Military enlistment has always been part of K-pop’s boy group narrative, but in past generations these enlistments often occurred after a group had already reached their commercial peak (or ended their contract). This newer generation tends to have a slower, steadier rise in fan base, meaning that some members enlist just as their group is … 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
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. March 2021 Overall Thoughts I’ve heard whispers around social media lamenting that 2021 has been a … Continue reading
A K-pop group’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. The best Pentagon albums thrive on … Continue reading
After a jolt of renewed interest from their stint on Road to Kingdom, Pentagon now face the tricky business of military enlistments. Jinho and Hui have already taken their enlistment hiatus, though the latter appears in new single Do Or Not’s audio and music video. In a way, that makes the track feel like the … Continue reading
Daisy (데이지) holds a special place among Pentagon’s comebacks for a variety of reasons. It’s their first single since participating in Road to Kingdom, their first without main vocal Jinho, and their first in a long while with member Yanan. The one thing that hasn’t changed is leader Hui’s participation in Daisy’s songwriting. His style … 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
Pentagon have been teasing the music video release of their Road to Kingdom track Basquiat (바스키아) for a week now, and all the while I kept thinking ‘these visuals must be stunning because the song itself is kind of a non-starter.’ And yes, the performance video is suitably cinematic, adding image to angst in a … 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 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
Most of the time, a k-pop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, 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. Earlier this week, Pentagon were the subject of my ire for … Continue reading
Friends, we have entered a parallel universe where every K-pop boy group just releases the same song over and over. After a 2019 that saw some brighter fare make inroads to this internationally-focused industry, the first few weeks of 2020 have reveled in the dark and angsty. Despite my continuous complaining about this style, I … Continue reading
Despite its title, I’m quite confident that this list does not represent the “best” J-pop tracks of the year. It’s a much more filtered list than my K-pop countdowns, because I just don’t keep up with J-pop as strongly as I’d like to. So, what you’re getting here is twenty great tracks by artists that … 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. Following up from yesterday, I’m 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
Pentagon made their bid for a summer hit with last month’s Humph, but my feelings about the song could basically be summed up by its title. I hate to see the group succumb to retreads of 2018 hit Shine at the expense of new sounds. Their one-two punch of Cosmo and Sha La La hinted … Continue reading
Here’s a road map to the lead-up of Pentagon’s new comeback, as seen through my jaded eyes: 1. The group releases teasers for a summertime single. Good! Fun summery songs have been almost nonexistent this year. 2. The title track is revealed to have been produced by hip-hop artist Giriboy. 3. Ugh. Here’s the thing. … Continue reading
