Nearly a year since their last album, Super Junior are back with a special single release. The Road: Winter For Spring is a mouthful of a title, promoted with the much more concise Callin’. It’s the kind of track that feels targeted toward fans, hinging on sentiment rather than the desire to compete with flashier … Continue reading
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’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
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 2021 Overall Thoughts We may still have December before us, but according to the norms … Continue reading
It’s not quite December yet, but I’m going to kick off this annual feature a little early this year! Over the next few weeks, I’ll be looking at many of K-pop’s biggest agencies and offering my thoughts about how their 2021 went. First up is SM Entertainment. As usual, the thoughts are my own and … Continue reading
A decade after their debut as a sub-unit, Super Junior-D&E have finally released their first full Korean album. That’s a long wait, softened by the fact the guys have been active in Japan as well. Countdown was preceded by solo efforts from both Donghae and Eunhyuk, though neither of those tracks are included in the … Continue reading
A week after Super Junior’s Donghae pre-released his solo track California Love, Eunhyuk is back with his own song. This double shot of D&E heralds the release of their upcoming unit album. I think this promotional tactic is cool – allowing each member to offer a taste of their own style before a comeback that … Continue reading
In the lead-up to their first (!) full Korean album, Super Junior’s Donghae and Eunhyuk will each be releasing solo tracks. It’s unclear whether these are part of (or separate from) the unit album, but either way it’s a nice treat for fans. Donghae’s California Love enlists the help of NCT’s Jeno. But despite this … Continue reading
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
I first launched my “top ten songs” feature at the beginning of 2016, right as The Bias List was getting off the ground. Because of this, many of the lists created that year are in desperate need of revision. New material has been released since then, and my opinion has changed on older songs. With … Continue reading
This week, we’re journeying back half a decade to look at K-pop’s best releases of 2015! 2015 was a prime year for K-pop. It saw the return of industry royalty, as Bigbang blitzed the market with no less than seven singles. It acted as the launchpad for many of today’s top acts (Twice, Seventeen, GFriend, … Continue reading
A review is just a snapshot in time, and sometimes I end up regretting the way I rated a song. There are so many factors that influence the longevity of K-pop. Familiarity, album context, live performances and cultural saturation can all boost or sink a song’s fortune. I run this feature during the mid-point of … Continue reading
Since the start of The Bias List in January 2016, I’ve always looked back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists each month. Now, it’s time to look even further into the past, one month at a time. And, yes, the top three rankings count toward The Bias List’s personal artist scorecard! December … Continue reading
K-Pop debuts can be tricky things. At times, they’re the best song a group delivers. Sometimes, they’re the only song a group delivers! But, debuts can also be huge wtf moments in an artist’s career. In this feature, I’ll be looking back at debut songs through the prism of time, re-evaluating how well they hold … Continue reading
I think it’s obvious that I love a good statistic. In addition to my core rating system, I’ve got my top three songs of each month, my yearly countdowns and more data breakdowns than anyone could ask for. None of these are perfect ways to categorize or quantify something as subjective as music, but they … Continue reading
Since the start of The Bias List in January 2016, I’ve always looked back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists each month. Now, it’s time to look even further into the past, one month at a time. And, yes, the top three rankings count toward The Bias List’s personal artist scorecard! September … Continue reading
Since the start of The Bias List in January 2016, I’ve always looked back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists each month. Now, it’s time to look even further into the past, one month at a time. And, yes, the top three rankings count toward The Bias List’s personal artist scorecard! May … Continue reading
Super Junior’s Yesung pre-released the emotional ballad Phantom Pain a little over a week ago, and as part of that review I expressed my hope for more upbeat material in the future. I suppose Beautiful Night is as good as we’re going to get when it comes to increased energy. Like his bandmate Kyuhyun, Yesung … Continue reading
Since the start of The Bias List in January 2016, I’ve always looked back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists each month. Now, it’s time to look even further into the past, one month at a time. And, yes, the top three rankings count toward The Bias List’s personal artist scorecard! March … Continue reading
Super Junior’s Yesung surprised fans with his announcement of a new mini album this week. The initial teaser seemed to indicate he’d be back in less than 24 hours, which would be a quick turnaround even by K-pop standards. But, that timetable ended up referring to a good old-fashioned pre-release. In the K-pop world, pre-releases … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 