It’s become increasingly difficult for me to review Jun. K’s solo material because, more and more, our musical preferences just don’t match. He’s been at the forefront of experimenting with the future bass genre, which — try as I might — hasn’t been a style I can get into. His more down-tempo material tends to … Continue reading
About two months ago, I gave up hope that the Every DAY6 Project would continue to be a year-long release of title track-worthy material. What started as an ambitious opportunity for the guys to display a variety of promoted songs has gradually turned into a complete-the-album b-side roll out. That would be fine, but DAY6’s … Continue reading
Most of the time, a kpop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, sometimes b-side tracks deserve recognition, too. In the singles-oriented world of kpop, I wanted to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. As much as I’ve enjoyed Twice’s singles, I’ve never pegged … Continue reading
If there’s anything I’ve learned from covering pop music for over a decade, it’s that songwriters and collaborators are just as important as the artists themselves. Though they often work behind the scenes, this feature is a chance to shine the light on some of k-pop’s most innovative and accomplished producers and composers. Daniel Caesar … Continue reading
As GOT7’s Korean output has continued to evolve, their Japanese releases have tended to stick to a similar pattern. For better or worse, they’ve developed a swag-driven j-pop persona that favors attitude and bluster over melody. This has resulted in a guilty pleasure or two, but never a song that can rival their best work. … Continue reading
In 2017, Twice has continued to dominate charts and secure their position as the number one girl group in Korea. But neither of their singles this year packed quite the impossibly contagious, long-lasting effect of their opening Like Ooh-Ah/Cheer Up/TT trilogy. This can be traced directly to production duo Black Eyed Pilseung, who sat the … Continue reading
Late last year, I took a look at the “big three” k-pop agencies and offered my thoughts about how they were doing in 2016. Now that a year has passed, it’s the perfect time for a second evaluation. As with 2016’s review, this is written from an outsider’s perspective. I’m not privy to any business-related … Continue reading
I haven’t been a big fan of GOT7‘s shift in style over the past year and a half, but sub-unit JJ Project’s melodic Tomorrow, Today was one of this summer’s nicest surprises. By bringing back a sense of classic pop songcraft, JB and Jinyoung successfully laid the groundwork for the resurgence of melody in GOT7’s … Continue reading
October will soon be cluttered with idol survival/debut series, from The Unit to YG’s Mix Nine, to JYP’s Stray Kids. Of the three, Stray Kids seems set to be pitched as more of a “road to debut” documentary than a build-a-group competition, so pre-release Hellevator presumably acts as a teaser of what the actual group might … Continue reading
Twice have always seemed perfectly suited to the Japanese market. Their sugary blend of chirpy vocals and catchphrase-ready hooks echoes much of what has made j-pop successful, and it’s no surprise that they’ve already seen success with re-recordings of hits like Signal and TT. But with One More Time, the girls have gone full tilt … Continue reading
The beauty behind the kind of sustained release schedule DAY6 has utilized this year is that it gives an artist the opportunity to display a wide variety of sounds without the risk and money that goes into a full-fledged, long-anticipated comeback. But over the past few months, I fear that DAY6 are started to fall … Continue reading
Earlier this year, 2PM‘s Junho released one of the very best songs of the summer. Unfortunately, Ice Cream was only promoted in Japan so it didn’t receive the full k-pop comeback treatment. Instead, he’s cobbled together some of the b-sides from his past few j-pop albums and re-recorded them in Korean for his first domestic … Continue reading
DAY6’s monthly Every DAY6 project kicked off with a bang during 2017’s first few months, but like every promotional plan this ambitious and long-lasting, the impact of their releases has started to lull as the year has gone on. It’s not that the past few months’ songs have been of poor quality, but they definitely … Continue reading
One fourth of a quartet of game-changing first generation k-pop boybands that also includes H.O.T, Sechs Kies and Shinhwa, g.o.d quickly established their signature blend of funk and balladry. In many ways, their sound and success became the framework for what would eventually become JYP Entertainment. Though they promoted together for six years before a … Continue reading
Before I go on to ravage parts of Papillon, let me introduce this review by stating that Jackson is one of my very favorite k-pop personalities. Though I’ve been a listener of k-pop for a long time, I never really got into the variety show side of things until mid-2014. It was then that the … Continue reading
As JYP Entertainment’s first idol band, DAY6 had a large hill to climb. And for the first couple of years, it looked as if they would never receive the type of heavy promotion it would take to popularize a rock group in the world of flashy dance acts. But then the 2017 Every DAY6 project … Continue reading
Last year, I marked the halfway point of 2016 by looking at some tracks that had either grown better or worse with time. This year, I’m a little late — but better late than never! As with 2016, the vast majority of my reviews still reflect my thoughts about a song, but sometimes it’s impossible … Continue reading
After a burst of music show performances in the spring, last month’s Every DAY6 release Hi Hello didn’t seem to be pushed or promoted very hard. But though that song felt a bit underwhelming the first few listens, it was one of July’s biggest growers, offering a hazy, subdued counterpoint to the summer’s more bombastic … 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 2017 Overall Thoughts July is always the month I look most forward to when it comes … Continue reading
Before there was GOT7, JJ Project debuted with soon-to-be members JB and Jinyoung. Their 2012 single Bounce was a fun, uptempo party track that blended a wide assortment of genres to create an addictive burst of k-pop energy. In the years since, GOT7’s material has strayed away from the “fun” side of things to explore … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 