K-Pop queen HyunA made her return on a new label late last year, and Attitude was a brief shot of excitement leading into this new era. Follow-up Q&A takes a more vibe-driven approach, but its dance elements work well for her. Between 4minute, Trouble Maker, Triple H and her solo work, HyunA’s covered a ton … Continue reading
Apart from a fantastic pre-release, YOUNITE haven’t done much to stick in my memory. I’ve written about all their title tracks, but I honestly couldn’t hum any of them today. New single Geekin is unlikely to change that, but its addictive beat helps it stand out amongst their discography. I should hate this song. After … Continue reading
After leaving SM Entertainment, EXO’s D.O. has reverted to his given name for his new album, set for release next month. Before that, we have pre-release Popcorn — an uncharacteristically cutesy bit of pop fluff. I tend to tie Kyung Soo’s solo music to the coffeehouse, and Popcorn still fits comfortably into that setting. However, … Continue reading
On their first few releases after debut, idol band XDinary Heroes felt a little too gimmicky for me. Songs like Happy Death Day and Hair Cut seemed overly enthused by their own cleverness, so it was refreshing to see the group unleash a straight-ahead rocker with last year’s Break The Brake. For the release of … Continue reading
IVE have quickly established themselves as one of this generation’s representative girl groups, unleashing hits that stay on the charts for months (I Am is still in the top 50 more than a year after its release). With their previous EP, they began branching in new musical directions. This had the potential to be exciting, … Continue reading
Well, what a nice surprise! Not only have RIIZE released three new b-sides from their first mini album, but they’ve recorded behind-the-scenes music videos for two of them. In both sound and execution, One Kiss and 9 Days are definitely not title tracks, but I still think they each deserve a mini-review. Compared to One … Continue reading
Well, what a nice surprise! Not only have RIIZE released three new b-sides from their first mini album, but they’ve recorded behind-the-scenes music videos for two of them. In both sound and execution, One Kiss and 9 Days are definitely not title tracks, but I still think they each deserve a mini-review. First up is … Continue reading
It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from either Zico or BLACKPINK, making this new duet instantly buzzy. Amidst all the uproar happening in the industry at the moment, HYBE might be hoping this superstar collaboration could be a bit of a distraction. But at the end of the day it’s the music itself that should … Continue reading
K-pop is getting its summer started early, with a few seasonal releases during a period usually reserved for April showers. First we had RIIZE’s excellent Impossible, and now we’ve got a summery pre-release from ZEROBASEONE. Sweat arrives about three weeks before the group’s newest album and delivers the kind of energetic dance pop perfect for … Continue reading
Kep1er’s future as a group remains unsteady, with activities set to end in early July unless their contract is extended. I’m not sure if we’ll get another Korean comeback before that point, but for now fans can enjoy a new Japanese album from the group. Some of their strongest material has been released in Japan … Continue reading
I can’t overemphasize the shiver that went down my spine when I pressed play on PICKUS’s debut track Little Prince and was met with the tune from “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Nursery rhyme interpolations are my kryptonite, and this set expectations quite low. Fortunately, the actual song is a fun blast of upbeat pop — … Continue reading
It took some time, but EPEX have finally found a sound that suits them. I’ve become more enamored with their newest title track Youth2Youth by the day, and follow-up Breathe In Love doubles down on its emotive, rock-infused style. Both songs have a satisfying arc, taking their time to deliver a full musical story and … Continue reading
A K-pop act’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. Sometimes, b-sides deserve recognition too. In the singles-oriented world of K-pop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. BOYNEXTDOOR don’t necessarily have a big … Continue reading
New girl group Unicode is unique in that all its members are Japanese. I’m not sure how that’s going to serve them in an industry that feels quite insular, but their agency has been smart to give them a quintessentially Korean sound for debut single Let Me Love (돌아봐줄래). Most pertinent to my interests, the … Continue reading
I don’t know if there’s actual correlation between the two, but ever since Johnny’s Entertainment rebranded into Starto Entertainment, I’ve had a hard time falling in love with their music. Maybe it’s an A&R thing, or maybe it’s simply a symptom of a changing industry environment. Whatever it is, recent songs by some of my … Continue reading
I may be showing my age here, but when I hear the phrase “Earth, Wind & Fire” I only think of one thing. BOYNEXTDOOR don’t strike me as the funk disco type, but they did begin to win me over with last year’s addictive But Sometimes. They’ve got a swaggering energy that feels more natural … Continue reading
The music video for Kis-My-Ft2’s newest single has been out for a few days, but I’ve been holding off on writing about it because I honestly couldn’t decide how I felt about the song. For those who have never heard of this group, they boast my favorite J-pop discography, largely due to songs like this … Continue reading
A K-pop act’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. Sometimes, b-sides deserve recognition too. In the singles-oriented world of K-pop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. It’s so nice to have ONF … Continue reading
Despite making their debut in 2020, I’ve never written about a Rolling Quartz song on the blog before. Korean rock bands like this fall into a unique category. They often perform on weekly music shows alongside idols, but their music and promotion has an approach that feels more indie. Whatever you want to call it, … Continue reading
EPEX’s material has been pretty hit or miss for me, but digging deeper into their song credits the group has worked frequently with (most of) the team that’s crafted The Wind’s discography. I’ve got my eyes on these producers, and for new single Youth2Youth (청춘에게) they seem to have brought a bit of that soaring, … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 