Seo In Young delivered an incredibly strong (and totally underappreciated) club track last year with Scream, but now she’s slowed things down with Embraced In Your Arms (너에게 안겨), which allows her to show off her unique vocal tone without many distractions. The track’s midtempo pop sound feels like it could have been sung by … Continue reading
After the incredible one-two punch of Up & Down and Ah Yeah, it appeared that EXID had become an unstoppable force in k-pop. Then they released the less-incredible Hot Pink and revealed a chink in their pop armor. New single L.I.E (엘라이) promised us something completely different, and that’s certainly true. But I’m not sure … Continue reading
As CLC returns with their second title track of 2016, I’m realizing that they just may not be the girl group for me. Pepe was such a strong debut last year, but ever since then they’ve limped back to the kpop scene without a clear identity or purpose. Coming from a large company like Cube, … Continue reading
Five months after their most recent single, YG rookies iKON are back with the gentle #WYD, a prerelease for their upcoming promotions. So far, iKON has had a sound that’s been a bit all over the place, veering from hard hip-hop tracks to light pop confections without much focus. Luckily, they’re able to pull off … Continue reading
It’s hard to get very excited about the commemorative “songs for the fans” that tend to be released during groups’ anniversaries — especially when that group is Boyfriend and all I really want from them is another Sweetune-produced masterpiece. But before we (hopefully) get back to the awesome stuff, we must settle for the pleasant, if hardly … Continue reading
Heyne possesses one of the most unique voices in all of kpop. In fact, it’s the selling point she’s based much of her career on thus far. I imagine many may be turned off by this distinctive, high pitch tone, but it really depends on how, and where, it’s used. This is part of the challenge with Heyne’s … Continue reading
Hello Venus are one of those girl groups that seem to exist in the ether — established and successful enough to be known by many, but never to the point where they remotely threaten the big leagues. Frustratingly, they’ve often worked with mega producer Brave Brothers, but rarely reaped the same rewards his magic touch has … Continue reading
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
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 