This is one of those “unique to The Bias List” countdowns, since most end-of-year lists focus on the artists and not the behind-the-scenes talent. But, I’ve always been a sucker for a great songwriter. Few K-pop acts stick with the same producers for long, making it even more important to find your favorite composers and … Continue reading
K-Pop debuts can be tricky things. At times, they’re the best song a group delivers. Sometimes, they’re the only song a group delivers! But, debuts can also be huge wtf moments in an artist’s career. In this feature, I’ll be looking back at debut songs through the prism of time, re-evaluating how well they hold … 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! August … Continue reading
With Brave Girls’ unexpected resurgence, there’s been a renewed interest in Brave Entertainment as well. This puts DKB in an awkward position. Clearly, they’re not the Brave Sound group the general public is interested in hearing from at this moment, but that’s hardly their fault. I’m sure this comeback has been in the works for … 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! August … 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! March … Continue reading
Brave Girls appear once in a blue moon, descending upon the K-pop industry like an immortal, unending force. Much to our delight, they deliver a little pop truffle before disappearing once more — a mythical entity that may not return until years later. This fiction vastly overstates their impact on the K-pop market, but I’m … Continue reading
As the K-pop market has become more flooded with acts, it’s not unusual to see days with multiple comebacks. Usually, these are a grab bag of varying quality, but every once in awhile you’ll get a day that unveils multiple classics at once. This feature is dedicated to those epic days – days in which … Continue reading
Rookie group DKB fit right within 2020 expectations by debuting with a noisy hip-hop track. But as forgettable as I found it to be, Sorry Mama did manage to incorporate a killer female vocal ad-lib that gave it a tiny bit of character. Unfortunately, that sliver of identity has been quashed by follow-up Still (오늘도 … 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 wanted to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. One of my favorite genres of all time is dance rock. … Continue reading
After eighteen months away, boy group BIGFLO is back with renewed energy. Main dancer Euijin finished in second place during KBS’s The Unit, garnering attention through his promotions with project group UNB. And BIGFLO is an act in desperate need of attention. Their last few comebacks have stalled on the charts, putting them in real … Continue reading
Though most of k-pop fandom’s obsession rests on groups and individual artists, I have just as strong a bias toward certain producers as the performers themselves. That’s why I started The Bias List‘s Producer Spotlight feature. There are dozens of amazing individuals and teams working behind the scenes to craft k-pop’s best songs. Here are … Continue reading
For better or worse, Brave Girls have always been a delivery method for songs by their agency head, Brave Brothers. This obviously limits their sound somewhat, but for fans of the Brave Brothers style, they’re pretty much the gift that just keeps on giving. And now that bigger groups like AOA and Sistar have (mostly) … Continue reading
The end of the year countdowns are here! We’re starting things off with the big one… the 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. Unlike last year, j-pop releases will be placed in their own countdown, … 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. BRAVE BROTHERS … Continue reading
One of my biggest annoyances of the past year or so in k-pop has been the lessening influence of classic producers like Brave Brothers, Sweetune, Thomas Troelsen and Yoo Young-Jin. Yes, we have newly popular talent in the form of Black Eyed Pilseung, LDN Noise and the Iggy/Youngbae duo, but my love of k-pop was fostered … Continue reading
I want to preface this review by saying that 1PUNCH’s debut was one of my favorite kpop tracks of last year. Because of that, I’ve been following Punch since the duo’s disbandment. I think he has incredible potential and I’m really pulling for him. I say all this to clarify that I bear no ill-will … Continue reading
Producer Brave Brothers has a bit of a stranglehold on kpop, and for good reason. His productions are reliably fantastic, if at times a bit uninspired. You’d think, then, that he’d turn to his best material for his own in-house girl group, Brave Girls. I was a bit surprised that Deepened ends up being one … Continue reading
Dal Shabet isn’t a girl group that I’ve followed with any real regularity. I did love their B.B.B. from 2014 but thought last year’s Joker was pretty weak. This year, they’re the first big idol group to make a comeback, though they’re down to a four-piece (there used to be six). They’ve also enlisted super … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 