A K-pop act’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. Sometimes, b-sides deserve recognition too. In the singles-oriented world of K-pop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. IVE will be releasing a music … Continue reading
Tag Archives: starship
The Top Three K-Pop Songs of April 2024
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. April 2024 Overall Thoughts K-pop years aren’t always frontloaded, but January was so strong that its … Continue reading
Song Review: IVE – HEYA
IVE have quickly established themselves as one of this generation’s representative girl groups, unleashing hits that stay on the charts for months (I Am is still in the top 50 more than a year after its release). With their previous EP, they began branching in new musical directions. This had the potential to be exciting, … Continue reading
New & Noteworthy J-pop of the Week (April 14, 2024)
In connection with my desire to fully keep up with the J-pop industry, I’m planning to do a weekly round-up of any new releases that have caught my ear. Some of these may have been covered on the blog already, but my hope is that this will become a one-stop shop for anyone interested in … Continue reading
Battle of the B-Sides: CSR, ITZY, CRAVITY, Chungha, BoA
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
K-Pop Risers & Fallers: March 2024
Rather than contain my “Risers and Fallers” feature to a single post in June, I’m going to share a bite-sized version at the end of each month. This will let me account for more songs and make a nice lead-in to the monthly round-up post. I anticipate most of these ratings adjustments will be negligible: … Continue reading
Buried Treasure: CRAVITY – Mr.
A K-pop act’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. Sometimes, b-sides deserve recognition too. In the singles-oriented world of K-pop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. I love highlight medleys, and I … Continue reading
The Top Three K-Pop Songs of February 2024
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. February 2024 Overall Thoughts Due to its positioning in the dead of winter and the cancelling … Continue reading
Song Review: CRAVITY – Love Or Die
Someone needs to study how CRAVITY went from the likes of My Turn and Flame to one of the most consistent runs of any current boy group. It’s a big turnaround and a testament to what can happen when an agency invests in great songs. New single Love Or Die continues and expands upon this … Continue reading
Every WJSN Single Ranked: From Worst to Best
I’ve listed my “top tens” for many artists, but it’s time to rummage through entire discographies and rank every single from worst to best. This feature will primarily tackle groups who have disbanded or gone on indefinite hiatus. It’s a way for me to re-evaluate my initial thoughts on their singles run. Don’t be surprised … Continue reading
The Top Three K-Pop Songs of January 2024
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 2024 Overall Thoughts Well, what a nice surprise this month has been! After many years … Continue reading
K-Pop Risers & Fallers: January 2024
Rather than contain my “Risers and Fallers” feature to a single post in June, I’m going to share a bite-sized version at the end of each month. This will let me account for more songs and make a nice lead-in to the monthly round-up post. I anticipate most of these ratings adjustments will be negligible: … Continue reading
Song Review: Seola (WJSN) – Without U
New WJSN music may be a distant memory, but today marks the solo debut of one of its members. Seola has been involved with many sub-unit projects and recorded a couple OSTs on her own. She’s also done a lot of acting, raising her profile. A solo career in music makes sense and with any … Continue reading
Song Review: Jeong Sewoon – Quiz
Over the years, the length between Jeong Sewoon’s comebacks has grown, making him more of a niche artist in K-pop. There was a time when his groovy pop sound consistently found its way onto my playlist, peaking with 2020’s addictive Say Yes. Since then, I’ve had a harder time connecting with his music. Sewoon’s vocals … Continue reading
Year-End List Recap: The Best Overall K-Pop Comebacks of 2023
Now that I’ve finished all my K-pop related countdowns of the year (yay!), I liked to take a macro view and determine which specific comeback or debut was my overall strongest of the year. There are always some personal surprises here, but the numbers don’t lie. As before, I took five categories and gave them … Continue reading
The Top 10 K-Pop Music Videos of 2023
To be honest, this year I tended to watch most K-pop music videos one or two times before moving onto the song and leaving the visuals behind. The water mark for music videos has become very high, with the industry churning out cinematic, big-budget works every other day. While many videos could comfortably slot into … Continue reading
The Top 10 K-Pop Choreography of 2023
2023 was a weird year for K-pop choreography. There didn’t seem to be too many iconic point moves, even as TikTok challenges continue to necessitate catchy, easy-to-replicate routines. As usual, this is not a ranking of the most technically impressive performances of the year. Instead, here are ten routines that caught my eye in 2023. … Continue reading
Unwrapping 2023’s K-pop Holiday Tracks: Keep Or Return?
Following a tradition first established in 2020, I’m celebrating the holidays today with the opening of gifts. These packages come in the form of seasonal K-pop tracks not yet reviewed on the blog. Like last year, I’m either keeping the gifts or planning to return them. Nothing this year is objectively bad, but I only … Continue reading
The Top 40 K-Pop Album Tracks & B-Sides of 2023 (20-1)
One of the unique features of The Bias List is its “buried treasure” write-ups. I try my hardest to comb through every major K-pop album released each year and when a song catches my ear I highlight it on the blog. This countdown is an encapsulation of those write-ups, ranking my top 40 b-sides and … Continue reading
The Top 40 K-Pop Album Tracks & B-Sides of 2023 (40-21)
One of the unique features of The Bias List is its “buried treasure” write-ups. I try my hardest to comb through every major K-pop album released each year and when a song catches my ear I highlight it on the blog. This countdown is an encapsulation of those write-ups, ranking my top 40 b-sides and … Continue reading