New K-pop releases are usually telegraphed well in advance. Surprise drops are still relatively rare. BLACKPINK’s Jennie recently announced a solo album scheduled for March, but pre-release track ZEN arrives with no warning on a day and time artists don’t often release new music. It’s fun to be caught off balance for once — especially … Continue reading
K-pop is littered with acts who – for one reason or another – didn’t get the full spotlight they deserved. I’ve spent plenty of time ranking and reviewed the industry’s biggest artists, but these underrated acts should never be forgotten. This feature will take a look at disbanded groups and rank/rate their entire singles run, … Continue reading
Sandwiched between Western and Lunar New Year, January has been pretty dry when it comes to new music. And, most of what’s been released hasn’t felt particularly noteworthy. In many ways, it’s as if we’ve simply kicked the start of 2025 down the road, finally ready to open the floodgates next month. If that’s the … Continue reading
K-pop’s title tracks might gain most of listeners’ attention, but many album tracks are worth equal spotlight. I call these “buried treasures.” Beyond this, K-pop’s albums deliver thousands of additional tracks that settle for a more limited audience. It’s these songs that will become a part of my “battle of the b-sides” feature. In this … Continue reading
(G)I-DLE’s Minnie pre-released a song from her new album earlier this month and now its title track HER has been unveiled as she makes her official solo debut. She’s the fourth member of the group to venture out on her own, and rather than reinvent the wheel HER sounds like something you’d hear on any … Continue reading
ZEROBASEONE are having a very busy start to the year. Days after their new Japanese single we have pre-release Doctor! Doctor!, to be followed by two EPs — one J-pop, one K-pop — in the near future. Judging by its exclamation-heavy title, you might expect Doctor! Doctor! to be some campy pop romp (at least, … Continue reading
After years of waiting since their stint on 2021’s competition show LOUD, KickFlip unveiled their frustratingly repetitive pre-release Umm Great earlier this month. And with the release of their mini album today, they become 2025’s first major debut act. As I stated back in Umm Great‘s review, I had hoped this group would balk current … Continue reading
GOT7 has been a good model for how you keep an idol group going even after its members have moved on to solo endeavors. All seven left JYP Entertainment in 2021 but have managed to come back together several times with new music. We haven’t heard from them since 2022, making the release of Python … Continue reading
Rookie boy group ALL(H)OURS has been in the news recently, as K-pop titan JYP Entertainment recently listed their agency as a subsidiary. I’m not sure what this means when it comes to company resources, but it does get their new release plum placement on JYP’s YouTube channel. Given this development, it’s the perfect time for … Continue reading
Intergenerational K-pop collaborations are usually reserved for special events like year-end festivals. But sometimes, these team-ups make their way into a recording studio so we can enjoy the music for longer. Pop legend Kim Wan Sun pre-dates the idea of “K-pop generations,” known as the Korean Madonna even before Seo Taiji & Boys came around … Continue reading
For their first full-length Drip, BABYMONSTER have benefitted from an old-fashioned album campaign. These promotions include a pre-release, a title track and multiple follow-ups. We don’t see this approach very often in K-pop anymore, and the finale of this new music video promises even more to come. Today, we have the mid-tempo Really Like You, … Continue reading
Angsty rock influences seem to be a major driving force in recent boy group material, following in the footsteps of TXT’s successful rock makeover in 2021. The latest group to mope around with guitars is WEi — an act who has changed styles more than once throughout their idol career. Unfortunately, new single Not Enough … Continue reading
It’s been a long seventeen month wait for us Sweetune aficionados. The production duo helmed NINE.i’s excellent Turn It Off in August 2023 and swiftly disappeared, briefly reappearing for forgettable H1-Key and DKZ b-sides last year. Now, they’re back in title track territory with BBGirls’ new single (and first under their new agency) Love 2. … Continue reading
I’ve developed this little cadre of fifth-gen boy groups who are making K-pop really fun for me these days. At the top are my big three: TWS, RIIZE and BOYNEXTDOOR. Then, there are ZEROBASEONE and &TEAM, playing the role of the cool cousins who come visit every once and awhile. For me, their music has … Continue reading
“Special” albums can mean a few things in K-pop. For GFriend, it meant two new songs. Today, for ONEUS it means a handful of new material and a ton of re-recorded hits with their current five-member configuration. Last month’s Rupert’s Drop is also included in the tracklist, while IKUK acts as the title track. Buoyed … Continue reading
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Always (from Season Of Memories – 2025) Just one day after concluding, the GFriend A-Z feature briefly stirs to life once more because the group has made its reunion today and released a new b-side. And… surprise, surprise… Always is not a … Continue reading
EDIT: Clearly, the original review below misunderstood this song as a b-side rather than the title track. One week later, Season Of Memories has been performed on music shows and has a music video (added below). My initial thoughts haven’t changed much. I think the song is perfectly fine but doesn’t give me the sense … Continue reading
From their late-2021 debut to 2023’s I Am, IVE unveiled one of the most bulletproof singles runs we’ve seen in the past few years in K-pop. Song quality became more hit-or-miss as we moved into 2024 and the group expanded their sound. I firmly believe they’re at their best when delivering mini pop epics. Pre-release … Continue reading
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! ZZAN (from Just One Bite Season 2 OST – 2019) My GFriend A-Z feature comes to a close in an unlikely way — with an OST offering that doesn’t even have an official audio upload on YouTube! Fortunately, this is a very … Continue reading
I’ve listed my “top tens” for many artists, but it’s time to rummage through entire discographies and rank every single from worst to best. This feature will primarily tackle groups who have disbanded or gone on indefinite hiatus. It’s a way for me to re-evaluate my initial thoughts on their singles run. Don’t be surprised … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 