Rather than contain my “Risers and Fallers” feature to a single post in June, I’m going to share a bite-sized version at the end of each month. This will let me account for more songs and make a nice lead-in to the monthly round-up post.
I anticipate most of these ratings adjustments will be negligible: a 0.5 shift here, a 0.25 shift there. But, it’s a fun way to keep track of how my feelings on songs have changed over time – as well as which tracks currently have momentum on my playlist.
And remember, just because a song is marked as a “faller” doesn’t mean I hate it! Falling from a “9” to an “8.75” is no shame. 9+ rated songs occupy a totally different playlist in my music library, so I’m pretty particular about what qualifies. It’s a high bar.
This month’s feature covers the period from February 19th to March 18th.
RISERS
Infinite V – Beautiful
Rating: 9 → 9.25
LE SSERAFIM – Easy *Biggest Riser*
Rating: 6 → 7
NCT Wish – Wish
Rating: 7.75 → 8
YooA – Rooftop
Rating: 7.5 → 7.75
FALLERS
A.C.E – My Girl
Rating: 7.75 → 7.5
BAE173 – Fifty-Fifty
Rating: 8.75 → 8.5
CRAVITY – Love Or Die
Rating: 9 → 8.75
IU – Shopper *Biggest Faller*
Rating: 8.5 → 8
Moonbyul – Touchin&Movin
Rating: 9 → 8.75
Tempest – Lighthouse
Rating: 8.75 → 8.5
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Damn, didn’t expect Easy to rise this much! I admit that the hooks were an earworm and it remained in my mind for long and in a positive sense. I did mention in last month’s R&F that the song fell from 6.5 to a 6 for me. But thinking about it, it again rose to mid-to-high 6s (6.5 to 6.75). The hooks aren’t too forgettable, it seems! I still wish it had more to it. Haven’t really listened to it for a long time. Last time was probably weeks ago.
I am glad to know that Wish rose for you, even if it’s not much of a significant rise. I liked how pleasantly cute it sounds. It’s still an 8.5 for me.
Surprised seeing Touchin&Movin fall for you. It’s still a 9 for me. It’s like a funky, jazzy-esque version of JO1’s Move The Soul to me.
And not surprised to see A.C.E fall for you. Didn’t listen to the song after the first listen. Wish they came back with a Favorite Boys-esque banger or their 2017-sound-esque banger. Or maybe they’d do that as 5 now that Yuchan is back. Fingers crossed for that.
I can’t think of a riser or faller song for me yet. This month wasn’t too strong sadly.
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I’m curious, what made Easy rise up from 6 to 7?
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same thing i am curious about after the dreadful review it got from Nick and mostly all the commentors….i happen to really like “Easy” and most everything Le Sserafim makes….i will never fault or down a group for trying different music and concepts that speak to the musical tastes of all their fans, and not just the ones in Korea….
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Hearing it so often made those hooks stick in my head. Granted, a “7” isn’t really a glowing score either but I was probably too hard on it back in February.
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i think far too many people were way too negative about “Easy” overall….
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This got me curious now. Were there moments where you gave a song below 5.75 or a F grade, and as time went by, you felt that you were a bit too harsh on it and felt like that song didn’t warrant a low rate? And re-reading your blog on visiting the lowest rated songs, it piqued my curiosity. Don’t know, but I feel like it would be fun if you randomly selected a 5.75-rated or below song and re-reviewed it from time to time (esp if that song was released more than a year ago)
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The thing is, if a song scores that low initially, I’m unlikely to replay it enough to give it a chance to grow, so it’s hard to say.
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Ohh, gotcha! I only wondered because after giving some of the sub-5.75-rated songs a listen, I realized that a lot of them were ballads or mid-tempos or basically songs in general that probably would have gotten in mid-to-high 6s or 7s or maybe even 8s if they were reviewed in recent times. So I thought it would be interesting to see how much your perspective of that song would have changed by the years, but I also understand why you’d not want to listen to a song you once had a negative opinion of and maybe still do 😅
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I did do a revisit/re-rating of my lowest-rated songs a couple of years ago. It was fun, and I’ll probably do it again eventually:
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I’ve read it before, and it was cool to see how much your views on the songs mentioned changed (and yay for What A Life finally got her long-awaited justice). The blog is one of the reasons why I thought it would be fun to see how much your views on some 5.75-or-below-rated songs have changed with time
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I’ll have to do it again sometime 🙂
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hummmm….after the review you (and everyone else in the comment section) gave Le Sserafim’s “Easy,” i’m surprised they rose for you….
i love me some Le Sserafim, and i can’t and won’t ever fault them for doing different songs and concepts to meet the musical tastes of all their fans, not just the many in Korea who seem to have litter interest in k-pop being in the international market….
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I agree with NOTHING here lol. Literally every single one of your fallers was a grower for me 😅
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Haha
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Im aactually sad that TOUCHIN&MOVING fell for you! I’m also questioning why? 💔😩😭
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Your risers and fallers were interesting to notice haha. I didn’t expect “Easy” to be a grower and Cravity and Moonbyul’s songs to fall for you.
Off-topic but I would be curious to hear your thoughts on some of the English releases of this week:
Also, would it be fine if I can send you a couple of English songs that I like in the past so you can give your thoughts on those (could be on Twitter/X or on the blog)?
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Plus, TIL Infinite V’s single can count as a promoted track? Because I thought it was a b-side since it was featured as a buried treasure.
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No, it’ll be classified as a b-side but I wanted to include it here since I didn’t have many risers this month and it’s definitely been my most-played K-pop track of March.
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Yes, drop them here in the comments or on twitter and I’ll listen when I have the chance.
I need to check out the Tyla album. I loved Been Thinking so much but Water took much longer to appeal to me due to its more downbeat vibes. From what I hear, the album is more along these lines. I love ART’s soundscape (I like afrobeat in general), but it’s more music to vibe to than music that captivates me in a visceral way.
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Thank you so much for the response!
I honestly wanted Tyla to release more dance-focused tracks like Been Thinking because it’s such a good song, although I actually like Water (the hook got me). It’s worth giving the album a listen though.
It would be nice to also hear your thoughts on Porter Robinson’s and Olivia Rodrigo’s new songs when you get the chance.
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I’d never heard of Porter Robinson before, but that song is really fun! I love how it feels like a mix of pop-punk and electronic. It’s something I definitely would have been listening to in the mid-00’s, which makes it very nostalgic.
With Olivia Rodrigo, I feel like I appreciate her music more than actively wanting to listen to it, if that makes sense. The songs are all solid but it all feels a little affected to me… like a parody of the genres it seeks to replicate. I may be in the minority on that, though. The new song is okay, but nothing has yet to beat Good 4 U for me.
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DUDEEEEEEEEE u need to check out porter robinsons discography rn. absolutely phenomenal edm/synthy production/hooks like the man knows how to sledgehammer u in the best way possible. worlds + nurture is just an incredible one two punch
some of my favs: divinity, mirror, musician, sad machine (by far his most iconic song imo), lionhearted, get your wish
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100% agree! And while we’re at it, let me drop this amazing collab he did with Madeon. It’s pure synthpop bliss:
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Had the opposite reaction with love or die lol. It was already really good at first but last week the whole song clicked in my head.
Had the opposite reaction to Easy too, the more I listen to the song the more it irritates me
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sad to see touchin & movin fall, it’s still one of my favorites of last month
oh btw nick i finally got around to watching the apple at your recommendation and i think its the stupidest, most awesomely awful movie ever made, and i’ve seen disaster movie (though disaster movie is just stupid and awful, with no awesome to be seen)
probably the craziest musical i’ve seen since south park bigger longer and uncut?
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And maybe the most unhinged ending in any movie ever?
(Don’t you kinda want a BIM mark, though??)
For a long time, I held this movie up as a sort of friendship barometer. I’d show it to people to see how they would react, and if they fell in love with it and thought it was as brilliantly horrible as I did, I knew we could be friends haha.
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the fact the two leads become hippies and get raptured 😭
definitely a piece of eye bleach after subjecting myself to disaster movie lmfao
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though admittedly, pandi’s musical number where she r#pes alphie and gets no consequences for it at the end made me uncomfortable and i think its the only scene in the movie that aged horribly
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The second half of 2023 and early 2024 are making me lose faith in new kpop…
Where are the anthems???
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Well, gotta wait for August to come, cause that’s when we always find the Top 10 songs of the year 😅
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NCT DREAM Smoothie
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