Hundreds (if not thousands) of songs are released each year in Korea, but only a fraction receive full title track promotion. This leaves behind many buried treasures in need of a spotlight. Here are forty of 2017’s best: NUMBERS 40-21 HERE + Make sure to check out the rest of the year-end countdowns here! 20. LOONA … Continue reading
Hundreds (if not thousands) of songs are released each year in Korea, but only a fraction receive full title track promotion. This leaves behind many buried treasures in need of a spotlight. Here are forty of 2017’s best: + Make sure to check out the rest of the year-end countdowns here! 40. TWICE – 24/7 A … Continue reading
Artist of the year countdowns are controversial by nature, and if I was re-creating this list based solely on commercial success and impact on the k-pop industry, it would look very different. But there are enough of those countdowns floating around (and the consensus is usually pretty even across-the-board). This is a countdown for the … Continue reading
I’m putting the end-of-year countdowns on hold until tomorrow because it seems crass to post as normal today. In the meantime, I was struggling to decide what to write about SHINee’s Jonghyun that hasn’t already been written. SHINee were one of the groups that first got me into k-pop, and still one of my absolute … Continue reading
As I was looking back in preparation for this countdown, I realized that it’s actually been quite a strong year for mini and full albums, even if 2017 as a whole seemed to lack impact compared to past years. Quite a few solid albums failed to make the cut due to this heavy competition, but … Continue reading
The end of the year countdowns are here! We’re kicking things off with the big one… the top 50 songs of the year! Each day this week, I’ll be counting down ten of the year’s best, until number one is revealed on Friday. To be eligible for this top 50 list, songs must have had … Continue reading
The end of the year countdowns are here! We’re kicking things off with the big one… the top 50 songs of the year! Each day this week, I’ll be counting down ten of the year’s best, until number one is revealed on Friday. To be eligible for this top 50 list, songs must have had … Continue reading
The end of the year countdowns are here! We’re kicking things off with the big one… the top 50 songs of the year! Each day this week, I’ll be counting down ten of the year’s best, until number one is revealed on Friday. To be eligible for this top 50 list, songs must have had … Continue reading
Over the past few years, SM Entertainment has made an annual tradition of releasing the same sort of gentle piano ballad for Christmas. All have been enjoyable in their own right, but none have matched EXO’s utterly gorgeous Miracles in December from 2013. EXO will be coming back with another winter single next week, but … Continue reading
I felt very much in the minority when it came to Taemin’s Move album back in October. So many raved about his shifting musical style and the cohesive mood that ran through the material. And I hear that. But too often the songs felt like a study in a trend-focused r&b vibe without a strong … Continue reading
Now that three of its most popular members have completed their mandatory military service, Super Junior is wasting no time re-establishing themselves in multiple markets. This includes new material from sub-unit D&E, consisting of members Donghae and Eunhyuk. This duo has been a reliable source of upbeat, party-starting music in the past — most notably … 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. November 2017 Overall Thoughts Just like last November, this month saw a quality stream of new releases. … Continue reading
Most of the time, a kpop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, sometimes b-side tracks deserve recognition, too. In the singles-oriented world of kpop, I wanted to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. I’ve always preferred Red Velvet‘s upbeat “red” material over their … Continue reading
As SM Entertainment’s original girl group, it’s hard to overstate just how successful S.E.S were when they debuted in the late 90’s. Long before “cute” was the girl group template of choice, the trio built their name on a catchy blend of hip-hop and 90’s r&b. Their music stretched into the early 00’s before a lengthy … Continue reading
Red Velvet have had an incredible year so far, dominating (to varying degrees) both the winter and summer with mega-hits Rookie and Red Flavor. The latter felt like a true watershed moment, made even more impressive by its killer selection of b-sides. With Peek-A-Boo (피카부), the group has teased a combination of their “red” and … Continue reading
Most of the time, a kpop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, sometimes b-side tracks deserve recognition, too. In the singles-oriented world of kpop, I wanted to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. SM Entertainment’s releases have been somewhat scattershot this year (along … Continue reading
As part of their preparations for their first comeback in over two years, Super Junior have been releasing a documentary series online. If you’ve been watching, you’ll already have a pretty good idea of how Black Suit sounds. Upon hearing the first clip a couple of weeks ago, I feared that the song might be … Continue reading
Since SM Station’s inception, some of its biggest beneficiaries have been the guys of EXO. The project has often paired the members with unlikely collaborators or simply let them go solo, but many of the resulting tracks have ended up to be quite boring. I understand the desire to break EXO out of the glossy … 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. Daniel Caesar … 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. October 2017 Overall Thoughts October matched February with 2017’s highest cumulative rating thus far, and I’m not … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 