IMFACT is a new boy group from the infamous Star Empire agency, also home to acts like ZE:A and Nine Muses. I’m a big fan of both of those groups, though I realize that their debut songs were less than amazing. IMFACT continues this pattern, making a bizarre debut with Lollipop. The song attempts to … Continue reading
Most of the time, a kpop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, sometimes b-sides deserve recognition, too. In the singles-oriented world of kpop, I wanted to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. Airplane is a song from f(x)’s 2013 album Pink Tape. It’s … Continue reading
As stylish and charismatic a figure as Kim Jaejoong is within the Korean entertainment industry, I’ve always found his solo music to be melodically lightweight. Other than the heavy goth concept of Mine, none of his past singles felt particularly impactful. That’s not to say that they’re bad. It’s more an admission that, to me at … Continue reading
Road Boyz impressed me with their debut track Show Me Bang Bang last November, and now they’re back with follow-up single Be My Love. Despite being from a small agency without many resources for promotion, they’ve managed, at least, to secure the most important aspect: good songs. Be My Love won’t win any awards for … Continue reading
VIXX has recently embarked on a push into Japan, and Depend On Me is their second original Japanese single. I thought the first, Can’t Say, was a catchy piece of pop and was happy with the general direction they were going, but Depend On Me does it one step better. VIXX is well known for … Continue reading
Zico has been incredibly prolific over the past few months, releasing single after single. As a big fan of his group Block B, I’m just a little bitter that his solo career seems to be taking precedence over a full group comeback, but you can’t blame the guy. Everything he releases climbs straight to the … Continue reading
There’s no denying the fact that girl group GFriend’s speedy rise to fame has been nothing short of astounding. They debuted around this time last year without any real fanfare. And with a name like “GFriend,” I didn’t exactly have my hopes up. But like the good kpop fan I am, I took a look at … Continue reading
Beast are a six-member boy group who made their debut in October of 2009 with Cube Entertainment. Since then, they’ve been at the forefront of the hallyu wave as one of the biggest Korean groups — male of female. As far as bias, the guys have some of my favorite personalities of all idol groups (and are … Continue reading
The guys of 2PM have been in the kpop scene in one form or another for over seven years, which means that the time is drawing near for their mandatory 2-year military conscription. As such, I fully expect that we’ll be hearing a lot from them for the next year or so, and that starts … Continue reading
Most of the time, a kpop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, sometimes b-side tracks deserve recognition, too. In the singles-oriented world of kpop, I wanted to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. Reason is a song from MyName’s 2015 2nd Mini … Continue reading
In honor of Teen Top’s new single and mini album (which sadly will not feature on this list) I thought it was a good time to look back at their singles run. To give you a bit of background, Teen Top is a group that I like quite a bit, but has never crossed into … Continue reading
I feel like it’s that age old dilemma. As the global popularity of kpop has grown over the years, more and more online vendors have sprung up to satiate our needs. It can sometimes be confusing picking which store to go for. What’s the cheapest option? Which gives you the quickest shipping? I won’t be … Continue reading
Amoeba Culture is really a label on the rise. Fueled by the incredible success of Zion.T, they’ve cultivated a stable of artists that are at the forefront of Korean r&b. While not having the same unique character to his vocals as Zion.T, Crush has already proven himself a hitmaker despite being a relatively fresh debut. … Continue reading
The Legend is one of those kpop boy groups who just hasn’t been able to establish a solid sound for themselves. This has caused my opinion of their music to veer pretty wildly from release to release. I loved their Shadow from last summer, but thought November’s Nail was a total bore. Luckily, Crush On … Continue reading
It’s been awhile since we’ve heard one of these cross-genre, mash-up type of singles. There was a time when it was kind of a trend, exemplified by Girls’ Generation’s mega-hit I Got A Boy. The formula is a difficult one, and its success rests on how well the song’s disparate elements are fused together. As … Continue reading
Let’s get the strange stuff out of the way first. The concept of this song is “finger love,” as the guys remind us over and over again in English. I know what they mean, but I can’t help but feel that this phrase’s more…adult… connotations were lost in translation! Now on to the song, … Continue reading
The second of News’ double a-side single releases, Hikari No Shizuku, which translates to Drop Of Light, is a very different beast from their other single, Touch. In short, it’s a traditional News ballad, making use of the guys’ powerful harmonies and performance style. As a ballad, it’s not the best they’ve ever released, but it’s … Continue reading
When it comes to kpop, it’s easy to focus solely on the glossy and creative music videos, but kpop stars and groups have also been giving us amazing live performances year after year. For the first entry in my Great Performances feature, I had to start with Infinite. I’m sure I’ll spotlight more than a … Continue reading
I feel like you have to be in the right mood to properly enjoy a Korean ballad. More often than not, they adhere to a very specific (some would say schmaltzy) formula that fits best as the background to a k-drama. However, this particular ballad carries a bit of a different pedigree to it, given … Continue reading
Girl group Stellar have been engaged in quite a provocative push and pull with the kpop world ever since their debut. They’ve veered wildly from flourescent bubblegum, to in-your-face sexuality, to demure penance for their in-your-face sexuality, and finally back to all-out “sex sells.” Last year’s Vibrato, with its downright uncomfortable music video, was their … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 