On April 29, soloist #YUJU released "First Love Is a Curse," a single about remembering a romance that "was never meant to last." It continues YUJU’s experimentation with the rock genre after her 2025 EP 'In Bloom': thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

Catching up on posting my articles from late April until now. First up, an overview of "Hazy (Daisy)" from #ifeye, and how its sound differs from the main tracks before it: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

The new ‘Tomodachi Life’ game sets a precedent by explicitly acknowledging queer and trans Miis, reports @jacobaronleung.bsky.social

#Siyeon, from K-pop group #Dreamcatcher and K-rock band #ChRocktikal, featuring on Rolling Quartz's "Roll the dice" is a collaboration built on years of respect and admiration. thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

"GOD" by #AMPERS&ONE features a fascinating "Joseon Dynasty hip-hop concept" that brings a change for the group. It's one of my favourite K-pop songs of this year so far due to its traditional-based theme and its gayageum and hip-hop-fused instrumental. thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

March was packed with many K-pop releases and I picked a few underrated songs to highlight. "To. My First Love" by #H1-KEY, "Butterfly Doors" by #AtHeart and "LATENCY" by the band #LATENCY all stood out as songs that deserve some more attention. thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

#Kep1er has tried out many concepts but "KILLA (Face the other me)," released on March 31, sees them continuing with an image that depicts tough, dangerous women. thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

Virtual groups are becoming more prominent in K-pop, and the debut of #OWIS signifies another part of that growth. thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

#Moonbyul from #MAMAMOO dropped her single album 'REV' on March 25. Its lead single, "Hertz," evokes a similar feeling to 2020's "Eclipse," where she challenges gender norms by portraying herself in traditionally male roles. thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

Deaf K-pop group Big Ocean is doing so much for disability representation and I love that they integrated wheelchair dancers into a recent performance of "Cold Moon"! www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HDD...

#YOUNITE wrapped up their first-ever Canadian tour last week, and I got the chance to review their Vancouver show. The tour’s final concert at the Hollywood Theatre featured local openers, songs spanning the group’s career, and covers for a unique experience. thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

It's 2020 again — the good parts, anyways — with "THAT'S A NO NO" by #ITZY going viral in 2026. Its brand new choreography is leading K-pop fans all over the world to discover a hidden gem in the group's discography. thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

#YENA released her 'LOVE CATCHER' EP on March 11 and its title track "Catch Catch" references the colourful period of K-pop between the early 2000s and early 2010s. thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

#MAMAMOO main vocalist #Solar released her second Mandarin Chinese single on March 9. “總有一顆屬於你的星球 (Your Own Star),” in collaboration with Taiwanese band #Accusefive (告五人), continues Solar's efforts to connect with the Chinese language music market. thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

When a K-pop group’s contract with their original company ends with no signing news on the horizon, navigating this grey era between inactivity and disbandment is hard. However, former #Weeekly members #LUNEDI, Han Jihyo and Lee Jaehee are continuing to make music. thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

My first interview Q&A piece at Xtra was published last week. I got the chance to interview Deanna Klymkiw, an Ontario-based psychologist who used to portray Alex Nuñez on 'Degrassi: The Next Generation.' (1/2) xtramagazine.com/culture/tv-f...

Deanna Klymkiw—who played Degrassi's first out lesbian—tells @jacobaronleung.bsky.social about being a psychologist for queer teens

'THE GREATEST BATTLE' by Big Ocean reflects the lived experiences of the band members as deaf individuals, but it also acknowledges that “everyone is fighting their own battles”: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

Last week, #RESCENE released the single "Busy Boy," a collaboration with Aria. It exists an example of distributing music ownership through blockchain systems. Aria created '$APL,' the first exchangeable digital token that grants split ownership of music IP rights: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

In November 2025, I wrote about how #NMIXX started preparing for the Latin American music market for years. With some of their songs including Spanish and/or genres like baile funk, diving further into that region seemed like a natural progression (1/2): thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

#WJSN celebrated their tenth anniversary last week, and I wrote a brief overview of their career before their special single album 'Bloom hour' was released: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

Where a collectivist society can interpret rebellious, individualistic behavior as rude, #Hearts2Hearts takes that adjective as a compliment in their latest single: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

Korean band #Tomatomat highlights the Shibuya-kei subgenre, which uses a mixture of western music styles like bossa nova and jazz: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

The story I wrote for Xtra as part of the 2025-2026 Ken Popert Media Fellowship is live! With government workers in Alberta also returning to the office full-time this month, and the federal government looking to mandate something similar soon, this story applies to more than just Ontarians.

Many Ontario public service workers have gone back to the office five times a week, but trans workers fear that this opens the door for increased harassment and gender dysphoria in their peers, reports @jacobaronleung.bsky.social.

As the search for work gets more desperate, queer and trans workers often see the worst sides of work. But they also come with brilliant solutions. @desaima.bsky.social introduces the five stories in On the Clock, written by this year’s Ken Popert Media Fellows

After 'KPop Demon Hunters' propelled #EJAE into another world of fame, she started a solo career last fall. Her latest single, 'Time After Time,' released on February 6, contrasts from her debut single by detailing the lingering feelings of a breakup: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

#MISAMO, the Japanese sub-unit of #TWICE members Mina, Sana and Momo, released their first full album 'PLAY' on February 4. As the final piece of their art-inspired album trilogy, it wraps up the themes established in 2023's 'Masterpiece' and 2024's 'HAUTE COUTURE': thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

#GPP, the first girl group from SM ENTERTAINMENT JAPAN, released their debut single album, 'Bring it Back,' on January 14: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

#KiiiKiii released their latest EP, 'Delulu Pack,' on January 26. They drew on a 2000s aesthetic to convey the theme of chasing the wildest dreams, no matter how "delulu" it may sound: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

Female vocalist duo #dodree, consisting of Lee Songhyun and Na Yeonjoo, debuted with their single album 'Just Like a Dream' on January 21. It combines Gugak, traditional Korean music, with K-pop: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

Second-generation K-pop girl group #Apink released their special EP 'RE : LOVE' on January 5, ahead of their fifteenth anniversary in April: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

I had the opportunity to review TWICE's first-ever Vancouver concert on January 9. Covering a huge K-pop concert in my hometown felt genuinely special. It marked my first time attending a concert as an official press reviewer and my first time seeing #TWICE live: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

#LATENCY, a rock band featuring former K-pop girl group idols, made their debut with "It Was Love" on January 8. Past members of #cignature and #LOONA reinvent themselves through this new medium: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

From my Vancouver-focused blog about the K-pop community here (Vancity K-pop Reports), I compiled a list of releases that came out in 2025 by K-pop artists with connections to B.C. Some personal favourites include "ICONIK" from #ZEROBASEONE and "The Chase" from #Hearts2Hearts: wp.me/pg4A0X-Qx

For my final article of 2025, I reviewed K-pop girl group SAY MY NAME's '&Our Vibe' EP, which I felt offered an intriguing expansion of genres for them: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat... #SAYMYNAME #세이마이네임

Sending out this #journorequest for a story I’m working on for @xtramagazine.com. I'm looking to hear from trans folks who can speak on what role their workplace situation, such as hybrid or remote, played in their ability to navigate their queer identity. DMs open or by email (in bio).

Our 2025 Ken Popert Media Fellows are Victoria Hincapie Gomez, @jacobaronleung.bsky.social, Cris Nippard, Ghazal Azizi and @aliceboyle.bsky.social! The five early-career BIPOC journalists will help build an editorial package about LGBTQ2S+ people and work

Catching up with some past articles again. On August 11, the first sub-unit of 24-member boy group #idntt made their debut. idntt #unevermet released three music videos for their lead tracks "You Never Met," "Storm," and "BOYtude": thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

I had such a great time speaking to @jacobaronleung for @Pancouver in my first interview of NASTY BOY era! You can check it out below 🤍 pancouver.ca/k-pop-solois...

#KiiiKiii used the beautiful visuals of British Columbia, Canada for their "DANCING ALONE" music video. The single draws on the concept of anemoia, described on KiiiKiii's website as a “feeling of nostalgia for a time one has never known": thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

I'm a bit behind on posting my articles to Bluesky, but I wanted to mention SAY MY NAME's latest single, "iLy." Not only does it come with a creative music video incorporating their new member Shuie, the song also references the 1967 hit “Can’t Take My Eyes off You”: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

Soloist YOU DAYEON released her first EP, 'New Age,' earlier this month. With moombahton-inspired songs, she continues to diversify her musical identity: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

I interviewed Chinese American city pop soloist #YOOMEi ahead of her debut in the U.S. on July 30. Having previously been a pre-debut member of the K-pop girl group #ZIOLETTA and a J-rock soloist, YOOMEi hopes to show that no dream is impossible: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

#ifeye, a K-pop girl group that debuted in April, released their second EP last week. 'sweet tang' sports seven tracks that cover genres such as rock, hip-hop and Brazilian funk: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

Multinational boy group #ARrC, with members of South Korean, Japanese, American, Vietnamese and Brazilian ethnicities, released their third EP 'HOPE' on Wednesday. The group was inspired by "Hope" (1977) by Canadian prog-rock band Klaatu: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

Singer Jo Yuri, also known to global audiences for her acting role as Kim Junhee in #SquidGame, released her first EP since 2023 on Monday: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

Earlier this month, #aespa partnered with #StreetFighter6 and #PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS for some next-level collaborations. I wrote about how the four-member girl group has been integrated into those respective games: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

On July 9, rookie boy group #CLOSEYOUREYES released their second EP, 'Snowy Summer.' With a mix of comedic mishaps, spooky encounters and winter wishes, the music video for the song "Snowy Summer" promises a summer release unlike anything else: thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...

I had the opportunity to attend my first roundtable interview last week with OX:N, the first sub-unit of 11-member boy group #OMEGA_X. Check out what Jaehan, Xen, Jehyun and Yechan had to say about their debut EP, 'N': thekrazemag.com/latest-updat...