There are few things I enjoy more than a great summertime song. They’re bright, they’re exciting, and they remind me of my favorite time of the year. There’s no telling what this summer in K-pop will bring, but over the next few weeks I’ll be flashing back each day, showcasing a highlight from past summers. … Continue reading
In celebration of The Bias List’s fifth year anniversary, I’ve embarked on my most ambitious project yet. After years of hemming and hawing, I’ve finally ranked what I consider to be the best 100 songs in K-pop. There will never be a definitive list of this nature, because it’s impossible to rank something that’s inherently … Continue reading
In celebration of The Bias List’s fifth year anniversary, I’ve embarked on my most ambitious project yet. After years of hemming and hawing, I’ve finally ranked what I consider to be the best 100 songs in K-pop. There will never be a definitive list of this nature, because it’s impossible to rank something that’s inherently … Continue reading
In celebration of The Bias List’s fifth year anniversary, I’ve embarked on my most ambitious project yet. After years of hemming and hawing, I’ve finally ranked what I consider to be the best 100 songs in K-pop. There will never be a definitive list of this nature, because it’s impossible to rank something that’s inherently … Continue reading
There are few things I enjoy more than a great summertime song. They’re bright, they’re exciting, and they remind me of my favorite time of the year. There’s no telling what this summer in K-pop will bring, but over the next few weeks I’ll be flashing back each day, showcasing a highlight from past summers. … Continue reading
Surprising no one, BTS have conquered Japan alongside every other global music market. This has been achieved through a combination of Japanese re-recordings and original material. Oddly, their trio of original J-pop songs (For You, Lights and now Stay Gold) share a sound that’s downright toothless compared to their Korean work. Much of their global … 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 2020 Overall Thoughts Well… I’m officially worried. We’re almost halfway through the year, and at … Continue reading
It feels like rumblings of a second Agust D mixtape have been circulating for years now. In case you didn’t know, Agust D is the name BTS’s Suga has taken for his solo work. His first mixtape dropped in the summer of 2016, and boy has a lot happened since then! It’s fitting, then, that … Continue reading
If one thing has been lacking from K-pop’s 2020 boy group landscape, it’s a sense of fun. Now don’t get me wrong, we’re not exactly in “fun” times right now, so to expect anybody to be in a particularly good mood at the moment is asking a lot. But when things are dark, don’t we … Continue reading
The global K-pop fandom lost its collective mind upon the announcement that IU would be collaborating with BTS’s Suga. And true to grouchy form, I received the news with a shoulder shrug, imagining the dull hip-hop ballads that usually result from these high-profile pairings. However, Eight (에잇) sounds nothing like I’d expected, and I say … Continue reading
Different groups are loved for different reasons, but one of my favorite concepts within pop music is the “imperial phase” — a (usually) brief era when every promoted song an act releases is absolutely superb and iconic. This got me to thinking: what are K-pop’s greatest imperial phases? I combed through my exhaustive playlists and … Continue reading
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
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
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
