At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. In 2025, I thought I’d try something new and add a weekly feature to supplement my monthly round-up. Each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And … Continue reading
Tag Archives: hyolyn
Song Review: Hyolyn – Shotty
What to do with a K-pop song titled “Shotty”? It certainly doesn’t fit within the Korean lexicon, and if you google the word its technical meaning is medical jargon for “small, hard, and round lymph nodes.” I highly doubt Hyolyn has been inspired to sing a song about lymph nodes, so I assume she’s modified … Continue reading
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from July 13 – 19
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. In 2025, I thought I’d try something new and add a weekly feature to supplement my monthly round-up. Each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And … Continue reading
Song Review: Hyolyn – You And I
As always, it’s a Sistar summer, with groupmates Hyolyn and Soyou releasing new singles within a day of each other. Both ladies have delived summer classics on their own, yet nothing will ever compare to their incredible group work. Lately, Hyolyn has taken a more subdued approach to the season, relying on softer sounds to … Continue reading
Battle of the Title Tracks: Hyolyn’s “Lonely” vs. PSY’s “It’s Art” vs. Super Junior’s “Don’t Don”
As a spin-off to my Battle of the B-sides feature, I’m pleased to announce the arrive of “Battle of the Title Tracks!” In this feature, I’ll be pitting three K-pop title tracks/singles against each other and choosing a winner. These songs will mostly be from pre-2016 since I’ll try to focus on music I haven’t … Continue reading
Song Review: Hyolyn – Wait
I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but Hyolyn has one of those K-pop voices that stops me in my tracks. It’s instantly recognizable and carries so much nostalgia and sentiment. Because of this, I tend to hold her music to an almost impossible standard. I mean, the songs must live up to that perfect voice, … Continue reading
KCON LA 2024: Recap & Review
This year’s KCON was bigger and better than ever, stretched out over three days and dozens of stages. It’s my eighth year attending so I feel like a veteran at this point, but each year’s a bit different. 2023 was a stressful experience in several ways so I wasn’t sure what to expect in 2024. … Continue reading
Song Review: Hyolyn – This Love (ft. Paul Blanco)
Three out of four members of Sistar are making comebacks this summer, leading fans like me to long for the summer bops of yore. Nobody did summer better than Sistar, and it’s impossible for solo releases to fully recapture this magic. With This Love (이게 사랑이지 뭐야), Hyolyn takes a slightly more subdued path toward … Continue reading
Song Review: Hyolyn – No Thanks
Hyolyn absolutely killed her Queendom stages. She seemed the odds-on favorite throughout much of the competition, but was ultimately undone by a relative lack of international fandom power. Such is the business of modern K-pop, I guess. For me, she’ll always enjoy “legend” status based on her work with Sistar alone. But, I have a … Continue reading
Queendom: Season Two – Finale Recap and Ranking
Warning: This recap is not spoiler-free. Proceed at your own risk! EPISODE ONE RECAP // EPISODE TWO RECAP // EPISODE THREE RECAP // EPISODE FOUR RECAP // EPISODE FIVE RECAP// EPISODE SIX RECAP // EPISODE SEVEN RECAP // EPISODE EIGHT RECAP // EPISODE NINE RECAP // Ranking Queendom’s Final Singles I always kick off these … Continue reading
Reviewing and Ranking Queendom’s Final Singles (Brave Girls, Hyolyn, Kep1er, LOONA, VIVIZ, WJSN)
As a supplement to my individual episode recaps, I like to take a look at the original songs that make up Queendom‘s finale. These were pre-released ahead of next week’s performances, which means we can judge them on their own merits rather than the effects-heavy stages that will no doubt bring a healthy dose of … Continue reading
Queendom: Season Two – Episode Nine Recap and Ranking
Warning: This recap is not spoiler-free. Proceed at your own risk! EPISODE ONE RECAP // EPISODE TWO RECAP // EPISODE THREE RECAP // EPISODE FOUR RECAP // EPISODE FIVE RECAP// EPISODE SIX RECAP // EPISODE SEVEN RECAP // EPISODE EIGHT RECAP This week, we finish up the FANtastic Queendom round, made up of songs chosen … Continue reading
Queendom: Season Two – Episode Eight Recap and Ranking
Warning: This recap is not spoiler-free. Proceed at your own risk! EPISODE ONE RECAP // EPISODE TWO RECAP // EPISODE THREE RECAP // EPISODE FOUR RECAP // EPISODE FIVE RECAP// EPISODE SIX RECAP // EPISODE SEVEN RECAP We begin this week with a seven (!) minute recap of the last round. Trust me, MNET, those … Continue reading
Queendom: Season Two – Episode Seven Recap and Ranking
Warning: This recap is not spoiler-free. Proceed at your own risk! EPISODE ONE RECAP // EPISODE TWO RECAP // EPISODE THREE RECAP // EPISODE FOUR RECAP // EPISODE FIVE RECAP// EPISODE SIX RECAP We’re at the point in any Queendom/Kingdom series where I check the episode running length before watching and audibly cheer if it’s … Continue reading
Queendom: Season Two – Episode Six Recap and Ranking
Warning: This recap is not spoiler-free. Proceed at your own risk! EPISODE ONE RECAP // EPISODE TWO RECAP // EPISODE THREE RECAP // EPISODE FOUR RECAP // EPISODE FIVE RECAP Before we get into the main content, this episode kicks off with a cute (but completely skippable) vote on popularity categories (ie: best visual, etc). … Continue reading
Queendom: Season Two – Episode Five Recap
Warning: This recap is not spoiler-free. Proceed at your own risk! EPISODE ONE RECAP // EPISODE TWO RECAP // EPISODE THREE RECAP // EPISODE FOUR RECAP We’re in between rounds at the start of this episode, which means a lot of behind-the-scenes footage and a fair amount of filler. It’s entertaining to watch, but there’s … Continue reading
Queendom: Season Two – Episode Four Recap and Ranking
Warning: This recap is not spoiler-free. Proceed at your own risk! EPISODE ONE RECAP // EPISODE TWO RECAP // EPISODE THREE RECAP We’re back with the remaining performances of the Cover Song Battle. Apart from one big standout, last week’s stages were a bit underwhelming. Let’s see if this week can turn the tables, or … Continue reading
Queendom: Season Two – Episode Three Recap and Ranking
Warning: This recap is not spoiler-free. Proceed at your own risk! EPISODE ONE RECAP // EPISODE TWO RECAP This week’s episode took quite awhile to get to its performances. First, we had reaction and fallout from last week’s voting results. Then, we moved into a lengthy series of mini games where the groups could win … Continue reading
Queendom: Season Two – Episode Two Recap and Ranking
Warning: This recap is not spoiler-free. Proceed at your own risk! EPISODE ONE RECAP // EPISODE THREE RECAP It’s time to finish the first round of Queendom performances. There’s only four of them this week, but the show still stretched for two uninterrupted hours. That’s a lot of backstage filler, folks. Watching the first few … Continue reading
Queendom: Season Two – Episode One Recap and Ranking
Warning: This recap is not spoiler-free. Proceed at your own risk! Well, I’m back. I debated whether I wanted to cover season two of Queendom. Honestly, I’ve enjoyed this franchise less and less with each season, and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to invest the time and energy it takes to watch and … Continue reading