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
Tag Archives: jyp
K-Pop Risers & Fallers: October 2026
Rather than contain my “Risers and Fallers” feature to a single post in June, I’m going to share a bite-sized version at the end of each month. This will let me account for more songs and make a nice lead-in to the monthly round-up post. I anticipate most of these ratings adjustments will be negligible: … Continue reading
Buried Treasure: Xdinary Heroes – u and me in arguments
A K-pop act’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. 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. Initially, my reception to Xdinary Heroes’ … Continue reading
Song Review: NMIXX – Birthday Wish
Around this time last year, NMIXX scored the biggest hit of their career. The mammoth Blue Valentine and its accompanying album seemed to point toward a period of chart dominance for the group. This spring’s Heavy Serenade has stuck around the charts as well, but never felt nearly as buzzy as its predecessor. Now, the … Continue reading
JYP (J.Y. PARK): A Career In Song Ratings
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
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from October 11 – 17
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
Song Review: Xdinary Heroes – Obsessed With Youth
Xdinary Heroes are at an interesting fork in their career, having recently lost their drummer Gunil under dubious circumstances. This comes on the heels of (in my opinion) their strongest title track yet. April’s Voyager quickly grew into a real 2026 highlight, as has their discography overall. I hate to see momentum get derailed under … Continue reading
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from October 4 – 10
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
NIZIU: A Career In Song Ratings
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
Buried Treasure: KickFlip – Rockin’
A K-pop act’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. 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. I really like KickFlip’s new title … Continue reading
Song Review: KickFlip – Kick Off The Wall (ft. iann dior)
A week after pre-releasing their track Puzzle Piece, KickFlip have returned with their fifth mini album. Like all their albums, the group took part in song composition, working with established producers and artists. In the case of title track Kick Off The Wall, they paired with the guys from LDN Noise and American rapper iann … Continue reading
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from September 27 – October 3
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
The Top Three K-Pop Songs of September 2026
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 2026 Overall Thoughts I don’t usually have great expectations for September in K-pop. It tends … Continue reading
Song Review: NiziU – Sour Grapes
JYP’s NiziU have straddled the line between Japanese and Korean promotions, finding the most success in the former market. In this way, they’re almost the opposite of fellow Nizi Project winners NEXZ. Title track Sour Grapes is their latest Korean work, spearheading a new mini album. This song repaints NiziU with a chic aura, easily … Continue reading
Song Review: KickFlip – Puzzle Piece
KickFlip have developed a pattern of dropping a pre-release before each new album. These are often more sentimental rock tracks before the title track hits us with a bombastic burst of fun. They’ve also been uniformly excellent. From Band-Aid to Twenty, their pre-releases have almost done more to make me a fan than their heavily … Continue reading
K-Pop Risers & Fallers: September 2026
Rather than contain my “Risers and Fallers” feature to a single post in June, I’m going to share a bite-sized version at the end of each month. This will let me account for more songs and make a nice lead-in to the monthly round-up post. I anticipate most of these ratings adjustments will be negligible: … Continue reading
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from September 6 – 12
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
Song Review: NEXZ – Upgrade
After the MV teaser for NEXZ’s Upgrade was released yesterday, social media went crazy with Cortis fans accusing the group of plagiarism since many of its L.A.-based shots seemed to match the MV for last year’s Go. It’s rich of any K-pop group’s fans to cite plagiarism, especially in defense of a group whose entire … Continue reading
XDINARY HEROES: A Career In Song Ratings
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
The Top Three K-Pop Songs of August 2026
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 2026 Overall Thoughts The less said about August, the better. These past few monthly round-ups … Continue reading