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
Tag Archives: exo
Song Review: Doh Kyung Soo (EXO’s D.O.) – Sing Along!
Doh Kyung Soo has one of the richest tones in K-pop, but as with so many great voices his solo music has usually steered toward ballads and coffeehouse-ready midtempos. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the style doesn’t exactly inspire excitement. Teasers of his first full album seemed to promise a more diverse set of … Continue reading
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from June 1 – 7
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
Song Review: Baekhyun (EXO) – Lemonade
Baekhyun has done enough amazing things with EXO to warrant a steady stream of write-ups on this blog, even if his solo music has rarely connected with me. I hate coming into a song knowing that I probably won’t like it, though I’m always open (and hoping) to having my mind changed. R&B is a … Continue reading
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from May 18 – 24
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
Song Review: Baekhyun (EXO) – Elevator
EXO’s Baekhyun possesses one of my favorite voices in K-pop, but our musical tastes don’t usually seem to align. His solo work has favored the kind of slow, vibey sound that too often feels like background music to me, even as those vocals pull me back in fits and spurts. New single Elevator is no … Continue reading
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from April 20 – 26
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
K-Pop Risers & Fallers: April 2025
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
Buried Treasure: Kai (EXO) – Off And Away
A K-pop act’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. 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. The K-pop industry loves to harness … Continue reading
Song Review: Kai (EXO) – Wait On Me
Kai’s been teasing the release of his new album with several songs, both of which took dance elements and subdued them to a leisurely pace. All the while, I’ve had to make peace with the fact that Kai clearly wants something different from his solo work than I’d expect. Title track Wait On Me continues … Continue reading
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from April 13 – 19
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
Song Review: Kai (EXO) – Walls Don’t Talk
EXO’s Kai pre-released Adult Swim earlier this month, wasting extraordinary potential on a dull, spoken-word chorus. His actual comeback is still around the corner, but before that he’s surprised us with another new track. Walls Don’t Talk picks up the pace a bit and feels slightly more developed than its predecessor, but still delivers a … Continue reading
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from March 30 – April 5
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
Song Review: Kai (EXO) – Adult Swim
With Kai serving his mandatory military enlistment, it’s been just over two years since I’ve gotten to write about one of his solo singles. But now that he’s back, he’s wasted no time getting into the studio. A new mini album is on the way with pre-release Adult Swim tiding us over in the meantime. … Continue reading
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from March 9 – 15
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
Song Review: Xiumin (EXO) – Whee!
There’s been a fair amount of controversy around the promotion of Xiumin’s Whee!, as SM Entertainment seem to be up to their old tricks of blocking artists who have left the agency. Xiumin remains a part of EXO, but he’s embarked on his own solo career under new management. Whee! is his first work under … Continue reading
Grading the K-Pop Agencies 2024: SM ENTERTAINMENT
It’s that time of year again! While December is filled with year-end countdowns, I like to take a look back at some of K-pop’s biggest agencies during November. Before reading (especially if you’re new to the blog), it’s helpful to know that my grading focuses most heavily on music releases and how comebacks are managed … Continue reading
The Top Three K-Pop Songs of September 2024
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 2024 Overall Thoughts While the first half of 2024 was quite strong, these past few … Continue reading
K-Pop Risers & Fallers: September 2024
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
10 Takeaways after Re-Watching the 2012 MBC GAYO DAEJUN
During this lull in new K-pop releases, I decided to go back and watch 2012’s MBC Gayo Daejun – the end-of-year extravaganza that ushered in 2013. Not only was it a euphoric time capsule of excellent music and stunning performances, but it brought to mind many thoughts after twelve years of K-pop fandom. Here were … Continue reading