After a less-than-stellar debut, rookies Ciipher rebounded big time with last year’s excellent Blind. That song’s composition had member participation, which seems indispensable for this group. Judging from the highlight medley of their newest album, the strongest-sounding songs are the ones where the guys themselves are most involved. Self-composition isn’t a skill to be taken … Continue reading
This was a very uneventful year for K-pop rookies. There were no big agency debuts until Xdinary Heroes a few days ago, leaving 2021 to acts who were more under-the-radar. For me, none of these rookies were consistently excellent. Some released one or two knockout songs, only to follow-up with underwhelming returns. Others are too … Continue reading
The end of the year countdowns are finally here! As always, we’ll 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
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. September 2021 Overall Thoughts September is usually a hit of miss month. Releases tend to be … Continue reading
You can’t always judge a book by its cover, and you can’t always judge a rookie by their debut song. K-pop history is full of strong groups who debuted with subpar material (Girl’s Day and ZE:A say hello), and we may need to add Ciipher to that list. Last spring’s I Like You was an … Continue reading
Years ago, K-pop legend Rain formed boy group MBLAQ. They found sizable success, and were followed by junior acts Two X and Madtown before the subsidiary J. Tune Camp went defunct. Now, Rain is back with the first idol group from his own R.A.I.N Company. Of course, times and tastes have changed since 2009. How … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 