2013 was a high-concept, musically diverse year in K-pop. Hip-hop hadn’t yet taken over, and melody was still king. Instrumentals aimed for the rafters of stadiums, bringing in explosive guitar, sledgehammer beats and bombastic electro riffs. Songs played around with structure in artful, unexpected ways, often polarizing opinion before unveiling themselves as future classics. Here … Continue reading
It’s the week of Lunar New Year, which means new K-pop releases will be few and far between. That makes this the perfect time to go back a few years and celebrate highlights of days past. Following up on last year’s countdown of my Top 50 Songs of 2012, The Bias List is tackling 2013! … Continue reading
Since the start of The Bias List in January 2016, I’ve always looked back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists each month. Now, it’s time to look even further into the past, one month at a time. And, yes, the top three rankings count toward The Bias List’s personal artist scorecard! Which … Continue reading
Since the start of The Bias List in January 2016, I’ve always looked back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists each month. Now, it’s time to look even further into the past, one month at a time. And, yes, the top three rankings count toward The Bias List’s personal artist scorecard! Which … Continue reading
It’s time to flash back seven years to 2012, an era of huge choruses, thumping dance beats and an endless supply of sci-fi influenced music videos. 2012’s charms were endless, but here are fifty of the absolute best singles. To be eligible for this top fifty list, songs must have had a Korean release as … Continue reading
It’s time to flash back seven years to 2012, an era of huge choruses, thumping dance beats and an endless supply of sci-fi influenced music videos. 2012’s charms were endless, but here are fifty of the absolute best singles. To be eligible for this top fifty list, songs must have had a Korean release as … Continue reading
Over the course of Nine Muses’ convoluted history, the group has been home to fourteen different members. Not all have promoted at the same time, with girls leaving and joining on a pretty regular basis. This constant churn has made unit cohesion a difficult concept, and also affects the members’ ability to successfully go solo. … Continue reading
The end of the year countdowns are here! We’re kicking things off with the big one… the 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, songs must have had … Continue reading
Only a few weeks after their comeback as a four-member group, Nine Muses have returned with a single that flips the dark, evocative sound of Remember into a brighter dance pop concoction. Throughout the years, the girls have proven themselves capable of delivering high quality material regardless of style or group configuration. Love City (러브시티) … 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 2017 Overall Thoughts Of the 18 months I’ve been running this site, June was the strangest … Continue reading
Groups with numbers as part of their name can be tricky in the ever-changing world of k-pop. Nine Muses haven’t had nine members in some time, and now they’re all the way down to four. That’s not exactly “truth in advertising.” But with so many groups of their age disbanding, it’s a small miracle that … 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. ERIK LIDBOM … Continue reading
Of all the girl groups in k-pop, few are as underrated as Nine Muses. Though the group has released a string of super-solid singles, they’ve never been able to break through to the big leagues. Some of this might have to do with the seeming instability of the group itself. At various points in their … 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. e.one Years … 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. SWEETUNE Years … Continue reading
Throughout their six years together, Nine Muses have been one of the most consistent, underrated girl groups in all of k-pop. Even with so many member changes, their music has always remained quality. 9MUSES A is their first sub-unit project, and its very existence is honestly a little confusing. I get the need for solos … Continue reading
Along with KARA, Nine Muses are one of the two long-lasting kpop girl groups to have paired with production team Sweetune more often than not. This instantly makes them important to me, as the sound of their music is directly to my taste. They’ve had an incredibly consistent singles run, with even their non-Sweetune tracks … Continue reading
Most of the time, a kpop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, sometimes b-sides deserve recognition, too. In the singles-oriented world of kpop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. Action is a song from Nine Muses’ 2013 mini-album Wild. It … Continue reading
Nine Muses are a girl group active under Star Empire. Depending on the stage of their career, the group has consisted of between six and nine members. As of 2016, they’re an eight-person group. For much of their discography, they’ve worked with production team Sweetune. This has given them a remarkably consistent singles run, even … Continue reading
Okay, okay. When I say kpop, I mean mostly kpop, because there’s going to be some jpop and cpop in this list as well (some of it in very prominent positions), but “Top 50 K-Pop & J-Pop & C-Pop Songs of 2015” just doesn’t have the same ring to it! The only other criteria for … Continue reading
