At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. But each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And even more than that, I’ll attempt to rank them from my least-to-most-liked. I invite you to share … Continue reading
Tag Archives: pledis
Song Review: Seventeen JxJ (Jeonghan x Joshua) – 12 o’clock
It’s the year of Seventeen sub-units, as the group has been unable to make a full comeback while members serve their mandatory military enlistment. So far, we’ve had DxS (DK & Seungkwan) and V8 (Vernon & The8). Now, it’s time for Jeonghan and Joshua to make their sub-unit debut as JxJ. While the previous two … Continue reading
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from October 4 – 10
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. But each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And even more than that, I’ll attempt to rank them from my least-to-most-liked. I invite you to share … Continue reading
Song Review: Hwang Minhyun (Nu’est) – Our
It’s been a long while since we heard from Hwang Minhyun — or any Nu’est member, really. I almost forgot that he was still part of Pledis Entertainment. Today, he’s back with new digital single Our. It’s a nice — if uneventful — return. This is the style of synth-kissed mid-tempo I’d expect from male … Continue reading
Song Review: Jun (Seventeen) – 9
Late last night (US Pacific Time), Seventeen’s Jun released a digital EP in his native Chinese. Unlike J-pop, I don’t have a dedicated place on this blog for C-pop releases, but I wanted to briefly touch on this one because I think the song is quite good. I like Seventeen and its members best when … Continue reading
The Top Three K-Pop Songs of August 2026
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. August 2026 Overall Thoughts The less said about August, the better. These past few monthly round-ups … Continue reading
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from August 23 – 29
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. But each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And even more than that, I’ll attempt to rank them from my least-to-most-liked. I invite you to share … Continue reading
Song Review: Dino (Seventeen) – Like It
Each song promoted from Dino’s alter-ego Picheolin album received a moderate to low rating on this blog, but it turns out he just released all the worst songs because I actually enjoy the rest of the project. Everyone needs to hear the awesome 80s/90s stadium rock pastiche For Jeong And Love, for starters! Then, nestled … Continue reading
NU’EST: A Career In Song Ratings
There are a number of acts who have debuted in the past few decades and have dozens of song ratings on this blog. I thought it would be fun to lay these ratings out in chronological order, line-graph style, and take a macro view of their careers so far. Then, similar to my “Underrated K-pop” … Continue reading
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from August 16 – 22
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. But each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And even more than that, I’ll attempt to rank them from my least-to-most-liked. I invite you to share … Continue reading
K-Pop Risers & Fallers: August 2026
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
TWS: A Career In Song Ratings
There are a number of acts who have debuted in the past few decades and have dozens of song ratings on this blog. I thought it would be fun to lay these ratings out in chronological order, line-graph style, and take a macro view of their careers so far. Then, similar to my “Underrated K-pop” … Continue reading
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from August 2 – 8
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. But each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And even more than that, I’ll attempt to rank them from my least-to-most-liked. I invite you to share … Continue reading
New & Noteworthy J-pop of the Week (August 9, 2026)
In connection with my desire to fully keep up with the J-pop industry, I’m planning to do a weekly round-up of any new releases that have caught my ear. Some of these may have been covered on the blog already, but my hope is that this will become a one-stop shop for anyone interested in … Continue reading
Buried Treasure: TWS – Palm Tree
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. After my first listen to Palm … Continue reading
Song Review: Picheolin (Seventeen’s Dino) – Party Rock Rock
When the tracklist for Picheolin’s “debut” album was released, I was excited to see the name “Hitchhiker” on the credits for its title track. The visionary producer doesn’t seem to work on much material these days and his out-of-the-box thinking is always appreciated. However, with each pre-release track released under this alter-ego schtick, it became … Continue reading
Song Review: TWS – Soda Soda
This year, I’ve been pining for a musical highlight that captures the summer energy while also being… you know… a good song. Those have been very hard to come by the past few weeks, but there are a few active groups who have a track record of releasing nothing but bangers. And, dangling off in … Continue reading
2026 LEGENDARY SONGS Inauguration Ceremony
I know there are many readers who look forward to this post each year, but I’ve been putting it off because I just don’t have many songs to inaugurate! For those new to the blog, this is a feature where I reveal any songs that have grown into a 10-out-of-10 rating since their initial review. … Continue reading
Song Review: Picheolin (Seventeen’s Dino) – Micheo Micheo
Last week, Seventeen’s Dino delivered his first work as alter-ego Picheolin. A few days ago, the tracklist for his album was revealed and I became most interested in its title track produced by the elusive K-pop genius Hitchhiker. Hopefully that song is more than a simple schtick, because today’s pre-release Micheo Micheo (미쳐 미쳐) feels … Continue reading
Song Review: Picheolin (Seventeen’s Dino) – Love Sick
Not content to simply release solo music in a predictable way, Seventeen’s Dino has debuted as fictional alter-ego Picheolin. This character is the CEO of a music company specializing in retro sounds and we have an entire mini album and multiple singles to look forward to from him during the coming weeks. Joke or not, … Continue reading