In this edition of Play This! we bring you a previously unreleased episode that almost didn't air. Shortly after recording our discussion about ILLIT's debut hit single, "Magnetic," news broke of the corporate turmoil and fallout going on at HYBE and ADOR regarding allegations of plagiarism.

In this episode—recorded prior to the allegations surfaced by ADOR's CEO Min Hee Jin—Alexis and Theresa discuss the similarities and differences between NewJeans and ILLIT, the evolution of girl group concepts and what makes a great K-pop debut song.

LINK TO THE FULL SPOTIFY PLAYLIST: Listen Here

RUNDOWN (with timestamps):

• Disclaimer for Episode
• Original Show Intro (2:20)
• Overview of ILLIT and how it formed (5:01)
• First Impressions of ILLIT's concept (10:18)
• Is it bad for ILLIT to be compared to NewJeans? (13:26)
• Does ILLIT have J-pop vibes? How is it different? (20:21)
• Marketing ILLIT at Fashion Week (23:58)
• HYBE's access to songwriters & the classic K-pop sound (29:49)
• Do groups have to DEBUT with a HIT? (38:49)

SONG RECOMMENDATIONS

• Overview of the best K-pop debut songs (44:26)
• NCT U "7th Sense" (45:29)
• SEVENTEEN "Adore U" (55:15)
• EVERGLOW "BON BON CHOCOLAT" (61:04)
• ITZY "DALLA DALLA" (74:15)
• Final Thoughts (85:40)

LET US KNOW: What's your favorite K-pop debut song?

TAG US ON SOCIAL: Take a photo of you listening and tag us on Instagram at @IKPTPOD and let us know what you liked about the show!

It's a K-pop Thing is hosted by two journalists and longtime K-pop stans, Alexis Hodoyán-Gastélum and Theresa Avila.

FOLLOW US:
Twitter: @ikptpod & Instagram: @ikptpod

FEEDBACK? IDEAS FOR FUTURE EPISODES?
E-mail us at info@kpoppod.com

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 Alexis's experience buying the SM Global package and what it was like watching a K-pop show without her phone. Plus, hear about Theresa's experience giving K-pop freebies for the first time and how VCHA opened for TWICE.

It's a K-pop Thing is hosted by two journalists and longtime K-pop stans, Alexis Hodoyán-Gastélum and Theresa Avila.

FOLLOW US:
Twitter: @ikptpod & Instagram: @ikptpod

FEEDBACK? IDEAS FOR FUTURE EPISODES?
E-mail us at info@kpoppod.com

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: Has K-pop Hit a Plateau?

To help us understand where K-pop is today, we're joined in a roundtable discussion by friends of the pod, DJ Peter Lo of the Kpopcast podcast and Tamar Herman, a longtime K-pop journalist and author of the newsletter Notes On K-pop.

We don't promise to have all the answers, but maybe we can share some good thought starters!

Let us know what you think of the state of K-pop today by tagging Alexis and Theresa on Instagram @IKPTpod.

Follow Tamar @Tamarwrites
Follow Peter @DJPeterLo

It's a K-pop Thing is hosted by two journalists and longtime K-pop stans, Alexis Hodoyán-Gastélum and Theresa Avila.

FOLLOW US:
Twitter: @ikptpod & Instagram: @ikptpod

FEEDBACK? IDEAS FOR FUTURE EPISODES?
E-mail us at info@kpoppod.com