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
At the end of each month, I look back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists. I take my own ratings into account, but there’s a bit of wiggle room as certain songs tend to grow or fade. May 2019 Overall Thoughts After an underwhelming April, the month of May began to right the … Continue reading
One of the things that first drew me to K-pop was SM Entertainment’s SMP style. Characterized by its hybrid, genre-bashing nature, this musical philosophy was fueled by bombastic instrumentation and outrageous vocal arrangements. There wasn’t anything else like it at the time, and there still isn’t. As K-pop continues to blow up internationally, SM has … Continue reading
Years after its debut, my favorite NCT-related track is still Without You. I get that hip-hop is much trendier and globally popular, but I will always be a proponent of big pop melodies and powerful vocalists. This style used to be a stalwart of SM Entertainment, but now that the NCT brand seems to be … Continue reading
This time last year, NCT had already delivered an exciting yearbook project that saw the release of no less than four singles (with more to come). In comparison, 2019 has been downright barren. In fact, SM Entertainment’s 2019 schedule has been exceedingly light, relegating to a pair of SHINee-related solos and a few other ballads. … Continue reading
2018 was a fantastic year when it came to album tracks. In fact, many of them were stronger (and more interesting) than their title track counterparts. This makes for a very competitive top 40 list, as well as a host of honorable mentions. Honestly, I could’ve tripled the amount of honorable mentions and still had … Continue reading
