As 2018 begins and another year of content gets planned, members of The Kraze staff took a look back at content produced in 2017, picking some of their favorite articles of the year.

Kelly Sipko, Editor

offonoff and the Story of boy. 

Original article written by Sarah Boumedda

offonoff's boy. was arguably my favorite album of 2017 and it's mostly thanks to this article! Sarah always writes such wonderful reviews, but the second I began editing this one, I knew that I had to listen to this album in full. Her review nails it to a T. If you haven't already, give it a gander—go listen to boy. and fall in love.

Daniela Calderon, Editor

South Korea's Unbelievable Cult Phenomenon

Original article written by Roxanne Wilson

The concept of cults is incredibly intriguing, and the public's growing interest in dramas like Save Me and the divisiveness of Park Bogum's situation is a reflection of our fascination with such sensitive matters. This article was extremely informative and obviously well-researched. The content was relayed to readers with precision, and I really admire the insight brought forth by Roxy, especially when connecting the information back to past/current events.

Check out the article in our November 2017 print issue!

N. Ali, Writer

TWICE Must Let You Know, They're Sending Out A Signal

Original article written by Savanah Fita and Atlanta Doherty-Brophy

Written as the feature of the June issue, this article on TWICE covered the history of the group back to pre-debut and all the way to their most recent release at the time of publication, “SIGNAL.” Encompassing the history as well as a full review of the new release, the feature on TWICE was very well written as a collaboration piece between Savanah and former writer Atlanta to create a perfectly informative and enjoyable piece.

Check out the article in our June 2017 print issue!

Sab Ali, Editor

Crush Really Wants to Go Outside

Original article written by Savanah Fita

Crush is of course dubbed the R&B king, but this article truly highlights everything that makes him worthy of his title. Savanah's writing hits the best points of each song, making it impossible to not listen along to Crush's tracks while reading. The best part of the article? Crush's dog enters the spotlight in the most endearing way! Make sure to check it out!

Haley Whisennand, Marketing Director

Interview: BTS-Inspired Visual Novel Creators, Aeon Dream Studios

Original article written by Courtney Lazore

While we were fortunate enough to interview a lot of amazing people in 2017, Courtney's two-part interview with the team behind the BTS-inspired visual novel really stuck with me. This was a group that was making a creative product for others to experience and enjoy, and it was something that we haven't really seen at this scale in the K-Pop community. Learning more about how the team formed and the process behind their creation was really fascinating and something that I hadn't seen anywhere else.

Quick Take: Remembering Jonghyun

Original article written by The Kraze Staff

When we redesigned the website in the first half of 2017, we came up with the idea for Quick Take, a way for our staff to all chime in with their thoughts on big breaking news in the industry. When we created it, we meant it for news like ChoA leaving AOA or BTS's logo redesign reveal. It didn't cross anyone's mind that we'd use it as a way to help process terrible news. However, the format of Quick Take really helped some of our staff deal with the news of Jonghyun's death and share some happy memories. It was such a fitting tribute to Jonghyun, and I couldn't be more proud of our staff. The entire piece was a beautiful memorial for such an important figure in the industry.

Annika Brandes, Editor

Remembering Jonghyun: His Lyrics for SHINee

Original article written by Emlyn Travis

This was a beautiful and comforting article released a week after Jonghyun's passing. I knew that Jonghyun was a talented musician, but I particularly enjoyed how Emlyn chose lesser known B-side tracks to really demonstrate the effort Jonghyun put into his music. I actually learned a lot reading this. Now it makes me listen to the songs differently. Emlyn articulates her thoughts very poignantly, and I think this is one of her best pieces.

J. Ventinilla, Writer

MONSTA X Theory Time

Original article written by Haley Whisennand

Theories have been quite the trend lately as K-Pop groups have been going more in depth with the plots of their music videos. MONSTA X tackled a similar project, seeing as their X-Clan series definitely evoked a lot of questions. I really liked Haley’s observation of all three releases in the trilogy, including their relation to one another. It really made me look at the story in a different light. It blew my mind, and if you want a different perspective of the story, this is a great read!