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. YOO YOUNG-JIN … Continue reading
Last week, Zhoumi pre-released the Chinese version of his stately ballad, Empty Room. With What’s Your Number, he flips that sound completely, opting for a synth-drenched dance track. It’s a break from the ultra-trendy EDM SM has been giving its solo artists of late, hearkening back instead to the carefree pop fellow SJ-M member Henry … Continue reading
Poor Zhoumi. Always getting the short end of the stick. His comebacks arrive with little fanfare or explanation, and they’re gone before you know it. This is despite him being a part of Chinese sub-group Super Junior M, which used to be SM Entertainment’s core Chinese group. Empty Room arrives as (presumably) a pre-release before … Continue reading
Together, Super Junior’s Kim Heechul and Trax’s Kim Jungmo form duo M&D, known for their unique brand of trot and anime influenced rock. It certainly won’t be to everyone’s taste, but I found their debut mini album to be one of last year’s most pleasant surprises. The new release is more diverse in scope, but … Continue reading
I want to preface this review by noting that I named Super Junior’s Devil as my top kpop song of 2015. I mention this because I know how fan loyalty and bias can color the work of groups and individuals, especially those from acts as big as SJ. I’m sure I’ll be just as biased with … Continue reading
Heechul and Jungmo’s M&D project was one of 2015’s best surprises — a j-rock inspired passion project filled with gorgeous melodies and theatrical delivery. For this week’s Station release, the two revisit that sound, with the added bonus of Mamamoo’s Whee In as a duet vocalist. Sadly, I’m not sure that it works as well this … Continue reading
(**Outdated list — check out the 2021 update here!) Super Junior are one of the biggest groups in all of Korea, and have developed into legends in the world of kpop. So how do you rate a legend? With Super Junior, it was a little easier than I anticipated. Though they’ve been around for over … Continue reading
After the massive solo success Super Junior’s Kyuhyun has received, it only made sense that another of the group’s vocal line should release a solo. As a vocalist, Ryeowook has a completely different style than Kyuhyun, which heightened interest in how The Little Prince would sound. Fortunately, the song gives Ryeowook’s light tenor plenty of … Continue reading
Okay, okay. When I say kpop, I mean mostly kpop, because there’s going to be some jpop and cpop in this list as well (some of it in very prominent positions), but “Top 50 K-Pop & J-Pop & C-Pop Songs of 2015” just doesn’t have the same ring to it! The only other criteria for … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 