A week after Rania was resurrected from K-pop purgatory, an even more surprising comeback has occurred. Boy group MVP debuted in March of 2017 with the excellent Take It… and then never returned. After a stint on survival (“rebooting”) series The Unit, the group seemed to disappear from the face of the earth, destined to … Continue reading
One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with f(x)’s A-Z reviews here! Calling Out (from Cinderella Sister OST – 2010) f(x) recorded quite a few OST tracks in their early days, and this ballad from Luna and Krystal showcases many of that format’s strengths and limitations. Many OST ballads are only as effective as … Continue reading
VERIVERY’s Face It trilogy has been pitched as a maturation of the group’s sound and image, but all it’s done is chip away at everything I used to enjoy about the guys’ music. Lay Back was a highlight, even if it pointed toward darker directions. This summer’s Thunder ended up growing on me despite sounding … Continue reading
New group WEi comes armed with an already-established fan base, thanks to its members gaining fame through the Produce 101 franchise. To be honest, they feel almost like a supergroup, cobbled together from ex-members of X1, JBJ, Rainz and 1THE9. Given this pedigree, WEi are guaranteed success – at least in the short term. The … Continue reading
Hyolyn has cobbled together solo tracks from the past few years and called it a mini album, which is pretty disappointing for fans waiting for more than two new songs. And, the approach has an unintended effect: it only serves to remind me how much better her 2018 material was than the generic pop she’s … Continue reading
Though I don’t often return to it, ENOi’s Cheeky was a nice Seventeen-lite surprise back in January. It pointed toward a funkier concept than the group’s 2019 deep house debut. Those who hoped that ENOi would continue along these lines will likely be disappointed in new single W.A.Y (Where Are You). The song has its … Continue reading
Girl group Saturday have struggled to find a large audience, though their quirky, repetitive pop tracks definitely have their supporters. At times, the group feels like natural successors to Crayon Pop’s silly sound. They just never found that ubiquitous novelty hit that would give their career the oomph it needs. The ridiculously-titled D.B.D.B.DIB (디비디비딥) (seriously, … Continue reading
Kang Daniel teased his newest mini album last week with pre-release single Waves. Though it was derivative of so many songs within its genre, I appreciated its “all hands on deck” approach. New single Who U Are (깨워) removes the guest features to shine full spotlight on Daniel himself, though most of Waves‘ tropical genre … Continue reading
Color me surprised to see new music from Secret’s Song Ji-eun. There was a time when she and her group were ruling K-pop charts, but her work has suffered from a long hiatus. Other than a few errant tracks here and there, it’s been almost four years since the last Ji-eun mini album. New single … Continue reading
Entering their final year before indefinite hiatus, Japan’s biggest male idol group set global outreach as one of their goals. This has resulted in English-language re-recordings of their biggest hits, a much greater internet presence, and even a music video or two being available on youtube. Of course, a little thing called “global pandemic” threw … Continue reading
Somebody’s been listening to too much BLACKPINK. Honestly, I have a very low tolerance level for this specific kind of “badass” girl group track. “I’m so bad… look at me! Bla bla bla… twiddle diddle dum. I’m crazy and I ain’t sorry! Don’t you wish you could be like me? Dum dum diddle dum.” It’s … Continue reading
EXO-SC’s 2019 debut spurred plenty of ire from this site. To me, it represented SM Entertainment’s full embrace of mainstream hip-hop. The agency who reliably delivered summer classics like Red Flavor, View and Love Me Right would now equate the season with lethargic trap-rap. It remains to be seen if that prediction will completely bear … Continue reading
True to form, Stray Kids are promoting their first full album with a series of music videos. Last month’s Blueprint was a smart chose for summertime spotlight, though it doesn’t look like they’re actually going to perform it on music shows. Instead, that honor goes to Easy. Quite frankly, I’m not sure why. Personally, I … Continue reading
So… we all agree that VERIVERY should have just released Beautiful-x and called it a day, right? That song harnessed their signature funk appeal without feeling like a step back into more juvenile material. It stood out among all of the darker, more aggressive styles on Road to Kingdom, and felt perfectly suited to the … Continue reading
Surprising no one, BTS have conquered Japan alongside every other global music market. This has been achieved through a combination of Japanese re-recordings and original material. Oddly, their trio of original J-pop songs (For You, Lights and now Stay Gold) share a sound that’s downright toothless compared to their Korean work. Much of their global … Continue reading
We’ve reached the point in BLACKPINK’s career where we’re literally applauding them for releasing anything. It’s certainly not fans’ fault. They’ve been starved for new content for years now, making just the idea of a BLACKPINK song more exciting than an actual BLACKPINK song. This scarce promotion might serve to build hype and the allure … Continue reading
As Twice’s 2019 material matured, that sense of sophistication bled over to their Japanese discography as well. Both Breakthrough and Fake & True represented quantum leaps in quality when stacked against past J-pop releases. I had hope that this streak would continue, but new single Fanfare pulls them back a little. This is despite the … Continue reading
Boy group D1CE have been saddled with a horrible fate for any newly debuted rookie: the long hiatus. We haven’t heard from them since last July, sacrificing almost a year of unfilled potential. It’s hard enough to build momentum when you’re from a smaller agency, but lack of activity makes for an even trickier situation. … Continue reading
I really don’t know what’s going on in Big Hit Entertainment’s head this year. As the agency rapidly expands, their 2020 musical choices have left me cold. BTS’s ON arrived at a challenging time, just as the pandemic was starting to take hold of the world. But even so, it feels like the most polarizing … Continue reading
Solo releases can be a great way to uncover artists’ hidden charms – talents or styles they weren’t necessarily able to portray as part of their group. When it comes to Mamamoo, the quartet is packed with three power vocalists, leaving little room for Moonbyul to do anything beyond rapping. So, it’s not too surprising … Continue reading
