After two weeks of pre-releases, Paradise marks the official title track of Hyolyn’s new mini album. Teasers promised something more uptempo and hip-hop influenced, and Paradise delivers in that regard, sounding like a cross between her work with Sistar and resident bad girl HyunA’s solo material. The song steams along quite promisingly during its initial … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I’ll look back at my three favorite title tracks by k-pop artists. Unlike my end-of-year countdowns, jpop and Japanese releases by kpop artists are ineligible, though I will give the great ones a spotlight. For my top three tracks, I’ll take my own ratings into account, but there is a … Continue reading
Although members of Sistar have featured on many tracks outside of their group’s releases, Hyolyn is the first to go completely solo with her upcoming mini album. As befits a member of one of k-pop’s biggest groups, she’ll be releasing a trio of singles as part of her solo debut. First up is Love Like This, … Continue reading
Patience pays off. Monsta X is a group I’ve wanted to love for a long time. I watched their debut survival series. I’ve seen them live (twice, now). Their music has gotten better with each album, though never quite to point where I found myself totally captured. But with Fighter, they’ve broadened their sound and … Continue reading
October is officially here, which means the countdown to Halloween has started. Whether you’re cobbling together a mix for a Halloween party or carnival, or just looking for some seasonal selections to soundtrack your pumpkin carving, K-Pop has a lot to offer. Here are some of the best tracks. If your favorite Halloween K-Pop song … 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. BLACK EYED … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I’ll look back at my three favorite title tracks by k-pop artists. Unlike my end-of-year countdowns, jpop and Japanese releases by kpop artists are ineligible, though I will give the great ones a spotlight. For my top three tracks, I’ll take my own ratings into account, but there is a … Continue reading
I try to keep the focus of my reviews on the songs themselves, but I have to start out by noting that the music video for Cosmic Girls’ new single, Secret (비밀이야), is stunning. Really, it’s one of the most stylish music videos of the entire year. It’s an enormous leap up for the girls in … Continue reading
Monsta X is pulling a BTS and following up this May’s All In with a second promoted track from their latest album. Stuck (네게만 집착해) has the benefit of nearly three months behind it to help ingratiate itself, but even at the outset it shone as one of the stronger tracks on the album. Stuck … Continue reading
Co-ed groups are a rarity in k-pop, and although Y Teen isn’t an official group (they were formed for promotional purposes), it’s still fun to see this kind of configuration. Y Teen consists of Monsta X and part of girl group WJSN (Cosmic Girls), both from Starship Entertainment. The song itself definitely caters more to … Continue reading
For better or worse, Sistar have become known as the queens of summer. For the past few years, the primary sound of their title tracks has been bright, breezy and entirely indebted to a connection with the season of beaches and tank tops. I’ve seen a fair amount of criticism leveled at the girls because … Continue reading
It’s hard to get very excited about the commemorative “songs for the fans” that tend to be released during groups’ anniversaries — especially when that group is Boyfriend and all I really want from them is another Sweetune-produced masterpiece. But before we (hopefully) get back to the awesome stuff, we must settle for the pleasant, if hardly … 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. Monsta X is well-known for its hard-edged hip-hop sound, but … Continue reading
While I enjoyed Monsta X’s title tracks last year (particularly Hero), I always felt that they were spending too much time trying to be “hard” instead of focusing on the more interesting aspects of their music. Songs like Trespass seemed more self-serious than playful, which stopped me from really getting on board. All In definitely … Continue reading
After last week’s EDM track, it seemed as if SM Station may have been transitioning to a more uptempo output. But, never underestimate how deeply Korea loves a big, drippy ballad. And given the enormous success of Baekhyun’s duet with Suzy earlier in the year, it only makes sense that SM would seek to capitalize … Continue reading
Though Sistar are undoubtedly one of Korea’s leading girl groups, they’ve barely released enough singles to fill a top ten list. Still, quality over quantity, right? Throughout their career, they’ve explored three distinct genres. Debuting with an attitude-infused electro pop sound, they segued into sultry/sexy before eventually winding up as the queens of summertime pop. My … Continue reading
With such a cheesy and unnecessarily gendered group name, Boyfriend’s image isn’t likely to entice many outside the pre-teen girl bracket, and that’s a shame because they have one of the strongest discographies among the poppier realm of k-pop boy bands. Working with Sweetune more often than not, I sometimes think of them as the younger, … Continue reading
After debuting with a synth-driven, cutesy track, Cosmic Girls released a second music video for follow-up Catch Me. This one is clearly designed to be a showcase for dance skills and attitude, as the song is far more hip-hop influenced. It’s an interesting counterpoint to MoMoMo, proving the girls’ versatility but bringing up questions as to … Continue reading
Starship Entertainment hasn’t debuted a new girl group since Sistar, and that was all the way back in 2010. In those six years, Sistar has gone on to become one of the leading female groups in kpop, so when it was announced that Starship would be teaming with Yuehua Entertainment to form Cosmic Girls, I … Continue reading
Sometimes you know exactly how a song is going to sound before you even start listening to it. Cook For You brings together Starship Entertainment’s roster of male soloists. K.Will is known for his ballads and midtempos, Junggigo is most famous for being Soyou’s duet partner on the mega-hit Some, and Jooyoung and Brother Su have … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 