Lately, I’ve been following the three ex-EXO members’ Chinese output more closely. It’s been a bit of a mixed bag, with (some of) LuHan’s material coming out on top for me personally. Kris was never my favorite EXO member, and he hasn’t released all that much material since he went solo, but even though his … Continue reading
It’s become routine for almost every successful kpop group to branch out into the Japanese market. Oftentimes the sound is quite different from their Korean material, which makes sense because the bulk of jpop is completely different than kpop. Some artists have a pretty stellar Japanese sound (Girls’ Generation, Myname, 2PM, Infinite), while others frustratingly lower … Continue reading
The second of iKON’s singles to be released on Christmas Eve (and presumably their last for awhile), What’s Wrong follows another classic YG template of anthemic rap-rock. This has brought us one of my favorite kpop songs of all time in G-Dragon’s Crooked, and was most recently heard in Bigbang’s Sober from earlier in the … Continue reading
This is iKON’s sixth single in the space of four months. They’ve really been cranking them out under YG’s new promotional strategy of just blitzing the world with singles before eventually releasing an album. On the plus side, it’s allowed the group to show a lot of different sides to themselves. On the other hand, … Continue reading
I know enough about the history of kpop to understand how big of an influence Turbo had back in the early to mid nineties, and what a big deal it is for them to come back after such a long time. However, what I’ve heard from their 90’s output has been difficult to enjoy. Having … Continue reading
There’s a very specific sound that’s become especially popular this year with Korean girl groups. It’s a bubbly, effervescent pop style that emphasizes bright melody and punctuations of synth that act more like guitar stabs. It’s a high energy mix, and one that groups such as Lovelyz and Gfriend have mastered in 2015. For … Continue reading
EXO have had quite a year in 2015. Honestly, I’ve become more interested in them this year than I have since their debut in 2012. Love Me Right, in particular, was immensely enjoyable. I definitely have a bias towards uptempo tracks, but it seems fitting that the guys would try their hand at a ballad … Continue reading
Seventeen (my favorite debut group of the year), have gifted us a surprise collaboration single with popular solo artist Ailee. Better yet, the song features a unit group of my three favorite members (S.Coups, Vernon & Woozi). Essentially, it’s a light hip-hop track that’s a lot less in your face than their full-group singles. … Continue reading
BTS have really thrown down the gauntlet this year and catapulted to the top tiers of the kpop industry. Their two part project, The Most Beautiful Moment In Life, has so far resulted in the brilliantly evocative I Need U song/music video and extended album trailer. Now we’ve got Run, which is itself a stunning long-form, … Continue reading
This song came out of nowhere. Literally, nowhere. I don’t think Road Boyz (terrible name, by the way) were on anyone’s radar. And nobody’s talking about them, even after the release of this single. They’re from a tiny company and their music video looks like it was shot for about ten bucks, but boy did … Continue reading
EXID is one of a handful of girl groups who have had an amazingly breakout 2015. Like most listeners, I was late to the party and really only fell in love with them this year. Up & Down and Ah Yeah remain unmatchable, even though their new single Hot Pink tries its hardest. It doesn’t … Continue reading
Insensible is an awkward name for a song, but I love me a big power rock ballad. Hongki is the lead vocal of Korean rock group FTIsland, and because of this I was expecting a straight-up rock sound from his new solo album. To my surprise (and delight), the album incorporates a lot more dance … Continue reading
Well, this has got to be one of the strangest major pop releases of the year. It’s not often you hear a pop track based entirely on a classical symphony piece, but Four Musketeers uses Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Rachmaninoff as its backbone, complete with copious breaks for a string section and … Continue reading
I never thought kpop and Star Wars would find a need to combine, but I guess Disney knows what it’s doing in terms of international outreach, because they paired with Korea’s biggest group for a themed track. Now, a short clip of a 2012-ish EXO demo called Lightsaber has been available for some time, but … Continue reading
Rookie boy group HIGH4 have had the most confusing roll-out plan. From what I’ve seen, the rookies that end up with the most success are those who develop an identity quickly and ride the formula out until they’re big enough to experiment a bit. HIGH4 have done the complete opposite, moving from a successful indie duet … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 