Oh My Girl are celebrating their tenth anniversary with special single Oh My. Ten years is a huge accomplishment for any K-pop group, and Oh My Girl’s career has seen distinct phases — from quirky newcomers to “it” girls to veteran pop act. Oh My attempts to distill many of their influences into a refreshing … Continue reading
AMPERS&ONE debuted in late-2023 with the energetic On And On and have largely maintained that upbeat sound since. Though this was a very solid debut, they’ve struggled to find material that matches or elevates its quality. Their music has been consistently solid but lacks the individual personality of a TWS or BOYNEXTDOOR. Kick Start is … Continue reading
You all know I love a bad K-pop acronym. The confusing name of newly-debuted girl group ifeye stands for “Imagine & Find Energetic Young Eyes.” Um… creepy? For me, they’re most notable for their partnership with producer Leez, who was partially responsible for guiding ATEEZ and Dreamcatcher’s early career and has made great music for … Continue reading
For the long-awaited release of Mark’s first solo album, he’s promoting with a title track named after his birth year. Birthdays aside, 1999 was an awesome year for music. Everyone was in party mode due to the impending turn of the millennium. Pop music was diverse and dominant, with MTV and TRL serving as hubs … Continue reading
ARTMS’s new single Burn was originally scheduled for release last week, but promoting a song with that title during South Korea’s wildfire emergency would be quite insensitive so they wisely pushed the release back until today. It’s ARTMS’s first promoted work since last year’s debut album and offers a sleeker, more mainstream sound. At its … Continue reading
I don’t often review music that doesn’t have an accompanying video, but every once and awhile big acts release a stand-alone single without the full promotion given to title tracks. ENHYPEN are preparing for their upcoming stint at Coachella and have released the English-language Loose prior to that milestone stage. To be honest, I don’t … Continue reading
With Kai serving his mandatory military enlistment, it’s been just over two years since I’ve gotten to write about one of his solo singles. But now that he’s back, he’s wasted no time getting into the studio. A new mini album is on the way with pre-release Adult Swim tiding us over in the meantime. … Continue reading
Though they’re primarily based in Japan, JYP girl group NiziU has global ambitions. Love Line (운명선) is their second Korean single, further establishing the girls as part of the K-pop landscape. And while it may exist between markets, the song itself borrows from girl group sounds of the past for a flavor that feels unique … Continue reading
Late last month, new Korean-American trio RE:WIND surprised me with their fantastic pre-release RE:SET. It’s so fun when an act bounds out of the gate with strong material. This track set the stage for their debut single Forever, but unfortunately I don’t find myself as bowled over this time. This is a tough one because … Continue reading
I’ll always check out K-pop’s “nugu” groups because often their music will take more risks than their bigger-named peers. However, these efforts are also constrained by budget, making the execution a bit chaotic at times. I didn’t care for boy group Eastshine’s earlier work enough to write about it, but the teasers for new single … Continue reading
K-band Lucy is down to a trio at the moment as member Gwangil serves his mandatory enlistment. Seeing them as three doesn’t seem right, but they’re plunging ahead with an upcoming new album and pre-release single Wakey Wakey (잠깨). The band have promised new things this era, but judging from this track their signature sound … Continue reading
Following fellow member Yeonjun’s solo single GGUM last year, TXT’s Beomgyu has emerged with his own track. Panic has been labeled as a “mixtape,” though by its very nature a mixtape needs more than one song to be an actual “mix.” More accurately, this is a digital single that Big Hit likely didn’t want to … Continue reading
Rounding out Stray Kids’ blitz of unit tracks, we’ve got Lee Know and Seungmin’s Cinema. Thus far, I’ve enjoyed Changbin and I.N’s Burnin’ Tires the most, though none of the songs have really caught fire for me. As two of the most notable vocalists in the group, Cinema promises a very different sound than the … Continue reading
Over the past few days, Stray Kids have been releasing music videos for each of the unit tracks on their new mixtape. We’ve already heard from Changbin, I.N, Han and Felix, leaving four more members to go. Up next is Bang Chan and Hyunjin. Their Escape brings just as much bombast as the past two … Continue reading
Even though today marks KiiiKiii’s official debut, it feels like they “debuted” weeks ago with their pre-release I Do Me heavily promoted on music shows. I still find that track incredibly generic, but its earworm melody has snuck up on me through sheer repetition and the group sell it well on stage. Now, it’s time … Continue reading
No matter what I may have thought about any ONEUS single at any given time, one thing has stayed consistent: main vocal Seoho has an incredible (and often underutilized) voice. He’s responsible for many of my favorite parts in the group’s songs, so a solo track is a welcome proposition. Unfortunately, Hatchling also comes along … Continue reading
Veteran K-pop act Ailee has returned with three (!) new music videos today. Looking at the tracklist of her new album, it appears MMI is the designated title track. It’s also the song with the most YouTube views at this moment so it’s the one I’ll write about today. To be honest, none of Ailee’s … Continue reading
Tempest are set to release a new mini album at the end of the month, but today they’ve unveiled the kind of for-the-fans pre-release that cobbles together behind-the-scenes footage to highlight what’s clearly more of a b-side than promoted single. In the grand scheme of pre-releases, Destiny is neither here nor there. It’s the typical … Continue reading
After nearly a year of pre-releases, NCT’s Mark is finally scheduled to drop his debut album early next month. It’s been a long-gestating project, so I’m eager to see what he’s got in store. We don’t have to wait until April for new music, though. Pre-release +82 Pressin pairs him with bandmate Haechan. This duo … Continue reading
Debuting around this time last year, rookie girl group Candy Shop has had a hard time making their mark on the industry. With vaunted producer Brave Brothers at the helm, they should be releasing banger after banger. Sadly, their music thus far has felt like “reheated nachos” — and not in the good way. New … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 