As the complete musical antithesis to many of the ever-present sounds of the k-pop landscape, NewJean's sudden debut and almost instantaneous growth remains a welcome surprise. Their sheer vitality and magnitude of success however remains utterly insane regardless, with each single almost always dominating the charts. And much like everyone else, I wasn't immune to … Continue reading SONG REVIEW: NewJeans – OMG
When SM Entertainment unveiled their female super group back in early 2022, many including myself believed them to be the female equivalent to the wonderfully successful SuperM. Both in sound and ambition. With the likes of Taeyeon, Wendy, Seulgi, BoA, Karina, Winter and Hyoyeon, the stage almost seemed set for a real display of throw … Continue reading SONG REVIEW: GOT the beat – Stamp On It
When considering some of the best English language K-pop tracks of the past few years, TWICE' wonderfully catchy The Feels ranks near the very top, delivering a cavalcade of classic pop hooks whilst still retaining the classic TWICE sound that we all know and love. Moonlight Sunrise, similarly to its predecessor, comes as an English … Continue reading SONG REVIEW: TWICE – Moonlight Sunrise
Big name collaborations are nothing new in the world of K-pop but sometimes the pairing is so monumental that it illicit a near otherworldly sense of excitement from both fans and casual listeners alike. Such is the case with Taeyang's newest single Vibe a track that heralds his return to the scene after almost 5 … Continue reading SONG REVIEW: Taeyang – Vibe (feat. Jimin)
When NewJeans debuted with the surprise one two punch of Attention and Hype Boy in late July last year, few would have expected just how much of a phenomenon the group would become. Not only have the girls taken their home country by storm, dominating the charts with almost every release but they've also amassed … Continue reading SONG REVIEW: NewJeans – Ditto
Who would have thought that 2022 would be the year of 2nd gen comebacks. With Bigbang, 2NE1 (kinda) and SNSD already making their mark this year with landmark comebacks, KARA's grand return comes as arguably the biggest surprise. With the shock loss of core member Goo Hara back in 2019, it seemed as though the … Continue reading SONG REVIEW: KARA – When I Move
Though I would have loved to see a full group comeback from them after January's Skinz, OnlyOneOf's Underground Idol project has been remarkably solid. Bar Junji's middling Be Mine, both Yoojung's Begin and KB's Be Free have served as 2022 standouts, targeting my musical sweet spots whilst also working as great expansions of the groups … Continue reading SONG REVIEW: Rie (OnlyOneOf) – Because
Despite essentially having arguably one of the strongest lineups in the industry, WEi's musical output has been less than stellar. Bar last years incredibly catchy summer time bop Bye Bye Bye, the group have been a little all over the place. Songs like March's Too Bad and August's Maldives have pointed towards a brighter, more … Continue reading SONG REVIEW: WEi – Spray
While I may not be as big of an AKMU fan as many others, I've always been a huge lover of Chanhyuk's voice. He's got a great vocal colour, one that brings a tonne of character whilst still sounding satisfying to the ears in the realm of both upbeat and softer tracks. As such, when … Continue reading SONG REVIEW: Lee Chanhyuk (AKMU) – Panorama
For some strange reason, there's been a surprisingly high number of references in media towards Marilyn Monroe over the past few weeks. Most notably in the form of Netflix's incredibly controversial Blonde (you can read my thoughts on the film here), the former American icon has been almost everywhere, continuing to be peddled as a … Continue reading SONG REVIEW: (G)I-DLE – Nxde
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