K-pop/J-pop collaborations are growing more common lately (Fantastics x EPEX say hello!), and I can’t think of a better match than BE:FIRST and ATEEZ. Both employ a heavy hip-hop style with dramatic instrumentals and a free-wheeling, inexhaustible energy. I can’t say I’ve been a fan of either group’s recent work, but this duet is sure to enthrall many listeners.
The combination of two global titans deserves a song that’s equally as notable. Hush-Hush won’t surprise fans of either group, as it embraces many familiar sonic hallmarks. Unfortunately, I don’t find myself charmed by any of these elements. From the squeaky brass loop during the verses to the lumbering beat and distorted shouting of the chorus, the track feels like all bark and no bite. It’s not bombastic enough to work as a hype song, yet not compelling enough to enjoy on its own.
I’ll fully admit that I’m 100% over this style of song and it would take an undeniable standout to shift that response, but even within this ‘angry guys shouting over clanging beats’ sub-genre, Hush-Hush feels monotonous and inessential.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 6 |
| RATING | 7 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
it’s time for you to move on from k-pop because as you’ve stated, you’re pretty much done with literally everything that makes k-pop ‘k-pop’ at this point. stick to recycling your endless praises and wistful reminiscings towards 2nd and 3rd generations and turn your blog into a k-pop oldies review site. at this point this genre is obviously just not for you anymore because nothing will ever stack up to the ‘good old days’
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Nice to know that you get to define what makes something “K-pop.”
I just posted fifteen songs from this year that I love and have been repeatedly saying K-pop’s having a great year so I don’t know what you’re on about…
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i’m not defining anything because it defines it itself. it’s called ‘generational trends’ and it’s obvious you lack the tolerance for the majority of 4th Gen’s unless there’s some sort of 2nd or 3rd Gen or late 90s/early 00s callbacks. Plus it’s real obvious if and when certain groups gain an amount of traction with a song that doesn’t fit within your near boomer like standards. You complain Group A is getting stale and stagnant, they need to do something different to bring in new blood or inspiration. Group A actually does something different and you’re all ‘no, not like that’. Pookie, no.
I saw your list. Wow, so flattering to compare a bunch of groups to older gen group styles or throwbacks music genres (You still pressed about Block B? My brother in Christ). That Kep1er song? Peak Y2K aesthetic. Groundbreaking. Nobody has ever dipped their toes in that before. /s
Honestly, I knew something was wrong when I first read your review on TXT’s SRR. Never had I seen anyone miss the entire point of that song because you’re too mid to comprehend the fact that there was a whole lore reason behind the musical composition, as with most 4th Gen groups (who lean on their actual concepts as well as current trends). Insane that someone actually complimented you on deciphering the music and you missed a whole chunk of what influenced it to begin with.
But yeah, sure, K-Pop is having a great year, in your opinion, with all of the ‘C’s you’ve been throwing around clearly proves that.
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Hope you know that Nick’s grown up in the 90s with music from that era influencing his taste. Ofc, he would make comparisons because he loved those songs and the newer songs must have reminded him of it. I mean, I’ve and I’m still growing with music mostly from the mid-late 2010s to early 2020s era influencing my palette, so I’d too probs make comparisons or view some songs with a bias if I were to review songs a few years down the line, perhaps 2030s or 2040s, cause songs from that era have and still are influencing my own palette.
Taste is subjective. You’re acting as if he is some powerful critic whose words are the Gospel or some stuff, when it’s a personal blog where he just gives his opinion from time to time. You don’t have to agree with everything he says. I sometimes disagree with his opinions, but that does not mean his opinions are bad, or mine are. Opinions are opinions.
And also, Nick does not focus on lores and concepts when reviewing, he focuses on the technical aspects such as melodies, productions and so on. And if it somehow makes you feel better, SRR rose from a 7.5 to an 8.5 (which is a pretty great rating) for Nick, so no need to get pressed about it. Lores and concepts does not mean he’ll automatically give a song a 9.75/10 (and then give it a 10 once the song hits triple platinum in his bedroom), sometimes, it might also have certain aspects that he strongly dislikes (for example, he disliked SRR’s chorus). And if this makes you feel better, he also gave aespa’s Next Level (a lore-focused song) a 8.75, again, a very high rating.
And here we go with the Cs again. He’s given at least 20 songs this year 9s and above (As), which is quite a rarity and prolly more than 100 songs an 8 or above (a decent rating). He has his own criteria or personal tastes, it’s just a simple blog where we discuss our opinions on certain songs.
Now while you’re at it, do with your username says 🫶
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Yes, let him judge through outdated technical lenses, that certainly isn’t colouring his experiences with this generation or anything and, absolutely , him openly stating his inflexibility to adjust to trendy concepts and nitpicking every single aspect that doesn’t fit his narrow minded view on what makes a song palatable is definitely fine and dandy
girl bye
him judging on “technical aspects” isn’t the flex you think it is clear that his “technical” opinion is coloured by his taste and preferences of 90s-00s music. and I didn’t say anything about a song deserving a higher score because of lore reasons; if you are so pressed about “technicalities” then you should be equally interested about the, you know, the technical conception that influenced the composition but apparently that’s not the right sort of “technical” we’re looking into while forming our opinions. a lot of the current gen focuses on combining visuals alongside their music (wow, its almost like that’s what the whole of kpop is), and just judging on the technical aspect of the music does not lend to a fully informed opinion. surprisingly ive seen him even mention that the mv either helps or hinders a song and then completely ignore that in favour of ✨️technicality✨️
wow, two whole examples out of hundreds, one that he increased the score later down the line. call me convinced he’s able to actually make decent “technical” observations to form a complete and cohesive opinion.
if it makes you feel better, I wholly agreed with him on opinion on SVT’s Maestro, and, if it ✨️makes you feel better✨️, I also agreed with him on ATEEZ’s Not Okay, and BABY MONSTER’s Sheesh; the fact that I agreed with him more than twice had me shook (with groups I’m a fan of, ~wow~). broken clocks or something like that, I suppose
but these aren’t being touted opinions, these are called “reviews” and if he can’t put all the pieces together, he needs to consider rebranding and being honest that he’s just mouthing off as a wannabe producer and stick to being ignored like the rest of Gen X
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are you using an alt account? because the names are suspiciously similar.
ah who am I kidding? this is clearly trolling and ragebaiting
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First: Nick is allowed to be nitpicky, stubborn, biased, and unreasonable if he wants to be. His view is allowed to be narrow-minded because it only takes his personal views into account. No one has ever denied that Nick is biased — and so are you. This is his blog. If you don’t like it, write your own.
It is neither a flex nor an embarrassment to focus on the technical aspects of music. It is simply Nick’s personality. He writes this blog about K-pop (the music), rather than K-pop (the industry). Someone can study Renaissance art and not Renaissance sociopolitical history, even though they are technically part of the same movement. The mere fact that Kpop is on platforms like Spotify should highlight that it is ultimately sold and available in a non-visual form. The visuals make a huge difference in the overall customer experience, no doubt, but unless you’re saying that it’s illegal to listen to Kpop without watching the music video or looking at the album photoshoots, I fail to see why anyone needs to look at visual content to evaluate audio.
Your entire commentary about how critique on technique should take conceptualization into account makes no sense to me, unless poor technical elements are actually the concept. Otherwise, this is like saying that messy painting technique can’t be criticized without taking the painting’s “story” into account.
Again, this blog reviews music. K-pop consists of many elements, but Nick is only looking at the music element here. Once in a while, he might comment on something tangentially related. He is not, however, going to comment on how cute Hoshi looked in his latest photocards. He is not going to say, “gee, I love that Givenchy coat!” Just like he’s not going to say, “omg was that a reference to the evil cat ???” These may be very important to some fans, and some elements may be more important than others to different people. Just because someone’s opinion of a comeback rests entirely on the music show outfits they’re given doesn’t mean yours has to. Hopefully you learn to be less judgmental about people’s values and interests.
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you do know that this is like. a personal blog on the internet and you can just close the tab and move on? people are entitled to their opinions, you don’t have to follow someone you don’t agree with if it makes you so miserable
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That person thought they ate up that hate comment☹️
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If only this man’s posts would stop popping up when ever I open Google.
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thank you!! you took the words right out of my mouth. this is exactly what i think every time i read this blog. most of the reviews are just filled with complaints about current trends in kpop or where kpop is going, and reviews are positive when the songs call back to the good ol’ days or come from a favorite 2nd or 3rd gen group. also, the clear bias against certain groups just gets ridiculous after a while. you’d think if someone was so sick of certain artists and of an entire generation of kpop, they would stop listening and spending so much time writing entire reviews just to complain after a while…
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And he has the audacity to act all surprised Pikachu face when he gets called out because he thinks that tossing in an indifferent, backhanded compliment makes up for his noticeable disdain for a group or particular style.
ooOoOo ‘it’s the Bias liiiist, it’s just my opinioooon’ sir, you are so tired. Just move on already, you are clearly miserable and missing the good old days. Pack it up, pookie.
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“the clear bias against certain groups just gets ridiculous after a while. you’d think if someone was so sick of certain artists and of an entire generation of kpop, they would stop listening and spending so much time writing entire reviews just to complain after a while” the thing is, Nick gives EVERY group and generation a chance. If Nick was ACTUALLY biased against a certain group, they would not have reviewed that group’s new song, or spam it with one’s. Even groups like Xdinary Heroes and EPEX, have 8+ songs, and Nick isn’t really a fan of their discographies
Also, you clearly have NOT done your research because a lot of songs this year (mostly from June and January) got really positive reviews. Also, there are tracks that doesn’t really fit Nick’s taste, but get high scores anyway because of something (Whether that be instrumental, a sfx, high vocal, or overall just a consistent sound).
My point is this, you are either not doing your research on the blog, or you are a troll.
Have a good day
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Right, cause even LAY, who’s infamous for getting 3s and 4s in this site, too got songs in high 7s to low 8s, which is still good 😭 if Nick was that biased, he’d prolly never review XH after Hair Cut, or xikers after Koong, or ETERNITY after I’m Real or several others that got low ratings here 😭😭😭
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i’m just confused why you, a fan of stray kids, who he has knocked more than once for being too “clever”, are defending him so hard?? giving one or two songs from an artist he doesn’t like an 8+ does not erase all the other songs which would have definitely gotten higher ratings had they been by an artist he likes. ratings are on average so much lower now than they were before, why? because a larger chunk of the songs released nowadays are not released by the artists he likes, and he is getting tired of the current generation and its trends. also, i have indeed done my research and i’ve been casually reading his reviews for a couple years. my point still stands. the songs that receive higher ratings are either songs by favorite artists from the good ol’ days, songs that remind him of his favorite artists from the good ol’ days, or songs that fit into his extremely narrow idea of what makes a good song, which is based on what songs used to be like in the good ol’ days.
i get that the site is called theBIASlist, but passing off heavily biased opinions on individual songs which are largely tainted by views on the artist themselves as well as how well the song compares to a template of an “ideal song”–based on what songs used to be like back in the 2nd and 3rd gen days–as legitimate reviews…?
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”giving one or two songs from an artist he doesn’t like an 8+ does not erase all the other songs which would have definitely gotten higher ratings had they been by an artist he likes”
Please, Siren by Riize and Rata-tat-tat by Golden Child, both being groups Nick is fond of or praises or gives high ratings often, were not well-received by him in any shape or form, both getting a 6.5 (Nick’s possible rating for Siren) and a straight 6 respectively. Or NCT Dream, who too are viewed favourably by Nick, got the dishonourable F-grade (5.5) with Smoothie. If any other group released the three songs, he’d give it the same rating.
He has his own preferences, he grew up with certain kinds of music, and tastes are subjective. Sure, I sometimes don’t agree with his ratings from time to time, but that doesn’t mean mine or his opinions are inferior. We’re just here to discuss our opinions on songs anyways, which will be influenced by our personal preferences.
And he IS open to new sounds. ITZY, who opened the door for teen crush and had a slightly bratty image in their music, were viewed very favourably for their first three comebacks (Dalla Dalla and Wannabe both got a 9, a really high rating!). Or ATEEZ or SKZ, known for their hype shout-a-thons or chant-a-thons, too were favourably viewed. He doesn’t seem to be a fan when these kinds of sounds are overused and replicated again and again to the point it gets stale.
And also, just because ultimatestraykidsdefender is a Stay, doesn’t mean they are gonna like everything SKZ puts out, they can still be a fan and not like a few songs from time to time. It’s normal 🙃
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I get what you’re saying, and it’s true that Nick is someone who has a well-defined taste in music. But I respect him for giving all new music a try anyway, why is quite honestly more than I can say for many K-pop fans, myself included. I think he is probably more well-informed on what is going on in the industry music-wise than most of us.
I don’t actually share all Nick’s taste in music, but I generally think his critique is valid. He may find something boring that I don’t, and he may enjoy a formulaic structure more than I do. I still think his observations are worth noting and interesting, especially given that he is so well-versed in K-pop’s development over time.
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He’s clearly not done the research, cause if he did, he wouldn’t repeat the phrase “tired of current generation trends” or whatever along those lines, because if anyone likes the current generation, the 5th one, it’s this blog. He’s given mostly positive reviews to it’s biggest flag bearers, even BND who got somewhat mid reviews last year is getting praises this year. Plus litteraly Infinite and Namu himself had comebacks, and they got 7s. Plus Ateez and Skz had years here where they would top the year end lists.
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Good God. If you don’t like what he’s saying that intensely, move on. What difference does one man’s opinion mean to you? Who cares if he doesn’t like certain groups and likes the 2nd gen sound? It makes absolutely no difference in the grand scheme of things. There’s plenty I don’t agree with but I still enjoy reading this blog. If you don’t stop torturing yourself and find something else.
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hey!! so actually, just like you have your opinions, so can he. reviews don’t have to be positive, that’s why there’s a scale. also, c’s aren’t necessarily an AWFUL rating, “pookie.” i sometimes get a little offended when he rates some of my favs semi-poorly, but i remind myself calmly that he’s some random guy on the internet. pulling insane hostility out of your butt just because you can’t take a rating that’s below your standards is completely unreasonable, but you do you.
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Speak the truth! @GET OVER IT
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Meh, nothing stands out to me minus the chorus (which is kinda self-explanatory cause it is an important part of a song and is usually repeated thrice or twice or even four times) and that annoying ass brass that sounds like someone tried blocking it with a cork or rubber (-｡-;)
Anyways, it’s so damn monotonous for a song that’s apparently meant to hype you up, nothing sadly appeals to me (¬_¬)
I’d only put longevity a point down cause I don’t think I’d bother listening to it again, making it a 6.75. (P.S, Work’s a 7.25 for me now, from a flat 7, production’s an 8 now for me)
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nick do you have any meat loaf song recommendations, seeing hes one of your favorite artists? the only one i’ve listened to so far is i’ll do anything for love (a classic)
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Oh wow listen to his magnum opus Bat Out Of Hell all the way through first because it’s such a classic.
Then move onto Bat Out Of Hell II, the sequel. It’s not as consistent but it’s still really good and benefits from the more modern production.
Other albums are patchier, but I’d listen to Nowhere Fast (though I prefer the Fire Inc. version) and Modern Girl from the Bad Attitude album, Dead Ringer For Love (his duet with Cher!) from Dead Ringer and for more recent stuff I’d check out Testify and Tear Me Down (a Hedwig & the Angry Inch cover!) from Couldn’t Have Said It Better.
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“Paradise by the dashboard light” is the other original classic.
We used to pass the cassette tape around back when and make bootlegs of Bat out of Hell. Amazing it sold so many legit copies too., because all I heard were bootlegs. (Wikipedia says 43 million copies!)
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Nick, sorry for commenting somewhat off-topic, but I was wondering if you’d be interested in reviewing Gyubin’s music? She’s a young soloist who debuted officially this year and dropped a new song a few days ago. I personally really liked her debut track, very straightforward bubblegum pop that reminded me of the Disney Channel, in a good way. Her vocals are very clean too.
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I really like Gyubin’s music, too. I’ve been following her closely since debut. I don’t realise she sounded disney-esque until you mentioned it…. nice! I’m new here, do you have any idea the kind of music Nick reviews because I had been expecting him to review Small Girl by Lee Youngji ft D.O but there was nothing
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Sorry for the late response, I don’t know, I think Nick makes sure to cover all the big releases and other stuff just depends on if he’s too busy.
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No worries, thank you for the reply. Okay, I understand!!
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Oh my god, this comments section is 90% a fight, 9% other singers and one comment from me discussing this comeback, and now this comment of me summarizing this comments section. 😭 I fear a PTD or Nxde comments section repeating methinks (O_O)
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What is ptd?
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It’s permission to dance by bts isn’t it🫣😬
I just realized that ☠️
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Yeah it is 😭
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What I like best about this song is that it brought Be:First to my attention and now I’m curious. Also this mv is giving me a bad case of uncanny valley. Am I crazy? Am I watching real people?
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I haven’t been a fan of ‘angry guys shouting over clanging beats’ subgenre. I got curious and listened to this but personally, couldn’t get myself to like it at all. Just not my cup of tea again..
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