With so many of this year’s Bias List reviews touching upon similar themes, it seems like a good time to pause and take stock of where we’re at in K-pop’s continued evolution.
Though there are always outliers, it’s possible to chart the industry’s growth through a number of musical trends – some transposed from outside music markets and others homegrown. One of the bigger trends of the past few years revolved around what became known as “noise music” – hulking, combative production with shout-chant choruses and cacophonous pots-and-pans percussion.
Unlike other prominent trends (trap-pop, synthwave, etc), this “noise music” movement felt like an invention of K-pop itself, throwing many elements into a blender to craft a uniquely K-pop sound that other music markets continue to emulate. Maybe this is why it stuck around so long where other trends felt more flash in the pan.
On the boy group side, NCT seem a likely genesis point for this style, with groups like Stray Kids and ATEEZ augmenting it for their own uses. When it comes to girl groups, ITZY’s spunky, attitude-infused bombast created a lane for many others to follow.
As we enter a new generation of artists, we may be witnessing this shouty noise-pop’s last gasps of dominance. K-pop will always churn out iterations of this style, but the past year has seen a seismic softening of the industry’s aesthetic.
“Subdued” is in.
We began to see this take shape as synthwave and disco gave way to a reserved take on city pop, but it wasn’t until NewJeans debuted with a series of summer smashes that the shift really began to dominate. “Subdued” comes in many flavors, drawing from genres as diverse as 90’s R&B, Y2K hip-hop and radio-friendly soft rock. But overall, it feels like K-pop is becoming quieter. Melody lines are flattening. EDM thumpers lose out to funky anti-drops. Showy vocals and theatrical, expansive arrangements are few and far between. After all, they betray the effortless cool that has caught the zeitgeist. It’s better to deliver two minutes of vibe sprinkled with one incessantly catchy, TikTok-ready hook than to attempt a multi-part pop opera with build and climax.
So, why are we seeing this change? I think the answer lies in many different facets of the industry. Modern K-pop has always been an export-driven art form, but the past few years have seen that export potential ramp up to unimaginable levels. More than ever, K-pop acts must appeal to the widest swath of listeners as possible. These concessions have become a major tenant of pop music in our streaming age, but they’re especially vital of product meant to blast through cultural boundaries and barriers. Inoffensive — or pleasant — music is at a premium, guaranteed to hit as many different playlists as possible.
Though the comparison isn’t identical, we’ve seen a similar softening of the pop star ideal in Western markets. Gone are the days when audiences crave larger-than-life characters who feel unapproachable — even alien-like. With social media completely inseparable from the pop industry, it’s more important than ever for an artist — and by extension, their music — to feel relatable. Few of us are virtuosic talents, but we can all rattle off a breathy ad lib and execute some simple TikTok choreo.
K-pop is mired in an especially unique position here. It has long been an industry built around the veneer of perfection. So, how do you translate that into relatability? Beyond K-pop’s thriving online variety infrastructure, I’d argue the easiest way to bridge this gap is with subdued sounds that feel instantly approachable.
Now don’t get me wrong. “Subdued” doesn’t automatically mean boring. Notable leaders of this trend stuff their music with a kaleidoscope of interesting rhythms and phrasing. A skilled artist can make a coo or whisper as compelling as a battle cry. But as with any trend, an army of copycats and knockoffs is bound to drag down the batting average.
If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you already know where my allegiances lie in all of this. While subdued and pleasant can be enjoyable – especially as mood-setting background – it’s rarely been my cup of tea when it comes to pop music. I’m drawn to big, maximalist tunes that feel like fantasy… cathartic anthems with melodies as tall as skyscrapers. I don’t necessarily want artists to be relatable or “just like me.” I seek pop gods and goddesses with boundless charisma and an onstage persona that feels almost untouchable.
None of these aspects are mutually exclusive, but I’m not sure K-pop has yet mastered its new blend of understated artifice. As with any trend or genre, it’s all about having a perspective – something idiosyncratic or memorable that transforms a knockoff into a name brand. As we navigate K-pop’s next moves, I’ll continue to search for compelling melodies and dynamic production that pushes beyond the bland. And if composers want to throw in a bit of drama to appease fans like me, I wouldn’t refuse!
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
honestly it feels like “relatability” in this day and age is just being as boring as possible, i’d rather there be someone with tons of charisma and gusto in my life than someone who’s just… there…
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Nicely worded. While I love NewJeans to death, I don’t feel like anyone else has remotely come close to what they seem so effortlessly to pull off – and I’d say the genius of NJ lies in the production, which is still just so unique.
These days, for my maximalist rainbow-colored fix of soaring sky-high choruses and whatnot, I’ve returned to an old favorite, Animal Collective from my hometown of Baltimore. I love how they tap into the whole Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys vibe. I’d really love a K-pop take on this musical continuum, to let a bit of sunshine in.
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I suppose I should’ve included an MV since I was flogging them.
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Reminds me of Hot Chip, one of my husband’s favorites. I hear a lot of Hot Chip on vinyl when he is in a certain mood. Or perhaps Everything But the Girl, the current vinyl he is wearing out.
‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDJKgi2e-Aw
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I like Hot Chip, they’re the (British) Beatles to (American) Animal Collective’s Beach Boys. It helps that Alexis Taylor’s voice reminds me a bit of Paul McCartney. Throw in (Australia’s) Tame Impala for a bit of John Lennon-like vocals, and we have 3 great mid-2000/10s rock/electronic hybrid groups! (Probably my favorite band from that era just might be LCD Soundsystem, who shares a guitarist with Hot Chip in Al Doyle.)
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Unsolicited recommendation to your husband (if he hasn’t heard these guys already): Ibibio Sound Machine’s album Electricity – it was produced by Hot Chip and it blends that 2000s dance punk style with West African funk! One of the coolest releases I’ve heard in a while
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On paper, that sounds like it’d be totally up my alley, in a Talking Heads/Eno/Remain in Light kind of way. Listening now!:)
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I don’t mind soft or soothing but a lot of this newer music feels inert to me. Enervated. I like K-pop for rousing numbers, but also intricately crafted ballads that tell a story. It’s not for nothing that Onew’s Circle is still sitting at the top of my list this year, with NCT’s Misty and EXO’s Let Me In close by. Even though they are slow, they have lots of texture and interest to me.
I like Billlie’s Eunoia and some of the Triple S stuff (although I wish they would put actual words in the choruses more often) because even though they’re soft, they still have a little bite to them.
But right now I’m obsessed with Japanese old-school power-pop so all bets are off. And listen to Subway Daydream’s The Wagon. https://youtu.be/bbUBOs4K0-w?si=0-356QN1c8lekiGr
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Onew’s Circle is on my short list for Best of 2023, easily.
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Also, there is this guy named Wonho (not the MX Wonho) who released a vintage psych sounding album this year called The Flower Time Machine. There’s guitar freak outs and even a little Stevie Wonder flavored soul. It’s very good. I also made a playlist of directly and subtly 60s/70s flavored music that features some K-pop. https://spotify.link/V281sojPRDb
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Great article! May I say it was a pleasant read?
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You may not! Haha
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I relate a bit to this. The softer vibes are nice occassionally – say just soothing myself by vibing to such a playlist at 2 am and trying to gently drift off to sleep. In fact it’s almost appreciated at such a moment to have these softer songs.
Though if I want to actively listen to songs I want the exact opposite – instrumentals that make me wanna jump up and dance, an insane chorus, lots of melodies that I can sing or atleast pretend to sing along to. In a way… cathartic music.
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Exactly my thoughts. It always depends on the mood. Subdued or soft songs are very enjoyable sometimes, but other times I need powerful, energetic pop anthems or at least something upbeat and flashy.
Such industry trends should be seen cricitally if they impact the diversity of releases.
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K-pop has absolutely always had these softer, more chill/vibey songs but the difference is that they were more often than not relegated to b-sides, so you could have your big flashy title track to promote as well as a diversity of sounds on the album itself. Currently it feels like 70% of artists’ comebacks are being promoted with title tracks that are hardly distinguishable from the b-sides, or perhaps the more unique and idiosyncratic tracks are the ones being pushed into deep cut status nowadays.
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If want wanted to listen to something relatable, I’d listen to indie and not pop… I want bombastic, attack on my senses, I don’t want to care about the lyrics, or the artist singing it. No one is me, I don’t need to have the equivalent of staring at a mirror for my music
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The thing is, if I want chill, I have plenty of other chill music I listen to. Maybe its because I am old so I have a few decades of experience collecting Chill Of Value in multiple formats, and nothing coming out from this kpop chill space is worth adding right now for me.
To be person yelling at clouds for one more sentence, to me it all sounds rehashed from the originals which I already own and know full well, and (this is the important part) which the new songs don’t improve on.
Basically for me, for now, kpop is picking and choosing from songs I can sing at full volume driving down the road, or songs I can really groove and boogie to. Fork and knife music, so to speak. If you like this kpop chill vibe, you can have it.
I am also old enough to have heard trends go around and around again in decade long increments, give or take, so let’s just wait a year or three to hear what is next.
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All in all I enjoy the trend and sound, as noise music or girl crush didn’t really have much of that vocal heavy maximalism we got from 2nd gen.
But they’re doing away with the bridge, and that is something I can’t forgive!
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Spot on. I’ll rather have this vocal heavy minimalism trend over the rap heavy maximalism trend of the previous generation, especially when there is a language barrier.
Have you tried listening to songs from Japanese voice actresses?
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Spot on. I’ll rather have this vocal heavy minimalism trend over the rap heavy maximalism trend of the previous generation, especially when there is a language barrier.
Have you tried listening to songs from Japanese voice actresses?
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For the last few weeks a staple of my daily playlist has been SuperM’s Jopping. Largely because I too have been missing that go for broke drama that Kpop used to provide far more frequently than it seems to now. Jopping is weird, brash, theatrical, almost gleefully over the top fare but it also reminds me of that quintessential Kpop essence that I fell in love with in the first place, right down to the questionable English lyrics. Songs like Jopping set Kpop apart because it drove home an energy and style rarely found elsewhere.
Now I certainty don’t think all Kpop songs have to sound this way. I have a very long playlist of ballads that I put myself to sleep with every night. But I do think current Kpop is kind of lacking in that quintessential Kpop energy.
Strange to think that when SuperM was announced I practically groaned but if Jopping and One is what we’d get from them now I could definitely go for more.
I mean relateability is great and all but I think of music the way I think of movies or books, the farther away from my own life they are the more interesting they are to me. I love fantasy and science fiction in media because it not something I can step out my front door and experience personally. The same is true of the Kpop I enjoy most, I am not looking for music that could be the soundtrack to a slice of life drama, I am looking for the soundtrack to a daring swashbuckling sci fi space epic.
And Jopping works for that, so more Jopping please!
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I see your Jopping and raise you Stickaahhh Stickahhhh stickaaahhhhh stickaaahhhhh
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We’re jumping, we’re popping We’re Shocking! Your welcome SM…give me a call. I think the song is fun and bombastic and my lyric change would have saved the guys from a lot of questions about a made-up word. Anyway, with the ouster of LSM from SM, no more is being said about the group but I thought they were a lot of fun.
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idk… i think you do not have bars, respectfully
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I only changed the one word! But, no, I have no musical talent whatsoever.
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Ever since 2013, when I fell in love with Fantastic Baby, I’ve been roaming around the kpop world like a lost ghost searching for her soulmate in other people.
Give me weird, crazy, fantastical. The subdued trend is delivering the exact opposite.
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I try to be open with a lot of group’s music, but I am certainly a fan of more of the melodic type of music than the noise. However, I agree that some groups are making this their “brand,” which is unique for them for sure.
For some it works and for others is questioning.
So, for me, I feel like NCT straddles “melodic” and “noise” music. I think that melodic fits them and their vocals/voices better. Same with other SM groups (WayV, Dream, EXO, SHINee…).
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you hit it on the head! I prefer more upbeat music, although some “noise misuc” is too abrasive and frankly braggadocious for me but I can appreciate more subdued songs once in a while. Keyword is once in a while. And also being subdued isnt an excuse for the song to be lazy, I feel like so many of these “easy-listening songs” never do anything interesting with their production and thats why I just feel a bit averse to it in general. I don’t want it to become the overall trend in kpop rn but what can I do
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It’s odd how even the thumbnails from the MVs you posted reflect the criticism you’re giving… we have 2 videos with bombastic choreo front and center vs 2 very similar soft-toned side view “candid” shots of the groups. Interesting. Spooky! Happy halloween!!!
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Trends should be short and sweet.
I want to think Kpop may just be going through a balancing shift after 3-4 years of noise music dominance.
I don’t mind this “subdued” music, in fact, I associate this sound with decent bsides. I just hope it doesn’t translate to every title track of every group for the next 3-4 years.
I’m afraid that would make Kpop very boring.
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Yeah, I don’t think K-pop is a great channel for the subdued trend either, exactly for the reason you mention.
K-pop always has that manufactured element, that carefully crafted perfection. It will never be a good vehicle for delivering authenticity (doesn’t mean it can’t be done, but it’s an uphill battle).
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funnily enough I think enhypen’s bite me blends these two perfectly … it begins super lovely and melodic and then punches you right in the kpop with the chanting
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I like how the music went soft and subdued now. I usually vibe with music like this, it’s easier to digest and doesn’t overstimulate me.
I don’t like how they’re trying to market indie-ness while, you know, being a highly marketed performance product.
This is especially towards NewJeans, which popularized more indie genres in a considerably very indie approach. I got a little bitter taste on that.
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I totally agree with your vision and I am grateful for your references – it’s been really helpful, since I started following your blog two years ago.
Just wanting to ask how do you think Fifty Fifty’ Cupid fit on this panorama – clearly out of the New Jeans club but getting this biggest international success in years.
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Damn, you really described my main issue with most of the music coming out of KPOP lately. I don’t mind “subdued” music here and there (hell, I really enjoy IVE’s “Either Way”, and that’s pretty subdued), and if a ballad is actually good and not boring I’ll eat it up like the emotional sap I am, but I’ve never been a “chill” or “vibe-y” kind of person with the music I enjoy.
I CAN enjoy it here and there, but again, it’s gotta be actually good, and to my personal taste. I’d 100% take noise music over any of this subdued music that’s been happening. I was thinking the other day, actually, that I really miss the “westernized” sound KPOP had in the late 2000s and early 2010s, because at least it was catchy and interesting.
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