One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Time For The Moon Night (from Time For The Moon Night – 2018) Previous Thoughts: “The track pulls in those lush orchestral elements we’ve been missing since 2016’s superior Rough, drenching the instrumental in layers of strings. I just wish that much … Continue reading
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Tik Tik (from Time For The Moon Night – 2018) This is just a bright, uncomplicated pop song that works extremely well. The chorus is the best part, capturing some of the propulsive energy that made GFriend’s debut era so rewarding. The … Continue reading
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Three Of Cups (from Walpurgis Night – 2020) Three Of Cups is the kind of frothy post-disco pop track GFriend could cast off in their sleep. By the time we got to 2020, they had become quite skilled at imbuing this style … Continue reading
One of the benefits of becoming a “K-pop A-Z” artist on this blog is my commitment to write about each new song released, even if it’s not a promoted single. Infinite have announced an official comeback for next March, but dropped this special digital track on Christmas as a pre-release. I fear a future of … Continue reading
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! The Beginning Of Love (from Fallin’ Light – 2019) I was surprised to see that I’ve barely played this b-side at all, yet I gave it a high rating in my own personal music library. Listening to it again, I can see … Continue reading
As usual, SBS’s year-end festival falls on Christmas day. Because of this, the themes have been getting more and more holiday-focused with each passing year. Everyone and their mother performed a “Christmas version” of their songs tonight, but you don’t get to call something a “Christmas version” just because you throw sleigh bells on the … Continue reading
Following a tradition first established in 2020, I’m celebrating the holidays today with the opening of gifts. These packages come in the form of seasonal K-pop tracks not yet reviewed on the blog. Like last year, I’m either keeping the gifts or planning to return them. Unfortunately, there was a lot of coal in the … Continue reading
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Tarot Cards (from Song Of The Sirens – 2020) Previous Thoughts: “In some ways, it doesn’t feel like Tarot Cards has a chorus at all. It plays more like an extension of the verses, but it works thanks to the breathless arrangement. … Continue reading
Before I move on to J-pop, global pop and other categories, I like to sum up the K-pop countdowns that have filled the past few weeks. The title of this post should technically be called “The Best Overall K-pop Comebacks & Debuts of 2024,” since not every album on this list marks the return of … Continue reading
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Sweety (from Sunny Summer – 2018) Whenever I see this title my mind immediately goes to the early-2000’s S#arp hit. That’s a song GFriend could absolutely devour, but this Sweety comes from the latter end of their career where they were trying … Continue reading
Full disclosure: I’m not a dancer nor choreographer, and dance isn’t necessarily what I flock to K-pop for. Because of that, my choices tend to veer toward more iconic routines that are fun to watch rather than technically challenging or impressive formations. I like to believe the two can co-exist, but I do prefer fun … Continue reading
I don’t usually write a song review unless there’s an accompanying music video, but a disbandment (?) single warrants at least a brief mention. I put a big question mark in that last sentence because it’s unclear whether fromis_9 will remain together after leaving Pledis Entertainment, though history doesn’t set a rosy precedent. This departure … Continue reading
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Sunshine (from LOL – 2016) Sunshine serves a purpose on LOL, but it’s not the kind of song I’m likely to go back to on its own. It’s one of the album’s lower-energy moments, offering a subdued singalong over swinging percussion and … Continue reading
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Sunrise (from Time For Us – 2019) Previous Thoughts: “Sunrise ups the tempo after a brief piano opening, giving the song some kick as we build toward the chorus. The verses veer from languid to sprightly with a balletic finesse, though the … Continue reading
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
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Sunny Summer (from Sunny Summer – 2018) Previous Thoughts: “The synths shimmer with breezy lightness, the brass-kissed chorus feels propulsive without ever challenging expectations, and the instrumental pulses with a nimble stream of funk percussion. As derivative as this all may be, … Continue reading
(Note: If you’re unable to view this post on a phone, please try on another device. I believe the number of video embeds is causing trouble on certain browsers.) Yep, I’m back to writing about K-pop’s year-end festivals. They were some of the earliest events I covered on this blog but over the past few … Continue reading
This is always one of the countdowns I feel least confident about because I tend to listen to K-pop more often than I watch it. It’s also a very subjective category, as my visual/storytelling/conceptual preferences may not match others’. The truth is, K-pop has become so adept at crafting fantastic music videos that I could … Continue reading
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with GFriend’s A-Z reviews here! Summer Rain (from Rainbow – 2017) Previous Thoughts: “So, we’re at a point where disappointment becomes frustration. Summer Rain includes many of the group’s hallmarks, from its retro 90’s beat to the classical sample that bolsters its instrumental. I’ve even seen some … Continue reading
I remain committed to shining a spotlight on K-pop producers each year, but this list is becoming harder to create. The days of “super producers” with signature sounds seem to be behind us. The industry now stuffs its song credits with many names, making it more difficult to discern which producer is responsible for what. … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 