Jo Kwon, of JYP’s 2AM, is known by many as a “variety idol.” This is due to his bright, outgoing personality and uncanny ability to make a total fool of himself. Embracing elements of camp and gender reversal like very few of his peers, he’s a unique and important figure in kpop. But, you’re not going … Continue reading
Girl group Rainbow have been kicking around the kpop world for quite some time now, finding great success in their first few years but struggling as of late. They’ve traversed through cute concepts, sexy concepts, and darker, more electronic terrain, and now they’ve returned with Whoo — a blast of pure, unadulterated pop. Other than admiring … Continue reading
Sometimes you know exactly how a song is going to sound before you even start listening to it. Cook For You brings together Starship Entertainment’s roster of male soloists. K.Will is known for his ballads and midtempos, Junggigo is most famous for being Soyou’s duet partner on the mega-hit Some, and Jooyoung and Brother Su have … Continue reading
Just based on a casual look through social media, I can already tell that Vancouver’s Exo’luXion stop is becoming infamous for all the wrong reasons. Still, I wanted to give my thoughts since I was in attendance last night. Before I start, I have to preface by saying that, while Exo were actually one of the groups … Continue reading
Of all Korean girl groups, Girls’ Generation has the longest catalog of title tracks. They’re one of the few kpop acts who have managed tremendous success in Japan, and most of their j-pop singles are as good (or better) than their Korean material. Throughout their lengthy career, they’ve tackled almost every color of kpop, from … Continue reading
Chocolate is a song released as part of veteran singer Yoon Jong Shin’s year-long collaboration project. He previously worked with Epik High’s Tablo, and now he’s composed a track for Seventeen’s vocal unit. Jong Shin doesn’t actually sing on Chocolate, so it’s more of a Seventeen sub-unit release than an actual duet. One of the things … Continue reading
After pre-releasing a song a few weeks ago, Kim Jaejoong is back with his new album, No.X. It’s released as he’s serving in the military, so we won’t be seeing any sort of promotion. I’ve noted before that, although I can appreciate his solo material, none of it has really stuck with me in the … Continue reading
As a sub-unit of girl group AOA, AOA Cream is composed of members Chanmi, Hyejeong and Yuna, none of which have received a huge spotlight in the past. I don’t believe for a second that the trio’s suggestive name was an accident. AOA’s ridden the sexy concept to great success, but they’ve had a series of very … Continue reading
For anyone worried that Mamamoo’s upcoming album would be one-note, we now have their second pre-release, the satirical Pride of 1cm. Compared to the gorgeous darkness of I Miss You (review here), 1cm is a total departure in sound and message. Skewering Korean idols’ obsession with height, the track comes across as more of a … Continue reading
As a companion to their just-released Tragedy (review here), KAT-TUN also gave us Atsuku Nare, which translates to Be Motivated, and its accompanying music video. I wasn’t that impressed with Tragedy, but luckily Atsuku adheres to the elements of the group’s music that I prefer. The song was written with athletics in mind, though it doesn’t sound like your … Continue reading
KAT-TUN released my favorite song of 2015 with their epic Dead Or Alive. Since then, they delivered the not-so-great Kiss Kiss Kiss and have been on hiatus for nearly a year. Because of this extended wait, my anticipation for Tragedy was high. However, it hurts my fanboy heart to say that I am thoroughly underwhelmed … 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 want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. Action is a song from Nine Muses’ 2013 mini-album Wild. It … Continue reading
It’s slim kpop pickings due to the Lunar New Year holiday, so I’m turning to a slightly odd source for this review. One Day, One Chance may be recorded by TVXQ’s Changmin, but it’s not a normal single release. The song is taken from SM’s first “hologram musical,” called School OZ. The musical featured many of their … Continue reading
U-Kiss has had a career arc that feels somehow unfulfilled. Despite being a veteran idol group (they debuted all the way back in 2008), their prominence in Korea has really plummeted as they’ve focused their attention on Japan instead. Because of this, they’re a group that many forget actually still exists. This isn’t fair, but it just … Continue reading
(**Outdated list — check out the 2021 update here!) Super Junior are one of the biggest groups in all of Korea, and have developed into legends in the world of kpop. So how do you rate a legend? With Super Junior, it was a little easier than I anticipated. Though they’ve been around for over … Continue reading
Nine Muses are a girl group active under Star Empire. Depending on the stage of their career, the group has consisted of between six and nine members. As of 2016, they’re an eight-person group. For much of their discography, they’ve worked with production team Sweetune. This has given them a remarkably consistent singles run, even … Continue reading
Of all the top ten lists I’ll write, Infinite’s will always be the hardest. It’s a real challenge to rank what I consider to be the strongest singles run in all of kpop. Infinite have a sound that is tailor-made to match my taste, and even the singles that didn’t make my list (it was especially … Continue reading
Well, good luck focusing on the song when you have that music video. Borrowing a page from most k-dramas, the nearly seven minute video for Already Winter doesn’t opt for subtlety when it can instead bludgeon its characters’ emotions (and in this case, bodies as well). I’m not sure I’ve seen a kpop music video so dark and … Continue reading
As a former member of girl group Kara, it’s ironic that Nicole has been giving us more Kara-esque releases over the past few years than Kara itself. This is due, in part, to her continuing work with Sweetune, whose bright, poppy style is ideally suited for the Japanese market. As I’ve mentioned before, Sweetune are my absolute … Continue reading
I’ve been a massive fan of pretty much everything GOT7 has released in Korea. Given this, I’m continually baffled with how utterly terrible their Japanese singles have been in comparison. Other than one or two tracks, their jpop persona might as well be that of a completely different band. Yo Moriagatte Yo is the lead track from … Continue reading
