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
The MBTI personality test is one of those popular trends that’s totally passed me by, but NCT Dream’s pre-release Broken Melodies has only grown stronger with time. So even though I have no idea what an “ISTJ” is (Google says an ‘Introverted, Observant, Thinking, and Judging’ personality), I’m eager to check it out. This song … 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
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. June 2023 Overall Thoughts In the coming days, I’ll be sharing my top picks from the … Continue reading
SM Entertainment has been into their pre-releases lately, teasing anticipated albums with a full song weeks before the rest of the tracks are set to drop. Following SHINee and EXO, NCT Dream are the next group to give us a taste of their new sound. And though Broken Melodies may not reinvent any wheel, it’s … 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. February 2023 Overall Thoughts I hate to say it, but my interest in K-pop is kind … Continue reading
It’s hard to believe NCT Dream hadn’t released an original Japanese single until now. Nearly seven years into their career, the unit has become one of NCT’s flagship brands. The brighter side of their music seems especially well-suited to a J-pop career. Best Friend Ever hearkens back to their earlier work and pairs them with … Continue reading
Okay, I tried something new this time. Rather than watch the entire hours-long festival in one go, I just skipped to the performances on YouTube (which is probably what most sane people do!). This improved the overall experience by removing some of the bloat these year-end shows are well-known for. I’ve always appreciated the bigger … Continue reading
So much about the holidays is rooted in nostalgia. These are ritualistic celebrations, and the most popular holiday songs are usually ones that have accumulated memories over the years. H.O.T’s Candy is not a holiday song, but it makes a weird sort of sense in this context. It’s an oft-covered classic with a ton of … Continue reading
The end of the year countdowns are finally here! As always, we’ll kick off with the big one: The Bias List’s top 50 songs of the year! Each day this week, I’ll be counting down ten of the year’s best, until number one is revealed on Friday. To be eligible for this top 50 list, … Continue reading
This feature has gradually shifted from a December to a November tradition, leaving more space for next month’s sprawling end-of-year countdowns. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be looking at many of K-pop’s biggest agencies and offering my thoughts about how their 2022 went. First up is SM Entertainment. As usual, the thoughts are my … Continue reading
One of the coolest things about the KCON concert is that it stretches across multiple nights. If you get the combo tickets, you’ve got two days of artists to look forward to. By Sunday, things feel familiar. You’ve got your same seat but there’s a different roster waiting to perform. I was a little frustrated … Continue reading
We’ll take a brief hiatus from the usual Sunday Open Discussion post today because my annual “Risers and Fallers” feature always spurs conversation. Every July, I like to take a look at which songs have either grown or sunk on my own playlist. With years of reviewing under my belt and a pretty solid understanding … 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 2022 Overall Thoughts So… we’re almost halfway through 2022 and…. hmmm. Compared to the songs … Continue reading
Yesterday on the blog, we spent some time discussing genre and highlighting underutilized styles we’d like to see more often in K-pop. 90’s hip-hop came up as an option, just in time for NCT Dream’s repackage track Beatbox. This song has been pitched as a fun 90’s hip-hop throwback. This is some clever marketing but … Continue reading
A K-pop act’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. Sometimes, b-sides deserve recognition too. In the singles-oriented world of K-pop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. True to NCT form, Glitch Mode … Continue reading
At this point, I’ve given up on NCT’s title tracks delivering anything beyond the same ‘shout over bass-heavy distortion’ schtick. So, I’ll temper my thoughts with this in mind. Comparing a song like Glitch Mode (버퍼링) to My First And Last, Superhuman or Highway To Heaven is useless. They’re not even trying to do the … Continue reading
The end of the year countdowns are finally here! As always, we’ll kick off with the big one: The Bias List’s top 50 songs of the year! Each day this week, I’ll be counting down ten of the year’s best, until number one is revealed on Friday. To be eligible for this top 50 list, … Continue reading
It’s not quite December yet, but I’m going to kick off this annual feature a little early this year! Over the next few weeks, I’ll be looking at many of K-pop’s biggest agencies and offering my thoughts about how their 2021 went. First up is SM Entertainment. As usual, the thoughts are my own and … 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
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 