So much about the holidays is rooted in nostalgia. These are ritualistic celebrations, and the most popular holiday songs are usually ones that have accumulated memories over the years. H.O.T’s Candy is not a holiday song, but it makes a weird sort of sense in this context. It’s an oft-covered classic with a ton of … Continue reading
The end of the year countdowns are finally here! As always, we’ll kick off with the big one: The Bias List’s top 50 songs of the year! Each day this week, I’ll be counting down ten of the year’s best, until number one is revealed on Friday. To be eligible for this top 50 list, … Continue reading
Day two of SM Entertainment’s holiday advent calendar is upon us. After Red Velvet and aespa got the ball rolling yesterday, Super Junior are back with another seasonal track. Celebrate also acts as the title of their new mini album, billed as the second half of their eleventh full-length The Road. I can’t imagine grafting … Continue reading
The end of the year countdowns are finally here! As always, we’ll kick off with the big one: The Bias List’s top 50 songs of the year! Each day this week, I’ll be counting down ten of the year’s best, until number one is revealed on Friday. To be eligible for this top 50 list, … Continue reading
Christmas songs. Lots of Christmas songs. That’s pretty much what December in K-pop entails – especially this year. Usually, the month will open with a few big-name releases before devolving into wintery fare, but I think the World Cup has pushed most new comebacks to next year. SM Entertainment seems particularly festive this December, blitzing … Continue reading
The end of the year countdowns are finally here! As always, we’ll kick off with the big one: The Bias List’s top 50 songs of the year! Each day this week, I’ll be counting down ten of the year’s best, until number one is revealed on Friday. To be eligible for this top 50 list, … Continue reading
8LOOM is a fictional idol group starring in TBS’s fall drama “Kimi no Hana ni Naru” (“I Will Be Your Bloom”). I recommend watching if you like cheesy teen dramas with an idol group at the center (spoiler alert: I do). Though 8LOOM is a temporary project to promote the drama, they’ve been releasing music … Continue reading
The end of the year countdowns are finally here! As always, we’ll kick off with the big one: The Bias List’s top 50 songs of the year! Each day this week, I’ll be counting down ten of the year’s best, until number one is revealed on Friday. To be eligible for this top 50 list, … Continue reading
The end of the year on The Bias List always feels like the K-pop Olympics. I spend 365 days writing about every major (and most minor) releases, and it all culminates in a weeks-long celebration of great music. Yes, there was great music in 2022. We also had to wade through a boatload of not-so-great … Continue reading
Longtime readers of The Bias List will know how stingy I am when it comes to rating songs nine and above. But, there’s plenty of music that qualifies. In fact, I’ve got a playlist of over 600 of them sitting in my iTunes. The vast majority of these are singles or title tracks, but there … Continue reading
I’ve listed my “top tens” for many artists, but it’s time to rummage through entire discographies and rank every single from worst to best. This feature will primarily tackle groups who have disbanded or gone on indefinite hiatus. It’s a way for me to re-evaluate my initial thoughts on their singles run. Don’t be surprised … Continue reading
With over 3,000 songs on my iPhone’s “K-Pop Singles” playlist, I thought it would be fun to add a bit of unpredictability to my song review posts. So as a result, we have the “Random Shuffle Review” feature. The rules are simple. I fire up my playlist, press “shuffle,” and whatever song plays first gets … 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. I’m a little late in posting … Continue reading
HYBE’s first Japanese boy group releases their debut album this week. I wasn’t very impressed with &TEAM’s Under The Skin, though in hindsight I was probably a little hard on it. To me, the song felt too much like reheated leftovers from the agency’s other acts. But, the groovier teasers for Scent Of You seemed … Continue reading
One of the coolest things about RM’s Indigo album is that it’s essentially a collaboration project. All but two tracks prominently feature guest artists, and these guests have been plucked from many eras, cultures and countries. None feel extraneous or tacked on for purely commercial reasons. Unlike BTS’s recent slate of English-language department store bops, … Continue reading
The Boyz have had a packed 2022, but only a small fraction of the year was spent promoting a Korean comeback. To tide us over until the next release, they’re back with a special single on the anniversary of their 2017 debut. Yes, we’ve officially entered the month of fan songs and holiday fare. Last … Continue reading
Over the past eight years, SHINee have become known for their solo projects. Members like Taemin and Key developed entire sonic universes of their own. But up until now, Minho hadn’t released an album of his own. To call Chase (놓아줘) “long-awaited” feels like a huge understatement. Sure, he’s recorded a few one-off singles, but … Continue reading
Despite working in the industry for almost twenty-five (!) years, Shinhwa have never promoted an official sub-unit. That changes with the launch of WDJ. Consisting of members Minwoo, Dongwan and Junjin, WDJ’s debut album offers the first new Shinhwa music since 2018. Alongside Kara and Girls’ Generation, 2022 has been a big year for K-pop’s … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
It’s Sunday, which means it’s time to end the week with an open discussion post! To keep things civil, there are a few rules: Be kind and respectful to one another. Any harassing language will be deleted. This is not a place to state what you don’t like about me and/or my blog. Move elsewhere, … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 