With another year of KCON behind me, I’m feeling recharged. This is something I needed after a lackluster K-pop summer. Though KCON seemed a bit cursed at the beginning (both ONEUS and Chungha had to cancel, following Everglow who pulled out weeks earlier), it turned out to be a great year. It’s my fifth KCON … Continue reading
The other day, I cobbled together a playlist of every LOONA-related song and hit the shuffle button. I’ve had my gripes about their music in the past (mostly tied to personal taste rather than objective quality), but hearing the breadth of their sound was quite a striking experience. In less than two years, the girls … Continue reading
Unlike the past few years, no rookie really caught my attention in 2018. There were a few high-profile debuts, but most new acts came from very small agencies. Instead, this was a year where 2017’s rookies really got a chance to shine. In many ways, 2018 felt like the year of the project group — … 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. Sweetch Years … Continue reading
At the risk of alienating their passionate base of fans, I’m not sure if LOONA and I will ever fully click. I get why they’re popular — the ambitious roll-out, the interconnecting storylines, the endless fan theories — but it’s been awhile since their actual music lived up to that hype. FavOrite was a promising … Continue reading
After nearly two years of pre-release build-up, LOONA is finally upon us. Well, almost. favOrite is technically another pre-release, but it’s the first taste of what the entire 12-member group will sound like together. So, with all of the hype the girls have garnered since 2016, did they manage to stick the landing? Yes… and … Continue reading
Despite the fact that its full group hasn’t yet officially debuted, the ambitious LOONA project has already spawned two sub-units. The first (LOONA 1/3) offered a bright, pop-driven album before returning with the surprisingly moody Sonatine. The second (LOONA Odd Eye Circle) took on an edgier persona, resulting in two of the project’s best singles … Continue reading
