At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. But each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And even more than that, I’ll attempt to rank them from my least-to-most-liked. I invite you to share … Continue reading
There are a number of acts who have debuted in the past few decades and have dozens of song ratings on this blog. I thought it would be fun to lay these ratings out in chronological order, line-graph style, and take a macro view of their careers so far. Then, similar to my “Underrated K-pop” … Continue reading
Hyolyn has become synonymous with summer, first as a member of Sistar and then as a solo act. She’s leveraged that position once again for a new mid-summer album but isn’t playing into obvious summer tropes. New single ChecK could be played year round as long as you’re in the mood for some more Y2K … Continue reading
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 