To round out my mid-year countdowns, I’ve got a spotlight on some of my favorite songs from music markets that aren’t Korea or Japan. To simplify things, I just call this category “pop.” It’s been a very strong year for pop music so far, though you might not know it if you’re only looking at … Continue reading
It’s a bit bleak over here, ladies and gentlemen. Over the years there have been many times where I’ve been more enamored with the quality of J-pop’s output than K-pop, but 2025 is not one of those years. In fact, there are fewer highlights than I can ever remember at this time of the year … Continue reading
Similar to last year, 2025 so far has been a singles game rather than a series of excellent albums. I have even fewer on my list than I did this time last year, and only one of them is a full album — though that classification is getting murkier as time goes on. There are … Continue reading
This is a strange era for K-pop… at least when it comes to my own experience. On one hand, there are a handful of acts I feel more invested in than ever, which is the feeling everyone wants as a fan. In some ways, I’m more interested in K-pop than I have been in awhile, … Continue reading
To round out my mid-year countdowns, I’ve got a spotlight on some of my favorite songs and albums from music markets that aren’t Korea or Japan. To simplify things, I just call this category “pop.” What were your favorite singles and albums during the first half of 2024? TOP SINGLES Bentley Robles – IAM IAM … Continue reading
While K-pop has been consistently above average this year, my J-pop fortunes haven’t been so bright. It’s a real turnaround from this time last year, when I was able to feature fifteen beloved tracks. The choices were more limited this time, but it’s still worth pointing out some stellar work from a few favorites. What … Continue reading
While 2024 has delivered quite a few standout singles so far, I haven’t been as blown over by the albums. Still, I was surprised how many I was able to cobble together. Unlike in the past, I’m not distinguishing between mini and full albums, though albums must have at least four full songs to be … Continue reading
Wow, what a change a year can make! At this point in 2023, I was only able to pick a small handful of tracks to feature in my mid-year countdown, but 2024 has me spoiled for choice. My list is unusually long this time and probably won’t be all that surprising (barring one or two … Continue reading
After several years listening almost exclusively to K-pop, I’m in a fun space where my playlist is open to any music from any country. This brings added focus to global pop, which I feature on the blog each month. And now that global pop has its own year-end countdown on the blog, I thought I’d … Continue reading
I’m pretty obsessed with this list of singles and albums. I’ve been a J-pop fan for almost a decade now, but this year I’ve made a concerted effort to really dive deeply into the industry. Part of this initiative includes weekly J-pop round-ups that are posted every Sunday on this blog. My efforts have been … Continue reading
To be honest, there haven’t been many K-pop albums in 2023 that I’ve played more than a couple times through. Similar to my singles list yesterday, nearly all of these picks come with some qualifiers. However, there are a more than a few gems to uncover. *As usual, albums must have at least four full … Continue reading
I’m heartened by the fact that only two (!) of my top ten singles of 2022 were released before the month of July. That’s a pretty striking figure, and one I can easily see replicating this year. It’s no secret that I’ve been underwhelmed by the first six months of 2023. It’s not that K-pop … Continue reading
Yesterday, I struck a disappointed note when rounding up this year’s strongest singles, and this albums list is going to be quite similar. 2022 has delivered some decent albums so far, but nothing close to a My Name/City Of ONF, Don’t Call Me/Atlantis, YES, Summer Queen, Gatcha or The Chaos Chapter: Freeze. In fact, I’m … Continue reading
So… here’s the thing. This mid-year singles list is usually reserved for songs that are all-but certain to end up in my top ten at the end of the year. If judging by the quality of past years, the songs below would most likely fall in the teens or twenties, meaning we’re either going to … Continue reading
Following on the heels of yesterday’s ‘top 2021 singles,’ it’s time to turn our attention to K-pop’s full and mini albums. As with title tracks, 2021 has delivered a strong series of albums so far. My lists are a little longer than normal, but the criteria remains the same. To be considered an “album,” the … Continue reading
What a difference a year makes! This time in 2020, I struggled to cobble together a mid-year list worth celebrating. I ended up finding five songs, though one wasn’t technically a single. This year, I’ve got a whopping fourteen tracks! That’s quite a turnaround, and a testament to 2021’s strength. Because of this, I’ve scrapped … Continue reading
After looking at the year’s best singles (so far), it’s time to turn attention to 2020’s albums. I’ll reiterate what I said yesterday: relative to previous years, it’s been slim pickings. Consistently good mini albums have been particularly hard to find this year, at least in my opinion. But even though the overall picture may … Continue reading
Slim pickings this year, my friends. In fact, if not for June I’m not sure I could have compiled a mid-year list at all. As it stands, I only have five picks compared to last year’s eight, and the honorable mentions list has been cut in half as well. What does this all mean? It … Continue reading
Now that I’ve looked at the year’s best singles, it’s time to spotlight the standout albums of 2019’s first six months. It’s been a relatively solid year for albums so far, though not as strong as 2018 at this same point. As usual, minis have been more plentiful than full albums — especially when it … Continue reading
So far, 2019 has been an odd year for K-pop. If I were to sum it up, these first six months have pinballed between “thrilling” and “frustrating.” Taken as a whole, I think 2019 easily usurps 2018 at this same point. But, many of my favorite songs were released in close proximity to one another … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 