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. May 2024 Overall Thoughts There were a number of big-name releases in May, yet somehow the … Continue reading
Three and a half years since their debut, aespa have finally released their first full length album. Armageddon is led by two title tracks, the first of which has already become a major hit. Supernova embraced the K-pop maximalism of years past, making many wonder if Armageddon would follow suit. Instead, this track pulls back … Continue reading
Yesterday’s Supernova was a fantastic return for aespa and hopes are high that their upcoming title track Armageddon will be even better. Between these two behemoths, the group has unveiled a surprise music video for album b-side Long Chat (#♥). You really have to see this video to believe it. If my review focused on … Continue reading
As K-pop’s global popularity has increased, so has the use of samples from pop music history. A decade ago, the idea of sampling a Western pop song felt pretty rare, but there have been a number of recent hits built upon hooks from decades past. aespa’s pre-release Supernova samples Afrika Bambaataa’s 1982 classic Planet Rock, … Continue reading
“Spring songs” don’t seem to be as big a deal in K-pop as they used to be. This time of year, we used to be assaulted with all sorts of gentle, coffeeshop fare perfect for the season. But now that “subdued” has become a K-pop buzzword, I guess many songs fit this bill without needing … Continue reading
aespa have done a fair amount of covers in their career, and they haven’t exactly chosen obscure material. There’s a danger in covering beloved classics, which is my cue to encourage you all to listen to the original Regret Of The Times and Seo Taiji & Boys’ entire 90’s discography. It’s amazing how many genres … Continue reading
2023 was a weird year for K-pop choreography. There didn’t seem to be too many iconic point moves, even as TikTok challenges continue to necessitate catchy, easy-to-replicate routines. As usual, this is not a ranking of the most technically impressive performances of the year. Instead, here are ten routines that caught my eye in 2023. … Continue reading
One of the unique features of The Bias List is its “buried treasure” write-ups. I try my hardest to comb through every major K-pop album released each year and when a song catches my ear I highlight it on the blog. This countdown is an encapsulation of those write-ups, ranking my top 40 b-sides and … Continue reading
The end of the year countdowns are finally here! As always, we’ll kick off with the big one: The Bias List’s top 50 songs of the year! Each day this week, I’ll be counting down ten of the year’s best, until number one is revealed on Friday. To be eligible for this top 50 list, … Continue reading
While I don’t really watch any Korean award shows anymore, this year’s Melon Music Awards had a more exciting line-up than MAMA so I had to at least check out the performances. As expected, there were a few real standouts. Apart from this list, I also liked the new stage mix for ZEROBASEONE but didn’t … Continue reading
It’s not often that K-pop releases collaborations between its major agencies, but Nobody sees representative artists from SM Entertainment, Cube Entertainment and Starship Entertainment come together to deliver a theme for Busan’s bid to host the World Expo 2030. I didn’t know these things warranted a theme song, but I’m glad to have Nobody regardless … 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. I’ll always be that person who … Continue reading
As SM Entertainment’s ascendant girl group, aespa have dipped their toes into a variety of musical endeavors. Infrequent Korean comebacks are interspersed with English and Japanese work, guided them on a global pathway to success. However, their sound has been all over the place, as if SM can’t decide whether they want them to be … Continue reading
Before the end-of-year countdowns next month, I like to take a look at many of K-pop’s biggest agencies and see how their year went. Obviously, 2023 is not over yet so any upcoming changes to an agency’s grade will be reflected next year. We’ve got a lot to pick apart over the coming weeks, so … 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
It’s full steam ahead on the ‘aespa-conquers-international-markets’ ship with the release of another English-language single following last year’s Life’s Too Short. Earlier this year, they also dropped the Tetris-interpolating Hold On Tight — their best non-Korean track to date. I definitely underrated it back in March. Better Things isn’t as creative, but it’s a charming … Continue reading
I’m heartened by the fact that only two (!) of my top ten singles of 2022 were released before the month of July. That’s a pretty striking figure, and one I can easily see replicating this year. It’s no secret that I’ve been underwhelmed by the first six months of 2023. It’s not that K-pop … 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. May 2023 Overall Thoughts We’re not quite to the halfway point of the calendar year, so … 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
The spring of 2023 will be characterized by a quartet of top-tier girl group releases. The results have been mixed so far, with IVE’s I Am throwing down the gauntlet in rousing fashion but LE SSERAFIM’s Unforgiven missing the mark. Now, aespa sweep us into the final stretch before (G)I-DLE bring things to a close … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 