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
It’s that time of year again! Over the next few weeks, I’ll be looking at many of K-pop’s biggest agencies and offering my thoughts about how their 2019 went. First up is SM Entertainment. As usual, the thoughts are my own and aren’t privy to any insider information. I’m not taking into account things like … Continue reading
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
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
If there’s anything I’ve learned from covering pop music for over a decade, it’s that songwriters and collaborators are just as important as the artists themselves. Though they often work behind the scenes, this feature is a chance to shine the light on some of k-pop’s most innovative and accomplished producers and composers. MELANIE FONTANA … Continue reading
One of K-pop’s most coveted holy grails is the long-rumored f(x) comeback. Or, maybe it’s more of an urban legend — often discussed, but never actually coming to fruition. Like many agencies, SM Entertainment seems to have a hard time managing more than one girl group at once, so rather than continue f(x)’s powerful legacy, … Continue reading
It’s time to flash back seven years to 2012, an era of huge choruses, thumping dance beats and an endless supply of sci-fi influenced music videos. 2012’s charms were endless, but here are fifty of the absolute best singles. To be eligible for this top fifty list, songs must have had a Korean release as … Continue reading
As the wait for a full f(x) comeback enters its fourth calendar year, each and every move by its members attracts interest from fans. However, most of the f(x)-related solo material has felt pretty un-f(x) in sound, which only seems to exacerbate listeners’ impatience. Luna offered a spark of similar energy with 2016’s Free Somebody, … Continue reading
In what has become an annual tradition, it’s time to take a look at K-pop’s biggest agencies and offer my 2018 verdict. First up is SM Entertainment. As usual, the thoughts are my own and aren’t privy to any insider information. I’m not taking into account things like profits and stock value. The purpose of … Continue reading
At this point, I think I’d rather SM Entertainment abandon their digital Station project to focus more completely on full-fledged comebacks. It’s not that Station hasn’t resulted in some standout songs, but overall last year’s discography felt pretty forgettable. I fear that, rather than adding to artists’ catalogs in an interesting way, many of the … Continue reading
If there’s anything I’ve learned from covering pop music for over a decade, it’s that songwriters and collaborators are just as important as the artists themselves. Though they often work behind the scenes, this feature is a chance to shine the light on some of k-pop’s most innovative and accomplished producers and composers. ERIK LIDBOM … Continue reading
If there’s anything I’ve learned from covering pop music for over a decade, it’s that songwriters and collaborators are just as important as the artists themselves. Though they often work behind the scenes, this feature is a chance to shine the light on some of k-pop’s most innovative and accomplished producers and composers. MONOTREE Years … Continue reading
If there’s anything I’ve learned from covering pop music for over a decade, it’s that songwriters and collaborators are just as important as the artists themselves. Though they often work behind the scenes, this feature is a chance to shine the light on some of k-pop’s most innovative and accomplished producers and composers. THE STEREOTYPES … Continue reading
Honey Bee is one of those songs that’s just oozing potential from the get-go. Taking f(x)‘s Luna, EXID’s Hani and Mamamoo‘s Solar and setting them loose on a big diva pop track is definitely an exciting prospect. But as we learned with last year’s Triple T collaboration, big names don’t always mean quality songs. While … Continue reading
As the weather gets chillier and December approaches, it’s the time of year to dust off the old K-pop Christmas playlist. Korean acts have been giving us special holiday songs for years, but I narrowed my ten picks to tracks released over the past five years. Some have official music videos, and some do not. … Continue reading
With Heartbeat, SM Entertainment has completed their f(x)-driven EDM trilogy that started with Wave in May and continued with July’s All Mine. Given the strict adherence to genre structure, all three tracks feel somewhat interchangeable, but this helps create a welcome sense of continuity when they’re taken together, one right after another. Heartbeat was released as … Continue reading
If there’s anything I’ve learned from covering pop music for over a decade, it’s that songwriters and collaborators are just as important as the artists themselves. Though they often work behind the scenes, this feature is a chance to shine the light on some of k-pop’s most innovative and accomplished producers and composers. HITCHHIKER Years … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I’ll look back at my three favorite title tracks by k-pop artists. Unlike my end-of-year countdowns, jpop and Japanese releases by kpop artists are ineligible, though I will give the great ones a spotlight. For my top three tracks, I’ll take my own ratings into account, but there is a … Continue reading
If there’s anything I’ve learned from covering pop music for over a decade, it’s that songwriters and collaborators are just as important as the artists themselves. Though they often work behind the scenes, this feature is a chance to shine the light on some of k-pop’s most innovative and accomplished producers and composers. THOMAS TROELSEN … Continue reading
This week, SM’s Station gives us something close to an actual comeback. All four members of f(x) perform All Mine, a modern EDM track that fits nicely alongside much of SM’s recent output. I’m in two minds about the song. Oddly enough, I’m finding that I can adore it and be angry with it at the … Continue reading
