K-pop holds a specific place in the Korean music industry, and if one wants to survive in such a place, they have to make sure that they won’t become a star for just a single season. Unfortunately, this often happens to idols who decide to leave their groups to focus on solo careers or at…
Tag: K-pop
BTS Take Japan: “BTS, The Best” – Japan Album Review
BTS debuted in Japan on 12 June 2014 with the single album No More Dream. Their first full Japanese Album, Wake Up, was released on Christmas Day of the same year. Since then, the group has released 9 further single albums and 3 additional studio albums. The single albums contain Japanese versions of lead singles…
Smooth Like Butter: Boys Just Want to Have Fun – BTS’ “Butter” Single Review
Butter is BTS’ second English language single, following their 2020 smash hit Dynamite. It is written by Jenna Andrews (who is also credited on Dynamite), Alex Bilowitz, Sebastian Garcia, Rob Grimaldi, Stephen Kirk, Ron Perry (the chairman of Columbia Records) and RM. Vocal production is by Jenna Andrews and Stephen Kirk, while vocal arrangement is…
“I Want to Renew My Resolve and View the Present as My Second Beginning” – In Conversation with Singer-Songwriter Kim Yeong Geun
2016 was a turning point for Kim Young Geun when he won the talent show Superstar K [an equivalent of Britain’s Got Talent and American Idol]. The singer impressed the judges with his cover of Sam Smith’s Lay Me Down, which later led to more exciting performances on the show. A year after winning the…
Music for Healing: BTS MTV Unplugged Review
MTV Unplugged is a flagship MTV programme which was launched on 26th November 1989 with performances by Elliot Easton (The Cars), Syd Straw and Squeeze. With acoustic sets and stripped back, pared down. performances, Unplugged featured iconic sets by some of the most famous musicians of the time including Aerosmith, Elton John, Annie Lennox, George…
The Unbearable Lightness of Being: BTS’ “BE” Album Review
BE is BTS’ fourth (Korean) studio album and follows the record-breaking Map of the Soul: 7 from earlier in the year (February 21). Released on the 20th November, six months after the later, BE is a project album that is best understood as a personal response to COVID-19. BE is grounded in reality; while the…
In Conversation with DONGKIZ, a South Korean Idol Group
“I was drawn to how I can express my own thoughts and emotions through the lyrics or the melody”, says Jaechan, a 19-year-old member of a South Korean group, DONGKIZ, when asked if music was his future. While not all of the members thought of starting their adult lives as a part of a K-pop…
Dancing the Night Away: Review of BTS’ ‘Dynamite’
“With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now” – Art Buchwald. Dynamite is BTS’ first English language single since their collaboration with Steve Aoki for Waste it On Me (25th October 2018). The surprise release of the single was announced on 2nd August and accompanied by a countdown…
KNK Light Up The Stage With Their Stellar Performance in London
K-Pop is the leading trend these days, there is no doubt about it; it does not only stand for a change of power on the charts, no: the door to South Korea’s cultural and commercial invasion of western markets has been blown wide open. It comes as no surprise that more K-talents have been set…
“Just like BTS, EXO and BlackPink, We Want to Keep Working Hard in Order to Become a Popular Group Everywhere.” – In Conversation with KNK, a South Korean Idol Group
KNK, a South Korean idol group, first saw the light of day in 2016 when they debuted on the domestic market. They relatively quickly made a name for themselves with their mature and serious looks, music and gentlemen attires. In 2017, a huge crowd welcomed their performance at the Feel Korea concert in London and…
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