‘Produce 101‘ hasn’t even been off the air for a month and we already have groups moving to capitalize on its success. Of course, this is exactly what these mid-to-lower …
Read More »Jessi’s juvenile “Gucci” feels like more of step back than progress
Ever since her high-profile resurgence with 2015’s ‘Unpretty Rapstar‘, Jessi has struggled to convert her immense charisma and variety show talent into a broadly successful music career. Though many pigeonhole …
Read More »Zico’s bouncy, off-kilter “Artist” rides enjoyable hook to disjointed success
Over the past few years, Zico has been much more prolific as a solo artist than as a member of his group Block B. Though he’s only released two mini …
Read More »A Pink’s frenetic & peppy “Go! Go! More!” matches the group extremely well
A Pink have been pretty prolific lately, routinely bouncing between Korean and Japanese comebacks. While I’m afraid this heavy work ethic has taken a toll on the general quality of …
Read More »Xiumin & Mark’s “Young & Free” is the best 2017 ‘SM Station’ song, which isn’t saying much
So far, the 2017 “season” of SM Station has been pretty underwhelming. Even when bigger name artists have gotten involved, it’s usually been in the form of a ballad or …
Read More »Red Velvet’s “Red Flavor” is the exhilarating and dynamic hit that SME wanted
I’m a big fan of most material released by SM Entertainment, but it’s been awhile since the agency promoted a track that wasn’t trying to be anything else but a …
Read More »DAY6 meander their way through “Hi Hello”, though their vocals salvage the release
When it comes to the style of music released, DAY6’s ‘Every DAY6‘ project has kind of subverted expectations. When I think of K-pop, it’s the summer months that hold the …
Read More »Hyori shows musical transformation on “Black”, which is unfortunately underwhelming
In 2013, Hyori made a highly successful return to K-pop with a sound that balanced a newly matured style with the kind of pop hooks that brought her such notoriety …
Read More »VAV find their sweet spot on fun & bright “ABC”, their best release yet
Though still a very new group from a small agency, VAV have been lucky to pair with A-list composer/producer Ryan Jhun for their last string of singles. His involvement has …
Read More »Hyorin & Kisum team up on “Fruity”, a song made fun on strength of its collab
Hyorin didn’t waste any time continuing her solo career after the break-up of SISTAR, which isn’t all that surprising considering how active she’s been over the past year or so. …
Read More »