K-pop’s title tracks might gain most of listeners’ attention, but many album tracks are worth equal spotlight. I call these “buried treasures.”
Beyond this, K-pop’s albums deliver thousands of additional tracks that settle for a more limited audience. It’s these songs that will become a part of my “battle of the b-sides” feature.
In this feature, I’ll be putting on my A&R hat and taking a listen to five randomly-selected K-pop b-sides. I’ll write a mini review for each, including a Bias List rating, and rank them from least to most favorite. The winner will join a special Bias List B-side playlist. Think of it like my own little agency, hand-selecting songs I’d like to pitch to my nonexistent artists!
You can check out all rounds of my Battle of the B-sides here!
Battle of the B-sides: Round Seventy-One
Son Dam Bi – Even If It’s the Second Time (2009)
Son Dam Bi had a pretty good thing going with her 80s-nodding synthpop largely produced by Brave Brothers. In fact, she’s one of those artists who were massive in her time yet largely goes unremembered now (at least by international fans. I think she’s far more known in Korea). This b-side glistens with the retro sparkle you’d want from an 80s pastiche. At nearly four minutes, it feels like an epic by today’s standards. This runtime allows for plenty of instrumental space that envelops the simple melodies with plenty of texture. I just want to dive into the song and swim around for a bit.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.5 |
LOONA – OOPS! (2020)
LOONA were really ahead of their time when it comes to musical trends, and I suspect that’s one of the many reasons they have such a devoted fanbase. The muted palettes of their songs never appealed to me as strongly, even if I can appreciate what the producers were going for. OOPS! is heavy on the sing-talk and chanted affirmations, which is another approach I tend to struggle with. I dig some of the synth brass, but the percussion is a bit brittle and the hooks just don’t do much for me.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7 |
fromis_9 – My Night Routine (2023)
There are songs like this on most idol albums. It’s a chance to bring the tempo down and focus on vibes or (preferably) vocals. My Night Routine is what I would call “music to study to.” In other words, it’s designed as pleasant atmosphere to soundtrack any moment you’d like to calm your mind. Your night routine, maybe? As such, I view it as a functional track. It serves a purpose, but I rarely listen to pop music with this purpose in mind so it’s kind of lost on me.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7 |
MAP6 – Closer (2017)
Oh wow, this is a blast from the past! MAP6 barely released any music, making it a small triumph that one of their few b-sides actually came up on shuffle for this future. The song skirts the line between third and fourth generation tropes. The chorus has a very Beast/Highlight-esque melody while the verses are more fitful and focused on attitude. I certainly prefer the former, but both approaches struggle to congeal into a satisfying whole.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
Twice – Do It Again (2015)
It’s funny… I remember disliking most of Twice’s debut album when it first came out. Looking back after so many years as a dominant force in K-pop, it’s a little strange to hear these formative tracks. I’m not a huge fan of the singing style on this and some of the electronic samples are less-than-pleasant, but now that I know where the group was headed I can laugh off a track like this as fun, unserious growing pains. It’s still not something I’m likely to return to often, but it’s got a bit of groove to it.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
My Verdict:
Fifth: fromis_9 – My Night Routine
Fourth: LOONA – OOPS!
Third: Twice – Do It Again
Second: MAP6 – Closer
First: Son Dam Bi – Even If It’s the Second Time
Congratulations to Son Dam Bi’s Even If It’s the Second Time – the seventy-first winner of my Battle of the B-sides!
Readers, what do you think? Did you discover any hidden gems? Leave your own ranking in the comments!
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
So after some time on this blog, one of the most intriguing behind the scenes questions I’ve wondered is how many playlists you’ve cultivated, and for what purposes. As far as I can tell, you’ve got a 9+ super hits playlist, but also a playlist you add acceptable newer material to.
I guess my biggest question is, how big is the playlist you use for this feature that we’ve got b-sides coming up from decades ago as well as b-sides that are rated 7. It must be tens of thousands!
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I’m old school and still use iTunes music library and star ratings to organize playlists. And yes, I have hundreds of them (which is one of the reasons my iTunes runs so slow!!).
For this feature, I use a playlist that includes every K-pop song in my library (currently at 19,357). I also have one for five star ratings (which equate to 9+ ratings on this blog) that sits at 712 right now.
Strangely enough, I don’t have a playlist of all the K-pop songs I like (4-star rating or more), but I do have hundreds of other ones that only include those higher rated songs but break it down by artist, generation, bg/gg, producer, year, play count, etc.).
Basically… I’m a stats and playlist geek, which probably won’t surprise any reader of this blog!
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Your mammoth playlist has a runtime of over 40 days, or over 2 months if you account for 8 hours of sleep and nonstop listening. There are likely multiple songs in there you will never hear again, and that’s just kpop…
I wish I still had my itunes but the recovery emails are all deleted and the music may have been all ill gotten plunder from sailing the seas anyway, so to speak.
Thanks for sharing the madness underneath the hood. 🙂
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Yep! I’m a musical packrat, and the K-pop part of my library is just one piece. I also have a cool app on my phone called “Offtrack” where you can select a playlist and it will shuffle through, playing 30-60 seconds of a song before crossfading into another. Sometimes I enjoy listening like this to get the most musical bang for my buck in a nonstop mix. I keep on top of my playlists so that I can get really specific, like only playing pop music from the year 2003 or 90s music produced by Max Martin or “Gen 1 K-pop” or Finnish pop.
If you couldn’t already tell, I could happily discuss this for days! haha
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personally, listening to 30-60 seconds only of a song would drive me nuts haha.
As you seem to have a good head for remembering genres or specific musical types, the targeted playlists sound like they really help you listen to the music you want when you want. I’m a little jealous, most of the time I’ll hear a song on a random shuffle and have an epiphany and wonder why I haven’t thought of listening to them for a year.
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5. fromis_9 – My Night Routine – 6
4. Twice – Do It Again – 7
3. LOONA – OOPS! – 7.25
2. MAP6 – Closer – 7.25 – I want to like this more but something about the production bugs me. Too flat maybe? Vocals need some massaging?
1. Son Dam Bi – Even If It’s the Second Time – 8.25
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it rlly is crazy just how ahead of the curve loona were musically….# and ++ (especially the former) r still some of the very best kpop minis of all time imo
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