Sol T are a brand new girl group who are making their debut with the slinky hip hop of Curveball. It seems that they’ve perched their sound somewhere between EXID and 2NE1, which is definitely a refreshing departure from the cotton-candy sweetness of most rookie girl groups this year. After all, groups like 2NE1 shouldn’t have a … Continue reading
As reality show Produce 101‘s representative girl group, expectations were high for I.O.I’s official debut. Coming only one month after the series ended, it’s no surprise that Dream Girls feels rushed and under-thought, but with the talent and clout on display, it’s unnerving just how safe and cheesy a route the powers-that-be chose to steer the girls … Continue reading
As part of their big 2016 comeback, the members of SS501 sub-unit Double S 301 have recently released a Japanese mini album. Its title track is the sorrowful Fraction, which takes a more dramatic, ballad-with-a-beat approach compared to their earlier Korean comeback. I tend to cut English phrases in kpop or jpop a tremendous amount of … Continue reading
Mighty Mouth is a male duo that’s been active in the kpop world for eight years, minus time for their mandatory military conscription. Despite being such an established act, the reason I suspect most modern fans would be interested in checking this song out is that it was produced by Block B’s Zico. It’s probably a bit … Continue reading
Like many others, I first fell in love with Apink’s Eunji after watching the brilliant Reply 1997. She possesses such a bright, compassionate energy as both an actress and a singer that it’s hard not to root for her. With Hopefully Sky, she makes her solo debut, and it sounds very little like what we’re … Continue reading
Heechul and Jungmo’s M&D project was one of 2015’s best surprises — a j-rock inspired passion project filled with gorgeous melodies and theatrical delivery. For this week’s Station release, the two revisit that sound, with the added bonus of Mamamoo’s Whee In as a duet vocalist. Sadly, I’m not sure that it works as well this … Continue reading
Mintty is from girl group Tiny-G, who I can’t say I know all that much about except that they were all short (hence the name) and they disbanded last year. But, it’s always nice to have another female rapper in kpop, and that’s exactly what Mintty is giving us with the funky Already Go Lady. … Continue reading
As soon as History’s Queen music video began, with its jackhammer racket of electronic noise and played out saxophone sample, my eyes glazed over and I nearly turned it off. I railed about this exact production trend a few weeks ago with Beast’s new Japanese single. It’s very hard to remain objective about a song that chains itself … Continue reading
The year of the duets continues, with JYP launching its own series of in-house company collaborations. If nothing else, the project seems well-suited to give us new music from some of the agency’s less-promoted artists. For instance, it’s been ages since we heard from Kpop Star‘s Bernard Park, and for With You, he’s been … Continue reading
It seems like forever ago that Sam Kim took the runner-up place in Kpop Star season 3. Back then, he was known for his incredible skill with the guitar and charismatic vocal delivery. Now, two years later we have his official debut with Antenna Music, the soft, almost meditative Mama Don’t Worry. Maybe it’s because … Continue reading
Three years into their career, BTOB had a breakthrough with 2015’s immensely effective It’s Okay. But now that they’re on their third ballad comeback in a row, we’re beginning to see diminished returns. I was hoping they’d use their resurgence to gradually move back to more interesting material, but they seem to be stuck in ballad mode. The … Continue reading
It feels like Eric Nam has become the unofficial entertainment ambassador between Korean artists and the western world. He’s one of those personalities that’s impossible to dislike and seems to be friends with everyone, which makes him the ideal host for shows like After School Club. But the problem with playing Mr. Nice Guy is … Continue reading
Jay Park is one of the most prolific artists in all of kpop, though I almost hesitate to call his music “kpop” at all. Of course, it technically is, but he draws so heavily from western influence that his tracks often sound like American r&b songs covered in the Korean language. For the past year … Continue reading
Of all the scheduled kpop releases this March, GOT7’s Fly was by far the one I was most looking forward to. The group had an incredible 2015, releasing two of the year’s best singles and finally cementing a versatile, melodic hip-hop sound for themselves. I expected Fly to be the capper on that success, sending … Continue reading
2016 is going to be known as the year of cross-company duets. It feels like SM artists have been collaborating with everybody, and now even smaller agencies are at it. Cherish is a duet between Yuju of girl group GFriend and Sunyoul of boy group Up10tion. Both are known as main vocalists in their respective teams, … Continue reading
After debuting with a synth-driven, cutesy track, Cosmic Girls released a second music video for follow-up Catch Me. This one is clearly designed to be a showcase for dance skills and attitude, as the song is far more hip-hop influenced. It’s an interesting counterpoint to MoMoMo, proving the girls’ versatility but bringing up questions as to … Continue reading
Seo In Guk is one of Korea’s best loved modern balladeers. Even so, it’s been awhile since he’s released any music. I’m a little ashamed to admit that I don’t follow him all that much as a musician, but I did adore him in (Korea’s best drama) Reply 1997. I came into Seasons Of The Heart knowing that it would be … Continue reading
Only One isn’t the first time EXID’s leader Solji and variety-show-magnet Hani have collaborated as a subunit. Back in 2013, they released a pretty strong dance single called Good Bye under the name Dasoni. I’m not sure why they didn’t revive that moniker for Only One, but at least the sound is somewhat similar. Quite tellingly, the … Continue reading
Starship Entertainment hasn’t debuted a new girl group since Sistar, and that was all the way back in 2010. In those six years, Sistar has gone on to become one of the leading female groups in kpop, so when it was announced that Starship would be teaming with Yuehua Entertainment to form Cosmic Girls, I … Continue reading
BTOB enjoyed one heck of a 2015, finding a new level of success and finally becoming the group they were meant to be. They also began to push into Japan with original material that catered almost exclusively to the genre preferences of that market. In other words, their two singles were super j-poppy. Dear Bride strikes a nice balance … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 