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Kotaku EastK-Pop Picks Of The Day: Wonder Boy & Into The Night Sky
After School Red and After School Blue were two short-lived and ill-fated experimental sub-groups of After School. The idea was to divide the group into two units on the opposite sides of the cute-sexy spectrum and have them promote at the same time to drum up some friendly competition. This idea crashed and burned for…
By Seung Park -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Lonely Night
Ever get the feeling that your job is just, like, slowly killing you from the inside? This music video is for you. Many foreign K-Pop fans were introduced to Gary through the variety show Running Man. Incidentally, the actress in this music video is Song Ji Hyo, one of his co-stars from the show; together,…
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Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Playing With Fire
Blackpink recently came back from a very lengthy absence with Ddu-du Ddu-du. To be quite honest, I don’t think it’s their best, so here’s one of their previous tracks, which has earned its spot on my Favorites playlist ever since its release. As the newest girl group hailing from YG Entertainment — the label behind…
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Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Ppo Ppo Ppo
There are iconic K-Pop groups, then there are popular ones, then a few that have cult fandoms. At the very bottom are groups that release one EP, or maybe a few digital singles, then fade into oblivion—leaving behind no trace at all. Harasora is one of those groups. The only things I know for certain…
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Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: I Miss You
Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps the best male voice in Korean music. (There will be arguments. Bring them on, I say.) While most foreign fans first encountered this stirring ballad through Stairway To Heaven, the 2003 K-drama, I Miss You was originally released a year prior as part of Kim Bum Soo’s third full album. Once…
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Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Lady
After Wonder Girls’ dissolution last year, distraught fans wondered if they would ever see the members again. It turns out they had little to fear; the majority of the girls went on to have their own solo careers, including Yubin, who just returned with Lady Lady’s aesthetic feels very much 80s, which — if you…
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Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Superman
Pay close attention to this music video, and the lyrics. Notice anything funny? Norazo is a criminally under-appreciated comedic rock duo that takes irreverence to an art form. Superman’s a particularly great example; not only does the song poke fun at the Man Of Steel’s sillier traits, the music video is filmed as a serious…
By Seung Park -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Bingle Bangle
When a music video is themed to video games, you bet your behind I’m going to be featuring it. It being catchy AF is just a bonus. Bingle Bangle is AOA’s first comeback in one and a half years, and their first since they lost Choa, arguably their most charismatic and most well-known member behind…
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Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Umbrella
One of my very first picks for this column was Umbrella by Epik High. Today, I’m featuring a cover of that song by Younha, because I love both her — and this song — so much. Younha, who was featured in the original Epik High track, is an accomplished solo artist in her own right,…
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Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Latata
(G)I-DLE only debuted less than a month ago, but they recently clutched their first music show win with Latata — becoming one of the fastest groups to reach that point in their careers. Unwieldy name aside, (G)I-DLE (the G is silent) actually comes with a bit of pedigree. All of the girls in the group…
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Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Fake Love
It was a banner weekend for K-Pop, anchored by Bangtan Boys (BTS) and their second year in a row of appearances at the Billboard Music Awards. BTS is, without a doubt, one of the leaders of the current generation of K-Pop. While some of their worldwide success can be linked to previous generations building up…
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Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Lalala
It’s been drizzling on and off at Kotaku HQ for a few days now, which makes me appreciate this ode to summer pool parties all the more. (Not that there’s enough space in New York City for a pool party, anyway.) Mighty Mouth is a hip-hop duo that debuted in 2008 with Sangchu and Shorry…
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Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: 24/7
Banjos? In K-Pop?? It’s more likely than you think. 2YOON was a short-lived sub-unit formed under 4minute, who are now disbanded. The Gayoon-Jiyoon duo (which is where they got their name) lasted much shorter than their parent group, only seeing one EP release before disappearing into history. 4minute, on the other hand, is one of…
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Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Plz Don’t Be Sad
K-Pop gets a lot of flak (deservedly so) for perpetuating many unsavory aspects of the idol group industry: unfair contracts, mismanaged agencies, and overworked idols. Highlight, formerly known as BEAST, is one of those groups that broke that loop. Debuting in 2009, BEAST was just like any other boy group at first (apologies to their…
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Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: I Don’t Care
Please don’t confuse the lack of 2NE1 on this column as possible evidence of my apathy toward this group. Just the opposite: I’ve been struggling to pick the one song I’d have to choose from their incredible, varied discography. But I think I’ve got it. I Don’t Care is one of 2NE1’s earlier releases, but…
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Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Bbiribbom Bbaeribbom
Heh, try saying that title five times fast! Coed School was a short-lived, ten-member, mixed-gender group that debuted in 2010. They lasted all of one year and one album before scandal rocked the group when one of the members was revealed to have a shady past including drugs, bullying and possible rape. Not unexpectedly, this…
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Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Abracadabra
Only a select few songs can count themselves among the highest of echelons in the K-Pop pyramid; that envied position where everyone in Korea can at least hum along to the chorus, no matter how young or old you are. We’ve already covered a few of them; let’s talk about one more. Brown Eyed Girls…
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Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Joker
For every group that attains the level of success fitting to the quality of their music, there’s a dozen more that toil away in that murky grey area between popular and irrelevant. Dal Shabet is one of those groups. Ever since their debut in 2011, Dal Shabet has struggled to form a coherent fanbase, this…
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Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Cooking? Cooking!
In my never-ending quest to go beyond surface K-Pop and share some of the quirkiest, funniest and just plain weird music with all of you, this has to be the weirdest. Super Junior-H was a short-lived subunit of Super Junior, a mega-popular boy group under SM Entertainment. The H stood for “happy”, and Cooking? Cooking!,…
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Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Dark Circle
If you thought yesterday’s pick, Orange Caramel, was weird, you ain’t seen nothing yet. I could go on to describe the song and its music video. I could talk, in length, about how Dark Circle takes inspiration from traditional Korean trot and the deep meaning behind the anthropomorphized broccoli character in the video. I could…
By Seung Park
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