EXO are one of my “K-pop A-Z” artists, and that means I’ve committed to write about anything they release in perpetuity. So, here are my thoughts about every track from their new Exist album!
1. Cream Soda // 2. Regret It // 3. Hear Me Out // 4. Private Party // 5. Cinderella // 6. No Makeup // 7. Love Fool // 8. Another Day // 9. Let Me In
CINDERELLA
For me, this is where the album starts to lose whatever steam it may have had. As a song, I find Cinderella quite dull — though it goes without saying EXO sound fantastic as usual. Too much of Exist is content to rest on the group’s incredible vocals and forgets to supply them with equally captivating songs.
Cinderella‘s mid-tempo groove is fine, but the track doesn’t really go anywhere. Its chorus is a non-starter, settling for an uninspired “la la la Cinderella” hook that fails to harness EXO’s airtight harmonies in a compelling way. Texturally, the production is crisp and immersive. But in a discography with as many highlights as theirs, that’s not enough to craft a standout moment.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
In a way, Cinderella’s “chorus” reminds me a lot of Kai’s “Nothing on Me” from a few years ago.
What makes it different for me, though, is that “Nothing on Me”’s chorus is backed by an epic synthwave instrumental and is overall more dynamic. “Cinderella”‘s instrumental on the other hand sounds more of a whisper although it picks up a bit of steam at the song’s final moments.
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aw, this is my fav from the album, puts me in a nice mood.
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You’ve captured my one sentence summary of my feelings on this album here. Exist is entirely focused on showing off EXO’s killer vocals without paying enough attention to the actual songs. I really enjoy the vast majority of this song, barring verse two and minor irritation at death of the momentum in the bridge. The instrumental feels really bare bones to me though (even though I don’t dislike it), and that seems to be a common theme throughout the album.
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interestingly, the producer called out sm for “forgetting” to put the drums in the bridge – and today the drums were added to the audio on spotify
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Time to go relisten!!
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