Warning: This recap is not spoiler-free. Proceed at your own risk! Past Recaps: Episode Two / Episode Three / Episode Four / Episode Five Now that my horse has left the race and is feeding peacefully in the neighboring pasture, I can watch this show without frayed nerves. Before I natter on about the pointlessness … Continue reading
Tag Archives: cube
Road to Kingdom: Episode Five Recap and Ranking
Warning: This recap is not spoiler-free. Proceed at your own risk! For once, I’m actually thankful for internet rumors. Knowing two weeks ago about how tonight’s elimination would play out allowed me to watch this episode without going absolutely catatonic. Instead, I’ve been fuming for weeks. I came into tonight’s episode angry, just hoping that … Continue reading
Looking Back: The Top Three K-Pop Songs of April 2012
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! April … Continue reading
Random Shuffle Review: BTOB – It’s Okay
With over 3,000 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
Song Review: (G)I-DLE – Oh My God
(G)I-DLE seemed to debut right at the perfect time, finding instant success with a sound that was both trendy and addictive. Their run on last year’s Queendom series only boosted their appeal, spotlighting some of the lesser-known members and painting the group as a do-it-yourself idea bank. The concept of self-producing idol groups is not … Continue reading
Looking Back: The Top Three K-Pop Songs of May 2011
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! May … Continue reading
Looking Back: The Top Three K-Pop Songs of March 2011
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! Which … Continue reading
Looking Back: The Top Three K-Pop Songs of January 2011
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! Which … Continue reading
Buried Treasure: Pentagon – Zoom Up
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. Earlier this week, Pentagon were the subject of my ire for … Continue reading
Song Review: Pentagon – Dr. BeBe
Friends, we have entered a parallel universe where every K-pop boy group just releases the same song over and over. After a 2019 that saw some brighter fare make inroads to this internationally-focused industry, the first few weeks of 2020 have reveled in the dark and angsty. Despite my continuous complaining about this style, I … Continue reading
The Top 50 K-Pop Songs of 2013 (Day Four: 20-11)
2013 was a high-concept, musically diverse year in K-pop. Hip-hop hadn’t yet taken over, and melody was still king. Instrumentals aimed for the rafters of stadiums, bringing in explosive guitar, sledgehammer beats and bombastic electro riffs. Songs played around with structure in artful, unexpected ways, often polarizing opinion before unveiling themselves as future classics. Here … Continue reading
The Bias List is Going Back in Time with the Top 50 K-Pop Singles of 2013!
It’s the week of Lunar New Year, which means new K-pop releases will be few and far between. That makes this the perfect time to go back a few years and celebrate highlights of days past. Following up on last year’s countdown of my Top 50 Songs of 2012, The Bias List is tackling 2013! … Continue reading
The Top 10 K-Pop Music Videos of 2019
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
The Top 40 K-Pop Album Tracks & B-Sides of 2019 (Part Two: 20-1)
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
The Top 50 K-Pop Songs of 2019 (Day Three: 30-21)
The end of the year countdowns are finally here! As always, things 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
2019 Year-End K-Pop Recap (& Honorable Mentions)
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. This phrase seems fitting to describe K-pop in 2019. The industry was forced to deal with some hard truths this year, and the reckoning was a long time coming. However, that didn’t make it any less messy. For the past few years, I’ve … Continue reading
Looking Back: The Top Three K-Pop Songs of February 2015
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! Which … Continue reading
Top Three K-Pop Songs of November 2019
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. November 2019 Overall Thoughts While November was not the blockbuster month that October was, it offered … Continue reading
Grading the K-Pop Agencies 2019: Part One (Brand New, Cube, DSP, Fantagio, FNC, Jellyfish, MBK, Play M)
Disclaimer: As with my write-ups on K-Pop’s biggest agencies, this is written from an outsider’s perspective. I’m not privy to any business-related financial information beyond what any other fan would know. The purpose of these articles is to examine how well these agencies are serving their artists and the general k-pop fan-base. If you’re curious … Continue reading
Song Review: (G)I-DLE – Lion
Though I’ve already written about (and ranked) the Queendom finale songs, (G)I-DLE have made the smart move to pair their track Lion with an official music video. I think they deserve a full review for their efforts, right? While the song does nothing to dispel the accusations of cultural appropriation that swirl around the group … Continue reading