BABYMONSTER’s new era opens in earnest today, with lead single CHOOM the first volley of continued promotion over the next month or two. Unlike past efforts, this song was barely teased before the full thing dropped, which always makes me a bit nervous. If you’ve got a killer track, you’d usually want people to know … Continue reading
New Billlie releases have been hard to come by lately, but the group is about to release their first full-length album. Unfortunately, this rollout has been mired in AI controversy. It feels like I see more news about their agency needing to apologize than about the music itself. Perhaps a glossy performance video is just … Continue reading
ILLIT’s music has always been good at capturing the K-pop zeitgeist of the moment, resulting in a very trendy — but often uneven — discography. My favorite ILLIT tracks have gone against the grain to carve out a niche that feels more unique to them. With new single It’s Me, the group has tried on … Continue reading
It’s a day of solo releases from members of some of my favorite girl groups. Unfortunately, these songs usually pale in comparison to work from the members’ respective groups. In the case of Yuju, this is by design. Nothing she’s released on her own has tried to recapture GFriend’s appeal. That’s completely within her rights … Continue reading
Any time I write about a Sistar member releasing new music, it’s only natural to lament the absence of one of K-pop’s strongest girl groups. That’s not fair to the members and I’m sure they’re eager to put past history behind and develop their own artistry, but when you come from a group with as … Continue reading
It’s been three years since Park Jihoon was last featured on this blog. That’s practically a decade in K-pop time, as an entire generation of new fans crop up with no real idea who this guy is. For those unsure of the name, Jihoon was one of the pillars of Wanna One, the group formed … Continue reading
These MNET survival shows are getting out of hand because I didn’t even know Unpretty Rapstar: HIP POP Princess existed until I heard about the group spawned from it. H//PE Princess is scheduled to make their full debut soon but they’re testing the waters with pre-release Stolen, which arrives in its Japanese/Korean/English version before the … Continue reading
Rookie group KEYVITUP is now on their third music video from their debut EP. I haven’t been a fan of much from them yet, and calling a track “legendary” is only setting listeners up for disappointment. The word legendary is thrown around too cavalierly in my opinion and certainly doesn’t apply to this song. Rather … Continue reading
While I’ve found 82MAJOR’s output to be a mixed bag so far, I’m always interested to hear what they come up with. Of all the younger boy groups pursuing hip-hop as their guiding force, these guys seem to have the most fun with it. Recently, their music has taken a more EDM shift but new … Continue reading
Fresh off the massive success of last year’s Blue Valentine, NMIXX are gearing up for its follow-up album. That album is set to release next month, but they’ve started its campaign early with Crescendo. JYP groups have been absolutely prolific at the moment, with multiple acts from the agency promoting at the same time. I … Continue reading
All of a sudden, it feels like a certain type of EDM has taken over K-pop — or at the very least taken over HYBE Corporation. This isn’t an unwelcome development in my eyes (anything to kick up the industry’s tempo a bit!), but we haven’t yet arrived at the anthemic, melodic, euphoric early-2010s EDM … Continue reading
The Bias List is currently churning out new “A Career in Song Ratings” posts, where I rank established artists’ singles runs against each other. When I eventually get to B1A4, they’ll be one of the few groups I split into two entities. For me, there’s such a difference between the five-member version of B1A4 and … Continue reading
Super Junior’s Donghae has released his first full album today, preceded by the lukewarm Good Day (which I thought sounded like a commercial jingle). However, the album’s highlight medley sounded more promising and the clip of title track HAErise (해 떴네) definitely caught my ears for its dancefloor-ready sound. When the unit Super Junior-D&E first … Continue reading
Late last year, Boys Planet spin-off group EVNNE became permanent, though this came at the expense of two members. Now a five-piece, they’ve reoriented their sound to fit the trends of the day. If new single Backtalk (뱉어) is any indication, their A&R team has noted the success of Cortis’s rage hip-hop and decided to … Continue reading
NCT Wish debuted just over two years ago but have already beaten many of their 2023-24 peers to the punch when it comes to releasing a full album. SM Entertainment is usually pretty generous with their full albums, and I wonder if that’s because the agency’s genesis came at a time when full albums were … Continue reading
Anderson .Paak has become a go-to global collaborator for K-pop acts. In recent years, he’s paired with G-Dragon and BTS’s RM. Now, he’s joined forces with NCT’s Taeyong, who makes his return from military hiatus with new solo single Rock Solid. Given that 2026 is NCT’s tenth anniversary, I expect we’ll see many more special … Continue reading
Yves’s solo career has been marked by collorations with buzzy global artists. When last we saw her on this blog, she paired with PinkPantheress — an artist with outsized influence on the current state of K-pop’s girl groups. For new single Nail, she’s teamed up with American singer Lolo Zouaï. The song doesn’t stray too … Continue reading
It’s not often that a K-pop track demands attention from its title alone, but I certainly did a double take when I spotted the name of Wheein’s new single The Symphony Of Fxxkboys. Not only is it a bold statement for a relatively conservative industry, but its unexpected combination of words instantly makes you wonder … Continue reading
Throughout their career, HITGS’s music has often hinged upon deliberately cheesy and chintzy sounds. Their early work felt as if it was composed for a kid’s show, but last year’s Happy teased a more mature (and satisfying) transformation. New single Cherry Blossom continues that transformation, but in a disappointingly drowsy way. These soft songs about … Continue reading
Be Boys made their debut last year with the well-intentioned, but somewhat clumsy, I’m So Sorry But I Love You. Though I didn’t love that song, I appreciated their bright, upbeat energy and certainly have room in my library for more music of this style. New single Slam Dunk continues the youthful verve but pulls … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 