The Chuseok-related K-pop drought ends today with the first solo debut from popular group TXT. Over the years, Yeonjun has become a sort of ‘it boy’ within his generation, so it’s no surprise that he’s given the chance to showcase his skills as a soloist. As always, I’m most interested to see what his music … Continue reading
Tag Archives: txt
Song Review: TXT – Open Always Wins
I never know whether or not to write about K-pop’s CF songs. You can’t really approach a commercial advertisement with the same criteria as a title track, yet as a piece of music these songs often follow the same approaches as other K-pop songs and occasionally eclipse them. TXT’s Open Always Wins is a collaboration … Continue reading
New & Noteworthy J-pop of the Week (July 7, 2024)
In connection with my desire to fully keep up with the J-pop industry, I’m planning to do a weekly round-up of any new releases that have caught my ear. Some of these may have been covered on the blog already, but my hope is that this will become a one-stop shop for anyone interested in … Continue reading
Top J-Pop Songs & Albums of 2024 (So Far)
While K-pop has been consistently above average this year, my J-pop fortunes haven’t been so bright. It’s a real turnaround from this time last year, when I was able to feature fifteen beloved tracks. The choices were more limited this time, but it’s still worth pointing out some stellar work from a few favorites. What … Continue reading
Song Review: TXT – We’ll Never Change
Somebody needs to explain why TXT are hanging around in the snow for the promo images of their Japanese single album Chikai, which is set for release in the month of… July. If nothing else, I guess it’s interesting counter-programming? The same could be said for We’ll Never Change, which adopts a more subdued sound … Continue reading
New & Noteworthy J-pop of the Week (June 9, 2024)
In connection with my desire to fully keep up with the J-pop industry, I’m planning to do a weekly round-up of any new releases that have caught my ear. Some of these may have been covered on the blog already, but my hope is that this will become a one-stop shop for anyone interested in … Continue reading
The Top Three K-Pop Songs of April 2024
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. April 2024 Overall Thoughts K-pop years aren’t always frontloaded, but January was so strong that its … Continue reading
K-Pop Risers & Fallers: April 2024
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
Buried Treasure: TXT – I’ll See You There Tomorrow
A K-pop act’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. 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. Tomorrow is TXT’s most consistent album … Continue reading
Song Review: TXT – Deja Vu
TXT’s comebacks have been divided between series of albums and special “minisodes” that offer brief breaks from the lore. This branding doesn’t really affect the music. There have been highlights from both formats. The group found especially solid footing in 2021 when their title tracks embraced angsty pop/rock. The teasers for new single Deja Vu … Continue reading
The Top Three K-Pop Songs of January 2024
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 2024 Overall Thoughts Well, what a nice surprise this month has been! After many years … Continue reading
New & Noteworthy J-pop of the Week (January 7, 2024)
In connection with my desire to fully keep up with the J-pop industry, I’m planning to do a weekly round-up of any new releases that have caught my ear. Some of these may have been covered on the blog already, but my hope is that this will become a one-stop shop for anyone interested in … Continue reading
Buried Treasure: TXT x SawanoHiroyuki[nZk] – LEvel
A K-pop act’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. 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. Readers, this is why I’m always … Continue reading
Year-End List Recap: The Best Overall K-Pop Comebacks of 2023
Now that I’ve finished all my K-pop related countdowns of the year (yay!), I liked to take a macro view and determine which specific comeback or debut was my overall strongest of the year. There are always some personal surprises here, but the numbers don’t lie. As before, I took five categories and gave them … Continue reading
The Top 10 K-Pop Choreography of 2023
2023 was a weird year for K-pop choreography. There didn’t seem to be too many iconic point moves, even as TikTok challenges continue to necessitate catchy, easy-to-replicate routines. As usual, this is not a ranking of the most technically impressive performances of the year. Instead, here are ten routines that caught my eye in 2023. … Continue reading
The Top 40 K-Pop Album Tracks & B-Sides of 2023 (40-21)
One of the unique features of The Bias List is its “buried treasure” write-ups. I try my hardest to comb through every major K-pop album released each year and when a song catches my ear I highlight it on the blog. This countdown is an encapsulation of those write-ups, ranking my top 40 b-sides and … Continue reading
The Top 50 K-Pop Songs of 2023 (Day Four: 20-11)
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
The Top 50 K-Pop Songs of 2023 (Day One: 50-41)
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
My Top 3 Performances of the 2023 MAMA Awards
MAMA used to be such a big deal in K-pop, but I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t even know when it was happening this year! The hype definitely seemed underwhelming. So rather than slog through the entire show and its meaningless awards, I hopped on YouTube and watched the performances. Here are the three that … Continue reading
Grading the K-Pop Agencies 2023: HYBE LABELS
Before the end-of-year countdowns next month, I like to take a look at many of K-pop’s biggest agencies and see how their year went. Obviously, 2023 is not over yet so any upcoming changes to an agency’s grade will be reflected next year. Following SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment‘s analysis, it’s time for … Continue reading