When I think of the artists I would have pegged to go the tropical route, Lee Hongki wouldn’t have even entered the conversation. As the front man of rock band FTIsland, his raspy, powerful voice seems too intense for the style, easily becoming the focal point of anything he records. But as last week’s oddball … Continue reading
By their very nature, ballads are difficult to write at length about. The vast majority follow a similar template, with a greater focus on performance and sentiment than novel production touches. But, when a ballad hits, it hits big. This was the case for BTOB’s late-career breakout It’s Okay, which reinvented them as a compelling … 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. Ferdy Years … 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. Back in k-pop’s second generation (approximately 2003-2011), agency collaboration albums were … Continue reading
Ever since their 2015 commercial resurgence with cathartic ballad It’s Okay, BTOB have fallen into a pattern of increasingly toothless pop music. They’ve never been more successful than they are now, so it’s hard to fault them from sticking to a winning formula, but I fear that any bit of edge has been completely ironed out … Continue reading
Since last summer’s Produce 101 ended, Kim Samuel has hit the ground running. In less than a year, he’s delivered three albums (one full, two mini) and a Japanese debut. That’s pretty prolific for a sixteen-year-old soloist. And though his work has never gone beyond the confines of what we might consider “teen pop,” each … Continue reading
I’ll admit that it’s completely unfair, but whenever we get a solo project from the rapper of an idol group, I instantly compare it to G-Dragon. In many ways, GD invented this particular role, and popularized it internationally by way of his immense charisma and genre-blurring execution. Perhaps BTOB’s Jung Ilhoon has noted this as … Continue reading
