Despite Infinite being far and away my favorite k-pop group, I’m always a little hesitant when approaching their Japanese releases. Unlike the consistent quality of their Korean output, their j-pop material involves work with a more diverse collection of composers, resulting in a hodgepodge of different sounds. Luckily, D.N.A sees them trying on a punchy … Continue reading
Who really needs a chorus, anyway? This seems to be the prevailing theory around much of this year’s pop music, and it’s almost always a failing proposition. It’s also evidenced by 24K’s latest offering, which despite flashes of quality, falls victim to an overall sense of jumbled hooks that never fully connect. Throughout the years … Continue reading
For too long, J-Min has seemed like an afterthought within SM Entertainment’s larger roster. I suspect much of this is due to the fact that she works within a rock-oriented, singer-songwriter territory that the agency really doesn’t specialize in. It could also be because her career really kicked off in Japan before she started releasing … Continue reading
As well as being the main vocalist for boy group 2PM, Jun. K is responsible for my very favorite 2PM-related song — the utterly magnificent Love & Hate. His solo career has been more hit and miss since then, but I’m always curious what he’ll come up with next. As far as soloists-from-popular-bands go, his … Continue reading
Produce 101, and its resulting girl group I.O.I, has been a strange phenomenon. The show itself managed to spawn several strong hit singles, but once the group actually debuted, they’ve struggled to find a sound (or song) that matched the delirious heights of Pick Me. Whatta Man is no different, offering an unoriginal mixture of … Continue reading
As part of BLACKPINK’s double title track debut, Boombayah (붐바야) acts as their more uptempo party offering. But whatever BLACKPINK released, the comparisons with YG’s other girl group, 2NE1, were inevitable. Boombayah feels a lot more like 2NE1 than their other track, Whistle, and that becomes both its strength and weakness. Boombayah kicks off with some truly … Continue reading
After years of teasing us, YG Entertainment’s new girl group, BLACKPINK, has finally made their debut. And therein lies one of YG’s biggest problems. After such a ridiculously long wait, anything short of “2016’s best song” is going to come off as a disappointment. Whistle (휘파람) is not among the year’s best, but at the … Continue reading
Monsta X is pulling a BTS and following up this May’s All In with a second promoted track from their latest album. Stuck (네게만 집착해) has the benefit of nearly three months behind it to help ingratiate itself, but even at the outset it shone as one of the stronger tracks on the album. Stuck … Continue reading
2016 has seen veteran boy group B.A.P shift towards a lighter uptempo pop sound, and it’s working better for them than I would have ever expected. That’s My Jam feels like a natural extension of their very strong mini album Carnival, released earlier this year. The song augments a trendy EDM beat into something much … Continue reading
Girl group Dal Shabet has been with us for five years now, moving from hyper cutesy pop to a more mature blend of dance music. Though they’ve never won a music show or broken into the a-list, they’ve kept at it and their output has only improved. The group now moves into a new era … Continue reading
Co-ed groups are a rarity in k-pop, and although Y Teen isn’t an official group (they were formed for promotional purposes), it’s still fun to see this kind of configuration. Y Teen consists of Monsta X and part of girl group WJSN (Cosmic Girls), both from Starship Entertainment. The song itself definitely caters more to … Continue reading
As a newly debuted boy group, UP10TION’s management have smartly had them make incredibly frequent comebacks, never letting more than a couple months pass between albums. In this time, the group has cycled through all manner of concepts, showing their versatility but never really marking a definitive sound for themselves the way a group like … Continue reading
I hesitate to review commemorative anniversary songs because, more often than not, their sole purpose isn’t to be a terrific song, but a marker of a group’s career milestone. And I certainly congratulate Girls’ Generation on their incredible nine years together. Even at this stage in their career, they remain one of k-pop’s most defining … Continue reading
Throughout their six years together, Nine Muses have been one of the most consistent, underrated girl groups in all of k-pop. Even with so many member changes, their music has always remained quality. 9MUSES A is their first sub-unit project, and its very existence is honestly a little confusing. I get the need for solos … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I’ll look back at my three favorite title tracks by k-pop artists. Unlike my end-of-year countdowns, jpop and Japanese releases by kpop artists are ineligible, though I will give the great ones a spotlight. For my top three tracks, I’ll take my own ratings into account, but there is a … Continue reading
WM Entertainment’s Oh My Girl just won’t stop this year, releasing comeback after comeback. This isn’t a complaint (after all, they should be doing this as a rookie group), but I do wish their label-mates B1A4 were given the chance to finally release that new album they’ve been promising us. Even though it hasn’t been … Continue reading
I just love it when this happens. INX are a newly-debuted 5-member boy group from an agency that I’ve never heard of, and although they’re clearly working within a budget, they’ve burst onto the scene with an incredible debut song. It’s rare to find a debut group who aren’t simply a carbon copy of several … Continue reading
Listening to How’s This? (어때?), it’s hard to believe that HyunA’s Red was one of my favorite k-pop songs of 2014. Since then, the quality of her music has seemed to devolve with each passing release, culminating in what I hope is her low point. “How’s This?” — she asks us? Well, it’s pretty darn … Continue reading
As a companion to my Top Ten Singles lists, it’s time to look at some of the best album tracks and b-sides from the best artists. B1A4 is one of my favorite k-pop groups, and a lot of that is due to their strength as an albums artist. Here’s the best of the best. Honorable Mentions: … 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. THOMAS TROELSEN … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 