[Special] Celebrating 10 Years of KPOPREVIEWED

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Excuse the mushiness of this post and cringy feature image I created. I have the creativity of a log. 🙂

Yikes! 10 years ago, I started KPOPREVIEWED. The date was 3rd October 2011 (on WordPress). To be honest, that is the date that I have on hand as the start of this particular blog. KPOPREVIEWED actually started earlier elsewhere by a few days, but I have deleted that blog and don’t have any of that information on hand anymore.

Over the few days, I have been in this nostalgic mindset thanks to writing this particular thank you post. Hence, I thought it was nice to look back at the very reason why we are all here and so interested in the KPOP industry – the songs, albums, artists, music videos and performances. If you had a keen eye, you would have noticed that I stopped ‘Looking Back’ past 10 years (though I did throw a few extra artists, videos, choreographies in for pre-2011 releases). It pained me to stop at an odd number, but I thought it would be a nice subtle hint at what the end of the special series would entail. it was also a great reflection over the last 10 years. So many releases were sifted through, and so many binges were carried out.

10 years is a long time. 3653 days to be precise (because Korea and mothers with new born babies have this weird obsession with celebrating a certain number of days). Just to put into perspective:

  • approx. 2406 song reviews written to date (in some capacity, however this number does not includes any songs that I have reviewed in an album review format)
  • 430 album reviews written to date
  • 632 followers (a much higher number than what I had ever expected)
  • over 1,300,000 views
  • over 620,000 unique visitors
  • over 850 comments (most of which is me, but still a bunch of comments over the years)
  • over 2380 likes

I am sure other similar blogs have much higher numbers than mine (I see a lot more traffic on my fellow peers blogs). But if you were to ask me 10 years ago that I would have over 1,300,000 views to something, I would laugh and ask if you are joking.

To be honest, I never thought I would reach 10 years. For those who don’t know, KPOPREVIEWED was started as an escape from my studies (I was in high school then). Fast forward 10 years, I have graduated both high school and university, and even moved out to live independently. It was only a few years ago that I thought to even try harder at blogging (as I didn’t have much of a part time job while studying at university and researched ways I could develop skills for a job – blogging was one of them), and I think it paid off. Since then, it has helped land me my full time job (interestingly, this blog and my work have nothing to do with one another) and has been an interesting ice-breaker with some people.

But the biggest reason to why the blog has lasted so long is YOU! The views on my blog have grown exponentially of the last few years. I presume this growing number of views each year tells me that there is an appetite for what I post and it drives me to continue posting. So my biggest thanks to everyone out there, no matter if you have been following the blog since day one or have just discovered the blog today. As cliché as it sounds, I could not have done this without your support, and for that I am grateful for you. 🙂

So what does this post mean for me? Is this reflective and thanking post the end of KPOPREVIEWED? Nope. I think I bit more in me. Whether I will last another 10 years, that’s a different story. However, I will promise (and I truly mean this one – I know I don’t have the best track record of promises because of this year) that once I work out when my time is up, I will let you know and bid you all a proper farewell. I think it is the right thing for me to do and it would help give me some closure before I officially move on. But in the meanwhile, I am sticking around and have a lot of catching up to do. And a lot more posting to do. (A lot of still coming up, such as the 2021 KPOPREVIEWED Awards, new and returning segments that I really want to do etc.)

I leave you with my personal favourite releases below – one of each from the 10 years I have been around (plus 2021, since the blog has been active in 2021). (I honestly have no idea to celebrate 10 years – though I am baking cookies later today :D).

Massive thanks again and see you tomorrow (for the start of another decade)!

2011 – Sixth Sense (Brown Eyed Girls)

2012 – Poison (Secret)

2013 – Female President (Girl’s Day)

2014 – Sugar Free (T-ARA)

2015 – Ah Yeah (EXID)

2016 – Very Nice (SEVENTEEN)

2017 – Hwi Hwi (Laboum)

2018 – I Love You (EXID)

2019 – Time Of Our Life (DAY6)

2020 – Back Door (Stray Kids)

2021 – Beautiful Beautiful (ONF) (at this point in time – may change)

13 thoughts on “[Special] Celebrating 10 Years of KPOPREVIEWED”

  1. I’ve only stumbled upon your blog some time last year? I was a silent reader up until like a month or two did I start to comment now haha. Regardless, I’m glad I could make it to your 10 year celebration!
    Speaking of which… 10 years?? That’s such an incredible milestone! And also big props to you for continuing to review K-pop music for so long. That’s some dedication right there. Seriously.
    There’s definitely a lot of timeless classics I gotta check out, so yours would it be a good start (especially for 2011-4) hehe. Thanks for sharing your top picks for each year 🙂

    P.S. Heck yeah cookies! We love to KPOPREVIEWED baking. What flavour are they?

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    1. No worries and thanks for your kind words, Haruko! I am sure you will find something you like for that era. It is a pity that a lot of the artists active back then are on hiatus, have silently left the industry or disbanded. 😦 But don’t let that get in the way of your search for new songs!

      Regarding the cookies, I plan on making coconut, oatmeal and choc chip cookies, because they aren’t overly sweet and I need use up some ingredients that have been sitting at the back of my pantry.

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  3. I was expecting this post to arrive tomorrow! To me, it is still October 2! Haha, my bad.

    Congratulations! This is a rare milestone. Honestly, I don’t know any site managed by one person, at least in the world of K-Pop, to last so long. I’ve only been reading for a little less than 3 of those, but you certainly were an inspiration for me to create my own blog. In fact, I wish my blog can last half your length! That would be amazing!

    Also, some great stats there! 1.3 million is ridiculously good. Even if I increase my viewership rate by 25%, and last 10 years, I’d end up short of you by a bit. That is so impressive. But it is easy to explain why; your writing has always been fun to read. You never drag down your posts with over technical terms, you are a regular poster, and you cover everything, explaining your incredible amount of posts. Your writing is clear and easy to understand, and commonly inspires my own reviews 🙂

    Like Haruko, I am curious what flavor of cookies are you baking haha. I have a policy with cookies, at least according to my friends: Burn, not bake. I cannot cook, so I am glad that not all bloggers are like me haha.

    If I am not wrong, Poison is your favorite song of all time, you had mentioned this last year. However, among your top songs of each year, I agree the most with ONF, though BEG’s 6th Sense is an amazing classic. An Aretha Franklin’s Respect for the modern generation.

    Cheers, and here is hoping for another 10 years for KPOPREVIEWED!

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    1. Thank you for your kind comments 108 Ent!! Yeah, I am in Australia, so I think I am a day ahead of most people who live on the other side of the planet (or at least a couple of hours).

      I am sure your blog will also see the same success, if not better! Keep up the good work and I am sure you will see it pay off! What you say about my blog is what I had intended with my writing. I dont have much music knowledge (though that has slightly increased over the years) and was always lost in technical words when I read reviews. So I am glad my writing comes off as you say, so that it is more accessible for people like me!

      Bingo, Poison is my favourite all time. If it appears on my playlist or recommendations, I will be stuck in a loop of Poison for hours on end. This might be on the reasons to why I didn’t post much reviews last week – getting lost in Poison and Secret’s hits. Sixth Sense is a very close second (loving the Respect analogy). ONF’s track is a clear standout of the year so far, though who knows what October (or November or December) might serve us.

      I am baking coconut, oatmeal and choc chip cookies, mainly to use up old ingredients and that it is one of the few dessert recipes that isn’t too sweet. I only cook because I live too far from family to be able to sneak back and sit at the dinner table. And the lockdowns last year weren’t that helpful either. I have burnt my fair share of baked goods and other food, so don’t worry. I have eaten them in shame (as it is a waste of money to throw it out – though I do scrap off burnt bits and salvage what I can).

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      1. Since you are from Australia, I am reading this reply in the most unfortunately stereotypical Aussie accent ever. Haha, just kidding don’t worry.

        That is honestly why I love your blog so much. No one has that much technical knowledge, they just spurt nonsense that makes them look smart. You write reviews in a way that is fun to read, but never dull. It always works so well!

        I know the feeling! While I honestly don’t care too much for Poison, I have gotten on massive loops of my favorite song, thus clogging my blog flow lol.

        Ooh, sounds good! Enjoy your cookies 🙂

        You may burn cookies, but have you ever burnt bread because you were too busy jamming to K-Pop? lol.

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  4. I’ve been a silent reader of your review site but now I want to celebrate your milestone so I’m finally commenting. I find it really cool to be dedicated at writing reviews for 10 years (and to still be active!) I don’t even think my blog could be up for half that long. I agree with Haruko that since your blog is up for 10 years, I think this place would be such a nice place to discover some K-pop classics. Congratulations for your 10th year anniversary! (and happy baking! XD)

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