Girl group Spica has been absent from the k-pop scene for two years, causing them to have a lot of rebuilding and rebranding to do. The world of k-pop moves quickly, and unless you’re an a-list super group, it’s not particularly easy to come back after such a long time away. Making things even more … Continue reading
Full disclosure: when Ailee’s on, she’s really on, but I have always preferred her more uptempo, aggressively soulful tracks to the ballads. Songs like Don’t Touch Me, or the almighty U&I, crackle with a certain k-pop energy that is hers and hers alone. So when it became clear that her newest comeback would be a … Continue reading
Laboum has been on the tip of many tongues when it comes to up-and-coming girl groups, and there’s a reason why. Their singles run has been on a continual upswing since their debut in 2014, and Shooting Love (푱푱) continues that pattern. While it took a couple of listens for the track’s rowdy go-for-broke production to … Continue reading
Coming back without a bit of teasing or build-up, Romeo have released Treasure as a special single from their repackaged album. I’ve previously lamented the fact that they no longer work with production team Sweetune after their label merged with Stardom Entertainment, and Treasure is no different. Once again, the song has been composed by Deeds … Continue reading
For fifteen years now, Nell has held a very special place in the Korean music scene. Their brand of introspective, psychadelic rock offers a necessary compliment to k-pop’s glitzy allure. They also have a special place in my heart, as lead vocal Kim Jong-wan has done production and songwriting work on Infinite’s Sungkyu’s solo albums. With … Continue reading
Just nine days after I.O.I returned as an (almost full) group, Produce 101 is once again churning out material, this time in the form of I.O.I’s sister group, I.B.I, which is composed of girls who didn’t quite make it into the final line-up (still with me?). In contrast to the hard-hitting r&b-styled pop of Whatta Man, I.B.I … Continue reading
It’s hard to remember the last time a major k-pop release was hit with near across-the-board disappointment moments after its release. I suppose there was a similar feeling last summer when it came to the chorus of Bigbang’s Bang Bang Bang, but that turned out to be one of the biggest hits of the year. … Continue reading
I try to keep the focus of my reviews on the songs themselves, but I have to start out by noting that the music video for Cosmic Girls’ new single, Secret (비밀이야), is stunning. Really, it’s one of the most stylish music videos of the entire year. It’s an enormous leap up for the girls in … Continue reading
Girl group Badkiz is coming back after a year away. They haven’t yet found their place in the k-pop world, and a year’s hiatus certainly isn’t going to help that. This is no knock on Badkiz themselves, but it does make me wonder what their management is expecting from this new single. Unless you’re one of … Continue reading
I’m usually not one to care much for mixtapes. Now don’t get me wrong, I understand why rappers release them. Especially in the idol world, there isn’t often much opportunity for them to carry an entire song. Instead, they’re shoehorned into being one aspect of a track that usually has a lot more going on. Mixtapes shine … Continue reading
After years of teasing us, YG Entertainment’s new girl group, BLACKPINK, has finally made their debut. And therein lies one of YG’s biggest problems. After such a ridiculously long wait, anything short of “2016’s best song” is going to come off as a disappointment. Whistle (휘파람) is not among the year’s best, but at the … Continue reading
Co-ed groups are a rarity in k-pop, and although Y Teen isn’t an official group (they were formed for promotional purposes), it’s still fun to see this kind of configuration. Y Teen consists of Monsta X and part of girl group WJSN (Cosmic Girls), both from Starship Entertainment. The song itself definitely caters more to … Continue reading
Throughout their six years together, Nine Muses have been one of the most consistent, underrated girl groups in all of k-pop. Even with so many member changes, their music has always remained quality. 9MUSES A is their first sub-unit project, and its very existence is honestly a little confusing. I get the need for solos … Continue reading
WM Entertainment’s Oh My Girl just won’t stop this year, releasing comeback after comeback. This isn’t a complaint (after all, they should be doing this as a rookie group), but I do wish their label-mates B1A4 were given the chance to finally release that new album they’ve been promising us. Even though it hasn’t been … Continue reading
Call me a bad k-pop fan, but I had absolutely no idea that there was even a group called Unicorn. I kind of love it, though. I mean…. Unicorn? The only thing that would make it better was if they were secretly a heavy metal band. But it turns out that they’re a girl group, … Continue reading
With NCT 127’s Taste the Feeling, SM Station has given us a song with a purpose, though it might be kind of a silly one. The track is a cover of a song used to promote Coca Cola, and that’s exactly what it’ll do in Korea as well. It’s also tied to the upcoming Olympics, … Continue reading
In a climate where k-pop is dominated by SM and YG Entertainment, it can be easy to overlook JYP, which many consider to be Korea’s third most influential music agency. While SM and YG have been generally sticking by their respective trends and genres, JYP artists have actually given us an incredibly eclectic mix of styles … Continue reading
Along with the rest of their artists’ music, SM’s Station project has seen an interesting shift towards the 90’s house genre. Starting as primarily a showcase for their roster of musicians to deliver one-off ballads, we’ve gotten to the point where a song like My Show sees an in-house producer pairing with a musical actress … Continue reading
Poor Zhoumi. Always getting the short end of the stick. His comebacks arrive with little fanfare or explanation, and they’re gone before you know it. This is despite him being a part of Chinese sub-group Super Junior M, which used to be SM Entertainment’s core Chinese group. Empty Room arrives as (presumably) a pre-release before … Continue reading
Together, Super Junior’s Kim Heechul and Trax’s Kim Jungmo form duo M&D, known for their unique brand of trot and anime influenced rock. It certainly won’t be to everyone’s taste, but I found their debut mini album to be one of last year’s most pleasant surprises. The new release is more diverse in scope, but … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 