I’m back with more J-pop b-sides and singles that never received a full Bias List review. This round-up covers material from October 2020 to January 2021, and I hope you find some treasures to add to your playlist! SixTONES – S.I.X / Special Order SixTONES released their first full-length album earlier this month, and it’s … 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. December 2020 Overall Thoughts It always feels like a bit of a comedown posting one of … Continue reading
I’ve compiled a “Best of J-pop” list every year since The Bias List started, but it always came from a very narrow point of view. In 2020, one of my personal resolutions was to follow the J-pop industry more broadly and (hopefully) expand my palette in the process. So while those past lists definitely included some epic … Continue reading
I’ve compiled a “Best of J-pop” list every year since The Bias List started, but it always came from a very narrow point of view. In 2020, one of my personal resolutions was to follow the J-pop industry more broadly and (hopefully) expand my palette in the process. So while those past lists definitely included some epic … Continue reading
The rollout for Hey! Say! JUMP’s new album has been kind of fun. A few months ago, they secretly uploaded a couple of music videos on youtube under mysterious pen names. Without revealing their faces, these “new” groups established a bit of buzz, though anyone remotely familiar with Jump’s vocals instantly knew it was them. … Continue reading
It’s been awhile! As I’ve started covering more J-pop singles on the blog, there haven’t been as many tracks to feature in a J-pop round-up. But, one of the purposes of this feature is to unearth buried treasures. The seven songs below are a mix of singles and b-sides that have caught my attention over … 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. July 2020 Overall Thoughts For the first time in months, I feel pretty good about where … Continue reading
Over the course of the past few months, Hey! Say! JUMP have become the most musically interesting Johnny’s group. Having been a fan for a while now, this a surprising – and gratifying – transformation. I mean, these are the guys who go around Japan in ridiculous white jumpsuits solving people’s problems. This is the … Continue reading
You thought Stray Kids’ Side Effects was a wild ride? Well, you were right… and I dearly love that song. But, it’s got competition. I’ve wanted to write about Hey! Say! JUMP’s「I」ever since it was released last October, but couldn’t figure out a way to do it that would actually attract readers! So, I decided … Continue reading
Longtime readers of The Bias List will know how stingy I am when it comes to rating songs nine and above. But, there’s plenty of music that qualifies. In fact, I’ve got a playlist of over 600 of them sitting in my iTunes. The vast majority of these are singles or title tracks, but there … Continue reading
Though I’ve enjoyed Hey! Say! JUMP’s music for years now, I was still surprised by how much I loved last October’s Parade album. It felt like Johnny’s Entertainment at its best – widescreen, ambitious and infectiously joyful. With a roster of vocalists that I will politely call “nasally,” JUMP have never been a group to … 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. February 2020 Overall Thoughts What to say about February 2020? As the month went on, it … Continue reading
Despite its title, I’m quite confident that this list does not represent the “best” J-pop tracks of the year. It’s a much more filtered list than my K-pop countdowns, because I just don’t keep up with J-pop as strongly as I’d like to. So, what you’re getting here is twenty great tracks by artists that … Continue reading
Most of this year’s releases by Johnny’s Entertainment artists have left me underwhelmed (hence, the lack of new reviews). But lately, the agency is enjoying a sort of renaissance. The new Sexy Zone singles were both stronger than the group has been in a year. The upcoming Kis-My-Ft2 tracks sound super promising. Arashi are finally … 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. October 2019 Overall Thoughts Well, friends, we have finally climbed out of the murk! October was … 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 2018 Overall Thoughts Well, if July was disappointing, August was downright anemic. For the first … Continue reading
It’s only been three weeks since we last heard from Japan’s Hey! Say! JUMP, but the guys have made a speedy return with the release of their sixth full length album. Banger Night leads that album, and represents a dramatic shift in sound for the group. I’m a sucker for whenever Johnny’s Entertainment groups go … Continue reading
It’s hard to believe that Hey! Say! JUMP celebrated their tenth anniversary last year. After a decade in the industry, most pop acts begin to fade, moving on to less potent material that often feels like a retread of earlier sounds. But JUMP debuted incredibly young, with its oldest members now only in their late … Continue reading
