What is it about Chinese releases from k-pop stars being consistently terrible? The Chinese music industry is so restrictive to Western listeners that it’s hard to accurately gauge the country’s pop climate, but all c-pop can’t be this bad, right? As with Jackson’s last solo endeavor (the embarrassing Papillon), I feel like I have to … Continue reading
Two weeks after releasing the supple funk of I Need U, Lay has returned with the worst k-pop-adjacent track this year (and that’s saying something, since his most recent competition is Jackson’s Papillon). Sheep (羊) is what happens when a song is so desperate to become meme-worthy that it loses any other sense of purpose … Continue reading
Though Lay is still technically part of EXO, he didn’t participate in their new album or repackage. Understandably frustrating for fans, his absence is the byproduct of continual Chinese promotions. With that in mind, his upcoming second Chinese solo album will see him dipping feet into both markets. He’s still signed with and supported by … Continue reading
Before I go on to ravage parts of Papillon, let me introduce this review by stating that Jackson is one of my very favorite k-pop personalities. Though I’ve been a listener of k-pop for a long time, I never really got into the variety show side of things until mid-2014. It was then that the … Continue reading
A couple of weeks after pre-releasing the upbeat r&b funk of What You Need, EXO member Lay is back with his debut solo EP. To herald its release, Lose Control slows things down and sexes things up, giving his sound yet another layer. From the very beginning, Lose Control screams late 90’s/early 00’s radio r&b. Almost … Continue reading
At the tail end of last year, it seemed as if LuHan was releasing songs and music videos every other week, including the brilliant (and underrated) Medals. But after months away, he returns with the moody Catch Me When I Fall. And although it doesn’t quite live up to the best of his past material, it’s … Continue reading
Another week, another SM Station release. One of the cool things this music platform has done is allow EXO members to have long-overdue solos. Granted, the songs aren’t really promoted or given the budget a full-fledged solo debut would have, but it’s still nice to hear the guys branch out a bit. Next on the … Continue reading
I raved about LuHan’s Medals at the end of last year, but with each successive release, it seems more and more apparent that the stately melodicism of that track was a red herring in his solo discography. For Excited, LuHan has once again paired himself with American production team Rock Forward. They do an adequate job … Continue reading
LuHan’s been releasing a lot of material over the past couple of months, and the quality has definitely varied. The bulk of his stuff has a sparely produced, American hip-pop feel, which isn’t something I naturally gravitate to. Luckily, the strength of his personality and celebrity helps cover some of the qualms that I have … Continue reading
Okay, okay. When I say kpop, I mean mostly kpop, because there’s going to be some jpop and cpop in this list as well (some of it in very prominent positions), but “Top 50 K-Pop & J-Pop & C-Pop Songs of 2015” just doesn’t have the same ring to it! The only other criteria for … Continue reading
Okay, okay. When I say kpop, I mean mostly kpop, because there’s going to be some jpop and cpop in this list as well (some of it in very prominent positions), but “Top 50 K-Pop & J-Pop & C-Pop Songs of 2015” just doesn’t have the same ring to it! The only other criteria for … Continue reading
This track kind of passed me by until recently, but even though it’s not brand new, I still wanted a chance to talk about it because it’s become one of my most-played tracks of the month. For those who don’t know, LuHan used to be one of the Chinese members of EXO. He left the … Continue reading
Lately, I’ve been following the three ex-EXO members’ Chinese output more closely. It’s been a bit of a mixed bag, with (some of) LuHan’s material coming out on top for me personally. Kris was never my favorite EXO member, and he hasn’t released all that much material since he went solo, but even though his … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 