As Snuper’s Korean success begins to stall, it seems as though they’re being shipped out to every territory imaginable to help garner an international following. This has proven especially fruitful in Japan, where they’ve enjoyed surprising popularity by embracing J-pop’s more idiosyncratic sounds. Summer Magic (夏のMagic) is their third original single for the Japanese market, … Continue reading
Modern K-pop has always felt the need to position its male groups as edgy and badass, but the moodiness has seemed to kick into overdrive this year. Call it the BTS-effect, or the mirroring of current trends in Western pop, but for a lover of upbeat production and colorful melodies, this trend has resulted in … Continue reading
The day has finally come. Snuper have released enough singles to warrant a top ten list! It’s disappointing that the song to put them over the top is the supremely underwhelming Tulips, but I’m happy to say that the top four entries on this countdown are near-perfect, A+ examples of k-pop. If you haven’t checked out … Continue reading
I’m a massive proponent of groups finding a small circle of collaborators and sticking with them long enough to develop a signature sound. Over the past few years, Snuper and Sweetune have been a match made in heaven, crafting a near-flawless run of distinct (but not identical) singles. With Tulips (튤립) — and the introduction of … 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: NUMBERS 40-21 HERE + Make sure to check out the rest of the year-end countdowns here! 20. LOONA … 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
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
