With over 2,900 songs on my iPhone’s “K-Pop Singles” playlist, I thought it would be fun to add a bit of unpredictability to my song review posts. So as a result, we have the “Random Shuffle Review” feature.
The rules are simple. I fire up my playlist, press “shuffle,” and whatever song plays first gets the full Bias List treatment!
Year Released: 2008
It’s relatively common for a K-pop single to be re-recorded and released for the Japanese market, but the opposite rarely happens. When it does, I usually default to the Korean version – even if it came after the original. Such is the case with TVXQ’s Purple Line, whose Japanese recording was unveiled a week before the Korean single. And while it has a place on Japanese album T, Purple Line is one of the few TVXQ singles that doesn’t appear on any of their Korean albums.
Instead, the song acts as a bridge between 2006’s “O”-Jung.Ban.Hap and 2008’s Mirotic. As with many of the group’s big singles, Purple Line is a Yoo Young-Jin composition. And while it’s not as bombastic as Rising Sun or “O”, the track’s forceful percussion and skittering melody are very of its time. As with many Young-Jin tracks, Purple Line is incredibly rhythmic, driven by an impish performance style that sees the guys warp their voices in an almost comical way. However, a generous dose of vocal layering and harmony helps to give the song some weight.
Purple Line’s chorus is one of those effortlessly catchy hooks that sticks after just one listen. Essentially, its melody just traces the instrumental, but when the two combine the result is compelling. This is largely due to TVXQ’s robust vocal blend, which gives the refrain a towering – almost overpowering – appeal. This is made even more dynamic as the track moves into a last-minute key change. To me, Purple Line feels like what the early-00’s American pop boom might have morphed into if it hadn’t been replaced by other trendy genres. It’s simple, but potent. It’s capital “p” Pop music, taken seriously.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 9 |
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The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
What a nostalgia trip!
The thing about TVXQ is that they were genuinely my first kpop heartbreak and the very messy split of the group kept me from boy groups until 2013 – and even then I feel wary – and for whatever reason I’ve never been able to get into 2VXQ or JYJ but the classics with all 5 of them always charm me even after all these years.
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Can relate. They were my favourite group and their split more or less turned me off kpop for a while. I’ve never wholeheartedly ‘stanned’ a group again as I did with them. I enjoy the duo’s earlier music but for me nothing really beats the DB5K glory days.
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It may be just me, but somehow I prefer Japanese version of probably all DBSK songs. Still, OT5 sounds great no matter the language or song
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DB5SK They were my fav. Even after they spilt, all their songs still can be remember. The duo and JYJ are fine but still I prefer DB5SK
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(yanno, I never believe your random shuffle is truly random. I click go on my ipod and I usually get something like the instrumental version of AKMU Dinosaur, not a monster classic hit. Moving on …)
Today, right now, is my annual listen to Purple Line. Its aiight. This one always sounds to me like TVXQ at their Backstreet Boysiest, but in a foreign language. As Nick says, American pop circa early 00’s.
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100% bias but this is THE song that got me into Kpop, so no slander allowed for this masterpiece. I’m glad I was introduced through Purple Line and not Rising Sun or O, those two songs would’ve scared me off. Easy on the ears and completely different sounding than the Taiwanese pop songs I was used to. Those were the days…
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