One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Wanna Be (from What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim OST – 2018) I’m surprised that GFriend didn’t record more OST songs, especially early in their career. Their light, melodic sound matches dramas well – especially romantic comedies. Wanna Be is pretty effortless in … Continue reading
Battle of the B-Sides: fromis_9, AOA, Kep1er, Twice, miss A
K-pop’s title tracks might gain most of listeners’ attention, but many album tracks are worth equal spotlight. I call these “buried treasures.” Beyond this, K-pop’s albums deliver thousands of additional tracks that settle for a more limited audience. It’s these songs that will become a part of my “battle of the b-sides” feature. In this … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Vacation
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Vacation (from Sunny Summer – 2018) Songs with titles like “Vacation” tend to be fun since they’re seeking to replicate the joy and excitement of being away from home and normal responsibilities. This Vacation equates itself well, though it’s pretty much exactly … Continue reading
K-Pop New Year’s Resolutions: 10 Things I Want To See Happen In 2025
Happy 2025! As we transition to a new year, it’s Bias List tradition to unveil some wishes I have for K-pop going forward. There’s a fair amount of overlap between this year’s and last year’s resolutions, even though I write these before looking back at 2024’s post. Readers, make sure to chime in in the … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Under The Sky
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Under The Sky (from Flower Bud – 2015) Under The Sky is a fantastic example of how charming GFriend’s early music could be. It’s delicate in sound but muscular in execution, tying symphonic elements to bounding percussion and electric guitar. It’s also … Continue reading
The Top Three K-Pop Songs of December 2024
At the end of each month, I look back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists. I take my own ratings into account, but there’s a bit of wiggle room as certain songs tend to grow or fade. December 2024 Overall Thoughts Oh gosh, what a month for South Korea. December started with martial … Continue reading
Looking Back at Last Year’s K-Pop Resolutions — Did 2024 Deliver?
I’ll be making my 2025 K-pop resolutions tomorrow, but before I put that energy into the universe I’d like to rewind to last year’s wishes and see how 2024 did. Spoiler: 2024 did terribly. 1. Less Sing-Talk and More MELODY “Of all my resolutions, this is the biggest one. Can you tell by the fact … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Trust
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Trust (from Snowflake – 2016) Even GFriend’s strongest albums are not devoid of their sappy ballads. Sappy ballads are a tried and true formula in K-pop and the sentimental, nostalgic side of me doesn’t mind them at all – especially as album … Continue reading
The Ten Most Popular BIAS LIST Posts of 2024
Just like last year, I wanted to share my top twenty most-viewed posts for 2024. I find this list an interesting gauge of who is popular (at least among netizens who read reviews). The most obvious takeaway from this list is the utter dominance of girl groups. Seriously, there’s only one boy group in the … Continue reading
Song Review: n.SSign – Love Potion
n.SSign’s Love Potion will most certainly be the final K-pop title track released in 2024, and given Korea’s current state of mourning I’m a bit surprised it was released at all. Earlier this year, n.SSign blitzed the market with several promoted tracks from their last album. And more recently, they busted out a killer cover … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Truly Love
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Truly Love (from Time For Us – 2019) There are a handful of GFriend tracks that completely passed me by. I mean, according to my iTunes stats I’ve listened to Truly Love a few times but if you were to present me … Continue reading
New & Noteworthy J-pop of the Week (December 29, 2024)
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
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Time For The Moon Night
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Time For The Moon Night (from Time For The Moon Night – 2018) Previous Thoughts: “The track pulls in those lush orchestral elements we’ve been missing since 2016’s superior Rough, drenching the instrumental in layers of strings. I just wish that much … Continue reading
The Bias List’s Favorite Japanese Dramas of 2024
This was an off year for dramas for me. I started so many yet finished so few. Still, there were a handful that I loved so I wanted to keep this countdown going even in a less bountiful year. Hopefully there will be more to look forward to in 2025! Rather than post my usual … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Tik Tik
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Tik Tik (from Time For The Moon Night – 2018) This is just a bright, uncomplicated pop song that works extremely well. The chorus is the best part, capturing some of the propulsive energy that made GFriend’s debut era so rewarding. The … Continue reading
The Top 50 Pop Songs of 2024 (10-1)
Though The Bias List is first and foremost a K-pop review blog, each month I spotlight a handful of “global pop” tracks that have taken hold of my playlist. To cap off the year, I’d like to count down my top tracks that weren’t part of the K-pop or J-pop markets. This was a weird … Continue reading
The Top 50 Pop Songs of 2024 (30-11)
Though The Bias List is first and foremost a K-pop review blog, each month I spotlight a handful of “global pop” tracks that have taken hold of my playlist. To cap off the year, I’d like to count down my top tracks that weren’t part of the K-pop or J-pop markets. This was a weird … Continue reading
The Top 50 Pop Songs of 2024 (50-31)
Though The Bias List is first and foremost a K-pop review blog, each month I spotlight a handful of “global pop” tracks that have taken hold of my playlist. To cap off the year, I’d like to count down my top tracks that weren’t part of the K-pop or J-pop markets. This was a weird … Continue reading
K-Pop A-Z Review: GFriend – Three Of Cups
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Three Of Cups (from Walpurgis Night – 2020) Three Of Cups is the kind of frothy post-disco pop track GFriend could cast off in their sleep. By the time we got to 2020, they had become quite skilled at imbuing this style … Continue reading
The Top 50 J-Pop Songs of 2024: 10-1
Now that we’ve got K-pop ranked for the year, it’s time to turn the blog’s attention to other music markets. First up is J-pop — a scene I write about every week on Sundays (and occasionally other days if a track catches my attention). Compared to last year’s excellent slate of music, I found J-pop … Continue reading