There are a number of acts who have debuted in the past few decades and have dozens of song ratings on this blog. I thought it would be fun to lay these ratings out in chronological order, line-graph style, and take a macro view of their careers so far. Then, similar to my “Underrated K-pop” … Continue reading
IZ*ONE: A Career In Song Ratings
There are a number of acts who have debuted in the past few decades and have dozens of song ratings on this blog. I thought it would be fun to lay these ratings out in chronological order, line-graph style, and take a macro view of their careers so far. Then, similar to my “Underrated K-pop” … Continue reading
Song Review: Bibi – Bumpa
K-pop summer songs come in all shapes and sizes, from bouyant blasts of pinwheeling energy to drowsy grooves perfect for lounging around in the sun. Unsurprisingly, Bibi has chosen the latter for her new single Bumpa. She doesn’t really have a toe in the idol world anyway, pursuing a quirkier singer-songwriter route instead. To me, … Continue reading
Song Review: Yoon Sanha (Astro) – IDK Me
Astro may not release music as a group anymore, but its members still make solo comebacks from time to time. Last summer, Yoon Sanha dropped a solid album that drew upon funk and hip-hop. That approach continues with new single IDK Me. Sanha’s one of those “all rounder” idols. I can’t think of one thing … Continue reading
AFTER SCHOOL: A Career In Song Ratings
There are a number of acts who have debuted in the past few decades and have dozens of song ratings on this blog. I thought it would be fun to lay these ratings out in chronological order, line-graph style, and take a macro view of their careers so far. Then, similar to my “Underrated K-pop” … Continue reading
WEI: A Career In Song Ratings
There are a number of acts who have debuted in the past few decades and have dozens of song ratings on this blog. I thought it would be fun to lay these ratings out in chronological order, line-graph style, and take a macro view of their careers so far. Then, similar to my “Underrated K-pop” … Continue reading
Song Review: TWS – All The Possibilities
TWS’s No Tragedy album has replicated the exact promotional strategy as last year’s Try With Us mini, leading with a more bombastic pop track and following up with a mellower highlight. I already wrote about All The Possibilities back in April and you can find that text below. But now that the track has officially … Continue reading
Song Review: xikers – OKay
Since their debut, xikers have shared producers with agency seniors ATEEZ, making it difficult to truly climb out of their lengthy shadow. Oftentimes, they feel like a junior ATEEZ to me, but their team rarely gives them music as undeniable as ATEEZ’s best hits. Perhaps its not surprising that their biggest musical triumphs have stepped … Continue reading
Song Review: I.O.I – Suddenly
As the first act to spawn from MNET’s new era of survival series, I.O.I made their debut the same year The Bias List was founded. For as much discourse as they drove, the group really didn’t last for long. Back then, this whole process was new — including contract negotiations. I.O.I released music for just … Continue reading
TEEN TOP: A Career In Song Ratings
There are a number of acts who have debuted in the past few decades and have dozens of song ratings on this blog. I thought it would be fun to lay these ratings out in chronological order, line-graph style, and take a macro view of their careers so far. Then, similar to my “Underrated K-pop” … Continue reading
WEEEKLY: A Career In Song Ratings
There are a number of acts who have debuted in the past few decades and have dozens of song ratings on this blog. I thought it would be fun to lay these ratings out in chronological order, line-graph style, and take a macro view of their careers so far. Then, similar to my “Underrated K-pop” … Continue reading
Song Review: Jay Park & LNGSHOT – Yeah! Yeah!
Riding off the success of LNGSHOT’s debut, agency founder Jay Park is injecting even more credibility to the group by collaborating with them on an album release. I wasn’t too impressed with last week’s teaser 4SHO 4SHO, but understood the point of that exercise. LNGSHOT are building a fanbase at the fringes of mainstream K-pop, … Continue reading
Song Review: Taeyong (NCT) – WYLD
NCT’s Taeyong jumped right from military enlistment to the studio, or at least that’s how it feels based on the quick release of his new album today. Maybe he’d already been working on the project pre-enlistment. He’s already teased us with pre-releases Rock Solid and Storm, each showing different facets to his sound. Now, it’s … Continue reading
Song Review: Taeyang (Bigbang) – Live Fast Die Slow
Even when Bigbang were at their commercial peak, solo efforts by the members were just as important and oftentimes even more popular. In particular, G-Dragon and Taeyang ruled the zeitgeist with their respective hits, and even a decade (or more) later that nostalgia comes rushing back as soon as I hear their voices. Taeyang has … Continue reading
Song Review: ITZY – Motto
JYP Entertainment has been on a roll this year and as the agency released great song after great song I made a silent prayer that one of those great songs would make it to ITZY. I’ve always liked this group, but my interest in their music has waxed and waned as they struggled to find … Continue reading
Song Review: ZEROBASEONE – Top 5
A new era begins today as ZEROBASEONE make their first comeback as a newly-reconfigured five-member group. We’ve seen this approach before with Kep1er, but this situation has an extra layer of interest because the remainder of the (former) group will be re-debuting as AND2BLE in a week’s time, setting up showdown of sorts. With this … Continue reading
LOVELYZ: A Career In Song Ratings
There are a number of acts who have debuted in the past few decades and have dozens of song ratings on this blog. I thought it would be fun to lay these ratings out in chronological order, line-graph style, and take a macro view of their careers so far. Then, similar to my “Underrated K-pop” … Continue reading
ZE:A: A Career In Song Ratings
There are a number of acts who have debuted in the past few decades and have dozens of song ratings on this blog. I thought it would be fun to lay these ratings out in chronological order, line-graph style, and take a macro view of their careers so far. Then, similar to my “Underrated K-pop” … Continue reading
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from May 10 – May 16
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. But each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And even more than that, I’ll attempt to rank them from my least-to-most-liked. I invite you to share … Continue reading
New & Noteworthy J-pop of the Week (May 17, 2026)
In connection with my desire to fully keep up with the J-pop industry, I’m planning to do a weekly round-up of any new releases that have caught my ear. Some of these may have been covered on the blog already, but my hope is that this will become a one-stop shop for anyone interested in … Continue reading