Reviews are only a snapshot in time, which means that many of the songs I write about will rise or fall as the months go on. I tend to be pretty moderate in my reviews, so none of these following selections have moved drastically from my original thoughts, but the first half of 2019 definitely … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I look back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists. I take my own ratings into account, but there’s a bit of wiggle room as certain songs tend to grow or fade. June 2019 Overall Thoughts Well… June happened. The K-pop gods giveth and they taketh away, and … Continue reading
It’s that time of year again. The sun comes out, the temperature climbs, and K-pop goes tropical! Well, it wasn’t always this way. A few years ago, summer didn’t instantly mean tropical pop music, and I hope we’re working our way out of this persistent trend. But tropical or not, many of my top K-pop … Continue reading
Most of the time, a k-pop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, 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. Red Velvet’s Zimzalabim has proven to be one of the year’s … Continue reading
Red Velvet’s 2018 hit Really Bad Boy proved to be one of their most polarizing yet. Given this, it would’ve made sense to return to a more straightforward release this summer. And when it was announced that new single Zimzalabim (짐살라빔) would be co-composed by Red Flavor producers Caesar & Loui, it seemed that we … Continue reading
I often feel that, if given complete creative freedom, most idols would release nothing but ballads and coffee-shop style acoustic tracks. For a fan of megawatt pop music, this suspicion is a little depressing, and only reinforces the over-played idea that only some musical styles hold real artistic merit. Perhaps this is why I’ve struggled … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I look back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists. I take my own ratings into account, but there’s a bit of wiggle room as certain songs tend to grow or fade. January 2019 Overall Thoughts Last year, January bucked expectations and became my favorite musical month of … Continue reading
Japanese releases are often telegraphed weeks (and sometimes months) ahead of a time, but SM Entertainment artists seem to drop their J-pop music videos whenever they like. Sappy was only teased yesterday, and here it is today. That sense of spontaneity is kind of fun, and matches the adventurous structure of the song itself. Red … Continue reading
I debated whether or not to review Hair In The Air. It’s essentially a Korean-language cover of an American song, taken from the soundtrack of Trolls: The Beat Goes On Netflix series. And that original version is as insipid as it gets — an overly upbeat theme song that would instantly have me reaching for the … Continue reading
2018 arrived still reeling from the lingering aftereffects of tragedy, as Jonghyun’s passing continued to loom large in everyone’s minds. But the year went on to deliver one of the strongest Januarys in memory. Title tracks pin-balled between genres and there seemed to be a renewed, free-wheeling energy within the idol industry. The Winter Olympics … Continue reading
Most of the time, a k-pop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, sometimes b-sides deserve recognition too. In the singles-oriented world of k-pop, I wanted to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. Now that the dust has settled on Red Velvet’s Really Bad … Continue reading
The first time I heard Red Velvet’s Dumb Dumb back in 2015, I thought it was a complete mess. The song has since gone on to become one of my favorite tracks in the group’s discography. I mention this because new single RBB (Really Bad Boy) gave me the exact same impression upon first listen. … Continue reading
In what has become an annual tradition, it’s time to take a look at K-pop’s biggest agencies and offer my 2018 verdict. First up is SM Entertainment. As usual, the thoughts are my own and aren’t privy to any insider information. I’m not taking into account things like profits and stock value. The purpose of … Continue reading
The third iteration of SM’s Station project is living up to its promise of providing momentous — and often unexpected — duets. So far, this has mainly consisted of collaborations between various Korean acts from differing agencies. But with Written in the Stars, SM has cast its sights globally. American notoriety seems to have become … Continue reading
Zion.T’s release schedule has slowed drastically since signing with YG Entertainment subsidiary The Black Label, but Korea seems poised to enthusiastically embrace his material all the same. As if his name wasn’t enough to draw headlines, new single Hello Tutorial pairs him with Red Velvet’s Seulgi — a performer who has already been part of … Continue reading
“Seulgi X SinB X Chungha X Soyeon” is quite a mouthful of a name for a project group! Honestly, though, I can see why SM Entertainment would want to highlight each and every performer in this temporary supergroup. It’s not every day that this level of star power is harnessed for one track. It almost … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I look back at my three favorite title tracks by k-pop artists. I take my own ratings into account, but there’s a bit of wiggle room as certain songs tend to grow or fade. August 2018 Overall Thoughts Well, if July was disappointing, August was downright anemic. For the first … Continue reading
Most of the time, a k-pop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, sometimes b-sides deserve recognition too. In the singles-oriented world of k-pop, I wanted to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. It was difficult to pick a “buried treasure” from Red Velvet’s … Continue reading
SM Entertainment’s summer drought finally comes to an end with the release of Red Velvet’s new mini album. The girls conquered the summer of 2017 with their monster hit Red Flavor, giving any new seasonal song a lot to live up to. But rather than return to Flavor producers Caesar & Loui, new single Power … Continue reading
To be clear, there is no reason for a pop song to be preceded by a hash tag. And under no circumstance whatsoever should that hash tag actually be part of the chorus. But here we are, with Red Velvet’s #Cookie Jar. This Japanese debut is likely to be their most polarizing title track since … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 