Cosmic Girls (WJSN) debuted with a pretty airtight sound, melding the trends of the day with a spacey, synth-filled style in keeping with their group name. Over the past two years, they’ve briefly dipped into muddle waters, with last year’s Twice-esque Happy being the most jarring detour. But with Save Me, Save You (부탁해), they’ve … Continue reading
Monsta X have been incredibly prolific since their debut in 2015, returning with new music several times each year. And now that they’ve set their sights on the Japanese market, they’re busier than ever. Livin’ It Up is their third Japanese single in the space of only eight months, and their output is only improving … Continue reading
Amidst all of the tropical, synth-soaked dance pop, K-pop’s summer usually offers at least a couple moments of counter-programming. A ballad here, or some moody hip-hop there. Soloist Jeong Sewoon flipped expectations by releasing a very summery sounding single back in January, and has now returned with a jazzy mid-tempo that more strongly recalls wintertime. … Continue reading
Earlier this year, Pepsi brought together a quartet of Produce 101 alumni for the addictive 80’s pastiche Love It Live It. This unit (YDPP) proved to be more fun than they had any right to be, so it only makes sense to repeat the project. This time, it’s the girls’ turn. WJMK drafts Seola and … Continue reading
Boyfriend are the latest group to find themselves at that precarious seven year mark, where contracts are up and the guys are forced to decide whether to stick together or go their separate ways. Whatever happens, they’ve left behind an incredibly strong (and underrated) discography. Their lengthy run of Sweetune-produced singles always gets eclipsed by … Continue reading
As I wrote about in detail a couple months ago, season two of Produce 101 has spawned a seemingly endless supply of groups, duos and soloists. At this point, its alumni may be even harder to keep track of than the various units of SM’s NCT! And like NCT, we’ve now come to the point … 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. March 2018 Overall Thoughts Well, March certainly didn’t pan out the way I had expected. If … Continue reading
Most of the time, a k-pop 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 k-pop, I wanted to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve. After the past couple of Monsta X comebacks, I might just … Continue reading
I’ve enjoyed Monsta X’s material in fits and starts, but have found their aggressive hip-hop sound to be slightly cumbersome at times. However, when last year’s funky Dramarama rolled around, it felt as if the group were beginning to reinvent themselves. New single Jealousy continues this trend, though not without a few reversions to that … 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. February 2018 Overall Thoughts When it comes to k-pop, I was dreading February. Between the Pyeongchang … Continue reading
Cosmic Girls are at their best when they highlight the “cosmic” part of their name. Last summer’s Happy was a fun, peppy diversion, but tried to emulate too many other girl groups and came off as overly derivative. 2016’s Secret established the perfect signature sound for the group, and became one of that year’s biggest … Continue reading
When I cued up Jeong Sewoon’s new single, I was expecting some soft, acoustic ballad. But January continues to surprise with upbeat material, as he’s taken a sudden shift towards EDM. To be clear, Sewoon’s August debut had a lot of rhythm and energy as well, but I’d still consider it to be driven primarily … 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. December 2017 Overall Thoughts 2017 certainly ended with a whimper. December is usually a pretty barren month, … 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
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
Disclaimer: As with my write-ups on the Big Three agencies, this is written from an outsider’s perspective. I’m not privy to any business-related financial information beyond what any other fan would know. The purpose of these articles is to examine how well these agencies are serving their artists and the general k-pop fan-base. Read Part … 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. 1Take & … 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. Glory Face … Continue reading
With Dramarama, I think Monsta X have given k-pop its most awesome song title of the year. The word alone is so ridiculously overblown, conjuring a sense of rock opera action movie bombast (or maybe just “jazz hands”). It’s delightfully tongue-in-cheek — except this is k-pop, so of course it’s not actually tongue-in-cheek. My biggest … Continue reading
While Boyfriend have released a string of solid singles for the Japanese market during the past two years, they’ve been criminally ignored in their native Korea. Beyond a non-promoted anniversary song, we haven’t heard from the guys since March of 2015. And that’s a shame. Boyfriend has one of the strongest, most consistent discographies out … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 