It’s been a long wait for new material from Taeyeon, and even longer since she’s actively promoted in Korea. With the release of digital single Four Seasons (사계), it doesn’t seem as if that promotional lull will end any time soon, but it’s nice to hear her voice again. The song arrives just over two … Continue reading
I rarely get a chance to talk about K-pop’s music videos, even though they are without a doubt one of the industry’s most important facets. A dynamite video can really make a song stand out, and the following ten clips brought memorable visuals and storylines to the year’s K-pop offerings. + Make sure to check … 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. November 2018 Overall Thoughts November is always packed with comebacks, but rarely have we seen one … Continue reading
Earlier this year, I spent much of my review of Hyoyeon’s first DJ HYO track bemoaning its lack of structural risk-taking. It slavishly followed the standard EDM, beat-drop archetype. And the thing is… new single Punk Right Now kind of does the same thing. Yet, the song takes this formula and makes it memorable with hard-hitting, percussive … Continue reading
Though Girls’ Generation don’t often promote as a full group anymore, SM Entertainment has leveraged their success for a variety of solos and sub-units. This has mostly consisted of albums by leader Taeyeon, but now it’s time for Yuri to take a shot at solo stardom. Apart from her work with the group, she’s found … 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. September 2018 Overall Thoughts September’s usually a pretty slow month, with the Chuseok holiday holding back … Continue reading
When last year’s contract negotiations ended with three of its members leaving SM Entertainment to pursue other endeavors, the future of Girls’ Generation seemed to be in flux. The group could have easily seen their tenth anniversary as a natural ending point and went their separate ways. But lucky for us, Girls’ Generation is back … Continue reading
In just a few short years, Taeyeon has gone from being the leader of Girls’ Generation to one of SM Entertainment’s most bankable solo stars. And with the recent arrival of her Japanese debut, she’s released just enough singles for a top ten list. Now, my favorite Taeyeon song of all time happens to be an … Continue reading
As successful as Taeyeon has been in Korea, I’m surprised that it took SM this long to launch her as a soloist in Japan. The agency has been killing it with their Japanese releases lately by maintaining their artists’ signature sounds with a few j-pop twists. Taeyeon could have easily promoted Stay in Korea, and … Continue reading
It’s been over a year since Taeyeon released her impressive full length album, My Voice, which went a long way towards fostering her versatility as a performer. With Something New, she continues to experiment with genre and prove why she’s one of SM Entertainment’s most valuable assets. From the outset, Something New is a different … Continue reading
With over 2,300 songs on my iPhone’s “K-Pop Singles” playlist, I thought it would be fun to add a bit of unpredictability to my song review posts. So as a result, we have the “Random Shuffle Review” feature. The rules are simple. I fire up my playlist, press “shuffle,” and whatever song plays first gets the … Continue reading
Generic, chorus-less EDM pop like Hyoyeon’s Sober is becoming the most difficult material for me to review. First of all, there are thousands of these songs out there. What else is there to say that I haven’t said over and over already? But more than that, it’s getting harder to feign interest in a song … Continue reading
K-pop is a highly visual medium, and although my song reviews try not to focus on the accompanying music videos, I certainly have my opinions! Here are my top ten visual moments of 2017, along with quite a few incredible honorable mentions. + Make sure to check out the rest of the year-end countdowns here! … Continue reading
The end of the year countdowns are here! We’re kicking things off with the big one… the 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, songs must have had … Continue reading
Over the past few years, SM Entertainment has made an annual tradition of releasing the same sort of gentle piano ballad for Christmas. All have been enjoyable in their own right, but none have matched EXO’s utterly gorgeous Miracles in December from 2013. EXO will be coming back with another winter single next week, but … 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. Daniel Caesar … Continue reading
The Snowball Project mockumentary has been one of 2017’s best surprises, offering continually entertaining doses of heightened behind-the-scenes mischief for SM and Mystic Entertainment. The series’ soundtrack has been more hit and miss. The unapologetically lame Lemonade Love kicked things off in upbeat, earnest fashion, but Snowball‘s next mission saw each agency cover a song … 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. August 2017 Overall Thoughts August was a weird month. Based on prior releases, if you would have … Continue reading
Most of the time, a kpop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, sometimes b-side tracks deserve recognition, too. In the singles-oriented world of kpop, I wanted to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. While SM Entertainment doesn’t always pick the right title tracks … Continue reading
Of the two title tracks released from Girls’ Generation‘s tenth anniversary comeback, the bright Holiday was clearly designed to be the wide-appeal, summer-themed pop hit. It feels like a natural follow-up to 2015’s Party, but thankfully downplays that song’s gimmickry in favor of something less saccharine. In fact, Holiday more closely recalls the kind of … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 