You’ll never see me advocating for K-pop trends. Longtime readers will know that cut-and-paste trendiness (often of the tropical variety) has been one of my biggest criticisms of the industry as a whole. That extends to this burgeoning Latin trend, which may easily sink its teeth into the next few years of K-pop’s future. I … 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’s confounding when the best singles are unleashed upon the world … Continue reading
The idea of music agency fandom might seem strange to Western audiences, as most notable labels around the world are vast corporations with rosters that share very little common. But of course, K-pop is different. Even as the industry has expanded, it has remained a relatively small microcosm of the global pop music landscape. When … Continue reading
Though Girls’ Generation don’t often promote as a full group anymore, SM Entertainment has leveraged their success for a variety of solos and sub-units. This has mostly consisted of albums by leader Taeyeon, but now it’s time for Yuri to take a shot at solo stardom. Apart from her work with the group, she’s found … 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. September 2018 Overall Thoughts September’s usually a pretty slow month, with the Chuseok holiday holding back … 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
Though k-pop rises or falls on the strength of its singles, a group’s real strengths can often be found in the lesser-known material that makes up their mini albums and full lengths. The definition of “album” in K-pop is so wide that I’ve got to lay down some ground rules before composing any sort of … Continue reading
Lately, it feels like SM Station has become an extended teaser for that new EXO album we’ve all been waiting for. It’s hard to believe that, six years into their career, we’ve yet to see fully-promoted solos or sub-units from the group other than EXO-CBX. With mandatory military enlistment looming, I think this will change … Continue reading
If there’s anything I’ve learned from covering pop music for over a decade, it’s that songwriters and collaborators are just as important as the artists themselves. Though they often work behind the scenes, this feature is a chance to shine the light on some of k-pop’s most innovative and accomplished producers and composers. Steven Lee … Continue reading
After the ambitious release of three promoted title tracks this spring, SHINee certainly don’t owe us any more material in 2018. Yet, here they are, returning to put a bow on top of their already strong Story of Light album. Countless (셀 수 없는) feels as if it came out of nowhere, teased by SM … 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. Even though it ranked as one of my top three singles of … Continue reading
When last year’s contract negotiations ended with three of its members leaving SM Entertainment to pursue other endeavors, the future of Girls’ Generation seemed to be in flux. The group could have easily seen their tenth anniversary as a natural ending point and went their separate ways. But lucky for us, Girls’ Generation is back … Continue reading
With over 2,300 songs on my iPhone’s “K-Pop Singles” playlist, I thought it would be fun to add a bit of unpredictability to my song review posts. So as a result, we have the “Random Shuffle Review” feature. The rules are simple. I fire up my playlist, press “shuffle,” and whatever song plays first gets the … 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
As the third season of SM’s digital Station platform continues to shine light on unexpected collaborations, the pairing of EXO’s Baekyun and rapper Loco arrives with much expectation. It’s been awhile since we’ve heard any EXO-related material, and fans are more than ready. Luckily, Young gives the duo an interesting piece of trend-free electro-pop music … Continue reading
2017 set the bar incredibly high for NCT’s youngest unit with the February release of Dream’s buoyant My First and Last. In fact, I’d argue that SM Entertainment hasn’t delivered a stronger single since. And as NCT begins to paint all of its units with a similar hip-hop brush, it makes me wonder whether we’ll … Continue reading
Since returning from their military enlistment, Super Junior’s Donghae and Eunhyuk have released a steady stream of music in Japan, culminating in their recently unveiled album Style. But, it’s been over three years since the duo was last active in Korea. The shadow of 2015’s Growing Pains looms large over their music, standing as a … Continue reading
Even though a large portion of SM Entertainment’s Station releases tend to be unadventurous ballads, I’ve missed the weekly infusion of new music since season two of the project wrapped in April. For the kickoff of Station’s third season (called Station X O), SM has brought out the big guns. Page 0 pairs Taeyeon with … Continue reading
With over 2,300 songs on my iPhone’s “K-Pop Singles” playlist, I thought it would be fun to add a bit of unpredictability to my song review posts. So as a result, we have the “Random Shuffle Review” feature. The rules are simple. I fire up my playlist, press “shuffle,” and whatever song plays first gets the … 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
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 