VAV is one of those groups who just keep plugging away. I don’t see their name mentioned much in K-pop circles, nor are they a huge presence on music shows. Yet, they’ve held international tours and make frequent comebacks with glossy, well-produced music videos. Their agency’s Chinese connections probably help when it comes to funding, … Continue reading
Girl group S.I.S debuted over a year ago with the underrated I’ve Got A Feeling, but quickly got sucked into the orbit of KBS’ idol rebooting show The Unit. I’m not sure how a newly debuted group would need “rebooting,” but it doesn’t seem like the show did much for the girls except delay their … Continue reading
It’s been over two years since we’ve heard from T-ara’s Hyomin, and though her last single didn’t set the charts alight, it’s always nice to have a K-pop veteran back in the spotlight. Her solo career is no stranger to courting controversy, making new comeback Mango feel overly tame in comparison. Sure, the music video trades … Continue reading
A collaboration between Zico and IU is like a wet dream for Korean charts. Both artists routinely see their music lodged in the top ten for weeks (sometimes months) on end, seeming to attract a wide variety of fans. So why does the prospect of this pairing leave me cold? More and more, I’ve come … Continue reading
There’s some irony in calling a song “The New Era,” but crafting it to sound like every other song from the last era. I’ve had my issues with GOT7’s Korean discography of late, but their Japanese releases are really just on another level. Sales-wise, they seem to be successful, but I can’t wrap my brain … Continue reading
Between Korea and Japan, barely a month goes by without new music from Twice. This prolific release schedule should be an asset, but all it’s doing is making each song feel interchangeable with the last. And now, we’re approaching the point of over saturation. Underwhelming Korean single What Is Love suffered a bit from this, … Continue reading
Since their debut in 2014, Winner have attempted more iterations than almost any other YG group. They first made their name as a mature, ballad-heavy pop act before shifting to a rock-influenced sound that somehow veered tropical as last year’s trends took hold. Through it all, they’ve maintained a certain level of melodic heft that’s … Continue reading
Poking around the internet over the past few months, it feels like everyone is losing their collective minds over LOONA. And while I agree that the prospect of new music each month is exciting, I can’t say that much of the LOONA-related material has had longevity on my personal playlist. Maybe I’m just getting a … Continue reading
After giving us its co-ed theme song and the boys’ group track, it’s time for The Unit to complete its trilogy of pre-releases before the series officially debuts tomorrow. This time the female contestants take center stage for the peppy Shine, and the song is a veritable case study for why I’m generally inclined towards … Continue reading
In these days of the waning tropical trend, artists really have to do something daring with the genre’s template to stand out. A simple fill-in-the-blank “trop bop” just won’t do. And with the repackaged single Good Night (굿밤), DIA have fully surrendered to the most grating aspects of this fad. For a group constantly struggling … Continue reading
The beauty behind the kind of sustained release schedule DAY6 has utilized this year is that it gives an artist the opportunity to display a wide variety of sounds without the risk and money that goes into a full-fledged, long-anticipated comeback. But over the past few months, I fear that DAY6 are started to fall … Continue reading
Ever since it was announced that Sechs Kies would be signing with YG Entertainment for a late-career comeback, many were waiting for that big track that would herald the return of one of the k-pop’s most-loved 90’s groups. Instead, the agency released piecemeal remake albums and compilations, anchored by new tracks that felt solid but slight. … Continue reading
The Snowball Project mockumentary has been one of 2017’s best surprises, offering continually entertaining doses of heightened behind-the-scenes mischief for SM and Mystic Entertainment. The series’ soundtrack has been more hit and miss. The unapologetically lame Lemonade Love kicked things off in upbeat, earnest fashion, but Snowball‘s next mission saw each agency cover a song … Continue reading
Good Day’s Rolly is what happens when you take the worst song from your album and make it the title track. The girls are new to the k-pop landscape, but have received a boost right off the bat by featuring Wanna One‘s Bae Jinyoung in their music video (he hails from the same agency). And … Continue reading
Late last year, Henry publicly expressed frustration with his label, SM Entertainment, for the lack of opportunities they were providing for the release of new music. Ever since, he’s enjoyed something of a renaissance, appearing on an ever-growing list of variety shows and releasing a string of successful digital singles. Score one for the artists, … Continue reading
Okay SM Station season two, are you going to turn out to be nothing more than a bunch of ballads? Apart from Ten’s performance video and the total red herring that was the Stanley Clarke Band, nearly every high profile Station release so far has been slow and — quite frankly — kind of bland. This … Continue reading
This time last year I was writing about Apink’s 2016 fan appreciation song, which managed to be a pretty solid representation of a sub-genre that’s severely limited in scope and creativity. There’s just not a lot you can do with this style of release. Always was never going to be edgy or inventive. Its production … Continue reading
With Kyuhyun soon to fulfill his mandatory military conscription, there’s a hole for another solo Super Junior balladeer to fill. Yesung seems to be up to the task, releasing the very OST-sounding Paper Umbrella (봄날의 소나기). This follows his spring-like Here I Am from last April, which I was not a fan of. When it … Continue reading
We’re officially in spring overload. And with that, I have to apologize for my continued lack of enthusiasm over many of the “springlike” songs released lately. More than almost any other country, Korea is obsessed with supplying an unending series of inoffensive seasonal tracks so light and unassuming that they just kind of fizzle into … Continue reading
Rookie boy group INX debuted last August with the promising Alright, opting for a classic synth sound that helped them stand out. Unfortunately, they went pretty silent shortly after. In this day and age, rookies need to be a near constant presence, utilizing social media, vlive, youtube and any other outlet they can find to … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 