With over 2,900 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 … 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. February 2020 Overall Thoughts What to say about February 2020? As the month went on, it … Continue reading
Most of the time, a k-pop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, 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. In a way, On was the perfect title track to represent … Continue reading
BTS’s new album Map Of The Soul: 7 arrives with the kind of multi-week media roll-out that’s more commonly attached to artists outside the K-pop industry. It’s billed as a momentous release – possibly the last full group work we’ll hear before members start enlisting. Yet, none of its pre-release material has felt all that … Continue reading
Most of the time, a k-pop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, 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. Judging purely by Labyrinth, I’m ready to make the bold statement … Continue reading
In only a couple of years, GFriend went from being my favorite active girl group to a hit-or-miss prospect whose album tracks are often better than their singles. As usual, this shift came with a change in producers. The group abandoned their “powerful innocence” sound – courtesy of composers Seo Youngbae and Iggy – for … Continue reading
BTS often previews new albums with the release of intro or outro tracks. This current era kicked off last month with Suga’s Shadow, which felt too short to write a full review on. It painted a dark, angstier style that honestly gave me pause. I was a huge fan of the group’s 2019 Persona release, … Continue reading
In contrast to most K-pop releases, BTS’s upcoming album is following a months-long roll-out schedule reminiscent of American acts. My feelings about this aside, the approach is gradually offering hints as to what the album might sound like. And honestly, I’ve got no idea so far. Last week’s Suga solo was more intro than song, … Continue reading
You can’t have a K-pop comeback without choreography! However, this is not a list of 2019’s most difficult or technically impressive dance routines. I’m nowhere near qualified to judge that. Instead, these are the top ten performances that really stood out to me this year. Honorable Mentions Cosmic Girls – La La Love Dongkiz – … Continue reading
This is always one of my favorite end-of-year posts, as if gives me the chance to write about a vital facet of K-pop that I rarely touch on throughout the year. Visuals can make or break a song’s legacy, and these ten videos helped to improve and expand their already-strong soundtracks. + Make sure to … Continue reading
For me, any end-of-year K-pop festival isn’t complete without a bit of trot. And though none of tonight’s trot performances made my list, I was happy to hear them sprinkled throughout the show. The opening artist intro was particularly fun. I’m also glad that KBS moved out of their usual performance hall for this event. … Continue reading
This is always a difficult list to form. After all, there are way more b-sides than singles to choose from each year, and with K-pop’s love of promoting genre trends, the most interesting music is often hidden within albums that not every listener bothers to check out. Following up from yesterday, I’m counting down my … Continue reading
This is always a difficult list to form. After all, there are way more b-sides than singles to choose from each year, and with K-pop’s love of promoting genre trends, the most interesting music is often hidden within albums that not every listener bothers to check out. Today and tomorrow, I’ll be counting down my … Continue reading
2019 was a great year for albums, with an onslaught of full-length releases coming in its second half. Given this, I decided to so something different this year. It seems unfair to compare mini and full albums, since it’s obviously much easier to craft an excellent, filler-free mini than it would be to stretch that … Continue reading
This particular countdown tends to be polarizing. How do you judge a “best artist,” after all? To be clear, this isn’t an objective list. It’s not based on facts and figures. Nor is it a straight-up bias list, though bias definitely plays a big part. My criteria for this category is simple, and encompasses three … Continue reading
2019 was a huge year for rookie groups. In fact, I’d say that the year was almost driven by them. So many agencies unveiled new acts, offering a needed jolt to the industry. This makes for a highly competitive countdown, with lots of treasures to discover. Like usual, this list comes with some caveats. When … Continue reading
The end of the year countdowns are finally here! As always, things 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
The end of the year countdowns are finally here! As always, things 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
The end of the year countdowns are finally here! As always, things 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
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. This phrase seems fitting to describe K-pop in 2019. The industry was forced to deal with some hard truths this year, and the reckoning was a long time coming. However, that didn’t make it any less messy. For the past few years, I’ve … Continue reading
