Debut. Bias. Maknae. Leader. Line. Lightstick. Comeback. Aegyo. Visual. Idol.

These words in a row may sound a tad nonsensical to the uninitiated but trust me, they belong together. These are just some of the terms associated with one of the biggest music industries in the world: K-pop.

What is that? Well, the simplest definition is Korean popular music. For a longer answer it’s a music industry that trains pop music stars, or ‘idols’, and mashes up different types of music with pop, like hip hop, rap, rock, electronic, salsa, reggae, etc. The artists perform intricate dance numbers, have fans all over the world, and some music videos get millions, if not billions, of views online. And with the group Stray Kids having made their way through Toronto at the end of June (I was there!) and the movie K-Pop Demon Hunters now on Netflix this seemed like a great time to gush a little bit about one of my favorite sources of music.