There are few things I enjoy more than a great summertime song. They’re bright, they’re exciting, and they remind me of my favorite time of the year. There’s no telling what this summer in K-pop will bring, but over the next few weeks I’ll be flashing back each day, showcasing a highlight from past summers. … 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
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 2020 Overall Thoughts This may not seem like much within the context of 2020’s continual … Continue reading
What to do with ONF’s New World (신세계)? I’m all about classification, and this song doesn’t really fit within K-pop’s usual categories. I wouldn’t normally review a song that’s been given a performance video rather than an actual music video. Yet, I don’t think you can really call New World a b-side either, since it’s … 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. HWANG HYUN … Continue reading
Warning: This recap is not spoiler-free. Proceed at your own risk! Past Recaps: Episode Two / Episode Three / Episode Four / Episode Five / Episode Six / Episode Seven / Finale Songs Welcome to my last Road to Kingdom recap! Honestly, I’m kind of glad to be done with the show, but I’m also … Continue reading
I’ve not been shy when it comes to criticizing many aspects of Mnet’s Road to Kingdom, but I’ll be forever in its debt for gifting us ONF’s incredible remix of Rain’s classic mid-00’s track It’s Raining. This particular mix arrives at the perfect time. Its various pieces and approaches perfectly illustrate where I wish the … Continue reading
I’ve spent the past few weeks poring over the performances of Road to Kingdom’s competing groups. But to be honest, I’ve always been much more infatuated with music – the actual songs – than all the trappings that go along with them. That’s why, even though ONF didn’t rank at the top for me this … Continue reading
Warning: This recap is not spoiler-free. Proceed at your own risk! Past Recaps: Episode Two / Episode Three / Episode Four / Episode Five / Episode Six This episode opened with Pentagon’s Hui recounting advice he heard from an elder — that you can tell if an idol group will be successful or not within … Continue reading
Warning: This recap is not spoiler-free. Proceed at your own risk! Past Recaps: Episode Two / Episode Three / Episode Four / Episode Five Now that my horse has left the race and is feeding peacefully in the neighboring pasture, I can watch this show without frayed nerves. Before I natter on about the pointlessness … Continue reading
Warning: This recap is not spoiler-free. Proceed at your own risk! For once, I’m actually thankful for internet rumors. Knowing two weeks ago about how tonight’s elimination would play out allowed me to watch this episode without going absolutely catatonic. Instead, I’ve been fuming for weeks. I came into tonight’s episode angry, just hoping that … Continue reading
At one point when discussing his groups’ concept during this night’s episode, VERIVERY’s Dongheon mentioned “night hags.” I thought to myself: “Why, that’s the perfect description for what I briefly became after watching episode three’s ranking!” I’ve pulled myself back from the brink of last week’s rant-a-thon. That ranking disaster, coupled with some convincing internet … Continue reading
I’ve written at length about survival series, along with my distaste for them and the culture they foster. Learning that Road to Kingdom would feature eliminations was a gut punch. That constant threat of danger is meant to make the series more thrilling, but all it does is frustrate. It’s absolutely cruel that these groups … Continue reading
After sharing my thoughts on the Queendom finale songs last year, I regretted not writing more about the show as it was going on – especially since I enjoyed it so much. That regret didn’t quite spur me to cover Road to Kingdom’s premiere episode, but now that we’re in full performance mode, I plan … Continue reading
Over the years, I’ve been asked several times to create a post where I reveal my previously-reviewed songs that I would now bump up to a perfect, 10/10 rating, allowing them to officially join my Legendary Songs category. I guess it took a global pandemic for me to finally spend the time to compile this … Continue reading
Ever since their debut in 2017, I’ve felt that WM Entertainment’s promotion of ONF has been kind of lackluster. Their first few years saw a dearth of comebacks, just as the group needed to start building a fanbase. 2019 was better in this regard, offering two mini albums and a consistent sound. Then, WM started … Continue reading
This is always one of my favorite end-of-year posts, as if gives me the chance to write about a vital facet of K-pop that I rarely touch on throughout the year. Visuals can make or break a song’s legacy, and these ten videos helped to improve and expand their already-strong soundtracks. + Make sure to … Continue reading
This is always a difficult list to form. After all, there are way more b-sides than singles to choose from each year, and with K-pop’s love of promoting genre trends, the most interesting music is often hidden within albums that not every listener bothers to check out. Today and tomorrow, I’ll be counting down my … Continue reading
The end of the year countdowns are finally here! As always, things 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 was the best of times, it was the worst of times. This phrase seems fitting to describe K-pop in 2019. The industry was forced to deal with some hard truths this year, and the reckoning was a long time coming. However, that didn’t make it any less messy. For the past few years, I’ve … Continue reading
