It’s hard to believe NCT Dream hadn’t released an original Japanese single until now. Nearly seven years into their career, the unit has become one of NCT’s flagship brands. The brighter side of their music seems especially well-suited to a J-pop career. Best Friend Ever hearkens back to their earlier work and pairs them with … Continue reading
September-October 2008 Overall Thoughts In addition to my monthly K-pop round-up, I’ve taken a look at my favorite three singles from each month since 2009 and factored them into my ultimate Bias List scorecard, which can be found here. The problem is, prior to 2009 it becomes harder to find reliable sources for K-pop release … 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 2023 Overall Thoughts For the second month in a row, I couldn’t really find any … Continue reading
One of my hopes for 2023 is a Korean comeback from TVXQ that honors the legacy of their best work. We’ll see if SM Entertainment has that in them, but until then we have a new Japanese single from the legendary duo. Parallel Parallel arrives five months after last year’s Utsuroi and ups the tempo … Continue reading
Whether I like it or not, context plays a huge role in how I review any new K-pop track. In a perfect world, we could imagine songs being released at different times and under different circumstances, but if you follow the industry as closely as I do it’s impossible to separate trends from a song’s … Continue reading
July-August 2008 Overall Thoughts In addition to my monthly K-pop round-up, I’ve taken a look at my favorite three singles from each month since 2009 and factored them into my ultimate Bias List scorecard, which can be found here. The problem is, prior to 2009 it becomes harder to find reliable sources for K-pop release … Continue reading
K-pop teasers can be deceptive if you’re not paying close attention. Take a look at the visual teasers for Yesung’s new comeback and you might expect a gritty punk rock track. I’d love to hear him tackle something like this – a song that gives his strong vocals more bite. But beyond the visuals, it … 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
May-June 2008 Overall Thoughts In addition to my monthly K-pop round-up, I’ve taken a look at my favorite three singles from each month since 2009 and factored them into my ultimate Bias List scorecard, which can be found here. The problem is, prior to 2009 it becomes harder to find reliable sources for K-pop release … Continue reading
SM Entertainment’s all-star GOT The Beat unit was one of 2022’s most baffling projects. The agency assembled many of its strongest female performers only to debut a single track at the beginning of the year with limited promotions and no real follow-through. Clearly, this unit was never intended to carry SuperM-esque ambitions. I assumed the … Continue reading
March-April 2008 Overall Thoughts In addition to my monthly K-pop round-up, I’ve taken a look at my favorite three singles from each month since 2009 and factored them into my ultimate Bias List scorecard, which can be found here. The problem is, prior to 2009 it becomes harder to find reliable sources for K-pop release … 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
January-February 2008 Overall Thoughts I’ve decided to revive a popular weekly feature, but with a twist! In addition to my monthly K-pop round-up, I’ve taken a look at my favorite three singles from each month since 2009 and factored them into my ultimate Bias List scorecard, which can be found here. The problem is, prior … 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
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. December 2022 Overall Thoughts December is historically a very slow month in K-pop, but every once … Continue reading
There are still two more countdowns to come (Top 40 pop songs and Top Dramas), but now that the K-pop-specific lists are complete it’s time to add up the categories and find out which comebacks ranked strongest overall. From a pure numbers standpoint, I guess this is the most important list I’ll publish! Just like … Continue reading
Okay, I tried something new this time. Rather than watch the entire hours-long festival in one go, I just skipped to the performances on YouTube (which is probably what most sane people do!). This improved the overall experience by removing some of the bloat these year-end shows are well-known for. I’ve always appreciated the bigger … Continue reading
While I don’t incorporate a song’s video into the reviews on this blog, I’m definitely not immune to a striking visual. Music videos are a vital part of the industry, and it’s time to celebrate my favorites of 2022. 2022 YEAR-END MASTERPOST Honorable Mentions: ENHYPEN – Blessed-Cursed Onew – Dice IVE – After Like PSY … Continue reading
I spend the whole year plucking “buried treasures” from K-pop’s vast slate of albums, and now it’s time for those b-sides to have their own countdown! As usual, some of 2022’s strongest music was never promoted with a glossy video or music show blitz. Over the next two days, I’ll be counting down my forty … Continue reading
I spend the whole year plucking “buried treasures” from K-pop’s vast slate of albums, and now it’s time for those b-sides to have their own countdown! As usual, some of 2022’s strongest music was never promoted with a glossy video or music show blitz. Over the next two days, I’ll be counting down my forty … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 