It can be difficult for a band in their thirteenth year to craft music that rivals their commercial peak. This is affected by the inherent ageism in the pop industry, but even without that challenge there comes a time when a group has simply ‘been there, done that’ with most genres and sounds. Where do … Continue reading
Nature’s Code W is the first in a string of postponed idol comebacks we’ll see over the next week or so. And, the girls have taken a sledgehammer to K-pop’s brief hiatus, re-emerging with the bonkers Limbo (넘어와). This is the group who gave us the insanity of Oopsie (My Bad) and Rica Rica, so … Continue reading
K-pop’s title tracks might gain most of listeners’ attention, but many album tracks are worth equal spotlight. I call these “buried treasures.” Beyond this, K-pop’s albums deliver thousands of additional tracks that settle for a more limited audience. It’s these songs that will become a part of my “battle of the b-sides” feature. In this … Continue reading
With such a busy slate of K-pop releases, I don’t always have a chance to rave about some of my favorite J-pop. This week, I’ll be giving an overview of some of my favorite acts and songs. Hopefully you’ll find a new obsession to add to your playlist! Why I Love Pick Me Up (and you … Continue reading
With such a busy slate of K-pop releases, I don’t always have a chance to rave about some of my favorite J-pop. This week, I’ll be giving an overview of some of my favorite acts and songs. Hopefully you’ll find a new obsession to add to your playlist! Why I Love Pretender (and you should … Continue reading
With such a busy slate of K-pop releases, I don’t always have a chance to rave about some of my favorite J-pop. This week, I’ll be giving an overview of some of my favorite acts and songs. Hopefully you’ll find a new obsession to add to your playlist! Why I Love Kitakaze to Taiyou (and … Continue reading
With such a busy slate of K-pop releases, I don’t always have a chance to rave about some of my favorite J-pop. This week, I’ll be giving an overview of some of my favorite acts and songs. Hopefully you’ll find a new obsession to add to your playlist! Why I Love Aladdin (and you should … Continue reading
Disclaimer: Due to South Korea’s national period of mourning until November 5th, most companies have delayed all comebacks and promotional materials. For whatever reason, YOUNITE’s music video and album went ahead as planned. It’s not my place to judge whether this decision was correct or not. Who knows what the agency’s situation is? But if … Continue reading
Debut songs from Johnny’s groups are a big deal. They’re often tied to a popular drama, performed everywhere to the point of being inescapable, and they quickly become a beloved and oft-referenced part of a group’s history. But ever since Travis Japan set up shop in the States to train and compete in numerous competitions … Continue reading
If you told me a decade ago that a member of the world’s biggest K-pop band would release a track written by Coldplay, I would’ve been shocked. But, global outreach and a popularity boom has resulted in collaborations like this becoming much more common. And with Jin, this team-up makes sense. His solo tracks on … Continue reading
Find a seat and take a deep breath for this one. “Acid Angel from Asia” is a pre-debut sub-unit from the upcoming 24-member girl group tripleS that combines the worlds of NFT and K-pop. These four members were voted to be part of the unit via something called “Grand Gravity,” and tripleS will soon spawn … Continue reading
Another month, another Universe release. This time it’s VIVIZ, and I thought I’d revisit my carnival challenge last seen in the review of Oh My Girl’s Shark. After all, I like VIVIZ and I like Oh My Girl. They deserve the extra effort, even if Universe deserves nothing at all. So… step right up and … Continue reading
After a lengthy hiatus, girl group Elris reconfigured as “Alice” earlier this year. The rebrand was devoid of fanfare, as the group emerged with a barely-promoted ballad. It turns out this was just a teaser for their true comeback. New single Dance On re-introduces the girls with a bang, drawing upon K-pop’s retro trends for … Continue reading
When we last heard from EPEX, they were embroiled in controversy over lyrical content referencing a Nazi massacre. The agency quite rightly adjusted the lyrics, but this exposed issues with sensitivity and general global awareness — and that’s putting it mildly. New single Hymn To Love (사랑歌) eliminates all potential of controversy, seeing the group … Continue reading
ATBO were the unlucky target of a rather snarky review on this blog back in July. Their debut wasn’t atrocious or unpolished. It was just a copy-and-paste of boy group tropes. Listening to many highlight medleys this week, I’ve become more convinced that original ideas are scarce in modern K-pop. A majority of songs sound … Continue reading
When I first laid eyes on the tracklist for CLASS:y’s newest mini album, its length caused me to do a double take. Calling two tracks a “mini album” is quite a stretch — even for K-pop! But, the group has compensated for this brevity with a long-form music video that combines both tracks into one … Continue reading
When it comes to name changes, “T1419 to TFN” feels like a lateral move. T1419 sounded like a tracking number, but TFN is about as bland an acronym as you can get (it stands for “Try For New,” if you were wondering). I haven’t run the math, but I’d guess about seven out of ten … Continue reading
With WayV on a longer-than-expected hiatus and SuperM inactive, the always-beguiling Ten hasn’t had much time in the spotlight. That’s a shame for all of us. He’s long-since due for a solo album of his own. Instead, we’ve had a special single here and there and the occasional appearance on NCT’s Universe album. Last August, … Continue reading
OnlyOneOf’s Underground Idol project was on track to maintain its once-a-month course until the group took a few weeks to promote their Japanese single. Because of this, Rie’s long-awaited solo became even more long-awaited, pushed back an extra month. Now, it’s finally time to land back in the guys’ BL universe. The rock-tinged Because continues … Continue reading
K-Pop debuts can be tricky things. At times, they’re the best song a group delivers. Sometimes, they’re the only song a group delivers! But, debuts can also be huge wtf moments in an artist’s career. In this feature, I’ll be looking back at debut songs through the prism of time, re-evaluating how well they hold … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 