One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Cocktail Love (from Sugar Man 3 OST – 2020) So, this is technically a remake track featured on the (very great) variety show Sugar Man, but my K-pop A-Z feature is nothing if not comprehensive. Despite this cover being released in 2020, … Continue reading
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Click (from LOL – 2016) Early in their career, GFriend’s music could occasionally get a bit cutesy. Click’s exuberant cheerleader chants won’t be for everyone, and it doesn’t help that the song opens with them. However, the rest of the track offers … Continue reading
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Bye (from Time For The Moon Night – 2018) We’re back in ballad territory with the gentle Bye. Its orchestral opening sounds ripped straight from a Disney soundtrack about fairies. I don’t mean that in a bad way, though the approach will … Continue reading
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Better Me (Sowon & Umji) (from Walpurgis Night – 2020) For their final album, the group recorded tracks as units. Better Me sees Sowon and Umji taking a much more hip-hop influenced approach, which is cool but also a strange fit for … Continue reading
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Beautiful (from Fallin’ Light – 2019) The piano arpeggio that opens this track is gorgeous and promises a sense of dynamism that never quite materializes. The instrumental shifts as we hit the first verse and the track transforms into… for lack of … Continue reading
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Ave Maria (from Parallel/Rainbow – 2017) Oh, I like this track a lot. It opens with an addictive freestyle synth loop that borrows from the 80’s while still managing to sound completely current. The verses have great drive in the classic GFriend … Continue reading
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Apple (from Song Of The Sirens – 2020) What I said then: “Given 2020 K-pop’s urge to shift styles every three seconds, Apple is a remarkably consistent track. Its various elements lock together flawlessly, though the entire thing hits at the same … Continue reading
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! A Starry Sky (from Time For Us – 2019) The crystalline chimes that open this ballad feel like a good starting point for this K-Pop A-Z feature. If GFriend are defined by their “powerful innocence” concept, A Starry Sky sees them tackle … Continue reading
A few years ago, I took a look back at my top K-pop songs of 2016 and did some reshuffling. To be honest, that list still needs a couple slight changes to be totally accurate in my current thinking, but rather than be overly fussy I’d like to move onto the following year. 2017’s K-pop … Continue reading
Thus far, Yuju’s solo career has played out exactly as I feared it might. Her voice was the anchor to many a great GFriend song, providing a powerful sense of drama worth looking forward to. There’s nothing I love more than a dynamite vocalist tackling a big dance track. But, her ambitions seem to lie … Continue reading
K-pop’s title tracks might gain most of listeners’ attention, but many album tracks are worth equal spotlight. I call these “buried treasures.” Beyond this, K-pop’s albums deliver thousands of additional tracks that settle for a more limited audience. It’s these songs that will become a part of my “battle of the b-sides” feature. In this … Continue reading
Oh, Yuju. You are perhaps my favorite female idol vocalist of the last seven years. Your powerful voice is responsible for the most incredible parts of incredible GFriend songs. When you embarked on a solo career, I hoped you’d meld this power to material as dynamic as your potential. But alas, like so many idol … Continue reading
The Bias List launched at the beginning of 2016, making that year’s song countdown the first I published in any meaningful way. I’ve since gone back to look at 2015, 2013 and 2012 (hmmm… I guess I need to fill the holes that are left…). Now that it’s been almost six years, I thought it … Continue reading
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. Once in a blue moon, you … Continue reading
Though GFriend may be no more, its members have kept busy in 2022. VIVIZ are wading their way through season two of Queendom and Yuju debuted as a soloist. Next up is Yerin, who has signed with Sublime Artist Agency and is out with her first mini album. Debut solo single Aria isn’t worlds away … Continue reading
One of the quirks of The Bias List is my hesitancy to give 10/10 scores right off the bat. I just don’t know that you can measure perfection on release day, nor do I think a perfect score is attainable without some time and experience. This approach doesn’t exactly jibe with “OMG SOTY” internet culture, … Continue reading
I’ve listed my “top tens” for many artists, but it’s time to rummage through entire discographies and rank every single from worst to best. This feature will primarily tackle groups who have disbanded or gone on indefinite hiatus. It’s a way for me to re-evaluate my initial thoughts on their singles run. Don’t be surprised … Continue reading
K-Pop debuts can be tricky things. At times, they’re the best song a group delivers. Sometimes, they’re the only song a group delivers! But, debuts can also be huge wtf moments in an artist’s career. In this feature, I’ll be looking back at debut songs through the prism of time, re-evaluating how well they hold … Continue reading
The era of post-GFriend projects is upon us, with Viviz’s debut next month and Yuju’s solo album today. I’m still in shock that the group is no more, but it will be interesting to hear the music they come up with. If Play (놀이) is any indication, Yuju is set to lean into her skills … Continue reading
It’s not quite December yet, but I’m going to kick off this annual feature a little early this year! Over the next few weeks, I’ll be looking at many of K-pop’s biggest agencies and offering my thoughts about how their 2021 went. Next up is HYBE Labels. As usual, the thoughts are my own and … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 