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. April 2020 Overall Thoughts With stay-at-home orders in effect all month, there was certainly time to … 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
Genic are one of my (many) great J-pop hopes. The co-ed group has already been pitched as the successors to agency-seniors AAA, and they certainly have that potential. They were formed through Avex’s a-genic project, one of the many J-pop youtube series I would desperately like to see subtitled. I’ve been loving their music since … Continue reading
Since its release last month, I’ve held up News’ Story as 2020’s best J-pop album so far, but Miyavi’s new Holy Nights might just give it a run for its money. Album track Heaven Is A Place On Earth is worth the price of admission alone, with a final spine-tingling minute-and-a-half that may just be … 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
Hey, I kept my promise! After February’s maiden voyage, I’m back with the second Bias List J-Pop Round-Up! This is the place where I get to recommend Japanese tracks or albums that I’ve been into over the past few weeks. Like before, this won’t be a place for Japanese songs by Korean artists. Those will … Continue reading
As entertainment industries around the globe slowed down in March, Johnny’s Entertainment powered ahead. The month brought us no less than three full JE albums, including one from my faves Kis-My-Ft2. Granted, these releases had been scheduled and announced months in advance, but it was still a nice treasure trove just when I needed it … Continue reading
Like most everyone in the world right now, I’ve suddenly found myself with a surplus of indoor time. Too much indoor time, if I’m being honest. I could be spending that time churning out blog post after blog post, but it’s funny how the upending of a schedule also upends productivity. So instead, I’m mostly … Continue reading
Like Japan’s leading purveyor of male idol acts, Johnny’s Entertainment, the groups of Exile Tribe have their own individual quirks but largely adhere to a proven house style. Generations are the agency’s most quintessential boy band, complete with a princely, straight-out-of-an-anime character in vocalist Katayose Ryota. They’ve been churning out music for over seven years … Continue reading
Of all the Jr. Exile groups, The Rampage have consistently been my favorite. Though they have sixteen (!) members among their rank, I’ve always found their trio of vocalists to be their greatest appeal. Group center Kawamura Kazuma is a particularly magnetic performer, with one of the most charismatic hip-hop tones of this pop era. … Continue reading
I haven’t written much about any of the artists from Japan’s LDH empire since 2016, but I’m hoping to change that this year. Over the past few months, I’ve actively engrossed myself in the history of the agency’s Exile Tribe brand of groups, inspired by a late-2019 streak of excellent singles. That streak has continued … 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. March 2020 Overall Thoughts I don’t know about you all, but my mind wasn’t exactly on … Continue reading
Even in the middle of a global pandemic, Monsta X are reliably churning out new music. Their trilingual career is turning out to be one of modern K-pop’s most prolific. Seriously, hats off to their work ethic. Though to be fair, I’ll bet Wishing On The Same Sky was recorded some time ago. After all, … Continue reading
After several years of success in Korea, Seventeen made their Japanese debut with 2018’s excellent Call Call Call. Since then, the group has released one J-pop follow-up, which sacrificed Call’s upbeat funk-rock energy for something more in line with their newly “matured” Korean work. New single Fallin’ Flower (舞い落ちる花びら) largely replicates this mood, albeit with … 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
Between Korea and Japan, Dreamcatcher have been quite active these past few months. For each of their most recent promotional periods, they’ve released both a K-pop and J-pop single within mere weeks of each other. Their Korean work has been more willing to experiment, which resulted in the brilliant Scream last month. Japanese tracks like … 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
This countdown is far overdue, pushed back only because I assumed its audience would be pretty limited. But, in a ho-hum month of music, I need to gush a little. Kis-My-Ft2 is not only my favorite of the many Johnny’s Entertainment groups, but also my favorite J-pop idol group. For my money, they boast the … Continue reading
Most of the time, a k-pop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, 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. Despite being active in Japan for many years, Super Junior don’t … Continue reading
First and foremost, The Bias List will always be a K-pop website. However, that leaves a lot of great J-pop off the table. I try to review singles here and there, but I just don’t have time to spotlight the industry’s many buried treasures. With that in mind, I’ve decided to start a (monthly?) feature … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 