Whether related to the pandemic or not, SM Entertainment’s reach into the Japanese market seemed to stall in 2020. I’ve always considered them one of the few K-pop agencies that …
Read More »[Review] Rain & JYP collab on appropriately retro “Switch To Me”
Rain’s 2020 has been a story of resurgence, as his ridiculous 2017 single “Gang“ unexpectedly rose to fame and he became one third of retro pop pastiche SSAK3. JYP’s 2020 …
Read More »[Review] ENHYPEN’s vocals aren’t let out by Big Hit’s processing on “Let Me In”
As is typical with Big Hit-related groups, rookies ENHYPEN are following up their title track Given-Taken with a music video for another song from their album. If it were me, …
Read More »[Review] Taeyeon makes an acoustic-driven, indie-type single appealing with “What Do I Call You”
As SNSD’s star vocalist, over the years Taeyeon’s solo career has received a lot of hype and scrutiny to go along with it. I haven’t been the biggest fan of …
Read More »[Review] INFINITE’s Sungkyu carries “I’m Cold” as far as it can go
It’s been a long wait for a new Sungkyu comeback – almost three years, to be specific. And though we got a taste of his voice on this year’s Relay …
Read More »The Best Songs Of: Taemin
Hello. My name is Hels and I’m Taemin trash. This will not be a shock to anyone who follows me on Twitter, or anyone who knows me in real life. …
Read More »[Review] BoA provides a throwback vibe for her 20th anniversary on “Better”
K-pop legend BoA has returned with her tenth Korean album, celebrating twenty (!) years since her debut. That kind of career is rare for any pop star, but the K-pop …
Read More »[Review] IZ*ONE provide a lot of energy with an odd pitch on “Panorama”
With their contracts expiring next spring, IZ*ONE have delivered three Korean comebacks this year. They’ve been active in Japan as well, but I think it’s best to just brush that …
Read More »Ballad Roundup: OST Edition – B1A4’s Sandeul, Red Velvet’s Joy, EXO’s Chen, Lee Hi, Sohyang
Seoul-icon Valley The MAMA awards are coming up, so it’s as good a time as ever to touch on the nominations for OST (that I haven’t already covered) and then …
Read More »[Review] Dreamcatcher go as heavy as they ever have with “No More”
Dreamcatcher have been drifting from their hard rock formula in Korea to something still unique but a bit more mainstream in their fusion, and it’s hard to blame them as …
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