It’s comforting to think that there is an afterlife, that a divine and infallibly just system awaits us in another world. Just as reassuring, too, is the notion that evil exists outside of us, not within, and whenever we’re in danger of getting too close to it, there are saviors—angels, heroes, or in this case
Continue reading »Monthly Archives: "January 2021"
Week in Review, 1/25 to 1/31 – Seoulbeats
Welcome to another edition of SB Week in Review. Here’s all the news you might have missed over the past week: (There is a mention of death. Please read on with caution.) Big Hit Entertainment and its subsidiary, beNX, have made a 70 billion Won investment in YG Plus, a subsidiary of YG Entertainment. On
Continue reading »IU is Comforting in “Celebrity” – Seoulbeats
For those in the world who have ever felt out of place and unappreciated, IU presents “Celebrity”. The pre-release ahead of her upcoming fifth album is an encouraging song about recognizing and loving your unique quirks. Though the message is nothing new, the MV for “Celebrity” is a creative and layered retelling of a clichéd
Continue reading »Golden Child’s “Burn It” is a Moving Call for Empathy and Acceptance – Seoulbeats
K-pop is no stranger to the motif of fire. The element is often used to reflect attraction in songs about love; in Twice‘s b-side “Firework“, for example, they sing, “My feelings for you slowly rise / Fire in my heart”. Fire is also often evoked to signify charisma—”we ’bout to set the roof on fire,
Continue reading »How K-Pop Became the Perfect Comfort Soundtrack Amid the Pandemic – Seoulbeats
The COVID-19 pandemic has touched every person, industry, musical release, and minute detail of life, but one aspect has emerged a powerful force of comfort and hope to be reckoned with: K-pop. As the world continues to bear through the coronavirus pandemic, many K-pop artists are directly addressing its impacts in their music to comfort
Continue reading »Ballads for the Soul – Seoulbeats
Holidays aren’t always happy; the new year doesn’t always bring in good cheer. Gloomy days aren’t scheduled, and sometimes one just needs to eschew the pretense of joy and let the sadness take over. K-pop is so inundated by songs in major key, talking about falling in love and synthetic love affairs and other happy
Continue reading »When Unique Becomes Obscure – Seoulbeats
It has been more than three years since Bobby‘s last full solo album, Love and Fall, making his recently released Lucky Man a highly-anticipated one among fans. The album contains 13 tracks and 4 skits that Bobby wrote, produced, sang and rapped, a testament to Bobby’s significant role in the creation of the album. Bobby
Continue reading »“Odd Eye” is Dreamcatcher in Peak Form – Seoulbeats
In 2020, K-pop’s resident rock girls Dreamcatcher embarked on a new chapter in their musical journey entitled Dystopia through two connected comebacks. Dystopia saw Dreamcatcher hit the sweet spot between palatable, trendier pop and their distinctive, heavier rock sound, and brought the group’s success to a new height, leaving fans in great anticipation of what
Continue reading »The Two Faces of Jealousy – Seoulbeats
With its conclusion gradually approaching, True Beauty continues its run as an entertaining and engaging drama. It may not be too far-fetched to say that it excels on almost every level when it comes to a webtoon adaptation. Now that Ju-kyeong (Moon Ga-young) and Su-ho (Cha Eun-woo) are a couple, the love triangle takes a
Continue reading »Hubris and Desire in Oneus’s “Devil” – Seoulbeats
For an album entitled “Devil” one would expect sinister visuals, mostly hip-hop and rap heavy tracks, and/or generally savagery. Oneus’s newest album Devil delivers that and more, but with several songs that manage to be surprisingly soft- embodying longing, fading love, and hopelessness. Showcasing both finesse in songwriting and performance, Devil steps even farther into
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