In a major rebrand, (G)I-DLE have renamed themselves “i-dle.” This comes on the heels of their contract renewal with Cube Entertainment and promises to usher in a new era for their music. The group has been remarkably popular since their debut in 2018, with their singles often defining trends of the era. Their discography tends … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. In 2025, I thought I’d try something new and add a weekly feature to supplement my monthly round-up. Each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. In 2025, I thought I’d try something new and add a weekly feature to supplement my monthly round-up. Each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And … Continue reading
Because of MBC’s unprecedented decision to air their Gayo Daejejeon over two nights this year, my recap and ranking will also be divided into two parts. Make sure to check out part one for my general thoughts on the festival as well as a personal ranking of the best performances of night one. Now, it’s … Continue reading
(G)I-DLE’s Minnie released her solo debut album last week, led by two promoted tracks that did little for me. However, the album grows stronger as it goes on, climaxing with its best song. That song has now been given its own video featuring WayV’s Ten, who duets with Minnie on Obsession. I can’t claim to … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. In 2025, I thought I’d try something new and add a weekly feature to supplement my monthly round-up. Each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. In 2025, I thought I’d try something new and add a weekly feature to supplement my monthly round-up. Each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And … Continue reading
(G)I-DLE members haven’t often committed to solo efforts with full music show promotions, choosing instead to dabble in digital releases and special singles — often unveiled with little fanfare. This is a smart way to slowly develop each members’ personal sound without the pressure of huge comeback budgets and expectations. Minnie’s understated English-language Blind Eyes … Continue reading
After taking a look at K-pop’s biggest agencies, I’d like to turn my attention to the smaller (but still important) players in the K-pop game, three at a time. 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 … Continue reading
Rather than release longer albums, Nowadays have blitzed their debut year with a steady stream of single tracks. This isn’t an awful approach if you keep the music coming and that music catches on with the public. Unfortunately, the group has found difficulty breaking through and competing with the year’s buzzier rookies. I haven’t yet … Continue reading
The line between “promoted single” and “special track” continues to blur in the K-pop market. Yuqi’s Radio (Dum-Dum) is classified as the latter, but comes with a lo-fi music video to give it extra visual punch. Of all the (G)I-DLE members, Yuqi’s solo work has struck me most dramatically. I’d still take her 2021 Bonnie … Continue reading
Given Cube Entertainment’s once-savvy position in the K-pop industry, I’m surprised how soft their launch of new boy group Nowadays has been. Their debut came and went without much fanfare, followed by a cover version of Beast’s Rainy Day. Neither of these tracks helped establish Nowadays as a unique group of their own, so first … Continue reading
When this LIGHTSUM comeback was first announced, my immediate thought was: “didn’t they disband?” Obviously, I was getting them confused with another group (probably Cherry Bullet), but it says something when a K-pop obsessive like me can’t even remember the status of LIGHTSUM. The group just hasn’t released much material and their long hiatuses make … 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. July 2024 Overall Thoughts After a stellar June, July was always going to have a hard … Continue reading
BTOB are most celebrated for their stately ballads and light pop music that showcases their vocals. However, the group are capable of much more than that. I’m partial to their many dalliances with new jack swing, mostly because those songs let the guys have fun in a more carefree way. New sub-unit single Tang Tang … Continue reading
Rather than contain my “Risers and Fallers” feature to a single post in June, I’m going to share a bite-sized version at the end of each month. This will let me account for more songs and make a nice lead-in to the monthly round-up post. I anticipate most of these ratings adjustments will be negligible: … Continue reading
While there have been plenty of great title tracks so far this summer, we haven’t heard many that are explicitly themed to the season. (G)I-DLE are here to fix that with new single Klaxon (클락션). Following 2020’s DUMDi DUMDi, the girls are back with another summer track that hearkens back to K-pop’s distant past. The … Continue reading
When writing about Yuqi’s pre-release Could It Be several weeks ago, I was hoping we’d hear more edgy rock influences from her title track. After all, 2021’s Bonnie & Clyde remains a high water mark for both her and (G)I-DLE. With the release of Freak, I (sort of) got what I hoped for, though it’s … Continue reading
New girl group Unicode is unique in that all its members are Japanese. I’m not sure how that’s going to serve them in an industry that feels quite insular, but their agency has been smart to give them a quintessentially Korean sound for debut single Let Me Love (돌아봐줄래). Most pertinent to my interests, the … Continue reading
Three years ago, (G)I-DLE’s Yuqi released the brilliant Bonnie & Clyde — a pummeling piece of pop/rock with the driving energy of a dance track. That song utilized her husky tone in ways we rarely hear from (G)I-DLE’s work, making me long for more solo work. That era is finally upon us with a mini … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 