We have a special concert recap episode that's ALL about our recent K-pop travels, concerts experiences and even a special run-in with some K-pop idols after a concert! (No spoilers: You'll have to tune in to hear who it was!) In this episode we cover how Alexis recently traveled to Tokyo to catch NCT 127 before military enlistments for the members began and Theresa talks about how she flew to Las Vegas to catch TWICE on the last stop of their world tour.  We get into the nitty gritty about...

Lately, the general consensus seems to be: K-pop is bigger than ever before —and that's to be celebrated— but it's also ... different. The music trends are changing and, depending on who you ask, it's not always for the better. Especially among multi-stans, there seems to be a newfound sense of overwhelm and fatigue due to the relentless amount of content churned out by K-pop. All of this has us thinking: Are we entering a new era of K-pop? Is K-pop's rapid growth stalling? Dare we ask:...

This episode is PART 2 of our two-episode discussion on the latest K-pop and Latin music collab, "Amigos" by BIBI and Becky G.  If you haven't checked out PART 1, go back to the feed and listen! In this portion of the discussion, we dive into our top K-pop and Latine song recommendations! We focus on K-pop songs that cater to a Latine audience, by either featuring a Latine artist, they're sung in Spanish or..they simply have a Latin vibe. EPISODE RUNDOWN: Intro to the discussionSong Rec #1...

Hey everyone! We're back in 2024 with an episode we recorded at the tail end of last year when BIBI and Becky G had just released their collab track, "Amigos." It's a chill, fun song that also serves as a good introduction to K-R&B and Latin music. Given this song bridges the broader worlds of K-pop and Latin music—two of our fav genres—we naturally have have a LOT of thoughts on the song! This episode is PART 1 of our two-episode discussion on the latest K-pop and Latin music collab,...

For this edition of Play This! we’re discussing “Gento,” a song by Filipino-boy-group SB19. While it’s not K-pop, per se, the song has been making its way around the industry’s boy groups, thanks to numerous idols doing the “Gento” dance challenge. But, what is it about this song that has male idols flocking to it? Is the popularity of SB19’s “Gento," maybe due to changes in concepts for K-pop boy groups? Are male idols simply missing the hard-hitting choreography we once associated with...

If you're a K-pop multi-stan like us in the USA, you might have noticed something lately: The number of K-pop acts on tour has grown by a LOT! But with that growth, we've also seen an increase in tour dates overlapping and fans ultimately having to choose between which of their favorite artists to support. We have to ask: Are we finally in the era of too many K-pop concerts? To help us talk through this dilemma, we invited our friends Carolina and Kat, each one-fourth of the women behind...

We're back with another edition of Play This! where we give you some song recommendations inspired by recent K-pop releases. On this episode, we discuss the latest collaboration between a K-pop group with a Western artist: "Do It Like That," by TOMORROW X TOGETHER and Jonas Brothers. "Do It Like That" is a bouncy, fun pop song that's perfect for summer and it got us thinking about how rare and special it is to have a collab happen between a K-pop group and a Western artist. Tune in as we...

Today's episode features a special interview with K-pop idol and artist, AleXa! Recently we chatted with her about her latest digital-single, "Juliet," and the 6(!) different versions of the song, which include a bachata remix sung entirely in Spanish. In other episodes, we’ve touched on the globalization of K-pop and how artists have branched out to other markets to gain traction beyond Korea.  But, AleXa is the latest K-pop idol to turn to the massive fandom in Latin America and recognize...

We're back with more K-pop song recommendations! For this episode of Play This! we take a very *serious* look at a very UN-serious song: (G)I-DLE's latest comeback and hit, "Queencard." Sometimes in K-pop we get wacky concepts,  nonsensical lyrics and unserious music—but who cares if it WORKS?  And "Queencard" works fantastically, thanks to the plenty of camp elements throughout. Tune in for our discussion on all things camp in K-pop (Hint: It's everywhere; you just have to know what you're...

FIFTY FIFTY's "Cupid" is still going strong on the charts, thanks to the popularity of its English "Twin" version. But where do you from there? What other K-pop songs do you queue up on your playlist? After all, you need at least a few good songs to get the algorithm to do its thing! Lucky for you, we've got four K-pop songs for you that are in the same vein as FIFTY FIFTY's "Cupid." Tune in to hear us break down what's helping "Cupid" chart so well plus our personal song recs for you to...

We're back with Part 2 of our mini-series examining the state of Girl Groups in K-pop today! We have a lot to discuss in this episode, including new releases by plenty of 4th-gen acts as well as our theories on why the spotlight is shining so brightly on girl groups. PLUS!! We share our TOP 10+ GIRL GROUPS (atm): With so many girl groups charting at the moment, we made our own list of the girl groups that have us excited for the rest of 2023! Plus, you'll hear which groups we're crossing our...

Something major happened in K-pop last year: For the first time since the aughts, girl groups outshone their male group counterparts. Not only did girl groups deliver hit after hit, but 2022 also saw 4th generation girl groups consistently vie for the top spot in K-pop music charts and award shows. And if “Ditto” and “OMG” are any indication of how this year’s gonna pan out, it’s looking like girl groups are gonna have another winning season. ABOUT THIS EPISODE: This is PART ONE of a...

We've tabled the reporting this week to bring you a special bonus episode in the form of a little game we're calling, "Battle of the B-sides." Now, before you get ahead of yourself—there is no singing OR actual "battle" taking place. Instead, we're taking a deep dive into the B-sides of one of our favorite K-pop artists to figure out which non-title-track is our favorite. Here’s how it works:  Two teams will each share their Top 2 album B-sides from an artist and then will make the case for...

We're back with a very special follow-up episode in our mini series on rookie K-pop groups that survived — and thrived— throughout the pandemic. For Episode 2 we're super excited to announce we have the podcast's ... FIRST ~ EXCLUSIVE ~ K-POP INTERVIEW! In this episode, we chat with TFN (formerly known as T1419)—a rookie K-pop group that quickly caught our attention because of the unique way they're promoting themselves in Latin America and Japan. Tune in to hear the members discuss...

Debuting a K-pop group under normal circumstances is, to say the least, no easy feat. So, what do we make of a rookie K-pop group from a smaller music label that not only debuts during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also decides to go on tour? Well, that's exactly what K-pop group GHOST9 did in 2022. In our very first episode of It's a K-pop Thing, we're kicking off a two-part series that looks at K-pop groups that debuted during the pandemic. In Episode 1, we go back in time to January 2022,...

What happens when you bring together two journalists who are the go-to K-pop stan in their friend group? Well, apparently, they start a podcast about K-pop! Welcome to the debut of It's a K-pop Thing! "The show where we talk about all the things that make K-pop, distinctly K-pop." Hosted by Alexis Hodoyan-Gastélum and Theresa Avila, It's a K-pop Thing explores the fan culture that's helped grow K-pop into a global phenomenon. Because as longtime K-pop stans know,  the world of K-pop is so...