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. It’s summertime OST season, with TWS … Continue reading
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THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from June 8 – 14
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. In 2025, I thought I’d try something new and add a weekly feature to supplement my monthly round-up. Each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And … Continue reading
Song Review: Seventeen – Bad Influence
K-pop has been mired in early-2000s nostalgia for the past few years. In my opinion, the industry has often adopted the most boring musical trends of that era, but occasionally we’ll see a group hijack the iconic production style of Y2K superstar producers Timbaland and The Neptunes. For Seventeen’s newest album, they skipped the middleman … Continue reading
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from June 1 – 7
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. In 2025, I thought I’d try something new and add a weekly feature to supplement my monthly round-up. Each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And … Continue reading
New & Noteworthy J-pop of the Week (June 8, 2025)
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 – Bloom (ft. Ayumu Imazu)
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. TWS’s first Japanese single Hajimemashite (Nice … Continue reading
The Top Three K-Pop Songs of May 2025
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 2025 Overall Thoughts The other day, I commented on Twitter/X that K-pop was struggling to … Continue reading
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from May 25 – 31
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. In 2025, I thought I’d try something new and add a weekly feature to supplement my monthly round-up. Each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And … Continue reading
Song Review: Seventeen – Thunder
Seventeen are celebrating a huge ten year anniversary today. They were popular right out of the gate, but few could have predicted just how massive they’ve become. I remember staying up very late to watch the premiere of their first music video (the ebullient Adore U) ten years ago, but I’ve grown more distant from … Continue reading
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from May 11 – 17
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. In 2025, I thought I’d try something new and add a weekly feature to supplement my monthly round-up. Each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And … Continue reading
Song Review: TWS – Lucky To Be Loved
When TWS released their mini album last month, I wrote a track-by-track review knowing full well they’d likely promote one of its b-sides with a music video later on. That prediction has come true with album-opener Lucky To Be Loved, but I’m going to revisit the track today since I have more to say. For … Continue reading
The Top Three K-Pop Songs of April 2025
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. April 2025 Overall Thoughts Oof. What a month. K-pop in 2025 hasn’t been overwhelmingly awesome so … Continue reading
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from April 20 – 26
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. In 2025, I thought I’d try something new and add a weekly feature to supplement my monthly round-up. Each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And … Continue reading
TWS TRY WITH US: In-Depth Album Review – Go Back
1. Lucky To Be Loved // 2. Countdown! // 3. Random Play // 4. Freestyle // 5. Now Playing // 6. Go Back GO BACK After my first listen of the album, Go Back was immediately my favorite b-side. After a few days and more listens, songs like Lucky To Be Loved and Random Play … Continue reading
TWS TRY WITH US: In-Depth Album Review – Now Playing
1. Lucky To Be Loved // 2. Countdown! // 3. Random Play // 4. Freestyle // 5. Now Playing // 6. Go Back NOW PLAYING Try With Us concludes with two of its stronger tracks. Now Playing (심야 영화) has much in common with K-pop’s current sound: bouncy and upbeat but still a bit subdued. … Continue reading
TWS TRY WITH US: In-Depth Album Review – Freestyle
1. Lucky To Be Loved // 2. Countdown! // 3. Random Play // 4. Freestyle // 5. Now Playing // 6. Go Back FREESTYLE This is where the album gets into a bit of trouble for me. It’s clear that most TWS albums will now have an obligatory hip-hop track, and I liked last year’s … Continue reading
TWS TRY WITH US: In-Depth Album Review – Random Play
1. Lucky To Be Loved // 2. Countdown! // 3. Random Play // 4. Freestyle // 5. Now Playing // 6. Go Back RANDOM PLAY Going into this album, I was keeping my fingers crossed for another song like last year’s hey! hey!. I’ll probably be hoping for that each time TWS make a comeback … Continue reading
TWS TRY WITH US: In-Depth Album Review – Lucky To Be Loved
1. Lucky To Be Loved // 2. Countdown! // 3. Random Play // 4. Freestyle // 5. Now Playing // 6. Go Back LUCKY TO BE LOVED The overriding feeling among blog readers seems to be that I’m absolutely crazy for loving TWS’s new single Countdown, but I promise you this is no PSYOP or … Continue reading
Song Review: TWS – Countdown!
It’s no secret that I’ve found the past few weeks of K-pop releases dull, uninspiring and – in some cases – outright bad. All the while, one name loomed at the edges of my mind. “TWS. TWS. TWS.” My top rookies of last year placed all seven of their promoted tracks in my top 50 … Continue reading
THIS WEEK IN K-POP: Ranking the New Releases from March 9 – 15
At the end of each month, I compile my top three K-pop title tracks and list a ton of honorable mentions. In 2025, I thought I’d try something new and add a weekly feature to supplement my monthly round-up. Each Sunday, I’ll offer a compendium of the week’s new releases featured on the blog. And … Continue reading