Most of the time, a kpop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, sometimes b-side tracks deserve recognition, too. In the singles-oriented world of kpop, I wanted to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. Though it didn’t seem to garner much hype, Dynamite was … Continue reading
It’s hard to believe that, after a year and a half since launching this website, I still haven’t had the opportunity to review any Korean comebacks by solo Bigbang members. For a group approaching military enlistment age, you’d think that YG would want to keep the members as busy as possible. So Good may have been created as … Continue reading
It’s not smart to mess with a winning formula, especially when that formula is responsible for a rise as meteoric as Twice’s. The girls’ mega-successful sound was built by producers Black Eyed Pilseung, but now we’re on the second single in a row without their aid. While February’s Knock Knock felt like a real departure … Continue reading
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for k-pop, with releases dwindling to a trickle in light of presidential elections and holidays and a general springtime slump. With such a scarcity of quality music, I’ve been especially thankful for Korean variety shows. And this year, no series has been more consistently fun than the second … Continue reading
The last time Junhyung released a promoted solo single it was 2013’s absolutely brilliant Flower. 2013 was a high watermark year for the artists-formally-known-as-Beast. It also felt like the era that Junhyung’s composing partnership with Kim Taejoo — under the moniker “Good Life” — was really coming into its own. Fast forward to 2017 and … Continue reading
When it comes to Triple H’s sub-unit debut, more will probably be made of the controversial music video than the song itself. I don’t tend to write extensively about videos, but 365 Fresh is definitely one of the more memorable ones in recent memory. I’m not sure romanticizing things like suicide and drug use is … Continue reading
Most of the time, a kpop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, sometimes b-side tracks deserve recognition, too. In the singles-oriented world of kpop, I wanted to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. Regular readers are probably getting sick of my continued adoration … Continue reading
The cute and fluffy girl group track is an evergreen in the k-pop world, but it’s been particularly prevalent over the past couple of years. Momoland debuted last November with a track that crash boom banged its way into listeners’ memories in the most shameless, stuffed-with-candy style its producers could muster. New single Wonderful Love … Continue reading
Bullet Train (Choutokkyuu) have never been the most subtle of groups. I mean, just look at that song title. If it wasn’t already demanding enough, they just had to go and capitalize DANCE. But as k-pop continues to strive for the cooler and sleeker and trendier, it can be refreshing to listen to a group … Continue reading
Breakout rookies SF9 are wasting no time establishing themselves, releasing a new mini album just two months after the last one. Thus far, the group has adopted an aggressive hip-hop style with mixed results, but for Easy Love (쉽다) they’ve switched it up quite a bit. This is SF9 as melodic as we’ve ever heard … Continue reading
No, this is not a cover version of I.O.I’s hit from last year. It’s one of those happy surprises k-pop gives us every so often, arriving with absolutely no fanfare but captivating with its high energy and breakneck pace. 14U (pronounced “one for you”) is one of the largest groups k-pop has ever seen. I’m … Continue reading
Last month’s Love & Live promotions finally felt like a step toward proper debut for the girls of LOONA. It’s not that the sub-unit were incredibly original or commercially lucrative, but it was the first time I got a sense of the endgame this project is working towards. With Everyday I Love You, we’re back to hearing from … Continue reading
To put it bluntly, Berry Good’s new music video is berry bad. Sorry for the lame pun, but it almost seems as if the director went out of their way to create the cheapest, most visually unappealing video they could muster. Luckily, I write my reviews without focusing too much on a song’s accompanying visuals. And … Continue reading
Until today, Minzy was the only member of now-disbanded group 2NE1 without a solo release to her name. But now she’s struck out on her own, signing with a new label and enjoying a different sort of fame through popular variety show Sister’s Slam Dunk. Fortunately, she hasn’t forgotten the sound that forged her career, … Continue reading
Most of the time, a kpop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, sometimes b-sides deserve recognition, too. In the singles-oriented world of kpop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. It’s been weeks since I’ve written one of these buried treasure … Continue reading
After the surprise resurgence of popularity for 2014’s ubiquitous Up & Down, EXID’s music began to feel shoehorned into a certain style. You certainly can’t blame them. Fame is not an easy target in k-pop, and once you’ve scored a hit, it’s smart to follow up with the formula that proved successful. That strategy worked … Continue reading
Only two weeks in and SM Entertainment‘s “season two” of Station has given us its first non-traditional release. As a kick-off to what promises to be a performance-focused project highlighting some of the agency’s strongest dancers, the hypnotic Dream In A Dream (몽중몽) is almost entirely instrumental. The song acts as a launching pad for … Continue reading
Though I have my qualms about digital singles replacing album releases, the biggest upside of a monthly title track schedule is that it allows an artist’s material to change along with the time of the year. Now that winter’s over, I expect that DAY6’s singles will begin to take on a sunnier pop style. They’ve already … Continue reading
Rookie boy group IMFACT have teased a monthly release schedule for 2017, but the month of March was conspicuously skipped. I have to assume this was due to preparation for new single Tension Up (텐션업), which seems to boast a bigger budget and scope than either January or February‘s tracks. For the first time since last … Continue reading
So far in 2017, SM Entertainment has released ten title tracks. About a third of those have belonged to Girls’ Generation leader Taeyeon. The agency has worked hard to foster her solo career, and her sales numbers certainly back that up. But unlike other listeners, I wasn’t 100% sold on this idea until February’s My Voice album release. … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 