Some groups function solely as a collective while others feel more like a series of successful soloists making music together. After years of promoting their individual work, Mamamoo have transformed into the latter — a supergroup of sorts. It’s been almost four years since we’ve seen them come together for new music, making 4 Flowers … Continue reading
1. Atmos // 2. Hours // 3. Possibility // 4. Anti Believer // 5. Still Raining // 6. Thousand Miles Away POSSIBILITY A song like Possibility, with its uplifting lyrics, could easily come across as cheesy. Yet something about SHINee’s layered vocal adds gravitas that makes the song feel much more transcendent. It’s not my … Continue reading
1. Atmos // 2. Hours // 3. Possibility // 4. Anti Believer // 5. Still Raining // 6. Thousand Miles Away HOURS This mini album was billed as a showcase of SHINee’s signature charm, which is really a gift for fans. If an act has mastered a sound or genre, there’s no reason not to … Continue reading
With each release, I’m more convinced that VVS is some kind of psyop meant to test the limits of fans’ blind idolatry and the industry’s willingness to appropriate hip-hop culture. How else do you describe BOTTLE$? The moment its “chorus” first dropped, all I could do was laugh. A song like this is difficult to … Continue reading
Remember that brief moment when N.Flying were a chart-topping, A-list band? It seems almost like a fever dream now, but the guys have hung around and continued to release music that plays to their strengths. I still prefer the goofier concepts of their debut era, but new single In Between Seasons (환절기 (換節期)) is a … Continue reading
There’s something admirable about a K-pop act from a small agency who just keeps on churning out material. XODIAC has never been in conversation with the big leagues of the industry, but they’ve released several comebacks a year since their debut in 2023. The quality of these songs has varied, and new single Phantom Fire … Continue reading
Despite being a huge presence in K-pop, I get the sense that most newer fans are not be familiar with Kim Junsu. If there’s one soloist’s discography I’d point them toward, it’s his. Songs like Flower, Tarantallegra and Rock The World should be a part of everyone’s music library. Junsu doesn’t come back often with … Continue reading
Japanese mega-girl group/collective Sakurazaka46 recently released a few stunning singles, which got me thinking about what a 20+ member group can sound like. In my mind, the music should be as immense as the configuration, and I haven’t often felt that way about tripleS’s output. Their songs feel too small for their concept, and I … Continue reading
Three years ago, Fifty Fifty’s Cupid brought them global attention. But just like a bubble (see what I did there?), their prospects burst when the group fractured. This new group configuration has been flooding the market with material but nothing’s yet recaptured the public interest of Cupid. New single Like A Bubble is unlikely to … Continue reading
Recently, I’ve been ranking K-pop artists against each other based on their singles runs and I was surprised how high Treasure ended up. This isn’t because I dislike the group. I just can’t immediately point toward one big highlight in their discography. For me, they’ve been a firm, reliable act that rarely propels to the … Continue reading
With each new release, I’ve appreciated MEOVV’s music more and more. They’ve yet to deliver a song that’s completely captured me, but they have a sound that feels much needed in K-pop right now. Even with this goodwill, as soon as I spot a song title like “DDI RO RI” my mind goes to the … Continue reading
Plenty of K-pop acts have imperial phases that last a year or two, but very few maintain such a stellar track record as SHINee’s. Apart from the (very) occasional misstep, they’ve been churning out K-pop classics since 2008. Their comebacks are far more infrequent these days, but a new SHINee album is still guaranteed to … Continue reading
Here’s the thing about Cortis: I really want to like their music. I think REDRED is genuinely fantastic and what I’ve seen of the members filling in for host duties on weekly music shows has been very charming. I like the idea of young creators coming in to offer something a bit different than the … Continue reading
It’s been almost a year since BoA released a Japanese single, though to be fair this is an English-language song that just happened to be released in Japan. She’s the original crossover artist, with huge hits and sprawling discographies on either side of the Sea of Japan, and we can safely add Ain’t No Hard … Continue reading
If you were worried there wasn’t already enough Anderson .Paak in K-pop, I’ve got good news for you. He’s developed a comedy film called K-Pops! and features on the soundtrack alongside many popular Korean acts. I’m not very clued in about the specifics of the film, but it seems that it first screened two years … Continue reading
I have such mixed feelings abound aespa in 2026. They are undoubtedly one of the most influentual girl groups of this era, but their influence has been both positive and negative. Songs like Supernova and Whiplash helped usher in a higher BPM and more electronic-centered soundscape for K-pop, yet they also promoted a talk-heavy style … Continue reading
The Y2K trend has been done to death in K-pop and the songs themselves rarely sound all that Y2K anymore. Girl group Queenz Eye seem to believe there’s room for even more nostalgia, naming their new single after the era. It’s funny (and sad) that after years of this Y2K fever we still haven’t gotten … Continue reading
ONEWE have been churning out new music quite frequently over the past few years. They’re a firmly established band now, albiet one without a defining chart hit that would place them within the pantheon of well-known idol bands. Their sound tends to be a bit more cerebral, though they’ve attempted big pop hits in the … Continue reading
New girl group Heart Of Woman have debuted in an unusual way: with a full, thirteen-track album. This used to be a much more common approach in K-pop, but these days single albums (or even digital singles) are much more the norm — especially for new girl groups. This breadth of material offers opportunity to … Continue reading
H//PE Princess took the unusual approach of releasing their title track weeks before the mini album dropped. Stolen was a repetitive but weirdly enjoyable take on retro hip-hop, but follow-up One Day reveals a new side to the group. For an act billed as a ‘hip-hop girl group,’ they’ve got some solid vocalists on their … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 