Before I take a brief look at many of K-pop’s smaller agencies, there are a few that I have more to say about. Consider these “bonus” write-ups — shorter than the “big four” but longer than a paragraph or two could cover. As usual, the thoughts below are my own and aren’t privy to any … Continue reading
There have been a few acts this year who have subverted my expectations in great ways. Leading that pack are NOWZ, who rebranded from “Nowadays” earlier this year and have finally been given great material. Both Fly To The Youth and Everglow were fantastic summer highlights and converted me into a fast fan. Now, they’re … Continue reading
The year in K-pop is slowly winding down and we’re squeezing out the last few releases before eligibility for my year-end countdown closes. Girl group RESCENE found their way onto last year’s countdown with the catchy Love Attack, but I’ve struggled to connect with any of their 2025 work. Earlier this month, they dropped a … Continue reading
In keeping with their enormous group configuration, tripleS have blitzed us with an equally enormous fleet of comebacks today. “msnz” is a “universe” within tripleS (their words, not mine) with four “dimensions,” each of which has released their own song and music video. I rarely have enough stamina to write about four tracks from even … Continue reading
In keeping with their enormous group configuration, tripleS have blitzed us with an equally enormous fleet of comebacks today. “msnz” is a “universe” within tripleS (their words, not mine) with four “dimensions,” each of which has released their own song and music video. I rarely have enough stamina to write about four tracks from even … Continue reading
In keeping with their enormous group configuration, tripleS have blitzed us with an equally enormous fleet of comebacks today. “msnz” is a “universe” within tripleS (their words, not mine) with four “dimensions,” each of which has released their own song and music video. I rarely have enough stamina to write about four tracks from even … Continue reading
In keeping with their enormous group configuration, tripleS have blitzed us with an equally enormous fleet of comebacks today. “msnz” is a “universe” within tripleS (their words, not mine) with four “dimensions,” each of which has released their own song and music video. I rarely have enough stamina to write about four tracks from even … Continue reading
Whenever a group I enjoy states they’ll be releasing a song that “sounds nothing like anything we’ve done before,” I get nervous. Yes, I want groups to push outside the box and experiment with new sounds, but in K-pop “nothing like we’ve ever done before” tends to mean attempting some (bad) global trend an agency … Continue reading
Sometimes it takes a few songs for a group’s sound to totally click with me. I enjoyed ILLIT’s 2024 megahit Magnetic as much as anyone, but it wasn’t until this year’s fanciful Do The Dance that I totally understood what the group could be. Lately, their music has veered closer to third-gen groups like Lovelyz … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. In 2025, I thought I’d try something new and add a weekly feature to supplement my monthly round-up. Each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And … 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
Rather than contain my “Risers and Fallers” feature to a single post in June, I’m going to share a bite-sized version at the end of each month. This will let me account for more songs and make a nice lead-in to the monthly round-up post. I anticipate most of these ratings adjustments will be negligible: … 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. NCT Dream’s Beat It Up grew … Continue reading
Out of curiosity, I went back to see the last time I was genuinely excited about a Stray Kids track (ie: rated it an 8.5 or higher), and that turned out to be all the way back in 2022 with their Mixtape track Time Out (which wasn’t really promoted beyond a music video). Since then, … Continue reading
I remember a time where male idols went off to serve their mandatory military conscription and didn’t (or weren’t allowed?) to promote during this hiatus. Nowadays, it’s common for these idols to pre-record entire albums and videos to dole out while they’re away. The only thing that’s missing are music show performances! Cha Eunwoo enlisted … Continue reading
When last we heard from girl group VVUP, they were inviting us to their house party — over, and over, and over again. That pre-release promised upbeat sounds for their first mini album and the colorful (and very LOUD) video for title track Super Model certainly backs that up. We’re in full camp territory here, … Continue reading
One of my biggest pieces of advice for any newly debuted group is: don’t give the public time to forget about you. Starship Entertainment seem to agree when it comes to their promotions for IDID. The group actively promoted and performed their debut track for almost two months and now they’re extending that blitz with … Continue reading
It’s that time of year again! While December is filled with year-end countdowns, I like to take a look back at some of K-pop’s biggest agencies during November. Before reading (especially if you’re new to the blog), it’s helpful to know that my grading focuses most heavily on music releases and how comebacks are managed … Continue reading
The apostrophe-averse Baby DONT Cry debuted earlier this year with two promoted songs and a fun, upbeat sound in need of development. Several months later, they’re back with the defiant I DONT CARE. Music aside, it’s become clear that the group’s management doesn’t care about the rules of capitalization and punctuation. I’d love to hear … Continue reading
This is a repost of my “buried treasure” write-up for this song since it’s now been given a music video and extra promotion. I don’t always repost these, but given BABYMONSTER’s popularity it makes sense to push this back to the top of the blog. It also gives me a chance to re-evaluate the song, … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 