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. July 2024 Overall Thoughts After a stellar June, July was always going to have a hard … Continue reading
RIIZE have barely let a month slip by without releasing new music. This is the perfect way to unveil a rookie group, blitzing the market with material so fans have no opportunity to stray elsewhere. Just six weeks since their funk dynamo comeback Boom Boom Bass, the guys have returned with their Japanese debut. Lucky … Continue reading
Rather than contain my “Risers and Fallers” feature to a single post in June, I’m going to share a bite-sized version at the end of each month. This will let me account for more songs and make a nice lead-in to the monthly round-up post. I anticipate most of these ratings adjustments will be negligible: … 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 member enlistments and debuts of younger artists in the agency, NCT 127 are now in an interesting place as respected seniors at SM Entertainment. This transition offers plenty of possibility for shifts in sound and approach. New single Walk (삐그덕) feels quintessentially NCT yet softens the tone for a more straightforward, digestible package. Walk … Continue reading
In connection with my desire to fully keep up with the J-pop industry, I’m planning to do a weekly round-up of any new releases that have caught my ear. Some of these may have been covered on the blog already, but my hope is that this will become a one-stop shop for anyone interested in … Continue reading
Taeyeon’s To. X became a long-lasting hit on Korean charts, proving her continued dominance even sixteen years into her career. To tide fans over between albums, she’s dropped digital single Heaven. Its frothy disco pop sound is worlds away from To. X‘s downbeat confessional. I’ll admit this right away: I’m tired of this chill, vanilla, … Continue reading
In connection with my desire to fully keep up with the J-pop industry, I’m planning to do a weekly round-up of any new releases that have caught my ear. Some of these may have been covered on the blog already, but my hope is that this will become a one-stop shop for anyone interested in … Continue reading
While K-pop has been consistently above average this year, my J-pop fortunes haven’t been so bright. It’s a real turnaround from this time last year, when I was able to feature fifteen beloved tracks. The choices were more limited this time, but it’s still worth pointing out some stellar work from a few favorites. What … Continue reading
It’s pretty ballsy to name your single “Hot Mess,” essentially teeing up critics and naysayers if the song is anything less than amazing. But if we’re speaking of “amazing,” aespa already have a super solid track record. And with Supernova‘s incredible chart dominance this spring, the girls seem to have entered an imperial phase. Can … Continue reading
While 2024 has delivered quite a few standout singles so far, I haven’t been as blown over by the albums. Still, I was surprised how many I was able to cobble together. Unlike in the past, I’m not distinguishing between mini and full albums, though albums must have at least four full songs to be … Continue reading
It appears there will be no full group comeback for SHINee this year, but that doesn’t mean the individual members won’t be busy. In between his many appearances on variety, Key has returned with a new Japanese single. Tongue Tied was made available last week, but today marks its music video debut. I haven’t been … Continue reading
Wow, what a change a year can make! At this point in 2023, I was only able to pick a small handful of tracks to feature in my mid-year countdown, but 2024 has me spoiled for choice. My list is unusually long this time and probably won’t be all that surprising (barring one or two … Continue reading
In connection with my desire to fully keep up with the J-pop industry, I’m planning to do a weekly round-up of any new releases that have caught my ear. Some of these may have been covered on the blog already, but my hope is that this will become a one-stop shop for anyone interested in … 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 2024 Overall Thoughts It’s been awhile since I’ve said this, but K-pop is in a … Continue reading
It’s been a long time since I’ve written one of these top ten lists. (Okay… it’s been years.) But what better excuse to dive back in than a tenth anniversary celebration? Red Velvet celebrate their tenth year this summer and now it’s finally time to take a look at my favorite album tracks and b-sides … Continue reading
SM Entertainment is having a busy Monday, with no less than three comebacks across both the Korean and Japanese market. Super Junior’s Donghae and Eunhyuk join Red Velvet and NCT Wish in celebrating new music with the release of Japanese single You&Me. And like many acts this month, they’ve opted for a bright, funky summertime … Continue reading
NCT Wish debuted earlier this year as NCT’s final fixed unit. Straddling the line between Japanese and Korean promotions, they appear to be following NCT Dream’s bright sound template rather than the angular experimentation of units like 127. February’s funky Wish was a decent start, but new single Songbird feels like their true arrival. I’ve … Continue reading
Sometimes I forget just how bulletproof the first five years of Red Velvet’s discography was. I’ve been less enthused with their post-2019 output, but even when the music wasn’t my cup of tea the group’s vocals still impressed. They’re one of the premiere girl groups of the last decade, and their tenth anniversary should see … Continue reading
Rather than contain my “Risers and Fallers” feature to a single post in June, I’m going to share a bite-sized version at the end of each month. This will let me account for more songs and make a nice lead-in to the monthly round-up post. I anticipate most of these ratings adjustments will be negligible: … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 