2013 was a high-concept, musically diverse year in K-pop. Hip-hop hadn’t yet taken over, and melody was still king. Instrumentals aimed for the rafters of stadiums, bringing in explosive guitar, sledgehammer beats and bombastic electro riffs. Songs played around with structure in artful, unexpected ways, often polarizing opinion before unveiling themselves as future classics. Here … Continue reading
It’s the week of Lunar New Year, which means new K-pop releases will be few and far between. That makes this the perfect time to go back a few years and celebrate highlights of days past. Following up on last year’s countdown of my Top 50 Songs of 2012, The Bias List is tackling 2013! … Continue reading
One day, there will be a dramatic biopic about the struggles inflicted upon CL these past few years. After 2NE1 disbanded, she seemed poised for international success. Instead, she was barely allowed to release material at all, presumably held back by the shackles of YG Entertainment. This drought has finally ended. CL has officially left … Continue reading
Since the start of The Bias List in January 2016, I’ve always looked back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists each month. Now, it’s time to look even further into the past, one month at a time. And, yes, the top three rankings count toward The Bias List’s personal artist scorecard! Which … Continue reading
Since the start of The Bias List in January 2016, I’ve always looked back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists each month. Now, it’s time to look even further into the past, one month at a time. And, yes, the top three rankings count toward The Bias List’s personal artist scorecard! Which … Continue reading
It’s that time of year again. The sun comes out, the temperature climbs, and K-pop goes tropical! Well, it wasn’t always this way. A few years ago, summer didn’t instantly mean tropical pop music, and I hope we’re working our way out of this persistent trend. But tropical or not, many of my top K-pop … Continue reading
In a year that’s seen K-pop’s new guard begin to supplant its old guard, what could be more welcome than the long-awaited return of ex-2NE1 member Park Bom? And better yet… she’s not alone! Spring (봄) features fellow 2NE1er Sandara Park, reuniting the two after what seems like an endless wait. But… the excitement doesn’t … Continue reading
It’s time to flash back seven years to 2012, an era of huge choruses, thumping dance beats and an endless supply of sci-fi influenced music videos. 2012’s charms were endless, but here are fifty of the absolute best singles. To be eligible for this top fifty list, songs must have had a Korean release as … Continue reading
With over 2,300 songs on my iPhone’s “K-Pop Singles” playlist, I thought it would be fun to add a bit of unpredictability to my song review posts. So as a result, we have the “Random Shuffle Review” feature. The rules are simple. I fire up my playlist, press “shuffle,” and whatever song plays first gets the … Continue reading
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for k-pop, with releases dwindling to a trickle in light of presidential elections and holidays and a general springtime slump. With such a scarcity of quality music, I’ve been especially thankful for Korean variety shows. And this year, no series has been more consistently fun than the second … Continue reading
Until today, Minzy was the only member of now-disbanded group 2NE1 without a solo release to her name. But now she’s struck out on her own, signing with a new label and enjoying a different sort of fame through popular variety show Sister’s Slam Dunk. Fortunately, she hasn’t forgotten the sound that forged her career, … Continue reading
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. January 2017 Overall Thoughts 2017 started with one of the strongest (and most packed) first weeks that we’ve … Continue reading
It seems like these past couple of months have been riddled with farewell songs. Bigbang‘s Last Dance kicked things off as a goodbye to an era, and just this week we had I.O.I’s final track. But none seems quite as definitive as 2NE1‘s Goodbye (안녕). When they were active, 2NE1 were my favorite k-pop girl group, … Continue reading
As a companion to my Top Ten Singles lists, it’s time to look at some of the best album tracks and b-sides from the best artists. In light of the very sad news of 2NE1’s disbandment today, it seems like a perfect time to take another look at their discography. In true YG style, they’ve … Continue reading
If there’s anything I’ve learned from covering pop music for over a decade, it’s that songwriters and collaborators are just as important as the artists themselves. Though they often work behind the scenes, this feature is a chance to shine the light on some of k-pop’s most innovative and accomplished producers and composers. TEDDY Years … Continue reading
It seems as if CL’s official American debut has been “imminent” for years now. But even without the ridiculously long wait (which has been a YG hallmark of late), I was never very enthused by the prospect of her going international. I don’t want k-pop artists to “break” the U.S. if it means they’ll be … Continue reading
When it comes to girl groups, 2NE1 are like no other in the kpop world. They sit at the very top of my bias list, and much of that is due to their fierce image and the fantastic songs that they’re given. While I wait (somewhat) patiently for a comeback after their excellent 2014 album Crush, … Continue reading
