Fun K-pop stuff tends to happen on my birthday. I share the day with my all-time favorite K-pop song The Chaser, as it was released exactly twelve years ago. Then last year, rookie group The Wind made their debut on May 15th. I still question why I didn’t feature any of the b-sides from that … Continue reading
If there’s one overriding trend in K-pop marketing this year, it’s double title tracks and pre-releases. It seems like every major idol group has several promoted tracks from their newest album. IVE released HEYA several weeks ago to great success, but we all knew Accendio was lurking just around the corner to satisfy fans who … Continue reading
Yesterday’s Supernova was a fantastic return for aespa and hopes are high that their upcoming title track Armageddon will be even better. Between these two behemoths, the group has unveiled a surprise music video for album b-side Long Chat (#♥). You really have to see this video to believe it. If my review focused on … Continue reading
JYP groups have always achieved great success in Japan and that has expanded to the agency’s very own J-pop acts NiziU and NEXZ. ITZY haven’t had quite as many promotional opportunities in this market as their agency peers, but new single Algorhythm continues their push. For me, the most notable aspect about Algorhythm is its … Continue reading
I write about a ton of K-pop songs — often several a day. I have a pretty good memory for music, but there is definitely a subset of tracks I can’t recall weeks (or days… or even hours…) after hearing them. That category is growing as K-pop melodies flatten and new groups become ubiquitous. WHIB … Continue reading
I really wanted to love DXMON’s debut because their spiky red hair styling was too crazy to pass up, but both Burn Up and Spark felt like underdeveloped copies of better boy group tracks. This time, the spiky hair is gone but the eccentricities have transferred to the music. Girls, Love Boys, Love Girls (소년…소녀를 … Continue reading
ENHYPEN’s Fatal Trouble is part of a “special album” tied to their Dark Moon storyline. This series comprises music videos, webtoons and web novels. It may be lost on those of us who are casual fans, but these days every K-pop group needs to have lore and ENHYPEN’s apparently includes vampires, werewolves and blood alters. … Continue reading
ZEROBASEONE’s jubilant Sweat premiered a few weeks too early to fully capitalize on the summer season, but offered a taste of the upbeat energy the group would pursue on their new album. Title track Feel The Pop retains an upbeat sense of joy, but tempers the intensity by returning to the muted palette of their … Continue reading
As K-pop’s global popularity has increased, so has the use of samples from pop music history. A decade ago, the idea of sampling a Western pop song felt pretty rare, but there have been a number of recent hits built upon hooks from decades past. aespa’s pre-release Supernova samples Afrika Bambaataa’s 1982 classic Planet Rock, … Continue reading
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
A K-pop act’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. Sometimes, b-sides deserve recognition too. In the singles-oriented world of K-pop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. tripleS’s first full album has a … Continue reading
We are now four tracks into ARTMS’s debut album and my song ratings remain fixed in the “7’s.” I’m beginning to suspect their sound may not be for me. New track Air is unlikely to overhaul that, but we’re getting a little closer! Air is underlined by a percolating beat with touches of brass and … Continue reading
For awhile, there was some question whether BTS members would enlist in the military, given the breadth of their achievements and the valuable soft power they’d developed for South Korea. The enlistments ended up happening, but the music still flows during their hiatus as RM becomes the latest to release “new” material without being able … Continue reading
Somehow, Charlie Puth has become a go-to K-pop collaborator. He romped around with BTS’s Jungkook in 2022 and now he’s coaxed Stray Kids out of their typical hard-hitting style to craft something slinkier and understated. I enjoyed most of Charlie Puth’s 2018 album Voicenotes, but he’s also written a fair amount of songs that are … Continue reading
Alongside their full group comeback Maestro, Seventeen’s specialized units are also releasing music videos for their new songs. First up is the hip-hop team with LALALI. I’ve become increasingly weary of song titles that are little more than a series of “la las,” but this sub-unit has delivered surprises before. LALALI makes boisterous use of … Continue reading
BTOB’s Yook Sungjae has found great success as an actor and variety star, but hasn’t been as active as a solo musician. He made his solo debut in 2020, weeks before his mandatory military enlistment. Four years later, he’s back with a new single album and title track Be Somebody. Sungjae has a powerful voice … Continue reading
I considered relegating &TEAM’s Samidare to my J-pop round-up on Sunday, but the group is notable enough to K-pop fans to warrant at least a mini-review. After all, they’re the guys who gave us last year’s double whammy of Firework and Dropkick — both of which were 2023 highlights. As far as HYBE boy groups … Continue reading
Gosh, remember UP10TION? Their peak era seems much further in the past than it actually is. The group delivered a bunch of bangers and will eternally be part of my summer playlist with the classic Tonight. While promoting in the group, Lee Dongyeol went by the name Xiao. Now, it’s finally time for him to … Continue reading
“Baekho and BIGONE” sounds like the name of a really inappropriate sitcom, but it’s actually a pairing of two distinct artists. On paper, this collaboration feels very unexpected. How does the slinky idol pop of an ex-Nu’est member meet the rambunctious rock of an indie startup? They’re not even from the same agency, so I’m … Continue reading
It feels like tripleS have been dropping releases every other month, but this is actually their first comeback as a full group. Apart from last years’ Assemble, everything else has been performed in sub-units. Girls Never Die brings together all twenty four (!) members. With that level of participation, you might expect the track to … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 