D Kim
D Kim covers Korean music and television for Soompi with a focus on idol groups, performance formats, and how artists’ careers intersect with variety shows and drama projects. Their coverage stands out for tracking the full ecosystem around K-pop acts, from comeback music videos and survival programs to music show casting and crossover appearances in scripted series.
K-pop comebacks and group milestones
D Kim writes frequently about K-pop group activity, highlighting new releases, lineup developments, and major turning points in an act’s career. They cover comeback campaigns in detail through articles like the piece on xikers’ action-packed “OKay” music video, which frames the song within the group’s evolving image and performance style. Their reporting on Kim Jae Joong’s new girl group SAY MY NAME and the unveiling of its seven members, including former IZ*ONE member Hitomi, reflects a close interest in member composition, pre-debut narratives, and how established names anchor new projects. They also handle consequential news such as KARD’s plans for disbandment, treating restructuring and endings as part of the lifecycle of K-pop groups rather than isolated announcements.
Within this strand, D Kim often focuses on performance-forward content—music videos, showcase clips, and teasers—using “Watch:” formats to guide readers directly to new visual material while summarizing the concept and choreography. Articles on RIIZE’s “Do your dance” and ATEEZ’s “BAD” comeback videos, for example, emphasize dance, styling, and stage presence as much as the release information. Across these pieces, the thread is consistent: they place each new song or video in the context of a group’s identity and trajectory, making the news useful both to dedicated fans and industry observers tracking how artists position themselves.
Music shows and industry-facing programs
Beyond individual releases, D Kim reports on the infrastructure around Korean music, especially broadcast platforms and competition series. Coverage of “Show Me The Money 12” includes producers’ comments on international contestants and the public’s perception of hip hop, showing an interest in how genre-specific programs shape broader conversations about music culture. They also report on music show hosting decisions, such as the appointment of Kim Jae Won and izna’s Bang Jeemin as new MCs for “Music Bank,” treating casting as meaningful news for how programs present and promote artists.
This work often relies on press conference and official announcement formats, distilling statements from producers and networks into accessible summaries. The emphasis is on what changes for viewers and artists—who fronts key programs, what kinds of contestants are being invited, and how these decisions signal trends in genre representation and audience targeting. Taken together with their comeback coverage, this gives D Kim a dual focus: the artists’ output itself and the platforms that amplify it.
K-dramas, crossover projects, and fan engagement
Alongside music, D Kim writes extensively about K-dramas and the crossover space where idols appear in scripted content. Articles on series like “Perfect Crown,” including IU and Byeon Woo Seok donning traditional wear for an on-screen wedding ceremony, show a sensitivity to visual storytelling and costume details that resonate with both drama audiences and fans of the performers. Their drama-related work spans reviews, features, and episode-focused pieces, as indicated by coverage tagged across multiple titles and categorized under drama, features, and TV/film.
D Kim also participates in broader editorial features, such as Soompi & Viki Staff Talk discussing favorite K-dramas of the first half of 2025, which highlight trends in viewer reception and critical preferences across the platform’s staff. In these contexts, they situate individual shows within larger patterns—genre popularity, standout performances, and story types that gain traction—mirroring the way their music coverage situates comebacks within artist careers. The consistent connection is an interest in how fans experience content, whether through new songs, televised competitions, or drama narratives, and how those experiences are shaped by casting and creative choices.
Format and style
Across beats, D Kim works primarily in short-form news and feature updates, using concise headlines that foreground the hook of each story—disbandment plans, new members, MC appointments, or standout visual moments. “Watch:” pieces encourage direct engagement with videos while providing enough context that readers understand why a release or clip matters within an artist’s arc. Their coverage of press events and staff roundups shows comfort moving between straight news and more reflective feature formats, while maintaining a factual, descriptive tone.
Taken together, D Kim’s work gives a steady, detail-driven view of Korean entertainment, with particular strength in following K-pop groups through comebacks, lineup changes, and appearances across music shows and dramas. Their reporting is grounded in official announcements and visual material, making their bylines a consistent source for timely updates on how artists and programs evolve over time.
4 more music journalists.
Abby Webster
Abby Webster zeroes in on the storytelling side of contemporary pop, writing for Billboard about how songs build worlds around K-pop groups, fictional pop stars and ambitious soundtracks. She covers K-pop projects through close, song-by-song features, like her track-by-track piece with SEVENTEEN’s Vernon and The 8 on their EP ‘V8,’ and fan-centered lists such as “7 Best Moments from BTS’ Long-Awaited Return.” She treats soundtracks and fictional acts with the same rigor, mapping the inspirations behind “The Vampire Lestat” soundtrack and profiling in-universe groups like HUNTR/X and Saja Boys as if they were chart acts. Through Chart Beat stories on projects like “KPop Demon Hunters,” she connects these releases to industry strategy, global fandom, and the business systems that turn pop narratives into durable IP.
Alex Suskind
Alex Suskind is a freelance writer and editor who covers music with concise news stories and curated release lists. He focuses on new songs, album roundups, and archival access, from Carly Rae Jepsen’s “On Wires” to Neil Young opening his full catalog to residents of Greenland. His reporting stays close to the release cycle and foregrounds the core hook of each story. He has written for Pitchfork and has freelance work in Vulture, The Guardian, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and The Atlantic. He also covers broader arts and culture, but his music beat is built around what is newly out now or newly available.
Ali Shutler
Ali Shutler links chart pop, alternative music and fan culture with the ways songs move through festivals, streaming platforms and games. He is a freelance culture journalist specialising in music, writing news and features for NME and other music and culture titles. He covers breakout chart acts, legacy artists whose catalogues are resurfacing, and how audiences rediscover songs via TikTok, streaming or in‑game soundtracks. His reporting on streaming-era pop and live festival moments tracks virality, catalog access and fan behaviour as part of the story of a track. He also examines music, gaming and visual art crossovers, treating game soundtracks and artist-led campaigns as part of a wider cultural map. Alongside this, he profiles emerging chart artists for outlets including The Telegraph, Vice, The Independent, Dork and Upset, focusing on early-career trajectories and fan culture.
Annette Sharp
Annette Sharp is a veteran gossip and entertainment columnist known for direct, opinion-led coverage of celebrity power struggles and reputational crises across television and the music industry. She now writes high-profile columns for the masthead, after a decade on a well-read gossip column and a move to News Corp in 2008. Her real beat is the friction between public image and behind-the-scenes behaviour on flagship TV programs, including breakfast shows, reality formats and other long-running franchises. She focuses on who drives conflicts, who is exposed and who benefits, using ratings history, production decisions and industry mechanics as context. Sharp covers on-air personalities, executives, advisers and musicians, treating television and music as workplaces with competing egos, contracts and alliances, and blending reporting, media commentary and critique in a narrative column format.