impossible Prince", and "Fairyscapes".
Promotions[]
Teasers[]
Teaser Set
Description
#1: Won't Ever Do It Again
Consisting of three sets of teasers, Xavier Luna is seen in three different backgrounds that seem to depict the seconds before a disaster. All three outfits portray him as if he was a naive teenage boy who was a loner in high school, wearing generic colorful T-shirts and shorts as well as a cap or geeky glasses. In the first teaser, he is seen posing with his bike in the middle of the road as a truck on fire is speeding behind him. In the second, he is walking down the street with his headphones on, lacking situational awareness as a killer clown is seen peering from an alleyway, and in the third, about to feast on a slice of cake with a rusty nail sticking out from its side.
#2: Antiretro
Compared to the loser aesthetic of "Won't Ever Do This Again", "Antiretro" features a futuristic dystopian rebellion aesthetic, with four sets of teasers each for Xavier, Chae Dahee, DEC, and Seoyeon. Xavier's set features him wearing a leather trenchcoat and a black tank top, while wearing dark visors that seem to have built-in holographic lenses. He has a bat with barbed wires swung over his shoulder, preparing to resist an implied state enemy in the backdrop of a night skyline that is reminiscent of Mega-City One from Judge Dredd. The title text, which reads "Antiretro - April 9th", takes inspiration from the logo of video game Cyberpunk 2077.
Impossible Prince
Consisting of three sets of teasers, Xavier Luna takes his viewers to a place of contrasting pitch-black darkness and overstimulating colors, primarily using semi-bright shades of red, blue, lime, purple, and yellow. In the first teaser, Xavier looks like an agent dodging blinding colorful lasers, equipped with a futuristic gun. In the second teaser, he is kneeling in an unbuttoned shirt and dark pants, surrounded by a ring of long-exposure lights. In the third teaser, a miniature Xavier, in flannel and glasses, stands unaware on a pedestal—behind him, five towering figures (later revealed as the Yukeirynzia Princes) gaze through a black theater curtain, their crowns glowing with neon gems.
Lunaverse
Consisting of four sets of teasers, Xavier Luna explores surrealistic digital psychedelic worlds, personally commissioned from small New Zealander artist Samantha Pehwairangi. In teaser one, inspired by "Build Me In Your Image" and "MIIX With Me", Xavier dances with aliens as a spaceship captain. In the second, "Transgressive Cowboy", he rides through an apocalyptic desert. In the third, themed after "I Don't Wanna Know" and "STFU!", he becomes a cyber vigilante scaling skyscrapers. The final teaser, for "Yukeirynzia", crowns him a utopian prince-statue in a sci-fi garden of towers and planets.
Despite Xavier's feud with Yuan Meiyu, the singer refuses said animosity to get in the way of his admiration for her groupmate Snowbaby. During the dance challenge, Snowbaby seems to cvntify the choreo more than it originally is, and Xavier is in on it, trying to use the F out of his hips to keep up. In the end, Xavier does the point choreography of "Touch Body", directly encouraging people to check out Snowbaby's own album.
Crystal
Being a certified Latina baddie, it is no surprise that Crystal's version of the dance challenge absolutely amped up the sass. Xavier looked visibly gagged at times as she was even doing hairography with how it was moving while she was dancing, and he ended up surrendering the spotlight to her, as the contrast made the difference in their TikTok dance skills more obvious than ever.
Chai
LIGHTERS has always been one of the few boy groups that Xavier Luna is a fan of as a music nerd, and thus, he was more than thrilled to be able to have their maknae and fellow Southeast Asian (#ASEANUnity) Chai on his own dance challenge. Though they were first initially shy with each other because of their age gap, they looked very cute together dancing, with some saying the pairing even looked like a father and his son.
MIIX
It's quite obvious why he was the most awaited person to do the challenge of a song called "MIIX With Me", isn't it? Filmed at the set of the music video, Xavier seems to be doing a regular TikTok challenge by himself, until suddenly, MIIX pushes him out of the way and does the dance by himself, pointing to himself with both of his hands every time the chorus hook mentions his name. In the end, Xavier and MIIX pull each other into an excited hug, while laughing.
Hazel Description not available at the moment. Check again later!
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Taran Description not available at the moment. Check again later!
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Commercial performance[]
In South Korea, XAVI debuted atop the Circle Album Chart for the chart week ending May 17, 2025, selling over 200,000 copies. It was later certified Platinum by the Korean Music Content Association (KMCA), after surpassing 250,000 units. XAVI became Xavier Luna's first project to enter the United States' Billboard 200 album chart, peaking at #53 in November 2025. In both the Circle Digital Chart and Circle Download Chart, all 12 tracks successfully debuted within the top 100, making Luna one of the few artists to achieve such feat.
The inclination of XAVI towards experimentation and eccentricity was driven by Luna's desire to make an album that feels like the epitome of human passion. "In an age where generative A.I is developing at a fast pace, its continuous carnage in art and music is probably going to be unstoppable no matter how much we try, no matter how much idealistic kinds of resistance I project in my head. As a pop artist, I was trying to find the middle ground between having enough accessibility for everyone, while also having an element of irreplaceable je ne sais quoi that an A.I machine couldn't just replicate in 30 seconds or less."
⏮️ ⏪ ⏵ ⏩ ⏭️ |━━━━━━●────────────| XA:VI / LU:NA
D0 ⋒ W₳ИŦ ƬØ ʍΣΣ† Ⱡ₳†ɆⱤ? An intro track spanning two minutes, "Do U Want To Meet Later?" is a deconstructed club and UK bass song with influence of intelligent dance music (IDM) and alternative R&B. A chaotic and futuristic track that immediately sets the tone for what is to be expected for a significant portion of the album, the song is the album at its most hedonistic and explicit, celebrating the rise of queer culture through the subversion of social structures and unapologetic indulgence in sexual experimentation.
⏮️ ⏪ ⏵ ⏩ ⏭️ |━━━━━━●────────────| XA:VI / LU:NA
I DON'T WANNA KNOW "I Don't Wanna Know" is a fast-paced phonk and house track that is designed to be the most conducive for music show performances. The album at its grittiest, the song evokes the imagery of a biker gang zooming through the highways of a rundown city. In the song's verses, the protagonist appears exhausted and burnt out by the chaos of his world, prompting him to shut everyone out and disappear into the crowd. While the song presents itself to have vibes of empowerment and resistance, the lyrics have been interpreted by some to depict the inner thoughts of a celebrity who is on the verge of having a mental breakdown, wanting to silence everyone and chase after the peace that they couldn't have under the eyes of predatory fans and paparazzi. During the behind-the-scenes video of the album, Xavier revealed that he was inspired to explore the Drift Phonk sound after stumbling upon a random underground Russian artist through his YouTube algorithm.
⏮️ ⏪ ⏵ ⏩ ⏭️ |━━━━━━●────────────| XA:VI / LU:NA
FEELLIKE The only Korean-language song in the album, "FEELLIKE" is a dark pop and R&B song originally drafted by Luna in 2022. Swapping out typical beat drops in current K-pop songs in favor of a sensual and strong guitar solo, the lyrics portray the arguably popular trope of a toxic but addictive relationship, reminiscent of his former group's 2024 single "Enemy or Lover (I'm In Love With You)". However, the song is actually a confessional about an idol's relationship with fame, in which they know that the taste of validation and desirability can deteriorate their soul but they can't stop taking not just a sip, but even a chug of it. In an interview, he revealed that "Taste Like" was initially planned to be a follow-up single to "Blazing Flame", but immediately scrapped as he didn't feel like further pursuing a career as a solo artist.
⏮️ ⏪ ⏵ ⏩ ⏭️ |━━━━━━●────────────| XA:VI / LU:NA
STFU! Written by Luna in 2022 as a form of response to a never-ending stream of defamatory and racist remarks made against him by netizens on both domestic and international sides, "STFU!", featuring Wakeupvixxenn!!!, is an avant-pop song with heavy metal, contemporary R&B, and hard rock elements, practically being the most aggressive track from the album. In the lyrics, Luna eschews the act of being unbothered in favor of a vulgar and eclectic response, in which he directly tells detractors and bigots who harass him to shut up or he'll silence them himself. In one line, he says: Have you ever thought of sewing your mouth shut 'cause I have many times, many times, He names the Korean underground band Bloodhouse Banter as a strong inspiration for coming up with the song's sound: "Back when I had the mandated sad teenager phase, used to dream of fronting a death metal band and just releasing all my pent-up anger through the mic. I think I'm destined to be a pop star but I wanted to still have the opportunity to take this direction musically."
⏮️ ⏪ ⏵ ⏩ ⏭️ |━━━━━━●────────────| XA:VI / LU:NA
Antiretro "Antiretro" is an art pop, electropop, and dance-punk song with a futuristic and aggressive energy that evokes themes of resistance and liberation against perceived oppressive norms in society. The song features Chae Dahee, DEC, and Seoyeon, all three of which he had personally chosen after they expressed an admiration for Luna; "I've always wanted to give the stage to my fans, in one way or another," He said in an exclusive interview. The titular word "antiretro" is defined by the singer as a "rejection of engrossment in the past", a viewpoint he conceptualized after thinking about the increased oversaturation of nostalgia for the "good old days" in social media and pop culture. The lyrics are written in the perspective of a troubled, weak creature who is determined to break free from their past and turn into a powerful entity that they envision themselves to be.
⏮️ ⏪ ⏵ ⏩ ⏭️ |━━━━━━●────────────| XA:VI / LU:NA
Transgressive Cowboy "Transgressive Cowboy" is a futuristic dance pop song with house, Brazilian bass, and pop rap elements. Lyrically, the artist sings of a wild cowboy living in the badlands of a post-apocalyptic future. During the day, the cowboy goes on adventures and causes chaos within enemy territory, but enjoys himself in his underground nightclub at night, dancing without a care in the world as he seduces an ambiguous love interest. The song was meant to be a celebration of all men who reject the toxic ideologies of hegemonic masculinity.
⏮️ ⏪ ⏵ ⏩ ⏭️ |━━━━━━●────────────| XA:VI / LU:NA
GASOLINE or DOPAMINE? Featuring songwriting credits and guest vocals from Kwon Janghun of indie band Adam and the Sock Puppet, "Gasoline or Dopamine" is an electropop and contemporary R&B song indebted in drum and bass sounds. Lyrically, the song is a poetically explicit and feverish love letter to a fictional love interest, in which he describes them as the dopamine or pleasure chemicals that his brain needs, but also a risky flame of pleasure that threatens to overwhelm everything in it's path, but he chooses to immolate himself in their touch anyway. In a later interview, he revealed that "Dopamine / Gasoline" was originally pitched as the debut song for a boy group that he wanted to produce for, but eventually kept it for himself after the artists- highly speculated to be Carboncopyluv- chose not to record it out of the desire to take a more "lowkey sound".
⏮️ ⏪ ⏵ ⏩ ⏭️ |━━━━━━●────────────| XA:VI / LU:NA
MIIX WITH ME? "MIIX With Me" is a title that has immediately piqued everyone interest upon the reveal of the track list, with its direct reference of K-pop soloist MIIX. The song is a straightforward UK garage and dance pop song with soft vocals, in which the singer invites someone to dance to a MIIX song with them at the club in a broken English fashion ("Can you MIIX with me?"). However, when also interpreted in another way, the song can also be interpreted as a narrator making intimate advances towards someone ("Can you mix with me?"). In a later Twitter post, Xavier disclosed, "I was trying to censor an explicit word and thought I should use someone else's name lol, it doesn't get deeper than that".
⏮️ ⏪ ⏵ ⏩ ⏭️ |━━━━━━●────────────| XA:VI / LU:NA
♡ POP BOY CHIC! ♡ Described by critics as Xavier's take on the post-Brat resurgence of electropop in mainstream music, "♡ Pop Boy Chic! ♡", is a dance pop and Dutch house track that is sonically straightforward in its intention to get people dancing, while also holding contrastingly sad commentary on entertainment industry exploitation, unrealistic, Eurocentric beauty standards on social media, the habit of doom scrolling about the state of the world, and most of all, surface-level messages of self-love pushed by corporations, as encapsulated by the hook line, "Now, it's time to affirm ourselves!"
⏮️ ⏪ ⏵ ⏩ ⏭️ |━━━━━━●────────────| XA:VI / LU:NA
WON'T EVER DO THIS AGAIN "Won't Ever Do This Again" is an upbeat R&B song featuring Taran of khaos, whom he had always wanted to feature on his album as he was a massive fan of his group's early 2010s discography. The single captures the sorrow of watching oneself fail to achieve a goal or dream that they have worked so hard for, with the themes being inspired by a forgotten and depressing rant in his notes app. The song was written with the intention of reflecting the current dissatisfaction of millions worldwide especially due to the state of politics, the world economy and job market, but can also be about heartbreaking personal situations such as being rejected by a crush that led you on or dealing with the consequences of horrible decisions.
⏮️ ⏪ ⏵ ⏩ ⏭️ |━━━━━━●────────────| XA:VI / LU:NA
BUILD ME IN YOUR IMAGE "Build Me In My Image" is a synth-pop, hypnagogic pop, and disco influenced track led by a pulsing bass line, drums, and synthesizers, all culminating in a powerful final chorus. Inspired by the likes of HOME's "Resonance", a formative favorite of Luna's as a teenager, as well as an unforgettable otherworldly dream he had during a random afternoon nap, the song aims to sonically evoke the feeling of drifting through a distant, surrealistic landscape somewhere in the far reaches of outer space. The lyrics tell about a human being shedding their old self to transform into their "ideal image". Though originally planned to be a pre-release single, Luna ultimately chose to keep it as a B-side as he had a gut feeling that it would shine brighter as a hidden gem for those who actually listen to the album from start to finish.
⏮️ ⏪ ⏵ ⏩ ⏭️ |━━━━━━●────────────| XA:VI / LU:NA
yUKk€❍◗щiAლ Despite being branded as simply the outro track of the album, "yUKk€❍◗щiAლ" with its distinctively strange title has been considered by critics as the highlight of the album, and a suis generis piece by some. "yUKk€❍◗щiAლ" is an experimental 8-minute song that incorporates elements of tech house, ambient, worldbeat, hyperpop, dream pop, and neo-psychedelia. The lyrics feature a fairytale story of a boy named Keiryn who unexpectedly finds himself in a heavenly utopian dreamland named Yukeirynzia, and how he finds himself falling in love with a fairy prince named Junieper, to the point of almost never returning back to the land of the living. Luna himself has described it as distinct: "This track has been an idea that I originally came up with as an idea vomit at the back of my notebook in 2017, when I was having a Björk and Four Tet phase, so it brings me to tears that I finally was able to put it together. It's queer, surrealistic, maximalist, and interweaves cultural heritage I yearn to reconnect with- everything I've ever dreamt of in a passion project."
Critical reception[]
·.☽♫ Critical reception for XAVI ♫☾.·:
Author / Publication
Score
Review
Chun Miyeon of The Terror Music Professor
5/5
"Xavier showcases that he is a rare talent with not just an overflowing passion for artistic expression but also a powerful sense of versatility, with how he proves that he can also wear the role of a world-class pop star if he chooses to."
"The EP finds a perfect and comfortable spot between the appealing catchiness of K-pop and Xavier's imaginative, genre-bending styles that manifest in his critically-acclaimed bodies of music."
Jang Kyulkyung of HoldMyTrack
GREAT
"In Xavi, you are offered catchy pop tunes like "MIIX With Me" and "Build Me In Your Image" that would make great radio material, while also providing you enthralling tracks such as the Björk-esque bookends "Do U Want To Meet Later" and "yUKk€❍◗щiAლ", which somehow feel like the most personal and artistic parts of the album."
Paul Tajima of Consequences
85/100
"XAVI is musically genre-defying and lyrically personal, yet unapologetically embraces being an attempt to penetrate the continuously evolving 2020s pop scene rather than resisting it."
Pitchfork
8.1 ↑
BEST NEW MUSIC
"Xavier Luna professes his love for experimentation and music through a twelve-track post-modern pop odyssey [...] ranging from pleasing dancefloor earworms like "MIIX With Me" or the weirdly beautiful album-within-an-album soundscape of outro track "yUKk€❍◗щiAლ.""
RADAR Asia
43.5/50
"XAVI is Xavier Luna's hauntingly bombastic archive of the past, present, and future, which is the result of the combination of almost 8-10 years worth of raw ideas and creative vision. It is the kind of magnum opus that leaves you worrying about whether his next projects can realistically be on its level, but for now, it's only appropriate to celebrate the rise of a potential icon in the alternative pop scene."
RateYourMusic
3.75/5
@wemiss_eclaire: "Though recent statements of his point at him not wanting to be one, Xavier's album introduces him as the new, risk-taking main pop boy that Western audiences have desperately looked for. XAVI is a beautiful concoction of great vocals, profound lyricism, and maximalist production, which makes it an above-average debut album that will definitely get most attached at first listen.
Ty Aestetik of The Slushiedolls Blog
4.5/5
"It's cute but I'm subtracting 0.5 stars because he's above the age of 25"
Wyd Haid of Sprunkis Magazine
5/5
"Xavier Luna 🤤"
Zach Campbell
BOP
"Oh, yes. This was magical. That was everything. Like. Album of the year. For me at least."
General Rating
Critical Acclaim
Year-end lists[]
Select rankings for Xavi
Publication
Accolade
Rank
Billboard
Top 10 Best K-pop Albums of 2025
1
MBS Cultured
The 20 Best Albums of 2025
7
NME
50 Best Albums of 2025: Year-End List
9
The Terror Music Professor
2025's Top Ten - Personal List
2
Star News
Albums of the Year: 2025 Edition
2
Track listing[]
The standard edition of XAVI runs 42 minutes and 17 seconds long, through twelve tracks.
