The end of the year countdowns are finally here! As always, we’ll kick off with the big one: The Bias List’s 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, … 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 2022 Overall Thoughts The calendar may show one month left in 2022, but the year … Continue reading
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
Victon are back as a five-member group. Leader Seungwoo is finishing up his military service, while Heochan left the group earlier this year after a DUI. The guys have had a rough go of it, and the style of their music has tended to change with the times. Virus sees them embracing both elegant synth … Continue reading
Back in January, Victon impressed with the brisk, powerful Chronograph. It still stands as one of the more memorable boy group comebacks of the year, forgoing many of 2022’s musical trends for a classic, propulsive K-pop sound. Four months later, the guys are back with (the stupidly-titled) Stupid O’Clock. With a title like that, you’d … 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. January 2022 Overall Thoughts It’s a new K-pop year! I always feel optimistic in January because … Continue reading
We all have our specific musical preferences, and I’m a sucker for breathless energy and hard-hitting electro-funk. You can place almost any song over a blazing K-pop beat and I’ll be satisfied. Up to this point, Victon’s discography trended toward more leisurely-paced material, though member Do Hanse’s Take Over hinted at more dynamic sounds. From … Continue reading
While I don’t incorporate a song’s video into the reviews on this blog, I’m definitely not immune to a striking visual. Music videos are a vital part of the industry, and it’s time to celebrate my favorites of 2021. 2021 YEAR-END MASTERPOST Honorable Mentions: ONEWE – Rain To Be U-Know – Thank U Kingdom – … Continue reading
2021 will mark the sixth time I’ve deconstructed a “Year in K-pop” through a variety of countdowns. Add a wealth of throwback posts and countdowns, and I feel like I’ve gained some perspective. K-pop has changed a lot since I started this blog at the beginning of 2016, but I’m not sure it’s changing nearly … 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
I remember Victon’s debut like it was yesterday. Not to veer completely off-topic, but it coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election and was overshadowed by a sense of despair felt by many of us on that night. The song itself was quite good, but I’m not sure I gave it much of a chance … 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. September 2021 Overall Thoughts September is usually a hit of miss month. Releases tend to be … Continue reading
Victon is slowly proving to be a group of successful soloists. Han Seungwoo carved out a nice career for himself prior to enlistment, and now it’s rapper Do Hanse’s turn. His debut comes in the form of a digital album, with Take Over as the first of two title tracks. Surprisingly, it’s the only song … Continue reading
When Han Seungwoo announced his first solo comeback, it wasn’t immediately apparent that the title track would also serve as a farewell before his enlistment hiatus. I guess the writing was on the wall, but this distinction totally transforms the album’s appeal. Stripped back to bare bones, Seungwoo has chosen See You Again (다시 만나) … Continue reading
Most of the time, a k-pop group’s title track is the best song on their album. But, 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. When reviewing Victon’s What I Said yesterday, I mentioned how I … Continue reading
After a Produce X 101 fueled boost, Victon have steadily released music and built a re-energized fan base. Sadly, I don’t think their A&R team and I have the same taste, because very few of their title tracks have appealed to me. Longtime readers will know what a stickler I am for “signature sounds,” and … Continue reading
Han Seungwoo has had a whirlwind year. After ranking third in 2019’s Produce X 101, his immediate future seemed to be set as leader of project group X1. Yet after only one single, the group was disbanded and he returned to his original group Victon, who had since risen from the ashes thanks to Produce’s … Continue reading
If I’m being honest, I’ve never been blown away by a Victon title track. They strike me as the kind of group that can excel at a variety of concepts, but if I were asked to think of their iconic song or image, I’d come up short. This jack-of-all-trades approach isn’t unique within the idol … Continue reading
The whole Produce X 101 and X1 phenomenon may have collapsed, but its biggest beneficiary was boy group Victon. They came roaring back last fall, their popularity buoyed immensely by the series. And now that X1 has disbanded, leader Seungwoo is able to join the guys for new single Howling (하울링). This should bring the … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 