Heechul and Jungmo’s M&D project was one of 2015’s best surprises — a j-rock inspired passion project filled with gorgeous melodies and theatrical delivery. For this week’s Station release, the two revisit that sound, with the added bonus of Mamamoo’s Whee In as a duet vocalist. Sadly, I’m not sure that it works as well this … Continue reading
Now this is more like it! I’m not sure it’s possible for a single song to make up for an underwhelming March, but Without You certainly feels like a kick in the butt. Without any gimmicks or concessions to trends, it flies out of the gate on the strength of its melody and performance alone. … Continue reading
I’ve always found SM’s “throw ’em out there” approach to debuting new groups to be kind of refreshing. There’s no endless countdown clocks or debut dates announced weeks before music is released. When they’re ready, they briefly tease and then just drop the music. Bucking industry trends, the first releases from their NCT boy group … Continue reading
Thank the kpop gods! We finally have an SM Station release that isn’t a lifeless ballad! This alone is something to celebrate, but the fact that Lil’ Something is a great song in its own right is icing on the cake. For those unfamiliar, Chen is one of the main vocalists in mega-group EXO, and Heize … Continue reading
EXO are undoubtedly the biggest kpop group of this era. They were also the very first group I listened to back in 2012 when I became interested in the genre. Since then, they’ve suffered through more than their fair share of drama, losing three of their original members. Their sound has also changed a bit, … Continue reading
So far, SM’s weekly Platform experiment has been a disappointment, supplying almost exclusively slow and unmemorable side tracks. The fact that it’s billed as being a bonus or supplement to the agency’s usual releases makes it hard to be completely annoyed with it, but it still feels like a missed opportunity. I’m not going crazy over … Continue reading
Red Velvet’s Dumb Dumb was one of the best kpop tracks of last year and, along with Ice Cream Cake, helped to build tremendous good will towards the girls. Because of this, I’m utterly bewildered by SM’s decision to release the tepid, downtempo One Of These Nights as their new single. Part of me wants … Continue reading
With each song released through SM’s Music Station, it’s becoming more apparent that the platform is tailored to solo or duet ballads. This makes sense, as the songs aren’t promoted through performances or appearances, and it would be counter-intuitive to waste a full-fledged concept or choreography on something that is essentially a bonus treat for fans. … Continue reading
Most of the time, a kpop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, sometimes b-sides deserve recognition, too. In the singles-oriented world of kpop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. By all accounts, Taemin’s album Press It is a total triumph. … Continue reading
I’ve been waiting almost two years for this. As I mentioned before, I’m a huge fan of Taemin’s solo music. I got a little nervous when I heard that he was working with Bruno Mars on this single. Nothing against Bruno, but I don’t really like my kpop artists intermingling with American music (there’s a … Continue reading
Before I start, I need to give full disclosure on my relationship to Taemin’s music. I’m an enormous fan, and I selfishly want him to be Korea’s answer to Michael Jackson. I think he’s that good. In my opinion, he’s the best dancer in all of kpop. All this praise means I also hold him … Continue reading
If Tell Me (What Is Love) is any indication, it seems as if SM’s new weekly Music Station platform may become an avenue to release some long-awaited fan favorite material. This song is not unknown among Exo fans, and is one of many unreleased tracks from SM’s vault that has been performed live in the … Continue reading
Just based on a casual look through social media, I can already tell that Vancouver’s Exo’luXion stop is becoming infamous for all the wrong reasons. Still, I wanted to give my thoughts since I was in attendance last night. Before I start, I have to preface by saying that, while Exo were actually one of the groups … Continue reading
Of all Korean girl groups, Girls’ Generation has the longest catalog of title tracks. They’re one of the few kpop acts who have managed tremendous success in Japan, and most of their j-pop singles are as good (or better) than their Korean material. Throughout their lengthy career, they’ve tackled almost every color of kpop, from … Continue reading
It’s slim kpop pickings due to the Lunar New Year holiday, so I’m turning to a slightly odd source for this review. One Day, One Chance may be recorded by TVXQ’s Changmin, but it’s not a normal single release. The song is taken from SM’s first “hologram musical,” called School OZ. The musical featured many of their … Continue reading
(**Outdated list — check out the 2021 update here!) Super Junior are one of the biggest groups in all of Korea, and have developed into legends in the world of kpop. So how do you rate a legend? With Super Junior, it was a little easier than I anticipated. Though they’ve been around for over … Continue reading
I was one of the (very) few who didn’t care for Taeyeon’s solo debut, I. I understand why it was such a big hit, and why so many loved it. My qualms came down to personal taste more than anything. Still, the fact that I was less enamored than most led me to approach Rain without … Continue reading
After the massive solo success Super Junior’s Kyuhyun has received, it only made sense that another of the group’s vocal line should release a solo. As a vocalist, Ryeowook has a completely different style than Kyuhyun, which heightened interest in how The Little Prince would sound. Fortunately, the song gives Ryeowook’s light tenor plenty of … Continue reading
Most of the time, a kpop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, sometimes b-sides 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. Airplane is a song from f(x)’s 2013 album Pink Tape. It’s … Continue reading
For me, Shinee has been one of the most consistently strong groups in all of kpop. It’s hard to believe they debuted all the way back in 2008, since they still seem so fresh and relevant with each new release. As much as I love their music, it was surprisingly hard to rank my favorite … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 