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
Tag Archives: feature
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 Top 50 K-Pop Songs of 2013 (Day Three: 30-21)
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 Top 50 K-Pop Songs of 2013 (Day Two: 40-31)
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 Top 50 K-Pop Songs of 2013 (Day One: 50-41)
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
2019 MBC Gayo Daejejeon Recap (+ the 10 Best Performances)
Honestly, I came into tonight’s festival feeling pretty pessimistic. KBS’s Gayo was largely forgettable, and tonight’s line-up was missing some of my favorite acts. But, MBC ended up balking expectations and being the most enjoyable of the three gayos overall. When I think about it, this isn’t too surprising. I’ve always loved MBC’s more intimate … Continue reading
K-Pop New Year’s Resolutions: 10 Things I Want To See Happen In 2020
2020 has a nice ring to it, and I’m optimistic about what the new year will bring when it comes to K-pop. It feels like we’re finally crawling out of some of the trends and approaches that I’ve been complaining about for years, leaving the future open for new ideas. With that in mind, I’ve … Continue reading
Looking Back at Last Year’s K-Pop Resolutions — Did 2019 Deliver?
As is Bias List tradition, it’s time to take a look back at last year’s K-pop resolutions and see how many of them came true. As always, the results are a mixed bag, but on the whole I’m reasonably satisfied. Make sure to read through my 2019 hopes and wishes, first. And check back tomorrow … Continue reading
2019 KBS Gayo Daechukje Recap (+ the 10 Best Performances)
For me, any end-of-year K-pop festival isn’t complete without a bit of trot. And though none of tonight’s trot performances made my list, I was happy to hear them sprinkled throughout the show. The opening artist intro was particularly fun. I’m also glad that KBS moved out of their usual performance hall for this event. … Continue reading
2019 SBS Gayo Daejun Recap (+ the 10 Best Performances)
The end-of-year festivals officially kicked off this Christmas, with SBS’s Gayo Daejun once again opening the three-night festivities inside the immense Gocheok Sky Dome. Unfortunately, this year’s proceedings were marred before they even started, with Red Velvet’s Wendy suffering a horrible accident during rehearsals. I’m sure that idols were (understandably) concerned about the safety of … Continue reading
The Top 50 K-Pop Songs of 2019 (Day Five: 10-1)
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
The Top 50 K-Pop Songs of 2019 (Day Four: 20-11)
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
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
The Top 50 K-Pop Songs of 2019 (Day Two: 40-31)
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
The Top 50 K-Pop Songs of 2019 (Day One: 50-41)
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
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
Ranking the Best Performances from the 2019 MMA and MAMA Awards
It was an odd year for award shows. With MNET embroiled in its vote-rigging controversy, the MAMA awards felt like an afterthought, broadcast only one night rather than its usual multi-day spread. The Melon awards weren’t even telecast, opting for streaming instead. Even so, their staging and production felt incredibly grand. In comparison, the MAMAs … Continue reading
Grading the K-Pop Agencies 2019: Part Two (Pledis, RBW, Starship, TOP, TS, WM, Woollim)
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
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
Grading the K-Pop Agencies 2019: BIG HIT ENTERTAINMENT
I’ve already offered my thoughts on the 2019 prospects of SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment, but this year I’m adding a new agency to the fray. Big Hit Entertainment‘s achievements more than qualify them for the full-article analysis, so here we go! As usual, the thoughts are my own and aren’t privy to any … Continue reading